Where Buenos Aires Excels

There is an awful lot wrong with this place , but when they do something right they excel in a way like no other place. We were back to the school again as Viv wanted to go to the yoga and we could tie it in with a bit of asado on the roof. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon. Afterwards we walked down Callao and bought some silicon ice trays. Then it was back for a rest and some pastries before the nights activities. We usually wash before we go out, it was not happening tonight, no water. We saw Sebastian on the street and asked him. He said something about, water bajo pero no ariba, I said “la bomba” and he said yes. I was worried, when the pump failed during the build, it took three days to repair. Expect yellow teeth and muchos cologne in the next few days. During the autumn months they have a series of free concerts here and tonight we go to one at Parque Centanario with the Orquesta Teatro Colon. Let me start with the venue; In the midst of the park they have built a huge amphitheatre. It is all but invisible from almost any angle except directly above. The whole thing is cast from concrete and there is seating  for 2,000 people. Each person has an individual plastic seat, moulded to body shape but without a back and separated by a decent gap. The stage area is entirely covered, but the roof is grassed over, so that it cannot be seen from anywhere but the seating area. When we arrived we saw Janis in the queue, she had been there for half an hour. We had to carry on right around the Natural Science Museum to find the end of the queue. Not yet having seen the venue we thought that we would never get a seat. As the queue moved forward we realised that it was still growing, we could see now passed the next block where the line continued. Once through the gate we rushed to find a seat. Before realising that there was as yet more than enough room and we could still get a reasonable spot. Then we saw Janis waving manically at us, she had saved us two seats next to her. Looking around we had filled only about one third of the auditorium. More people poured in, and yet as  it reached capacity, we noticed that there was another upper level still filling.

You can see the upper level, the line above the standing mans head.

When the lights came on the whole scene was magical.  Then the orchestra came in and made it complete. They performed for about an hour and a quarter, doing their versions of dance music from around the world. I was not too sure about their Scottish dance music, but then I suppose, it must be hard to orchestrate Andy Stewart. I cannot here show how great the sound was, but I can show you the Orchestra. And here is the Program:

PROGRAMA

• Escocia: Camille Saint Saens, “Idylle Ecossaise” (de la Opera Hernry VIII).
• República Checa: Antonin Dvorak, “Danzas Eslavas” Op. 72 No 2 Y Op. 46 No1.
• Estados Unidos: Leroy Anderson, “El Reloj Sincopado”.
• Cuba: Arturo Márquez, “Danzón No2”.
• Rusia: Piotr. I Chaikowsky, “Polonesa y Vals de Eugenio Onieguin”.
• Brasil: César Guerra-Peixe-Clovis Pereira, “Mourao”.
• España: Pascual Marquina Narro, “Paso doble España Cañi”.
• Argentina: Mariano Mores, “El firulete” – Astor Piazzolla, “Decarissimo”. ( areglos de José Carli)

I’m afraid the Cuba one is wrong, the conductor announced that Arturo Marquez, was his amigo and was not from Cuba, but from Mexico. So this is where Buenos Aires excels, culture. A top class orchestra in the park, in a massive auditorium, and best of all it’s free. We left Janis on Corrientes, after giving her advice on the buses (bet you never thought that that would happen did you?). To be fair this is my end of town not hers. I am not sure if we thanked her for the information about the concert, but I know she reads this  so I will thank her here.  Then we carried on to our dinner reservation. It is Friday after all. 1839, was a bit of a disappointment. It looked great from outside and the prices reflected this, but all they had was empanadas, pizzas and pasta. We were hoping for something a bit more and the service, although not bad, was not exceptional, for the price. At home you would probably say it was cheap, but we tend to compare with the local pricing. That said the pizza was good, but this is just everyday food here, we look for something different here on Fridays. At least when we got back Sebastian had got the water running again. Lets hear it for Sebastian and clean teeth.

Too hot to tango?

We are living the high life here, down to the fruit shop on Humahuaca for some spuds, then over to Corrientes to get some more cold powders. Then back to bed with my hot toddy.

I had recovered in time to get out for Nuevo Chique though. The subte surprised us, it was all but empty. When we emerged into Uruguay the streets were also empty. I asked in the milonga about this, and apparently, because they said it was going to be hot everyone had stayed at home. Well it was good for me and I did not think it was that the temperature had peaked as high as they said anyway.

