TANTE MARIE-WEEK 8

Week 8

Cannot believe I have just two weeks left.
It has just gotten over too fast .

Woke up this morning , with Rihanna singing "only girl in the world"...
Yup , that's our Spain anthem, so was full of beans and really excited about the day..went to class...
And walked into Andrew our principal, who was in our class, giving us the barging of our life , for trying to bunk Friday morning ....
Well it's not a nice feeling at all...

My partner this week..Sam..
He is a quiet , shy boy, who communicates very little and is excellent at pastry...
We got down to cooking for the day.
In silence, think it was the first time ever, because we were pulled up ...
The food was really nice, duck and various other stuff...
In the afternoon, we baked...
And all that was going through my mind was RIHANNA....
Why ????
Seriously , you can't be asking me why....????
Because I'm going to watch Rihanna in concert in the evening ...
How did I get to go ..
Well because Rachna, very sweetly , decided not to go, and let me have her pass...
Of course now, I have to find the recipe of the best scone in the world and make it for her back home , or she is going to make me her "Cinders " for life ...
Ha ha ha ...
Rachna....thank you for this, it was really large hearted of you ...
I had a blast ...

So Monday after class, I ran back , and I mean literally, ran , with my Ugg boots, haversack going wobble wobble and cake box in hand...
7 minutes I was at Eve's , had a shower, slathered on some kohl and lip- balm and , the sweet-heart that Eve is, she was driving me like evil-knievel to the train station...
I was super excited...
Reached Sanjay and Rachna's , and left in some time for the O2...
Which is just such an awesome place...
We waited there for a very long time...
And final the gates opened and everybody walked in without pushing or yelling and without any chaos...
Something that me being Indian is not really used to seeing ...
We are always in a rush in India, even while getting into an airplane, where our seats were allotted ..ha ha ha ...
Calvin Harris the dj, who is quite hot at the moment in the world of discos , opened the show, he played a fantastic , high energy set...and the entire stadium were hypnotised with the display of light entwined with his skill with vinyl ...
Sanjay was dancing ...
I was in shock...well he did eat an entire pizza , so that explains why...ha ha ha
But seriously , Sanjay, it was fantastic and fun watching Rihanna with you..
By the way , he has a photo with her and has been to her earlier concert ..
So yup big Rihanna fan...sang, jumped screamed and was happily exhausted ...

Well Rihanna did not get on stage for really long ...
10.45... The lights go dim, the music starts ...
And Rihanna has walked on stage , sexy toned legs in beautiful neon green shoes...
And for the next two hours, she sang , danced and covered the stage with her energy and innate sexiness ...
Oh my God , she is hot...
And sings in that raspy beautiful voice...that just mesmerises you...
The show was fantastic...
Everything, from , lights, sound, music, costumes, dancers was just fantastic...
I have been to a whole lot of concerts , thanks to MTV, and this came an easy second to the MTV music awards 2000...
She was all I expected her to be and more ...
At 12 past, we left the stadium , jumped into a train that was packed like sardines and headed back to Woking ...
The last train back was filled with people who had just come back from the concert.
There was singing and sharing of videos and excitement and laughter emitting from the train ...
I reached and passed out a very happy bunny...
Thank you Rachna for sitting home ...
And thank you Sanjay , for being such fun company ...

The rest of the week went at great speed ...time is really moving very very fast...
Guess because we are cooking a lot , and also eating like crazy, feeling a bit rounder , need to go running...
Wednesday evening, went back into London, for the Marlebone Christmas street fair...
It was just too lovely...
There was a choir of people singing carols, lots of food stalls, all the shops on that street were giving discounts the lights were up, there was the lovely aroma of mulled wine, which is a must have on an evening like this ...
Had such a beautiful time...Sanjay , Rachna and me , hung there and just absorbed it all ...
And then went to RotiChai, Rachna's favourite place for dinner, excellent food...after a lovely evening filled with tons of great conversation and laughter..
I went back to my place in Woking...
Cannot believe what a wonderful time I'm having ...

