Mick's 60th - June

It will be Mick's 60th birthday in August so I'm arranging little surprises for him throughout 2026, hopefully one each month.

The surprise for June happened last Thursday. We started off with a lovely lunch at a fabulous olde worlde pub in a nearby village. They serve really good food with an extensive menu.

The inn dates back to 1540 and still has a traditional interior, three small rooms and a lovely beer garden which we may have used had the weather been a little nicer.

It was home for a little rest before we set off on our journey, we were heading to Birmingham.

Les Miserables is one of Mick's favourite musicals, and my absolute favourite. When I saw there was going to be an Arena Concert Spectacular at the Utilita Arena, I had to get tickets. This was definitely something we were both going to enjoy. 

We were seated in area B, right in front of the stage but not too far forward that we had to stretch our necks to look up. The atmosphere was electric and the production was amazing. The arena tour is more like a concert than a traditional theatre show as sets and props are replaced by lighting and projection screens and the orchestra is on a tiered balcony and can be seen, rather than in an orchestra pit, but all the songs are still there.

The cast were fantastic, they put on an amazing show. Samantha Barks who played the part of Éponine in the film took the part of Fantine, she was brilliant, as were Matt Lucas and Helen Walsh as the Thénardiers. I think Bradley Jaden who took the part of Inspector Javert stole the show though, he was incredible. 

We both loved it and the arena setting works brilliantly for this musical, in fact Mick said he preferred it to the stage show. It was a wonderful night out.

Granny Wrap

You may remember that I was using up all the tiniest scraps of hand dyed yarn in my stash, turning them into a Granny Wrap shawl. You can see the planning part of this project in my Little Pearls Of Colour post back in 2024. I had sorted through all my leftovers putting anything which weighed less than 6g to one side to use in this project.

It's been a labour of love but the Granny Wrap by Annaboo's House is now finished. I have to tell you that some of those scraps extended for just a few stitches so you can imagine how many ends I've had to sew in, but I just don't trust the knots in magic knot balls so it was worth it to me for peace of mind. 

Some scraps were longer than others but none weighed more than 6g, the total weight of the shawl is a remarkable 403g which means it's a very scrappy colourful shawl. It's amazing isn't it, a couple of people in my family have laughed at me for saving such small oddments of yarn but just look at what they've all added up to and what I've created with them.

"And what did you have left at the end?" you ask. Just the tiniest of scraps so I think I fulfilled the goal. The darker one was intentionally left out as I wanted to use brighter colours.

It's so soft and surprisingly warm so it will be perfect to either drape round my shoulders or lay across my lap when the colder weather returns. In the meantime, doesn't it look pretty in the sunshine.

Daniel And Jasmine's Wedding Day

What a wonderful day we had on Thursday when Daniel and Jasmine got married. It seemed a long way off when we booked the venue but these last few months before the big day have flown by. As most of you will know, Jasmine's American, all her family live in America, so being Mother of the Groom has been a little different for me as I've got to do most of the things that Mother of the Bride would usually do, including shopping with Jasmine for her wedding dress. It's been an absolute privilege. I know you'll all be wanting to see the dress she chose so we'll start off with a photo of Jasmine.

We looked in so many bridal shops, there were a few close calls but there was just something about each dress which let it down, until she saw, and fell in love, with this one.

The wedding and reception was held at Walton Hall at Waterton Park Hotel & Spa. The Hall is the former home of famous naturalist Charles Waterton and it stands on an island in the middle of a lake. There's also a more modern hotel on the mainland in the grounds but the ceremony, reception and evening reception were all held on the island.

We'd been hoping for fine weather. We were all a little worried when we woke at 3am to the sound of thunder, flashes of lightening lighting up our bedrooms and the sound of rain. The rumbles of thunder continued through the night and accompanied us as we were getting ready in the morning but by the time we arrived at Waterton Park, the sun was shining and the temperature was rising nicely. It got really quite hot as the day went on but not too overbearing as it had been earlier on in the week, it was perfect.

The ceremony was at 12.30pm, this was followed with a prosecco and Budweiser drinks reception and canapes on the lawn by the lake. It was so relaxed with guests mingling and chatting whilst different groups were called for photos. It was nice that some of Jasmine's family were able to come over from America to share the celebrations and there were lots of friends from different areas of their lives joining in the festivities too.

Jasmine had four bridesmaids including Eleanor who was Maid of Honour. They each wore dresses chosen themselves, Jasmine wanted them to have their own style but more importantly, be comfortable.

Eleanor and Jasmine stayed together in a room in Walton Hall the night before the wedding. On the morning of the wedding, Eleanor presented Jasmine with a scrapbook she'd made for her containing photos from all stages of her life with different friends and family, and letters she'd asked different people to write to her to be opened on the morning of her wedding. Jasmine said she cried at every one. It's a good job then that Eleanor was on hand to do her hair and make-up before the wedding. It's lovely to see these two sisters-in-law getting on so well.

Daniel couldn't choose between two of his closest friends so in the end decided to have two best men. They both did a brilliant job. Mick and Jacob are at each side, Ryan and Rob at each side of Daniel. I was surprised when Daniel decided to go with tuxedos but I thought they all looked very smart, I love the look.

