From Zombie's to nuns, and everything inbetween....

I don't know about anyone else, but to me a week end is something to always be looked forward too! Especially when they start on a Friday evening! So this Friday after work I headed over to Branston to catch up with a friend. Luckily the traffic wasn't too bad at all, and it was a pretty stress free journey (even though I will never like driving through the countryside - way too many bendy roads, and hedges!) It was a lovely evening, dinner was scrumptious and some people are always just a pleasure to spend time with. It wasn't a late night out, so there was still time when I got home to watch the first couple of episodes of Stranger Things 2. I'd been looking forward to it, Paul mostly looked puzzled and enquired if I had any idea what was going on! I guess its one of those shows, where its probably best not to think about things too deeply - LOL!

On Saturday we headed over to Tesco's to get the grocery shopping out of the way. Lots of the staff were dressed up for Halloween and looked great, gave a zombie apocalypse kind of feel to our food shopping! At the entrance to the store they had a table set up where you could sample all kinds of muffins, doughnuts, cakes etc. I know this because I thought I was talking to Paul, but when I looked around - he wasn't there! He was stuffing bits of muffin and doughnut into his mouth. I managed to drag him away, and all was going well till we found the cheese samples!!

Our next stop was Staunton Harold Garden centre to look at Christmas Decorations. They had so many pretty Christmassy things, we ended up spending ages going around in circles looking at everything. We did buy a couple of things, we couldn't resist. We had to head home from here as Paul's friend was coming over to do a little more work on our ceiling. That's looking so much better now.

I was lucky enough to have free tickets to go and see Sister Act on Saturday night, someone at work couldn't go and gave me her tickets. I was thrilled and extremely grateful. So by 6pm we were in Loughborough with the intention of having dinner at Wetherspoons. Cheap, cheerful and quick. Sadly, that plan didn't work out as the place was rammed, there wasn't an empty seat anywhere. Alas, the pub down the road was the same, and panic was starting to set in by this point as time was ticking on! What was going on, why was everywhere so busy!! Finally we came upon Croma Pizza which looked quite nice and it wasn't busy so in we went. With an hour to go, the option to be choosy had gone! It started well, the staff were lovely and the menu varied. So Paul made his choice only to be told they'd run out so he had to pick something else. I chose the prawn and aubergine pasta, only to be told they'd run out of aubergine - seriously!! Finally with food ordered and drinks delivered to our tables, we waited for our dinner....and we waited....other people came in, ordered and were served....and still we waited! Finally I complained, and our dinner did eventually arrive and the manager - who could offer no explanation as to why we had been left so long - knocked 50% off the cost of the food. I have to say the food was really good, but by the time it arrived there was no time to savour it. More a case of eat and go!

Finally we headed to the town hall, which luckily was virtually next door. We ordered drinks for the interval and then headed to out seats, which were great. As with most theatres, there's not a lot of leg room! The show was fabulous, lots of singing and dancing and very funny. As with the Wedding Singer which we saw earlier this year, it doesn't feature the music from the film - copyright issues I assume. It was a little disappointing, but I cannot fault the performance, and we had a lovely evening. I am very glad I had the opportunity to go and see it! Funnily enough, while we were at the theatre, I bumped into a lady who had been having dinner at Croma's too and she said she wasn't surprised I complained, because pretty much everyone who came in after us was served before we got our dinner. So, I clearly wasn't imagining it!

The clocks went back Saturday night, so after our late night out I was very glad of the extra hour in bed on Sunday morning! We were up and out early so we could have breakfast in the pub  before the shops opened, lovely start to the day. We had a couple of hours wondering around the shops, a chance to do some Christmas shopping and get a couple of new things for our holidays. I love to look around Primark - always a joyous occasion - LOL! At noon we met our friend Rachael at Barton Marina for a drink at the Waterfront. It was a chance to catch up and hand over birthday presents.  I like the Waterfront, unfortunately its an expensive place to eat! When we left there we had a walk around the Marina as the Artisan Craft market was on. Probably a mistake as I ended up buying a lovely red handbag. I fell in love with it, and gave into the temptation! You can never have too many bags surely!

Sunday afternoon was catching up with housework time - blah! Though we did also catch up with Strictly Come Dancing, I was thrilled to see Steps! What a lovely surprise!! Finally got to the end of season 6 of Once Upon A Time too. Great season finale, though I wonder what Season 7 is going to bring! I am going to miss all the characters that aren't coming back, and hope that the show doesn't lose its way! The best of Sunday night though was watching Love Actually - oh how I adore this film, not matter how many times I have seen it!

