Friday, 11 February 2011

A little trip to Bath

A couple of weeks ago I went to Bath (Historic Bath, Avon) on the train and met up with my gorgeous friend Bonswala Bananas (yes everyone has to have a nick name on here) it was a belated birthday celebration for me and an early one for her.  I have known her since I was eleven and she was almost five. In fact she has no memory of life pre me.  She is one of two friends (the other is Bee) who are like sisters to me, it's not a choice to be their friend anymore, it is set in stone, they are my family and I am there's and everyone accepts this as the truth.  She is Little Cuckoos godmother.
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Bonswa already lived next door to the house we moved to in October 1987 and I found her sweet to start with but then very annoying.  What can I say, I'm ashamed now but I was a budding teenager, I know poor excuse.  Then one day this little, tiny girl who ran everywhere like a bolt of lightening fell through a plate glass door and sliced through her back right by her kidney.  Her Mum, covered in blood, ran up to our house calling for help from my parents.  My Mum being a Red Cross instructor at the time and my Dad being Search and Rescue in the Royal Navy shot off to help.  For well over a year I had been trying to be cool and not show her any interest what so ever but on hearing this news  I just collapsed in a snotty heap thinking how Bonswa was going to die.  And then I realised.  I loved her.  I loved her like a 12 year old might possibly love her irritating 6 year old sister.  Well, my version of how I think that would feel, having no siblings in real life. She had some how managed to grow on me and I hadn't even noticed. Everything changed from then on.  Bonswala Bananas and her indomitable spirit laughed in the face of a spliced back and was running about in no time, only this time with me hot on her heels.
She is the sweetest girl and here is an anecdote to push home that point.  We now live an hour away from each other and one Friday night she called to say she was going to a party in Wales on the Saturday and would drop by to see us on the Sunday.  She said she'd call first.  We had no plans, I didn't pop anything in my diary about it.  On Sunday the sun was blazing so we decided to go to the beach.  We turned left down our hill...just as Bonswa was coming up over the other side.  She must have seen our brake lights but didn't know it was us.  We spent a couple of hours at the beach and when we got home I saw I'd left my phone on the work top.  It had several missed calls and messages from her:
1. "I'm in your hammock, come and find me when you get in"
2. "Where are youuuuu?" she sang  "I need a weeeeeeee"
3. "Getting desperate nowwwww!"
4. "It's ok, I wee'd under your trees (giggles), will you be long? Whatcha doin'?"
5. "I've been here almost 2 hours now, I've had a lovely time (no irony, she meant it) but I have to go now as Gran is cooking me roast chicken"
I don't know anyone else in the world who would be so sweet and upbeat about being stood up like that. She didn't even care that in total she'd spent two hours in the car on a wasted trip and a further two hours in the hammock waiting. She didn't even mind that she had to pee in the trees.  Honestly she is remarkable.... In my defence though, she did say she'd call.
Anyway I digress in my world of reminiscence but then this blog will serve as a quasi diary for me.  I have memory trouble and I want to document stuff I don't want to lose. So, I arrived in Bath a bit earlier than I expected and indulged in a little latte in this divine little tea shop opposite the station.
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Sorry about the rubbish photo but there were road works behind me and I didn't want to disrupt them by falling down their hole.  This place is totally up my street, it's probably how I'd end up decorating my home if I didn't share it with the very manly Mr Cuckoo.  I like to think I'd style my abode like Carol from Katherine's Dream, all elegant french style shabby chic, but the truth is I know I'd be drawn to this.  I don't know how you describe this style, I just love the candy-ness of it.
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Look how the have used fishing wire to suspend the teapot here.  Love it.  Wish I could think up stuff like that.
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DSCF0427I think I gasped out loud when I saw these cupcake.  I haven't posted much about cakes lately as I have been in sewing and crochet land but I am a bit crackers about baking.  In fact I am fighting the urge to bake right now, a nice quick Victoria Sponge would hit the spot nicely.  These cup cakes make me squirmy. Sublime.
  
 They do a pretty good latte here too so it was ticking all the boxes.
After the drool worthy cafe I met my little ray of sunshine and having completed our strange embrace where she will leap on to my leg like an accordion monkey and I dance about a bit with her, we pootled off to Jamie's Italian in Milsom Street.  OOOh Yes, it is very nice in here indeedy and I believe one is soon to open in Clifton, Bristol.  Excellent news.  They have done a cool thing with the wall paper to make the place look like they just happened to find the old building in this state, but we know better don't we.
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There's the wallpaper and there's the sunny one, so small she could hide in my sandwich and I'd eat her. Pure goodness that girl.
The food was predictably good and the service was pretty swift, which I like, especially at lunchtime because I'm always famished and I like to spend the day moseying about rather than waiting for the bill.  I had yummy wild garlic, broad bean, baby pea and asparagus tagliatelle and Bonswa had crab risotto.  To follow I had lemon curd, not the toast spreading sort, more of a cross between a cheesecake and a tart au citron, I'm dribbling at the memory.  Bonswa chose the raspberry brownie which was equally gorgeous but as you can see in this photo, it beat her.  She just had no more room, after all she is a tiny slip, so I did the honourable thing and scoffed her left overs up.
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How odd, she looks bigger than me there, must be the camera angle, she is teeny, I tell you.
After a bit of silliness involving a large flower corsage in Jolly's and a Thriller dance we mooched back towards the station, had a coffee and ended up in paradise.
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 See what I mean?  This is Country Threads.  Oh me, Oh my. This shop is stuffed to the rafters.  Every designer imaginable, every collection going, they've got bolts, layer-cakes, fat quarters, jelly rolls, notions, ribbons, trims, books, it's all here such a shame they don't have a website let alone an on line shop.  Oh well more excuses for a trip on the train to Bath.
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I bought a few bits and pieces but I haven't taken any pics, besides my photo's are taking ages to upload too so they will have to wait to be revealed.  This shop isn't massive but it stocks almost everything you could ever need in the world of sewing and patchworking.  How they get it all I I have no idea, It must be some sort of Harry Potter magic.
It was a lovely day and I do have more photo's and stories to tell but time is ticking along, the feral beasts need bathing and as I have already said, these photo's are taking so long  to upload. I must fathom out how to resize them on this apple mac.  I also need to find out where a load of photo's have gone as there are quite alot missing, I know they were on the old computer but they aren't here.
Next time I shall post an update on my GRANNY BLANKET and the sarong trousers I have made.  Very simple, just whipped them up in no time and no pattern either.  I might feel a tutorial coming on...though I am a big old spanner with computers.  I'll have to draw the instructions and then take photo's of the drawing.

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