What £250 buys you..

Today, I'm worth £40 an hour, woo hoo because that's what I'd have to had paid to have the flat professionally cleaned. Six hours of solid cleaning with only an egg custard and a few tiny shortbread biscuits to keep me going. I had help though thank goodness. I scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom with the aid of my electric toothbrush! It was a godsend for getting into all those little crevices and yes, before you ask, I did replace the head before I used it again.
Best bit of the day was looking through Alastair Sawday's book to find somewhere to eat on the way home. Who would have thought that there would be any gems within 1 mile of the motorway, let alone near Slough! We were running late so I chose the closest pub to the London end of the M4. Somewhere that served tasty food but not too posh to welcome two rather unkempt and not so sweet smelling guests. I'd managed to remember to bring another teeshirt to change into. Nick didn't. I can thoroughly recommend The Ostrich at Colnbrook. It's the 3rd oldest inn in England (allegedly!) and it's fab. The menu was more exciting than the usual and the food delicious and beautifully presented. It did get a bit hot in the bar but it had been a hot day and I'd been beavering away at dirt and grime for most of it.
A wander up to the loos and I came face to face with an oversized Ostrich at the top of the stairs. It's behind glass thankfully and very stuffed!


Here's a quote from wiki about Colnbrook and the Ostrich Inn... relieved we didn't stay the night now!

Mentioned in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book, Colnbrook is on the Colne Brook, a tributary to the river Colne, hence Colnbrook.[1] Coaching inns were the village's main industry. In 1106 the first one was founded by Milo Crispin, named The Hospice (now the Ostrich Inn). By 1577 Colnbrook had no fewer than ten coaching inns. Colnbrook's High Street was on the main London to Bath road and turn off point for Windsor and was used as a resting point for travellers.

One 17th century landlord, Jarman of the Ostrich Inn, installed a large trap door under the bed in the best bedroom located immediately above the inn's kitchen. The bed was fixed to the trap door and the mattress securely attached to the bedstead, so that when two retaining iron pins were removed from below in the small hours of the morning, the sleeping guest was neatly decanted into a boiling cauldron. In this way more than 60 of his richer guests were murdered silently and with no bloodshed. Their bodies were then disposed of in the Colne River. The murder of a wealthy clothier, Olde Cole, or Thomas of Reading, proved to be Jarman's undoing, in that they failed to get rid of Cole's horse, leading to their confessing. Jarman and his wife were hanged for robbery and murder.[2][3][4]The inn is reportedly haunted and has been subject to investigations by the Sussex Paranormal Research Group and Most Haunted.[5]

When in Rome...

Naturally, do what the Romans do! Eat, drink and be merry ;) It's just after 8pm here and we're basking in glorious Italian sunshine. We left Cortona early morning and caught the train to Rome. An uneventful trip. We dumped our bags at the hotel very close to the station and set out to explore Rome. I've had an amazing day. We had lunch, a delicious antipasti meal with Prosecco then got on the tour bus. We've been to every important momument in this beautiful city. The plan was to get off at Vatican City and have a wander around St Peter's. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer scale of St Peter's. It's a magnificent sight inside. It really did take my breath away. I just wish I'd not forgotton my camera charger on this trip! I sat on the bus as we drove away from Vatican City and realised how much I've missed flying out of the country this year. I hadn't realised until this moment. I have vowed to read up more about this beautiful city and of course, return.
ps hello to everyone who knows me :) love you all xx

Our day in Florence!

