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jenny and hugh's wedding
On Saturday we flew to Edinburgh and then drove to North Berwick for the marriage of our friends Jenny and Hugh at The Marine Hotel. It was a lovely day, (as we are beginning to find out, all weddings are). Jenny looked gorgeous and the setting was wonderful - by the sea. The evening celebrations took the form of a traditional Scottish ceilidh and it was brilliant. Everyone got involved and danced the Gay Gordons amongst other more complicated formations which Dom and I managed with varying success!    Labels: seeing_doing
shall I compare thee to a summers day? no, because I can't remember what one is
Really, where is the summer? I must have blinked and missed it. I know British summers have a reputation for being rubbish, but I'd always thought that was a bit unfair as actually, they weren't that bad, but this year definitely feels worse than others. I know that even if it was sunny we'd be stuck in our offices unable to appreciate it, but even from indoors, just knowing it's sunny outside gives you that reassuring feeling that summer is here and helps to lift the mood. In the last two weeks there has been one day of blue sky. The rest have suffered from a dull, grey coating of cloud. Here is a photo from that blue sky day. It's the Stella Artois airship flying over our house. A rare occurrence indeed (the summers day that is). If like me, you have questions like, "Aren't they dangerous?" and "Is an airship the same as a blimp?" you can learn all the technical ins and outs on Wikipedia. You never know when it might come up in a pub quiz!   Labels: seeing_doing
waterside weekend
Friday night I was out for a drink with my friend Jill down at Shad Thames. I'd never been there before and thought it was a great outdoor eating and drinking area along the banks of the river. Definitely somewhere to go in the future.  Saturday, my sister and her boyfriend came to stay. We walked along the Thames at Greenhithe in the afternoon, and sat out for a few pints by the river in the beer garden at our local. I put on a bit of an Italian spread in the evening and we all drank lots of red wine. It was a lovely day Sunday was Dom's birthday treat. We hadn't been able to celebrate his birthday properly last week because we were at Smita's wedding, so we postponed the fun. I had bought him an hour's helicopter lesson with Polar Helicopters at Manston Airport, so that was our first stop. He's had a couple of lessons before, and he seemed to be thrilled with this one. He's a total flying nut.  After that I took him for Sunday lunch at 81 Beach Street in Deal on the Kent coast. I found the restaurant through Top Table. It certainly lived up to expectations and offered a delicious 2-course roast. We both went for the slow roasted duck, and I followed with plum crumble and cream while Dom had bread and butter pudding. Yum! We had a bracing walk along the beach front and up the pier before heading home to rest.  Labels: seeing_doing
smita's wedding
On Friday we travelled up to Harrogate for my friend Smita's wedding to Ron. I lived with Smita at university which was where Ron and Smita meet. She has been a great friend to me and it was lovely to see her marry her sweetheart. After a traditional Hindu ceremony, and lunch, we popped to Valley Gardens for an ice cream and a snooze in the sweltering temperatures. Then it was back to the hotel for some amazing food and a great party.    Labels: seeing_doing
We've just had one of those weekends where you need another weekend to recover. Luckily, we don't have them very often. Friday night we were at a surprise stag do for a work colleague who apparently, has been told by his wife-to-be that he's not allowed one. The night was disguised as someone else's birhday celebration and then when the stag went to the bar we all donned t-shirts, and gave him a big cheer on return, then dressed him up with a pink wig and got him terribly drunk so that he had to be taken home (no doubt to his very angry fiance). For some reason, I had roped myself in to making the t-shirts. The challenge being to make them as cheap as possible in case no-one gave me the money back. Most printing companies wanted at least £5 per t-shirt, but I managed to make these for less than £2 each. How? I bought 22 t-shirts in the sale at Matalan for £1.50 each and two fabric aerosol spray paints for £5.50 a bottle. I traced a template made in word with a bit of free clip art onto a piece of acetate and cut out with a craft knife, then sprayed each t-shirt through the stencil, protecting the edges with pieces of newspaper. They worked brilliantly if I do say so myself.   Saturday we went with friends to Chai's Garden, a Thai restaurant in Brockley and stuffed ourselves silly with lovely food and lots of beer, then Sunday we went to the Dartford Festival in Central Park to watch a Queen tribute and Chas 'n' Dave. I'd no idea how big and nice the park was. More beers and a curry later, we were exhausted.   Labels: crafts, seeing_doing
