Half Term wandering

When asked how I would be spending my half term, the answer was the same, 'sleeping.' And sleep I have done. But amongst the many lie-ins and no alarm mornings, I have also kept myself entertained with many wanders both in and out of London and it's these wanders I thought I'd ramble about on my final evening of the holiday.

A change of music loaded onto my phone, I went for my first wander on Monday. Kicking up the carpets of leaves courtesy of Storm Brian, the air finally felt a little less Wintry and a little more Autumnal. The pursuit of somewhere new took me via familiar territory as I cut through Woodberry Wetlands and wandered around the reservoir there, exchanging pleasantries with other visitors, and keeping one eye out for exotic bird life.

Allens Gardens was my destination and when I eventually found it down a dodgy-looking alleyway (of course), its ivy covered archways and maze-like box gave it a Secret Garden-esque feel. I sat a while, watching the comings and goings of families there and decided that as gardens go, this one was as back-gardeny as I've seen in London. If home was a high-rise, it would be a good space to be near to, especially as a child. 

A few days later, my next wander took me to Greenwich. The hour-long journey was absolutely worth it as I then spent a good hour basking in the sunshine on a bench over-looking what is now one of my favourite views of the city. As I sat, there were a few people coming and going, but otherwise it was just been me and the view, and it was a good one. You know life is busy when you can sit in one attitude for an entire hour without it feeling like much time has passed at all, and as you move on, you're not even sure where your mind has been the whole time. I just kept thinking, 'I'm not in a rush.' and wherever I'm admiring it from, the London skyline could keep me occupied for a lifetime.

Walking boots were required for my final wander of the half term. I escaped London for a couple of days and took to the hills of Derbyshire with my Aunty and cousin as guides. After a hearty breakfast, we set off across field, along canal and through woodland with many up and down hill struggles along the way. Sheep, horses, and plenty of ducks. There was certainly plenty of nature to entertain, and all in glorious Autumnal sunshine. While my previous wanders had been time for self-indulgence and reflection, it was nice to spend this one nattering (often rather breathlessly), catching up on time gone by.

I sit now with a banana cake in the oven, candles lit, pizza ordered, trying to surround myself with happy thoughts and vibes ready for the return to work in the morning. They say a Sunday well spent brings a week of content; well I'm hoping that a week of days that have felt like Sundays should tide me over for a while at least.

2016 is here

Twas the night before the return to work and all through the flat, not a creature was stirring, not even a cat. Laura and Jess lay all snuggled up on the sofa denying the existence of Monday.

Yeah I lost the rhyme there, but I'm sure you get the message. Another Christmas holiday passed, another term looms. To be completely honest though, it's not the return to work that bothers me so much as the return to reality and the loss of escapism that Christmas provides; the unlimited feeling of happy inspired by music, lights, food, friends and family. The one holiday where I can do nothing particularly productive beyond laundry for two weeks and feel not a drop of guilt.

Anyway, it's not all doom and gloom. I'm writing again! It's a new year and that means... resolutions!

It was really funny earlier today when I read back over last year's resolution post and noticed a pattern emerging. Like last year, I haven't written in weeks as the lead up to Christmas and then Christmas itself was beyond hectic (in a good way of course) as always! I did want to try to catch up on some exciting events that have occurred in the last couple of months but then I always remember the 'post-card' idea of my blog and I have to stop myself.

So I shall go for a whistle stop list-esque type thing. Since Bruges there was... the weekend of Death Cab for Cutie then Nicola Benedetti then Liquicity which I believe truly sums up the diversity of my musical taste, I discovered what might now be my new favourite view of London from some enormous man-made hill in Rotherhithe, I finally made the visit to Peterborough to a dear friend, I got the opportunity to sing in the Union Chapel (pretty special) and ventured out of London again with choir to a sleepy village for a day of singing, Christmas exploded once again with new decorations and Cath Kidston mugs a-plenty (I might need a bigger tree next year), there was a Christmas shopping expedition and carols in Cambridge, I actually sent lots of Christmas cards all by myself like a real grown up, I went on a Christmas tree crawl (another crawl invention by me), Ma & Pa kindly whisked me away on a mini-cruise to Antwerp before taking me home which was glorious as always and there I stayed until a few days ago. Phewf.

Yet again, I'm pretty sure I'm repeating myself with this year's resolutions, just phrasing them in new ways but there we go, I still like to try and make a few.

