Pink Fairies doodle book!!!

Halloween 2009 (decorations)

2009-10-29T15:58:00.001-07:00

This year, we made a little bit of effort decorating the house for Halloween.

Getting started, and the babies just wanted to taunt me and play on the back room sofa!

The first place to be dressed up was the hall...

I think that the hall looks better without using camera flash, it looks spooky.

Then the front room....

Spooky Eeyores...... Witch Flowers............

And my favourite little Witchy! And my beloved sofa-bed.

Some Nightmare Before Christmas Decorations........

Look at pumpkin Eeyore! and the crow with my lego dollies.

pumpkin guys!

Blackpool (End of September 2009)

2009-10-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

My little girls absolutely love Blackpool illuminations (so do we!) So, after a day of doing shopping for shiny glittery pink things and going to the park, we took them there.
We saw some lovely tableaus first. This is one of Postman Pat.

There was an Egyptian one.

This is one of a spooky hotel.

And a spooky house....

And, I don't know what the theme for this one was, but it was pretty.

Moving on from the tableaus, we saw the overhead lights, and a tram all done up as a train.

These lights look like fancy lamp shades!

And these lights look like party poppers..
And we saw the tower...
A famous fast food place has a lights section too.

I saw a hotel that I instantly fell in love with...

We saw a big wheel on one of the smaller amusement piers...
Another lovely photo of Blackpool Tower.
And, finally a photo of the front of the Pleasure Beach.

(I asked for a transfer to a bigger house today, my nerves are shot! I have lived here for 10 years!)

Oakwood and London 2009

2009-09-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Night\Day One Sunday\Monday

On the first evening of the holiday, Darren told me that we were heading for London.
As I was sewing a corset to wear on the holiday, I didn't look up until we crossed the Severn Bridge, I was very confused by the, 'Welcome to Wales' sign!
Darren then told me that we were going to ride Bounce, Speed and Megaphobia, at Oakwood theme park the next day!!
It was a wonderful surprise, Megaphobia is my favourite wooden coaster. Speed was my first ever Euro fighter coaster, and Bounce was my first ever shot and drop tower.

In the late afternoon, after discovering that the bar was not open, we went on our way to look at the White horse in Uffington.
I was getting very miserable attempting to read the map to Darren, I almost put the map on my head and grabbed a beer out of the boot.
Fortunately for Darren, I spotted the road that we wanted...

My image of the horse is not very good, so I have used the image from the wikipedia page to show how nice it is.
The information sign says, "No one knows why the white horse was made. During the bronze age communities settled, divided and fortified the land. The white horse was certainly made to be seen and may have symbolised territorial ownership. Strangely, the horse can only be seen in full from the air - perhaps it was a religious symbol for the ancient gods. It is such a clear landmark that it was covered up during the war to confuse enemy aircrew.
Legend says the White Horse leaves its site once a year to graze in the manger."

After admiring the horse, we drove on to London for a late dinner and some rest.

Day Two\Tuesday

We went to Thorpe Park to try the new coaster Saw - the ride.

Saw was scary and exciting, we loved it. Five goes was enough though!
My head was banging and Darren could hardly keep his neck up. We went on Stealth about three times, which isn't much compared to 18 times last year, our bodies just couldn't take it after Saw - the ride.

Day Three\Wednesday

We got the train into London, and went to the Dali exhibition. There were sculptures of women with drawers coming out of them, and an old black phone with a lobster for a handset, biblical images and many other mad items. It was amazing, but the man must have been madder than a box of frogs!

After a quick lunch at Subway, we went to Camden to do some clothes shopping. We didn't buy many clothes, because it started raining.
Instead, we went into the Cuban bar and got rather merry, on cocktails and beer.
There were some interesting paintings on the wall of what may or may not be a cow, and some women having cigars.

After a very giggly afternoon, we went and bought Daisy some patent leather baby pink Doctor Marten boots (which she wants to wear ALL the time, since we gave them to her!)
Then we had a meal at a lovely place called the Piano and Pitcher, where the couple next to us were slightly tipsier than us, which made getting in and out of the table hilarious for everyone.
After the meal, we went back to the hotel for the evening, to play cards and drink some more.

