Take time...

Just when you think you're almost home... mooooooooo, cows in the road! I spend so much time rushing from here to there that when I can't, it feels odd. Well, just for a moment anyway. Then I am reminded that life doesn't need to go at 100 miles an hour. I know it's important to make time to enjoy those moments when we are forced to stop and wait. Those moments remind us that we are human and not a machine! Take time to smell the flowers.. or in this case, watch the cows come home.

Kick back...

There is something quite exhilarating about doing something for the first time. Whether you enjoy the experience, or not, it will always go down 'A FIRST'. So, this evening, I took the plunge and went to my first 'Kick Boxing' class, woo hoo. Liz took me through the moves last night so I wouldn't disgrace myself and actually it was FUN! Hard work, and I know I'm going to feel the pain for a few days... ;-oooooooooooooooo. I have always been a fighter, never a quitter!

We have no time to stand and stare...

My DAD

It's no wonder my brother Greg takes great photographs! He has some big footsteps to step into. Never without a camera in his hand, my dad has made every moment in our lives a great photo opportunity. My family are always smiling, just in case there's a camera about... !

Taken before he had met my mum, this fabulous photograph shows just how handsome my dad is. To come to England so many years ago with nothing, could you imagine doing the same?

No wonder my mum fell in love with him! I'm so proud of my dad for a million and one reasons... Happy Father's Day DAD x

Hold onto something...

No matter where I am, or what I am doing, when someone takes my hand, my heart skips a beat... those moments stay with me... no matter what path we choose, those precious seconds shape our lives and become engraved on our hearts...

Very self indulgent, I know, but it made me smile the first time I saw it! Thank you to the Langton for organising such a great surprise party! The meal was good, the pink balloons were such a nice thought... I do love that place for lots of reasons... the great cappuccino search has found another winner! Though I'm not about to give up on the tea... another reason to smile... x

Anna does Torquay!

From Barcelona to the English Riviera, my tour of the world continues. What a surprising place Torquay is! Okay, it's hardly the centre of the universe, but me & Nix still managed to have a lovely meal in Prezza. Well, meal would be a slight exaggeration, it was more of a small salad & bottle of pinot. Mamba is great club to dance the night away, great dj and lots of laughs. We had to tear ourselves away at 3am. Highlights include my first invitation to a lap dancing club (not hard to refuse that one!), cosmopolitan cocktails and all because the lady loves sexy specs! It numbed the pain of the under par hotel too. It was great to see my friend Luce at D&C and meet up with Joanna & Pat. A busy few days and I've had a horrid drive home, but hey ho, it's another mini adventure x


When the sun shines we'll shine together... if not then you can always stand under my umbrella...ella ella eh eh eh

Stone Angels...

If you saw Doctor Who last night, you might find this photograph a bit freaky. Would you like to sit beside this stone angel perched high above the city? It's a great place for people watching no doubt, but alas not for me. My fear of heights would indeed turn me to stone in an instant if I tried it. I'll stick to the bars and avoid stone Angels! x

The BEST Barcelona moments...

I have so enjoyed Barcelona... its stunning architecture, the buzz of the city, the ease of getting from here to there, sunshine, the language, tapas & wine... it's a colourful city which has almost everything for a girl on tour... x


The amazing Sagrada Familia, there is no place like it on earth. Its magnificent columns and stunning curves are the work of Gaudi. Inside you get a real feeling of scale and the workmen are continuing the work of this great visionary. What an incredible legacy to leave for future generations.


Here's how to get a brilliant 360degree view of this beautiful city. Take the lift up one of the Sagrada Familia towers and be prepared for a squeeze as you navigate the spiral staircases. Views of the city are amazing from this magnificent structure.


You can only stand and marvel at the stunning exterior of this unfinished masterpiece. 70 years of hard graft and meticulous workmanship have created one of the greatest wonders of this world. And, it's still not finished...!

Revolving door moments...

