Don't be surprised...

It's the sign of a true scrapbooker! Point a camera at them and what do they do.... pull out their camera and take your photo in a flash!

2 + 1 blackbirds in a pie...

Oh what a wonderful pie... ! I hear you say 'it's a pie worth sharing' and that's exactly what happened. Me & Ginger sat in the sun and managed to get to the bottom of this yummy chicken, ham and leek pie with scrummy cauliflower cheese, without too much trouble

Love-hate relationship...

That's what I have with those little suckers called mussels...! I was in Highcliffe today, Pebble Beach restaurant, which serves the most amazing fish dishes. The place overlooks the isle of wight and it's a brilliant place to go for a business lunch. I ordered a seafood pancake which was delicious and included salmon, white fish, scallops, large king prawns and those little suckers all covered in sauce and gruyere cheese. Not wanting to be embarrassed in front of the clients, and as part of my 'eat something different' challenge, I ate some... but I'm still not sure why... !

It's just like a sneeze...!

Atishoo....! And you've lost 3 days! Okay, I didn't lose them because I know exactly what I've been doing... mmm, let me think.. working? Yes, that's it... working my little socks off. Kent on Monday, Bristol on Tuesday and again today, with very little else sandwiched in-between. I did find out how to retrieve my voice mail messages at work today. I asked IT not to put voice mail on my phone because I'm not always there. But I discovered that they had... and the very officious lady said you have 1... hundred and 47 new messages! It was even more funny when I listened to the first one, because you have to do it in that order, it's only from August 04! There are the 'can you give me a call' messages and the 'umph!' messages and with the click, or many clicks, of the '3' button on my phone, I've managed to almost delete all of them. Took me a while of course, and now I imagine I'll need a new '3' button because I've worn the old one out...! Hey ho... just off for yummy food and meet up with the gorgeous Ginger! X

Best way to spend a Sunday..!

Lazy Sunday lunches... what a treat to have a glass of Kia Royale, fresh prawns with garlic mayonnaise, Roast Pork and a selection of homemade ice-creams.. yum! All this and sitting outside in the beautiful sunshine, fantastic! Me & Ginger have been crafting... again! Ginger arrived late last night so we crafted until 2:45am then up again around 8am for a lazy Sunday breakie and more crafting.
I'm not sure who messed up my desk? It's a highly creative mess and the little Miss Innocent look doesn't wash with me!

happy feet... x

Oh it's just like summertime! I have treated myself to a pair of flip flops. I haven't had a pair for years but Liz said which ones to choose and okay, I haven't mastered the art of driving them yet, but I hope I will. From bobby blue boots (that I'd have to say I have a love/hate relationship with), to pretty, jeweled flip flops in a flash, all with the help of my flexible friend. My pretty feet have walked those streets of London and discovered that they are not paved with gold. In fact, there are plenty of ways to spend your gold in London and I've succumbed to some of them. But, it was definately time to come home today and as expected, the trains were fashionably late with a half hour delay leaving Paddington. But it didn't matter because I was chilling out, reading my book, having a cup of tea and a muffin bought whilst standing beside the next prime minister! How cool is that?! David rocks!
You know when you have one of those moments when you recognise someone but are not quite sure why? Out of context then even DC looked like a normal guy waiting for a train. He walked right past me at Paddington station and you know, he's a lot slimmer and fitter than I imagined him to be. That's widescreen tv for you! Thankfully, I didn't embarrass myself by telling him, though it did cross my mind! It's hard for my friends to believe (yes, admit it!) but sometimes I do have the wearwithall to keep my mouth firmly shut! He doesn't look all of his 42 years either, but if he's going to tuck into Milly's cookies he's going to have to watch his waistline! Not something most politicians seem to worry about! There were a few other commuters with cameras at the ready when they realised who it was, but I was the closest and the first and didn't miss the opportunity to stand beside him and buy my blueberry muffin! Another first - thanx DC! x

Hot stuff!

It's baking down here so I have my pretty little feet up and having a rest. Today we've stormed the Tower of London and escaped by boat to Westminster armed with a small goat's cheese salad and a piece of coffee and walnut cake! Even the ravens couldn't stop us making off with those crown jewels under our arms. Okay, I'm not starrng in the next Mission Impossible Heist to steal the queens jewels. With only one attempt in the past goodness knows how many years, I think her royal highness has nothing to fear. The crowns are very splendid and the moving walkway that you stand on to view them gives you just enough time to take in the diamond encrusted, solid gold, ermine fur trimmed 'hat' that they are. For no other purpose than to be adorned because there's not enough fur to keep your head warm and the weight of all that gold and jewels has to be uncomfortable! As Liz said, it seems strange that in this day and age, the royals 'wear' them on occasions. But it's all about tradition and wealth. Stick a party hat out of a cracker on their heads and they wouldn't look quite so splendid would they?