1. Send occasional cards.

Now by this I don't mean occasionally send cards, I mean send them to recognise occasions such as birthdays, engagements, that sort of thing. I always love to receive cards myself (no hints there, honestly) and it's something I always say I'll get better at... then Facebook informs me it's someone's birthday and I'm typing away on there, I didn't send a card, and another year has passed. I figure Christmas cards (which even arrived on time, by the way) were a good start. So watch those letterboxes!

2. Be more adventurous with food.

Is it just me who suddenly notices boring routine when it comes to eating? Then when you try to think of meals past, you can't. Well yesterday, I made a list of every food item left in the kitchen after the Christmas period then I sat down with my pile of cookbooks (which until now I am ashamed to say have been pretty much unused) and got inspired. My delivery arrives tomorrow and most of it seems to consist of weird and wonderful spices that I can't even pronounce the name of. Let's see how this goes...

3. Look after myself.

Yes I know. I had this one last year just with a different title. But I really do need to! I managed to achieve my third resolution last year of spending money wisely and got myself a new and magical bed which I'm now sleeping very well in so I've pretty much got rest down. It's the other things now like eating better (see resolution number 2), actually exercising a bit (let's not get too carried away) and trying not to get another 12 week-long cold (which apparently I'd had this time last year, deep joy).

2015 was a lot of fun and I was actually quite sad to see it go. I can already tell 2016 is going to be busy but hopefully another year of fun? I guess if it is, I'll write about it.

The month of May

As May was spent catching up on April's holiday extravaganza, I thought it best to condense some of the best bits. Admittedly, I was half expecting to be able to do this at the end of May itself before it could be rendered totally redundant, but it seems I have slowed down my writing pace, so instead I bring this to you now, in June. It may well have been easier to just pretend May didn't even happen, but I couldn't have people thinking I spent an entire month indoors, particularly not when there were two bank holiday weekends and a half term holiday to account for!

The first bank holiday weekend kick-started the month, and, as always, I managed to pack plenty in! The Friday night saw myself and my school colleagues venturing out of familiar territory and to Angel, where we danced on a male-dominated, illuminated dance floor. Not sure I'll be doing that again, no one needs to see my face that clearly...

On the Saturday, I made my way to Norwich. I'm so glad I decided to keep my hairdresser there as my appointments are providing the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends and check-in with the Fine City. It's always nice to experience a little fresh air and a lot of sky and to come away from the hustle and bustle for a while (even on a busy day in Norwich the city feels practically empty to me now). While last time I had failed at the art of coordination, and managed to see no one and do nothing besides sort my hair out, this time saw my return to some favourite haunts, which in turn saw my missing the last train (to be fair to me, it was CRAZY EARLY... although no, I didn't check), but hey, at least I was having a good time!

Following my being late to bed the night before my journey, I set off at a relaxed pace and arrived just in time to go straight in to the hairdresser. My usual stylist was unavailable this time, and the prospect of someone different always fills me with dread. Nevertheless, she was of a very similar nature; not too much pointless chit-chat, and not too crazy with the scissors (I really am very easy to please)!

Once out of the hairdresser, I met a friend from my teacher training and found myself ordering a cocktail at The Ten Bells (notorious for particularly lethal combinations) before I'd even really had time to think about the fact that I was probably actually still hungover from the illuminated dancefloor (plenty of Dutch Courage required). Writing this such a long time after the event, I'm now frustrated because I can't remember what I had to drink, and I was going to be an advocate of it... never mind, maybe it will come back to me. It had gin in it anyway, which is never a bad thing! After the one drink, my powers of persuasion sprung into action and I managed to convince my friend that I needed to visit more places, which meant more drinks, which meant a car needed to be driven home to remove barriers.

In the meantime, I stumbled into the Travel Agent (I hope not literally) and got locked in in order to spend far too much money on flights for the summer before meeting my friend again.   

The next port of call was the Bicycle Shop where tequila and tapas were the order of the day (yum!). From there we headed off to Franks as I was suddenly in the mood to cover as many favourites as possible. Sadly (well, for me anyway), Franks is always crazy popular these days so a seat is hard to come by without a wait. In the mean time we graced Bedford's with our presence. Although I only ever seem to end up in there when Franks is full, I actually quite like the charm of Bedford's; who can resist a proper wooden beam? Upon discovering that we would still be required to wait at Franks, we gave up and instead moved on to The Playhouse for some outdoor seating!

