25 | April | 2011 | Not Just a Granny

Archive for April 25th, 2011

with only 4 sleeps to go…….

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged barclays cycle hire, london gets ready for the royal wedding, royal wedding of prince william and kate middleton on April 25, 2011| 4 Comments »

: this spot has been reserved for Cindy Eve who is @notjustagranny 🙂

whoo hoo!!!!! 🙂 with only 4 sleeps to go I am way beyond excited now!! I keep jolting out of sleep in the middling hours of the night, when it is still dark outside – my heart racing with excitement and the Royal Wedding on my mind!!!

I have finally persuaded my chica to join me at Buckingham Palace for the Royal Wedding celebrations, and against her better judgement….. to sleep over on The Mall with me the night before. 🙂

Today I went walkabout along the Royal Wedding route to revisit favourite places and to reserve my place on The Mall. A large part of The Mall has been pedestrianised and the barriers are already lining the sidewalks. There is a real sense of anticipation in the air and one of my favourite celebrities was seen at the Palace interviewing a Royal Correspondent! And finally I know for sure….he is a real person!!!

Piers Morgan at Buckingham Palace

London is bustling with excitement, the bunting is up, the sun was shining and love is in the air. In preparation for the Royal Wedding, London has donned her finery with Regent Street lined with marvellous flags,

Regent Street all dressed in finery

Admiralty Arch is dressed in her finery, and high above the west tower of Westminster Abbey can be seen the Sovereign’s flag.

the Queen's flag above the West Tower of Westminster Abbey

the ‘Boris’ bikes aka Barclays Cycle Hire bikes are everywhere to be seen as visitors to London make the most of the fabulous weather and cycle about town. The fountains at Trafalgar Square have been emptied…. ? and the 2012 Olympic Clock ticks on!

the 2012 Olympic Clock ticks on

I bought a hat for the occassion….do you think it is suitable?

my hat for the Royal Wedding....

and now with only 4 sleeps to go to till wedding of the century; the much anticipated wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April 2011……this is your London correspondent signing out till after the 29th. 🙂

I will be tweeting on the 28th and 29th (or for as long as my battery lasts). Look out for the updates on @3days_in_london and the hashtag #RoyalWedding and #3dil – hope to see you there!!!

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Woodland Trust

Posted in around the UK, It's my life, tagged forest of marston vale, the woodland trust, village of cople, villages of the United Kingdom on April 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A couple of months ago I accidently attended the ‘Wicked’ Halloween event at St Pancras, where I got to see Lee Mead. The Woodland Trust had their table and banners up and as I do, I picked up the brochures to have a look at. I, like many other folk in this country are keen to ensure that we don’t lose the marvellous ancient forests that still exist, albeit in small little pockets. The Woodland Trust are doing what they can to protect and replant.
So I read the brochures, and as 2011 year is my ‘increase my contribution to the world’ year I decided to include them on my list and submitted the form to become a monthly contributor.

I had no other expectations beyond that. So imagine my surprise and subsequent delight when I received a package in the mail the other day with a wee certificate that tells me I now have a tree dedicated to me!!! 🙂 How cool is that!!!

woodland trsut, the forest of marston vale, reclaiming enlands forests

Woodland Trust Certificate

The tree is situated at Water End, Cople, Bedfordshire. The village of Cople is to the east of Bedford and the woodland is part of the area known as ‘The Forest of Marston Vale’ – a project to plant up to 30% of the vale with trees as part of the reclamation of the extensive former workings of the brick making industry. In December 1999, 5,200 trees were planted; including oak, ash, field maple and cherry.

So of course I had to investigate and find out more about Cople…….my first port of call without question: google!! 🙂
This is what I found: (via this website)
The Great River Ouse is 1.5 miles away.
The village has a population of around 800 people, there is one pub, one church, one primary school (ages 4 to 9) and one garage which no longer sells petrol. The only village shop closed in 1995, but there is a shop in the nearby village of Willington and a major supermarket 3 miles away.
Cople has traditionally been a farming community but farming no longer offers work to many people. Most inhabitants work in offices and factories in nearby towns including Bedford, Sandy, Luton and Milton Keynes.
The name COPLE derived from the phrase “Cock Pool” which was a place where chickens were kept and that Cople was mentioned in the Doomsday Book.
The centre of Cople is dominated by the splendid All Saints Church. One of the most beautiful churches in Bedfordshire.
The Church was originally built soon after 1087 by the De Beauchamp family and later became part of Chicksands Priory. The list of Vicars dates back to 1237.

Guess I am going to have to visit Cople and find my tree!!! 🙂

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