Of course the Tower isn't just about the jewels. HIghlights include the armour worn by Henry VIII and his horse of course! All the various towers which we scaled and decended following in the footsteps of all those famous souls who have trod that way before. Some for the last time, it appears. Traitors Gate is bricked up and mostly under water with the high tide in the middle of the day. It's less than 400 years since the great fire of 1666. How different life is now!

From the Tower we took the boat down to Westminster. It was great to be out in the sun with a bit of a breeze. The sights were splendido... so after all that we've come back for a rest and a nap! x

A BIG adventure

I'm listening to the workmen outside the window and now there's a train wizzing past.. it's ain't like life in the country down here! I'm down in the BIG city and wondering how people get used to this noisy life - or, perhaps they become accustomed to it and filter it out? I'm sleeping on the sofa (thanx IKEA) at Liz's and it's the start of another day in the BIG city. I came down on the train yesterday from Kemble. I got the train with about 1 minute to spare! A couple of hours later and I'm here in the apartment and it feels like summer has arrived. The sun is out and it's very warm, oh how I wish I'd packed a dress and sandels! We took ourselves off to Covent Garden and sat outside on the terrace of Chez Gerard, which used to be one of my favourite places in Bristol until they closed it down. Had a glass of chilled Kia and sea bass with green beans, prawns and spinach - yum! Next we went down to the Thames and just walked and walked. The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, BlackFriars Bridge, St. Pauls, OXO Tower.. all icons that mean you are in no doubt where you are - well, that's what Liz says anyway!

I have this theory that as there's a big, fat river flowing through most capital cities and those cities are all populated by people in search of their fortune. They are all cosmopolitan in choices of restaurants, people, entertainment so the only thing that sets each one apart from another is the view, the landmarks and often the temperature. London, particularly the Thames, is like no other city if you're in sight of one of it's famous landmarks. If you're not then you could be in Paris, Budapest, NYC because the mix is similar for all big cities.

This big city of London has one of the most well known modern art galleries in the World, Tate Modern. I've not visited before and I was impressed by the scale and style of the inside of what used to be a electricity station - the turbine room with all the big equipment is on view on the ground floor. I always believe galleries are only memorable by the pieces in them. If I can't remember them then I'm not into them. Liz laughs at my 'arty' approach to things. In fact, I'm now 'a media type' according to Liz! Memorable moments in the Tate Modern were the Mondrain, a Picasso, Miro, Monet and something entitled '30 pieces of silver'.

The entire room was devoted to this one piece of art/sculpture. The artist, Cornelia Parker had taken over 1000 pieces of silver from junk shops and boot sales including spoons, cutlery, candlesticks, cigarette cases, teapots, a flute, laid them out on a road and flattened them by getting someone to run over them with a steam roller! She them grouped them into 30 circular arrangements and suspended each item on a wire from the ceiling so they hang about 10cm from the floor. We both thought it was a clever, humorous idea that made us smile. We were too late to get tickets to one of the galleries so we'll be going back!

We then legged it over to Leicester Square for a quick milk shake in Ed's before going to see 27 dresses at the cinema. We almost had the screening to ourselves, just 2 other girls in there. Not a brilliant film really, very slushy and not a particularly strong storyline. But hey ho, it was reasonably entertaining. Oh how my feet were aching by the time we got back to the apartment just around 10pm!

Let's see how they fare today on our trip to the Tower! X

Horses for courses... !

Yeah... what a fun packed day. And that's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek comment considering the day I've had. It started at 8:30am when I went to get petrol, milk, cash and decided to have a relaxing coffee and croissant in Hobbs. Oh thank you guardian angel..., I'm not sure why you chose today... but I'm there minding my own business when who should walk in but Steve and his gf. The look on his face was a classic. It's a good job he can't read my mind... enough said! Reality has a habit of biting you in the bum when you least expect it but you know what... when it does, you just have to get on with it. The best bit about today was that I was spending it with the lovely Tash, Steve's daughter going to Badminton Horse Trails. What a great day we've had. It's such a great way to spend a day, wandering around the grounds of a beautiful estate, people watching, chatting and gossiping, having plenty of fresh air, shopping for wine! ooops, and watching the horses, nearly forgot that bit! We sat beside the course on a Waitrose plastic carrier with two cups of coffee and the most enormous hot pork baguettes. JOY! And we decided that 'home' as in Badminton house, whilst being very expensive to carpet and heat, was where we'd both like to live! Got the helicopter down there too, we just need to find the good looking, generous, millionaire to go with it now. One each, of course! I'd have to say that the whole event was brilliantly organised and we loved it. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Indian. So, after watching a bit of tv we took ourselves off to the Passage to India where we've put the world to rights! Fab day! X

It's the reason why I make handmade cards..