watching lewis win at silverstone
My dad's 60th birthday present from the family was a three day ticket for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He has followed Formula One every year since I can remember, but this would be his first time at a race. We arrived at Hamilton Fields campsite on Thursday night, which is about a half hour walk from the track and thankfully it was dry and sunny so we could get the tent up and have a barbie.  Friday was practice - it was lovely weather so we were able to walk all the way round the track, take a picnic lunch and soak up the atmosphere. There were loads of other races going on: GP2 and Formula BMW, as well as air displays, but nothing compared to the first time we heard the roar of the F1 engines. With our roving tickets we could sit anywhere for practice and qually, so today we tried out the Pit Straight. There you really got an idea of the speed these cars can do.  Back at the campsite we had a few drinks, more outdoor eating and then a big sing and dance in the beer tent, where a local Irish band were playing. Great fun - reminded us of Dublin. Qualifiying on Saturday was a little colder and there was the odd shower. Lewis only made 4th on the grid, but knowing that the McClarens were fast left us positive about the race. We sat in the Pit Straight again, but this time with a better view into the pit garages.  Surprisingly I still managed to sleep that night in the tent through strong winds and rain, and woke up on Sunday morning excited for the race. It was pouring though, so we decked ourselves in everything we could find to keep us warm and dry, including plastic bags on feet and made our way to the track.   We watched the drivers' parade, which was about an hour before the race, and although we had reserved covered seats in the Luffield B stand, we were in the front row so the wind was blowing the rain horizontally into our faces and laps and I was soon wet and shivering. I went for a walk around to warm up and came back for the national anthem. Luckily after this the rain and wind eased off, and we could enjoy all the thrills and spills that were about to take place.  I cannot tell you how exciting it was - loud, fast and unpredictable - so many drivers spun off at the corner where we were sat. At the start Lewis made it up from 4th on the grid to second behind Kovalainen, and after Kovalainen spun, Raikkonen came up to second place in his Ferrari. For a while we thought he was going to catch Lewis, but then they both pitted together and Lewis got out ahead of Raikkonen by a hair's breadth and because Lewis had changed tyres but Raikkonen had not, Lewis started making headway at an incredible 4 seconds a lap. Rakkonen dropped back so far that Kovalainen in 3rd place was able to try and overtake him right in front of us at Luffield, but in the tustle, both Kovalainen and Nik Heidfeld in the BMW passed Raikonnen! It was AMAZING!  We saw Jenson Button do a fantastic 360 spin without slowing and speed off again, and everyone in the crowd took a deep breath and exhale as they watched Lewis narrowly miss Massa in his Ferrari who span and stopped right in the middle of the track. In the spray the drivers can be almost blind to the cars in front, and the skill required to stay on the track, never mind drive competitively is incredible.  Lewis drove excellently and increased his lead to over a minute. He held on and went on to win. The time passed so quickly, and I didn't want it to end. Being there to see Lewis win was absolutely fantastic and quite emotional. Final result: 1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 2. Nik Heidfeld (BMW) 3. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) Well done Lewis! And now for the championship!!! Labels: seeing_doing
jimmy white
Look it's Jimmy "the Whirlwind" White cruisin' across the QEII Bridge last night! He may never have ever won a world championship, but he's got a pretty damn nice car - a Bentley. Check out the reg too - CUE BOY.   Labels: seeing_doing
here come the girls
It was my hen do at the weekend. I was dreading it a bit but it was GREAT! Some of us travelled from London, others Newcastle, others Scunthorpe and arrived in York on Saturday morning. We checked in at the glamourous Youth Hostel (highly recommended), then made our way into town for some lunch. We did archery and 4x4 driving at the North of England Activity Centre, which was a great laugh, then, after a lovely bridal shower gift-giving session we dolled ourselves up for a raucous evening on the town. We ate a luscious meal at Silvanos. It exceeded all expectations and was really geared up for hen-dos. Their keyboard player could play every single random song we requested and had us dancing and singing and doing the conga round the restaurant! A hardcore few of us partied away until the early hours in a very sweaty and very cheesy Reflex 80s bar. My lovely sister even prepared me a book with profiles of all the chicks to remember it by. Thanks girls!!    Labels: seeing_doing, wedding