People were staying away from the milonga as well, some strange malady affects people, it seems when the mercury rises. It goes like this: It is hot therefore I will not go out. The milonga is cool but I will stay in my house.  Everyone on my block thinks the same so we use too much electricity, so now the power is cut. Now my air conditioner  does not work. Hace calor.

Es verano everybody, just enjoy.

Fortunately we are not affected by this malady and  most of my regular partners were here at Chique. Viv still has trouble though, perhaps the men are more effected by the heat.  We did have  a good dance though until it was time to go again. Viv spent most of the time with Areceli and my Chilean friend. It must have been some odd conversation, although Areceli does speak English. They seem to laugh a lot.

We took the 90 colectivo home tonight and it followed the normal route. So now I know where it stops, on Guardia Vieja, half a block away. Not as good as the 151, but in its absence, it is a good substitute.

 

Gavito’s Grandson

We were not well today and spent most of the day in bed. I did get out earlier though, Sebastian said I could pay AFIP at the post office and they would send the parcel. Fat chance, after an hours wait the girl said I must go to the Aduano at the airport. So I must spend£50 in taxis to get something they value at £1. We are back to this; they can keep it, whatever it is.

Interesting thing though in the post office, they have a guard , with a gun. He spent most of his time enforcing the no Movil rule. Well they do something right here. Well almost, should have shot a few. (Only joking honest) On the way back a man asked me for Columbres, I told him it was eight blocks down Salguero and the other side of Rivadavia. He seemed to understand, then went off in the opposite direction. Crabtree strikes again?

Back home again and back to bed, I slept through until three with the help of a Vicks cold remedy. I still felt  crap but we decided to go out anyway.

Wouldn’t you know it, two 168s passed as we walked to the stop, it was going to be a long wait. Some lady came over and asked about a number 5 collectivo. I could not help, but there was a five on the parada, so we assumed she was in the right place. She told us she was from Ukraine and had trouble with Yo and que.  She talked mainly to Viv as most people do, Viv, of course, didn’t understand a word.  Eventually our bus arrived, I never saw a number 5, I hope our Ukrainian was OK.

The bus was so crowded we got off a stop early again, the lights were on red on Independencia so we went up a block into Entre Rios and we were travelling faster than the bus anyway.

Obalisco was brilliant, Viv only missed one tanda and that was when she went out for some air. Daft really it was hotter outside so she just came back in. There was a guy sitting by me, he often dances with Viv but today he could not see her from where he was. He was commenting all the time, he was especially caustic when the women would walk past and say to me “Hace calor”. “Es Verano” he kept saying. When a Pugliese tanda came on he was especially verbose, they dance too fast, they don’t respect the pauses and so on.  I don’t dance Pugliese because I don’t think that I can do it justice, but there was one couple on the floor who definitely did. I watched them as they filled the floor, taking advantage of every space and moving with absolute grace.

As I suspected there was a demo later and it was the same couple. My table companion and oft times commentator, told me that the dancer was the Grandson of Gavito. I guess it’s in the blood.

Can’t be bothered cooking so it’s back to Guardia la Vieja again. Of course as it is on the corner of Billinghurst the bus took the normal route and stopped outside of our apartment. It gave us a chance to drop off our stuff first.

Even the black beer did not help me sleep.  This dammed flu needs to go now.

 

