Being Mrs C

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Mr C's parents invited us to join them on Thursday evening to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (apologies if that link doesn't work as their website appeared to be down as I wrote this). I've heard of these guys before, but I had absolutely no idea just how funny they are! I've certainly now seen the ukulele in a completely different light and I wish Mr C could play his at this level.

They do some brilliant takes on classics songs that we all know and also some more modern stuff. My absolute favourite has to be their rendition of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. Ever since the show I've had it on almost permanent repeat on my ipod.

A version does appear to have been put on YouTube here but I think this is a bootleg from their DVD (available from their website), which I imagine is excellent. There is also a slightly scary video version in which a courting couple seem to be being stalked by a group of ukulele players - completely bizarre!

So impressed I was with what I saw that I queued up to buy a copy of the CDs that they were selling at the end of their performance. I managed to get a copy of their (hopefully named) Live in London # 1, mainly because it included the fantastic Wuthering Heights. That CD doesn't appear to be available from Amazon, but I'm pretty sure that it will be on their website. One of their albums is available on amazon though: The Secret of Life.  

Although quite a lot of their material is available on YouTube for free, if you do like their music (hard not to in my opinion), then please do look to buy some of it officially. The orchestra sell quite a bit via their own website or the tracks that make up The Secret of Life are also available as MP3 downloads from amazon. 

Enjoy!

Chaos

Ae we really only ten days into 2009? Last weekend I remember feeling so organised for going into the new year; now I'm not too sure. So much seems to have happened in these last ten days that I'm not even sure where to start. Sorry there are no photos to accompany my words - I've just not had time to take my camera out of my handbag all week.

I went back to work on Monday and was expecting a quiet week before starting all the regular meetings etc next week. Someone else obviously thought differently. I feel like I've been on a treadmill that's been getting faster and faster all week - and somehow I'm still on it. Everyone seems to have come back to work with a huge amount of enthusiasm to get things going. That's good in a way, but not when it creates so much more for me to do and needs me to do thinks much more quickly than I had planned. I also ended up having to take an overnight trip to Gloucestershire to meet a new supplier. Only organised the day before, but at least it gave me some train time to read and catch up with my knitting!

Outside of work things at home also seem to have been very busy. Mr C and I have started house hunting again. We've already viewed two houses this year and by the end of this weekend we will have seen a total of six. I've finished two more excellent books since reading The Outcast and reviews will be coming soon. The second sock in the pair that I started last year is also nearing completion and my journey out west allowed me to cast on a scarf for my friend L who's ill at the moment.

Mr C and I also (somehow) found time for a fantastic meal out together. When we're eating in London we tend to always book through toptable who have some fantastic offers. This time we went to the Clerkenwell dining room where there was an offer of 50% off prices on their a la carte menu. It was one of the best meals out I have had in a long time - fantastic food that was very different in style. My starter was scallops with a selection of curry sauces and an aubergine bhaji type thing. It was delicious. My main was slow cooked veal on a bed of saffron risotto. Perfectly cooked so that the veal just fell away and with the level of saffron just right to give it an interesting edge without being overpowering. Even at the full prices I would have been more than happy - with the discount it was even better. Service there was also excellent. We plan to return!

I suppose I'd better stop blogging and start on all the other things that are now on my to do list for the weekend. Hope you enjoy it and manage to stay warm. It's been freezing here in the UK for the last week and now as I type this it's starting to snow very lightly. After no summer there's no doubt that winter has well and truly arrived!

St Pancras

Once again I'm just not too sure where the last week has disappeared to. It's been a difficult week at work, with a couple of days working away as well, and I was certainly ready for the weekend when it came around.

One big highlight of the week was Mr C and my fortnightly Thursday meal out. It was my turn to choose this time and I managed to book us a table at the St Pancras Grand in London's St Pancras International station. Normally the idea of going to a train station for dinner would be laughed at, but St Pancras is no normal station.

Since it was re-opened last year St Pancras has been a destination in its own right. A fantastic job has been done to bring the station back to its former glory, combining modern needs with classic, historic style. There are some great shops and plenty of places to eat and drink. The architecture is also worth a visit and it goes to prove that we British can do some amazing things with our historic buildings.

Much fuss has been made of the champagne bar but there hasn't been quite as much fuss made of the restaurant alongside it, run by the same people, Searcys. We booked our table via toptable (a fantastic website if you're dining in London) and were shown straight to a nice table, not too far from the bar and the jazz band that was setting up.

