Trip to Weston-super-mare

We have been trying to get to see more of our family at the moment (although quite tricky as we are so spread out!)
I havent seen my Grandad for a good 10 years, i'm ashamed to say, as not being able to drive, i thought it would be very tricky. As it was, other a few train changes, it certainly was very do-able, and i certainly regret not doing it sooner!

We spent a good few hours with him, which was most enjoyable, was so good to see him again. We expected him to tire quite easily, but we stayed for hours and watched most of the Engleand match together. Noone scored and it was going to extra time but it time was getting on and we felt we should get going to our B+B, it was much later than we expected to leave and we had a half hour walk to get there. We were lucky, as the landlady said she was going to bed 10 minuetes later - phew!
It was a basic room, but we just needed abed for the night, and we just made it in in time to see the penalties - not that it was worth viewing!!

The next day the sun was shining, and we walked into Weston. We stopped off for a hearty breakfast and then headed towards the sea. I was very excited to find out that the Sand exhibition was there. I saw this years before in Brighton, and could never find it again. They are amazing structures made just of sand and they usually have a different theme each year.

This years theme was toys and games:-



We strolled along the sea-front, and headed towards the Pier, stopping for a drink en-route.



We went on to the pier, which is only a few years old, after a fire totally destroyed the original one. It is massive and everything is under one roof, and has the most high-tech games.

Hubby really wanted to go on the go-karts, i was a bit trepadicious about this, but decided i was being silly. It really was so much fun and exhilirating. My driving did seem to get worse the more i went round, and i did have a bit of an incident with the barriers, which resulted in a major bruise, but glad i gave it a go!

We played some Deal or no deal games and did the maze of mirrors...



After a spot of lunch we carried on walking round the coast, and made the best of the beautiful weather.

We were exhausted by the end of the weekend, and it was a lot of travelling, but it was well worth it, and a very enjoyable two days...

crochet hearts

A short and sweet post this week. After busy times at work and a week away there hasnt been much time, to fit any crafting in, but i have made a start this week, and have been working on my own heart pattern, and have completed two different sizes.

The first, to be a small hanging heart decoration, and the second larger to be a plush. I was very strict on myself this time, to make sure that i did write down the pattern exactly as i went along!

For the small one, i decorated it with pink shiny beads around the edges, before sewing the two pieces together and adding a small amount of stuffing, for a more 3d effect. My biggest hurdle to over-come was how to sew on the hanging ribbon (pretty pink gingham). i seem to have a very negative mental block when it comes to sewing. As i dont have any knowledge or know-how i end up guessing, and its trial and error to get it looking how i want. Unfortunately i dont know any sewers to give me any tips, or pass on their know how, so i'll have to continue learning as i go!

I've completed half the larger heart and will consider how im going to decorate it, whether with beads, sequins or if i find something else suitable to embellish. 

Day Trips despite the Rain..

So, me and hubby have a week off work, this of course meant the sun would well and truely hide and we would have an abundance of rain!
We were off for our annual stay at my Mums, and we were going to make the most of our stay there!

We caught the train to Fareham, a nice easy train journey, and Mum met us at the station to take us to her new flat. After a drop of lunch and a viewing round the new place, we thought we'd pop out for a quick game of bowling. I started well and the game was mine for the taking, but I got pipped to the post by hubby, beaten by 1 point!

Wednesday we took a day trip to Arundel, a wonderfully quaint old fashioned town. There was the annual corpus christi flower festival. the whole church aisle was covered in flower petals depicting the chosen themes of the olympics and titanic.

we had lunch at one of the many lovely little cafes. it was a pleasure to stroll around the idylic town, with its little independant shops. such a nice change from a bog standard town, and the weather held out for us too.

On thursday the weather was dire, so we took a trip to Southsea. Our first stop off was at the National history museum, to got to the butterfly house. This too successful as apparantly they like it warmer too, to get the muscles going in their wings. So we only spotted a couple flying around, and saw a newly hatched one, but otherwise they were closed up trying to keep warm!

We braved the wet to get to 'The hole in one' a very popular little cafe, but everybody else had the same idea too as it was packed. We were able to get a table outside (+ undercover), and were offered blankets and hot-water bottles to keep us cosy (a novel but fantastic idea!) well worth it too as their selection of cakes are devine!
We went on to the Blue Reef aquarium, and as it was a trusty place to visit in he wet weather, that was packed too! We managed to arrive just in time to see the otters being fed, and then worked our way round checking out the various aquatic creatures.

By the time we left the had stopped, but it was blowing a gale instead. We managed a stroll by the sea -front, the wind being so powerful it was blowing the waves up and over the pavement, which many kids found amusing, and got a soaking!

Friday we planned a trip to Chichester. Their infamous flower festival, which is on every other year. This was so worth queuing up to get into. It is literally breath-taking when you see the abundance of flower displays which fill every area of the Cathedral! This years theme was 'Classic books' and they covered over 50 different classic titles. The most impressive display to me was 'the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe'. It was a massive display + depicted each imortant aspect of the story.

After seeing half of the displays we popped out to stop for coffee and food. We then checked out the craft tents, which were just about staying upright in the winds! However when we tried to enter the Cathedral again, weren't able to. We had forgotten there was to be a Royal visit, so for security reasons they were't letting anymore people in. We tried each entrance in vain, and in the end Mum + hubby kicked up a fuss to a couple of officials, as we couldn't hang around for an hour to be let in again, we had paid + only seen half of it so were really disappointed. Their persistance worked though, and the guy managed to get us back in. So not only did we get to see the rest of the displays, we didn't have to endure any of the crowds and we caught a glimpse of Prince Edward + Sophie.

Before going back, we made a de-tour to make a quick visit to my great-aunt.

Saturday we stayed local, and had a walk around Fareham town. After popping back for some lunch we went to Dunelm mills to have a look at all the homeware goods. Then it was another bracing sea front walk in Lee-on-Solent.

Sunday it was back on the train home again. Back to reality, and back to work! But it was all good fun while it lasted....