Ribbon heart- easy Valentines card for the fashion-blogger or wearer-of-clothes to make!

Ok- so all of you fashion-bloggers who don't make cards (and Nicole, I am sure you might still have some of these and have not chucked them away!) and indeed anyone who has clothes, (fashion bloggers will obviously have more clothes to scavenge from) here's a really easy idea for a Valentines card (or other occasion that the recipient wouldn't mind hearts and ribbons).

You will need:

• Those annoying ribbon tags that come on the shoulders of tops and dresses- snip them off. Or those from tags of clothes that come with ribbons.
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape (or glue- but can be messier)
• A card blank
• Optional- pinking shears, decorative scissors or border punch. heart punch or scrap-card to make a template.

1.  Locate all those clothes with annoying ribbons for putting them on hangers that always show when you wear them.  Snip them off and display proudly.  

2.  Select the colours you want and store the rest in a jar of some sort to be used for various craft projects in the future (Weirdly, many of mine were pinky-purply)

3.   Iron said ribbons on a low heat setting.
4.  I cut a heart border with an X-cut punch at the bottom but if you've just got your ribbons and no fancy scissors, forget this.  Take some double-sided sticky tape and stick down strips across the middle (measure where the middle is and mark with a pencil line (do measure how much sticky-tape you will need for your ribbons' widths).


5.  Sort out the colours you want in what order.  I took a picture of them at this point in order to remember the order (here, you will also get the idea of how much sticky tape you will need.
6.  When happy, stick them down- I smooth them across slowly as I lead the ribbon with my other hand.  (I left a small amount of ribbon hanging off the initial edge and then left the other end hanging off.
7.  When you've got them down, trim the ends of the ribbons to the edge of the card.  If you have material scissors, use those- I just used Poundland scissors and my edges were a little ragged.
8. I trimmed some hearts from red funky foam (suit to your colour-scheme) - make a template or use a craft punch  and stuck a small square of double-sided sticky-tape to the back.

And dan naaaaaaa!!!! You have your finished card.

Yes, it's very simple and plain but that's what I was aiming for- simple and easy to make.

Plus, CBC gave me a very good idea- he said- when the person has finished with the card (if not sentimental like me and keep every handmade card you've ever been given), they can trim along the edges of the ribbon and have a lovely bookmark!

I am linking up to:

The Pink Elephant card challenge whose theme this week is LOVE!

The Daring Card Makers challenge whose theme this week is STRIPES

Claire Justine's Creative Mondays

Do check out all these blogs- Claire has upcycled some amazing shoes and the cards on both the card websites are absolutely amazing- so intricate and well-thought out! I don't think I could ever make anything that amazing!

It seems weird that I am blogging twice in an evening but I realised that both the challenges ended tomorrow and was so keen to join up so I hotfooted it through our bog-like garden to the shed to hunt with mobile-phone torch app for ribbons, tape, punches and card. It's now very late. Sigh.x

Do be sure to check out my Swansong.... my other post of the night!

Swan song

I am afraid, ladies and gentlemen , that I am hanging up my blogging shoes......

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No, not really, but I wonder if you thought I was for real? Couldn't resist the swan song joke!  I can't imagine giving up blogging- I'm going to be celebrating my 9th blogiversary soon!  Sophie was talking about her 3rd Blogiversary today and how blogging has enhanced her life!

Anyway, I thought I'd share my lovely jumper with you- this is an unusual outfit for me in many ways and probably only one that blogging would have encouraged me to wear.  I have long disliked tight trousers but seeing lots of bloggy lovelies in them and wishing I found them remotely comfy, I ordered a pair from ASOS - classic black trousers are really useful for me for concerts, and found that I don't mind tight trousers in this type of material- it must just be denim and thicker materials that I hate!  Also, I don't usually do beige/cream like this- but since it was THAT swan jumper, I couldn't help it! And it goes with my beigey crocheted beret!


