April | 2011 | Not Just a Granny

Archive for April, 2011

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s – FREE ice-cream :)

Posted in Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged 2012 olympic clock at trafalgar square, ben and jerrys free cone day, royal wedding, Westminster Abbey on April 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

ben & jerry's ice-cream leicester square free cone day april 12

my chocloate extravaganza at Ben & Jerry's free cone day

How many ice-cream cones could you eat in one hour? Today I got the opportunity to test this out…..and my score = 4!!! Yup! That’s right, 4 ice-cream cones at Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day.
“The Ben & Jerry’s tradition of saying thank you to loyal customers with free ice-cream is as old as Ben & Jerry’s itself. Back in 1979, after 1 year in business, they decided to give away free ice-cream to the loyal customers that made it all possible, and have been doing it ever since.”
Never in my life have I heard of anything more sensible than giving away free ice-cream. My good friend Andrew brought this event to my attention on Sunday, thinking that I could tweet about it for 3DaysInLondon, which I duly did. I was disappointed that this give-away was to be on Tuesday, which is not a day I am normally free (excuse the pun). 🙂

Andrew & Vanessa eating Ben & Jerry's ice-cream

However, the Universe works in strange ways and due to an administrative error by someone else I was able to swop my Monday afternoon off to Tuesday!!! Hooray!! So with no further ado, I set off to kill two birds with one stone. I had been wanting to traipse around London again to take photos of the 2012 Olympic Clock and the April 29th Royal Wedding preparations for my 3days blog, and today proved to be the perfect time for it.
We woke to a fabulous day, bright sunshine, puffy white clouds and with a hint of chilly breeze….just perfect for my escapade.

a fabulous spring day in London 🙂

I set off at 2.45pm and headed straight for Charing Cross. First stop to take another photo of the 2012 Olympic Clock in Trafalgar Square

the 2012 Olympic Clock in Trafalgar square

and then at a fast pace I headed off across the city to Westminster Abbey….the venue for the Royal Wedding of the decade.
Along the way I stopped off at Westminster Gardens to take a few photos and ended up on my back like a beetle with my legs and arms akimbo. Lesson 1 when taking photos: look behind you when walking backwards in case there is an obstacle that you could fall over!!! hahaha. Fortunately this is something I do fairly frequently so it is no longer an embarressment!

royal wedding of william and kate westminster abbey

the north side of Westminster Abbey, the wedding venue for Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton

At the Abbey I made the most of the crowd-free grounds and took some more intimate photos of the decorative carvings, gargoyles and sculptures that adorn this magnificent building. Across the road the organisers of the wedding are busy setting up stands for the press corps…..damn, I wish I was a Press person!

setting up the stands for the Press Photographers

Then at a quick pace I made my way to Buckingham Palace via St James’s Park which is looking just fabulous with the spring flowers now in full bloom in the gardens laid out by John Nash. The Swire Fountain was in working order and the waters splashed with joyful abandon. London in spring is exhuberant with all colours of the rainbow and more, light breezes, summery sunshine, April showers, and hundreds of people very sensibly making the most of it.

st james park swire fountain royal wedding

the Swire Fountain in St James's Park

Besides that, London was strangely empty of traffic this afternoon, not sure why, but it was great being able to just cross over the roads at will. It got a bit busier as the afternoon wore on. At Buckingham Palace the signs of a Royal event were evident: the flags are being raised along the Mall, Green park has a huge area closed off, the Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain is closed off, and parts of the Memorial Gardens are also closed off.

Memorial Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace - closed off in preparation for the Royal Wedding

Then at a fast march I charged along The Mall and on to Leicester Square where I met up with Andrew and Vanessa and joined the queue at Ben & Jerry’s.

the queue at Ben & Jerry's free cone day in Leicester Square

My first choice: Chocolate Fudge Brownie, a burst of flavour that set my taste-buds a tingle; hard to describe the sensation as the overload of chocolate exploded in my mouth. We strolled around the perimeter of Leicester Square chatting and slurping the fast melting ice-cream and re-joined the queue on the other side of the square where I had the Cherry Garcia: cherry ice-cream with cherries and dark chocolatey chunks, (heaven on a cone). Once again we set off round the perimeter till the cones were depleted and re-joined the queue. This cone I chose: Phish Food; a delectable mix of chocolate ice-cream with marshmallow, caramel & chocolatey shaped fish. I never found any fish but the ice-cream was delicious. We set off once again, and by the time we arrived back we were ready for what would be the last for the day (this dear reader, is only coz I had run out of time). My next choice was the Strawberry Cheesecake: a tantalising mix of strawberry cheesecake ice-cream with strawberries and cookie swirls. Delectable. And that was me; replete. I was totally ice-creamed out, and now I will need size 18 trousers!!! 🙂 heehee.

