Saturday, 8 March 2008
Today I Am Wearing....
….the most lovely skirt! A girl at work made it for herself, but it was too short for her, and seeing as I am not very tall it is perfect for me! It was once a pair of black courdroy jeans, and is now a long skirt that brushes the floor, with a fishtail bit at the back which makes me feel very glamorous! I am wearing it with a long sleeved purple top, with a v-neck in front, and the same v-neck in back. No heels for me today, as I have been running about a lot. This is the nearest I have come to wearing trousers in years!
Cup of Tea and a Catch Up
I feel a little like Mrs Bennett today, breathlessly declaring ‘Netherfield Park is let at last!’ It has been much longer since my last post than I ever intended it to be, and as a consequence I am full with things to tell you!
The most exciting first, then the most recent, and the rest I am afraid will be a delightful jumble! There is some celebratory news, so choose your nicest tea cup for your tea whilst you read this!
The most exciting news is that I received a telephone call at 8:00am this morning from one of my dearest friends, who is expecting her first baby on the 25th. ‘How fast can you crochet?’ she asked (I have been working on a matinee jacket for baby) ‘because baby is on the way!’ she continued! No more news as of yet, but oh, how exciting!
The most recent news is that today was the launch of the Essex Book Festival, and because the library I work in happens to be the Flagship library for Essex Libraries, the launch was held there. So we were all a-bustle with authors and the local radio show, and local dignitaries and senior managers, but I was in a little oasis of calm and utter scrumptiousness in the middle of it all. You see, Nicola Beauman, founder and publisher of Persephone Books was here! She had a stand where, if you wrote a book review or recommendation to go on our postcard wall, you could choose a Persephone Book to take home, free! And because I was not timetabled to be anywhere else, I was asked to help with her stall! I cannot tell you how excited I was, and it really hardly felt like work at all. She had 80 books to give away, and within two hours, they were all gone. I seem to do a lot of happy stumbling, and it was in such a way that I discovered Persephone Books. Jane at www.yarnstorm.blogs.com mentioned them a year or so, maybe even more on her blog, and they sounded so lovely I signed up for the Persephone Quarterly newsletter. Then I discovered one or two of their titles in the library, and fell quite, quite in love with them. They are delightful books, usually by women authors, and usually rediscovered. My favourite is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (which has been made into a film and was released today in America…can’t wait for it to come here!) but I am also really enjoying ‘The Making of a Marchioness’ which I have taken to bed each evening. I must borrow someone else’s words to give them the best description- they are books of the hot-water-bottle genre; you want to take them to bed with a hot water bottle and a cup of tea (or perhaps cocoa) and not emerge until you have finished them! It was so lovely being able to chat to Nicola, and I am resolved that on my week off at the beginning of April, I am going to take myself off to Lamb’s Conduit Street, and visit the shop. Do not take my word for it, visit www.persephonebooks.co.uk and discover for yourself just how scrumptious they are.
Now for the jumbly bits and bobs that have been keeping me busy and away from my blog! I have been working on a matinee jacket for my friend’s baby. I searched high and low on Friday, my last day off, but I could not find a crochet pattern that I liked anywhere. There were very few to choose from, and were either very boxy or lacy christening-gown style things. I was going to go through my set of vintage Golden Hands magazines in search of inspiration, when my lovely friend who visits me on a Monday evening offered to lend me a pattern that she has, and it was just what I had been hoping to make. I have never crocheted clothes before (although baby clothes are so tiny, they hardly qualify as clothes!) and it has been so satisfying to start a pattern that seemed too complicated, and gradually unravel it. I think perhaps that is one reason why l like crochet so much- apart from the way it grows so quickly- each stitch builds upon another, and they way you group them changes the effect so much. What looks like incomprehensible instructions that I am sure I can not translate into my hook and wool unravel themselves and reveal themselves to be a simple soothing pattern. Now I am on the main part of the body, having done the difficult yoke and making arm-holes, I can do most of the row without having to refer to the pattern at all.
I have also been making Easter cards. I don’t normally make them, but there has been a particular stamp set that I have been coveting for the past eight months or so, and I realised that they would make beautiful Easter cards. There is a bunny, whose nose almost seems to quiver, who I have stamped using pinecone brown ink in the middle of a cream card. Then I took another stamp, which is of a fern-like plant, and stamped around it in green, quite randomly. Then I took another stamp, of a twig, and stamped some in the same green, and some more in pinecone brown. I finished by stamping some little clusters of flowers in deep violet. The different layers of stamps make a really pretty border around the rabbit. Of course, I will post a picture here of them soon!
I have been reading and reading just recently. My most recent book is The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and it is not what I thought it would be at all. For some reason I had half formed the idea that it might be a children’s book, but it is not at all. Emily Fox-Seton, the main character is poor, although well born, and lives in a little bed-sitting room, which she has made cheerful and bright with turkey-red curtains, and a tea set, and such little niceties. I wish I had the book at my side so I could give you the exact line, but there is one very early on, about how lovely it is, when you are a damp, exhausted lady with tired feet to return home to a cup of tea!