shoooooooooooooes
There's a lot to organise at the moment, but what do they say? If you want something doing give it to a busy person. So I'm currently organising my shoes. I've decided they need more loving. They are getting new boxes and nice labels. Look how many! Naughty me! And this doesn't include my boots and trainers.  Labels: seeing_doing
the boys are back in town
where it's warm and dry...   Labels: seeing_doing, wedding
stag time
Dom is away with his mates on his stag weekend - camping. Poor sods, the weather has rudely turned from warm spring to frost and snow. They are well equipped for the cold, but it won't be a pleasant night. Still, I'm sure it will make for a good excuse for the boys to stay out and party longer. I've been making the most of my free time alone: roaming the shops, gardening, making progress with the wedding crafts and tomorrow I have my friend Charlotte and her cute little daughter Emily coming for lunch. Sometimes it's nice to have time on my own, getting things done. Other-halves are undoubtedly a distraction. Our houses are tidier without them and our time is our own to achieve what we want, but at the same time the world feels empty. Having another half might be a distraction, but it is a most welcome one. Labels: seeing_doing, wedding
amy macdonald
Dom downloaded This Is The Life in summer last year and was raving about it so much that by the end of the year it had become our favourite driving album. So, when I spotted tickets to see her at the Shepherd's Bush Empire for £12.50, I bought them for Dom for Christmas. She didn't disappoint. As well as singing every song from her No 1 debut album, she gave us two work-in-progress new tracks, plus a cover of Mr. Brightside by the Killers, and then totally blew me away with a surprise appearance by Steve Cradock, lead guitarist for Ocean Colour Scene. Co-incidentally, we have been listening to Moseley Shoals a lot recently too, so to hear him play those incredible riffs from the Riverboat Song was just amazing.  Labels: seeing_doing
roses are red, guinness is black
What more could a girl ask for than to be whisked away to Dublin for a surprise romantic Valentine's break? I really was blown away...chauffeur pick up at the airport, hotel on the banks of the River Liffey, candles and rose petals scattered across the room, champagne on ice, chocolate-dipped strawberries and a wonderful six-course meal. I was in heaven!!  Neither of us had been to Dublin before so on Friday we set about exploring. First stop, naturally, was the Guinness Storehouse. The black stuff definitely tastes better in Ireland.  We loved the craic at the Ha'penny Bridge Inn and the live band singing Molly Molone, Finegan's Wake and other clap-a-long, stamp-a-long tunes. Then the train to Howth on Saturday, and what a beautiful sunny day it was by the sea. Colourful rusty trawlers bringing in the day's catch, seal spotting, and a long vertigo-inducing walk around the cliff path.     Labels: seeing_doing
flippin' yummy
We had lovely pancakes last night, with the traditional squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of sugar. We got 8 pancakes out of such a small amount of ingredients (1 egg, 4Oz plain flour, 1/2 pint milk), why anyone would buy ready made pancakes I don't know. All the fun is in the flipping! Is Pancake Day at risk of dying out?Why do we eat pancakes today?  Labels: cooking, seeing_doing
weekend with friends
It's been a while since we cooked for friends, but last night we had our mates Kevin and Caroline for dinner. On the menu was pancetta wrapped mozzarella with fig jam, followed by duck breast and mango salsa, with molten chocolate puddings for dessert. Of course there was plenty to drink, and our hangovers were cured by a morning walk along the river and a fry-up in the very classy Asda cafe. Then, Sharon and Andy came over to see us this afternoon with their beautiful baby Callum - he is soooooo cute! At seven months, he's not as floppy as he used to be. He's sitting up on his own and is smiling and kicking so I feel much more confident holding him. It was a really lovely weekend.     Labels: cooking, seeing_doing
the chiefs
Mid-December we went to see the Kaiser Chiefs at Earls Court. They ROCK! We moshed away all night and suffered the pain in our calf muscles for about a week afterwards.     Labels: seeing_doing
eggheads
