Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Yay we've got kids

We picked up Roxi & Mat (Richard's daughter & her boyfriend) from Heathrow yesterday. We took them on a very speedy tour of the sights of London. First of all we parked behind Harrods...a snip at £1.60 per quarter of an hour!!! Woah. No we didn't buy anything as I didn't fancy a fur handbag for the bargain price of £1200. (It was reduced from £2000).
Then we went to the V& A....there were so many people around that I had to take photos of ceilings only. This is in the beautiful William Morris café.


This one is NOT of the ceiling though my hair looks like some weird owl underneath this beauteous statue.

This is the amazing ceiling at Harrods in the meat/fish section of the food hall. (Look familiar Thomsey?)
As soon as we got home we HAD to have a game of Yarnoff.
Roxi won!!!!!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas

Merry Christmas all you lovely blog readers xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We had a lovely Christmas this year. (I could pretend that I made this clever wreath but actually I bought it at Sainsburys.)
With decorations given to me by my friend Kate...too good to go on the tree and these beautiful birds from my sis.

Our groovy star lights...
We had brunch with Clarissa and baby Zebedee first at their house with champagne & smoked salmon, asparagus & poached eggs...
What a poorly boy zeb is though. He has caught the dreadeful cold that's going round. I've never seen him so sick. Just a little couch potato with no energy. The dreadful looking scab on his forhead is a beadie though, something...anything to distract him from the oxygen prongs up his nose.
He did cheer up a little when Richard played him the three little pigs song though.

I cooked a goose. I've never eaten goose before and it was delicious. An enormous amount of fat came out of that bird though. Litres & litres. Enough for our potatoes for years to come. Anyone need a parcel of fat perhaps to tide you over?

I found these cute little cardinal place holders at Martha Stewart. Hours worth of fun on that website....

Sunday, December 21, 2008

LURGY

So sorry not to have blogged for ages & ages but I've had the LURGY. Or as they say in Australia...I've been in bed with the Wog that's going 'round. I would even go so far as to say I've had Man flu.
I will never take breathing through both nostrils at the same time for granted again.
So far Richard hasn't had it but everyone else in the known universe has. It's NOT pleasant.
Here's something to take your mind off Christmas and go awwwww.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Harold Lock

The world is a sadder place. Our dear, dear friend Harold Lock died at 84 a week or so ago.
How can I explain about Harold. He was the Dad every one would love to have, he was the man every boy wanted to be.
Harold owned and ran the fish & chip shop here in East Harling with his wife Enid for years. He was on every committee, he rang the bells at Church & sang in the choir. He was gracious and loving, cheeky and fun, he was interested in everything. He was a marvelous gardener an apiarist and a keen cyclist. If you talked to a thousand people in Harling about Harold, you wouldn't find one with a bad word to say about him.
This is the only photo I can find of him, giving the speech at Richard's 60th birthday last year. He and Enid were at our wedding 5 years ago and Richard always said Harold was his mentor.
The funeral was today and I don't think there's ever been more people in the Church here, standing room only and more than 350.
I knew it would be hard singing in the choir looking out at Enid & all his family & friends.
There was an amazing air of reverence as we walked down through the congregation to our choir stalls. The opening sentence of the first hymn 'Praise my soul the King of Heaven' nearly lifted the roof. I started to cry as I remembered Harold turning to smile from his pew as you walked down the aisle. I always walked a little slower when I got to him to hear his lovely tenor voice.
When my Dad died so far away in Australia I asked if I could sit with Harold & Enid at Church that day and I felt so comforted just being near them.
Most of the time as I was singing today I was mouthing the words as my voice just wouldn't work, lucky there were so many to carry the tune. We rang the bells half muffled as everyone walked out, it's an amazing sound as the bell sounds on one side and thuds on the other. We stood them one by one finally leaving the tenor to toll alone.
At the reception afterwards I talked to his daughter Mary who told me that during the last hymn her daughter had nudged her and whispered 'Look'. There was a honey bee on the flowers just next to them.... It's miles too cold for bees at the moment and I've not seen any in Church for months. One of Harolds had come to say goodbye.
Bless you Harold and thank you for all the Joy you brought into the world.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends

Things have been pretty hectic around here. For the first time I managed to get presents to the Post Office to get to Australia in time for Christmas....Hooray.
Then all day Saturday we baked.... here are the choux puffs for the birthday cake...before they went into the oven... After they came out. Alongside "Mastering the Art of French cooking" the cookbook that changed my life way, way back in the 80's.
Ahhhh that Himalaya of happiness...the Croquenbouche. With toffee and sugared almonds to break your teeth on. Guess whose birthday it was????
"The Party Girl" Clarissa. Here's a picture of that stunningly handsome bloke with the long hair...Ricky Royale next to her Royal Birthdayness.
The suprise guest was Ben, up from London via a surf stop in Cornwall. I do love a Big man with a Small boy.
There were songs sung by Master Russ, & magic tricks by Monsieur RoyaleAnd then a lot of sleeping on the couch....or trying to at least.
Happy Birthday Darling Clarribelle.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

It snowed

Look who saw his first snow.....Zebedee. Here he is wearing so many layers he can hardly bend. He was so amazed by it falling out of the sky, he kept holding up his hands and shouting at it.
Clarry made a snowman with a pineapple top hair do.

There were a few more firsts this weekend too. I rang my first Quarter peal on the bells of East Harling and....we bought a new car. Well a temporary new car really for when my gorgeous Step daughter Roxi & her handsome boyfriend Mat come over to visit us in late December.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Brain of Britain quiz

This is the symbol that greets me this morning on my google page. Can you guess what it is?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The AGM of the NDAB (southern Branch)

Yes that fascinating club that I'm sure you all want to be a member of had it's Annual General Meeting last weekend. The Southern Branch of the Norwich Diocesan Association of Bellringers. Watching paint dry has nothing on this event. If it hadn't been so bloody cold in the Church, I would have been asleep in seconds.
We did however have a lot of fun in the lead up. Note Richard's cute hairdo!making cheese sconesLamingtons (here the preparation thereof)
Cheese and pickle sandwiches (crustless of course)
and Coronation chicken sandwiches The best thing about these quarterly meetings is the amazing tea you get to eat for £2.50 a head. The other photos of the tea didn't quite work out but here's a short movie of all the fun you're missing.

Friday, November 14, 2008

The talented Clare Rae.

Yesterday I told you all to go and have a look at Clare Rae's photos....well she has given her permission to put some on the blog. Aren't they just amazing.





Thursday, November 13, 2008

Blog of the month

Go and treat yourself to some amazing images by Mardi's sister Clare at her blog here.

More dancing

My Buddy Mardi just reminded me of this deadly bit of dancing.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Hop to it....

The best dancer in the whole world of swing. Mr shim sham himself. Frankie Manning.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Courage to cut

OK OK, I did cut up the Uchikake wedding kimono... but don't you think it was worth it?