A day out at Haddon Hall followed by ‘Fine Dining’ on the patio.

I have also been helping my Mum out with a wedding outfit for my brother’s wedding later this year. This has been rather time consuming… but only because she is trying to shop online and struggling when she gets to the check out this involves many long phone calls trying to talk her through the web page.

Organising and booking a short summer break has proved a lot more difficult than it should it should have done… We are almost there

After a busy day we enjoyed a dinner of Lemon and Thyme Pork Escalopes with Chargrilled Veg. It would have been perfect on the patio but the weather turned cooler, leading to a different kind of perfect in our dining room

Later this year, in August my brother is getting married and my mum has been struggling to get just the right outfit. Mr C had offered a trip to Birmingham several times but she had resisted taking him up on the offer.  After struggling in the local towns and with internet shopping mum eventually accepted his offer. So today we headed off to Birmingham, timed to arrive for lunch before an afternoon of shopping.

When we arrived at our usual car park we made our way to the top level, which leads straight to the shopping area. We could see a couple of young men returning to their car, so we waited and drove into their space after they left. As Mr C got out of the car he noticed a wallet on the floor which contained a credit card and a recently purchased car park exit ticket. We waited a little while, and as expected the two young men eventually drove back to where they had parked their car and the driver was very much relieved to be reunited with his wallet.

We then headed into town for lunch, it was then that Mr C informed us that the Gay Pride March was taking place. As we walked into High Street we passed the Muslim stall, situated in its usual place, with the Gay Pride Parade lined up behind the stall and along High Street ready to process through the streets. Some of the antics that were going on made my 83 year old mother’s eyes roll…

Due to the crowds and a momentary doubt that the sandwich shop that Mr C had in mind might be closed, he suggested we eat in the Pavilions food court instead. I was not keen on the idea and reminded him of the alternative options that were near to the sandwich shop of choice. We made our way past the crowds (including a Christian Evangelist shouting at passers by) into a quiet area of Birmingham where we enjoyed a sandwich made to order in Tuckers, which despite Mr C’s momentary doubt, was very much open.

This set us up for an afternoon of shopping. After some deliberation… mum got a wedding outfit then found a hat and a bag to accompany it. Now all she needs is a jacket.

A couple of months ago without even looking I came across the perfect (for me) dress for a wedding. I ordered it off the internet to be delivered to my local store to try on for size and I liked. Then whilst out shopping with Mr C for clothes for him, the perfect handbag (for me) was just there on display as I walked past. I searched on the internet and found the perfect hat to match the dress and bag. I was able to try it on today and found it met my expectations After so many gifts without trying, the shoes were a bit more difficult to locate. I found a suitable pair eventually!

By this time we were all shopped out so we returned home. Mr C chose the scenic route to avoid the congested (holiday) motorway traffic.

We concluded our day by dining on the patio in the warm evening air as the sun went down

Lunch today was intended to be earlier than usual due to my scheduled hair appointment at 1pm. Following my hair appointment, Mr C and I planned to visit a particular garden centre to track down (and see) a garden bench that we had in mind.

Whilst I was quietly reading before lunch, the phone rang… It was my FIL offering to bring his jet washer round to clean off our patio table and chairs, to spruce them up. Of course I accepted the offer but this put our plans off track a little, lunch in particular and I was worried about being late for my appointment.

We got back on track and after my hair appointment we went to the garden centre and although the garden centre stocked the range of garden benches we were looking for the bench we had in mind was not on display. We have one other place we can visit to see if they have the bench on display, this will involve a visit to Sugnall Walled Garden for lunch. What a hardship

Whilst we were out on our travels we bought a shrub for the newly dug border, then Mr C went in search of the missing ingredient for this evenings meal; Fennel seed. It was nowhere to be found. I had given up and was ready to go home so I searched on line (via my phone) for suitable alternatives, many of these we have in our cupboard. But Mr C was determined and we eventually found the illusive seeds in Holland & Barrett.

Eventually we returned home just in time to prepare dinner so that it could be enjoyed on the patio before the temperature got too chilly.

The Pork & Fennel meatballs were delicious

The garden plans are taking shape and whilst Mr C and I were at work today the two garden fairies had been at work cutting out new borders around the patio area.

The plan to continue the wall around the patio has now been put back until the end of the project. My current thinking is that the existing wall will be replaced with a different style of bricks and the line will continue around the corner but stop at the wide part of the patio. There are currently  similar walls to the one that borders the patio in other parts of the garden; In front of the shed and bordering the upper and lower parts of the lawn. In due course the plan is to replace all of these bricks.

The next part of the project is sorting out the bin area and then we will move onto the collapsed shed!

On arrival at Kitchen W8 we were offered an aperitif, perhaps we would like champagne? A perfect option to celebrate the birthday of a gentleman reaching a certain age. The food was delicious, the waiter attentive and always asking before pouring more wine. A perfect end to our stay in London.

His Choices:

Her Choices:

Here We Are Again , a photo by KirscheTortschen on Flickr.

It was a great day all round. In the morning I had a hair appointment, it was time for a trim. The hairdressers were on fine form celebrating the 21st anniversary of the opening of the salon. There were cupcakes, balloons and freebies, I did however decline on the offer of a cupcake. The town was buzzing because the town carnival was taking place. I was struggling to get parked when suddenly I noticed that a car was just about to leave from one of my two favourite parking places. Perfect timing

This was followed by a trip to Birmingham in time for lunch, which was enjoyed sitting in the sunshine looking out over St Martins Church. Unfortunatly shopping was necessary, things were needed for the summer hols. The afternoon was productive and we got home just in time to enjoy dinner on the patio catching the evening sun.