BEVER HOUSE DINNER PARTY

I don't have that many dinner parties in the Bever House, but when I do - I like to go all out. The night before Mike and Renee went back down under - I invited my mates Jo, Elizabeht and my housemate/mate Rosie over (into the other room) for a dinner party ! Rosie technically did most of the cooking, but I helped a bit.....

The fairy lights were on, Nina Simone was playing and I even pulled out my new very special placemats that Aunty Marg gave me for Christmas !

An oldie, but a goodie....

A young Sue doing her Fonz impersonation...

My Bed - A Self Portrait

MORE SNOW

Yes, that's right - it snowed even more than the first time !! It was so heavy that all of London pretty much came to a standstill so I couldn't get to work. The really cool thing was that the next day on my way in - most of was still there !!!

Dinner at Emma's

I went to my friend Emma's house for dinner a few weeks ago with Naomi and Richard and I just have to say right here, publically - that it was one of the best roasts I have ever had !! Like, really. It may have been because I was incredibly hungry or most likely because of the role her assistant chef Lisa played, but either way, it tasted good and we all had a lovely evening....an arty shot of Emma, the host....

Naomi's new brooch - lovely isn't it?

Naomi trying out some new styles on my hair...

The new look...

Getting Organised...

I decided to "streamline" my life recently and get EVERYTHING into order - in this technological age, I suddenly realised that I had no need for paper really so I went through boxes and boxes of newspaper articles, tax receipts and many other random bits and pieces....threw out 2 big garbage bags and invested in some tool boxes to put all my cables and electrical bits in.....it felt good to get it all organised - not sure my flatmates appreciated my 2 day domination of the lounge as I spread my life out !!!!

A rare sight...

A Visit From The Bullocks...

It was so lovely to have my mate Renee and her husband Milke come to visit a few weeks ago. They made London their base and then went off on little trips to Ireland, Germany & skied in France for a while. I took them on my special tour of London....First stop - HMS President, my old place of work.....this is the view from the back deck...
Then along the river, chuck a right and over to more London landmarks...the queens gates...
Old school horse and cart outside "Buck Palace" (as Dunk likes to call it)No changing of the guards today...
They both wore these really cool necklaces that someone back home made for them - they are the old 2 pence coins !!

See you soon guys...

The Irresistible Isla

I wonder who's behind this door....No cameras please...

Wow - check out the size of those waves dude...Daddy told me these sunglasses would make me look cool, just like him...

Off to Uncle Jason's wedding...don't we look lovely?

If I could say it in words - there would be no reason to paint... When I grow up, I want to be the Easter Bunny...

SNOW !!!!

We've had two lots of REALLY good snow in the last few months - this is the first lot which was back in January....The view from inside my room through my attic window...

The view out of my window...

My roof...

My street...

My rubbish...

Snail Mail

As much as I love all this new technology and emails and blogs and all that - there is nothing like the excitement of receiving an actual letter through the post !! I love seeing the handwriting and identifying it as Mums, or Kitty's, or Franks...

And then, in a true full circle fashion - I send the stamps back to Dad for this collection !!!

Ouch

As most of you know, I have a VERY low pain threshold (this was originally discovered when I was about 11 years old and I used to scream when Vauxy used to braid my hair!!) so you won't be surprised to hear that I was a very big baby a couple of months ago when I had a splinter in my thumb....

After complaining about it and attempting to get it out myself for a couple of hours - I eventually had to call in the back up team to assist.....Kathy and Danny soon set to work with a pair of tweezers....the apple helped, I'm not quite sure why, but it did...

Stuck in the Wood

Not a happy team of my co-workers waiting for the train the other night....

Duncan's Favourite Plant

THE SPECIAL SANDS SWIM WENT SWIMMINGLY

Well, we did it – it's over, done, completed, accomplished, concluded, finished…

15 people

4 swimming pools

2 countries

Over 350 laps

Nearly £4000 raised to date…

All for 1 cause…

To not only raise money to help SANDS continue their good work, but more importantly, to raise awareness for what continues to be a rather taboo area of bereavement and loss…

A special note from Libby & Ian "The atmosphere was fantastic, everyone was feeling very positive and happy. We surprised even ourselves by focusing on our inner strength and swimming faster than we ever thought we could. The money you have helped raise will go such a long way to helping SANDS help other people who have lost their own Kieran. With love and hugs and tired and sore muscles. A contented Libby & Ian. In memory of Kieran...."

Our fundraising website will be open for a few more weeks: http://www.justgiving.com/kieranhughes

THE SPECIAL SANDS SWIM – Brisvegas

Dunk and Tash and Isla did the swim back home in the family pool...it's not quite as long as the ones over here, but it's outdoors and I can guarantee it's a hell of a lot cleaner than the pool I did my swim in !!!!

Dunk sets off....
And after a quick handover of Isla....Tash does her bit....

THE SPECIAL SANDS SWIM – The Lakes

Libby and Ian and their special swim team up in the Lake District....Libby leads the way...Ian follows....

They managed to do 92 laps in 50 mins between 5 of them and it sounds like it was a very positive atmosphere.

CONGRATS TO THE LAKES SWIM TEAM !!!

Ian’s brother David, his wife Gail and their three boys also did a swim and raised loads of money up in Scotland. I will hopefully add some of their photos soon.