London in Springtime...

Last week I took a trip to London to meet a friend. The skies were grey but Regents Park was in early Spring colours...

Lovely to see such a splash of colour and delightful to have a few hours with a much missed friend. 

And somewhat sobering that whilst I was wandering lazily under a huge umbrella, not so far away events were unfolding in Westminster that gave the world another shake.

There is something very reassuring about the resilience and reliability of nature as it rolls through the seasons - whatever chaos is happening elsewhere - the tress blossom, the bulbs and spring flowers shout brassily and the first grass mowings of the season fill the air with that distinctive scent...

I am reminded to be thankful for small things and to try to appreciate every day.

S x

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

Capital, conference and the other 'C' word!!

Last week saw me taking a trip to the capital - kind of a combined work/pleasure thing. The nice thing about going to a work-related conference during your annual leave is that you don't feel too guilty when the sessions look a bit heavy going and a quick nip to Regent Street seems a better idea...!

To be fair, I was quite well-behaved and did go to several interesting talks - learnt a bit, networked a bit, all that stuff... But I also, love going to London...full stop actually...I love being in London! At least, I really love to be there for a few days and then slide off back to Norfolk when it all begins to feel just a bit too crowded and frantic. And, what I was going to say, is that that I particularly love going to London at this time of year - something about the lights and the bustle and the sheer grandeur of the place.

So how kind of the Horseguards to come out for us on our first little 'absconsion' from duty...!!

Granted, this was only day one of a three day conference, but by lunchtime this place was calling...

This is the beautiful staircase at Liberty's (anyone recognise it?!) which is a must as far as I'm concerned on any and every trip to London. Best not to pick up a price tag in there, but lovely for a mooch.

And the Christmas floor is always good for a wander round - rows and rows of colour themed baubles...

And look at these decorations...

And this seemed so much more appealing than conference sandwiches...

Well, ladies that lunch (or take tea, in our case - lunch a little out of our price range!) seemed almost obligatory! (and in case you wondered, lunch was at the rather yummy, and much more manageable Leon off Carnaby Street - delish!)

The buildings in some cities are so beautiful (I am aware its not just London!) - two things about this caught my eye, the clock was striking (Westminster chimes I think, on each quarter hour) which reminded me of a clock my grandparents had years ago, wonder what happened to that...? And also, the contrast of the building and the blue, blue sky. It was really cold but lovely and bright.

We did go back to do a bit more 'learning' but finished the day with a very sociable dinner with friends and then a long walk back from Liverpool Street Station via the South Bank and the Oxo Tower bar (well, had to be done...) where they had these fab trees by the lifts...

Bit blurry, camera phone post rather large and delicious cocktail! All felt like a real treat!

The following evening, we popped over to Winter Wonderland in Hyde park for a wander through the stalls - a mixed bag of lovely traditional German crafts and foods and the usual tacky stuff that comes out at Christmas. But if you can't wallow in a bit of tacky at Christmas...

And the mulled wine was pretty good too...til I threw it down my front!

On the last day of the conference I was feeling a bit jaded - combination of mixed up feelings, not enough sleep and too many big screen presentations, I think. I had the mother of headaches so took myself for a bit of a walk from Westminster. It just happened that timing wise, I caught the sun just going down and the skies looked amazing, so I had to keep stopping to snap as I walked down Embankment across the bridge and back along the Southbank! I wasn't alone taking photos, but I was rather wishing I had got more than just my phone! Have really got out of the habit of having my camera handy - might try to make that a New Years Resolution...

Apologies for the rather excessive number of pictures of 'Westminster at Sunset' but I just love the skies!!

Back home, I felt I must really try to get into the spirit a bit...

Some very kind friends brought me a little tree last year as part of a lovely parcel of goodies when I first moved here (plus wine, glasses, candles and chocolates!) and after New Year I just stuck it outside, still in its pot, where it has remained, thoroughly neglected all year. I'm guessing it survived because we had such an awful wet summer, but it has actually grown a good six inches or so and still looks lovely and healthy. So in the interests of being green and a bit economic, I hauled it back inside, cleaned off the pot and faffed about making it look pretty...

I had a bit of a moment when I realised that a lot of the bits the boys made (you know the thing...odd shaped shiny paper baubles dating from reception...) are not here. How do you keep a share of all those things? Still, the special things are in your head and your heart I guess and that won't change. And in any case, this tree is so wee, the 20 year old paper school offerings probably wouldn't fit!!

I'm as enchanted by the mantelpiece as I was when I first moved here, perfect for pretty Christmas bits...

I am struggling a bit to remain sane just now. It is exactly one year since I moved here and I thought we'd be nearer some sort of resolution and a manageable relationship that made life a bit easier for the boys by now. But it seems we are a way off that. It doesn't feel as though there is going to be much family time this Christmas. Think the boys are much better about it than me - they have a very practical attitude, still family time just a bit different!! Maybe next year things will be better...

In the meantime, and on a completely different note, I'm sure there is a reason this yarn is called smiley stripes...

