happy anniversary to us

this was mr scappy and i 26 years ago

oh so young, and oh so happy!

this time last year, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in rome

not so young, but still VERY happy

and today - before we headed out on our date night

love you hunny.

photostory friday: golden years

these photos were taken on saturday april 23, 1960

and these were taken on saturday april 24, 2010

my parents have been married for 50 years!

..and mr scrappy and i have been married for 25

75 years between the 4 of us

not a bad effort

i feel quite honoured to have been a part of their celebrations

they certainly are amazing role models for marriage

they drive each other crazy i'm sure, but for better or for worse (and all the other 'and/ors')

they look pretty damn happy to me!

(this last photo is a little blurry, as my dad was spinning mum around the dance floor, and that wonderful portrait lens of mine has a VERY narrow depth of field!)

i really enjoyed scanning in their wedding album (for the photo board), and the opportunity to touch up many of the photos, and i now look forward to scrapping them too!

Hosted by Cecilyand Caitlin

photostory friday: ace cafe, auntiegwen and other things we got wet seeing in london

we only had 2 nights and [effectively] one whole day in london, so we wanted to squeeze in as much as we could.

first on our list, was meeting this lovely blogger at london's ace cafe. as previously mentioned, auntiegwen made an almost 12 hour round-trip just to have dinner with us - AND she brought us an anniversary gift!

she complains that she never takes a good photo. i simply DON'T understand why...

see? luverley

i love this kind of diner. i remember going to one in downtown atlanta before a falcons game - it's something about the square plastic tiles on the floor i think
but behave or else! (click to enlarge)

lots of old stuff on display

it was italian car night - they have lots of themed nights, not just bike stuff, but definitely things with wheels that make lots of noise

then the next day we hit the ground running for a walking tour of london, care of my sister christine, who's been living there since 1991

me loves a peaceful protest, but wonders where they put the tent pegs

what is it about old style phone booths

that brings out the crazy

"i'll take one of everything please"

me and him indoors with the houses of parliament in the background

ah - the aussie, kiwi and south africa shop

pineapple lumps and pinky bars for everyone!

i took this pic for you mel!

getting a bit gloomy

so time for lunch!

gravy on my chips?
how very english (they were yummy btw)
we had lunch here at 'the punch and judy' at covent garden
click on the pic to read its history

this is as close to the tower bridge as we got, because by now the skies had opened and we were getting wet. uncomfortably wet

i want to live in this shop

how could you be unhappy in this shop?
it was in covent garden also

admiralty arch

deciding which half price show we'd see that night
toss up between lenny henry as othello and the one we actually saw

ok, this photo is out of order - however...
it was well and truly bucketing down by this stage and THE MALL is rather exposed, and we didn't really fit under my tiny cute umbrella
but we had to have a pic outside buck house didn't we!

and THIS is the show we ended up seeing that night at the west end

avenue Q
a cross between sesame street and the muppets
don't go if you're easily offended

it was freaking hysterical

(i'm not easily offended)


AND CHECK IT OUT!
it's my turn to co-host with utah's 2009 housewife of the year
CECILY!!!
go check out her gorgeous children
honestly, with the adorable things that come out of her mouth, she could write a book!

Hosted by Cecily and Sue

To play PhotoStory Friday, check this.
Copy this code into your post and sign Sir Linky:

<center><a href="http://whatworksforus.blogspot.com/2007/06/iphone.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/whatworksforus/pfw.jpg" border="0" alt="PhotoStory Friday" /></a><br/>Hosted by <a href="http://mychaosmybliss.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cecily</a> and <a href="" target="_blank"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Sue</span></span></span></a><p/></center>

wordful wednesday - shit of a job (haha)

haha i'm funny

this is horse guard's parade in whitehall, london

in the time of henry VIII, tournaments were held here

the horseman is a 'trooper of the blues and royals'

the soldiers are drawn from one of the five regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army

they are apparently relieved every hour, which is just as well, because they have to sit stock still!

i also couldn't get over how young this guy was!

...and how he could stand the smell!

i thought he looked really bored, but i know that his role is a huge honour


for more wordful wednesday

visit angie over @ seven clown circus

PS: UK bloggers feel free to correct me if i got any of this information wrong!

photostory friday: from wellington to whistable - part 2: featuring a famous chef, green beach huts and a lady in her dressing gown

i bet you're REAL curious about that last one, aren't you?

and you know coz i'm like, totally immature, i'm gonna make you wait almost until the end to see it!!!

when we last left whitstable, we'd walked the beachfront, drunk a lot of gin and beer, eaten a lot of cheese, and shopped up a storm.

...and let's not forget all the whistable fun facts. i KNOW you're hanging out for more...

whitstable fun fact #7
if you can eat half a dozen whitstable oysters and wash them down with a half pint of whitstable brewery pilsner faster than anyone else
(during the annual oyster festival)
- you win a prize.

our afternoon at 'the fountain' was followed by dinner at the 'sportsman'. we were very excited to be having dinner here, because the chef - steve harris, had just been named Best Chef by the Good Food Guide Editors for his 'brilliant, idiosyncratic' cooking.

here's us in our 'goin out clothes'

here's the sportsman

and here's some brilliant food. brilliant oysters to be exact

whitstable fun fact #8
the oyster is both male and female, but never both at the same time

after dinner we went down to the beach and recaro cracked open a bottle of bubbly. we sat in the dark and talked about such important things as the 1667 dutch invasion of the isle of sheppey and the british politicians' latest expense scandal

the next morning it was off to 'tea and times' for breakfast
tea and times?
could this place GET any more endearing???

and they sell magazines too!

so you can sit up at the counter, eat your food and have a good ole' read!

then it was off to do some more whitstable wandrin'...

that pointy thing is called 'the street'
sass has a good story about the street

and here's us ON the street!
the wind was a little chilly

more beach huts
i couldn't get enough of these!

but wait!
not everything about whitstable is cute and sweet
it's actually FULL of hazards

well, MAYBE it's full of hazards
(if you look hard)

'the smack'! sounds pretty hazardous to me!
it's actually one of those really cool places that has 'open mike' nights
way back in the recesses of my mind, i sometimes dream about being a stand-up comic
(with only one funny joke and really bad timing)

whitstable fun fact #9
the alleyways in old whitstable were the spaces left for the oystermen to get to the beach, or shops (or the pub!)

case and point...

whistable fun fact #10

peter cushing (you know, the vampire dude), lived in whitstable after retirement

there's even a 'cushing lane'

but back to the quaint...
'the sugar boy'
has there EVER been a cooler name for a sweet store???
the lady behind the counter wore a red and white striped apron and the lolly bags were red and white striped too

whistable fun fact #11
sass is a very talented knitter

whitstable fun fact #12
in whitstable it's totally cool to step out of your house in your dressing gown - cross the corner to the 'windy shores store' to get the sunday paper, and scurry back to your front door

and now for the green huts
cool huh?

and another one...and before we knew it - it was time to jump back on the train to london

time for a 'secret smile' with peaches

a hug
and a wave goodbye...
missin' you already...

Hosted by Cecily and Emily