"Where's Florence?' said Zebedee!
"It's less than an hour and a half away from Cortona" said the conductor on the train."
At last the sun is shining. We've dressed for a day's wandering around a city that I've always wanted to visit. We began our journey in Camicia where we caught the 10:35 train to Firenze. Not forgetting to get our tickets punched on the platform. Its a 50euro fine if you don't! Italian trains are far more comfortable than British ones. We had our own little glass compartment with 6 seats as we travelled through glorious Italian scenery to the wonderful city of Firenze known as Florence to us.
It's a 10 minute walk through the busy streets to get to the Duomo, Florences magnificent cathedral. The view will take your breath away! Every inch is decorated with murals & statues and the surrounding area is of course buzzing with tourists from every country in the world.
We could only stand & marvel at the sheer size & detail on every surface. We decided not to Q but return later.
Our walk took us to one of the most famous sights in Florence., Ponte Vecchio bridge. It spans the gently flowing river like a giant street. The bridge itself is packed with jewellers waiting to sell rings & pretty trinkets to romantics. Who wouldn't want a piece of Italian jewellery from such a stunningly gorgeous world famous landmark?!
We wandered the markets & quieter side streets in search of a place to eat lunch & found a gem of a restaurant, again! Yesterday we found one in wet Cortona which served a wonderful Caprese salad. Today I had homemade lasagne & a fresh insalata mista. On the way there me & Ginger fell in love with the same shoes! The boutique had only 2 pairs of White Dorothy shoes, one in Ginger's size & the other in mine! She may pinch my clothes from time to time, well quite often actually, but we can't swop shoes. So we had to buy them & are now the proud owners of new White Dorothy shoes :) 
Our aftenoon was shorter having spent far too long enjoying lunch the Italian way but we did make it into the. Duomo. I lit a candle for the good health of my family & friends & was left wondering why the inside was so empty & a little uninteresting. The inside of the beautiful dome was hidden from view behind barriers. And the booming voice calling time & time again for silence wasn't very welcoming! I know every individual will experience something unique to them. Myself, I can marvel at the architecture, the brlliance of the designers & enjoy the beauty of the building. Spiritually, it lacked anything to move me.
We're back on the train now heading for Campuccia. Our heads are full of wonder, our feet are a little tired & our tummies are full of ice-cream! 

Italy

Girls on Tour!
Have you ever been to Rome? Have you wandered the streets, walked around a corner & discovered the magnificent Trevi fountain? It's an amazing sight! It feels as if someone decided they wanted something a little more exciting than a balcony or a patio on the front of their Roman villa & when someone suggested a fountain, they thought, Yeah, but lets not mess about, i dont want no ordinary Tom, Dick or Harry fountain! I want the fountain of all fountains!! Nothing can prepare you for the imense size of this amazing piece of architecture. As a statue, it would be incredible. As a fountain, it's unbelievable!
I'm away on an adventure in Italy. Flying into Rome then taking the Firenze train down to Cortona. It's a 3hr journey & you are in no doubt that you're in Italy. The trees, the hillside towns, the red roofs, the blue sky mean we're in Tuscany.
We left Rome in glorious sunshine & althogh it was sunny when we arrived, the clouds gathered & it wasn't long before the heavens opened & it began to rain. No matter though because some of us bought crafting goodies to play with! I'm cutting pretty letters from patterned paper, Ginger is making felt flower cards & Gwyneth is doing a card kit.

We're staying in part of an enormous old farmhouse. It's set in gorgeous Italian countryside overlooking the hillside town of Cortona. I'm the lucky one with the double bed all to myself! It's very homely, typically Italian & makes a great base for us girls on tour.
Last night we went to the supermarket to purchase local fare & dined on fresh pasta carbonara, fresh fruit custard tart & peach bellinnis! Oh how we suffer!!

Today is Father's Day, I'm in Italy, moms at home & dads in hospital. Did your geography teacher ever teach you about love? Me thinks not & you know why? Because Love has nothing to do with geography. Before I left for Italy I made my wonderful dad a card to let him know I'm thinking about him today & remind him how much I love him every day.

"Get well soon dad & I'll see you when I get home :)"

Me & Ginger are crafting whilst the other 3 are watching a film. It's pouring down outsidec so we cancelled our trip this afternoon to Cortona. It will still be there tomorrow when the sun has returned!        

Why

If I live closer to Italy than my friends in Manchester.. Do I have to leave before than? ! I'm sitting in my room in a Turkish run Old Country House' hotel near Gatwick looking forward to 4 1/2 hours sleep, woo hoo! Dad, I'm sure you won't have wifi in your hospital bed. Get well soon & if you're reading this, you'll be home again which means you've beaten the bug, hurrah! I hope mom has told you my sore eyes car story. The BMW guys like a bit of detective work! I told them, I'm not your usual customer!
Italy, here I come...! X

I just made a cake..

It's not a victoria sponge either! For my birthday earlier this year, Ginger made me a fantastic pop-up bird card. I've had pop-up envy every since so this weekend, I bought a new Siizzix Pop-up die. It was blooming expensive but hey ho, it's for a very good reason. I wanted to make a card for Aunty Non's 90th birthday. Not just any card, but something special for my favourite great aunt. My new die is a mixture of circles with arms, a candle and a rather weird 'happy couple' to pop onto a wedding cake. I've used some of my brand new papers from October Afternoon. It was a feat of paper engineering, took me over 3 hours to make and I love it!

