Happy New Year! So here we go, 2013, and with any luck this will be a good year, and if all goes to plan, it will be the year that I become a parent.... I thought I would leave 2012 with a big old posting, mainly because I have been a bit rubbish and not got my stuff together enough to do a bunch of smaller ones! Ivy Black Chat, you shame me!!!
December was fun and 2013 so far has been fairly restful, going back to work next week of course will be a different kettle of fish I'm sure, and I am already getting the panic pre start of term mails, so I imagine that I will be hitting the ground running, but for how long I don't know...
So here's the round up since I last posted.
Our first Christmas celebrations took place in Glastonbury on the 8th with the Renchster and Ness hosting, always a total pleasure, I love our times in Glasto and all the madness that comes with this mystic twistic place! There was great food, spoily pressies and lovely company, I did my last Christmas market this weekend too and finished off the season on a high note which was nice!
David Bailey eat yer heart out!!
Secret Santa style giving.
Turkish delights - our food contribution (me and him, Annie & Rainer).
The students got their heads down and the first years got all fashiony.
The weather got momentarily wintery.
The foundation boys and girls got all animated, these two films are by two of my specialist fashion and textilestudents who become my property in January! Lauren and Ian respectively, clever guys huh?
Pip sent me some stuff - for someone who couldn't fashion illustrate, Westminster sure seems to be getting through to him!
Isn't he a cutie? I do miss him! He sent some great stuff through, for the real low down on his current place of education, check this out.... http://blogpostforgayle.blogspot.co.uk/
The second year BTEC fine art students got busy finishing their projects and using my camera to record them, so I have taken advantage and pinched some of Louise's glue sculpture pics! Nice aren't they?
Times got tough and the onesies came out! Imogen looks particularly cheery in hers, nice to see her smile for a change - maybe she should wear it all the time!!
The folios got put together
Menai even managed to complete one.....
Georgie and Rachel came back to visit and tell us how hideous being a 3rd year fashion student is!
Lynda and I went and looked at the bright lights in West Quay, spent far too much money and managed to both get locked out of, and inside Ikea's car park in the middle of the night - who knew they would lock it at 9pm whilst we were noshing away at Wagamamas?! I was particularly gutted that we missed picking up a couple of Christmas trees at only £1 each!
Trust me, it doesn't look this friendly at night in the pouring bloody rain when no one attempts to help you retrieve your incarcerated vehicle!
We had our Christmas departmental lunch, complete with a very friendly magician, secret Santa and tragic hats!
Alan even joined us!
My secret Santa present - brilliant, goes perfectly with last year's equally cheery snow globe! Cheers Paul!
Judith, who had been staying with us for most of the month moved home - to umm, a bit of a building site, I couldn't resist snapping the whole bath in the garden thing!
I got into some printing...
I wrapped bloody hundreds of presents
The cat tried to make a jump for it once he realised the house was going to be full of people for most of Christmas...
I decorated the tree
And the presents arrived....
We went and sang carols here, and unbelievably I was scowled at TWICE for singing too enthusiastically and too out of tune, can you imagine that????!!
And so did Christmas - BAZINGA!!
My softy husband (Mr Bicknell), giving the cats prawns & fresh chicken for breakfast! Cheers big ears!
Christmas day involved three different locations and three different trees!
Judith's present from Max, about Max
Annie, impressively excited about some ropey old tea towel!
Lots of food got eaten...
Too many tables were laid and I did far too much cooking and washing up - next year I expect I will be too busy to play host!
We did and we were!
I caught up with old friends. Rebecca on a whirlwind visit from la vie en Swiss to London took tea with me in Chelsea where much to the amusement of those around us, we exchanged our mounds of gifts!
I think I did pretty well!
And then she was gone!
Spoilt this year? Err yes, it appears that I am a complete brat!
My Lakota blog swap saw me receive gorgeous birdies from MS Black Chat, cheers lovely, the glass brooch is a total winner!
And how cool is this from my mate Lynda
What does it all mean? well, according to the label, this....
PEG - To air my views
RUBBER - to erase my mistakes
WHISTLE - to whistle while I work (oh I always do, especially when I am still marking at 12AM!)
STRING - to tie up my loose ends
TEABAG - to share with a friend
CLOUD - because every cloud has a silver lining
STAR - because I am one (I know!!)
THREAD - a stitch in time saves nine
SAFETY PIN - to pin my hopes to
EMERY BOARD - to smooth the rough edges
SPEC WIPE - to help me to see the wider picture
CHOCOLATE - because I deserve it!!
Talking of which - there was far too much!!
New Year saw fun and games with Ned, Michelle and Merryn who arrived with this - good food and wine is always welcome in this house!
Merryn was surprisingly good at Jenga!
Ned drunk? Oh surely not!
We might not have been in London, but the fireworks looked pretty good on the telly - how rocknroll are we?! Well, if we'd have had a really late night we would have missed the annual swim! How pleased with himself does he look?!
Merryn settled for a bit of a swing!
One of my gifts to my Mum was a spa day at Cliveden - I can thoroughly recommend it, great surroundings, incredible treatments and outdoor Canadian hot tubs, lovely at night!
And so looking at this, the diet begins!
Finally, I thought you might like this..... see ya! XX
FAB! Glad yo had a lovely Christmas and saw the New Year in with such style. And yes. Yes you were a present brat!!! Good.
ReplyDeleteHere's to a cracking 2013.
xxx