Don't ask me how it happened but I've developed into a huge nerdy fan of the TV show Eggheads. I often catch it weekdays at 6pm on BBC2 and I love it!! It's basically just a plain old general knowledge quiz show, but the questions seem pitched just right for me and I learn lots of interesting facts while I watch. I am seriously tempted to enter a team! Labels: seeing_doing
so long, farewell
Dom and I both work at the same company, but on Friday, after six and a half years, he left. He has a new job, a new beginning, new challenges. He was given a great send off by colleagues, many of whom are friends. After a presentation in the office and lunch in the local pub, we all headed to Guanabara, a brazillian bar, restaurant and club in Covent Garden. It was excellent, the drinks were great and we all got trolleyed!   Labels: seeing_doing
feed me
I'm only just getting into the world of feeds. After installing a few feed aggregators without success I decided to try Bloglines which is web-based. Thanks to my subscription to The Old Farmer's Almanac I am inspired to make something for the birds this winter. I've learnt that today is Black Friday to be followed post-weekend by Cyber Monday. And I can now put a word to what all these feeds may one day make me - a deipnosophist. Labels: seeing_doing
alistair sawdays
I was recommended the Alistair Sawdays travel website by a friend when looking for places to stay in Italy for our honeymoon. Although I haven't chosen any of them, I admire it as a collection of truly unique and beautiful places to rest your head. I received an e-newsletter from Sawdays publishing today with the following competition winning questions that were entered to interest, perplex or challenge the judges. I liked them, especially the hand drying dilemma - so true! "If eating organically and ethically produced food is better, and everyone, on a mass scale, decides to convert; does this not mean that it then turns into mass-production on a huge scale thus contradicting the initial effort and concept itself?" Annabelle, London "Which is best when drying your hands in public toilets: paper towel; normal towel (the ones that go round in a big circles and need cleaning once complete); or a hand dryer? At my work they have all three and I'm damned if I can make a decision on which to use!" Judd "I'd like to know the CO2 emissions caused by making the bombs and munitions for the Iraq war, shipping them to Iraq, bombing the Iraqis, rebuilding the bombed premises, caring for the injured etc. Then ask the same questions about the Afghanistan 'adventure'. I will be more enthusiastic about recycling my Muesli cardboard when these questions are addressed." Stephen "If the government were to pay for every house in Britain to become super-efficient savers and producers of electricity I suspect that the total amount of electricity saved and produced would exceed the output of at least one new power station and probably at a fraction of the cost and pollution of building and running one. If one were to then factor in the economic benefit and positive adjustment to economies of scale in mass producing solar panels, etc., surely this would become a viable proposition?" Martin "Which uses more petrol: driving with the windows open or with the air conditioning on?" Kylie "Is it better to rinse out a plastic container for recycling and put products such as sun cream, make up, milk etc in the water system and send it clean or leave the product in the container and let the recycling plant wash it because they probably wash it anyway?" Helen Labels: seeing_doing
there's been a murder!
We had a lovely weekend in the Cotswolds solving a murder! It was part of a sight-seeing coach trip with our friends Sharon and Andy. After an early start and a lot of pick-ups our first stop was Bourton-on-the-Water, then on to Stow-on-the-Wold for a three course lunch. Once at our hotel, we had just enough time to get our glad rags on before meeting in the bar for the murder mystery. It was obvious who the actors were, and they took control of the whole evening, orchestrating the investigation over dinner in between each course.  It began with a mock auction, during which some family jewels were stolen and then two murders followed between the main course and dessert! Each table had to decide who the thief and the murderer was and put their theory to the words of a song - then sing it! It was a good laugh, but I would have liked it to be on a smaller scale and for everyone to play a role. I think I will have to try a dinner party murder mystery game and play from home. On Sunday we were taken to Bath. We only had a couple of hours to spare so Dom and I decided to visit the Roman Baths. This was my favourite part of the whole weekend! The whole site was very well laid out around the excavated ruins and the audio tour was excellent. The climax was the Great Bath itself with 46°C water! I'd really recommend it. I'd definitely like to see more of Bath, it was a beautiful city.     Labels: seeing_doing
ha-ha-happy halloween!
