Sunday Summary | She's out of reach and out of sight ...

Dear FOQ

Hope we're all well!

Me, I've been caramelising (cremating) onions. Later I'll do some ironing, maybe watch a film, with that fabled gin cocktail (thanks for the suggestions, Jill!) in one hand. Probably.

Life doesn't get any more riveting than this.

... Or does it?


This fortnight, I have mostly been ...

Reading

(and finally, finally finishing)

I've since picked up this beauty:

which I started reading a couple of years ago then stopped, for whatever reason, and am back into again. 

Flappers are my historical spirit birds.

Watching

... before I'd even finished the book!

{Well, that's a slightly extreme reaction there, Kev.}

But y'know what? The film, although pared down from the book in many ways, made a heck of a lot more sense than the book. There was too much inconsequential backstory in the book and I lost track of the characters (or, did not give a flying fig about a lot of them).

That said, Kevin Spacey is perhaps too much of a conventional 'dish' to be Quoyle, who in the book is a lumbering giant, self-conscious about his chin. (Although Spacey's eternally endearing anyway.) Also, harlot Cate Blanchett. I tell thee, she's a bit magical.

Saving Lives at Sea

on iPlayer (catch-up). 

Because I have a real thing for coast and sea rescue documentaries.

Surprising

... my beautiful best friend with a birthday party, which was over six months in the planning!

Mission ... accomplished!

Last Saturday afternoon, I secret-squirrelled my way over to Natalie's parents' house 

{... by kayak. Yes, I went by kayak. | No, not really, this was just en route.}

{Lela, poised to shout 'Surpriiiiiiise'}

and hid out, along with several others, primed and ready to surprise the gorgeous girl herself in honour of a significant birthday o' hers.

{The gazebos played host to a wonderful gallery of the gorgeous girl}

In attendance were family, friends, family friends, and at least three of us 'Hens' (albeit one via video message) – testament to the fabulous totem of fabulosity more typically known as our Natalie.

'Fraid I didn't actually take that many photos except of the birthday girl herself and a few blurry ones of her gorgeous kids hitting the daylights out of the piñata, but I think that's a good thing. There were actual people to chat to, excellent food and drink, and atmosphere to soak up!

{Birthday girl. And no, that's not her drink. Wine? Pah!}

{The lass and her lovely mum}

{Party people in the house gazebo! | With thanks to Lin and Den for the photo!}

{Spice Girls reunite for one triumphant hug-up | With thanks to Lin and Den for the photo}

{Magnificent birthday cake!}

{Magnificent birthday girl}

{Obligatory late-night selfie}

Massive well-done and thank you to Natalie's parents for a) managing to keep the party secret since January and b) letting me stay over. I managed not to break anything in the process of washing up the next morning, so that's a result in itself. 

(Big, big hello and virtual hug to lovely Lin, formerly secret and now out-and-proud Friend of Quirk/reader of this blog!)

And, very very early early Happy Birthday to Natalie, my Bestest. Let's do this again but with less panache, obvs, when the actual time comes. Loads of love, your Friday Night Facebook Friend.

The following day was no slackfest (OK, it sort of was ... I had to have a nap ...) – as Ma QB and I, with friends in tow, headed over to glorious Hever Castle where we were ... 

Watching 

Tonbridge Rock Choir perform ... without Ma QB which just felt a little wrong somehow (not that it wasn't lovely to have you in the audience still rocking out, Ma, of course).

The set was great, with a lot more ensemble pieces than before (We Built This City was particularly fab), and the weather behaved itself just in time.

Brightening Brighton

... with the beautiful Foyles Goyls, just yesterday!

Nickname shoutouts to:

Choc-chip
Quesadilla
Pebble and
Flamingo

with love and selfies from Beano.

I'll leave you to work out who is who.

Most of these photos ended up on the Book of Face yesterday but here are the spruced up edits, for I now have a gorgeous new version of Photoshop Elements on the new computer and it's all clever and stuff.

