A celebrity tea party at the Disneyland Paris 20th anniversary celebrations
Well, the celebrations continue at Disneyland Paris (even though I’ve now left – fancy partying without me!) for the park’s 20th birthday. Yesterday, all sorts of famous faces (I spy Kym Marsh, super duper uber model Erin O’Conor and Lisa Maxwell) took part in a really lovely British celebrity tea party on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups ride in Fantasyland (one of my faves), complete with cute dainty sandwiches, cakes and chocolate dipped strawberries. Mickey and Minnie Mouse also joined the party, bringing an amazing 20th Anniversary tiered cake, magically created (in Scotland!) especially for the tea party:
The celebs also got to watch the new Disney Dreams show and the amazing the new parade that we saw last week too. Here they all are telling us all about it:
If you want more information about the 20th anniversary celebrations at Disneyland Paris, read all about my visit here.
Welcome to New New English Towers
Okay, so we’re going to have to work on the name, but we’re in! The area is really nice and there are some really beautiful areas of woodland and fields nearby (more of this later).
The kitchen is fab (check out the KitchenAid placing – looking rather fly):
and although the oven and hob were really gross, we got one of those oven cleaning companies in and now it’s immaculate:
And look at the hob:
Pretty nifty eh?
The fellas are back at school: #2 back with his beloved mates, and #1 very happily starting in the Sixth Form (yes, I tried to get one of those really nice ‘back to school’ shots with them standing looking all neat and posh in their new gear. Let’s face it, it was never going to happen):
…even the Ninja Cat of Death is pleased (turn the sound up for the purring) but she’s gone back to being miserable now. Happily I got the brief happy spell on film:
Much, MUCH more to come! So anyhoo, how have you been? What did I miss? xx
Gary Barlow and me? We’re bezzies. Exclusive!!!
So my hubby’s quite a private person. I think in all the years I’ve written this blog, he’s had no more than a few passing mentions, and never really wants his photo on here.
He works hard, and often comes into contact with famous people. He’s the consummate professional (yes, I know he’s a silly bugger, but he’s dead serious at work).
But this time, I’m afraid, he was overruled. He rang me on Sunday. The conversation went something like this:
Hubby: ‘Guess who I’m flying tomorrow?’
Me: ‘Who?’
Hubby: ‘Gary Barlow’
Me: ‘Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! Gary Sodding Barlow! *insert girly screaming here* I LOVE HIM!’
Now Hubster, being aware that I’m somewhat of a fan, did something really, really lovely. Something that he would never, ever normally do. I never ask him to get autographs and stuff, because I know it’s not professional, so I hadn’t even asked (well okay, that’s a total lie, I did ask but I thought he’d say no), so imagine my surprise when this landed in my inbox:
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
And for the record, he says that the lads are really, really lovely, totally unstarry, that Gary ‘Goose’ Barlow likes to sit up front next to the pilot, and that they’re a great craic too. You can see Mark Owen in the background too – I might faint!!!
Special thanks must go, obviously to Gary, I bloody love you! xxx
PS: What also really makes me laugh is Hubby’s silly face at the end. You can see ‘yes! brownie points!’ written all over it 
Sunbathing, salsa and the garden luge. With cackling.
So it’s bank hols here in the Republic and yesterday dawned the most beautiful, hot sunny day. There’s nothing quite like a sunny day in Ireland. Not only is it very unusual and therefore all the more welcome, but the whole greenness of the place gives it an almost luminous, lime green glow. The kids started off mucking about spraying each other with water guns, then hubby disappeared to the shop and came back with industrial strength rolls of bin bags to create the garden waterslide from hell. Here’s Hubby, #1, #2 and Little C (Lou was far too dainty for hurling herself downhill on a bit of plastic) having fun. Apologies for the hideous cackling, but what you couldn’t see, just out of shot, was that they all crashed into the side of the garage at the end of the trip (oh and check Hubby’s ‘argh! incoming!’). Oh and sorry about shooting directly into the sun. I don’t think I’ll be entering it at Cannes this year. Enjoy though.
We had lamb-burgers for lunch, made with minced lamb, breadcrumbs, crushed garlic, cumin, mustard seed, salt and pepper, with a lovely salsa that hubby made out of the lovely frondy fennel in the garden, plus chilli, pineapple, tomato, greek basil and spring onion. Summer on a plate:
Bert enjoyed the bank holiday too. Hubby has mowed another beautiful heart in one of the front lawns for me which is now full of wild flowers:
and happens to make a rather nice sunbathing spot too:
Mind you, when you have a comfy child to lean on, you can sunbathe just about anywhere:
We rounded the day off with hotdogs and a bonfire, with a bit of guitar playing and a sing song. Ah, I hope the summer lasts.
The Friday photo: a film about Morris dancing? Yay!
So remember that every time we visit the Disreputable One we have to go and watch bloody Morris dancing? The kids love it and to be honest, it’s a bit of a craic so when I found out that a friend of a dear friend made this cracking movie about Morris dancing, I just had to have a shufty. And seriously, it looks really good fun.
Starring Greg Wise, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sophie Thompson and the lovely Richard Lumsden (left in photo – remember him in the Catherine Tate show?) it’s right laugh, and a bit reminiscent of the sort of tongue in cheek Hot Fuzz stuff that my kiddlies adore. Here’s the trailer. Go and visit the website here and sign the petition for the film to go on general release. Those Morris dancers need you.
EDIT: I’ve had to remove the trailer because, frankly, it’s driving me crackers every time I log in. But you can still see it on the website.
Oh, and for all of you who send me an email every time I don’t put Bert up as the Friday photo, here he is giving his shoe collection a quick cuddle. Enjoy!
The Friday Photo: In which Bert helps with the washing up
Lemon cake and custard for pudding, then. And that means the one with the longest nose gets the most custard out of the jug. Guess who?
We even got him on video (hope you can’t hear me wittering on in the background…I was gutted because I burned my ‘fake’ Le Creuset pot):
Classic Potter Puppets
I know it’s old, but it makes me and the fellas giggle like a bunch of silly buggers. Dare you not to crack a smile. Voldemort Voldemort ooh Voldy Voldy Voldy…
The ‘oh no, everyone’s watching’ dance.
So what’s your favourite sloppy one, then? What would you like your Hubby (or bride, natch – we’re not sexist here at English Towers) to whirl you around the dance floor to? Or if you’re already married, what was your ‘first dance’ song? I think I’d probably favour this beautiful one from the Cranberries, or maybe ‘If you’re not the one’ by Daniel Bedingfield.
I know. I’m a romantic sap.
The Friday Video: Ash, ‘Burn Baby Burn’
Okay, seeing as I’m now all au fait with YouTube, and we’re having a little musical end to the week, here’s one of my all time favourite songs (and videos). How cool is the girly rockin’ her guitar?!
