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Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged 2012 olympics london, goodbye 2011, queens diamond jubilee 2012, Richmond Palace, roxette in concert, spay games, Sweetie Pies Boutique bakery, thames cruise to hampton court on December 31, 2011| 4 Comments »

Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. Bill Vaughn

Thankfully I am now of the age where I can take it one way or the other.
So I had planned to go into London to the Eye to see in the New Year, but…….I am not inclined to stand in the wet and cold any more so I have decided to do the sensible (old) thing and watch it on telly, then I can go straight to bed after instead of a 2 hour journey to get home. But for that, I would be there…..

fireworks at Big Ben & the London Eye

And so before the year is out…I have decided to put finger to keyboard and write a blog which I haven’t done since the beginning of the month.

The last few months have been quite weird and certainly eventful. I finally quit my job as a carer in August and got an office job only to resign within 2.5 months…..although I am still working there. They asked me to reconsider and stay on. The boss is a pratt and thinks that intimidation is the way to motivate me! Hurrumph…think again mate. So I guess we shall have to wait and see what transpires in the new year.

I have, as many of you know, moved in with my daughter and we are now sharing a lovely house in Twickenham….5 minutes walk to the river

view from Twickenham Bridge of the river Thames...I love this view

and 20 minutes to Sweetie Pies Bakery.

xmas cupcakes at Sweetie Pies Boutique Bakery in Twickenham

I walk to Richmond station in the mornings and have hundreds of photos of the same scene; of the river and boats from the bridge and riverbank and yet surprisingly it is different every day! I also get to walk through the grounds and past what remains of Richmond Palace. Quite awesome really.

Richmond Palace

It’s lovely to have a home again and it was wonderful to celebrate Xmas with our own tree and all the trimmings. Xmas morning was brilliant fun and we both had lots of pressies to open then a walk to Richmond Park and a full xmas dinner in the evening…except I forgot the Yorkshire puds!!!

our enormous xmas tree & lots of pressies

2011 has been a year of development and remonstration, of regret and realisation. I guess you could say I have ‘grown’ in some ways. In fact it’s been quite a stressful year in many ways and I have had to face some long suppressed truths and acknowledge a fair number of disappointments. I have been unpacking my boxes, now out of storage and it has been quite upsetting and yet cathartic…I have thrown out a lot of garbage (metaphorically & actually speaking) 10 boxes of clothes and stuff I have accumulated as well as tons of the personal development paperwork from 2007/2008! I also opened a bottle of 2004 Nuy Muscadel that is now matured and quite sublime…I have a glass to hand as I write 🙂

I have had some fantastic new experiences; a Thames cruise to Hampton Court, an afternoon of Spy Games up in Buckinghamshire where I got to do some target shooting (awesome), went to see Roxette in live concert!! brilliant and an invitation to the Guildhall for the 600th anniversary celebrations,

invitation to the Guildhall London

a drumming lesson arranged for me by my beloved daughter as one of my xmas presents. So cool. I have wanted to learn to play the drums for ever and a day and now I have had my 1st lesson. We are going to arrange for more lessons in April.

learning the drums - my 2011 xmas present 🙂

In the family we have had 1 wedding, welcomed 4 new children into the family, Cémanthe’s brother & his wife had a new baby, my brother & his wife adopted 2 kiddies and gave birth to one of their own!! We visited South Africa in June for a catch up with family and said a sad goodbye to a dearly beloved grandfather.

Cémanthe and her paternal grandparents...sadly Alan is no longer with us.

There have been ups and downs this year as well as some revelations. I have slept on The Mall to watch our future King marry, been to most of my favourite places and events in the city and discovered many more. I have written a book, now published on kindle, developed on-line fatigue, conducted my first tour of London, made new friends, and sadly lost contact with some too. I have supported my daughter through a debilitating divorce and celebrated the growth of her company crowned by a Women in Business Award nomination and was invited to the opening of an art exhibition in my capacity as a ‘Blogger of Influence’…..

me at Hatfield House for the Henry Moore art exhibition (I'm the one in the purple jumper!)

2012 holds the promise of new adventures, new avenues to explore and new encounters. I hope to renew some others and definitely want to start travelling again. My dream of a campervan to travel around the UK and then the world still holds strong and if I work hard enough it may just transpire (2 of my gifts from Cémanthe were campervan related).

We here in London/UK have the Queen’s Jubilee to look forward to – which promises to be unbelievably amazing

visual representation of what the Royal Barge will look like for the Queen's Jubilee

as well as the Olympics…can’t wait.

just over 1 year to go - London 2012 Olympics

We have tickets to 2 of the events and even though it’s not the opening or closing ceremony…there are plenty of vantage points in London where we will be able to see the fireworks. Just to be here is amazing enough for me anyhow.

So in conclusion, I wish you all a wonderful 2012 and may you have 365 exciting days ahead!

