Linda has recently retired. She now has the time to embrace life, laugh a lot and do all that she loves. Discover what that looks like for her and let her adventures inspire you…
LIVE
Meeting friends is always a treat. Afternoon Tea is always a treat. This combination varies so much from hotel to pub to cafe! I have ‘tested’ a few venues. For the uninitiated, Afternoon Tea is usually finger sandwiches, a scone with jam and cream, small cakes and pots of tea or cups of coffee. The sandwiches are always very good. The scone is always very good. The small cakes are always very different. Malmaison on the Quayside is very different. I had the pleasure of ‘testing’ it out this week. It offers a complete change with a delightful, warm mini beefburger and a savoury chicken and a salmon wrap. Fab! The scone was fab! To my mind, the quality of the kitchen is always revealed in the small cakes. Their dainty meringue boat with strawberries was delicious. The apricot and panettone pot was lovely. The dinky milk bottle of fresh fruit smoothie was refreshing. Too full for the mini brownie and almond square bites, I took them home.
Copious cups of tea and a coffee were delivered with a smile from the helpful staff. Of course, the view across the river and the Millennium bridge is stunning. Malmaison is in my top five for Afternoon Teas. What a great way to live and spend an afternoon with close friends.
LAUGH
In these days of satellite navigation and GPS, no one should ever get lost. Some people are brilliant at travelling a route once and have perfect recall of the route. I sometimes can do that – occasionally, haha! Mostly however, a car journey to a new place needs a 10% extra time added to cover the time I get lost. I even came top in map reading with 75% once. So why did my mum get lost when I was map reading en route to my first ever major interview? Well, the blue line on the map was not continuous – denoting a motorway under construction! Even after 35 years, I can still get lost at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I recently got lost on my way to the Staiths Cafe in Dunston, with a map, with my tablet and with a vague idea of where to be. Taking a short cut, I ended up in a road with bollards strung over it. Beating a hasty retreat, I arrived 40 minutes late, double the 20 minutes journey it should have taken. Oops! You just have to laugh if you are like me. Always find a way to laugh at yourself in situations like that.
LOVE
I love the cinema. From an early age of going to join screaming hordes of children for the Saturday morning shows, I was hooked. Taking my children from the time they could sit still…going with the ladies…I love the expectation, the excitement and the joy of a visit. Losing myself in drama (2012), crying with laughter (The Full Monty), a chick flick (Identity Theft), I just love it. Recently Bridget Jones the Baby was a great film. The moment as she is about to deliver her baby and screams ‘I have changed my mind’ is hilarious. I have tried to think of my top 10 adult films.
This is my list as it currently stands – although I’m sure to have forgotten some…Do you include any of these in your Top Ten?
The Draughtsman’s Contract
Last of the Mohicans
Romeo and Julie with Leo DiCaprio
The Commitments
Star Wars
Lord of the Rings
Pride
Titanic
Mr Turner
Dune
I try to live, laugh and love each day xxx