As usual, I looked at the clock at 10pm, and thought - where did the week end go?? It doesn't matter how good the week end is, its always over too quickly. On a final note, it really does pay to write reviews whether they be on Tripadvisor or Facebook, I did this on Sunday afternoon and by the evening Croma's had responded to apologise for the poor experience and invite us back for a free meal. Let's hoped their cupboards are better stocked when we return, ha ha!

The week end that wasn't.......

.....our usual sort of week end.

For the first time in weeks I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to head off somewhere. I am sure Paul appreciated the lay in! But with no plans in the Ivans diary, Paul had arranged for his friend to come over and help him fix our kitchen ceiling. Many of you will be aware of our roof situation over the summer and the indoor water feature we had in the kitchen. Whilst the roof has been sorted, and no more water has come through (phew!!) the ceiling has been a mess, with a huge crack looming ominously over us. I have prayed it wouldn't fall in on us, thankfully it didn't.

Paul approximated that the repairs would take an hour or so, so I decided it would be good to make myself scarce for a couple of hours. Probably a very wise move, so I headed off to explore the delights of Swadlincote (really!). By the time I'd been to the Pipeworks and had a wonder around Sainsburys, I was bored and ready to go home. I am so used to pottering about everywhere with Paul, that when he's not there its no fun. The trouble with Swadlincote is that I always run into people I would rather not see! Anyway, when I got home work was still very much in progress and an hour later, they were just about ready to start clearing up. All things considered, it wasn't too horrendous. Once Paul had finished clearing up, washed and changed we headed over to Bretby Garden Centre to have a look around their craft fair. We didn't buy anything, but always fun to have a look around. By this point, the wind was really picking up as another storm blew in. So we decided to head home. We spent a huge part of the afternoon taking all the plates, mugs etc out of the cupboards to wash them as dust and dirt had gotten everywhere. I know - unbelievable, Kathie Ivans washing up!! I am surprised Paul didn't take photo's!

On Sunday the weather seemed to have calmed down a bit, so we headed over to Lichfield. Now that parking is only £1 on Sunday, its worth heading over there! Besides they have a Flying tiger store - woo hoo!! That was pretty much our first stop where washi tape, stickers and craft scissors were purchased. How can you not love that store! Its nice to wander around the city, there's a good mix of shops and we took a walk up to the cathedral too. Despite lots of people milling about it retains an air or calm and tranquillity! I like to admire the architecture, statues etc. And usually there is some exhibition going on, this time it was about Elias Ashmore - was a celebrated English politician, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II  he was rewarded with several lucrative offices. He was born in Lichfield 400 years ago, the exhibition was a celebration of this.  

We decided to have brunch at the Brewhouse, we have been there a few times before and always enjoyed the food. Sadly this time was a disaster! Paul ordered the veggie breakfast, which after a bit of a wait arrived. Alas my eggs benedict did not, the lady who brought the food out, said mine was on the way so Paul started eating before it went cold. A few minutes later the same lady cam back - empty handed....WHAT!!!  Apparently due to technical difficulties they were unable to poach an egg for the benendict - seriously?? Have they not heard of a saucepan? Having been offered scrambled eggs and declined them, I 'settled' for a bacon roll. When this arrived my mood didn't improve, tiny pieces of cremated bacon in a role - not what I had in mind. That was returned with the comment 'this is beyond awful, just give me my money back, I'll eat elsewhere'. Money duly returned along side a plate of the thickest toast I've ever seen - the young girl that worked there was determined I wouldn't leave completely hungry. Not sure I'll be in a hurry to go back after this experience, which is a shame. The staff are lovely and they can produce delicious food. Ah well, these things are sent to try us! Hopefully next week end normal service resumed, with fun activities and no washing up!

Stunning Stowe

This week end had been planned so that we could meet up with family from overseas, an event I had been looking forward too. There is a whole side of my family in Sri Lanka who I have never met, and I would very much like to remedy that situation. Alas though, due to an injury the lovely Sajda had to postpone her flight and our plans to meet were put on hold.  So though I was disappointed, the hotel was paid for and the weather was due to be good, so we threw a bag in the car and off we set.