(sorry about the Amelie-style shot. Aren't the bags under my eyes HUGE?!?!?!! I know I could do makeup but I don't want to- save it for special occasions!)
 Decided to do a Lauren, Someonelikeyou and add light coloured shoes to the mix! So, yes, it is a bit bloggy.


And where would a blogger be without a kitsh, Alice in Wonderland, vintage-image necklace!? And faded rose earrings?

Go back to that first picture:


Look at that wonderful HUGE space- it's double the size of that- that's my music room currently.  See those empty display boards? Got to fill them!   Guess what I spent 10 mins of my PPA doing today?  Something I never imagined I would do at work.
Hoovering!  The carpet was really really grim and I've discovered it's not somehow made its way onto the cleaning rota yet- I'm remedying that, but in the meantime, I just wanted a clean carpet!  This is only my temporary space for a year or less maybe but I want it to be nice whilst I am here. It's a bit of a blank canvas at the moment but it's going to get there... It's ssoooo nice to be over here- my ears are really happy- having that bit more room makes the sound of 3 groups of 6 children simultaneously playing (hurrah, I can send two groups outside into breakout spaces) somewhat bearable!

I've been trying to be really productive after school this week, staying till close at 6.30 to try and get work done. CBC keeps complaining I'm home too late but I've got so much to do!!

I am so cross!!!  I had scheduled a Georgette Heyer book review post for tonight and then the other night, I was going through my drafts box to delete a WHOLE host of unfinished, now redundant blog drafts and somehow was a bit too gungho clicking on the delete button so I'm presuming it's been deleted as it is nowhere!!!! Grrrrrr, so I did this post instead!

Hope you are well x

Outfit details:
Jumper: Sugarhill boutique
Beret, ballet pumps: Primark, old
Trousers: ASOS
Alice necklace: gift from deputy head
Earrings: gift from old teacher colleague

Linking up to the Style Crone's Hat Attack

Wither where I wander?

Tell me your favourite travel story. Or what is on your travel wishlist? Or what do you think about travelling?

I LOVE small islands. I like the idea that you can discover most of a place and get around it. The fact that you are never too far from the sea. The fact that you can never have places that are too big!  The fact that you tend to not have too many scuzzy places which all cities have! I love natural sights- trees, water, It's not that I don't enjoy a city-break: I do, but I do like being surrounded by nature. If I could, I would love to visit Polynesia or Micronesia. I went to a fascinating talk once on the islands of Ireland- visiting some of these small places would be fascinating (in good weather of course). I don't know if I could live there long term, in the winter- that's a hard one to know: I suspect not. The isles of Scilly have long held a beguiling charm to me. An ex-boyfriend took me to Herm, one of the smallest Channel islands and it was really beautiful. I'd love to visit Aldernay and explore Guernsey a bit. My friend Kathy told me about Frazer Island in Australia, which sounds really beautiful. If I didn't have to contend with Australia to get there, I'd consider visiting. Forgive me if you are Australian but a) it's just too far to travel and really, I have been totally put off by the wildlife- by which I mean- spiders and snakes and other insects- Kathy has shared stories with me of her time there and I've seen TV programmes. I know that Spider incidents are few and far between but somehow, I just don't want to go! Anyone who has read the Anne of Green Gables series will identify with my longing to visit Prince Edward Island- that would be an amazing experience. The Isle of Skye would be wonderful. And yes, anyone of those Caribbean islands would be rather marvellous!  Not really fancying Easter Island or Christmas Island though- yep, migrating crabs and creepy statues aren't my thing!

I've travelled a fair bit in Europe- France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium (Bruges), Greece (Hydra), Italy (Florence, Lake Garda and Como regions) and visited Rejkavik, Iceland and Lanzarote but my only non-European trip has been my two stays in Bali/Java- the first being of a year's duration and the second, 3 weeks- both of those being working/studying holidays.  Therefore, it would be lovely to explore some non-European destinations:  I like the idea of Canada, New England, USA would be exciting and perhaps Thailand- some of those little island (the island thing again).  In some ways, I'd love to visit Malaysia as I speak Indonesian which has its roots in Malay.

