My Rain-Soaked Northampton Days

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by Arundhati Basu

And that is not how dawn today looked. It is a shot from a couple of days before, taken by the husband before he set out for London for his daily commute to work. I do not get to see many sunrises because I am one of those people who can sleep so much that you would think that I am dead.

The sky is uniformly drab and colourless and there are tiny drops of water speckling our bay windows as it drizzles away at a constant rate. I switch on all the fairy lights in the room, put on the cosy lamp at the corner of my round table and settle down to a large mug of cold coffee (because there is nothing that starts my day better than coffee). Hygge, hygge my friend. Did you know that people nowadays do coffee detoxes? Lordy lord, I do feel sorry for their caffeine-deprived souls.

I want to pep up my mind with some random thoughts on this dull, dull day (before I get cracking with my other writing).

  • I do not mind rainy Fridays as long as I am inside, tucked in with lots of books and a blanket.

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  • I am currently into making dark chocolate barks. I have realised this kinda goodness is easy to put together in the kitchen. Really, try it out. Melt some dark chocolate cooking bar, sprinkle it with your preferred things. Chilli, dried blueberries and pecans, cranberries and hazelnuts, sea salt, orange zest. Not all together in one bark, please, however.
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You see what I mean?
  • I cannot wait for the skies to turn a glorious hue of blue again. Even if a smoky one will do. So that I can get back to my beloved park nearby and get going with clearing the cobwebs in my mind while running. Apart from the fact that I am a glutton, I also am a thinker. Nothing gives my mind more free reign than when I am surrounded by the idleness of people loitering around with their dogs, dogs meeting other dogs, toddlers playing in the park with their parents, school children passing through, old men and women out for vigorous walks with their hands intertwined, other joggers sharing benign smiles as they pass me by. The joy of life are simple, no?
  • I hate being pitied. Much as I hate the expression, ‘Poor you’. I can abide with empathy but not pity. Also, I hate it when women emphasise the fact that they are helpless beings. It destroys the very tenet of why women all those years ago fought for the likes of us who came thereafter.
  • I am re-reading Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K Jerome is a hoot. I am inclined to think that Bill Bryson (who I love reading because he makes me shake with mirth) is quite inspired by Jerome K Jerome. I find a similar tone of humour in his travel books. Try this from Three Men in a Boat: “I can’t sit still and see another man slaving and working. I want to get up and superintend, and walk round with my hands in my pockets, and tell him what to do. It is my energetic nature. I can’t help it.”
  • Where shall we head out tomorrow? We love our English countryside wanderings. There is nothing like the sight of a field full of busy sheep and a curious horse or two, followed by rummaging in vintage stores and a cup of tea and cake to make my day. Fortunately it seems that the rain gods will take a break tomorrow before they start with their job on Sunday afresh.
  • Should I make pizza for the husband today (with a cauliflower crust)? Psst: This is just to alarm him. Once I did make him one and it turned out that I had not drained the cauliflower rice well enough. That is okay, right? We live and learn.
  • I am into Nordic noir. It is like biting deep into a delicious piece of crime fiction and there is no looking back. My obsession started with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. Now I cannot put down the likes of Henning Mankell, Hakan Nesser, Jo Nesbo, Asa Larsson, Leif GW Persson, Samuel Bjork. So I have these two books on my bedside table to be picked up soon and I am loving the deliciousness of the wait. Are you a reader of the genre too?

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  • I cannot stand whinging. Yes, I know, we are all human and we like to complain, but not all the time, okay? We all have our share of problems and worries but it does not overtake the essential goodness of the fact that we are alive to feel all of the above emotions.
  • I hate gossip mongers. Period.
  • I used to blog once upon a time. It was an anonymous one till it was not anon no longer one day. It also landed me in hot water (which I do not regret however because I am trying to work on myself. Ref: the point below)
  • I was born with the disease to please. It will take the rest of my life trying to shake it off.
  • I can see the spires of two churches from our window. They make me happy when I look out on any day, however crappy the weather might be. One is the steeple of a 12th century round church (there are only four such churches in England). The other is the turquoise domed spire of the 17th century church that was rebuilt after a great fire ravaged Northampton in 1675.
  • I cannot wait for our satellite dish to be set back alright (Doris came visiting, you see) and get back to watch The Kettering Incident, an Australian drama series which is quite intriguing. Plus it has Elizabeth Debicki and she is my new favourite.