'Cause you just have to, don't you?!

Hoping you're all feeling the festive joy, til next time...

Sx

catching up: part 3 - trips away...

The last month or so has seen me off on several trips both work related and pleasure. Much of it I didn't manage to capture on film but I just feel a need to record for posterity! 

Regarding the work trips - the important one was to present a project that has been dominating my time (and that of some colleagues) at a national conference in York at the beginning of the month. York is a lovely place to be but the rain was torrential for much of the day and a half I was there so I didn't take any photos of the beautiful city! It was a bit weird because the last time I was there was when my home life was a little different and it felt a bit odd wandering around on my own. Suffice to say, I completely wimped out of eating in a restaurant alone in the evening and resorted to a picnic tea in my B&B room courtesy of a supermarket 'open all hours' type store! I really know how to live it up!!!

This made me smile though...

Given that I was presenting our work on behalf of our team and we were competing for an award (no presuure...!) this couldn't have been a more appropriate find in the en-suite!

In the event, all went well and we won the award so I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and return to work with head held high!! 

The following weekend saw me back in London for my second birthday treat weekend! Another of my 'must do' wishes was to go to the Royal Albert Hall; in all my visits to London, I had never even been inside, so when an opportunity arose to go to see a favourite of ours, Laura Marling, my lovely eldest son bought tickets for my birthday present and we arranged a rather budget visit. Accommodation just a little more basic than the theatre trip a few weeks ago...

We stayed at a hostel in South Kensington - cheap and reasonably clean! It has to be said the shared bathroom facilities left a bit to be desired - particularly given that, unbeknown to us, there was a festival that weekend in nearby Hyde Park so most of the others staying were clad in wellies and shorts (de rigueur festival gear, regardless of the weather, it seems!). The less said about that the better! Just that I rather suspect I was the oldest one there, and it is possible that I just am a bit past sharing a bathroom with inebriated teens...

Anyway, moving swiftly on... we arrived in time for a bit of a wander so spent the afternoon at the V&A. Before going to the ballgown exhibition on the last trip, I hadn't been there either and it is a truly beautiful place to absorb a bit of history and culture. It is full of fabulous colours and patterns, from the walls of the tea room...

...to the beautiful ceramic staircase...

This glass font was modern and I don't think the picture really does it justice but I thought it was really stunning...

There are, of course, many ancient pieces - this beautifully decorated harpsichord...

and some intricate needlework from Asia. The stitches on this garment were tiny - it must have taken ages to complete...

Not quite sure what this delicate fretwork is called but it looked lovely with the light through it...

as did the enamelling on this spoon...

and more stunning embroidery...

So many lovely things there, we spent a good few hours just 'absorbing' and in no way saw everything! The great thing about the London museums is that most are free to enter so you don't feel pressured to get to overload point on your visit. It is definitely on my 'somewhere to go back to' list though!

We walked back to the hostel via Hyde Park, can you see the much talked about 'Shard' in the distance?

It seems to have rather polarised opinion but whatever you think, it is pretty striking. Got a bit daft and emotional looking at Yoko Ono's wish trees at the Serpentine Gallery, Hyde Park. People have written little wishes or statements on tags and tied them to the trees. Some were rather silly but some were just heartfelt and moving and given that I seem to be able to cry at the drop of a hat at the moment, I was soon sniffing into a tissue!

Someone had taken the time to make a little origami bird...

After a quick dinner (no prizes for the speed of service at the Italian restaurant we picked, over an hour for two bowls of pasta to arrive!!!) we had to virtually across the park run to the main event...

The Albert Hall is such an impressive building, both from the outside...

and on the inside, where the scale of the place just takes your breath away...

Laura Marling has an amazing pure voice that just filled this massive space, sometimes accompanied by her small band and other times just singing to her own guitar playing. It was really breathtaking and we both loved it! Made me want to go back there and see something else...!

The following day was pretty miserable weatherwise but we headed up to Westminster, intending to wander over to the Southbank and Tate Modern. What we hadn't realised was that we had picked the day the London 10k run was happening and as we emerged from the tube station the race leaders were just completing the course...

The first few through barely looked as though they were breaking into a sweat and this bunch were running pretty impressive times. I think there were 20,000 or so running and the winner came in in less than 28 minutes which rather puts my 5km in 24 mins to shame! The field got progressively slower, redder and more wobbly as it went on with the average time just over an hour. It did inspire me to keep at the running - I've stuck to 3 or 4 days a week for the last couple of months and can now manage 7km in about 40 minutes, so I don't think I'm doing too badly! I hesitate to say it, but I'm even quite enjoying it now and although the prospect of a half marathon (the gauntlet has been thrown down but not yet picked up!) still seems too daunting, I do think I could probably make myself do 10k now. And more importantly, I definitely feel fitter and better for doing some more active exercise. 

After a wander round the beautiful and strange at Tate Modern we headed back towards Liverpool Street station via a closer look at the Shard...

I think, on balance, I quite like it...I certainly loved the reflections of the clouds and it is unmissable!

Sx