A Stroll Along the Coronation Street Cobbles

On New Year's Day hubby, my Mum and I were up and at 'em early (what luck none of us had bothered staying up til midnight to ring in the New Year...) as we headed to Granada Studios in Manchester to visit the old Coronation Street set. We are all big fans of the show so were probably a little over-excited, to say the least and our 'fan-dom' was evident when between us we managed to answer nearly all of the questions that the tour guide asked on our way round the sets (we were actually starting to feel a bit embarrassed of ourselves come the end.) The tour starts with a short film looking back over the highlights of the past several decades of Corrie, followed by a look round some of the inside sets (no photos allowed, unfortunately) including Carla's flat, Gayle's house, the Duckworth's back room and then, the highlight of the inside part of the tour, The Rovers Return. Clearly this is only going to mean something to you if you actually watch the programme, so apologies to anyone who isn't quite such a fan as I am (and if you're not, why not?!?) After the sets we had a chance to look at some props including Hayley's cardboard coffin, Hilda Ogden's curlers, Vera Duckworth's hairnet, Deirdre's glasses and lots more (I know, it really doesn't sound very interesting unless you are a Corrie fan, does it?!) And then, finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for, a short countdown and the doors of Nick's Bistro were thrown open giving us our first view of The Street, cue the music and action:

With the chance to wander up and down those famous cobbles

And pretend to go into a few of the famous properties; here's hubby paying Gayle, David, Kylie, etc a visit

Before stopping for a pint of Newton and Ridley's finest

I'm holding my bag like that in homage to Roy Cropper and his infamous shopping bag, in case you were wondering why I look even more of a wally than usual...

Here's a view down the ginnel behind the terrace houses

Time to pick up a quarter of sherbert lemons and a copy of the Weatherfield Gazette

Not forgetting a pint of milk and a loaf

Before jumping on the bus and heading for Eccles...

What a great morning we had and I would thoroughly recommend it to any Corrie fan; there is talk that this old set is going to be demolished to make way for apartments, shops and office buildings. I can't say I'm surprised since it's a prime area of real estate right in the middle of Manchester, but it will certainly be a pity that a piece of television history will be lost for good (although if you're not a big fan you probably won't feel too fussed!)

Happy New Year! And some book talk.

How are we already five days in to the new year? It's a good thing that my resolution to blog more regularly wasn't an actual real life resolution. I've realised that making resolutions is pointless since I rarely manage to keep them and, let's face it, if something was that important I wouldn't wait until the new year to put it in to practice. The only thing I try to do year on year, is read more books than the year before. In 2013 I managed 28 (and a half), 2014 was a rather disappointing 24 (and a half) - sad face. I blame the laser eye surgery which rendered me practically unable to see for a couple of weeks let along read the small print in a book (and audio books definitely don't count towards the annual total.)

If you have the fortitude to plough through this blog from time to time, you may have noticed that I review the books that I read. I review them badly; that's not to say that I give the books bad reviews (such as nil points) but that I write poor reviews. It is certainly not among my (few) talents and it doesn't help that my memory is poor and I can barely remember what a book was about once I've finished it (or sometimes even while I'm still reading it.) Yet still I persist. Sorry. But at this point, as a fresh year of reading begins and I realise I only managed to write reviews for 13 of the 24 (and a half) books I read last year, I've decided to spare you those 11 reviews and simply list the books with a sentence or two to say whether, in my most humble opinion, they were worth the paper they're printed on.

Death by Darjeeling - Laura Childs. The first in a cozy crime series set in a tea room (seemed kind of perfect really considering my current profession!) Enjoyed this one.

The Sisterhood - Emily Barr. Jury's out on this one. I enjoyed it; expected it to be predictable, which it was in places, but there were also a few twists. Psycho-thriller-lite.

Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella. Oh dear. Once upon a time I loved reading the books in this series, but that was a while ago. Picking one up after such a long time has made me wonder were they always this dreadful/predictable/badly written/cliche-ridden, or is it just this particular book? I don't think I'll read any more to find out.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson. LOVED it. A bit odd to start with, but once it got going the constantly twisting-turning plot that went full-circle was a joy. Thoroughly recommend.

