Easter Weekend and Derbyshire delights

Ok. So last weekend was a while ago now. Especially since my non bloggable issues, the airline industry coming to a hault with the Icelandic volcanic ash (which rather amusingly no one on the BBC can pronounce - so just aren't,) and the bit political debate last night.

BUT last weekend we stayed at Mottrum Hall in Cheshire. In retrospect, given my tum, we maybe should have stayed home. But those who know me, know I do have a determined streak at times. And this was planned. The place is grand from the outside, and has a nice spa and relaxation area. I got all the info from my manicurist on who is a member. It's footballers wife's country. Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick are all members apparently. And Sir Alex used to be. Some of the Chelsea team were staying in an annexe on the Friday night before the game. Not that I saw any and the less said about Chelsea the better.

Given all this, the rooms are not actually that swish. I mean they are fine. But could probably do with updating. Good breakfast mind.

We tried eating out a couple of times. Bad move on my part. Should have taken a picture of Jonny's face when I ordered the muscles one evening. I mean really. Of all the things to order.

Our time "out" was in Derbyshire on the Sunday. It really is beautiful. Stunning in fact. We visited Buxton briefly only to realise everything was shut on Easter Sunday, but was pretty to see anyway. I post a couple of pics of us out of the car and looking far more active than we actually were, and far less rainy than it actually was. Still loved the fresh air though.

Our time with the family on the Monday was lovely. It was great to see everyone and to see our nephews getting on so well. I think the activity books we chose were a hit too. As Jonny had work to do in Manchester on the Tuesday my sister in law introduced me to the Trafford Centre. Oh and a stop at her favourite local boutique, where I may have purchased a top...

Glazed Painted Cupcake

Here is my finished glazed cupcake that I had much fun with a couple of weeks ago when I went pottery painting:

I am really pleased with it. And you can keep things inside too. Maybe a cupcake I can eat..

Lovely Day in Town

I had a lovely day yesterday. I did my stretch class which made me feel, well, stretched. Afterwards my friend (who happens to be the my stretch teacher too) drove us into town for some fun. We visited Anna Valentine at her studio. It is located in one of those really pretty Mews streets that are tucked away in London, just off Marlybone Lane. The building is beautiful. White wash walls, stone floors and open fireplaces. And her collection of beautiful clothes amazing. Having seen them at the fashion show a couple of weeks ago, it was great to see the detailing and fabrics up close. I got all dreamy about owning one. And I will keep dreaming about it because chances of me having the floaty nude coloured dress I was eying up are pretty darn minimal.

We then visited Rococo Chocolates to collect my winning box of chocolates. Rococo chocolate is delicious and the packaging lovely. I need to take a picture quickly to post as the chocolates themselves seem to be evaporating. I have no idea where they are going...

We then had a lovely lunch with maybe just a few bubbles... and a mooch along Marlybone High Street into the VERY nice shops. I may have purchased a couple of things while I was there. I love this bit of London. It is so close to the chaos of Oxford Street yet such a completely different feel. If you haven't discovered it yet the you should.

Although I was tired when I got home and went to bed very early last night, it was great to be out. I am living most of my life at the moment either within this home, or the few surrounding streets in the local community. It was great to just be out. To look at lovely things. To laugh. And live.

New Years Resolution Number 157

Get on my bike.

Am just back from a cold but lovely bike ride in Richmond Park. I looked out the window this morning while reading the Sunday paper and decided it was too nice a blue sky to miss out the park today. Not been on my bike in far too long. It was really lovely. Look what I live next to:

It's not always easy to get in the zone of just enjoying what is. Of seeing other people, out and about, whom I presume don't live with elephants.

But I feel good for the fresh air and the exercise. And the park is a good place be.

And yikes. United are 1-0 down to Leeds at Old Trafford right now...come on United. Sort it out. Otherwise I will have a grumpy husband return home later. And I don't think pictures of deer and talk of bike rides will lift his spirits.

Boxing day on the West Bank - Hebron

After a suitably lazy boxing day morning of tea, toast and lots of ham products for Jonny, we voted for a trip to Hebron. I was slightly concerned by the security phone calls that John had to make before we left, and the news of disturbances in Nablus. But we trust our hosts and the view was that it would be ok to go.

