A meeting of minds, arms and little fingers
Today I met up with Elisabeth and Aidan in Cambridge. Just like last time, it was amazing. And just like last time, we didn't have enough time. Three and a half hours per three months is just not enough!
We crammed a lot into that short amout of time. We wandered Heffers, the huge, heavenly bookstore on Trinity Street. We spent FAR too much money and sat in the cafe to drink coffee/hot chocolate.
(Elisabeth contemplates a small white pot containing coffee beans and pennies. She picks a coffee bean, and nibbles at it. Aidan laughs in disbelief. She eats the rest of the bean. Aidan considers sticking his head into the bin nearby.)
We exchanged gifts, and established that Aidan and I have some freaky connection, the same connection which made us buy the same Christmas presents for each other (Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?). After having spent silly amounts of money on books, we decided to do something free. We wandered the streets of Cambridge for a while, then walked through Trinity College and across the river.
('Do you want Elisabeth's hand now?' I ask Aidan after a while. 'It's okay,' he replies, and Elisabeth squeezes my hand harder - 'You're mine today!')
We walked through the fog for a while. It could have been Cambridge one hundred years, if we ignored the cars. We photographed punters photographing us, and hung our heads over the bridge for a better view of murky, grey water.
('What's this river called?' I shout down to them. 'The River Cam!!' they shout back, laughing as we think 'duh!'.)
We walked linking arms and hands and little fingers to the tea shop, (First Class Teas). Elisabeth and I shared a pot of obscure, little-known tea, a tea we forgot the name of as soon as we ordered. It started with 'N', was followed by lots of small 'j's, and ended with large capital 'G's and a few numbers. I did my balancing act down a narrow flight of stairs with a tray full of tea pots and cups.
(-'How many people have fallen down these stairs with a full tray, do you think?'
-'Don't think!!')
On the walls hung close-up photographs of tea leaves and coffee beans. We sat crunching cinnamon sugar cubes and sipping tea, and Aidan pulled funny faces for our amusement. (Thank you, Aidan! You're lucky Elisabeth didn't die laughing!)
After a million hugs, and promises that we would all definitely definitely visit Elisabeth in Norway in the Easter holidays, Elisabeth and Aidan left to catch their 3.45 train. Which they missed anyway. I feel very responsible. I'm sorry.
The whole thing was slightly dream-like, an amazing dream at that. Directing my father through the heavy fog and the pitch black motorway on the way back, I thought several times - was that real?
We crammed a lot into that short amout of time. We wandered Heffers, the huge, heavenly bookstore on Trinity Street. We spent FAR too much money and sat in the cafe to drink coffee/hot chocolate.
(Elisabeth contemplates a small white pot containing coffee beans and pennies. She picks a coffee bean, and nibbles at it. Aidan laughs in disbelief. She eats the rest of the bean. Aidan considers sticking his head into the bin nearby.)
We exchanged gifts, and established that Aidan and I have some freaky connection, the same connection which made us buy the same Christmas presents for each other (Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?). After having spent silly amounts of money on books, we decided to do something free. We wandered the streets of Cambridge for a while, then walked through Trinity College and across the river.
('Do you want Elisabeth's hand now?' I ask Aidan after a while. 'It's okay,' he replies, and Elisabeth squeezes my hand harder - 'You're mine today!')
We walked through the fog for a while. It could have been Cambridge one hundred years, if we ignored the cars. We photographed punters photographing us, and hung our heads over the bridge for a better view of murky, grey water.
('What's this river called?' I shout down to them. 'The River Cam!!' they shout back, laughing as we think 'duh!'.)
We walked linking arms and hands and little fingers to the tea shop, (First Class Teas). Elisabeth and I shared a pot of obscure, little-known tea, a tea we forgot the name of as soon as we ordered. It started with 'N', was followed by lots of small 'j's, and ended with large capital 'G's and a few numbers. I did my balancing act down a narrow flight of stairs with a tray full of tea pots and cups.
(-'How many people have fallen down these stairs with a full tray, do you think?'
-'Don't think!!')
On the walls hung close-up photographs of tea leaves and coffee beans. We sat crunching cinnamon sugar cubes and sipping tea, and Aidan pulled funny faces for our amusement. (Thank you, Aidan! You're lucky Elisabeth didn't die laughing!)
After a million hugs, and promises that we would all definitely definitely visit Elisabeth in Norway in the Easter holidays, Elisabeth and Aidan left to catch their 3.45 train. Which they missed anyway. I feel very responsible. I'm sorry.
The whole thing was slightly dream-like, an amazing dream at that. Directing my father through the heavy fog and the pitch black motorway on the way back, I thought several times - was that real?
kiwiqueen - 21. Dec, 21:31