I headed on down to Brighton early-ish as I wanted to get a little QB shopping done before the girls arrived. It's become a ritual now to head straight to this emporium of ephemera (mostly letter-press letters):

{QB's first port of call}

Yesterday's spoils: a turn-of-the century punctuation mark.

Tell me, retro Beyoncé, which punctuation mark do you think I purchased yesterday?

Well done, dear!

I also fit in a little bit of time to peruse the shop windows along Kensington Gardens ...

{Bert, purveyor of All the Flamingos}

{Anchors a-way hey, yes please! Who doesn't
love a nautical marquee light}

I then headed up to our agreed meeting place, by the clock tower, having been lured en route into sampling some velly, velly nice organic pork pie, and a cheese and onion pasty, which were being sold as part of a craft fair on the church lawn. After treating myself to a pasty for later, I got me a coffee and hung out in the seating area by the clock tower to wait for my girls ... but had to move hurriedly away once a rather nasty fight broke out between two young 'ladies' (I think they may have bunked finishing school, however) who were very possibly fuelled by some illicit substance or other. Egads.

People be trippin'.

Ahem.

I digress.

My girls appeared, siren-like, through the rain, shortly after one, and we, a merry band, wandered down t'road and over to the Pier, where we soon found ourselves trying to win giant Minions (and failing) ...

Eloise found her new calling — as an assassin.

 Evie managed to score herself a little friend (and possibly three wise-cracking orphans) ...

Swept away by the zeitgeist in Brighton, work wives Katerina and Eloise may have been married by Elvis ...

and we tested out a new selfie stick.
My new selfie stick.
Which I bought only for the purposes of this trip, let me clarify.

We ate lunch in the (ridiiiiiculously hot) Palm Court restaurant (where Miss Clarey and I ate last year). 

Much fish was devoured because it'd be wrong not to.

Many photos were taken for that self(ie) same reason.

Some of them, I even knew about at the time ... ahem!

{Lovely lovelies!}

{So pink! So pretty!}

{Don't leave your phone unattended round this lot!!! | Click on the photo to view in full splendour}

Not quite ready to brave the rides after the huge lunch, we wandered back towards town and wandered the Lanes, which were mad-busy (it being a warm Saturday in 'summer' an' all), and ended up in the grounds of the Pavilion (almost holding up a wedding as we did so, as the bridal car could not pass through the gates until Eloise had taken a photo of us all):

Slightly fatigued by our wanderings and a hint of impromptu shop-browsing, we settled for a short while in coffee joint Jolliffes (where the hospitality was ... er, ever so slightly proffered through gritted teeth since the cafe was due to shut, but the coffee itself was pretty good and revived us long enough for More. Flippin' Selfies):

{Random shot of a beautiful bookshop window display}

After coffee, we parted ways – Katerina, Eloise and Evie headed back towards London, and Clare and I headed back to the Pier. We had RIDES to brave, goshdarnit.

{Oh but first, had to take a shot of the Pavilion looking all regal ...}

{... and the Pier looking wonderfully busy still}

{... not to mention the West Pier which always warrants a photo}

The queue for the Booster (this ride, not for the faint-hearted or -stomached)

{via here}

which we were so up for riding, was too long (and no, we didn't chicken out, we just didn't fancy spending our remaining time in a line), so Clare and I hopped on board the Turbo roller-coaster

{via here}

before deciding we absolutely needed a turn on the (far better value for money time-wise) Waltzers. 

{original video footage found here}

Two turns, actually, since we were deprived of decent spins on the first turn.

Pretty sure we dislodged a few vital organs but hey. It was worth it.

We decided to finish off with something genteel.

Something like ...

... the log flume.

Soggy bottoms all round.

But such a good day and so lovely to catch up with the girls.

And the gossip.


Pinterest Pins of the Fortnight

One verbal ♦ one visual

{Yep}

Fortnightly Web Finds

Serious

• Could we have a moment for this magnificent Superhumans ident from Channel 4, ahead of the Paralympics?

And while we're at it ...

• The BBC's Olympic advert is pretty cool too. Love the gymnast sloth.

