A FIRST CLASS weekend!

I don't know where to start with this post as there is so much to tell you about!

The weekend started off on a high with access to the First Class Lounge at Newcastle station


I've never travelled First Class before but I'm sure I could easily become accustomed to it - with the regular supply of free tea/coffee and biscuits throughout the journey. Although my friends did question whether it was normal to knit in First Class!

We arrived at The Country Living Christmas Show and met up with Gina, Lesley, Trashy, Maria and my very lovely, very BIG, sister Ally!

Gina and Lesley were just as lovely as I remembered but I hadn't met Maria or Trashy before - Maria was lovely and Trashy, well, Trashy was completely bonkers!

So please don't believe any of her nonsense about it being me and Lesley that were up to no good because I have photographic evidence to the contrary


I've chopped off her head (well someone had to) so she can't complain at me for putting too many photos of her on my blog, but you can clearly see from the jumper who was actually standing on tables in the canteen showing off the tablecloths! (the ladies on the next table seem rather bemused)

Gina sensibly ran away as soon as she could (not sure if she will be wanting to meet us again??!!!) and after terrorising the stall holders and visitors for a while longer we also departed into the Islington dusk in search of Loop.

I had to grab a photo of this beautiful flower shop on the way


before running with my suitcase bumping along the pavement to catch up with Trashy who was leading the way!

Loop was the most beautiful shop, full of gorgeous yarns,


incredible crochet and knitting


and, once we arrived, a bunch of very strange individuals

just click on the photo for a better view!

Having said good-bye to Trashy and Maria, Ally, Lesley and I gathered our picnic from Fortnum and Masons Sainsbury's and went back to the Ritz where we proceeded to laugh and chat and eat and drink and laugh some more until we told Ally it was time to stop messing about and go to sleep.

After eating the MOST ENORMOUS ALMOND CROISSANTS that you are ever likely to see for breakfast we set off to Covent Garden to this lovely restaurant where we met Michaela, Domesticali, Val, Emma and Baby Pebble and Vicious Chicken and the NBM! Everyone was really lovely and we had a fabulous time laughing and chatting and discussing knitting


and stopping half of London from getting a seat in a very popular restaurant (oops!)

There was also a lot of gift-exchanging but I am going to make you wait until my next post before I show you all my lovely presents!

The only bad thing about the weekend was that it all went so quickly and I didn't have enough time to talk to everyone - but I'm already trying to work out when I can come down again!

Finally, Domesticali has tagged me with a "6 Things" meme so I am going to follow her example and tell you the 6 best things about the weekend:

1. Two very comfortable and fun train journeys with my good friends from home
2. Meeting up with my BIG sister and getting to have a mini-holiday with her - even if she did whack me repeatedly with the TV remote control for no good reason at all! (surely she wanted me to push her off the bed, poke her in the ribs and generally be annoying? Isn't that what little sisters are meant to do???)
3. Spending lots of time with my very lovely mad Leslerley friend - we may talk to each other half a dozen times a day but nothing beats being able to laugh and chat face to face
4. Meeting all my wonderful bloggy friends - some for the very first time
5. Finding out that Trashy really is as mad in real life as I had hoped
6. Having a long cuddle with the adorable Baby Pebble

I'm not going to pass the tag on to anyone but instead could you all go and visit this very special new "almost blogger" - she just needs the encouragement to get going!