Growing up with Paddington & Paddington 2

Marmalade sandwiches all round!  Paddington is back in the cinema but before I get to talking about the film, I want to take you back in time.  Not far, just a couple of weeks, to half-term when we were in London.

Lucas happened across a mention of a props exhibition for Paddington 2 at The Museum of London while reading 'First News'.  (An excellent introduction to tough news stories for kids.). I looked it up online and discovered that not only was there an exhibition, there was to be a talk the next day by Karen Jankel, Michael Bond's daughter, all about growing up with Paddington!

Up, Up, and Away!

Trapped in town by the craziest Balloon Fiesta traffic ever, we abandoned our plans to head out to Bedminster (or even up to Clifton and the Downs) to watch the mass balloon ascent and ended up with some of the best views we’ve ever had of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. 

Le Weekend

The rain is pitter-pattering against the window as I type; it's hard to believe that we had such a glorious weekend, but we totally did!

We spent Saturday pottering around the Harbourside in town, sort-of following the Shaun the Sheep trail and basking in the sunshine.  I'm a bit like Goldilocks when it comes to the sun, it can't be too hot or too cold, it has to be just right.

Bristol was super-busy this weekend, with Pride, Grillstock--it smelled so good--sheep hunters galore, and a regatta.  It was manic, frankly, but the city was so happy and buzzing that no one seemed to care.

We watched the Pride parade from Dave's office window which gave us a great view of all the goings on.  So much colour, music, and happiness.  It was lovely to see Avon & Somerset police out, waving rainbow flags and sporting very natty rainbow epaulettes on their uniforms.  And no Pride parade would be complete without some very sassy drag queens and stilt walkers!  So much sparkle!

Beach Boy, BAA-WULF, Green Poems for a Blue Planet, Life Aquatic 

After the parade left Queen Square, we set off on our sheep hunt.  I highly advise picking up a paper map from the tourist information office, the Aardman shop at The Mall (and I'm sure there are other locations, too) as the Shaun in the City app is a bit flaky when it comes to route planning.  Luckily we had Dave, who seems to be part carrier pigeon and never steers us wrong!

Love this water fountain in Millenium Square!

Air Fleece, Dolly, King Arthur of Lambelot and Excalibaaar, On the Waterfront

Some beauts on this section of our walk.  King Arthur was fantastic!  I wonder if it was the same artist who did Sir Gromit of Bristol?  We're still trying to estimate how many glass drops are covering Dolly!

Catch of the Day, the new figurehead for Bristol Ferries

We were lucky to spot Catch of the Day, the new figurehead for Bristol Ferries replacing their mini-Gromit.  I love his/her mermaid design, complete with seaweed lovingly twined around the ankles. (Do sheep have ankles?)

Jarsberry Ram, Sgt. Shepherd, Lotus, Baaarbersheep

The Pump House sported another berry-licious sheep. This time, raspberry flavoured with Jarsberry Ram.  (I hope they bring out a tea towel for him to go along with my Gromberry one!)  We cooled down inside with a drink--it's lovely and cool inside on a hot day, perks of the proper stone walls, I guess--before crossing the river and weaving our way through teams of rowers to find Sgt. Shepherd.

Further downstream we found Lotus outside Aardman's headquarters which was absolutely gorgeous, with lots of hidden details.  I was especially fond of the tai chi poses on each leg.  Peek through the windows and admire their giant Shaun which almost fills the lobby!

Baarbersheep behind the M Shed had it's own farmyard enclosure, complete with haybales (hayfever sufferers beware) and had some gorgeous hand-lettering done by Gav Strange.

It's not a walk round Bristol without a Banksy! Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Pirate Captain, Shaun Beam, King of the Carnival, Justice Lamb

Here are our last few Shauns of the day.  The Pirate Captain was just awesome.  I loved that film!  I'm really not so sure about Shaun Beam. We originally thought that it was something to do with Shaun Bean, but apparently it's inspired by a sculpture in Chicago known as 'the Bean'.  I'm still not sure if I like it... Justice Lamb was great, though!

And lastly, my favourite photo from the day.  I've actually splashed out and ordered it on canvas for the living room wall, that's how much I love it.  And him, too, obvs.  Can't believe he's nearly nine...

