Here's a little shop I encountered on Edgware Road over the weekend. It seems to sell a bit of everything -- chocolates, produce, water, clothing, household goods and shisha pipes. I can't for the life of me translate the name of it but maybe some of you out there are Arabic speakers and can tell me what it says?
I took two versions of the photo. I like the one above because it's clean, but it's also very static. Here's one with a little more street life:
Well, things are about to get a lot more exciting around here. Dave got a text yesterday from the contractors doing our interior painting/decorating job, and they want to start on Tuesday! We're supposed to choose paint colors but we're uncertain how to do that, given that we don't have any samples. They say we don't have to move furniture or anything -- they will supposedly handle all of that -- but of course I'll take down all the smaller stuff and tuck it away somewhere.
And our tree work is supposed to be happening at roughly the same time. Never a dull moment!
Did I tell you that when the tree man came on Sunday to do his assessment, he said, "I love a naturalistic garden," or something like that? I suppose that's what we have but it also sounds a little bit like a slam, doesn't it? Like, "Well, you've certainly let this go."
On the positive side, I got my test results back from my doctor's office and everything was normal -- even my calprotectin, which hasn't been normal in the last couple of years. Woo hoo! Calprotectin measures intestinal inflammation, and the doctor's theory is that my inflammation came from that polyp that my gastroenterologist removed last May. Now that the polyp is gone, things are back to normal. Sounds good to me! I'll take it!
An 8th Grade student -- the same one who wanted me to do his photography challenge -- asked me yesterday, "What's the worst pandemic you've lived through?" Which is kind of a weird question, but whatever. At first I said Covid, because that was strictly defined as a pandemic and had such an acute effect on the whole globe, but then I realized of course the answer is AIDS. HIV and AIDS definitely altered my life, on a deeper level, more than Covid ever did. This led to some questions about what it was like living in the '80s. I had to remember that for this kid, who was born in 2011 (after Dave and I had moved to London!), that's ancient history -- kind of like the 1930s were to me!
Well, Google translate suggests that shop sign says al-mustafa. Must be his name?
ReplyDeletePaint colour choice for me would be easy ... white or white!
Thanks! Yes, it must be his name. How did you translate that on Google Translate? I tried it and I couldn't figure out how to enter Arabic characters.
DeleteI used Google Lens on rhe picture then cropped it to display the sign then Lens offered to translate it 😄
DeleteWith my extensive knowledge of Arabic, I can tell you that the shop sign means "Bargain Basement". As for that irritating eighth grader, when quizzed at home about the day's events at school, he will have said, "Oh Mr Reed, the really friendly librarian, was telling me all about HIV/AIDS".
ReplyDeleteI love colour on our walls, not bright in your face colours, I would move your plants, just to be safe. Your garden is a wildlife haven, my neat lines are OK, but I have to allow for wildlife, and keep messy spaces.
ReplyDeleteAs one who also lived through the HIV epidemic, I would be interested (perhaps in one of your future posts) about how that period of time "definitely altered my [your] life, on a deeper level, more than Covid ever did." We all have our reasons for experiencing that time - you may prefer not to elaborate - but I would still be interested in swapping notes about our respective experiences. And yes, it is bizarre seeing teenagers around who were not even born when I met my partner (John) 19 years ago.
ReplyDelete