Moments that make you think...

This week has been a bit mad. In addition to the usual manic work stuff, a few 'old house issues' becoming apparent (leaking drain, damp, condensation...) and the general day to day stuff of living, I've had 2 trips to London. Work related rather than pleasure exclusively, as a result of which I've decided a 2 hour plus each way commute is really not for me! I love going to London, but really, I think, because I like to be able to soak up the atmosphere and people watch. Running on and off the tube and negotiating crowds of people when you actually have to be somewhere at a given time not so much fun.

But I did sneak in a few little bonus 'moments'... On Friday evening after a full days meeting, we took in the Royal Ballet's Manon at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This did not disappoint - the music was beautiful and the dancing defied what you think a human body can do. How those dancers manage to make something so physically demanding look so graceful and effortless is beyond me. Although in many respects the lead character doesn't exactly encourage your empathy (she's a bit shallow, flirts between love and riches with giddying fickle-mindedness) the story was told with such emotion that by the end of the second act I was reaching for a tissue... not that it takes a whole lot to reduce me to tears these days! 

Obviously, couldn't take pictures in there so this is copied from the ROH site. The sets and the costumes were stunning and the setting of the opera house beautiful (another first for me, had never been in there before). Several ballet 'newbies' in our group, who had come along with a healthy degree of scepticism, were completely converted - if you are not sure if you like ballet, this is one to see. Lovely way to spend the evening.

Then before heading home on the Saturday, I made the effort to go and see the poppies installation at the Tower of London. Over the summer this stunning sea of poppies, each representing service personnel that died during the First World War, has spread across the moat around the Tower. Lots more about the installation here - I was keen to see it before it is dismantled in November.

It was heaving with people, but even so, no less impressive to see this flow of red that certainly focuses the mind in terms of the scale of wasted lives. Very powerful image.

Something of a reminder of the value of life.

There have been a number of sobering things this week, most not for mention on here, but this little waif touched my heart too...

My middle son's girlfriend is a vet nurse and found this poor little lost soul curled up in the road, cold, blue and very nearly history. He is about 6 weeks old and, she is pretty sure, dumped. I don't understand how anyone can do that. I had said I wouldn't have cats in this house - no garden, too near a busy road, out all day...  but was seriously tested here!! Fortunately, within a day a kind home had been found for him so I'm sure he'll have a happy life now.

So, enough dallying, back to the tedious business of 'day off' activities - chasing the water authority re the drains, washing, ironing, cleaning... though have to confess to a degree of obsession with what has become something of a scientific exercise monitoring the relative humidity and checking the dehumidifier. Should this house ever resemble something less than tropical levels of humidity (without the warmth!) I shall be putting flags out!!! 

Sx

Catching up: part 1 - bunting and birthdays...

I have a couple of weeks away from work last week and this so I am on a mission to catch up... with all those things that get put to the back of the priority list - I had a ton of letters etc to sort through, badly needed to blitz the house, friends and family to catch up with and I have a whole lot of things I wanted to just log on here.

The crucial bits I have dealt with now, so feel its ok to start trying to remember what I've been up to and where on earth I took those photos...! This may be a bit disjointed, you have been warned!

I did take some of the June scavenger hunt photos but didn't manage them all and didn't get around to posting them so thought I'd just include a few of them, more because they remind me of what was happening in June than anything else. Jubilee fever pretty much the order of the day!

Union Jack bunting seems to have been everywhere...

Jubilee celebration events...

Possibly a teeny bit over the top on the crown theme???!

Call me old fashioned, but I actually quite like our bright red postboxes with their years of layers of paint! I still love getting proper letters through the post (rare event though it is), which reminds me - when did I last post anyone a letter just because...?

Patriotic baking...

And more bunting!!!

My birthday was in June and my lovely friends and family managed to drag out the celebrations for me! The weekend before I was treated to a weekend in London with so many lovely things laid on I forgot to take photos of much of it and those I did were mostly phone photos, but here is a slightly blurry taster...