Day four\ Thursday

In the morning we went to Legoland, mainly to look in the BIG LEGO shop and to admire the LEGO buildings and miscellaneous creations (The rides usually have massive queues that put us off going on them).
Here are some images...

This is a LEGO Angel of the North, next to Anthony Gormley's 'Real' Angel of the North.

And here are some giants invading LEGO land.

It wass fascinating watching the technicians working on the buildings and scenery, I am so envious of their great job, playing with LEGO for money!
Some pictures of Darren and I squinting in the sun.

(Darren and I do not like getting our photo taken!)

After Legoland, Darren parked miles and miles and miles away from the tube station in Fulham Broadway *raspberry*, we walked for about 5 years and reached the station.
And, we made our way to Baker Street.

Then we went to Madame Tussaud's Waxworks.

Do you like the TV camera?

I wonder who those guys are!
Towards the end of the Wax works tour, there was a ride in a black taxi showing the history of London, it was very surreal!

After the Wax Works, and some wanderings, we got a photo of the maddest traffic lights we have ever seen.

After that we ate some lovely noodles and went for a boat ride to Embankment Station, then we went back to the hotel for the evening alcohol ration.

Day 5\ Friday

We parked at Wimbledon station and got the train to Notting Hill gate, then another train to White City to see a massive shopping centre near or on Wood Lane.
The shopping centre is called Westfield. We didn't need any shopping, we just had a desire to see a place big enough to house several Liverpool ones.

After getting lost in the big shop for a while, we got back on the train, and we got off at Oxford Circus and went to Hamleys toy shop.
Mini Hamleys from Lego land was on holiday in big Hamleys!

After that, we went to Carnaby Street, where I saw a building with what looked like wallpaper on the outside of it.

Then it was time for a cup of tea and a piece of cake, in a place called C'est ici brasserie, that was outside under large umbrellas. It was nice being sat in very heavy rain with the rain not hitting us.
After the tea break, we went to Forbidden Planet and admired the cool collectables in the window and in the shop.
There was the Angel puppet from the Smile Time episode and a Gonzo doll, and inside the shop was a figure from Final Fantasy VII.

After a brief sit down at Covent Garden, and a visit to Cyber Candy, we decided that our feet were very tired, and it was time to return home.

Some people watching a street performer at Covent Garden. This shot was taken while I sat on the pavement and waited for my feet to stop aching from all the walking.

Update time.

2009-07-23T03:04:00.000-07:00

The babies loved the box that the new air conditioner came in.

We took the girls to London. Here are the pictures. This is Estella at Chessington World of Adventures, she had just bought a Vampire Sword.

Daisy at Legoland Windsor. She lapped everyone else!

A dragon at Chessington.

Back to Legoland, and Estella's turn to drive.

Pirates!

R.I.P Corkscrew 4/4/80 - 9/11/08

2008-11-10T02:26:00.000-08:00

Image from Alton Tower's official website.

This was my first ever roller coaster and started my life-long obsession.
I will miss this beautiful yellow beast(The red track going across is part of Rita:Queen of Speed).
Hopefully her identical cousin will keep going for a long time at Flamingo Land.

Theme Park - Alton Towers
First Installed - 1980
Opening Date - 4th April 1980
Location - Ug Land
Cost - £1.25 million
Manufacturer - Vekoma
Designer - Arrow Dynamics
Weight - 350 tonnes
Track Length - 728 metres
Height Of Drop - 23 metres
Maximum Speed - 44 mph (70 km/h)
Maximum G Force - 3.1 G
Ride Duration - Approx. 1 minute, 45 seconds
Capacity - 24 per train
Throughput - 43,449,840 people
Total Cycles - 1,810,410
Distance Travelled - 1,317,978.48 Kilometres/ 818,953.31 Miles
Seating Arrangement - 2 trains, 6 cars per train, 2 row per car, 2 seats per row
Restraint Type - Shoulder restraints
Height Restriction - 1.2 metres

We had our last go on her, on Saturday the 8th of November 2008.
And, as a parting gift, she whacked our jaws with her restraints...
She was getting a bit rough in her old age!

