The Titanic Experience

We had a brilliant time at the Titanic Belfast Exhibition. The building itself is spectacular, aiming to give an impression of the huge hull of the ship as it towered over the city whilst it was being constructed. On the glass wall behind are etched the names of those lost in the sinking – and the 8 men who died during the construction.

I don’t want to bore you with a long post and loads of pictures, so I recommend you check out the website [here]and I will just give you a collage and the option of viewing all my shots as a slideshow.

The photo of the Grand Staircase is from the website – my big complaint about the exhibition is that you ONLY get to see the staircase if you are attending A Function and have paid a fortune to be there. The regular ticket does not get you a sight of the stairs.

I do think that is a bit unfair! The rest of it is informative and inspiring. I was impressed with the way the atmosphere changed as you went round – the pride of the city as the ship was built, the celebration as she was launched, the expectation as she began her journey – and the desolation as she was lost. It was very moving.

		Titanic Belfast 18.08.2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Almonds and Strawberries

Mags gives her update on our holiday here. Despite prodigious amounts of cake, my weight has not gone up at all this weekend!

Belfast Was Brilliant!

I have yet to sort out all the many and various photographs [taken on my camera, Bob’s camera, Bob’s phone and Mags’ camera]Patricia at Hookery In The Bookery has already posted about Monday evening’s activities [here] Suffice it to say there was lots to see, and lots to eat – and Bob and I were thrilled to spend a weekend with this fabulous family.

Thankyou SO much to Mags and her Menfolk, for giving us SUCH a great time!

[thanks too, to Rob, for kindly being our taxi to and from the airport]

From Belfast To Boxes

We will be flying back from our stay with Mags today – and then the business of sorting stuff and re-filling the Manse loft will begin in earnest. While we were at Cornerstones, David did a fabulous job of insulating and putting down boarding [thanks again]. I can recommend the Plastic Box Shop as a great source of storage boxes. For price and quality and consistency, they are extremely good value.

Lots of other jobs to get done before the weekend – so I may not be as disciplined as usual about blogging. I set up all these recent posts in advance and I know I will have lots of photos of the Irish Extravaganza to sort out sometime.

Here is the bathroom – full to the ceiling with loft stuff. The phone rang on Friday morning as I was getting ready for the wedding.

“Mrs Almond?”

“Yes”

“Can I ask, do you have trouble getting in and out of your bath?”

“Well, no, I’m only in my fifties…”

“Oh, I am so sorry, I should not have rung you then. I will call back in 15 years time”

Bob said that the correct response should have been

“I haven’t been able to get into my bath for the past month!!”

Bob Gets On The BBC!

We have been to Giant's Causeway today. There is a crazy modern art installation there [BBC website] On the way back the BBC interviewed Bob for his opinion. He mentioned the 'alien artefacts' but only a very brief , edited, clip made it onto the radio [here] You need to listen at a point 40 minutes into the programme. I will do a longe rpost, with photos, when I get home!

Push The Boat Out

“No More Pyrex!” said Bob last Monday, as we set out for a meander round the charity shops of Downham Market. I love vintage Pyrex, and on this post you can see some of the pieces which live at Cornerstones.

“But I haven’t bought any for ages, apart from a sweet little lidded bowl in Fakenham for £1.20”

But I agreed, perhaps I do need to rein in my Charity Shop spending***.

But then he came up to me, and said “I know I said no more, but we ought to have a gravy boat!” Our newly-widowed neighbour had come for lunch with us the previous day, and Bob had served the gravy in a rather large yellow jug [it looked better than the alternative plastic Poundshop one]

That was £1 in Fakenham two years ago- so this is an old picture [I do not put large sprigs of rosemary in the gravy]

But on Monday Bob found this boat and saucer, and decided we did need this addition to the cupboard. £1.25

***As a true ‘Mrs Moneypenny super-scrimper’, I have worked it out.

Currently spending round £200 a year - £4 a week – in charity shops.

My Text This Morning

I was having a conversation-by-text with my friend Elisabeth recently. With all our free texts, it is a good way to communicate. Except I use ‘predictive text’ and I’d been typing so fast-and-furious that I hadn’t proofread properly. We’d been talking about the success of summer plans, including Holiday Bible Club. “Glad the Ink Club went well!” she’d replied. I realised that when you type  H O L, the phone gives you I N K.

I have been caught out like this before. Years ago I sent Bob a text saying “Going to be late home. No time to cook before ch mtg. When you are in town, please pick up ready neck for tea” He spent a while staring at his phone and concluded N E C K should have been  M E A L.

My phone gives me LIPS when I type KISS, and JAZZ if I’m feeling LAZY. FIG becomes EGG – and ABLE is displayed as CAKE. And I don’t have a PET – I have a REV [which is true in my case!]

But there are two which frequently make me smile. “I will soon be HOME” becomes “I will soon be GOOD” – I always feel good when I get home. The other one is a challenge to me when I am feeling discouraged about my life and witness, and it doesn’t seem worth the effort.