I love Halloween. Unfortunately, the rest of Britain doesn't share my passion. Next year I think I will plan a mad science dinner party like LJC. As we had planned to be out all of last night, I didn't even carve a pumpkin. We did go and watch Saw IV though. I'm glad the series is continuing, but this one didn't hold up quite as well in the storyline department as Saw III. We just made it to the cinema in time after picking up our new car. It is LUSH! It's a 2 litre diesel Audi A4 estate. It's multitronic, which means it can be either automatic or manual. I haven't driven it yet, but this automatic malarky looks like a piece of cake! It's got a lovely big colour screen inside with sat nav, so we can throw our battered NavMan away. It has a BOSE sound system, SD card slots for MP3s, a 6-CD changer, 18inch wheels, directional headlights,... er that's all I can remember. I'm not the car nut, Dom is - when we got back from the flicks, he sat outside in it for well over an hour, checking out all the nooks and crannies. Bless.  Labels: seeing_doing
bits and bobs
Dom has a new job and as part of the move, we are buying a new car. Yipee! Wedding DJ is booked. We are able to design our own playlist through an online database. Excellent! We went to a leaving do on Friday at Detroit Bar in Covent Garden. It has great reviews, but it wasn't my cup of tea, and the drinks' prices were extortionate. Our work Christmas party this year is a James Bond theme party. We watched Goldfinger on Saturday afternoon to get us in the mood and give us some inspiration but Pussy Galore doesn't wear very nice clothes. I bought a dress pattern to have a stab at making my gown, but as we are busy nearly every weekend until Christmas I don't think I'll have time. Labels: seeing_doing
book...cover / movie...title
Since entering the magical world of Sky+ we have been watching more movies (not films, movies, oh yeah). We record almost anything because we can. We record movies that I have avoided at the cinema and avoided on DVD because of their titles. Snakes On A Plane - oh I wonder what that's going to be about? Hang on, Samuel L Jackson?! What is this respectable actor playing at in such a ridiculously sounding picture? Lucky Number Slevin - I don't get it. Is it a horror? Slevin? Is that a word? It sounds like 'seven', so there's a pun in there somewhere, but it has connotations of slaying, killing. As it turned out, we thought both were really enjoyable films, (oops I mean movies). Possibly better because we were expecting them both to be as bad as their titles, but they weren't. Isn't it often the way, also, that titles that are full of promise end up lacking in substance? Hmmm. Here endeth the lesson. Labels: seeing_doing
weekend activities
Dom and I ate at a Loch Fyne seafood restaurant on Friday night which was nice. On Saturday I got to work making the first batch of wedding invitations. This is the part of the wedding preparations that I have most looked forward to. When other little girls were dreaming about their wedding dresses, I was thinking about the handmade stationery! I made slow progress on Saturday when a quick trip to Bluewater for supplies took 3 hours, but I made up for it on Sunday. Even though I took lots of breaks (to watch poor Lewis Hamilton come off the tracks on the Chinese Grand Prix, to bake banana muffins and to go for my first run since the Great North) I got all the inserts printed, piled and ready for combining together. Tonight I will bind the outer cards with ribbons. I am so proud of them.  Labels: crafts, seeing_doing, wedding
the great north run!
