Another tippity top weekend!

It was a busy week for us, Filling in endless adoption forms - YAY, we are at last able to start the assessment phase, and with any luck, they will actually let us adopt someone in a year or so's time! Lots of work, college (yes I did do my references - and a pile of personal statements and I even went into college to work on some stuff for my lovely BTEC firsts!) and for me, screen printing galore and for Ivan (Mr Bicknell) some desperately needed garden stuff - AT LAST our humongous cherry tree has been pruned (massacred), so we don't feel at all guilty about heading up to the big smoke and having a fine old time! So this is what went down....

First of all, while Ivan (Mr Bicknell) headed off to some boring rock climbing shop to indulge himself, I headed over to the V&A to indulge myself! I have wanted to see the Power of Making exhibit since I first saw it advertised, but it was an ex-student G, who prompted me to go on Saturday following her post about it - http://itsatextilesthing.blogspot.com/2011/10/oops.html - so in I went. I can thoroughly recommend it - it's brilliant, so inspiring and so interesting, so go!

This Gorilla is made solely out steel coat hangers and sculpted by David Mach - one of the artists who we will be seeing in the flesh later this month - I have loved his work for a very long time!

If you look closely, you will see that the nibs of these pencils have been carved into letters of the alphabet - Dalton Ghetti

Life-sized crocheted bear

"Voidness" woven audio-tape dress - Alyce Santoro

"Makerbot, Thing-O-Matic" 3D printer - Bre Pettis, Adam Mayer & Zach Smith

"Widow dressmaker" pin dress - Susie MacMurray

"Anemone" hat - James Lock & Co. Ltd

I missed the cafe at the V&A by about a minute - so feeling aggrieved I headed out into Kensington and fell into a Paul's bakery - would have been rude not to have a Rhubarb tart alongside my Earl Grey tea.......

So time to meet up with the boy for a night out in Camden at the Jazz Cafe - Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) Godfather, Tim Goulding, used to be in a band in the late 60's called Dr Strangely Strange and have come over to London from Ireland to do a few Reunion gigs! We hooked up with Renchi and Ness, Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) Dad and step mum and had a fine old night - great, if not a little mad, music, lovely food and good company! Camden on Halloween is also a sight for very sore eyes!! Tim is also an artist - check him out here - http://www.timgoulding.com/ and here.... http://www.therudrachronicles.blogspot.com/

Tim - in fine fettle!

Rench and Ness enjoying the music

Chatting with the band

in full swing!

The great thing about having a sister in law in London is that you can crash overnight for free! Beyond that though, I am very lucky because she is a total sweetie!

Sunday saw us all going out for brunch at a place called Gail's in Exmouth market where we met Ned and Michelle and baby Merryn, who is actually parked under the table fast asleep!

 we left Annie, Ned, Michelle and Merryn and headed over to Tate

Modern, passing the protests at St Pauls as we went.....

But I did have a tantalising peek through the window of this shop - just as well it was closed, it was right up my street!!

Up onto the millennium bridge and straight into this guy - or well, I think he was a guy......

so into Tate for Tacita Dean

And Gerhard Richter - the Dean is O.K. but I loved the Richter, so varied and so technically proficient, but don't expect a lot of heart and soul - he is German after all.......!

Bye bye to Rench and Ness and onto the best bit - Zoonation's Some Like It Hip Hop! It was MAGNIFICENT - made me feel old and fat, but a tremendous show, not only this, but Ivan (Mr Bicknell) got to be a hero too............... So off I go to the loo at the end of the shop - too much fizzy pop - and have to queue for ages but when I come out, he is nowhere to be seen, blimey I think, he's got fed up with waiting and left for supper already....but no, he's only rescuing some poor disabled lady who has become stuck in the lift! According to onlookers he was like spider man scaling the glass cubical! OMG, I am never going to hear the end of this!!!



Back over the bridge after taking the obligatory photo and into Ping Pong on the southbank for Dim Sum and fizz! And a fine time was had by all, back to work today and it feels like we never went away!!!



A to Z of ME!

I saw this idea on the fabulous Ms Ivy Black Chat blog - and thought that it was a brilliant way of getting my newbies to introduce themselves to one another on their blog, it was a brilliant ice-breaker and some of them made Ivan (Mr Bicknell) and I cry with laughter - particularly Rachel's - http://textilesrus2010.blogspot.com/2011/10/z-of-rachel.html  and Rowan's - http://textilesrus2010.blogspot.com/2011/10/rowan-z-of-me.html, in fact check them all out! Rachel I am with you on the triangle!

So it is only fair that I do one too - so here we go.......

A IS FOR AGE........

I am what my students would classify as old - I hit the big 4 0 this year - I HATE it, but do hope that I age gracefully and look this fab over the next milestones - Dame Judy - you have to love her don't you?!

B  FOR THE BRAVEST THING I HAVE DONE......