This year, CBC and I are wondering whether we could make a trip to a Greek island.  We visited Hydra in February and it wasn't particulary warm, so we'd love to experience the summer there.  Any suggestions?  We don't like the clubby touristy thing?  Where might you recommend? Sicily? Sardinia?

I enjoy travelling but I have been conscious of my carbon footprint and try not to fly too much. If possible, CBC and I like taking trains.  We've only flown a couple of times- most of our honeymoon was done 'on the trains' of Switzerland and a post on that is long overdue.  It seemed a rather arduous task- how does one summarize 16 days of much travel into a blog post?

Many of my holidays over the past 10 years have been my annual summer Music Camp and visiting friends and family around England. I think that we have many, many beautiful places here so I am glad there is so much I haven't seen and there's always something new to look forward to.  I've still never visited Scotland and Kielder and Alnwick are about as far north as I have ever been.  We have friends in Ireland who have invited us to stay- I used to walk their dogs as a teenager and I love them dearly- wish they still lived round the corner from me!


Anyway, I'd love to know your take on travel.

With love,
Kezzie x

SIA- “Louison and Raminou” by Suzanne Valadon:

This week's Style imitating art with Salazar at 14 shades of grey is this great CAT painting!!!! I love this one, and the artist led a very interesting life!  I  used to own a Ginger Tom.  He was called Noddy and he didn't meow, he quacked. He really liked Bacon frazzle crisps and would always harass me when I was eating them.  He was a big bruiser but also a big softie! Nothing quite like a Ginger tom! It was sad when he died- he had FIV, caught from one of his many tustles with other male cats in the area.


That's him with the scraggy kitten playing Piggyback. Look at that benign expression.

A couple of ideas struck me about this-
The shape of the cardigan (probably a Pelisse), the colour of the cardigan, the colour of the cat and her hair- notice she resembles her cat?

















Here's my take on the look:
I went with the cardigan neckline and colour and matched accessories to this and then added an orange and white cat dress (that's practically a ginger tom surely?!) and orange tights.

I lack a ginger cat (we have a black and white one who prowls around but he was nowhere to be grabbed seen, so instead I grabbed my orange cuddly crab who made his Style imitating art debut back in the summer.  It's silly, but I do like it if I can imitate the pose somewhat!

What would you have worn for this?

She wore a furry hat

It's Monday which means inspiration time with the Two Birds.


My first thought, upon seeing Ms Hudson for the Two Birds' Inspiration Monday challenge was - oooooooh, furry hat!!! I am always enormously pleased at any excuse to wear a furry hat.  But which one????

• My grey fluffy one?
• ASOS Sheepskin shearling hood?
• Black sheepskin cossack from Joyce Anderson?

I also regretted getting rid of my mad cat lady Greek jumper which would have rivalled Kate's



I decided on the grey in the end since it went with the grey stripes of the jumper and my grey sheepskin boots. But, I couldn't resist a mad-hatter moment with the cossack, just for a laugh!
I wore this on Sunday to church (jeans not allowed at work) and I was certainly cosy.  I decided to smarten up the look with the ASOS heritage tweed blazer since I don't usually wear jeans to church (unlike lots of other people) . The other items are: Ukala sheepskin boots, M&S jeans, Gap wool jumper, gingham shirt- belonged to my Nan (had it for 17 years!). I liked this outfit.  Must wear this shirt and jumper together more- the shirt counteracts the jumper-itch! I keep it though because it is super warm!

I er- don't really have that much to say today. Other than- can I pray for you in any way?  If there is anything you are stressed about and need prayer-support, just leave me a message. That's all I will say today.

Hugs to you all.
xx

Please also go and visit the other birds!
And also please visit lovely Patti who is rock in a polka dot shirt and killer boots at Visible Monday at www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.com

Also linking up to Style Crone's attack

10,000 reasons to be thankful...

