Traditions old & new

It's my favourite time of year again and I'm feeling incredibly festive. Lots of musical occasions, beautiful lights and displays and a good amount of time spent at home have definitely got me in the mood this year. Today I'm left wrestling with a glum sensation knowing that it will soon all be over and eager anticipation at what the year ahead might bring.

Tradition is always an important part of the festive season, comforting in many ways, and this year seems to have welcomed in quite a few new ones; although I am, however, unsure as to whether or not they can yet be referred to as 'tradition' or whether one waits for at least a year or two more to see if they stick...

It all began this year when I was accompanied by a selection of kind and willing members of CCC (City Chamber Choir) in leading some carol singing at school. We sang last year too and the children loved it then but knew no carols. This year then I decided to teach them a few in the lead up to our singing together and the difference was remarkable; words can't quite describe the atmosphere but needless to say, it was not replicated by any of our audiences for other carol singing around the city. As always, carols at Leadenhall Market and St Katharine Dock were freezing but festive!

We have been denied our full two week's holiday this year which has felt a little distressing, especially when being at home for a mere 5 days meant I only had a week left until the return to work. The day before heading home I had decided I would do another one of my Christmas Tree Crawls; a 'tradition' I began last year. I was not, however, anticipating that so much of my day would be taken up getting a spare cat-sitting key cut. Three keys and four trips to varying Timpsons later and I finally had one that worked. In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, after my initial visits to my nearest branch I decided that my next visit would be to one in the vicinity of trees. So I headed to Holborn where I then also stopped to admire the trees at Rosewood London, Somerset House and the Savoy Hotel; each of them, truly worth the detour.

At last I was on a train home and on Christmas Eve the first of the new traditions appeared in the form of a fry-up for brunch. I'm calling this a tradition in the hope that my mum does it again because it was truly tasty and there's something quite fun about sharing Christmas crackers over bacon and egg. Brunch set me up well for an old tradition, a walk with close friends around Wolferton before exchanging presents and playing silly games (this year, we leapt on the bandwagon at had a go at Speak Out).

Christmas Day brought yet more new tradition as a little while after our breakfast muffin to accompany stocking opening, we were then treated to cooked ham on toast. Two breakfasts down, novelty then ensued as we headed to a neighbour for cocktails and canapés before returning home for roast. We seem to manage to stretch the day out more and more each year but finally, at about half past 6 in the evening, we'd opened everything under the tree and were indulging in the thousandth round of food and hot drinks.

Upon writing this I'm realising that most festive traditions involve food and that theme continues as 'Boxing Day Baguettes' are up next. A while ago in Norwich I had lunch with Mum and Dad at Logan's Good Food Shop. My choice was a Brussels sprout baguette which I enjoyed so much that I decided I'd have a go at making my own over Christmas. I was of course worried that I wouldn't do them justice at all but I have to say, they were just as delicious homemade and went down incredibly well. 

As well as a total abundance of food, home also saw plenty of walks both beach and woodland, a plethora of games and jigsaws and lots of tinkling on the piano. It's always a must to have things back in London to look forward to when I'm torn away from sky, fresh air, peace and tranquillity...

It's now New Year's Eve and while yesterday evening we completed this year's Christmas Tree Crawl from the Tate Britain all the way to Claridge's, tonight we'll be hibernating with good beer and something of the homemade food variety (I'm going to rifle through Nigella (which doesn't sound great) in a minute and see what catches my eye...) to see in the new year before hopefully taking a walk tomorrow; starting as we mean to go on. It's been so long since I've written and I really hope I don't go for this long again any time soon. Expect a resolutions post on the other side when I eventually figure out what on earth they might be.

Celebrating a Quarter of a Century

I'm still undeniably child-like when it comes to birthdays. So of course I woke up at stupid o'clock on mine, automatically full of birthday beans and eager to commence celebrations.

Presents were opened in bed with the best company and I even got a plate of cupcakes to enjoy (lemon & poppyseed complete with lemon curd filling) accompanied by a rendition of Happy Birthday to rival all others and two candles to blow out. The day made an excellent start!

It was gone 11 by the time I had recovered enough from the excitement to partake in a shower and to generally make myself more presentable. And so we made the long and winding journey to Kew.

Actually although I was a little bit worried about not having enough time to fully explore the gardens (we had an early dinner reservation), I think at this time of year, just a few hours was plenty.

