Culture Vultures

Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who has commented on blogs over the last little while and apologise for not replying. I've been having terrible problems with my email; can't receive, can't send. Plus we've been away for a week on holiday.

We took our camper van to a site near where we used to live, south of London, and took taxis to the station nearly every day and then got a train to London. We tramped about quite a lot, just doing some sightseeing, although we both know London pretty well. We visited three exhibitions and saw three plays. We went to the Watteau drawings exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art; exquisite chalk drawings. I felt that I'd have known any of the people he drew immediately, he was able to put such life and expression into them. We also visited the Afghanistan: Crossroads of the East exhibition at the British Museum, very interesting and some stunning artefacts on show. And finally we went to the Design Museum, where we saw the future coming towards us. They had a display of designs that had won awards in the Brit Design competition and some of them will doubtless become everyday designs in the near future.

We saw three plays; 'Clybourne Park', an American play about race relationships in the 1950s and the present time, a satirical comedy which was very entertaining. 'The Wizard of Oz' at the London Palladium was good fun. 'Flarepath' by Terence Rattigan was excellent, beautifully written and excellently acted.

We only ate in the van once, as we had lunch and supper out most days. We saw various friends and finished up with a lunch organised by our two sons in a restaurant for Mothering Sunday. I've come home exhausted but having had a very enjoyable week.

The slideshow shows a random selection of photographs that I took. One of the things I love about London is that you can stand almost anywhere and see architecture that dates from way back alongside the very modern. I stood outside Tower Green tube station and could see parts of the Roman wall that used to surround London; the Tower of London (started in 1080); a monument to people executed there in Tudor times; monuments to the dead sailors of two world wars; buildings built after the Great Fire of London in 1666; Victorian buildings; 20th century buildings; and The Shard, which is in the process of being built now. Brilliant.

Newts and workshops

This morning Christopher spotted a tiny newt on the paving slabs in the courtyard garden, presumably making its way to the pond as it's the breeding season. So tiny, and so perfect.

I've not been able to do any sewing this week, since my sewing machine was being serviced. I was getting such withdrawal symptoms that I was tempted to dig out my old Singer Featherweight, but I've been pretty busy so never got around to that. I collected the machine on Friday and hope to do a little sewing this afternoon. But then, we're off in our camper van for a week, so more hand sewing only, if I have time. We're going to a campsite where we can get a train easily enough into London, and have three shows booked, and plan to visit a couple of museums or art galleries as well. And I have definite plans for a visit to Liberty.

I've been to two workshops this week. The first was to make a Surprise Box; I made a box with trays last year so this wasn't too difficult to get made.

I think I'm going to keep it in the van to use when we go away.

Yesterday I was at the last of a series of 6 workshops, one a month, where we've been designing and making our own machine embroidered masterpiece. Yesterday we made the frame for it; fiddly and time consuming, but worth it as it makes the finished picture look quite professional.

I really wasn't too sure whether I'd like it as I was working through the process, but now that it's finished and framed I'm quite pleased with it. 

The clocks went forward an hour this morning, for BST, and I find it quite disorientating to have lost an hour. I don't seem to have been up for long and it's already nearly 12 o'clock. 

See you in a week or so,

Frogsporn!

I've been hearing it all day, the gentle purring sound of frogs in our pond. And now I've come to bed I can still hear them outside the window, which I keep a little bit open. They are, to put it reasonably politely, 'at it like knives'.

Going crazy ....

from lack of sewing.

Last week I couldn't get into my sewing room - so hand sewing only.

Over the weekend I was busy cleaning the kitchen and getting it into some sort of order - no sewing at all.

Yesterday I had to take my sewing machine to be serviced. It will be away for up to a week.

This week I have my first assignment to write for my Open University course. It's due in on Friday and I'm way behind. I have a workshop on Thursday which loses one day, and I'm pretty tied up with things today, which leaves me two days to write it - so no sewing at all. 

Next week we're going away for a week's holiday - hand sewing only.

I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms and beginning to forget what I had on my mental list.

I just hope that the week after that is a little quieter so I can just sit and sew on my sewing machine.

Stage One Complete

The kitchen fitter finished his part of the job yesterday at lunch time - he worked like a steam engine as he was keen to drive back to his home in Scotland yesterday with as much daylight as possible. Why they sent a fitter from Scotland, way up in the north of the UK, down to us in the south west is a mystery.

We're really pleased with the way the cupboards look. I've got loads of cleaning to do though, before I can start putting everything away as all the surfaces and all the cupboards and all the doors are covered in a layer of very fine brick dust. Then the whole house needs to be cleaned as that's got brick dust everywhere too.

We have temporary worktops for the time being, until the granite worktops are made. They're coming next week to measure up and then it will be a couple of weeks before they can be fitted.

We also need new flooring, new tiles and then get everything decorated, so it's going to be another month or so before it's properly finished. I can't wait.

On the left there's an alcove for Rosie's bowls to go and next to it is a cupboard for our wellie boots.

Next to the sink, on the left is a dishwasher. We've never had one before so it's going to be fun learning how to work it.

A wonderful new cooker.

I'll try and remember to take some photographs of the nifty cupboards some time soon.

A Day off

Yesterday we took a day off from kitchen watching and went out. We first visited a large village/small town called Bruton. A very pretty place, which has kept much of its mediaeval architecture. We had coffee - well in my case a smoothie - at a cafe which is in a converted chapel; it looks very modern inside, though they have kept much of the chapel in tact, the balcony area being used as an art gallery.


After strolling around Bruton we went to Stourhead, a house and garden owned by the National Trust. We didn't have time to look at the gardens, but will do that another time. The house was built in about 1740 for a wealthy banking family, as their holiday home (some holiday home) in the Palladian style which was popular then.

I wasn't able to take many photographs inside the house because they have to keep the rooms so dark and although I could use my camera I wasn't allowed to use flash.

When we got home we found that David the fitter had done a great deal of carpentry work and plumbing, but it didn't look greatly different to bother taking a photograph. I'll take one this evening though.

Give away winner

Thank you to everyone who has been commenting on my posts lately, and I've now drawn a winner for my double anniversary give away. I wish I could send something to all of you, and one of these days, if I ever have a big win on the Lottery, perhaps I will. But for this time it's number 5,

And number 5 is Karen, of Log Cabin Quilter. I've no idea what I'm going to put in the package Karen, and it's certainly going to have to wait until the kitchen is finished and I can get back into my sewing room, but if you let me have your address I'll get a little something off to you as soon as I can.