Blog, Holiday, Out and about, Walks

Sunny Scotland!

You know when you’ve had a great weeks holiday and you go back to work and feel like you need another holiday? Well that’s me right now, we came back from hols at the weekend and went back to work yesterday and we both definitely have the post holiday blues.

I’m sure we can all relate to getting to a stage when you’re ready for a holiday, everything annoys you, no one can do anything right and you just want to pack up and leave it all behind. That’s where we were at, we hadn’t been away for over a year so we were really looking forward to heading up North.

We went up to Scotland for a week to catch up with my sister in law, her hubby and their little bubba who will turn one in September.

Now it has to be said, when you live south of Norwich, Scotland is a bloody long way away and it’s not like you hit the border and you’re there, Scotland is huge! That false sense of relief when you pass the Welcome to Scotland sign and then the realisation that you have another 3 hours to go. We were heading for near Forfar which is close to Dundee. We did cheat and split up the journey a bit and stayed in Roslin for the first night. If Roslyn rings a bell, there is an amazing chapel there as featured in the Da Vinci Code film with Tom Hanks. It’s a beautiful place and we had a bit of jaw drop moment when we walked in. You’re not allowed to take photos inside the chapel so here’s a few from the outside, you’ll have to visit yourself to see the inside properly or watch the film again!

We stayed in a traditional Scottish Bothy which is a small cottage which were traditionally used by farm workers or kept for use as a mountain refuge so they are generally fairly remote and come with great views!

Ours was really sweet, all that we needed and I’m sure we’ll rebook the same place next year. We chose this location as it was a 20 min drive from family and near a couple of walks we had ear marked to do.

So Scotland isn’t known for its good weather, it’s pretty much renowned for being wet, grey and moody. The last time I saw sun in Scotland was my first trip there around 15 years ago which was my first holiday with Splendid Chap.

This time however, it did itself proud, the heat wave that has hit the country has spread so far north that even the glens and lochs have felt the warmth of the sun. Scottish scenery can look very dramatic whatever the weather but seeing the sun basking down on such a spectacular landscape can be a little awe inspiring.

We were recommended by the Bothy owner Sue to do a walk at Corrie Fee and she said that it had real wow factor. It involved an hours walk up through the forrest which was a slow burn uphill which my Norfolk legs aren’t used to and I’m not particularly fit but with hubbys motivation I kept at it and boy was it worth it!

This to me is Scotland at its best. This kind of view makes everything else disappear, your worries, your gripes, your insecurities – they all pale into insignificance when looking out at something so beautiful.

We had a brilliant week and it was just what we needed. The great outdoors, sun, family – it was the perfect way to recharge our batteries. Thank you Scotland.

 

 

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Blog, featured, Out and about, Walks

Wake me up before you GoGo

No, this isn’t a post about Wham or George Michael although I could quite happily chat about him until the cows come home. This is about the wonderful city of Norwich, the place where I work, being home to GoGo Hares.In case you haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about Break Charity have teamed up with Wild In Art to create a large scale art sculpture trail. This involves 50 pretty big sculptures of hares around 5ft tall, all the same design, but individually painted by different artists to create a unique trail in the city. The hares are positioned all around Norwich and set up as a trail and numbered so you can explore the city and collect all the hares.IMG_3296This concept follows on from GoGo Gorillas back in 2013 and then GoGo Dragons in 2015.  In addition to the city hares there are also 18 county hares dotted further out which are a different design and if this wasn’t enough there are 150 baby leveret hares that can be found in any variety of different shops and restaurants that form part of a learning programme called GoGoCreate which are all painted by children.The hares are on display from 24th June to 8th September and there are GoGo Hare leaflets available from places like the  Forum which contain a trail map to follow so you know where in the city the hares are located. There is also a really good app you can download where you can log the hares you’ve found by entering a unique 4 digit number. This then tells you how many you have found and you can unlock rewards and it just adds to the fun of it.

Now it may sound like you have to have kids to enjoy this but my husband and I have no kids, we’re in our early 40’s and we really enjoyed spending a day in the city looking for hares. It’s gets you to visit some parts of the city you may not normally go to. Now don’t get me wrong, you’re unlikely to do all of them in one day, I like clocking up my steps but it’s a lot of walking so I’d recommend if you’re going to do this as a family activity, possibly break it down into 2 or 3 different sessions.Because the hares are all painted by different artists, they vary a great deal. Some are based on Norwich and depict scenes from the city and some are based on history and even films. This is part of what makes it such fun that there is such a variety of styles and subjects. Here are a few of my favourites.