You might ask why... ? I make cards to make others smile, to let them know I'm thinking about them, to send my best wishes, to tell them their special to me, to say happy birthday, celebrate an anniversary, to tell them I love them, to share a good story, to say I'm sorry, to say thank you and all those other very special moments and heartfelt occasions. Card giving is about sentiment and how people feel and it's true, it's like sending a great big hug in an envelope. I made this special card for Pearl & Dean (sorry, Tom!) to thank them for making my car-buying experience so very special. I have even included a photo of me, my tiny bucket and my baby wipes! I'm all ready to clean my new car.. he he.. I think you'd agree that it's unlikely that I will ever drive another car out of a car showroom, so this was my time. To mark the occasion, I wanted them to know just how special they made me feel.. ;-)

They forced me... honest..!

Oh what a find...! It seemed a shame not to go and try the Gumstool (sorry Fi&Rob) so me & Ginger took ourselves off there on Monday evening and woo hoo, what a fabulous meal! I believe the best food at the moment is served in Stow, but I couldn't possibly tell you because it's a secret! Now I reckon they have a serious contender and I'd have to say, beaten hands down by the wonderful attention of the lovely waiters. We had one all to ourselves, plus a couple of others who obviously realised that it was more fun to wait on us than any of the other diners. He was such a sweetie and the food was so tasty, we had such a fun night. Me & Ging tucked into belly pork and beef ribs followed by bread and butter pud and I'm not sure what Ginger had, mmm. She asked for Stiffy Toffee Pudding.. which kinda set the tone for the rest of the evening! The waiters were giggling and we were snapping photographs, we had lots of laughs and some great food and threatened to return! So the next night... we did. We walked in and they'd prepared a table especially for us and it was like our own special reception committee, how lovely. It's rare to be treated so well and it's all because we were pleasant, courteous, playful and just plain cheeky! They asked us to guess the table number.. yes, you guessed it.. 69! And we had yet another brilliant meal and chocolates too this time too... nothing was too much trouble.. so we've booked to go again in May! We can't wait... ! Missy Ginger Pie you are such a flirt and everyone loves you.. and I love you more ;-) X

You might ask... !!!!

I noticed one of my neighbours behaving a bit suspiciously beneath my window. He had both his hands in plastic carrier bags and was sheepishly fiddling about in another plastic carrier bag between his knees! Not one to miss an intriguing photo opportunity, I snapped him first then watched to see exactly what he was up to. Any guesses...? Comments welcome... !! A rubbish photo I know, but I was snapping through the window, and trying not to be caught in the act!

Soulmates...

There are people in my life that are my soulmates, not many, I can count them on one hand. Our great friendship comes from a special experience we've shared that is like a glue. It has bound us together for life. Some are older friends, some are relatively new and we are not necessarily alike. We just have something unique that puts us on the same wavelength. The lovely Fi is one of my 'glued-on' friends and no matter what we're doing, or where we are, I know we'll always be soulmates. The heart of our friendship lies back in 1979 (sounds like a Dr Who moment) when we shared a room together at college. Now we have more glue, quite literally, because Fi&me are scrapping buddies too!

It's amazing to me how on some days, just 24 hours can be packed with such great memories. FI & Rob came just to stay this weekend and we walked, we talked, we laughed and we ate!
'Rob the Explorer' & Ellie made some discoveries on their travels and brought back stories of scary cows, big gates, private land (ooops!), colourful and most likely very magic mushrooms, 'ooo ahhh' ducklings and secret (swinging?!) barbeque parties... oooer! x There were so many highlights and photo opportunities to be had, thank goodness us girls always have our cameras with us. We discovered the wonder that are the infamous 2-1 pies at the Weighbridge Inn, they were truly yummy. We got chatting to some lovely SA people, as you do and discovered that these pies were meant for sharing! My eye was caught by some fishermen who spent the entire afternoon and early evening floating about on the lake. I thought I was in with a chance until Rob pointed out they were ancient and were out there to get away from women like me! Mmm, a boy's view of the world.. how interesting! Not to be put off, I did give them the once over with my binoculars and as ever, he was right!
Later that day...
Fi & Rob really did take the sunshine with them when they left... ! As they drove away the sky changed, the clouds descended casting big shadows over the lake and with the sun low in the sky, the trees shone... and within the hour the heavens had opened and it was bucketing down! x

silly things..

