Happy New Year!

I hope you all had merry Christmases and are enjoying 2011 so far!

The Plums had a lovely festive season spending two weeks visiting our families. Baby Plum was the centre of attention with lots of cuddles from both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts and great-uncles. Mr Plum and I even had two nights out! I even finally got my hair cut!

I was spoilt rotten ...

My parents had my Jamie O book autographed for me!

Fave smellies and a new CK sewing box

Uggs, ipod, chocs, CK dressing gown, CDs and more books ... I was a very lucky girl!

Awww ... baby Plum this afternoon - worn out after a trip to B&Q with her daddy!

So, what does 2011 have in store? Well, I have eight more months of maternity leave and eight more months of doing lovely things with Baby Plum. We started our baby massage classes on Friday at the local SureStart centre - fab!

I am also planning to do more sewing - I am planning to make a quilt and have a go at a Clothkits creation ...

"Little Bee" or "The Other Hand" by Chris Cleave

I have just finished reading "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave (this is the US version which was lent to my mum by a friend - and then lent to me!. It was published in the UK as "The Other Hand").

I don't want to give anything away - but this book was so moving and very thought provoking...you should read it too.

A sunny day in the garden when I should have been at work ...

Hey ....

It's been a while since I last posted - and thought that I owed you an update on the goings on at Plum house ....

I had a week off work at the end of May and spent it at my parents. We had a lovely time ... days out in the Cotswolds, lots of nice food and generally relaxing! Mr Plum joined us on the Friday and then my brother and his girlfriend came up for the weekend. It's not often that we get the whole family together - it was great!

Sad news though ... on the Sunday we got home and our handsome ginger cat was missing - and sadly, he had been run over. We are devastated and being a bit over protective of his sister, Pansy. Right now she is still out and about and we are starting to get a bit panicky ... I just wish she would pop in and say hello to us!!

After a terrible night's sleep (I'm now 33 weeks pregnant, I just can't get comfy in bed ... and had a night of cramp and heartburn, a thousand trips to the loo and worrying about the whereabouts of Pansy) I stayed at home today. I slept for most of the morning and woke up in time to see George Osborn's emergency budget ... then headed outside with a glass of squash and a good book. When Mr Plum got home from work we had a BBQ and did a bit of gardening.

Here are some pics ...

(from left to right) Turnips, Scallop Squash and Courgettes ....

I have overdone it with the tomato planting this year ... here are my San Marzano tomato plants ... I'm a bit behind with everything and have only just taken them out of the propagators ....

pretty roses in the Midsummer sun

My view for most of the day as I sat under the tree reading ....

Summer essentials .... sun hat, shades, a good book and some alcohol free lager!

I have only got 2 and a half weeks at work before I go on maternity leave and have already met former colleagues for a lovely lunch by the river on Friday ... tomorrow I am going to the Atheneaum for afternoon tea with the girls that I started working with almost 10 years ago ... I've had afternoon tea there twice and it is lovely!

I'm really looking forward to it! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Hello!

Happy New Year!

I hope that you have all enjoyed the festive season ... we had a very busy holiday split between Christmas with my in laws in the very snowy Lake District and a fab New Year with my parents!

We came back to London yesterday and have cleared away the Christmas decorations and are now getting ready to head back to work tomorrow .... but I thought I would quickly post and let you see some of the lovely books I got for Christmas this year!

I'm looking forward to making some delicious sweeties from the Hope and Greenwood recipe book (mmm mmmm), having a go at something vintage from the "A Stitch in Time" and making more Cath Kidston goodies!!

I found these lovely gift tags in a shop in Ambleside ... I just hope that I don't forget the I have them next Christmas!

Wonderful Rye!

We had originally planned to go to Berlin with  some friends for Mr Plum's birthday ... but due to other commitments (well, the friends being invited to a wedding oop North!) we had to postpone. I had been looking forward to getting away from London for a day or two, so put on my thinking cap and tried to find an alternative .... 

I have always wanted to visit Rye.  One of my favourite programmes "Mapp and Lucia" was filmed there (and I can't wait to go back to my parents for Christmas so that I can watch their DVD!) and it always sounds like the most enchanting place to visit.  I wasn't disappointed.

Last Friday afternoon we hopped on a train and started our journey down to Rye.  We got there at about 4pm, it was cold and dark ... but we were greeted by the prettiest  streets and Christmas lights.  We stayed at The George Hotel on the High Street, so headed there to drop off our bags before going out for a walk around town.  We wandered along the cobbled (some quite steep) streets and found a lovely pub where I tried a small glass of the local cider.  We then walked on to find a pretty little pub (re-built in the 1600's) with a roaring fire and radio 2 playing in the background.  We stopped there for tea and a drink and then headed back to the hotel.

After a lovely breakfast of poached eggs on toast, we checked out (but left our bags at the hotel) and wandered around Tilling, sorry, I mean Rye.  Our first stop was the Tourist Information Centre where I picked up a map of Tilling with all the main places from the books by E.F Benson.  The Rye Christmas festival was due to start with a procession through the town at 4.30 with drummers, pipers and ..... Father Christmas!

We pottered around for hours and hours, looking around antique shops, craft shops, kitchen shops, antique kitchen craft shops .... stopped for hot chocolate (with cream and marshmallows) and a huge piece of homemade battenburg cake (delish!), had chips for lunch, and walked around some more!  

