Royal Wedding Watchers Sleep Out for Best Places

A chilly night is forcast but many people are camping out around Westminster Abbey and the Mall . Grandma went to have a quiet lunch with her son and found peace in the Royal Academy exhibtion of exquisite Watteau drawings.

Kate and Wills Wedding Eve Royal Title

The Queen will give Prince William and Kate Middleton a title on the eve of their marriage.This is a Royal tradition. Kate will not be Princess Catherine as keeps being quoted, only the daughter or grand daughter of a reigning monarch gets this. The Queen has been to Cambridge today .The Archbishop of Canterbury is coming at  5pm to give a lecture.
Rumour has it that Queen Elizabeth has informed the Mayor that Kate and William will be made Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the eve of their wedding so we shall know tomorrow.

Royal Wedding Fever

London has that special buzz that  this great city gets when a Royal occasion is about to take place.

The flags are out, the mugs and teatowels are on sale everywhere, the streets are heaving with visitors. This is all for the wedding of Kate and William on Friday.People are already camping out in the street to secure the best place to watch from ,Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and The Mall give the best view.

If you are visiting London one the the best treats is a visit to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.The ballet Cinderella is showing. The costumes,the scenery,and the dancing are pure magic.Laugh at the ugly sisters, do not try the dance moves of the court jester at home.The Royal Opera Orchestra is the best theatre orchestra I have ever heard.
Treat yourself to a glass of Pimms in one of the bars in the interval.Soak up the ambience.
Yes, I know the price of the tickets is eyewatering but this is a special place.

If you need a taxi remember the black cabs on the street are expensive. Order a nice uniformed driver in a decent car from

Addison Lee ; 02073878888

Happy Easter

Happy Easter on this glorious sunny spring day.Cambridge is full of tourists.Many of them are messing about on the river.

Grandma is taking her grand daughters Mathilda and Alice to the Royal Ballet tomorrow to see Cinderella.

Easter Flowers and Food

Grandma arranged flowers this morning at St Botolph's Church ,Cambridge.The weather is very hot so I hope they last.

Easter eggs for grandchildren ( and others) have been bought
 from Marks and Spencers

A large and delicious Simnel cake is in the oven as I write. This cake dates back to the times when young servant girls were allowed to visit their mother over a holiday and bake her a cake using ingredients from the mistresses kitchen. It is a light fruit cake with a layer marzipan in the middle and marzipan finish .Will finish mine tomorrow.

Easter

                   

Eggs, Simnel cake, Church flowers-- no time to blog today

Sew Easy Royal Wedding Cushion

You will need

1. You need a cushion pad  30x50 centimeters, 2 pieces of  felt (green) 40 x60 cms, small pieces of yellow,  and white felt for the crown and  red for the hearts.Gold, ,red and black thread for the embroidery.
2. Use this template to cut out a crown and 2 hearts.

Attach the crown to the one side of the green felt -gold thread looks good
3. Use a strip of white felt for the fur at the base of the crown

Embroider the names on the hearts using running stitch or chain stitch 


4. Embroider the date on the cushion
5. Attach the hearts using red thread and blanket stitch
6. Sew both pieces of green felt together using large blanket stitch

7. Insert the cushion pad and stich up the last side
8. This design makes a simple cushion that children can make with Grandma , the colours could be varied for a pretty hand made wedding or new baby gift.

9. Times are hard-- encourage children to make simple gifts that will be treasured.

Royal Wedding Stitch Up

Grandma loves this knitted Royal Wedding and will give it to her granddaughters. It has been knitted by  friend Julia Barbe using Fiona Gable's pattern book.More of these knitted characters will be  for sale at St Botolph's Church Cambridge on 2  May 2011.

                   Prince Harry,Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, Kate and William,Camilla,Prince Charles and a corgi

Bluebell Burst

If the weather is warm this weekend look out for a bluebell burst  .

Woodland Flowers from England

This is a good year for woodland flowers. Many can now be grown in containers in your own garden.The wild plants should not be picked. I have found my favourites, violets and primrose plants for sale on Cambridge market, they become well established quickly.