Goodbye November ....

Well not sure where November has gone, but December is a sleep away and 31 days until 2016!.. eeek. For someone who didn't have much planned in November, I didn't get much blogging done and failed miserable with by BEDN challenge!

November was filled with lots of remembrance activities and the desk and Taylor were suitably styled.
I spent a night at the movie's watching Spectre and loved it.
Another night out saw me at the theatre watching Funny Girl, starring Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice who is quite simply fabulous. This musical moved to The Strand theatre in April after its run at the Menier Chocolate theatre and urge all to grab tickets.
This kits also got to go out in Taylor for there annual check up and inoculations at the vet. Both were little stars and very good for the vet. They have been enjoying cozy nights in in November, cuddled up in front of their little fire.

November saw every retailer have a Black Friday frenzy... The big yellow store was no different. With a 5 day promotion of 20% which made for long days, lots of yellow bags and a big tick on my christmas lust & wish lists!!

Lots on insta love this month as the Christmas countdown began...

* Love Chalkedbymabz red cups chalkboard image... November kicked off the Starbucks red cups for 2015.

 *A special little boy turned 1 at the end of October and here he is skateboarding with his uncle! 

* Christmas adverts started to appear and Mulberry's is just lovely, how gorgeous does this mulberry bayswater look in the fire light... Dear Santa....

* ValerieMckeehan's hot chocolate chalk mugs are just delicious.

* Just loving Claridges Christmas styling this year and this little Nutcracker scene outside Paula Fitzherbert's room is perfect.

* Stunning image of the cenotaph from magic_moments1994 sums up the whole occasion.

* With a trip to NY pending, how stunning is Johnnyyonkers Lower Manhattan skyline.

* Loving Emily Quinton's fairy light styling and looking forward to trying some styling tips of my own this year. and finally Instagram love wouldn't e complete without an image from David Gandy .. this month at the Fashion Council awards!

November saw me attend an evening of Crime with Patricia Cornwell. It was an evening filled with mystery, forensics and fun. Here is more detail on the evening.

As November closes I am furiously packing for a trip to New York ... so farewell for now and see you when I am back ..... pop onto my Instagram feed to follow my adventures stateside!

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Goodbye October ..... Hello November

How can it be November?.... I'm not sure where 2015 is going but October has passed in a swirl of falling leaves, autumnal nights and lots and lots of scrummy thing!
October really is one of my favourite months and I have tried to enjoy every day and celebrate the season of autumn.
> October started with some gorgeous evenings and I took complete advantage by exploring the streets of London whilst walking to the station.
> Starbucks launched their Pumpkin latte's in gorgeous autumnal cups.
> London streets looked lovely with their falling leaves.
> Rugby fever still prevalent at my desk during October with pool games concluded it was time for the Big Boys games and gazing at Dan Carters thighs!
> I spent lots of time out doors in October and enjoyed walking, reading and soaking up the autumnal sunshine and falling leaves.
> Cats had much fun with munchkins and conkers in October as well as lots of snuggles.
> Walk to work continued with new routes found and scenery enjoyed from on foot.
> Bake days got a little spooky in the month, when I made this Gryffindor cake for a Harry Potter friend for her birthday.
> With gorgeous autumnal days I spent some time tidying at the cemetery and celebrating Nans birthday.

> Nothing lends itself to the halloween week than the side alleys and streets of Southwark and Borough market. The Victorian lights and artistically lit tunnels are perfect to create that spooky vibe.

> October saw the big yellow store turn blue & gold for a journey to the stars for Christmas.
> Much fun with the build up to the launch of the 24th Bond movie - Spectre. Saw the movie on night of release and will share my thoughts over the next week.
> spent a couple of Saturdays at the rugby watching the All Blacks which was just amazing, here is my Rugby world Cup adventures in full!
> enjoyed all of the sights of the season from the changing & falling leaves to having some pumpkin fun.
October saw be participate in an instagram daily for autumn which I enjoyed .. find out how I got on here.
Much fun in the scrum with these gorgeous men in the month!











October culminated in the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup, seeing New Zealand meet Australia in the final. I'd called the final 18 months ago when the pool games were released and thought these 2 mighty teams would meet. There could only be one winner on the day and I am thrilled that the All Blacks retained the trophy and showed the world that they are the best team. with 2 of their legendary greats bowing out after the final, it was a fitting end to the careers of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.
An amazing end to a fantastic month. Here's more of my adventures from previous months.
Looking forward to seeing what November brings.

A date with 007...

So today sees the long awaited new Bond movie, Spectre, follow-up to Skyfall and Daniel Craig's 4th outing in the legendary tux!
I am very excited to see this movie; it is no secret that I am a bit of a Bond girl and have loved the last few movies (think DC may have something to do with it!!)
So from the first teaser trailer I have been hooked....

