Channel Trailer - The Crafty Witch UK

I wanna be in the room where it happens!

Since first hearing the soundtrack to HAMILTON I have been mildly obsessed with this hip hop retelling of the life and loves of Alexander Hamilton. As soon as it opened in 2017 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, I began taking part in their daily ticket lottery, as I thought this was the only way I'd ever get to see it.

I was wrong! 

Months of entering the lottery proved fruitless, but as I was looking for a way to celebrate my birthday with my nearest and dearest, Martin suggested we bite the bullet and book to see the show as my present.

… And so, on the 16th of September we raced off to London to experience the West End cast for the first time.

We may  have been up in the gods but our seats were fab... 

...and we couldn't resist a little family selfie to celebrate.

The theatre has been completely refurbished for the show and is really beautiful inside and out.

So many beautiful lyrics in this production too...

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"

"You built me palaces out of paragraphs"

"How lucky we are to be alive rights now"

"Let me be a part of the narrative"

Bonus Bucket - Part 1

With so many amazing things to do on my list I didn't think that this post would be needed but I was wrong!

After our amazing Spa break Fiona was not done with the treats and surprises… on the way home we visited Lainston House, where Fiona had booked us in for Afternoon Tea.

Our tea included...

Amuse Bouche

Fruit Soup

Savoury

A selection of Finger Sandwiches

Sweet

Fruit Scones

Plain Scones

(With Jam & Clotted Cream)

A selection of cakes, tarts and pastries

Tea

A wide choice of luxury leaf tea from Char in Winchester

It really is the little touches (like the happy birthday message) which make all the difference.

A beautiful way to end a perfect weekend of relaxation and friendship.

Spoiled with a Spa Day

How lucky I am to have friends like this...

As my 40th birthday creeps close the inevitable conversations about how I am going to celebrate begin to happen... long time friend Fiona came up with a wonderful idea and unknowingly helped me to tick off another one of my "50"!

I was treated to a top-notch breakfast at the Cote Brasserie in Festival Place after which I was driven on a magical mystery tour which ended with us arriving at Donnington Valley Spa.

After booking into the hotel we were free to wander through to the spa area. We had use of the pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and aroma room as well as waitress service for refreshments and pretty much anything else we wanted.

We also had the option of paying for additional treatments, but we opted not to do that on this occasion - saving something for a return visit! 

I very much enjoyed the opportunity to just chill, even though it did take a bit of getting used to, the idea of "doing nothing" does not come naturally to me.

An afternoon of trying out the different spa facilities was punctuated with a lovely lunch and a delicious but also healthy smoothie.

We left the spa area late afternoon and headed to our room to pretty ourselves up for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

The restaurant was lovely and the food delicious...
so much so that I don't have pictures of my starter or main!

After dinner it was back to the room for a good nights sleep (although the beds were softer than either of us were used to) before we headed back to the restaurant for breakfast and then back to the spa for the rest of our stay.

Things got a little heated in the sauna!

The whole mini break was wonderful and I can't thank Fiona enough for treating me.

We MUST do this again!!!

Smiling at the Wicker Man!

The six weeks summer break from work/school, which also coincided with our 10 year wedding anniversary, seemed like the perfect opportunity to indulge ourselves and the children with a trip to Alton Towers.

We stayed at the Towers Hotel, which is themed around the idea of explorers and was decidedly steampunky in places too. As it was a special occasion we upgraded from the standard room to an Arctic Explorer room. This upgrade was only another £20 but made a world of difference to us as the children got separate beds rather than bunk-beds and there was just so much more room in the room!

A key part of this two day visit was to FINALLY ride The Smiler and also the newest coaster at Alton Towers, The Wicker Man.

The Smiler, with its record breaking 14 inversions, has been on my coaster wish list since before it opened and in fact we had visited the park for Easter 2013 in the hopes of being among the first to ride it, but it was not to be as the official opening of the ride was delayed until May of that year. Later in 2015 a tragic ride crash caused the closure of the ride for quite some time for safety reasons and so our chance to ride has been delayed until now.