First we headed into the magnificent Victorian Palm House where some robins had made themselves very much at home and we were well and truly steamed (in the literal sense). Then it was straight to the Waterlily House which I managed almost to convince myself could quite easily be in one's own back garden... in my dreams.

Strolling around vast lawns, into exotic worlds and between rocky canyons (of miniature proportions) was truly a delightful way to spend an afternoon. I think we've resolved to return in the summer months where a whole day could be spent lounging beneath, upon and amongst an abundance of greenery.

The evening's dinner reservation was at Bob Bob Ricard, a restaurant in Soho serving luxury English and Russian dishes. The interior and atmosphere was ooft. The service was ooft. The food and drink were seriously ooft! We definitely didn't want to leave.

Two grown up activities were sandwiched between the frivolities of the morning and the Jenga contest that ensued upon our return from the restaurant. This frivolous, denial of being a grown up theme was the one that then continued into the following evening.

Our strength was built up in Breakfast Club where the true diversity of their menu was proven when all ten of us ordered something different! There was lots of mingling for silly photos and catch up conversations before we moved on to Bounce for some serious ping pong.

I don't know quite what I was expecting but what greeting us when we arrived was a pleasant surprise to all. Neon, graffiti everywhere and a shrine to the founder - or would you call them inventor - of ping pong, it was special. An hour flew by way too fast though!

Once our time was up and drinks were polished off, we wended our way back to Seven Sisters for continued game playing; a bit more Jenga, a spot of Uno Dare and Mousie Mousie, a personal favourite of mine and one of those party games where I always scare people with my lightning speed reactions, even after a few birthday cocktails.

Somehow, next thing we knew the dawn chorus was in full song and it was almost 6am. Apparently vigorous games are the way to induce wide awake-ness so as to extend celebrations... I certainly wasn't ready for them to end.

Dreading 25 though I may have been, so far it's been pretty excellent!

A wedding in Norfolk

The one thing (actually, one of many things) Norwich does well is food. Before the wedding, I made my routine hairdressers appointment which I managed to follow with a lunch and then drinks and dinner.

Lunch satisfied my week-long fish & chip craving and of course, fish & chips have to be had at Grosvenor Fish Bar. We ate in the 'bunker' below, a cosy seating area on the forecourt where food is served in tin dishes with wooden cutlery; still very rustic and cutesy!

After lunch I wandered and spent far too much money as I always do, so decided I was in need of tea distraction before I regretted anything. The Bicycle Shop is my tea safety net; it (Moroccan Mint Green) comes in a teapot, you pour it into a mis-matched china cup and saucer, the atmosphere is cosy and the music's always good. My next order was a hearty glass of red wine then it was time for food. Tapas at the Bicycle Shop is a firm favourite but as we were sat at a table reserved for half past 7 and it was already nearing quarter past at this point, we took our cue to move on.

What I love most about Norwich is that despite its size, there is always something new to discover. For dinner we ended up at the Maddermarket Kitchen, somewhere I've always wanted to try!

You have to BYOB, but that just meant that we had the whole of Tesco's red wine selection to choose from which was hardly a problem! We went for two courses and for my main I tried lamb chump thus learnt the real meaning of 'chump'; it was delicious! For dessert, I chose (and tweaked) the cheeseboard; yummy camembert, cheddar, chutney, apple and crackers. Safe to say, I felt entirely satisfied when we were done!

With a wedding ahead of me, I was keen to avoid dark circles beneath the eyes or spots caused by alcohol consumption, so we retired to home, mint tea (or hot water) and bed.

After the best night's sleep, I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to head to Hockering to see and help out at the venue. With a few hours to spare before I was required, I had a leisurely stroll into town where my tummy began to rumble. Another place I'd not visited before was Pandora's Kitchen, somewhere I've often passed and wondered about but never stepped inside. However upon seeing that they were offering breakfast, I decided it was the prime opportunity to stop and satisfy my rumbling tum! Eggs Florentine and an Earl Grey in the sunshine was perfection. I even found myself reading a little more of my book! 

When we arrived, the sun was shining and most things were already taken care of (perfect timing by us) so I simply had a tour of the area then we headed to the bride's mum and dad's to meet other wedding guests before the big day. Apparently it's a tradition to get everyone together the night before, but having been a part of very few weddings, this was news to me. It was a lovely evening either way; drinks were flowing and food was aplenty! The actual house was beautiful too - a barn conversion with an excess of land for walking. I do miss the seclusion that Norfolk has to offer.

