Dinner Candles & Conversation

I admitted to being half nervous and half excited about coming to the UK for the six month duration. But after this evening, I must say, I feel rather comfortable. Staying with Gill & Kevin has been the best possible way to arrive.

I feel so cozy right now, satisfied by a wonderful meal and the happy warmth of good conversation, and now I’m just winding down in bed with a nice cup of tea.

Tonight had. been prepared in honor of Ally’s upcoming birthday (it’s this Wednesday). After we all come home from a day of shopping and lunching in St. Albans, Gill went to the kitchen and began preparing a dazzling feast. I watched Monsters, Inc. with Poppy sitting on my lap while Kevin snoozed away on the sofa (Mark was there doing the same for part of the time). Camille was with Gill, and I suppose Abby, Jess & Ellie were upstairs in Abby’s room. Dinner was served with candles and champagne; everyone but Kevin, Poppy & myself had opted to dress up. As per their tradition, everyone at the table got a wrapped present on their plate. When everyone was seated, the wrapping was shredded; Kevin & Mark got chocolates, Gill got a block of stationary, I got a passion fruit perfume, and the others got draw-on-yourself plates with permanent markers. It was a fun tradition – even little presents add a lot of spark to the beginning of a meal. (I’m thinking of adopting the tradition, too!) The starters were seared scallops with baked garlic, Parma ham and pulverized peas, and a mozzarella alla caprese salad with avocado (though Gill gave it another name – something to do with “three colors” in Italian).

We had about an hour to wait before the main course could be served, and thus a decision to make on how to spend the time. Abby brought down some cards for a game of “Would you rather…?” – and it filled the time so very easily. It started out in turns and eventually mingled into regular conversations – and I must admit, the champagne may have helped. It was fun, silly, and engaging. At the beginning of the evening I occasionally felt a little outsider-ish, but it wasn’t long before that feeling went away. Camille & Mark have even invited me to come stay with them – and I think I may take up their offer, possibly en route to visiting Ellie (Glasgow Ellie, obviously) It’s funny; I could picture myself like Julia Roberts’ character in Notting Hill a little – think of the scene when she comes to dinner for the first time. By the time the main course was finished (it was chicken stuffed with feta & wrapped in bacon, and an unpronounceable but extremely flavorful Turkish veggie dish involving potatoes, sweet potatoes, curry, some kind of fruit, cilantro, and other things), I had finished two glasses of champagne and begun a glass of something called a Kea (?), and the time had passed as smoothly as if on greased rails. We had dessert after; it was an and/or choice of blackberry & apple crumble (with custard or crème fraiche – I chose the latter) and/or a French lemon citron tart (I had both).

I helped clear the plates and joined the girls in the living room, where “Little Britain USA” had JUST finished (credits rolling) as I entered (I didn’t even know the show was on the air already!), and “Live at the Apollo” had begun. I guess there must be a second famous Apollo theatre here, too, because Jimmy Carr kept addressing the crowd as Hammersmith. Anyway, it was everyone together again in the living room, all cozy on the couches and chairs (and air mattress, partly). The other performer (the main one) was Allan Carr. There were some jokes I didn’t entirely get – and Gill explained some of those references (e.g., an A&E is like an E.R.) – but it was funny nonetheless.

When that was over, Kevin and Mark turned the channel over to football (Blackburn vs. Manchester United – Gill cheered for Blackburn), and one-by-one the room emptied as the girls went upstairs, Camille went to bed, and then eventually Gill & I went up to bed as well, though I had planned to go on the internet a little bit before coming up here. But, I ended up changing into my jammies and writing, and only now I’m about to go downstairs for a little quality internet time. I’ll be checking my emails, of course, and maybe I’ll get a little World of Warcraft in, too – it crept into my dreams last night, so that must be some kind of a sign.

Oh, and tomorrow morning we’re having a “full English breakfast” before Mark, Camille, Ellie & Jess leave.

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Post-blog note: (2:17 AM)
The problem with going online for 2+ hours after a cozy evening remains that I start to feel disconnected from the aforementioned cozy feeling. I’ve been sucked into the online world and subsequently spat out just in time for a few hours’ sleep. And worse still, I didn’t get the chance to play any WoW.

Post-post blog note: (2:22 AM)
The Flight of the Conchords’ “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros” is playing a loop in my mind, all because I used the word “subsequently” in the previous paragraph. “O-ther rappers dis me, say my rhymes are sis-sy…”