Thursday 22 January 2009
covent garden
Sometimes, I like to just wander around London. It is so old and full of intriguing architecture, and subtle colours ...
Monday 12 January 2009
I have now added details and pricing to my website for promo shoots.
As a special January offer, the first TWO artists/musicians/bands to contact me, via my site today, will receive a FREE promo photoshoot!
The shoot must take place by the 15th of February. (Please note, I do not offer studio shoots.)
Happy Monday!
x
The lovely Tom McRae ...
As a special January offer, the first TWO artists/musicians/bands to contact me, via my site today, will receive a FREE promo photoshoot!
The shoot must take place by the 15th of February. (Please note, I do not offer studio shoots.)
Happy Monday!
x
The lovely Tom McRae ...
Thursday 1 January 2009
Happy New Year all ...
We had a really lovely relaxing Christmas and New Year this year. Hopefully that bodes well for 2009 ;)
We spent two nights in Sheffield to catch up with Leon's family, and then took a trip up to the Lake District. I spent 7 years in the Lakes in the 90s, and Leon had never been, so I wanted to share the best bits with him.
Leon's niece Livvi is the sweetest child, and she LOVED her Space Hopper Christmas present. Isn't it amazing that they haven't changed the facial expression on space hoppers in the last 20 odd years ;)
The drive up to the Lakes, through the Peak District, was particularly glorious as a freak cold spell had hit the UK, and the sky didn't have a cloud in it. I can take any amount of cold weather as long as the sun shines ...
As we drove into the Lakes, we stopped at the renowned Queens Head at Troutbeck and had a lovely lunch (crispy duck legs, mmm).
We stayed in Grasmere, at the Rothay Garden Hotel, which has recently had a million pounds spent on it. You can certainly see where the money has gone, it is extremely stylish. After a delicious french toast, maple syrup and bacon breakfast in the conservatory, flooded with pale gold sunshine, we drove around the area. The good weather held out, with wide clear blue skies and frost everywhere. It's hard to capture quite how beautiful Cumbria is at this time of year, but we tried.
For lunch, we made our way to the famous Drunken Duck in Ambleside. EXCELLENT food. I had wild mushrooms sauteed with cream and served on toasted brioche. I could have eaten it twice.
Although we'd planned to only spend one night in the Lakes, we couldn't tear ourselves away, so decided to stay one more night. Lastminute.com to the rescue and we checked into the Angel Inn in Bowness-on-Windermere. Again, recently refurbished, the Angel Inn is really comfortable and welcoming. (Don't go for Room 7 though, it's not the biggest, nor does it have a decent view).
After a very cold wander around Bowness, we popped into the Hole Int Wall pub (built in 1612) for a quick drink then drove to The Punchbowl at Crosthwaite, for dinner. I vaguely remembered that the Punchbowl was decent but it was only once we were reading the menus that we realised that the pub has been voted the 'Best Pub in Britain' in the Michelin guide 2009!! The food was just phenomenal. Every thing we ate was perfect and we washed it all down with the best white wine I have ever tasted, a New Zealand Lofthouse Sauvignon Blanc 2006.
On the way home, we stopped the car in the darkest spot we could find and stared at the amazing Milky Way. You just don't get a decent night sky in London, what with all the light pollution. Sadly, we couldn't stand outside for too long as it was -5.5 degrees celcius!
Even the drive home the next day was surprisingly picturesque, as the sun stayed just above the horizon all the way south.
Just a little bit of history for you, I used to run a pub in the Lake District with a previous boyfriend (the Strickland Arms) and we couldn't resist doing a subtle 'drive by' to see if he still runs it. It turns out he doesn't now, but the new owners have completely redone the pub, changing the whole layout inside. Really quite odd and freaky walking around it and trying to remember the original layout. I am really happy that the place is being so lovingly looked after and it seems to have a great reputation for food which warms the cockles of my heart ...
All in all, a delightful break away. I feel refreshed and excited about 2009 now xxx
We spent two nights in Sheffield to catch up with Leon's family, and then took a trip up to the Lake District. I spent 7 years in the Lakes in the 90s, and Leon had never been, so I wanted to share the best bits with him.
Leon's niece Livvi is the sweetest child, and she LOVED her Space Hopper Christmas present. Isn't it amazing that they haven't changed the facial expression on space hoppers in the last 20 odd years ;)
The drive up to the Lakes, through the Peak District, was particularly glorious as a freak cold spell had hit the UK, and the sky didn't have a cloud in it. I can take any amount of cold weather as long as the sun shines ...
As we drove into the Lakes, we stopped at the renowned Queens Head at Troutbeck and had a lovely lunch (crispy duck legs, mmm).
We stayed in Grasmere, at the Rothay Garden Hotel, which has recently had a million pounds spent on it. You can certainly see where the money has gone, it is extremely stylish. After a delicious french toast, maple syrup and bacon breakfast in the conservatory, flooded with pale gold sunshine, we drove around the area. The good weather held out, with wide clear blue skies and frost everywhere. It's hard to capture quite how beautiful Cumbria is at this time of year, but we tried.
For lunch, we made our way to the famous Drunken Duck in Ambleside. EXCELLENT food. I had wild mushrooms sauteed with cream and served on toasted brioche. I could have eaten it twice.
Although we'd planned to only spend one night in the Lakes, we couldn't tear ourselves away, so decided to stay one more night. Lastminute.com to the rescue and we checked into the Angel Inn in Bowness-on-Windermere. Again, recently refurbished, the Angel Inn is really comfortable and welcoming. (Don't go for Room 7 though, it's not the biggest, nor does it have a decent view).
After a very cold wander around Bowness, we popped into the Hole Int Wall pub (built in 1612) for a quick drink then drove to The Punchbowl at Crosthwaite, for dinner. I vaguely remembered that the Punchbowl was decent but it was only once we were reading the menus that we realised that the pub has been voted the 'Best Pub in Britain' in the Michelin guide 2009!! The food was just phenomenal. Every thing we ate was perfect and we washed it all down with the best white wine I have ever tasted, a New Zealand Lofthouse Sauvignon Blanc 2006.
On the way home, we stopped the car in the darkest spot we could find and stared at the amazing Milky Way. You just don't get a decent night sky in London, what with all the light pollution. Sadly, we couldn't stand outside for too long as it was -5.5 degrees celcius!
Even the drive home the next day was surprisingly picturesque, as the sun stayed just above the horizon all the way south.
Just a little bit of history for you, I used to run a pub in the Lake District with a previous boyfriend (the Strickland Arms) and we couldn't resist doing a subtle 'drive by' to see if he still runs it. It turns out he doesn't now, but the new owners have completely redone the pub, changing the whole layout inside. Really quite odd and freaky walking around it and trying to remember the original layout. I am really happy that the place is being so lovingly looked after and it seems to have a great reputation for food which warms the cockles of my heart ...
All in all, a delightful break away. I feel refreshed and excited about 2009 now xxx
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