Brazil comes to Chacabuco

Viv dragged me off to Jumbo this morning, kicking and screaming I might add. I just hate the big supermarkets here. On the way we passed the Telo on Guardia Vieja, it is no more, it is deceased, gone even. Now it is just a pile of rubble. “Where can I take my ladies now” I ask “Dream on says Viv” She is so insensitive. Back to Jumbo, we wanted to look at the washing machines. There is one in particular that satisfies my engineering bent. Of course there was no one to talk to. We measured it, dragged it out from the display, and moved everything around it. You would have thought that by now somebody would have come over, if only to tell us not to move their stuff around, but no one came. The stereo opposite was blasting out some thump base funk and I was tempted to go and turn it off, but in the end we just left with what details we had. We got everything else we went for, but I was still not happy at the huge queues at the checkout. I would rather do without the things we cannot get at the chino, but I always get outvoted. Still we had some fun. There is a powered ramp back down to the ground floor, I decided to moonwalk back up it, joined by Viv we looked a right pair. Then we saw the security guard watching us from the top, shaking his head. No doubt thinking “locos extranjeros” We wanted to go to Parque Cachabuco later so, in vain hope, I went to see if the subte was running. Not a chance, how long does anything take here? The B line has not run at weekends since we arrived, that must be some essential maintenance they are doing, although I so far have not seen any evidence of it. We found that the 26 goes form close to us to right by Chacabuco so we set off to find the stop. Unfortunately it was not where it said on Como Llegar and the sign was on the post facing the road. First person said “Proxima Quadra” so we walked over. No sign the second person also said “Proxima Quadra” which would have put us back where we started. Fortunately we spotted it as we were about to cross the road. I followed the route closely on the map and I think I got it right, but Viv was standing by the bell when I said next stop. So we got off a stop early again. All was not lost though we were on Aveneda Eva Peron, which just happens to go straight to the park. We arrived about quarter to five and already we could hear drums. There was a small group of drummers practicing in the park. The sound was good but I thought it did not look exactly like a Brazilian spectacular. After ten minute they all packed up, not sure whether we had missed the show or not we set off across to the other side of the autopista. There there was a stage and an inflatable changing room. People were cleaning things and running wires around, there was no chance of it starting at five as the poster said. We occupied one of the tables and waited. Then people started gathering around the barriers, so it looked like our early arrival was in vain. TIA, nothing happened until six. The show girls were good and the music loud, but we are getting too old to sit outside listening to just percussion.

Our colds are also telling on us, we already had head aches, so we set off for home again and re-found the 26. The murga madness is still on so the bus did not take the normal route, we had to get off at Billinghurst again. Now the problem with closing the subte at weekends is, we keep finding better ways to get around. They need to be careful not to loose too much business. The early finish did mean we had time to set off for Fulgor again, but we did not. This cold is getting to both of us. We had sat around in our milonga clothes in the sun and then when the time came to actually go out again we decided against it. Too tired, too headachy and I don’t think that they would thank us for passing it on. So we took some pills and had an early night.

Feels like my birthday

Saturday so I wanted to go to Parque Centanario again. I wanted some phone cable and perhaps a phone. Instead the guitar man was there. I just had to have it, no choice, it was calling to me. Viv has promised too pay for it when we get back as a late birthday present.

It may be small, but it is perfectly formed and it fits in our personal box. He even threw in a bag for it.
We thought that we would forsake El Arranque today, as there is a tango class followed by a singer at The Carlos Gardel house. We had not written the time down and found we had only ten minutes left when we arrived and we would have to wait an hour for the singer. Not only was the class very basic (as we had expected) but the guy was trying to get us to open out to do more moves. I was not about to argue, but it just is not our style.
We were not going to wait around for an hour so we left for El Arranque. The 168 was stopped on the corner when we arrived, so we risked the traffic and managed to catch it.
It was so crowded I could not see where we were and managed to get off a stop early again. Still three more blocks is not a big deal in the great scheme of things.
Outside El Arranque we met Jongwoo who was surprised we were going in, he was on his way to Ideal. This is only one block from his place so we persuaded him to give it a try.
There was quite a crowd today, but we hardly missed a tanda and for once we stayed right to the end. I have a few ladies that I dance with regularly and they sit often together. While dancing with one she said she had a present for me, some pastries from El Americana, for Viv and I. Then another of the ladies gave me a book, sort of teenage fiction, easy reading for extranjeros. I said it felt like my birthday.
As we had stayed right to the end there was nothing for it but a pizza and Quilmes. La Americana was also packed and we struggled to get a table. After we were sated we set off for home.
We saw a 151 stopped at the lights, but there was no way he was going to let us on. So we waited at the stop, then a 90 came. It is only 10 yards to the stop but he also was not going to let us on, he took off on full boost.
Eventually we caught another 90. It also was packed to the gunnels and just behind it came an empty 151. Sods law.
Seems I was wrong, the murga madness is not over, so the bus turned off again before Corrientes.
When it stopped we struggled to get off. Some stupid girl was stood in the doorway with her Iphone. I shouted permiso twice, then had to physically throw her out of the way and jam my arms in the door to stop it closing. What is it with the youth of today and technology.
It looks like they have rebuilt the stage on Corrientes again, and all the madness has returned.