The flowers were gorgeous. Eleanor was so happy with the florist she used for her wedding that Jasmine went with the same person. She wasn't really fussy about what flowers she wanted, she knew she wanted blues and purples and eucalyptus, she really just gave a broad outline of the things she liked and the florist came up with the rest. I think she did a beautiful job and Jasmine was very pleased with them.

Jack was a little star. He was a ring bearer and came down the aisle with his head bowed. I thought he must be a little shy but he was, in fact, so thrilled with his new shoes that he couldn't take his eyes off them, haha. Bless him. He didn't make a murmur throughout the ceremony and was as good as gold all day long. He kept going past 10pm when Eleanor finally took him up to bed.

There were three speeches, Daniel made one and so did each of the best men. Daniel decided they'd make the speeches before we ate so that everyone could relax and enjoy the meal. He didn't want to be worrying about having to stand up in front of everyone whilst he was eating. Daniel's speech brought a tear to my eye when he mentioned my mum and dad and how he wished they could be here celebrating with him, I didn't know he was going to say that and it caught me off guard. I also had a little moment when he was thanking me and Mick for everything we've done for him, his speech really was very touching. Although the best men hadn't conferred, they managed to make their speeches very different and individual. They were three very good speeches.

The wedding breakfast was delicious. We started with traditional Yorkshire pudding with braised beef brisket and a rich onion gravy. The main was oven roast breast of chicken finished with a red wine jus, fondant potato and seasonal vegetables. For dessert we had individual white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake delicately sprinkled with cracked meringue, finished with raspberry coulis, and we finished off with freshly ground coffee and mints. Everyone commented on how good the food was, the canapes earlier had been excellent too.

The wedding had a loose galaxy theme, after all, they both studied astrophysics at university. The cake followed this theme in design. Each tier had a different flavour, from top to bottom: strawberry milkshake, chocolate orange, toffee and salted caramel, lemon. I have to say that the cake was absolutely delicious, I've never tasted cake so moist and flavoursome.

There was a little time to relax after the meal before the evening festivities began. An evening disco was held in the old boathouse which opened out onto decking where a barbecue was enjoyed. Yes, yet more food, and this was equally as good as what we'd already sampled. Daniel and Jasmine had their first dance to Lover by Taylor Swift. The DJ played a good mix of tunes and the dancefloor was never empty. It went on till the early hours and everyone said what a fantastic day they'd all had. There were smiles on everyone's faces all day long.

We've had a few preview photos sent by the photographer, some of which I've included here, others are photos that have been snapped on phones throughout the day. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the official photos.

What an absolutely fabulous day, very special memories made for everyone. I asked Jasmine if she was sorry it was all over and she said no, she couldn't be sorry because it was just perfect!

Vertices Unite

The Spring Shawlathon, which is hosted by Fran at the Franny Do Makes podcast and Helen at the Giddy Knits podcast, is in full swing at the moment, however I haven't joined in this year, I've been busy finishing off the shawl I began during the last Shawlathon.

This is the Vertices Unite, and though he's a very popular knitwear designer, this is the first pattern I've knit by Stephen West.

I've used yarns by Jellybeans Yarns in the Red Ember colourway, The Crafty Bird in Liesl, Castle View Yarns in Owl Post, Truly Hooked in Dark Grey and Blue Fern Yarns in Antarctic. They're all hand dyed merino yarn and the shawl feels so squishy. Although the pattern calls for five colours, it doesn't use the full 100g skeins. Red Ember used 54g, Liesl used 74g, Owl Post used 26g, Dark Grey used 40g and Antarctic used 55g, so there was plenty of yarn left over.

It'a a huge shawl, there's two sizes in the pattern but I decided to go for the largest of the two as I wanted something I could wrap myself up in and I can certainly do that, it has a wing span of about 71 inches and I haven't blocked it aggressively, it's knit up to this size.

I actually like it more than I expected I would, it will be lovely to wear during the very coldest months of the year as it's so warm and cosy. I'd like to knit another using different colours.

So that's the second thing I've managed to get finished which had been carried over from last year, just one more thing to go and then I can start casting on again.

Mick's 60th - May

I'm arranging little surprises for Mick throughout the year as it will be his 60th birthday in August. I thought it would be nice to string out the celebrations, hopefully doing something each month.

For May, I decided to surprise Mick with a trip to York. This in itself wouldn't be much of a surprise as we often visit, we live less than twenty minutes away, but we don't really do the touristy stuff when we're there. As the weather was so nice, and also because May was always going to be busy with Daniel and Jasmine's wedding fast approaching, our visit took place right at the start of the month. We usually drive into York, or more often than not we use the park and ride, but this time we took the train. All will become clear later on.

The first thing we did was visit the Jorvik Viking Centre. It's years since I last went there, in fact, it must have been when I was at school. Mick's never been before. We've been saying that we should visit so this was the first place on my list when I decided to make York one of our days out. Between 1976 and 1981, archaeologists uncovered houses and workshops of the Viking city of Jorvik. The Jorvik Viking Centre now stands on that excavation site and a ride experience takes you through reconstructed Viking-age streets before dropping you off at the galleries showcasing Viking artefacts and even genuine Viking-age human skeletons.

