Thursday, January 08, 2009

Wedding

Cynthia, thank you. I found the direct flight to Hartford on the KLM website, and will definitely go for that. The timings couldn’t be more convenient. Apart from the additional strain on one’s hosts, meeting one at JFK or Boston, there is the factor of the two-hour-plus drive which can be tough at the end of a long hard day -- and the last time I did it I must have been at least six years younger than I am now. Hence that imaginary little hotel in Boston. Whereas Hartford is just up the road.

My sister said on the phone that she thought there was a flight from Amsterdam. (So why isn’t Amsterdam on Bradley’s destination list?) She says it’s a particularly good airport for changing in. I don’t think I’ve ever been there myself, but my husband confirms her opinion with memories of his sprightlier days. There’s even a small outpost of the Reijksmuseum if I should hunger for some art. And a change early in the travel-day is a good deal easier than trying to do it later on.

Today’s business news is that Viyella is going down. (“England in Crisis” says the banner headline in the Telegraph – the reference, apparently without irony, is to cricket.) I might try to get myself up to their Edinburgh shop before they go, to see if they have anything for a matron to wear at a wedding.

Knitting

The sleeve advances. I should reach the shaping at the top pretty soon now.

I noticed that Perri Klass was missing from the latest Knitter’s. I think it was probably about time: hers was a particularly difficult brief, to write an essay about knitting without saying anything specific, four times a year. But I sort of miss her, and feel that the gap leaves Knitter’s rather rudder-less. Getting Jane Sowerby to write about lace yarns was a first-rate idea, but too specialised to fill the hole.

9 comments:

  1. Here in MN, we have Northwest/KLM as the main airline, so most changing in Europe is done in Amsterdam, and although large, it is a fine airport. I had 6 hours to kill, so took the commuter train into the city as I had never been there. I walked around a bit, had a bite and went back to the airport. Visiting the museum in the airport might be a better idea. I must say I have given up on Knitters almost entirely. It's really too bad. When I look at the older issues I have it doesn't appear to be the same publication.

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  2. Amsterdam is a favorite transfer point of mine too. Bright, spacious, and easy to negotiate.

    Sad about Viyella. Very. It may already have been owned by a foreign company. A Viyella shirt was always a highly coveted xmas present in our house. We sisters were always after each other's warm Viyella shirts.

    Happy knitting!

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  3. Anonymous2:30 PM

    I miss Perri Klass, too.... funny, I've never particularly liked her novels, but always turned right away to her essay and found it interesting.

    Amsterdam sounds like a lovely airport to make your trip easy.

    Barbara M.

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  4. just a note about amsterdam. EACH flight has its own security - there is no General Airport security - so you need to allow time to stand in line at your transfer flight even if you just came in from scotland (ask me how i know).

    other than that its a gorgeous airport... with lots and lots to do and buy

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  5. On the other hand, because each gate has its own security, it's merely some hundred people going through and not the massive lines you get at security points for entire terminals.

    Plus, the last time I flew there/back through there, they let my sock needles on the plane.

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  6. Anonymous8:03 PM

    Hi, Jean - Hope you have a great trip for the wedding and that your husband does okay in London. Didn't notice that Perri Klass wasn't in latest Knitter's. I like her essays and hope she will be contributing later. I haven't given up on the magazine but can say that there are times when I think that things just aren't as good as before, wondering if I should continue my subscription. Take care - Joe, in Wyoming

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  7. Anonymous10:31 PM

    Schiphol, the Amsterdam airport, is really well-signed, and not too hard to navigate (though i am probably a little biased, being dutch, albeit not living there).
    Going to the wedding seems to be an invigorating idea in these winter months!

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  8. Another Amsterdam lover! I flew through on KLM when I went from Stockholm to Spain, and it was one of the highlights of my travels. There is a lovely restaurant (that I did not dine in--too pricey for student fare!) with "walls" that are actually the ribs of a faux fish skeleton, except they are bright pink glass. It's really something to see.

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  9. Anonymous4:58 PM

    "“England in Crisis” says the banner headline in the Telegraph – the reference, apparently without irony, is to cricket."

    Funny. It made me think of the possibly apocryphal headline from the 1930s "Fog in Channel Continent Isolated."

    I am a Brooklynite. Avoid JFK at all costs.

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