Bond is back and looking as moody, brooding and bloody sexy as ever!.

I was intrigued when I heard that Sam Smith had bagged thebond theme song had some reservations when I heard the song on the radio, but it has grown on me and lends itself brilliantly against the video, so will be interested in how its woven into the epic opening scenes of the movie.

So tonight I have my tickets booked and  have a date with 007. The trailers have absolutely teased the taste buds for Spectre, the cast looks fabulous, and thrilled to see the Aston Martin DB10 which just looks delicious.

Pop back later in the week when I share my thoughts on Spectre and 007's new adventures.

Here's a few Bond related posts from previous adventures.

A Literary Day in London ... chapter 2

As previously blogged a day in London recently became a bit of  Literary Love Day, here is Chapter 2 of my day...
After exploring Notting Hill in Chapter 1 I jumped on the tube to Holborn, an impromptu stop in Bloomsbury Square Gardens made me discover the fabulous Book benches dotted around the city, (more details here on Books about Town site) The Book benches will be across London from now until the 15th September and showcase 50 of the best of London's Literary reads.  There are 4 trails across the city and I am hoping to see as many of them throughout the summer.
Downloading the Bloomsbury trail map I managed to see 4 of the benches as they were a short walk from each other and loved them. The benches are decorated front, and back, there are also little surprises hidden within the pages on the sides.
Bloomsbury Gardens
Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly ;this bench is situated in the lovely Bloomsbury garden overlooked by some of London's majestic architecture and a short walk from the British Museum. Filled with some of Agatha Christies most iconic symbols from her Poirot books its a gorgeous representative of one of Britain's most loved authors.



James Bond Stories ; This bench is situated opposite Hercule Poirot, thus displaying one of the most iconic detectives and MI5 operatives alongside each other that this country has seen in the literary world. This book is a mixture of colour, brutishness and cool objects synonymous with 007. I love the Ian Fleming signature in the book sleeves.

Red Lion Square

A short walk from Bloomsbury gardens into another square of greenery of London sits one of children's literary icons from JM Barrie, there are 2 JM Barrie benches across the city this one is themed "Always Try to be a Little Kinder than necessary" This is a gorgeous colourful bench, a short walk from Great Ormond street Hospital, featuring fairies, monkeys, mermaids and a small boy flying across the London skyline with Big ben.

Queen Square

My final bench found on my short walk was Pride & Prejudice, which I discovered in Queen Square, adjacent to Great Ormond street campus. I loved this bench, it features Elizabeth and Pemberley along with a Mr Darcy on the back. Sitting amongst the greenery and shade of a majestic tree, this was the perfect place to sit a while, enjoying the view and reading my kindle with a lolly from the ice-cream van.

 

This stroll through part of the city that I hadn't really explored before was an unexpected treat and one I will be doing again. This is a must for anyone who has a love for books. Great fun for big & little kids alike.

 

chapter 3 continues tomorrow.....



007's ABC....

A couple of weeks ago on a much needed day off, I spent an hour wandering a new exhibition that has opened in the London Film museum in Covent Garden. I am referring to the new Bond in Motion exhibition ... featuring my favourite 007 treats; Aston martins, Bond, Cars & DB5's, S's and vantages!
The exhibition is very cleverly displayed and is a must for any Bond enthusiast and fan.  A couple of years ago I visited a great exhibition at the Barbican, this is a great follow on from that.

The Bond movies were a huge part of me growing up, always a family outing when one was released. I didn't really get hooked until Pierce Brosnan pulled on the legendary Tuxedo. He was my ideal Bond until Daniel Craig was handed the legendary suit & gun and then I was completely suckered!.
My 2nd love in the Bond movies has always been the cars... Sean Connery's DB5 being my favourite, when this featured in Skyfall, it made my day. Aston Martins are my car love and their partnership with the Bond brand is legendary.... this exhibition features many from several movies... including some battered DBS vehicles from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Each car is displayed with both graphics and a movie playing of its legendary scene.

The show stealer is the legendary DB5 from Goldeneye  & Skyfall, sitting alongside is a replica model which was used to film scenes in the films.

Along with the Aston Martins, there is a water section, which features the amphibious Lotus and a bike section complete with Pierce Brosnans BMW bike and Daniel Craig's army bike which crosses the rooftops of the Turkish market in Istanbul.

This a great exhibition, and would make a great gift for Dads, Brothers and Bond fans like myself!

Bond at Bond street

My commute over the past 10 days has been a little brighter than normal.... Why I here you ask?.. Because Bond Street station has become "Bond" street literally ... All entrances and escalators a platform for the DVD release of Skyfall....

Skyfall releases today and it will of course be coming home with me.

