Photo of the Day – Wednesday 29th February 2012

Well, it’s Feb 29^th and in celebration of the extra day this month I thought I’d include an extra photo of the day!

On my lunchtime stroll in Cirencester with the lads from work, we came across this sign outside of a shop. Unless they are a DIY store selling ladders, I’m not sure how they are currently still doing business!

The second photo was taken in Tesco at the

self-service check out. We’d popped in to pick up some snacks and to my surprise I found some extra, somewhat embarrassing items had magically appeared in my basket, courtesy of the boys from work!! I left the items at the till in the basket whilst the boys were stood outside the store laughing at me! (They laughed at me even more when the guy in the queue behind me ran after me saying I had left some items behind….. aaaaargh!!!!!)

How was your ‘Leap Day’?

Photo of the Day – Tuesday 28th February 2012

On my strenuous, 4 minute walk into work today, I came across a lady trying to push an enormous, old school Land Rover down a busy road. For some reason she was pushing the car whilst her husband was sat inside, steering it! (Who said chivalry was dead?) Being the good Samaritan I am (ha ha ha evil laugh) I gave her a hand, and then another passerby joined in too. Between the three of us we managed to push the car to safety.

Feeling chuffed with myself for doing a good deed, I then rather sadly realised that this was probably going to be the most exciting event of my day and I had forgotten to photograph it! So, at lunchtime I went for a walk with the boys from work and got one of them to take a photo of me next to a Land Rover that looked similar to the one I rescued this morning.

So there you have it – Tuesday, done and dusted!

Photo of the Day – Monday 27th February 2012

It’s hard to feel inspired and creative on a Monday, especially when it’s insanely busy at work! So, for today’s picture I have photographed my lunch which I ate at my rather chaotic desk.

I was healthy today, to make up for my less than healthy weekend! Lunch consisted of a roast beef, rocket & goat’s cheese sandwich, an Eat Natural bar and some cucumber, carrots and hummus.

Is it Friday yet? ;) 

Photo of the Day- Sunday 26th February

Day 2 of the challenge and I am already cheating – ha!

It’s been unseasonably warm in the UK this weekend and because my dad is South African he loves to braai (barbecue) whenever he can. So we had our first barbecue of the year today, which I thought would make a great photo. However, after lunch we popped over to my aunt’s to meet her new puppy, Starlet. She’s a Boston Terrier with awesome little bat ears and tiny white paws.

I couldn’t decide between using the barbecue or the puppy photo, so I’m cheating today and using both!

Happy Sunday everyone J

Word of the Week

Levity:

Humour or frivolity, esp. the treatment of a serious matter with humour or in a manner lacking due respect.

Synonyms - frivolity, flippancy, lightness, giddiness

 Example: 'The happy audience strolled back out into the stormy night feeling much levity in comparison to the evening’s heavy weather.'

Image from dreamstime

Photo of the Day – Saturday 25th February

At a work meeting last week, one of my colleagues mentioned that she was doing a ‘photo per day’ challenge for 2012. I thought this was a brilliant idea and given that I enjoy the odd challenge, I have decided to give this a go too. I think it will be interesting to look back in a year’s time and see exactly what it is I fill my days with! This project is probably best started on the 1^st January but I can’t be asked to wait until 2013 so I’m starting mine today!

On Friday night I had a 'cocktails night out' in Cheltenham with the girlies and only managed to drag myself outside of the house at about 4pm today. This was to pop to Waitrose with my friend Ginger, who was cooking dinner for a group of us this evening and needed to get some supplies. It was a perfect day today and on the way we walked past the church in the town centre - it was bathed in sunlight and looked beautiful, so I couldn’t resist making this picture my first photo entry.

Word of the Week

Alacrity:

1. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

2. liveliness; briskness: Alacrity of spirit that feels but half the weight it carries.

image courtesy of dreamstime

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

At the beginning of the New Year and feeling the need for some long-overdue self-improvement, I set myself the ambitious challenge of reading 100 of the greatest books ever written. One of the books at the top of my list was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

What it’s About:

This is an amusing novel about love, family, relationships and class. Set in the early 1800s in England, the novel focuses on the bright and pretty Elizabeth Bennet and her growing relationship with the handsome and rich bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy. Initially she finds him aloof and conceited and makes her disapproval of him riotously clear, but gradually she realises she may have been a little hasty in her judgement. But is it too late for her to win back his affections?

Why Read It?

Because it’s brilliant story, superbly written! If you haven’t read any of Jane Austen’s novels before then you are in for a treat. It’s the perfect blend of romance, tragedy, wicked humour and excitement, all wrapped up into one perfect little book. Plus it’s full of theatrical characters like the melodramatic Mrs Bennet and Elizabeth’s obsequious yet equally pompous cousin, Mr Collins.

Favourite Quotes:

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”

“The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance.”

“Good opinion once lost, is lost forever.”

“There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil— a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.”

“I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.”

All About…. Being Brazen

Being nosy is fun! That’s why I have decided to include a section in my blog to ‘Bug Another Blogger,’ in which I send a list of random, nosy questions to a fellow blogger to answer. Simple as that.

