A tale of two marina's

Its been a quiet week end for the Ivans - for two reasons, firstly its been wet and miserable and secondly, i seem to be getting a cold, and feel pretty darn awful! Yesterday we only made it as far as Burton and Byrkley Park Garden centre, which worked well given the rubbish weather. I hadn't realised that Crafty Links had gone till someone told me last week. There is still a jewellery shop in that unit, with a lot of the same things. I was rather shocked at the price of the silver rings though....over £2o....really?? I think not! Swiftly moved on to the craft shop and bought stickers instead....ha ha! Its always a nice place to while away an hour or so, but i always find myself asking - why do garden centres have to be so expensive and who are they really catering for? We came home to have a movie afternoon, cannot tell you how much i enjoyed that! First we watched 'Letters to Juliet' and i found myself one again wishing we could visit Verona! Oh my gosh, it looks so beautiful! Next was 'The Last Mimzi', a film we both love and finally a 1932 classic 'The Cat and the Canary' starring Bob Hope. Wonderful film, Bob always makes me smile! 

Today i was faced with the mammoth task of tackling the pile of ironing that seems to have grown faster than weeds in a wet summer! Seriously, who likes ironing?? It did not leave me in a good mood! We then headed off to Barton Marina, there is a craft fair on the last Sunday of each month. I love to look around, and there is usually an interesting mix of stalls. I found the jewellery stall i particularly liked, and Paul bought me a very nice Jack Skeleton nceklace. I love it, he's a favourite of mine....Jack that is! We had a walk all the  way around the marina and stopped at the cafe for tea and tea cakes....a nice late morning treat! While we were at the marina we also visited the art gallery, they had some amazing work by Fabian Perez, an artist i love. A lot of the other work just didn't do anything for me at all. But art is such a personal thing, we all know what we like and what we don't.

After leaving Barton Marina we headed to Mercia Marina in Willington, we've never been there before but once i read about it I wanted to go. We parked up and went for a walk, there's a cafe, a little shop and at the moment that's about it. However there seems to be a lot of building going on and a new development is due to open later this year housing retail units, a bistro etc. Will be worth taking another look in a few months time. On the way home we stopped at one of the car super markets in Burton, we're still on the hunt for a replacement car for Paul, Our beloved Micra is nearing the end of her life, she's an old lady now and has served us well, but i fear the time has come to let her go. Looking at car's is depressing!! The ones I like - like the bright blue Nissan Pixo - I can't afford, and there is very little I can afford.....mon dieu....what will we do? Finally we made a quick stop at the Chuch hall in Stapenhill to visit the Strawberry Tea Party. It was being held to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. We bought cakes, a small gesture but I wanted to show support. The ladies who arranged it all had worked so hard! And finally we came home for another movie afternoon. Today's features were Avanti, a classic from the 60's starring Juliet Mills and Jack Lemmon, and The Core. Really enjoyed them both, and now the day is nearly over and think I am losing my voice. I have only one thing left to say, well actually ask.....why is that week ends fly by this fast??

Birthday's - 2013 v 2014

Well hello there wonderful people, i don't normally do mid - week posts as this blog was all about the wonderful week ends we have. But today i wanted to share my happiness with those of you who  choose to read this. As some of you know, my birthday last year was dire with a big fat capital 'D'!!  Due to the circumstances i had found myself in i had spent the previous few days crying and feeling desperately scared and lost. The day itself was no better, spent in almost silence as my colleagues at the time chose not to speak to me. Birthday cards were left covertly on my desk as though people were almost scared to be seen fraternizing with the unfortunate few who'd so recently had bad news. It was a miserable day, and even a dinner out with Paul did not rescue the day. I remember eating the food, and thinking it doesn't taste of anything. In all.....a sad day.

Fast forward a year, this morning i arrived at work to be greeted by a hug, a lovely birthday card and presents. Later in the morning, i was given a beautiful bouquet of flowers - totally unexpected and so pretty! At lunch time five of us went to Zizzi's for lunch, a very happy occasion with much laughter, balloons and a lot of discussion about what desserts to have. I thought it couldn't get any better....until the waitress appeared with a very pink Disney Princess birthday cake complete with sparklers and candles, and my wonderful work family sang happy birthday to me. So this is what a birthday should be like? I feel so blessed that this year i got to experience such a happy occasion. My day has been full of laughter, presents, cards, cake and a lot of thoughtful messages on Facebook. Surely i must be the luckiest girl in the world, because with out doubt my world is now full of the most wonderful people in the world.  And i just wanted to say to those people - THANK YOU!!!!

 

Pre-birthday celebrations

Well here we are Sunday evening and i am wondering where the week end went. It was here fleetingly, and now....its nearly gone. I have had a wonderful week end, it started on Saturday with a trip into Burton for a quick wonder around the shops, and then we were off to Sudbury Hall. Even though i have lived in the Midlands for many years, i have never been to Sudbury. Now that we're members of the National Trust, there's no stopping us. Nobody could accuse us of not getting our money's worth out of our memberships. Our first stop was the coffee shop for a sandwich and a bottle of lovely sparkling elder-flower  And then it was off to the Museum of Childhood. We loved it, there was way more than i expected and so many things that reminded us of our own childhoods. They had such novel ways of displaying things, like the bedroom on the ceiling. Not to be missed, so if you ever go....remember to look up! While you are walking around, you will suddenly hear a bell ring - it is summoning you to school. You will find the school ma'am doing the rounds of the museum looking for wayward students. Paul and I decided to be brave and attended   the Victorian school room, what a hoot! Luckily we weren't made to stand in the corner or wear the dunces hat.... but someone had too. Hilarious! When we left the museum it was time to explore Sudbury Hall. A lovely place that dates back to the 17th century, and definitely somewhere i know we will go back too. Luckily it is very close to home. It was home to the Lords Vernon and is absolutely beautiful inside.The Long Gallery has to be seen to be believed, absolutely beautiful! Once again the Great British weather let us down and it rained, so we couldn't explore the grounds very much. Some of the paths were already muddy, and definitely best avoided. 