Lucas at the Harbourside

Friday Favourites, volume 2

It's been so long since I've done Friday Favourites, but it just had to be done this week as I have seen so many most excellent things.  This is likely to be a bit of a sporadic series, all dependent on what wonders I see each week.

So, without further ado, here are some of the things I've loved this week...

Favourite Instagrammer Allison Sadler

© This Little Space of Mine

I am loving Allison Sadler's Instagram feed. I met Allison last year at Blogtacular and her Instagram is a perfect reflection of her personality. It's full of positive, sparkly, bright, happy and beautiful things.   There's always something to make you smile!  One day I'll make it to one of her #makeitsewcial events!

Favourite Handmade Popsicle Bunting

This amazing popsicle (ice-lolly) bunting is by Bees and Apple Trees (a name I thoroughly approve of!) via Allison Sadler's Instagram.  I made some 2D ice-cream and seaside bunting last summer and had dreadful problems with it curling up and refusing to hang nicely, despite blocking. This weightier version looks like it resolves that problem neatly and it looks fantastic to boot!  I've got my yarn, a crochet hook and a pair of sunglasses...hit it!

Favourite Food Arla Skyr

I first had Skyr in America, over five years ago.  I fell in love with the thick, creamy Icelandic yoghurt (which is actually cheese, but when it tastes this good, who cares what it technically is?) and loved that it was naturally fat-free.  Since then I've been trying (and failing) to be in London when the Scandinavian Kitchen had some of this rare beast in stock,  Imagine my surprise when I found a taster stand in my local Sainsbury's last week!  I've been gorging on it ever since; the natural flavour is perfect as a replacement for sour cream in potato salad or on fajitas, and the honey is glorious.  It's very Slimming World friendly, too.

Favourite Geekery The new Doctor Who trailer!!



Coming to our screens on the 19th of September!!  Really looking forward to it, and I'm ever so curious about Arya Stark's character in this.  Could this finally be Susan??

Favourite Tutorial Pretty Handlettering in 3 Steps

© In My Own Style

I came across this tutorial on Pinterest yesterday afternoon--loving their suggested pins--and since then I've been happily doodling away.  My regular handwriting is doctor levels of terrible these days, and I always feel a bit envious when a beautifully penned card pops through the letterbox, so being able to create some beautiful lettering easily is a wonder to me!  It really does work.  I'm quite stunned at how nice my handwriting can look, especially as I'm just using an old biro at the moment. (Must raid Lucas's pencil case!)

All I need now is an upcoming birthday, wedding or baby to show off my handiwork!

~

Have a fabulous Friday and an awesome weekend!

Baaa-rilliant!

Shaun In The City starts in two days, on the 6th. Hooray!  It's felt like an absolute age since the London flock got rounded up by the farmer; we have been waiting quite impatiently to get our sheep spotting on.

Now, the trail officially starts on the 6th, but a few Shauns have started stealthily getting into position around the city following Nick Park's parade across the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The lovely folks at Warmley Waiting Room welcomed their Shaun yesterday and there are three early bird Shauns at The Mall!

Bee-dazzled

Shrek Shaun

"Beware, ogre."

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that I only have pictures of two; I'm afraid I was too lazy to go and track down the third, but I shall triumph another day!

The 'Shaun Shop' is also hosting an exhibition of mimi Shaun's decorated by local schools, so there's plenty to admire as excitement builds for Monday!

Our school's mini Shaun is still busy being decorated but I'm sure he would loved to have taken part in the show.  Still, there was a local-ish Shaun--this Special Delivery sheep from Mangotsfield School.

While we were in the Shaun Shop, I decided to treat myself to one of my favourite Gromits from the original trail.  It's taken me two years of dithering to finally get over the price of them!  Shipshape and Bristol Fashion is now happily ensconced on my Welsh dresser.  I wonder which Shaun will join him?!  (Eventually.)

Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular

On Monday we journeyed through time and space at the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular in Cardiff.

