miss b loves .....Liverpool and The Three Queens

Liverpool is a city with such an interesting past and has always been a favourite of mine. Last month, the Three Queens (the three iconic Cunard ships) Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria met for the first time in the River Mersey to celebrate 175 years of the Cunard shipping line. 

An amazing event with musical entertainment including the Royal Marines Band outside the Cunard building ..... 

....and a fly past by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows, one of the world's best aerobatic display teams.

The event was even more special as we had been invited for lunch in the spectacular Port of Liverpool building.....

 .....where we had the perfect view of the ships' arrival and we enjoyed a slice of celebration cake too! 

miss b loves .......London, all dressed up for Christmas 2014!

Visiting London in the run up to Christmas seems to have become a tradition of ours.......The capital city has always fascinated me and there's something even more special about it during the festive period.....Last weekend we jumped on the train and just over two hours later we were welcomed by the bright lights of London, all dressed up for Christmas 2014 .......

A tree decorated with Fortnum and Mason
 wicker baskets at Somerset House.

Burlington Arcade

The Giant Observation Wheel
 at Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park

miss b loves .........sweet treats in Alice's Wonderland

Quirky, delightful, imaginative, enchanting, nostalgic....a few adjectives which sum up Alices Tea Room in St Annes.

As soon as we were handed the giant playing card menus we knew we were in for a treat ......

...with numerous references to Alice in Wonderland....

miss b loves .....perfect fish and chips in picturesque Downham.

Autumn's here! Cooler temperatures, a touch of rain but I'm now ready for this new season ..... This year in England it's been a good summer.... plenty of sunshine, clear blue skies and so many opportunities to be outdoors...

Early in the summer we drove out into the Ribble Valley, thirty minutes from home and the perfect place to escape from the hustle and bustle. 
    

Our destination .... Downham, often quoted as the loveliest village in Lancashire, complete with a gurgling brook running past the village green and stone cottages ......

It's certainly unspoilt and full of old world charm with an abundance of pretty, beautifully maintained properties..... 

miss b loves ..........one final sweet taste of summer

A couple of weeks ago it was looking as if autumn had arrived far too early with chilly days and overcast skies ...... but summer is back! It's blue skies and warm temperatures(at least for this time of the year in England) What a treat! 

A chance to enjoy a final taste of summer too with a home-made raspberry Pavlova. There are certain foods which instantly make me think of warm sunny days and this is one of them .....

This meringue-based dessert is said to have been named in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova during one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. There seems to be a long-running dispute about which of the two countries actually invented the dish. The Oxford English Dictionary and some research suggests New Zealand but the debate continues!

Anna Pavlova 1912
via

miss b loves .......classic cars on the village green

I've always had an interest in cars and from a very young age I knew all the makes and models.... I even had a collection of miniature Matchbox cars! 

Imagine my delight when we stumbled across a 'car carnival' as we were driving through the village of Wrea Green a week last Sunday. Classic, vintage and supercars all shiny and gleaming in the sunshine on the green.

Wrea Green  is a picturesque, award-winning village ........

Just ten minutes from home, it boasts the largest village green in Lancashire and a huge duck pond known to locals as 'The Dub'.

The green is the perfect setting for such an event and it was a gorgeous English summer's day ....

Isn't this 1948 MG TC the perfect car for a stylish picnic? .....

miss b loves .....the English Lake District ... and a very traditional Sunday lunch at The Drunken Duck.

The weekend before last,  I was craving a traditional English Sunday lunch with all the trimmings but without all the cooking so we headed off to The Drunken Duck near Ambleside, in the Lake District. We're very fortunate as it's just a forty-five minute drive from home.

The lunch was perfect......all served in separate dishes which I prefer so that you can take as much or as little as you like. 

Tender roast beef with impressive Yorkshire puddings presented on a wooden board ......

Cauliflower cheese served in a cute copper pan......

So many flavours on one plate.
Wonderful!

miss b loves ......... stylish elephants in the Elephant Parade

              

Last Sunday, during an impromptu shopping trip to the Trafford Centre, Manchester we came across vibrant art creations on elephant statues dotted all around the mall.

The national Elephant Parade Tour has been sponsored by mall owners 'intu' to raise greater awareness for the plight of Asian elephants.

Top artists, celebrities and schoolchildren have created their own elephants.

'Forest'
by Claudia Schiffer

Alex Jones, presenter of BBC's 'The One Show' designed 'Spirit' with Mercy Delta. This colour combination and mix of patterns with the horse design is so creative and eye-catching.

'Spirit'

'An Elephant's Tale' by Katie Sollohub was inspired by childhood memories of Tarzan and Boy riding elephants in the jungle, Barbar The Elephant and other stories about these magnificent creatures.

'An Elephant's Tale'

One of my favourites was 'Sunday Best' by Anna Masters. Her pretty blue and white elephant was inspired by patterns on Chinese ceramics.

'Sunday Best'

miss b loves .......a stylish afternoon tea at Thornton Hall and a 'model village.'

Last Sunday was yet another birthday treat! The Red Letter Day Experience was one of my very special gifts which I received in June but I decided to enjoy it at the end of the summer...

The range of activities includes aerobic stunt flying, white water rafting and bungee jumping .......... but my experience was most certainly the perfect one for me! Did you really think for a moment that I'd been brave enough to bungee jump?

I finally selected the venue, Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa on The Wirral Peninsula, a beautiful area between Liverpool and North Wales ..........and what a great choice!

A glass of Prosecco was the perfect apéritif to sip whilst we perused the menu .....imagine how long it took to choose from the extensive list of loose teas, coffees and seventeen different jams and curds ..........

Just as well we didn't have to choose from the list of sandwiches and cakes (or we would still be there).......apparently we were going to be served all of them!!

Our tiered stand arrived with a quirky teapot each ......Organic Darjeeling Estate in the cupcake teapot for me ......

 .... and White Orchard in the toaster teapot for mr b......

miss b loves...The Glass House Café Bar, Stydd Gardens and a Roman village

Last Sunday, a twenty minute drive from home took us to The Glass House Café Bar & Tea Room at Stydd Gardens in the beautiful Ribble Valley. 

The café is housed in a bright airy space..... a glasshouse! There's an eclectic mix of lovely shabby chic furniture ....... 

...... and an abundance of lush exotic plants which creates a very special, tranquil oasis....

Passion fruit flower

There are so many cute and quirky details......
  

These tiered cake stands were for sale too!