By now it was time to head on down into the underground to face the crush of the homeward-bound commuters. As it turned out, it wasn’t that busy and I manged to secure a seat till my destination and thence to home.
What a great afternoon; right up my alley: a walk round London, sunshine and ice-cream. What more could a girl want?
Footnote: alongside the free ice-cream give-away B&J’s have partnered with a few charities and there were people with buckets collecting for Great Ormond Street Hospital and NSPCC (those are the two that I donated to). I surely hope that people were generous and contributed to these worthy charities.
p.s.I am now a dedicated fan of Ben & Jerry’s Ice-Cream.
p.s.s. B&J’s are committed to being 100% FAIRTRADE by end 2011. Excellent.

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Time out in Richmond

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged eel pie island, richmond green, Sweetie Pies Boutique bakery, what to do outside of london, york house statues on April 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

sunset over the river Thames in Twickenham

Yesterday I returned to my job from a 1 week break, during which time I stayed with my wonderful daughter in Twickenham.
Although she was in fact working during this time we did manage to spend a fair amount of time together and had a few adventures.
One of which I already wrote about was our time together on Mother’s Day when we went to Kingston-Upon-Thames. Fab day.
Nights we had a lovely time, sitting together on the couch watching TV, eating biscuits & drinking tea, chatting after lights out till the wee hours, and in the mornings sitting out in the sun drinking tea and chatting. The weather was fabulous for the whole week and we were treated to some gorgeous sunsets.

Tuesday I met up with a friend, someone I met via twitter, who runs a business in Richmond. Of course we went to Sweetie Pies for tea & cupcakes 🙂

sweetie pies boutique bakery in twickenham

tweetie pies - could you eat that cute little face

and later on CJ and I walked to Richmond and had a late breakfast at ‘Giraffe’ in Richmond, very nice food actually, good value and definitely a place to go back to. Whilst there we saw John Hannah walk past outside and the comedian Justin Lee Collins came in for lunch. CJ was quite chuffed. It’s quite weird when you see TV personalities in real-life. We get used to seeing them on the screen and they never seem real, so to see them live….is weird. (& I am not really sure why). On Wednesday CJ spent the day with her client Sweetie Pies (only our favourite place to visit in Twickenham) and I popped in late afternoon to partake of a cuppa and for a change instead of cupcakes, I had scones with strawberry jam and cream…..delicious! Afterwards we sat on the bench in the churchyard just enjoying the afternoon sun, then strolled along the banks of the Thames for a wee while, after which we stopped off at Pincho’s where she treated me to a mediterranean supper. Their food is just delicious and we shared pita and hoummus, she had the aubergine baked with cheese & tomato, and the spicy chicken kebabs and I had breaded prawns in a mild chilli sauce and butternut with black-eyed beans in a light curry sauce (heavenly).

view of the church from my vantage point on the bench

On Thursday I lazed around and did a bit of work (online), then we met up at the W.I. (Women’s Institute) in the evening. She joined the WI a few months ago and loves being the youngest of the group, and has been taken under the wing of one of the ladies there. The ladies of Twickenham WI get together once a month to gossip and listen to speakers, discuss whatever there is to gossip about in town, and generally have a good time. They organise scrabble evenings, trips to the theatre, trips to the countryside, fairs and of course they bake cakes and make jam ( 🙂 ) – I have yet to hear them sing!

Man fron the Ministry

On this particular evening they had a speaker on, a gentleman who in the 80’s worked for/with Maggie T. We learned some really interesting tidbits about the lady in question and about the goings on in Parliament. I am an admirer of Maggie T and was delighted to learn more about her. Unfortunately the speaker was well restrained and did not give us any salacious gossip to tattle about….darn!!! She was a formidable woman by any means and it would be great to have more like her in power. The Gentleman speaker cut a dashing figure in his suit and tie and even brought in a bowler hat, the type they used to wear in the 60’s and 70’s, a satchel and a brolly cum walking stick. I had to laugh at how precise he looked and how much of a caricature of the TV series ‘Yes Minister’ that was ever so popular in days gone by. Then we had tea and a chat and a raffle. Heehee I won a book!