Our first stop was Whilton Locks Garden Centre, somewhere we always like stopping when we are in the area. Its not a huge place, but always well stocked and we never manage to leave without buying something. This time all the Christmas goodies were out, woo hoo - that made me happy. After some browsing we bought a Christmas decoration (one that looks like Nev G.Nome) German Christmas biscuits and a couple of presents for my parents. To be honest, I could have spent all day pottering about at the garden centre, but we had a plan and after a cup of tea we headed off to Stowe.

When we arrived at the gardens we were met by a very nice man with a buggy who offered to drive us down to the house. This was a wonderful way to start the visit, and it was great fun whizzing along little pathways on a golf style buggy! I felt like a VIP!! Stowe is an Ornamental Garden spread over 250 acres of land. As you make your way along the paths and through the gardens you will come across statues, temples, lakes, bridges and many other wondrous things. Luckily we had chosen the perfect day to explore Stowe, it was mild and sunny - pretty amazing for mid October! We consulted our map and tried to see as much as we could, but it soon became apparent we would never see everything - not in one visit!

We were unable to visit Stowe house as it owned by Stowe House Preservation Trust and operates as an independent school. There are times when you can take house tours at an additional cost but Saturday was not one of those times. To be honest, I don't think we would have anyway as it was too nice a day to be indoors. The building though is stunning, I cannot imagine going ever going to school somewhere like this (says the girl who attended a tiny inner city comprehensive!) Stowe House was recently featured on Celebrity Masterchef, when the finalists went there to cook a special meal! It really does take your breath away. 

By about 3pm we were both shattered, we've both had colds/coughs and though not desperately ill, it makes you feel tired! So we decided to stop and have tea before leaving. It was at this point I realised I had a missed call on my phone, and as I was pondering who the number could belong too a message arrived from my relation Anuk who is already here studying at a university near Milton Keynes. Thanks to the wonders of social media, Sajda had been able to contact her husband and let him know we were actually in the area. It was lovely being able to get in touch and arrange to meet for dinner. Anuk came to our hotel and from there we drove to a pub called the Robin Hood that the hotel receptionist had recommended. Thank goodness I had taken her advice and called ahead to book a table. The place was busy, and we nabbed the last table. It was a good choice, the food was good and the atmosphere pleasant. I was so thrilled to meet Anuk, we had a lovely evening chatting and getting to know each other. You often worry when meeting someone for the first time whether conversation will flow and if you'll get on ok. I can only say - what a lovely young man, and I am so very glad we got to meet up. It was a wonderful evening, and I was so sad when it was time to say good bye.

We stayed overnight at the Travelodge in Buckingham, nice place tucked out of the way even though it was just off a busy road. After a good nights sleep we were up fairly early on Sunday morning to head to the NEC for Grand Designs Live. We were there for when it opened and had an enjoyable couple of hours looking around. I have to admit I don't watch Grand Designs and got free tickets which is why we went. But we were pleasantly surprised at how much there was to see, and what an eclectic range of things were for sale. Like all shows at the NEC it got very busy and very hot & stuffy inside, so by about noon we were ready to head off. I think we were done looking around by then anyway.

Another lovely week end - so glad I decided not to give in to the cold!

Sojourn to South Yorkshire

On a Saturday morning in October we happily set off to Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire. Its always a favourite place of ours, and one we visit every year. Brodsworth is one of the most complete surviving examples of a Victorian country house in England. It is virtually unchanged since the 1860s.  The house was commissioned by Charles Thellusson, who inherited the estate in 1859.

When we arrived we had time for a much needed coffee before taking the house taster tour at 11am. Our guide Reg was very informative and took us around the ground floor, telling us a little of the history of the house and family. The house has undergone extensive renovation which is just coming to a conclusion. Being an old house, much work has been needed to save the roof and further water damage (oh, I can so relate to that!!). After the taster tour, we spent an hour or so exploring the beautiful gardens, still full of colour and a joy to see. It was a grey and blustery day, but our luck held and it stayed dry. After lunch in their café, we looked around the second hand book shop etc and finally left at 3pm, just as the first drops of rain started to fall.

Our next stop was the Travelodge at Lakeside Doncaster, we checked in and then headed over to Lakeside Outlet Centre. After a much needed coffee at the Thornton's shop we were ready to tackle the shops. Actually this was a great time to visit the Outlet, as it was quiet and we didn't have to battle our way through crowds. Most of our time was spent in the Works - no surprise there! Alas, I have no will power and came away with more books (I am sorry Melissa!). We had a pleasant couple of hours pottering about till the shops started to close.

