RHS Wisley Gardens

*Does the video in the post lower down automatically start playing when you open my blog? It does that to me and I don't like it. I'm hoping that as it moves down the page and gets pushed off to an older page it will stop...


On Sunday we took Andre's Dad and Marietjie to the Wisley gardens. It was our first time there too and we've been wanting to go for a while. Sunday was the perfect day for being outside. It was HOT! Very very hot! That doesn't happen very often over here so when it's hot, no matter how hot, we make sure we're outside so as not to miss it.

We were hardly there for 5 minutes when I decided my shoes need to come off. I got a few curious glances from the British. I guess it's not the norm, taking your shoes off in a garden. No one else did, besides maybe one or two little kids running around. But I didn't care. It was hot and the cool grass felt good underneath my feet.

The gardens were amazing. So much more and bigger than we expected. We spent over 3 hours there. Including an ice cream break.

There was an edible garden sections with lots and lots of fruit and veg. All different kinds of berries, my favourite! And even an apple orchard.

So here are a few of the photos Andre took on Sunday. I left my camera in the car. It was too hot to carry anything!

You can't really see from the picture, but these leaves
were huge. It's a giant rhubarb and they're from 50 million
years ago. Must have been dinosaur food!

Giant rhubarb leaf.

Andre's Dad & Marietjie in the rose garden.
So many different roses...

A bee.
I want to be a bee keeper!

Some exotic plants inside, including a rainforest, waterfall
and an 'underground' section on roots.

Resting in the shade.

A heron
Andre managed to do a little bit of bird photography too!

We'll definitely go back for another visit!

BMW Open Day

On Saturday we went to a BMW motorbike open day. They were letting people have test rides on the bikes, there were competitions, the BMW bike racing driver Leon Haslam (also pictured below) was there for an interview and BMW's stunt rider Mattie Griffin did a stunt show. This was the most fun part of the day. This guy was really good and did some serious tricks on his bike! It was a good opportunity for Andre to get some action photos and he got some good shots. Here are a few of them. (The bike is moving in all of these photos!)

Sushi time again!

Andre's dad and his wife, Marietjie, came to visit us last weekend. At the moment they're off on a tour through Europe and we'll see them again before they fly back to SA.

So Friday night I decided we're due for some sushi. I've been craving sushi for a long time now. We don't make it too often because it is a bit of work, but it's all part of the fun and so delicious to eat.

I didn't want us to eat dinner and have it over so quickly. I felt like just sitting around the table catching up and with sushi you can do that. You can keep nibbling, having just one more and then just one last one more...

We also made a thai beef salad and Andre's dad bought some Saki, Japanese rice wine, to go with the meal.

More about the rest of the weekend later. I'm going to do some gardening while the sun is out now.

Sailing & diving video

I had fun putting together some video clips of our holiday. I promise this will be the last of the holiday.



You can also view it here on vimeo. It's a bit better and bigger on vimeo.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Andre's been asking for a Victoria Sponge Cake for a while now and so on Monday I decided to bake one. It was my first time making this cake and it turned out so yummy! So simple and easy (especially if you use a cake mix!) and it tasted so good.

I've posted more details on how I made this cake on my other blog.

Raspberries from our garden

I've spotted some raspberries at the back of our veggie garden last week already and today I thought I better pick them before the birds beat me to it. There are so many birds here, I'm surprised they haven't helped themselves yet. It's not quite enough to make jam or ice cream from so it will just go in a fruit salad tomorrow.

Next to be eaten from our garden will be the black currents. They'll be ready soon!

Race for Life

Last year I participated in the Race for Life to help raise money for cancer research. It was a lot of fun, although tiring! I won't be joining in this year, but if you would like to help make a difference in cancer research you can sponsor my friend, Beverley, by making a donation. I just did! Bev will be doing the 5 km Race for Life in Windsor this year! 

Here's the link to her sponsorship page: 

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/bevharrison0803

Go on! Help make a difference! Every little bit helps!

Bev, third from left, with her daughter.

What's new in the garden

I've planted herbs: coriander, mint, basil chives and parsley
plus chillies in the back.

The rhododendrons flowered for the first time since
we're in this house.

Last year I thought this was a weed and tried pulling it out.
It wouldn't come out so I cut it right to the ground.
It was obviously not a weed...

I planted veggies

And they're now in grow bags to be able to move with us.
Clockwise from top left: courgettes, peppers, squash, aubergine
and lettuce. The lettuce can stay. I don't like lettuce much.

The roses are looking amazing.
And there's this bush with pretty purple flowers.
Don't know what it's called.

More climbing roses at the back of the garden.

Loving our little garden. It's still got a little bit of English
in it, but neater, the way we like it.

Crafts & Cupcakes

Last week was half term break. I used to not have craft classes during the half term break, but this time I asked the mom's in my groups whether they would like a session during this week and they all said yes. All other activities close during half term and holiday times so they were too happy to have an activity during the week to take their kids to. 

As it was half term I decided to have a special treat session and so instead of painting, we decorated cupcakes and made biscuits.

The kids each mixed their own icing, choosing the colour they wanted for it. Then there were sprinkles, stars, marshmallows and more to decorate their cupcakes with. Of course fingers were licked in between! It was a lot of fun!

Today we were back to doing crafts again. And of course we got so into the activities that I again forgot to take pictures...

I already have some fun activities planned for the holiday craft sessions coming up soon!

Peppone's Italian Restaurant

This post is a week late now. I've had a bit of a busy week last week, but now I'm back.

Two weekends ago friends of ours took us to this Italian Restaurant called Peppone's. Peppone is the chef and owner. His wife Anna was there too and they were such fantastic hosts. Our friends have been there quite a few times before and so knew the owners already. We ordered some antipasti (starters). The chef's specials. 

After a while several waiters started bringing out plates and plates and more plates of food. So much that we had to shuffle things around on the table to make more space. The table was FULL of food. And it was only the starters!

The starters: a very full table of food!

We finished it all except for some of the mussels and Peppone then had one of his chefs make us a pasta with the mussels and some shrimp. Then there was also a surf & turf platter and after that steaks! 

With Peppone & his wife, Anna

There was no way we could still order dessert after eating so much but Peppone insisted and out came Zeppole di Riso - deep fried rice pudding served with honey and Grand Marnier. Andre said it reminded him of "koeksusters". It was divine and despite having eaten so much already we quickly finished the dessert. So of course out came ANOTHER serving!

Andre deep in discussion with Peppone about the dessert

After dessert a bottle of limoncello was brought to the table. And left on the table. It was really good limoncello too. Andre took on the job of pouring the limoncello when the waitress needed the bottle to serve to other customers. Notice how she's pointing to the glass to make sure Andre doesn't fill it too much!

It was such an awesome evening. Peppone and Anna spent much of the evening sitting with us at our table, eating with us and drinking red wine. This restaurant is about more than just great food. It's about the people and the atmosphere and just about sharing a good time with good friends.