Royal wedding

The church bells are ringing, the blackbirds are singing and people are hanging out the bunting. It's a great day for a lovely wedding.

Secret gardens

Today is "Secret Gardens of Aylesbury Old Town", and this afternoon around 15 of us are opening our gardens to those who want to see what lies behind the terraced houses that have not even a front yard. So my husband is outside now, polishing the stones, and mowing the lawn, which means my hay fever is about to start. If you want to come and can, do. Get your tickets and map at the County Museum. The money goes to charities.

Aylesbury under siege

There are protests in Aylesbury. The English Defence League has a protest, and the Union Against Fascists have a counter protest and the Muslim have a protest against the protests.

Mounted police, roads closed, empty streets and Kingsbury not usable.

Sounds like martial law...

Snowed in town

We're snowed into town. Traffic can't get up the hill into the town, but pedestrians can. And since all the schools are closed, but being local, the children and their parents all live near their school, people are out together enjoying the snow, like the family that walked in from Turnfurlong bringing their daughters on a sled. Fun!

Shop workers have got in, but don't have enough to do, so to entice people to talk, those in and near Market Square are building snowmen, enough to have a competition. There's a snowman with a bowling ball near Jardines ten pin bowling alley, a snowman with a ribbon from C&G and a ticket to travel from Adams, a snowman with a mobile phone outside the phone shop, and, my favourite, a snowman with a top hat outside Suits You, which was so good that he had the local paparazzi photoing.

Tae kwon do grading

I got my next belt this evening after Sunday's grading. The easy bit was the Korean. You have to know some Korean terminology for this grade, like makgi (block), chagi (kick). It's easy to say you're a student (jeja) in the dojang (training hall), wearing a dobok(suit) and talking to the subum (teacher). The hard bit is accelerating in the moves, and getting the detail of the stances perfect. Despite freezing half way through a pattern and having start again, thus finishing ten moves after everyone else, and being extra noticeable, somehow I got through and caught up with my daughter. Hurray.

This kup (grade) is red tag, meaning blue with a red strip. The next belt is red, and red is for danger, so perhaps I'm now a little bit dangerous. However, red also indicates someone who is in control, and that means someone is dangerous enough to hit when they want, but in control enough to miss by a fraction of an inch when practising, and I'm not sure I'm that much in control, so perhaps I'm dangerous that way - I might hit someone accidently.

But it's fun. And this evening we did some padwork, some throws, and then practised breaking bricks with our elbows and feet.

Council polls

Today we vote for our county councillors. The parties all sent leaflets, but the Conservatives had a leaflet that said that at a council meeting, the Conservatives had voted for lower taxes, and the Lib Dems had walked out in protest. That sounded so weird that I tried to contact them to ask them to explain. But I haven't heard back yet. I also emailed the local Lib Dems, and again, I've not yet heard back, but I did meet a little lib Dem bird in the street who told me that the debate was whether to use the money on hospital services or whether to save the council tax money, that the Chair wouldn't let the Liberals speak so they walked out. That sounds likely, given that I witnessed the Chair not letting Liberals speak at the council meeting in November (recorded here) and blogged it then. The minutes of the meeting when the Lib Dems didn't vote is kept at the County Council site, and the incident reads much less contentiously than the way the Conservatives reported it.

So I went to the polling booth this morning, and asked the lone Conservative. But he didn't know anything about it! Didn't he even read his own party's leaflet? To me, it looks like the local Conservatives are acting underhand, immorally, don't brief each other of the line they are taking so some of them are ignorant of what is going on in their own party.

New Greek restaurant in town

Husband and I have just eaten here, and enjoyed a good meal, with enthusiastic service.

The restaurant has been open only a few days, and the staff are nervously keen to please. They hover almost too much, asking if everything is all right. It is. The starter dolmades were delicious and my husband was happy with his pitta bread and taramasalata. My lamb kebab was fine, and the rice cooked just right. I thought the Greek salad might have included black olives, but it didn't. Husband was happy with his delicious sea bass, but the rice that was supposed to come with it never did - an oversight I'm sure from new staff, just beginning to get into their new job.

The retsina wine that accompanied the meal was just right in pine tree flavour and temperature. And it is rare that you can get a retsina.

The setting is clean and fresh, with pictures from films like 'Mama Mia' and 'Zorba the Greek' on the walls. I'd have liked the music a little more discrete.

The proprietor took a couple of us out the back to see the courtyard that is nearly ready. It is entirely enclosed with a huge tree in one corner. Paved and collecting the sun from morning to evening, surrounded by trellis and will have lemon trees, it could appeal to families who don't want their children to be able to run out of sight, but also to office workers, because this restaurant is right in the middle of town, over looked by the council offices. In fact it is so overlooked that you can guarantee the owner won't put a foot wrong. For example, he had someone fixing his roof, and within minutes he had a phone call from people in the neighbouring building, saying "Get him off that roof now or we're closing you down." And he hadn't even opened yet!

If you're in Aylesbury, go down Walton Street from Market Street and try this restaurant. It's worth it. It has been a nice end to the bank holiday weekend for us.

