The spirit of Christmas past

Today's day of fun was to visit the national trust property Hughenden Manor to see it ready for Christmas.

Now before I say anything else, here is a picture for you to guess what it is.......

 Hmmmm, I wonder what it is??

The house was once the home of Benjamin Disraeli - a former UK prime minister.  He became PM in 1868. The house is set up to show what it would have looked like during it's two main uses - first as Disraeli's home and then as a base for the RAF during the second world war for mapping the enemy.

In one of the rooms there was a musical group playing Christmas carols which we could hear throughout the house - you couldn't help but get in the Christmas spirit.

The gardens are really lovely but as it's winter they're a little bare - they did have fairy lights in lots of the bushes and trees which added to the magic.

A room is set up with costumes for children to dress up in, and as there were hats I had to put them on my long suffering beloved - I think he would have fitted into the 1800's perfectly (and yes, we were the only adults taking part).

The basement level is set up to show what it was like for the RAF in the 1940's - the room below is recreating the living room of one of the families that lived there, that of one of the senior ranking officers.

Ken made me pose behind the bars - he felt it was appropriate with my convict ancestors.

Whereas I think he should be banged up after what he did to this innocent mannequin!!

The main dining room was decorated beautifully with Queen Victoria overseeing all the proceedings - very fancy.

Outside there was a trail for the kiddies with things they had to find - for example on their form it told them that Santa had dropped presents out of his sleigh and they had to count how many - the presents were up in the trees so they had to be very observant. I was wishing that we'd picked up a form as it looked like great fun.

This is a shot from the bottom of the garden looking back at the house.

Of course we stopped for a hot drink and cake - you know it's a compulsory part of any of our days out. I think Ken got the biggest slice of Apple pie he possibly could.

Now back to that first picture - what do you think it is??? Well if you said a toasted marshmallow then you win a gold star. In the gardens they were toasting chestnuts and you could toast your own marshmallow over an open fire - I love them.

It was a lovely day out - enjoying a simpler experience of Christmas but one that feels like it has more meaning in it.

Until next time, stay safe, look after each other, and listen to some Christmas carols.

Pamela and Ken
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P.S: When we got home Cookie warmed my legs up for me - she's so pretty.

London dressed up for Christmas

Last night my beloved and I went into London to see the Christmas lights - it was really worth the late night as they were beautiful. I'm sure I've mentioned this before but I am a bit of a Christmas fanatic - I love the decorations, the atmosphere, and the spirit of good will towards all.

We got off at Bond Street station and were instantly transported into the mayhem that is Oxford street - even though it was after 8pm it was still busy.

From our start point we wandered down South Molton street and I have to say that we were not disappointed by the display. This street is quite posh with lots of exclusive little shops so it was only right that they had the classiest lights, and it was really nice to be able to walk through them.

We weren't the only ones taking pictures of the lights, there were lots of people, of all nationalities and with every sort of camera you could imagine. It was lovely sharing the excitement with total strangers, though maybe at this time of the year we're not strangers, just people who haven't been introduced yet.

The other thing that the shops in London do well is fantastic window displays - see pictured below.

The next one shows a giant present box that a mouse has nibbled through - very cute.

As we meandered our way towards Regent Street we passed lots of alleyways and shop fronts that had really made an effort and made everything look magical.

Now the next photo was taken just for my beloved - apparently it's an Alpha Romeo Spyder (I'm sure the petrol heads amongst you will understand).

We reached Regent Street and yes I have stood in the middle of the road to take this picture. The lights are themed on the 12 days of Christmas song and traditional Christmases past.

One of the most popular shops in Regent Street is Hamleys - it's a toy store that kids of all ages enjoy. It was founded in 1760 in Holborn, with the branch in Regent Street opening in 1881. The window displays all move and I'm sure I was acting more like a child than most of the children that go by.

Carnaby Street was very understated on the light front, but had gone a bit mad with robins instead.

Random building with pretty waterfall lights.

The last part of our walk was back along Oxford Street past the big department stores who always look beautiful, the three main ones being John Lewis, House of Fraser, and Selfridges.

The next four photos show part of the window display in House of Fraser - all the animals are made out of household objects - so ingenious. My favourite is the penguins on their little ice flow.

Some more shop fronts for you to enjoy - I should have said at the start that I hope you're listening to Christmas music whilst you read this, then you can really get in the Christmas mood.

I've left Selfridges til last as I personally think it's the prettiest. Every window had a different winter wonderland scene incorporating a giant version of something they sell - the shadow in front of the first window is Ken so you can see the proportions.

The other reason I love Selfridges is that the store front is lit up in purple - my favourite colour.

The best and worst things about the evening were both because we were in town quite late. The best - the street's were so much calmer than normal which meant we could stop and look at decorations properly. The worst - the homeless people were bedding down for the night in doorways, including a lady who looked about 70, which is a tragedy that we should all be ashamed of. I just want to wrap them all up and give them somewhere warm to sleep.
It really brings home the importance of family, not just the one we were born into but also the one we create for ourselves with the friends we have - I consider myself very lucky as I have 'family' all over the world.

Until my next Christmas themed post, stay safe, be happy, and donate something to charity - it's a good time of year to send clothes to your local charity shop.

Pamela and Ken
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14 Years of Wedded Bliss

This week Ken and I have been married for 14 years - sometimes it feels like only yesterday that we tied the knot but most of the time I find it hard to remember my life without my beloved in it. So you'll have to bear with me as for this post I'm going to be a bit soppy.

Cornbury Music festival - 2012

We got married at home in Tasmania, in summer, a small wedding but a very happy one. I actually had to pay off a bet on the day as I was never going to get married and had made bets to that effect - dad kindly gave me the money as there were no pockets in my dress. It wasn't til a gorgeous Scotsman entered my life that I realised that I might lose that money.

Scotland 2008

Our wedding day went so quickly, but it is forever imprinted in my heart as that's the day I married my best friend. We wrote our own vows to make the ceremony personal to us and one day I'd like to have them in a frame with a picture of us (I did warn you it was going to be soppy).

The above picture was taken as we left for the church and the wind decided to try and steal my veil - I love it as it's such a candid moment and it shows the happiness of the day. Quirky facts about our wedding - I wore white boots under my dress as I'm not very good in dressy shoes, four people came all the way from the UK including two that came as a surprise, and for several years we kept finding confetti that mum had put in our hand luggage.

You can't really see in the above picture but Ken is wearing tartan trews (that's trousers for the non Scottish amongst you), a velvet jacket, and a lovely orange/gold waistcoat. My dress has a lot of gold in it as I thought I would look too pale in white. I love our flowers, bright and beautiful.

What can I say about the last 14 years - lots of laughter, lots of tears (thankfully my beloved has the best chest to cry on), endings and beginnings, two cats and a dog, farewells to cherished family members, one scar on Ken's head from a hot knife (that's another story), too many cakes to count, one flooded flat (nightmare), countless romantic weekends away, two handsome stepsons, lots of selfies (some included in this post), regular picnics, visits to graveyards, some challenges that without each other would have been unbearable, but oh so many more moments of pure joy.

Stowe gardens - 2011

I know a lot of people think we're too soppy, but we never want the other to feel taken for granted and you can never really say 'I love you' too much (as long as it has meaning behind it).

That's it for now - until next time stay safe and take care of each other.

Pamela and Ken
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