JANUARY JAUNTS

57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
Nadine 415 595 0023
Colman 415 871 9920
Skype: nadinemellor

Dearest Family and Friends

January was characterised by brilliant sunshine, burlesque shows, watching films, and much communing with nature. New Year’s Resolutions fell by the wayside within two weeks but we (mostly) stuck to being vegetarian for the month – falling prey to weak will only when perusing menus in the tempting gourmet restaurants hereabouts. Although the following paragraphs appear to give the lie to this statement, we have had a quiet month, working hard and staying in a lot, hanging out with Adam, Rob and the DLG. But we made the most of living in such a beautiful part of the world by getting out at weekends. And we had the visitor’s book inscribed for the first time!

Expedition of the Month
We don't have a car. Parking is notoriously difficult in SF as this sign indicates, so it's much better to sign up to Zipcar (a scheme where you pay for your hire car by the hour, petrol is included, and you leave it clean and drop it off nearby). Our first Zipcar expedition took us south along Highway 1 beside the Pacific on one of the most spectacular weekends of the year; the great thing about SF is that the city becomes beautiful rugged cliffs and wild beaches within minutes. South of Half Moon Bay we stopped at Pescadero Marsh Reserve and seawards saw lots of seals sunning themselves on rocks, beautifully camouflaged and with impressive whiskers. The beach had picturesque driftwood and soft sand; we found a small lake inland of Highway 1 and walked around it for an hour or two, spying at least 20 different bird species (a few I’d not seen before), just nonchalantly feeding, displaying, bobbing, dabbling, diving, or in the case of the osprey, just patiently sitting waiting for prey to surface – truly glorious.

We drove on an hour south to Monterey, famous because John Steinbeck lived there (Cannery Row is set when the town was the sardine capital of the world before overfishing collapsed the industry in the 50s; Steinbeck would be turning in his grave to see his name used to commodify culture and foster mass tourism). Now the visitors flock to its first class aquarium, on the site of a sardine cannery. Beautiful Monterey Bay has a unique 10,000ft underwater canyon, kelp forests and a nutrient rich sea, which allows for a huge variety of marine life. The aquarium celebrates this diversity with vast tanks devoted to the Kelp Forest and the Outer Bay. Surprises included the mesmeric jellyfish whose luminous orbs and tendrils rose and fell with the current, the size of the waterdynamic sea otters, the extraordinary sunfish which resembled a Dr Who monster created from Styrofoam - and the non-cage aviary which held a collection of waders and ducks – astonishing to see how petite they were, and how delicately marked are their feathers close up.

Next morning, we spied red breasted mergansers and sea otters confidently breasting the Pacific surf just outside our seafront B&B. We could have stayed there for hours, but the call of Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing back up the coast proved too great. In the shadow of a power plant is an inland waterway teeming with birdlife. We were captivated by a snowy plover, 4 inches long, darting along the foreshore at our feet, and by the variety of water birds (divers, herons, waders, ducks), more sea otters floating on their backs nibbling at kelp while gulls tried to poach dinner, and excitingly a white-tailed kite hovering above.

Final stop on our adventure was our four-hour whale watching boat trip - we saw sea otters, seals, sea lions behaving like dolphins, and sea birds including scoters and common murres. The sea was like a millpond until our skipper pointed us in the direction of some white water ahead. Thrillingly this was a school of some 500 short-beaked common dolphin which had not been sighted in the Bay for the last 18 months. The school rode the bow waves beside us, we could hear them clicking to each other, and watched them swim and leap around. Phenomenal. The 10 gray whales we later encountered from more of a distance were much shyer, but we saw them breach and blow on their journey from Alaska to Mexico. The journey back was less eventful aside from cheeky western gulls following the boat close, taking food out of hands.

The weekend was rounded off by Colman getting caught for speeding on the freeway! Now we know why Zipcars are so called…

Costume Party of the Month
San Francisco is famous for vintage clothes and eccentric sub-cultures. But we hadn’t expected costume events to be so prevalent and well attended. There is a big scene here for dressing up in period outfits – someone is making serious corsetry money in this town – and as befits a small city, there’s a sense of intimacy as all the performers are the audience and vice versa. Loyal and enthusiastic supporters cheer on their friends’ musical and artistic efforts at these fun nights.