Sentenced to Death - Lorna Barrett. From the Booktown series which I consistently enjoy, and this one was no exception.

Gunpowder Green - Laura Childs. Gave the second in the Tea Shop mystery series a go and enjoyed it as much as the first; happy to keep going with these.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - Alexander McCall Smith. Ahh, Mma Ramotswe, how do I love thee?! This series never fails to disappoint, instantly transporting me to another place where all is comfortable and good (in the end.) I would thoroughly recommend the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series to anyone who wants to read a gentle, comforting, happy book.

The Vintage Tea Cup Club - Vanessa Greene. Oh dear. Trite, predictable, disappointing. Steer clear.

Thai Die - Monica Ferris. From another cozy crime series which I consistently enjoy. Again, it didn't disappoint.

Coming Home for Christmas - Julia Williams. So, I thought I'd read this to get me in the mood for the festive season. Humph. It's not even set at Christmas! What a con. Again, trite and predictable so don't be fooled by the title if you're looking for a seasonal read.

Fear on Friday - Ann Purser. UK cozy crime, so slightly (but only very slightly) darker and grittier than any US cozy; I very much enjoy this series and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a gentle 'whodunnit' without wanting the twee-ness that some cozies bring.

And the book I started in 2014 but didn't finish until 2015: Styx and Stones - Carola Dunn (which will be reviewed 'properly' soon.)
And there you have it, my book list for non-reviewed titles of 2014. Did you read any fantastic books or fantastically disappointing ones last year?

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I do hope you all have a lovely Christmas (and a Happy New Year, in case I don't get back here before 2014 slips into 2015.) We've had a lovely festive time so far in December with tree-buying, decorating, DC's school Nativity play, a night away for our wedding anniversary, mulled wine, Snowballs, lots of chocolates, neighbourhood parties, carol services, present wrapping, tropical fish-buying, shopping, cooking, jigsaw-ing and it's still two sleeps til the big day!

Our main Christmas tree

Home-made decoration

Tree no. 2: sponsored by Starbucks...

Festive drinking vessels and teapot

DC decorates the Christmas cake

The Treat Trolley - an annual tradition!

Decorated mantle

My little Nativity sheep

Elf brought this present a little bit early as Santa couldn't carry it on the sleigh

Fish - as requested by DC

The annual Christmas jigsaw gets under way!

Book Review No 13: A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett (cozy time!)

I've read several books by this author under the name Lorna Barrett and her Booktown Mystery series is one I have consistently enjoyed, so I thought it was time to give this other series, 'Victoria Square', a try.

Here's the blurb from the back:

Murder is right up her alley... The last thing Katie Bonner wanted was to become the manager of Artisans Alley. But when her business partner, Ezra Hilton, is found lying at the bottom of a staircase, bludgeoned to death, she has no other choice. A collection of booths for artisans and craft sellers in a renovated apple warehouse, Artisans Alley is the main attraction in the quaint Victoria Square shopping area. But business under Ezra had been faltering - enough to provoke someone to murder?
Katie has had more than her fair share of death - her late husband (and Ezra's former partner), Chad, died in a car accident six months ago. But as she digs deeper into Ezra's murder, her husband's death starts to look suspicious. While the cops are proceeding by the book, Katie is investigating by the booths - for the answer to the killer's identity lies in the hidden secrets of Artisans Alley itself.

First things first, the name Artisans Alley really doesn't trip off the tongue. And when it's used in conjunction with the possessive (ie Artisans Alley's), it becomes even more of a tongue-twister. Well, it does for me; perhaps the author could have the new manager rename her business venture, just to make me happy. So, that's my first complaint. Secondly, I'm not sure I really liked the characters; however, I already own the next book in the series so I'm willing to reserve judgement for now and give them one more try (kind, aren't I?!)

But, on the plus side, the story is strong. It's not a light-hearted cutesy cozy, having its dark moments and that certainly helps it stand out from the crowd a little. The characters, although possibly not to my immediate liking, are strong and certainly look like they have plenty of room to develop as the series continues. The setting is interesting too, even if the name is awkward.

