Today I was at City and Guilds….

……class  chatting about all sorts of things as you do….. amongst some things we were talking about Janice's recent trip to Japan with a group of students and the blog she has started (you can read it here), Jillian said to me  'I look at your blog and you've not done anything since Barcelona!' Oh, dear how bad am I? Has life stopped, No I've just got out of the habit of blogging, I'm  making a commitment to blog at least once a month.

A few of the things that have happened since Barcelona, Christmas for one thing and followers of this blog will know that December is Birthday month in this family, so my whole family is now one year older……

I did get some lovely christmas and birthday presents, I won't bore you by telling you all of them but one thing that is getting very well used is a cookery book by Nigel Slater. I'm really enjoying trying a lot of the recipes, last night it was 'Liver and Bacon Ragu', I'm not really that keen on liver but it was delicious, so far theres not been a meal we've not enjoyed and nothing takes hours to cook, just the way I like it!  Another great gift was a huge umbrella that is fibre glass and is extra strong, now that is getting very well used when I take Betsy out for her walks, and it's not turned inside out yet, mind you I sometimes struggle to hold it in the gusting winds.

Dave and I decided last year not to buy each other Birthday presents and take a weekend break in January. So a couple of weekends ago I traveled up to London a met him when he finished work and we spent the weekend at a hotel near the Tower of London, and views of Tower Bridge (not from our room though)

View from our room

We were tourists in our own city, I arrived early and left my bag at the hotel, jumped on a bus and went to  the Paul Klee exhibition at the Tate Modern, lots of quilt inspiration. We'd booked tickets for Saturday to go to the Tower, a few enjoyable hours were spent looking at the crown jewels, and wandering through the towers and on the ramparts. We hadn't been there since the children were young.

 Luckily the weather was fine  for a short while, we jumped on a bus and went to Covent Garden  we used to go there a lot at the weekends but haven't been for ages. We had lunch at a Jamie Oliver restaurant and mooched (is that a word) around the stalls and shops, funnily enough we ended up by the 'London Graphic Centre'. No idea how that happened! Of course I didn't need much just a few bits, but I managed to leave the shop with a large carrier bag of must haves! Then to please Dave we went into 'Stanfords', their advertising says 'We have been an essential first port of call for adventure and armchair travellers alike for more than a century. Our roll-call of customers past and present includes such famous names as Amy Johnson, David Livingstone, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, Florence Nightingale, Ranulph Fiennes, Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, and even Sherlock Holmes.'

I'm not sure our next holiday is going to be upto the adventures that these people had, but at least we'll have a good map with us, to be honest Dave always goes here to buy maps when were going on our trips to America, more about our next American holiday nearer the time. 

Back to our London weekend, just as we arrived back at the hotel the weather changed and it poured with rain, on Sunday we planned to take an Open Top Bus ride, instead as it was still training we jumped on a train and took the twenty minute train journey home and on Monday Dave walked past the hotel on his way to work but it was fun being a tourist in our own city! As for the Open Top bus that'll have to wait for the better weather, if it ever comes!

Last Friday I met with some friends in town again and went to the Fashion and Textile Museum to see Artist Textiles Picasso to Warhol exhibition, I would recommend this exhibition really interesting work.

Below three images from the exhibition.

Oh well enough for now I think. But before I go I've not been completely off the blogging Facebook world, I've been updating the Material Girls sites and started a Facebook page if you'd like to take a look here it is https://www.facebook.com/themat.girls if you enjoy what you see perhaps you'll like the page!

From The Tower

On Friday Rachel and I went to a Birthday Party another 2 year old, this time there was plenty of Jelly and the sandwiches were made in the shape of the Hungry Caterpillar, I forgot to take a photograph but it was a very creative spread.
Then on Saturday evening we went to the Tower of London to watch the Ceremony of The Keys and attend a charity event as guests of the Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters). Driving into the Tower was not easy, negotiating around the many tourists who were more intent on getting their photographs than worrying about stepping backwards into the path of a slow moving car. Glad I wasn't driving, Dave managed very well and not one dent in the car. The Yeoman's mess was interesting and we were treated to a Drum and Pipe band before a BBQ, we were then invited outside and given some information about the Tower and the Ceremony that was about to take place. No photographs are allowed of the ceremony, it has an amazing history, the locking of the tower with all the pageantry  has happened every night for 700 years, nothing has ever prevented it, not war or weather. It was then back inside and more drink and another set from the Pipes and Drums. I know not everyone likes the Pipes but I do so I was delighted, Dave isn't quite so enthusiastic but never mind....... On the way out of the Tower I took a photo of Traitors Gate from the inside looking out and one of Tower Bridge and one of the Shard they are dark but I wanted to share them with you!

If you would like to know more about trips to and information on the Tower of London try this link

2010 And I Still Love London!

It has become a bit of a tradition on New Years day Dave and I take a trip into London have a stroll along the south bank and have lunch! Last year we had to give it a miss, I wasn't very well. I was waiting to have my gall bladder removed and I had a few complications with my liver. Thinking back I was really feeling quite awful all over the Christmas. This Christmas was so different, I feel so much better. I wasn't able to have the operation until March and not in the hospital where it was originally planned to have it as they don't have the specialist aftercare facilities which in the end I didn't need, thank goodness. All that is behind me now and I'm looking forward to a great 2010. 2009 wasn't all bad, I completed my certificate in City and Guilds Embroidery, I've joined a new Quilting Group and also I've helped form a new Embroidery Group Aqua-8, 2010 is going to be a busy and creative time! I plan to blog a lot more, which is why I'm blogging today! I'm not making any new years resolutions as I always break them after the first week, and it's always the same ones anyway lose weight, not easy when you are weak where food is concerned, but I have that sorted, I'm going to the gym 3 times a week and that will not change! Anyway back to what I was saying at the beginning our trip to London today we went to Butlers Wharf, we haven't been there for quite a few years, the weather was bright but very cold, we didn't do much strolling but did have a really nice lunch in Brown's then another stroll, then back to the car and home into the warm, a cup of coffee and my blog. Here are a few of the photo's taken today!


Click on the image and read about Oliver Twist!


These were once warehouses but are now expensive apartments.

City Hall, London is Governed from here!

Tower Bridge looking up River




The Tower of London, high tide so Traitors Gate is just visible!