I've Been Thinking... - December Miscellany (Some Photos From The Month So Far...)

Hi!!!

Good afternoon, everyone.  Welcome to Blogmas Day Seventeen. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to post today, so here is December Miscellany, a random series of photos I have taken so far this month.

A lot of these photos have been taken on Christmas shopping trips at range of shopping centres including some taken in Selfridges at the Bullring in Birmingham (that's pictures three and four) and in Coventry  (picture number five). Then there's one from a pre-Christmas lunch with one side of my family - it was the loveliest day full of paper hats and laughter and some Brexit banter (it's laugh or cry, really, isn't it?) and presents and hot chocolate and ice cream. Massive thank you to everyone for a great day. 

Here are the photos, I hope you like them. Here's to all the little moments that make us happy, not just in December but all year round.

 

Thanks for reading today's post.
What have you been up to this month? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment and let me know.
See you all tomorrow for Blogmas Day Eighteen.

Have a great day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Oh My Life! - Tales of My Life and Times - Birmingham German Christmas Market

Hi!!!

Good morning! For today's Blogmas post, I wanted to share what I got up to yesterday with you - expect plenty of festive photos to brighten up your Tuesday afternoon and fill you full of Christmas cheer.

My Auntie S and I went into Birmingham yesterday for a day of Christmas shopping and visiting the Christmas market. As someone who has always lived in Birmingham, the German Christmas Market will always have a special place in my heart as I've spent so many December days and evenings there. It does seem like there are less stalls than there usually are this year, but there are building works going on nearby which is probably why.

The first point of call was definitely to grab something to drink, especially since the cups that the drinks are served in are so photogenic - as are the tokens you are given to hand over when you give the cups back.

 

The German Market always look super festive with all of the fairy lights, Christmas trees, the carousel, the Santa Clause statuettes and Nutcracker dolls.

 

 

 

I also think that all of the stalls are super Christmassy, too. There's rows of colourful stalls selling everything from toys, tree ornaments and candles to jewellery and food. It's always a nice place to go for gift inspiration or just to look at all of the lovely things on offer.

 
 

My tips for visiting would be to go during the day if possible (as it will be a bit less crowded), to say yes to all of the food available (everything from pretzels to marshmallows to fried potatoes with garlic sauce and crêpes) and allow yourself to be present and take in all of the lovely Christmassy sights and sounds and smells.

Massive shout out to my Auntie S for letting me tag along on her Christmas shopping trip and for sharing fried potatoes and laughing at a singing moose with me.

Thanks so much for reading Blogmas Day Five.

Have you visited a Christmas Market yet? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I'll see you tomorrow for Day Six.

I hope you have a great day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Oh My Life! - Tales of My Life and Times - A Visit To Warwick Castle (And Why You Should Visit This Summer).

Hi!!!

Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about a day out that Elf Girl and I went on back in April and also tell you why you should also go on a similar day out. We went to Warwick Castle, a popular heritage site that is local to us, and we had a great day.

I hadn't been to Warwick Castle for at least 6 years - I'd been on many a childhood family and school trip - and so I was excited to see the new features I'd seen advertised, and of course to spend the day pretending to be royalty with my best friend.

The first thing we did when we arrived was head over to the new Horrible Histories Maze. As Horrible Histories fans, and big kids, we were excited to see what it would be like.

 We weren't disappointed.

It was one of the highlights of the day. There are several sections within the maze based on different historical periods. It's more about finding those places than finding the way out and it is so much fun. There are plenty of photo opportunities, and lots of bitesize information, and it's fun for all ages.

When you leave the maze, there are two exits - one for the grown-ups, one for the children. The children's exit is like an obstacle course, and I can tell you first hand that it is a whole lot of fun, even if our heights did make it a bit complicated - I had to walk across the tops of the obstacles but I think it made it all the more enjoyable.

The State Rooms are open to visit, and so we saw a range from bedrooms to libraries to chapels.

The rooms are gorgeous, although I will say that there isn't as much information available in them or about them as there is at similar heritage properties, which is something to bear in mind if you love your history, like me.

However, they are still very much worth a wander through. Oh, but just to warn you, we did hear a really odd hissing noise in the library and we practically flew out of the room because our first conclusion was "It might be a ghost". It was hilarious, and probably not a ghost, but do let me know if you hear it on any recent visits, haha.

The Mound and the battlements give great views of the castle grounds and the Warwickshire landscape - which is beautiful - as well as allow you to be taken back in time to the castle' s history as a defensive site. I think my last visit before this was on a school trip that was centred on defensive castles - in the same year we studied William the Conquerer, so it was with that time period in mind - so it also called back a few memories to be up on the battlements again.

The grounds are home to several birds of prey, gift shops and restaurants (where you can stock up on sweets and toy swords), small archery workshops for children and lots of shows.

We saw an amazingly informative and totally hilarious Horrible Histories show, but at other times of year there are other cool shows - such as epic War of the Roses battles over the summer, which sound incredible. There are also falconry displays and trebuchet shows (their trebuchet is the largest working siege machine in the world) on throughout the year, which are awesome, and were a staple part of visits for me when I was younger.

There are several other cool things to see and do at Warwick Castle but I would recommend following our plan for the day.

I had so much fun - of course spending the day with my best friend probably helped a lot, but I'm sure the castle and it's grounds played their parts too, haha.
Oh, and there are Ben and Jerry's vending machine in the car park, and if that final statement hasn't convinced you, I don't know what will.

I had such a great time, and I'm so glad we went - you should definitely put it on your list for 'Days Out' ideas, it's well worth it. I mean, really, what's better than spending the day scanning round a castle in pretty dresses, pretending to be princesses with your friends? Not much, I'd bet.

I hope you enjoyed this post.
Have you been to Warwick Castle? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave me a comment to let me know.
Thanks so much for reading.

I hope your day is brilliant!

GingerSnaps xxx