We drive past many settlements on the journey, which are widespread on the Countryside. No green pastures here. Very barren land, some of which has been culivated for farming.

First stop in Hebron is the pottery and glass shops and factory. As Kate and john have a good relationship with the owner, we are very well looked after. Kate bought 1000 glass Christmas balls from him for the consulate Christmas fair. They raised well over £2500 from the sales of them to help those in need in Gaza. It is facinating to watch these men blowing glass and painting their pottery. It is really beautiful stuff.

Next stop is the Old City of Hebron. I maybe should have worn a longer skirt as we attract lots of stares. The area has very vived evidence of Jewish and Muslim clashes over the years. Many windows are broken, areas closed off/down, and wire netting covers many of the walk ways to protect pedestrians from rubbish being thrown at them by children and angry young men on the rooftops. What a broken world this is.

We stop off to buy kafirs from the Palestinian ladies, and beautiful embroidery from those our hosts know and recommend. We hear a little of what their lives are like. Hard.

We stop for a late lunch before heading back to Jerusalem. The afternoon has opened my eyes to poverty, war and kindness. The latter seemed to be surviving, despite the harsh realities of this very troubled land.

Craven Cottage - Fulham V Manchester United

Those who know me, know very quickly that Jon's second love in life is Manchester United. His first is of course moi. So life involves lots of trips to Old Trafford for Jonny at weekends, and the occasional away game too.

This weekend the away game was at Fulham. Only a few miles from our home. I have suggested on more than one occasion that it would make far more sense to support a local team, but apparently it just doesn't work like that.

I rarely go to the games, but I did put in a request for a ticket for this one. My parents are both originally from Fulham. My grandparents lived on one of the roads very close to Craven Cottage, and as a child I was always very curious what the football ground was like inside. So, it was a bit of nostalgia for me to walk through Bishops Park up to the ground. I haven't been to this part of town for a few years.

And this is what it looks like the other side of those big black gates I used to look at as a child:






Terrible score: 3-0 to Fulham. And it was absolutely FREEZING. Seriously I had to defrost when I got home. Good to see cousin Rob briefly though, and to satisfy childhood curiosity and take a bit of a trip down memory lane.

Morning out in Windsor

I visited Windsor yesterday morning with a couple of girlfriends, with no particular reason other than it would be a nice little trip. And it was indeed.

Very relaxed girly chat. Popped into the biggest H&M, Zara and a couple of cook shops. Up to the castle in the beautiful summer sunshine. Annoyed I forgot my camera. Pit stop in Starbucks and then back in the car for a short drive home and lunch at my friends place.

We didn't get lost or spend a lot of money. No dramas or events to report. Just a really nice morning. There is something about going a little bit away from home to feel like you have had a good change of scene. And even nicer to have good friends to share it with.

Windsor was surprisingly quiet. Maybe Alistair Darling has succeeded in suppressing every last bit of spending we have left. Don't get me started.

Anish Kapoor Exhibition at the Royal Acadamy

I woke earlier to a beautiful morning. Gone was the rain and the wind. There was stunning blue skies and sunshine. I still feel very tired, but as part of my weeks survival tactics I had arranged to visit this exhibition with my sister today. A friend had told me very good things about it and encouraged me to go. I was curious. I'll be honest I knew very little about what it was going to be like.

Well it was amazing. All sorts of incredible sculptures. I've never seen anything like it. The guy had literally taken over some of the rooms and transformed them with enormous splatters of wax, sculptures projecting out of the walls and enormous magic mirror type pieces. I have never visited an exhibition quite like this one, in that you literally felt like it was made for the space. Maybe it was. Our favourite was an enormous, and I mean enormous, yellow cocoon in the wall that had an incredible impact on you.

There was strictly no photos inside, but we did take this one of the magic balls outside, which gives you a taste.

Afterwards we wandered back to Piccadilly station and popped into Fortnum and Mason. They have done this place up. It was packed. It was, however, a feast of beautifully packaged and exquisite chocolates and other sweet treats. We sampled one or two things. It would be rude not to. It was good to spend some time talking and catching up. We adore my niece, but some grown up time is sometimes needed. There were a few people out and about in town this morning who could do with some growing up themselves. A couple who would not obey the steward in the exhibition and insist on going where they were not allowed. An extremely grumpy lady in F&M moaning that she couldn't get near the confectionery counter as there were too many people - hmm it is 3 weeks before Christmas you know. And a crazy lady on the train home who was offering to marry complete strangers if they didn't use plastic bags. Ahem.