Afternoon tea at the Halkin Hotel, Belgravia - dressing up essential!! Pink champagne...

Posh tea (wish I could remember what this was! Something like an oolong tea, I think - delicate and fragrant and delicious)...

Seriously pretty food... but honestly, between two of us??!! Even taking our time this was a bit excessive!

The view from our window, blue sky!!! Had to document this rare event!!!

Such beautiful cakes - like mini works of art, almost seemed a shame to eat them! Almost...

After tea we took a long, leisurely, slightly giggly (afternoon champagne!!!) walk to St Martins Theatre...

I have wanted to see The Mousetrap for the longest time - it has something of a complete culture about it and I was a closet Agatha Christie fan for years. Devoured every book in my early teens and loved them all! I was beyond excited - practically jumping up and down!! We had great seats, thoroughly enjoyed the show and are now part of the 'club'!!!

To finish the evening we decided cocktails in the OXO tower bar on embankment were a must so excuse the blurry photos but two Raspberry gin daisies later...

Truly lovely day, with a very generous and lovely friend!

Next morning, after a slightly essential greasy breakfast and copious glasses of water (what was in those cocktails?!!!) we headed into central London on a mission to upgrade my iphone! This was an infinitely quicker process in London than in Norwich and not many minutes later I was up and running. Never used to get excited about gadgets but I do love my Apple gadgets and the iphone 4 has advantages over its predecessor - not least a better camera! We spent a fun couple of hours at the Victoria and Albert Museum, taking in, among other things the ballgown exhibition on there at the moment - probably a bit philistine but we decided that amongst the rather beautiful dresses were some pretty hideous ones and our preference was actually for the rather classic shapes. Probably just as well I am never likely to have the money or the occasion to need a ballgown anyway!

It was a really fun trip and felt like a little holiday in two days - these things keep you going through the not so good times (which I am not going to give the value of airspace on my blog!!). Its all about the positive and moving forward at the moment - life is too short to be negative I've decided!

More birthday treats next time! I've been very lucky!

Til then,

Sx

a bit of culture...!

Every year Norwich has a couple of weeks in May when art, music and theatre take over the city. I'm not sure how long it has been happening for but it has certainly grown in recent years and there are loads of varied events, some free, at different venues across the city. Its a great opportunity to see and experience new things and the city buzzes with activity.

This weekend saw the opening of the festival and, as luck would have it, after all those horrible grey days the weather was glorious - blue skies, sunshine and even a bit of warmth out of the wind!

It also coincided with the annual visit of the all male Shakespeare company Propeller - last year we saw one of the two performances they put on (Comedy of Errors) which we  loved so this year Ben and I decided to go to both shows. We started our weekend Friday evening with The Winters Tale, with the second half of the Bard's 'double bill', Henry V, on Saturday night. Neither production disappointed - this company perform Shakespeare much as I imagine it was intended to be performed, with all its clever language and bawdy humour, with lively direction that makes these stories as relevant and current today as ever. We loved it and I'm already looking forward to next years tour!

Saturday was so beautiful we headed into town after breakfast at the pub over the road to see what was happening festival-wise.

I joined a friend and a growing crowd by St Andrews Hall for the 'Voice Project' - a kind of auditory choral artwork. Some hardy folk had started the day with the choir in the cathedral welcoming in the dawn at 5.11am (!!!), we joined them at 2pm for a colourful, tour round the old streets...

from the front of St Andrews Hall round to the Art School...

and on down Elm Hill where the crowds watching/listening filled the narrow cobbled streets...

The singing came from the streets, the arches between the ancient buildings and even from the windows...

before a finale in the riverside gardens...

It was unusual, and slightly strange and really rather lovely - enhanced enormously by the warmth of the sun.

We stopped for a cup of tea at the Britons Arms (I've mentioned this place before) where we spent a very pleasant hour or so in the tiny enclosed garden...

I love these fancy, deep purple tulips...

Our childish streak came out when Ben spotted this...

There were actually rather more modern facilities but it did rather look as though this small tin bucket was it for the gents!!!