• An Introvert Wonders: Are my expectations for love unobtainable? | At last! An Introvert, Dear article that delves deeper than most! | also via here

Oh, hang on, this one's not bad either:

• Just because I don't look excited doesn't mean I'm not into this | on Introvert, Dear

• The curse of 2016 claims another two legends:

Vivean Gray aka Mrs Mangel (OK, less of a curse since she was an admirable 92 years old)

Not gonna lie, Mrs Mangel's final scene juuuust made me tear up. Oh, nostalgia, for when Neighbours was good watchable.

Ken Barrie, the original voice of Postman Pat

Silly(ish)

• Love these creepy abandoned Victorian houses ... as reconstructed in LEGO! | on The Nerdist | via Alice D

{via here}

And finally ... I'm throwing another guess-the-lyrics quiz into the mix. Guess the song referenced in the title of this post, and win chocolate!

Until next time, stay groovesome.

qb xx

Sunday Summary

This week, I have mostly been...

...on my Week Off. With no access to the Bookseller bulletins and hence no link-collecting, the Literary Linkage (and actually the Non-literary Linkage) will be somewhat truncated.

You're secretly relieved, aren't you.

{"Woohoo! A week without mention of that new Harper Lee novel!"}

Reading (and finishing)

It's speckled with great characterisation and some very shrewd observations. (Not to mention a nod to a collection of old Rupert annuals.)

But ultimately, it is so darn domestic it lost my interest quite early on. Starter for Ten worked because it had that University Challenge hook. One Day (while it had a hugely disappointing ending) had that set-on-one-day-a-year hook (15th July, a notable date...).

The family goes on big holiday in an attempt to bond hook of Us just seemed to have been an excuse for David Nicholls to gallivant round Europe on a tour of art galleries. It was all too transparent.

I'm sure Mr Nicholls is a very nice man; this is just not the most illuminating book I've ever read.

I've since moved on to this gem of 1930s childhood:

Watching

So much. So much. (Albeit usually while doing something else such as eating, badge-making, ironing, or hair-straightening, or make-up, or finally scrapbooking my NY trip!)

And mostly lavish, summery films (to counteract the generally disappointing weather this week):

• Priceless

{via here and Yahoo! images}

• Stealing Beauty

{via here}

• Cracks

{via here}

• The Book Thief

{via here}

Also: Clangers, and Breaking Bad*

*Confession: I still can't get into it. I don't know what it is but I can't... nope.

Sorry, fans. Don't hate me.

Give me another ten years and maybe I'll come around.

Heading down to Brighton...

...with little friend Clare for a slightly wet and windy yet fun and food-filled day by the seaside.

After enjoying an epic raspberry Danish from the stall outside the station, I introduced Ms Clare to the delights of Snooper's Paradise where we rummaged through old postcards and photos of strangers in wonderful old garb, then as is my custom down Brighton-way these days (see: any post on here written between 2012 and today...), popped into the photo booth and pulled a few peculiar faces. As yer do.

{Keeping it classy. Always}

We wandered through the Lanes, stopping at That Little Tea Shop in the Lanes (its actual name, innit?) for some rather gritty but delicious and very hot coffee.

{Photo via here}

This was our aperitif -- we then meandered down onto the Pier, battling the elements all the way:

{Wind-hair, setting trends everywhere...}

and had a cosy fish-and-chip lunch at the Palm Court Restaurant. Ms Clare had fishcakes and I had calamari with sweet chilli sauce and a separate plate of obligatory chips.

We let our food go down long enough to work up the energy and courage to load a Pier-issue "Fun Card" with enough credit (albeit with the need of a top-up) to ride on the Waltzers (on which I screamed like a banshee and was convinced I wouldn't make it off in one piece -- spoiler alert: I did), followed by the comparatively tame Galaxia on which I got an attack of the giggles with all the bouncing up and down that the ride entails, and the Twister, on which I pretty much crushed poor tiny Clare into oblivion. That'll learn me for not sitting in the Larger Person Sits Here position.

Soundtrack of that ride:

Me: *CRASH* ARGH! SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! *CRASH* I'M SO SORRY! *CRASH* ARGH! I'M SO SORRY!