Last night, I made an apple pie. There was no particular reason, except that I suddenly took it in to my head that it would be really nice for Carl to come home to a nice apple pie! Once upon a time, and not so long ago really, I would feel that I had to have a recipe to follow in the kitchen. Gradually, I have started to find my own feet a bit, and to have a play and an experiment when cooking, and I have to say that I was rather pleased with how it turned out!
I turned the oven to 200 oC (it is a fan oven….how I long for a gas oven!) and rolled out a packet of ready made puff pastry into a large circle. I draped it into my pie plate, but did not trim it to fit the plate. Then I took a bag of bramley apples and peeled and cored them. Four of them were sliced, sprinkled with sugar, scattered with a few cloves and put in a saucepan on the hob to cook. The remaining two were chopped into little cubes, and put in a bowl of water so they didn’t brown. When the apples on the stove were pulpy, I mashed them up into apple sauce with a sprinkling of mixed spice, a shaking of cinnamon, and a grating of nutmeg. Then I mixed in the apple cubes, and turned the lot into the pastry-lined pie dish. Then I folded the excess pastry up and round the edges to make a kind of border, leaving the middle quite open. I baked it for twenty minutes, turning half way through.
Considering how I followed no plan but what I thought might be nice, I was ever so pleased with the result! Carl is having dinner in London tonight with his work friends, so I am planning on a hot bath with my Liberty bath oil, then tucking myself up with The Making of a Marchioness, and a slice of apple pie. Oh, and of course, a cup of tea!
The most exciting first, then the most recent, and the rest I am afraid will be a delightful jumble! There is some celebratory news, so choose your nicest tea cup for your tea whilst you read this!
The most exciting news is that I received a telephone call at 8:00am this morning from one of my dearest friends, who is expecting her first baby on the 25th. ‘How fast can you crochet?’ she asked (I have been working on a matinee jacket for baby) ‘because baby is on the way!’ she continued! No more news as of yet, but oh, how exciting!
The most recent news is that today was the launch of the Essex Book Festival, and because the library I work in happens to be the Flagship library for Essex Libraries, the launch was held there. So we were all a-bustle with authors and the local radio show, and local dignitaries and senior managers, but I was in a little oasis of calm and utter scrumptiousness in the middle of it all. You see, Nicola Beauman, founder and publisher of Persephone Books was here! She had a stand where, if you wrote a book review or recommendation to go on our postcard wall, you could choose a Persephone Book to take home, free! And because I was not timetabled to be anywhere else, I was asked to help with her stall! I cannot tell you how excited I was, and it really hardly felt like work at all. She had 80 books to give away, and within two hours, they were all gone. I seem to do a lot of happy stumbling, and it was in such a way that I discovered Persephone Books. Jane at www.yarnstorm.blogs.com mentioned them a year or so, maybe even more on her blog, and they sounded so lovely I signed up for the Persephone Quarterly newsletter. Then I discovered one or two of their titles in the library, and fell quite, quite in love with them. They are delightful books, usually by women authors, and usually rediscovered. My favourite is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (which has been made into a film and was released today in America…can’t wait for it to come here!) but I am also really enjoying ‘The Making of a Marchioness’ which I have taken to bed each evening. I must borrow someone else’s words to give them the best description- they are books of the hot-water-bottle genre; you want to take them to bed with a hot water bottle and a cup of tea (or perhaps cocoa) and not emerge until you have finished them! It was so lovely being able to chat to Nicola, and I am resolved that on my week off at the beginning of April, I am going to take myself off to Lamb’s Conduit Street, and visit the shop. Do not take my word for it, visit www.persephonebooks.co.uk and discover for yourself just how scrumptious they are.
Now for the jumbly bits and bobs that have been keeping me busy and away from my blog! I have been working on a matinee jacket for my friend’s baby. I searched high and low on Friday, my last day off, but I could not find a crochet pattern that I liked anywhere. There were very few to choose from, and were either very boxy or lacy christening-gown style things. I was going to go through my set of vintage Golden Hands magazines in search of inspiration, when my lovely friend who visits me on a Monday evening offered to lend me a pattern that she has, and it was just what I had been hoping to make. I have never crocheted clothes before (although baby clothes are so tiny, they hardly qualify as clothes!) and it has been so satisfying to start a pattern that seemed too complicated, and gradually unravel it. I think perhaps that is one reason why l like crochet so much- apart from the way it grows so quickly- each stitch builds upon another, and they way you group them changes the effect so much. What looks like incomprehensible instructions that I am sure I can not translate into my hook and wool unravel themselves and reveal themselves to be a simple soothing pattern. Now I am on the main part of the body, having done the difficult yoke and making arm-holes, I can do most of the row without having to refer to the pattern at all.
