Sasz Tisen Nyolc

I was able to say the number '118' in Hungarian perfectly, see above, because it was of personal significance . . .  the number where we lived on the prime street of Budapest, Andrassy Ut.

We will never live in grander place.  The whole first floor (one up from ground) was ours and I even wrote a sonnet inspired by the grand reception room and its chandelier.

It was a privilege beyond privileges to live here  . . . and we will have lunch tomorrow with our ex-landlady and Eva who kept house for us and even did the full removal into Barcelona when we came back, accompanying the container back and personally supervising the unpacking and relocation.  'Eva Express', we christened her.

Three memories of this place . . .

Waking up one morning early in our stay to find thousands of country people shipped in for electoral demonstrations photographing the balcony with us on it.

The aftermath of Mike Catlin's 50th Birthday party which we hosted and which needed me, in the early dawn, to clear more than fifty empty bottles (plus many overflowing ashtrays) from the top of the balcony ballustrade before the neighbours saw the scene.

The calling of three fire engines under a false pretence to get us back inside after we had locked ourselves out on a holiday Sunday afternoon.  It was all our landlady's idea but I was the stool pidgeon who had to offer the captian of the brigade a bribe to comply with our request.   He went ballistic but eventually accepted  a substantial donation to the firemen's orphan fund.

Happy times!