A Little Heartwarmer

I love early mornings. I love throwing the door to my little patio open; letting out the staleness that my flat is wont to accumulate in the night, letting in the cool but oh-so-refreshing Spring morning. I love how I somehow manage to expand my mind in the mornings: how I learn of and warm to things I never thought I liked.

It was during one of these mornings not too long ago that I discovered the wonders of Chopin and the person whom I believe interprets his compositions best, Arthur Rubinstein.

This morning, while traversing the Telegraph blogs, my gaze fell upon a name. One which wasn't completely unfamiliar and yet did not seem to associate itself with anything that my mind was aware of: Susan Boyle.

Out of curiosity, I followed the link. And I was glad I did.

I could, and would, provide a short commentary, but I fear that doing so would spoil the experience for you. (I did make an honest attempt to embed the video here, to make life just slightly easier for you, but I believe this has been disallowed by the video's owner[s].)

Good afternoon!

I can't claim to know entirely the purpose of the next few paragraphs. But I have been injected - to the point of saturation - with zest and zeal, and I feel that I must share this with you as it was, very easily, the best laugh I've had all week.

Barbra Streisand's Smile playing in the background.

"This is supposed to be one of those songs that you listen to when you're depressed, to make you feel better... and less depressed about life. But the music is so melancholic that it makes you want to just... (and here I made a gesture, which I hoped was sufficient to render the actual saying of 'kick off' unnecessary.)"

More Barbra Streisand in the background.

"Yes, I'm beginning to think how I could use this fork (light gripping of fork, which was covered with a healthy amount of frosting and cupcake crumbs - a feeble attempt at theatre) to... (and here, hand movements that one would normally associate with wrist-slitting)"

A lot of laughter.

"This could be one of those songs that you listen to while you slit your wrists!" I laughed very, very hard.

---

A rather macabre, morbid subject to laugh about, I completely agree. In my defence, however, when you're under the influence of the devil('s food cupcake) and a good game of Scrabble, anything has the potential to be of great comedic value.

Thank you for a fantastic Wednesday afternoon.

On eating

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." (Pavarotti)

---

I enjoy long lunches, with friends or, sometimes, without. To just sit down and think (or talk) about the world, about life; to watch the passing of the hour, the passing by of people on the cobbled street below or the pavement ahead; to just contemplate.

A discovery

Perched on a stool, in a restaurant in the further reaches of Notting Hill, I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief as the weight upon my shoulders evaporated in fragments as multitudinous as the Chinese characters that adorned the ceiling. It was a busy night and I was glad for the abundance of unknown characters; thankful for the absence of familiar faces.

Upon the stool, with an interrupted view of the world, I created a temporary abyss of calm, an impermanent temple of respite from troubled thoughts fuelled by the incessant demands of life - that entity with which I have a love-hate relationship. From upon that stool, I accepted offerings of little bamboo steamers, which I hoped were (carefully) filled with the answers to the little problems of my life. How delighted I was when, within, I found not only what I sought, but also ecstasy for my palate and prozac for my soul.

Ah, yes. Dim sum.


There is a certain je ne sais quoi about dim sums, those small, flavourful packets, which, if well-made and eaten in the correct environment - lights not too bright; an opus of voices resonating in the background - envelope you in an aura of calm contentment. Even on those days that are determined to have you uprooted and thrown completely off balance.

Tea is not the solution to life's little problems as the English (and Irish) are wont to believe. Dim sum is.