It was a lovely relaxed day and so good to spend unhurried time with my biggest boy :-).

My weekend continued today as, for the first time in a while, I managed to have my Monday off so met a friend for afternoon tea at the Assembly House. This was such a treat! Plates of sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, no less!), scones with jam and cream and pretty little cakes, with as much tea as we wanted...

We decided we could probably manage to be 'ladies who take tea'...

The other thing I've noticed this weekend is that yarn-bombing has hit Norwich! Not sure if this is just for the festival or if its going to stay but I'm loving their work!

The only 'fly in the ointment' this weekend was the havoc being wrecked in the garden...

These were my carefully nurtured seedlings - courgettes, beans, nasturtiums & salad leaves... Were being the operative word! One of the culprits is still sitting on the pot cheekily! They haven't just had a nibble at the leaves, they have scythed the tops of many of the plants altogether! Generally speaking, I'm one for letting the garden creatures have their share of plants but this is sabotage beyond forgiving! I  haven't yet quite decided how to tackle the little blighters but I am officially declaring war... Any bright ideas???

Til next time then,

Sx

treats...

Well, I haven't written a whole chapter of the dissertation, as I promised myself, but I have made a bit of progress so I have allowed myself a bit of escape time. Time for a little WIP update I thought...

At least one of the WIPs...as usual I've got several on the go and spare time seems to be against me at the moment so not getting there fast! This daisy blanket has turned into a real 'make it up as you go along' project and I'm quite enjoying the organic nature of it actually. I decided early on that there weren't really any 'rules' with this one - other than that I have restricted myself to these 7 colours and am edging each block with that lovely summer sky blue. I have deliberately made different sizes of squares and am just fitting them together as I go in a jigsaw-like fashion. The only problem I'm finding is that its not always easy to keep a straight edge so this may not be the most even shaped blanket ever! Never mind - may have to rename it Rustic Daisy Blanket? Think 'rustic' probably means you can get away with a bit rough round the edges?!!! I'm still loving the daisies - this feels like a cheerful flower patch to me. Haven't quite decided how big to go - I'd quite like to make it big enough to cover a single bed, or the end of a double or just for good-sized snuggling... So a way to go yet!!! 

Other escapist treats this week...

Another trip to the theatre! This is a bit unusual for me - much as I love to go and see live shows (of pretty much any sort - theatre, music, comedy - all a bit more magical at a live venue) my NHS salary does not usually run to more than the odd visit. Hairspray a couple of weeks ago was a belated birthday treat from a friend and last night we went to see Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors courtesy of my Mum for son 1's birthday. I know Shakespeare is not everyone's cup of tea but I have always loved it - I love the rhythm of the words and the fact that something written so long ago can still be highly entertaining and relevant today. The stories are just that - stories - and were written for mass entertainment in the way that we watch films and TV today (only in my view much more interactive). The company we saw last night were Propeller - an all male company who are faithful to the original text but present it in a refreshing way. They are currently touring with Richard III & Comedy of Errors and it was really fantastic - I can't think of many things I could go to with my late 60's Mum, my 17 and 22 year old sons and we could all come out having laughed so much our faces were aching! If you like Shakespeare (or have never given it a go!) and Propeller come your way, give them a look - it was worth the trip out!

Sadly, back to reality with a serious thud today... ridiculously busy at work and I'm in all over the weekend but am counting the days to my week in Morocco! Off to Marrakech in 8 days time!!! Can't wait!!!

One more photo I thought I'd share - this is Basil, one of our 13 year old brother and sister pair of moggies. He's looking a bit serious in this photo but actually is the daftest cat - he loves to get up on shoulders, especially No 1 son's and will just drape himself there if he's allowed. He's had his share of 'health issues' over the years - hence the rather battle scarred nose - and has probably used a few of his lives up but seems to keep going and is impossible not to love!

Til next time then,

Sx

'you can't stop the beat!'

Just back from seeing this fabulous stage production of Hairspray - LOVED it!! Feet are still tapping and can't get the songs out of my head.

Great pick me up if you need one!

Sx