We had dinner at the Beefeater, we both like it there. Friendly staff and we had 2 courses each and wine for the princely sum of £21!! Can't complain about that, especially as it was all delicious. It was a lovely way to end the day. After dinner we walked back to the hotel by the lakeside, it looked pretty with all the lights on. This is a fairly new Travelodge, the rooms are smaller but very comfortable. There's also plenty of parking, and its in such a good location to explore the local are.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast at the new Subway which is right under the hotel. Not exactly fine dining, but we had a lovely view over the lake as we ate and the coffee was really good. What more can you ask for. It was a good start to the day before heading to Conisbrough Castle. This was our first visit to the castle, and I am so glad we went. The castle was initially built in the 11th century by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The state took over the management of the property in 1950, but by the 1980s the visitor facilities were felt to be unsuitable. Extensive work has been carried out to make the site safe for visitors and to improve facilities. We enjoyed exploring, and even climbed the 123 steps to the top of the tower. The view was worth it.  As we passed each floor of the tower there were little videos playing and seats so you could take a minute to catch your breath. It was very well done. Before leaving we stopped for a coffee and took the opportunity to build our own castle using the children's building bricks. That was so much fun, Paul and I are both big kids at heart. You'd probably never have guessed that!

We decided to head home from Conisbrough, Paul had developed a cold and it was getting worse by the moment. But we had a the best week end and we had certainly made the most of it. I love this area of South Yorkshire.

 

 

Hardwick Hall and beyond

On a drizzly Saturday morning in September we set off to Hardwick Hall in north Derbyshire. About 6 months ago we started the Food festival season here, and it seemed quite fitting that we should end it here too. Having been lucky enough to get half price tickets it made it a cheap day out. We aimed to arrive at Hardwick early, way before the festival opened. This way there was time for a relaxed coffee at the National Trust café before ambling through a muddy field to the festival.

I am glad we decided to go to the festival, though it was a little lack lustre compared to the one earlier in the year. No live music, less stalls and the cookery demo's didn't start till noon. There was nothing for it, we would just have to sample gin and vodka. I was delighted to find that Nelson's had a stand there and at last I was able to sample their rhubarb and custard gin. It was nice, but not as nice as the Edinburgh Gin Company's Rhubarb and ginger gin liqueur we had already purchased. While we were chatting with the Nelson's guy he asked how I had heard about their gin and I told him through Facebook, and joked that it was probably bad to admit I followed several gin companies on Facebook. His response was that I clearly liked gin as here I was drinking it at 10.30am - I had to point out that I actually started at ten past - LOL! We didn't buy much and by about 11.15am we'd been around all the stalls twice and I was feeling quite merry. Did we really want to hang about 45 minutes to see Selasi (of Bake Off fame) do his thing? We decided no!

So instead we walked over to Hardwick Hall, one of our favourite National Trust houses.  Built in the 1590's for Bess of Hardwick, this was her new home when the Old Hall was deemed to be too small. Bess was the richest woman in England after the queen, definitely a woman ahead of her time. Through marriage and smart thinking her wealth accumulated. The house was finally turned over to the HM Treasury in 1956 in lieu of death duties, and in turn handed over to the National Trust in 1959.  Though we have been several times before, we enjoyed looking around again.

On leaving Hardwick we decided to scoot over to the Old Hall too, haven't been there in a while. Its now mostly ruins however you can climb to the top floor. The views across Bess's estate are beautiful. Good work out for the legs too!!

On the way home we called in at East Midlands Outlet Centre - oh my god! What was going on?? The car park was in chaos, almost full with people driving erratically trying to find a space. We did get lucky and were able to park, but in the end didn't stay long. It started raining quite heavily, the shops were crowded and we couldn't find anything we wanted. Oh well! So, we carried on into Burton and had a cheap and cheerful dinner at The Lord Burton. Got soaked walking there, does it ever NOT rain in this country - LOL!

Finally a trip to the cinema to see the Kingsmen - Golden Circle. We loved the original film and this is also very entertaining. Lots of action and gadgets! Nice to see Colin Firth was in this film too! And there endeth the day - a long day, a damp day but best of all a SATURDAY!