Posts Tagged ‘Harry Eastwood’

These are some of the people and places that have been tickling our fancy this month…

Tom Hart Dyke sits in trees all the time. He really does. He´s a world famous botanist, who loves flora so much that he got kidnapped for nine months in Colombia when looking for an undiscovered orchid to name after his Granny (for the amazing account of his experience and subsequent escape read The Cloud Garden).

His family have run their charming manor for over half a millennium. Tom created their award winning World Garden. To see the beautiful, historical estate and to meet the tree hugger himself, visit their Lullingstone Castle, in Kent.

Harry Eastwood is a clever lady. She loves cake. Possibly as much as we do. But she knows that indulging can make our bellies a bit too cuddly. So she´s come up with an ingenious solution: delicious cakes that use sneaky, healthy, natural ingredients so that the taste is the same, but the impact on our tums is totally negligible. Brilliant! To try out Harry´s recipes, have a look at the enticing Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. We think we girls might have missed the point slightly, we´re eating them by the tonne.

Good things that have happened to us:

We´re celebrating our second anniversary! We can barely believe we´ve been going so long and yet we can´t imagine doing anything else. Happy Birthday to us! And to you too, as we are nothing without our members.

Lawrence, my 14 year old cousin, has been spending some of his summer holiday here, so he´s been teaching me coding. I´m practically a programmer now. Ish. Less good: he made us feel well old + v unkool.

Dating anecdotes:

A thought-provoking one: About eighteen months ago we set up a couple, Mariam and Jacob, who we deemed very well suited. They saw each other a few times but both felt that the spark wasn´t really there. That phrase haunts our dreams. Anyway, we know we can´t force romance, so we conceded defeat secretly cursing the prolific obsession with lightning bolts. Imagine our delight when we received this recent email from Jacob: So you know how I was looking for someone gorgeous, clever, international and fun..? Well, I´ve found her. Actually, you found her. Wasn´t sure whether to tell you or not, but think it´s safe now. Mariam and I bumped into each other nine months ago and perhaps because the pressure wasn´t there, or maybe because we were both more grounded, but you´re right  the magic kicked in! I can´t believe it, but it´s bl**dy brilliant. Funny to think we´d written it off, considering. Thank you! They are both wonderful people who are totally suited, but their inflated expectations prevented them from having the patience to appreciate what we could see all along. So, the moral of the story: dismissing options too readily, without seeing the potential through, might mean you miss out on some pretty amazing butterflies.

Top dating tip:

Smile. It´s true: if you do it the world smiles with you. Don´t fake it, but if you´re feeling positive about life, show it. People respond to good attitudes. We know it sounds cheesy (us? never!), but it does work.

Next planned party:

Sunday 9th August, 4pm picnic in Holland Park. Meet us on the big field, just off High Street Ken. We´ll put a SIAT banner up, so you see us. Please bring food and drinks for sharing, also footballs, frisbees and any other games. Tickets are £10, which you pay as you arrive. Half the money is going to Task Brasil, who we love. Please let us know if you (and pals) are coming so we save you space. Holland Park Map. In the highly unlikely event of rain (!) we shall all go to the Windsor Castle pub instead. Keep up the sun dances! Read the rest of this entry »