Friday - Royal Wedding

I've been surprised by how much I enjoyed the Royal wedding today - I DO have a heart! I was actually a bit tearful during the ceremony - my own wedding was 6 months ago today and was not the "best day of my life" that everyone had promised! While I loved the church bit and marrying my own prince, the reception was hard work. A lot of MrM's family are quite difficult to please and are not entirely delighted that MrM married a non Caucasian girl.

One of his relatives is getting married soon and I asked her how the preparations are going. I hadn't seen her since our wedding and asked her if she enjoyed it. "It was OK", she replied. £80 a head well spent then :(

Anyway, the Royal wedding was a lovely mix of new and traditional and lavish and frugal, and I wish the couple well! We went to Bucklebury where the bride hails from and where we lived for a year - it's a beautiful village surrounded by greenery and could not be more stereotypically English! There was a party at the Cottage Inn (a pub that I'd never been into before) and we rubbed shoulders with the likes of Chris Tarrant!!

After the excitement, the new things continued with comedy at the Corn Exchange where we saw Kevin Shepherd, Curtis Walker and the unique Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue which was the weirdest comedy act I've ever seen! An hilarious mix of slapstick combined with the joy of playing with words - it was brilliantly inventive and funny and must have taken loads of work to put together!

Wednesday

Went to a new optician to see if they would let me move to them...but I forgot my diary so couldn't book an appointment...

Tuesday

I went to Ambassador Travel in Newbury to have a look at the possibility of a holiday in July. I'll either have to change the time or the brief as it is going to be a lot more expensive than I'd anticipated, but I will be back as the travel agent was superb!!

Sunday

First new thing was taking MrM to the Cunning Man pub in Burghfield Bridge (a lovely pub, perfect for summer days - but took them 20 minutes to take our drink orders and the garden was full of rubbish www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecunningmanburghfieldbridge ), then I saw Ghostbusters for the first time ever! I was expecting much better from this 80s classic!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u4FHmId-Y0

Saturday

Started the day with a new thing which was making use of the scaffolding on Dad's roof to take a look at the view from up here:




Then we went for a long walk through Dorset including a departing the well-worn path to investigate a very old tree....

Good Friday

..yes it certainly was. Up early and down to Dorset to miss the Easter traffic! I heard there was a reunion at my old school, but after walking around the beautiful grounds, it appears there wasn't!
Into town, and new things included this lovely shop:

www.homesweethomedorset.com and this one www.edward-oliver.co.uk

How I didn't buy anything is beyond me. In the evening, we had a lovely drive down to Sydling St Nicholas and then onto Cerne Abbas (one of the most beautiful villages in Dorset and home of the rude giant - google him for details!) where I went into the church for the first time.

Thursday

Thatcham Garden Centre's restaurant - never been here before and can't quite believe how busy it was!

Wednesday

Lame again - so busy! Wanted to treat myself so booked a massage and also bought a Waitrose coconut yogurt. Stop me if you can!!

Tuesday

DIdn't manage to do anything but work today, so watched L'illusionniste later in the evening which was a beautifully-made, poignant film made by Sylvain Chomet who also did the fabulous Bellevill Rendez-Vous. The illusionist is just gorgeous to look at with some beautiful scenes set in Edinburgh. Set on the cusp of the birth of rock'n'roll, an illusionist finds his art dying and meets Alice in a pub on a Scottish island. Desperately sad....

Monday

Another mad busy day, so I didn't have time to make lunch. My boss recommended the butchers in his village for lunch which amused me as neither he nor I eat meat! so I headed there for the most expensive olives in the world - a small pot for £4.09!

Sunday

New thing today was getting up 3 hours after I'd gone to bed after a night of dancing to hits like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ir9HC9vYg

to get to the National Motor Heritage Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire for the second ever national Renaultsport meeting. This was an event attended by Renaultsport owners who met to compare stories, cars and polish! Brilliant fun!




This is me trying to get a good filming angle:

Saturday

New thing today was taking MrM's parents to the Gate Pub in Marshside for lunch and a pint of Thatcher's cider ("apologies for the name of the cider" joked the landlord. Why did we take MrM's parents here and make up stories about how their other son couldn't join them for lunch as his car had broken down? Because it was a cover for their surprise party for their 40th wedding anniversary! At our wedding last year, when I asked MrsM what she'd planned to celebrate the big event, she said: "Nothing really - maybe a surprise party?"! So it was a miracle that they didn't see this coming and didn't even bat an eyelid when we said we wanted to go to a gardening event at the village hall!

Later, my other new thing was a night of pure 80s cheese at Reflex in Reading for my lovely friend's hen do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBwS66EBUcY

Friday - Norwegian Wood, the film

Not the right film for a Friday night date with the huz...

Thursday

Busy again, but back in the neighbouring town to where I grew up where I went into a couple of shops that have changed since my day!

Wednesday

Crazy busy today so a quick stop in Sainsbugs in Beaconsfield...

