The rain may have held off for The Killers, but it hit us with avengeance yesterday while we were out running. The thunder was already rumbling ominously before we left, but we thought we'd take it on, and see if we could get back before the rain came. Of course, we were exactly half way when the heavens opened and it wasn't just rain we were pelted with but oversized hailstones. We took what shelter we could find, but we were already soaked to the skin so we decided we might as well run through the storm, and when the stones turned to water and the road became a river a passing car kindly whacked me in the face with a bucketful of road water, half of which I swallowed!

Still, it was good fun. I love storms - the power of nature and all that jazz.

Labels: running, seeing_doing

The Killers totally rocked Hyde Park last night. The rain held off, it was a lovely sunny evening and the crowd loved every minute.

Labels: seeing_doing

Getting my hands dirty making mud pies is definitely as therapeutic for me as a spa day, if not moreso. So when we dropped into Homebase yesterday to buy a barbecue I got a little distracted and came away with a whole array of purple petalled beauties. Of course, I couldn't be doing all that planting without some cute new gardening gloves and these candy striped ones suited me just fine!

Purple, blue and white are the colours that have begun to dominate our back garden, and now they have made their way into the front bed. I'm pleased with this neat and tidy look. The bees seem to like it too, and we should all do our bit to save the bees.

Labels: gardening

As I lay staring at the tiled floor, my head firmly planted in a towel-lined hole, I thought it would make a good opening vista for a film. Vulnerable, alone in a darkened room, and at the mercy of a complete stranger, anything could happen - a brutal murder perhaps? Happily there was nothing of the sort. I was at the Utopia Spa in Rowhill Grange, enjoying a full body massage.

We are in serious need of some time out so we are having a long weekend. Yesterday we sat in the garden and made life plans and in the afternoon we browsed around quiet shops and buzzed at the thought of another three days of freedom.

Today we are treating ourselves to a spa day. After a morning in the pool, and lunch in our dressing gowns, we had massages then facials. Relaxing, yes, but I couldn't help but feel I had fallen into a classic "I saw you coming" trap. The kind to which the ladies wot lunch are happy to succumb, but at which I might roll my eyes. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy having a creamy banana-smelling substance painted on my face, but I'm far too cynical to believe that these things will do my face any real good. More water, less sun and plenty of fruit and veg maybe. It was a nice bit of fun self-indulgence - nothing more, nothing less.

Labels: seeing_doing

Congratulations to the gorgeous Mr and Mrs Kinsey who were married yesterday at Alexander House. It was perfect weather for a perfect day!

Labels: seeing_doing

If you like meat, especially barbecued meat, you must visit a Bodeans BBQ Smoke House. When we parked up in Brixton before the Counting Crows on Monday we needed to find somewhere to eat and when we realised that we weren't that far away from Clapham High Street, where I used to live, and our favourite eatery there we took a walk over to experience the taste sensation once again.

God I love that place. I had baby back ribs, Dom had a 1/2 chicken combo. If we had big enough stomachs to eat everything on the menu we would have.

There are Bodeans diners in Clapham, Fulham, Westbourne, Soho and Tower Hill - so go if you can!

We love their chipotle mayo, it's great as a dip, but disgustingly bad for you. There are lots of recipes on the net for chipotle mayo using chopped fresh chillies, but we replicate the Bodeans one with very lazy ingredients: mix 5 parts mayo to 1 part HP Spicy Woodsmoked BBQ Sauce and add a pinch of chilli powder or more if desired to give you the desired level of heat and dip away to your heart's content (or to heart failure, depending on how you look at it!).

Labels: seeing_doing

Finally, after waiting over five years for UK dates, having had the concert we'd booked at Wembley Arena last year cancelled, and after postponing the original date of this gig last week, we saw the Counting Crows last night at Brixton Academy.

They are Dom's favourite band from his teen years (although The Killers are now proving stiff competition), and I'm now a fan too, but I didn't download their latest album, so I was a bit out of touch. My fave album is August and Everything After, and they played a few of the songs from it like Round Here, Mr Jones, and Rain King (which really got the crowd going) so I was well chuffed. They also sang Mrs Potter's Lullaby, Colorblind (which was brilliant), Hard Candy and a kind of medley with a few different songs combined... not sure I could make out what they were, I think Goodnight Elisabeth was in there.

Adam Duritz seemed a bit crazy on the stage. I almost wanted him to just sit still and sing, but he seemed to like jumping around a lot.

It was the first time I'd been to the Academy and I really liked the venue - good view even from the back of the standing area because of the sloped floor.

Adam's last words before he left the stage were "we'll be back". Don't leave it so long this time, OK!

Labels: seeing_doing