And yes, when you fold the card in half my lovely strawberry cake disappears inside :)

I'm loving my new camera...

I've finally got around to buying a new camera and.. I love it! I've battled for months trying to keep my battery cover closed with a piece of sellotape. I've had my old camera for over 8 years and it's served me very well. I remember the day I bought it for a number of reasons. I was in Solihull, it was before I moved south and it was a great purchase at the time. I've now bought an even better one! I've been snapping inbetween crafting.. see here..

Thinking about friends..

Dinner with KN, the chip monster, is always entertaining. He always has a story to tell and I've missed his little tales. We met at the Winchcombe sausage pub and spent the evening putting the world to rights and catching up on our busy lives. He makes me smile and has now turned into the sausage and mash monster!

I love my friends. I find I think about them a lot more than I ever get chance to see them. It's the lovely part of having such great friends that I can connect with them when i haven't seen them for a long while. Those are the true friendships that are meant to last. Friends who count the days and punish you for every day you've not been in touch are not true friends. The ones that really count will love you whether you spoke to them yesterday or this time last year. As KN says, life is about timing. Some people come into my life and scuttle out again. Others stick around just to annoy me, then leave. The special ones come into my life for a reason. Hopefully, they'll be sticking around for a long time to come. After all, friends are the family you choose for yourself :)

One happy motoring bunny!

"£113.9 a litre"

I had to say it out loud to believe it! Oldbury is a little too far for me to travel every day to buy petrol but £113.9 is the lowest I've paid for petrol for.. ages!!

What £37.50 buys you...

A room the size and shape of a large horse box; a very attractive blue rose sink, a concrete headboard and a whole dessert bowl full of tomato ketchup to accompany my breakfast! The girl on reception said it was a lovely room, her favourite, which makes me wonder just how bad the other rooms are. Chipping Norton is thankfully a whole lot better than the Crown & Cushion. The bookshop is a real treasure serving fresh tea and coffee with lovely homemade cakes. Many of the books have little blue sleeves which include a concise review which was just enough to tempt me to buy them. The tiniest most useless little sink ever built into a cupboard.
Just what you need when you want to rest your head at the end of the day!

Anna does... digging!

Take one corner plot, a garden fork and some bark and you could have a fun Saturday morning! I did say I don't do digging but hey.. I'm not one to stand by and watch someone else do all the work. Someone else was actually in the front garden whilst I was in the back clod bashing! I quite enjoyed it but I think that was the novelty factor. I now know why I bought an apartment on the third floor :)
I did do digging... honest!

A transformation.. :)

Just cover me in paper and I'll be happy!

As long as it's not wallpaper, paper mache or Andrex! I mean scrapping paper and lots of it.. :))))

First task of the morning today was to go and collect my post. I knew exactly what it was though the chappie at the depot did give me palpitations at one point when he tried to give me a random, scanky, little parcel.

"That can't be it" I said "I know it has to come in a 12 x 12 inch box!" I'm not sure what he thought but in the end he found my lovely 12 x 12 inch parcel, I signed a silly electronic thing that made my signature completely unrecognisable and off I went.

There are few things that give me as much pleasure as newly patterned paper. Yes, I know it's irrational but we all have our little ways. At least I admit to mine! Next weekend is Derbyshire scrapping time and this time I'm going well prepared. I have sent my photographs to the printers, I have had lots of yummy papers delivered so all I need now is some divine inspiration... and a bottle or two of bubbly of course!

Here's a sneak preview of what I'm wibbling on about.. :)






They have such wonderful names as October Afternoon, Delovely - delicious and delectable, Sweet Summertime - raspberry delight and happy spots, Scooter's Vacation - Ruffin' it and We're out of here and one of my favourites Cherry Delicious. You see, they sound good enough to eat, don't they!

La Vie en Bleu

The French Bugatti season is upon us and you know what that means..?! A day at Prescott Hill Climb of course! I've always wanted to go to La Vie en Bleu but never quite made it being more tempted by the Vintage weekends later in the year. But this time, it seemed the perfect place to go on Bank Holiday Sunday. Me and Lisa promised ourselves the trip and Nick and Jack happened to make it too. The sun shone and we got to see lots of smelly, old cars race up the hill. Some even made it to the finishing line! We had a fab picnic squeezed between two cars on the car park. Not quite what we'd planned but as we'd sat in the queue for a while, it seemed like the most sensible option before going into the course. The star of the show was BUG 1 - a million pound Bugatti Veyron and it was gorgeous!

