Prosac or Blog?

Well the answer if obvious, I hope. I’ve been feeling rather down of late and have actually shed tears, which is something I never, ever do. Well unless it’s something major like ones mother dying. But this dealing with the Belle Mere and being two-faced really is getting to me. I hold it together while we are together and she coos over Erbie then we get a letter from the solicitor and the purchase price has increased. If we were strangers we would receive more courtesy.

The GR dealt with it by spending money we don’t have and I by having one too many bottles of wine on the terrace with Kendal and getting sent to bed.

I know I should pull myself together and stop feeling sorry for myself, it is the last hurdle before freedom of sorts. I guess I’m also feeling a little sad to be leaving my manor, the area I’ve called home for seven years now. I do so love living in the West End. Needs must however and it is time to move on.

Lucky

When I nipped into Planet Organic today to pick up a healthy snackette for Erbie I was reminded again of how lucky I am to be at home with my boy. The girl behind the cash register had a name tag that said Svetlana and smiled at Erbie asking how many words he had. When I started to reel off the numerous vehicular ramblings of my son she looked taken aback and said her boy was the same age and didn’t say anything yet.

‘I expect he will come out with full sentences all at once’ I proffered encouragingly.

I left feeling rather sad for Svetlana sat behind a cash desk in Planet Organic whilst her little boy was somewhere else, with someone else. I kissed Erbie hard on the cheek and took in a deep, fragrant nose full of his baby headed essence. I didn’t feel smug, I felt lucky. Lucky The GR wasn’t materialistic or going through too much of a midlife crisis, lucky that I was able to do a bit of work at home and still look after Erbie full time, lucky that we were about to get out first foot on the property ladder even though we are in our 40s!

Deckchairs

The first Deckchairs of Spring - St James Park, London ©WEM

The deckchairs have come out of the closet and are sunning themselves in the Royal Parks. They are smart green and white striped affairs, from St James, through Hyde to Regents Park, sadly with no little crown emblem probably because they would get half inched if that were the case. £1.50 for and hour of sitting.

Habitat are also doing a rather lovely mini wooden deckchair for children, well Erbie likes it anyway. £25 available online from Habitat

Mini Me

We walked past this original sixties Mini Cooper the other morning on Meard Street, Soho, for sale at £14,500, more or less the same price as a new one! But what a beauty and in mint condition. It says this is the one that was used in the John Cooper advertising.

That dress...

Will I be rushing out to get Aviators - again, yup. Will I be using pop bright or shiny-shiny clutch purses - again, yup. Will I be searching for a rip-off Halston Heritage, white frock, yep. Damn, I’ll probably even get those old gold sandals re-heeled.  All in the vague hope I’ll look something like this, yep. 

Well here’s a sobering shot of the dress sans Carrie or should I say SJP’s fab figure. 

Sex & The City 2, Halston Heritage, white jersey dress, £216. 

Put it on your wish list here but they just keep selling out!

We rode the Rocket!

Albert Hall, London

Erbie and I went to try out the Stevensons Rocket this morning as the forecast for today was sunny and for the rest of the week – rubbish. We got the number 10 from Oxford Street all the way to the Albert Hall, then crossed over to see the Albert Memorial (boy she loved him). 

Albert Memorial

We watched the Rocket chuntering up and down along it’s mini track for a while, then decided to go on ourselves. 

It was actually very enjoyable, after I talked them into letting me on with Erbie (sat on my hip seat), Health & Safety, Health & Safety. There trully is something about steam engines that is magical. We only went down the few yards of track and back up again twice, all the time a knowlegable fellow is regaling the history of the rocket - sadly it went in one ear and straight out the other, something about engines usually being painted yellow at the time... look at the blossom on that tree, there’s a number 9, shall we get one of those back, they are proper nice old buses.

You also get given a goodie bag, worth the fiver, containing a fridge magnet, postcards, notebook and badge.

We didn’t get the number 9 back, I sauntered down to the Science Museum thinking we’d go and see the original Stevensons Rocket, but I wasn’t thinking as it is half term and the queue almost reached Kensington Gardens itself. 

We ducked over the road to the V&A, (no queues) plus I know the way to their loo, where we had a mosey around the sculpture section.

Narcissus staring into the pool - V&A London

Then got the number 14 bus all the way back to Shaftesbury Avenue, where I slipped off to replenish myself with freshly ground coffee at The Algerian Coffee Stores, a concubine to caffeine on Old Compton Street 

NB: If you need a quick caffeine fix in town they do espresso of the day for 90p, in, down, out!

Ride a Rocket

Image: Science Museum

Until the 18th April a replica of Stevenson’s Rocket will be taking passengers around Kensington Gardens. See here. £5 for adults and £2.50 for kids. Then you can visit the real one in the Making the Modern World gallery on the ground floor of the Science Museum for FREE.

Wallpaper and Cushions

Cath Kidston have started doing wallpaper a snip at £150 a roll! This is the pattern I have on my umbrella, which makes Erbie say: ‘bus and taxi’ when it rains, mind you we are usually surrounded by buses and taxis at the time.  

For a more reasonable touch of Cath Kidston’s retro pattern, the cushions are £18. Here are ‘Cowboys’ and ‘Vintage cars’ respectively.

Easter Bunnies

Easter bunnies as only the French cancan... These Dandy Rabbits are from La Grande Epicerie in Paris, sadly they won’t be hopping on our table this year but I can still salivate over the website: www.lagrandeepicerie.fr 

We got the Mortgage!

Image: Woodstock, stolen shamelessly from the ether...

St James Park Pelicans

Changing the Guard

Red Phone Box