Trip to the garden centre

Every year in early Spring my mum visits our local garden centre to buy a range of plants for our garden, this year I happened to have a few days of work so decided to tag along. There was a wide range of flower and vegetable plants to choose from.

There were also some interesting garden ornaments; I love the giant chess pieces and the elephants and cheeky gnomes would make a nice addition to any garden too. I was also intrigued to see the old fashioned styled brooms made of straw.

We got a little carried away and it was hard to not buy at least one of everything, but in the end we chose some strawberry and pepper plants and and variety of flowers so we have a range of treats for the eyes and tastebuds to look forward to.

Fun at the fair

With Spring in full swing here in the UK, my sister and I have already been making the most of the warmer weather. We decided to take her kids to visit the fair as it was in town during half term holidays. The weather was sunny and warm, the kids excited and energetic.

Carousel

I wasn’t able to take many pictures as I was having too much fun, but it was great to spend the day with the kids and take in the colours and thrill of the rides and the enticing aromas of nearby snacks

Dodgems

We didn’t get to win any teddies such as these but we did go home with balloons and ice cream, and the kids happy but exhausted.

Teddy bears

I’m looking forward to going to other funfairs over the coming months, with I hope, more thrills and treats to be had

A walk in Manchester

I recently went to Manchester for work and stayed in a stunning hotel and although I had a few super, busy days I did managed to disappear for a while and go for a walk. I came across some old buildings and a courtyard that looked beautiful in the bright, sunny afternoon. I would’ve liked to explore further but sadly, I ran out of time. I hope that next time I’m in the city I will have more time to explore and find the many other places that I’m sure are worth seeing. I’ll also need to remember to take my camera so I can take some better pictures of my discoveries (and maybe of the fancy hotel too)

All the colours

Tulip

This is a close up of one of the tulips I bought my mum recently. I love how the petals took on a rainbow of colours as they opened. It makes me think perhaps someone has brushed on strokes of watercolour paint to create this beautiful effect.

London car show

I’ve been meaning to post about stumbling across a Top Gear car show in London for a while now. There was a huge variety of cars on show in central London, taking over a main road near Oxford Street which must have taken some preparation. I didn’t see any of the tv show presenters or the mysterious Stig but it was still interesting to see slick fast cars and motorbikes, as well as some newer, innovative designs, that run on electricity.

I also enjoyed seeing some of the slightly older sports car designs that looked like they belonged in Hollywood films of the 60s or the racing car films of the 70s and 80s

What I enjoyed the most were the really old cars, from as far back as 1901, with lots of details which, for better or worse, are lost with modern cars. There were some so old that they had cranks at the front that needed to be turned to get the engines going. There were a couple that even featured in films of that time

The car show was a nice exhibit to unexpectedly come across, especially on a sunny day, my only regret was not having one of my cameras with me so I had to make do with my phone, but I think some the pictures still came out quite well