Tuesday 31 December 2019

Wanderings Lately :: October, November, December 2019

Bumper three months of wanderings in this post, closely followed today by a couple of retrospectives... as always, I'm not very consistent with my blog. I'm going to partly blame the puzzle I'm currently stuck trying to complete - as I would usually have spent more of this Crimbo Limbo time writing blog posts!

Here are the last three months of this year, and this decade.

October











Short work trip back to Albania. I was not ill this time, and was staying in a much better hotel. The weather was amazing - very unusual for the time of year.

I posted a montage of all of the electricity boxes on facebook, but Scrooge McDuck here is my favourite. I'm assuming that the artwork on these is officially organised since all of the electricity boxes in the city are decorated with this kind of street art, rather than tagging or hastily scribbled grafitti. It's quite cool, and interesting to wander around to see all the different designs.



Victor and I explored Wandsworth a little more and found Wandsworth Park. We played a round of crazy golf, and enjoyed a walk around the small, riverside park before heading back home. Nice to find more nice places on your doorstep.




Chevening orientation came round again. Scholars that I'd interviewed didn't remember me, and the journey home was a lot more epic than last year! Victor and I ordered our first five guys take away in the evening which was very much appreciated!





I made an attempt at Rosół, Polish chicken soup as a cure for Victor's cold. Needs improvement!






I took Victor for Moules Frites for his birthday. Not the best version, and certain not the nicest restaurant ambience. This next time we have this dish it should be in Belgium! 

November





Work trip back in Moldova. Lovely weather once again and a really interesting conference topic. This trip also included a visit to Milestii Mici Winery - holder of the Guinness world record for largest wine cellar (by number of bottles). My suitcase was bursting on the way back!



Becoming a pro at blood doning - in and out of the chair in around 8 minutes!



Christmas wreath making with Mary. We were disappointed that this was a fake wreath as we had both thought it would be with real foliage. Nevertheless it was fun to make, and I was pretty pleased with how mine turned out.




Started Christmas at the end of November with my Christmas pudding on stir-up Sunday and local Christmas markets with mum!

December





Our Christmas tree was delivered on the 1st December. Our bumper Christmas bauble haul was put to good use. The tree is just about still going strong!



Work Christmas party kicked off December. It took a while to organise but was a fantastic success. The cheese table the shining glory - just came out a little bit late on in the evening!


A Christmassy trip to Edinburgh - and a rainy return meant I was able to get a great shot of the airport sign!



Candlelight carols with Carola. We turned up at the wrong church initially - where the bottom photo was taken. Thank goodness there was another carol service in process otherwise we'd have been waiting around for ours to start when it was all getting underway at the correct church 5 minutes away!


Another general election. Another slightly worse result.



More friend catch-ups with epic table spread!


Finally got my China map framed and hung. Forgot that I still had the pinyin written at the bottom from where I was trying to learn Chinese. I really love this map and the memories it holds.




A christmassy trip to the London Transport Museum. Ongar got a little shout out, which was nice. There was also a lamp from Blake Hall on display. This 'ticket map' was really clever although difficult to get a decent picture. They'd re-created the tube map but with tickets for each station. Even Ongar and North Weald were on there!



Finally Christmas back at home and a really relaxing end of the year in Wandsworth.






Friday 11 October 2019

Wanderings Lately :: September 2019

The beginning of October has been a bit rubbish weather wise and autumn is well and truly here. September as always was back to school month, where the area around where I work was full of students starting their university journeys (although this also carries over into October so we get 2 months of it!).

At the beginning of the month I went to the CSSC games again to play netball, as I did two years ago. Our team didn't get past the group stages but our first team won the entire tournament which was exciting. It's also a treat to play indoors and get a feel for how it's played at a higher level. Staying overnight in Loughborough is also a reminder of what a student dorm room is like and how I'm glad to not have to live in a small, lifeless box any longer!

