Bonus unexpected win! We went out for a lovely Turkish meal at a place called Dunya and ate Knafeh for the first time - an absolutely delicious cheesy, honey-y, pistachio-y pudding that, had I not already stuffed myself silly, I could have eaten a ton of. Half eaten pic because we ate before thinking to photograph it! This is becoming a habit!

Visited The Box in Plymouth today to see a Beryl Cook exhibition. I love her work, it's so charming - almost comic book/cartoon like. Could have spent ages paying minute attention to every detail, but it was actually really busy so didn't spend as long there as I perhaps could have. I particularly loved these dancing ones - though I am under strict instructions not to make any comparisons to my in laws! A really lovely exhibition I'm glad I got to see in her home town.

I wasn't expecting to hit a UNESCO visit on this trip, but on the way there, realised that the town we had booked our Afternoon Tea in was actually part of the "Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape" UNESCO site. Seeing as I have been to Morwellham Quay - the other major part of this UNESCO site - within recent memory, I thought I'd cross it off. It's a lovely town, with lots of big, stone, Victorian buildings; bridges and waterways, and a fantastic indoor market in an old City Hall. We then took MIL for Afternoon Tea at Taylors, a Victorian looking tea house and it was YUMMY. Didn't eat again for the rest of the day, despite MIL's protestations. 

A marvellous triple whammy here, with a pit stop on the way to Plymouth - spending a few hours in Exeter.  We went straight to the Cathedral, an absolutely beautiful feat of Gothic architecture. Loved the video displays showing the damage the cathedral suffered during WWII and the subsequent rebuild - really poignant watching that in the rebuilt chapel. Was also awed by the dark wooden gothic chancel, right up my street. We then took a walk to Exeter Quay, sat and ate an ice cream (so very British!), and then got rained on. Was very happy to start our mini-holiday with three whole items off the list.

Was so keen to eat this that I almost completely forgot to take a pic! Lovely chicken and fries at an impromptu trip to Blue Collar after some shopping. Lush!

Yet another leftover from the ill-fated murder mystery party; I had brought all the ingredients for a very 80s cocktail - Pina Coladas! I can't recall ever having had one, and have certainly never made one, so served them up at a games night with John and the boys. Very yummy, would make again!

If I was to ever go on Mastermind, Jack the Ripper would, for my sins, be my specialist subject. So, I dragged the only other person I know who shares such weird interests - my work wife - to Whitechapel, to the Jack the Ripper Museum, where we had booked onto a walking tour. We had an incredible guide, Elegant Sam, who really knew his stuff. I did go on a tour about ten years ago and it was strange to see how many of the sites have changed or gone since then. Sam had different ideas and research to many other historians and Ripperologists and it was really refreshing to hear another viewpoint, one that loosely aligns with mine. We also saw some pretty awesome graffiti on the way round. Great walk, shattered by the end of it (17000 steps by the time I got home), what fab day out!

Lovely day out with my work wife, Sarah, today. We decided a while back we would visit all of The Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries in London. Today was number three, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. This was exactly the sort of old cemetery I love; densely packed graves, left to go wild and full of nature. A really tranquil piece of calm, with a high rise backdrop, and very modern London beyond that. The 'bonus' was learning of two graves that were linked to our afternoon adventure (a Jack the Ripper walking tour) - that of Dr Rees Ralph Llewelyn, the surgeon who carried out the autopsy of JtR's first poor victim, and then the grave of George Lusk, the head of the vigilante committee who patrolled the streets trying to catch Jack. The former was an impressive family tomb right near the entrance to the park; the latter we were unable to find exactly as - from what info we could find - it is a flat stone, covered by undergrowth and very worn. We got as close as we could to pay our respects though, and spent a really nice hour exploring the area.

Not much to say here - first day of the Easter Hols is always Big Clean day, and always has been! Didn't need to do a huge amount, but did give kitchen and bathroom a good once over.

After my Murder Mystery Birthday Party fell through (for the second time), we were left with quite a bit of posh food to cook, and no one to cook it for. So I decided to start doing trial runs for Murder Mystery meals in future. I started with some rather delicious goats cheese and caramelised onion tarts - something I've never attempted before. Next time, need to make them a little prettier!

We explored a new area nearby today, quite close to our house, albeit across the Thames (and we could see our street from there, very cool!) I was really keen to see the statue of 'Old Palm' at Mapledurham and he did not disappoint; he's set in Chazey Woods, a short distance away from Mapledurham House, very randomly placed. We stopped here to have our picnic (goats cheese, ritz crackers, tomato chutney, strawberries, coffee - very Famous Five!)  and it would have been posher had we not gotten caught in a hailstorm whilst we were eating! Though, timed it well, finished the picnic just as the sun came out, and continued on our way through a lovely Bluebell Woods. A great two hour wooded walk!

Illness forced my hand a little with this one, but I have to admit it was really lovely to rest and not feel obliged to actually do anything. Im really struggling with work at the moment and am not and think the stress is affecting me physically, so spent much of the day in bed contemplating the future and applying for jobs!