A very festive London and Christmas 2013!

I hope that you all had a merry Christmas, and that 2014 is going to be a wonderful year for us all!

I will admit that I did not feel particularly Christmassy this year, in comparison with last year...I'm not sure why.  That did not stop me trying to get into the festive spirit though!  London looked particularly beautiful this season, with the most spectacular decorations sprinkled around town...

 Each year, there is a lovely big tree in St Pancras station.

Selfridges looked wonderful as ever, taking shoppers on a magical journey...

 Even the non-Christmas trees were sparkling.

 This was as close as we got to snowflakes this Christmas...thankfully! 

 Loverboy and I went on a lovely walk around central London, where every street was festive!

 I just loved the snowball lights on Oxford Street!

 Snowballs in the sky...

 London at night...

 Magical London...

 The good old baubles went up in Covent Garden again...I never get tired of them!

 Christmas loverboy!

Giant Christmas decorations...

 A festive walk around town with the hubs!

 The statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus was transformed into a giant snow globe! 

We bought a lovely big tree, which smells wonderful, and towers in the corner of the room!  We went with a different colour scheme from last year, choosing pink, teal and silver decorations.

I think my favourite part about putting up the tree, was when loverboy secured it into place.  It didn't half make me giggle - so much so, that I had to take a quick snap!

 Teeheeheeeeee!

My work place was very festive this year, as was the surrounding area of Borough Market.

 Tree in the building's reception area.

 Cards, treats and Father Christmas hats greeted us on our desks ahead of our work Christmas party...

 Festive in vintage red velvet at our office Christmas do!

Mulled wine and mince pies!

A brussel sprout tree in Borough Market!

Christmas is a great opportunity to sparkle and add a wintery, festive feel to your wardrobe and accessories....and I grabbed the opportunity with both bedazzled hands!

 Christmas tree holly brooch!

 Snowflake brooch!

 Green and gold glitter nails!

 Holly brooch...

 Red glittery nails!

 Blingy gold glitter nails...complete with hot toddy in a festive mug!

 Ice skate brooch with little rhinestones! The closest that I got to ice skating this year!

Sparkly holly glitter hair adornment from You're Naked Without One!

  Reindeer brooch!

On Christmas eve I went to the annual meet-up at the pub with my old school friends.  Ever since secondary school, you can guarantee that you will see people you know, if you rock up to the Old Black Lion on Christmas eve.  It's a lovely tradition, and great to see so many faces that I don't really get to see during the rest of the year.

 I have known Anna since we were in Primary School!

Just made it in time for the last tube home!

Christmas day was wonderful.  So wonderful, in fact, that we hardly took any photos!!!  We had an abundance of delicious food and the champagne was flowing!  I got some great gifts, including this...

With my mum and sister on Christmas day...

I didn't get any photos together with my sweet loverboy, but I did get this snap at the end of the day, when all the excitement had gotten too much for him...

 Teehee!  

 And here's one on Boxing Day, in a Christmas cracker crown!

I hope that you all have a lovely New Year's Eve, whether you are staying cosy at home, going to see the fireworks, or going out partying into the small hours of the morning!  Here's to a healthy, happy and fun 2014!  See you next year!

Rhythm Riot 2013

Oh dear.  I do seem to have been neglecting my little corner of the internet, here.  I just don't seem to be in the swing of blogging at all lately...

However, I just couldn't let any more time go by without talking about this year's highly anticipated Rhythm Riot which took place last month.  I've been going to this event for the last few years, but I have to say that in particular, this one was a real corker!

Obligatory car pose!

Chalets at night, Riot's delight!

 Perhaps my favourite photo from the whole weekend - Bobby Brooks Wilson!

The band line-up was fantastic, and my three favourites from the weekend had to be The Teenagers, Lazy Lester and The Zazou Cowboys.

The legendary Teenagers are one of my favourite do-wop bands, and have been performing since the 1950s. Three of the original Teenagers, have passed away, including lead singer, Frankie Lymon, who sadly died at the age of 25.  His part was sang by another childhood star, and Motown artist, Timothy 'Tiny Tim' Wilson, of Tiny Tim and The Hits.

Words cannot express how amazing these guys are!  They sing beautifully, their dance moves are perfectly coordinated, and they interact with the audience, in a way that is captivating rather than 'get on with it' overkill.  I love them, which is fitting, because most of their songs are about love!

Love was definitely in the air when this sneaky photo was snapped of Aaron and I during their performance...

Some serious double-chin action captured by Tony Bruce!

Lazy Lester played on the Sunday night, but was around to enjoy the weekender and watch the bands on the days prior to his show.  He is just the coolest of the cool, not only because he got up on stage and put on an excellent gig, but because he also wore his own Lazy Lester sweatshirt!

The man is 80 years old!  He is also sharp as a tack - during Bobby Brooks Wilson's show the previous night, he was pointed out in the audience, and BBW made a reference to him being 900 years old, to which Lazy Lester replied "I brought Noah his lunch when he was building the ark!"

The Zazou Cowboys provided the lunchtime entertainment in the Queen Vic pub on Saturday afternoon.  I had heard a lot of good things about these guys, but had never actually seen them myself.  Well I'm glad I have now, and I tell you, we even bought the CD, they were that good!  There's nothing like a bit of honky tonk to put you in a good mood on a Saturday afternoon (or any time, for that matter), and this lot put a whole load of people in an excellent mood, as the pub was literally packed to the rafters.

I didn't do too much shopping this year, despite the vast array of excellent vendors, mostly because I was more interested in watching bands, hanging out with friends and dancing.  I have found that I get a little impatient when trying on clothes at weekenders, because there is always so much going on, and I don't want to miss out on anything!  Plus, frankly I don't want to mess up my hair and keep taking off my carefully planned outfits, only to find that a dress I've fallen in love with, doesn't fit.

That said, I got up bright and early on the Sunday morning to check out the car boot sale, and managed to score a few items which I'm really pleased with.

This photo by Nick Grant surfaced from the car boot on Facebook - I did not end up buying the sunglasses!

Of course, one of the best things about the Riot is that you get to spend three days and nights hanging out with your friends.

There are chalet parties....

Dressing conga-lines...

Seeing friends from far and wide, as well as meeting new ones...

 I finally got to meet Elisa, who writes the blog Like a Tree in the Desert!

The weekend was closed with Ray Collins' Hot Club putting on the final show, and then dancing into the small hours of the morning.  A brilliant finale to a brilliant weekend....I'm already looking forward to next year!