I’ve still got 7 city hares to find and haven’t seen any county ones yet.All 50 hares will be auctioned off to raise money for Break on Thursday 11th by auction house TW Gaze.  is a registered charity and works tirelessly to make life better for vulnerable children, young people and families.It really is a great idea and a fantastic addition to an already wonderful city and I’d wholeheartedly recommend spending a day on the hare trail.

Blog, featured, life

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

So can we just ignore that it’s been two years since I last posted? I’ve no excuse, just life got in the way but I’m in a good place at the moment and feel like I owe to myself to get back into blogging for my own sanity if nothing else.

I’ve started another site on a different subject and have really enjoyed having something to focus on and I was going to let this one go but I’d already paid for the domain renewal so I figured, why not get back into it!? So here I am, back to trying to get a site that looks as good as I can get it and frustrated that it’s not as good as other people’s, but it’s a learning curve and I’ll get it looking better the more I try. I’ve always said everyday is a school day.

So what’s happened in the past two years?  Work, holidays, making memories, I have a new niece which has been amazing and I lost my boy cat Freddie which was quite literally the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I’ve come out the other side of depression now, hence me trying to focus on new pastimes like my blogs in order to keep my mind set on the positive things in life and to always look forward.

I’ve come to realise that life is full of colour and needs to be grasped with both hands and enjoyed as much as we can. It’s too short a time here to let people bring you down and make you miserable, they need to be cut free and only fill your mind with positivity in order to live your best life.

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Blog, Books

Purple Rain


I know I’ve posted since the death of Prince but felt the need to now acknowledge the unfortunate and untimely death of another music legend.

Like the loss of Bowie wasn’t shocking enough for us all to come to terms with, the unique talent that was Prince dies at only 58 years old – too soon.

I can’t and won’t profess to have been a fan of Prince all my life, I did have quite of few of his albums in my teenage years and remember listening to Diamonds and Pearls on repeat for quite a while. Like him or not, I don’t think anyone can argue that the man was talented above and beyond the level of many other ‘artists’ out there. From writing, playing and producing, he did it all and remained true to his belief in his own style and his own right to control what he produced.

There is still speculation in the news as to the cause of his death whilst the autopsy results are investigated – but it doesn’t really matter why he died, it doesn’t change it mores the pity.

Another massively talented person has left us and has joined a host of others who left us far sooner than they should. RIP to all those shown below, heaven must be sounding pretty fucking good right now.


May your legacy live on forever X

featured

Blue Skies!!

Norfolk

Not the clearest picture in the world but it was taken while I was a passenger in a moving car – but how glorious are these colours. Despite the changeable weather we’ve had this past week, their has still been brilliant blue skies which can’t help but warm your soul and put a smile on your face.

Last week Jason and I ventured out on our day off to visit somewhere I have never been before – Horsey Beach! For those of you not in the know, this beach is renowned for basking seals visiting it and having a nice sunbathing session. Quite how I’ve gone 40 years without having ever been here is beyond me, call it a deprived childhood, but we finally made it here and what a lovely beach it is !

So we’re casually strolling along, enjoying the beach and trudging through the sand while our calf muscles cry in pain with me hoping to see a couple of seals to tick this off my bucket list and then we come across these…IMG_2206

This was one section of the beach and there were about 3 or 4 groups this size with easily 30 in each group. So much for me hoping to see a couple of them, I had no idea there would be so many…and they’re HUGE. The other thing I wasn’t expecting was the smell – OMG they’re cute but they stink. We didn’t get too close to them mostly because we didn’t want to scare them but also partly because of the smell. I couldn’t help think of Ludo in Labyrinth by the bog of eternal stench saying ‘smell’. If you haven’t watched Labyrinth you won’t have a clue what I’m on about and if you haven’t seen it – why haven’t you seen it, it’s a great film.

Anyhoo, I digress. So Horsey beach is a great place to visit, seals or no seals, I would highly recommend it, plus it’s not too far from Happisburgh to go and take the obligatory lighthouse shot.