"...when I'm feeling bad: I simply remember my favourite things and then I don't feel so bad." Maria in the Sound of Music

"When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will." Pollyanna's locket in Pollyanna- quoting Lincoln?

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I really find January a hard time as I think 95% of all the population do- I always catch something and it's cold.  So, I want to think about and be thankful for all the things that ARE good about this January. I haven't done one of my '10 things to be thankful for' for a while so here it is:

1. For my husband- we drive each other mad at times- he gets annoyed at my mess/clutter/inability to chuck things out- I get annoyed at his constantly falling asleep but he's always so forgiving and good-natured (bar the mess) and he always wants to cheer me and be kind.


2.  For the relatively plan-free weekends we have had in January so we can have some rest, go and explore Essex - see new places and friends and for recovery time- it's horrid having a lingering cold over 2 weeks- I'm thankful for the rest AND I am thankful for the gentle walks we have had- getting fresh air and potentially a bit of vitamin D is also vital medicine: so far we have explored: Hadleigh country park, Maldon and this week, a little stroll to PaperMill Lock by the Chelmer.




3. Central heating: If you've read my blog for a while, you'll know I didn't have central heating in my old house and I spent a lot of time feeling cold!  Having it this year is wonderful!

4.  For the temporary music room I have at school- my ears have actually not had too much of a bashing so far this term- having space to hear and space to send children out in groups has made a HUGE difference to all of us!

5.  For the lovely time we had seeing my friend (who played flute at my wedding) yesterday.  We dropped in to her after a lovely lunch at Papermill Lock (where we saw other friends serendipitously!) and stayed for a couple of hours and had 2 soft house bunnies on our lap all afternoon!  Bunny-stroking therapy comes highly recommended!

6.  For all the lovely new people I have met at Christ Church, the church I have been attending.  I have been met with kindness, consideration and friendliness.  It is a warm and loving environment and I am grateful to God for this community. I am so grateful for the church communities I have encountered- true, loving people who love God- not the stereotypical Christians one sees in dramas on TV- but true, honest, simple people.

7.  For sermons that have captivated me and made me think- simple steps to initiate which are and will be a blessing.

8.  For my Mum. With the house selling, she's had to do a lot of moving.  I feel so bad that, not having a car, and being so busy with school and exhausted, that she's had to do a lot by herself. She's always been such a hard worker and I am grateful to have her as a model for how I want to be.

9.  For the lessons I've had that have been really successful this week- kids enjoyed, I enjoyed! On Thursday, I got the year 5's to write their own sea shanties after having taught them What shall we do with the drunken sailor? and Way haul away.  Song writing is an incredibly hard thing to teach, especially at Primary level and I really enjoyed their outcomes- I love seeing how those kids have developed.  I've taught them since they were in reception (4-5 years old) and now they are 9-10.  It's my privilege to see them grow!

10.  For the warm fuzzy feeling of checking my e-mail and blog and finding such kind, sympathetic comments, empathy, delight, childlike enthusiasm, fun and friendship.  For each and every one of you, your experience and your care and time, I thank you.

What are you thankful for?

Love this song! We sang it at church last Sunday and this Sunday.  We heard Matt Redmond sing this at the Big Church Day Out last year.

Dirty cap

CBC likes to empty the entire cupboard when he's looking for something.  Happily for me, when he emptied stuff onto the floor on Saturday morning, he somehow dislodged this hat from a secret hiding place.  You may remember, if you are a 2 year-old reader of my blog, that CBC was in the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony in London- he was one of the Industrial Revolution workers (and he was one of the lightbulb electric blue clad ones in the closing ceremony- I stole his hat in this post). Well, his costumes are long gone. At first, he was all sentimental about them and then decided that well- he wasn't really going to wear them again- the opening ceremony ones being covered in oil (industrial ya?) and they were just taking up space.  BUT, the hat somehow escaped the cull. It's my theory that my hat collection rescued it and took it in, since they are a large collection of girlies with very few male hats amongst them.