In a few weeks time I am running my fourth Great North Run. After number three I swore I would never do it again, but here I am. I've had a two year gap, but that hasn't been long enough to forget how much pain is involved. My training has been decent, for me, but you can never do enough. I am getting excited and nervous - it's 13.1 miles you know! That is a long way. I am starting off with two other girls from work, which will be fun. I am raising money for Beating Bowel Cancer and I would really appreciate your support and sponsorship for this worthy cause. Read why and sponsor me via my Justgiving page. Lots of runners have set up training blogs. Here are some of my favourites: They Say I Must Be "Mental" To Run (Great South Run) The Incredible Shrinking Man (also at www.tism.co.uk) Am I Ever Going To Do It?When you are running alongside people like this you cannot fail to be inspired. Good luck everyone! Here's me in 2003 and running with my sister, Caroline, in 2004.  Labels: seeing_doing
the police - twickenham
Last night we went to see Sting and The Police at Twickenham Stadium. They absolutely rocked! Sting looked and sounded amazing. It was my first time at a stadium concert and the atmosphere was brilliant. We had decent seats too. We arrived early and parked in Nelson Primary School. This was fine on the way in, but not very well managed getting out. We queued for an hour! We had a leisurely and delicious meal at Cafe Venice on Whitton High Street and then made our way down to the stadium. It was about a 10 minute walk and we got to our seats to catch the last half of Maximo Park. The Police played all the favourites - the crowd went expecially wild for Every Little Thing She Does is Magic and everyone sang their hearts out to Walking On The Moon. They finished with an encore that included Every Breath You Take and the final song was Next To You. To think that Sting was born in Wallsend, (and his dad was my best friend's mum's milkman - apparently!) he's quite an inspiration.    Labels: seeing_doing
first & last of the summer
After drooling over Jamie Oliver's BBQ on Jamie At Home last week, we just had to use the opportunity of what felt like the first and what could have been the last of the 2007 summer to try out his delicious marinade recipe. I crushed the cumin seeds, cloves, paprika, fennel seeds, rosemary, thyme, garlic, pepper and salt, then mixed with red wine vinegar and tomato ketchup. Unfortunately we do not have any independent butchers nearby so we had to settle with pork ribs from Asda (don't even get me started on the state of supermarket meat). I rubbed in the marinade and left in the fridge for a few hours. These were accompanied by my homemade beef burgers - yum! We still haven't got round to buying a barbecue, at first we toyed with a gas one, then came back to the idea of traditional charcoal, looking at a classic Weber, but we didn't like the size and the circular shape, plus it would be good to have something we could take camping as well as our stove. The funky versatile Son of Hibachi would be just about right, and I've found one for £49 inc. delivery. Our (very) brief summer is probably over now though, so a party sized instant BBQ had to suffice. All in all a scrumptious outdoor feast!   Labels: cooking, seeing_doing
party time!
Dom's birthday hog roast passed in a blur. The food was fantastic, there was music, fireworks, dancing, large amounts of booze and thankfully, fair weather that held out until about 8pm when we all crammed into the gazebo. I had such a bad hangover the next day!  Dom and Waldu from Nyama Catering The party in full swing  Night-time brings the rain  Me & my cagool, Elliot & baby Callum, Pete and Dom Labels: seeing_doing
house update: 19 days to go
Most of the kitchen doors went on yesterday and I finished taking up all the gripper-rods and skirting boards ready for the floor. We still made time to go and watch the Le Tour de France which came through our village. It was excellent!   Labels: d.i.y., seeing_doing
under milk wood
Has anyone seen the latest VW Golf advert? A guy is out driving at night to some words, spoken by a familiar and lulling voice - I had to find out what it was... The narrator is Richard Burton and the words are from Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I've just been to this site and read the whole play. You can listen to it on that website too, read by Dylan Thomas, whose deep Welsh voice is just as soothing as Richard Burton. I love it! I think it's one of the most well written pieces of prose I've ever read! The background info is interesting too. Must discover more Dylan Thomas stuff. Labels: seeing_doing
isle of wight festival
 Got back from the festival yesterday and it was wicked! We saw The Feeling, Snow Patrol, Amy Winehouse, Paulo Nutini, Keane, Donovan, The Fratellis, Muse, Kasabian and The Rolling Stones! Highlights for me were The Feeling, Snow Patrol and The Stones. I can't believe how much energy Mick Jagger puts into his performance - more than I've ever seen any young person do. When the stage started to move and the whole band came into the crowd for Satisfaction everyone went wild and we got so close! The weather was extremely hot, so we all got sunburnt and it meant no lie-ins in the baking hot tents, but we can't complain!   Labels: seeing_doing
pressure
This weekend we need to buy some paint samples, get sanding down door frames etc, fix the bathroom pipes and the shower curtain which have oh so conveniently fallen to bits at the same time and maybe think about flooring for downstairs. I need to start some serious studying for my final law exams in June and I mustn't let the wedding organisation slip out my sight (got to get that wedding photographer booked). On top of all this, the pressure is on at work at the moment. I'm beginning to wonder if I/we might have taken on too much at once! Labels: d.i.y., seeing_doing
this time next year...
