BEDM Day 28: London Pet Show

So I appreciate that it has taken an ungodly amount of time to get around to blogging about what I did a couple of Sundays ago - made even worse that I left it on a complete cliff hanger and then just never mentioned it again. My bad.

Way way back at the beginning of the year The Person appeared to me with a gleam in his eye and said...

"Do you know there's a thing at Earl's Court in London called the London Pet Show in May?"

He didn't really need to say anything else. Train tickets and show tickets were booked and it was then a case of waiting for the weeks and months to tick by until the time came for us to get a daftly early train to London to get our Pet on.

Obviously we were attracted by the section called "Small Furries" given our beloved gerbils, so you can imagine how absolutely massively gutted we were to discover that there wasn't even a gerbil stall at Earl's Court. No gerbils in sight. Rats? Yes. Chinchillas? Yes. Rabbits? Yes. Guinea Pigs? Yes. Stupid Hamsters? Yes.

No gerbils = sad faces from us.

Good bloody job I love all the animals then isn't it?

The day basically consisted of me rushing about like a complete lunatic trying to touch and stroke as many animals as possible. It's hard for me to really explain what the point of the show is - I guess you could say it is an opportunity to learn about lots of animals before maybe deciding to bring one in to your home as a pet. However I would say that is an opportunity to touch as many breeds of cats and dogs as is possible.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

I saw big cats and small cats and cats with big ears and small ears. I saw cats with lots of fur and cats with no fur at all (sidenote: Sphinx cats win the award for being the most affectionate breed of cat we saw that day). And I saw big dogs and held small dogs and saw wiry haired dogs and dogs with soft coats and dogs with no coats.

This guy was only 10 months old and has more growing to do. MASSIVE cat.

And I held a rat and I stroked a chinchilla.

But going mad and stroking all the animals wasn't even the best part.

The best part is contained in this photo here:

Please note my absolutely ecstatic face and Chris Packham's pretty worried face. This is the photo that a very young me has been waiting for for a very long time. 

I have a terrible memory when it comes to my childhood. I don't know why, but where some people can remember what they did for their 4th birthdays, or that time they went to the beach, or this, that and the other, I just don't remember that stuff at all. 

But let's not pull at that thread.

One thing I do remember though is watching The Really Wild Show on the BBC and being mesmerized by a boy with peroxide blonde hair and very wacky shirts. Probably my first ever crush. 

And now I am 31 and instead of watching him on The Really Wild Show I'm listening to him on Desert Island Discs and behaving like a terribly uncool person right in his face.

Hurray for being a grown up.

BEDM Day 27: Books & books & books

The first part of this year has been a pretty good when it comes to reading. I'm not the world's fastest reader but I do love to read. It just pains me that I can't do as much of it as I would like because life very irritatingly gets in the way.

The count so far is 17 which I think is good going, especially when 2 of those are George RR Martin books which basically count for at least two 'normal' sized books.

And considering the amount of crocheting that 2014 has brought my way so far I'm especially pleased with the total. It still bugs me that I can't crochet and read at the same time.

(Cue someone suggesting audio books....I'm afraid they don't work for me, I can't concentrate on what they're saying.)

There has been a lot of talk lately about books given recent headlines but I'm not going to saturate the world of blogging with another one of those posts.

Instead this is just me giving myself a well done pat on the back for doing a jolly good read over the past five months.

Recommendation-wise I could probably throw some your way...

I feel very good about finally finishing the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. These books require a huge amount of dedication. They are simultaneously almost impossible to read due to the incredible amount of characters and at the same time complete page turners, leaving you wanting more and more each time. The pressure that he must be under to produce the next book which has been three years in the waiting, plus the addition of the Game of Thrones series, must be intense.

Books I would wholeheartedly recommend:

• Heft, Liz Moore
• The Rosie Project, Graeme Simson (is there a person left alive who hasn't read it yet)
• The Long Earth, Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (even a not sci-fi fan like me could enjoy this one)
• Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes 

Books I would recommend but with a warning:

• Brain on Fire, Susan Cahalan
• A House in the Sky, Amanda Lindhout

These books were excellent but did not make for 'easy' reading, especially the latter. 

Books you might want to not bother touching:

• Ash, James Herbert

I hate to speak ill of the the dead but that book was just awful.

And finally - books you will see me reviewing:

• Instructions for a Heatwave, Maggie O'Farrell
• Black Diamonds, Catherine Bailey

On Alex's Blogging Good Read next month!

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Happy reading, whatever you choose to read.