Anyway, so it was the perfect icing on the cake for this slightly bizarre outfit I put together.

The skirt was happily £2 in the sale last week- I was looking for something (which I didn't find) and found this instead which I had loved when it cost £8 but decided not to buy)


I like weekends!  I can actually pose outside.  Wish I knew where my tripod was though- it's vanished!  CBC gets really cross when I ask him to take photos and I currently have to resort to:  iron picnic table, mantlepiece, ironing board, wooden chest, table, shelf, precarious banister at the top of the stairs....  Any horizontal surface will do!!

What about any of you?  Do you have a tripod? What do you use to balance your camera for the timer?!

Luckily, when we were saying goodbye to my Mum, I walked her to her car and then swooped and asked if she would take some blog photos- she's very kind and willing and took them and managed to get 3 out of 3 that I liked!

I've definitely been making an effort to wear lots of different hats this week. I am so used to wearing them that I feel really cold and like something is missing, without but I've been rotating the same 8 hats!  Maybe I should do the Shoeper challenge but rename if the 'hatper' challenge to make me wear the entire collection (could take a few months!)  I'm looking forward to the Stylecrone's next Hat attack on the 8th Feb if you want to don a hat and join in?

A triple dose of murder!

This holiday, I had the overwhelming urge to reread some Agatha Christie.  The first book I ever read was The A B C Murders, in Northern France on a very dull holiday where it rained pretty much solidly for two weeks and I had read all my Enid Blytons since we were stuck inside.  My sister offered me her Christie to read.  I remember that I fell for all of Christie's wiles and didn't even get close to the truth but fell for the red herrings. Likewise, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  When I first read Curtain, I was fully versed in Christie and had perfected the art of recognising who dunnit although I didn't get this one!

Rereading all three, I saw the clues clearly as to who the murderer was (with the exception of Curtain which is just genius)

In the ABC Murders,  Christie takes an interesting narrative device by including some chapters written in the 3rd person about the actions of one, Alexander Bonaparte Cust: we don't know who he is or what he's up to, but I haven't experienced another Christie where we meet a character like that in the 3rd person in between 1st person narrative.  In the rest of the chapters, we revert to the 1st person narrative of Poirot's old friend, Captain Hastings, who is visiting from his home in South America and is seeing Poirot who has received a strange letter from the mysterious ABC who is telling him about something that is going to happen in Andover on the 29th of the month. It seems like a madman. It transpires that a murder happens there, to a lady whose name begins with A.All of a sudden, the police take it seriously.  Subsequently, a murder happens to a B in Bexhill.  It seems incredible that anyone could solve these murders since the murder could be anywhere, mad since they are picking random people with the correct letters.  When C is murdered in a small village, and the letter has gone amiss so it only turns up on the day of the murder, they are furious!
I have to say, the solving of this murder, the motives behind it, STAGGERED me as a child and I really appreciated the small details and clues that Christie gives you as an adult. The book STILL captivated me.  Who is the murderer? Who is ABC? Why is he doing it?  Why did he send Poirot the letters? Is he really mad? And what has Cust to do with it?  The murderer is a CRUEL person.

Next, I revisited Curtain. This is Poirot's last case.  She wrote this long before she had written all of the other adventures and it was only published posthumously.  Again, Christie makes a really interesting murder here.  The premise of this book is that Poirot has returned to Styles, the scene of his first book murder case (and the second book I ever read).  Hastings has returned from South America as his wife is now dead and his daughters in the world.  Poirot has asked him to come and stay at Styles which is now a nursing and boarding house. Poirot is the shell of his former self, reduced to a wheelchair as he cannot walk.  He is on the hunt of a murder he is certain will happen at Styles. BUT- though he knows/suspects who the murderer is, he will not tell Hastings. He wants to prevent the murder but he's not sure of who the victim will be.  This is an interesting murderer who in the past, has been present at the scenes of many other murders but is never implicated and there is always a murderer who confesses or there's no shadow of doubt.  The perfect murderer in other words.  Strange things happen, emotions run high and eventually, a couple of murders occur including a devastating one!  The denouement is pretty shocking in this book but utter genius!  Again, strongly recommended.