Shopping - hate it

I went shopping this morning because it's nephew's birthday and I want to get him a present. His parents are giving him a mobile phone because he's moving on to the secondary school in September, so I thought I'd get him something to go with that, an eco friendly charger. I was able to buy one a couple of years ago. You wind it up and it charges your phone. But I couldn't get hold of one. I tried the Eco shop in Wendover, but they only do the expensive Freeloader photovoltaic chargers. I tried the Car Phone Warehouse, but they suggested an in-car charger. How many eleven-year-olds do you know who have a car! Eventually, I thought of the camping shop. They didn't have exactly what I wanted. The wind up version that I have is great. I put husband's grand children in the back of our car with the charger and they wind and they wind and they wind. My mobile is charged, and so is the wind-up torch that goes with the winder. Their grand father is also wound up because he gets fed up with noise, but that's a minor disadvantage.

But they did have something: a pull-string charger, so it fits in with the eco approach, and the lack of access to a power socket. So my shopping expedition almost ended well.

I thought I'd celebrate by going into the Coffee Tree and ordering a decaf espresso with a glass of water. I made my order, received the cup and saucer and the glass, and stepped back with them to find a table. The glass wobbled. As I tried to steady it, the hot coffee wobbled, splashed my hand, so I wobbled more, then the whole lot went over, every single drop, over the counter, down the counter, over the floor and over my clothes. I saved only the excellent piece of Venezuelan chocolate that Barry had just given me to try.

Barry was very nice and got me another espresso (I don't think it was decaf by then). The Coffee Tree in Aylesbury is worth a visit.

Poor old cleaner

Our cleaner's really hurt herself. She sent me a really long text message:

Really sorry not going 2 b able 2 clean 4 u at all next wk would hv phnd but u wdnt understnd mouth swollen i know bill spoke 2 adrian but wntd 2 put u in picture going tue 2 hv stiches out thn going hosp 2 c if nose broken hv bn in touch wid nat accidnt helpline solicitor phning me mon good samaritan who stopped and took us 2 hosp was head of the floyd anyway will keep u informed apologies again yr brusf and battered cleaner

Bill told husband that she'd fallen in the High Street.

Taekwon Do grading results

I passed the grading and the subum (teacher) presented me with my new certificate and blue belt. I am now officially at an intermediate grade.

The subum was very complimentary as he gave me my belt, because I've been doing the extra classes and sparring, and am 'of an age .. ' He didn't say my age, though it's obvious I'm the oldest in the class. The kids were great afterwards, congratulating me, and asking my age and even a couple of really energetic teenage lads saying I was better than them, which I'm not and they've got the potential that I haven't. But it was nice to have the praise.

I just hope I don't get beaten up in the tournament on Sunday.

Taekwon Do grading

I went in for my blue belt grading, which is scary. I had to do several patterns, 3 and two step sparring, pad work with a black belt. And then free sparring with three different partners of the same grade. I find sparring exhausting. I got a tiny bruise over one eye when I didn't block fast enough.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Aylesbury Vale Youth Theatre are putting on Thoroughly Modern Millie at Pendley Court Theatre in August. It's run by young people who put together rehearse and produce a play just in the university holidays, so done under time constraints. It's a great idea because it brings together local young people who are away at college or uni and can only meet in the breaks, but this is a profitable meeting.

Get your tickets through the AVYT site. Last year's production was good, so worth going again.

Local food

When I'm working at home, I often nip up the road to my favourite coffee shop. I drink an espresso and a glass of water, but I avoid the cakes. The cakes are delicious. It's very difficult to avoid them. I didn't avoid this one because it's a chocolate espresso. The top is all fudgy and delicious.

Blue Angel Bakeries make them and cookies and tiffin, and sell them at the Aylesbury farmer's market once a month. My children give me orders every month, even from university where son plans to sell them because they are good enough to compete with Ben's cookies. Bank of mother is getting a bit fed up with these withdrawals and has decided to stop funding them. Instead, I'm copying my children and buying a tray of cookies to take into work. Rachel does specials for the market like raspberry sparkles for Christmas. They look amazing as well as being scrumptious.

Shop displays

Aylesbury shopping is getting a bit limited in that there are fewer small shops to choose from. There are bigger shops like BHS, Beatties and Woolworths, and the ubiquitous supermarkets. I'm glad to say that a new health store has opened in Bourbon Street, just opposite the side entrance to Friars Square. Down that same street there's a bridal shop, that last week had one of the most striking displays I've seen for ages. I noticed other people stop to look too. This week's isn't as striking - I was too late to photograph last week's.

City of Angels

Went to see this musical "City of Angels" yesterday, put on by Songbird Productions. It's an adventurous enterprise produced with skill and intelligence by South Bucks teenagers.

The web site immediately tells you there's professional ability here - what other volunteer, amateur production gets a web site together in only a few months, and a web site that competently takes your bookings, lets you pay and sends you the tickets? That augured well for the musical.

The musical didn't disappoint. Despite the occasional spot light of a foot rather than a head, and the too loud music so I couldn't hear the words, the acting, the set design, the costume and the singing were a very high standard.

Donna/ Oolie was played by Becky Harrison who has as big and beautiful a voice as her bosoms. Stine was played by Ed Bernstone whose acting stood out as totally professional - you believed he was the character and couldn't imagine him being someone else ever, although he was only a few feet away from us on the stage, or the floor actually, because this was in the school hall.

Oh and watch Matt Goodwin. This Queen's scout is a many talented man. There's this scene where the trollops are mooching around and a big blonde bird in a long black dress strides across the room too, perhaps in charge, then you do a double take and wonder what sort of woman that is. Then he scratches his balls!

There are some photos in the Bucks Herald. Hope more towns get teenagers that do this sort of thing. May Songbird Productions last!