December 22, 2011
Putney Christmas
As you can see many presents have arrived. Some are making the trip to Munich others will be opened tonight.
December 19, 2011
Last week was the week of Christmas parties. Ben had a great three course lunch during the week and I had mine on Friday night. My Christmas present was so good, it was a 50's murder mystery theme. We all had back stories. I was in the papparazzi, 8 stone and loved the colour green.
The weekend was a very quiet weekend for us as I was sick in bed and on the couch with a cold. I left the house twice, once to go to the shops for a little bit of Christmas shopping and grocery shopping on Sunday. We had plans to go to two Christmas gatherings, it was sad to miss out on them. One of the highlights of our very quiet weekend was trying the local fish stand outside the church on Putney High St. He opens on Saturday's during the day. We bought some sea bass and Ben made a very yummy dinner of fish and Renate, my host mum's potato salad. The fish recipe can be found here. Yet another good recipe from Mr Nigel Slater. I think it would be perfect on a hot summer's day. The second highlight of the weekend was watching our new favourite British show, re-runs of Gavin and Stacey on Sunday night. It is a great comedy set in Wales and Essex.
This morning we woke up to frost on the roofs of the houses and cars around us. The path was even a little slippery in parts. Last week Benny was lucky enough to see snow fall from his work window. We will definately see snow this weekend as we are off to Munich on Friday.
The weekend was a very quiet weekend for us as I was sick in bed and on the couch with a cold. I left the house twice, once to go to the shops for a little bit of Christmas shopping and grocery shopping on Sunday. We had plans to go to two Christmas gatherings, it was sad to miss out on them. One of the highlights of our very quiet weekend was trying the local fish stand outside the church on Putney High St. He opens on Saturday's during the day. We bought some sea bass and Ben made a very yummy dinner of fish and Renate, my host mum's potato salad. The fish recipe can be found here. Yet another good recipe from Mr Nigel Slater. I think it would be perfect on a hot summer's day. The second highlight of the weekend was watching our new favourite British show, re-runs of Gavin and Stacey on Sunday night. It is a great comedy set in Wales and Essex.
This morning we woke up to frost on the roofs of the houses and cars around us. The path was even a little slippery in parts. Last week Benny was lucky enough to see snow fall from his work window. We will definately see snow this weekend as we are off to Munich on Friday.
December 13, 2011
We said goodbye to Em and Sam at the station on Friday as they departed to Paris. It was funny having Em with us all week. She thought that the tube was in the centre of the earth with molten rock. As we had such a busy week Friday night was quiet at home eating left overs cooked by me for once. We had the lovely surprise of our handyman turning up at 8:30 at night after a few drinks at the pub to chat about why he can't get the exhaust fan to work. he was very chatting and sort of wouldn't leave. Told us his life story and about how is partner likes to watch Bondi Rescue. He promised to fix it on Saturday but as all tradies go we are still waiting and our small kitchen is filled with his ladder and other tools. Fingers crossed tonight it will be gone.
On Saturday while off to my monthly visit to the eyebrow waxer I recieved a call from Marty inviting us to watch and support his football team he follows. The game started at 3 and we had a Christmas party starting at 7. It was going to be a stretch with the really long journey. Leyton is close to where we first stayed when we arrived. It is a division 1 team, and they have some really passionate supporters. I heard many, many swear words and great chants. Much to Marty's surprise Leyton Orient won by 3 goals to Exetor. It was such a cute stadium, parts of it still have wooden seats. The canteen was like the school tuckshop. It reminded me of the Gabba when I was really tiny. They have apartment buildings on the corner so people watch the game from their verandah.
We made the Christmas party on time and we were the first ones there. It was a miracle how fast I got ready. The party was great, just up the road within walking distance. We got home round 1 and Benny woke up with rather a sore head. Sunday afternoon was yet another Christmas lunch with roast lamb and vegetables. The deserts were incredibly with bread and butter pudding and Christmas pudding with hot custard.
This week should be quiet, tonight we are off to dinner with friends at the Grazing Goat. Very yummy food, we are looking forward to it. Not long until we are off to Munich to see Em and Sam again.
(Image: Sarah Ritchie)
On Saturday while off to my monthly visit to the eyebrow waxer I recieved a call from Marty inviting us to watch and support his football team he follows. The game started at 3 and we had a Christmas party starting at 7. It was going to be a stretch with the really long journey. Leyton is close to where we first stayed when we arrived. It is a division 1 team, and they have some really passionate supporters. I heard many, many swear words and great chants. Much to Marty's surprise Leyton Orient won by 3 goals to Exetor. It was such a cute stadium, parts of it still have wooden seats. The canteen was like the school tuckshop. It reminded me of the Gabba when I was really tiny. They have apartment buildings on the corner so people watch the game from their verandah.
