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I'm Adrian, and I'm 60 !!!
Oct. 16th, 2012 04:20 pmYes, since I last managed to log on to LJ properly I have turned (that scary number) 60 !
I had a FABULOUS birthday thanks to the gorgeous![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
london1967 who planned our (my) wonderful birthday surprise trip.
And a big "thank you" to everyone wished me a happy one on his LJ posts !
I have very mixed feelings about being 60, no doubt I'll be posting about some of them in the near future........ be warned !! LOL
My feet have hardly touched the ground for quite a while, we were busy before going away, then 10 days of loveliness, then the day after we returned my mother was taken into hospital (for a couple of days as it turned out) and I spent the weekend with her just after she returned home, then it was 4 days back at home and then back to mother's for a pre-planned weekend, and now it's my first day back catching up with all sorts. My mother was much improved this weekend, and I managed to get her out and about which seems to have done her the world of good. She had had another "episode", and was particularly down and depressed this time..... "they" seem to think it was a "post stroke epileptic seizure" and she is due an appointment with the (excellent) stroke specialist she has seen previously. Unfortunately, she had a "bit of a do" with one of the doctors in hospital, who treated her like a "worthless" geriatric, but others (younger) were thankfully more helpful. I'm back "up North" in four weeks time again......
So, the day before my holiday trip a neighbour-friend had asked if I would do a repeat bake of my "Dolly Mixture Victoria Sponge" for a charity coffee morning she was hosting, so in between packing for a mystery destination I managed to produce this.......
No, that's not me standing with it, though my body-shape is fast becoming the same !
The birthday trip started off with something of an adrenaline rush ! ......we had to catch the 6.45am train to Victoria on the Saturday morning...not an hour I am familiar with at the weekend, or in fact in the week !! Half-way through the journey, and having just left a station, the train ground to a halt and after some minutes the power was turned off. Eventually the driver made an announcement after a nail-biting 20 minutes or so !! ...we only had two in the whole 35 minutes we were stranded !! I wasn't sure where we were going, I did wonder if we were headed for Eurostar, but a rather rattled Franco said we were en-route to Heathrow and there was an allowance for delays built in to his timing.... we just hoped there were no more, and luckily there wasn't. "Madrid" was displayed on the board at the departure gate, and I just had no idea what to expect ! (we'd had a weekend in the city some years ago) but by early evening we were enjoying a aperitivo in the sun, Martini Rosso for Franco, a "Spanish-style" (as in very large) G&T - just the ticket !! - on the terrace of our first Parador !
and our first view of Avila !
In my first bit of catching up this morning I came across this item............. sadly, only available in the USA !! Grrrr !! Of course we haven't quite caught up fully with the latest at Downton Abbey either..........
I had a FABULOUS birthday thanks to the gorgeous
london1967 who planned our (my) wonderful birthday surprise trip.And a big "thank you" to everyone wished me a happy one on his LJ posts !
I have very mixed feelings about being 60, no doubt I'll be posting about some of them in the near future........ be warned !! LOL
My feet have hardly touched the ground for quite a while, we were busy before going away, then 10 days of loveliness, then the day after we returned my mother was taken into hospital (for a couple of days as it turned out) and I spent the weekend with her just after she returned home, then it was 4 days back at home and then back to mother's for a pre-planned weekend, and now it's my first day back catching up with all sorts. My mother was much improved this weekend, and I managed to get her out and about which seems to have done her the world of good. She had had another "episode", and was particularly down and depressed this time..... "they" seem to think it was a "post stroke epileptic seizure" and she is due an appointment with the (excellent) stroke specialist she has seen previously. Unfortunately, she had a "bit of a do" with one of the doctors in hospital, who treated her like a "worthless" geriatric, but others (younger) were thankfully more helpful. I'm back "up North" in four weeks time again......
So, the day before my holiday trip a neighbour-friend had asked if I would do a repeat bake of my "Dolly Mixture Victoria Sponge" for a charity coffee morning she was hosting, so in between packing for a mystery destination I managed to produce this.......
No, that's not me standing with it, though my body-shape is fast becoming the same !
