Normal service is almost resumed chez C.Yesterday we were at a wedding over in Shrewsbury and seeing as we had to check out of our accommodation by 10.30 and yet weren't due to see friends in Birmingham until 3pm we decided to once again make the most of our National Trust membership and went along to nearby Attingham. I'm so glad we did as it was a wonderful way to spend a few hours. Not only was I delighted to see the carpet of bluebells in the wood, but the rest of the grounds were also lovely and tranquil to walk around. We were also lucky enough to ... read more
Work monopoly
It's nearly a year since I started writing this blog and up until this last week I think I'd been doing rather well in terms of making a effort to post every few days. Then this last week happened.After a busy weekend, a marathon 13 hour day in the office on Monday, an overnight trip with work on Tuesday / Wednesday and a further 20 hours over Thursday and today there just hasn't seemed to be much time for anything else - including eating and sleeping on some days!Sadly it may have to continue for a bit longer. Luckily there is a long weekend to break things up and I promise I will ... read more
A knitted village
Whilst catching up on world events I found this video showing the Kent village that locals decided to knit as a way of raising funds for the village. Certainly a very cute, if time consuming, idea. ... read more
Kirstie’s bathroom
After last week's episode of Kirstie's Handmade Home I tuned in again this week to see if the programme was going to live up to my expectations this time. I'm pleased to say that I loved some parts, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want Kirstie to be in charge of designing my bathroom!The focus of this episode was bathrooms and it seems that Kirstie wanted to make her three (yes, three!) bathrooms as opulent as possible. She went along to visit Anouska Hempel and was given the rare opportunity to take cameras into her bathrooms. The main ... read more
A crafty business woman?
I have a day job working in an office in London. There are things about my day job that I love. And things about it that I hate. At times I think that I'll end up doing the same thing for years. At other times I feel ready to pack it all in at a moment's notice. At a time like this I know that I should be incredibly grateful for having a job. After a manic few days in the office, and the prospect of an incredibly difficult few weeks to come at work I find myself sat at home wondering what to do.There are so many things in life that I love - many of which I write about here - but sadly ... read more
Out of the Blue – Charlotte Bingham
Out of the Blue by Charlotte Bingham is just a bit weird to be totally honest with you.One morning Florence Fontaine finds a strange man asleep in her guest cottage. He's wearing some rather outdated clothes and seems to have no idea who he is or where he is. Circumstances mean that Florence ends up taking him under her wing as her, and her family and friends, try to work out exactly who he is.The book seems to flit between this bizarre set up and Florence's daughter Amadea's life in Swindon. Amadea becomes involved in helping to identify the young man, ... read more
The Pilot’s Wife – Anita Shreve
I've previously read quite a few of Anita Shreve's books and I have to say that I've enjoyed most of them. Nowadays I keep an eye out for any I haven't read whenever I go to a charity shop or book sale.The Pilot's Wife contains some beautiful writing that really makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up in places. Kathryn Lyons is woken in the early hours of one morning by a man knocking at her door. He is a representative from the pilots' union. The simple words of "Mrs Lyons?" when she answers the door tell her that her worst fears ... read more
Things to make us smile
Mr C drew my attention to this list on the BBC News website over dinner this evening. With all the news of doom and gloom that seems to be filling the pages in every newspaper I think it's true that many of us are becoming more anxious and stressed than we used to, or than is good for us. This list contains ten things that all of us should try to do to reduce our anxiety levels. When I set up this blog my plan (which I think I carry out) is to write about the things that make me smile. One thing that made me smile about this particular article (as well as the ... read more
Kirstie’s Handmade Home
I'd been sort of looking forward to the start of Kirstie's Handmade Home on Channel 4, but after reading a few pre-reviews which had a bit of a go at Kirstie Allsopp I have to admit that I wasn't really sure what to expect. Some of the trailers described it as Kirstie showing us how to survive the credit crunch by showing how it was possible to do up a house by using old fashioned crafts and buying second-hand. Now, bearing in mind that Kirstie and her partner have bought a second home in Devon which required complete renovation, no doubt at great expense, I couldn't help buy ... read more
Birds, birds, birds…
We've had quite a quiet Easter weekend, but it seems that we've actually been quite busy looking at birds and making the most of our RSPB membership.On Saturday we headed into the centre of St Albans to Verulam Park where there are currently a large number of herons nesting on the island in the centre of the lake there. We read in the local paper about how the RSPB had set up a viewing facility there for the public to get a better view of the nests and chicks. Unfortunately the day that we went along this didn't seem to be operating. Still, with the binoculars ... read more