Colman took me (and Rob and John) as a surprise to the Hubba Hubba Revue which featured lots of swing dancing (it is very big here), and a series of burlesque acts made up the first half – some amazing costumes shed in quick succession: all feathers, fans and veils deftly manipulated. The second half saw the superb Lee Presson and the Nails take to the stage. A pun on fake acrylic nails (a joke that had to be explained to us afterwards) the 10 piece band featuring a big brass section played covers of 30s and 40s hits expertly embellished with a sinister twist by the lead singer, a born showman with spats, high waisted pants, braces and impeccably brilliantined hair and pencil moustache, who proceeded to shed his costume throughout the show.

Last weekend it was Colman's turn for a surprise: an Edwardian Revue called Sunday Gorey Sunday, in the Great American Music Hall, a lovely 1907 Belle Epoque venue (SF’s oldest nightclub) which had hosted the sold out annual Edwardian Ball the night before - this celebrates the art and stories of the late author/illustrator Edward Gorey. The costumes were stunning – bustles, hats, veils, bowlers, umbrellas, waistcoats, corsets, plus fours, petticoats – and some were actually ballroom dancing round the dance floor. The musical acts in the revue were more experimental (Loop Station are an electric cello and a singer); the burlesque act was excellent, and revealed little flesh in perfect tempo and patterning.

Film Club
Most weeks we get together with Adam and Rob to watch a movie at someone's gaff. This month we watched Blood Diamond, Kinsey and Pan’s Labyrinth. Colman and I also saw Babel and Venus, I also watched United 93, The Holiday, and Dreamgirls. Pretty much all of them had merit – the most ambitious and surreal Pan’s Labyrinth, the most poignant is Venus with the stand out double act of O’Toole and Phillips, United 93 is an exemplary piece of film-making, and Babel and Blood Diamond both signalled a shift towards important global themes in studio pictures.

Birthday of the Month
Adam turned 40 and we celebrated in style at the famous Vietnamese fusion restaurant, Slanted Door, beside the ferry terminal with views of the Bay Bridge on the Embarcadero. We were a jolly table of 14 – Colman and I fell off the vegetarian wagon and munched happily through fish, meat, anything put in front of us. Afterwards we adjourned to a cool and intimate bar touting itself as an old style Speakeasy which you have to pre-book and get in only with the correct password. The cocktail list was extremely impressive – Colman went for the marmalade whisky sour.

Walk of the Month
Two days later, after hanging on online for Arsenal's agonisingly close glorious victory against Man U (we can only access sport via the BBC website), we set off to walk to Sausalito across the Golden Gate Bridge. The first hour across town wasn’t the most prepossessing but after we collected Adam and his friend Patrick over from Australia for the birthday event, the beauty of the Presidio (a former military camp now eucalyptus wood and park), and the views over the Bay unfolded. Another glorious day with hardly a cloud in the sky. The shimmering water, studded with sailing boats, and the SF skyline stretching out to the Bay Bridge were only surpassed by the Golden Gate’s ‘International Orange’ against the azure sky. Adam and Patrick turned back at the first bridge span while we carried on to Sausalito, a distance of 10 miles it turned out. The terrific ferry journey back across the bay brought us close to Alcatraz – next month’s expedition!

DLG Event of the Month
Sadly we were unable to join the DLG for skiing in Tahoe - next year. But we hosted mid-January and it was a great night. The DLG are such a nice bunch, Jason’s tequila gift was put to good use and I think Amy summed up the evening best: ‘a lovely DLG! Those who weren't there missed a night of tequila, patent-leather shoe modeling, debauchery, and yes, stripping.’

Visitor of the Month
Last weekend Colman’s brother Patrick came to stay (thanks Rob for the blow-up bed – the sofa bed arrives any day) and we drove over the Bay Bridge (for the first time in my case) to the East Bay and explored Berkeley. We walked along the ridge in Tilden Regional Park, completely shrouded in mist in the morning, which cleared enough by lunchtime to reveal the valleys around us. After a yummy tapas lunch (thanks Patrick) we wandered around the impressive Berkeley campus, taking the lift to the top of the campanile for extraordinary silvery mystical views westwards to San Francisco, the uprights of the Golden Gate Bridge just visible.

