Sunday 3 May 2015

Time to Meet

Yesterday was a real treat of a day.
One that was possible because of the wonderful world of blogging.

I have been reading and enjoying Penny's  blog for years. We live fairly close to each other and kept saying we should arrange to meet up.
Then a couple of weeks ago she wrote a post about being busy readying herself for a special event.
Penny is co-manageress of her local charity shop and they were taking over the community centre for a day to hold a Here Comes Summer sale.
Well the lure of a long awaited meet up combined with day out and a rummage was too good to miss.

Me, G and S met Penny at the community centre where after a browse around the sale (and a purchase was made) we were able to sit and chat a while.
Penny was so welcoming and friendly and completely lovely.
Like good bloogers we had G take our photo together at the community centre, Penny looked fabulous in both and I looked well, quite frankly, hideous. 
Thankfully we saw each other again later in the afternoon in the charity shop, where we also got to meet Penny's daughter Jess, and she took another much nicer photo.
The charity shop is a real little treasure trove full of all sorts of goodies and all three of us left with something. G with more vinyl, S with 3 books and me with a lavender scented heart to add to my sister's birthday gift.




The community centre is only a short walk away from the shore so that's where we headed next. By now it was nearing lunchtime and so the  Needles Eye Cafe was our next stop. Here S discovered cheesy chips for the first time, we shared a bowl between the three of us. A welcome addition to our very tasty baguettes.



Yesterday's wasn't filled with blue skies as you can see, there was a blustery breeze as we walked along the front


but we could still make out the Needles over at the Isle of Wight.


Although this version of the Needles in one of the shop windows was much clearer!


S kept busy clambering over the rocks where possible and practising some shot put moves with another much smaller one.


After we had waved cheerio to Penny and Jess we made our way to Lymington.
G was looking forward to visiting a vinyl shop he had heard about but was dismayed to find it closed.
However there was a branch of Oxfam and in there he found a copy of  an album he had been wanting. The strange thing about that is that the sleeve inside belonged to another album.
An album he owned already but which was missing this original sleeve.
He was really chuffed with that find.



We all liked the window of the Marie Curie shop. The mannequin was clothed in a dress made from an old map


and hanging up next to it was a swimsuit. Again made from a map with added floral decoration.


People of a certain age may know who I am talking about when I say this bird sculpture we saw reminded us of Professor Yaffle.


We did our day trip by public transport. One bus and three trains each way. It does sound a bit convoluted but it was incredibly straightforward. 
There was much more to see in Lymington and we plan to go back in the summer, on a day when the record shop is open.




We had a great day out exploring somewhere new and meeting up with Penny was the cherry on the top.
We hope to meet up again at some point, this time in Southampton for a perusal of the art gallery or maybe the Sea City museum. 
Thank you Penny for meeting up, it was a treat to meet you, and for introducing us to where you live.

14 comments:

  1. Brilliant meet up! Love it when that happens, love Sarah --x-x-x--

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  2. What an absolutely stunning photo of you, dear friend! I love the map garments and the slice-of-life photo of your dearies on the train.

    Email coming soon, I promise! xoxo

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  3. And a good time was had by all! I'm glad you met somebody in real life! And I like the photos of you. You always remind me of one of my best friends, and she's lovely, so I'm sure you are as well!

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  4. I am so happy that we finally met Lisa & meeting G & S too was lovely. So glad you came to my neck of the woods - only sorry I couldn't spend longer with you all.
    Looking forward to you showing me all those places I haven't yet discovered ... with coffee & cake of course !
    xx

    ( The sale did incredibly well thank you for coming )

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  5. What a wonderful day out and how lovely that you got to meet up with Penny. I love the map dress and cozzie and the bird reminds me of Professor Yaffle too. What a coincidence about the record sleeve but now he'll be looking out for the sleeve of the record he bought yesterday.

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  6. Sounds like you had a fantastic time all of you. Shame about the shop for G but that just gives you a good excuse to go back again doesn't it.

    I loved the dress and swim suit made from a map what a great idea. There are some truly talented people out there aren't there.

    Hope you have a great week.

    Mitzi

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  7. Always nice to meet up with other bloggers, I so enjoy it. I love Lymington, used to visit regularly when I lived on the Dorset/Hampshire border, my mum and I often enjoyed days out there.

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  8. I love it when bloggers meet. So glad you had a great day - it looks and sounds right up my street. xxxxx

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  9. That was a lovely post! Great happy photo of you and Penny. Wasn't that strange about the record sleeve?! The charity shop windows look really impressive - they must have a very talented window dresser. x

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  10. Meeting up with a fellow blogger! What fun!

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  11. Love that dress and swimming costume. Makes me want to get making.

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  12. Oh so nice you were able to meet up for this event! You look lovely in the picture! The beach looks great fun too and how Amazing re that record sleeve. Twas definitely fate!Xx

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  13. Hi Lisa, thank you so much for commenting on my blog, and for taking the time to link to Penny as well. That's very thoughtful of you, and I will definitely pop over to her blog and say hello!
    Meeting up with fellow bloggers is always a joy - in my experience, they never disappoint! It looks as though you had a great day out, and the story about the record and the mismatched sleeve is brilliant. The map-made swimming cossie really caught my eye, what a wonderful thing! Xxx

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