... we'll be married! Yes, we will be nearing the end of our first day as Mr and Mrs Grace. It will be an amazing day but there's a lot to organise before we get there. The venue is booked, the registrar is booked, but I still need to book the photographer, choose bridesmaids dresses, choose my own dress, sort out the DJ, the men's suits, the invitations, the decorations etc etc. 365 days and counting. Labels: seeing_doing
kombat opera
Last night's spoof was Question Time Out, last week's was Spouse Change (Wife Swap). This is definitely the most original programme to grace the television for a long time. It is so refreshing to see something different!  I was all the more impressed when I saw Stewart Lee's name in the credits. Stewart Lee is a talent indeed, I used to watch him on Fist of Fun with Richard Herring, then This Morning With Richard Not Judy, and his work is always er... unique. I was always amazed at how many religious jokes they got away with on TMWRNJ on a Sunday afternoon, but probably didn't receive many complaints because I don't think they had many viewers (apparently Points of View did receive lots of complaints). He wrote Jerry Springer the Opera which was controversial to say the least, but I have to say I didn't take much notice of it. Kombat Opera is fantastic. Look out for The South Bragg Show next week with the understated legend that is Kevin Eldon playing Melvyn Bragg, and then Manorama the following week. Highly recommended. Labels: seeing_doing
spring
It is such a gorgeous spring day outside: the sun is out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view... but I'm stuck indoors concentrating on big daunting law exams and that's enough to cloud any rosy outlook. I took a stroll down the garden path and this cute little crocus display cheered me up, but now, it's back to the books.  Labels: gardening, seeing_doing
loving
Dom told me he had gone up north with work yesterday, but when I got home, there he was, along with a lovely bunch of tulips (my favourite flower) and he cooked me the most gorgeous risotto (which is, I think, if I can possibly narrow it down to one, my favourite meal). It was quite low key, because pressures of work and study are sapping both our energies at the moment, but it was very sweet.   Labels: cooking, seeing_doing
snowing
There's always a big fuss when it snows these days, but I don't remember it being such a headline grabbing issue when I was a kid. Of course then, all I was interested in was getting outside and building a snowman. I don't remember adults moaning about travel, but then I did live in the north, where people walk a lot and driving more than half an hour to work is practically unheard of. It seems like the whole nation has turned into a bunch of soft wimpy drama queens, because in my mind I'm still a kid, who woke up this morning, looked out the bedroom window, saw the beautiful sight of freshly fallen snow, and all I wanted to do was get outside and build a snowman! I hope it's still there when I get home.  Labels: seeing_doing
plates - clearing them & smashing them
We spent Christmas with my family in Newcastle. It was very lazy, being overfed, waited on hand and foot by my poor mum! I think I enjoyed Boxing Day better than Christmas Day - we all went to the coast. It was freezing cold, but this didn't deter us, nor anyone else, judging by how busy it was. New Year was spent out with friends, Sharon, Andy, Toni and her son Elliott, at a Greek restaurant. I have to say it was possibly the nicest meal I had eaten out all year. We had copious amounts of alcohol, participated in the ubiquitous plate smashing and danced into the early hours. Of course New Year's Day wasn't quite as great, as I was as sick as a dog!  Labels: seeing_doing
the hoppings
Last weekend I went up to see my mum and dad to search for wedding venues. We found one, and booked it. It's a castle and it's beautiful but it is still a couple of years away. Coincidentally I was in Newcastle at the same time as the Hoppings which is the largest gathering of travelling fairs in Europe. There were some pretty scary rides there but that's not my bag. I was much more interested in the people watching. I had my fortune told by the lovely looking lady in the picture. Total rubbish.   Labels: seeing_doing
revising (again)