Restaurant of the Month
Foreign Cinema in Mission for Jecca’s birthday was a close contender, but for the more unusual dining experience it had to be Cha Ya, a vegan Japanese restaurant round the corner. Although occasionally draughty, with an impenetrable menu and off puttingly bright with canteen style décor, the cuisine was anything but. The best miso soup we’d ever tasted, yummy tempura, delicious sesame dressings, delicate cucumber salads, rich udon concoctions and who knew you could do such imaginative things with tofu?

Wine of the Month by Mission Boy
Thomas Fogarty
Gewurztraminer
Monterey ‘05

Most people raise an eyebrow when I tell them that the Irish have been at the heart of the wine trade for centuries. But I point to the Lynch’s and the Barton’s whose names remain on the most illustrious Medoc Crus.
So how could I resist a Fogarty labelled as from Monterey, once the capital of the Mexican state of California. (more on the labelling later).
Even it was a Gewurztraminer. Gewurz’s can be notoriously hit and miss. This is not a subtle grape. A good one is divine but a poor one is all elbows and knees. No grace.
This grape originates in Italy (‘tramin’ refers to Lake Tramino), headed north to Germany where its trademark spiciness was noted (‘Gewurz’ means spicy) and spread to Alsace where the best known old world examples are made.
Fogarty’s Gewurz is a brassy gold. It looks rich and boy does it deliver. It has a sumptuous nose of apricots but without the sickliness that Gewurz sometimes generates.
Its got a smooth and rather sweet entry with terrific rich texture and oodles of fruit. On the first day the wine this was compromised by a sour disjointed finish with very prominent alcohol (yes it weighs in at 14.2%), but this was cleared by a day of air and cool serving (say slightly above fridge temperature). The breathing awoke a range of smoky and spicy flavours we hadn’t had upon opening.
So on day two we had rich unctuous drink that could be used either as an aperitif (just one glass) or as something to have after dinner. Don’t pair it with food though. If it doesn’t clash like pink and scarlet it’ll probably obliterate any food flavour with its alcohol and fruit.

Bird of the Month
A very tough call as we saw so many wonderful birds in Monterey. But the Bufflehead Bucephala albeola – won through. An attractive small diving duck that nests in trees and hangs out in small flocks, with the male characterised by his big round head with white patch at the back. We saw a flock in Pescadero doing what can only be described as a synchronised swimming routine in a butterfly motion with their legs out to the side and wings flapping in the water all in unison - apparently their courtship display.

Stencil of the Month
There's little graffiti on the walls here; it's all on the pavement.

Bumper Sticker of the Month
Those Who Ignore History are Condemned to Repeat It; Those Who Ignore Nature are Condemned to Deplete It

Missing you all very much – come and visit – still a great exchange rate!

Love and hugs Nadine and Colman xxx

NY STORIES

57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
Nadine m: 415 595 0023
Colman m: 415 871 9920
Skype: nadinemellor

Dearest Family and Friends

Happy New Year!
2006 universally was proclaimed a difficult and depressing year – certainly globally despair politically and environmentally was felt by us all. For us it marked the start of a new chapter by moving to friendly and fun San Francisco, yet despite the relentless busyness and logistical detail required for the relocation, 2006 had many magical moments:

Marvellous parties especially our epic farewell to No.83 house party, and including several 40ths (am I allowed to say I thought mine was tiptop? Loved Adam’s and Dan/Dave’s too, also Jessica’s 38&3/4th);
Singing my heart out to Up the Junction watching Glenn Tillbrook play at The Big Chill with a peg on my wings and having SO MUCH FUN with friends who are now families and part of my family;
Being asked to be godmother to Rose at my niece and nephew’s christening (yes I cried);
Our weekend in Cornwall in Feb with fireworks and treasure hunt;
Intimate dinners with close friends including the Last Supper;
Thanksgiving in Russian River with the drunken boys;
Wonderful weddings in N.Ireland and Cornwall (fairylove cosmic);
Dad’s 70th birthday weekend (packed schedule of walking, Scottish dancing and rounders);
Getting on Australian TV after the ball tampering row; volunteering for Islington
Very special glorious Dublin weekend in September;
Annual excursions to the Lake District (what a wuss - poleaxed after climbing Binsey) and to Essex;
New Year in Sydney in a fierce heatwave involving lifts, dancing the conga with a dog, whips, Bondi beach and Colman frolicking with lesbians);
Living with my parents for 3 weeks (really lovely) and dancing to Incey Wincey Spider with Lizzie my niece;
Walking in the snow-capped Pyrenees in April after visiting the vineyards in Bordeaux;
The atmosphere in the streets for Highbury’s last day and being at the new Arsenal stadium for the Bergkamp Testimonial;
Singalonga Grease at the art deco Castro Theater;
Fond emotional farewells to all friends and family in the UK;
Friendly welcomes in the US, especially from the DLG;
Christmas in Ithaca; sightseeing in New York.

Christmas in Ithaca
It’s easy to forget this is a vast country. Ithaca was a six hour flight via Philadelphia. Its a small university town where he teaches, 5 hours north of NYC in NY State. Global warming dashed our hopes of a white Christmas – a flurry of snow one day didn’t settle.

We had both been working pretty intensively in the run up to Christmas so it was so nice to stay in Hugh and Sally’s lovely 150 yr old home filled with gorgeous furniture and art.

We had a relaxing and charming time with them, Max (with the impossibly long eyelashes) and his baby brother Zack, born a month before. Zack was the perfect baby – hardly wailed and slept 18 hours a day or more. Above is him with his Christmas presents; Max’s lorryload of presents, in common with all little boys of 5, had a dinosaur theme.

We cooked, ate huge amounts, drank delicious wines, read, wandered round antiques malls, curled up in armchairs, played with Max, and went for a constitutional walk to a waterfall / bird reserve / through the woods / by a river every day. Ithaca is near the FingerLakes. Scored with canyons and waterfalls it has a remote air about it..

Max and I made apple and almond pudding for Christmas Day; we went to a local drinks party one night consisting of a full on Ceol Agus Craic Irish music session – Colman and I had no shame and demonstrated our woeful folk dancing.


New York City
We took an overheated bus from Ithaca for 5 hours. There is something so evocative about seeing the Manhattan skyline getting closer across the suburbs and detritus of the urban sprawl, as the bus inched its way through the traffic. We rented an apartment off Craigslist in the West Village which turned out to be perfectly located, incredibly hot (what is it with NYC that they feel the need to exist in sweltering temperatures at all times), unpleasantly grimy in the corners with the most antiquated bathroom we’d seen in ages.

We saw my friend Ian for a drink at a tiny stylish Italian wine bar the size of a living room. Lovely to see him and we consumed two bottles of tasty wine, copious nibbles and put the world to rights. We went for tea with Colman’s friend Jane Cox in Greenwich and walked around the brownstones of the village and along the river – glorious winter light at late magic hour over the Hudson River which contrived to make even New Jersey look fabulous. Lots of Christmas decorations but the light shows on the skyscrapers was the most charming and NYCish – the Empire State glowed 5 different colours simultaneously, the Chrysler's display so cool.

We went to the newly refurbished MOMA, where I charged round and saw almost every piece of artwork in the place and can tell you that Rauschenberg is wholly overrated, and what is it with these post-war artists’ belief that big is better with their ego-driven vast canvases? Still it allows you to gallop all the faster through the rooms. The photography portfolio felt randomly positioned but was very fine, and there’s no question that the gallery is an amazing space with an extraordinary collection. Colman took a more leisurely pace and savoured the work better.

We also did the Guggenheim on the same day – AT LAST I got to see it – on my 5th attempt – I usually find it closed. The main exhibition was Spanish art over the past 500 years curated in terms of themes – religion, mothers, still life, death etc – which saw Goyas next to Picassos next to El Grecos next to Miros. Such a special building.

