Dearest Family and Friends
57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
Nadine 415 595 0023
Colman 415 871 9920
As the more perspicacious among you may have guessed already, from the photographic evidence and references to swelling breasts, Colman and I are expecting a baby mid-September. All is fine and well – see attached for proof it has a foot – and I have stopped eating enough to feed an army before breakfast. We are starting to come to terms with the life sentence this will impose on us and are even anticipating there may be fun and joy coming our way.
I’m starting to show now, felt the first proper kick on the 1st May, and have the most ENORMOUS knockers – biggest in every pregnancy yoga class I go to and most other mothers-to-be are many weeks ahead of me. Luckily Colman is a breast man…! Pre-natal care here has been very good – I have had regular check ups every four weeks and seen lots of scans (so much detail – heart, kidneys, brain, spine, limbs) and heard the heart beat strongly.
Culturally we've patronised the 50th San Francisco Film Festival (the oldest in the US) now underway and seen two programmes of ballet at the Opera House, with new friends, documentary film makers Dan and Dayna. I also went to the Kaiser Chiefs last week with some of the DLG - suitably raucous yet tuneful. Colman took me as a surprise to Singalonga West Side Story at the glorious Castro Theatre which was great - especially the live organ intro, the high camp of the filming which took on an extra resonance at the Castro, and the metal clickers mimicking the finger-clickin' gangs which sounded like a host of crickets when all deployed at once; the dress up contest was one by two Anitas - one male and one female - in matching purple dresses.Visitor of the Month
John Green, a friend from London, came over for 2 nights at Easter having driven from New York via Washington, Tennessee, Memphis, Colorado, the Rockies, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara to SF – now that’s what I call a road trip. We went art buying together – finally Colman’s Christmas present has been purchased – and out to dinner at Andalu – tapas with a twist – a close contender for restaurant of the month.Pregnancy Moment of the Month
In yoga classes each pregnant lady says their name, how many weeks and what aches and ailments are besieging them: a bit of a hypochondriac’s charter.
I always say I’m fine and was once caught rolling my eyes at the American impulse to share every intimate detail of one's life with total strangers. The classes are good and I’m practicing away at home (sometimes) and also going for pre-natal massages – yummo. But the best was when we got the amniocentesis results and I was told over the phone that they had “fanTASTic news” (to which my instant reaction was, what, quads?), that my results were “pheNOMenal”, that “everything is gorgeous” and I “have beaYOODiful chromosomes”!Colman came to his first yoga class when we did a partner’s pregnancy workshop which was good fun and very useful. There were some Californian moments such as encouraging everybody to moan and groan in unison, make fierce faces, and exhortations to think juicily about our erogenous zones – “cause that’s what got ya here!”
Seasonal Event of the Month
Despite the GodSquad tendencies prevalent in the US, they don’t celebrate Easter by taking any time off so we worked both the Friday and the Monday. On a hazily warm and sunny Easter Sunday I suggested we have a picnic in Mission Dolores Park. At lunchtime the sounds of shrieks and whoops of excitement plus tannoy announcements drifted over. We strolled over to find the San Franciscan institution that is the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence – 
an order of transvestite nuns who promote community activism, diversity and irreverent wit (http://thesisters.org/) - conducting their 28th birthday celebrations, this year dubbed Night of the Living Easter. Tragically we had missed the Easter Bonnet competition but many such bedecked and grandiose lids still adorned several characters lounging around the grassy swards.