The final book of my Christmas holiday reading, The murder of Roger Ackroyd, is considered to be her finest book.  And I must agree.  On first reading this, I was devastated by finding out who the murderer was.  Reading it this time, I saw the clues.  Poirot has retired to grow vegetable marrows. In the village, Mrs Ferrars has committed suicide.  But it appears she had a dark secret- she murdered her husband.  Then 2 days later, her love, Roger Ackroyd is murdered!  But it appears, a blackmailer is involved.   It is left to Poirot and Dr Sheppard, who is the 1st person narrator, to discover who the murderer is. The denouement of this book is again, so clever.  Christie dangles so many juicy red herrings and conceals the truth.  BUT, if you have a suspicious mind and trust no one, then you might just get an inkling of who the murderer is.

I thoroughly enjoyed rereading these three books. Now I long to reread all the others.  If only my Mum hadn't chucked them all out!

Beaming at Beamish

So in the REAL world (and not the fictional one!!!!) I spent the 28th December at the fabulous attraction called 'Beamish' near Durham, in the north of England as an excursion from Northumberland on one of the few sunny days!  I mentioned it briefly in my PhotoScavenger Hunt for December but thought I'd share a little more as it is such an extraordinary and special place.

Firstly- if you go mid-week, you can get a huge discount.  Secondly,if you go at the weekend like CBC and I did, your tickets are about £17.50 BUT you can visit there as many times in twelve months as you like (which is just as well as we didn't get round.

Going to Beamish is like getting into the TARDIS and getting out in the early 1900's, north England. Painstakingly, an authentic village, colliery, railway station, farm and extensive land as been made to create a bygone era.  BUT, unlike most national trust properties, you can touch, try, buy and get involved! It is a LIVING MUSEUM.


As soon as we had entered the turnstile and walked outside into Beamish, it was like we'd travelled back in time.  We walked along a road and then heard the sound of a tram running behind us- ding ding ding went the bell!

Coming towards us was this double decker omnibus sporting period advertisements

The first attraction we went to see was the railway sidings, barns, church and farm. As we went past a bus shelter (authentic), I saw this carving on the wall.

Down in front of the barn, there was an authentic merry-go-round which you could pay to ride on or some swing boats but CBC and I enjoyed the music rather than the ride.

We headed off into the barn where we were given a lovely spiced apple drink and some cake and listened to a folk music trio.  It was SUCH a cold day, but the wonderful thing about Beamish is there are roaring fires absolutely everywhere so you can go and defrost at any time.

As we warmed up, the trio asked if anyone wanted to dance a ceilidh and we joined up with 3 other random couples and danced 3 dances.  Apparently, they thought we were all friends but no, we just joined in with randoms and it worked well. CBC knew the female fiddle player from school so he caught up with her.

Next, we headed out of the barn, reluctantly leaving the fire to walk along the tracks to where a carthorse was grazing. He schlepped through all sorts of horrid slidy mud to reach his trough of water.

Walking past the derelict church which I featured in my Scavenger hunt, we headed to the Pockish house and farm.

More roaring fires and samples of cake

The sundial was spot on in the manor garden!

The great thing is that there are people in costume placed everywhere.  They leave you to get on and enjoy it without interruption but if you ask them questions, they are hugely knowledgeable and interesting folk who have a lot of information, interesting and unusual, to impart.

Upstairs, this bed would have been a wedding present to the couple.  If you're wondering why it is so short, this is because people slept upright! Because of all the smoke from fires etc, it would have been too hard to breathe otherwise.  You would shut the shutter in the winter and you'd cosy up for the night!

