Alleluia... It's raining... MEN!

Here I am again with my brolly up because it's raining men! And, it's pouring down, that's why I'm still smiling! It was a tough day (he he) spent with Rob doing his Prescott Hill Climb. I was expecting a herd of 50-somethings with road cars but I was very wrong. There were some very pretty cars and I had a fab day. Rob managed to sneak me into lunch, which was fun and although the sun gave up on us after lunch, the driving didn't stop. I even got a ride up with the instructor, Russ, who is a very experienced driver. Wow, that was exhilarating! I managed to flutter my eye lashes at another instructor, Mark, who after the certificate giving, sneaked me a mug so i had a memento of this fabulous day. Now I want to have a turn... x

Wills & Harry

Not one, but I have seen both royal Princes playing Polo this afternoon. Not the thing I'd expect the future king to be doing on the day after his 26th birthday but stiff upper lip and all that! Beaufort Polo Club was the venue and although I've never been to Polo before, I really enjoyed it and it's a darned sight easier to watch than football! And a lot more civilised. Lots of rugs, chairs, picnics and no shouting, singing or swearing like at the football - fab! Even the practise of running onto the pitch between bouts to flatten the divets was amusing. A great day out!
Both the boys were in black, I learnt that much! William sporting shirt number 4 and Harry wearing number 2. I took some great pictures of their backs of course, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart from the other guys on the field!

They have a new form of entertainment here in Gloucestershire... Cute Quackers... they train sheep dogs to herd ducklings and geese into pens.. mmm!
Hello horse and hounds! What stunning creatures those horses were - the rolls royce of horses. Me & Dom spent the day at Beaufort Polo watching the horse and hounds, drinking champagne and eating paella! Lots of eye-candy, just one problem.. they all seemed to have 2 year olds... eeek! Darn it..!!

Happy me...

Life is throwing a party! Lots of invitations and places to go and still there's no better place than home. No 'Trouble at Mill' here...! Just fun, laughter, smiles and sunshine.. x

AA!

They are much better than RAC, that's for sure! Poor Ginger broke her car so first she called out the RAC. He took one look at it, shook his head and left. So we called out the real men - Automobiles Anonymous! Armed with a couple of plastic ties, Mr AA man managed to mend Ginger's car in a flash. At one point it looked as if we might have to call out Green Flag to rescue Mr AA man. He had his nose pressed against the engine and was up to his elbows, stuck under the bonnet. But with a little bit of help and some very dirty engine grease, he managed to get free and fix the car. What a super star!

kitty in red pants...!

Well, what's a superhero supposed to wear?! I've been rescuing damsels in distress today which is all in a day's work for a superhero like moi! Ginger has broken her car - boo hoo - and Sara was at Southampton airport waiting to be collected. There was only one thing to do and that was get into my mini taxi and rescue them. So I've been to Southampton airport, onto Hobbycraft, a quick coffee and a piece of the most delicious homemade carrot cake (though a tad less cloves would have improved the flavour somewhat!), picked up the workers, took them to the only pub I know down there and it was then time to relax. Sara ordered every starter on the menu so we could have starters/tapas for lunch, which was wonderful. Then it was back to the airport for 3pm, a drive back home and now it's time to call the RAC!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, everyone has been missing me like crazy if the calls I've received today have been anything to go by. That means a very busy day tomorrow. Thank crunchie it will be Friday! X

Bath piggies

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed in Bath! Here, artist Al Greenall takes delivery of one of 100 model pigs ready to be decorated as part of a public art scheme.
Three thousand years ago, King Bladad found the healing spa waters of the city of Bath when he was out walking his pigs! This year they are celebrating by creating 100 pigs which are scattered across the city and all sponsored by individuals and businesses. They will all be auctioned later in the year to raise money for various projects, one being to boost funds for a cycle path between Bath and Bristol. If there's any left it will pay for a statue to toast this fine King. They have certainly added swine colour to the city!

Happy Dotty!

It must be a 70 something thing... somehow that makes looking forward to being that age all the more attractive!! When you get to the age of 70, you can have two birthdays according to the Whittingham clan. One in January and another in the summer when the sun is going to shine and you can have a party al fresco. I must admit I like the idea of a second summer birthday as long as that doesn't mean you have to add on another number.. phew..!

1001 uses for a champagne bucket!