NYC is also a shopping mecca and I spent my hard-earned pounds with gusto (great exchange rate!) on some lovely clothes – trousers, cardigan, top, vintage piece, jumper and skirt. Great second hand designer and vintage shops especially in Soho and Nolita. The shops all had discounts already due to the unseasonably warm winter – the winter coat market had collapsed – typical that I wasn’t in the market for one….

New Year’s Eve
Back to SF for NYE - to a warmer, cleaner, calmer, smaller city and mused that it didn’t feel like ‘coming home’ just yet, although it was lovely to be at home again. We had arranged to go with our new best friend, Adam, to a Kinky Salon party, conveniently round the corner in the Mission.

We hosted pre-party drinks at the apartment and were joined by Adam, Sofia and Gerardo, Jennifer and Don, and Stuart and Danielle visiting from London – great entertainment was had in persuading Stuart to come out to play with us and to wear a marvellous pink wig to ensure entrance – dress code stipulations were no street clothes allowed.

At about 1030 we all stumbled round the corner and entered a dingy suspicious looking venue revealed inside to be a Tardis of confectionary. It was like a very decorated Coalesce. Amazing efforts had gone into creating sexy intimate spaces with disco lights shown to best effect by the free 3D glasses, vivid colours, a rope web with a bondage master, silver draped walls, two small dance floors, a smoking room and darker lounging areas.

Although the music was a bit patchy, they did do a good NYE countdown and provided us all with champagne – and it was all BYO – how civilized! The crowd dressed in an extraordinary array of corsets, feathers, wigs, flesh, chaps, fairies, tassels and sequins, were very friendly and welcoming.

Colman was insulted when a girl told him that no real woman would put those two reds together! All good fun. We lasted until 3ish - not bad considering we were on NYC time – a great night.

Food Moment of the Holiday
Contenders included Colman’s perfect hollandaise followed by the delicious gammon on Christmas Day, and Murray’s bagels on Felicity’s recommendation for breakfast in the Village (a quintessential NYC moment – I had the full lox with all the trimmings), but our visit to Yama – a Japanese sushi restaurant on the East side with my cousin Guy and his wife Haruko – was one of the most memorable occasions ever.

We suggested eating Japanese partly because Haruko could properly translate the menu for us, but also because we had all eaten so much over Christmas a light and healthy meal was required. Mr Nakamura is a friend of Guy and Haruko’s through the Japanese school their kids go to, and he has a chain of four Yamas. This was the newest and he was in charge; to say he pushed the boat out for us is no exaggeration.

We ordered our appetisers and said we wanted a few specialities for main – up to him – but that was all. First arrived an hors d’oeuvre that was off menu, specially prepared for us as a new experimental recipe – monk fish foie gras style that melted on the tongue. Then came the smoothest and classiest sake any of us had ever had. Next, another free sublime starter of ginko beans and tofu and stuff. Followed by the appetisers we had originally ordered including a tower of scallops, avocado and three kinds of roe, and a squid dish.

We all remarked how we were totally full and couldn’t eat another thing. Guy then looked up and said, Oh my God, I think that boat is about to set sail! A huge bamboo ship with mast and rigging was being loaded up with a cargo of the most delicate and finest sushi; we said surely not for us – it must be for that huge table of people over there. Whereupon sure enough, it set a straight course east by south east directly towards us. Haruko and I cried with laughter for the next 20 minutes. And the really funny thing was that we knew we’d get through it.

And we did, bar 3 pieces. Exquisite. Colman had a panicked moment when he thought the waiter was bringing us the dessert menu, but luckily a false alarm. So we were totally caught off guard when the puddings were then handed to us – a baked Alaska affair with green tea ice cream in the middle. We were dreading the bill but couldn’t believe it - $180 for 4!!! So we tipped them very handsomely. Thank you Mr Nakamura!

Restaurant of the Holiday
Lupa, Soho, NYC. Second (more affordable and relaxed) restaurant from the stable of the celebrity chef Mario Babbo (see Heat by Bill Buford). Rustic-chic dining room, warm colours and brick walls, walk-ins allowed - hence how we got a seat at the candle-lit bar. I had beautifully prepared salt cod for starters; Colman perfect sardines. For main my pork shoulder in honey and spices was impossibly tender; Colman’s pasta special sublime. We finished up in a jazz club.