I have also been making Easter cards. I don’t normally make them, but there has been a particular stamp set that I have been coveting for the past eight months or so, and I realised that they would make beautiful Easter cards. There is a bunny, whose nose almost seems to quiver, who I have stamped using pinecone brown ink in the middle of a cream card. Then I took another stamp, which is of a fern-like plant, and stamped around it in green, quite randomly. Then I took another stamp, of a twig, and stamped some in the same green, and some more in pinecone brown. I finished by stamping some little clusters of flowers in deep violet. The different layers of stamps make a really pretty border around the rabbit. Of course, I will post a picture here of them soon!
I have been reading and reading just recently. My most recent book is The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and it is not what I thought it would be at all. For some reason I had half formed the idea that it might be a children’s book, but it is not at all. Emily Fox-Seton, the main character is poor, although well born, and lives in a little bed-sitting room, which she has made cheerful and bright with turkey-red curtains, and a tea set, and such little niceties. I wish I had the book at my side so I could give you the exact line, but there is one very early on, about how lovely it is, when you are a damp, exhausted lady with tired feet to return home to a cup of tea!
Last night, I made an apple pie. There was no particular reason, except that I suddenly took it in to my head that it would be really nice for Carl to come home to a nice apple pie! Once upon a time, and not so long ago really, I would feel that I had to have a recipe to follow in the kitchen. Gradually, I have started to find my own feet a bit, and to have a play and an experiment when cooking, and I have to say that I was rather pleased with how it turned out!
I turned the oven to 200 oC (it is a fan oven….how I long for a gas oven!) and rolled out a packet of ready made puff pastry into a large circle. I draped it into my pie plate, but did not trim it to fit the plate. Then I took a bag of bramley apples and peeled and cored them. Four of them were sliced, sprinkled with sugar, scattered with a few cloves and put in a saucepan on the hob to cook. The remaining two were chopped into little cubes, and put in a bowl of water so they didn’t brown. When the apples on the stove were pulpy, I mashed them up into apple sauce with a sprinkling of mixed spice, a shaking of cinnamon, and a grating of nutmeg. Then I mixed in the apple cubes, and turned the lot into the pastry-lined pie dish. Then I folded the excess pastry up and round the edges to make a kind of border, leaving the middle quite open. I baked it for twenty minutes, turning half way through.
Considering how I followed no plan but what I thought might be nice, I was ever so pleased with the result! Carl is having dinner in London tonight with his work friends, so I am planning on a hot bath with my Liberty bath oil, then tucking myself up with The Making of a Marchioness, and a slice of apple pie. Oh, and of course, a cup of tea!
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Taking Tea At Claridge's
Carl is one of those lovely people who can say things like ‘take as long as you like’ and really mean it. Some people say ‘take as long as you like’ and it immediately makes you conscious of the clock ticking and minutes passing by. So when he said that on Claridge’s Day, I could do whatever I liked in London, it was lovely to know that I really, really could!
It was really hard to choose, and it is always so tempting to try and fit too much in, but in the end I settled for a trip to Borders, then Liberty before going on to Clardige’s and then the musical.
Oh, it was heaven! We found a Borders with four floors; it even had a tiny branch of Paperchase there, and a Starbucks which made it smell deliciously of coffee. Amy Winehouse was in the background singing ‘Valerie’ and whilst I have not been a huge fan of hers before, it was just the right music. We browsed and browsed and browsed, and in the end I came away with a large white velvet rabbit with a sparkly back from Paperchase (he is going to be on my Easter windowsill), Blueprint magazine, Romantic Homes magazine and Olive magazine. I was so excited to see Blueprint- I had not realised that it was available in this country! Sadly I could not find Victoria or Marie Claire Idees, but it is good to have something to search for.
Liberty was as wonderful as ever. I love the building, and Carl did too. He was fascinated by the carvings inside, and the space, and atmosphere. I came away with lots of little treasures- bottles of rosehip and clover bath oil for myself, Mum and Carl’s Mum, and a length of blue rick-rack trimming. I picked it up and thought it beautiful, and a perfect duck-egg blue. I turned the card over and behold! The shade was called ‘duck egg blue’ which made me smile. In one of the doorways into Liberty is a little Paula Pryke flower stand. Breathing in the all the heady scents is amazing. There were old fashioned roses, hyacinths, and best of all, tiny bunches of violets. Of course, I had to have a bunch of violets, and when I got home I put them into a tiny sherry glass next to the black-and-white photo that I bought a week or so ago. While we were wandering about, I found a little tea room, and I have put taking tea at Liberty on my list of things to do!
On to Claridge’s. What can I say? It was one of the most peaceful, delicious and enjoyable two hours I can remember. It is still ‘posh’ of course, but somehow more relaxed that the Ritz (which I loved, but in a different way) and less formal, whilst still being formal enough to be special. In the middle of the tea room is a huge silver urn, and it was filled with masses of pink tulips. I suspect it took someone rather a long time to arrange them to look like they hadn’t been arranged at all! We were in a room to the left of this main room, and sat a table for two under a photograph of Audrey Hepburn when she was at Claridge’s. There was a tall silver stand next to our table, which is where the teapots were to go. There was a heavy white cloth, and a lamp that seemed to cast a golden glow across the table. We each had a green-and-white striped plate and cup and saucer, with a monogrammed napkin. Then at the other end of the table to the lamp was a tiny silver vase with three red roses in it, and a small silver oblong box, and a pair of sugar tongs. Inside the silver box were three compartments- one filled with brown sugar lumps, one with white, and the third with sweeteners.
