Dear Sam

You will be too young to remember today...

Too young to remember the way your sister's blue eyes sparkled with shyness...

...as everyone oohed and aahhed over how pretty she looked in her black and white poker dot dress.

Too young to remember how trendy you looked in a waist coat and matching baker boy cap...

...or the big gummy smile that you gave to everyone you came into contact with.

There was sadly no Father John conducting the Christening and all the pictures were pre- or post ceremony.  Maybe one day you can ask Uncle Sparkle about this...

There were lots of tears when you were doused with holy water.

But that was very quickly forgotten...

...in the arms of family and friends.

P.S. It is uncanny how much you look like your Grandpa Roy.  There are definitely Carter genes in play here.

You'll be too young to remember how your eyes lit up at the sight of a glass of beer.

  

Or the little walk we took in the afternoon sun.

You will not remember the homemade cake and food.  Or your sisters obsession with all things pink.

But I hope in the future you will know why this day was special, for you and your now extended family.

Happy Christening Day.

x

Come Dine With Me (Part 4 of 4)

The last one of the Come Dine With Me Series.  It's here.  And it's my turn.  The pressure is on.  It is so different to my experience so far.  I actually have to do some work for this event rather than just sit there and enjoy the food and drink.  The upside is that for a change I'm not being filmed for my comments.

As per custom for this event, formal invites were sent out in the post a couple of weeks before the dinner.  I decided to go a bit abstract and make the others guess what they would eat.

The theme was East Meets West; British food with an Asian twist.  And the actual food menu wasn't revealed until the night.

You can also tell that I was hostess for the evening, because the pictures you will see will be of half eaten food.  But you can see enough to decide for yourselves what score out of 10 you would have given: 

Canapes:

Curried Vol-au-Vents and Pathras, washed down with a glass or few of Prosecco.

Starters:

Curried Butternut Squash soup, served with homemade Naan bread.

Main:

Tender Venison Curry Pie, served with Bombay Potatoes and Green Beans.

Dessert:

At the time of writing the menu, this was called a Lassi Concoction, as I hadn't decided which one to make.  In the end I decided to make both; Mango Lassi Mousse and Mango Lassi Cup Cakes.

And that's it.  Now its time to sort out the video to see who won.  Thanks girls for making this a fun experience.

Graffiti and the Streets of Barcelona

I don't really have any anecdotes for this post.  Only a series of pictures...

... And a thank you to a Spanish/Portuguese couple that I have known a very long time.

For sparing their time to show me some highlights of Barcelona.

Highlights that you could only get from a local.

And also for introducing me to an exquisite chocolate shop that sold molten chocolate in a cup.

And for their patience as I took pictures of the architecture and the graffiti that I passed in the streets.

Gaudi's Architecture: Park Guell

Park Guell is situated at the top of a hill.  Actually a very steep hill that I decided to power walk up.  Not the best idea, considering my left knee has always been a bit weak since surgery.  However, I did feel triumphant when I made it to the top.  

I tried to take a picture half way up the hill, but it doesn't depict the very steep reality of the hill.  And don't be fooled by the escalators.  They weren't working on my journey up.  Honest!

In the Park Guell there was a look out point marked with a big white cross.  The scenery from there was beautiful in the hazy heat of the morning sun.

I didn't realise how high the Sagrada Famillia loomed over the rest of the buildings in Barcelona.  Pretty impressive.  I'm sure it is going to look amazing once completed.

The Gaudi architecture in the park was also stunning.  Although they reminded me of Gingerbread Houses.  I almost feel like they should be edible.

I also love the mosaics he used to decorate the terrace and the exterior of the buildings.  So pretty.

And the dragon that marks the entrance to his houses...