WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY
Wel, another week - another one pound off - considering it's that time of year and the shops and super-markets are full of little mouth watering treats - I don't think that's half bad! But I defer to you all - to level your own verdicts!
"SING WITH THE STARS"
St Petroc's Church - Padstow - Cornwall
Thursday 4th December at 7:30pm
For the third year running I travelled down to Cornwall last Thursday to take part in "Sing with the Stars" - a special Carol Concert put together to raise money for The Merlin Multiple Sclerosis Centre.
The Actors that took part this year along with myself were Jeremy Child and Jenny Agutter. I worked with Jeremy years ago on the BAFTA Award Winning Series: "Edge of Darkness" Jenny was one of the children in the all time kids favourite movie "The Railway Children."
With Jenny and Jeremy
The Celebrity Carol Concert
St Petroc's Church - Padstow - Cornwall
From the Programme.
Inside the Church.
Seasonal Fruit Cake.
One of my pieces I had to read. This is the recipe for a "Seasonal Fruit Cake" with taking a nip of Brandy every now and again. I took a drink from a Hip Flask I took with me, every time you see a red asterisk. This was a great piece which went down a storm.
The TRAIN TRIP FROM PADDINGTON to BODMIN PARKWAY.
Jenny had brought a Super Picnic to have for Lunch
Along with a bottle of Sparkling Wine
Sushi anyone??
CONSTANTINE BAY
One of the perks of the Padstow Carol Concert is being able to stay with Amanda and Martyn Hedley in their beautiful house overlooking Constantine Bay. It really is a most stunning place. And they look after us so well!
Amanda and Martyn.
Finally the best part of the whole evening: The yummy dinner they provide for us after the Concert!
KEW GARDENS
Towards the end of the week I took myself off to Kew Gardens - something I've been meaning to do for ages. I just scratched the surface this trip as I didn't realise how vast it was - as you can see from the map below:
Luckily I had a chance to take the KEW EXPLORER LAND TRAIN which gave me a chance to go around the entire gardens to get an idea of what was available. Don't worry I did plenty of walking once I got off the train!!
Some of the Structures I saw around Kew.
One of the Big Attractions at Kew Gardens.
King of the Palm House, this huge Jurassic cycad, Encephalartos altensteinii (i), was collected in the early 1770s from Eastern Cape region of South Africa, by Kew's first plant hunter Francis Masson.
The plant hunter Francis Masson was commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks to step aboard the Resolution and join Captain Cook's second voyage around the globe. This ancient plant, commonly known as the Eastern Cape giant cycad, arrived back at Kew Gardens in 1775 and has thrived in Kew's majestic Palm House since it was built in 1848. This cycad was one of the first living collections to arrive at Kew Gardens, kick-starting a legacy which makes the Gardens what they are today - a living collection of over 30,000 plant species.
SYON PARK
Syon Park for the last few years has opened it's gardens from 5:00pm until 9:00pm just before Christmas for people to experience the area around the the Lake bathed in coloured lights.
For children walking around I think it must have been quite magical.
On the way out there were all these stall with:
Hot Chocolate
Mulled Wine
And Hot Dogs!
It took all my self-control to bypass these - believe me!!
BAFTA SCREENINGS
Went to another couple of BAFTA Screenings this week - both unfortunately disappointing!
Firstly:
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
This does exactly what it says on the tin: "The Battle of the Five Armies". It is a battle fest from start to finish. What I liked about the previous "Hobbit" was, unlike "Lord of the Rings" at least that film had character development, a story and bags of humour. This film relies on endless battle sequences which after the first gets a little old and boring quite frankly - but I'm sure the true "Hobbit Fans" will lap it up! Jimmy - let me know what you and Jack made of it!
Secondly:
This is a "Sword & Sandles" Epic directed by Ridley Scott. It is a re-working of the Moses story with Moses being played by Christian Bale. I'm a fan of Ridley Scott ever since "The Duellists" and of course "Thelma and Louise" but this is all big visuals - which are stunning - and very little interesting story and dialogue. It covers a huge expanse of time and place and everything gets lost in between. There is also a huge amount of controversy about casting white lead actors and then making them up to look Middle Eastern. An awful lot of money was spent making this film and even though there were four screenwriters credited with writing the script they should have spent a bucket more of cash on more writers!!
BRENTFORD CHRISTMAS MARKET
We had the beginnings of Christmas with Carol Singers of all shapes and sizes appearing at this weeks Sunday Market:
Christmas Carol Singers
Yummy Ham & Salami!
My favourite French Coffee Stall
Mulled Wine Anyone?
FITBIT NEWS
Yippee! Yippee!
Well now last weeks Fitbit stats said I'm taken 26,000 steps - whereas this week I've taken 42,291! These Boots are made for walking!!
COMMENTS
Please leave any comments you wish - thank you!
Impressive go loose at thei time of year--all the weight you have lost I have gained iving off a diet of chocolate and mince pies!! Thrilled you have been to Kew a fav place of mine. I shall be giving the Hobbit a wide birth!
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Another loss! You are looking great by the way. Cornwall looked magic. Can't wait to see you later xxxxx
ReplyDeleteA festive period loss is something to be proud of! Keep it up. Love you, Ems xxx
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I made it half way into your stories about Kew and Syon Parks before realizing I hadn't noted the weight report. Another pound off in the festive season is great, you may be one of a tiny percentage of humans going that direction right now. Did anyone record you reading the fruit cake brandy recipe? I'd love to see that.
ReplyDeleteMissing everyone so much, merry merry christmas season!
Jenny
Delighted with any loss this time of year - and won't send you my fruitcake recipe... (Though maybe my bouillabaisse?) You look a new person in that Cornwall photo - though have to wonder why the McN gob is open in both park photos... Terribly jealous of the walk around Kew, my favorite park anytime of year. And congrats on getting the fitbit numbers up. This is a very positive cycle: Weight off = easier to walk = easier to to get weight off = even easier to walk. Well done, Evil 1
ReplyDeleteYes! Another loss! I am so happy with and proud of your progress Dad. I will have to revisit the blog at a later date because for some reason the photos aren't loading, but the text was a good read. I went to Kew for the first time over the summer and absolutely loved it. They had an exhibition on about psychedelic plants - really interesting. Your film critiques have been noted! Love you and keep up the great work dad , Gussie xx
ReplyDeleteHi Pops,
ReplyDeleteLove how much you are using and enjoying the Fitbit. Now congrats on another week of weight loss, you are on a roll, but next week lets see 2+ pounds gone. Christmas is around the corner, so lets get it off now. But honestly I am still so proud of you, you are dedicated, and have really made this a lifestyle change. You make us all so happy. Always love the film recommendations, keep them coming. San Francisco is preparing for a major storm tonight, I love that with the slightest projection of wind and rain, people are calling it the "storm of the decade" and my personal favorite "Rainpocalypse!". Wish us luck. Love, Trav
Where's the blog! G x
ReplyDelete