Hastings

Hello my lovelies! Is it just me or is there more than a whiff of autumn in the air today? We had a mini heatwave over the weekend but it seems to have cooled down again now. I'm not disappointed though as autumn is my favourite season. I feel as if I should be out buying stationery for the new term!
I've had an interesting week. It started with E and me dropping L off at the airport for her 5 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. I was more than a little nervous waving her off but a few people made lovely reassuring comments on my last post, and I have since had a few Skype messages from her and she is having a brilliant time, so I'm feeling a lot better about it.
Thinking that E would be terribly sad to drop L off and then just come home, we decided to have a mother/daughter jaunt to Hastings for a few days. We chose Hastings for several reasons - firstly, being at Gatwick airport, we were half way there already. Secondly, E is studying The Norman Conquest as one of her options next year and had never been, and, finally, because R and I went there pre-children and had a wonderful time.
We chose a small hotel on the seafront and spent 3 gorgeously sunny days (I had packed for cool weather and regretted not taking my shorts!) pottering around Hastings and Battle. Here are a few of our snaps:

The view from our room:

Part of Hastings Old Town. We discovered a vegan cafe here and got chatting to a lovely girl from Australia. She had been solo travelling since February and Cambodia was, apparently, her favourite place - you can never have too much reassurance! 

Crazy golf on the seafront - she thrashed me!

Battle Museum - this was a little gem:

The museum gardens:

The oldest Guy in the country. Battle was once famous for making gunpowder and was the source of the gunpowder used by Guy Fawkes and the others in their attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament:

The Gatehouse:

The battlefield today:

Beekeeping in the Abbey gardens. He was chatting away to the bees as he worked:

We paused halfway round and went to a little tea shop, The Nook, for refreshments:

William insisted on an Abbey being built on the battlefield to atone for the loss of life. The altar was sited on the spot where Harold died. The field was on quite a hill and initially the builders started it further away on flat land. William was furious and insisted that they tear it down and start again on the actual spot.

The Novice's room. Again, the tall ceilings are due to the hill - the room above was the dormitory which ran the length of the building. Consequently, the roof of the rooms below changes height with the slope:

Hasting's pier:

E rescuing jellyfish:

Hasting's Castle:

The funicular railway up to the cliffs:

We had a brilliant few days and would heartily recommend it as a great place for a weekend break. Other happies this week include:

Enjoying my sunflowers:

Penny, practising her perching:

......... and a trip to Westonbirt Arboretum with a my friend, S.

The treetop walkway:

Again, this is a fantastic place to visit. It was so beautiful and would be even better when the leaves start to turn more. It's a great place for children too, with plenty of cafes, 2 circular walks and wide, flat paths for them to ride their bikes/scooters. There's also a Gruffalo Trail and an activity centre.

Anyway, that's all for this week. Enjoy the last week of the summer holidays. I'm just off to attack the laundry pile!

Toodle pip for now. x

Jousting, knitwear and a shark!

Last year, the girls and I upgraded our Blenheim Palace tickets to an annual pass. With a view to their impending expiration date, E and I decided to pay a last visit this week.

Foolishly, we set off without a thought for the weather, and so naturally half way up the A34 it started pouring down. Ever hopeful, we continued on our way and after a 5 minute sit in the car park with the rain drumming on the roof, the clouds parted enough for us to make a speedy entrance.

E wanted to look around the palace itself, so we tagged onto the back of a tour and plodded slowly round. I didn't take any photos of the inside, but the guide was very interesting and my favourite bit was one of the tapestries showing a dog with rather peculiar legs - apparently, the weavers started at the bottom and assumed that they had just come to a small horse. It was only when they had done the legs that they realised their error. As the tapestry was huge, they couldn't undo it, so there is a dog with hooves!

Out again into the grounds, we dodged the rain, and at one point hail, and went for a walk by the lake. By lucky chance, there was also a jousting exhibition taking place that day. It was enormous fun, even if I did end up with someone else's child practically sitting on my lap. I think that the mother was so relieved that he was actually behaving and sitting quietly that she left him there! Anyway, here are a few photos of the grounds and jousting:

The Temple of Diana, where Winston Churchill and his future wife, Clementine, sheltered during a shower. He took the opportunity to propose:

Other happies this week:

I have finished a number of my knitting projects. First is my Pavement Sweater by Veera Valimaki. I haven't blocked it yet, as you can probably tell from the creases. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in the Lettuce colourway.

