A lone Australian in a British graveyard

A lovely old cemetery near us is the Chorleywood Road cemetery which opened in 1856. The chapel has been converted into a home - at least the neighbours are very quiet.  We loved their outside lights with the dragons.  Imagine living in a graveyard - how fantastic.

Most of the graves are old and showing the signs of age, which is part of the attraction. Headstones tilting at all angles and covered with ivy.

I love the angels in graveyards and there were some really lovely ones amongst the more traditional headstones.

There were also quite a few Celtic crosses and these are always beautiful - they show off the skill of the stone masons that carved them over a hundred years ago.

This next shot is my arty shot that Ken wanted me to take - the shadow of the cross on the headstone.  I was pleased with how it came out.

On one of the headstones we found an unusual looking ladybird - I've checked online and it is the cream-spot ladybird or to give it its proper title, Calvia 14-guttata. I've never seen one of these before.

Scattered throughout the cemetery there are 43 Commonwealth War graves, 42 from the UK, and one solitary Australian. After I'd taken this picture we put some wild primroses on the headstone - a fellow countryman a long way from home. I looked up Private Volk on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he was from Mentone, a suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria.

After our visit to the Chorleywood cemetery we went to the Pinner cemetery and as they were about to close we only had time for a drive around, but we still managed to find the grave I was looking for - Screaming Lord Sutch. David Sutch was the cofounder of the Monster Raving Looney Party - look it up if you've not heard of them.

We hope you've enjoyed the delights of graveyards as much as we enjoy visiting and sharing them with you.

Until next time be good, stay safe, and visit an old cemetery - you might be surprised at the things you find.

Pamela and Ken
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Old Spitalfields Market London

We recently made a visit to Old Spitalfields Market which is about a five minute walk from Liverpool street station.  If you want to learn more about the market and its history then click on this link - it's fascinating, and the bit I like best is that back in AD 300 it was a cemetery.

Before we even left the station we found a thing of loveliness - Shaun the sheep dressed as a Pearly King. It took a while to get a picture as lots of people wanted to pose with him.  He is one of 50 Shaun sculptures that are spread over London until the end of May so guess what we'll be doing soon, going on a Shaun hunt.

The walk from the station provides lots of interesting things to look at, not least this great old pub.

There's are sculptures dotted all over London, some that make sense, others that just appear quite random. I love the goat on his crate mountain.

The market is an eclectic blend of colours, sounds, and smells - it's fabulous for people watching as well.

Note the two men in top hats below. The one in the foreground has cutlery around his hat as he makes jewellery out of cutlery - I was very tempted as the rings were beautiful. The man in the background was a real dude, dressed in formal wear to sell his top hats - what set the look off was a large diamond eating.

There were lots of different food stalls and I was very pleased to find a scrummy lamington. As you can imagine Ken liked the below food stall due to it being in an old truck.

Leaving the market we went past a shop that if we hadn't already eaten I would have been heading into - I contented myself with photos as they're much better for the waistline.

We hope you've enjoyed this visit to Old Spitalfields Market - you should definitely go if you're ever in the area.

Until next time be happy, stay safe, and eat some cake.

Pamela and Ken
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Vacationing at home

We recently had a precious week off together and because of one of the brats recovering from ill health we decided to have a staycation (Ken hates that word).  I love the fact that after 15 years of marriage we both still treasure spending lots of time together.

Our first treat of the week was a Dim Sum afternoon tea at The Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield - here's the link to their page Crazy Bear, look it up as it's really decadent.

It took us a little while to find the entrance as it has no signs to indicate it's there.  The inside is really lovely with lots of velvet and chandeliers.

The menu included a cocktail each so as Ken doesn't drink I had to have both of them (it was a real hardship).

The food was scrummy, especially the venison puffs and the custard buns - I could've eaten lots more of them.

The cocktail was served in teapots with cream to add as I wanted - so delicious.

My cocktail with Ken's sensible tea behind

If you ever get the chance treat yourself to this as we came out feeling totally spoiled.

The next event on our week off was to spend half a day at a spa including a mud treatment - hence no photographs.  The mud experience involves covering yourself, or each other, with a special mud and then sitting in a steam room to allow it to work it's magic. The steam got so thick that we couldn't see each other.

After the mud we spent time in the pool, the salt room, and in the relaxation lounge. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep on Ken - one of the staff had to get him a herbal tea as he couldn't move.

The next day we had one of our wander aimlessly in London days which I'm going to blog about separately, but here's one shot to enjoy - us with the eye behind us and yes it was a little bit windy.

Our next treat was a Thai massage by candlelight, back at the Crazy Bear.  We arrived early enough to have a wander round Beaconsfield - there was a wedding going on which had a bus for its transport.  We also had a nice visit to the churchyard - you know I can't resist a cemetery.

Now for the reason for our staycation (sorry Ken). Our little Muffin Monster had been in hospital and had to have surgery - she's much better now, but we did have several sleepless nights as well as many tears.  During our week off we were very proud to discover that Muffin had been given the braveheart award at our lovely vets.  Her picture and story are up on the wall for all to see.

So that was our perfect week off together.  Until next time stay safe, be happy, and do something that makes you smile.

Pamela and Ken
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Christmas at the Bullring

In December we hopped on a train to Birmingham to attend the Christmas market held there.

I love Christmas markets for the sights, sounds, and smells - also the atmosphere is fabulous.

The stalls are in the streets around the Bullring, which is the big shopping centre in Birmingham. Even the bull was dressed for the season.

There were some lovely colourful stalls and if I lived in a big house I would have come home with lots of things.  Instead we enjoyed ourselves by tasting lots of the tempting flavours on sale.

We had lunch in a lovely Italian restaurant and I won a pound in our celebrity spotting competition as one of the guys from Slade was eating there as well.

Here's a few shots from inside the shopping centre as that is really pretty.

The bull above is covered in jelly beans as he's above the sweets.

Here some more pictures from around the market to give you a feel for how colourful it is.

In amongst the market I did manage to find some street art for you - I especially love the art on buildings.

Hope you've enjoyed this little bit of Christmas in March - we would definitely recommend this market so if you get the chance this year make sure you go.

Until next time stay safe, be happy, and do something nice for a stranger.

Pamela and Ken
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