We were very lucky with queue lines (it had been very wet which must have put day trippers off) and were therefore able to ride more than once which gave me ample chance to fully experience the 85mph journey and to get the full "Marmalisation" process.

For the Hubby, (not a fan of spinney rides) the Smiler left him looking anything but happy. He was looking pretty queasy by the time we disembarked and he decided that once was enough for him.

For me, and for Eloise (Oz not meeting the height restrictions yet) it was a real thrill to finally ride this coaster and we couldn't wait to jump on again.

I certainly do seem to be grinning like a mad lady in these ride photos!







The Wicker Man is a wooden coaster created on the site of the old Flume ride.  Opening in March 2018 it is the first new wooden coaster in the UK for 21 years and claims another worlds first for Alton Towers, as it combines wood and fire in one coaster!

In an effort not to spoil the ride for anyone else wanting to visit I wont give away details of the pre-ride experience but if I tell you that the ride slogan is "Feed The Flames" you'll get the general idea!




















This is a great experience for the whole family as there are no inversions on the coaster so the height restrictions still allowed Oz to join us.

We all fell in love with wooden coasters whilst visiting Portaventura a few years ago and this ride cemented that love. It was thrilling from start to finish and although we didn't have to queue very long, the queue line is well themed and the ride is worth a reasonable wait.

So... I can now tick these coasters off of my list and I couldn't resist a souvenir of the occasion!

The List

So... In a few days I will turn 40. I think I’m supposed to be worried about it but actually I’m really seeing it as an excuse to indulge myself a little and to consider what I want the next stage of my life to look like.  I’ve had a few friends do a “40 B4 40” list and so inspired by their endeavours I’m going to do my own list, my 50 before 50!

1. Visit Europa Park
2. Eat at a Michelin star restaurant 
3. See a performance at the Royal Albert Hall
4. Visit Scotland
5. Take a cruise 
6. Hold an owl
7. Camp at a festival 
8. Go to the Edinburgh Fringe 
9. Ride “Shambala” at Portaventura
10. Take a trip on the Orient Express
11. Ride the Wicker Man & Smiler coasters 
12. See a play at The Globe
13. Build a summer house 
14. Attend a murder mystery party 
15. Finish reading all the books in the “Wicked Years” series 
16. Try oil painting like Bob Ross
17. Sew myself an outfit for work
18. Cosplay at Comic-Con 
19. Upgrade the kitchen
20. Paint the bathroom
21. Decorate the dining room
22. Learn to style vintage hair
23. Have a make up lesson
24. Publish a second book of poetry
25. Create illustrations for “Little Lizzy Witch”
26. Sell a piece of art
27. See a burlesque show 
28. Have a couples photo shoot 
29. Have purple hair
30. Get an Oz inspired tattoo
31. Finish my arm tattoo 
32. Submit a manuscript to a publisher 
33. See Hamilton 
34. Have a singing lesson
35. Defeat the Ender Dragon in survival mine craft 
36. Speak on a motion at NEU conference 
37. Grow my nails
38. Drop a dress size
39. Plant a tree
40. Drink the “Millionaire Milkshake” at Shakeaway
41. Do Park Run
42. Plein-air painting in another country 
43. Visit Bombay Sapphire 
44. Visit a Spa
45. Attend “Fright Fest”
46. Watch “Westend Live”
47. Record a Podcast 
48. Learn to make Pasta
49. Go to an Escape Room
50. Learn to play a song on the guitar 

So, that’s the list, and I will be updating the blog as items get ticked off ( I have actually managed a couple already in the last few weeks whilst putting this all together) and if anyone has any ideas for how best to achieve some of the more awkward items on the list please please please do get in touch in the comments. 

Here’s to the next 10 years!