Sunburnt in suburbia in February!

Who would believe the weather we have had this weekend! 

Perfect blue skies and brilliant warm sunshine meant that my efforts to prepare the garden for spring had to be halted due to heat exhaustion! Imagine it, having to seek out a shady spot to rest and cool down and it is the last week in February in England!

The cat and I strolled over to a bench in the dappled shade and relaxed with the sounds of summer  all around, the gentle hum of distant aeroplanes, cooing pigeons and children playing cricket in the next garden.

Out on the streets, clothes were being removed and feet were being revealed.  Not a pretty sight after spending the months of winter being trapped and wrapped inside tights boots and shoes.  Feet are an important area of the body and should be gently prepared for an exposure which doesn’t shock and disgust onlookers!  A new coat of varnish and a quick buff up for a start. Not wishing to be sexist, but that advice is mainly for the girls!  Men’s feet need a bucket load more attention to make them desirable!

All around us the green shoots of Spring were such an uplifting sight and hopefully encourage a turnaround in all the gloomy economic news we have been suffering recently.

A true dilemma?

Do you ever feel like you have reached a crossroads in life where you are faced with just this type of information.

The villagers of this picturesque village in Surrey have a great sense of humour and hopefully all their visitors have one too, along with an up to date map!

I should have packed a shovel this week...

Perhaps Britain is not as bad as we thought at coping with snowy conditions.  This was the scene on the main three lane motorway from Calais to Bruges, which also links with the main route to Paris.

Blizzard conditions, no salt and the line of cars had to make their own pathway.  Most scary were the speeding articulated trucks from Eastern Europe who are obviously used to these conditions, but felt very intimidating as they roared past the slowly moving cars. We couldn’t turn off as the slip roads looked treacherous with local cars sliding about at odd angles.

This was when I began to think I should have listened more closely to the local forecast for Northern France, and packed the full emergency supplies!

A brief spell of almost blue sky later in the day was soon forgotten as the massive snowflakes silently engulfed the car again and we were relieved to drive onto the safety of the Eurotunnel and emerge in the UK, 35 minutes later to a totally different climate and the start of a thaw across Kent.

Dreaming ahead to warmer days

When you awake to a scene like this, it is easy to dream ahead to warmer days.

And that is exactly what I did as I submitted my entry into the ballot for tickets to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert in June, I allowed a moment’s indulgence into thoughts of hot sunny days and balmy evenings. The concert was announced this week and will be held in front of Buckingham Palace with an amazing line-up of talent including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Jools Holland, Alfie Boe, Annie Lennox, JLS and lots more. 

The increasingly wonderful Gary Barlow is Musical Director with his charismatically cheeky smile.  He’s come a long way since the early days of Take That and just gets better every time I see him. A popstar who comes across a very genuinely decent person and on a programme broadcast from the music room in Buckingham Palace, he played one of the Queen’s favourite tunes, I bet he’ll be in line for a knighthood!

We were lucky enough to win tickets to see the concert which was held half way down the Mall to welcome the Olympic torch, all those years ago.  This one is sure to be even bigger and better with a stunning design for a glass topped stage around the Victoria Memorial.  Fingers crossed we may be lucky again this time.

Cold strawberries do not hit the spot

The massive strawberries have arrived in the shops from Egypt and Spain, they look so tempting and succulent, but sometimes taste more like eating a dry brick.  I always do the smell test before buying these ruby red gems, fellow shoppers must think I am mad, as I stick my nose into the air holes on the packets.   They have to emit a strong sweet strawberry scent before I buy.

Then there is the problem of storing them, left in the larder they become a pile of mush within a day which means they have to be stored in the fridge. However, the flavour is lacking when sinking your teeth into a rock hard cold berry and we all like to eat them with breakfast, so there is no time to leave out to warm up.  

Brilliant and obvious idea came to me today, sink into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes and problem solved.  They taste utterly divine!

A Walk in Henry VIII’s back garden

The nearest and most convenient spot for a pleasant walk for us, is in the former back garden of  King Henry VIII.  He looked after himself well and we still enjoy the beautiful surroundings which have been left for us.  Despite the drip drip confirming the rising temperatures, the scene was still looking magical.

And, as for Karl Largerfield's comments which were reported today.  I think he should keep his mouth shut and stick to designing or disappear back into his ivory tower where everyone meets his standards of perfection, leaving us to get along with our lives in the real world. I actually think he just wanted to grab a few headlines and he always finds that the easiest way to do this is to make a few controversial statements.

We all know the fashion dictators design their clothes for girls who have the frame of a man, but there is no need to criticise the likes of Adele who is beautiful, talented and as we know from personal experience is a lovely lady.

I know which of these two people I find easier on the eye.

Image:  Rex Getty

Snow can't dampen birthday celebrations

It's never convenient when the snow arrives, but when it chooses to dump on us on Major Darling's birthday, starting just as they are all leaving the house in their 'gladrags', that is a bit unfair.

A couple of inches later and our faith in Southwest Trains being able to run a normal service to get them home was not too great. 

The Chief kindly set off to rendezvous at the bar, but first I insisted we packed the car with emergency supplies!  I think that perhaps the warnings by the AA, about making sure you were prepared when making a journey in the snow were aimed at people taking the car down country lanes or long motorway trips, not Central London!  Nevertheless, I put together a bag of walking boots and thick socks, if they broke down the delicate party shoes would be no good for walking! The partygoers were also amused to find a pile of fleecey blankets in the car and a bag of water, chocolate biscuits, a hot thermos and a selection of coffee, hot chocolate and soup sachets! Can you imagine what I would have packed if it really was a cross country route?

They were so grateful for the warm car journey home.  It was only a couple of inches of snow, but the buses stopped early and some friends had a two hour walk to get home to south London.  That is no way to end birthday celebrations.

As usual, I couldn’t help trying to be adventurous with a birthday cake and the oversized sparkling blue handbag caused much amusement!  I think 25 candles is the absolute limit when trying to walk into a room, I felt as though I was behind an inferno and seeing the photos today, it looks like I am about to have a serious fire issue in front of me.

 I don’t know how we managed to light 80 candles on my father’s birthday so many years ago and that was with a gathering of our little toddler Darlings all around.  I think you start to see more danger as age creeps up.  I often make a mental note to stop myself from saying ‘Be careful’ too frequently.

I was right after all!

So I was right after all!  

The University of Surrey agree with me on the meaning of LOL and you can’t argue with their judgement, can you?  So, Lots of Love to Surrey University and the Protein Dance Company.  (You can Laugh Out Loud too, if you want to!)