ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 27TH OF 2025

 Morning all tis Friday time for 

So last week we headed to our old home town of Stafford for a couple of days away, we stayed at the hotel where we had our first official date and had a lovely room with a view over St Chad's Church at the front.  The journey down we went over the hills as we wanted to enjoy our annual visit to Trentham Gardens to visit the fairies, the weather looked changeable but thankfully it stayed dry during our visit.

The first one Bridget greets you on the bridge 

then Spidey under the Arbour

This one is always stunning and with the sun catching it it was even better. 

To say they've been there a number of years they still look amazing

And I love the feeling of motion in them

There is even a new set of wings for people to try out when they visit. 

These are giant and along the path by the lake

Fledglings up on the hillside

And we stopped for another cuppa at the bottom of the lake to say hello to this one

Then onwards to our destination, we had booked a package deal which meant tea and cake on arrival.  Hubby didn't fancy tea after all his driving but I definitely fancied both cups of tea and we shared the cakes

I love the eclectic items hanging over head

We wandered the town, areas of which are mighty pretty

Then got ready for our evening meal 

Which was lovely and finished with a beautiful cheese board

We went for a wander around the town the following day and saw the advert for the play we were due to see that night. 

We also wandered into the Picture House which is now a Wetherspoon's pub but still retaining a lot of its original features, we sat up at the top where many moons ago we took my sister and brother to watch Jurassic Park. 

We found this sculpture of Isaac Walton on the River Sow leisure walk

and this one of a bowler next to the bowling green

After an early evening meal which was lovely, we headed to the theatre, a far cry from the complex Cornish stage design last year, this was very much pared back and with a hint of RSC about it, the book cases moved at certain points during the play.  Hubby felt that they represented the educated mind of Hamlet and the dust was representative of the blinkered view of all those around him. 

The play was exceptionally good and we both really enjoyed it. 

I'd booked Chatsworth to break the journey up on the way back, this is the leather room with the famous trompe l'oiel of the violin and it is the leather room because that is what the wallpaper is made from.

The rose garden looks lovely at the moment and the smell of the roses was well worth the wander. 

We got back home and on Sunday we had book club, unfortunately my sister has been poorly and so she couldn't make it and my daughter-in-law hadn't finished the book so it made for an awkward conversation to be honest.  The book we were reading was The Handmaid, my niece has gone on to read the further two books all of which she said are quite different.  I then had a play with some scrapbook layouts that are still not completed if I'm honest, but it was nice to have a catch up. 

The working week was busy and I'm gearing up for the annual audit so a definite focus on the year end file which thankfully is almost there. 

Thursday and time to enjoy some fresh air, we had time out in the garden, hubby cleaned the plastic on the extension, then he cut the neighbour's tree that overhangs our arbour and was starting to cause issues, he hoovered the top of the arbour off as there were a load of catkins on it from spring that had got stuck and then cleared the side of the house where a few weeds had sprung up.  In the meantime I worked my way around all the pots that we have and planted this lot out to try and bring a bit more colour to the garden. 

A very productive day but rather tiring, we then had showers and then tea and then settled down outside for a few hours of reading under the arbour which was bliss. 

Life is made up of the moments that we remember, the memories that we make, anchoring yourself in the moment, definitely makes the memories stronger and more positive and I'm very grateful for all that I have and all the blessings I have. 

I hope your week has been as blessed. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 28TH OF 2022

Good morning lovely people tis Friday time for

well let's see what we did over the last 7 days that provided some positive moments and silver linings

First up we went to see the Dukes theatre company at NT Nostell Priory, inadvertently I'd ended up booking the Wednesday night instead of the intended Thursday night which meant we had a bit of a rush getting to it that evening, but we got there nonetheless with a rather foreboding sky, despite our apprehension at the weather, it held off for the evening and we had a fabulous evening watching them perform A Midsummer Night's Dream, they are a new theatre company with their first show being last year. 

Next up on Friday we headed off to Trentham gardens as we had a weekend away booked in Stafford.  I asked hubby how we hadn't managed to visit Trentham when we lived in Stafford and he said he read that they didn't lay the turf until 2005 which was a year after we left. 