I climbed Kilimanjaro  - I have learnt 3 things from this experience....1. you can do anything if you try hard enough (remember this kids). 2. If you want a man to propose to you, impress him! 3.Never, ever, in passing conversation mention that one day you would like to climb Kilimanjaro - some nasty eager beaver will book it the next day....... We did it over Christmas, ascent day over night in minus 18 degrees on the "scramble" route which 2 days later collapsed and killed a bunch of Americans and their porters, I have done it once, it was incredible, I will NEVER do it again!

C IS FOR CHORE I HATE......

Reference writing - tooooo much pressure and no, I haven't done this year's yet....

D IS FOR DOGS OR CATS........

Well need you ask? Look at my gorgeous boys, what's not to love?

E IS FOR ESSENTIAL START TO THE DAY......

Cup of tea obviously! Mine comes in this very mug and if I am really lucky, someone else makes it for me!

F IS FOR FEAR.............

OMG - it has to be frogs - blugghhhh!

G IS FOR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION.....

Mine is my garden - the flowers and the veggies, ahhh so long summer.....

H IS FOR HEIGHT.........

I am short - 5 foot 2a bit, and probably almost as wide!

I IS FOR INSTRUMENT I PLAY....

I am a demon on the triangle and I say this in all seriousness.

J IS FOR JOURNEY...........

  

There are two important journeys to me. The first is one that took me to New York in 2001, this literally changed my life and it is from that moment on that I believe I truly began living. The second was my first ever World Challenge, never before had I experienced such a demanding and inspiring adventure, I got the travel bug from this trip in 2003 and have been lucky enough since to travel relatively extensively - I also got bitten by sand flies and discovered a I had a severe allergy to Penicillin.......

K IS FOR KICK ASS MUSIC TRACK.......

Ha! I wrote that to annoy the students, but even so, mine is Lose Yourself by Eminem. My general taste is eclectic and what might be described as crap, but hey, it's personal!

L IS FOR LUST AFTER.......

It was the Smeg fridge, but I got spoilt, the other lust after constant has always been the Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe. God I want one.....

M IS FOR MOVIE...........

I don't know what it is about this film, but I just love it, I love the characters, the script, the actors and the humour, I especially love John Hannah......

N IS FOR NICKNAME...........

I don't know how this came about, but it's PIGLET, and what really drives me mad is when Ivan (Mr Bicknell) forgets we are work and calls me it there....

O IS FOR OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOUR.......

Well, I used to have a neighbour who owned many a garden gnome, now someone (not me honest guv) decided on one drunken night home that it would be a good idea to move said gnomes about his garden, this became a bit of a habit I am ashamed to say (the gnome moving, not the drinking obviously), and many new scenarios took shape, we were just building up to concocting a holidaying gnome series when the owner considered our antics enough and cemented them all down! Maybe it was the sight of them all marching down his garden path and out the gate that finally did it......!

P IS FOR PET PEEVE.................

Laziness - I cannot stand it - aarrgghhh, life is for living not bloody lounging around.

Q IS FOR MOVIE QUOTE......

This one is from Sliding Doors and it is just hilarious!



Lydia: I'm trying to be your girlfriend Gerry! I'm trying to win you back! I'm standing on the platform at Limbo Central with my heart and soul packed in my suitcase waiting for the Gerry Fucking Express to roll in and tell me that my ticket is still valid and that I may re board the train. Only the station announcer keeps coming on and telling me that my train has been delayed as the driver has suffered a major panic attack in Indecision City, "We suggest you take the bus"! That's what I have been trying to do, you cripple!

R IS FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY..........

You wouldn't think it to look at me, no, really, you wouldn't, but I am addicted to exercise and the Body series is my fave - our instructor Juliet is an amazing teacher and I love the fact that we all socialise too - this is the gang who I go to the musicals with!

S IS FOR SIBLINGS..............

I have two - Guy who is 31 and Lindsay who is 29 - they're OK I suppose! Irritatingly they also got the looks!

T IS FOR TELEVISION

It is no secret that I am addicted to TV - it drives Ivan (Mr Bicknell) insane - but I cannot help myself! At the moment it is Made in Chelsea over here and The Big Bang Theory over the pond I think I would die without TV - Oh so sad........

U IS FOR UNDERCOVER........

Something that you might not know is that Ivan (Mr Bicknell) and I have just started the long journey towards an Ethiopian adoption, keep your fingers crossed for us please.

V IS FOR VA VA VOOM...........

So who gets my motor running? Well My husband of course - just look at him! But my unrealistic crush is Mr Tennant - as Dr Who mainly - I'd happily join him in his Tardis for an adventure or two anytime!

W IS FOR WHAT MAKES ME STARE..................

Shop windows, that's what - especially when they are as inventive as those owned by the fab store Anthropologie.......

X IS FOR X-RAY VISION........

If I had it I would like to be able to see what goes on in a cat's mind - I would love to think that they think like they are portrayed in I can has cheeseburger, wouldn't that be amazing?!

Y IS FOR YUMMY......................

Given the choice, this is what I love to eat - FISH!

Z IS FOR ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.................

What makes me sleep? Aside from Ivan (Mr Bicknell) telling me climbing stories? Well, it's reading - two pages and I am out like a light - takes me forever to read a book.....

So there you go - c'est moi! And speaking of sleep...............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!