31/03/2012

Keep Calm and Carry On

Last weekend, my cousin and I visited London for a few days. It was a great trip, and we really lucked out with the weather - I even had to put on some sunscreen at one point!


We both had been to London several times before, but managed to visit a lot of spots we hadn't been to so far which was a lot of fun. Amongst other things, we went to Borough Market, Portobello Rd. and Carnaby St., and did some shopping at one of Europe's largest bookstores (Waterstones on Piccadilly), the M&M-store, Japan Centre at Regent's St. (I think I actually squealed when we stumbled upon it...), Liberty department store and, of course, Harrod's (where I bought a somewhat authentic Japanese bento lunch - it was yummy!).


 At the M&M-store, the cashier tipped us about the Big Egg Hunt. During Lent, 200+ eggs are displayed throughout London this year. We didn't go on a true egg hunt, but did stop at them when we came across them.


We also stopped at 2 (two!) Hummingbird Bakery-shops (at Portobello Rd. and in Soho), where we naturally had to sample the goods ;-)


We stayed at the same hotel my mom and I stayed at 2 years ago, and had dinner at both the wonderful Chinese restaurant and amazing Indian restaurant that my mom and I tried back then. And of course, a trip to the Hard Rock Café was a must as well.


We came across a lot of "Keep Calm and Carry On" merchandise while (window)shopping, and while I was  familiar with the posters already (thanks in large part to Pinterest), I didn't know the story behind it.
Coincidentally, I checked Nienie's blog today, and lo and behold, one of her recent posts was about the origin of this particular catch phrase / poster!

Here's a video about the origins of the "Keep Calm and Carry On"-poster (and can I just say that I really want to visit that bookshop some time?? It looks awsome!)

19/03/2012

Tough week

This past week I attended 2 funerals. Though I was not particularly close to both persons, it was still quite emotional and draining.

Tuesday was the funeral of my uncle's mother-in-law. Since I've known her my entire life, I felt I had to pay my respects.

The same day I learned that my mother's uncle had died on Monday. When his daughter got home and wanted to call her son to let him know his grandfather had died, she was informed that he had died as well that afternoon, due to a car accident.
In other words: my mom's cousin lost both her dad and her son within hours of eachother. My great-aunt lost both her husband and her only grandchild.
It's almost incomprehensible - it it weren't so serious, you'd think someone must have made it up.

My great-uncle's funeral was on Friday. Since my parents were away on holiday and would not get back until after the service, I represented our family by being there in support of my great-aunt. It was a very touching moment when she told us that she had been burning a candle for my grandfather (her brother) since he died last year, and would now burn a candle for her husband instead.

His grandson's funeral was on Saturday. I didn't know him, so I didn't attend. My parents had come home on Friday afternoon, so my mom went to support her aunt during this difficult time.

Two funerals in one week's time. Let me tell you, this is one personal record I would have liked to have gone without...