We enjoyed our picnic marvelling at the various costumes, lengths of eyelashes, depth of make up, prevalence of small pampered groomed dogs, cabaret acts and community spirit constituting the event. As we left, the Hunky Jesus contest got underway to much mirth in the assembled throng. The range of Jesus’ on parade encompassed all tribes (Tattooed Jesus), religions (Jewish Jesus), creeds (Greek Orthodox Jesus), 
cults (Jesus Christ Superstar with his two ‘bitches’ waving branches), traditions (Pope Jesus), costumes (Thrift Store Jesus), loin cloths (Miracle Jesus who made his tackle disappear and reappear), colour (Easy Rider Jesus instantly dubbed Sleazy Rider), hobbies (Carpenter Jesus), gender (at least 4 women gave it a go), lifestyles (curly blond Surfer Jesus was a particular hit with the Sisters) and proclivities (S&M Jesus arrived in chains). But the winner, fittingly, was Old School Jesus who lugged a large wooden cross around town and scored the $100 prize money.DLG Moment of the Month
We hosted last week and had a usual night of mayhem and entertainment. Tracy Cummings is also with child and we had great fun in coming up with names for her baby girl – Jesus The Second Cummings seems to be the front-runner so far. The evening culminated in Amy and myself engaging in a breast-weighing contest! I have to confess that Amy won but as mine are still in the ascendant we shall have to have a rematch nearer the time of my maximum engorgement! One thing’s for sure though, I definitely need new bras.Expedition of the Month
Determining to keep up the tradition of an adventure every month, I booked a campsite in Bodega Bay, as a surprise for Colman. Its 1.5 hours N of SF, and where Hitchcock filmed The Birds. I was hoping for some birding action. On the Wednesday before Colman casually mentioned that it was likely to rain this weekend – of course the first time in months. Despite clear starry skies Friday night, as we left SF on the Saturday morning, loaded up with tent paraphernalia, clouds loomed above us and just ½ hour short of our destination the rain started. It continued. We got the tent up under beautiful big old pines whose needles provided a comfy lining to the pretty hollow in sand dunes which was our camping berth, and who had provided such shelter the ground was in fact dry. 
So we set off for a fish lunch, followed by attempted birding in the pouring rain. This involved driving the car along Sonoma State Beach – a 17 mile series of bluffs, coves, headlands, stacks, arches and sandy beaches. This clifftop drive is renowned as one of the most beautiful in the world. 
For us it was somewhat marred by the driving rain and low dense cloud. Nothing daunted I peered through the gloom at the available birdlife, and seals (including a lone elephant seal), from the shelter of the car through rainsmeared windows and fogging binoculars.Some dos and don’ts of camping: if you’ve taken the trouble to find a campsite with hot showers, don’t forget the towels (me); if you wear contact lenses, do remember your glasses (Colman); if you know its going to rain, do remember to bring your waterproof jacket (Colman);
and if it’s pouring with rain for hours on end, do not camp in a hollow with high ground on 3 sides. Luckily we decided to go back to the campsite before dinner and I realised we had pitched inadvisedly. We discovered a black murky lake lapping at the tent. We hastily moved the tent up the hill; Colman retired to the car muttering “all your fault” as I tried making drainage channels in the pools of water.Restaurant of the Month
We set off for dinner at the Seaweed Café in Bodega Bay – a fine Slow Food establishment, a small joint with only a few tables – priding itself on organic Marin County vegetables and sustainable fish presented in a Euro-Cal menu. We slowly savoured every course – from the rillettes and black olive tapenade amuse bouche, to ocean fresh sardines and pyramid shaped wasabi-infused fish carpaccio topped with roe, to the duck breast, figs and lentils, the duck sausage, clam and baked butter bean cassoulet, to the Coastal cheese plate, washed down with a bottle of Russian River Pinot Noir – all the while watching and listening to the lashing rain and blustering wind. 
The last diners in the restaurant by some distance, we had a fascinating conversation with the patron – statuesque Jackie Martine from Brittany – plying her with questions about everything and anything, staying so long we scored free sherry on the house, probably convincing them we were at the very least renowned gourmands and possibly even restaurant critics, while all the time we were dreading returning to the campsite…In the event we got into bed relatively easily
- the lake had advanced to within a foot of the tent – and we snuggled up together on a slope, listening to the rain beating down on the tent, hammering on the metal car roof, the foghorn in the distance, and the river flowing at ear level outside. We woke to find a glorious scrubbed day – blue skies and bright sunshine, the lake had vanished completely, steam arising from the trees. We hiked through sand dunes and strolled along the beach, saw more birds, had scallops Florentine for lunch and headed home. Sporting Moments of the Month
To the baseball park to see the San Francisco Giants vs the Arizona Diamondbacks as guests of Bettina and Martin.
We had good seats close to the front between the batter’s position and first base (technical terms escape me here). The game is low scoring (no half-rounders allowed) despite 9 innings for each side – which don’t take as long as all you need are 3 men out for the innings to end. The good natured crowd were quite family focussed with little of the witty (or offensive banter depending on your pov) you get at football matches. The Giants won 4:2 and we all got free baseball caps and pigged out on garlic fries.Entertainment is provided every time an innings ended in place of the TV ad break. We had the Smile Contest sponsored by Delta Dental (health care plan) where if the camera caught you smiling you won $100; if you held up your visa card you could win $100 from Visa; baseball and car racing video games being played by audience members on the big screen happened 3 times; they played Strangers in the Night and if the camera caught you, mass snogging of the person next to you was required – Bettina and I were disappointed we didn’t get a chance to oblige; and of course there was the 7th innings stretch where we all got up and sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game – splendid stuff!
