A Lucky Omen

It would have been my Dad's 90th birthday last Friday 6th March but it was also the day that P&O's new cruise ship Britannia arrived in her home port of Southampton from Italy and it may sound daft but I feel it is a good omen for the ship.  
Britannia has been a long time coming and for those of us who will be lucky enough to sail on her in her maiden season it has not come soon enough.  If I have one criticism is the lack of actual photographs that have been released by P&O and lack of information such as cabin sizes etc. CGI is all well and good at the planning stage and to show what staterooms may look like when finished but I personally want to see actual photographs.  
My cruise agent Susan is spending a couple of nights on board Britannia before she sets sail on her maiden voyage on March 14th.  I am hoping she can take some photographs of staterooms as I am sure she has other clients wanting the same.  So I am looking forward to goodies she may have for us.

My New Art Deco Evening Bag

Today was a beautiful sunny day and Karen and I took a trip to Holt where we had lunch in The Owl Tea Room.  It was rather strange parking in the road where my grandparents had once lived and walking past their house and not going in was a weird feeling.  

After lunch we went to my favourite vintage shop Past Caring to have a browse around this fabulous Aladdin's cave of beautiful clothes, handbags and accessorises of a bygone age.  
All week I have been drawn to going back and I usually follow my gut feelings.  When we were there two weeks ago I was actually drawn to two 1930's Art Deco evening bags but to buy two would have been pure indulgence and something I couldn't justify and so I bought the silver sequin one.  When we went back today the other bag which is black silk and has beautiful floral design in sequins and pearls; the picture does not do it justice.  It is in excellent condition considering its age.  The person who had the bag previously must have really loved and cared for it.  It is another aquisition to my ever growing collection of bags for my cruise.  Soon they will need a suitcase of their own!

Britannia Rules the Waves

It is not long now until Britannia arrives in Southampton and like many of my fellow cruisers I booked our cruise based on CGI and the tempting descriptions of what she will be like.  From what I have learnt she is contemporary in design and I heard the word "boutique" banded around.  I think P&O are aiming at first time cruisers and young at heart seasoned cruisers but I cannot see the style of this ship appealing to the Nan's of this world.  I am not one for taking too much notice of reviews as I believe they are personal views of the writer.  Reviewers often give information that can be useful when looking to book on a particular cruise ship or destination.  If there is something that pricks my attention I will then do my own research to put my mind at rest.  

I have purposely tried not to read or watch interviews about Britannia and the facilities she has on board.  I want to have the wow factor when we embark on her on May 2nd for our 14 night cruise.  However, I would like to see the actual grade of cabin I have paid for and the size, it is a deluxe balcony cabin.  But doing research I have noticed that all cruise brokers seem to use the same photogragh for both balcony and deluxe balcony cabins and even P&O do not make it clear; it is so annoying.  I am so glad we are not doing her maiden voyage as I am hoping that people will take photos of their cabins and post them so maybe I will get to see what my cabin may be like.

My New 1930's Art Deco Handbag

On Saturday afternoon after a wonderful lunch we had a browse around a couple of shops that we like to visit in Holt.  One of them is a vintage clothing shop called Past Caring
which specialises in clothing and accessories from 1800's - 1960's.

I have always had a love for the Art Deco period and an eye for items from that period.  Yesterday whilst browsing I came across an Art Deco evening bag from 1930 in near mint condition. 

It is decorated in silver gelatin sequins with detail in seed pearls. It is amazing to me that something so deicate and fragile has lasted around 85 years.  I can tell that who has previously owned this bag loved and cared for it very much.  Until Saturday I had not previous heard of gelatin sequins but widely used during this period.  Water and heat can disolve them so I am being very careful with where I store the bag.  
Recently I have become a lot more interested in the past and more aware of posessions.  One item left to me by my late Mum was an Art Dec dressing table set which I never took much notice of it all the years in sat on her dressing table but now it is mine I can see how beautiful it actually is.  
It is sad to think that we do not make things of beauty anymore; everything is mass produced and then thrown away when we have no more use for something.  I have also found this to be true when talking to the Jeweller about some pieces of my mum's jewellry that I had valued for probate. 
I will now take more care of my possestions and think twice in future before throwing stuff away.

Lunch at The Owl Tea Rooms

Yesterday my friends and I lunched at The Owl Tea Rooms in Holt.  Holt is a picturesque Georgian Town with it's winding alleyways with traditional flint cottages hiding treasures in every nook and cranny.  The market place is a mixture of traditional and modern shops.  
The Owl Tea Rooms have been there as long as I can remember.  It serves a good selection of home cooked food from light lunches to main meals with both vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options available and always have a variety of steamed puddings.  They also serve a wide range of drinks from traditional lemonade to speciality teas and coffees.  It is a rarity to find an establishment that offers cream with filter coffee, I usually end up having it black as I do not like milk in my coffee and so yesterday I was in 7th heaven.  
The tea room is through their bakery.  It has a charming nostalgic feel as if nothing has changed in many a year.  All around the walls there are all sorts of bygone items that have been given or collected over the years.  Many of the tables have old church pews.  It is a eatery that is used by both locals and visitors to the town.  

New Page Added

I have just uploaded a new page "Afternoon Tea Reviews" it is intended only as a guide and is my own personal opinion.  It is what the page says it is.  I will post reviews of afternoon teas and mark out of 5; 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest.  The first review is the Victorian Tea Rooms in Cromer, Norfolk.  You could actually call it our local.

These are a few of my favourite things....

I have many things in my life that I enjoy and the two things that give me the most pleasure is finding the ultimate traditional afternoon tea and going cruising with my bestfriend.
My blog is my own personal opinion and I would encourage anyone to try the things I have wriiten about for themselves.  Afternoon Teas and cruises are split into two sections.  I will write as much information as I can but like everyone I will always forget something, so if there is something you would like to know just ask me!