Adventures in Exeter #1

Now that the days are longer I've definitely been craving getting out and about a bit more. I love day trips, but it occurred to me that I have lived in this ol city of mine for 27 years and there are still a lot of nooks and crannies that I am yet to explore. So with that in mind Rich and I have decided that we will spend a bit more time strolling around this city, armed with our cameras, and seeing just how much is on offer. 

On our first wander we kind of cheated and stayed close to home. We'd spent most of the day at Rich's Nans 80th birthday party so as it was a particularly beautiful day, we grabbed our cameras and went for a mooch around the Quay and the houses above it, stopping for a drink along the way. There are some beautiful old terraced buildings that I didn't even know existed, plus some amazing views up and down the river. 

 

I'm looking forward to doing a lot more exploring over the coming months.

Sarah

xx

Charity

source

You're probably going to think I'm a massive bitch but I can't be the only person who, from time to time, gets sick of charity people. First and foremost I totally support what the majority of charities do. The generosity of the people who donate warms my heart and leaves my jaw on the floor at times. The story of Stephen Sutton is one that has touched tens of thousands of people and encouraged them to donate to the Teenage Cancer charity, fantastic. The fact that over £1 million was raised in a day is amazing and he is such an inspirational guy, combined with the fact that you are hard pushed to find someone who hasn't been effected by Cancer in some way or another, it is not surprising that so many people have donated. 

A couple of weeks ago there was the 'make up free selfie', again it was amazing how much money it raised from the power of social media, before that it was Sport Relief and no doubt there was something else again before that. We turn on our tv's/computers/tablets/mobile phones and charity is everywhere. You want to walk down the high street of your local town/city and charity is once again everywhere. Every twenty feet there is someone in a bright coloured top, armed with a clip board, trying to get your attention, tugging at your emotions to get your money. As I said before, I understand why they do this but does it ever stop? Will I ever be able to just walk down the street without being pestered by someone or another who wants me to sign up to 'just £5 a month'. Every week there is a different charity, every day there is a different cause in the media, everyday I made to feel guilty because I simply cannot donate to all of them. And then there are the charity workers who tell you that their charity is more important than the ones you already donate to. How bloody dare they tell me who is more important to me? I have the choice to donate or not, and who I might choose to donate to, I will not be made to feel like I need to justify that to anybody. 

I have three charities that I give a monthly donation to and I regularly donate items to number of charity shops, and buy things from them. I do my bit and give as much as I can afford. I'm getting to the point where I am avoiding the likes of Facebook because my feed is clogged with people asking for money, photos that are designed to make you sad, and they really do. It impacts on my day and to be honest makes me feel depressed. Then I feel bad for those who don't have social media to spread awareness and raise £1m in a day. The children in Africa who die every day because there is no clean water, they just come and go and no one even knows they existed. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is have we got charity wrong? Has it become too much of a competition? Whoever shouts the loudest gets the most money and sod the rest of them? And will I ever be able to walk down the street in peace again?

Thank you for bearing with my rant.

Sarah

xx

Easter Weekend

The long weekend could not have come at a better time. With work being ridiculously busy for the last couple of months it was great to just have a bit of time to relax and enjoy the sunshine with my nearest and dearest, and get some time on the allotment.

After a bit of lie in on Friday Rich, James, Alice and I decided to pack a picnic and head off on a bike ride to the Turf Locks. The weather was gloriously sunny with a nice breeze to make for a more comfortable ride. We ended up just lying in the sun for a few hours, munching on strawberries and sipping Pepsi, it was great to just relax and spend some quality time with James and Alice.

Photo courtesy of Rich

In the evening I caught up with my lovely friend Tiff. We've been friends for 16 years and since we moved further apart we have continued to make time for our friendship via good old snail mail. We hadn't actually seen each other for 4 years, but as soon as we saw each other it was like it had been days rather than years. Seeing her so well and happy with her lovely new man was fab and I can't wait for Rich and I to go and visit them in London.

The weekend ended on a high with a visit to Cornwall to see my Nan and a quick drive over to Fowey. I will never tire of seeing that view.

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend.

Sarah

xx

Pomps Patch #7

Another weekend has gone by on Pomps Patch. We've almost got one half of our plot finished and fully working, we just have two bed frames to add tonight and then we're on our way to edible goodness.
After a lot of consideration we are planning on trying to sweet talk one of the old boys into rotovating our 'wild side' in exchange for money/beer/hugs. Rich has been busy building beds while I have been weeding, sewing and pulling up the endless amounts of rotten carpet.