The birthday trip started off with something of an adrenaline rush ! ......we had to catch the 6.45am train to Victoria on the Saturday morning...not an hour I am familiar with at the weekend, or in fact in the week !! Half-way through the journey, and having just left a station, the train ground to a halt and after some minutes the power was turned off. Eventually the driver made an announcement after a nail-biting 20 minutes or so !! ...we only had two in the whole 35 minutes we were stranded !! I wasn't sure where we were going, I did wonder if we were headed for Eurostar, but a rather rattled Franco said we were en-route to Heathrow and there was an allowance for delays built in to his timing.... we just hoped there were no more, and luckily there wasn't. "Madrid" was displayed on the board at the departure gate, and I just had no idea what to expect ! (we'd had a weekend in the city some years ago) but by early evening we were enjoying a aperitivo in the sun, Martini Rosso for Franco, a "Spanish-style" (as in very large) G&T - just the ticket !! - on the terrace of our first Parador !
and our first view of Avila !
In my first bit of catching up this morning I came across this item............. sadly, only available in the USA !! Grrrr !! Of course we haven't quite caught up fully with the latest at Downton Abbey either..........
Le Weekend !
Feb. 20th, 2012 02:47 pmOur weekend started early as it was Franco's (london1967) Birthday on Friday, commencing with me meeting him on Piccadilly for Afternoon Tea at The Wolseley. Having used his camera to take a couple of photographs outside, the camera decided, once we were shown to our table, to somersault out of his pocket and disappear ! We heard a "clunk" so it definitely landed somewhere, but where ? A great scene of moving tables and chairs, crawling around on the (tut-tut) dusty floor, and general mayhem with waiters joining in and bemused diners either side of us, and all to no avail....... In bewilderment, we had a last look down the very narrow gap behind the banquette Franco was sitting on, and spied the dratted thing there, beyond reach as the seating was solidly fixed. Luckily a waiter with "thin" arms managed to retrieve it and we could all settle down and have a much-needed glass of champagne to recover....... what a palaver !
From there we travelled to Waterloo to the Old Vic theatre for a performance of "Noises Off", which turned out to be hilarious and great fun throughout, and we laughed so much we were exhausted by the end !
The "Birthday Boy" pre-performance........ with the theatre behind.
I had started Friday baking a chocolate and cherry marbled Victoria sponge cake, with vanilla buttercream and cherry jam filling, topped with a cherry chocolate ganache and (shop-bought, tut-tut!) rice-paper flowers and of course candles, for a surprise Birthday cake when we eventually got home around midnight.
Saturday, I had planned to do a couple of hours gardening, but it started to rain and I decided to stay put indoors and do very little !!...... The garden is awakening now in spite of the cool weather and frosts we've been having recently.
On Sunday we were invited to a Birthday Breakfast at a neighbour friend's house for his friend's (who we also know) 40th.... so that was a fun start to the day. Franco then went for his swimming lesson, and I then met him in town to go for something to eat at "My Old Dutch" - pancake based menu - followed by a special preview of the new film "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with great performances from a host of the UK's best loved older actors....... it was great, and the audience burst into applause at the end, but then again we were in Chelsea, darling !!
My Valentine Flowers have been a wonderful show all week..................
From there we travelled to Waterloo to the Old Vic theatre for a performance of "Noises Off", which turned out to be hilarious and great fun throughout, and we laughed so much we were exhausted by the end !
The "Birthday Boy" pre-performance........ with the theatre behind.
I had started Friday baking a chocolate and cherry marbled Victoria sponge cake, with vanilla buttercream and cherry jam filling, topped with a cherry chocolate ganache and (shop-bought, tut-tut!) rice-paper flowers and of course candles, for a surprise Birthday cake when we eventually got home around midnight.
Saturday, I had planned to do a couple of hours gardening, but it started to rain and I decided to stay put indoors and do very little !!...... The garden is awakening now in spite of the cool weather and frosts we've been having recently.
On Sunday we were invited to a Birthday Breakfast at a neighbour friend's house for his friend's (who we also know) 40th.... so that was a fun start to the day. Franco then went for his swimming lesson, and I then met him in town to go for something to eat at "My Old Dutch" - pancake based menu - followed by a special preview of the new film "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with great performances from a host of the UK's best loved older actors....... it was great, and the audience burst into applause at the end, but then again we were in Chelsea, darling !!
My Valentine Flowers have been a wonderful show all week..................
Another year older !!
Oct. 3rd, 2011 12:50 pmI can't believe it's already over a week since my Surprise (Shock !) Party, and almost a week since my actual Birthday !! A big card with a big 59 printed on it arrived mid-week, which really did "bring it home" that I am actually old !! LOL
So here are a few photos from that Friday evening.......
I couldn't quite work out why the first people I saw were Ross and Jim........ as it was all a touch ou of context in my shocked state when I entered through the doors........... And Miranda hands round the lavender cup cakes.....