Today we headed over to Atherstone to have afternoon tea at Dobbie's Garden Centre, a pre-birthday treat i had been really looking forward too. We got there much earlier than we needed too so that we had time to look around the garden centre. At last it was time to make our way to the restaurant, one section is set aside just for afternoon tea. What can i say, it was lovely especially as we had decided to throw caution to the wind and have the luxury afternoon tea which came with a glass of Prosecco. The waitress was lovely, and brought everything out as we wanted it, a glass of Prosecco first followed by the three tiered stand filled with sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, chocolate dipped strawberries, and several small cakes. And of course a very nice pot of tea. What can i say, it was lovely and a real treat! I am so glad we decided to do this, I have to work on my birthday (as most people do) and this was a wonderful way to celebrate a little early. Of course we are total lightweights and couldn't eat it all. So i dashed into the restaurant  and found one of the childrens happy meal boxes, just the right size to stash a couple of cakes. I certainly wasn't going to leave anything behind.

History and Magic - part 2

The Magic Bit

On Friday afternoon we drove on from Baddersly Clinton to the Travelodge in Borehamwood that we had booked, unfortunately they were having problems with their boiler and several of their rooms were out of action. So they moved us to another Travelodge about a mile away. It was a new hotel, and fine. Plus they gave us free breakfasts. So, it all worked out ok!

On Saturday morning we were up early so we could enjoy our breakfast before setting off for the Warner Bros Studios. We used the postcode from the Warner Bros Studio Tour website for our Sat Nav, and be warned that caused us some stress in the morning. I was convinced we were lost at one point. The postcode takes you out to what looks like a building site, a new housing estate by the looks of it, and the panic set in as there is no Warner Bros Studio in sight....and then when all hope is lost, you spot the Brown Sign pointing the way...phew!!! At last the day had arrived - Harry Potter Studio Tour!! Woo hoo! We were there early, so we had a look around the huge gift shop, then joined the queue. It moved quite quickly, and soon we were entering the magical world of Harry Potter. First there is a short film, then the screen goes up, doors open and you enter the great dining room of Hogswarts. It is incredibly impressive, as is the rest of the tour. You get to see various sets, props and costumes. It really brings the films to life! There is so much to see, as well as numerous information panels to read and videos to watch as you make your way around. We loved it, and i am so glad we went. Once you get past the Dining room, you can make your way around at your own pace. We were there about four and a half hours, but that included a stop in the backlot for butterbeer....ooh yum....and lunch at the studio cafe. The cafe was quite large, and the food was good. We both had something to eat and hot chocolate. Of course we also had a look around the gift shop. Its huge and well stocked, but most everything was expensive. Paul got himself a really lovely notebook, and i had some Harry Potter stationery. So we were restrained, but some folks were spending enormous amounts of money.

All too soon it was over, but we have so many happy memories! Its something we will never forget!

History and Magic - Part 1

The History Bit

Having just joined the national Trust, I have been determined to make the most of it. Luckily I had friday off work, so we set off at 9.30am and headed to Packwood House. Its only about 50 minutes away from us and i can already see us going back there. There is a lovely cafe at Packwood, so as we were there so early, we had tea and at 11am we were ready to explore the house. The National Trust describe it as - 

The culmination of a lifetime of dreams: salvaged objects and exotic pieces come together in a Jacobean meets Edwardian style. Beautiful, homely, warm and welcoming. We can't put it better than a visitor in the 1920s did: A house to dream of, a garden to dream in.

The house was originally built in the 16th century, yet its interiors were extensively restored between the First and Second World Wars by Graham Baron Ash to create a fascinating 20th-century evocation of domestic Tudor architecture.

Its a lovely house, somewhere you could imagine yourself living. Not large or opulent like Kedleston Hall for example, but a home you could be comfortable in. I was totally enchanted by the place, and was quite disappointed that Paul wouldn't buy it for us! 

We had lunch at Packwoods Garden Cafe, and then made the short drive to Baddersley Clinton, our second NT property of the day - 

This atmospheric house dates from the 15th century and was the home of the Ferrers family for 500 years.

The house and interiors reflect its heyday in the Elizabethan era, when it was a haven for persecuted Catholics - there are three priest's holes.

There is a delightful garden with stewponds and a romantic lake and nature walk.

We fell in love with Baddersley, its a beautiful property. A lovely house surrounded by a moat and pretty gardens. After exploring the house, we walked around the gardens and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon. In the coffee shop we had coffee's and shared a spiced apple puff...scrumpious! I am loving being a National Trust membership, in one week we have already had our money's worth and got back the cost of our yearly membership.

The final property of the week end was Ascott House which we visited on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful house, sadly we only got to see a small part of it. The house and gardens seem to be full of 'do not enter' or 'private' signs, restrictive and not very welcoming. The house was interesting and had an amazing collection of Ming pottery, probably worth thousands! But it was really the gardens that impressed, extensive and gorgeous. I enjoyed the long walk we had. Paul and i both agreed tho, we would happily return to Packwood and Baddersley Clinton, but Ascott probably not. 

I am excited about all the other NT properties we are going to discover over the course of the next year.