Let the fun begin

It all started yesterday when we packed our bags and tied up loose ends for the house sitters before making our way to Heathrow. 

We decided to stay overnight at the Sofitel to avoid an early start.  The alarm went off at 6am nevertheless, for a 7.30 check in.

Our flight left on time and we did that thing of looking closely at our fellow passengers: were they heading for the same place as we were?  I suspect many of them were, but for now, we enjoyed our independence and could afford to be as anti social as we wanted at this time on a Sunday morning!

We landed at just gone midday and were at the hotel less than an hour later.  We have a fine view of the harbour and on this fine, late summer Sunday afternoon, there was plenty of life out there.  We felt the urge to get out there and share the fun, so we wasted no time at all and left any unpacking till later.

Our travelling companions decided to sit on the windowsill and watch the goings on from a safe distance.

Our hotel, the Marriott, is right on the harbourside and a boardwalk makes for an interesting and easy waterside stroll.  The boardwalk is rather interesting in places, with steep slopes for playing and jumping from, other easier ways into the water, a kayaking facility and places to sit and relax.

Though the clouds were pretty dark at times, the sunshine made its way through and the balmy temperatures made us wish we’d dressed more appropriately – though it was difficult to know what to pack for the next couple of weeks.

Walking along the boardwalk, then, we were amused by the activities going on around us.  Some had opted for a simple picnic, not forgetting the coffee pot of course.

A little further on, someone else was doing a bit of slack-lining.  A little crowd watched and quietly held their breath as he reached the most difficult bit.  He didn’t fall in, but swung below the rope for the steep last section.

I loved to see the wide range of bicycle combinations, with trailers and other assorted equipment for transporting children, animals and shopping.

As we crossed the bridge, we peered over to see the kayakers having fun down there.  It looks so easy…

But I think I’d rather be sitting atop this little cruiser with a glass of something in my hand, given the choice!

Or, we could have thought ahead and hired a picnic boat with our friends.  That’d have been fun!  Maybe next time we will go in and say Ahoy?

Along the harbourside, a fairly large area has been made into a swimming area with a high platform which was providing much entertainment this afternoon.  We watched a while and then walked a little further, where a lively flea market was doing brisk business.

Wedding dress, anyone?  (It was still there when we walked back, so clearly, it wasn’t the one for her!)

Of course, we had to count the windows and spot “ours”: three down, five across – or is it seven?

Gotcha!

As a bunch of – errm – grown ups – rowed past in a coxed four (I say that, because these were undoubtedly not athletes!) I recalled the fun I had when I rowed in a four just like this when I was at college.  Had the opportunity arisen, I’d have jumped at the chance to try it again – no commitment though.  I can’t be signing up for weekly practice or anything!

More activities to watch, this time a bunch of youngsters (and some parents) having fun on scooters.  How interesting that the younger ones are the sensible ones and wear helmets!

Rather than cross back over the bridge and return to the hotel, we decided to stay out a little longer, so continued along the harbourside and past these fine old buildings.

This part of the harbour was rather quieter, though from time to time a speedboat would whizz by.  If we lived in Copenhagen, we’d want a boat, wouldn’t we?  The modern black structure on the other side is the Royal Library or “Black Diamond” as it’s known.

Just as we stood admiring it from a funky kind of bridge right opposite, a tourist boat sailed beneath us.  There’s no doubt, the best way to see the city is from a boat.

Better make it a proper boat, though; something a bit more stable than these youngsters had cobbled together!

A little further along, I caught a glimpse of one of my favourite steeples.  On our last visit here, I created a collage of all the many shapes and patterns and this one stood out.  I think it looks a bit like a helter-skelter, though I wonder if that’s a spiral staircase up the outside?

My other favourite is over on the other side of the harbour and is part of the Slotsholmen complex and peering down a couple of the smaller streets, we were reminded of the TV series Borgen which we binge watched right through!

Just as we were musing on that (my Hero was more probably musing on Sidse Babett Knudsen) we were struck by a sudden rush of people.

Actually, all youngsters, each with a phone in his or her hand.

All were seemingly headed for the same place, which led us to wonder if this was some kind of Pokemon Go thing?

Strange!

