Bucks County Show

So what did I come away with from the Bucks County show? This tasty quiche and rye bread from a local producer and by far the best thing, these sloe berries picked on the way home. The recipe for Sloe Gin will, I'm sure go on this blog, along with Cider making for Christmas. 

At the end of every summer holiday is the Bucks County Show. The choice of date is linked to the fact that this is primarily and agricultural show.  Here are a selection of photos taken a few years ago which should give you a flavour of what to expect at a County show.  

As well as livestock, young farmers, horse events, food marquees, rides, exhibitors, tractors there are some great clothes stalls which sell tweedy and country style outfits traditional and modern.

The show has a website here. It is situated very near to where I live near Aylesbury and in any weather is a great day out. 

There are marquees full of rural crafts and demonstrations and judging going on all day. 

Seaside Postcard

A Retro holiday for Retro people. 

For my birthday we popped to Broadstairs and Margate for two days and one night. These classic British seaside hoidays are exactly as they were in the 1960's when I spent every summer here in my relatives guest house. We got up early, packed the car and headed off in search of sand, seagulls and sea. 

Top left is Bleak House, Charles Dickens lived here, its now a hotel                

We stopped to look at the guest house that my mum's Uncle Tom owned to see that now it has a blue plaque. Not for my Uncle Tom and Aunty Ciss but for Oliver Postgate who wrote The Clangers and Bagpuss. I can't find any record of the date Oliver Postgate moved here but can only assume he may have bought the house from my Uncle Tom when they retired, or I'm confusing it with the house next door. 

My Mum, this may have been before I was born in the 50s

me on the beach just a couple of years ago. (1966 ish)

First stop was Morellis Ice Cream parlour where I went during my childhood holidays here. It first opened in 1932 and the decor is still the same as it was in the fifties. In 1968 I never stopped asking for money to put in the Juke Box to play "Those were the days" by Mary Hopkin.

as an 8 year old I thought this fountain was amazing !!!

this little girl was very brave to carry all these

 After eating a "Broadstairs Special" we didn't need to eat lunch, so we had a sit on the beach and took in the atmosphere.
While Charles Dickens lived here he wrote several books, we stayed in his bedroom at Bleak House which is now a hotel and right next door to our room was his study overlooking the sea. His original desk and chairs are still there.The bedroom now boasts "a bed which Queen Victoria slept in twice" when it was at another address in Rochester. 

In the evening we ate at Restaurant 54, which funnily enough was someones age, who, not me surely. Can highly recommend the food there. 

The Broadstairs Folk Week was in full swing so music was pouring out of every bar until the wee small hours, the bustling streets were full of Morris Dancers and lots of other strangely dressed types, we did actually run into a drunken sailor wearing a Pirates hat.

Queen Victoria slept in this bed twice !

Next day after a full english breakfast we headed for Margate. We checked out the new Turner Gallery and mooched about the town a bit. 

cupcake tea rooms

There is a lovely little area around Market Place full of Vintage shops and tea rooms. We loved Dolly Millers.

through the window of Dolly Millers

the owner of Margate Retro is quite a character 

 I had this memory for a magical place covered in shells. Somehow as an adult things don't look quite so incredible, but the Shell Grotto does have an interesting history, if only anyone knew what it was. It was discovered in 1832 and to this day it remains a mystery who built it, when or what it was for. Probably some kind of underground place of worship.

every bit of wall and ceiling is covered in a pattern made up from different shells

We could have stayed so much longer but maybe next time. So it's back on the diet for us two. Did I mention I also got a tattoo while we were there, ok, mid-life crisis etc. Its my first ever tattoo and I may talk about that some time, who knows.
Wishing we were all here but glad to be home with the cats.

Good morning and welcome to everyone who has found me through the feature in Homes & Antiques the response has been amazing and I would love if you continue to follow my home ideas, craft projects and general Country style observations.

Please do find me on facebook to keep up to date on new posts. If you need any extra information about how I created the look in my house then feel free to ask. 

I've had lots of comments about the hand sewn quilt top above my bed so will be giving a little 'how to' about that here later.

People I admire.

So so happy to be featured in one of my favourite magazines this month. You will see that in it I talk about Peter Blake so I thought I would flesh this out with a bit more information and background. 

I shall always be eternally grateful to my Dad for many things too numerous to mention, but here is one. He introduced me to ART. Now, my Dad was from a rough part of North London, his father died when he was four and his Mum worked in a factory. School was a bit hit and miss during WWII yet despite all that, he educated himself and had a thirst for learning that was with him until he died. 

One of his life ambitions seemed to be to make sure I had everything that he never did. He imagined a life style that was for a different social class, and with society changing during the sixties this became an achievable goal. So from an early age, we did all the things that others thought 'potty'. We went abroad for holidays, not somewhere sunny but to places like Austria.
We went to art galleries regularly, to museums and to antique fairs. He threw me in at the deep end, in France he couldn't understand the menu yet despite that, we went to swanky restaurants and we ordered things that we had no idea what they would be. Once, yes, I ordered "brain", when it arrived I said, "it looks like a brain", and was told "try it and see what it's like", and, if I did that and I really didn't like it then I didn't have to eat it. 

In 1983 we went to an exhibition at The Tate (a regular haunt along with the V&A), the work of Peter Blake. This was to turn into a life long love. The work was edgy, grown up, yet funny and childish all at the same time. Hey, art doesn't have to be fusty and boring, it can be colourful and humorous, it can be created on a door or in a box. Cool.

For years now I have tried to buy and collect what I could afford, a few years ago myself and a friend went to a talk given by Peter Blake at the Tate. I took him a little present of something I had made and asked him to sign a book. I introduced myself to his wife Chrissy and we got chatting, I have since been to shows of her work which is beautiful. Chrissy commented on a piece of jewellery I was wearing, which I told her I had made. One thing lead to another and I ended up making some things for the ladies of the Blake family. It was such an honour. As a thank you Chrissy sent me a piece of Peters work and it is now my pride and joy. 

I have more pieces around the house, like Babe Rainbow, an original tin plaque made in the 60's. 

Sir Peter Blake, I salute you. You are so much more than "The Sgt. Pepper" album sleeve and media who still refer to you as that are seriously dumbing down. Long may you reign as the kind of Pop Art.