Linda and Bert get cosy ! ........ While Alex, Martin and Lynne discuss the merits of an empty plate !!
The "culprit", lovely Lynne who organised all the deceit !
As I complained that I was now missing my scampi, chips and peas, the original plan for the evening, the pub somehow managed to rustle up a couple of portions for me and Franco...............................
And this is a big Hibiscus flower on the plant my mother sent me !
So here are a few photos from that Friday evening.......
I couldn't quite work out why the first people I saw were Ross and Jim........ as it was all a touch ou of context in my shocked state when I entered through the doors........... And Miranda hands round the lavender cup cakes.....
Linda and Bert get cosy ! ........ While Alex, Martin and Lynne discuss the merits of an empty plate !!
The "culprit", lovely Lynne who organised all the deceit !
As I complained that I was now missing my scampi, chips and peas, the original plan for the evening, the pub somehow managed to rustle up a couple of portions for me and Franco...............................
And this is a big Hibiscus flower on the plant my mother sent me !
A bit of a "Roller-Coaster" Week !!
Sep. 29th, 2011 05:40 pmLast week our friend Lynne said she would take us out for Fish & Chips at a local favourite "Big Catch" for my Birthday, and we arranged to go last Friday evening........... after being picked up by her in her car we were "hi-jacked" and taken to a local pub where I was caught out by a "Surprise" party !! .........It was actually a huge "Shock" party and took me some time to regain my composure ! (pictures to follow). Franco hadn't been let in on the secret, so I had no warning signs at all.
I knew Franco had arranged for a couple of days away as a "Surprise" Birthday treat as I was to meet him at Victoria train station on Monday evening....... however, just after 9am on Monday morning my sister rang to say that my mother was unwell and she was going to see her....... it ended up with her being hospitalised, though by late afternoon she had improved remarkably and all the signs were that it wasn't a(nother) stroke, so it was decided we would still go on our trip, as it was a UK destination and I could return quickly if necessary.
Since then Mum has continued to improve and she was hoping to be discharged today, however, they were keen on her staying another 24 hours for observation and further tests. In the meantime, I've been undecided about booking train tickets to go up north "to be there", and feeling somewhat guilty about thinking twice about it as we have a lot of social and resident's association stuff going on right now, etc..... But having now chatted to mother I think "we're" leaving it that I'll go up as already planned in a couple of weeks.... unless anthing else changes.
So, anyway, the "Surprise" trip was to Arundel in West Sussex, and it was just SO lovely, in fact fantastic !! ......with afternoon tea booked at Amberley Castle (now a 5* hotel) one stop on the train away on Tuesday.......... again, (loads of) photos will follow......
But in the meantime, a couple of photos from the trip of the absolutely wonderful man, Franco (london1967), who makes my life so fantastic every day !!
I knew Franco had arranged for a couple of days away as a "Surprise" Birthday treat as I was to meet him at Victoria train station on Monday evening....... however, just after 9am on Monday morning my sister rang to say that my mother was unwell and she was going to see her....... it ended up with her being hospitalised, though by late afternoon she had improved remarkably and all the signs were that it wasn't a(nother) stroke, so it was decided we would still go on our trip, as it was a UK destination and I could return quickly if necessary.
Since then Mum has continued to improve and she was hoping to be discharged today, however, they were keen on her staying another 24 hours for observation and further tests. In the meantime, I've been undecided about booking train tickets to go up north "to be there", and feeling somewhat guilty about thinking twice about it as we have a lot of social and resident's association stuff going on right now, etc..... But having now chatted to mother I think "we're" leaving it that I'll go up as already planned in a couple of weeks.... unless anthing else changes.
So, anyway, the "Surprise" trip was to Arundel in West Sussex, and it was just SO lovely, in fact fantastic !! ......with afternoon tea booked at Amberley Castle (now a 5* hotel) one stop on the train away on Tuesday.......... again, (loads of) photos will follow......
But in the meantime, a couple of photos from the trip of the absolutely wonderful man, Franco (
london1967), who makes my life so fantastic every day !! The Weekend - Part 2
Aug. 24th, 2011 05:39 pmOn Sunday my Sister and her two boys joined my Mother and I to celebrate my Mother's 85th Birthday a few days early. She had suggested we meet up at Harlow Carr Gardens near Harrogate, as they had been earlier in the year and had enjoyed seeing a lot of changes that had been taking place. We would then have Afternoon Tea at Bettys. So that is what we did, and the weather was very good to us too......