That night, the bridesmaids stayed with the bride and our partners were kicked out to the camp-site (well, yurts) where we would be spending the following night. In bed by a reasonable hour with a hot drink, we were soon fast asleep.

The day of the wedding arrived and as an overall summary I would simply say it was the most relaxed day! We were all up in plenty of time for the arrival of hair and make-up and the photographers (who got an inordinate number of photos of us in pyjamas which I'm hoping don't look as bad as they felt) so helped ourselves to a hearty breakfast of cereal followed by a croissant and washed down with a strong cup of coffee. While each of us took our turn to be beautified, we spent our time between the comfort of the sofa where one of the family dogs was snuggled beneath a duvet for petting and outside in the courtyard/garden in the sunshine, debating whether or not the weather would stay that way for the ceremony in the afternoon. 

Finally, we were all looking like bridesmaids (the bride went last yet was still incredibly calm) from the shoulders up, so it was time to get dressed. I can't lie, I was nervous. My dress had fitted fine but for its length when I first tried it on. But then when I was getting the bottom adjusted, the zip decided to break. It was all a bit of a palaver involving an excess of hook and eyes and tacking. When trying it at home, I felt more than a little claustrophobic trying to get it on (and off again) but on the day, with the assistance of two fellow bridesmaids it seemed to slip right on, and at least I knew that once it was on, it was comfortable and I could sit and move around in it. 

Sewn into my dress, it was the bride's turn and wow she looked stunning! I don't think the novelty of seeing your own friends in wedding dresses will ever wear off. It's a pretty special moment! Finally we were all out of our pyjamas and the photographers could take some attractive photographs!

The venue was literally a 1 minute drive away from the bride's family home so we were soon in Hockering House looking out on the seating area for the ceremony and the aisle. With my dress still a little long, especially as my heels kept sinking into the grass, I think I was more nervous than the ever-composed bride about walking along the aisle for fear of tripping, or worse, ripping the bottom of my dress! 

The ceremony was short and sweet and immediately followed by Pimms as we all milled around on the grass waiting for the signing of the register. Once the newly married Mr & Mrs emerged from the building to lots of cheers, the bouquet was thrown (always stand at the front and hope that the bride's got a strong arm) and it was time for more official photographs.

As weddings go, many of the details were so me! At 4 o'clock we all had Afternoon Tea; perfection! There were a host of finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes and scones to be had, all accompanied by tea (or coffee) and Prosecco. Our table absolutely demolished all we were given, to the point where the hostess flagged down one of the waitresses who was taking a full pot of sausage rolls from another table and requested that they be given to us instead. In addition to full tummies, we also gained two pet wasps (whoever sat us right by the entrance to the marquee, hey?) in a glass who we fondly named after the happy couple. 

Following Afternoon Tea and speeches, there were garden games laid out on the grass outside the marquee, so we went to have a go at croquet... which we gave up on after all of five minutes when we realised it was not our forte. Instead, we moved on to quoits which we were equally as poor at. So we retired to hay bales to sit in the sun and have another drink (because alcohol always improves one's sporting ability). 

Whilst sitting down, we noticed that Giant Jenga had been vacated by other guests, so we thought we'd have one more try at something. Turned out we were pretty spectacular at Giant Jenga as our game then went on until it was time for the cutting of the cake and the first dance despite there being many nail-biting moments where we were completely convinced that it was all over. Relentless. 

Rather than having a cheesy and irritating (as they always seem to be at weddings) DJ, the bride and groom had opted for their own playlist as a means of luring people onto the dance floor, and it was definitely preferable! After a short boogie and the best wedding photo (if I do say so myself) of the bride and groom held by the bridesmaids and their partners (which, by the way, I can't wait to see), it was time for more food, this time in the form of a Hog Roast (so much yum)! 

The rest of the evening passed in a bit of a blur as we drank the bar dry, ate sweets, danced 'til our shoes came off, waved sparklers around, took Polaroid pictures and generally had a very merry time! This time, we joined 'the boys' in the yurts, with a short time spent sitting around the camp-fire before retiring to our inflatable air beds in a 'tent' which we could fully stand up in; I 100% need a proper glamping trip in a yurt! 

Very sad to leave, we made ourselves feel a little better with a massive detour to Cromer on the way home. A visit to the lifeboat house, the Henry Blogg Museum, lavender ice cream, a walk along the beach and of course a paddle filled a large void for a short time. 

All in all, an incredibly beautiful, perfect wedding weekend <3