Kew Gardens - Monday 20th April 2015

A lovely, sunny day on Monday and Viv and I wandered off to Kew Gardens.  Interspersed with tea and light lunch, we meandered around the gardens, and I took a few photos.  

Don't worry, he's alive - just resting and pecking at the ground

There is a nature walk along wooden, carved animals and logs,
all carved from trees that were blown down during the "Great Storm of 1987".  

A slice of spring.

Mx

The summer of 2014

Hello All

So - the latter part of the year was pretty full on.  Ice Bear was accepted to its first film festival - the British Documentary Film Festival and won the Best Environmental Film.



Esha came over from Bangladesh and we managed some time out with the old gang. 

Esha, Imogen, Sallyann, Mary, Ilora

Vivi and Dan's wedding got married - with hardly a sighting on pink!

Tiago, Dan

Vivi, Mary, Alice, Judy

Vivi

Vivi and the family

And we took her mum, auntie and Alice to Buckingham Palace/

Mary and Vivi's family

Vivi's mum decided that her main home is Salvador, then she likes Vivi's home, but she could manage this for her third home ....










Burt Bacharach was my birthday treat - a fab concert at the Royal Festival Hall.

During the summer I managed a couple visits to friends.

The first trip was to stay with mum's friends, Linda and Rob, in their new home in Anglesey. The sun seemed to shine all the time - and we had several trips out to see Beaumaris, 

Anglesey and Portmeirion

and the rather cheeky robin in her garden, who apparently now wanders through the patio doors.

Also a few days with Susan - loads of relaxing, talking, looking at photos, eating and sleeping.   

Then it was back to Bethnal Green and the next series of Suspects.  A moment of wildlife (butterfly rather than Angelina, the mouse) and then the team.  

Duncan came down for the bank holiday weekend and we ventured through the rain to the Royal National Theatre and Helen McCrory in Medea.  Very emotional.

Then it was Ice Bear again - this time the Marbella International Film Festival; where I did a presentation and we screened Ice Bear.  

And whilst this was going on we heard that Ice Bear had been accepted into the Carmel Arts and Film Festival and the Bahamas International Film Festival.

And then to ice the cake, we won Best Documentary in Marbella.  


A little more socialising, this time afternoon tea with Catharine and Sallyann.  Sallyann had seen this advertised somewhere or other (afternoon tea on a  London bus) and decided that we should try it out.

Catharine and Sallyann

We'd been on a recce the south side of Tower Bridge and decided to walk back over the bridge and catch a glimpse of the poppies as they were progressing in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday.  Our glimpse coincided with half-term, so it was swarming with people and tourists.  

Which neatly brings me to December.  Duncan popped down again for the second time this year (you don't see someone for ages and then they keep appearing!).  He had bought my ticket to the Anna Calvi concert at a church in the East End (luckily I'd checked where as he said Islington and it was more like Hackney).

Duncan, as usual, dressed up for the occasion.  The photo doesn't really do justice to the evening's ensemble.  Suffice to say, we were noticed.

On the Sunday we also managed to squeeze in a little snack in the Delauney and my first visit to the Blondie exhibition at Somerset House.

Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and The Advent of Punk

And before you know it, it's Christmas.

Our treat this year was  Treasure Island at the Royal National Theatre - I have to say a little disappointing - amazing set, but the direction wasn't very memorable.

We also queued for 90 minutes for the Wildlife Photographer Exhibiton at the Natural History Museum - this year it was only cold as, in the past, we have queued in the rain.

And then to New Year's Eve and mum and I went to the cinema in Clapham to see the Berlin Philharmonic with Simon Rattle

The pianist was amazing - Menahem Pressler - 91 years old and wonderful to watch/listen to. Apparently his debut with the orchestra was last year!

It was also fun to hear music that I hadn't heard before.

Jena-Philippe Rameau = suite from Les Indes galantes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano concerto in A major K. 488

Zoltan Kodaly - excerpts from Hary Janos Suite

Antonin Dvorak - selection of Slavonik Dances

And now it is nearly midnight and the word for 2015 is ENTERPRISE.

Definition: adventure, undertaking

Synonyms: action, activity, affair, attempt, ballgame, big idea, biggie, business, campaign, cause, company, concern, crusade, deal, deed, do*, effort, endeavor, engagement, essay, establishment, firm, flier, follow through, game*, happening, hazard, house, move, operation, outfit, performance, pet project, plan, plunge*, program, project, proposition, purpose, pursuit, risk, scheme, speculation, stake, striving, stunt, task, thing*, trade, try, venture, work

And if all of that fails, we can take our lead from Star Trek and boldly go where no wo/man has gone before.

Happy New Year. Mx