Let the sun shine

Being absent for so long has meant I didn't get a chance to join in on the general smugness emanating from the UK on the surprisingly glorious weather we have been having lately. Haven't we had some wonderful sunny days?

Mr Crafty and I had a lovely picnic in Dulwich park which meant this year's first outing for the picnic hamper.

And we feasted on leftovers from our family Easter meal - yum.

When the sun comes out in London everyone's spirits soar. Suddenly our city which can seem a little grey and claustrophobic at times seems like the most wonderful place on earth full of green spaces in which to stretch out and take in the blue skies. I am trying to bottle the feeling while the sunny days are with us as there is one thing you can be sure of in the UK and that is that it won't last!

Heaven is a place in Bloomsbury

I had a lovely day out today - the sort of day that makes me fall in love with London again. A group of us gathered together for a friend's birthday celebrations. We took in the Egyptian mummies and assorted gilded Elizabethan clocks in the British Museum and then headed to my new favourite place in the world Bea's of Bloomsbury for the most marvellous tea!

I loved the high kicking cake stand and the red velvet cupcake was to die for. They have an open kitchen there so you can spy on all the clever pastry chefs rustling up wonderful sweet treats. I would heartily recommend it to anyone with a sweet tooth!

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

Last weekend I spent a glorious day in Rowland's Castle, an incredibly pretty Hampshire village complete with a perfect green that plays host to a traditional style village fair:


I went with a friend and we had a lovely time supping Pimms, wandering round the various stalls, watching the tug of war, eating local sausages and casting an eye over the competition entries in the marquee such as these pretty roses and Victoria sponges:


It made me very wistful about village life. There was such an incredibly strong sense of community and I began to think in a romantic fashion that I could happily spend my days baking cakes and making jam in a place like Rowland's Castle. The thought of being surrounded by fields instead of tower blocks becomes more and more appealing the older I get.

And then on the other hand I have been rekindling my love of London of late. Last week I went to see a the Royal Opera's production of La Traviata screened live in Trafalgar square. We took a picnic and sat on the ground with hundreds of other Londoners and watched opera as London buses circled around the square and the sun set over us.

I have also been enjoying London's foodie scene a lot recently what with all the credit crunch offers that are around at the moment. Last night Mr Crafty took me to Galvin at Windows for my birthday. The food was just incredible and the views over London are amazing (the restaurant is on the 28th floor of the Park Lane Hilton). All in all a lovely evening:


Whilst Rowland's Castle is extremely pretty, London can sometimes present you with a view that just takes your breath away. I just wish my camera could do this sunset that I saw over the Thames the other evening proper justice:

I am so very torn as to where I want to end up. As I sit in South East London village life appears to me like an idyll and the thought of a pretty house with a big garden that we could gradually do up and make our own is very appealing but whilst London can sometimes be a frustrating place to live am I really ready to give up all it has to offer?

Decisions for another day but at some point Mr Crafty and I are going to have to decide where to put down our roots. I wonder whether we will end up Town or Country mice.

We'll Meet Again

We spent Saturday night taking a step back in time to the 40s at the Blitz Party. The organisers had done up a venue in the arches under a railway line in East London to look like an air raid shelter complete with sandbags and the night is meant to evoke the spirit of the Blitz with swing music and silent re-runs of black and white war movies projected onto the walls. The evening kicked off with Fitzrovia Radio who recreate 40s radio plays to great comic effect and then progressed to live big band music and swing DJs. All the party goers had made a tremendous effort with guys in uniform and gals in tea dresses with rolled hair. Mr Crafty and I enjoyed getting dolled up in our best utility wear:



(Terrible photo quality I know - my phone's "night mode" was tested by the low level lighting in the "shelter")

All in all it was a spiffing evening and my new resolution is to learn swing dance as I was green with envy watching the seasoned dancers strut their stuff.

And so to bed

After all that we had no room for our cheese or chocolates so they were deffered to another day. The whole day reminded me of the poem that Mr Crafty's sister read at our wedding:

You Made Crusty Bread Rolls
by Gary Jonson

You made crusty bread rolls filled with chunks of brie
And minced garlic and drizzled with olive oil
And baked them until the brie was bubbly
And we ate them thoughtfully, our legs coiled
Together under the table And then salmon with dill
And lemon and whole-wheat cous cous
Baked with garlic and fresh ginger, and a hill
Of green beans and carrots roasted with honey and tofu.
it was beautiful, the candles and linens and silver,
The winter sun setting on our snowy street,
Me with my hand on your leg, you, my lover,
In your jeans and green T-shirt and beautiful feet.
How simple life is. We buy a fish. We are fed.
We sit close to each other, we talk and then we go to bed.

And so we wended our way to bed, full of food and romance, to lay our happy heads on our Lush Designs Love pillows:

A Veritable Valentines Feast

We arrived home with our Borough booty and prepared the feast to end all feasts.

We started with six native oysters. My brother's partner is French and her parents bought us an oyster set for our wedding that we have been meaning to Christen ever since. I have to confess to being slightly nervous of doing the shucking so Mr Crafty stepped nobly into the breach:



Served with lemon wedges, shallot vingegar and Tabasco they were truly delicious:



We then went on to Fois Gras (I know - it's not PC and I did feel a pang of guilt whilst buying - I have no excuse but all I can say is that it is a very rare treat for us) with Sourdough Bread from De Gustibus and a fanstastic Monbazillac sourced from Edward Parker Wines via a wine buff friend at work:



The main course was leg of lamb from Northfield Farm with dauphinoise potatoes and green beans:



We just about made room for the oh so pretty strawberry tarts from Konditor and Cook:



But by this point we were seriously running out of steam...

I Heart Borough

To say that my husband and I are fond of food is an understatement much to the detriment of our waistlines. This year was definitely a foodie Valentines day. The romance began on Friday night when I arrived home to a beautiful bunch of red roses. On Saturday morning we headed for the fabulous Borough Market along with half of London! It was packed but we braved the crowds in order to seek out some tasty morsels for our evening meal.

Turnips turns vegatables into a work of art:









The heart stopping array of chocolates at Dark Sugars:



Rows of cheeses at Neals Yard Dairy:



A happy Mr & Mrs:



To be continued...