Thea Gilmore

She has an outstanding voice, has been invited to tour with Joan Baez, is most likely the most talented songwrite and singer of the last 10 years, yet not many people have heard of her. Thea Gilmore is sparky, songstress with bags of attitude. That single characteristic is most likely why she's not as famous as her counterparts such as Katie Melua. The time, Bank Holiday Monday at 9:45pm. The venue, a very unusual place at the back of Baskerville Hall. Nick never tires of finding live music to go and see and he chose carefully, knowing that I'm a lot more fussy than he is! He chose a real gem in Thea, though he'd seen her before (he's seen everyone!) so he knew what to expect. I always think it's hard to go to a concert and enjoy music you've never heard before. I've done it before and felt completely lost. It wasn't the case tonight. I found Thea's voice easy to listen to. It has a clarity to it and a passion that just leaves you wanting more. I'm sure I may not enjoy everything she's done, you never do for any artist. But, I will listen to more and enjoy another trip to see her again.

Wild goose chase or was it really tea and carrot cake..?

Imagine the most idyllic little place that serves homemade cakes and pots of steaming hot tea. That's what I dream about when I'm on a journey and suddenly fancy a cup of tea and cake. We were driving over to Hay on Wye to pick up the tickets for the concert when we were both struck by the same thought.. tea and cake. Then there it was, a sign that said 'Abbey gardens' "They must have a tea shop surely" We drove for what must have been about 5 miles along country lanes, through villages and behind another couple of cars that seemed to also be on the great tea trail. Then there was the sign, the turning and we found ourselves in our dream. We only had time to stop for a cuppa and some cake and I'm sure it's not really there, just a mirage in our imagination. That's why I took more than one photograph to remind me that it was a real place, you can drive to it and it does serve the most heavenly tasting carrot cake :) yum.. !

The safest place for swans to sleep

I woke this morning to find mom & dad swans kipping on our side of the lake. Mom was awake first with her brood of three cygnets popping up from between her feathers into the bracing wind of a blustery Saturday morning. It's such a pleasure to see a family of swans on the lake again. Up until last week, I was convinced we'd missed our chance this year. The nest must be out of sight on the other side of the lake and now the youngsters are old enough, mom & dad must feel it's safe enough to venture out with their new family in tow.
Dad decided he wasn't quite sure what the chunk of metal was but he'd give it a good pecking anyway. No doubt trying to scrape the squashed insects off the back of Jeremy's porche. Mom got tired of waiting around. Her brood of 3 always follow her so off they went on a route-march back to the top of the bank.
There was no hanging about waiting for dad to arrive. It was straight into the water for a morning dip and a swim back over to the other side of the lake.

Just like Julie and Julia before her...

I'm on a mission to find the best muffin recipe. I found myself measuring and weighing last night, when I made these little beauties, and wondering how Julie would have made them. The fact that I had used olive oil instead of sunflower oil, a medium egg instead of a large egg, caster sugar instead of soft brown sugar was not a great start. And, 'Quelle dilemma!'... how small should I cut the rhubarb if it says 'finely diced?' I reckoned on smallish, 5mm chunks so they'd mix in well and there would be enough choice bits of rhubarb flavour in each muffin.

It's the first time I've ever used buttermilk. It's an odd consistency, similar to yoghurt really and not a bit like milk. It's supposed to make them lighter and fortunately, I had remembered to buy some earlier when I was shopping.
This recipe came from a recipe book Nick bought me, Rachel Allen Home Cooking, which is a lovely book to browse on a rainy Saturday morning! It's packed with practical recipes that use good basic ingredients with none of the weird stuff that you often find in recipe books. I'm not a daytime tv guru so hadn't heard of Rachel until I received this book as a present for my birthday. She's an Irish cook, tv presenter, author, newspaper columnist and does something I love. She always writes a quirky standfirst to describe the recipe and what it can do for me. How it will make me feel or what time of the year the recipe is best for. It's a great way to make me feel included in the book and is more likely to make me try something I've not attempted before.
Anyway, back to my 12 little rhubarb muffins which have now become 10. They have turned out well and although not like those I can buy, they are still worth a six and a half out of ten :)

ps it's Saturday morning and the score has just gone up to an 8! True - day old rhubarb muffins are better than fresh ones straight from the oven !!

Did you know..?