References. ukrides.info
towers times
Alton Tower's official site.

London 22nd August 08

2008-09-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Darren and I went around London for the day, doing the tourist thing for a change.
We started off visiting Camden Market for some new clothes, and to look around.

The first image is the shop Sai Sai, the lady in the shop helped me to choose the coolest outfit. Then advised me on how to succesfully hide my money from baddies, I'm extremely grateful to her.
Next is the shop where I bought tons of the net and lacy gloves that I go cuckoo over!
The other picture is a stall where a man was selling the most beautiful fairies, he sold me a fairy sitting on a Dragon's back from the Nemesis Now range. He let me take a photo after I spent ages admiring his stall.

Here is the Horse Tunnel Market, the little shops all look like horse stalls, I was entranced in here for some time.

Then we went to the London Dungeons to learn all about the plague and Jack the Ripper.. And, to be beheaded by Darren, it was very relaxing.

After that, we had a lovely dinner, and resumed walking along Tower Bridge.

Some lovely images from and on Tower Bridge, I love the gargoyle thing.

The London eye, in the distance, the view of the pod above us when we went on the London eye. And, a lovely night shot of Post Office Tower.

More views from the eye...
Including the best mime that I've ever seen, apart from the invisible man.
He's a Policeman in a tutu, sporting a Charlie Chaplin moustache, Fabulous!

Then we went to Ripley's Believe it or not at Piccadilly Circus, but that's for another blog entry!

Legoland (Heaven)

2008-08-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Darren and I went to Legoland Windsor, it's an amazing place. I will let the pictures do the talking.

How cool!! A lego dog stealing a sausage, tower bridge and a portrait of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second.

I really loved the dragon...

That last one is a ride that goes around on a little track..

The next series are from LEGO city and can easily be mistaken for the real buildings (well, by me anyway!)

The information panel says, "The vehicle assembly building (VAB)is one of the largest buildings in the world, it is almost twice the height of Big Ben. The real VAB is so vast that it has a complex ventilation system to prevent the formation of clouds and even rain inside the building. Legoland's model is built at 1:80 scale."

Sacre Coeur, Paris.
The panel says, "This majestic cathedral, which translates as the 'Sacred Heart'. is located high up on the Montmartre hill. While the actual cathedral in Paris is 80 metres tall at it;s highest point, the LEGO version is just 2 metres tall!"
And, here is Mr Brick waving at his adoring fans.

Canary Wharf and a lego tube station. A LEGO construction site!and Leeds Castle that is actually in Kent.

The panel by the palace asks "can you find the gold topped bottle left by the milkman?" well, yes I can!!

(I will write more soon, about the London trip, the ten pence ran out on the keyboard.)

Drayton Manor Saturday 9th August 2008

2008-08-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

Estella went away with Auntie Carol this week.
So we decided to take the babies to Drayton Manor for a day out. Drayton Manor has an area called Thomas World, and as the babies both love Thomas the Tank engine, they were made up!
Thy went on Jeremy's flying school first with Daddy in the rain, they were soggy; but extremely happy.

Cranky the crane was a mini drop tower, and both babies loved it. They looked very little in the big chair.

Daisy had her first try on a driving school, she loved it.
She seems to have mastered road rage at a young age! She was very cross when a little boy bumped into her car.
They went on Bertie's Bus, which is a bus that you get in, then it spins round in circles.

We went on the troublesome trucks rollercoaster, the kids cackled like loons.

They also enjoyed Diesel's locomotion mayhem and the spinning barrels.

The babies were delighted to see the Fat Controller, we're supposed to call him Sir Topham Hatt or something. He was the fat controller when I was a kid, so my kids call him that!

There was also plenty for the adults to do. We went on Maelstrom, which is a spinning gyro swing, it was nice and relaxing.

We went on Apocalypse, which is a huge drop tower with the option of standing up as you drop, unfortunately the floorless section of the tower, where you can drop with no foot rest wasn't open.

