Friday, August 07, 2009
Shocked!
Finally remembered my Blogger signing in details and got access to my blog! I couldn't believe how long it is since I last posted. So now it's got me thinking about life and what's happened since then. I'll mull it over and come back!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Pub Crawl!
Hubby and I had been planning our pub crawl for about a year and we finally decided to do it in July. We caught the bus from Liverpool Street to London Bridge and got off to have a look at the Monument first. From London Bridge we watched Tower Brige opening up to let a tall-masted Thames barge through. London Bridge is the only place in England that you can see two cathedrals at once - St Paul's and Southwark (apparently).
The George Inn in Borough High Street is the only galleried pub left in England and in the courtyard they used to put on Shakespeare's plays. It's owned by the National Trust now. http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=187 Nearby Borough Market was open with its fanastic food and drink stalls. From there we walked along past the Clink, onto the South Bank and over the Millenium Bridge to St Paul's and along to our second pub, The Blackfriar. It's amazing in there! It's an Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau pub and awesome to look at. We got a really good look around it as almost everyone was drinking outside.
http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/london/blackfriar/index.shtml
Fleet Street was next on our walk to our third pub but first we peered into the entrance of the old Daily Express building. It's a fabulous example of an Art Deco structure with a beautifully decorated lobby. http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2003/10/daily_express_b.html
The Cheshire Cheese was our next destination for refreshment, a poky little rabbit-warren of a place rebuilt in the 1600's. It was Samuel Johnson's local. It was a little too dark and pokey for me but worth a look. http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=216
Next a stroll through Lincoln's Inn Fields, where we saw people queuing to get into Sir John Soanes house, and on to the Princess Louise in High Holborn. It's a fine example of the Victorian era with ceramic ties and etched glass panels (and smelly Victorian drainage in the vicinity of the men's toilets!). http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=226
Our last stop was the fish and chip shop, The Fryers Delight, http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/features/28.html which seemed very dull and dowdy, with its formica tables and bench seats, after all those lovely places but the fish and chips are always fresh and delicious, just like Yorkshire ones (no mushy peas though!). We walked back to Liverpool Street after that with a brief foray into Thornton's as it was choccy day for me! Sigh, the perfect end to a perfect day.
The George Inn in Borough High Street is the only galleried pub left in England and in the courtyard they used to put on Shakespeare's plays. It's owned by the National Trust now. http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=187 Nearby Borough Market was open with its fanastic food and drink stalls. From there we walked along past the Clink, onto the South Bank and over the Millenium Bridge to St Paul's and along to our second pub, The Blackfriar. It's amazing in there! It's an Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau pub and awesome to look at. We got a really good look around it as almost everyone was drinking outside.
http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/london/blackfriar/index.shtml
Fleet Street was next on our walk to our third pub but first we peered into the entrance of the old Daily Express building. It's a fabulous example of an Art Deco structure with a beautifully decorated lobby. http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2003/10/daily_express_b.html
The Cheshire Cheese was our next destination for refreshment, a poky little rabbit-warren of a place rebuilt in the 1600's. It was Samuel Johnson's local. It was a little too dark and pokey for me but worth a look. http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=216
Next a stroll through Lincoln's Inn Fields, where we saw people queuing to get into Sir John Soanes house, and on to the Princess Louise in High Holborn. It's a fine example of the Victorian era with ceramic ties and etched glass panels (and smelly Victorian drainage in the vicinity of the men's toilets!). http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=226
Our last stop was the fish and chip shop, The Fryers Delight, http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/features/28.html which seemed very dull and dowdy, with its formica tables and bench seats, after all those lovely places but the fish and chips are always fresh and delicious, just like Yorkshire ones (no mushy peas though!). We walked back to Liverpool Street after that with a brief foray into Thornton's as it was choccy day for me! Sigh, the perfect end to a perfect day.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Hey Ho
What a strange time of year this is. It's supposed to be a sparkling, pristine, clean slate of a time when we can start anew. In reality though, we're in transition between the old and the new even though the new started last Saturday night at midnight. There is no clear defining time and we're left with the remnants of the festivities to deal with.
Tonight I took down the cards, tree and decorations because I never know whether they should be gone by the 6th January or on the 6th January. There is still a heap of edible goodies to munch through and some presents to find storage space for. I suppose I should dispose of the cracker novelties that are still littering the table including a perfectly good whoopee cushion, a tiny pack of playing cards on a keyring and a triangular nine-piece butterfly jigsaw. I think I'll keep the miniature screwdriver set as it will come in handy when I need to tinker with connecting leads round the back of my computer processor. I won't miss the infuriating metal puzzle that I've never managed to do yet.
The shops seem to be in the same state. Many of them are still selling Christmas cards and wrapping whilst slowly replacing the old stock with the new. We'll know where we are soon though when the Easter eggs go on sale.
Tonight I took down the cards, tree and decorations because I never know whether they should be gone by the 6th January or on the 6th January. There is still a heap of edible goodies to munch through and some presents to find storage space for. I suppose I should dispose of the cracker novelties that are still littering the table including a perfectly good whoopee cushion, a tiny pack of playing cards on a keyring and a triangular nine-piece butterfly jigsaw. I think I'll keep the miniature screwdriver set as it will come in handy when I need to tinker with connecting leads round the back of my computer processor. I won't miss the infuriating metal puzzle that I've never managed to do yet.