Wine of the Month by Mission Boy
Hermitage 1998
GAEC Belle
It was one of those wines that on first appearances seems to be past it.

Now Hermitage is a style that is normally stil in its gawky adolescent stage after nine years. Back in the nineteenth century it was the only wine of the Rhone that had any credibility. In fact it was often used by Bordeaux chateaux to beef up their own blends in weak years.

So you can imagine it is a beefy, dense drink. This example looked very evolved with a brown rim. Plunging your nose in the glass you found all those glorious developed aromas you can only get with aged wine: inky, vegetal, Brussels sprouts (yes really) and cabbage. Only perhaps too much. You wonder what on earth this is going to taste like. Is it really over the hill?

No it isn’t. A deep draught reveals a really coherent integrated texture. Fruit has given way to savoury flavours but the finish still has notes of that distinctive peppery finish you find in Ozzie Shiraz. (Did I forget to say this is made from Shiraz/Syrah).

Twenty minutes of air and the most pronounced vegetable stink had blown off leaving an intriguing instant coffee note. But the wine is still most satisfying in the mouth. Plenty of body and weight. So much in fact that the second half of the bottle was still enjoyable the next day… just.

Worlds away from supermarket blandness this wine was a lesson in why we should bother with those wines that can’t be drunk for ten years.

Bird of the Month
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis – a distinctively crested flame-red medium sized bird that flits in small groups, whose colouring stood out a mile in the subtle winter hues of the Ithacan woods – a cheery sight on a day with very flat grey light.

Bumper Sticker of the Month
Plants and animals are disappearing to make room for your fat ass

Missing you all very much – come and visit – great exchange rate!

Adventures Ahoy for 2007!

Love and hugs Nadine and Colman xxx

MERRY FESTIVE NON-DENOMINATIONAL CELEBRATORY HOLIDAY GREETINGS

57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
Skype: nadinemellor

Dearest Family and Friends

‘Tis the season and we have been having a jolly December with lots of parties and (despite having neither tree nor decorations) getting into the Christmas spirit. We’ve been making friends and getting out and about culturally – no change there then…

Christmas in San Francisco is a big deal despite the lack of snow and the mild temperatures (days, like today, are mostly cloudless and beautiful - this is the dawn breaking over SF from our window). As soon as Thanksgiving ended, trees, fairy lights, decorations, and retail opportunities proliferated.

Curiously, despite much Christmas awareness and a high Church going attendance, the word Christmas is not much heard. Few people say “Merry Christmas”, preferring the more PC “Happy Holidays”. Shops and restaurants are careful not to nail their colours to any particular tribal totem pole – you can have a tree decorated to the nines but nothing that refers to the little baby Jesus. A rabbi in Seattle complained there was no menorah at the airport so the authorities removed the Christmas tree, on the grounds that it may offend Jewish people (it was reinstated after protest); the SF Symphony Hall had Celebratory Trees sponsored by various businesses, rather than Christmas trees; we went last weekend to a ‘Trimming the Non-Denominational Holiday Shrub’ party (irony and delicious food - yum!).

How Not to Party Experience of the Month
I was looking forward to the Yahoo! Xmas party, I hadn’t been dancing in the US yet and it was time to shake a tail feather. 5000 guests were expected. For once it poured with rain all day and as the party was miles away (between Silicon Valley and SF) we dressed up in all our finery (pictured) and took a taxi to the train station through lashing rain. Colman confidently predicted when we got off at San Mateo 45 minutes south we would see other Yahoos disembark to meet the shuttle buses taking revellers to the party. But instead we found a deserted station, empty town and no other Yahoos in sight, nor any coaches.

By dint of near hara-kiri Colman persuaded a taxi on his way to collect a fare to stop. It soon transpired we had got off at the wrong train stop and were in fact destined for the Expo Centre some miles down the freeway. The driver, cursing have picked us up, dropped us near enough for us to walk the remainder.