Moving right along, then, over small bridges crossing side canals, looking nothing like they could be in the centre of a European capital city.

We were soon back at the boardwalk.  We looked closely at that steep slope into the water and wondered what was its purpose?  Whatever it was, there were people running, jumping into the water and generally having fun and nowhere was there anything to stop them – or to tell them it was all too dangerous.

Feeling weary and very thirsty (we’d taken no krone out with us!) we left the students to study there in the sunshine and headed back to the hotel with one thing in mind.

Cheers!

This evening, after a quick turnaround, we went with our friends to dinner at Host, the most delightful restaurant a short ride away.

A warm welcome from charming staff, who couldn’t be enchanted by the idea of “An Evening at Host: Let us pamper you through the evening with an aperitif, Host menu, wine pairing, water and coffee” ?

That’s exactly what we did.  Rikke, our lovely waitress, steered us through the most delicious (and imaginative) plates of food we have enjoyed anywhere and of course, the company made the evening all the more special.

They were so clever to find that amazing restaurant and we were buzzing from the experience when we got back to the hotel.

What a marvellous start to our adventure!

Silly

My Hero and I have always loved chocolate teacakes and there really are no better examples than those made by Tunnocks.

There are certain traditions to be followed though.

Having eaten the contents of the foil wrapper, then it has to be smoothed out without tearing.  It’s quite a challenge and needs time and care.  Having completed the task and admired the result, there is one final, essential stage.

Screw it up and throw it in the bin. 

Sadly, foil isn’t recycled here.

Learning new things

I’ve been so busy learning new things that it was the 4th of September before I sat down to try to get started on the business of recording them.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was looking to something fairly slick this year, with a busy month ahead.  I had a digital project in mind then, with pages ready set up for a photo and a few words to be slotted in.  I began by taking the easy route, which starts with Anna Aspnes’ Artplay Palettes.  I’ve used them before and like her style, which makes it easy to create something reasonably original in no time at all.

I chose the Artsy palette first, liking the minimal use of figurative images and thinking that I could switch around the colours if I wanted.

As well as a collection of brushes, transfers, overlays and suchlike, it comes with a set of papers ready to go.

Whilst I was choosing which palette to go with, I noted they were all on sale last Friday, so I snuck in a second collection, Escape, which also came with papers and stuff.

A bonus mini palette, High Five, dropped into my basket free of charge, as I checked out.

With that little bundle of tricks in a folder ready to go, I had only to wait for a few spare hours when I could sit at my desk and play.

I started by resizing 30 pages to 5 x 5 inches and putting them into an order which mixed them up yet gave some kind of coherent look over a double page spread.

I began with 1st September, recording my changing priorities around here.  Though I had all the components there on hand, it still took me quite some time to come up with an arrangement I was happy with.  Photoshop was chugging away with so many files open on the desktop, I feared it would come crashing down at one point!

Fresh from the satisfying glow of finishing one page and keeping my fingers firmly crossed, I went straight onto page 2.  On the 2nd September, we were completing the next stage of our Global Entry applications.  One question is entitled “Travel History” and asks for a list of countries visited in the last five years. Well, what a good job that one of us keeps a record of such things

Even so, I was still shocked at the total number!

I already blogged about what I was doing on September 3rd.  When I began the page, I couldn’t get the photo to work at all on the page I’d save as #3 so quickly pulled up #4, a plain page and started from scratch.  I was beginning to feel more confident, remembering some Photoshop tricks I’d learned and was adjusting all kinds of settings to get the look I wanted.

So page four came together in a wink!

What will go on page five, then?  Right now, I have no idea.  I’ve added a few scribbles in my notebook and will weight up the possibilities tomorrow morning, when I’m ready to record it all.  Here’s hoping I can still remember the amazing things that can be done with Photoshop, or page five might have exactly the same story as page four.

What a show

As I waited in the long (stationary) line of traffic yesterday morning, I spotted the first signs of Autumn in the trees overhead.  I even had time to fish my camera from my bag and take a quick snap!

I was on my way to Moreton Show, where I had some judging to do.  I always enjoy this particular show for the rich variety of interesting things to see.  Above all, I love to get up close and learn a little about the farm animals which form a large part of the event.  In particular this year, I was looking forward to meeting an old friend and catching up on things with her.

