A Simple Red Autumnal Leaf

Can you write about anything with pure and simple joy I suppose it depends on the subject . Could you write for example about just a simple leaf that's just a leaf with a big hallelujah fanfare ?

Well yes you can I write about anything from the bedlam of owning cats to a leaf ~ the leaf that I just noticed while reading "The Little Book Of Kindness " .That book really does warrant a whole blog post on its own as it's a real life changer in how you think about yourself abd how you act to others.

Back to the simple leaf if a leaf can really be so simple but simplicity in quiet veneration is a transcendental beauty all of its own.

Art is subjective that say and I've seen some weird art in my time but the beauty of nature is priceless. So come Autumn this simple red Autumnal leaf will be joined by others in a like minded riotous brevity of colour.

So can you write about anything well I guess you can !

I do love Autumn with all its vivid colours , it really is like a kaleidoscope but as winter comes forth with its icy cold fingers I wish I could hibernate away like a hedgehog.Just as long when I do hibernate I can take a pile of books with me and a tea pot.

Awesome Duck Tour In London

At the start of the holiday when the husband and I were  footloose and fancy free without the monetary obligation of the teen going to University. We were very lucky to be invited along to take a Duck tour around London and on the River Thames itself.

We are always in and out of London and have always been intrigued by the Duck tour boats and with the invitation to go on the Duck tour we were very excited. With a Duck tour you get a very entertaining tour both on the road and the river it's a unique viewing perspective on both parts of the tour.The duck bus is an amphibious vehicle that can drive on land and on water. 

The staff were really professional and they organised everything flawlessly, we arrived early and we were asked if we wanted to go in the tour earlier. We instead opted to go on the tour at our allotted time and I'm glad we did as our tour guide was hilarious.

The tour that we took was the Classic Sightseeing Tour, which started from the London Duck Tours bus stop near The London Eye. Off we went past the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, Buckingham Palace (did you know that buses are allowed to drive in front of the palace, I so would have liked the Queen to have waved at us !), Westminster Abbey and along by the MI6 building.

When you get to the river which is ultimately the highlight of the tour the drivers swap. You are give a quick but comprehensive safety demo from the tour guide. Being on the river is such a buzz as you know there's nothing better than messing about on boats.

You felt like James Bond as the river part of the tour starts beside the M16 building , no one got wet as we splashed into the river.we made our way up the Thames towards Parliament, did a u-turn and headed back towards the MI6 building where we came out of the water, swapped drivers again and headed back to the start of the tour.

The tour last 75 with 45 of that being on land, I think the tour length is just right with out children getting bored. Our funny tour guide even got heckled by a 9 year old which was hilarious. The tour guide I think his name was Matthew was very much like Alexander Armstrong delivering the tour with deadpan style "Green park is so called because it is green ..." obviously he filled us on the true facts of why it is called Green park. There was comedy infill on the tour which is the sign of a good tour guide and I can imagine the tour guide treading the boards some where in a Shakespeare play. And I think if a tour guide can hold your attention with silly jokes and the like then it makes it a memorable fun day. before we entered the water. 


Everyone is put at ease on the tour as the tour guide goes round asking where people are from and fires nuggets of information at us to do with where people are form.


DO check in about 20 minutes early as you are bored by who arrive first.

NO hot food or drink on the tour but they are ok with you having a little nibble on something or a cold drink.

NO toilets on board but there are nice clean toilets in Festival Hall.


Some facts you know are rather vanilla especially about Big Ben being the bell and not the actual tower but you know what with the tour guide twanging the Bond theme over the mic we dip into the water by the side of the MI6 building you just soak up all the facts !.

The prices as of April 2017 are as follows:
Adults – £27
Children (1+) – £19
Under 1’s – Free

I was given 2 tickets for this tour all thought and words opinion are my own.


The tour is ending on the 18th September but they hope to be up and running again in January.

The Bedlam Of Owning Cats

The bedlam of owning  cats is never an easy task I mean that I why think  they're a bedlam , Jack is bedlam and unique he's adapted very well to being without Rollie.

What ever you have is the cats it's never yours for the cat rules and you merely honestly in all honesty stole it from the cat from cake to fruit it belongs to the cat.

You can't eat a think without being watched , I wouldn't mind so much it was when I was eating chocolate or cake , I could market this as a new diet.

I rest my case !!

Capuchin Crypt Rome Is a Must See In Rome

Having just come back from Rome I can safefully say that travel really does broaden the mind and heighten the senses , and I'm thirsty for more travel. I think next I would really like to go to California I've always loved the USA and have been 6 times , 4 times to Florida and once to Washington D.C. We've also visited Berlin and Amsterdam but Rome has always been in our hearts.

We visited many many places in Rome and we were there a week and I can honestly say there is still loads to see.

We tried last minute to see one of the many Catacombs of Rome, but we were to late in booking anything a good compromise was the Capuchin Crypt. The crypt of bones is composed of six rooms beneath a chapel. There are about 4,00 Capuchin monk's bones decorating the rooms in all manner of intricate patterns covering the walls and ceilings of the crypt. There are even bone chandeliers hanging above you as you walk through.All manner of bones are nailed to the walls , many are stacked and some of the skeletons are in the robes of their order .Bones were nailed to the walls, some stacked, and some friars’ skeletons were in one piece under their robes. 

Some of the other rooms also had burial sites with monks laid to rest in peace beneath the Earth’s soil. The six rooms are Crypt of the Resurrection, The Mass Chapel, Crypt of the Skulls, Crypt of the Pelvis, Crypt of the Leg Bones and Thigh Bones, and Crypt of the Three Skeletons. Each is the rooms are imactely organised if you can say that about a room of bones . The rooms are very neatly organised and well maintained, it really is most impressive.Some of the skeletons are standing or lying down it was astonishing to look at them because you knew that once they were a living soul. Some of the skeletons are wearing their friar robes, their skeletal bodies don't look gloomy at all . You must have your shoulders covered and you must  respectful as this is a holy place.

The Capuchin Crypt is not macabre far from it it us a reminder life is fleeting and you're reminded of your own mortality. As a family we were not creeped out at all find it creepy we all understood the message that the crypt was conveying. Yes there is a souvenir shop with everything from mugs to postcards.

Cambridge Food Tour Review

I was lucky enough way back before Christmas to win a Cambridge food tour for 2 but it was only now I've been able to redeem it. We just had to pay for the teen which was roughly £50 and that was it so really £50 for the three of us. Parking with Cambridge itself is notoriously expensive so instead we opted for the park and ride £1 to park and £8.50 (on bus price ) for the three of us though it is £9 if you pay at the machine.

We met by an exclusive little bakery / tea shop / I just want to live in there sort of place . It was just us  3 on the food tour plus the guide so 4 people in total.The tour starts off at Fitzbillies, and works its way around Cambridge visiting places like The Eagle pub and its history, Aromi, the food market, Fudge Kitchen, Cambridge Cheese Company and the Free Press Pub. You'll sample food at each of the places as you go round which gives you an insight into what is available around Cambridge. 

Having done this tour we now know where I would go out to eat when in Cambridge and where to go and buy those special food items. It also get a good basic tour of the sights of Cambridge as well. The tour guides know their stuff so feel free to ask questions and they are very friendly.