The waiter came over and asked if we would like to start with champagne. You can imagine how delighted I was when dear Carl said yes! The champagne came in monogrammed glasses, and as we sat and sipped, the strains of a violinist and pianist reached our ears.
There were thirty different teas to choose from! I am usually so indecisive about these things, but as they were offering the very first tea to be grown in England, from the Tregothnan estate in Cornwall. As I have Cornish ancestors, I had to choose that! Carl chose Russian Caravan, which is a delightful name, although it proved a little too smokey for my taste.
A long plate (again, striped with white and green) was brought to our table, upon which was a long line of crustless sandwiches. It is funny how when you are eating slowly, and sipping tea, that you become full up on what seems to be a small amount of food. The sandwiches were so dainty, and delicious too. There were two of each kind; smoked salmon, ham with mustard butter and redcurrant jam, chicken with rocket and mayonnaise, cucumber mint and cream cheese, and egg and tomato. I don’t like smoked salmon, (unless it is cooked in scrambled eggs!) so Carl kindly disposed of those for me, and then we shared the rest. It is hard to choose a favourite, but the egg and tomato was a really scrumptious combination. When we were enjoying yet another cup of tea, the waiter brought another plate to our table.
It was then that Carl whispered to me ‘look behind you!’ – but of course I couldn’t, not without being obvious. By that point I had drank rather a lot of tea, so I made a trip to the ladies room, and decided that on the way back I would have a look to see what he was trying to show me. I nearly forgot though, because the ladies room was so sumptuous! The tiles were mainly white, with some green, and then some had Rennie-Mackintosh style pink roses on them. When I came out, there was a sink filled with hot water for me to use, and the handwash was delicately scented with lemons. There were individual towels to use, and then lemon scented handcream too. I was in such a state of bliss that I nearly forgot to look at the table behind ours- but when I did I realised that I was sitting with my back to David Walliams! I have to say that he is really smart and quite handsome in the flesh, and he gave me a smile as I threaded my way through the other tables, which made me see why he has a reputation as a ladies man!
The waiters were attentive without being intrusive, and seemed to have instinct to appear just at the right time to fill up our teacups. Even better was when one arrived bringing our cakes! First came a plate with four little apple and raisin scones, a pot of clotted cream, and a pot of marco polo jelly. I had never heard of marco polo jelly before, but since then I have discovered that it is exclusive to Claridges. It was sweet, almost like strawberry, but quite floral at the same time. Very agreeable when spread upon a scone!
Another tray appeared, this time bearing four little delights. Each one was different, so we decided that rather than each pick two and never know what the other was like, we would have half each of each one. There was a tiny apple crumble served in a paper cupcake case, a shot glass filled with passionfruit puree and topped with tapioca (it doesn’t sound nice but ohhhhhh it was! So cold and creamy!), a confection made of layers of chocolate praline separated by balls of chocolate hazelnut cream, and finally a creamy strawberry slice. Each was more delicious than the last, and although both of us wished we had room for more, we really couldn’t have managed anything else.
Happily, we were not hurried after we finished our food. We were brought another pot of tea each, and we just sat and drank in our surroundings. There was a beautiful scent in the air, which reminded me of a pink fig candle I once had. At the table in front of us, there were seven or eight society ladies having a hen party. What a delightful place for a hen party! They reminded me of a little flock of butterflies. They all had such glossy brown hair, some were wearing pearls, others fascinators; two had black dresses spotted with white polka dots, and one had a beautiful red cardigan on. They looked as though they had stepped out of a Boden catalogue!
When our Waiter came to present the bill, I asked if it would be possible to buy some of the tea that we had enjoyed. To my surprise, he came back to the table with a black cardboard Claridge’s box, and told me that the two tins of tea inside were complimentary!
Really and truly the day was filled with as many delights as one day ought to be able to hold, but somehow there were more to come. We went on to the theatre, and although we thought we were sitting right up high and far from the stage, we were in fact rather near the front! Wicked was so enjoyable. A lot of work had gone into the set and the costumes, and the story was funny and clever. It was lovely to be whisked away into a fairy tale world for a while.
We didn’t get home till just after midnight, and as I closed my eyes, I felt I could still smell the pink fig, and hear the violinist playing.
It was really hard to choose, and it is always so tempting to try and fit too much in, but in the end I settled for a trip to Borders, then Liberty before going on to Clardige’s and then the musical.
Oh, it was heaven! We found a Borders with four floors; it even had a tiny branch of Paperchase there, and a Starbucks which made it smell deliciously of coffee. Amy Winehouse was in the background singing ‘Valerie’ and whilst I have not been a huge fan of hers before, it was just the right music. We browsed and browsed and browsed, and in the end I came away with a large white velvet rabbit with a sparkly back from Paperchase (he is going to be on my Easter windowsill), Blueprint magazine, Romantic Homes magazine and Olive magazine. I was so excited to see Blueprint- I had not realised that it was available in this country! Sadly I could not find Victoria or Marie Claire Idees, but it is good to have something to search for.
