Saturday 19 November 2011

Nut cracking, choc blocking and illuminating


Oh what a busy day it's been!




This morning Miles and I had a burst of much needed house blessing (mucking out) and did a little bit of academic 'work' stuff. Done and literally dusted, we headed off to see The Nutcracker ballet. This was Miles first trip to the ballet and I think he enjoyed it a lot. Despite having booked the seats months in advance and having paid about £26 per seat, they weren't a very good view at all. Hey ho, we still enjoyed it, particularly the wicked mice, brave soldiers and sugar plum fairies!

It's such a shame that theatre is so prohibitively expensive these days. When Hermione said she wasn't bothered about going, having seen The Nutcracker a couple of times before, I certainly wasn't about to place any pressure upon her!



While we were preparing for our afternoon at the ballet, Hermione and Craig went to a lecture by a Doctor from Durham University about seeing nature in a different light. This was organised as part of the Lumiere event which is currently happening in and around Durham.


We all braved the crowds to see the opening lantern procession on Thursday evening. I didn't have my camera and the only picture I can find (above) doesn't do it justice. It was magical, the children were both open mouthed.

This evening we retired with what I can only describe as a block of chocolate on a stick, to stir in our hot milk. A lady from nana's church had made them and apparently they were a Jamie Oliver recipe. I'm not sure that they need a recipe and perhaps what she meant to say was they were inspired by these Jamie creations.


It was very tasty, despite looking like something one might use to knock a carpet tack in! A nice, simple gift idea.

4 comments:

Bridget said...

We have something in Dorset Called " Inside Out" and they do things like that. We have seen several of their street theatre productions, they have also done light processions and some of the " lanterns" were massive, you had people inside them riding bikes! I agree with you about the prices, even the Christmas panto would work out a huge amount for us!

Claire said...

Yep, I haven't bothered with panto tickets as yet and might not bother. If I do I suspect I will just take Miles.

knitty said...

ballet and art... really admire how much you do with your brood :)

Claire said...

Funny you should say that as sitting in the park this afternoon, chatting to friends and watching the children play, I was just saying how I think it's about time I began my hibernation :-) We always do a lot more 'work' in winter as it feels much more natural to just stay home and huddle then. Outings will certainly be decreasing from hereon into spring I think :-) Bring on the hot chocolate and hob nobs!