Lovely weekend in London

After a hectic October, things should have become a little quieter – but far from it. I suppose now that the days get darker so much earlier, it seems that we have to pack far more in each day. As a result by the time 6.00pm comes we are both ready for a ‘quiet night in’ (mind you it could be an age thing – look at the comment about vintage clothing below)!

Last Thursday we took the train up to London to spend 3 nights with Tim and his partner Bexs. We visited Covent Garden and the Seven Dials area, National Gallery, popped into the Royal Opera House (plus several shops) and generally drank up the ‘buzz’ of London which looked lovely with all the Christmas lights. We went into a vintage clothing shop and there were 3 garments that I used to have in my wardrobe. The chap in the shop said that the 1990’s are coming back but as I pointed out – what I was looking at went a lot further back than that!

On the Saturday the plan was to go to Hampton Court via boat and arrive in style. As usual the Brown’s left it too late as the boats stopped running in October so we arrived by train instead! The gardens have given me some food for thought and I did suggest to Derek that we could use a few ideas from Hampton Court at home – Derek was not impressed! It was a lovely weekend and it’s great to see Tim and Bexs so happy in their new flat.

We soon got back into the swing of things when we got home as we welcomed a lovely American party to our Exmoor home. We were worried as to how they would cope with the weather (which to be honest was a little wild and woolly) but they had a great time exploring the area. Its so interesting meeting people from different parts of the world. Joy was describing life in Utah and the buffalo roundup which happens each year. Derek’s main wish now is to go and see it for himself (has always fancied himself as Clint Eastwood since he saw Pale Rider) and we have an open invitation to go and visit.

We have also had a party of ‘off road’ cycling friends come and stay to ‘enjoy’ the challenges of Exmoor. They set off and expected to be back by 4.30. After coping with 4 punctures between them, navigating the very steep and muddy terrain plus failing light, they eventually got back at 8.00!

We have been out several times with the dogs for some lovely walks. The other afternoon we were out at Aldermans Barrow and saw several starling murmuring displays. With the cold red sky behind them, they looked spectacular as they dipped and weaved in fantastic patterns. Several of our guests have commented on the fact that we have several sparrows living in and around our veranda as apparently in parts of the country, the sparrow is becoming quite a rarity.