DECORATING: Main Bedroom and Kitchen

 

After 20 odd years of having a red bedroom, one day we decided a change was in order. At first I proposed a much richer, darker red. But we couldn't find one and Rose suggested doing it dark blue like Dea and Daz had done on Season 11 of The Block. Again we couldn't find a suitable colour so we ended up getting one mixed (Portrait of a Blue Stocking) and to which we added Valspar's paint glitter.

According to the instructions on the glitter we should apply with a roller, choose a silk paint and light colour. As we were doing none of these things the anticipation was low for the effectiveness of the glitter. However, in truth it was like a fairy grotto in there after the first coat and so I had to mix another half can of paint in to the mix and do it all again.

This dragged on and on for several days - pretty much all the holiday, and didn't get finally completed until the 9th of April when I stuck the door trim on. It was a lot of hassle and it would have been quicker and easier to paper the bloody thing from scratch with glittery paper, but it does look pretty good.

We also decorated the kitchen the weekend before, as it was a much smaller job. Again we couldn't find a suitable colour so in the end we took my Skechers trainers and asked them to scan the sole - which gave us a fantastic lime green colour.

We also
decided to hide the pipes above and below the (new) boiler and to replace the aging Dali picture that had been on the wall over the cooker pretty much since the day we moved in. We thought of lots of ideas but in the end we decided to go with another Gal Yosef painting, this time of the Pokemon Clefairy (incidentally, we had no idea what the hell this thing was we just thought it was funny to look at).

MEAL OUT: The Grey Goose (Gilmorton)

Our 27th meal out at the Goose since the blog began, and yet again the food and service was magnificent. I had the burger and fries and Rose had the sausages and mash. Yet again I had the Biscoff Cheesecake and salted caramel ice cream and it did not disappoint. Rose had some sort of fruity-almondy-bakewell-kind of thing, but she can't remember exactly what it was... 

Afternoon Tea at Langton Garden Centre (Market Harborough)

We received an 'Afternoon Tea' voucher for Christmas and we finally got around to using it in March. We weren't expecting it to be that great to be honest, but we were woefully wrong as it was spectacular! We couldn't possibly eat it all, so we took the leftovers home and had most of the rest for tea and perhaps one leftover cake the next day. Awesome!

DAY OUT: Touchwood Centre (Solihull)

 

A day trip to Solihull, including the Touchwood Shopping Centre - with a fairly newly opened TAG Heuer boutique, where we met Megan and Demi who kept us entertained while I tried on the new Autavia. We also stopped off at the Greswolde Arms in Knowle for a perfectly pleasant scampi and chips.

GIG: Raven (Nuneaton)

My very first time seeing Raven, having first heard them in 1983! This year marked the 40th anniversary of their magnum opus 'All For One' and the band were playing it in full. To be honest, All For One is the only Raven album I have ever really given a shit about, and it still stands up today so I was well up for the short trip to Nuneaton Queens Hall to see them.

Rose wasn't very keen but Rich came with me and spent the whole evening grinning from ear to ear. Raven were extremely entertaining, endearing and seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It's a pity there wasn't a few more people to watch them, since they put on a tremendous show, but if I have one minor quibble it was that the sound was earsplittingly loud and my ears were ringing for days.

Also, the main support band 'Hellgrimm' were utter shit. 

Panda Finally Sat on My Lap!

 

Finally after nearly three years with us, Panda finally sat on my lap. It was only for 5 minutes and first, but then each night it increased and the 'settling' time got less and less. Within a few weeks she was sitting on me for as long as I sat still or until something spooked her. 

MEAL OUT: The Langton Arms (Church Langton)

 

A birthday meal for Rose's Mum, where once again we all had scampi and chips. Well, if ain't broke don't fix it, Right?