BEDM Day 26: A little bit of internet love Part II

I say let us continue to spread around the internet love

(Not like that guys)

So here is some cool stuff I've been reading lately:

Mr X Stitch has been up to some more excellent exploits - if you live in London you should definitely get yourself to his next session at Drink, Shop & Do on 2nd June.

Continuing on the stitchy theme, here is a lovely tutorial for stitching on paper. I've did a bit of stitching on paper when I put together my scrapbook of my holiday to my Dad's house in France. It is all kinds of fun.

Lauren is one of my oldest blogging friends and actually the first special internet friend I met in real life. She wrote a very interesting post about whether or not blogging is on the decline. It's interesting for me as we started our blogs at around the same time so I think feel a little at sea sometimes in this new world.

I'm a big fan of salads but am not particular adventurous when it comes to making them. Enter Chloe with not one, not two, but five excellent recipes to make salads way more interesting than a bit of iceberg with some sliced tomato on top. One that's staying bookmarked for me for a while I come I think.

Another post from Janet this week. Starting to sound ever so slightly fan girly now but what can I do? She keeps writing great posts! 'Why is being photographed without makeup the bravest thing a woman can do?" is a thinker for you.

Miss Pond wrote an excellent Running Manifesto which is something that I should definitely do myself. Or, just steal hers.

And lastly, one more crafty themed post - if you love Doug from the film Up! then you'll love this cross stitch piece featured on Mr X Stitch's blog.

BEDM Day 22: A lovely cup of tea

Aaah BEDM you were going so well for a minute there. You know what the problem is? I stopped being organised. I stopped having a big block of posts all banked up and ready to go at a moment's notice and then time overtook.

Well I'm pretty sure no-one's really crying about it, so let us move swiftly on without another mention of it again.

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I feel as if I'm pretty rough on Tiny Town, the place where I live. I'm always going on about how small it is and how I can't get out of it because there's no public transport and how there's only one street and there's no decent shopping.

But it does have one trick up its sleeve. A little gem which is so hidden away that there are people who don't even know that it's there.

And that is the Best Tearoom on the Planet. Ever.

I'm serious.

My tearoom > Your tearoom

The first time I visited was after a particular stressful and unsuccessful trip to the Post Office trying to post a present over to American Girl. I lugged it all the way into town only for the Post Office to try and charge me £67 to send it to the US. No thanks Royal Mail. Despondent and irritated I decided I would go in search of a lovely cup of tea - the only thing that can fix you in a situation like this.

I had seen a sign for this tearoom the week previously and was intrigued by it - you seemed to enter through a tiny alleyway and I could see nothing at all of what was inside. Wandering down the tunnel, I came out into a lovely little courtyard and I could immediately feel my bad feelings starting to dissipate. Over to my right was a doorway and upon opening it there was an inviting set of stairs leading up before me.

Upon arriving at the top of the stairs I felt transported to another world. This is a tearoom in every traditional sense of the word. We're talking lacy tablecloths and dark wooden furniture, mis-matched teacups and a plethora of teapots (some of which are for sale), 1920s music playing in the background and cakes and scones under glass domes on a sideboard in front of you.

There is no fancy website, or Facebook page, or Twitter account but what there is is a clientele which seems to exist almost solely of returned customers. People who have been there before and have been unable to resist the lure of returning again. The reason for this isn't just the calming atmosphere and the food on the menu (which is lovely by the way) but is the service. The person who owns and runs this coffee shop has to be the single most happiest and welcoming person on the planet. She is so outrageously nice that you just want to stay in her company for as long as possible. I know it's sad to say this, but in a world where people can sometimes be increasingly rude and standoffish, especially in the service industry, Lizzie is a breath of fresh air.

I've been a total of three times and she already remembers who I am and makes sure to say hello when she sees me. When my Mum came up for my birthday and asked me what I wanted to do I knew exactly where I wanted to take her. A conversation between us uncovered that Lizzie had been to Hull University (if there's a link back to my mothership I'll find it you know) and if I didn't like her before, the warmth with which she spoke of my home town cemented her as one of my favourite people in the world.

She even left the above note on our bill when we came to leave. *Heart swells with pride.*

I will continue to return to Lizzie's Tearooms whenever I get the opportunity. Not only because I can't wait to see what teacup I get next, but because it is a place where I can go and just sit back and escape from everything. A place where I can come to terms with the fact that there's only one street and there's no decent shops and there's no public transport. 

A place where I can just drink tea.

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Apologies for leaving you hanging in the lurch after my last post. I promise it was fun though. Pinky promise.

BEDM Day 18 - How Saturday unfolded...

BEDM Day 18 and I'm still holding on - by the skin of my teeth!

