EDINBURGH: Royal Botanical Gardens

It was a year ago this week that me and the boy were holidaying in Edinburgh. I was on a bit of a hiatus with my blog at the time and never posted one of my favorite places we went too - the Royal Botanical Gardens and this is where we went one year ago to this day. Don't get me wrong I'm not green fingered in the slightest and I never thought I would have enjoyed this place at all - we only popped in because we were heading back from the Royal ship Britannia and it was on the same bus route. But if your ever in the Edinburgh suburbs its more then worthy of a visit. The greenhouses are full of the most amazing selection of flowers and trees, with ponds and fish set in a huge landscaped garden. There's even shops and restaurants to keep you entertained even more. Between us we took over 150 photographs - you can always tell how much we like something by the amount of photographs we take!

Since visiting the gardens I've developed a bit of a love for the huge conservatory greenhouses and wandering around them. Most of all they tend to be really cheap places to visit and at least they offer somewhere dry on a rainy day.

Have you ever visited the gardens or Edinburgh? Where are your favorite places to sight-see?

FOOD: Sushi

Its been over a year (last april to be spot on) that i first blogged about sushi. It was back then something that Joe had talked lots and lots about but it had been something i'd avoided. I think its the normal stereotypical reasons why - raw, cold, fishy, odd, that sometimes puts most people off. My first sushi experience was getting a take out from a little sushi place in Gillygate in York, we sat and eat it among the ruins of the abbey in the museum gardens in the August sunshine. I think since then, I was slightly hooked. I won't say I'm the font of all knowledge when it comes to sushi and most of the time I just say i want something with prawns or salmon or tuna and Joe picks it for us. In Edinburgh we went to the No.1 Sushi bar which does stand up to it's title - we did slash out and spend £60 (sushi isn't always the cheapest of meals but the plate settings and knowing it was fresh and made right there for you tops it) but it was very very worth it and I have an addiction to the ginger pieces!

Now I'm left with eating M&S take out pre-packed Sushi - its not bad and it's Californian rolls are yum but nothing beats the made for you taste that you get in restaurants. But its always my treat when i'm working every other Saturday. Apparently Pret do sushi too - with your own little chop sticks which might be worth a try. 

A flamingo and a mirror ... some more vintage compacts

Those of you who are regular readers will know this girl is a vintage powder compact lover. Yet the more vintage powder compacts a girl gets the more picky she gets about the ones she likes or the ones she'll buy. Its the pitfall of getting knowledgeable about something you collect. You sadly don't want any old compact. It's a shame to an extent. Half my problems are solved when Joe buys my presents, he has this most amazing taste about compacts regards of knowing what company they are or their age or history. He just knows. It's that kind of knowledge that irreplaceable and very handy to have. I think I must have had a big grumble about all the "gold" toned compacts out there in the world, at one points that was all I could see; so to give me a surprise and so add a little colour, JJ came up with this little stunner!

In one part it's a step away from the normal powder compact in as much as it's just a mirrored compact rather then one to hold any kind of make-up. This in a point makes it harder to date - seeing it's without  powder it's therefore missing it's traditional Stratton stamp that a collector would use to age its dating. Regardless its still gorgeous and still Stratton in make. The white enamelled top is delicately designed with a blue butterfly and pink roses. I really should be more girlie and buy a proper handbag for work and keep and use this gorgeous compact everyday. Sometimes I just don't want to use and spoil it.

Because compacts aren't the easiest to objects to find in and around where I live, any visit to a new place is always an opportunity to hunt out compacts. Mine and Joe's holiday to Edinburgh became the perfect hunting ground especially with an antique shop within a five minute walk away from the flat we were renting. The only down side was that those we found, weren't cheap.

That was until we stumbled upon this Flamingo oval shaped compact. As a company Flamingo, established by Fulemn Engineering Ltd, were only in production during the early 1950s their limited impact seems to be due to the company's inability to break through a market already full of  compacts by Stratton, Mascott and Kigu to name but three. Therefore run of Flamingo compacts were short and today are very uncommon.