I specifically wanted to do the fairy trail, but I wasn't offered a map which was unfortunate so we had to find out own way around despite the site being relatively extensive.  

This fairy greeted us on the bridge over from the ticket office

I have a feeling this is a new installation, the fairies look like they are learning to climb and I love the way the dandelion clock is leant over. 

This sculpture made me smile as he has such an indignant look to his face. 

This fairy on the bridge was really impressive, I loved her body armour and glass globe

One of my favourite shots of the day, it was on the room of one of the original garden structures and was impossible to photograph from the other side, but hubby went under it and got this amazing shot!

The original Trentham hall has long since been demolished, the only remaining parts of the structure being this area on the far right of the building

and this the original entrance to the hall, both currently derelict but I understand there is an intention to get them renovated and utilised for weddings in the future. 

I loved this fairy, she was so very beautiful and shiny

I loved how the branches grew out of her fingers and how the leaves were a different colour

Hubby grabbed a seat on the giant garden chair

We did the lakeside walk and found this little cutie by the boat house

there was a stunning wild flower bed as well

Selfie with a fairy in the background

Outside of the garden is a shopping village, made up of pedestrianised walkways and wooden huts filled predominantly with independent shops and eateries.  We spotted Titania on the sign post for the gardens as we left

Then on to our hotel stay in Stafford, we go to the first place hubby ever took me for a date which is the Swan hotel, we had a spacious room with comfortable bed which was relatively cool as it was towards the back of the building. 

We were so tired on the first day after Trentham that we had a couple of hours in our room before heading down for our evening meal. 

Thankfully we had a little more energy on the Saturday, we had a wander around the town looking for things we used to remember before walking up to Stafford Castle for the matinee performance of Romeo and Juliet

The set was amazing, the actors were fantastic and the costumes out of this world.  Unfortunately for the two rows in front of us the sun was shining down on them for the duration and a great number either left, had to be seen by first aid or found a shaded seat with extremely restricted view in the hospitality area. 

We walked back into town and stopped off at the Picture House, which was a cinema when we were in Stafford, now a Wetherspoons pub. 

Then we took a few photos of the older part of town.  We went back to Heavenly Helen's to take a photo of Mr Finch's door installation.  We had stopped off and met Helen and her partner earlier in the day, she has an awesome little shop and above the shop has healing rooms which were absolutely amazing with a workshop at the end.  She told me that Mister Finch has been creating in that room and will be doing workshops in the near future in town, why oh why he couldn't be doing that when we lived in Stafford I will never know lol.

The building she is in is apparently the oldest in Stafford dating back to 1420

Mill Street in which the shop resides has always been such a pretty place to stop and take a photo, the Soup Kitchen always being so pretty. 

We went out on the Saturday night for a meal in the restaurant which was once again absolutely stunning, with great service. 

We left on Sunday morning and were booked into Chatsworth, to be honest it was so hot we took one photo of one of the Burning Man sculptures that we hadn't seen, grabbed an expensive ice cream and then headed into the house which was much cooler. 

As you can see I hadn't a stitch of make up on my face, but I didn't care I was having such a fantastic weekend with hubby. 

We got to see a guess bed that normally resides in a different part of the house, created by an artist that the Duke and Duchess admire, they have a lot of his work around the house from sculptural artwork to dining chairs, but this piece was breath taking at 6 metres tall, I'm still intrigued as to how they got it moved around the house. 

I also loved this light fitting as it reminds me of paper, so very pretty. 

We were back home by tea time on Sunday night and were very naughty and had a pizza tea which said 21 year old and his fiancee went and collected as we didn't have the motivation to cook. 

Monday I had taken an extra day off work and we had tickets to see The Play that Goes Wrong with my Mum, Sister, said 21 year old and his fiancee as well as me and hubby, we've seen it once before and it has to be said that seeing it live is something else, literally laughed so much our cheeks ached. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were hellishly long days at work as was Thursday although I managed to leave at a more sensible time, I met up with my best friend from school on thursday evening for a catch up and a meal, she lives in the very far north of Scotland so we rarely get the chance to get together, we grabbed this selfie on our way out. 

I hope you've all had a lovely week too.

TTFN