I had a myriad of very boring and potentially stressful admin jobs to get through this weekend and wasn't looking forward to them at all; but guess what? I didn't do any of them. What a rebel I am! I didn't do them because this past weekend saw London basking in glorious sunshine and after weeks and weeks of grey skies and torrential rain, there was no way I was going to miss out. I fitted in some quick gym trips and then a wonderfully gentle walk in Claremont Landscape Garden. I love this garden for it's soft landscaping and dotted white benches strewn around the lawns. All the spring flowers were there in abundance and the views from the Camelia garden down over the rest of the park were a soothing vista for tired and weary psyches! Then it was a quick trip to the newly opened Daylesford Organic Farmshop in Esher for a hearty bowl of soup and tangy rarebit. In fact Saturday was a bit of a gourmet tryathon all round, as in the evening we made it to a place that I've been dying to try for some time, Ben's Canteen. I'd heard fantastic things about their burgers and it didn't disappoint. The BC burger is a beef pattie topped with salt beef, homemade bbq sauce and cheese and I was torn between that and the crispy chicken burger made with spicy buttermilk. I went for the chicken, and oh my word, it was heaven. The chicken coating was spicy and crunchy and the streaky bacon was crunchy not soggy; the celeriac slaw was finely chopped and totally delicious. Really a fantastic tasting meal and great value too. If you want to go for a pud you can do 2 courses and a glass of wine for £15 between 5-7pm which is exceptionally good value.
Sunday saw another glorious day, so I packed a bag, windbreak, towel and rug and it was off to West Wittering beach, one of my favourite places ever. For some reason, despite the wonderful sunny day, apart from dog walkers and horse riders, the beach was pretty deserted. I read, watched the tide come in, slept and let the worries of the past week slide to one side for a while, letting the positive ions do their thing. Bliss. It's good to have some time like this, like putting money in the bank, something to draw on when emotional resources are weak.
It's cold. It's trying to snow. The skies are leaden; grey and unforgiving. Spring seems a long way away and Summer? Well almost impossible to imagine...sigh...until I came across this gorgous artists retreat in Kent. I know this area pretty well and have spent some idyllic days on this beach, bbqs, swimming in the blue waters, eating fish and chips from the paper, licking fingers free of salt ... When I saw these pictures for a short while I was warm from the memories and glad to be reminded that this cold snap is temporary. Warmer days will come but for now, here's something to help you dream and remember...
I hate to start the week off with a moan but I need to let off a bit of steam. Maybe you can help? It's come to my attention that someone 'out there' has been stealing some of my content; more expressly my blog header design. It seems that they've taken my hard work and creative inspiration (and the designer's copyright) and using a pretty poor picture editor they've deleted my blog name and inserted their own. I just don't get it. My blog header was designed for me. All its components are directly related to ME! The bridge to represent my roots, my cat Geordie, my love of books....and so on. Why? Can't they think up their own header design? Sigh...What to do? I tried to report it, but it doesn't seem to fit into any of the Blogger 'report abuse' forms... Any help greatly appreciated from the blogging community?
Anyway, moving on....
Isn't this gorgeous. I can just smell the salt, hear the sounds of people laughing, waves splashing against the shore, and...more importantly...on this cold, cold day, I can feel the heat, warming my skin. Bliss...(this is a teaser - more of this to come later in the week)
Thank you my friends 'out there' for reading me. x
I know! I've been very quiet on the blogging front - apologies! Just been a bit overwhelmed with other stuff and it's taken up so much time that there's not been much energy or inspiration for anything else...so... I took a week off and went up north; partly to see family and partly to get away from the day-to-dayness of 'stuff'; I really wanted some time to recharge and re-think plans for the next year or so...
Well, I'm not sure I got too far on the planning front, but I definitely got my life into perspective; I mean, who wouldn't when you're on top of a fell, and there's all that majestic beauty around you...here's a glimpse of what I've been up to over the last week or so and what put life into perspective for me.
A wonderful walk up Simonside, past Dove Crag to the top of the escarpment
I know that summer is fading fast; here in London we're lucky enough to be having a bit of an Indian summer and I'm wondering if this gorgous sunshine is going to last until the weekend. If so, there has to be some last minute summer entertaining .... eeking out the alfresco experience whilst we can. Think blousy hydrangea, storm lanterns and candles, fading pastel petals, ombre effect napkins and of course, soft throws for when it gets chilly...
vintage cutlery and pretty pastel tumblers (similar from here)
raid the garden for the last of the summer blooms
layer cloths for a less formal look
sprinkle petals for romance
think strings of fairy lights, deserted beaches
and send your guests home with a bouquet of poenies, a sweet reminder of summer
Last week I escaped humid London for a mini-break down on the South Coast. I stayed here and wrote about it here. But this isn't about the hotel I stayed in, or even the wonderful beach a mere 400m away, but about the picturesque town of Rye.