As we left the Pokeish farm manor, we saw a couple of very hairy pigs!!  Rather than go to the road, catch the tram or take a conventional route, we took a very muddy, slidy path which led us down to the town.

 As we walked up the road, we reached the High Street where the shops were.  I think I enjoyed this part best. CBC had told me you can go into all the shops but what I didn't know was that you could buy things from all the shops.   We headed into the bakery first where we drooled over cakes, bread and the great amount of space. The shop displays looked tantalising which was why I was SO excited to discover we could buy things.  We bought a large loaf of bread, a piece of shortbread and coconut cake.  The bread was still warm.

We paid for our purchases and headed outside where we tore large lumps off the bread.  I lied, it was actually HOT!  It was the most wonderful thing on a freezing cold day when we hadn't eaten lunch (lunch now forgotten in CBC's satchel.)

 We turned the corner and reached the main thoroughfare.

 Next, we headed into the Grocer's store where you could buy soaps and all sorts of items.  Sadly, you couldn't buy the lentils- I quite liked the idea of buying lentils thus!
It was also really nice being there for Christmas as all the shops had hung paperchains and for some reason, the Edwardian era really suits Christmas.

Leaving the grocers without spending, we headed next into the clothing shop and milliners.

Inside you could buy shirt collars, material, underwear, gloves, boots

and right at the end, there was a rack of coats to try on... I confess to trying on the controversial (very vintage) fur coats and posed with this poor fellow.  He's holding his hands up in horror, in case you couldn't guess!  I also tried a Sherlock Holmes-style cape but the photos were on CBC's phone.

Then we saw the hat stand....
Actually, the majority were for men, so CBC had a chance to look dapper.
I did try a deerstalker in conjunction with the cape.


Reluctantly, I was dragged from the millinery into the Ironmongers next door, where brushes, elixirs, metal bathtubs and carpet beaters could be viewed.

We headed back onto the street where the hourly tram was coming along...

We paid a visit to the livery and bait stables with a large selection of carriages.




We could have had a pint in the pub but chose not to.

The next shop to catch our eye was the confectioners. I was anticipating much!

Inside, all manner of jars and assortments were available.  I was delighted by the sugar mice which I associate with my childhood- an old fashioned sweetshop in Felixstowe which sold sugar mice.

They have painstakingly recreated all the old displays.  There was so much to look at in the glass cabinets.

CBC bought a natural licorice stick which he discovered had some flavour if you sucked on it for about 5 minutes.  He wasn't too impressed though!

The great thing (one of the many) was all the little nooks and crannies and passageways you could creep down.


Believe it or not, they deconstructed this entire row of terrace houses from somewhere in the country and brought them to Beamish like that!


I loved snooping round the different houses belonging to a Piano teacher, Dentist, Lawyer, Accountant and another one.

Love the flocked wallpaper of the piano teacher and again, how Christmassy it was!

You could nip upstairs too and see the bedrooms and amazing William Morris wallpapers.

CBC and all his siblings site their childhood visits to Beamish as having been mainly focused on being terrified by the dentist!! The tools, chair and contraptions all look truly terrifying!  Most people would have lost their teeth by their twenties and if you were rich and lucky, you might have a set of porcelain teeth constructed or even ebony!! Black teeth for anyone?

It was approaching 4pm so we walked through the park to reach the tea rooms for a quick cup of tea.

As we waited for the final tram, I admired all the advertisments.  Somehow, these are acceptable!

The tram was exciting and very full. We passed by the railway station (you can ride a steam train), the colliery and village with the school which we hear has an aaaaamazing fish and chip shop but sadly we had no time to see anymore as it closes at 4.30pm.  Luckily, we have our tickets which are valid for a year, so we only have to take a quick detour of the A1 to reach it on our way up to Northumberland.

I cannot praise Beamish highly enough.  It is truly a work of love, painstaking detail and very, very well thought-out.  It was well worth the price and I can't wait to go back.  4 weeks on and I am still raving about it!

Have you been? Would you? Do you have anything like it near you?