Happy Birthday dear Paul....

    ....happy birthday to you.....

       Hope you have had a good day, not too much hard work????

     Bought myself some Pussy Willow when we were in London last weekend.  It has lasted so well, and really makes you feel springlike.

      Also bought this lovely little picture frame in the same market.  I know it is damaged, but I thought it was just pretty...need to find something pretty to put in it now.

Speaking of pretty....Darsh is putting the finishing touches to the dining room.  Then we will need lots of muscles to lift that hefty glass table into position.  It ways a ton, and the corridor is so narrow, think we might have to go out into the garden and then back in again.

Joe seems a little "delicate" today.  I must remember to never give him lamb gravy on his dinner again....either that, or don't take him for a walk until the effects of his rich meal have worn off!  Walked him gently round the playing field, it was sunny, but chilly.

Got home just in time before a sudden, but very sharp hailstorm started, so set to to bake and eat a banana cake with a very ripe bunch of bananas Darsh sort of "found" in his garage.

It is supposed to snow tomorrow, we will wait and see what tomorrow brings.

OK....enough for today....

     ....just one more of my favourite photographs from this winter....

       The nature reserve at the back of Middleton Hall.  I walked down there one day in December, it was wet and muddy then.  I would love to go back in drier weather to see the herons that were starting to build their nests.  It was silent and deserted, not a breath of wind and that pale light of a late wintery afternoon.

Still going backwards.....

     ......but this time to our New Year/Darsh's birthday week.
Charlotte treated us to a weeks break, as we were celebrating his 60th birthday.
     Bearing in mind that it is the middle of winter, very wet, cold and any bed and breakfast/holiday homes would be cold and unused we weren't really sure what to expect.  So we took lots of food, thick clothes, games, books and even a jigsaw with us, we even thought about taking sleeping bags in case we were cold at night.
Nev was working an extra day.  SandJ were going to Dublin for New Year,  but Darsh, Charlotte, Selina Pete Joe and I all squashed into the Multipla and drove down to Taunton, in the rain, of course.

It was dark when we got there and still raining.  Charlotte had only arranged for us to have a week in Taunton castle!  It had only just been restored and we were the 2nd family to have used it....

 
     This is a view of our castle from the window of the museum.  Part of the castle was for rent and the other part was the museum, it was all built around a courtyard and surrounded by a moat.

The whole place was huge, very luxurious warm and very clean. 

It had huge thick walls, window seats, ancient uneven floorboards and little quirky steps and doors everywhere.  It had been very sympathetically restored.

The pictures don't really do the place any justice at all. They can't convey the sheer size, or just how atmospheric a building it was.  It was also bang in the centre of the town.  Everything was in walking distance.  As soon as you stepped out through a little archway you were back out into the modern world, and directly opposite the main shopping centre.
     We didn't go out very much, it really rained a lot.  We simply stayed in front of that huge log burner and enjoyed the castle, each others company and Charlotte and Nev's coffee machine!

Going backwards here.....

     .....the previous weekend was spent in London at Sara and Johns new flat.  They have moved to Bermondsey, into a much larger home.  It seemed such a long drive down to them, we hit Friday evening traffic in the city centre and of course it was raining.
       They are in walking distance of Borough market now.  but instead of going there, it is always packed on a Saturday, we went to the wholesale markets where much of the Borough market foods come from.  This little area is practically deserted, as no one knows about it, so we wandered round and chose meat, veg and cheese for our supper.

All the businesses are set up in old railway arches and only open to the public for a few hours on a Saturday.

  We carried onto Maltby Street, a place I fancied visiting since I found it on a blog ages ago.  It was absolutely packed, and after the calmness of the railway arches I didn't enjoy the pushing and shoving at all.

     Sunday took us to the Columbia road flower market, a whole road of flower and plant stalls, surrounded by streets that are quaint and old fashioned and very interesting to poke around in.  Lots of old vintage treasures for sale, but they know how to charge in London.  Little bits of glass and crockery that I find round here for 50p or a pound is sold there for £20-£30.  I bought myself a little metal bird, I had him with me at Sara's but by the time I got home I had lost him....

     

 

After a long chat.....

     ....with Selina and Pete this morning on Facetime, I've decided its about time to catch up with a bit of blogging and to try and post a few photographs.
     It is so long since I have bothered, I have just lost interest somewhat this winter, but Sel and Pete are keeping up well with their blog, and I'm sure they would like to see what is going on here while they are away.

    Well the main thing has been the RAIN.  We have never known it so wet.  We have no snow or frost, but boy has it rained.  Only last week the river Severn flooded in Worcester, and at the weekend we had a drive over there.  Paul and Ben were here, it was half term week.

         ......spring flowers are beginning to show their faces through the mud, so spring can't be too far away.
   

       ....we wandered along the river bank up to the cathedral, lots of people were doing the same and taking advantage of a few hours of weak sunshine.
       Stopped to admire the snowdrops and anemones in the cathedral grounds.
 
  There's lots of interesting history in this cathedral, and it is written in a simple very readable form, on laminated sheets that you can borrow and carry round with you. I remember this interesting and very beautiful place was always popular with the children, and I am sure it is because of all the stories in there rather than just dry old facts. 
     However, the girls might be more likely to remember sleeping in the cathedral car park in the camper van MANY years ago.  Bet you would soon be moved on if you tried doing that today, but if you tried that this year, you would have been swept away in the river!
     We mooched around for about an hour and then had tea and cake in their café.  Best lemon cake I have tasted for a long time.

    The temperature dropped sharply as soon as the sun set, it was freezing walking back to the car, in a very grey wintry afternoon.
   There should be a set of steps and a river bank beyond the railings...not today there wasn't, just fast flowing swirling water, a very slippery path and lots of slippery, foul smelling mud. I am so pleased we didn't take the dog.  The council was out pressure washing the mud and clearing away the debris. The water had been almost at the top of the wall on the left.

       Once home, and warmed up we went for an "eat as much as you possibly can" Chinese buffet.  It was packed, noisy and good, the duck pancakes were especially good, I love crispy duck and Hoisin.  There was also a wide range of puddings too, rice crispy cakes, freshly made chocolate crepes and...wait for it....a candy floss machine.  I had two, Ben managed 5!

      Sunday saw Charlotte and Nev heading to Ikea for wardrobes for their new flat.  They needed to take my Fiat and dad was desperate to go with them, he thought they couldn't possibly manage without him, (or was it just Nev's driving he didn't trust?)
Paul, Ben and I went into Birmingham for a spot of window shopping.

       Since the weekend we have actually had quite a bit of better weather, so I have taken the chance to attack the garden, there is so much to do, but it is good to see the favourite spring bulbs getting ready to flower.
     Just in case you are sick of eating in cafes and restaurants all the time Selina, there is a lamb casserole simmering in the oven, and has been all afternoon. Joe keeps wandering down to the kitchen, just to sniff the air, then he comes back under my chair again.
 I had to smile when I was making his dinner, usually I moisten his food with hot water, but today I poured two spoons of casserole gravy in his dish.  I glanced down and saw him watching me, wagging his tail as he watched what I was doing.