The shops seem to be in the same state. Many of them are still selling Christmas cards and wrapping whilst slowly replacing the old stock with the new. We'll know where we are soon though when the Easter eggs go on sale.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Luxuriating in lather
On Christmas Day I decided to have a bath, nothing unusual about that but I can't remember the last time I had one. This is not because of a preference for ponginess, more a fondness for the speediness of the shower. I could have had my bath at any time during the day given my solitary state but I wanted to plan my perfect soak as I didn't know when the next one would occur.
First of all I whacked the heating up in the bathroom, no point in turning blue as I emerged from my watery indulgence. Next I phoned various rellies, I wanted no chance of any interruption and to doubly make sure of this I timed my bath to coincide with most folk's Christmas dinner. I turned the taps on - this was going to be no ordinary bath, this was going to be an M & S luxury bath, enhanced with a generous dollop or two of Peach Bloom Foam Bath. Ensuring I had towels at the ready, I then lit candles, brought in my cuppa, switched on a tape of carols sung by the Huddersfield Choral Society and stepped into the inviting warm wateriness.
That bath was the best thing that happened to me on Christmas Day. Half an hour up to my chin in warm frothy water was absolute bliss. I had totally forgotten the benefits of prolonged soaking and the lovely relaxed feeling it leaves you with. I might just have to have another one soon.
First of all I whacked the heating up in the bathroom, no point in turning blue as I emerged from my watery indulgence. Next I phoned various rellies, I wanted no chance of any interruption and to doubly make sure of this I timed my bath to coincide with most folk's Christmas dinner. I turned the taps on - this was going to be no ordinary bath, this was going to be an M & S luxury bath, enhanced with a generous dollop or two of Peach Bloom Foam Bath. Ensuring I had towels at the ready, I then lit candles, brought in my cuppa, switched on a tape of carols sung by the Huddersfield Choral Society and stepped into the inviting warm wateriness.
That bath was the best thing that happened to me on Christmas Day. Half an hour up to my chin in warm frothy water was absolute bliss. I had totally forgotten the benefits of prolonged soaking and the lovely relaxed feeling it leaves you with. I might just have to have another one soon.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Snowflakes
I love this no mess, no bits, method of being virtually creative :] Found this site via bluefluff's blog (she got it from Nogbad). Click on: snowflake to make your own.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Festive Greetings
Merry Christmas to all! For the first time ever in my life I'm spending most of Christmas alone. My spouse works for a homeless charity, CRISIS, over the holiday, ferrying their 'guests' and volunteers around London for most of each day. Our daughters are all safe and well and celebrating in Leeds and Broadstairs. My choice of festive bases was going to be Leeds - nice breakfast, pub at lunchtime, daughter cooking dinner, lots of laughs and Quality Street - but life got in the way.
Surprisingly, it's not as deadly as I'd feared. The day has started leisurely, it's bright and almost sunny outside and I've opened a couple of lovely presents. Other than getting dressed, I've no plans or schedules for the day. I can have control of the telly buttons all day and scoff chololate or I can go for a healthy walk proudly showing off my new scarf and gloves. Later on I'll be phoning the rellies to see how their days are going.
A week today, when the daughters descend on us, I'm sure I'll be looking back to the peace and tranquility of today as a contrast to our usual Christmasses, realising that although it wasn't the Christmas I chose, it was pretty good nonetheless.
Surprisingly, it's not as deadly as I'd feared. The day has started leisurely, it's bright and almost sunny outside and I've opened a couple of lovely presents. Other than getting dressed, I've no plans or schedules for the day. I can have control of the telly buttons all day and scoff chololate or I can go for a healthy walk proudly showing off my new scarf and gloves. Later on I'll be phoning the rellies to see how their days are going.
A week today, when the daughters descend on us, I'm sure I'll be looking back to the peace and tranquility of today as a contrast to our usual Christmasses, realising that although it wasn't the Christmas I chose, it was pretty good nonetheless.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Patience is a virtue
Like many a thousand OU students I'm awaiting my exam results from my last course. It is sheer torture going to my Student Home Page for the umpteenth time every day only to find a smug message waiting saying 'Your course result should be available by Friday 16 December 2005.'
Why can't it vary as the days go by? Why can't it be a little more sympathetic to the agonies we're going through? Something like 'We know how tough it is waiting around like this but it's not going to make those results appear any quicker. We suggest getting on with Christmas preparations.' Or today it could have read 'For weeks now we've been telling you the result date so why are you wasting time coming in here every two minutes - we're not going to change our minds.' The one message I would not want to read is 'Here is your result: 100%' which was replaced two seconds later by 'Only joking'! That would give a good few of us a heart attack.
My life has come to a standstill, almost, at one of the busiest times of the year. I can't bear to be away from my computer for too long or on the phone 'just in case'. The daft thing is that, after these last few intense days of hoping and praying for a result, when it does appear it will be such a let down. Maybe then I'll be able to write my Christmas cards.
Why can't it vary as the days go by? Why can't it be a little more sympathetic to the agonies we're going through? Something like 'We know how tough it is waiting around like this but it's not going to make those results appear any quicker. We suggest getting on with Christmas preparations.' Or today it could have read 'For weeks now we've been telling you the result date so why are you wasting time coming in here every two minutes - we're not going to change our minds.' The one message I would not want to read is 'Here is your result: 100%' which was replaced two seconds later by 'Only joking'! That would give a good few of us a heart attack.
My life has come to a standstill, almost, at one of the busiest times of the year. I can't bear to be away from my computer for too long or on the phone 'just in case'. The daft thing is that, after these last few intense days of hoping and praying for a result, when it does appear it will be such a let down. Maybe then I'll be able to write my Christmas cards.