I’ve judged at this show for several years, taking the occasional break as recommended, but usually accepting the invitation with pleasure.  Yesterday, I enjoyed the company of a WI colleague and between us, we made our judgements and left helpful and encouraging advice to the very talented competitors.  This little couple of foxes were sitting, waiting for us and looking utterly charming in their sweet knitted clothes.  I thought I had seen at least one of them before at the show I judged last weekend, not a million miles from here, but looking at my photographs, only the pattern was the same.  I don’t know about you, but I think this pair rivals the knitted originals in terms of cuteness!

(and yes, of course I went to the website and bought the pattern – couldn’t resist!)

Once the work was done, we braved the elements and after a long chatty lunch, decided to explore the show.  Having satisfied her shopping needs whilst I was judging, Sue was happy to follow the sounds of the farmyard with me.  Being a creature of habit, I tend towards the same places each year (evidenced here and here) and yes, we started by seeing some familiar characters.

The judging of the Hereford cattle was coming to a close and the interesting commentary drew our attention for a while.

But some other natives attracted us over, standing patiently waiting their turn in the spotlight.

I love to observe all the chatter and social interaction in these places where people with shared interests gather.  It’s good to see the next generation being so involved too.

I was quite pleased to see this pen empty!

I’d not ventured into the goat section before and was charmed by these pretty little pygmy goats.  What expressions!  But what a racket they were making!

The Gloucestershire Old Spots were out in number, of course.  Thankfully, they couldn’t see the sign on their pen advertising sausages.

We wandered back towards the show ring, where the winners of each cattle class were parading, ready for the “best in show” judgement.  Look who was there, decorated with his champion’s regalia from the Hereford class.

We marvelled at how placidly these huge creatures walked, around and around the ring, showing off their star attributes!

But our Hereford friend was to be pipped as Best in Show by this rather gorgeous Limousin, who paraded proudly around the ring one more time.

The commentator had a word with the winning farmer afterwards, though someone else didn’t want to be left out!

As we left, the winners were being taken to the main ring for the parade of champions.  I listened to the commentary setting the scene: “You will see the best of British breeds here this afternoon: Herefords, Angus and South Devon amongst them. These are the breeds which Britain exported to the world, which have been bred to feed America, Australia and beyond.  World class cattle here in Moreton; you will see no finer examples anywhere”. 

There was a ripple of applause.

“They graze on the best grassland in the world, too”.

As if nature was listening, the heavens opened and the essential factor for such excellent grazing fell from the sky.  Not that it bothered anyone there. 

We’re British.   

The First of September

An email dropped into my Outlook folder today, reminding me that just like every other year, it’s the start of Shimelle’s “Learn Something New Every Day” project.

 

Amidst all the fuss and excitement of some December-related products which I was trying to avoid (It’s SEPTEMBER for heaven’s sake!) Shimelle’s email arrived like a breath of fresh air.

I try to do a different take on the project each year, embracing a new technique as part of the “learn something new” concept.

So I’ve worked completely digitally, printing each page out and binding the whole thing together but I’ve also worked in a hybrid style, printing some elements out and then building a page with scissors and glue.  I find it therapeutic to get glue on my hands!

A couple of years ago, I decided to do the whole thing without using my computer at all.  That was really enjoyable and the book I made is one of my all time favourites.

I haven’t always completed the project, though.  A couple of years ago I used an app on my phone to create a daily page but I found little pleasure in that process and my good intentions fell by the wayside long before the month was out.

So what format will my LSNED Journal take this year, then?  Right now, I have no idea.  As Shimelle says, the day has to be lived and reflected upon before it can be recorded.   This evening, I’ve identified today’s story and scribbled down a few notes in my diary.  Maybe tomorrow, I’ll crack open a new notebook and create a page around them.  With a busy month ahead of us, though, whatever I choose to do will have to be simple!

Right now, I’m thinking that I might make use of some digital templates similar to this one.  Then, I can simply drop in a photograph each day and add a few thoughts.  Did you know you can buy such things, ready to go?

I think I need to go shopping.  Without leaving my chair, of course