I always have 'door dilemmas'. I just don't get doors and they don't get me! All I wanted to do was walk out of the hotel to take this photograph! Nicky used the word graceful to describe me whilst I was feeling like an idiot. You know when you're a victim when you've sat and watched everyone else walk through that same revolving door. Thankfully, after about 20 seconds fate decided I'd been subjected to enough embarrasment and the doors turned so I could rush outside and take my photograph of 'the cigar' next door to our hotel, as it lit up the Barcelona sky!

Barcelona Babe goes south... !

Good friends mean the world to me. Here we are, the terrible two, out for dinner with Nix's sister Jen and her man, Baz. We have had such a great time in Barcelona, the days have flown by, (and, she only got pissy a couple of times... woo hoo!). I know she'll agree, it's been such a brilliant trip.

I have one or two great holiday friends and Nix is one of them! We have laughed, almost cried, smiled, flirted, scowled, sworn and even been silent for a moment, just the one mind. We have laughed at the world, smiled at each other and told each other secrets that only friends would share. We have talked about our lives, men in general, yes, all of them; our families, the best and worst dressed on Barcelona's streets, work (believe it or not!), and most importantly, what top we're going to wear tonight! We have eaten little, drank quite a lot and 'put the world to rights' more than once. We have had an amazing few days... here's to more holibobs... xx

Magic moments...

I'm off to Barcelona in the morning and I can't wait! This is not a mini adventure, it's an action-packed movie. Hope springs eternal. Lots of inspiring images, crazy moments, scents of summer in a place of music, culture, colour and the most amazing atmosphere. More to follow...

I tip toe through the maze...

How can you make sure that you are in the right place at the right time? What is the right place and why does the timing matter? Is the right place a geographical location, can I buy a map? Do we need a different timepiece, should I go out and get a new watch? Or is this, as I suspect, a matter for the heart?

There are two ways to lead your life. Follow your head, or follow your heart. There is in essence a sprinkling of both in all my decision-making but I know that in those areas I am most passionate about, then my heart rules. There is no map to guide me through the maze. Sometimes there will be blind alleys, but I'm not blind, I have vision and belief that everything happens for a reason. How many of us can clearly see what lies ahead of us?

Happiness for me lies in making sure my heart is in the right place. It’s missing a few bits, but it’s not broken. When your heart is happy, the rest of your life will automatically follow suit.

Balloons & boomerangs

Holding onto happiness is like holding onto the string of a balloon. Let it be snatched from your grasp on a windy day and you will only be able to watch it float away. Balloons rarely return, only boomerangs do that.



Hold onto what is good and treasure each day as if it's your last because at the very moment of parting, if you hadn't already realised, you will see clearly everything that was good and special about it x

Love lost the plot...

Just when you think it's going well.. mmm, a pirate comes along, pierces your heart and you're destined to spend the next 10 years in a battered old boat under the sea with a load of creepy crustaceans!!

Great film tho! The critics were very wrong. Okay it doesn't have the greatest storyline but it's fun (an adventure worthy of my mini) it's good a great cast and it doesn't take itself seriously. Armed with a cappuccino, an icecream and sitting by popcorn popping liz, it was an afternoon of entertainment and amusement.

Banners, BoundAries & Bank HoliBobs...

This blogging lark just eats time! I'm trying to upload my new banner but to no avail, frustrating, or what! Seems like I'm beaten this time... grrr...

The good news is that Les & Georgia came to visit today. We went to Zizzi's and had a wander around town with Liz, who bought her new red carpet dress for the conference next week. I'm so proud...

And, today I'm celebrating... I did something that I've never done before. It's kinda liberating... scary, but I'm confident it's a good decision... in fact it's a great decision! It's the start of a new chapter x

Memory joggers...

Sounds like my mind should be doing summer salts! No, just having my coffee this morning from my NYC Guggenheim Museum mug reminded me how much I want to go back. It's a great piece of architecture, though currently having a make over for the 50th anni in 2009. The whirls inside are like the swirls on a soft ice cream, better than the art, which it has to be said was a bit weird! But hey ho, it was a captured moment which lives on inside my kitchen cupboard.. woo hoo.

