The Bridal Party

I am thrilled that my close girlfriends in Florida are coming to my wedding and although they won't be following be down the aisle and wearing a puffy dress they are still my bridesmaids......a glimpse to the future....

Jill, Ruth, Janet and Me....Julie is taking the photo. I love you all.

Misty March Morning

Hampstead Theatre Downstairs

...in the basement of Hampstead Theatre there is another smaller theatre seating 98 people. This is where they can try our new plays free of the critics and allow the writers and actors to explore their art in a  comfortable setting because at twelve pounds a seat it would be hard to be disappointed. And disappoined we were NOT....Lay Down Your Cross was amazing, emotionally involving and superbly acted. Here is a synopsis......

In a house in Luton, boxes are stacked high, the paint is out and Tony is ready for a spring clean. Amidst the dust and clutter lie photos and memories of family fun; reminders of what used to be.

As the funeral of his son looms, and his aloof daughter and ex-wife return, will the regrets of the past and the sorrows of the present prove too much for Tony and his kin?

We will be making a habit of this for sure!

 

Plastic London

I'm Just Wild About Coco....

I have a friend and his name is Clinton...well sometimes...other times he is a very glamorous and extremely evil B-iatch named Miss Coco Peru.

He has taught me many things...here are my top ten lessons....

1) When it comes to looks never be grateful with what God gave you - you can do better.
2) There is no replacement for the word 'CxxT'.
3) Nice people have less friends (because they are boring).
4) Don't play in mud if you don't want to get dirty....don't think too hard on that one.
5) If you are not laughing at the expense of someone else, it probably isn't funny.
6) All men look the same after eight Rumrunners.
7) God loves everyone but especially good looking gay men with great taste.
8) If you don't have anything nice to say then say it loudly.
9) Men love beautiful women regardless if they have a penis.
10) Redheads have more fun than poodle heads.

Love you my dear friend.

Ode to My Mushroom Man

Lovingly, gently you watch them grow

Come sun, come rain, come frost and snow

Admiring their colours

Both rich and pale

Checking their skirts

Gill size and veil

To the moment they’re ready and carefully plucked

From the ground that has held them

And now they are fucked

Something a little more HEARTY!

I love my pretty things and my pretty 'teas' and spend way ovet the odds for pretty things...but every now and then I can pass them over for something a little more robust...a little more hearty...hmmm, now this is what I call lunch! Store Street Espresso Cafe....I will be coming back.

Our Brave Soldiers

In memory of six brave and VERY young men whole lost their lives fighting in Afghanistan.  

May They Rest In Peace

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he’d stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers’ tears?

How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
NO, FREEDOM ISN’T FREE !

1000 Pots, 1000 Thoughts

This weekend will mark the one year anniversary since the devastating Tsumai and Earthquake in Japan where over 20,000 lives were lost and millions of lives scarred if not destroyed. It seems so much further back than a year and it's amazing how quickly these catastrophic events get pushed to the back of our minds and overtaken with our personal trivialities. I am sure for those impacted in Japan it must seem like yesterday as so many are still struggling through the aftermath and trying to rebuild lives.

Today we went and saw an exhibit at the Brunei Gallery which captured some of those heart rendering images of lives impacted and the scale of destruction and reminded us how we should never takes our lives for granted.

The photos packed quite a punch and there was also an installation on the gallery's Japanese roof garden.

Over 
a 
period 
of 
a 
year, 
Yozo Hirayama 
has made one thousand pots as this number has a symbolic meaning in Japan, as it represents infinity or eternity.
 One 
thousand 
pots thus stands 
as 
a 
marker 
and 
a memory 
of those
 who
 died
 in the disaster. Each pot is individually
 crafted 
in 
his
 palm, 
so 
they 
are 
all
 slightly different 
in size 
and
shape. They are symbolic of all living beings across 
time 
and
 space, with the end result being a 
kind
 of 
ritual
 appeasement 
to 
the savagery of nature.

As a race the Japanese are very proud and very humble. They accept what they have with gratitude and do not take these for granted to the extent we do. Maybe that will give the resilience they need for these unfathomable rebuild.

Not beaten by rain

By Kenji Miyazawa

Not beaten by rain
Not beaten by wind
Neither snow, nor heat of summer
Such good health
No greed
Never aroused by anger
Always smiling in a peaceful way
Content with four cups of brown rice
Small quantity of miso and vegetable per day
Looking and listening to everything, without personal bias
And remembering it well
Living in a small thatched hut in the shadow of pine woods in a meadow
If there was a sick child in the East
He would go and nurse him
If there was a tired mother in the West
He would go and take the bundle of heavy rice off from her shoulders
If there was a dying man
He would go and comfort him saying ‘do not be afraid ‘
If there was a quarrel and court case in the South
He would go and let them see the triviality
In the time of long drought, he would shed hopeless tears
In the time of cold summer, he would pace up and down in despair.
No praise given
Yet no hostility from others
People might call him a good for nothing
But that is the kind of person I would like to be

Wrinkle Free

Our Overall family has now been officially upgraded as we have just taken possession of a washer dryer. One machine that does both!!!! Finally we can have radiators free of wet laundry and enjoy a living room ambience absent of that 'Coronation Street'  look!

It took the best part of two hours to install as the delivery people found an excuse not to plumb in...a small extention hose..."insurance reasons love" I was told, so Andy had to deal with the proceedings when he got home from work. Attaching to water pipes and drains was not the issue....we just could not fit it in the space and ended up chipping away at a small piece of wall that was sticking out. We are still an inch or two short of the final destination but will make do for now and delight in some clothes free of wrinkles...now, if I could only apply that around my eyes.

One of the best parts about this whole exercise was, that despite the stress and strain, huffing and puffing and blinding frustration we did not yell at each other one...it must be love.

Early Spring Morning at Kenwood

I can barely believe that we are already at the end of winter and charging in to spring. Once again I have taken advantage of Andy unlocking the Kenwood Estate which enables Sophie and I to walk completely undisturbed by the human race......it's idyllic!!! It doesn't matter how many times I visit....I am always completely captivated by my surroundings and feel my life is one of the most fortunate in the world.

You Bet Your Sweet Assam!!!!!

Andy and I had spent hours, days and months labouring over his work schedule which only gave him weekends every fifth and sixth week; we finally re-engineered so he now gets one in three weekends off,  YEAH!!!!

In celebration we have purchased a small book featuring some of the best places to have 'tea' in London.....and I am referring to tea as in scones, cake and tea as opposed to the solitary cuppa!!!!

This weekend we went to High Tea in Highgate a small and charming establishment with about half a dozen tables, a selection of hearty cakes which included a lavendar cake and home made scones. We took the healthy route and shared a scone and selected a pot of the Assam tea....absolutely delicious.

And, our little excursion cost little more than five pounds so all the more money to spend when we have tea at The Ritz!