I bought lots of bits and pieces ... new thicker knitting needles and some lovely wool, Cath Kidston notelets, crafty bits, Mapp & Lucia book (of course!), Christmas presents ..... the shops there are wonderful! Everyone is so friendly ...

We easily spent from 10am until 4pm pottering around ... after a couple of glasses of mulled wine by the fire in The Mermaid Inn, we headed off to find a good spot to watch the procession.

At 4.30 the procession arrived outside The George Hotel and after a visit from Father Christmas in a horse-drawn carriage, the Mayor turned on the lights of the Christmas tree outside the hotel and we watched the fireworks display.  

Here is a clip from "Mapp & Lucia" from Youtube .... this one has lots of Rye (which was used as the location for "Tilling")

At one time, Rye was surrounded on three sides by the sea ... and although the sea receded hundreds of years ago, the town still has a "seaside" feel to it.  I think that next time we visit we will hire a car so that we can drive out and visit the other Cinque ports and Camber Sands.

Sadly, at nearly 6pm we had to start our way back up to London (which, of course, was an absolute nightmare on the trains...).  I would like to live in Rye.

The Good Reads Website

While sitting in bed, gearing myself up to paint the cabinet in the kitchen...I came across a website called "Good Reads".  I have added a link to my blog with recently read books, and the book I am currently reading (a bit trashy ... more of a beach holiday read - but I am trying not to rush through my Maisie D books!).  I think I am turning into an internet geek, so I had better get on with the painting! 

"Pardonable Lies" by Jacqueline Winspear

This is the third book in the Maisie Dobbs series, and again, is an absolute page turner!  Maisie is asked to investigate two cases which take her back to the battle fields of France, threats to her life and unscrupulous mystics.  I wish they would make these books into a tv series or film - I think that we are in need of a sassy 1930's female detective on our screens!!

"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" by Winifred Watson

Another brilliant book.  I had never heard of "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" - but was intrigued by a poster which appeared at my local train station.  The film was released in August ... and it's looking quite likely that I have missed the film at the cinema - oh well, I have read the book which is absolutely amazing!

First published in 1930 by Winifred Watson, this novel has recently been re-published by Persephone Books along with the original illustrations.  Miss Pettigrew is a fairy tale ... the dowdy, spinster governess turns up on the doorstep of a nightclub singer and ends up being made over, taken to a nightclub and travelling home in a taxi ... with a man! It reads like a Fred Astaire film and in my head the singer is played by Ginger Rogers! 

Reading this has inspired me to look at other titles in the Persephone range.

Spicy Sloe Gin

I have used a different recipe for this year's sloe gin ... it is from the brilliant book "A Slice of Organic Life" - this will be my first 'project' from the book!

2lbs sloes

zest of one orange and one lemon

teaspoon of honey

cinnamon stick

2cm ginger, sliced

6 cloves

bottle of gin

Crush the sloes with a rolling pin, or spoon and put into a large bottle/jar.  Add the other ingredients and cover with the gin. Store the jar somewhere dark and cool for 6-12 months ....

"Birds of a Feather" by Jaqueline Winspear

This is the second novel in the Maisie Dobbs series - and is as compelling as the first!  It is now 1930, about 6 months after the first book.  Maisie's detective agency has been asked to find the missing daughter of a local business man.  In searching for the girl, both Billy and Maisie have to confront demons still lingering from the First World War.  It's very good - go and read it!

"Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear

I'm always on the look out for a new series of books to read - you know what it's like, you get to the end of one book, feel a bit sad that you have finished it - but can pick up the next in the series straight away!  

I was over at a friends house for dinner a couple of weeks ago and she lent me the first four "Maisie Dobbs" novels (and there are more - I have just checked on Amazon! Excellent!).  I have just devoured the first one.

"Maisie Dobbs" is set 1910-1929. The novel jumps around a bit from when Maisie was a girl in service, to her time at Cambridge, then as a nurse in the First World War and then as a detective in 1929.  I enjoyed every minute of this book - it was a real page turner .... and left me sobbing my heart out at the end! I can't wait to get started on the second book "Birds of a Feather".

"Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman

With the recent release of "The Duchess" looming, I decided that it was about time that I finally sat down and read Amanda Foreman's biography of the Duchess of Devonshire.

Georgiana featured quite prominently in my studies at university as she "pursued leisure" in eighteenth century London.  She one of the most important ladies in the "ton", she set fashions, held gaming parties and influenced politics.  I have wanted to read this biography for so long - but had never got round to it.  I was spurred on by the release of the film. 

   

“Burning Bright” Tracy Chevalier

“London 1792.  The Kellaways move from rural Dorset to the tumult of a cramped, unforgiving city.  They are leaving behind a terrible loss, a blow that only a completely new life may soften.”

Like Chevalier's other historical novels, this is a good quick summer read.  I found the characters a bit one dimensional and didn't really warm to any of them until the end of the book and Maisie Kellaway's return to Dorset.  The principle characters are Jem Kellaway and Maggie Butterfield and the story follows their journey from innocence to experience – a theme pursued by William Blake.

The story is set in Lambeth with the newly arrived Kellaway family, who had moved there from Dorset following a family tragedy  Their neighbour is the radical William Blake, which gives Chevalier opportunity to quote from his work and hence the title of the book “Burning Bright”.  

To emphasise the origins of the Kellaways, Chevalier uses colloquialisms in their dialogue – which I found annoying – “thank'ee for the beer” and “z'long” all the way through the book. This wasn't necessary and anyone reading the book could quite easily imagine the accents without it being written down!