Morning! Hello, how are you?
The last couple of weeks have seem to be a bit crazy. I think part of it was getting back into the swing of Our Sidekick being back at school (well he’s at college now) and everything sort of speeding up again after it slowed down for the summer break.
We started the summer with a trip to North Yorkshire and I’ve ended the summer with a trip to London and a visit to Design Junction as well as JP Books (for Midori planner goodies).
Having already written about our adventures in North Yorkshire. I figured it was time to talk about my field trip to London before settling down to write a blog plan for October, to sleep and generally be a bit anti-social lol.
Once I decided that I was going to London and possibly meeting one of the clients I work with face to face for the first time effort. It probably would make sense to dress the part too. Most days I wear my scruffy jeans, a t-shirt and some form of jumper! So on Friday evening I treated myself to a new dress and new leggings. (I also got very excited as they were both Size 14. And I’m pretty sure a 12 dress might have fitted but I didn’t have the time to risk it). I dug out my boots and my brown socks. The boots were bought from a supermarket when Chris did Land’s End to John O’Groats because I hadn’t taken a wise choice of shoes for camping. My flip flops were fine for quick trips to the loo but when it was really wet they just took on water and I think my trainers were waterlogged too.
After a minor panic surrounding whether we’d have to take Jaxon to A&E or not after he attempted to knock himself out on the kitchen tiles we headed for the train station. The boys dropped me off and I headed inside. I got my ticket and grabbed a diet cola to take with me and headed onto the platform.
I caught the 9:47am service in the end. It wasn’t the first train out but it was the fast service. I got a window seat although I was sat next to a column so didn’t get much light! I attempted to cast on my knitting but when someone came to sit in the seat next to me I had to put it a way out of fear of elbowing them!
On this set of needles I’m working on a Big Knit hat. The new Lemon and Ginger knitting group are working on making at least 100 hats to send to Innocent Drinks.
After giving up on the knitting I decided I’d try and finish up a PenPal letter that had been about three weeks in the making. I managed to snap this picture of Midori Notebook, Lamy Safari and Parker cartridge pen before cracking out the letter and getting on with it. It was to one of the members of my PostCircle group. This particular member doesn’t seem to have any social media profiles so I have no idea that she’s received my letter until a reply appears – if and when it does!
Normally I would have wandered around the shops on my way through to the underground but this time I headed straight down to the Underground while I having a text message conversation with my Mum. There were some very loud and rowdy lads in the station who I think were on their way to the football. I jumped on the Piccadilly Line to Holborn. I ended up stood right next to the door because of how busy the train was. Seconds before the doors started closing a Dad pushed his child in the buggy onto the train but as he went to go through the doors they started to close on him. I tried to put my arm out the door to try and stop them causing him any more damage. Then when he’d got on the train the buggy had got wedged between the pole in the middle, him and the door. I put my handbag down on the floor next to the pole to grab the buggy wheel and twist it round so he could get out and we could get the buggy out of the gap.
As I squeezed through the people to get to the opposite door, the train jolted and I stumbled. I put my hand out to stable myself and caught a different buggy. I caught the frame of the buggy but also caught the lid. The mother of the baby had a bit of a go at me to which I apologised but I think she must have thought I was an ignoramus who was saying sorry but didn’t mean it. Had it been me I would have probably had a go too but at the same time I’d had been stood up guarding my buggy and the contained baby rather than sat on the seat next door reading my phone/magazine/book.
Anyway, I made my way through the station a little rattled by what had just happened but was determined to appreciate the adventure I was having without Jaxon glued to my side lol.
I went to the College building to register for Design Junction and get my wristband.
It was kind of funny how different I was treated because I had a Press Pass instead is a “normal” entry. It turned out that I was in the wrong building for the stand that I was looking for. I did go for a bit of a wander around the building to have a brief look, there were some amazing lighting installations that I’m sure that Chris would have enjoyed looking at.
I ended back up at the front desk and asked them to point me in the right direction for the stand I was looking for. I went across the road to Victoria House and had some more of an explore. I managed to find the stall I was looking for and also managed to find some other stands that excited me.
I loved that near the door there was a map with a huge list of stands. It meant that if you were really stuck you could head back to the main door and then head back in again.
I had been looking for the Hokolo stand anyway. So when I came round the corner and looked up, there was the bright blue and yellow walls. Jen who runs Hokolo was busy when I got there so I went for a potter round the others stands. I could have spend a small fortune on notebooks at Ola Studio and Alison Hardcastle. (Then again neither did Midori size notebooks. I found Octaevo who almost had one that was the right size but the back cover is slightly wider and so they weren’t the right size).
I also wandered past Crosstown Doughnuts and Nest. I was very tempted by a doughnut from Crosstown especially when the guy on the stand said that because they are made of sourdough they are lighter and take on less grease, but I was good. I took a leaflet and a postcard and walked away. At Nest, I chatted to a closely girl who had greeny-blue hair that matched the Nest colours. They were giving away a free tote bag and a discount voucher code if you signed up for their newsletter. The tote came in extra handy as my arm was starting to ache from all the brochures, leaflets and business cards I’d picked up for my scrapbook, for reference or for Our Sidekick’s college work.
I wandered back over to Jen’s stand and we got to have a chat. It was lovely to put a face to the name and meet in person properly. I think if Our Sidekick hadn’t been fighting off a cold it would have been a real benefit for him to have attended to get inspiration for projects at college and things like that. Jen’s stand at Design Junction was lovely and bright and you could hardly miss it!
Jen and I compared notes and talked about the products that she designs and sells. I am still loving the tote and if I had the pennies I’d be considering one of these gorgeous blankets for snuggling on the sofa or as an extra layer on the bed.
I had seen the Knit by Curver range while I was in The College building and really liked the baskets and other home accessories. It turned out that as a press person I could go and collect a goodie bag so I headed off back to The College for a wander to find the Knit by Curver display. The large shopping bag that was the goodie bag came in extra handy because it had room for the Nest Tote and my cardigan which had been a good idea when I stood on the platform at Bedford platform waiting for the train but having power walked around London a bit and then into a warm crowded building I was getting toasty!
Following the look aroun Design Junction, I headed up to JP Books off Shaftesbury Avenue for my Midori goodies. I’ve been debating whether to pay postage or not so when I was close I decided I’d pop in. Oh might have a new favourite shop! I can’t help it, I’m a bit of a Japanophile.
I hailed a taxi and headed back to St. Pancras to meet my Mum who’d been at a training thing. She knew I was on my way so when I got there, she had her pot of tea ready to pour out and a chilled Diet Cola for me. After all the charging round I was more thirsty than I had realised! Mum and I had a potter round the shops and then decided it was time to head back to Bedford.