My first willing* participant is the gorgeous Being Brazen – she’s a sexy, sassy lass from sunny Cape Town – take a peek at her awesome blog!

1. Describe yourself in five words? Quirky, hopeful and a daydreamer
2. Where in the world is your ‘soul country'? South Africa...but a few other countries share my heart.
3. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Decided to skip university in favour of being a "student of life". I'm still not sure if it was a good or bad thing.
4. What did you last dream about? The characters of 'New Girl'
5. What’s the strangest meal/ food you have ever eaten? Crocodile meat
6. If you could be better at one thing, what would it be? Writing... I love to write and I always think I could be better at it
7. Can men and women ever just be friends? It can happen, but it's a very rare thing.
8. If you could have a chat over a cappuccino and a muffin with anyone in the world, who would it be? Well, two people - my friend Toni in UK (aka You) and my friend Mish in USA.
9. What is going to be your next indulgent purchase? Hopefully a trip somewhere
10. Why are manhole covers round? It just made sense to someone I guess

*By ‘willing’ I mean that I had to blackmail her J

Well, I just love.....

With the January blues behind us and the promise of spring just around the corner, these are my current ‘perfect little pleasures’ that are keeping me going until the weather warms up….

1. Zumba – Okay, so this Latin dance-inspired fitness class involves a lot of crazy butt-shaking and feet thumping but it’s a fantastic workout that will leave you buzzing. I don’t know many other fitness classes that combine the words exercise and fun without it being an oxymoron but this one does! Just leave your pride at the door though. ;) If you live near Cirencester then try out La Attica's zumba classes.
2. Lana Del Ray's album ‘Born to Die’. One word – stunning! Her voice & the lyrics to her songs take me back to the years when I lived and dreamed in Cape Town. Oh, what it was like to be young, feel invincible and yet to have experienced a broken heart! What an awesome album.
3. Donning hiking boots and getting out for lovely long hikes on the weekend with my fabulous friend, 'Ginger.' These lovely boots are Hi Tec’s St Moritz Luxe 200’s and you can get them at www.hikingboots.com. I want a pair!!
4. African Extracts Rooibos lipbalm that my Capetonian friend posted to me recently. It’s so soothing on parched lips and smells good too.
5. Carrot cake - My mum bakes the most delicious carrot cake in the world- bursting with walnuts and apricots…. mmm…. Must learn to bake! There are some tasty carrot cake recipes on www.ocado.com if you fancy doing a spot of baking too.
6. Israel - I've been researching Israel as a possible holiday destination for my annual meet up with my best friend and have fallen in love with it. Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, Eilat…. the country is full of treasures. Have a look at www.travel.yahoo.com for some inspiration and ideas.
7. Bacardi Cocktails – I’m really enjoying cocktails right now. It might be because my fav' local bar, ‘Somewhere Else’ is running a 2-4-1 cocktail promotion at the moment!
8. Bridesmaids – Yes, I watched this movie about six months after the rest of the planet and now I totally understand what they hype was all about. It’s twisted, dark, and hilarious and totally appeals to my sense of humour!
9. Retro bikinis like this Juicy Couture one from asos.com – I may need to have a boob job, spend a few months permanently zumba dancing and have a mega spray tan before this would look good on me though.... On second thoughts, pass the beach shorts and get me some carrot cake!
10. Life of Pi by Yann Martel – This is the latest book from my ‘100 Must Read Books’ list. Review to follow soon :)

What are your perfect little pleasures right now?

Let it snow!

When the end of January arrived this year, the Brits heaved a collective sigh of relief because up until that point the UK had enjoyed one of the mildest winters on record. Particularly compared to last year when we were buried under 6ft of snow for the majority of December and all of Britain descended into chaos - flights were grounded, motorways were at a standstill, people were trapped in their homes and villages.

In contrast this winter has been almost glorious…. until now anyway! Forecasters have predicted a month of arctic weather conditions ahead of us. Fortunately we haven’t been affected too harshly where I live in Cirencester. There’s been just enough snow to make the town look like a winter wonderland!

                                                                                                                                              I’ve lived in Cirencester for almost two years now - it is a gorgeous little market town in the centre of the Cotswolds. It has an impressive medieval church in the centre that was built in the 1100’s and the town is surrounded by lush green parks. It has loads of quirky independent shops, a traditional bakery or two and a fabulous sweet shop. These photographs of the snow were all taken in the parks surrounding Cirencester.

                                                       
I love living in such a beautiful town, especially when it snows! J

Tried & Tested - Berlin

Back in December last year a good friend of mine invited me on a weekend city break to Berlin. The lure of the celebrated German Christmas markets and homemade Gluhwein was enough to convince me to say yes immediately, however the city held more delights and surprises than I ever expected. Here are a few of my highlights:

• Seeing the remains of the Berlin Wall. Artists have transformed what was once a mar on the landscape into a fascinating outdoor gallery that stretches for over a kilometre.
• Visiting the 5 star Hotel Adlon Kempinski (where Michael Jackson famously dangled his baby off the balcony) and paying 11 Euros for a cup of tea and a few biscuits! (Okay so the bill was a shock, but the hotel was amazing.)