We finally arrived to a colossal space filled with decorations on a vaguely Middle Eastern feel including belly dancers adorned with snake on podiums surrounded by masses of food including sushi and oysters, a large casino space which was very popular, and free drink. There was a charity auction at which the founders of Yahoo (alarmingly young) and CEO made appearances on the stage. We spent the rest of our time at the party trying to find a lift back to SF, to no avail.

The first band’s final number was We Are Family, so, undaunted by a vast empty dance floor, I got up to get down in fine style, cameras tracking every hip wiggle and boob boogie, Yahoos applauding, finishing with a flourish with the splits. Disaster! My heel wrenched off. Forced to leave at 10.30 to catch the last train home, we then caught a taxi back in SF (still cats and dogs) to head to the Red Devil Lounge to meet friends where hopefully, even without a heel, I could get to do some dancing. We arrived with great aplomb, the music sounded great, all looking good until disaster struck again as they requested to see my ID, which naturally I don’t carry being British. Fuming, I went home in the rain.

Christmas Festivities
December has seen us getting out and about and meeting the locals. Mostly a well-mannered, intelligent and friendly collection. It is easy to get invited to parties as everybody sends out Evites, which get forwarded on to collect a wider crowd. Party themes and high quality food seem to be in vogue here; this is us at a Scarface party. We crashed the Google after-Xmas-party in a nightclub, which was fun – it resembled a high school Prom with all the girls dressed to the nines, boys in matching ensembles, and an intriguing ethnic mix – lots of folk from the sub-continent and Asian-Americans seem to gravitate towards the Double O behemoths (Google and Yahoo - there’s a friendly rivalry between the two). The DJ did a good Hip Hop Mash Up which saw Rob and I trying to beat each other to the intro.

I’m honoured to have joined the DLG – Drinking Ladies Group – who meet every Thursday either in someone’s home or in a bar, and are a group of warm-hearted, funny, welcoming girls, about 10 years younger than me (so good to party) and it has been very nice hanging out with locals rather than ex-pats..

We had Secret Santa last week – my lack of credentials to join the group were clear when my present was revealed – a bottle of tequila! A lively bunch, I can see us socialising with them quite a bit: Michelle had a birthday party last week – afterwards we FINALLY went dancing which was good fun (this is Colman and I in Pink nightclub), Debra hosted a Hanukah party last Sunday complete with home made jam doughnuts (sorry jelly donuts) and I am looking forward to spending more time with them all in 2007.

Cultural Experience of the Month
Checked out the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, newly redesigned by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron of Tate Modern fame. A gorgeous building with a distinctive copper-patina, it aims to integrate art, architecture and natural landscape. Its almost trapizoidal tower has an observation deck at the top offering spectacular views of the park, the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. And the contemporary art was quite good too!

Seasonal Event of the Month
A few choices here: I took Colman to see an all female Tango troupe which was very sexy; and went with Adam to see Aimee Mann’s first annual Christmas show in Bimbo’s 365 – a fabulous venue resembling a 50s casino from Vegas with little tables, velvet curtains and waitress service.

But the prize goes to the Blind Boys of Alabama’s Christmas Show at the beautiful Davies Symphony Hall (pictured - completed in 1980 but with a cool post-war retro feel to it). Formed in 1939, (yes really) the Blind Boys have won 5 Grammies over the last few years as they’ve taken their soul-gospel mojo to more contemporary material; their breakthrough hit was Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.

Now an 8 piece band, half of whom are blind, their infectious energy and life force got the whole auditorium dancing in the aisles, hands in the air praising the Lord. We were informed that despite the present ‘turbulent times’ especially in the Middle East, everything was going to be alright as ‘God is still in control’. Well there’s nothing like blind faith…

San Francisco Moment of the Month
To landmark Castro Theatre (sorry Theater) for Singalonga Grease with new friends Adam (Sydney) and Brian (London). What fun. The building dubbed ‘San Francisco’s Historic Movie Palace’ dates from 1922, and is a lavish space, with art deco mouldings (sorry moldings), original murals and a resplendent organ which played all the hits of Grease for us before sinking into the floor with a flourish on ‘We’ll Always Be Together’.