As we had booked a wheelchair for mum we spent over two hours wondering around the gardens, and having not visited for many years I was "knocked out" by how lovely it all is now. By chance I found out on Thursday that the garden designer Tom Stuart Smith had been hugely involved in the revamp......... we've had an exhibition on his work at the Garden Museum over the Summer but I only got chance last week to have an in-depth look....... He has won a number of gold medals for his gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in recent years.
(Inigo - the youngest nephew - always pulls silly faces for the camera !)
The "Rhubarb & Custard" small garden direct from the Chelsea Flower Show earlier in the Summer.........................................................
I think I "need" to post some more photos of the afternoon, but won't flood this entry with them all !
As we had booked a wheelchair for mum we spent over two hours wondering around the gardens, and having not visited for many years I was "knocked out" by how lovely it all is now. By chance I found out on Thursday that the garden designer Tom Stuart Smith had been hugely involved in the revamp......... we've had an exhibition on his work at the Garden Museum over the Summer but I only got chance last week to have an in-depth look....... He has won a number of gold medals for his gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in recent years.
It's dark today !
Jul. 16th, 2011 01:12 pmYes, today is a typical British summer day, pouring with rain and grey, grey, grey !! Yesterday was warm and sunny but, as often happens, come the weekend and the weather changes for the worse....................... oh well, no need to water the garden today !
Franco (
london1967 ) is sat out in the gazebo reading The Times.... viewing him through the wet garden from the kitchen window makes for a romantic picture.....Dark Flowers ... in bloom in our garden
We have been invited to a (neighbour)friend's Birthday Party this afternoon... he and his partner were hoping it would be a garden party !
I'm just about to make the cream cheese frosting for a Chocolate Guinness Cake, as it's a favourite of the Birthday Boy ! I realised it's dark too !
Dark Cake ... not the one I made this time, the photo is of one my sister and I made last Christmas... no reindeers on today's model !
It's almost all "black & white" ! and shades of grey... let's hope it brightens up this afternoon !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !
Jun. 7th, 2011 08:13 pm A very big Happy Birthday to joebehrsandiego
you can add any number you wish to the 2 !! LOL
fromlondon1952 and london1967
joebehrsandiego you can add any number you wish to the 2 !! LOL
from
london1952 and london1967 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADKNITS !!
May. 19th, 2011 09:26 amWishing you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Big Hugs from Adrian & Franco !
The Birthday Boy !
Feb. 22nd, 2011 10:31 amA fairly rare photo of the gorgeous london1967 taken on his birthday last week in the restaurant of the Menier Chocolate Factory .
london1967 taken on his birthday last week in the restaurant of the Menier Chocolate Factory .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCO !!
Feb. 17th, 2011 08:32 amIt's the gorgeous
london1967 's Birthday today, and here's wishing him a very happy one !!Lynne and Miranda bought him a cake last weekend to celebrate, and since then we have been eating more "goodies" than we really should, as the lovely Ricardo (
bazanges ) was staying with us for a few days. I made a Red Velvet Cake and "Valentine'd" it so it became a Valentine-Birthday Cake for this year ! .........................................I'm not sure we can eat any more cake this week !! LOL
Birthday Fireworks !
Oct. 24th, 2010 12:03 pmIt now feels so long ago, but I'm still catching up with my photo-memories, since my birthday surprise trip. On the evening before my actual birthday we went to visit Tivoli Gardens, and, wow, what a place ! So much crammed into a relatively small area ! And what a lovely relaxed feeling there was in spite of there being plenty of people around. In the UK such a place could, sadly, no longer exist....... as "yob-culture" seems to have taken over in the evenings everywhere......... and it certainly wouldn't be so clean, tidy and respected.
Between Franco and Tivoli, they apparently came up with the idea to celebrate my birthday, and their "last day of summer", with a wonderful firework display towards the end of the evening, complete with music !
I wonder what I'll get when I'm 100 years old !? LOL
Between Franco and Tivoli, they apparently came up with the idea to celebrate my birthday, and their "last day of summer", with a wonderful firework display towards the end of the evening, complete with music !
I wonder what I'll get when I'm 100 years old !? LOL
SONG MEME - Day 29
Oct. 20th, 2010 09:58 amDay 29. A song from your childhood
I remember my mother signing along to this song when it was on the radio all those years ago......... and think I must have see every film Doris was in !
I remember my mother signing along to this song when it was on the radio all those years ago......... and think I must have see every film Doris was in !
Did Doris Day make me gay ??? !!! LOL
Coincidentally, the lovely
bobalone sent me this clip on facebook for my birthday recently !!
