Shrove Tuesday

Easter and Lent in our house are always filled with many traditions including a meal on Shrove Tuesday. Within our Christian household we saw this as one of the days leading up to Lent, and a time when we should start thinking about what we can do without for Lent. Originally, the name Shrove Tuesday came from the verb shrive, or obtain absolution from sins by making confessions and doing penance. So in order for English Christians to start Lent complete absolved, they were require to shrive. Shrove Tuesday is given other names in other households such as Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras. But whatever you decide to call it, the idea behind the celebration is very similar: Mardi Gras of course is a celebration where you eat rich foods, wearing wonderful costumes, playing music and being joyful and thankful for what you have in life. Pancakes are eaten on Pancake Day as they use up ingredients like fat, sugar, and flour that were often not allowed during the Lenten period.

Pancakes are a classic dish in our family, as we ate them for our Sunday lunch, therefore we gladly ate them on Shrove Tuesday as well. Mum would get out Aunt Jessie Lapworth's electric frying pan, and make the pancakes from a recipe that was taped to the inside of the cupboard door above where the batter would be mixed. There are pale circles in the corner of this frying pan where four pancakes would be poured out to cook, and once tiny one fit perfectly in the middle. This would usually be thrown to us children, to keep us quiet while the rest of the meal was being prepared. All the ceremony surrounding the meal and its meaning are ingrained in me, and I was very much looking forward to our pancakes this year! Mum and I certainly enjoyed our pancakes and Oscer Mayer bacon (you can't usually get that brand over here in England so it was a treat!), but regardless of what you call this day and even what you all do on it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Studio 64

Have you ever felt like everything in your path is preventing you from getting where you need to go? Like someone's telling you should go? That's sort of what yesterday felt like. For months now I've had this makeover planned. I won it one day after filling out a questionnaire on the street. Not expecting to win, I was thrilled when I got a phone call saying I'd won. I decided to drag Ed along for the fun of it. When the day finally arrived, I couldn't wait to be pampered, and made to feel pretty. As per usual, I had researched which Tube we'd need to take to get to the Studio, and how long it would take get there. I also planned which bus I'd take in, and where to meet Ed. Well you can plan all you want but if the great London Underground wants to be difficult there's no stopping it. The day started going askew when I realized I didn't have enough for a day return of the bus which was £16 (shock horror), so I had to get a single instead which was £13. This also meant I would have to buy another single on my way back! After worrying that I wouldn't get on a bus to London because they were all so full (was everyone going to London??), I thought I'd be late because of the traffic. Ed was having his own trouble trying to get his hair cut so he was running a bit late. After we finally met up in Victoria station there was the issue of getting a ticket for the Tube. In the past we've always been able to buy the tickets for the Tube downstairs by the entrance. This was not the case this time... so we queued with the other 100 people to get a ticket, and once I got to the card kiosk we got our tickets. Theoretically, it takes 20 minutes to get from Victoria station to Farringdon station...so long as the Circle line is running!! It was only when we'd be waiting for 15 minutes thinking how odd it was there hadn't been a Circle train in a while, that we figured out they weren't working. Not because the announcement said: "work on the line" or a sign saying "no service on the Circle line 21-22 Feb," more because there weren't any trains. So, plan B: take a District line and transfer onto another line to get to Farringdon. Nice thought, if there hadn't been planned works on District meaning there wasn't service between Embankment and Blackfriars stops, despite the destination on the boards all saying otherwise. Luckily we didn't take one of those trains, and moved on to plan C: taking the Victoria line to St. Pancras and changing to get to another line to get to Farringdon. This plan actually worked! So at Farringdon, and after Ed finally got his ticket to work to get out of the place, we set out to find the studio. I had phoned ahead to say we'd be late but the receptionist seemed to think I'd take the opportunity to take my time now, I mean really. I said we'd be there in half an hour...our half an hour was up in 2 minutes. Charging through the empty roads of Farringdon, Ed and I walked in circles for a bit until we finally found the Studio: a discrete grey sign, and chrome door. No one answered the buzzer and when another pair of people arrived to have their appointment we stood there waiting for 5 minutes. That was until a man wandered up to the door, looked at us curiously...and pushed the door open and walked inside. I bet they'd all had a great time watching on the camera standing out there when all we had to do was push the door! So anyway we were finally there, we had made it despite everything trying to stop us. The rest of the day went extremely well. As I was getting my makeup done, glad to be sitting there, Ed was sitting behind me getting his hair done. With my eyes still shut I heard one of the stylists say to Ed: "Well, that's your hair done, won't be long until someone comes and does your makeup"... to which I heard a shocked reply "Makeup?". Poor Ed thought he'd be getting mascara and red lipstick, but you couldn't even tell he had any on wen they were done. It was all for the photos, really. And that was an experience too! I don't really like my photo taken, but the photographer was really cool and made you feel relaxed. After the photos Ed and I had a private viewing of all the photos. I would have bought them all, but no can do. So we picked three that we liked, and left it at that. Although we almost didn't get there and I nearly broke a window to get in, but sitting and being made pretty was certainly a treat. Getting back to Victoria station had its troubles attached to it. We descended into the Tube station, and were greeted by a mass of football fans that had been recently released from an Arsenal's game. Luckily we weren't going through the same gates as they were, however we did share a train back to Victoria with them. So naturally space was scarce, but we managed in the end. Ed and I finished the day by having a burger at a pub in Victoria station. It was the end of the day, so I paid for my second single ticket of the day, and then slept all the way back to Oxford. Being "glamorfied" is tiring!! :) Here is the result of the day....

