Bronze

I got so behind after our holidays posting here. I was determined to take some missing photos today. We had a lovely sunny day in Birmingham and took a barge trip. We were the only ones on the barge- so had an individual tour guide. She said she'd been on a Christmas edition of Come Dine with Me- her claim to fame!

Bronze

Here's our Birmingham Bull. He's had some costumes over the year but at the moment he's au natrelle!!!!!! It doesn't really give an impression of size- but he's really impressive.

                                                                        Silver
The plants outside the War Memorial have a silver plant in the middle- a really spectacular display.

 Inside the ICC a silver medallist from the Chelsea Flower show had a pretty display.

                                                                        GOLD
Guy surprised me by agreeing to buy a chocolate medal to go with today's theme!!!!!! Also Mo did a fantastic job- as did all of our other athletes who came and competed and did their best- where ever they came. I was so proud to be British.

This is a stunning statue that gleams gold in the middle of the city- just by the side of the road.

Aim HIGHER! Another Bolt pose- my niece was the only one who would pose- as it was REALLY busy today!

HOPE

On the way to the Waterside there were panels with photos and a write up for lots of the athletes from the Olympics and those in charge of organising the ceremonies etc. It just goes to show that there are things to discover in your home town ALL the time. Apparently all through the Olympics there were Carribean stalls in the city centre and dancing and all sorts along with the big screens for all the events.

Anyway- we are looking forward now to the Paralympic games- but looks like we left it too late for swimming tickets. We really hope that Ellie Simmonds wins another gold. I remember even before the last Olympics Ellie was earmarked for this one. Her mum had paperwork about her Olympic Kit back then- asking what size they thought she'd be. We were all at a swimming meet in Sheffield and Ellie was competing there aswell. She used to swim with my daughters club- and when she was young she refused to be treated any different to the other

 girls. She used to be in the relay teams with the ablebodied swimmers. After she won her gold medals at the last Olympics- she brought them to the club championship where she was giving out the medals and Amy even got to look after them at one point whilst she was 'meeting and greeting'.

                                                          FRUSTRATION
My poor hanging baskets when we came back from our holidays and how they looked before we left. We'd done the best we'd ever done with them- and unfortunately we decided that due to the extremely bad weather ALL summer we didn't need to take them over for my mum's best friend to plant sit whilst we were away!

                                                                  

                                                                        Determination

We visited a lovely garden for the second time whilst we were away. Poppy Cottage Gardens in Truro. The couple bought a cottage with a field beside a road- and planned this beautiful garden from scratch. It is set out like garden 'rooms' - each little section feels like a seperate Oasis. It's a beautiful place. They bought some surrounding ground - sight unseen and extended their vision. It really must have taken some determination to see it come to fruition and also to maintain it. The lady just never stops. On her 'open afternoons' she sits by the refreshment table ready to serve tea and cakes that her husband makes every morning. But she sits there repotting things and she's up and moving about all the time. I imagine she never sits still. She maintains this garden herself.

                                                         EXHAUSTION
We've all felt a bit like this all week- a bit of comedown after a lovely holiday I think. Holly is really missing the beach. She loved being able to take herself off for a paddle from the flat! She wasn't supposed to- but if the door was open she couldn't resist the draw of the brook that leads into the sea!

                                                                      RELIEF

I must say that I felt a HUGE sense of relief when the closing ceremony was through- and Great Britain had put on such a spectacular games for the rest of the World with no major problems and everyone seemed to have a great time. I had my reservations when the BIG name being bandied about for the closing ceremony was the Spice Girls. But I thought the ceremony was stunning. I didn't like all the artists- but the ones I wasn't keen on were my dh's favourites- so they were catering for different tastes. The vehicles transporting the artists around the arena were an inspired idea- they were where they needed to be - when they wanted them to be there! We watched it at our local cinema and I really enjoyed the evening.