One of the prompts was to undertake a photo an hour for a day and I went for Saturday because a photo an hour for a weekday would not make interesting viewing for anybody.

8am - Up at what I think is an unreasonably early time for a Saturday when you're a childless couple. Still the view of blue skies through the window makes me feel good about the day ahead.

9am - The breakfast of champions. During the week it's Cornflakes for me but weekends are for cups of tea and Marmite on toast.

10am - I confess; during the week I sometimes cannot be bothered to make the bed properly, if at all, but weekends are all about taking the time out to do the little things.

11am - A trip to the local Farmer's Market to eat a bacon butty, sit in the sunshine and re-unite a lost child with his parents.

12pm - Time to wander home with peppermint choc chip ice cream in hand

1pm - A trip to the supermarket to buy a ridiculous number of stickers to fill in our Panini World Cup sticker book.

2pm - Checked the post and found that my race stuff has arrived for the Hull 10k taking place on 8th June

3pm - Gerbils know how to relax on a Saturday - this is Tyrion Lannister who has fallen asleep without actually managing to get all the way inside his cottage.

4pm - I went out for a run. It did not go well. Least said about that the better.

5pm - Watching Hull v Arsenal in the FA Cup Final - Hull are somehow unbelievably leading 2-1 after scoring two goals in the first 8 minutes.

6pm - Still watching the FA Cup Final - score is now 2-2 and about to head into extra time...

7pm - ...and it's all over. Arsenal win by scoring a third in extra time and lift the FA Cup...hopes and dreams are shattered.

8pm - A little Saturday treat in the form of a Chinese takeaway. Can't beat it.

9pm - Cider whilst catching up with the latest episode of 24. Quite frankly I needed it after what this day had brought me.

10pm - Shattered from getting up early, going to the Farmer's Market, an absolutely terrible run in the heat and Hull losing the FA Cup Final - it's time for bed at the sinfully early time of 10pm. But we had our reasons, we had something exciting to get up for today...

BEDM Day 17 - A very cheap gerbil toy...

BEDM Day 16: A little bit of internet love

I'm suffering a little bit from BEDM fatigue at the moment. Hardly surprsing given that I've pretty much blogged as many times in May as I have done for the rest of 2014. My poor little blog brain doesn't know what is going on at the moment.

I've told myself I'll not be too hard on myself if I don't manage to post every day in May but who am I kidding, I am the Queen of self flagellation, there aint nobody that knows how to make me feel bad better than myself.

Anyway, allow me to provide you with some reading material for this Friday night / weekend / time when you're bored at work...

I read this very interesting post on Bonjour Blogger about re-building a community in the blogging world. I have been vocal in the past about how the blogging landscape has evolved since I started blogging and I think it's an interesting topic to think about. Once you throw certain things like money and PR into the mix blogging becomes more about getting hits and watching stats etc etc and less about just sharing some stories amongst some people you know from the internet.

(And yes I did indeed nick this idea from it.)

Yes I'm a crazy person who despite the fact that I am not engaged, reads wedding blogs. So sue me. This wedding on Rock 'N' Roll Bride made me laugh because the bride and her bridesmaids had toy cats instead of bouquets. It's worth clicking on just for the photo of the bride throwing her 'bouquet'.

I still have the last two amigurumi orders on my books to get rid of before I can finally get back to making stuff for me and this is filling me with excitement. Even more so reading some of Attic 24's mandala posts for Yarndale. Even though a mandala has no real purpose I'm definitely feeling the urges to make one immediately.

For some time now I have been loving Sophie's photos over on Sophie in the Sticks. What is incredibly refreshing to see is the variety of Sophie's posts. Her shoots are never just in the same place and she's never just doing the same pose over and over and over again - it makes for a much more engaging read than some other fashion blogs. I wish I could be like her in front of a camera instead of looking like a drunk squirrel. (Whilst you're over there check out this post of Sophie by a field of rapeseed. It's a joy!)

By now I'm sure you've seen the video of the cat attacking the dog which was mauling a little boy. You haven't?! Well allow me to point you in the right direction --> here. Proof, as if it was needed, that cats are amazing.

This cartoon of a gall bladder has been doing the rounds a lot lately but I just love it. Look at his little sad face!

Janet wrote a post about the unreadable books on her shelves. You know the ones - you pick them up, you put them down, you pick them up again, you put them down. What's on your unreadable pile?

And finally: Sarah Millican wrote an absolutely brilliant piece for the Radio Times about how basically shit it is to be a woman in today's society - with special attention to the role of Twitter. It is not often that a fairly short piece can make you laugh and feel terribly sad all in one reading - it just goes to show that she's as good at writing as she is at telling jokes.