Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

Wednesday2000

I had a great sleep last night, 8 and a half hours which was very unusual for me. I bought a Fitbit recently and it is helping me monitor my sleep. I felt very anxious this morning when I woke up and so I went for a long walk on the beach and in the park. 94 minutes long.:)

Auntycaz

Thanks everyone for all your help re the curtains. I will be sure to pass all the information on to my daughter. Also I saw some door curtains which are an 84 inch drop, so she might be able to get 2 of these instead of a pair of curtains if they do ordinary curtains in the same colour as she has a long room with a large window one end and patio doors at the other. This was in Dunelm if anyone else is looking for the same. She has a store a short drive from her house so will be able to see the thickness and quality too. Really appreciate all your suggestions.

Siebrie

@Auntycaz I take up my curtains by ironing this special fleece (sticky stuff) in the fold and cutting off the rest.

sugarbaby125

Siebre I believe you are referring to Wonder web. 

Wednesday2000

I had a lovely short break to York. The Airbnb my brother booked was easily walkable from the city centre and it was quite luxurious inside the apartment. We did spend a bit on meals out but we got a refund from some concert tickets beforehand which helped to fund some of it.

weenancyinAmerica

@Wednesday2000 beautiful shot of the Minster. 

helensbiggestfan

RIP Your Majesty.  Thank you for all your years of dedicated service.  The world will not be the same without you.  

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments:

Yesterday evening I got a free ticket from Neighbourhood Voices to go and watch the one man play Who Killed My Father at The Young Vic. My ticket was worth £22.50. I applauded his skill as an actor at the end of the play, but this play was not really saying anything to me. I am never keen on a play where one actor plays a few different characters. For me this play was a 5.5/10.

I went to see the play Drum at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham Common this evening. It was a really good play with lots of music and dancing, set in the swinging sixties. There were only 2 Black male characters and yet they filled the stage with their presence and commanded the audience's attention. For me this play was a 9.5/10   I paid  £4 for a ticket that was worth £13.    

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments:

On Thursday evening I went to The Sea Containers Hotel to watch a show called Uncontained. It was a mixture of singing, dancing, stand-up comedy, a comedy sketch with 3 cats and a rat and 2 spoken word artistes all performed by members of Taking Part which is the acting equivalent of Neighbourhood Voices run by The Young Vic. I really enjoyed all aspects of the show, and I had a good laugh, and I was thoroughly entertained. I would give this show 9.5/10   

The added bonus was that food and soft drinks were laid on for us. The food was served hot and there was falafel, mini burgers and mini fish and chips, all of which were delicious.

On Friday evening I went to The Jermyn Street Theatre to watch the play Love All by Dorothy L. Sayers. It was a really funny play and it had really strong female characters in this play. Once again, I was laughing aloud again and again with the rest of the audience. The 1930's costumes for both the male and the female characters were so sumptuous and glamorous. It is a lovely, well appointed small theatre with only 70 seats, but this made the actors performances even more intimate. I would give this play 9.5/10  I got my ticket for only £4 but it was worth £29 (concession ticket). 

On Saturday afternoon I went to see the play The P Word at The Bush Theatre. It is a play about 2 gay, Asian, Muslim men. It was such a powerful indictment about how asylum seekers are treated in Britain, and it also shed light on the awful plight of gay Asian, Muslim men in countries around the world that feel it is their right to punish gay men and sometimes even kill gay men. I was both moved and entertained, as there is so many comedic moments in the play that add levity to the sombre subject matters. I really enjoyed this play and for me it was a 10/10 having exceeded all of my expectations.  I paid £12 for my ticket by booking it weeks in advance otherwise my concession ticket would have cost me £20. 

 

Siebrie

This weekend is Carfree Sunday in many Belgian cities, and it's also Open Monument weekend.

Our village is next to Brussels' Airport, and just for us and 2 neighbouring villages there was an Open Day of the military airport and the police heliport, located on our side of the main commercial airport. Tickets were €5/person, and you had to bring ID, and for that you received free transportation from the village church to the entrance, vouchers for 2 drinks, bouncy castles, a tour of a huge military plane, helicopter demonstrations, police dog demonstrations, a chance to climb a proper military training climbing wall with either death ride or parachute descent, revolver shooting, a picture shoot of us in a vintage police heli, a view of the enormous new hangars they built for the new planes the military received two years ago. It was raining most of the day, but between 14 and 16 it was bright, so that's when we went, and dds and I had a great time.

In the evening the local Family Union (Belgian organisation that makes sure the government doesn't forget it's the families they work for, in whatever shape or form. They also offer help/advice raising children) had organised a puzzle tour through the village. DDs and I really enjoyed working out where to go, solving the problems in each of the five posts (pick as many apples as you can in a minute, name as many nuts as you can, taste X and draw it for the other team members to guess, play a tune on the church organ, etc). The whole tour took us a little over two hours, and it started to rain, but we didn't really notice, with our umbrellas. They offered a bowl of tasty pumpkin soup at the end. All that fun for €2/each.