As a large oval shape the edging is gold toned with a topping of  white and red fuchsias with black and gold leaves. Flamingo compacts are sturdy well designed; the company's name alongside "made in England" is stamped under the hinge to the back of the compact. While it does not contain a powder lid, any powder is kept in by a thick puff of which mine still has its original. The puffs thickness and tight fitting acting as a thorough stopper with an additional felt gasket keeping everything in place. 

I slightly feel in love with it instantly until I saw the price. At £35 I was rather shocked a compact could command a price that high but all the ones i'd pulled out to potentially buy were around the £30-£40 mark. But then again I was on holiday so that was the only justification I needed!

Bill

We're back from Edinburgh! This is one of our favourite photographs - it totally sums up our humour.

Bill should be released immediately.

Brb

As of tomorrow I shall be MIA from blogger a while. It's a shame really after getting totally back into blogging and refinding old blogs and meeting new people but the boy's over for our holidays and we're off away. Luckily we have a night in Newcastle sorted and a whole week in Edinburgh to enjoy and be like a normal couple for once. We have six months of coupley things to catch on and I can't wait!

Fingers crossed for the weather and i'll update you with numerous pictures when i'm back! There are some compact, happy list posts scheduled just to keep this alive.

See you all very soon x

TRAVEL: Edinburgh

In two weeks me and the man are off to Edinburgh for a weeks holiday via a night in Newcastle. Joe's never been to Edinburgh (or Scotland at that) and I've only ever visited Edinburgh on the odd day trip when we being the parents and I use to holiday up around North Berwick. And I definitely haven't been there in the last five or so years. 

We have ideas on some of the places we really want to go - like to the zoo. We're both mad animal lovers - especially penguins so the zoo is a must as is the castle - you can't really go to Edinburgh without going up to the castle. But we're looking for heads up about the Botanic Gardens, Britannia, Portobello Beach and Carlton Hill. We even found an amazing FREE trip called the Hairy Coos up to the Trossachs in a bright orange bus which sounds amazingly fun! Free as in you tip the driver/guide what you think the tour was worth. 

But we're just looking for real peoples experiences and reviews, ideas for places to go, see, where to shop - especially ANY vintage shops, tea rooms, restaurants, places out and about that's worth a look. Or on the other flip of the story - places we really should avoid!

Travelpostersonline.com

I think there's so much more you can learn about a city through other peoples recommendations and moving away from the mere tourist guide, so i'm hoping someone has some ideas!

FILM: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

One of my favourite films (although originally a book by Muriel Spark) happens to be the 1969 adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie a story based around a charismatic, independent spirited teacher at Edinburgh's Marcia Bland private school for girls.While she considers her subject to be history, Miss Brodie  (played by Maggie Smith) uses any opportunity give lessons; tales of life to deviate her teaching towards love, lust, passion and fulfilment of the self, especially towards the group of girls (four in the film, six in the book) which become the subject of her infatuation , otherwise known as Brodie's girls.

Nothing comes near to standing in her way, side passing comments from fellow staff of her unconventional teaching manners and personal views as merely being in her prime. Miss Brodie's life and purpose becomes to mould and reproduce her life and her wants through her girls with each expressing and dramatising elements of her own personality, from the dependable Sandy, the pretty Jenny; the girl who will be known for her beauty, Monica the academic of the group and lastly Mary McGregor the orphan soul searching for a place and a meaning to belong. 

But her own life and desires tangles up with the reality and life of her girls. Her prime begins to fade and loyal friends can turn as Miss Brodie finds out to her disadvantage.

 I love Maggie Smith in this film, to be honest I love her in most, but there's something extra special in this film, maybe it's what all the other characters bring out in her, especially her "girls" all of which perform especially well. While in some element it is of it's era it does make us recognise how much we sometimes try and live our life through others and to who's detriment, their own or ours too? 

I'd love to read the book too, although like many the plots, the personalities and the characters I know are said to be a lot different between the two mediums but it's on my amazon wish list all the same.