Then back to Clapham Junction for Eggs Benedict and now I am in the middle of an afternoon of pampering. The masked ball tomorrow evening, along with the ditching of the peachy pills that hurt my feet, has fully justified a spa pedicure I think. Girl logic.

Friday night on the South Bank

I spent yesterday evening in town. When I was working in central London I sometimes really used to hate it. There are so many people, so much traffic and as my job often involved heading across town to go and meet clients, I was always rather stressed that all these people, cars, buses, tubes were working against me.

These days, as I am not working, if I head into the centre of town, it is usually a much better experience. I took the bus across Waterloo Bridge up to St Paul's. As it is getting dark just after 5 now, it's actually pretty darn cool. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are all lit up and the views along the river are great. This time last year I was on this Bridge learning about night time photography as part of a 10 week evening class I took. As part of that very same course I did a project on St Paul's too - it was a bit dirty then - but they have now finally finished cleaning it up and it looks amazing actually. It's one of those ironies of life, that when you live in any city, you rarely make the most of everything it has to offer because life is just too busy. Jonny has been working next to St Paul's for about 6 years now, and has still yet to go inside.

Anyway, it is a clear and still evening. We wander from St Paul's across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate. I try to take a few photos on my digital compact that don't work very well at all. It makes me appreciate that I did learn quite a bit on my course and I need my SLR and a tripod to get a decent shot of St Paul's in all it's glory.

We've had membership of the Tate for a few years now, but again, so rarely use it. We are not meeting our friends for a couple of hours so head up to the members bar there. Jonny is too tired after a mammoth week at work for checking out any of the art. I've not been in here before. It is very understated, with it's main winning card being the views out across the Thames. Obviously all the seats by the window are taken but we relax and on the couches and catch up on what is going on. I've hardly seen him all week and even though he is tired, this is better than vegging in front of the TV as we talk more. I enjoy it. I think the Tate have got the market just right here. They offer drinks and tapas, which is kind of perfect if you have just been looking at art. Or like most of the people in there, are using it as a pit stop after work.

We then wander along the South Bank to the Royal Festival Hall to meet our friends. The South bank has improved massively. I can remember coming up here years ago and it being pretty run down and depressing actually. Nowadays, there are all sort of cafes and restaurants which maximise the outlook across the Thames and give for a nice understated buzz about the place.

We eat at Skylon, which is the fairly new restaurant at the top of the Royal Festival Hall. It seems we are not to get a view this evening, as our table is far from the prime river view ones at the front. Still the high ceilings and general setting still make for a really pleasant place to eat. The waiter is maybe too eager to take our orders. You can tell this is a really popular place these days, and you get the sense that someone else is booked onto our table in a couple of hours. Anyway, my fishcakes were nice and my apple tart tartin delicious, and the prices not too bad for a London restaurant in such a prime position. As an aside I think this is not the case with the Oxo Tower down the road - ok food at a high price.

The big bonus for us is this is a few minutes walk from the train back to Richmond from Waterloo, and fortunately one of us wakes up just in time for us not to miss our stop. It's chucking it down with rain when we get back. I think the South Bank would be less pleasant in the rain so am grateful that even though we didn't get a table with a view, it was clear and still when we were there. Note to self: should do this more.

Tide Tables, Richmond Bridge

I don't really like Mondays that much these days. I have a very different sinking Monday morning feeling to most other people, as my Monday morning sinking feeling is usually because I have a hospital visit of some description to deal with. The care is all very good, but it still turns me into some sort of nervous wreck just being there.

Yesterday morning started off as one of those days as I had to go to the hospital in the afternoon. However, it was a gorgeous Monday morning weather wise. After annoying lots of people in the local Post Office by holding up the queue with my 11 recorded delivery ebay parcels, it was a real treat when my lovely friend Gen suggested we wander down to Tide Tables. I have heard this is a nice place to hang out for a coffee but never been.

