An impromptu Bank Holiday outing

We had no real plans for the Bank Holiday. An extra day to catch up with house chores or completing some paperwork, reading and meal prep for the week ahead. C had noticed an advert for our local RHS Garden Craft Fair. It’s only about 10 miles away, so we jumped in the car and headed off.

The weather wasn’t that great, overcast and occasionally spotting with drizzle but it didn’t really rain with menace, and it wasn’t too cold. The fair was on it’s last day and I’m not sure whether it had quite the volume they’d hoped for but there were still plenty of people about. Maybe some didn’t realise that the fair was on and just came out for the day anyway.

We meandered around the stalls. There were a few outdoorsy booths selling garden furniture and ornaments; one guy was whittling furniture out of ash. There were a few food stalls but nothing that tickled our taste buds particularly. There were three main, large marquees with small, individual “booths” within. Most of them were jewellery, glass or wood crafted objects. There were some clothes made of wool and yak’s wool. There were a couple of stalls selling soaps and hand creams in all sorts of strange combinations of scents.

We went round everything once before deciding to go to one of the main Garden cafes for a soup lunch and had a bit of a wander around the top garden areas.

Then we went round everything again. This time with intent to purchase. C bought something for his granddaughter for Christmas. I bought a couple of real leather belts; one brown, one black. I also bought myself a gold necklace and a pair or pearl earrings. I found a couple of cute tea light stands in the shape of Santa and a Christmas Tree that would look cute on the mantle at Christmas.

I did look at a gold bangle on another stand which was simple but rather nice. Then I turned the price tag over. £850. The woman thought that we were genuinely interested and let me try in on. It was the only one there in gold and I feigned that it was too small. She decided that she would write a full quote for me to have one custom made, took measurements and wrote it all down and may be expecting us to call her to confirm a purchase. Luckily, we didn’t give her any of our contact details so she can’t chase us. It was a nice bangle and all, but fairly simple in design. I wouldn’t have though it worth that much.

As usually at these things there are lots of lovely things, lots of tactile objects and if you have the right home and the right budget you could spend a small fortune. My few purchases cost enough as it was and I didn’t see anyone taking larger objects, unless they could order them for delivery later on. I wonder how much these exhibitors have to pay for their space for the weekend and whether the actually get enough custom to cover their outlay. I guess they must otherwise they wouldn’t do it.

It was a pleasant enough way to spend a few hours, got my daily step count in and still left time to get the chores done when we got back home.

How did you spend your Bank Holiday?

Slow down to a saunter

There’s always somewhere to be, something to do, someone to run around after.

As we head into a Bank Holiday weekend there’s opportunity for most of us to slow down, to read a book, cook a meal, go for a stroll. Slowing down, taking time to rest requires planning in our house, to create time for taking care of yourself, or space for creativity and inspiration. We have made some plans, some other things have taken over and imposed themselves on our time but there is a bit of time left for relaxation and recuperation.

Friday will be #bellringing based with both virtual (twice) and real ringing. Saturday I should be at a Central Council meeting but an opportunity arose to spend some time with R, and that trumps everything; we’re going to the Food & Drink Festival at Hampton Court Palace. That should be so much fun. Sunday is a return to all things ringing with the real thing in the morning and meetings in the afternoon/evening, with a bit of housework in between.

Bank Holiday Monday is the only day we don’t have anything specific planned. #bellringing practice has been cancelled as people generally like to have the freedom to go out or see family. I have designated this “go slow day”, the day put aside for reading, cooking and generally only doing things I want to do rather than have to do.

One way Tonya Leigh, my current indulgence podcast, suggests to help us slow down is to consider the following:

Write down all your obligations, cooking, cleaning, work, laundry, activities, everything
Go through each item on the list and ask if it is necessary. Would the world end if it didn’t happen today?
Imagine not doing each item on the list and notice how your body responds. Do you relax? Do you feel lighter?

Sometimes, I might feel more stressed at the thought of things building up. They’ve got to be done at some point and is it better to get it done and out of the way, freeing up time afterwards, or to put it off now, enjoy the free time now knowing that you’ll have to do it later anyway. Is is a false sense of security?

What do you do to help you slow down?

A wonderful weekend

I don’t work Fridays so this gives us an extra day over the Bank Holiday which meant we were able to get to E&Ms without encountering too much traffic, spend a lovely couple of days with them before heading back on Sunday, beating the return traffic and still giving us Monday to do other stuff.

Helped by the fact that its been lovely, bright, sunny and warm, it has really started to feel like summer is coming.

We have now washed and put the winter dressing gowns and bed linen away in favour of the lighter ones, and I’ve even ventered so far as to check out the state of shorts in the cupboard.

Having spent the weekend in excellent company, being fed watered and walked and entertained, and knowing that there’s an extra day to relax before heading to work, I actually do feel quite rested.

I’ve researched a couple of things I want to do and taken some advice on how to achieve them, and have plans already being actioned.

I do need to check messages and other stuff as I’ve not responded to any emails over the weekend, but that shouldn’t take long. Then I intend to prepare breakfasts and lunches for work, then read and relax for the rest of the day.

Summer seems to be on its way with a good forecast for the rest of this week so time to shake off the drear of winter and a wet spring. Time to up my game and get on.