It was here that I decided it was probably best to head back for a train before my arrival into London would be too late. So once drinks were finished, I headed back along Prince of Wales to the station... where I discovered the last train had been and gone. Having explored all possible options (including a taxi, coach travel or the bus back to Kings Lynn), I wound up on a sofa where back-to-back episodes of Pokémon were watched until 4am. Best Saturday night!

Sunday finally saw a London visit from my little brother, so I was up and out of Norwich nice and early in order to be ready for his arrival! Unfortunately, I had made a blunder and told him I was stuck in Norwich, so his own departure from home was far more, shall we say, relaxed? He eventually landed in the early evening and we ate pizza (complete with polystyrene base) and drank beer in preparation for Hospitality.

The last time I was at a Hospitality event it was at Building Six at the O2. Having hated on this venue the first time I visited, I absolutely loved it for Hospitality, with its multi-levels making for great views and incredible sound system. This time Hospitality was at Heaven, where they used to have a residency. Upon discovering that Heaven was Britain's largest gay club, I was a little unsure what to expect, especially with 3 males in tow. Nevertheless, the venue was one of the best I have been to, with so much space for manic helicoptering (those who have seen me dance will understand), viewing platforms and a more than adequate soundsystem! Didn't manage to make it to 6am, but we did survive til 4ish, which we didn't think was a particularly bad effort at all!

The following weekend saw a rather different musical experience and a spontaneous trip to Trafalgar Square to see the LSO perform some Prokofiev. It was a wonderfully surreal experience! To be in such a large space with so many people yet for there to be so much peace (apart from for the sound of trundling road sweepers and low-flying planes swooping by every now and again - oh, and the sound of our own incessant giggles that just would not stop!?) was really quite magical. To top it off, the sun even made an appearance - thank youu London!

After a quiet weekend that followed (got to break up the madness occasionally?), the next bank holiday saw my return to Norwich for the end of the NNF. On Saturday night I was hypnotised by Lavinia Meijer playing Einaudi and Philip Glass on the harp in St Peter Mancroft. After a few pints with pork scratchings from Sir Garnet (Lady Garnet's namesake pub) and with a tummy full of food from The Grosvenor, it was an incredibly tranquil experience! I don't think I've ever truly experienced a solo harp performance, but I will definitely be seeking another in the future; so magical! Still in a bit of a stupour, we lasted just long enough for a cocktail accompanied by tea and bread and oils at Frank's (all the food/mixing of everything was a pretty big regret for us both that night, and again, upon reading this back I can see why) before calling it a night.

An intentional walk along the canal this time on the quiet weekend in between the madness.

This time my Norwich stop over was planned, as Sunday I experienced a mighty roast at The Reindeer (as if their pork scratchings weren't enough to blow me away already). Food was pretty unneccessary for the rest of the day. Just, wow. Before roasting, I took a stroll (probably did that the wrong way around) and finally managed to sneak in the Plantation Gardens which certainly didn't disappoint! They have a real 'Secret Garden' feel about them, and particularly so when adorned with enormous pieces of material (the cynic in me may have wondered why someone had hung their towels out to dry) hanging from the walls at the far end of the garden, setting a rainbow backdrop for the rest of the garden, which was still lacking some colour so early on in the season.

Sunday evening back in London was a pub crawling, aimless wandering kind of evening - a lovely end to another pretty hectic weekend! (I even saw a baby fox; pretty exciting?)

The next day marked the start of half term, and a first full reunion since graduation with some very special friends was an excellent way to begin! (As I write this, I am suddenly aware of my alcohol consumption and feeling less sorry for myself regarding the state I am in by this point following half term and the weekend just gone... oh dear.) We met at Southbank and, as usual did a remarkable amount of wandering (although thankfully there were no injuries sustained this time). Somehow we ended up inside The Shard (pretty special) and then carried on to China Town for food because 'it's not that far'... when will I learn?! The best kind of friends are those that you can not see properly for almost two years and yet still feel like you were all together yesterday. Beautiful day!

May was busy! But, as ever, I had so much fun and it was really wonderful to manage some catch-ups with people not seen in far too long. So far, June is already proving to be pretty fun - think I've got that summer feeling (bring on the 6-week holidays)!