Cultural days out

The last two weeks we have had some interesting days out which involved death in one way or another (stop rolling your eyes those of you who think I'm obsessed).  The first of these was a visit to the Natural History Museum in Tring - this was built in the late 1800's to house the very eccentric collection of Walther Rothschild.  He collected specimens of animals from all around the world, both living and dead - he even had his own Zebra's that he used to have pull his carriage, the sort of thing which we would be horrified by today, but in the 1800's he was just a very quirky rich man.

It's a fascinating collection, especially the dogs, as you can see how much the breeds have changed over the last century due to people trying to breed them for certain characteristics.  There's a big Australian collection and he's even got Tasmanian Devils and Tasmanian Tiger specimens.  See a selection of photos from the museum:

The really sad thing at the museum is the signs that say the elephant and rhino tusks/horns are fake - the reason for the signs is that they have had people break in to steel the tusks in the past - some people are just too scummy.

While we were there we got to see the Wildlife Photographer of the year display - amazing photos and if you ever get the chance to see it make sure you do.

Tring is a lovely little village, with some great shops and of course we had to go into the charity shops as Ken does like a bargain (no comments about him being Scottish) and look what we found in one of them - a jacket that was a very long way from home.

We visited the church St Peter and St Paul of which parts date from the 1400's.  Whilst we were admiring the outside a local lady that was passing took us into the church and showed us a book inside that explains all the different parts of the church both inside and out - she was very sweet.  The church has some great gargoyles which Ken loves - see photos below.

Just keeping the death theme going - I do love a nice graveyard

Our next exciting day was a visit to the Wellcome collection in London - it is a museum near Euston station, and I wanted to visit to see an exhibition called Death a self portrait.

It's all about how death has been portrayed through the centuries in art and cultural artifacts - unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures in there otherwise I could have taken some great ones.  There is also a permanent display which again was collected by an eccentric man in the late 1800's which is about medicine through the ages - that was really interesting.  One of the things I did whilst we were there was to contribute a postcard to their picture wall - mines second from the left on the bottom row, it was good to sit and draw something about life and death.

After the museum we wandered down to the British Library - unfortunately it was about to shut but we did have a quick look inside, and enjoyed some of the sculptures outside.

The sculptures below are by Anthony Gormley



Great bench in the library

 So there you are - we're totally full of culturallness now (that's a new word I've just made up).

That's it for today - be good, stay safe, and keep smiling.

Pamela & Ken
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Cupcakes

Early in January it was my birthday - I was thoroughly spoiled by my beloved. He took me out for a meal at Loch Fyne which is a seafood restaurant, and my present was a cupcake making masterclass which I did last Tuesday.

The meal at Loch Fyne was incredible, the food is absolutely gorgeous.  There actually is a Loch Fyne in Scotland which the original restaurant is next to, it is only 38 miles from where Ken grew up, and all round the restaurant are pictures from Scotland, so Ken feels right at home.

My main was a seafood platter which was delicious but very messy - definitely not a first date meal.

My dessert, so decadent it was outrageous, was a chocolate fondant with salted caramel sauce, pistachio icecream, and clotted cream - I swear it was at least one thousand calories!!!



It was a lovely evening with my beloved and despite being another year older I felt very loved.



My Beloved

Now for the cupcake making masterclass - it was at Cinnamon Square, which is a cafe/bakery in Rickmansworth (about 10 min drive away from us) which we like to go to.  The class started at 5pm and ended about 8.45 - there were 8 participants, all women around my age or older, except for one teenage boy who is doing the Duke of Edinburgh award (I felt a little sorry for him amongst all of us).

The instructor Paul was great, even though he was teaching us about cupcakes he gave us lots of tips for other baking we may be doing.  We also got to make roses out of sugar paste, and learnt about decorating our creations.  We had to do everything by hand, so by the end of the night I had a very sore arm, as I usually use my hand held mixer to cream the butter and sugar - you'll be relieved to know that I haven't taken a photo of my very sore looking thumb on which I developed a huge blister and then rubbed the skin off whilst beating.


My first rose







The mixture in process



Pre oven





Post oven - pre decoration



The end result - Masterchef here I come!!

It was such a lovely present to be given and at least Ken got to eat the end result of his gift.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves baking and lives anywhere near a place that does these sort of classes - really interesting and rewarding.  Also good to do something totally different.

