Andy and the beanstalk.

Last night I felt really humbled by just the smallest gathering of friends for just a few fireworks. Fellow 'allotmenteer', Andy, was kind enough to ask us to join him and his family on the allotment to set off some fireworks. Keith, Alison and Alfie came too, so along with Lindsay, Conner, Reese and Ruby we had a good gathering. The highlight of my evening though, were the children's faces when Keith told them that the purple runner beans on Andy's allotment were magic beans (see the picture). They got so excited by this - it was lovely. In fact to see all the children just sitting there enjoying fireworks and cakes was great - no television or computer games to be seen. Just well behaved kids in chunky jumpers and wellies. Colin did have the last word with the biggest firework I have ever seen. Called something like 'The Mega Thunder 25' it was something of a marvel. I thought it would never stop!

Colin and I are off to the NEC in Birmingham today for the Hobbycrafts 'Crafts for Christmas' event. It is more enjoyable now than it used to be - the constant barrage of ladies of a certain age, with their blue rinses and their pink totes (the craft word for a shopping trolley). We enjoy having a mooch for bargains, which sometimes can be few and far between, but generally we come home with a bagful of items to inspire and create. The craft goddess, Joanna Sheen, will also be there today. A lovely lady with an eye for beautiful things, Joanna collects vintage pictures, recent sketches and most recently a back catalogue of pictures from the Royal Horticultural Society, and creates to most wonderful CD packages to make cards with. You can see her website at http://www.joannasheen.com/ . Look out for the next thrilling episode when you will find out how much money Alison and Colin can spend at one show !!