Liberty was as wonderful as ever. I love the building, and Carl did too. He was fascinated by the carvings inside, and the space, and atmosphere. I came away with lots of little treasures- bottles of rosehip and clover bath oil for myself, Mum and Carl’s Mum, and a length of blue rick-rack trimming. I picked it up and thought it beautiful, and a perfect duck-egg blue. I turned the card over and behold! The shade was called ‘duck egg blue’ which made me smile. In one of the doorways into Liberty is a little Paula Pryke flower stand. Breathing in the all the heady scents is amazing. There were old fashioned roses, hyacinths, and best of all, tiny bunches of violets. Of course, I had to have a bunch of violets, and when I got home I put them into a tiny sherry glass next to the black-and-white photo that I bought a week or so ago. While we were wandering about, I found a little tea room, and I have put taking tea at Liberty on my list of things to do!
On to Claridge’s. What can I say? It was one of the most peaceful, delicious and enjoyable two hours I can remember. It is still ‘posh’ of course, but somehow more relaxed that the Ritz (which I loved, but in a different way) and less formal, whilst still being formal enough to be special. In the middle of the tea room is a huge silver urn, and it was filled with masses of pink tulips. I suspect it took someone rather a long time to arrange them to look like they hadn’t been arranged at all! We were in a room to the left of this main room, and sat a table for two under a photograph of Audrey Hepburn when she was at Claridge’s. There was a tall silver stand next to our table, which is where the teapots were to go. There was a heavy white cloth, and a lamp that seemed to cast a golden glow across the table. We each had a green-and-white striped plate and cup and saucer, with a monogrammed napkin. Then at the other end of the table to the lamp was a tiny silver vase with three red roses in it, and a small silver oblong box, and a pair of sugar tongs. Inside the silver box were three compartments- one filled with brown sugar lumps, one with white, and the third with sweeteners.
The waiter came over and asked if we would like to start with champagne. You can imagine how delighted I was when dear Carl said yes! The champagne came in monogrammed glasses, and as we sat and sipped, the strains of a violinist and pianist reached our ears.
There were thirty different teas to choose from! I am usually so indecisive about these things, but as they were offering the very first tea to be grown in England, from the Tregothnan estate in Cornwall. As I have Cornish ancestors, I had to choose that! Carl chose Russian Caravan, which is a delightful name, although it proved a little too smokey for my taste.
A long plate (again, striped with white and green) was brought to our table, upon which was a long line of crustless sandwiches. It is funny how when you are eating slowly, and sipping tea, that you become full up on what seems to be a small amount of food. The sandwiches were so dainty, and delicious too. There were two of each kind; smoked salmon, ham with mustard butter and redcurrant jam, chicken with rocket and mayonnaise, cucumber mint and cream cheese, and egg and tomato. I don’t like smoked salmon, (unless it is cooked in scrambled eggs!) so Carl kindly disposed of those for me, and then we shared the rest. It is hard to choose a favourite, but the egg and tomato was a really scrumptious combination. When we were enjoying yet another cup of tea, the waiter brought another plate to our table.
It was then that Carl whispered to me ‘look behind you!’ – but of course I couldn’t, not without being obvious. By that point I had drank rather a lot of tea, so I made a trip to the ladies room, and decided that on the way back I would have a look to see what he was trying to show me. I nearly forgot though, because the ladies room was so sumptuous! The tiles were mainly white, with some green, and then some had Rennie-Mackintosh style pink roses on them. When I came out, there was a sink filled with hot water for me to use, and the handwash was delicately scented with lemons. There were individual towels to use, and then lemon scented handcream too. I was in such a state of bliss that I nearly forgot to look at the table behind ours- but when I did I realised that I was sitting with my back to David Walliams! I have to say that he is really smart and quite handsome in the flesh, and he gave me a smile as I threaded my way through the other tables, which made me see why he has a reputation as a ladies man!
The waiters were attentive without being intrusive, and seemed to have instinct to appear just at the right time to fill up our teacups. Even better was when one arrived bringing our cakes! First came a plate with four little apple and raisin scones, a pot of clotted cream, and a pot of marco polo jelly. I had never heard of marco polo jelly before, but since then I have discovered that it is exclusive to Claridges. It was sweet, almost like strawberry, but quite floral at the same time. Very agreeable when spread upon a scone!
Another tray appeared, this time bearing four little delights. Each one was different, so we decided that rather than each pick two and never know what the other was like, we would have half each of each one. There was a tiny apple crumble served in a paper cupcake case, a shot glass filled with passionfruit puree and topped with tapioca (it doesn’t sound nice but ohhhhhh it was! So cold and creamy!), a confection made of layers of chocolate praline separated by balls of chocolate hazelnut cream, and finally a creamy strawberry slice. Each was more delicious than the last, and although both of us wished we had room for more, we really couldn’t have managed anything else.