We were pretty lucky with the weather the next day too and went for a little walk after hubby got home from work. We didn’t go too far, we’re lucky enough to live near Broome pits which is a large common area with a lake and it’s just a really pretty area and a great place to go for an evening mooch about when the light is low and warm.If you look closely enough you can even see the moon. So roll on more of this lovely weather, the snow and hail can do one. We’re ready for Summer so bring it on 🙂

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featured, Holiday, Out and about, Walks

So it’s been a while…

 

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Beautiful Polperro

Well I haven’t really got an excuse for my absence so lets just pretend like I’ve never been away. So what’s been happening….I had a fantabulous holiday down in Cornwall with hubby and our friends J and Lisa. We stayed in a holiday cottage in Polperro, we hadn’t been there before but J and Lisa stay every 6 months or so and I can now see why – the place is glorious!! It’s a very traditional, unspoiled fishing village which is very pretty, has a lovely harbour and some great pubs!!

Luckily enough our holiday cottage was right next door to the Blue Peter pub, and we also frequented the Crumplehorn and The Ship a fair bit…well it’s only right to try them all. I think it’s fair to say we all drank our share of beer and cider in my case, well we were on holiday after all.

We were really lucky with the weather, it drizzled a bit but on the whole it was very dry and reasonably warm considering it’s still only April. As you can see from the photos below, the view from the living room wasn’t too shabby, certainly beats my view of the neighbours uncut grass at home. We are all missing the place desperately now we are back home to normality. J and Lisa are back again in October but we’ll have to wait until Easter before we can return and join them again. I could definitely live here, it’s not until you’re back by the sea that you realise how much you miss it and how calming it is.

Cornwall is the only place you will catch me drinking tea and that’s because those lovely Cornish folk serve it with rather delicious scones, cream and jam, if that’s not a good enough reason to go back I don’t know what is. We visited our friends who live in Plymouth so it was great to catch up with them, we also went to The Lost Gardens Of Heligan and had a really nice walk round there and saw these two fantastic sculptures. It’s a great place to visit and i would highly recommend wearing decent walking boots – this isn’t your average garden.

One day the four of us walked the coastal path from Polperro to Looe which was approx 5 miles which doesn’t sound much but when there are lots of paths going up and down with some really steep bits, it felt longer than it was. You’ve got to remember I come from flat old Norfolk, I’m not used to these gradients but all good for the leg muscles which I need to get in shape for the Lake District later this year.

One of our favorite things to do each morning was to go down to the beach when the tide had gone out and collect sea glass. I’ve never managed to find sea glass anywhere before and there was so much of it in Polperro we ended up bringing so much back with us. It’s very addictive looking for it, you start out picking up any bit you find and by the end of the week you’re getting fussy about only wanting certain colours. As you can see I also found this decent sized lump of Amethyst which hubby was more than impressed with as he is training to be a gemmologist and says this had no place on a Cornish beach but I don’t care, I found it and love it.

So that’s my holiday, it was amazing and I can’t wait to go back. We were all very sad to leave as these grumpy faces show lol.

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Sad faces leaving Polperro
TV and Theatre, Uncategorized

Drag Queens rock

 

Priscilla Queen of the Desert tour poster
Priscilla Queen of the Desert

This week we went to Norwich Theatre Royal to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert obviously based on the amazing film made way back when in 1994! I’ve always loved the film, I mean, what’s not to love! Drag queens, colour, music, great costumes and a great cast of Hugo Weaving, Terrance Stamp and the wonder of Guy Pearce. I say wonder because if you’ve seen the film, he makes a phenomenol drag queen. Continue reading “Drag Queens rock”

TV and Theatre, Uncategorized

Down in the dumps

Sir Terry Wogan
Sir Terry Wogan

Well I can’t lie, it’s been a month since I last posted about the tragic death of David Bowie and it just feels like there has been nothing but loss since then. I’m sure when you’re young, and by young I mean the better side of 3o, you don’t notice people dying so much. So far this year we have lost so many wonderful people including this lovely Irish gentleman. Continue reading “Down in the dumps”

Music, Uncategorized

Starman

imageIt’s safe to say this has been an incredibly sad week and one none of us saw coming. The announcement on Monday of David Bowie’s passing sent shock waves around the world. This incredibly private man had kept his battle with cancer to himself and his loved ones and passed away with his family around him.

Continue reading “Starman”