So, it's probably a 6.5 out of 10 for this one, with some judgement reserved til I read the next one in the series, which will probably be some time in 2015!

Late to the Party!

I'm so behind with blogging these days; there just doesn't seem to be the time to get to the computer any more. And then, when I am at the computer, I'm either busy doing other things (compiling an allergen list for the tea room menu, for example - gaaah) or I'm tired or I have no inspiration.

Anyhoo, it was my birthday at the end of November, so here's a little round up of what I did: The day before my birthday I took myself off to the mall at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol (my fave 'high street' shopping destination); I managed to spend 7 hours there, and could quite easily have managed another one or two, but I wanted to get home to see DC before he went to bed. I did a fair bit of shopping, picked up a few Christmas presents and a couple of things for myself, so all was good.

My actual birthday was somewhat hijacked by the school Christmas fete; hubby, DC, my Mum & I had volunteered to run the Home Produce/Cake stall for the morning, which wasn't so bad as it gave us first dibs on the lovely cakes!

Father Christmas and his helper arrived by helicopter, like you do!

And best of all, when it was all over we went back home and indulged in this fantastic giant Peanut Butter Cup that hubby had made me for my birthday cake. And once again (see last year's Red Velvet cake), it was really only me who liked it so not too much sharing to be done; several weeks on and I'm still making my way through it...

In the evening DC went for a sleepover at Granny's while hubby and I enjoyed dinner at our village pub. Hubby's wearing a neck brace because he had an operation for a slipped disc at the beginning of November.

Fish and chips for me, belly of pork for hubby. YUM!

The birthday celebrations continued apace as the next day we went to the Mount Somerset hotel for afternoon tea.

DC took the photo below, which helps to explain the angle.

And I forgot to take a photo of the food until we'd pretty much finished - so here's a delightful photo of the detritus. You can see there really wasn't much left, which clearly suggests we enjoyed it very much!

As per tradition, I took some photos of my birthday gifts for posterity.

Quite a eclectic mix this year, including a hot glue gun ('does it shoot glue?' asked DC), some antlers, a Christmas jigsaw tree decoration, a vintage tin featuring the name of my old school, a Streamline pot and a Starbucks Christmas mug to add to the collections

 money, vouchers, coffee, chocolate and a cheese-making kit which my dear friend Liz believes will add another facet to my 'country wife' lifestyle

and lots of smellies (is someone trying to tell me something?!)

 And that was the end of my birthday weekend!

The Poppies at The Tower of London - finally

Everyone knows about the wonderful poppies at the Tower of London; yours truly really wanted to see them and, indeed, to buy one, but I was late to the game on both counts. London is a bit of a trek from where we live (2.5hrs on the train to Waterloo and at least that in the car, not including congestion...), not to mention a pricey trip whichever way you choose to travel, but when dearest hubby said he had to go to the Big Smoke for work one day and suggested I tag along, I decided to go for it. Granny was brought in to collect DC from school and put him to bed, so we didn't have to rush back (a 5-hour round-trip on the train doesn't make a quick trip to London particularly feasible.)

So, off we jolly well went. Hubby and I parted ways at Waterloo and I caught the tube along to London Bridge station. Popped out, crossed the road and there I was besides the mighty Thames. It was a lovely day, bright, sunny and crisp; perfect for wandering and taking in the sights.

I felt quite the tourist taking all these snaps.

Up over Tower Bridge

And finally, what I'd come to see.

These were all the poppies that were left in the main moat (the one that was most shown on TV/in photos) as the volunteers had made a cracking job of clearing them. And it was very difficult to take a decent photo due to the height of the wall that runs along the pavement on this side.

But it was a different matter around the other side of the Tower; this is the moat on the side facing the river.

Here's the 'wave' section

I'm so glad that I finally made the effort to see the poppies before they were all removed. It was a wonderful sight, very poignant and actually incredibly hard to comprehend when you actually stopped to think that every poppy represented a life lost - poppies as far as the eye could see, too many to count.

And then I came back down to earth with a trip to Oxford Street. It's almost as if they knew I was coming!