I am a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!

Have wanted to "do something" with this chair for ages! It was given to me by someone who no longer had need or use for it, a few years ago. It has been my ironing chair where I have pondered many a thought whilst ironing my tea towels....and yes, tea towels AND pillowcases HAVE to be ironed and anyway it's therapeutic....







I set to work with some hot air blower contraption that Dick had unearthed from the garage, and a scraper. Soon gave up on that idea, instead grabbed some sandpaper and set about sanding by hand. A slow process, I know, but it gives you time to think and mull and sand it bit more. I did this in stages over a few days, little by little.

The dilemma was, do I sand the old painted bits that no one can see or just leave them hidden? I had to sand them because I knew they were there even if they were hidden to everyone else....and I wanted the chair to be beautiful inside and out...



I was pleased with the remnant I found for sale outside a shop in Lyme Regis a few months ago. £2 bargain, and some left over!! I am learning that you have to buy these things when you see them.



The finished result! Everything I needed, apart from the fabric, I already had, I just needed to find it in my home! I love it when I can give something a new lease of life! I think the phrase is "repurposing" or "refashioning"...

A Weekend in London

Chris and Andy resigning themselves to their Mother pointing a camera in their faces!




Sometimes you come across the unexpected....






Had a great weekend in London, spending time with C and A in their natural surroundings! They wanted to show us the "nice bits of London" as they reckon the East End where we both lived and worked hadn't shown the capital off to the best advantage. They are right, I find myself wondering why I used to travel everywhere by tube which meant that I never understood where certain areas or sites were in relation to each other! Perhaps now I will enjoy discovering what London has to offer! It still good to get to Stonehenge and feel I'm coming home though!

The boys were amused at my excitement over the Oyster card...I have been out of the city for too long!

We managed to capture some sights throughout the w/e, and having found an ideal little hotel in the Docklands, now know we can pop up when we fancy touching base with the boys!

Tower Bridge at 10pm





Andy working near London Bridge at a smart Restaurant just opened. I recommend the hot chocolate....oh and the waiter service!



This is the main reason for the visit, to see Chris performing at The Scoop ampitheatre next to Tower Bridge. Here is a taster of one of the shows "Jason and the Argonauts" a comedy in which Chris plays Narcissus, an Argonaut who thinks he is God's gift to women! This show was aimed at a pre teen audience, but had appeal right across the board. The second performance was Medea which as a Greek tragedy had a far more serious feel. The same actors played in both performances with a 45 minute break in the middle.

http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=58

“Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant - the only harmless great thing.” John Donne quotes (English poet, 1572-1631

You have to climb the steps and then step on to your elephant from here!



I'm not really gripping on for dear life as it looks here!








I never really thought about what it would be like to ride on an elephant... I felt as if I had entered the pages of one of my favourite books "The Far Pavillions" by M.M.Kaye who spent most of her childhood in India. As we swayed gently whilst the elephant plodded up the hill to The Amber Fort in Jaipur, it's frothy saliva occasionally spraying my clothing....nice...I imagined I was entering a romantic idyll,the fragrance of heady flowers, pungent spices, brightly coloured saris and dashing Ashton Pelham-Martin to carry me off on his mighty steed!

Instead we bartered for a wall hanging/bed cover....It didn't take more than for me to point at the item hanging over the wall, just in passing to Dick whilst sitting aloft, for the boy to register my interest and quick as a flash had whipped it off the wall and was running in front of the elephant trying to sell it to us! "3500 rupees?" No Way far too much! So began the art of the barter, with him running backwards, negotiating and us shaking our heads whilst still appearing mildly interested....the emphasis being on the word mildly...musn't appear too interested.it's all part of the game. The cloth was passed up to the elephant handler to hand to us to touch and admire. It was passed down again and so the process continued! Eventually we agreed on 2200 and a deal was struck, wallets retrieved from pockets and money passed down all whilst the elephant continue on his/her weary way, ears flapping and spit flying....


Here is the man with the cloth waiting for a closer encounter!



Some of the beautiful designs within the Fort/Palace











I will add a photo of the wall hanging when I get one!

Victoriana Climbing Peas

There is simply nothing like it, podding your peas and munching as you go!

"A HANDBAG?!!!!" "Yes, Lady Bracknell...."

I have gone from one extreme to the other! The new purple bag was purchased at Innsbruck airport (not handed over in the cloakroom at Victoria station!). Having gone from no handbag as a student (pockets will do!) to small handbag with various compartments, I now find myself with a fashion item (shock horror!) into which I have emptied the contents of my previous one. This has filled about 12% of the space....The 4 pockets within the bag are each almost the size of the previous bag alone! So within these generous openings I have placed...Pocket 1 house keys, Pocket 2 (placed behind) car keys, Pocket 3, phone and Pocket 4 purse. Smaller zipped up section contains "pharmacy" loosely termed! The main section of the bag...EMPTY apart from the notebook and pen (nib retracted..of course!)! So I am walking around with a stylish making a statement in purple, bag which will no doubt become filled with "useful" things like empty egg boxes and double up as a shopping basket. My shoulder will begin to ache under the pressure and I shall never find anything in it unless I allow myself a "rummage window" in my day. My dear friend, Stuart has already placed a number of small rocks in it....and I was still finding them days later....But, I love my new bag...and maybe one day I shall have a netbook inside it and then there will be no stopping me blogging! I forgot to mention that this is the whole point of the need for an increase in size!




Typhoid alert! Pre India preparation! Dick's practice nurse jabbed the needle in and presented me with this! Thanks Vicky, the aching arm is beginning.....!
You will need to click on the photo to see it properly!