It's fair to say I don't get out much in an evening. Certainly not when it involves finding a posh dress to wear and heading to a swanky venue in London. Most definitely not when it involves an award ceremony presented by a household named comedian and a private gig from two number one artists. Amazingly Thursday night was just that though when I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Product of the Year Awards 2014, held at the stunningly beautiful 8 Northumberland (which bizarrely used to house my old office when I was a civil servant!) Some of you may not have heard of ... read more
The Raymond Blanc Lunch at Brasserie Blanc
One thing I really miss since having children is being able to go out for dinner or a weekend lunch on a whim with Mr C. We were very lucky in that we could just phone each other in the afternoon and decide where to meet for dinner that night - a big luxury indeed. I was thrilled therefore when a weekday lunch for local bloggers was organised on a date that I could actually do and on a day of the week when Little Miss C was in nursery. The venue was the newly opened St Albans branch of Brasserie Blanc and we were all invited to try the November version of their seasonal fixed price menu - The ... read more
Full of festive cheer
Tonight I'm planning a night on the sofa. It may not be the most exciting way to spend a Saturday night, but I'm in the middle of a "six Christmas parties in five days" marathon and I'm shattered! The final one is tomorrow and as much as I've enjoyed them all it has been a bit full on. The picture above shows where I was on Thursday night though - the Houses of Parliament in central London. On behalf of the Watercress Wildlife Association (where Mr C and I are volunteers) I attended a reception that was hosted by our local MP, Anne Main, to thank ... read more
A week in pictures
I've been lacking words this last week, so instead here are some pictures from what I've been up to. Highlights include a hen weekend where we got to stay on a working farm (with the lovely pair at the top of this post outside where we slept!), the first bulbs coming up in our garden, Mr C's birthday (which obviously required a home made chocolate cake), the completion of my raised bed, and today the first day of Spring proper. Somehow I also managed to squeeze in two books (Vanessa and Virginia and Deaf Sentence - reviews of both to follow), ... read more
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Mr C's parents invited us to join them on Thursday evening to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (apologies if that link doesn't work as their website appeared to be down as I wrote this). I've heard of these guys before, but I had absolutely no idea just how funny they are! I've certainly now seen the ukulele in a completely different light and I wish Mr C could play his at this level.They do some brilliant takes on classics songs that we all know and also some more modern stuff. My absolute favourite has to be their rendition of Kate Bush's Wuthering ... read more
Chaos
Ae we really only ten days into 2009? Last weekend I remember feeling so organised for going into the new year; now I'm not too sure. So much seems to have happened in these last ten days that I'm not even sure where to start. Sorry there are no photos to accompany my words - I've just not had time to take my camera out of my handbag all week.I went back to work on Monday and was expecting a quiet week before starting all the regular meetings etc next week. Someone else obviously thought differently. I feel like I've been on a treadmill that's been getting faster and faster ... read more
St Pancras
Once again I'm just not too sure where the last week has disappeared to. It's been a difficult week at work, with a couple of days working away as well, and I was certainly ready for the weekend when it came around. One big highlight of the week was Mr C and my fortnightly Thursday meal out. It was my turn to choose this time and I managed to book us a table at the St Pancras Grand in London's St Pancras International station. Normally the idea of going to a train station for dinner would be laughed at, but St Pancras is no normal station.Since it was re-opened ... read more
Lacock
On our way down to Somerset to visit the River Cottage Festival Mr C and I stopped off at Lacock Abbey which is a National Trust property in Wiltshire. I have to admit that we did choose where to visit somewhat at random from the guide book as we headed down the motorway, but as soon as we got there we were certainly happy with the choice we'd made.The Abbey itself is now a country house that was originally a medieval abbey and was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography. One of the things that the Abbey is best known for nowadays is ... read more
Fat Pig
No, not the pink variety with a funny nose and curly tail, but instead the play by American Neil LaBute. Fat Pig has been on at the Trafalgar Studios in central London since May and Mr C and I finally got round to going with some friends on Monday evening.The play has quite a simple plot behind it. Thin bloke meets fat woman and starts dating her. His work colleague can't believe it and winds him up about it. His ex-girlfriend, who also happens to work with him, isn't at all impressed and kicks up quite a fuss when she finds out. All this additional pressure on the ... read more
Dead Victorians
On Tuesday night Mr C and I headed down to the White Lion pub in St Albans where there is regular Tuesday night music. Last night we were delighted to see Dead Victorians, a fantastic comedy group playing a variety of songs, some old and some new. The comedy lyrics are a key part of their act, along with an amazing variety of instruments that the band play. If you like the music of Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band or The Temperance Seven then you're in for a treat!If you go to their MySpace page there are samples of some of their music. Some of the lyrics are a tad risque, but had everyone ... read more