Thursday evening, Olly from class was going to Bond Street to see the lights, and asked if i would like to come along...
(She is great fun, and eats a lot , like me ...)
And after really long, I actually have started getting up and going , and doing what I want ,if I feel like it ...
It's very very liberating and in a weird way , kind of surreal...
So we drove to London and realised that nothing was really happening ...
So asked Olly what time we driving back...
Well after some silence from her and shocking silence from me ...
We both realised that I did not know that we not driving back to Woking , and she did not know, that I did not know that , I was staying at her place ....
Ha ha ha chaos...and confusion and amongst peals of disbelief and laughter...
We went up to her apartment and then decided to make a night of it, we went to Bennyhana 's for dinner, which is a really cool food joint, live tables of food and super funny chefs making food and chucking bowls n rice and tossing bottles of oil and soya , with funny lines thrown in..
We stuffed our faces and headed back to Ollys apartment ...
Which by the way she and her cousin Paschal are doing up together...
So after YouTube'g a few songs...in a bit I was fast asleep in Olly's apartment in her clothes..tucked comfortably in a lovely warm White duvet...
Can't believe I had a sleep over ...ha ha ha ...unbelievable....
I slept like a baby and woke up to my alarm..
Half an hour later, she was zooming through London traffic towards Tante Marie in Woking ...
We kept awake to "moves like jagger" and reached early...
I went home , to realise Eve was not there...
God....I was so happy that I was out that night ...
I'm so not good staying alone...
I would have died...Of fright ...and please don't laugh ....
Realised for the umpteenth time, that when something untoward happens, it happens for the best..
If I was to spend the night alone , I would have been awake ...

Spent Friday washing vessels all morning for the group that is doing their final exams...
Gosh...it's mine on Monday and then , I'm done...really done ...
I liked today , it was a good Friday...came home happy and full of beans..
Got home the "extremely naughty chocolate cake" I baked in class...
My fat is gonna get fed some cake today ...
Somebody please stop me ...

Came home to be greeted by Eve...
And very quickly we made a little shopping plan and in less than half an hour , we were out shopping, bought tons of baking stuff, ice-cream making machine and tons of fruit and salad in the hope that I will eat healthy...
Came home and went to sleep early ...
Not because I was sleepy , but did not feel like staying awake...just one of those days , when you feel better going to sleep ..
Bad idea, because I was up at 3 ...
And actually had a very nice early morning and went off to sleep with voices in my head ....6.15to be precise..., had a class in London at 10...God I have lost it ...

Saturday
Was up and at class at 10 sharp...
Caldesi..the Italian cooking school...
Katie Caldesi and Stefano Borella were fantastic ...
I love Italian food...
And I love how they cook ...
Katie said the food is made with tons of AMORE ...
Which means the food is well looked after and pampered with tons of olive oil...
So 3 hours later, we were all sitting together, all 20 of us, eating what we cooked ...
Was so happy I came for this class..
Because it was so different from school..it was like a holiday...
It was relaxed and full of funny jokes from chef Stefano, and the banter between Katie and him was lovely...
So some White wine later, armed with my pasta maker, I walked into shopping paradise, Bond Street ...and spent the day, buying things for my little Zeke and Zene ....
I miss them tooooooooo much ...
And thank Warsi for making this possible for me ...and both Zeke and Zene , for being so supportive of what I'm doing, that I can concentrate on my work ...Zeke and Zene have been fine, which is why I'm fine...
Thanks to everyone who has rallied around them ...

I sleep in peace , and immense love in my heart ..
Sometimes feel like I will burst into a million shiny stars...
What a fantastic week...
Just two weeks more ...and I'm back home...
This feels like a dream , with an expiry date and time , attached to it...
Cinderella at the ball, just about to swirl around with Prince Charming, and poof the clock strikes 12...
But I'm happy that I got to the ball and had such a blast ...no regrets, none whatsoever....

In my heart , I'm at the ball in my prettiest yellow BCBG gown and daisies in my hair ,dancing in the moonlite to Andrea Bocelli singing Con Te Partiro....
The stars are shinning and there is a fragrance of Kenzo in the air...
Candles hanging from the trees and the shadow of the moonlight on the lake...
And after it's all over and the music has ceased, I sit on the grass and look up to the stars in the sky...
It's perfect...would not change anyone or anything ....

So me and my supremely fertile imagination are calling it a night ...
My pillow is missing me ...
See you all soon ...