Friday brought a stroll into Richmond for an afternoon on the green, lying in the sun. Heavenly. It was the first day so far this summer I have worn a t-shirt and the sun felt so good on my skin.

Richmond Green

Then we did something I have been dying to do for ages and ages. We sat on the banks of the river and watched the tide come in. There is a concrete ledge, flush with the pathway that runs along the bank of the river from Twickenham Bridge through to Richmond Bridge on the Richmond side. When we first sat down CJ, took her shoes off and dangled her feet over the edge at which stage the water was about 4 inches below her feet. Within minutes the water was up to and touching her toes and then covering her feet. It was so weird sitting there watching the water level getting inexorably higher and higher. I also sat with my legs dangling over the edge but didn’t take my shoes off! Of course the water reached her feet long before it reached the soles of my shoes, but within a couple of minutes I had to lift my feet up onto the ledge.

watching the tide come in

The river in this area is quite busy with little boats whizzing up and down, scullers rowing by – the lazy slap of their oars as they hit the water bouncing off the wall of the bridge like a gunshot. The water is inhabited by numerous geese, ducks and some swans. We were highly entertained by the wee creatures, sailing, flapping, flying and fighting on the water…..at one stage about 3 of them became quite violent right in front of us!! Chasing after a poor wee female that ducked under the water to escape their attentions, never to be seen again. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, and along the path cyclists, strollers, joggers and couples meandered by. On the bridge the trains regularly rattled by, causing quite a din as they traversed the steel girders.

on the river

Whilst I was sitting on the edge, enjoying the sun’s rays, a boat went by and caused quite a wake that by the time it reached the ledge, had quite a swell. It narrowly missed slopping over the edge and I escaped getting wet. A wee bit later another boat went by and as I kept a wary eye on the size of the swells, I decided discretion was the better part of sensibility and scrambled to my feet (it’s amazing how quickly I can move when I have an incentive). Just in time too as next thing a wave, just and inch or so high swamped the area where I had been sitting just a moment before. CJ was in stitches and very disappointed that I had moved when I did. The evil brat was keen for me to get soaked. 🙂

hhhmmmmm....look at that smile. Quite keen for me to get wet!!

After that and since I was now on my feet we meandered along the path towards Twickenham Bridge enroute home. Along the way I stopped off to film the water rushing into the little stream that runs between the walkway and the green. Although just a little sluice gate the water was pounding through, rushing and swirling creating an enormous noise, a little like being on a rapid over a waterfall. Marvellous. This daily rush of water keeps the stream filled and running, thus keeping it from becoming stagnant.

the noise was unbelievable

On the way home we stopped off on the bridge over the river to watch the sun sink behind the trees and a few planes flying into Heathrow.

You would be amazed at how many planes fly overhead, every couple of minutes (or 90seconds I believe).

plane flying into Heathrow

In all a wonderful week with my chica. Just very sad to say goodbye as it is usually ages before we meet again and now that her business is taking off big time she is working all hours. On the way to the bus stop we passed one of the iconic red postboxes and noticed this:

don't worry; be happy!

I think the Royal Mail people should stick little eyes on ALL their post boxes, imagine how cheered up we would feel each time we posted a letter. And if you were wondering what I got up to on Monday….I have no idea. Cannot for the life of me recall what we/I did!!

I am now back at my job and it is becoming more difficult to stay on. After my week’s freedom I feel quite caged in now. It’s really annoying in a way, you plan for the time off months in advance, it takes ages to arrive and then in a flash the week is gone! Time to start planning the next break 🙂

appendage:

Richmond is such a lovely area with some gorgeous houses lining the side streets. Spring is sprouting all over with a profusion of colours; the daffodils are mostly gone now but tulips and poppies are taking their place. The grass and trees are incredibly green and along the walls wisteria is beginning to bloom, their lilac and purple blossoms against the white of the houses, remnicient of a mediterranean climate. Having the river flow through the towns is magical and I never tire of strolling along the banks or looking out over the swell of water from the top of the bridges, in themselves very pretty. Quite the loveliest areas and I am really keen to actually live out there now. I have been playing with my photos again and made another video. In time I hope to make them a bit quicker….. 🙂

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Happy Mother’s Day 2011

Posted in Fun Stuff, It's my life, tagged Kingston Upon Thames, mothers day, sweetie pies boutique bakery twickenham on April 5, 2011| 6 Comments »

My daughter is one of those people who loves to give gifts, and it doesn’t have to be a special occasion to warrant a gift.

