Wednesday 29 March 2017

Bonkers is off on an extreme multi-tasking weekend, including a meet up with Val the Cookie Queen!

I am afraid I haven't managed to do my usual weekly (or thereabouts) post this week. I am working on two projects at the moment, involving evenings, early starts, and some fancy mental footwork trying to remember what job I am on every time I pick up the phone. When I do eventually knock off, my brain is completely addled, and I am not up to much more than a distracted scroll through Facebook and a hastily prepared 'fusion cuisine' meal fashioned from the dwindling contents of my fridge.

There will be posts - also on perfume! - coming along once I have got this flurry of work out of the way in a week or two, if not before. I plan to review SJP Stash, Mon Guerlain - that surprised you! - and a few other things, as well as finally compile my bathroom refurb post, now that the finishing touch of a picture is back from the framer's and on the wall.

And meanwhile, I am off on Friday (don't tell Truffle!) to Germany for an extreme multi-tasking weekend, as all my holidays tend - and for budgetary reasons, need - to be these days. It will combine language practice (which I could almost elevate to the status of Continuing Professional Development, even if in practice I am mostly inquiring about platform information and the feasibility of fresh milk for my tea), AND my twin interests of music and perfume. The specifics of the former may readily be guessed, while the latter will be embodied in the human dynamo, fellow blogger, and one-woman gourmet cookie factory that is Val CQ Sperrer(!). Despite not being long back from her action-packed trip to Milan, Val is heading north to Bavaria on Saturday with downhill biking maniac husband, 'no fear' Chris, to meet me for a gig by The Monochrome Set in Augsburg. She being arguably one of only a handful of people in the known world who are diehard fumeheads and fans of that somewhat eclectic band.

The planning of the trip, meanwhile, has not been without incident. I have established, for example, that while Manchester Airport security have absolutely no problems with me taking knitting on a flight out of the country (cue more multi-tasking!), Munich Airport security take a very dim view of my wishing to take it home again. Knitting needles - or Stricknadeln, as they are known over there - are stricktly verboten on account of their non-negotiable status as 'pointy objects' and terrorist weapons. I must say I have never heard tell of a 'in air' terrorist attack involving knitting needles, but I guess there is always a first time. I mean, 'yarn bombing' is already a well-established pursuit, also in Germany...;)

In vain did I try to reason on the phone with the officious official from the Sicherheitsgesellschaft am Flughafen München mbH, and big up the innocuous character of my particular wooden needles: I was firmly told that the material of said needles was...ahem...immaterial. I would have been allowed to take needles measuring a maximum of 6cm on the flight, but you wouldn't be able to knit a scarf on implements of quite such Lilliputian proportions. Even one of those narrow, spivvy Mod ties favoured by Paul Weller would be a stretch, quite literally indeed.


I'll be just as happy to see her this time! 

So there you have it. I will of course report back on the events of the weekend as soon as work permits. And on the day that Britain started the process of leaving the EU - though as I said on Facebook, I had rather hoped Mrs May would trigger Area 51 by mistake - I found a way to ensure the 'free movement' of my latest woolly project (for a nominal fee)...of which more later.

Okay...so that was a sort of a post after all!







10 comments:

Unknown said...

Knitting needle problems - I once had to remove a pair of wooden knitting needles from my rather fancy updo before being allowed into a gig at The Nashville pub in Fulham Road. The door men did not care that I had bothered to sand down the tips so they were blunt. If I wanted to see The Brakes that night they had to go. I had a mad crush on the guitarist so needles went in a bin and hairdo had to be re-styled. Good times. Hope you enjoy your trip anyway!

Unknown said...

Ein super Wochenende wuensch ich dir, und drueck die cookie queen von mir.

Anonymous said...

Whoohoo!! I´m so excited. It will take some serious prepping here in my kitchen to get away - but you are more than worth it. I am leading such a Jet Setting Junta kind of life at the moment, what with three countries within a week. You might not get cookies, but there will be Mozart Balls. What lucky women we are. And Sabine, I drück you zurück. Bussis. xxxxxx

Vanessa said...

Hi Val,

How prophetic that you should mention the Jet Set Junta, as I am bringing a little something for you that is directly connected with that song...;) Oh, don't worry about the Mozart balls, thank you. Just as I never managed to acquire a taste for olives, I haven't evolved to marzipan either, hehe. xxx

Vanessa said...

Auf jeden Fall! Und vielen Dank, Sabine.

Vanessa said...

Hi Bejoux Noir,

Thanks for your good wishes and what a brilliantly fitting story, neatly uniting two of the strands of this post in an unexpected twist. Of your hair indeed! Those door men would have been totally overfaced had there been a gaggle of Geishas attending the gig. ;)

Tara said...

You write so well V, you manage to make a post announcing your temporary absence highly entertaining!
Well done for checking about the knitting needles ahead of time and for finding a "work around".
Really, these trips should be tax deductible as they top-up your German. I'm certain seeing Val and the band will be well worth the expense, lack of sleep and ensuing backlog of work. I feel for you though.
I have a feeling you might like Mon Guerlain so looking forward to your post. I didn't get on well with Stash, sadly.

Vanessa said...

Thanks, Tara! I maybe should look into the tax status of my trips, hehe.

Ah, I may have given the impression that I liked Mon Guerlain more than I did. I struggled with the lavender opening, but the rest was rather nice. That said, it is too similar to other scents for my money. Stash was quite different for SJP, for sure, yet even that reminded me of something I used to own...

Undina said...

I'm not sure that knitting needles of that size actually exist, but if they do, with circular ones you should be able to master a scarf of any width ;)

I hope your trip will be a blast. Hi to Val!

Who's going to rescue Truffle from the garage while you're away?

Vanessa said...

Hi Undina,

That's a good point, actually- the tips of circular needles can be quite short, though I am not sure how short exactly. I must admit I am a straight needle kind of gal, though circular needles would be ideal for an infinity scarf for example.

I will say Hi to Val!, and we are hoping Truffle won't get out of the house while I am away, never mind into the garage, hehe. She managed to lose her new collar overnight, what is she like?!