As you may have picked up from previous posts, Mr C and I are National Trust members and enjoy popping into their properties and gardens as we travel around the UK. It was therefore with great interest that I read Dav's post about his visit to his local NT property Beningborough Hall. One particular paragraph grabbed my attention:"I was pleased to see the amount of visitors there, mostly fitting into the NT stereotypical demographics of families with young children and retired couples. I’m always happy to not conform."What true words Dav speaks! As ... read more
Wintery weekend
This is the wintery scene that greeted me as I left home to go to work on Friday morning. Walking to St Albans station was like walking through a blizzard - I was wearing wellies and my ski jacket and was white with snow when I reached the station. There the staff were advising us not to venture into London as there could be no guarantees that we'd actually get home again. I pressed on though and actually felt quite silly by the time I got into London as there everything was just grey and miserable looking. My colleagues had a good laugh though when I appeared in the office dressed for ... read more
Winter seaside
It's two days before Christmas and it's grey and cold outside - therefore it must be time to go on a family trip to the seaside. Surely? It was actually really nice to be outside and get the feeling of the wind through my hair as the four of us walked along the beach before having a mini-picnic in the car. We went to Sandilands in Lincolnshire which is about an hour's drive from where my parents live and is one of their favourite spots for winter walks. Despite the sky and sea being pretty grey there was much more of interest if you looked down at the beach that ... read more
Festive St Albans
Mr C and I took a wander into St Albans this afternoon to pick up a final few Christmas presents. We walked up into town past the Abbey which was a hive of activity this afternoon. Such has been demand in past years for the carol services, this year they decided to do Carols on the hour, every hour from 11am until 4pm. Outside the Abbey was a small craft market, in addition to the main Saturday market in the centre of the City. I thought it was a lovely touch and in beautiful surroundings - I just hope they use the space again for a similar purpose. The Abbey is very much the ... read more
Waddesdon Rubber Tree
I've been meaning to blog about our trip to Waddesdon Manor for a while now, but as usual life keeps overtaking my plans. I must however make time to tell you about this fantastic tree that we found in the grounds. This fantastic sculpture was made up using recycled tyres and inner tubes as part of the June 2008 MAD about Waddesdon festival. Ann Carrington was the woman behind the tree (along with some help from local schools I understand) and reading her website and various press articles it seems that she makes a habit of using recycles materials in ... read more
Ribbon gift
Mr C and I met up with friends today for a day out at Waddesdon Manor. A fantastic day for catching up with old friends, and their adorable little son. I'll share some of the other pictures later, but had to share the little gift I bought myself in their gift shop.I completely fell in love with this ribbon - the red and cream colour were gorgeous - and loved the retro style that it has. I'm not yet sure how to use it, but decoration on a simple cream tote bag may well be an option. ... read more
Tired and happy
I feel very tired and happy this evening. I've spent the day with my mum at the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace in London and we think we must have been walking round for about five hours in total with only a short stop for a cup of tea! There were many, many great finds during the day, and some quite exciting purchases as well. Details and some photos just as soon as I've recharged my batteries... ... read more
National Railway Museum, York
Mr C and I spent the weekend staying with my parents and as the weather wasn't looking too good my dad suggested a day out to York and a visit to the National Railway Museum. I hadn't been to the museum since childhood, but do remember really enjoying looking round all the large engines. I figure there must be some part of me that's a train spotter!Saturday's trip was fantastic fun though. In addition to the main hall where all the engines are is a separate area called the warehouse. In here are keep a variety of items that have all come from the UK railways. There's ... read more