It's also two years since I had my interview for my current job - I went for my interview the Monday after the games in 2017. It didn't all happen straight away but a few months later I started at the role I am still currently in and was a nice reminder of that journey.

Bake off started this month, so my Tuesday evenings are full of cakes and biscuits. This year's programme is a bit disappointing as it seems to have lost its way a little bit with much less of a warm, supportive feel and more about getting the bakers to try and produce weird creations that no one has ever heard of. Bit of a shame and hopefully next year they will go back to the normal format.

We've also continued to add bits to our house, now having a second sofa in the living room and having hung a few photos and mirrors etc. It's definitely got more of a homely feeling now which is great! I love this time of year when its just transitioning, my nosy side comes out as I walk past other people in their home with the lights on. It's also the time when you're walking home early evening (but it's dark) and all I'm thinking about is getting into my warm, cosy house and having a cup of tea. Victor thinks it's just an excuse for me to have more tea, but there's just something comforting about a cup of tea and I never need an excuse for one (or three!)


CSSC two years on...





Beamers Wasps (top picture), Beamers Bees and Wasps (middle picture) and my arty attempt after one of the winners slipped off her trainers after the final whistle.

House love




Hung up our Scotland maps. Absolutely love having a fireplace! I'm also really enjoying the butcher's block we bought. It's so handy in the kitchen as we don't have a lot of counter space and it's the perfect baking pal!

Autumn walks




Another walk along the Parkline. Such a great autumn walk, even if it did rain a bit on this occasion!


Battersea




Got victor to come for an autumn sunshine walk in Battersea park which was lovely and incredibly busy. Also took a sneaky photo when he was last playing football in Clapham.

Monday 2 September 2019

Wanderings Lately :: August 2019

August has flown by in the blink of an eye and today really feels like the first day of Autumn. We're had some extremely hot weather this month, and yet today it's got cooler and the nights are drawing in slowly. Autumn is in the air.

This month has been split between continuing to get the flat together and enjoying a nice break in Norfolk with family.

During the bank holiday I went back to my old house for a BBQ which was fun and saw an exhibition on Writing at the British Library.

At the end of this month Victor and I marked one year since our first date by going back to the same bar to celebrate.

Home









We've finally tracked down some bedside tables that we both liked so our bedroom is looking a little more organised now which is nice. I also managed to revive this aloe vera plant, which had started to turn brown all around the bottom and looked very sad. I re-potted this into a larger plant pot before I left my last house, but it must really like its new home because it's rewarded me with a flower. I didn't even realise they did flower so that's a surprise! It may be outgrowing this pot too, so I will have to re-home him again pretty soon at this rate!

One Sunday we booked to go to a local pub for Sunday lunch, but upon arriving at the pub on time for our booking, the whole place was shut up and dark inside. All very strange and no clear explanation for why we were able to book online but thankfully we didn't have to go far to find another place for a roast. Not sure the photo here really does this justice as it was absolutely huge and I couldn't finish it!

Norfolk Broads








We spent a great week away with my family in Norfolk. It was nice to have some family time, and also a good break from work as well. The weather was mostly good and we managed a good split between relaxing time on the beach and exploring nearby places of interest. 

Victor and I ventured over to Sutton Hoo, the fascinating site of an Anglo-Saxon burial. Most of the artefacts are now in the British Museum but we saw the site where these treasures were unearthed as well an an insight into the areas from those days gone by in the new visitors centre.

We also spent one afternoon in Norwich, which turned out to be a lovely small city. A good mix of everything - castle, museum, shops, market and small side streets. A little reminiscent of York.
One afternoon we explored the river ways by boat, Captain Victor taking the steering wheel down the river Waveney. We stopped off at a nice pub before turning back. A rather British and very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Celebrations


Lastly, we headed up to Oxford at the beginning of August to celebrate my brother's graduation. Big congratulations to him! 

The Trout pub, as always, did not disappoint. The food was really good, and the setting is so perfect particularly on a warm day.