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 😄
DeleteAh! Crafty!
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.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts on our personal histories. I agree it feels strange to be around people who weren't even born when (fill in the event) happened. The AIDS years were frightening even to cishet people, because we knew so little about how this awful illness came about, but so much more to the gay community. I learned a thing or two about love and loyalty from hearing of gay couples taking care of each other to the end, because nobody else would, little medical help available.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of that student. He seems to have a fondness and respect for you. I would have responded as you did and then immediately rethought it, too. Of course, the AIDS crisis. And it does remind me of my wonderings about the “Spanish” Flu of the 19-teens from my viewpoint in the early 1960s. Thanks to JayCee for that translation. Curious that the owner doesn’t include the English version. How do you know where to say you’re going? And how is the business registered?
ReplyDeleteIt must be nice to have a student so inquisitive about things, instead of just scrolling on his phone. I had a plumber once come fix my dishwasher/sink. While he was working, he told me this story about a hoarder's house he had just been in. I was like, oh my god, did my messy house trigger that memory? (Your tree man's comment made me think of that.)
ReplyDeleteWell, first off, three cheers on the test results! And good news on the painting and such. Lots happening in your world. I would not take that as a slam, but a compliment. I might say the same thing. Formal gardens where everything is too "Versaille-ish" are cold. Yours has a warmth and wonderful feel of being nature-in-the-city. I envy that. I see it as high praise!
ReplyDeleteAh, I remember asking my seventh grade science teacher what it was like teaching school during the Depression, after which she told me she was only nine at the time. This kid sounds interesting and clearly he trusts or respects you, which doesn't happen all the time with eighth graders. That was a thoughtful, deeper answer to the question. Covid seems so obvious and for some of us, landmark. (For me, that was a good period, for the most part.) I always forget AIDS was a pandemic, not just an epidemic in the US. But as I remember the loss of so many friends during that time and the impact those deaths had on my life, I see exactly why that would be a powerful one.
As one who lived through AIDS it was dreadfull. I volunteered at a dinner for people with AIDS and watched men fade and die. I lost a number of friends. And the fear!
ReplyDeleteCovid was bad but for gays AIDS was worse.
Peter
Codex: It's a compliment. Tempted to write my natural garden experience but it didn't end well.
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly got your work cut out for you.
Working with students always made me feel old, especially in the later years of my career. I remember once I found an image of an old ditto machine online and I showed it to them and asked them what they thought it was. They had really crazy answers. When I told them it was a "copying machine" and explained how it worked they were amazed.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sounded like what I would call "a backhanded compliment." I'm not sure of the origins of that phrase.
ReplyDeleteAIDS made a huge impact in my life and I'm not gay. I only knew one person personally who died from the disease. Mostly though, it was just a hard transition from an era of "free love" to one where death was a possibility with any sexual encounter. I still remember one person in a neighboring county tested positive for it when I was a senior in high school and then a girl in my class, who happened to have date him for awhile and was known to "get around" was leaving to get tested and by the end of the week, it felt like half of the high school was out for testing. Fortunately, she tested negative. I wish I could remember the guy's name but time has erased that from my memory.
Well done on the test results, it's always a relief when things come back normal isn't it. My first response would have been Covid, but you are correct in saying the AIDS/HIV was in many ways for so many people. Surely the 1980s was only about 20 years ago!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteSadly, for many people the AIDS epidemic seems to be ancient history when it's not.
ReplyDelete