• Strolling through the beautiful Tiergarten Park in the centre of Berlin. It was a little chilly when we were there but I can imagine it must be a haven for the locals in the summer months.

• Visiting the amazing Christmas markets – we squeezed in three of the best ones: Charlottenburg (the most beautiful as it’s outside the castle) Potsdamer Platz (next to a shopping mall – it doesn’t get much better than that!) and Gendarmenmarkt (best atmosphere and the market that the locals seem to favour).

• Seeing Brandenburg Gate and strolling through the nearby Jewish Memorial. It’s impossible not to be enthralled as you negotiate your way through more than 2,000 concrete slabs of varying shapes and sizes; some over 15ft high. The memorial was designed by architect Peter Eisenman in memory of the Jewish victims of the holocaust. 

• Enjoying the nightlife. Drinking with the locals was immensely good fun!

A couple of handy links if you’re planning a visit:

Jewish Memorial: http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html

Brandenburg Gate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate

Berlin Wall: www.eastsidegallery.com

S-Bahn Map: http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/17111/name/Urban+Rail+Trains.html (on the bottom right of the page under 'More Information' - click on the link that says ‘Network Map of S and U Bahn’

TV Tower (for awesome views of Berlin): http://www.tv-turm.de/en/index.php

Dinner in the Dark (c. £50 per head) : http://www.viator.com/tours/Berlin/Berlin-Dinner-in-the-Dark-Experience/d488-5181DARK

Kunsthaus Tacheles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/interactive/2009/jan/21/berlin-kunsthaus-tacheles?fb=native-

Have you been to Berlin? If so, what were your highlights?

Word of the Week

Extemporising:

1. To do or perform (something) without prior preparation or practice: extemporised an acceptance speech.

2. To perform an act or utter something in an impromptu manner; improvise: "bravely demonstrating his ability to extemporise intelligently"

The Victoria & Albert Museum, London

 

Sometimes when you’ve lived in a country for a while you may end up neglecting all the amazing attractions that it has to offer. Perhaps because they are on your doorstep you take them for granted, or maybe the lure of exploring foreign countries during your time off is more of an attractive proposition. I’ve lived in the UK for over ten years now and I’ve definitely noticed that I no longer take advantage of all there is to see and do. So, I thought I would dedicate a section of my blog to rediscovering the delights of England. And what better attraction to start with than the Victoria & Albert Museum in London?

 

Five Good Reasons to Visit:

1. Well, for starters, it’s free. (Most museums in London are; although of course they appreciate and welcome donations if you are able to spare a few £.)
2. The V&A is one of the most famous museums in the world and holds over 4 million artefacts in its permanent collection- sculptures, architecture, paintings, jewellery, fashion, photographs – there is definitely something for everyone. When I visited (Jan 2012) I was delighted to see that some of Henri Cartier Bresson’s photographs were on display, including his famous ‘Behind Saint Lazare station, Paris, France 1932.’ 
3. Even if you aren’t a huge museum/ culture buff, I am pretty confident that you will step back in amazement when you see the ‘Renaissance City’ room.
4. It’s super easy to get to – it’s a five minute walk from South Kensington tube station and if the weather is terrible (this is England after all!) there’s an underground walkway direct from the tube stop to the entrance of the V&A.
5. They have great facilities including daily tours, a lovely gift shop (with fabulous cards!)and an abundance of enthusiatic staff on hand to answer any questions you may have.

I visited late afternoon on a weekday and for many parts of my visit I was wandering around through vast rooms and collections all by myself. It was pretty amazing (and yes, I got very lost, very quickly!).

If you’re a museum addict then the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are both within a stone’s throw of the V&A – so you make sure you schedule some time into your visit to see them too.

 

Helpful info for your visit:

V&A Website: http://www.vam.ac.uk/

Opening Hours: 10am – 5.45pm daily / 10am – 10pm Fridays

The Great Gatsby (F Scott Fitzgerald)

What it’s About:

Set in the 1920’s on Long Island – think mansions, millionaires and mayhem – The Great Gatsby tells the tale of Nick Carraway’s arrival to the New York seaboard and his subsequent emersion into its glitzy, superficial society. Nick befriends his cousin Daisy and soon also finds himself in the company of his dark and mysterious neighbour, Jay Gatsby. Little do they all realise that the interweaving of their lives will extort threads from the past, resulting in incomprehensible devastation.

Why Read it?

It’s a beautifully written book with descriptive passages that bring the characters and the Jazz Age to life. I recommend having a dictionary to hand though as it’s quite wordy in places- fortunately it’s a relatively short book (c. 100 pages) so it’s manageable and really worth the effort. Baz Luhrmann is releasing a movie version of the book in 2012, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, so now is a good time to read it!

Favourite Quotes:

"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman...I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe."

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."