“I should be RESTING” comes out as “I should be SERVING”

On the subject of serving, here’s our friend Paul being interviewed in church by Bob. Not only does he serve as a brilliant Church Secretary, he has also recently been part of the great team of Olympic Volunteers.

Thank you Paul – for all you do in our fellowship – and for what you did down in London too.

But now you are HOME again, and that is GOOD!!

Rule Britannia!

Isn’t this an amazing garden?  it belongs to one of our neighbours in Norfolk. The phone box, post box and Morris Minor make it so quintessentially British – even the stepping stones are actually representations of our coinage.

It is only half a car – and the plan is to fit lights in the headlamps which will come on after dark. The Union Flags are just there for this summer’s festivities.

Makes the Cornerstones rectangle of grass look exceedingly dull! But then I am not there often enough to maintain a plot like this.

Natasha And Matthew’s Wedding

The bride and groom

Bridesmaids Gabriella and Zara [Tash’s sisters]

The car

Cutting the cake [reception at the Belmont Hotel, Leicester]

Us [at the end of the reception] and me [beforehand] Thank you Marion for the loan of the dress, Jane for the bag, and Steph for the gift of the hair accessory.

Now I really do have to pack a suitcase!

Blanket Stitch

The crochet blanket – one massive Stash-Busting Granny Square detailed here looks good on the sofa here at Cornerstones.

It is exactly the right colours for the floral print on the sofa. That has been a very satisfying project.

But I have had another Cornerstones project on the go. Do you remember all those squares I was knitting in May – using up all the blue DK wools in the Stash?

Having been taught to make a basic Granny Square by Catherine back in November, when I visited Mags in Belfast, I subsequently got this book in an attempt to develop my skills.

Now I can do double crochet and half-treble. So I edged all 165 four inch squares in some navy four ply, then arranged them in rows till I was happy with the appearance. I sewed them up and edged it all with a few rows of royal blue half-treble.

Here’s my second Cornerstones Blanket

I’ve also brought the cushion I made up using the blue Log Cabin examples which I made ages ago to demonstrate the technique to the girls at Sewing Club. Front and back views…

I just love redeeming the remnants to make beautiful things! I look forward to my next visit to Cornerstones in the autumn, and snuggling up in a blanket!

Home Sweet Home!

I love Cornerstones – but I am glad to be back here at the Manse in Kirby. Good things – I have a new kitchen sink, to replace the awful one with the dodgy tap which I have loathed for years, and the loft is insulated [thankyou David and Paul for all your hard work]

Less good- someone appears to have driven [or more likely reversed] into our garage in our absence – the central brick pillar between the two doors has actually been pushed back an inch or so.

It has taken a while to get all the emails dealt with. I made a decision NOT to look at ANY while on holiday. Most were out of date offers – but a few were REAL messages from friends.

I left behind at Cornerstones a plate of pretty stones and shells picked up from Heacham beach. Blues and greys – but they will still be there when I go back in October.

Now I have to unpack clothes, wrap a wedding present, sort out my outfit for tomorrow’s wedding, and then repack for our weekend in NI with Mags and Family. I shall perhaps do some ironing whilst watching the Hairy Dieters.

I have had to rethink my wedding outfit – due to the awful proliferation of bites all over my neck and back, the original dress wasn’t really an option. Last Saturday Marion kindly offered to lend me something to wear. She fetched half a dozen dresses from her wardrobe for me to try on. With helpful – and otherwise- comments from Bob and Adrian, we settled on an appropriate frock. Steph had given us some gift tokens as an early Wedding Anniversary present – so I have been able to buy myself a fancy clip for my hair. There will be photos taken at some point!

Angela With A Bear Behind!

On Tuesday we visited the Muckleburgh Collection near Cromer. This is the UK’s largest privately owned military collection. Bob took charge of the camera. He thoroughly enjoyed himself

The centre photo is me in front of a ‘Katie’ – a K2 Ambulance from WW2. This is the sort of ambulance driven by Princess Elizabeth, and also Sylvia Syms in the film “Ice Cold in Alex”

Altho I am not that interested in military vehicles, I found some of the exhibits of uniforms, and personal effects of service personnel quite fascinating. There are some brilliant detailed models of ships too. In the restaurant [wonderful value, the cakes are made by the in-house chef, and they are fresh, and huge!] you can borrow jackets and headgear and pose for photos. 

The entry fee [£8 per adult] initially seemed a lot – but we were there for ages, and found plenty to interest us both, and learned a lot. It was well set up for individuals, families and school groups alike. For a £5 deposit, you can even leave your dog in a secure kennel [large, and sheltered from the elements] while you look round. You have the option of paying for a ride round outside on an army truck.

Sadly the North Norfolk Amateur Radio Group Section [staffed by volunteers] was not open when we went-I am sure Bob would have loved that bit.  They seem to have thought of everything, and it was a good day out. I’d recommend this for age 5 up [under 5s go free]No idea what the bear was there for!