However, let it be a special occasion and her generosity knows no bounds, especially when it comes to Mother’s Day; this year was no exception.

I am having a week’s break and spending time with my daughter which is more than enough for me as a gift, but is that enough for her….no! Mother’s Day started with a lazy lie-in with a cup of tea and chat. Then we made our way into Twickenham to Sweetie Pies and a special tea of scones with jam and cream, posh sandwiches and…….. cupcakes! Of course 🙂 mmmmm, delicious.

cupcakes and ever so posh sandwiches at Sweetie Pies in Twickenham

From there we hopped on a bus for a trip to Kingston-Upon-Thames! Brilliant treat. I had not yet ventured to Kingston and this was a treat for sure. Kingston is cute and quaint. We did what I love best; meandering here and there, following narrow lanes and discovering an ancient bridge, a market square where 7 Kings of English history were crowned, the stone on which they sat during the ceremony. The ancient town centre is a treat of ancient buildings, some dating from the 1422 and before.

AD1422

A stroll along the riverside took us past pretty little houseboats, sailing boats – white sails billowing in the wind, dozens of swans, a wild-bird sanctury, a beautiful wild-bird sculpture, little cafes and pubs and onto the bridge – the views are heavenly.

view along the river from Kingston Bridge

from there it was a trip back to Twickenham on the bus and a stroll along Church Street took us to the historical Fox Inn where we stopped in for Sunday’s Roast. We sat in the garden and enjoyed the last rays of the sun. Then a short walk home via the riverside and then a lie out on a blanket on the grass in the back garden enjoying a cup of tea and a lazy chat. As the sun slipped down the horizon and the evening chill set in we slipped back indoors and settled in front of the telly for an evening’s viewing.

The Fox in Twickenham

A wonderful day, marvellous company and treats galore.

I made a short video of the town for my website that you may enjoy.

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commemorating the Great Fire of 1666

Posted in Historical, It's my life, things to do in London, tagged tallest freestanding column in the world, the great fire of london 1666, the monument city of london on April 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is to certify that…………………….has climbed the 311 steps of the Monument.

my certificate

After the dizzying and arduous climb of those 311 steps that circle 160feet (48.7metres) up in an ever tightening spiral to the viewing platform of the Monument, when you return to the bottom you receive a certificate to prove that you have indeed made it to the top and back. And quite rightly too!

an ever tightening spiral of stairs going up!!!

on Monday last I went #walkabout again as mentioned in a previous post. My number one priority was to visit the Monument to gather information and photos for a piece I am doing. Here is the story of the Monument.

The Monument stands in Monument Street off Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane in the City of London.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, the monument was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, the Monument is the tallest free standing monument in the world.

The Monument

The Great Fire of London 1666 began in a baker’s house in Pudding Lane on a Sunday in September 1666. The fire burned for 3days from the 2nd September till it was finally extinguished on Wednesday 5th September, by which stage it had destroyed the greater part of the City.

The fire brought all activity to a halt after having consumed or severely damaged more than 13,000 houses, hundreds of streets, the City’s gates, public buildings, Churches and St Paul’s Cathedral, in all 436 acres of the City. Amazingly there was little loss of life and a very interesting account of the fire can be read in the diaries of Samuel Pepys.

The only buildings to survive were those built of stone, such as the Guildhall.

Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned by King Charles II to erect a permanent memorial to the Great Fire of London near the spot where it started……Pudding Lane.

The Monument, a colossal Doric Column in the antique tradition, contains a cantilevered stone staircase of 311 steps that lead to the viewing platform, surmounted by a drum and a copper urn from which flames emerged; symbolising the Great Fire.

the Monument as it looked in 1750...the buildings are certainly very different now

the flaming urn and the viewing platform, which as you can see, is enclosed with wire mesh

The Monument is 202feet (61metres) high, (30 feet taller than Nelson’s Column). 202feet is the exact distance between it and the site in Pudding Lane where the fire began. Be sure to study the fabulous carvings on the square base of the monument.

on the base of the monument are some fabulous carvings.

The monument originally housed a telescope, and scientific experiments were conducted there.