Happily, we were not hurried after we finished our food. We were brought another pot of tea each, and we just sat and drank in our surroundings. There was a beautiful scent in the air, which reminded me of a pink fig candle I once had. At the table in front of us, there were seven or eight society ladies having a hen party. What a delightful place for a hen party! They reminded me of a little flock of butterflies. They all had such glossy brown hair, some were wearing pearls, others fascinators; two had black dresses spotted with white polka dots, and one had a beautiful red cardigan on. They looked as though they had stepped out of a Boden catalogue!
When our Waiter came to present the bill, I asked if it would be possible to buy some of the tea that we had enjoyed. To my surprise, he came back to the table with a black cardboard Claridge’s box, and told me that the two tins of tea inside were complimentary!
Really and truly the day was filled with as many delights as one day ought to be able to hold, but somehow there were more to come. We went on to the theatre, and although we thought we were sitting right up high and far from the stage, we were in fact rather near the front! Wicked was so enjoyable. A lot of work had gone into the set and the costumes, and the story was funny and clever. It was lovely to be whisked away into a fairy tale world for a while.
We didn’t get home till just after midnight, and as I closed my eyes, I felt I could still smell the pink fig, and hear the violinist playing.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Sleepy Eyes
Oh, oh, the weekend was lovely- I have much to tell, tales of trimmings bought from Libertys, tea taken in the company of David Walliams, and much more! But my eyes are as heavy as lead- I worked till 7:00 last night and was in at 8:30 this morning, and have just returned from a trip to a place called Makro....a strange and wonderful discount warehouse style place. I have 90 washing tablets, 16 loo rolls, 160 tea bags and 48 creme eggs in my living room waiting for homes!
So tonight, instead of little sips of tea, it is little sips of Horlicks, and off to bed for me. Tomorrow I will tell you all about my London adventures.
Good night, sweet dreams!
So tonight, instead of little sips of tea, it is little sips of Horlicks, and off to bed for me. Tomorrow I will tell you all about my London adventures.
Good night, sweet dreams!
Friday, 22 February 2008
Things To Spend £5 On
I found myself with a free lunch hour on the very same day that the second-hand-market is held in town. So what could I do, but go for a wander? It is a lovely market, because the stalls selling vintage linens and jewellery and all kinds of nick-nacks are intersperesed with those selling perfect juicy oranges and brown speckled eggs.
I looked in my purse and found £5 and decided to devote it entirely to frippery and pleasure. Firstly, I visited my favourite stall, one that sells jewellery and vases and all little bits. They have a shoebox filled with old photographs and postcards, and I sifted through it wondering who all the people were. How long had they taken choosing out their outfits to be photographed in? Who had they rushed home to show them to? And how had they come to be here, mingled in with so many others? It was hard to choose just one, and part of me wanted to carry off the whole box, but in the end, the one that spoke to me was a misty black-and-white picture of a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, and taken, I suspect, in the 1920s. It looks to me as though she may have embroidered the collar on the blouse she is wearing, and I wonder what else she made with her needle? What happened to that blouse? Her picture may have drifted away from her family, but for the 50p I paid, she can be part of my family of black-and-white ladies.
I picked out a bar of creamy swiss chocolate for 55p, and then spent the rest of my money on flowers. I got two bunches of tiny narcissi, 'Sol', which have a wonderful delicate scent. I also bought a bunch of larger daffodils, and have put the two together in the same vase on my windowsill.
All that, and change in my pocket too!
Now let me recommend two books to you, and warn you off of another! The two I must share are 'The War-Time Stories of Mollie Painter-Downes' which is published by Persephone, and I devoured in a day. If you like Mrs Miniver, you will love this. The other is a sumptuous picture book called 'Parisiennes: A Celebration of French Women' and is full of vintage photographs of the most elegant french ladies, going about their daily lives. I don't often feel so violently about books, but when I finished The Rose of Sebastopol, I wanted to throw it clear across the room! Perhaps if it had been mine and not the library's, I may have. I loved it, could not put it down, got up early to read it, and went to bed early with it, loved every part of it....except the end. The first blow was that a chunk of the book is reading group discussion notes, so the end of the story comes before you expect it. The second is that the whole point of the story is the search for a particular character, and you are left not knowing if she is dead or alive, and who else survies, and what happens.....the whole point is missing! I suspect we are meant to infer certain things, but I do not like to have it all left so undecided!
I must bid you adieu for now, because I want an early night. Tomorrow, the most scrumptious day beckons- a trip to London, tea at Claridges, and then Wicked! Have a delicious weekend!
