Culture and Cafe Rouge

Joe in Cafe Rouge

Beautiful works of art in Primavera


Me in Cafe Rouge

Punts in Cambridge

Today a very rare thing happened. Joe and I got to spend a day together without the children and it was fantastic! Here's a diary of our day:

10.00

Have breakfast in Cafe Nero of almond croissants and coffee - yum! Read the Sunday newspapers. There's a laid back, Sunday morning atmosphere and no one is hurrying. Some people have even brought their laptops.

There's an eclectic mix of people of different nationalities. That's one of the things I love about Cambridge.

11.00

Vist the arts and crafts market in Market Square and buy shortbread biscuits for Calum, home made jasmine soap for Lola and a retro coffee cup for me.

Go to one of our favourite art shops, Primavera and admire all their extremely beautiful things. Joe and I fall in love with a glass bowl that costs £400! Well, we can dream ...

11.30

Go to the CCA Gallery and drool over the stunning paintings. Buy some notelets and an Anita Klein card. She's one of our favourite artists. Fantasise about buying original works of art.

12.00

Go to the ADC Theatre for a talk by author Graham Swift on his new book Tomorrow as part of cambridgewordfest. Bump into my friend Akiko who has just been to see P D James. P D James is still signing books and it's amazing to see her in the flesh. She looks just like I imagined, only her hair is pure white.

12.30

Listen, enthralled, as Grahm Swift reads extracts from his book and talks about his writing. Both Joe and I think he's brilliant and agree we could have listened to him for much longer.

13.00

Queue up to get my copy of Tomorrow signed by Graham Swift. He also agreed to sign my much-loved and well-worn copy of Last Orders for which he won the Booker Prize. He is as nice off stage as he is on it. I'll definitely go and see him next year if he comes back.

13.30

Go to Cafe Rouge for a leisurely lunch. It's full of couples and families and feels friendly and unpretentious.

Joe has a steak baguette and I have Toulouse sausages. We both have Fougasse to start.

The food is delicious and our French waiter, Matthieu, very attentive.

We people-watch and chat about art and books.

15.00

Browse round the shops. Joe is very patient while I try on lots of clothes and shoes. I buy a gorgeous purple flowery top with sequins - perfect for summer.

Visit some college courtyards. They're immaculately kept and look like something from a bygone era.

17.00

Walk back to the car and drive home. The A14 is busy as hell. I hate that road.

18.00

Arrive home to find Calum practising basketball and Lola drawing. They're pleased to see us but they've enjoyed being on their own.

They've eaten chocolate croissants for breakfast and pizza for lunch but their eyes light up at the shortbread.

It's good to be home but Joe and I agree we've really enjoyed having time on our own.

We'll definitely do it again soon.

Just a Perfect Day

Calum, Alan Lee and Me
Calum in Forbidden Planet

Me Outside Forbidden Planet

Me Drinking Champagne on Cannon Bridge Roof Garden

Champagne and Sunshine
To quote Lou Reed, Thursday 19 April was 'just a perfect day'.

I didn't 'drink Sangria in the park' but I did drink champagne on Cannon Bridge Roof Garden in London, thanks to an invitation from my good friend Ali who runs Big Bang Events.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and everyone was in a good mood. Everything was perfect, from the beautifully dressed marquee to the breathtaking views over London.

I went with my colleague and friend Jen and although it was officially 'work', it certainly didn't feel like it - especially when we hit the chocolate fountain!

Best of all, it gave me a chance to catch up with Ali and hear how well her company is doing. I'm so pleased for her as she works incredibly hard and has built it up from nothing into a hugely successful business.

The time flew by and Jen and I were both sorry to leave but Jen had to get home and I had to meet Calum from Kings Cross station.

That was when the second part of my perfect day began.

I Met Alan Lee
If you're mad about fantasy art or you've watched Return of the King, the final film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, then you'll know Alan Lee. He won the Oscar for Best Art Direction for Return of the King.

In short, the man is a genius and one of Calum's heroes (now also one of mine).

The reason for meeting Calum at Kings Cross was to make a mad dash to Covent Garden to go to Forbidden Planet for a book signing by Alan Lee of The Children of Hurin. He did all the illustrations.

Alan Lee was lovely. He took time to chat to me and Calum and happily agreed to have his picture taken with us. He even said he liked my dress which made me absurdly pleased - he certainly knows how to be charming!

Most strikingly, in spite of his amazing talent, he came across as quite a modest person and I really liked that about him.

Neither Calum nor I will forget the amazing experience of meeting him.

Maxwells and Memories
After meeting Alan Lee and buying lots of comics and two Neil Gainman books (also signed) in Forbidden Planet, I took Calum out for dinner at Maxwells in Covent Garden.