After the photo shoot...taking advantage of the background.

The cute couple :P

My Handsome Man!
Guess :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella-Bean!

My sister's little rugby-player-in-training turns three years old today!! And although she unfortunately had the sniffles, I believe it was a good day. We expect wonderful things from Ella, and she hasn't disappointed us once!

:D Happy Birthday Ella :D

Valentine's Day

This year's Valentine's Day was sort of squished into a tight schedule, but it was wonderful nonetheless. I drove down to see Ed on the Saturday, and was greeted by a wonderful steak dinner with sauteed potatoes and a nice glass of wine, all cooked and poured by my Handsome Man. The original plan was to go out for a meal and then for a movie, however all the restaurants we wanted were fully booked and the film we had wanted to see wasn't showing until the next week! So, we both decided on having a meal in and to watch a movie we'd both never seen. Then we polished off a tub of cookies & cream Haagen Daaz :) The following day, Ed got dragged shopping with me, and we celebrated Sunday with a Chinese takeout lunch. We don't get a lot of time together while he finishes his degree, but this was definitely time well spent together. I had a wonderful time being wined and dined and relaxing. Happy Valentine's Day all!!

Let it Snow!! (Just let the Grit Last)

All of this week, I'm sure you've seen on the news, there has been a major snow fall by this country's standards. They say it's the most snow they've received in a short space of time for 18 years! Though, not true for my past I know there are many people who've never seen this much snow ever! Furthermore, they've never driven in so much snow...

I have in my car, a long handled scraper, a shovel, and a cloth for the inside of the windshield. The only thing I don't have is kitty litter for getting myself out of a jam. The shovel did come in handy when I helped a man get out of parking lot! Also when I needed to get of the driveway. The latest trauma is that some of the councils are running out of grit! (this word always makes Mum and me laugh...we think of the Grit Busters!!)

Almost each day this week we've been able to go home early from work, so Friday I went around the village taking pictures of snow, and scenery. Once back at home, I used the last of the daylight to play in the backyard a bit. I thought of making a snowman, but thought I'd try something different this year. So, I built an Igloo! I had to remove the four inches of powdery snow to reveal the two or three inches of good packing snow. The Igloo is hollow, and has an entrance and all. Today, I wanted to go up to the top of Tew Church tower, mostly to get a look at the churchyard, but found that it was the perfect day for seeing the fields and surrounding villages under their picturesque blanket of snow. I've taken a few shots of the places I've been, and I hope you like them! I think they speak for themselves :)

Mapping of a Churchyard

Ever since we moved here, I wanted to map the churchyard at Tew. It is the only church within the benefice of four churches that doesn't have a map. Several people have requested to know where certain people in their family are buried, and sadly all we can say is "...sorry, we don't know." Now that I've finished my degree and I have some records from the 1800s, I have took on the responsibility of putting a location to these names. While the oldest part of the churchyard is not covered with nettles and daisies I'm taking this opportunity to map the oldest part of the churchyard. Eventually I'll move to the second oldest, and finally onto the part of the churchyard that is still being used. It's a long and cold process as at the moment I'm mostly outside for hours at a time writing down details, then when I'm back at home I enter the details into a spreadsheet. The research is turning up very interesting information about who's buried here, how, how much they paid, where they lived, etc. Some families are still living in the villages, others have all moved on, but hopefully when it is all done people can find their families, or even just enjoy knowing a bit more about the villages' past.

A view of the oldest section of the churchyard

An example of what I have to decipher! The date at the bottom read 1699!!

Some are a bit buried, so will be near impossible to read.