Goodbye 2013 - Hello 2014

 

Wishing you all a happy and immensely successful new year!

 

Cheers

 

 

S xxx

Grand Parade, Bath - Balcony Box Hedges

These (I think fake) box hedges really spruce this balcony up.

 

Grand Parade, Bath.  Turn your back on the river and look up.

Now I just have to find out where to buy them from...

 

P.s. I still love the colour of the stone in Bath.

Water, Water, Everywhere

 

Remember the above and below picture of people canoeing.  You can see the weir steps at Pultney Bridge.

Green water but quite low. 

 

 On the right where the trees are, see the concrete and the step and the retaining wall all around the trees, remember that and then look at the next picture...

 

Now you see it...

 

Now you don't!

 

And the weir on Christmas Eve 2013, following gale force winds and rain.   Guessing I would say that is at least 5 feet higher.  And the noise!  it was booming as it was rushing by

 

 

 

 

I forget how strong nature is.

 

I hope all the people who were flooded out of their homes or had no electricity for 4 days are able to have a Christmas day again this coming weekend. 

 

Sxx

Harry Potter Studios #4

Food For Thought

I am ignoring the wind and rain outside. 

Yesterday, to take our minds off of the roof situation we went to the garden centre.  Everyone else was probably in the town centre spending like mad things.  I am also blocking out that it took 1.5 hours to drive 20 minutes away...

We have nearly settled on staying here, as we cant find a house that is better with a better garden or parking.  In the words of Sarah Beeney, 'don't move, improve'.  We previously had dealings with an architect and have decided to contact him to see what can changes can be made.

If we are staying I want to bulk the garden out with more edible plants. 

The garden centres seem to always have a sale straight after Christmas, off we toddled to see what bargains were to be had.

Everything in the shop and the outside areas was 50% off.  Whoop whoop.

I spied a grape vine previously and there it was all lonely with huge tree ferns, we couldn't leave it so it came home with us.  Along with a bay tree, 10 more raspberry canes, early and lates.  A bag of soil for my blueberries and 4 rolls of ground cover fabric.  The ground cover will go around the old apple trees, the new apple trees and the cherry tree.  I will then use the gravel that was removed from newly grassed area.  This will mean little or no weeding.  I like gardening and eating from my garden, I do not like weeding. 

If we extend the house we will have to move the green house down the other end of the garden and we will need a studio cabin added to the very bottom of the garden, as 1, it is so shaded we cant do anything with it due to the trees next door and 2, we need a home office/workshop.

We didn't buy this house to stay in, we bought it to fix up/flip and move on.  Nothing on the market for the last year and a half has been better than this house. 

At least if we extend the house, it will need a new roof anyway and I finally might get the kitchen I have always wanted.  Every cloud and all that....

Are you planning a vegetable garden for the new year?  What do you grow that you think I should...?

edit: I didn't win the stuffing competition. My sister did.  Chestnut stuffing was the winner

Harry Potter Studio Tour #3

Hi there, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.  Whilst we deal with more problems with our roof and water pouring down the inside of our lounge wall.  I will leave you with some more pictures of the Harry Potter Studios.  I loved it.  There will be lots more to come and lots of pictures. 

This blog after all is my external memory bank. 

Enjoy. 

Sol x

After the quick film,  the screen goes up and there are the doors to the great hall.  as you can see by the mans face, everyone was super excited.

The door starts to open some more

The gasps as everyone starts to see inside

The surge forward into the great hall. 

More tomorrow.

From Our Home to Yours - Christmas 2013

We Wish You

 a

Very Happy Christmas

and a

Spectacular New Year.

Canoeing River Avon - Bath Weir

 
I am going to continue my love of Bath series.  In the summer I was lucky enough to see a couple canoeing down the River Avon  and down over the weir.

Ladies first.....

Bath Christmas Market 2013

I love Bath, I think I have said this before.  I went to the Bath to see the Christmas market stalls.

Here are some pictures.  Enjoy

Do you have a town or city that you love?

p.s. I didn't buy anything, not even lunch.  congratulate me!  lol

Butterbeer - The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour # 1

 

Harry Potter really caught my imagination and then the films.  I loved it.