Tuesday

With today's weather as glorious as yesterday's, we once again headed joyfully into Portmeirion where after examining the shops, watching the film about the eccentric genuis CLough Williams-Ellis and re-creating the chess scene from the Prisoner, we went for a lovely coastal walk via the pet cemetery and ghost gardens. We ended up within sight of Porthmadog and walked back along the beach before reluctantly leaving. Tailgated all the way along the road that passes about 1000ft above the glacial valley, we stopped in a village amusingly called Knockin.

Even more amusing was the name of the shop:



After another hour's drive, we stopped by the lovely town of Shrewsbury where I wanted to explore the fabulous shops, starting with a fantastic second hand shop where MrM got into a grump and wouldn't let me buy two cheap and practical chairs. We then went to LIsters which was full of lovely stuff although one of the people that worked there nearly knocked me over in her haste to put a curtain back on the shelf and another one stared at me and barred my path when I was trying to look at a blanket box. But then! The Red Cross shop - WOW!

We then glided home and I took MrM for a drink at the Three Horseshoes in Donnington where we were made to feel very welcome...

Monday - Portmeirion

Now this is more like it! I took MrM to Portmeirion in North Wales today and after a four hour journey, we arrived at the most spectacular location. We stayed in the castle which was beautifully redone and we were welcomed with a glass of sherry! That is how I would like to be welcomed into most rooms! Then we set off down the hill where there was an incredible view of Mount Snowdon on one side and the estuary on the other.

We then entered the village which was jaw dropping. Every angle is incredible, and the place is ablaze with colour from buildings and flowers. The place is quite small and resembles an Italian village. We started by visiting the house that doubled as Number 6's house in the Prisoner which now houses the Prisoner shop, full of merchandise bearing penny farthings and slogans from the show:

"I am not a number, I am a free man!"

"A still tongue makes for a happy life!"

"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own!"

The place is worth a visit and the architect Clough Williams-Ellis an incredible visionary. To design a place like this truly reflects the ethos of the Prisoner - a life lived by your own terms without being pushed around by anyone else.

After running around pretending to be chased by "rover" the malevolent bouncing ball from the Prisoner series, that guarded The Village, we had a very posh dinner in the Castle in wonderful surroundings with a view over the hills. MrM had fennel soup and I had seared scallops with jam. For our main course, MrM had beef, while I had seabass with red pepper and olive crushed potatoes, basil aioli, caper and anchovy dressing!


Bliss....

Sunday

These are dull aren't they? I've been mad busy this week. New thing today was On Golden Pond lent to me by a lovely lady from my exercise class. What a tearjerker!!

Saturday

New shop in Newbury.

Friday

Wickes in High Wycombe. A thoroughly depressing experience.

Thursday

I was desperately trying not to spend any money on coffee before heading to a conference called "How to Bring Your Business into the Now!", so nipped into Blacks near Oxford Street to see if they had any unmentionable camping products! (There's an item that I always take camping that Mabel can't even look at!)

but more importantly, the talk was great!

How you perceive and respond to situations, people and events could be preventing you from fully experiencing life. To live mindfully is to live in the moment and in full awareness of being present in the ‘here and now’. In her talk, Martine will discuss how barriers to maximising one’s potential and, therefore, that of one’s business, can be overcome by taking personal responsibility for one’s self.

Martine Monceau works with the power of intuition and imagination to create worthwhile and helpful experiences in her life. Using these qualities, she assists individuals, groups and organisations seeking to develop their careers, businesses and other projects.

Wednesday

"Morris, a life with bells on" a film about Morris dancing. I felt this film missed the mark a bit and that the acting wasn't good enough to make it look like a spoof documentary. It is set in beautiful countryside though, that looks very much like where I grew up.

www.morrismovie.com/

Tuesday

Confusingly, a patisserie called Burgers. "A taste of Switzerland in Marlow", although I had a baguette and it tasted pretty English to me....

Monday

New thing today was a total waste of time - went to view a house but it bore absolutely no resemblance to the particulars that were sent to me, so the other more productive thing I did was to head out to the rear of the Community Furniture Project into a storage shed at the back to check out their paint supplies!

Sunday

Dragged poor MrM away from his textbooks for a 6mile walk through the Lambourn Valley to admire the chalk hills and landscape starting from the beautiful village of East Garston and walking through the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (that's a lot of capital letters).

Note to self; probably best not to wear a red t-shirt when we go on these walks through fields with bulls in them...

Saturday

New thing today was a school in Swindon to watch MrM's nieces perform ballet in a dance show, which was a lot better than I anticipated! I don't know what we did, but his SIL was quite keen for us to leave before the end, so we had to sneak out after a Serbian dance - more time for us in the Blue Boar in Aldbourne then!

Friday

New thing today was going to see Inside Job - a film that made MrM and I very, very, very angry indeed. It's a detailed look at what exactly caused the economic crisis. Juxtaposing scenes of people who've lost their homes and live in tents, and the people who caused it and got rich on the way (and not just rich, we're talking ridiculous over-the-top wealth); bankers, financial advisers, and interestingly, academics.

An absolute must-see, the irony is just eye-watering.

www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3193018905/