Medalla Milagrosa

Had to go for some more money today, while Viv went to yoga. Afterwards we met up in the café at the corner for a coffee and some lovely apple tart.
I seem to be spending a lot of time underground today. Subte into town, subte back again to put my money away. Then subte back to Uruguay to meet Viv. Then the epic, B line to Pueyrredon then the new H line to Humberto Primero change again and finally E line to Medalla Milagrosa.
I have seen this church many times as we leave and enter the city from the airport, and have promised myself I would visit. On the way in to the church we saw a beggar, I felt sorry for him and it bothered me while I was there.
Medalla Milagrosa has a beautiful simplicity, although the artefacts and statues are very detailed, it does not have the ostentation of the Spanish churches with all their gold. See what you think.

On the way out of the church I gave the beggar $10 To salve my conscience. He called after me asking if I had anything bigger. I wanted to rip it out of his hand, talk about ingratitude.
After the church we took a walk through Parque Chacabuco which all but adjoins it. After a short walk we found a lido which looked an excellent place to maybe spend day. We found the front entrance and asked the man about the entrada. He said we could not pay here but must pay under the autopista. “Yes but how much?” I asked. Turns out it is just $25 in the week and $35 at weekends. So we set out to find the office.
It is a peculiarity of Buenos Aires, that they put so many obstacles in the way of anyone who wants to use their services. We passed under the autopista twice and gave up and had an ice-cream instead. After the Ice- cream we made one more attempt and found a huge metal cage with a small entrance around a miniscule window behind which sat two old ladies. I asked if this was where we could buy tickets for the piscine and we were told yes.
I don’t know if we will come back, but at least we now know how to get in.
Well we spent a pleasant couple of hours just wandering the park. I think we have found the only place in Buenos Aires free of dog shit.

We had almost the same journey back but we got on a station nearer and left at Pueyrredon. We wanted a Chinese tonight and thought we had passed one on Corrientes. Well as we later found out, we had but it was further down.
Still we arrived back for a rest first and found a card under the door, addressed to Mrs Bob Finch telling me that AFIP want $40 duty for a parcel from the United States. As I do not know anyone from the US, I have no intention of picking it up.
The subte seems to be running now so we took it down to Pasteur, got off and walked to the Chinese. On the door it said that their Argentine chef was on holiday and they were sorry for the inconvenience. What exactly did this mean? Was the Chinese chef still there but they could not cook steak? Perhaps they now had a non Argentine chef? It was a mystery to us, so we walked in anyway.
The guy behind the bar said “no” then called for Marian. I looked at him then he said Marian again then more slowly Manaña. So the Chef ( whether argentine, Chinese or even Mongolian) was on holiday and so they were shut. Tip for Chinese restaurants; if your chef is away notice should say “Disculpe, estamos cerado. Chef en vacaciones” not your argentine chef is on holiday.
Is it any wonder we never understand each other?
Luckily the subte was still running, so we got back on and then went over to the Chinese on Cordoba. As I said “Spent a lot of time underground today” This Chinese may look a bit ropey, but it was open.
The food came in some logical order (which is always a plus) although the rice did come later than the main courses. My only criticism was the spring rolls, what on earth was in them and why were they fried to the point of cremation. Rock hard and no garnish. The pan chino was delicious although a bit on the small size.
All in all though, I enjoyed the meal and again it was half the price we would have paid at home.