So far I am loving spring on the allotment. The asparagus are shooting, the fruit trees are blossoming and the bushes are well, getting bushy. My windowsills are full of seedlings and getting an hour or two up there after work is just great.

Can you spot what Rich is growing? ;)

Sarah 

xx

An after work cycle

Do you ever get those days where you're so sick of being stuck inside? Just before the clocks changed my brother and I got home from work and slumped on the sofa, a bit tired and grouchy but mainly just fed up of being stuck inside on the few days that the sun was actually shining. Craving a bit of fresh air we got off our backsides, grabbed our bikes and went for a quick 3 mile ride along the river. It was the perfect evening, fairly mild, that lovely kind of haze as the sun goes down, no wind, and the river and canal were so still they looked like glass. 

It was so good to get back on Claudia, I have missed my two wheeled friend more than I thought possible (yes, I am that sad). It's going to be great adding her to my fitness routine now the days are longer, and I'm looking forward to adding her shiny new pannier rack, bags and saddle cover over the weekend. She's such a babe!

 

 

Hope you had a great weekend.

Sarah
xx

Currently

I am so glad the end of tax year madness is over, if you work in finance you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, and it doesn't matter how much you prepare, there is always a rush. My weekends have been jam packed too. On mothers day I spent the morning at the Big Cake Show before heading down to Cornwall to see my Nan, with a quick pit stop in Fowey too.
Arnie the cat has been a poorly boy over the last couple of weeks. He's had a potassium deficiency and has been hanging his head down and is a bit off balance. It seems his little place when he's under the weather is in a basket, so we've been carrying him around and putting him by the fire. Thankfully he's doing much better now, as you can see in the photos, it's amazing what the word 'ham' will do to cheer a cat, or three, up!! I love this photo of Rich and Lilly, she is the loveliest dog in the world, always craving attention, always wanting to get as close to you as possible, and always willing to use you as a pillow/scratching post (for itches, not her claws).

Reading: Unfortunately I am still reading the dreaded pensions exam study book, it's a beast. I am breaking it up with the new Great British Sewing Bee, Sew Your Own Wardrobe book though and cannot wait to attempt a couple of summer dresses.

Watching: I have finally caught up on the final season of Dexter and all I can say is 'meh'. I avoided the series for a long time because I loved the books so much that it was kind of disappointing, plus the characters were so much better in my head than on tv. I eventually caved in and started watching it, I even really started enjoying it, the story lines were changed completely so you couldn't really compare it to the book as much as in the beginning, and then it ended with a pile of tripe. I won't give any spoilers, but it was just lame.

Listening to The Gaslight Anthem (always), She and Him, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and a lot of Frank Sinatra.

Loving going to exercise classes with Anna and Bekah. We're still going strong on the Body combat, Netball and we've even thrown pump into the mix too. I've officially lost 1 stone and am looking forward to reaping even more of the benefits of this exercise lark. I'm also loving these long days and getting to grab an hour or two on the allotment after work, my happy place.

Eating: all the fruit and veg I can get my hands on. I've got into the routine of having half a grapefruit and a small bowl of cereal with fruit on top for breakfast every morning. I bring homemade smoothies to work for lunch, or a salad if it's gym day, and trying to eat a lot more fish too. It feels pretty great.

Sarah
xx

The Big Cake Show

On Sunday the ladies of my family had tickets to go to The Big Cake Show at Westpoint, a 3 day show dedicated to cake with some celebrity chefs, Mary Berry & Paul Hollywood to name two, doing demonstrations and Q&A's, plus some amazing competition pieces.

It was my first food show so I wasn't sure what to expect but the organisers did a fantastic job. There was plenty to see and keep you entertained, with traders selling local produce, baking equipment and doing demonstrations, the most amazing competition cakes I've ever seen, check out the Alice in wonderland cake by Crafty Cakes, seriously amazing (if you're local to Exeter you should definitely give them a visit if you need a professional cake, as a family we've been going there for years, they deliver on price, quality and taste, oh the taste!!), plus of course the celebrity chefs giving talks, answering questions and just generally being awesome. It was great to see contestants from the Great British Bake Off too, who doesn't love that program?

I really hope it becomes an annual event and I cannot recommend it enough if it does return, go!!

 

Sarah
xx