I have an exam next week and then I am free for the summer! I will be taking a couple of days of work to study and with all this lovely weather I will try and spend some time working in the garden. In other random news, I am gutted that my local supermarket has stopped stocking Cardini's Ceasar Dressing. I came upon it by accident and then became addicted. I had no idea how popular it was in America, and urge all Brits to give it a whirl. Perfect for summer salads. Labels: seeing_doing
proposing
Dom proposed to me while on our amazing holiday in Thailand. It couldn't have been more perfect. It was 11th March and we were staying on the beautiful island of Ko Tao. Our bungalow was just a few feet from the beach.  We wandered down to watch the stunning sunset. Just after the sun disappeared behind the horizon Dom began writing in the sand, then pulled out the ring and got down on one knee! Of course I said yes!!  That night we walked down the beach to one of the seafood restaurants that set up on the sand after dark. We enjoyed fresh king prawns and fresh king mackerel - delicious! Further down the beach we enjoyed a few more Singha beers in a bar, lying on sand cushions listening to music. When we walked back to our bungalow at midnight, the tide was on it's way in and the proposal was still there in the sand. We waited while the waves washed away the words - the perfect end to a perfect evening! Labels: seeing_doing
lovin'
What an amazing Valentine's Day I had - a huge bunch of flowers waiting for me on my desk when I arrived into work and then in the evening, ice skating at Canary Wharf followed by a beautiful meal and lovely champagne at an italian restaurant by the water. I am a lucky girl! Labels: seeing_doing
travelling
We're going to Thailand!!! Yes. In March we are going to Thailand for two weeks. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision but I am so glad we've done it. We've only bought flights and we are going to sort out accomodation when we get there. We'll spend a few days in Bangkok and then head down to the islands. I can't wait!!! Labels: seeing_doing
Happy New Year
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."
Edith Lovejoy Pierce Labels: seeing_doing
Christmas
  Christmas Day was spent at home with exchange of prezzies and a huge Christmas dinner of turkey and stuffing with homemade cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, mashed swede and carrot and sprouts. It was delicious. After a relaxing Boxing Day we drove on 27th to my mum and dads', where it felt like Christmas all over again. It had snowed quite heavily overnight and on 28th we went with my sister and the dog to Bolam Lake Country Park for a walk. On 29th we headed for Dom's mum's house where we delivered and opened more gifts, had snowball fights with Liam and Sophie, Dom's nephew and niece, and took them to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was excellent. We got back home late last night and have stocked up on champagne to see in the New Year this evening. Labels: seeing_doing
Christmas Tree
 Last weekend we put up the Christmas Tree. It looks lovely. Our Christmas shopping is all finished and most of the presents are wrapped and stored under the tree until we set off and deliver them between Christmas and New Year. Dom and I aren't putting our presents for each other under the tree until Christmas Eve to make sure they stay top secret! Labels: seeing_doing
MPH05
 Last month I took Dom to MPH05. It's a car show. Boys stuff. Dom enjoyed it though! Labels: seeing_doing
Guy Fawkes Night
 On Saturday 5th November it was 400 years since Guy Fawkes tried to blow up parliament. Britain celebrates his failed plot every year on this date by burning effigies of Guy on large community bonfires and by letting off fireworks. Dom and I went to a small firework display sans bonfire at our local pub. It was just enough to make us feel like we hadn't missed out, whilst at the same time enabling us to walk back home within a couple of minutes and enjoy the rest of the night indoors, warm and with a few glasses of wine. Labels: seeing_doing
watching
On Halloween night Dom and I went with some friends to see Saw II. What can I say, it was pure gore. Probably one of the most gruesome films I have ever seen and very entertaining. Perfect for Halloween. Before we left the house, my lantern attracted six little gro | |