The costume competition saw 9 year old boys dressed as Greasers win; the film had us all singing, clapping, cheering, cat calling, and laughing – genius. And seeing it in the Castro revealed all those hitherto unnoticed homoerotic moments…

Anthropological Moment of the Month
Early one Sunday morning we were waiting for the tram beside Mission Dolores Park (pictured) – yet another gorgeous day and hazy mist clearing – examining our fellow travellers at the stop. The homeless chap with sores on his face was rolling cigarettes from dog ends on the platform while discussing his parasites with a Franciscan monk. An almost medieval juxtaposition. Bettered only by the monks themselves discussing the various fabric and tailoring options available for their habits.

Earthquake of the Month
My first one! Measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, its epicentre was a few miles away in Berkeley – no damage and noone hurt. It was at 7.12pm Wednesday 20th Dec and felt as if a giant had given the whole building a hard shove. The antenna on the TV wobbled alarmingly. It felt very disconcerting afterwards. And er, that’s it.

Taxi Driver of the Month
Classic old geezer from Costa Rica. He hadn’t been to the cinema for 20 years (2 hours too long to sit in one place) and was amazed when I told him they were on to the 7th James Bond. He informed me that this country is going to the dogs, the US are a declining nation – for any passenger who argued this he had the ultimate test: he’d give them $50 if they were wearing anything at all – glasses, watch, underwear, clothes – made in the US. He hasn’t lost a challenge yet.

Mural of the Month
This is the pool where I swim 2-3 times a week; the other days I practice yoga (lengthy Sanskrit chanting, heated practice rooms, few inversions and continual music even during Sivasana are the go). We've been exploring our cool neighbourhood (sorry neighborhood) happily located between the Latino Mission, upscale Noe Valley and gay Castro district – sampling the local restaurants of every stripe is one of our NY resolutions. Second hand clothes, furniture and bookshops abound.

Wine of the Month by Mission Boy
Riesling Auslese,
Emrich Schonleber,
Nahe, Germany 2000
Forget your prejudices. All through the Blue Nun years the Germans continued to make gorgeous, ethereal wines that could stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the best in the world.
Forget also the conventional concept of a wine as either dry or sweet. The magic of the German Riesling is that it combines mouthfilling, expansive, rich (and, yes, sweet) flavours, with a piercing palette-cleansing freshness which prevents cloying.
In a young, light example the effect can be a little like grown-up fruit juice. In an older, richer wine, like todays, the scene is set for a panoply of slatey, flintey, smokey, limey flavours that will change your mind about the Huns and sweet wine too.
The difficulty lies in identifying a good one. German appellation rules are baffling. More information can be found right here.

Restaurant of the Month
Chez Spencer, inner Mission. Warehouse space with soaring ceilings and polished concrete and stone hidden behind a high fence scrawled with ‘Chez Spencer’ in an unprepossessing part of town. High quality French menu with classic dishes given contemporary twists: black olive tapenade on seabass on bed of slow roasted aubergine for me; turbot on mushrooms delicately flavoured with Bearnaise sauce for Colman. Gorgeous wine, blind piano player tinkling standards infused with chromatic jazz sensibilities, sublime ‘middle course’ of smoked duck breast topped with lardons and poached egg. Full of interesting clientele – arty, Eurocentric, movers and shakers.

Bird of the Month
Western Scrub Jay Aphelocoma californica – a large friendly bird who sits on the wire outside my window and alights distinctively by flourishing his tail on tree tops all over the state before gliding with stiff wing beats to the next perch. Blue head, wings and tail with a cream belly and white throat and eyebrow.

Stencil of the Month
SF is a pretty clean city, with seemingly little graffiti and vandalism, despite the hordes of homeless and dogs; in our area the pavements (sorry sidewalks) have cryptic stencilled messages on them – which range from the romantic (you are the one I’ve been looking for) to the political (end the death penalty) to the civic (protect the Bay, no dumping) to the philosophical (pictured) to the pornographic (not pictured).

Bumper Sticker of the Month
Fundamental Agnosticism: I don’t know if there is a God and neither do you

Missing you all very much – come and visit!

Love and hugs Nadine and Colman xxx