.. and you should have round fruits

'Tis Pancake Day, so guess what I had for lunch!

I've been to Sally Lunn's many times in Windsor, I would think it's the same people and has all the history written on the wall as you come in.

You won't see many of these around nowadays, my scouts have been busy this week, and when one I was going to get had been replaced Tellywellies and someone on Flickr provided me with others the next day, this also has a 10mph speed limit underneath it which I didn't have, there is a turn left sign in the centre of London but with very little paint left unlike this one. There were usually red circles on the top of the pole but although there's room on this there's no bracket which would have meant it had been there once and vanished. Luckily I do have one of them as well which is many times rarer to get the whole set nowadays.

.. and lots to eat

All looks so nice Ren.

We are fortunate in having an RHS garden only a few miles from us, and they are well known for their rose garden. This is just one bed of over a dozen. On a warm summer day the perfume can be almost overwhelming.

Beautiful!

Our friend used to own a pub but shut it down.
That left only one pub in town and that friend won't go to that pub.
So he set up his own little pub area (no selling) on the banks of the Darling River.
great spot.

I want to be in your place, Ren!!! That all looks fab! The food, the flars, the fruit, the flars ... the food ...

Then I could slake my thirst at Copago's friend's private bar with a view! Love it!

I see a birthday is in the works. Happy Birthday, Ren!

Happy birthday Sara! I haven't checked my Hotmail yet today or would have sent it from there directly.

In case anyone wonders what the one way system in Enfield looks like here it is. The glass building on the left was a library according to Google but is now apparently a shopping mall. That's called 'cuts'...

A very happy birthday to you Ren. Hope you have a lovely day

Ploughing with heavy horses. An open farm in Rochford has gone back to using horses for a couple of their fields.

Thanks all for your wishes.
Of course the shops all go to town. This is peach blossom. Very lucky and very expensive so only really seen in big stores nowadays.

Yoohoo Ren! Hope you had a wonderful day!!!

Those horses remind me of my primary schooldays. There was a field just over the road and I used to gaze out of the window and watch the farmer loughing the field with his horse.

Beautiful horses, too!

And I hope you had a great birthday, Sara.

Arizona has been colder than normal this winter and this is what all the cold has done to my poor lemon tree. We even had it covered during the coldest nights.

Part of the Royal Crescent in Bath by Victoria Park, you cannot really see how the 30 or so terraced houses curve with the street, apparently built between 1767 and 1775. The best view is from above but alas, I cannot fly....lol

Lovely horses! All of Ren's CNY goodies look wonderful, but I feel very sorry for that poor lemon tree. Bath looks lovely.

I treated myself to a Valentine's cupcake today

In a very small way they are making a bit of a comeback. A couple of vineyards in Kent now use them as they get inbetween the rows of vines better than a tractor. Some Forestry Commission places use them as they can go where vehicles can't and organic farms often use them on at least one or two fields as they often open to the public and they are a great attraction. Always a joy to see them.

Your poor tree ClaraSue.

Something else making a bit of a comeback - otter.

A little late maybe but Happy Birthday, Ren!

Howie, did you know that posh though it looks the Royal Crescent in Bath was actually built as a lot of cheap boarding houses, some housing activities not suitable to mention on a family site. The facade was done as a whole to make the city look attractive, but the insides were a lot lower class than the outside.

Yeah, when you have all these terrace houses joined up like that you get the idea it is not for the upper class people back then. Looking at it in 2010 you could see many of the houses had been neglected. The 'Royal' part of the name was added much later.

Apart from the signs I've only been taking photos to represent new places so far, but as this is a new sanitaryware showroom I thought it warranted a showing, although I didn't get closer to get an actual view into the window for the details.

Went to Sai Kung, by the sea, today. We looked in at the little temple there and this is a lion guarding it.
Lions are really important.In the list of animals for the years there is no lion. He was too late for the race to find which animal was superior, so the Emperor said he could have the job of scaring away the old year. He also guards famous buildings like banks etc.

Here is the little temple

These are some of my favourite shops in Hampstead where I've gone all my life.

Ren, thank you for all the photos and explanations so far, it's all so interesting, I hope there are some more to come. Your pictures are lovely and the "lions on guard" is especially nice; I like the bright colours all clustered together in one area and then the grey monotone is broken by decorative relief carvings - very pretty.

Belated Birthday Greetings! Hope it was a good day.

Hope you managed to eat some cake as nice as that valentine's cupcake!

The local shops all go to town. Thanks Chavs, yes it is a very colourful time here. Noisy too!