(I really am sorry, Clare!)

Sadly, the miserable, wet, windy weather meant that the majority of the really big scary rides and roller-coasters were shut. Sad face. However we'll just have to go back down on a calmer, brighter day, get ourselves an 'unlimited rides' wristband (buyable online for a fiver less than on the day, if the website is working...! Cheeky...) and scare ourselves silly. Right? (Or, go down to the newly-reopened Dreamland!)

We left the Pier, and headed down to the beach for a paddle. An actual paddle. We even had a leap over a few choice waves. And y'know what? The water was lovely (if a little choppy).

{Obligatory toes-in-the-water shot}

{Might as well... JUMP! | Photo by Clare}

And the sky was so overcast I managed to get enough decent video footage from which to make this trippy little gif:

of which I am quite proud.

Oh and Clare got me hooked on taking panorama shots:

{Click photo to view at a larger size}

After we'd dried off the feet, we clambered back up into town for a final spree in Scoop and Crumb (my favourite tea-time go-to) for one billion calories of happiness by way of black forest cake and ice cream (two scoops to compensate for the fact they'd run out of whipped cream).

{Photo by Clare}

My arteries are still twitching.

Getting Older

...Maybe I'm still single. Maybe I'm still childless. Maybe I'm still living in rented accommodation.

But in spite of these things that are still true one year on from my last birthday (!), I'm grateful; and I need you, my lovely readers, to know for what. For you all. My family, my friends. You're marvellous.

---

On Wednesday (15th July, made famous by David Nicholls and St Swithin), I spent my 37th birthday (there, I'm owning it: 37 years ancient) taking it easy. Ish.

Ma, Pa and I drove down to Rye, for a meander round one of the historic Cinque Ports, which also included a climb up the clock tower of St Mary's Church. If you ever get the chance to do this, do! The views are fantastic and the climb is wonderfully perilous in places (well, there are ladders and very narrow passageways, any road), past the very workings of the bells themselves:

{"Sanctuaryyyyy..."}

and up onto the tower roof.

{Oh look, a panorama | Click to view larger}

{Dungeness is just about visible on the horizon...}

{Wait, what, another panorama? | Click to 'ave it large}

{This one was taken on a Canon SLR with expired film, hence
the crazy tones}

Down a little way from the church is this treasure-trove:

and it really is tiny, they're not kidding; no room for more than two patrons at a time, but what a delight!

It's also worth popping into the information centre/shop where there is a handful of vintage penny slot machines to see and use (you need pre-1971 pennies to play).

...The things people did for entertainment before cats and sloths on YouTube, eh?

The town itself is deliciously olde-worlde, with plenty of Tudor-style housing and cobbled streets:

and Lamb House once played host to author Henry James as well as writing brothers E. F. and A. C. Benson (the former wrote Mapp and Lucia):

At about 12.40 as it began to look more overcast (red herring: it then got brighter than it had been all day) we stepped into the wondrous, historic Mermaid Inn for a spot o' lunch.

Pa QB and I opted for steak and frites (with Lyonnaise onions) and Ma QB plumped for the Catch of the Day.

Line of the Day:

Pa QB: "What's the catch of the day?"
Barman: "Fish, sir"

We're easily amused.

Apologies to my vegetarian readers but there now follows a gratuitous lunch shot of my steak and chips:

***FOOD PORN ALERT***

{I like my steak very, very well done...}

(You can come back now.)

We then moseyed for a little while longer, back towards Landgate, and therein found chocolate emporium Knoops (on recommendation from at least two workmates). Ermagerd.

{Photo from here}

It was too warm a day for their legendary hot chocolate, so I bought Ma QB and myself a 70%-cocoa chocolate milkshake to share.

Again, ERMAGERD. It was amazing. And rich. And so amazing. And so very rich.

Replete, we drove along to Camber Sands but alas the ongoing construction of new sea defences meant that, quite frankly, the beach looked like a building site.

Ma QB and I had the obligatory paddle:

but we soon shuffled off for home, for tea and cake, for birthday bubbles:

and the Shaun the Sheep Movie (which is very funny and very clever).