Last Saturday we were introduced to a new sport – Golf Frisbee – which comprises a custom-made course with par ratings for each ‘basket’, tees to throw from, obstacles such as trees to negotiate and special smaller Frisbees that are weighted according to the required use – eg if its windy, curves to take etc – just like golf. We played in Golden Gate Park on a new 18 hole course through beautiful eucalyptus trees, a red-tailed hawk overhead. Our poor playing ability proved (although our parents may disagree) that we hadn't had a misspent idle youth…
We found some idle youth misspending an afternoon on our way out – a crowd of drunkards around the remnants of a BBQ and picnic who besieged the boys of our party to try the beer keg. This ritual involved being held upside down over a beer keg nozzle and drinking beer. Colman was prevailed upon to uphold the honour of the Irish, so took a long draught, and not to be outdone (those Aussies are so competitive) Adam went for two slugs. San Francisco Moment of the Month
On Easter Saturday, on my way to a Maternity Wear Sale (such heady excitement), I passed Retro Fit Vintage,
famed for its fabulously dressed beehived mannequins in the window whose outfits match perfectly with the seasons. Today, however, all eyes were out front for the flamboyance of transvestites tottering onto a charabanc. I asked one of the Ladies’ paramours what was going on. ‘It’s the Annual Easter Trannyshack Outing to Reno’, I was informed. Apparently the cabaret girls stop on the way at a large McDonalds to perform to the customers and have fashion shows on the bus – my what a lot of luggage was being loaded – before finishing up in Reno, Nevada (the low rent version of Vegas), where various performances are scheduled. It was clearly going to be a humdinger of a weekend…Wine of the Month by Mission Boy
Warre’s Vintage Port 1985
Around the time this wine was harvested I was getting detention for smart remarks made in Latin. (Latin class that is; the remarks were made in the rude vernacular).The ‘Vintage’ style of port is made in approximately 3 years out of every 10: when conditions have been perfect. Its one of the longest living of wines for two reasons: firstly its made of ultra beefy tannic grapes in hot years in the roasting Duoro valley; secondly its had a dose of brandy added.
Over in Europe its rarely drunk before its 21st birthday. Here in the US they tend to take it on at an earlier stage.
Warre’s is the oldest of the port houses, founded in 1670. Like all port lodges, sales took off during the Napoleonic wars when trade with Bordeaux was banned.
Port is perhaps the most quintessentially English of drinks. So I popped this one a couple of hours before dinner with some ex-pats (Bettina, Martin, Rob, Jecca). Had I planned ahead a little longer I would have stood it upright 24 hours in advance to clear more the considerable sediment and cloudiness.
So the wine was cloudy with a Garnet hue. It was the colour of Burgundy (ie fairly pale) with only a hint of its 22 years at its rim.
First sniffs revealed a deal of Volatile Acidity. (VA is what you are sensing when you nose tingles in its upper reaches. Think of the effect of smelling an actual bottle of vinegar). As usual the VA blew off after a few minutes in the decanter, presenting a fairly oaky vanilla scent.
In the mouth (after 3-4 in the decanter) this wine was beautifully smooth and round. A little nutty. Absolutely no edges, not even the sharp alcohol finish you expect from fortified wines. Just easy texture belying real power. And a lingering finish. Perfect.
Bird of the Month
Despite the poor visibility of our weekend in Bodega Bay, we ended up with a 32 bird count – not bad at all.
Contenders for this month’s accolade included the sapphire-coloured Western Bluebirds fluttering from bush to scrub to sand in search of insects in the dunes of Bodega Bay; the first sight of summer in the shape of dashing Barn Swallows swooping on insects above flooded meadows; the Red-winged Blackbird that allowed us to creep oh so near his singing perch. But the winner was the solitary and majestic Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus an uncommon wader, on his way to Alaska for the summer, that Colman spotted on the beach beside our campsite, his long down curved beak stabbing the sand for invertebrates, ignoring the scurrying Sanderlings at knee high around. Whimbrels are found in six continents, cover great distances on migration, and have been known to fly 4000km non-stop.Mural of the Month
Bumper Sticker of the Month
Death to All Fanatics
Love and hugs Nadine and Colman xxx