And how clever am I? In my 10 minutes over lunch I managed to teach myself a photomerge trick. I posterized the pics then merged them to create a colourful & funky landscape of softly, swirled NYC GM coffee cups!

50 reasons to be happy...

And every one of them can be seen in the smile on Rob's face! Rob's birthday is tomorrow, 22nd May. We all celebrated with a party at Fi & Rob's house on Saturday.

He adored his scrapbook, created by my lovely & fabulous friend Fi. There are scrapbooks that you create for people who want a record of a memory, an event or a celebration. And there are scrapbooks that you create for the ones you love. The difference in the two is immense. Love is like a thread that's woven through the fibres of each page. To those who have shared these memories, it's like a spell that binds them together.

Counting the years, 50 very precious ones, with almost two thirds shared with Fi. Every page lovingly created with well-chosen photographs and thoughtful words that rekindle all those fantastic memories. I love you both very much...



A special lollipop card moment for a special guy. "Rob, you say I'm responsible for some of those happy moments. Though I think its flirty Fi who has put most of the smiles on your face... FMS, FMB and FMN! I only taught her how to scrap. You gave us lots of laughs when you asked what 'FMS' actually meant! Life has never been the same since. And, that's why I thought you might be glad of a collection box to get you through the best years that are still to come... !"

The evening was as special as the reason for being there... x

Moving memories to stir the soul...

I was listening to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake on Classic FM as I drove into Bristol today. I adore this ballet and saw it last year at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Tchaikovsky wrote Swan Lake in the summer of 1875 and explained the reason to his fellow composer Rimsky-Korsakov: “ Partly because I need the money and partly because I have long cherished a desire to try my hand at this kind of music”. Most composers of the time saw it as beneath them to write this kind of music.

Swan Lake is a beautiful but tragic love story. Odette, the white swan is the untouchable woman. Odile, the black swan is the reverse and mirror image. It’s a story of love and trickery with a most moving score that will touch your soul. Just as the souls of the lovers are finally reunited, the message is that love conquers all.

Blonde is good... but butterscotch is better!

What a difference new hair makes? It's true, great hair really is a girls crowning glory. I haven't had a fringe since I was a child and as they say, a change is as good as a rest. Let's face it, May has so far been a bad hair month. Buckets loads of drizzly weather... yesterday the heavens opened when I arrived home and I had to put my brolly up just to get from the car to my front door! It was time for a change...

Share...;-) mine... ;-) share...;-{ mine... ;-))

Do you like someone enough to share your Green & Blacks chocolate with them? I do... and I have 3 bars. One for me, one to share... and guess who the other one's for...? x



100% Pure Sweet Nothings... simply wonderful...Green & Blacks... purveyors of fine bliss... Tis true.."You make life so sweet"... 'You are a truffle in a chocolate bar world'



Officially fantastic...

How eggciting... x

Look what's hatched? Last week this little chick was just an egg sunning itself in an incubator in Greg & Rachael's kitchen. This week, it's a fluffy little ball of chickness... how eggstraordinary!

How cool is this!

adopt your own virtual pet!

Just when things are getting a bit repetitive, along comes a novelty! Not that I'm going to get scribbler to write my blog when I'm otherwise engaged, I think not! He could get me into all kinds of trouble and I'm quite capable of doing that all by myself thank you... have fun x ps Ginger, it's all your fault...!

Girly scrappin fun all weekend...

It's ME and Ging!

Ginger is here! She made me breakfast and then ate my Green & Blacks butterscotch chocolate. Shocking behaviour! But as she said, she felt dutifully bound to help me out and after all, that's what friends are for. We haven't noticed the miserable weather outside because we've made cards, dolls, mini books, albums and had a lot of fun just chatting. We've listened to our favourite radio stations along with my varied and eclectic collection of CD's. As always, it's been a brilliant weekend. The time has gone by so quickly and we were crafting until 3am Saturday morning! Chocolate has been the flavour of the weekend. We've indulged in just 1 bar of G&B's butterscotch dark chocolate, at the same time as making chocolate embossed embellishments. I bought the Gel-a-tin chocolate mini stamps back from CHA last year and they are fantastic. The best bit was of course the chocolate and cappuccino flavoured embossing power that smells yummy!