Sometimes you come across the silliest things! I took this photo in a queue because the two signs on the back of this lorry just above the number plate both read... DO NOT PUSH! Doh... are they joking?! Do they really think we're that stupid..? I guess so... ;-(

Highlight of the week.. yummy chocs from the lovely Sara... how very, scrummy indeed! It brought a big smile to our faces because it's always wonderful to get surprise pressies + the way to a girl's heart is always 'chocolates!'

I've been to Morans tonight with the guys and gals from IVC. Just chatting and winding down after another long week of work, work and more work. Thankfully, Fi & Top Totty are coming tomorrow - woo hoo - and I've bought lots of yummy scrapping pressies from my fav shop for Fi.. well, that's if I can part with them! I've got them home, stroked them, wrapped them up, stroked them again and you know what... they say giving is as nice as receiving... well, I agree with that.. it's always lovely choosing presents for people you love because usually they are just the things that you'd love to keep for yourself... ! X

out on the open road...

What a brilliant day...... in between juggling mags and projects (I feel like I'm spinning plates at the moment!) I've been to pick up my super new mini! I couldn't believe it was sitting inside the showroom and I actually drove it out of the glass doors... woo hoo, how fab is that! I felt like a film star and surprise, surprise, I was even presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers by Pearl & Dean.. ooops, I mean Tom & Dean! These boys made my car-buying experience very memorable and out of all the cars I've owned, starting with my white ford escort, my gun metal grey alfa romeo, my silver puma, (see the recurring theme!) my silver blue renault cabriolet, my wonderful electric blue cooper s... this brilliant sparkling silver cooper s cabriolet is at the top of my best car list! It oozes character with its butterscotch coloured tan leather sports seats which look good enough to eat. Best bits are the wizzy handle in the boot which was added for the Americans.. just in case they fell into the boot and needed to unlock it from the inside! I'd like to see that... the boot is tiny, not small, not ample, but tiny! But, what kinda girl needs a big boot when all she really wants is racks and racks of pretty shoes... ?! This is just the start of my next mini adventure.. x

work, work, work...

Or so it seems... and you know what they say about all work... ?! Today was the last day that my mini would spend in the office car park! Feels a bit sad because it's been a great mini adventure. But, it's time for someone else to love my little blue mini because I'm going topless! X

Birthday Girl...!

Saturday night was Fi's night! Her surprise birthday party was packed with friends and family who love her for who she is and what she's means to us all. Me included... I've known this wonderful girl for 32 years. She is one of my closest and dearest friends and I love her to bits. I owe 'Top Totty' a drink or two, for finding me and putting us back in touch just over 10 years ago. She's given me lots of smiles and funny moments ever since, and I wouldn't swap them for anything. From college room buddies to serious scrapping buddies, I'm so looking forward to the next 32!

My birthday present to me... little miss Impulsive... x

With the wind in my hair and my foot on the pedal, yes I've done it! I've missed my cabriolet so much, that today I went out and bought one! WOW, that's such a great feeling! I know I'm going to love it and can't wait to pick it up. The girls in the showroom are just gorgeous, they say I have to keep coming back to visit, how sweet are they. I drove over yesterday because I'd searched and found about 6 hopefuls. All scattered around the country of course, so I chose the nearest first. And, the whole experience was just as you'd wish it to be... x

My word of the day... "Fortunately!"

Life amuses me most days and today was no exception. Weird, and uncanny things happen and I often can't work out why. It feels like 'there's something going on' which most people would call 'a coincidence' and I call 'weird'. Life is like a train track... sometimes you're happy just trundling along. Some days the other tracks running alongside cross over your path, which make life a tad more challenging. Yesterday was one such day. My BIG MINI adventure took centre stage, yet there was another story line unravelling in real time, like a big ball of string. I often get challenged by mechanical things, that's no secret. Yesterday, I'm sitting in 'my new car' on the forecourt and I hear the lock click over. Okay, except that I have no keys so effectively, I'm locked inside. I try the doors.. the switch on the dashboard... nothing. Anyone who knows me well, will know that I'm not comfortable in enclosed spaces, so I was starting to get flustered! Fortunately, my mob had the teensiest bit of signal so I buzzed reception and found myself having this very strange conversation about being locked in a mini on their forecourt. It felt like a scene from 'Candid Camera', (mmm yes, I've dug that up from the 1970's). 10 seconds later, I hear the doors unlock and Mr salesman comes wandering around the corner with his trade plates, totally oblivious to what has happened. So, who or what locked and unlocked the doors? He didn't and I certainly didn't... "my new sidewalk" did... aaahhhhhhhhhhhh! Mr Salesman admitted afterwards that it's one of their new sales techniques. They lock you the car for a day, reckoning that after 24 hours you'd be hungry for more cappuccinos and biscuits. They'd come along the next day, open the window just enough so they can swap the car keys over for your credit card - and hey presto, job done! He was joking... !! But the story line isn't finished... I get home, put my key into my front door and it won't turn. I'm standing there like a lemon with a puzzled grin on my face because I'm stranded. The key won't go fully into the lock and it won't budge! I know in that situation, I really would be screwed, though the girls last night had a suggestion for me... you could go and knock up vertically challenged... mmm, the answer to that is unprintable! Fortunately, (my word for the day!) my neighbours kindly let me in. David forced the key into the lock, something I hadn't managed to do, and it's back working again. For how long, I'm not sure...

