AndyBlog

Sorry I've been quiet...

The reason is plain to see, or perhaps should be. TL and myself have found ourselves drowning in a sea of boxes here in Newbiggin as we try to combine two sets of worldly and household goods. Some stuff has already been passed on, some will have to be passed on or stored for a little longer. That said, much has been combined and found a home in our tiny dwelling here in NBTS.

Put simply, we have been turning stuff like this:

...into stuff like this:

It feels like our lives are on hold until we can make this place live-in-able, not only for us, but for our fast-growing queue of eager guests. If you would like to be one, just mention it to one of the staff and they will inform you of the current vacancies.

So, please do keep the faith. Normal and hopefully semi-amusing service will be resumed. Besides, I'm sure there is a 700th blog in the pipeline sometime soon...

New Blog picture

OK, you've looked at me in the bath long enough. It's time for a change.

Labelled from left to right, starting at 1 - which number should I use (and why)?

Please help me decide...

The Final Act

Things were going well. Much was drunk, eaten and talked about - although probably not in that order, or in any other order, actually. We'd all recovered from laughing at each others' upturned noses, and nothing could have adequately prepared us for this:

Next: Are you LOCAL?

A gentle start....

The First Supper

Last Saturday, we were cunningly invited to what I will term a “Town-warming” party. NBTS was well and truly warmed for us, and we were well and truly stuffed full of the most delightful food.

Cheese, quiche, meat and paté were complimented by fresh French bread to start with, and then we were literally bowled over by the biggest selection of puddings ever assembled in the same place.

The tomato and mozzarella salad was pretty much spot-on. I hope I ate most of it.

The Pavlova was superb, and the cheescake was not far behind. The fresh fruit speaks for itself - a delightful mixture. Not pictured was an amazing creation of Steve's, involving rhubarb, strawberries and loads of full-fat Philly cheese. I want that recipe. Nearly forgot the massive chocolate cake, which was pictured, but due to reasons of it looking rather like a pool of crude oil, I decided not to post those pictures to here.

The Pavlova was truly historic - and this picture enables me to imagine the taste all over again. Mmmm......

OK, so much for the food - it was great, and we all tucked into a goodly amount of Alnwick Rum punch, Metaxa and G&Ts to wash it down. That said, it would be remiss of me not to mention that a certain percentage of the gathering paid more attention to the Metaxa than anything else. They also guarded the dry ginger with their very life. For reasons of general kindness, I will not mention who these people were - or, indeed, if they are a single person and not a group of people after all. I certainly will not give any clues as to whether it was Christine or not.

Andyhow, bearing this kind of alcoholic intake in mind, the following blog post may make a little more sense...

Serious Jason

Proof that Jason can only be serious for five seconds.

Breaking News

This just in:

TL & Andy Have Broadband as of Sunday morning.

Phone also back on, after BT's cock-up yesterday.

All is well. Let battle commence.

Yes, we're here!

The title says it all, really.

We're here, the house is full of boxes and we have no proper internet. Things are slowly getting organised, thanks to TL's excellent organisational and planning skills.

Before long, we'll be able to think, breathe and act like normal people again.

I hope.

In the meantime, here's a lovely and pretty picture of the beached trolleys left behind by the fishing faithful of Newbiggin-B-T-S.

Enjoy.

Amazing love, how can it be?

a) Name the popular hymn

b) Look at this amazing welcome table!

Lovingly caressed into existence, this traditional PONish Welcome Table appeared within seconds of me finally gaining entry to our new abode in NBTS.

TL is not with me, but she will hear tell of this great event, and I have ensaved for her many of the key and presently uneaten elements of the Welcome Table.

Included were: A flower and vase, a picture of my beloved TL, a smashing card, a towel, some soap, a small box (contents presently unknown), the table itself, some spiced nuts, a slice of hand-created cheescake and two shortcake biscuits.

It is a welcome gift unparalleled in my experience. On arrival in Leeds, I was given a half-used toilet roll, which was very very welcome, but hardly in the same class. On arrival at Griffin House I was bought fish and chips - again, a lovely thing, but utterly surpassed by the delicacy and quality of this entire miniature table of tangible welcomeness.

Thanks go fully and completely to Ian & Rebecca - thank you very much indeed.

Not photographed, but special thanks to Jason for unblocking the windows and helping me in with the first car load of stuff. The windows being open-able is a major thing for us, as we hate not being able to have some air circulating around. Jason - wow, guy. Respect.

There are many more tales, like that of the missing room and Antonia's rare patience with my almost continual visiting. Antonia, you are a special and lovely person - thanks so much for your tolerance and open hospitality.

So - I'm here, and camping in the back room. TL and the van arrive tomorrow (Wednesday). Only then will we be truly here. The final moving event will be the returning of my stuff from storage. I've almost forgotten all the things I have. It will be great to have them once again. Soon, the house will be heaving with stuff.

I both hope to move again very soon and also rather hope not to...