It’s been a busy week with half term. I am very tired and have a very stiff neck. and rather dizzy. On my own for a bit today as Rob and Emily have gone to a birthday party. I have to wait in for a charity collection coming to collect some of the stuff from my grandma’s. Last time we booked them they didn’t turn up, I won’t be pleased if I wait all morning for them to do that again.
Poor Emily is full of cold and coughing and sneezing for England, but insisted on going to the party, she got the cold from her cousin who’s party it is, perhaps she thinks she can give it back! Just hope she is ok for school on Monday.
I have been to busy and tired to think of the positives.
On Thursday we went to see Elves and the Shoemaker at Northern Ballet. Its a children’s ballet and was brilliant. There were also craft activities to make an elves hat, some shoes and things to colour or dress up in. Its a great production and brilliant value for money, this is reflected in the fact that it is sold out for every performance. I booked in September and there weren’t many tickets left then, will have to make sure I get in earlier next year. Of course I got the family with small baby next to me which was rather distracting. Emily used a booster seat, but they were inflatable ones and she kept falling off, so she ended up leaning on me to stay on it!! Thankfully the production is only about 45 mins which is just right for the children.
After the performance we went over to The Grand Arcade for some food and the Christmas event at Our Handmade Collective. We chose Casa Columbiana for tea. The food was delicious and most of the menu is Gluten free. I had the mixed beans with grilled chicken, the coating on the chicken was a bit salty, but otherwise great as were the accompaniments and there was much more than I could eat, it would have been better if Emily and I had shared a meal as she did not eat much of hers, she chose meatballs which were very good Rob said, but Emily was not keen, think they were too good for her, she is used to school meatballs!! Service was very friendly and the price quite reasonable, especially for the city centre.
Then we went over to Our Handmade Collective for their launch of Christmas opening and 10% off night. It was busy when we arrived and there is so much to see. Its quite a small shop with lots inside, I think I only saw half the things on display. The staff as ever were very friendly and helpful. We ended up buying much more than we had planned, but its all so tempting and has been made by local people. We got chocolates from Chocolate Chest, bath bombs from Little Shop of Lathers, cards from Jil Made This, earrings from Tina Green, and massage oil for aches and pain from Blue Butterfly and a beautiful handpainted silk lamp from Lucy Lou. Oooops were we supposed to be Christmas shopping think we only bought two gifts!! See Handmade’s own review here. Yes we do want more! The shop itself is quite small so not difficult to get around, but there is a lot to take in and I need several visits to take it in I think. Have seen pictures on their webpage of things I missed. The shop is also accessed by a couple of steps so is not wheelchair accessible. If you are unable to access the wonderful staff would be more than happy to help you and show you anything you wanted, they are a great bunch, very happy and enthusiastic about their shop and products, its a joy to visit. When I just wanted some cards they kindly posted them out to me and many of the sellers have their own websites and attend other events.
To comment on this post, please click the header to this article. This will take you to my blog on blogger.com