July 27th (2020)

 

27th July

Day 135

Yesterday was my eldest daughter's 50th birthday. I feel so old.

I certainly feel more enlivened today.

Breakfast was cornflakes with banana and 'a nice cuppa tea'. I have deliberately stayed away from coffee until just now, when I had an Irish coffee with my dinner.

Lunch was my last pot of noodles with a tomato and pretend cheese. So come dinnertime I was hungry.

The 'Art History' class today was about The Grand Tour, collections and museums. I thought that it was about time to put my MA Gallery Studies to good use. It went well, but I had to talk about the concept of The Grand Tour several times as it's quite alien to the Khmer culture. I also had to explain a little British history, the Roman occupation and the importance of Greek culture to say why some British learn Latin and Greek.

In the evening, I had run down on water and needed to buy more. I didn't realise that the supermarket closed at 6.30pm, and walked up to the Khmer fruit shop to buy water. Next door is The Hideout. I quickly looked at the outside menu, was about to walk away, and stopped.

Being too lazy to make a tomato sandwich with mayo I went into The Hideout. I was the third customer, and ended up ordering a bbq pork tortilla wrap and an Irish coffee. 'Hot or cold sir". I was flumoxed for a minute, then realised that I was in Asia where people drink hot drinks cold. "Hot please". "Er this has whiskey sir" "yes thank you". Did the waiter think I was underage?

It was a good meal, but I did feel very alone in that rapidly emptying restaurant. By the time I had finished I was alone there, apart from the staff.

The Irish coffee came with aerosol whipped cream making it look more like a dessert than a drink, but it was tasty and the first whiskey I've had for a very long time.