Meeting old friends and more flowers...

We had a nice day last Sunday, as Maria,  my friend from Canada, was over in England and we went to spend the day with her and her friend Nicole. I had seen her last year, so wasn't expecting her to come this year as well, but she did!  Maria and I have known each other since we were four and we just pick up where we left off every time we meet up.  Friends like that are rare and need to be held on to!   

We went to Uppingham, a small market town in Rutland, which is where Maria was based.  Above is the town square. When I was little, Uppingham was the nearest town to where we lived,  so it has fond memories for me.

Here is an ironmonger's shop, where a multitude of useful things can be bought.  It was Sunday, so some shops weren't open, but we had a wander round an antiques centre and then a gallery.

Maria gave us some beautiful flowers, which we are enjoying. Sunflowers, Chrysanthemums, a Red Hot Poker,  Alstromeria and a rather interesting flower which looks a bit like a miniature artichoke, but with an orange head.

You can see the interesting flower on the right.  I am very lucky to have another lovely bouquet to enjoy and it was a wonderful day.

A lovely trip to Uppingham

In case you are wracking your brains and just can't quite place it, Uppingham is a small town in Rutland, which is the smallest county in England.  We visited last Saturday as my best friend, Maria, who now lives in Canada, was over here visiting family, so we met up with her and had a little wander round.  I have many memories of Uppingham as it was the nearest town to us when I was little and mum did most of her shopping there.  Nowadays, it has quite a smart and upmarket feel to it - even the charity shops have their own coffee shops! Above shows the market square, with a wonderful traditional ironmonger's shop on the corner, which has an old plough above the door.

 The main street, snaking off into the distance.

Here's a close up of the lovely stained glass at the ironmonger's shop.

 Here is Maria, doing a bit of window shopping.  This shop also has many memories as it was the sweet shop when I was little and was painted pale blue, I think.  Inside, the walls were lined with shelves on which were bottles, jars and boxes full of the most tempting things.  My favourites were fruit salads, white chocolate mice and chewing nuts, while my sisters liked flying saucers, sherbet fountains, shrimps and floral gems.

 Another shop which holds many memories was Baines the bakers.  We would often stop there after school and Mum would buy a white loaf, which we three children would nibble on the way home.  By the time we arrived home, there would be some holes in the sides of the loaf as if little mice had been at it!  We used to buy shop made fancy cakes on very special occasions and I think there were six in the box, all with delicious icing and little flower decorations on them...

Well, we had to buy something to remind us of our trip, so while Maria bought some Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgwater textiles, we saw these little decorations (which were half price), so they came home with us and were on the Christmas tree for two days, before being packed away for next Christmas.  When we get them out next year, we'll be reminded of a lovely day spent with a good friend in a pretty market town.