So that's it for now - sorry this has taken so long, the results of a very inconvenient chest infection that went on for far too long, but back on track now.

Be good, keep smiling, and eat a cupcake.

Pamela & Ken

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London Wander

Our first walk around London for 2013 - Marylebone to Covent Garden.

Distance walked: 3.3miles
Lattes drunk: 2 (but one was huge)
Red Velvet cupcakes: 1

I love Marylebone High Street, it's very upmarket, so lots of little designer shops and it's great for people watching. One of the shops had a French bulldog in the window which was very cute.

There's also some lovely organic farm shops, one of which we had brunch in - perfectly cooked poached eggs.

Part way down Marylebone High Street there is the site of an old graveyard which has been turned into a park - I think it's really lovely and I really like how they still keep a lot of the old headstones around the edges of the small park, and on a plaque (see picture below) they commemorate some of the notable people that were buried there.



To follow are pictures taken along our walk.



Door Knocker that I loved



Spot the cow on the balcony???



I love the mad things you see when you're not really looking for them - why a cow on a balcony??  We don't know as there was nothing there to suggest what it was doing.  The other thing I love is when you see signs with incorrect spelling that's not done deliberately - now I know that I'm not the most accurate person in the world, but the sign below is particularly bad.

 The worst thing about this is that they stole the letter 'C' from the word Jacket as there was another sign which I couldn't quite get a picture of with 'Jaket Potatoes' on it.

On the way to Covent Garden we always stop in Neal's Yard to soak up the atmosphere - it's a tiny little piece of London, but really lovely in a very Bo Ho (bohemian) sort of way.  Very colourful - in fact when we took mum there she took a picture of a lady with purple hair.



Hairdressers in Neal's Yard - I love this sign



Covent Garden is always lovely to wander around especially at this time of the year because the Christmas decorations are still up - very lovely.

 Now I'm sure I've featured the next place before, but we thought it would be rude to be so close and not go into BB's, the tea room that we love.  As it was the end of the walk we definitely deserved a cake ( I'm sure I'd used enough calories to justify it).

Ken's is the healthyish fruit tart - mine gorgeous red velvet

That's it for today - stay safe, keep smiling, and we hope 2013 is a really special year for you and yours.

Pamela & Ken.
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Animals make the world a better place!

Today's blog is dedicated to Bob, my oldest brother Shane's dog, who has just gone to doggy heaven - he was a lovely dog.

I truly believe that having  an animal in your life helps to ease anxiety, soothe the soul, and really lift your spirit. Our furbies, Bertie, Cookie, and Muffin, help us to have lots of days of fun and I thought it would be nice to introduce you to them properly.

The brats (cats) came first - entering our lives in 2004 after someone needed to get rid of some kittens. They were 8 weeks old and so cute!! They're sisters, but couldn't be more different - one skinny, talkative, and very friendly, the other one curvy, talkative when hungry, and likes to be loved on her own terms. We named them after food (not that I'm obsessed), Cookie and Muffin.


Cookie walking all over Ken



Muffin in her new bed - she loves it


Bertie was Ken's explosives search dog and was getting very stressed in kennels so Ken brought him home to live with us. As you can imagine the cats were not best pleased and stayed behind the sofa for 24 hours. That only lasted a little while before they asserted their dominance and made Bertie realise that they are the bosses.



Bertie - it's a hard life!


For someone who wasn't really a dog person, Bertie has definitely won my heart - he's such big softy. He's now retired and enjoys his days at home with the brats.



Scary looking woman with Bertie


(Muffin has just joined me and is padding up and down on my leg - I think she's trying to remind me to tell you how lovely she is).

Muffin and Bertie sometimes touch noses, and Cookie occasionally bats him on the nose to assert her dominance - minus claws.

I know some of you reading this will not be animal people and that doesn't make you a bad person, just a little strange.


Cookie - she knows she's beautiful!



Muffin - life is such an effort


Before I finish I have to include a picture of an old gentleman who I knew when I lived in Sydney - his name is Geoffrey and he now lives on a narrow boat travelling around the UK. Geoffrey is over 20 and has lost his ears to cancer, but is still very handsome.


Geoffrey

 That's it for today so stay safe, keep smiling, and hug an animal - it will make you feel better.

Pamela, Ken, Cookie, Muffin, and Bertie
xxxxx


Bob and Shane