We'd left home before having breakfast so we were getting a little peckish after visiting Jorvik. Our next stop was The House of Trembling Madness on Stonegate, an ale house whose building was part of the first Norman house in York dating back to 1180. Downstairs is a bottle shop but climb the stairs and you'll find a bar with an extensive craft beer selection serving good pub grub. It's famous for its quirky decor featuring taxidermy.

We grabbed a late breakfast and washed it down with an early pint (half for me!). The beautiful day, Mick having a day off work, and being on the tourist trail was giving us those holiday vibes.

Afterwards, it was time to sit back and enjoy the view as we took a scenic river cruise. Travelling down the Ouse by boat was a totally different way to take in the city and one I can wholeheartedly recommend, especially on a beautiful day. They hire out small boats too and that's something we've decided we'll definitely do on a future visit to York.

The main reason we took the train into York was because I'd booked a rum tasting experience at Villains Rum. Mick's got quite a collection of different rums so I thought this would be a fun thing for us to do. A costumed guide relayed tales of historical villains associated with York who inspired the different rums we were sampling. I don't actually drink rum myself though I did try a couple, and a couple of gins too, but that was enough for me. It was such an entertaining experience, the stories were really funny and the villains were brought to life through the engaging narration. Mick thoroughly enjoyed this and he brought home some new rums for his ever-growing collection too. It was a good job he wasn't driving, we were given good measures to taste!

Towards the end of our day we had a meal in a lovely pub restaurant in St Helen's Square. Mick went for a burger, I opted for a steak sandwich. It was such a lovely day that the doors were opened wide and music from the buskers in the square drifted in.

There was a little time left before our train was due so we sat for a while by the river. It was the perfect end to a delightful day.

Another Year Of The National Trust

After my post last year detailing which National Trust properties we'd visited during the period of our membership, I decided I'd keep track of where we've been and how much we would have spent again after renewing our membership. It's worth bearing in mind that during our previous membership we had Archie with us so we weren't able to go inside the houses, nor were we able to go in some gardens. This year we've been able to visit all areas, there's sometimes an extra charge to go inside the houses and the admission prices quoted reflect this.

Our joint membership this year cost us £160.80. Last year we broke even within four months, this year it took us seven months, a fair bit longer. National Trust properties were great places to take Archie for walks so we would often visit for that purpose. Our visits this year have been much fewer but more purposeful taking in the houses as well as the grounds.

Townend. Admission is £11 for non-members. £22 saved.

Hill Top and Hawkshead. Admission is £17 for non-members. £34 saved.

Hardwick. Admission is £21 for non-members. £42 saved.

Nunnington Hall. Admission is £12 for non-members. We visited twice. £48 saved.

We also visited Nunnington Hall when it was their Love Local event. The admission this day was free for all.

Clumber Park. Admission was £6 for non-members, it's now £6.50. We visited twice. £25 saved.

Fountains Abbey. Helios by sunset. Free for members £12 for non-members. £24 saved.

Nostell Priory. Parking is £5 for non-members. Garden or House admission is £9 or a combined ticket for both is £13 for non-members, though the house wasn't open on one of our visits and we didn't go inside the house on our second visit. We visited twice. £46 saved.

Dunham Massey. Park & Garden admission is £10 or House, Park & Garden is £20, though the house wasn't open when we visited. £20 saved.

Rhosili and South Gower Coast. Parking is £4 for up to two hours or £8 over two hours for non-members. £4 saved.

Pennard, Pwll Du and Bishopston Valley. Parking is £4 for up to two hours or £8 over two hours for non-members. We visited twice. £8 saved.

Woolsthorpe Manor. Admission is £15 for non-members. £30 saved.

Hardcastle Crags. Parking is £5 for up to four hours or £8 all day for non-members. £5 saved.

In total we would have spent £308 on admission to these places. That's £147.20 more than we paid for our membership, a lesser saving than last year but we expected that. Visiting National Trust properties was brilliant when we had Archie as we all got something out of it, nowadays we're not looking for places we can take a dog when we have days out so our visits have been fewer as we've tended to go elsewhere.

Again, we received the National Trust Handbook at the start of our membership and another one was sent to us at the beginning of this year. We also received three National Trust Magazines over the course of the year and there was also a promotion when we took out the membership of a £10 gift card which can be spent in National Trust cafes or shops.

The prices quoted in the post were correct at the times we visited. Some, if not all, of the properties have now increased their prices, and the price of joint membership has also now increased to £168 for the year.

Even though we didn't save as much as we did last year, membership was again well worth it. We visited some of the places we visited last time and visited new places too. We've been able to look inside the houses this time whereas we had Archie with us still during our last membership so that wasn't an option for us then.

We've decided not to renew our membership at this point in time, mainly because there's other, non National Trust places, that we've earmarked to visit soon. I'm sure we will in the future though, possibly later on this year. I think you get good value for money and there's so many different properties, there's always somewhere to go when you're looking for a day out.