That peanuts are members of the pea family, they grow underground and are a richer source of protein than meat? If you thought that the USA was the largest producer of peanuts in the world, you'd be wrong. They are in 3rd place with around 6.8% capacity, India comes in 2nd place with 18% and China leads the way with a staggering 33% of the overall world production of peanuts. The happy peanut is good for you (in moderation as my mother would say!) and has lots of healthy characteristics that mean it's a useful friend to have in your diet armory. That's as long as you're not allergic to them, in which case "Walk away from the NUTS!"

Do peanuts taste better one at a time?

Do whole ones taste better than halves? The question of the day is.. how do you eat your nuts?! Do you rip off the corner & eat a few at a time? Are you a whole nut lover, leaving the halves & broken nuts till last? Maybe you never even look, preferring to tip them straight down your throat from the packet!
I have to admit I fall into the 'whole nut first' then shovel them in group! I'm a little more refined in that I will tip them into my hand but once I've eaten all the whole ones, it's every half for itself when it comes to eating the rest of the bag! Such is my dilemma whillst sitting on a train back from London :) I've come to the conclusion that more nuts mean more flavour. Whole ones are the most satisfying but in the absence of any more whole ones, quantity is the next best thing for taste & flavour. Next time you're bored on a train, try it!

Ballet Rambert extraordinaire

I love the experience of going to the theatre no matter what I'm going to see. Sadler's Wells is the home of Ballet Rambert & as such, myself & Liz has high expectations of the performance. We weren't disappointed!
We were treated to three very different ballets, the second being the most experimental. Of course, Liz is pretty aufait with all things Rambert, having studied them at Thomas T. I am like the new girl at school, having seen them a few times now & I admit that sometimes I love them & other times, I'm completely lost & baffled. I liken the feeling to going into a modern art gallery. Sometimes I'm in awe & loving the experience. Other times I just don't get it! Ballet Rambert can be like that for me.
My favourite of the three was the third & final ballet. Sadler's Wells has two series of Ballet Rambert ever year, the first being in May, the second in November. It's very cutting edge contemporary dance which is always thought provoking, always fresh and always executed to perfection. Like anything truly modern and unique, there are moments of sheer brilliance coupled with moments when you're not quite sure whether you love it or hate it. It's a form of English ballet that challenges your mind every second and gives you the chance to question what you truly enjoy about dance and ballet.

Rambert typically leaves the show-stopping performance until the end. The final dance, Itzik Galili's A Linha Curva was jaw-droppingly good with dramatic energy, beating drums, voices, touches of humour & involved more dancers than we'd seen all evening. It was the highlight of my night. It's samba-inspired music, great lighting, heavy-duty percussion leaves you wanting to see more from the 28 athletic style dancers who pump limbs on the stage with breath-taking energy. It was definitely my favourite of the might.

Not surprisingly, Liz enjoyed the second dance and the most challenging performance of the evening. I love pretty & elegant, she loves interesting & unusual. No surprises there really. In complete contrast to "A Linha Curve", Mark Cunningham's "Rainforest" uses an electronic score with very large reflective silver pillows by Andy Warhol floating around on stage. I admit, I spent more time watching the silver pillows and wondering how they managed to stay up, than watching the dancers, (though, I didn't admit that to Liz!) When one floated off the stage and up towards the roof, I'm pretty sure my head wasn't the only one slowly tilting backwards to look skywards! I'm happy because it was Liz's favourite, what more can I say.

The 3rd dance, performed first, was Olivier Award-winning "The Art of Touch". It was light and airy with fast footwork played out to witty little sonatas making it easy to watch and very enjoyable.

More Hobnobbing..

Take 1 HDV + 2 cricketers + 1 wine expert, in the shape of an oh so slightly inebriated Geoff Merrill, and you have a brilliant evening of entertainment ahead.
Tonight's celebrity guests were none other than Sir Ian Botham and Bob Willis, two of the greatest cricketing ledgends of our time. As sporting hero's go, you don't get much better than these two. I reckon we were on the best table. We'd never met before yet we got on like the proverbial house on fire. BM&W is the Botham, Meryill & Willis wine label. Challenged by Bavarian Motor Works, (can't imagine why!) Botham suggested that he'd promise not to make cars if they would promise not to make wine. That seemed to settle the argument :)
Dinner was delicious, the company was entertaining and it was a TOP evening. Nick was in awe of his hero and I was voted the best girlfriend in the whole wide world. (I made that bit up!)