We also went on one of my favourite rides, the only stand up roller coaster in Europe, Shockwave. I still get huge adrenaline thrills on this ride.

References. http://www.ukrides.info/

Portmeirion

2008-08-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

This summer, I really wanted to revisit Portmeirion. It is the location of the Village in the famous 1960's television programme, the Prisoner.

Portmeirion was built by the welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis, to show that the development of an area of nautural beauty would not mean defiling it.
Clough was a conservationist and a campaigner for the protection of the environment.

The picture above is of the Tollbooths. The Tollbooths have over 20 years between them,
the tollbooth on the right was built in 1976 and was Clough's last addition to the village.
The Tollbooth on the left was built in 1999.

This is the original entrance board to Portmeirion, and it survived until the introduction of decimal currency in the 1970's.
"That visitors to Portmeirion may be sufficiently discouraged and so kept to acceptable numbers A toll of 5 shillings per head has had to be imposed. To avoid it please turn back here." The disc in the board turned, and the price could be raised. For example, it was set to 10 shillings when King Edward VIII was there as Prince of Wales.

As I wandered along in Portmeirion, my eye was drawn to the Bell Tower.

Clough called this Tower built in 1928 the Campanile. His reason
for building it was, "The need for the Campanile was obvious enough - It was imperative that I should open my performance with a dramatic gesture of some sort."
The Campanile and the buildings around it have an Italian feel to them, Clough had recently been travelling in Italy.

Another thing that caught my attention was this bird, beast, griffin?
I'd love to know what it is, apart from great to look at.

Then there was this plaque, on a stone lion that was given to Clough by his friends on his 90th birthday. I misread it at first and wondered what on earth a goth birthday might be!

It was late in the afternoon by the time I arrived at Portmeirion, having visited Machynlleth and Corris craft centre first, I guess this relaxed couple were as tired as I was.

I hope to revisit Portmeirion very soon and to make a full day of it.
(Thank you Darren.)

References.
http://www.portmeirion-village.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner
http://www.theunmutual.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion
Robert Llywelyn's Portmeirion Guide book.

Gingerbread

2008-06-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

The baby was hard at work at his job in a popular D-I-Y store.

So, we decided to take the girls out for some scenery and fun.

One week we decided to take Daisy to the Langdales in the Lake District.
The guide description of it is, 'If there could be only one walk that captures the timeless tranquility of the Lake District - then this is the one!'
We forgot to pay attention to the footwear guide though, 'stout boots with a good grip on the soles are essential'- it's a good job that Daisy is as sure footed as a mountain goat, and believes that she is Dora the Explorer.
Daisy thought the dry stone walls and the sheep were amazing, and walked remarkably well on the rough terrain, she did about 3 miles walking before her little feet got tired.

This is the point were Daisy decided it was time to go and get some food and have a nap!

The next day out was Estella's turn.

Estella likes to visit the beautiful village of Grasmere, just a few miles over from Great Langdale.
There is a beautiful old fashioned Gingerbread shop there where they make lovely old recipe gingerbread
And, the building had a long history.

Grasmere has a shop that sells some fantastic items. Previously, I have purchased a model of the number 3 Askham Bar bendy bus that runs in and around York, the smallest pool table I have ever seen that is approx 8" by 4" and a photo mosaic 1,000 piece Eeyore jigsaw. We got a wooden snake this week, you hold the snake by the tail, and it moves realistically.

An octopus pretending to be a coconut.

2005-11-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Geroge Best died today. It was a shame because he was a football legend in the 70's, and he had wall to wall charisma. What got on my wick was the media coverage; they were like vultures circling a carcass...
All of the news broadcasts were saying, "Well, he's not dead yet, but we'll tell you when he is".. They probably hired a hitman because the anticipation was too much.
Well, enough said. Good luck if there is an afterlife George.

A new blog..

2005-11-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

This is A new blog to write about my thoughts, and to put my scribbles online.
It will probably mainly be pictures, I'm not too good with words.
Thank you for setting it up for me, Paul.