We made the Christmas party on time and we were the first ones there. It was a miracle how fast I got ready. The party was great, just up the road within walking distance. We got home round 1 and Benny woke up with rather a sore head. Sunday afternoon was yet another Christmas lunch with roast lamb and vegetables. The deserts were incredibly with bread and butter pudding and Christmas pudding with hot custard.
This week should be quiet, tonight we are off to dinner with friends at the Grazing Goat. Very yummy food, we are looking forward to it. Not long until we are off to Munich to see Em and Sam again.
(Image: Sarah Ritchie)
December 09, 2011
December 08, 2011
Em and Sam have arrived
On Thursday night we went to the Heathrow Airport to pick up Em and Sam. After a slight tube issue we arrived in Putney safely. On Friday we explored the Tower Bridge, and went to the Borough Market for lunch. That night we surprised them with a visit to Tower 42 one of the highest viewing points over the city. For dinner we took them to the old Royal Exchange Bank to a lovely French restaurant.
On Saturday morning we headed on a train to Oxford for a few days in the countryside. We saw the amazing college buildings and walked the cobbled streets. We stayed outside Oxford in this beautiful manor with over 25 acres of grounds with squirrels.
Sunday we used the hire car to explore the Cotswell region. We went through cute little villages such as Burford, Whitney and our last destination Stratford upon Avon. We discovered that Stratford was the birth place of Shakespeare. The countryside was so green, despite last week the news said that UK is in the midst of a drought. The landscape looked like a painting that you see in books with tiny little villages and churches scattered over the hills.
On Tuesday we went to Wimbledon. Em has decided Wimbledon is somewhere she would like to live. It is so quiet compared to the centre of London. We even got to see horses walking down the street.
Yesterday, we hired bikes to ride through Hyde Park. I have been wanting to hire bikes for ages. Ben told me to wait until Em and Sam arrived. The bike riding was a lot of fun until we had to return them. We had to ride around docking stations trying to find an available space. Poor Sam had to ride further to find one for his bike.
After riding we went home for a very quick rest before heading out to Brick Lane and Em and Sam's Christmas surprise. Due to a slight train issue it took us almost 2 hours to get into town, it was incredibly annoying as we were only one stop away from where we needed to be. We had a quick Indian dinner in Brick Lane and told Em and Sam that we were taking them ice skating at Somerset House. The weather was perfect and the ice rink was packed. There was varying levels of skill on the ice but most were not experts. There were quite a lot of stacks. Em did say that when the Brits fell is sounded so posh. Luckily for us none of us fell. It was a really fun night.
Tomorrow, Em and Sam leave us for Paris before meeting again for Christmas in Munich.
On Saturday morning we headed on a train to Oxford for a few days in the countryside. We saw the amazing college buildings and walked the cobbled streets. We stayed outside Oxford in this beautiful manor with over 25 acres of grounds with squirrels.
Sunday we used the hire car to explore the Cotswell region. We went through cute little villages such as Burford, Whitney and our last destination Stratford upon Avon. We discovered that Stratford was the birth place of Shakespeare. The countryside was so green, despite last week the news said that UK is in the midst of a drought. The landscape looked like a painting that you see in books with tiny little villages and churches scattered over the hills.
On Monday Ben headed back to work in London and we went to explore Henley. It was gorgeous on the river. We couldn't have asked for such perfect weather, sunshine the whole weekend. We had lunch by the river and explored the shops. Em and I made a few purchases. After a drive to Henley we returned to Oxford to catch a train back to London.
Yesterday, we hired bikes to ride through Hyde Park. I have been wanting to hire bikes for ages. Ben told me to wait until Em and Sam arrived. The bike riding was a lot of fun until we had to return them. We had to ride around docking stations trying to find an available space. Poor Sam had to ride further to find one for his bike.
After riding we went home for a very quick rest before heading out to Brick Lane and Em and Sam's Christmas surprise. Due to a slight train issue it took us almost 2 hours to get into town, it was incredibly annoying as we were only one stop away from where we needed to be. We had a quick Indian dinner in Brick Lane and told Em and Sam that we were taking them ice skating at Somerset House. The weather was perfect and the ice rink was packed. There was varying levels of skill on the ice but most were not experts. There were quite a lot of stacks. Em did say that when the Brits fell is sounded so posh. Luckily for us none of us fell. It was a really fun night.
Tomorrow, Em and Sam leave us for Paris before meeting again for Christmas in Munich.
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