Faced with the shame of hiding behind my shades, top down, but dirty... I decided today was the day I would clean my car. I got my champagne bucket. Hey, dual purpose works for me and you wouldn't want me to serve you vino and fizz out of a car cleaning bucket now, would you?! Mais non!. I filled it with water, got a couple of jaycloths and an old towel and I was ready to Go. I'd spotted one of my lovely neighbours, Mike washing his car (hands off, he can't be more than 25!) and have just spent a merry hour and a half scrubbing all those nasty flies and muck off my most treasured possession! Mikey lent me his BIG sponge... woo hoo! Yes, I know I looked silly with my small kitchen sponge but hey, I just couldn't be bothered to search for mine. I've washed my windows, splashed soapy suds over my bodywork, got on my hands and knees to scrub my alloys, rubbed frantically to get the tar off my bumpers, brushed my soft top, towel dried my lights, shaken my mats, scrambled inside to get the smears off my tiny back windscreen and four champagne buckets of water later, one frazzled sponge and dishpan hands, I've done it! now it's all shiny new again!
FANTASTIC!!

Big Brother comes to the Cotswolds...!

Chatting to ones neighbours is such a good use of my time and great for learning 'stuff'. Apparently.... when channel 5, which is rubbish here and only shows the ads for sky, showed a pop up box on my screen last night to say " Replace the batteries in your remote and do it within 10 minutes of taking the old ones out" they didn't mean me! Well, how was I to know that?! It felt rather weird having a Big Brother moment, but I thought technology had finally caught up and was now capable of telling me important stuff that a girl needs to know! If only electrical things could be more helpful, my life would be a lot easier. Sadly this isn't the case so my remote now has new batteries, thanks to the daft people who set us up here, which it didn't need. It's all to do with the sky box, so Mike says. Mmm, boys know so much stuff, it's shocking!

Girls Night OUT!

Tuesday night was "Girls Night OUT" for me and Tash! We got an early dinner (yes, early enough for high tea with the kids!) because we'd booked to see "Sex & The City", the best iconic girl movie of the 20thC. We took our seats on the back row thinking we were going to get the back three rows to ourselves. But by the time the cameras started rolling, the seats were packed and there wasn't a single guy in the house! The movie is a triumph! I've never been to a movie with so much laughter and expression. Perhaps it's because the girls felt less inhibited? It's easy to get stifled and not be yourself when there's a guy in tow!

We thoroughly enjoyed it and the two hours wizzed by with us wanting more! That, to me, is a sign of a great movie!

Flaming June

It's sweet, sunny June and so far it's living up to it's name of 'Flaming June'. It's been such a busy week with my work/life balance going right out of the window! Possibly why I was in bed just after 11 last night and woke up close on 9am. I've also slept through the night more than once in the past week which is unheard of. Perhaps I'm starting to hibernate?!

It's more likely that my body clock is catching up after a bad nights sleep on Thursday evening after my long day in Kent. I'm not used to anyone being unkind to me but hey, I was there to do my job. I can pretend it doesn't matter but it was personal to me. I hate it when people say it's not personal. That's a Meg Ryan "You've Got Mail" quote, which is very apt. Finding myself in the position where I am not me, but just an employee, is very unfamiliar territory for me. The experience has taught me a great deal.

Today's a sleepy, catch up day because I'm off to my champagne night tonight, woo hoo, I can't wait...!

out on the town..

Oh what a lovely evening.. the butterfly king prawns were delicious and the baked alaska too centre stage having been flambed at the table with brandy! The photo, taken with my phone, is totally rubbish, but the company wasn't! Lots of laughs, lots of yummy food and happy faces.. xxx

7 swans a swimming, 1 mum a sliding..

A family of swans are back. Here's mum out first thing in the morning to capture the best photo of the day! I'm sure the wait was worth it and the trek out of doors will bring forth some great photographs... and I hope your foot gets better soon! OUCH! all I saw from the bedroom window (yes, it really was that early!) was mum sliding down the bank as she lost her footing and ended up on her bottom... DOUBLE OUCH! x I called tonight to ask "How's my mother's foot?! and all I'd add is "Put your feet up and take it easy mum. I'm sure you can find a magazine to read or some stitching to do! Get better soon..." ;-) x

Couldn't see the wood for the trees...!

That could only mean one place... Westonbirt! It's such a great place for a walk and a bite to eat. The sun shone on the happy couple getting married there and me, mum and dad managed to catch the best of the sunshine before heading back home.

The rhododendrons were past their best really but still managed to give us a show worthy of a photo. We always seem to catch the trees just before they bloom, or just after!

"Here's looking at you sunshine!"

A father and daughter moment... x

Do you believe in coincidences..? We'd just sat down outside the restaurant when I spotted him.. mr f - a blast from the past! I leapt up and accosted him with a "It is you, isn't it?!"... and sure enough, he recognised me straight away and gave me a great big hug. Strangely enough, I'd recently mentioned his name at work and thought of getting back in touch. We're old Origin work colleagues and yes, he has a lovely wife and four children under 5 (yes, another one of those!) and he's a lovely guy too. He introduced me to his lovely children and his friend, who he promptly tried to fix me up with - he always did do that - his first words to me in the restaurant were - "Here on your own? no man in your life.. yet?!" Okay cupid, your next challenge is... it doesn't get any easier...

Good friends never go far, do they? x

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