Guy Fawkes Night in Battersea Park

The Bonfire, no Katie Price effigy, but we can imagine
Mark with fellow Aussie Neoma from Adelaide and her English hubby Jon, my colleague at work
The start, of the LOVE themed fireworks...rather non-love, they played Amy Winehouse, Back to Black!
Sigh...pretty

Mark watching the fireworks

Queen Tribute....Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody @ Yahoo! Video

too funny enjoy!

Posh Din Dins - Artisan

Sophie and I, quite often, well at least once a month get out to eat at somewhere just a bit special for a natter and something tasty.

This time I got us a great deal on Top Table so for £35 a head we got us a bit of spoiling with a 3 course dinner with all the fancy appetisers in between (made it about 14 courses if you counted them all) and a glass of Champers!

Unbeatable. And what can I say great company and great food! Rightly we rolled out of there too.

Artisan at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair
Our wee fois grass burgers, delicious, and also the goats cheese with white chocolate - who would have thought!
My yummy Pavlova..someone in that kitchen is an Aussie!

Our chocolate tree - Sophie

Our chocolate tree - ME!

Choos' Shoes over snooze

Yes its Jimmy Choos, and I own 3 pairs now. Mad I tell you, I dragged myself up out of bed (those who know me will know its a feat and a half to do that) at 4.30am on a Saturday morning....*squeal insterted here*...yes Saturday, to take a taxi down to Oxford/Regent Street to line up for Jimmy Choo's!!

Well almost, its the Jimmy Choo for H&M range made affordable for those who don't have say £350 to £1,000 just to spend on a pair of killer heels. BUT they are just gorgeous. Quality i tell you, q-u-a-l-i-t-y, with a CAPITAL "Q"!

So what did I get....well see below;
The anxious front of queue at about 7am
Newspaper shot, I am under the first awning closest to the left (at 5am I was in the doorway on the corner)
The excited queue at about 8.30am

The Choo Room where I was about 65th in the door

And.....wait for it....





Ps I had an afternoon nap to make up for the incredible lack of sleep!

Holland a preview

Arnhem OpenLuft Outdoor Museum me and a Windmill
Me outside Dick Bruna House, the creator of Miffy
Me with Miffy the bunny the gold one!
Arnhem a Bridge too Far, oh and us
Mark enjoying the comfort of a Dutch train

We is fierce... Sasha Fierce, Beyonce at the O2

And she's on stage
Last Monday night Sophie and I went along to see Beyonce do her thing on her "I am Sasha Fierce" tour. We arrived a bit early, dodged past all the sheep queuing to get in (what do you need to queue for its a fully seated event!!) had a little bite to eat before we made our way into the dome to our seats.

Peter Andre

Well Miss Beyonce, or bouncy, was a little tardy, so after the support acts we were entertained by several rounds of the Mexican wave, celebrities causing crowd screaming fits, we had Peter Andre up in the box behind us to I managed to get a snap of him too. They all love him now he's ditched the t@rt with the bo@bs otherwise known as Katie Price. Finally at 9.30pm, with trumpets blaring and a blast of stage smoke, Beyonce was on stage.

She's a chatter

She did a great job wooing the crowd, serenading us with Broken Hearted, Halo and a most moving version of Ava Maria, for which she was demurely dressed in a detachable ball gown princess style. She performed a moving Ella Fitzgerald "At last" tribute to black America and Obama, there was also a bit of Alanis Morrisette and Michael Jackson in there. She also performed about 5 songs on the centre stage which was not too far back from where we were sitting and all joined in for Video phone and Left, which was just brilliant.

"At Last!"

Of course the song we had all been waiting for was her "fierce" song "Single Ladies (put a ring on it)", where a video of all the most funniest you tube attempts were shown before Miss Beyonce and her dancers strutted their stuff and showed them, you know, how its actually meant to be done. So with that song almost finished, midnight and an almost certain chaotic tube journey home looming, Sophie and I dashed Cinderella like from the O2 to make our journey home uneventful.

" Fierce "

Waterlow Park - Autumn 2009

A lovely sunny afternoon on our way out to Richmond I was insistent that we make the most of the day and take a walk in Waterlow Park in Highgate, just a short walk from our flat. I wanted to capture a bit more of the beautiful Autumn leaves, and I hope I have.

My flat in Tufnell Park
Me near Highgate Cemetery in the sunshine
View into the Cemetery, one day well go in
Leaves in Highgate Cemetery Waterlow Park
A beautiful autumn tree in Waterlow Park
The pond in Waterlow Park
Waterlow Park pathway

Christmas Lights of London

So far this year I have been most disapointed with the Christmas lights, both Debenhams and John Lewis, oh and House of Fraser too actually, all have the same Christmas lights as last year. Not so sure about Selfridges I haven't been up that far yet, and I do try to avoid it...as its hard not to shop in there, so many lovely things...but i do have to buy some pressies so i might get there at some stage.

Then the street lights, well pretty boring I must say. The lights at the intersection are nice enough, as you can see below,

Oxford Street at 7am...not even all of them actually work though

But the ones on Regent Street are just giant light nets that are meant to be, I think stars. They don't flicker or do anything, its all one colour, white; frankly quite boring.

Oxford Street East one evening last week

Oxford Street again

Anyway you might like them, Adelaide certainly doesn't have them. Though that is merely because its light till 9pm what would be the point! Here its dark at 4pm, so its nice to have a bit of uplifting Christmassy lights to make it feel a bit well not dark.

So I am on the hunt to get some nice Christmas street lights. But for the sake of my last Christmas here, i will take pictures of all the department store frontages and put them up here, stay tunned.

Interesting sight in London

Not exciting just interesting. I always wondered where people who have the electric cars, ie the Pirus, actually charged them up. Well now I know, walking back from grabbing some lunch (yummy EAT cauliflower cheese...mmm)I took a back street and whaddaya know, a car is charging up right in front of me.



So next time I need to use my hairdryer while out and about in London at least I know where there is an outdoor power socket!

Autumn Internationals Rugby - Australia vs England

One fine and bright sunny English autumn day, errrrrrrrrrk, cue screeching record stop there "yo wha?....bright sunny....*astounded face inserted here*...England!!". Well duh we get them sometimes, though since that weekend its been nothing but drilling power shower rainy days since.

Anyway, where was I, ah yes, fine sunny day... Mark and I headed down to the infamous (for rugby supporters and that is about all) Orange Tree pub in Richmond to watch Australia trounce all over the English in the Autumn Internationals.

Winners are grinners

We were already heading off to Battersea Park south of London to see the Guy Fawkes fireworks, so we figured we'd make a day of it. Miss Miao was heading out to watch the game so we joined her and her friend, and well she's not a sore loser....MUCH....but before she threw a tantrum and stomped her feet we got some photos in.

Me and Teresa.

More Awesome Autumness

Children out and about for Guy Fawkes Day
The Caretaker House of St James's Park
Leaves....
More trees...
London Eye peeking over Whitehall
One of those nasty Canada Geese...though don't he look cute!

More beautiful leaves
Autumn walkway, I have this as a winter shot covered with snow too..