Sol o Sombra

The weather is definitely on the change. Last night for the Nissman demonstration (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31515822) the temperature dropped to 10 deg. This morning there was a definite chill in the air, that said I was only wearing a polo and shorts.
I took a trip out shopping, something I quite enjoy here. It is an experience unlike at home, I can walk out of my door and get everything I want within two blocks. First stop was the almacen, at the carneceria I asked for a Chicken breast (Pechuga de pollo). I was then given a ticket, than I went over to the cheese counter for some roasted peanuts (mani tostada con sal) Unfortunately I had not picked a number when I entered and so I had to wait a while. Again I was given a ticket and then I had to queue at the till to pick up my purchases and pay.
Off then to the confiteria. I walked in and the place is different in the morning. There are prepared lunches everywhere. People come in and buy their lunch and eat it at their desks or in Patio Salguero or Plaza Almagro. So I could not find what I wanted.
The Girl said “Esconitos?” that is the advantage of being a regular, she knew what I wanted. So with my cheese scones I left to carry on up the sunny side of the street. Funny how a day can make a difference, one day it is Sombra the next it is Sol, just depends on the weather.
Philippe paid us a flying visit again. We now have our basket back for the drawer unit and he now has all his bills and receipts. A coffee and he is gone again.
Not a lot left of the day so we went out for a coffee around the corner. I have visited this café before although I cannot remember its name. It is now called Naranjo y Flor (Sic). I like the café life, just sat out on the pavement watching the world go by, with a coffee and apple tart. This is the life, the sun is out and the greatest of the heat has passed. Across the road they are working like Doozers on the new building and Mr Pigeon (or is that Mrs?) happily pecks around my feet. Until Viv gets restless again and we head home for tea.
I noticed that Fulgor was not advertised in Hoy Milonga tonight. This is worrying considering the amount of people turning up lately. So I messaged Mariana on Facebook and she assured my that it is on.
So we set off hoping for a milonga, but not expecting many there.
As I call the lift I suddenly realise I have left my keys in the flat. Viv searches her bag and luckily she has hers with her. We are not yet out of the woods though, my keys are in the door. They were in and turned, it took a good ten minutes of scratching the key to get it to turn enough to drop out inside. Panic over, but it has shown us how easy it is to lock ourselves out. We will have to take more care in future, next time we may not be so lucky.
Fulgor was its normal Thursday self, although the numbers did reach the heady heights of fifteen.
We get plenty of space to practice some moves, but because we do so much after two hours we have had enough. As well as this we are both coming down with a cold. (In the middle of summer?)
So when we return we dose ourselves up to sleep. Viv is on the ibuprofen the big ones I got in Spain, I have something much more effective, Gin.

Carlos Gardel

As we did not get a chance to show the ladies the Gardel house, I thought we would visit ourselves and get a few photos.

The house is in the shape of a Conventillo. It would not have had a roof on this bit in Gardels day

I think we should start an Urban myth here: Have you ever seen Carlos Gardel and George Formby together? I thought not. Both loved horses, both wrote their own music, their times cross over, and lets face it; they look alike.
Looking at the Gardel story, he wanted to leave for a while but was constrained because of his name change. Then look at the plane crash. It was suspicious to say the least, and six people survived including the pilot who was also the company boss. Then George Formby appeared, I think this is suspicious, don’t you?

As we walked out it started raining again. Not heavy but enough to get us wet if we spent too long, so we went into the Abasto Centre. Viv wanted some juice so we headed up to the food hall. Not much chance with all these big chain foodstalls, but we did see one advertising on a blackboard, squeezed orange. “Dos jugos” I asked ” No tengo” she replied. I did want to ask why it was on the blackboard, but sometimes it is not worth the trouble.
Viv then noticed a place doing frozen yogurt. It seems you cannot choose, you either have three toppings or nothing.
We sat down with our yogurt when a lady came begging, she had a child in her arms that she was looking at sympathetically “Dinero para leche por la bebe” she asked. Too long here I have become a cynic, You don’t get that fat on starvation diet. So we ignored her.
Later on our way out, we were vindicated. She was sat at a table, the poor child all but ignored while she stuffed her face with a McDonalds meal. As I said, time here makes you cynical.
Last week we did not know if we would go back to Sala Siranush, but we have decided to give it another try.
Outside the building it was hammering down, I was not sure what to do. Viv said we could try a bus, but that would still involve walking several blocks. A taxi drew up and let someone out, the decision was made. It is a straight run down Cordoba into Armenia so it only came to $27. That is exactly a pound more than the bus, well worth it to keep us dry.
The place was near empty when we arrived and we had little difficulty getting dances. In fact Viv did better than I for the first hour or so. The place filled and then there was a ladies choice. apart from Viv that was the last dance I got. Viv was also having trouble. Then came the rock and roll followed by Pugliese. Then came Zebedee “Time for bed” he said.