The food was quite simply excellent. My starter in particular (black pudding, smoked salmon, a poached egg and hollandaise) was so tasty that I salivate now just thinking about it. There was also a very good wine list where you didn't have to break the bank, although there was plenty of choice if you did want to! Service was also very good, although they let things down slightly at the end when we had to ask twice for the bill and then when it did come it was wrong. A shame as everything else that evening had been perfect. We'll certainly be going back - and I never imagined that I'd be saying that about a train station restaurant!

Lacock

On our way down to Somerset to visit the River Cottage Festival Mr C and I stopped off at Lacock Abbey which is a National Trust property in Wiltshire. 

I have to admit that we did choose where to visit somewhat at random from the guide book as we headed down the motorway, but as soon as we got there we were certainly happy with the choice we'd made.

The Abbey itself is now a country house that was originally a medieval abbey and was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography. One of the things that the Abbey is best known for nowadays is as part of the film set for two of the Harry Potter films. Photos of the cloisters when used in the film certainly look recognisable, but I was a tad confused by the fact that the tops of the windows did look slightly different. A trick of computers, or actually another location? I'm not sure.

Unfortunately the weather was such that we ducked out of visiting the gardens, but we did talk a walk around Lacock village which is a delight in itself. The village dates back to the 13th Century and has remained largely unchanged since then. Hence it's no surprise to find out that the National Trust also owns the village. 

Several of the streets look very familiar and when you hear that Lacock is regularly used as a set of costume drama it's certainly makes sense. One of the most obvious things being the lack of electricity lines anywhere. The village has previously appeared in the BBC adaptations of Pride And Prejudice and Cranford. Certainly if the modern cars were removed you could certainly picture yourself in the past.

As I went through the village there was one particular thing that caught my eye though. I spotted the following sign over the entrance of the village hall and had to smile at the fantastic language that it uses. 

Fat Pig

No, not the pink variety with a funny nose and curly tail, but instead the play by American Neil LaBute. Fat Pig has been on at the Trafalgar Studios in central London since May and Mr C and I finally got round to going with some friends on Monday evening.

The play has quite a simple plot behind it. Thin bloke meets fat woman and starts dating her. His work colleague can't believe it and winds him up about it. His ex-girlfriend, who also happens to work with him, isn't at all impressed and kicks up quite a fuss when she finds out. All this additional pressure on the relationship puts things under strain and the key question has to be will be go with true love, or bow down to the pressure of those around him?

One of the main draws of the play has to be the cast. There are only four characters in the play and three of the actors playing them are well known from television. The main one, in my mind, was Kris Marshall who is best known for his role as Nick in My Family and is also well known for his current role as the "boyfriend" in the BT television adverts. He is quite simply a fantastic actor in my opinion was by far the best of the cast. He plans the character Carter perfectly and certainly made me laugh.

Appearing on stage along side him was Robert Webb, one half of comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Now I do have to admit to not being such a huge Mitchell and Webb fan, but have to admit that his acting was very good in Fat Pig. It was interesting seeing him in a role that wasn't always after laughs from the audience / viewer.

The play overall wasn't as good as I hoped. I still enjoyed the evening, but Mr C wasn't too impressed. As it's set in America all the cast put on American accents that at times really distracted from the play itself. It seemed such as shame as I think the play could have very easily been re-set in the UK and the accents dropped.

Had the male cast members not been there then I think the play would be much poorer for it. Interesting therefore to see that this is actually the last week with the current cast and from later this month there will be two new male actors. Later in the year one of the female roles is also due to be taken over by Kelly Brook. I'm not too sure how that one will work out, but I guess time will tell. I'm just glad I saw the play when we did.

Dead Victorians

On Tuesday night Mr C and I headed down to the White Lion pub in St Albans where there is regular Tuesday night music.

Last night we were delighted to see Dead Victorians, a fantastic comedy group playing a variety of songs, some old and some new. The comedy lyrics are a key part of their act, along with an amazing variety of instruments that the band play. If you like the music of Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band or The Temperance Seven then you're in for a treat!

If you go to their MySpace page there are samples of some of their music. Some of the lyrics are a tad risque, but had everyone in the pub laughing out loud. Their website mentions a "phonographic recording" being in production - I'm certainly looking forward to that.

I'll leave you with one picture to puzzle over - below is a man playing a sheep. Yes, you did read that correctly! These guys have to be seen to be believed!

de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre

Another place that Mr C and I visited on Bank Holiday Monday was the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre just outside St Albans. This is somewhere that we've seen the signs for as we've been driving out ever since we moved here, but just never got round to visiting until now.

