This is the longest I have gone without blogging since I started!  I have been busy, with some significant life changing events and also lots of celebrations with dear friends and family.  This blog will not be so much about food but what I have done recently.  I am hoping, that having done a quick catch up, I can get back to more regular blogging and definitely dieting.  I have been dreadful lately; eating too much and of the wrong kind of food and in huge quantities.

I have only taken a small fraction of the photos I would usually and unfortunately I did something wrong when I imported them and have lost many which is a shame as we have to been to some wonderful places with some of our favourite people.  But here is what I do have.

We had a family weekend in Chichester at the beginning of April, celebrating Richard’s 50th birthday.  All the photos of the family party are missing apart from this one of my dear daughter who made a batch of scones to take along to the afternoon tea which kicked off the weekend’s festivities.

We have also, thanks to Lara for organising it, had a lovely evening at the Udderbelly.The Udderbelly is like a Big Top but cow shaped.  Purple and cow shaped!Outside is a selection of bars and pop up eateries, in a fun landscape, reminiscent of a music festival but thanks to the astro turf, minus the mud.

We ate in Wagamama before we went inside.  Wagamama is a good choice for a vegan as they have information about the contents of all their dishes and there is a reasonable range you can choose from.  I started with the vegetable gyozas.Followed by one of their rice noodle stir fries.  Deeelish!We watched Closer by Circa and it was fabulous.  The run of that particular show is nearly over but I do recommend it and if you miss that show, or don’t fancy it, there are plenty more to choose from.We have had some lazy weekends at home which we also enjoy as we need downtime sometimes.The next birthday to celebrate was James’ 50th.  He chose to spend the day at a Heronry in Northward Hill in North Kent.  We didn’t actually see any herons but we had a lovely walk through the bluebells and then an interesting drive around the Isle of Grain.  Definitely worth visiting and I hope to return there one day.

Our next fun event was Emily’s 21st in Bristol.  In Clifton in Bristol to be precise.  We stayed in The Victoria Square hotel which was very good value, especially because it had family rooms.  It was located in this square and we shared the hotel with most of my dearest friends.   The whole weekend was lovely and we began in style with a  fantastic party.After a long and leisurely breakfast together, I bade farewell to my Besties and went for a wander around Bristol with Lara and Harvey.  We walked over the world famous Bristol Suspension Bridge, which was not for the faint-hearted but the views were spectacular.

We spent most of the day in Bath, visiting the Royal Crescent and the Roman Baths.  It was a beautiful day but sadly I have lost most of my photos which is a shame as Bath is stunning.

I can share this one of us having a coffee at the Royal Crescent Hotel which has beautiful gardens which are far larger than you would imagine behind the facade of a building on the Royal Crescent.

I will also share a travel tip I received from my Father, before I went backpacking at the tender age of 18.  His advice was, if I ever needed a bit of luxury but couldn’t really afford it, dress as smartly as I could and go to the best hotel I could find for a drink.  I have often done this and it is a great tip because the best hotels provide an excellent service and allow you to rest in luxurious surroundings.  So the three of us had about three staff on hand, to show us to a table and serve coffee in their beautiful garden.We have also spent a lot of time in Hastings recently and the last 2 times with my sisters.

I have needed to be with my family recently and the last weekend was spent with all 3 of my sisters in Lyme Regis.  Abi and I stayed with our Step-Father Ian and his wife Helen in Sidmouth but we spent most of our time in Lyme Regis with my other 2 sisters.

The weekend involved lots of walking and we were blessed with constant sunshine.It’s very hilly in Lyme Regis so I definitely did my fitness a lot of good with the regular walks up and down to the town.

We noticed a sign for an open garden and went to visit as the house looked lovely and we expected the garden to be equally gorgeous.We were not disappointed.The owners had spent 9 years creating their garden paradise in the cliffs overlooking the sea.

I loved this swing seat and might have to treat myself to one.  It is from a company called Sitting Spiritually who are based in Lyme but who deliver father afield too.This was a lovely garden to potter about in and gawp at the loveliness or just sit and stare.  We did plenty of both.

This was one of those day where nothing was planned and it just flowed and everything seemed perfect.  Such as bumping in to our Aunty and Uncle in the beautiful garden. We weren’t expecting to see them until the next day so this was a double pleasure. So we wandered round the garden again.On Sunday it was still sunny – which is unheard of when I go to Lyme.It is all part of the ritual to go for a walk along the Cobb, which is what we did.  We walked there and back again which must have burnt off gazillions of calories.  Through the sheep field again and past this tree, which was split in half by lightening!

The beach was packed with people and some were swimming and paddle-boarding in the sea.

That was a truly wonderful weekend.  Just what I needed.

I am happy to be back blogging again and hope to make it a regular event again.  Matt has sorted out my lap top for me, the last weekend has restored my happy mood and so i have no excuses.