We're off to London for a couple of days tomorrow and plan on a trip down Golders Green road for some essential pre-Hanukkah shopping (ever tried finding hanukkiyah candles in between London and Manchester...?) and - of course - a visit to Grodzynski's, time-and-mogn-honoured purveyors of quite simply the very finest challah ever baked. We're going to have a look at the new Jewish Museum in Camden Town, too, so I'll report back to you on that one (though having said that, I had digs up that way back when I was a student so we might decide to visit a few old haunts and forget the finer details of the day) - rather looking forward to the Yiddish karaoke. Must remember to do the museum before the student haunts, lest I unintentionally utter any of the fruitier phrases my Poylischer bubbeh (aleha ha-shalom) used to use after she'd been at the schnapps, which was often. Well, most of the time if I'm honest.
Now, having had a very busy last few years (good busy in some ways, not-so-good in many others) it recently occurred to me that our old mezuzah is looking a bit the worse for wear and most definitely hasn't been checked twice since 5765 - so it looks like our best bet is going to be just buy a replacement. With that in mind, I thought I'd have a look on the ol'Internets and get some inspiration, because one of the good busy things was that we moved into a comfy and ultra-modern flat. I've had a look at all sorts of beautiful brushed aluminium cases, others with colourful inlaid wood, silver, a million and one patterns and who knows what else - but just this afternoon I found the ideal choice: http://www.jerusalemthegolden.com/product/Spiderman_Mezuzah_Case/
Admit it - it's fantastisch! What's more, Spidey is a good Jewish superhero too, having been brought to life by Stan Lee who was himself of Romanian Jewish stock. Really can't wait to see it up there beside the front door.
Can't wait to get my tseyn into that challah, either. If you're not familiar with it, it's worth making a trip to London for that alone.
Shalom!