The museum quite simply tells the story of the de Havilland aircraft company that were based locally in Hatfield for many years. It is also home to the famous Mosquito Aircraft Museum which tells the story of the Mosquito and its role in the Second World War.

There were several things that caught my eye as I went round (in additional to the amazing engineering of the day). The first of these was the style of poster that was used to advertise things that many of us now don't even thing about - like aviation fuel!

The other thing that I loved were the retro-style interiors of many of the planes that were at the time used for executive travel.

How fashions have changed!

One thing that caught my eye that I did love was the drinks cabinet that I spotted in one plane, right next to the cockpit.

I have to finish though with the interior fabric from one of the planes. I know this is a tad tasteless but there was still something that just drew me towards it, probably the colour scheme.

Scott's Grotto

The internet is a wonderful thing, and without it we wouldn't have known about the wonderful place that Mr C and I visited on Bank Holiday Monday - Scott's Grotto in Ware. 

This most bizarre of places was built in the 1760s by the Quaker poet, John Scott and now lies between some modern houses on a normal looking residential street in the outskirts of Ware.

The grotto consists of six subterranean rooms, connected by passages and ventilation shafts. The walls (and the ceiling and floors in some rooms) are all covered in flint, shells and minerals. It really is something that is so hard to describe, but totally takes your breath when you see it in front of you. 

Throughout the grotto are seats built into the walls, again surrounded by shells. I am assuming that these were originally intended for Scott's visitors (his grotto being quite a tourist attraction when he originally built it) but then one room is entitled the Council Chamber. Quite what council would have sat in this room (if any) I have no idea, but the though of anyone sitting in such a strange environment to conduct business is a peculiar one.

With the exception of the Council Chamber the grotto is unlit so as visitors go around with torches you have no idea as to what you are going to find next. While at first this is a little disorientating it adds to the charm of the place. 

A totally unexpected experience and one I'd urge you to take if you ever happen to be nearby when they're open.

Canons Ashby

On our way back from Bruntingthorpe on Saturday Mr C and I visited Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire. Here there is an Elizabethan manor house, gardens and the Priory Church of St Mary, all that remains of the Augustinian priory from which Canons Ashby takes its name.

The interior of the church roof was a fantastic wooden structure that I completely fell in love with. There's something about things made out of wood that give them a lovely warm feeling that somehow seems so homely.

 

Out in the grounds of the house is an orchard and also several apple and pear trees along a south facing wall. At this time of year there was quite a lot of fruit growing and it made me think about the apple pies and crumble that I'm hoping to bake come winter.

 

This doorway in the garden wall instantly made me remember the magical The Secret Garden which I loved reading as a child. There was something in the ability to escape to a separate, secret, world that I sometimes still wish could happen.

Just as we were leaving the garden these leaves caught my attention. I'm no gardener, and hence have no idea what the plant was, but the colours of these leaves are just fantastic. 

The idea of embroidery threads in these colours sprang to mind straight away. Time to go and raid my sewing stash and see what I my creativity can do on a Sunday afternoon!

Mr C's Christmas Track Day

Back before last Christmas I had the usual problem of not knowing what to buy Mr C as a festive gift. Whenever I ask him for ideas for gifts he always comes out with the same answer - "A Porsche please!" Faced with this usual dilemma I went to google for some ideas. One thing that jumped out at me as a possibility was a driving experience and I was lucky enough to find a special offer with Drivers' Dream Days for a Porsche vs Ferrari Experience.

Today Mr C and I headed up to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground near Lutterworth in Leicestershire for him to take up his experience. Despite the rain of the last few weeks the weather was good for us (good enough for a touch of sunburn even!) and Mr C got to do his laps in dry conditions. With his "I am the Stig" T-shirt he was ready for the day which started with a couple of demo laps being driven around the track by an instructor.

No long after this Mr C got to drive himself, first of all in a Porsche 911.

After three laps in this he got a go in a Ferrari 360 Spider.

His opinion at the end of it all was that it was a fantastic day and if he "had" to buy one then it'd be the Porsche as it would be "less scary on real roads"!

It was certainly impressive seeing so many super cars in one place - even if some of them were in hideous colours!

One of the strangest sights of the day was this Boeing 747 in an Asda livery.

It made me think that their shopping home delivery service may be more exciting than I'd realised!