I looked in my purse and found £5 and decided to devote it entirely to frippery and pleasure. Firstly, I visited my favourite stall, one that sells jewellery and vases and all little bits. They have a shoebox filled with old photographs and postcards, and I sifted through it wondering who all the people were. How long had they taken choosing out their outfits to be photographed in? Who had they rushed home to show them to? And how had they come to be here, mingled in with so many others? It was hard to choose just one, and part of me wanted to carry off the whole box, but in the end, the one that spoke to me was a misty black-and-white picture of a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, and taken, I suspect, in the 1920s. It looks to me as though she may have embroidered the collar on the blouse she is wearing, and I wonder what else she made with her needle? What happened to that blouse? Her picture may have drifted away from her family, but for the 50p I paid, she can be part of my family of black-and-white ladies.
I picked out a bar of creamy swiss chocolate for 55p, and then spent the rest of my money on flowers. I got two bunches of tiny narcissi, 'Sol', which have a wonderful delicate scent. I also bought a bunch of larger daffodils, and have put the two together in the same vase on my windowsill.
All that, and change in my pocket too!
Now let me recommend two books to you, and warn you off of another! The two I must share are 'The War-Time Stories of Mollie Painter-Downes' which is published by Persephone, and I devoured in a day. If you like Mrs Miniver, you will love this. The other is a sumptuous picture book called 'Parisiennes: A Celebration of French Women' and is full of vintage photographs of the most elegant french ladies, going about their daily lives. I don't often feel so violently about books, but when I finished The Rose of Sebastopol, I wanted to throw it clear across the room! Perhaps if it had been mine and not the library's, I may have. I loved it, could not put it down, got up early to read it, and went to bed early with it, loved every part of it....except the end. The first blow was that a chunk of the book is reading group discussion notes, so the end of the story comes before you expect it. The second is that the whole point of the story is the search for a particular character, and you are left not knowing if she is dead or alive, and who else survies, and what happens.....the whole point is missing! I suspect we are meant to infer certain things, but I do not like to have it all left so undecided!
I must bid you adieu for now, because I want an early night. Tomorrow, the most scrumptious day beckons- a trip to London, tea at Claridges, and then Wicked! Have a delicious weekend!
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Misty, Misty Mornings.
Before I start, a little assortment of pictures that I have taken recently. Most of them are mentioned in the post below. They are not the best quality because they have been taken on a camera phone (our proper camera's batteries have died!) and once or twice, I was leaning through railings at precarious angles taking them!
A week or so ago, we had a few days of brilliant spring-like afternoons, which really lifted my spirits. They started with misty, misty mornings, flourished into beautiful spring days, then as the light began to fade, the temperature dropped, and the mist quietly fell again.
I have walked through the park forming posts in my mind, and letting myself drift away with the mists. Somehow, time seems to have vanished....into the mists of time! And I have not posted for longer than I meant to. I have had lots of tiny little adventures, and they all seem linked to the mists somehow. So, time for a cup of tea in your favourite mug, and I shall start.
On Friday, Mum and I went to our favourite nursery, in a little town called Tiptree. It is such a soothing place. Just walking amongst all the flowers and plants is delicious. It is in the middle of the countryside, and you can sit in the conservatory with a home-cooked lunch, or just a cup of coffee and look out across fields and hills. We held a council of war there two days before my wedding, so we could make a final list of flowers to make the next day. But on Friday, we just sat and chatted and caught up, and it was wonderful. When you buy your cup of coffee, they ask you if you would like hot milk, cold milk, or cream. After sitting and watching the clouds roll across the sky, we each chose a plant to take home. In one of the greenhouses, we came across some primroses that had the most heavenly scent. They are a variety called Primlet, and they are as frilly and fluffy as a ballerina.
On the way home, we drove through the back roads, when suddenly I realised that we were near Tollesbury, where my great-grandfather lived, and a friend who I did my a-levels with lived. Mum took the turning, and we had an impromtu visit to this delightful little village on the estuary. We parked and walked past a gate that had a sign saying 'beware of the geese!' and there was a man selling fruit and veg from a van by the edge of the street. We wandered into a proper bakery, where we bought a squishy white loaf, a bun ring, and an apple and raspberry tart for £2.30! The tart was half price, because it had caught slightly in the oven. From then on, we referred to it as our 'Caught Tollesbury Tart'!
We spent the afternoon together knitting (me) and sewing (her) and chatting and drinking tea. Such bliss!
On Monday the mists were both a blessing and a curse; in the morning, I left the house to scurry off to work, when I stopped, quite transfixed. A spider had made its web on Carl's wing mirror, and where it was misty and cold, it had frozen. Suspended, it sparkled in the early morning light. I had to stop and take a photograph before I could carry on to work. However, that evening, my lovely friend Lisa was going to visit, but the mists were so heavy she did not feel safe driving, so I missed her lovely company.
Every morning, dear Carl leaves for work at about 7.20, and I like to turn down the bed and fling open all the windows, becuase our dear little flat does suffer terribly from damp. When I threw open the bedroom windows yesterday morning, it was so misty that the mist drifted in through the window! Another moment when I should be sucrrying about in readiness for work, but I was stood transfixed by the mist.
