Weekend Round-Up

Greetings my lovelies!

LM and I went to the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC on Saturday.  We took ourselves over there by train and arrived in good time to fortify ourselves with brekkie at the one of the ubiquitous and (usually) cheap and cheerful Wetherspoons' pubs.  Pah!   We were most put out to see the usually reasonable breakfast prices inflated by 50% of what we usually pay in town.  I decided to go for the continental brekkie of croissants and preserves.  This was my first mistake of the day!  Croissants in my book should be crisp on the outside, and the 'legs' should tear off easily to reveal a soft flaky interior.  I wasn't impressed, therefore, to receive flaccid, obviously microwaved bits of collapsed dough complete with soggy bottoms. I'd taken some tablets, however, and needed to eat as I was feeling a little light headed so ate them anyway, but I've had better I must say.  LM declared his 'large traditional' to be 'ok' but nothing to write home about.  He'd been asked whether he wanted black pudding or a field mushroom.  He ordered black pudding.  He received.... half a tomato!  The coffee wasn't bad though.  Pfft!

ANY... way.  Enough whittering about below par breakusses!!  

So we carried on into the halls to check out the craft porn.  Now then.  Y'know this crafting lark?  Its a gentle pastime isn't it?  Practiced by gentle people who love pretty things.  Yeah right!  You stand between a middle aged woman and a new Pro-marker at your peril!  In fact, the older gals were the worst!  A sniff of a bargain and the pre-sharpened elbows were raised in battle stance like a scorpion under threat! I think the first aisle was the worst as a stash induced feeding frenzy ensued and ravening hoards fell upon sparkly goodies.  By the second and third aisle it had calmed down a little - not much - but it was certainly more bearable and we didn't emerge from stalls feeling like we'd been squeezed along a birth canal to pop out the other side(!).  

These pull along trollies appeared to be really popular.  Great!  Perfect for catching your ankles on and rolling over your corns!   

One of our favourite stalls was the very wondrous Clarity Stamps. Barbara's work amazes me every time I watch her demos and the stamped images really are beautiful. She was there in person and there was quite a crowd gathered to watch her work.  There were some gorgeous but very expensive cross stitch kits and  lots and lots of glittery jewellery stuff which doesn't really float my boat but appears to be very popular. I didn't really go to the show with the intention of buying much,  It was good to window shop and look at new ideas.  There was a great crafter's £1 stall there and I did get some bits and pieces from there, as well as a new black ink pad, some fine nibs for my pro-marker pens and a couple of stamps which were greatly reduced in price.  

As well as the Hobbycrafts show, there was the usual Christmas bits and pieces there too.  We skipped around this bit (not literally mind), but we'd seen much of it before and it seemed a little samey and overpriced to us.  One stall that I couldn't get away from and did much swooning at, however, was the wonderful art work of Glyn Matthews.  Check out his website HERE  His artwork is incredibly evocative and atmospheric.  I particularly fell in love with "One for the Pot" and "Dawn Patrol", but I love the quirkiness of the little cottages too and - well -  all of them really!!  I have to say that the website doesn't really do the pictures justice. They are so different.

Yesterday passed in a blur of shopping and the usual preparations for Monday.  I went into town (unsupervised and without the aid of a safety net) for a while.  Man had gone to see his kids so I took myself off and hibernated in a coffee shop until the shops opened.  I love coffee shop culture and spent a happy 45 mins or so just watching the world go by, taking advantage of the free wifi and partaking of a bacon and brie pannini.  And the most vile cup of coffee known to man.  Amaretto latte.  Why?  Just why?  What possessed me to think that it would even be remotely nice?  It was disgusterous.  Like... like.... ewww vileness personified.  Not decadent and cosmopolitan at all.  Just vom-inducing!

I didn't like it much.

Snort.

See you soon!