I've waxed lyrically here about this movie since its release last year and I can't wait to get a copy for keeps!... 

Bond at its Best...

As I settled in my seat last night for a sold out viewing of Skyfall, my wait was finally over for my glimpse of 007. In its 50th year this was Bond's 23rd outing, and judging from the atmosphere in the cinema I wasn't the only one excited!....
In true Bond style the movie opened with one of the most actioned packed, stunningly orchestrated chase scenes that I have seen, Bond was off with a bang!... flowing into melancholic sounds of Adele's theme song it seemed that this Bond was going to live up to all the hype and expectation that had been set. As with all Bonds the theme song's final jigsaw puzzled slotted into place and the true essence of what the song was about suddenly all made sense.
For the next 2 hours I was swept away into this fabulous world of glamour and espionage.
There are no outrageous gadgets or gizmo's, every character enhances the story line, the new characters add to the complex layers of Bond.

The re-introduction of Q is fabulous, played by Ben Wishaw - the IT geek that everyone has worked with at sometime in their life.

Mallory played by Ralph Fiennes is a character that grows on you as you move through the movie. The "badie" played by Javier Bardem will have you squirming in your seat, chillingly creepy in a subtle way, its Julian Assange meets Hannibal Lector on a good day.

Judi Dench as M gives Daniel Craig a run for his money in the magnificent stakes, showcasing her acting pedigree to its finest, from ball breaking to heartbreaking in 2 hours

For the next 2 hours I was swept away into this fabulous world of glamour and espionage. This truly is the Best Bond that has been made. Daniel Craig is simply magnificent, bringing a Bond never seen before, humanistic, sometimes a little jaded, but so believable. Styled by Tom Ford this movie is uber glamorous, Bond has never looked so stylish and just oozes sex, appealing to the females in the audience... men will want to be him, and women will just want him!
This film is visually stunning, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the skyscrapers of Shanghai, the cinematography should be applauded and awarded. The Scottish highlands and the London skyline have never looked so evocative and breathtaking.  This alone is why this film should be seen on a big screen, it is fantastic.
Skyfall elevates itself into my top 3 films ever .... Bond is back and better than ever before...

previous Bond related posts...
Skyfall theme song
Bond at the Barbican

Skyfall.....

Last week one of the most rumoured spy secrets was exposed.... Adele would be singing the theme song for the up & coming 50th Bond movie Skyfall.... at 0.07 hours it was leaked and by morning it was all everyone was talking about!....

Set to a full orchestra the song is melancholic and powerful in true Adele style and suits the premise of the film... with homages back to previous movies, Shirley Bassey coming to mind instantly it will be a sure fire hit. Having been to the Designing Bond exhibition, there are a number of homages to previous Bond movies in the up and coming Skyfall, from trunks to cars!....

so my ticket is booked and I am now counting down the days to the opening night!... Looking forward to seeing Daniel Craig suited and booted in his Tom Ford tux and topless in his trunks!

Bond at the Barbican...

this year sees the celebration of 50 years of Bond..... its a classic British staple... and the reason I love Bond, other than Daniel Craig being delicious is that you know exactly what you are going to get... a phenomenal opening sequence, a car to die for, oodles of glamour, baddies are overcome, with Bond saving the day, along with the occasional dalliance of a beautiful girl!....

I can remember Saturday morning pictures, queueing with my Nan and Gramps to see the Bond for that year, then it was just exciting, the Bond hook came for me when Pierce Brosnan stepped into the Tux, he bought glamour, sex appeal and humour not seen since Sean Connery's era, and didn't think he could be replaced until Daniel Craig donned the Tux and the Blue trunks and then I was completely sunk! So was very excited to see said Trunks at the exhibition, along with a replica pair that Sean Connery wore, which Daniel will adorn for the new Skyfall movie....

To celebrate the 50 years an exhibition showcasing everything Bond is on at the Barbican in London... complete with Martini bar its a treat for any Bond fan. Split over 3 rooms - Golden, Glamour & Gadgets, Villains & Villanesses and finally the Ice Palace (don't get too excited its just a room with all the snow inspired costumes & gadgets). Golden, Glamour & Gadgets is the best space, with some great exhibits including a Golden Typewriter of Flemings,  a Golden Gun, script & book extracts along with some dazzling diamonds and gadgets galore.

finally a Bond exhibition would not be complete without a car. As you enter the Barbican, the legendary Aston Martin DB5 is parked for all to see.... effortlessly stylish it epitomises Bond entirely.... uber cool and stunningly stylish, my dream car!...

and as you can see will get an outing in the forthcoming Skyfall, which will be released in November....

exhibition is on at the Barbican during the summer, and is definitely worth a visit.... now waiting for the new film, celebrating fifty years of 007!