How is it going for you in your part of the world? Is it cold, warm, sunny…? I would love to hear your thoughts on this Friday too. Once in a while it is nice to pen down these completely random thoughts and look back at it from another time and place. Do you know what I mean?

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Arundhati Basu

The great affair in my life is to travel. I count myself immensely fortunate that my partner shares this passion. We are a team that likes to spend time planning and plotting out places to go. Destination check, flights check, accommodation check, cheesy grins check. Off we go.

23 thoughts on “My Rain-Soaked Northampton Days”

  1. Nice post Dippy Dotty! Found your posts from another blogger. The dark chocolate bark looks amazing! Perhaps you could provide a recipe later on. We live in California and it’s usually pretty sunny here but lately we’ve gotten a lot of rain (Thank Goodness!). A drought is not fun. Anyways, hope you are having a good day.

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    1. Sure. See I forgot to mention something – which should tell you about the reason for the title for my blog. You can take about 200gm of cooking chocolate, break it up into small pieces and pop it in a bowl into the microwave for a minute and a half. Take it out in between to give it a stir. Then when it has melted completely, pour out the warm chocolate onto an aluminium foil. I like it thick so I do not spread it out extensively. The shape does not matter because eventually you will be breaking it up. Sprinkle the melted chocolate with your choice of toppings. Pop the aluminium foil into the fridge. Take it out when it has hardened. Voila you have your bark. Break it up roughly. Thank you for the compliments. Am happy you found me all the way from sunny California. Enjoy the showers then. I am having a nice time indoors too, thank you 🙂

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  3. Hi Dippy Dotty, you are blessed with being able to sleep (and sleep in). My mind is too active. The last time I was sound asleep was before going to college! Oh, another time, when I was in the hospital for cancer treatment, I said I needed sleeping aid, the doctor ordered something I had never taken before. When I woke up, the meal was on my tray. It was dinner. I looked at the clock, it was 8:00. I said, “Is it breakfast?” The nurse assistant said, “It’s dinner. You slept through breakfast and lunch.” Wow, it was amazing.
    Thank you for your follow. I am here to visit and return with a follow!

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      3. I have tinnitus. Sometimes it’s so bad, especially when the lights are out. I feel my head is going to explode. So I listen to the music in the lowest volume possible, and it does becomes my lullaby. Many times I woke up with my headset on (my ear canals are very narrow, earbuds don’t stay).

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      4. I am sorry to hear that. I had an experience of tinnitus because of a bad cold last year and it was awful. My empathies therefore. I am happy to hear but that you do use music to nod off. It is so therapeutic.

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    1. Thank you. I have missed your posts btw. The crate is up my alley too. The book it holds makes my husband roll his eyes. He had to cough up 25 quids since I had to have it from this antique store stocking old editions. Waiting to see your posts again! xx

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  5. I really like your writing, could’ve read more! ? I’m into mystery/crime novels, not just Nordic Noir though – my fave is Michael Connelly. I did love Stieg Larsson’s trilogy though, and have you tried Liza Marklund? I always have to write down books people liked so this post gave me several, thanks ?

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    1. That makes me feel happy 🙂 I shall look her up in the library the next time I drop in there. I shall look up Connelly too. Recommendations are always excellent because there is a world of authors out there and it is impossible to know every one of them! Cheers 🙂

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  6. Your blog has taken me back to Northampton days…i loved the entire UK in rain…its like everything is sparkly and shinny and uplifts ur spirit. One of the my biggest pleasures of life is watching rain from the window with a good book and a piping hot cup of coffee. On that note I have recently started turning back to good old classics..i have started re-reading the wuthering heights…

    I dont know how people can live without coffee…its my life line 🙂

    This habit of pleasing people is bad . I know because I am a compulsive people pleaser . Nothing makes you more frustrating than you own personality trait which you just cant change 😦

    Loved your writing as always 🙂

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    1. Thank you for reading and commenting, Kanika. Northampton, rain and books and coffee. Yes it is all a delightful mixture. I can imagine that you must miss it a bit. Well here is a hug from grey Northampton today. Also, The classics can hold their own, any time of the day, month, year 🙂 Hugs to the little one. Have a wonderful day love.

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