The cafe is tucked underneath the arches of Richmond Bridge and you probably wouldn't notice it unless you know it is there:

The menu is fully marketed towards the Richmond consumer. Not cheap, organic, vegan, wheat free, gluten free options all available. But really delicious. We got there about 12 and decided to have lunch. I was not disappointed at all. This is where I got to sit in the glorious sunshine and chit chat:

My afternoon may have been slightly pants, but this was a really lovely Monday morning. And my felafel's and salad may have ticked the healthy organic boxes but was bloomin delicious too. I will be back here quite a bit I think.

Rain did not stop play

I woke up this morning and came downstairs to make the Saturday morning cuppa. Then I heard a sound that did not make me happy. Rain. Loudly splattering on the conservatory roof. Oh dear, I thought. I am taking care of my niece this weekend while her parents are at a wedding. Original plans involved the Lakeland, I mean Wetland, Centre in Barnes. Very rainy day not good.

Next I got a text from a friend asking if I wanted to walk in the park and have tea at Pembroke Lodge at 3. Perfect timing in terms of Maisie Moo sleeps. Not so fun in the rain.

They all arrived. Maisie had one word in her vocabulary that was repeated again and again. "Ducks." Hmm... in the rain.

10.30am decided to ditch the Lakeland/Wetland centre and walk to park. No rain, actually really pleasant. I tell you what though - I learnt that swans and ducks are bloomin scary. Seriously a swan pecked me on the butt! Mais was not remotely phased. I was really quite scared. Richmond Park looks truly beautiful at the moment though. The tree colours are stunning:

I returned to the park later in the day with my friends. No rain but sunshine and blue skies. Truly blessed with a lovely walk. And great cake at Pembroke Lodge. More amazing colours:

I remember when I first moved here just over 3 or so years ago. My then only local friend, who ironically has since left to move to Switzerland with her husband's job, warned me that if you live here you can come over all "smug Sheen." Today was one of those days where you can see what she meant. It is amazing to have this stunning open space at the end of our road. And all the better to have great local friends and a cutie special niece to enjoy it with. Here she is enjoying it herself with "jumping!"

Sorry couldn't get it to turn the other way round. Auntie indulgence to post on my blog none the less. I am sure I will feel less "smug Sheen" when she doesn't register that the clocks go back an hour tonight and we are all supposed to be treated to an extra hours sleep.....

Day out in Oxford

I had a lovely girly day out in Oxford today. Never been before and surprised how easy it was to get there by train (which also meant sleep after a couple or so of glasses of wine last night.) When not asleep I take in some lovely views of pretty autumnal English countryside.

I met my oldest university friend Lynds. Our initial thoughts are that we are going to get university envy. Not that Cardiff wasn't great, but seriously, Oxford is beautiful. I wonder if the students know how privileged they are to go there to live and study. I hope so. We see some students walking around the town centre in their formal wear. All very traditional and completely different to the diesel jeans and fat face sweatshirt I lived in at uni.

We walk through the busy centre up to Christ Church college. It really is so tranquil. The grounds are beautiful and the autumn sunshine and leaves make it even more lovely:

We wander through the Tom Quadrangle, and notice how young the students are, or maybe that is how NOT young we are now:

Christ Church has its own cathedral too. This twelfth century church is amongst the oldest buildings in Oxford, and one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals in England. It is also the only church in the world to be both a cathedral and a college chapel:

After our bit of culture and history we seek out lunch. On recommendation we go to the Malmaison which is in the grounds of the old prison. Very comfy chairs. Good food, if slightly strange straggly chips. We have a lovely girly chat though, and wish we lived closer to each other these days so we could do this more. Phone calls, texts and blogging are great, but there is nothing like meeting up with an old friend face to face to talk boots and wallpaper.

After lunch we shop a little, and make the mandatory Jo Starbucks stop and it is time to get the train home. We grab the same trashy magazine at the station, passing on intelligent stuff, of course. Life has thrown different stuff at these two girls. We have shared life more some times than others. Our university days may not have been in as elegant surroundings as Oxford colleges and there certainly was not the same level of brain power, but I am grateful for them, not least for this enduring friendship that was born and continues.