plots and plans

today the UK celebrates Bonfire night  commemorating the time in 1605 when Guy Fawkes was found underneath the House of Lords before he had time to light the fuse and assassinate King James I (and VI of Scotland). 

 Guy Fawkes, the hired gun, is the name that is remembered but most people would struggle to name any of the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot : John Wright, Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, John Grant, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham.

We shouldn't forget them- they didn't like the political system and tried to blow it up. Tsk tsk! Not a very British thing to do.

D was in London on business today and took some of his team to the V&A museum for coffee before they came back. While he was there, he bought me this lovely Union Jack scarf (in black, white and grey)- very stylish and very appropriate today!

... and because some plans should work out, I finished knitting the lace alpaca scarf today too- but now I need to block it.

I managed to get quite a lot done on it yesterday while watching the Bourne Identity on dvd, although I had to stop once or twice when the plot got a bit complicated. I couldn't help admiring Matt Damon in his sweater too!

socktober

I could hold on any longer, so as it's October* I've got the perfect excuse to cast on some socks.

As my socktober project (it's October + make some socks = socktober) I'm going to make myself a pair of Rick socks. The challenge this time is to make socks which are a mirror image of each other. Hmm.

And to make it a bit more challenging (o_O) I'm using this lovely wool from Schoppel Wolle. It's a zauberball which I bought at i-knit in London.

I've chosen Rick as the diagonal pattern reminds me of the modern glass buildings along the Thames in London.

Funnily enough, when we were at Dad's 80th dinner and I was telling him about our London trip, he said that he'd been part of the team which dismantled the turbines etc in the Riverside power station to make the Tate Modern . How cool is that?? Good job, Dad!!

I've still got a bit of a crush on London at the moment- whenever I see London scenes in films or on the news I get a bit excited. I'm trying not to get envious of David as I think he has two business trips to London in November.  I'll have to knit through the misery!!


*October!? how did that happen?

London #6

Looking at a defunct power station and thinking "that could be a brilliant art gallery" is a rare ability to have , and I certainly don't have that talent, but I'm so glad that some people do and also have the drive to make it happen.

We've had a brilliant time at Tate modern today, seen some amazing art, some of which was familiar to us - Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Miro, Warhol and Lichtenstein and met some new works too from Joan Jonas, Gerhard Richter, Guiseppe Penone and Marisa Merz ( she had dpn's holding metal wire knitting a shoe- fab!)

We had lunch on a terrace overlooking the millennium bridge and I tucked into a delcious crayfish and rice noodle salad- yummy!

Then I had a quick trip to Iknit London (we went to it when we first got off the underground at Waterloo, but we were too early, it was 10.45! I should have checked the website more carefully.) It's a lovely shop, very friendly, gorgeous stuff in there, and I bought some zauberball in shadows (greys) to remind me of the modern buildings in London, and jawoll magic in soft shades of blues and greens to remind me of the parks, the Serpentine and the fountains. There was lots of lush silky lace yarns too-  oh well, next time....

I also touched some qiviut!!! Oh Em Gee!! it felt very soft, but way out of my price range!

A quick visit to chinatown for Jen to splash the last of her cash and we got some tickets to see Stomp  for our last night in London and then it's home tomorrow- and we'll need another holiday to recover!

London #5

new and old today- first we went on the London Eye, which is a wonderfully smooth glide and gives you tremendous views of the city. (it's a smoother ride than my car, but that's not saying much). I loved it, but D and Jen were a bit meh about it.


then we had a smashing lunch at Tate Modern: I had grilled mackerel with a tomato salad and artisan bread, D had a pastrami & goats cheese toastie with sauerkraut and Jen had fish and chips -with a beer batter, wonderful food and reasonable prices too.

and after that we went to the Globe, the reconstruction of the original Shakespearan theatre and Jen saw her first live Shakespearean play, Henry IV part 1. It was tremendous and she loved it. I studied Henry IV part 2 for A level eng lit, and had read the first part but never seen it, so this was a big treat for me too.

After that we had an evening picnic in Kensington Gardens and had a lovely stroll past Diana's memorial fountain and along the bank of the Serpentine.

Another fab day, didn't make it to I knit London but as we want to go back to Tate modern tomorrow to see some crazy   interesting modern art I think I'll manage to pet some yarn then.

london #4

had a fab afternoon at the British Museum. We didn't try to visit every section (our brains would have exploded!!) and decided what we wanted to look at while we had lunch in the atrium (I recommend the crayfish and rocket sandwiches ) - Jen wanted to see Roman and Egyptian, D  the Lindow man, and I wanted to see the Sutton Hoo collection.

Then after a tea break and choc chip cookies we checked the Central and North American collections.