As you've all noticed by now, I'm a huge Doctor Who fan--we all are actually--and we've had tickets booked for months and months. Every so often I'd catch sight of the note in the diary and get all excited before remembering that we still had ages to wait. But wait no more! It's been and gone now, or is still yet to come if you're further north...

Having never been to an event billed as a spectacular, let alone a symphonic spectacular, we weren't a hundred percent certain what to expect. I thought it might be a bit like Doctor Who at the Proms with monsters popping up every so often and I expected Peter Davison (Five!!) to tell a few jokes here and there, as he's quite fond of that.  Well, we got that and more!!

Peter Davison reunited with the TARDIS

Each piece of music, played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with the Chorus of Wales (AKA The Doctor's House Band) and conducted by Ben Foster, was accompanied by a video montage.  We romped through the Twelfth Doctor's tenure, said "Hello, Hello" to the monsters, were invaded by some Daleks who invaded the Motorpoint Arena and forced the orchestra to play "Dalek music", and visited Last Christmas with the Dream-crab monsters mingling menacingly in the stalls.

The Teller

Concert photography is hard!!

Highlights were Abigail's Song from A Christmas Carol, originally performed by Katherine Jenkins and beautifully sung by Elin Manahan Thomas and the full Pandorica Suite. Absolutely spine tingling.  The Companions Theme was magnificent and has reminded me of how much I grew to love Donna Noble as Ten's companion. I really need to re-watch that series very soon...

Bravo!

And of course the performance wouldn't be complete without Murray Gold's reworking of the iconic Doctor Who theme!



Best of all, Lucas has decided that he likes orchestra music and wants to go to another concert. Result!!

The one where I meet The General Lee (and go racing)

Ever had one of those days when you nip out for a few minutes and then crawl home hours and hours later?

(That may be a slight analogy for my blogging habits of late, too...)

We popped to The Mall to pick up Dave's repaired iPhone and after plenty of mooching around the shops--so much gorgeous copper and crystal at John Lewis just now--we remembered that the Bristol Motor Show was on, so we had to stop to take a quick look...

Lucas checked out the new Smart cars: "Too big"

I was chatting with a rally car driver sponsored by my garage when Lucas hared over and demanded my phone because he had to take pictures.  When I eventually wandered over I found the boys getting snap happy with the '89 Batmobile.

So big! Had to a panorama to get it all in!

I'm afraid that for once the Batmobile didn't hold my attention. Right next to it was The General Lee!  Please tell me you've all heard of The Dukes of Hazzard?  My brother and I used to pretend that we were jumping The General whenever we drove over a humpback bridge and had that millisecond of hang-time... I was going to marry Bo Duke when I was old enough.

The General Lee. Even better than the Batmobile.

The Wee Man was in his own world of geeky joy as he went nuts over Bumblebee from the Transformers movies.

Love the Autobot detail on the wheels!

There were loads of lovely new cars at the show, but I couldn't help but coo over these beauties, who were selling ice-cream.

Possibly the cutest ice-cream stand ever!

From vintage to hi-tech loveliness...

Lucas loved having a go on one of the Freewheelers blood transport bikes and getting to play with the blues and twos.  I hadn't realised how huge these bikes are!

I thought it was a nice little show. There was a nice mix of eco--Smart cars, the Tesla, bike-powered smoothies--along with family cars, motorbikes, and fun displays from BMX riders.

Afterwards we were in the mood for a drive so we zoomed around the countryside which was absolutely stunning in the sunshine and eventually found ourselves at Castle Coombe watching the Lotus Owners Club track day.

Trust me, they were fast!

Sun, fast cars and a great view... we had loads of fun watching the racing and predicting who was going to spin off. Dave is the Undisputed Champion in that respect...



We loved watching all the Lotuses zoom around the track. I'm not sure I'd have the guts to throw my own car around the track but it's a hell of a lot of fun watching other people do it.  The boys are off to watch Smart car racing at Castle Coombe next month--I wasn't very interested before, but this was so much fun that I might tag along.  (If I can take an armchair.)

Here's some cars that managed to stay on the track!



And purely because no post is truly complete without a shot of the Wee Man, here's Lucas doing his very best 70s impression.

Straight out of The Professionals!

The Big Chop!