Next are my 'Amsterdam Mitts' which were my travel knitting on our recent trip. The pattern is 'Hermione's Everyday Mitts' by Erica Lueder and the yarn is Hedgehog Merino DK in 'Sage':

Finally, these are my 'Sailing Socks' started on our holiday on-board 'Panopius'. They are just a plain vanilla sock with a fish lips kiss heel. The yarn was a Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett, bought at the Oxford Yarn Store:

With nothing left on my needles, I spent a merry half hour this morning balling up the yarn for my next project - Stephen West's 'Exploration Station' Shawl. The book and the bottom yarn were my sneaky purchases from 'Stephen and Penelope', the Yarn shop in Amsterdam:

L's boyfriend, J, has just moved into a house in Headington, Oxford. L is heading off to Vietnam and Cambodia this week for 5 weeks of solo travelling (I'm trying to be brave about it!)  before she starts her pupillage in London. Both will be sharing with uni friends, but I foresee a lot of toing and froing between London and Oxford next year. On our first visit, we passed the famous 'Headington Shark'. I'm not sure how I'd feel having this next door, how about you?

Finally, a gratuitous shot of Hamish, who is enjoying having both L and E home at the moment. There are lots of ear rubs, which makes for one very happy bunny.

Anyway, that's all for this week. I hope that you are all enjoying the summer holiday; sunny weather or not!

Toodle Pip for now. xx

Amsterdam

Hello, everyone. A few weeks ago, R and I celebrated an anniversary. Not a special one by any means, so it was rather a surprise when R (famous for his emergency 'I've forgotten it again!' supermarket bouquets) came up trumps with a 4 day trip to Amsterdam. It was enough to make me wonder what he'd been up to! He managed to time it for when E was home which, whilst making me feel more than a little guilty as we set off, did make it easier as far as looking after the chickens and Hamish was concerned. 

Unbeknown to him, the end of July and the beginning of August happened to be Pride week in Amsterdam and they went for it in a big way. Busy though it was, it was vibrant and lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed the bit of the parade (is it a parade when it's on water?) that we managed to catch a glimpse of through the crowds. 

If you asked for my memories of Amsterdam, they would include: bicycles; tulips; the smell of cannabis; trams; wonderful architecture; bicycles; Van Gogh; cheese; pancakes; Anne Frank; bicycles; canals; Heineken; Rembrandt; yarn and, oh, did I mention the bicycles?! Everyone it seemed travelled by bike, which is good in theory but in practice it did make it a little fraught for pedestrians. They seemed to come at you from all directions and, when crossing a road, I must have looked as if I was watching a very rapid tennis match with my head turning from left to right at great speed. No-one wore a cycle helmet and how there weren't more accidents I'll never know. More power to them though; I just wish that there were more cycle lanes in the UK.

Anyway, here are just a few of the many photos of our trip:

Being veggie, I do love a nice bit of cheese!

One of the many canals (spot the bikes!):

'Stephen and Penelope' - a fantastic yarn shop where I may have bought a few mementos!

Gorgeous lampposts:

The Rijksmuseum:

Unusual forms of transport where you can drink while you pedal!

My favourite artist:

The Houseboat Museum. There are many houseboats on the canals and, apparently, it used to be a cheap way to live in the city. Then, the officials decided that there were enough houseboats and stopped issuing permits. Consequently, they now cost as much as a flat.

Different types of cannabis:

Our hotel - The Art'otel:

Begijnhof - an enclosed former convent with beautiful gardens:

I developed quite a taste for this!

Rembrandt:

His house:

A demonstration of paint making:

Waterlooplein Flea Market:

After walking many miles on our first day, we treated our feet to a tram pass!

Tulip bulbs at the Bloemenmarkt:

A tour of the waterways with the Blue Boat Company:

A traditional cheese and apple pancake:

When I found out that we were going to Amsterdam, the first thing I thought of was Anne Frank's house. Having read her diary many years ago I was very keen to visit; unfortunately, tickets sell out really quickly. So much so, that I would probably recommend booking your tickets for this before your flight! It is possible to queue after 3:30 but the queues are enormous. Luckily, our hotel receptionist mentioned that they tend to release a few tickets every morning and we were fortunate enough to buy a couple online. Our visit was both fascinating and heartbreaking and I walked through the building watery eyed. What finished me off completely were the marks on the wall where Anne's mother had marked her girls' heights. Anne grew 13cms whilst in hiding.

So, would I recommend Amsterdam as a holiday destination? Absolutely! I feel that our 4 days were plenty, allowing us ample time to see what we wanted. It is very popular, however, so book your tickets well in advance and take your walking boots/comfortable shoes. Oh, and remember to watch out for those bicycles!

Toodle pip for now. x