We’re huge fans of the London Transport Museum so when we heard they had an open weekend at their depot we bought family tickets for today. The last time we went we didn’t have children so I was interested to see how our visit compared. London Transport Museum Depot Happily we all had a great day out. This year they’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of the underground and we had the chance to see the newly restored Metropolitan Line Steam Locomotive No. 1 and the Metropolitan Jubilee Carriage 353 which was originally built in 1898 and is one of the…
-
-
A friend told me about the William Morris Gallery and Lloyd Park in Walthamstow, not far from us. Perfect (i.e. dry) weather was forecast this morning so we headed there. The building was beautiful and behind was a hidden gem, a huge public park with formal gardens, a moat, children’s park, cafe and much more. First of all we let the children (and daddy) run around the park. They loved it, everything was new and shiny and they had fun on the slides, trampoline, swings, slide and sand pit. The shiny paths were perfect for scooting along and there was…
-
I love cross stitch and I love trying different things so when I saw an embroidered pegboard on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. Equipment needed to make an embroidered pegboard: Pegboard White paint Paint brush Sand paper Tapestry wool Needle How to make an embroidered pegboard: I bought a large piece of pegboard (also known as perforated hardboard) from my local wood shop, gave it a light sand then a couple of coats of white undercoat. I wanted it to look a little rough so I didn’t try too hard. When it had dried I embroidered big…
-
I really enjoyed watching The Great British Sewing Bee which started this week, it reminded me a little of Project Runway. I think it’s made by the people behind Bake Off and there’s plenty of room in my life for programmes about makes and bakes. I liked the fact that the contestants all had completely different backgrounds and loved watching how they faced the challenges. Last week I attended my first proper sewing class at The Make Lounge. I signed up for Learn to Sew: Cushion Cover+Floral Corsage which was suitable for beginners. I’ve been hand sewing for years but…
-
I love living in London and I’ve always loved learning more about the history of the place. We try to get and about as much as we can as we’re keen for the children to appreciate all that London has to offer. We don’t get to the East End very often but we have visited the old Royal Docks a couple of times to watch the planes come and go from City Airport. When you’re out that way you can’t miss the gigantic tin of golden syrup adorning the corner of one of the buildings making up the huge complex…
-
Do you remember a couple of months ago we went to visit a new Banksy which had sprung up on our local high street? I was shocked to read about it on the BBC website as it’s currently for sale in America with a huge price tag. The Banksy, known as Slave Labour, appeared just before the Diamond Jubilee last year. Everybody was talking about it and it was quickly covered with a sheet of perspex to preserve it. I always looked out for it when we went past and was proud of the fact there was something so exciting…
-
Half term is a bit of a mixed blessing really. I love spending time with the toddler but it makes me realise how much I love those couple of hours he’s at his Montessori nursery! I’m trying to keep us busy so no-one gets bored and today we headed off to St Pancras to look at the trains. That might sound a little dull but for a train-mad toddler it’s heaven on earth. We bundled up in our warmest clothes and took the tube to Kings Cross/St Pancras. The toddler helped by running around and chasing pigeons, Little Sis just…
-
I fell in love with our house the moment I walked through the door. A 3 bed full of period charm. It would ‘do’ for a couple of years. 6 years later we’re finally on the move. The 3 bed is now a 4 bed; the garden has grass and flowers rather than mud; we’ve discovered treasures galore buried at the bottom of the garden and under the stairs. This was the first house my name appeared on the paperwork. The house I got engaged in, left from to be married, conceived my babies and returned triumphant from the local…
-
Even though we live in London it often doesn’t feel like we have time to enjoy it. So we were all very excited to find ourselves with a free day to do something last weekend. It was a balmy 2° and we headed south to Battersea Children’s Zoo in Battersea Park. To be honest we very rarely go south of the river but I had always wanted to visit Battersea Park and after 10 years of London living we finally got round to it. A (very cold) day out at Battersea Park Children’s Zoo We decided to use public transport…