An important lunch date!

Today the "Crazy' team went out to celebrate their 100th issue! It's been 8 years since I launched this magazine. We had a great lunch at the Picture House on White Ladies road. Quite appropriate venue considering that I used to trot up White Ladies road after work to visit Cath and her new baby Matty all those years ago trying to persuade her to come and work for Origin. Little did she realise what she was letting herself in for! ps As you can see Anne's had too much to drink already!

Boys will be boys...

And, they just couldn't resist... having said that, neither could me or mum! We were innocently watching squirrels at play in the rain at Williamson Park, near the Ashton Memorial Folly in Lancaster. Funny hey...



Time for a dip in the river! Is it Pop or is it Pud...?



What a fantastic name, Crook O' Lune which is near Caton. We had a lovely short walk along the Lune valley which gave me the opportunity to take this great photo of Penny Bridge.

Like father, like son...

This bank holibob was a visit to my little bruv Greg's exhibition in Lancaster http://gsp2.co.uk and a chance to meet his 'other family' and friends. From the bathtaps of The Bay Horse Inn to The Sun for evening meal, it was a great weekend. I'm really proud of Greg for following his heart and I know he's happy... and so glad that mum & dad know that too.

How cool is this sign?!

No guesses where I've been today?! Okay, I was bored! He he.... ! x

Notting Hill in Cheltenham...

Cheltenham is full of little delights and today I found another one! Just along the Bath road, "Jack in a Box" deli where I sat in the window with my sundried tomato and goats cheese quiche and a cappuccino. A great place to have lunch and watch the world go by. "Nicholas", a brand new French wine merchant, opens its doors tomorrow and I was their very 1st customer - TODAY! The power of a smile, hey. I bought 3 bottles of fab French wine as a gift for my little bruv, Greg & his lovely Rachael. "The Bookshop" was a treat, two classical CD's and a couple of James Patterson for £2.50, what a bargain. This place is a little gem and makes Cheltenham even more of a special place to me... x

Jumping jazz and jeezecake!

Some days don't you just look back and think you must be dreaming... ?

Life is full of surprises and I just found another reason to smile. The final evening Cheltenham race meeting was brilliant. Not that I saw too much of the racing from the champagne bar! Me & Shep could be found celebrating everything good about the day with a bottle and half of bubbly! Don't you wish you could spot a winner just by looking? Horses are like men. Full of mystery and hidden depths...





The jazz to finish was just so cool. The infamous Ray Gelato, who opened for Robbie at London's Royal Albert Hall, was a top performer. We could have sat there all night.. well, until 10pm anyway. Best highlight were the two choices of sweet at the Kandinsky Hotel restaurant - a delicious cheesecake and a plate of bread! Cheesecake to share (mmm...) and bread for me to catch the fishbone that had lodged in my throat! It's the seabasses fault... I'm certain I saw it wink at me when the waitress brought it to the table... though I'd have to say it was really yummy so guess who had the last laugh.. ME!



Quote of the day has to be "The best things come to those who wait!" and you don't have to be the first past the post to be a winner... x

sainsburyseniormoments.com the next dating phenomenon... !

I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted! There I was in a world of my own in Sainsburys deciding which lovely juicy melons to buy, when I sensed a guy staring at me. Obviously, also looking for melons! Having first apologised for staring, he wanted to tell me what a beautiful woman I was. "Not many beautiful women around, you look so summery. Do you come here often?" I should have guessed what was coming next. He may have needed a zimmer frame (you might well laugh!) but he was a sharp as they come. "I notice you don't wear a wedding ring" he grinned "Would you like to come out for a drink?!" Needless to say I smiled sweetly just like the melon I was holding and replied "I'm seeing someone, sorry!" It's good to know that age doesn't dampen men's enthusiasm and whilt (ooops!) I mean while he was a bit ancient for me, he was very charming and genuinely taken aback by my dazzling smile and personality. And, I can say that because it's my story and my blog!