Our Last Day in London

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…watching Sevin at her school’s Sports Day and a feast with family at a Turkish restaurant

After packing my bags this morning I headed over to Finsbury Park to watch my granddaughter, Sevin, participate in the school’s Sports Day.

All the classes were divided into colours. Sevin was on the red team. As a former teacher I have to say that the activities were very well organized and the parents were well behaved. Everyone supported each other and cheered on all the participants including the children that were consistently last. It warmed my heart to see and hear the praise for all the children.

The games were also fun and the emphasis was on having a good time.

After standing in the sun for two hours I headed back towards our flat and met Kevin in the local pub where we enjoyed a light lunch.

In the afternoon we finished packing, picked up a few essentials for the flight, booked an Uber for 4:30 in the morning and tidied up the flat.

Being our last night in London Brendan wanted us to experience a Turkish meal. We got on the bus on Green Lane and headed north.

The food was delicious and we ordered the perfect amount. Farewell London. See you again in October.

A Surprise Visit to Abby Road

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…then lunch in a pub and a walk through Hyde Park

Kevin decided to surprise me with a secret itinerary into central London today. We walked to the Arsenal Station and took the Piccadilly line to Green Park and then transferred onto the Jubilee line. Three stops later we got off at St. John’s Wood.

As we started walking Kevin hesitated for a moment and checked his phone for directions. A kind man asked if we were looking for Abby Road. Our destination was no longer a surprise but I was very moved by Kevin’s plan. He knows that I was and still am a big Beatles fan.

The actual studio is heavily guarded but there is a gift shop that is open to the public.

We considered going to some of the other iconic Beatles landmarks but they were all very far apart and not easy to walk to so we opted to get some lunch instead.

We headed to Bakers Street and had a nice meal at the Allsop Arms. I had the steak sandwich and lemonade and Kevin had the chicken BLT and a non alcoholic Peroni.

The forecasted rain held off and we made our way south to Hyde Park. We entered from the north east side and continued along the path towards the Serpentine Lake. As we got closer to the lake we were happy to see benches to rest our weary feet.

After a short rest we continued heading south to the south end of Hyde Park.

On the way out of the park I saw the rose garden and suggested to Kevin that he could rest some more while I quickly checked out the flowers.

All in all it was a great outing and when we got home Brendan cooked us dinner and Sevin set up her hairdressing parlour and gave Oma and Big Papa a makeover. If our son shares his photos with me I might share them with you. All I can say is that it was crazy fun and there was a lot of laughing.

Judy’s Number Game Challenge

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Judy Dykstra-Brown for hosting the Numbers Game Photo Challenge https://judydykstrabrown.com/2025/06/08/the-numbers-game-75-please-play-along/

This weeks number is 197. If you want to participate just type this number into the search box on your photo page. It’s fun to see what pops up.

A Walk Through Camden Passage in Angel

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…closer to home

We didn’t want to go too far afield today because we had to pick up Sevin from school. After a good hearty breakfast at the flat we headed out to catch the #4 bus to Islington Green.

We stopped in Waterstones bookstore to look around and purchased a couple of paperbacks. After that we were desperate for a coffee and we stopped at the same coffee kiosk that we went to the last time we were here. Once we were satisfactorily caffeinated we continued our journey down Camden Passage.

We stopped in a great cheese store and purchased some yummy cheeses made in Britain. One of the cheeses, the cheddar to be exact came from a dairy in Devon. The cheese monger told us that he had been to that dairy and he claimed that the owner knew her cheese as well as she knew her cows. She has a herd of over 100 cows and she has named each one.

Before heading home to pick up Sevin we stopped at Cass Art to pick up more sketchbooks and watercolour paper. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon.

A Day of Learning to Ride a Bike, Trekking to Argos and Ending the Day at the Pub to Watch Arsenal Women Win the Championship

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Mama Cormier

Today started out slowly. We were waiting for our eldest daughter to arrive in London from Toronto before heading out for the day.

After Andrea arrived we took Sevin outside to practise learning how to ride her bike. She took a few spins of the driveway with her father close behind before we walked to Argos to pick up some pillows that we had ordered earlier in the day.

The walk to Argo’s was substantial and we stopped at a famous noodle house for a bite to eat. More about that tomorrow.

We also stopped at a Waitrose to pick up a few more groceries and decided to take a bus back home. We wanted to get back home in time to catch the UEFA Women’s Champions League at one of the local pubs.

After missing one bus because the driver didn’t stop, waiting for a second bus and then having to walk a ways we finally got home, put away the food and made our way to the pub with the whole family.

The first two pubs were packed and one didn’t allow children. We ended up in the pub closest to our flat and we got there in time to see Arsenal score the first and only point of the game. The pub erupted in cheers when the hometown team won the championship.

Sevin was delighted with the outcome and thoroughly enjoyed her pizza and chips.

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge – Pink

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Sue W and Gerry C for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2025/05/03/weekly-prompts-colour-challenge-pink/

Judy’s Numbers Game – Which of Your Photos Have the Number 190?

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…all photos are identified with letters and numbers

RDP – Musical

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to the Ragtag community for hosting RDP https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2025/04/11/rdp-friday-musical/

Are we musical? Well we certainly love music and over the years my whole family has taken up learning to play an instrument or two.

I started singing in choirs in elementary school and as an adult I sang regularly in a German choir for 27 years and as a guest chorister in a church choir for special services. I learned to play the recorder as a child and taught my own students the melodic joys of this humble instrument. I dabble with the ukulele and have attempted to play the piano.

Two of my children learned to play the piano and they all took up instruments in school. Their choices were the cello and saxophone. Their father and my husband of almost 50 years is an avid collector and player of guitars and other stringed instruments.

Now our grandchildren are starting to show an interest in music. The cycle continues.