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‘Live life’ Category

  1. The Chocolate Show, London

    October 17, 2016 by sarah

    Yesterday, I answered that long-standing question – can you ever eat too much chocolate? I can now confirm the answer – yes! We went into London to The Chocolate Show, being held at Olympia. I originally found out about this show through the International Chocolate Awards, which were holding their ceremony at the show (but I missed it as it was on Friday when I could not attend). I could not believe there was so much high quality chocolate on one site! I spied lots of famous chocolatiers, including Paul A Young. We tried his chocolate afternoon tea at the show, which I have to say was the biggest disappointment (soggy bread, dense scones, dulche de leche instead of made caramel sauce, crystallised ganache). We signed up to a monthly chocolate subscription service so we can continue to eat good chocolate all year and I brought home a huge bag of chocolates and bars to try. It was also very inspirational in regards my amateur attempts at chocolate making – yuzu is the in thing, along with bean-to-bar producers.


  2. Photos from Svalbard

    July 31, 2016 by sarah

    After a couple of weeks I have finally finished my photos from Svalbard. I was a bit of a mammoth operation, getting over 5500 photos down to 2000 – don’t worry, I’ve got it to about 150 photos for this gallery! Please enjoy looking at them. We are having a few printed in special ways so we can finally put some of our own art work on the walls rather than complaining ‘we can do that, and better’!!!

    This is the first time I have used a gallery within WordPress – please let me know what you think. If you’d like to view the pictures full page, click on one and then you can use the right and left buttons on your keyboard to scroll forward and back. I haven’t worked out how to make it do an automatic slideshow yet!


  3. A lovely evening of live music

    July 24, 2016 by sarah

    Last night we spent a lovely summers evening listening to the ‘Budapest Cafe Orchestra’ in a local village hall. It really was an eclectic mix of toe tapping and hand clapping music!

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  4. Lets go fly!

    June 21, 2016 by sarah

    Jim treated me to a lovely day flying as it was my day off today. We flew to Duxford, where the Imperial War Museum is based and landed behind a catalina, where we spent a couple of hours looking around and had lunch (ribs!). Then flew off over the Suffolk countryside, a quick fly-by of Hamish on his boat and then back home just in time before the airfield closed. Wow, I’m tired and Jim must be even more but what a lovely day out!

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  5. Recipe book

    May 7, 2016 by sarah

    A couple of months ago, I received a voucher for a free photo-book and having just completed a couple of photo-books of our previous holidays, I decided to use it for something different and made a recipe book of my favourite recipes. I think it is a mixed success – it feels good to have some of my photos in print but the layout is a bit clumsy, probably from using the photo-book software in a way that it was never meant for. I’ll never be able to sell these because though it is just 26 pages and a thin cardboard cover, the company wants £18 to print more! Oh well, will just have to wait for the publishing contract to come my way…

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  6. Ethiopia trip – we’re back!

    November 30, 2015 by sarah

    We have just got back from our trip to the wilder parts of Ethiopia in the Afar/Danakil region. It was an absolutely fabulous place and brilliant experience with an amazing group of people. I was a little dubious that I could fill three days and nights on an active volcano but I found it mesmerising and constantly changing. Getting back to normal life and reality is going to be difficult after this adventure!

    Ode To Erta Ale

    Erta Ale you are so fair
    With your golden pele's hair,
    Such a beautiful and mesmerising sight
    I wish I could stand here all night
    And take pictures of the changing light.
    Lava fountains of spectacular height,
    Splashing plumes of orange and yellow
    As you churn, grumble and bellow;
    We feel Earth's raw power and in awe
    Know that after three days we still want more.
    Erta Ale in your lava embers
    Such sights we will forever remember.
    
    
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    Me and Jim next to Erta Ale lava lake.

    
    
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    Erta Ale lava lake.

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    Erta Ale at dawn.

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    Pele’s hair on Erta Ale.

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    pāhoehoe lava on Erta Ale.

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    Night time displays were the best but also the most difficult to photograph!

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    Sulphur vents at Dallol.

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    Camel trains carry hand worked salt blocks from Dallol to the highlands.

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    Our group.

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    Toyota Landcruiser of the desert.

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    Into the cooler highlands.

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    Inside Ethiopian church.

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    Ethiopian food is delicious.


  7. Thame Food Festival

    October 7, 2015 by sarah

    The weekend before last we went to Thame food festival. We had not been before and it was just by luck that I spotted an ad in a magazine. I am so glad we went – it was a fantastic day out. We, or really I, bought lots of lovely things to eat and drink and there was so much choice of food stalls that we could of eaten there for 3 meals a day for a week and not had the same thing twice. Also, it was a beautiful sunny day, just the start of Autumn, in a beautiful old market square of a pretty town. Enjoy!

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  8. Tea Party Time!

    August 19, 2015 by sarah

    I have only just realised that it is a month since I posted anything on my blog – shame on me! But I have a couple of very good reasons. Firstly I have been concentrating on getting course work for my certificate completed, though I have to admit I am still behind on this. Secondly, I have been busy getting ready for a tea party I hosted at the weekend, to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. I couldn’t believe how much organisation and planning it took before hand and then I reckon I cooked, baked and made for about 30 hours in the couple of weeks and days in the run up to the tea party! I must be mad! But it was also very satisfying and enjoyable at the same time and I have some wonderful new recipes to share with you over the coming weeks so keep a look out… Here is quick look at the cake table and other things…

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    The table is laid…

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    Lots of yummy cakes!

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    Lemon and blueberry cake with elderflower Italian meringue topping.

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    Macarons, cupcakes and cherry and chocolate cake.

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    The menu.

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    Enjoying the garden.

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    The food table once everyone had gone!

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  9. Lovely garden flowers in June

    June 16, 2015 by sarah

    A lovely afternoon off work; lunch in the garden then playing with flowers! Then painting the house.

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  10. Paris Weekend

    May 26, 2015 by sarah

    We have just got back from a lovely long weekend in Paris. The weather was beautiful all weekend, the food was exquisite and we enjoyed walking around, soaking up the atmosphere. A very beautiful and relaxed city. Plenty more to see next time we go; we didn’t even get in the Louvre as the queue was too long!

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    Jim and I outside Notre Dame

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    Bridge with padlocks of love

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    Macrons in the window of Laduree

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    Having macarons and tea in Laduree

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    Eiffel tower

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    Patisserie take away, eaten the Luxemberg gardens – 2000 filles

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    Patisserie take away, eaten the Luxemberg gardens – pistachio and wild strawberries

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    Beer for lunch

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    Notre dame at night

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    Paris at night

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    A famous patisserie shop.

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    Us outside the Moulin Rouge – tourist honeytrap

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    My sketch of the Eiffel tower

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    We didn’t get to go up the tower – the queues were too long!