Pancake day

Not expecting much of the English tradition here, but we can keep it in our own way.
Philippe said he was coming and we stayed in for him, but he never turned up. So I rang him from the land line, it seems my SMS never got to him. My credit, it appears, has run out. How this has happened when I never use the phone is anybody’s guess.
The subte is shut again today so we took the 151 collectivo to Nuevo Chique. Getting off at Constitution does save us a few blocks walk, but the bus is hot and humid.
As we walk down Alsina we pass a couple and Viv thinks they may be tango dancers. From the front I see that she has a top on that says “Tango Argentino”. They arrived in Chique just after us and sat juntos at the far end of the room.
Later I was dancing and Viv was in front of me dancing with someone else. I simply had to point to this couple from the street, they were leaping around like foals in a paddock. A group of ladies sat at the end fell about in hysterical laughter. In a way I felt sorry for them, whoever had taught them obviously knew nothing of what tango means here, they had simply wasted a lot of money.
There were a lot of women again and Viv was having a hard time. We had arrived early so we left early, Viv was not for an extended stay.
We walked back to constitution and checked all the restaurants, non advertised pancakes. Obviously they are all heathens.
Not put off, and knowing that they often have them as desert, I asked at the last one. Thinking we could always walk back and ask at the others if we fail. “Si Señor” said the waiter and pointed them out on the menu.
We could not just have desert so we had a couple of empanadas and a bottle of beer. When we were ready the waiter came with the pancakes. Viv’s cream filled pancakes were neatly folded into parcels. My apple and rum ones were just on a plate, but the waiter poured the rum over them and set it alight. A bit of showmanship.
Well it was not the cheapest place, but all in all not that expensive and we did get a good show for our money.
Colectivos were rare tonight, and by the time one arrived it was nearly full. Normally we have the bus almost to ourselves. It also changed route again and diverted down Billinghurst. I missed Corrientes, through not paying attention, but we got off just after Guardia Vieja, which was better.
After getting changed we set out again. As this is shrove Tuesday there would surely be some carnival tonight. We were not disappointed, and my camcorder battery held out as well. Better than my arm, standing there with my hand in the air for hours was beyond me. So my recording has several breaks, while the blood rushed back into my hand.
I think that is the end of the carnival for this year, watch out on youtube for the film of all the murga madness.

El gran fin de semana

Strange place this, it is a bank holiday weekend so nothing is open. Just like anywhere else, you would think, but you would be wrong. The ferreteria across the road is open, the salad shop (that is never open) is open and quite a veritety of places are open. Now on bank holidays people are off, and when they are off they go out. Non of the museums are open, many of the bars are shut as are some of the Ice-cream shops. As I said, it is all a bit strange. Not put off we decided to go to Easy, because Viv wanted a reading lamp. Not only did we get a lamp but we had a choice of bulbs. We were able to test them in the display lamp so we now have one that suits Vivs needs. With a 28W energy saver it is quite a powerful thing. We finally found a shoe rack as well, although it does look like it may not last very long. Shopping done, we stopped at Murilla (Pronounced Murisha) for some juice before the walk home. All set up and tidy now we can go off to Obalisco for the afternoon. We expected our faithful 168 collectivo to be nearly empty, as it is a ferria, but no way it was packed to the brim. We got off again at Carlos Calvo, hot and flustered. When we got to Obalisco it was also full to bursting. I was squashed between tree men and had to move one of them every time I wanted to sit down or get up. This I did quite a lot, so many women. That said I think that there were many men that Viv knew. I did see her miss the odd tanda but all in all she did well. Then The German guy got her up. Considering Viv does not dance open hold and do ganchos, she followed him well. She did not realize that I was dancing just behind her, my dance partner had no idea what was amusing me so much. I danced with the lady from Galicia again, she has taken to calling me “Flaco”. I told Viv and she said “Gordo, more like”, She speaks more Spanish than she lets on.

Viv said 7:30 to eight so when the tropical started at just after 7:30 I called time. We reached Humberto Primero just as our 151 pulled out. There was no way he was stopping for us now, so we resigned to a bit of a wait. When the 90 arrived I asked if it went our way, the driver said it did so we jumped on. When I gave up my seat for an old lady she regaled Viv about the youth of today. Viv just looked totally blank, it was quite amusing really. Again the bus turned off before Corrientes, because of the carnival, they said. So we jumped off. I stopped at Farricci on the way, for some ice-cream to have with our after dinner brownie. It set it off quite well, the trouble is we need more brownie now to finish the ice-cream. Viv said “then we will need more ice-cream to finish off the brownie”. “And the problem is?” but she was having non of it. She had seen through my plan. Far too tired for any of that murga madness tonight. Early night I think.