I've been woo-woo-wooed... !

DL has cracked the secret to this girl's heart. Their trendy showroom is just fab! It's enormous and yes, it's packed with dear sweet minis, but it also has fab, funky chairs, yellow cups and saucers branded with the mini logo (bless) and a wacking great Smeg fridge in the corner. How great is that?! Vicki, who greeted me, made me a frothy cappuccino and yes, they had chocolate biscuits, fab@! Call me shallow if you wish, but it's all part of the wooing process, isn't it?! And, I've been seriously woo-ed! It loosened up my purse (and no, not my knicker elastic!) and I've never been so pleased to part with quite a considerable amount of money with such a big grin on my face! x I tried to get the cups and saucers as part of the deal but they are more precious than gold dust!

I thought it was my lucky day... @!&%!

No, it isn't the man from Delmonte! Nor is it the man of my dreams delivering a box of Milk Tray? He didn't look like Daniel Craig either and from the look on his face when he saw me with the camera, he wasn't going to stop for long! But who said we have to rely on men for chocolate and flowers? Here they are, my wonderful Editors who surprised me today with a box of chocolates and a beautiful bunch of Spring flowers as a thank you for hosting 'At Home with Anna' yesterday at my apartment. What a wonderful surprise and I never fail to be impressed by them. They make every day in the office a real treat! Tuesday was such a fabulous day. We managed to shoot 4 videos as well as fitting in lunch at the Old Lodge.

It was a tough day! ;-) Joking apart, they all worked very hard and lunch up on the common was well deserved! x

What's real?

This incredible background isn't in fact a bookcase... it's a trompe l'oeil...! What a project! It's yet another spectacular scene in the library at the Hotel Du Vin in Cambridge. Taking over 3 months to paint there are some wonderful humorous touches. One book "I can't believe we got there" is written by Denis Frucot, who is in fact the General Manager at the hotel! Painted by Gary Myatt, http://www.garymyatt.com/famurals.html who paints himself into the murals and sits alongside the girls on the reception desk after what appears to be a great night out!

Cambridge adventures...

I've had a wonderful couple of days. I've been to one of my most favourite hotels.. HDV in Cambridge with Dom for a Sake evening. She loves Sake... I've discovered that I don't! But that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the evening. We were treated to Sake cocktails before dinner in the library with about 16 other guests. The hotel had created the cocktail themselves, infused with lime Sake and 25% proof! That really started the evening going! Here I am with the expert from the Akashi Sake Brewery in Japan. There was young fragrant Sake with the starter of sea bass, both warm and chilled Sake with the main course fillet of beef and tempura vegetables. A 6 year old aged Sake with the cheese course. And to finish, a cherry tart served with a cherry infused Sake over ice! There were some interesting characters there, not least the very knowledgeable French General Manager, Denis, who had worked establishing both the Bristol and Cambridge hotels so knew them inside out, He'd been involved in making some of the choices with the building work and had worked for Malmaison previously, so knows the companies inside out. He was a lovely guy and although I didn't get to chat to some of the other guests around the table, it was a great way to spend an evening. The hotel lived up to expectations and I'm now longing to go on another HDV adventure!

Cambridge Fitzwiliam Museum...

We spent an hour or so in this museum which just happened to be along the same road as the HDV and opposite Loch Fyne! How convenient... ! It was raining so we had a lovely lunch at Loch Fyne, yummy, then went into the museum. The entrance hall was amazing.. there were paintings by Monet and Sisley, a few nice sculptures.. so we had a good mooch around then went back to the hotel for a cocktail in the bar! x