New Year, new hair

So, for the last couple of years I've been mulling over the idea of chopping off all my straight hair and going back to an afro.  It's always stayed at the idea stage though as I can all-too-clearly remember tears every morning as Mum ripped an afro comb through my hair and it's cost me so much over the years to have it straightened so I might as well keep on keeping on despite my loathing of the hairdressers.  (Does anyone else hate vapid conversations about celebrities at the hairdressers, or is that just me?)

However, in January the idea hit me again mainly because I desperately needed to have my hair relaxed so I looked at Pinterest and discovered that I could do way more with my hair than sticking it in braids or wearing a mile-high afro.  So very tempting, but also a bit terrifying.

I popped into the hairdressers one Wednesday morning in January just to ask if they thought it would suit me, and before I knew it I was sitting in a chair, listening to the snip-snip of scissors and feeling my head getting lighter and lighter.

Bye-bye hair!

I won't lie...glancing down and seeing handfuls of hair littering the floor was a bit of a oh shit moment.  I don't do impulsive, and having 90% of my hair chopped off after a two minute conversation is pretty damn impulsive!

But, you know, so far so good!  It's been a month and my hair is so much easier to deal with--I feel, well, free.  YouTube has been an absolute goldmine of information; vloggers like Naptural85 and Chizi Duru have taught me more in a few videos than I've picked up in my entire lifetime.  I do envy their nimble fingers, though!  I've also spent a small fortune on pretty accessories for my hair at Claire's and Accessorize and for once I'm having fun with my hair!

Love wearing flowers in my hair!

If anyone's considering a big chop of their own, I'd say go for it! It's a bit chilly on a windy day, but I wouldn't change a thing!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all, from our (gingerbread) house to yours!  (Whether it's gingerbread or not!)

I wish you health, wealth, happiness and loads of fun in 2015!

Life lately...

Merry Christmas!

Hello! Long-time no see!

Life has been a mad whirlwind of activity since September and today is the first day in an absolute age when I've felt free to sit down and reacquaint myself with the sofa and do nothing.  (Well, almost. I'm bottling some sloe gin for a Secret Santa but that's hardly work.)

Make yourself a cuppa, pull up a chair and let's catch up a little.

In October I became an auntie again!  My brother and sister-in-law welcomed baby Zander into the world and I made him a gorgeously snuggly quilt (and began my new obsession with quilting.)  Isn't he scrumptious?  Lucas is thrilled to have a boy cousin at last, but I think he'll have to wait for a few years before Zander will want to play Godzilla v Mothra...

The Covent Garden tree was immense!

November saw me popping up to London for a fabulously decadent and boozy weekend with my lovely friend Kate.  We began with cocktails at brunch in Canary Wharf on Saturday and carried on with that winning combination all weekend.  In our defence, the weather was particularly dire so sheltering indoors was an absolute necessity. And if our shelter happened to include a friendly barman, then that was purely by accident!

We did manage to pop to the National Portrait Gallery, wander around Covent Garden, see the (disappointing) lights on Regent Street and best of all, Liberty!  I've always wanted to go there and I was not disappointed even though we could barely move in their Christmas Shop. The Narnia-esque wood panel lift put the biggest smile on my face before we even got upstairs! So many beautiful things, I nearly popped with excitement!  I managed to restrain myself and come away with just an Alice in Wonderland tea towel.  It says, "We're all mad here," which is absolutely spot on for our household!

Everyone needs a Gangsta Octopus tile in their life...

On the WI front, I've been really busy preparing for our first charity choir concert and also making beautiful things for our stall at a local Handmade Market.  I went a little crazy and crocheted thread snowflakes for a Frozen-inspired wreath as well as making sparkly snowflake garlands.

Here's our fab choir singing our favourite song, "Rhythm of Life"!


We'll be at The Royal Albert Hall in a few years, mark my words!

On the home front, we finally got the Christmas tree up last weekend and showered it with lots of gorgeously shiny baubles. The house feels so cosy with the tree lights twinkling away and all our Christmassy treasures out on show.  School finishes on Friday and I'm really looking forward to (bravely) making a gingerbread house with Lucas next week!  I may even light it...

Merry Christmas, everyone!