This morning, I was out and about earlier than usual. Today, I got to visit the library in Colchester, and my lift was leaving my library at 8:00, so I walked into work with Carl. On the way, I stopped to snap some spring flowers in a neighbour's garden, and the little cascade of flowers that looks like a waterfall to me. You would not think the A12 is a lovely place to be in the morning rush hour, but it really was. All I could see was heavy mist sitting on the fields, with stark bare trees hovering in and out of sight. On some fields, the mist rolled about, and in others, it just hung there. It gave such a beautiful ethereal feel to it all. The visit itself was really good as well, I got a lot out of it, and have determined to take a day off work in spring and spend a day exploring Colchester, just to myself. Just outside the library in Colchester is a church, and there was a delicate haze of purple crocuses hovering amongst the grass, and I could not resist snapping a photo!
I had to work late tonight, and I had my book group as well, so I now find myself sipping sleepily from a cup of tea whilst typing away. I have a lot of ideas drifting around my mind, like the mists. I have booked a whole week off work at the beginning of April, just to play. Idly, I am planning things to do. Books to read, afternoon teas to partake of. Places to visit, knitting, sewing, baking. Playtime! I have a pile of books on my desk that I have been thumbing through. There is one that has given me an idea for some homemade stationery (that I think might make nice gifts, too) and another called 'World Vegetarian' that makes me want to start cooking. A crochet book that I initially thought I might send back has two or three patterns I can't wait to make. It feels like I am budding with inspiration, just like the new banner at the ever lovely http://www.vintagepretty.org/ says. It is a lovely feeling!
I am sure by now your tea must be cold, I have rambled on so long. I shall not wait so long before my next post, and will keep it shorter! I still owe you the recipe for the rum and banana bread and butter pudding I made from http://www.thecandiedquince.ca/ (thanks for visiting, quince!) and on Saturday, I am off to Claridges for afternoon tea, and thence to the theatre to see Wicked!
I hope you are all having a scrumptious week!
Friday, 8 February 2008
Mellow Yellow
Mellow yellow.....the colour of the crocuses that are scattered across the grass in the park, the daffodils smiling on my windowsill, and the golden tint to the pancakes I have been cooking.
It seems some catching up is in order! As always, when I am busy, I find the days just fly past. I have been busy with lots of little bits this week. Dad came out of hospital, which is great news, and also, my pancake curse has been lifted at last! I have always been able to make those little drop pancakes, but proper crepes have eluded me.
Until Sunday, when I decided to get in some practise for Shrove Tuesday. I used a medium sized omelette pan, so the crepes weren't huge, but they were crepes, and they worked, which is good enough for me! I guess a pancake recipe is a pancake recipe is a pancake recipe, but this is what worked for me:
2oz plain flour
1 egg
150mls milk
Utterly scrumptious with lemon and sugar, or as dear Carl enjoyed his, with a melted bar of Terry's chocolate orange!
The photographs show the daffodils that are cheering up my windowsill, and the other thing that has been taking up my time....cooking of a different kind....a nappy cake!
One of my best friends went on maternity leave today, and we had a collection for her, and we decided to make her a nappy cake for her gift. In essence, it is 90 nappies and some baby bits such as a bottle, blanket, booties and so on, wrapped and folded to make a cake! She loved it which I was really pleased about.
It is quite late on Friday night as I type this. I have just finished a glass of babycham....in a babycham glass of course...and I am enjoying the still of the evening. It is rare I have the energy to be up so late, so I am savouring it while I can. I think I will be a sleepy head tomorrow!
I will leave you with the pictures for now, and the promise of the recipe for the banana, rum and pecan bread and butter pudding that I made this week. (Anita, it is an American recipe! I had to convert it to English, and I know just what you mean about codes! Rather fun though!)
I hope you are having a lovely Friday night, wherever you are.
Until Sunday, when I decided to get in some practise for Shrove Tuesday. I used a medium sized omelette pan, so the crepes weren't huge, but they were crepes, and they worked, which is good enough for me! I guess a pancake recipe is a pancake recipe is a pancake recipe, but this is what worked for me:
2oz plain flour
1 egg
150mls milk
Utterly scrumptious with lemon and sugar, or as dear Carl enjoyed his, with a melted bar of Terry's chocolate orange!
The photographs show the daffodils that are cheering up my windowsill, and the other thing that has been taking up my time....cooking of a different kind....a nappy cake!
One of my best friends went on maternity leave today, and we had a collection for her, and we decided to make her a nappy cake for her gift. In essence, it is 90 nappies and some baby bits such as a bottle, blanket, booties and so on, wrapped and folded to make a cake! She loved it which I was really pleased about.
It is quite late on Friday night as I type this. I have just finished a glass of babycham....in a babycham glass of course...and I am enjoying the still of the evening. It is rare I have the energy to be up so late, so I am savouring it while I can. I think I will be a sleepy head tomorrow!
I will leave you with the pictures for now, and the promise of the recipe for the banana, rum and pecan bread and butter pudding that I made this week. (Anita, it is an American recipe! I had to convert it to English, and I know just what you mean about codes! Rather fun though!)
I hope you are having a lovely Friday night, wherever you are.
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