Continuing the Getting-Older Celebrations

On Friday I gathered a bundle of gorgeous friends together (or, I invited them and bless them, they came) for a quiet birthday dinner at the relatively-newly-opened Bill's in Rahgate.

Of course, I was about to face a QB-No-Mates/Carrie Bradshaw scenario sitting in the restaurant alone:

{Photo via here}

...after I accidentally walked in to, and sat down at, the wrong restaurant.

I kid thee not.

The distinct lack of mac-and-cheese on the menu or dried chillis hanging from the ceiling, plus all the Côte iconography (!), was finally a giveaway (!!!!!) and I hurried on out to where I was supposed to be... (Curse you, Rahgate, for having so many fabulous places in which to eat that after a while they all look alike when you're too giddy or blinded by sunlight to discern one from another. Ahem.)

When I finally arrived at the right restaurant they were, thankfully, expecting me (!); I was even greeted with a birthday card on the door (thank you, lovely Jude!) and the sight of my lovely friends rocking tiaras and surrounded by more sparkle than a Voicerox post-concert dressing room.

{Where's ma party peoplez at?!}

{Nice melon... coolers! | Photo from Jos}

{Birthday B | Photo from Jos who, well, basically took
much better photos than me especially after I'd had
two glasses of Hedgerow Fizz...}

After what has not been the happiest of weeks, my little birthday supper was exactly what I needed, so massive thanks to Charlie, Jos, AJ, Fern and Ben and, y'know, all of you who sent messages (written, spoken or sung -- thank you, Nats, Cam and River) and cards, complete with wonderfully embellished envelopes (George) and made me feel all squooshy inside. 

I am a lucky girl.

{Party panorama | Click to view -- you know the drill}

I was spoiled absolutely rotten, and I now have so much excellent spangly home bar equipment I need to invite people round for a cheeky Woo Woo rather than wasting all that Archers and those mini umbrellas and flamingo straws on myself.

Oh, and as a first aside, I'm currently saving up my cocktail umbrellas for either of these projects:

1) Cocktail umbrella wreath

{via here}

or

2) Drunken hair adornment a la Audrey Tautou in Priceless

{via here}

And, as a second aside, speaking of flamingos, it would appear I've been demonstrating something of a love for the crazy pink birds of late.

Flamingos and pink cocktails. What's not to love?! (And I love that my friends glean perfect present choices from my Pinterest Pins! 1920s/Gatsby chic. Flamingos. Cocktails. Bunting. You lot are good.)

So in honour as you'll have spotted I've given my birthday dinner photos a little flamingo flare. You like? Of course you do. There is another flamingo hidden somewhere earlier in this post -- prize of, er, probably a Mars Bar to the first person to spot it...

Singing

Last night was our annual Voicerox Summer Party for choir and family & friends, held in a newly-done-up and friendly pub, with BBQ laid on for a charitable donation, and karaoke. Lots of karaoke.

{Jos and Charlie ready to rock out | Blurred artfully by me... :-/}

Of course, the hitch with inviting family members is that nothing dents your ego more than having two nine-year-olds out-sing you on multiple occasions, but I like to think we growedy-ups held our own.

It was lovely to see our friend Alun out of the sick-house and in social circulation again (there ya go, Alun, your honorable mention!) -- we had to get a performance of Love Shack in there before it all got a bit... rowdy.

Rowdier.

{The 'Family'}

Pinterest Pin of the Week

Weekly Weblinks

Literary Linkage

... I got nothing. Nada. Zip.

Non-literary Linkage

• This is amazing: World's Smallest Animation, made by manipulating atoms! | IBM via Guardian via Death to the Internet:

• Loving this wrestler's parody of All About That Bass | Thanks to Glenda and Charlie for sharing this:

Its all about that cake and chicken!
Posted by Capital Breakfast Manchester on Wednesday, 4 February 2015

• Photoshop disaster of the day | on The Poke

• Finally: a self-help book worth reading? | on The Poke

Well, I think that's plenty for one week.

Until the next...

qb xx