The platform, open on all four sides, is enclosed by a strong wire mesh (to prevent suicides). Notable buildings that can be seen from this vantage point would be:
St Paul’s Cathedral – dome, the Gerkin (Swiss Re building), Lloyd’s Building, in the distance you can see Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, The Shard (a new building that at the time of writing is being built near to London Bridge in Southwark, Tate Modern, London Eye, and a great number of our more modern buildings in Bank.

the dome of St Paul's Cathedral...I zoomed in to get this shot

St Magnus-the-Martyr Church (although it is open only on Sundays) there you can see a relic of a Roman Wharf dated AD75
London Bridge – a short walk from the Monument
Bank – a brisk walk will take you into the centre of London at the Royal Exchange and Mansion House.
The Thames Path – a short walk will take you to a point where you can pick up the Thames Path on the north bank for a really interesting walk past old and new buildings, pubs and cannons, historical sites, under bridges and through tunnels.

It never ceases to give me a thrill when I visit these places. To think that I am walking in the footsteps of Christopher Wren and many other notable personages over the years…… as well as the less notable! On the day that I visited the monumnet was crowded as usual and it’s a tight squeeze on what is a very narrow ledge. It’s probably a good thing they have the wire mesh, as someone would be likely to fall off. As I was leaving a group of about 20 schoolchildren were ascending and it was a real laugh trying to squeeze past on the way down, esp at the top of the spiral staircase that gets narrower the higher it gets. Bless….one little poppet was screaming her head off with fear, stuck about a 3rd of the way up, refusing to walk one more step and not happy. The noise in the narrow confines was deafening!

I do count myself so very lucky that I am able to visit these places and can’t imagine that many years ago in my very distant past I used to say that I had no interest in visiting London! I must have been mad!

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never trust an Insurance Salesman

Posted in It's my life, wealth and finance, tagged financial investments, insurance salesmen, retirment annuity on April 1, 2011| 4 Comments »

Today I should have been rich beyong my wildest dreams…………..hmmmm!!!

25 years ago when I was young and still quite stupid about most things, especially money, I had a meeting with an Insurance Salesman.

He sold me a Retirement Annuity Policy based on the big dream of how in 25 years time I would have enough money to buy a house and a car with what he ‘projected’ would be the maturity value, as well as the ‘massively’ large amount of money that I would get each month on retirement! At that stage my plan was to retire at 55!

He suggested that a 25year retirement annuity would be just the ticket and so I signed on the dotted line.

Of course history has now shown us that the only people/persons who benefitted from a 25 year annuity was the ‘Salesman’ and probably the company he worked for. I have duly paid in my subs each month for 25 years and lo and behold the 25 years is now up and what do we find…………….?

a) the value of the payout is 56% LESS than he projected.

b) the monthly payout/dividend is less than what I earn in a day in the UK and is by no means even enough to buy a week’s worth of groceries in South Africa in today’s currency.

c) I am now ‘forced’ by legislation (which has changed since I took out the policy), to re-invest the money with the Insurance Company and for this ‘priviledge’ they will deduct a certain amount from the monthly payments, aka the money I have invested. So I am paying to get my money back!

d) they also want me to take out an inflation policy (again deducted from my payments) to keep up with inflation. Well HELLO!!! I did that when I took out the policy……..and it has in no way kept up with inflation!

e) 2/3 of the policy value stays with them and the 1/3 that I get out as the initial payment is 8.75% less than what I have paid in over the 25 years. I would have been better off putting the money in a long-term savings account…at least I would be able to take out what I require rather than what they say I may have!

A few months ago I got a new broker to look over my portfolio and give me up-to-date advice on the status of the policies I have. She looked at this particular policy and remarked “I hope you were not thinking of retiring on this policy!”…….uhhmmmm Yes! Actually I was!!! urgh 😦

So here is my advice………………..NEVER EVER EVER EVER believe an Insurance Salesman when they say they are acting in your best interest by ‘selling’ you this policy that will ‘best suit your needs’.

Bollocks!!! the only person it suited was you!!! I am pretty darn certain that when he sat there at my dining room table that day 25 years ago, the only house he was picturing, was the house he would buy with the commission he was earning from the ‘sale’ of these 25 year policies that he persuaded persons like me was ‘the best policy for your needs’.

and you can be darn sure I will never again give my hard earned pounds/pence to any Insurance Company and I will never take up a policy with an Insurance Salesman.

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