Whenever I travel, Kinga always says,
put me in your pocket. So, I do. Here are a few snapshots of a day with Sabrina & Mauricio in Manchester. The morning after I arrived. I awoke to the delight of a tall glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed by Sabrina, as well as coffee & porridge made by Mauricio. Although I had endured a full 24 hours of travel the day before, this made me feel like I didn't even have a twinge of jet lag left (this turned out to be utterly deceptive, albeit delightful).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivX3R9YeCnkT8Zbs2LmQmzh_6c-Q0hCRzBRjzUlJ-yGDTwXr5Kn6m5YW3WR4_W14VR4LmY58tbybTuzzC7QKd4zt467DgAt84CrXTCEzwzs8bwf-TFegMoyvZ28PWoovjugHGqP0NAE0Q/s400/Manchester-bkfst.jpg) |
Porridge made with freshly toasted seeds, various grains, Greek yoghurt, tahini, and maple syrup. Yum! |
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A century ago, the flat that they rent used to look like this. Their part is in the building on the lower right hand side:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIo5pUvEjW0JtD3byGOoEde_z2MXPpj601dZMWPl6CWh48EyhiJYh-5zjZ4wYbjwJ2Frkk0FWomh-5edHk0VbjOYVp6HDw51nXCRQ9QvV5jx29IdYxOuFj3AfZfUAb7IwZAjMoG1mGxEc/s400/1200px-John_Hetherington_%2526_Sons%252C_1896.jpg) |
John Heatherington & Sons 1896. SOURCE: Wikipedia. Creative Commons. |
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Behind the archway in the lower right hand corner of this photo, there is a space where Sabrina envisions possibly making a garden. We named it
The Shy Garden - a name which arose out of my misreading of a sign which was advertising about-to-be-built apartments with
Sky Gardens.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EvdJ8G3_4Xd-2vLU_3G1b_EZ5IgbvqsnU4BtamCQ9c3OLkEMcLH7oaTvsBlwxwqSl7Lqe1Y3Wx196aDbU-KNs5CzxgcZD54ZV1QSwWDviZ3GTV3E_ALodipXjkQ9x1MGglhSC7UNOvQ/s400/IMG_20160409_121300.jpg) |
A future "Shy Garden"? |
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Next, was a visit to their studios, a short walk from their home.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQwJMMia1KEc1SFCrk6c_ABzAatf4h4Qg09STgw3ili8KYvSGv0gZ1yryvRrmB0g9FWtKkRx5atEHD7JWz40OGc_3eaiLHkvZ8DqF4w2vBAOzm-_elDTccnRREVYvdfiV2Tkv2BY_CYk/s400/In-Sabrinas-studio.jpg) |
The ever talented Sabrina builds furniture, and writes music. |
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5R5p4UD0R2woRVtkrWQ9T4qdFrcqUC5Cp-rF-03VigljbmlRA6ywmoqRFqJFcxnchaSH8wzYMeKAaUiLqMeJQnd2_C0cUM1kvTfnwwfeZMUgUgsKHQyZCP93Y9vz0KcBmZdhoPchKYU/s400/In-Sabrinas-studio2.jpg) |
These are some of the drums she uses - usually with resonators placed on top. |
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LRxj0gpqpC1yYMXuFfRm1OcRTdoSfXswaCiQJhHtXzjtaW3Hr__qRoDo4N_vE-mONyBsLDo7TeU3WPyBPu2M7Crda7IGBiuO0zP0JcDFamhixqPlC4ZeG5iN9XYAMoEUdnv9BCIKLMI/s400/Sabrina-in-studio.jpg) |
A recent draft of a composition written onto scrolls on the wall. |
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSE-tr4JKnZ-BKC8dSmidUeYp4qt8TYMjsq_b7PAvjhva2Gxs6RqjJl8r3_OiXR0QO1R4SRhCelAYtSImjiq0F9cuJPhxHICK02Ox-xUd6t2PjVoY8qzCvziMzcExjQEaPQAS0BTLluo/s320/Glamorous-Chinese-Restaurant.jpg) |
Next, after more walking, was Dim Sum at the Glamorous Chinese Restaurant - that's what it is called. Totally excellent food. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzhvMnnDZ3I1eqjtI3xrM3gAyXgOGzLrVCkQLz1MspxNpV4knpYMmkyPrMthkMTCQKX1iLswQn5CbLqaEcLoSJk4Sf86MoSueimNsBIMwIVBbqLD-22jgZe7WmCoZFmzpEMBgNJJjo7w/s400/Glamorous-Chinese-Restaurant2.jpg) |
Just so you can see that I too was at the Glamorous Chinese Restaurant. Buddha Buddha! |
Later, at a fruit and veg stand we met a fourth generation vendor. A photo of his grandfather selling veg in the same spot in 1928 was further off to the left.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8tvvN4igPiNdU7JctFHIKh0IpiyP-oDXqa4ppsjZYI7adpqOCjfoMixNLy3sDBqGFcArGUogjVqCv8E8GbH5ne62lmwXrtDXT9J-fdtqn-Lg3W9lUtD89vykiSiXCPslBjFy4ZL4l28/s400/IMG_20160409_151210.jpg) |
In the photo behind the vendor is the image of him working in the same spot as a boy. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs3enU_Uqstp9Aga2P7ahIpkvyXU4fI3JkxQ592rL8U7ocBCubK-NImxvCItOola0RNjF_2hAT6f5gKg3FO_4wrTTCt8mKzgqPjSKCZlYZJ0ZUIFUSt9qCdWptPX-UFvrKkRCqrn9UFI/s400/IMG_20160410_070508.jpg) |
Back at the apt, there is a copy of an old photo of myself in my
mid-twenties on Sabrina's fridge. Now that is cool, in so many ways. |
There is also an old poster which I had passed on to Sabrina more than a decade ago. There are two women in it, both straddling their motorcycles and both smoking. Beneath them is quote from Charlotte Perkins Gilman:
Among the splendid activities of our age the nuclear family lingers on, inert and blind, like a clam in a horse race. Gilman (1860-1935) was a
writer, feminist and social reformer who was also famous for her short story, The Yellow Wall-Paper. It may be time for a reread. I read it at least four decades ago. Even so, when I reflect on it, I figure that maybe our particular clam didn't fare too badly in the nuclear family horse race. So far, so good.
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