When Posh Boy said on Thursday night, "shall we go to Harry Potter studios on Saturday?" 

I squealed like a demented cat.  I was so excited.  Then the Computer said no (name that TV programme).  Then I tried to see what tour we could book on in the new year, as you have to book a time slot.  MIRACLES.  Some how I was able to book 2 tickets for the 6pm tour.  This suited us as we thought most people with really little children would be on their way home to put them to bed...

Once we got there it was all very easy, sign posted really well as soon as you got of Junction 19 of the M25, Watford, heading to the M1.  There were the brown signs, beckoning us onwards.  The parking was great, you are guided to a spot (they are slightly small spaces).  But there are plenty of spaces.

So, after yesterdays picture...  I give you butter beer, it was £2.95 a cup.  IT WAS DISGUSTING!  lol

Here it is pouring

On the left is what I can only describe as defrosted ice cream, that is used for the froth

The actual body of the drink tasted a little like ice cream soda, really vanilla in taste and SOOOOOO sweet.

Everyone around us was dumping it in this receptacle....

Ewwww. 

whats this?

 

Name that drink?

Edit - Here are 2 clues

1, its from a film and book

2, you can buy it in the film, in a town that's name is derived from another name for a pig and an alcoholic drink made from honey....

swimming pool

Swimming Pool, Angkor Wat, Cambodia

What do you do when you live in a palace and the weather and the heat are too much and you are melting like an ice cube with a laser pointed at it?

Have your minions build a pool...

Thai Fast Food - Rat on a Stick

 

Whilst hurtling through the country side in Thailand we had a quick stop at a road side café and Tescos Lotus (yes tescos is everywhere, I could quite imagine that if you went to the moon there would be a Tescos there.)

The driver picked up his dinner.  2 Kilo of barbequed rat on sticks.  For the tiny sum of £1.

I still didn't eat it!  lol

My favourite thing that I found in Thailand was squid wrapped peanut balls. 

Have you eaten anything strange on holiday?

Carlisle Cathedral

Carlisle Cathedral is stunning. 

Green Elephants

 

Green Elephants on the railings Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

 

Beauty in the small detail

 

***********************************************************

 

P.S. went through my 3, 35 litre crates of Christmas decorations.  I am down to 2 crates.  I am taking the ones I don't want to my old work, most of them are German wooden decorations.  So I hope they will all find new homes.  If not they will go to the charity shop.  I still haven't found my perfect stuffing recipe yet.  I am sure to lose, everyone else seems to have settled for a recipe.... lol everyone has really got the spirit of it and everyone is super secretive about it.  I am hoping for a very special Christmas.

The Elephant House, Coffee House - Edinburgh

In December, all those moons ago, I was lucky enough to go to the Elephant Coffee House in  Edinburgh.  That is where JK Rowling wrote parts of the Harry Potter series of books. 

I loved the elephant shaped short bread. How cute.

Not that you could see it but behind this Christmas tree, you can see Edinburgh Castle.

The couple in the back left hand corner by the door, OMG they needed to get a room.  Even in the queue that was out the door and up the road, waiting to get into the shop.  They nearly ate each other! 

It was heaving and there aren't a lot of tables.  They could do with changing the tables to small square ones, some for 2 people and some for 4.  A man comes and seats you once you have ordered.  You get a wooden spoon in a bottle so they can find you after you have ordered.

The toilets were a treat!  The graffiti of peoples love for the harry Potter books made me smile for the whole day. I wish I had taken a picture of it for you.  That sounds strange, but some of the things written were so lovely.  And there were lots of lightning bolts drawn.

I did try and get a picture outside but when we went in it was just before lunch and it was nutso waiting in the line.  I caught the below picture, as we by chance took a wrong turn with the map when we were on the way back to the new town.

I am super pleased I was able to go there and to have found these pictures on the hard drive.  I thought I had lost them when I had to have my laptop rebuilt due to a really nasty virus.  It was sneezing and everything *snicker*.

It was a little on the expensive side, but for an item being ticked off of my bucket list I wasn't too upset.  I don't normally buy drinks out, so spending £3+ on a hot chocolate freaks me out. 

And how can I not like it with it being named after my favourite animal.

Have you been?  Do you love Harry Potter?  Is it on your bucket list?