Blackburn’s Blog

This is me!

Blackburns_Blog

One day I will get the hang of this blogging business…
Well as Jan is away - Transylvannia again! I’m going to try this on my own!!

26th March - Easter Bank Holiday Weekend - Saturday.

Jan’s parents finally meet my parents! Not that I was worried or anything you understand but it could have all gone horribly wrong!

Back in December, Jans parents said they wanted to take Jan to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a birthday present - knowing about Jans love of gadgets and cars it must have seemed like a match made in heaven to have both in one show! Jans mum & dad very kindly asked me if I’d like to go along. Loving the theatre almost as much as Jan loves gadgets and cars - namely Citroens - how could I refuse?!
I thought it would be a nice idea if my parents came along too and met Jans parents at the same time - nice idea, scary but a nice idea! Well everybody said yes, great idea and we all sat back to wait for March 26th to dawn! Why we chose Easter Saturday, I have no idea, but it seemed like a good one at the time. Seems like every family in Christendom, with 1 plus children had the same idea! So that was nice.

We all agreed to meet up in the Cafe Royal on Regents Street of all places… Why? - who knows but we thought it seemed suitably fabulous for the occasion!

Unusally for once I was early! Having agreed a time with my parents, I proceeded to tell Jan and family that we were meeting much earlier - only an hour or so… it wasn’t until we were on the train that I let slip my sneaky plan for being on time if not early! Anyone who knows me will probably delight in telling you about my dysfunctional personal sense of time - only this time I was determined not to be late! Anway… The Cafe Royal was a lesson in overstated, shabby chic elegance and opulence! It is easy to see why it was so popular when it first opened for business! The grandeur of the settings helped offset the any nerves I had, that was for sure. Well my parents arrived and everyone got on like a house on fire! Relieved or what - not that I had anything to worry about really - of course I know that now!!

Anyway… after a light refreshing beverage or two.. we took a wander up to the Palladium near Oxford Circus and went in to the show…. OMG!!! what a fantastic show!!!! THE CAR REALLY FLYS!!!! It was absolute magic and we loved every minute of it… but the best bit was when the car flew over the audience - we were lucky to be virtually within touching distance - the stalls are great for that audience participation feeling - fabulous with a capital F! To be honest the funniest bit was my mums minor mix up between Brian and Billy Connolly - no offence boys but you both tell rude jokes!! - well it made us laugh

After the show we decided to continue being fabulous by having dinner at the Strand Palace Hotel Carvery - brilliant! It took me right back to my childhood days and memories of similar treats! But the absolute best bit was trying to get a cab to the Strand Palace - not easy in Piccadilly Circus in the rain - we were just about to give up and walk when I spotted a cab and practically jumped in the middle of the road to hail it… My mum obviously not paying attention saw a young-ish woman hailing a cab and thought typical - the first available cab you see for ages and someone else gets it - she was most surprised to discover it was me! Not half as surprised as I was! We all managed to crowd in to the cab - not an easy task as there was 6 of us… I ended up half standing and half sitting on my dads knee and I thought I’d grown out of all that - 34 and still a child in your parents eyes - will I never learn! After the most precarious journey of my life and much to the relief of my poor dads knees we got to the Strand Palace Hotel and it was just as I remembered it only better - the food was fabulous and everyone had a good time! Thank goodness!

Blackburns_Blog Here is a picture of Jan and I from New Year in Eastbourne - what an experience! Jan and I went to Eastbourne and stayed in an hotel with his parents - Barbara and Con. I don’t think Jan and I really had any idea of what this really meant - suffice to say the average age was approximately 60+ and the most exciting activity was ‘horse racing in the lounge’! On New Years Eve we were encouraged to make finger puppets!! and dress up for the evening knees up!?!?! - the theme being ‘Cowboys and Indians’. As my Pochantas outfit was at the dry cleaners I decided to throw caution to the wind and become a ‘Saloon Sally’!! What do you think? At least we won a prize and the evening was one to remember if not quite for the reasons I would wish to! Especially as sitting down in that corset took a lot of negotiation!!

Well here it is… my very first blog and now that I have done this I have no idea what to say and what use this is going to be to anybody - so first things first - sorry to all of you who came here thinking that this may be vaguely interesting or useful to you

This is a whole new experience and slightly bizarre as I found it difficult to even keep a diary for more than a week! Anyway please feel free to comment - nice ones please and for the not so nice ones :-p

So what’s been happening in my world? Well last week Jan & I spent 3 days in the superb Westin Turnberry Hotel on the west coast of Scotland, slightly down a bit from Ayr - nearest airport being Prestwick International - which personally I think is a little ambitious but having said that they are undergoing substantial refurbishment to bring it into something resembling the 21st century! Have to say they are sneaky there too, as you have to pass through the duty free shopping just to get to the departure lounge - that’s ok if you are not a shopaholic and are capable of having enough self control to put your blinkers on and walk through not passing go and not collecting ??200.00! Anyway I managed that only to be ambushed by the even more sneaky scottish shop selling surprisingly all things scottish - So if anyone wants a brand new pale blue ladies scottish rugby shirt size xl please let me know as I might just have one available!!

Anyway back to the tremendous Turnberry - what a fantasmagorical place! If any lady wants a “Pretty Woman” moment - you know… when Julia Roberts walks into the restaurant with Richard Gere and is waited on by the inscrutably understanding staff despite the slight hiccup with the escargot - slippery little suckers! - then Turnberry is the place to go. From the minute you spot the hotel - overlooking the Irish Sea and the delightfully mystical Ailsa Craig - to the moment you set foot in your beautiful boudoir you can not fail to be blown away by the sheer understated grace and elegance of the hotel. It’s the kind of place I only ever imagined or had seen in movies! You get a real sense of history from the place but that’s not to say it is antiquated or four posters all over the place because it is not. The various lounges, bars and dining rooms are all tastefully decorated in keeping with the feel of the place without being austere or unwelcoming. The staff are superb - nothing is too much trouble.

As well as the magnificent settings there are I believe five golf courses, a full spa with 11 treatment rooms, an extensive range of outdoor activities for both children and adults - we went quad biking - me for the first time - what a brilliant time - who would have thought, that much mud could be such good fun. The bikes were powerful enough for you to feel that you could cope with any type of terrain but not so powerful that they would overwhelm you! Which was good as I thought I’d had it on one or two of the dips! Jan & I enjoyed it so much that as soon as we got back to the activity centre we booked another session for the same time the next day! Now there’s a recommendation for you!

Sorry to say that I will need to complete this later - but hope you’ve enjoyed this first post and I’ll supply the links for you later!

Love & best wishes
Del