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
de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre
Another place that Mr C and I visited on Bank Holiday Monday was the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre just outside St Albans. This is somewhere that we've seen the signs for as we've been driving out ever since we moved here, but just never got round to visiting until now.The museum quite simply tells the story of the de Havilland aircraft company that were based locally in Hatfield for many years. It is also home to the famous Mosquito Aircraft Museum which tells the story of the Mosquito and its role in the Second World War.There were several things that caught my eye as I ... read more
Scott’s Grotto
The internet is a wonderful thing, and without it we wouldn't have known about the wonderful place that Mr C and I visited on Bank Holiday Monday - Scott's Grotto in Ware. This most bizarre of places was built in the 1760s by the Quaker poet, John Scott and now lies between some modern houses on a normal looking residential street in the outskirts of Ware.The grotto consists of six subterranean rooms, connected by passages and ventilation shafts. The walls (and the ceiling and floors in some rooms) are all covered in flint, shells and minerals. It really is something that is so ... read more
Canons Ashby
On our way back from Bruntingthorpe on Saturday Mr C and I visited Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire. Here there is an Elizabethan manor house, gardens and the Priory Church of St Mary, all that remains of the Augustinian priory from which Canons Ashby takes its name.The interior of the church roof was a fantastic wooden structure that I completely fell in love with. There's something about things made out of wood that give them a lovely warm feeling that somehow seems so homely. Out in the grounds of the house is an orchard and also several apple and pear trees along a ... read more
Mr C’s Christmas Track Day
Back before last Christmas I had the usual problem of not knowing what to buy Mr C as a festive gift. Whenever I ask him for ideas for gifts he always comes out with the same answer - "A Porsche please!" Faced with this usual dilemma I went to google for some ideas. One thing that jumped out at me as a possibility was a driving experience and I was lucky enough to find a special offer with Drivers' Dream Days for a Porsche vs Ferrari Experience.Today Mr C and I headed up to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground near Lutterworth in Leicestershire for him to ... read more
Pizza for supper
Mr C and I are rather caught up at the moment in trying to buy a house. With the current "credit crunch" situation here in the UK, it is far from the best time to be trying to do this. We've been wanting to take the next step in the housing ladder for a while now to allow us to start thinking about a family a bit further down the line. It's not easy though and the last week in particular has been quite stressful.We finally got to put an offer in on a place today though. The first offer was rejected (not unexpectedly) and we're currently waiting to hear back on our revised ... read more
Friendship and childhood memories
After work tonight I met up with three friends at a bar next to the Thames. This was three women that I used to work with at former employer. I see two of them quite regularly, the third only every so often. This was the first time in three years that all four of us had managed to get together. It was fantastic! Catching up with and making time for people is so important. No one is going to write on our gravestone about how many hours we spent at work, or our dedication to our job, yet sometimes taking time out from work to do things like this can be more difficult than it should. One thing ... read more