Rye is one of the Cinque Ports that was established by Royal Charter in 1155 to maintain ships for the Crown should they be needed. Rye is perched on a hill, overlooking the River Rother and Romney Marsh, so was well placed to perform its role as look-out and defender of the coast. This ancient town is the sort of place you thought existed only in your imagination; with its enchanting cobbled streets, medieval church and beautifully preserved historic houses from medieval, Tudor and Georgian times, Rye is almost suspended in time and has a uniquely unhurried atmosphere.
Although small, Rye has plenty of attractions for the day visitor, from it's cobbled streets and timbered houses, to small boutiques and historic landmarks. Down by the estuary as you come into Rye there are a variety of Antique and bric-a-brac shops, selling everything from vintage kitchen paraphenalia to furniture and garden implements. I spent a very happy hour down there, coming away with some gorgeously heavy, silver plate cutlery.
For the literary minded, Rye comes up trumps, for amongst its illustrious inhabitants, once lived E.F.Benson, famous for his Mapp and Lucia books. He resided near the church in Lamb House. Close by lived the author Henry James. If you wander round the side of the Medieval church, complete with it's original bell-tower you will find the wonderful Tiny Book Store. It really is tiny, but well stocked with a wide variety of second-hand books. A browsers dream.
You can do a lovely circular walk, beginning at the base of the town, up the cobbled streets and past the Mermaid Inn. Take in the old castle and views out towards the sea, before looking round the old church and a browse in the book shop. You finish your walk with an amble down the main high street with it's coffee shops and independent retailers. Check out Violetta Boutique, a gorgeous parfumery/apothecary shop on the main drag.
Although I stayed nearby, you can easily 'do' Rye from London in a day. It takes about an hour and a half to get down there - try the A21, it's not as quick as the motorway, but takes in the English countryside in all it's glory.
My love of white interiors and neutral colours is no secret. I spotted this house recently and instantly fell in love. It has everything I look for; calming colours, amazing light, quirky details and a great view.
I could relax here
Sleep here
and dream away the hours here
Can you tell that I'm hanging onto summer with all my might? There's something about the light in this Cape Town house that draws me. There's also something about that amazing view and the relaxing vibe the decor gives off. I'm loving it.
It's nearly dark by 8pm! That means that summer is slowly fading out to make way for the crisper mornings and darker evenings of autumn, but I'm so not ready! Not ready to say goodbye to lazy starts to the day; blue skies and warm evenings; definitely not ready for warmer clothes, forgoing the bikini and flipflops. Too sad. So when I came across these wonderful photographs by Gray Malin (no relation of Christian!) I found another way to prolong my summer memories. Aren't they fantastic? I want them all.
Bondi, Australia
St Tropez, France
Secret Beach, St Tropez, France
St Tropez
Rio, Brazil
Tiki Beach
All Gray's photographs are shot from a doorless helicopter and snap beaches from all over the world. He shoots from above as it allows the world to become art, the people and objects become patterns recreating pattern, shape and form. His photographs are a visual celebration of colour, light and shape - not to mention summer bliss. I'll take it!
Kitty Ferguson's clear-eyed passion for her subject makes this account of the
little we know of Pythagoras's life approachable and readable, although why a
theorem that had been proposed long before Pythagoras put his name to it was
finally attributed to him remains caught in the "hinge of legend and history". (Lesley McDowell, The Independent) I didn't know a lot about Pythagoras, and throughout school struggled with his theorem. It might have helped to have read this book then! It certainly gave me food for thought.
I talked about my love-affair with the films of Nora Ephronhere and so decided I should read something she'd written other than her only novel, Heartburn. I turned to her hilariously poignant collection of reflections, I Remember Nothing and other reflections. Filled with insights and acute observations that hit hard, it is written in her own inimitable style and had me snorting out loud at some of her more outrageous (but true) reflections on life.
Ephron writes about falling hard for a way of life (“Journalism: A Love Story”)
and about breaking up even harder with the men in her life (“The D Word”); lists
“Twenty-five Things People Have a Shocking Capacity to Be Surprised by Over and
Over Again” (“There is no explaining the stock market but people try”; “Cary
Grant was Jewish”; “Men cheat”); reveals the alarming evolution, a decade after
she wrote and directed You’ve Got Mail, of her relationship with her
in-box (“The Six Stages of E-Mail”); and asks the age-old question, which came
first, the chicken soup or the cold? All the while, she gives candid, edgy voice
to everything women who have reached a certain age have been thinking . . . but
rarely acknowledging.
My final beach read for 2012 was If You Want to Write by Barbara Ueland. This has been recommended to me SO many times over the last year that it was a must. Although it was originally written in 1938, it contains good advice for would-be-writers, including the mantra that everyone is talented and original and has something to say. That's a good starting point for any writer I reckon! She takes a lot of her inspiration from William Blake and ends with 12 points for the writer to keep in mind. She talks a lot of sense and I know this is one book I'll be going back to over and over, dipping in and out of it as the need arises.