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an afternoon in Richmond Upon Thames

Posted in around the UK, Castles of UK and Ireland, Historical, It's my life, things to do in London, Travel, tagged 4 Maids of Honour Row Richmond, historical homes in Richmond, Richmond Palace, Richmond Upon Thames, thames path richmond, things to do in Richmond on March 28, 2011| 4 Comments »

Yesterday I had some time off so made my way through to Twickenham to visit my daughter who has been quite peaky the last week and needed some ‘Mummy TLC’. 🙂 The weather was great by the time I arrived there and it was lovely to see the sun (the journey took 1.5hours!!!!).

transport for london, trains from barons court to richmond, district line to richmond

waiting at Baron's Court for the first train to Richmond

First we had a cup of tea and a wee chat and then went for a stroll along the river. She was looking decidedly pale and needed some sun. We crossed the river via Twickenham Bridge and taking a short-cut along a delightful little road, we passed the entrance to the Old Deer Park.

the entrance under the bridge to the Deer Park, Richmond

The houses that lined the road were wonderful, gardens and lawns beautifully maintained with the spring flowers and greenery sprouting vigorously. The flower boxes are a delight of colour.

delightful houses, window boxes filled with colours of spring

As we reached Richmond Green, which certainly lived up to it’s name,

living up to it's name...Richmond Green

we walked to the right and behold…..the remains of ‘Richmond Palace’!!! OMG!!! Show me a palace or a castle and I go weak at the knees. It was extraordinary to stand under the archway that led into the courtyard knowing that 3 of our Monarchs lived here at some stage of our history. King Henry VII, King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. Right up my alley; I was enchanted.

inside the courtyard of Richmond Palace showing the King's Wardrobe on the right

Yes it did say private land, and no I did not take heed!! We strolled around the courtyard and discovered the ‘Trumpeter’s House’, ‘Number 2 The Wardrobe’ as well as the ‘Palace Gate House’ 🙂

Trumpeter's House, Richmond Palace

Can you just imagine living in a house called ‘The Trumpeter’s House’!!! How marvellous. The courtyard is delightful and so quiet you would never guess your’e right in the town. The ancient hinges on the wall are massive and show just how enormous the gates themselves must have been to require such large hinges.

...now that is what you call a hinge!!!!

From there we walked past a magical row of houses named ‘Four Maids of Honour Row’……how quaint can you get!!!!

4 Maids of Honour Row, Richmond

Next we walked across the green to the town and made our way to a wee tea-room, a delightful little place, quaint and twee. There we relaxed and chatted over a pot of tea and scones with jam and cream (of course!!!).

scones with jam and cream

After tea we walked back to the green and lay out on the green, green grass in the sun….the citizens of Richmond were scattered about on the grass, relaxing, playing games, throwing ball, little kiddies running about, parents trying to keep up; the buzz of conversation and laughter filled the air.

As the sun started to slip down the horizon it got chilly, so we decided to head on home. I unfortunately had a deadline too. 😦

A quick stroll along the main road where we passed a pub called ‘The Old Ship’. Above the entrance were two lovely old lamps!

The Old Ship has stood on this site since at least 1735

old lamps and carved wooden detail

and then along the embankment that forms part of the Thames Path that runs approx 180 miles along the Thames riverbank from the Thames Flood Barrier at Woolwich in South East London to Kemble in Gloucestershire. The grassy verges were filled to the brim with people all sitting out enjoying the sun. I have never seen that particular area so heavily peopled before. It’s quite weird….it’s like in winter everyone gets packed away in a box, and when the spring arrives…they all get let out again.

along the embankment near Richmond Bridge

Along the way we passed some amazing houses…wow!! Richmond upon Thames has, and is surrounded by, a great selection of historic houses and stately homes.

can you imagine that the water reaches right up to the wall at high tide

I saw a heron fishing

heron fishing at the deer park in richmond

a heron fishing

and stopped at the old ‘Meridian Line; that used to be positioned here (now moved to Greenwich).

meridian line richmond, kings observatory old deer park, kew road, richmond

where the meridian line used to be positioned. if you follow the line as the crow flies you will reach the King's Observatory

Then it was back home, a quick stop on the bridge to take photos….the river was looking absolutely fabulous.

River Thames as viewed from Twickenham Bridge

Then home for one final cup of tea and finally I had no option but to head on home…..a journey that took 2 hours!!!! urgh. Sunday on TFL is no joke!

map of Richmond Upon Thames

There is so much to do in Richmond, and with a fabulous selection of historical houses, quaint and ancient pubs, high street shops, a number of restaurants and tea-rooms, the Old Deer Park, boating on the river and the Thames Pathway….you are spoilt for choice. It’s a wonderful area and so worth the trip out of London…a trip that is an adventure in itself.

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