We were fascinated and horrified by the Mayan blood letting ceremonies (click here if you have a strong stomach) and intrigued by the Arctic clothing- a waterproof suit made from seal intestines.

I've been enjoying listening to A History of the World in 100 objects  on Radio 4 and it was great to see some of the objects for myself.

Funnily Jen was most impressed by the Lindow man, and David by the Egyptian tomb of Nebamun a rich accountant- well he can dream I suppose.

Then me and Jen hit Oxford St- we both enjoyed Topshop and I loved Liberty's- Jen coped with it while I fed her chocolate! 

I got some fab buttons and ribbons, and would have loved to have a bought a scarf from the scarf room, but we need to eat for the rest of the year! Jen couldn't believe that there was a whole room devoted to silkscarves.

(I didn't manage to knit yesterday or today, or see the knitting stuff at the V & A but I hope to put things right by visiting Iknit London tomorrow)

london life #3

Day 3 wed (phew! caught up!)

Our friend Meg recommended we visit the Camden Lock markets, so dragged a reluctant D off to do some shopping

It's an amazing place, the High st shop fronts are fabulously decorated and the market stalls ( several hundred of them if not a thousand ) sell just about anything- food, clothes, leather goods, jewelry, incense sticks, furniture, soft furnishings, spray tattoos, henna tattoos there's even a foot spa where you can rest your feet in bowls of water teeming with fish who will nibble the dead skin off your toes!

Jen had a fab time and we had some great Japanese food while she splashed the cash.

After that we went to the V&A and looked at fashion, and British textiles and furniture 16thC to 18th C. Jen tried on a hooped petticoat, we all tried out wearing ruffs and wearing a metal gauntlet. What a fab place!- much better than Ripley's! ( and free too!)

Then tagliatelle al tonno at our local ristorante before crashing out and catching up on the blog.

London life #2

day 2, Tues 13th- we enjoyed a London bus tour, which is a great way to see the city (both cities to be fair, the City of London and the City of Westminster) and we went on a boat trip along a small section of the Thames.

I love the mix of medieval buildings (the Tower of London) and the glass wasps' nest which is the base of the Mayor of London (Boris Johnson). It's a fascinating place, lively, exciting and constantly developing.

We see these buildings on the tv news as backdrops for reports and the tv makes them seem small, seeing them reminds me how impressive they are.

Then after this jaunt we took Jen to Ripley's "Believe it or not". I was reluctant to do this, as I visited it when I was about the same age as Jen and wasn't wildly impressed.

Believe it or not, neither was she! she enjoyed the Natural History museum more.

Then off to Chinatown for dinner- it's very lively in this part of London, all the shop signs are in English and Chinese, there is a chinese betting shop and chinese newspapers for sale on the pavement. Jen was impressed with the red arches at the ends of the streets.

We went to the Golden Dragon and I had the most fabulous pan fried dumplings for my starter , followed by stirfired pork on seasonal greens- fab!!

and back to the hotel to settle my dinner and knit a bit more!

London Life #1

as Jack is in Kenya we have gone  to London with Jen. She's never been to London before and it's 18 years since I've visited the smoke so we've been looking forward to this for a while.

Day 1 Mon 12th- arrived in afternoon  checked into our hotel in Earl's Court (didn't see and Aussies, where are they?) and visited the Natural History Museum. I love that place! We tried out the earthquake simulator, which some might find out, but quakes are very rare in the UK, and we are quite curious people!

Then off for a walk and visited Leicester square, had some yummy Italian food and then walked round Trafalgar Square (this is D & J by Admiralty Arch).

I knit some of my sock on the train journey, and D admired it saying it was much better than the England team - I didn't know whether to be amused or insulted!

London calling?

J1 is in London today to visit the Central School of Speech and Drama as he's interested in the degree in Theatre Practice.

I'm not only a little (OK, a lot) envious at his jaunt to the smoke, but I'm also impressed that he can undertake this himself. At his age I was capable of travelling to Newcastle from Durham for a day (20-25 miles?), but I wouldn't have dreamed of going so far afield alone (400 + miles). Most of his pals seem to be aiming to stay in Scotland (and let's face it as there's no course fees here, that's a very sensible option), and while he cheerfully admits he would like to have a pal with him, he does not want mummy/daddy with him on the open days (unlike so many of the other prospective students. He was a bit surprised to see so many parents in tow last week in Brum).

It's important for him to get a feel of the cities which he's considering though, where he can imagine himself to be next year. It's a lot to consider. First, what does he want to do, then where does he want to do it and later, how does he impress the powers that be to want him? I know he feels like he's dropping off the edge of the world and I can remember that feeling still.

But when the city/uni calls to you, then you know, you just know.