He thought we were going straight home and getting a sandwich on the train home so he was absolutely thrilled.

Going to Maxwells in Covent Garden reminded me of my days at university when I used to go regularly to Maxwells in Hampstead where the burgers were billed as 'as a sure cure for heartache'. I'm not sure they were, but their cheesecake might have been!

This time Calum and I had cheeseburgers and chocolate sundaes which tasted fantastic.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

More Manga from Lola

Lola did this picture in a day. It's called Chun-Lang: The Forest of Ants.

Well done Lola!

Garden Glory

I love the Spring.

Our garden suddenly comes to life with a myriad of flowers and trees bursting into blossom.

It's hard not to feel happy and hopeful surrounded by so much vibrant colour.

It doesn't last long, but while it does, it's glorious!

A Boy Called Vincent

Vincent Valentine (from Final Fantasy VII)
Vincent (from Bizenghast)

Lola loves Manga.

She's been working on some more Manga characters as part of her impressive portfolio.

Her latest fan art drawings are both called Vincent, one from Final Fantasy VII (in red) and one from Bizenghast (in purple).

She sketched them first in pencil, then went over them in pen before scanning them into the computer and colouring them in on Photoshop (she is self-taught).

See the results for yourself - I think they're excellent!

This isn't just any Easter egg ...

This is a Hotel Chocolat Easter egg.

Hotel Chocolat is my favourite place to buy chocolate (www.hotelchocolat.co.uk).

Their shop in Cambridge is more like an art gallery than shop, with everything beautifully displayed.

It's expensive but definitely worth it as the chocolate is fantastic quality. In my book, if you're going to eat chocolate, then it should be good chocolate. I've yet to go into Hotel Chocolat and come out empty handed - their champagne truffles are to die for!

So, tonight Joe and I will be stuffing ourselves with truffle-filled eggs and eating delicious chocolate - milk for him and dark for me (those clever Hotel Chocolat people have even produced an egg with two different chocolate shells).

I know we'll enjoy every indulgent mouthful ...

Flower Garden

I love this time of year when everything in the garden starts to come into bloom.

We are very lucky to have such a large garden. Even though I don't like gardening, I do adore sitting in it and admiring all the flowers!

Lazy Sunday

Studying in the garden.

Lola reading

Today is Easter Sunday and it's been a wonderfully lazy day.

I knew it would be a good day as soon as I woke up and saw the sun streaming through the bedroom window.

In spite of the fact that I had lots of studying to do for my MA (still do), I was determined to make the most of the beautiful weather. The solution? I did my studying in the garden.

I don't have a laptop so I had to resort to that old-fashioned technique of writing but it worked pretty well. And, as I sipped my chilled white wine, the ideas began to flow.

Calum and Lola sat outside with me and chatted happily as I worked while Joe did some gardening. Lola also did some reading as, like me, she's a complete bookworm. It was great spending time with them.

Doing an MA on top of a full time job is one of the most demanding things I've ever done but it's endlessly fascinating and enjoyable and I know in the end it will be worthwhile. I've already learned so much and made some wonderful new friends.

Studying at home usually means being cooped up in the study away from Joe and the children.

But in the garden today I felt I had the best of both worlds. I could still do my work and enjoy Joe and the children's company.

It's definitely the way to go (and one day I may even be able to afford a laptop!).

Tudor Days

Joe's Tudor display

It's recently been Tudor Week at the junior school where Joe works and, as usual, his artistic talents have been much in demand.

He helped the children produce pictures of Tudor people to form part of a Tudor display. However, not content with simply sticking the pictures on the wall, Joe designed a display to look like the inside of a Tudor House. This labour of love took him several days.

The results were well worth it, as the picture shows. Both the teachers and the children were delighted and word has now spread so that teachers from other nearby schools are coming to have a look at Joe's handiwork. Having a Teaching Assistant who is also an artist is definitely a great bonus for the school and Joe enjoys it as much as the children!

As the World Falls Down

Lola in her improvisation competition make-up

That's the name of the song that Lola chose for her choreographic competition dance which she performed at her ballet school concert last week. She won the competition for the third year running, as well as the improvisation competition for the fifth year!

If you're a David Bowie or Brian Froud fan, you'll know the song from the fantasy film Labyrinth.

It's hauntingly beautiful and fitted Lola's dance perfectly. She looked ethereal in her demure white tutu, her hair scraped back in the traditional ballet bun. She mesmerised the audience from the moment she stepped onto the stage with her elegant and graceful movements.

I didn't want the dance to end. When it did, Lola received rapturous applause and I had tears in my eyes.

Proud Mum moments don't come any better than that.