Tipsy at Lumiere London

What better way to get London out and about, walk (or be carried) off some of those extra Christmas stuffing pebbles and pounds, and cheer up the dark, wintery, grey skies, than lighting up London with Lumiere 2018. Of course, we had to go. This year it was really spread out across Town, so we only got to see the …

Tipsy at Mayfield Lavender Fields

Getting to the famous Mayfield Lavender Farm (everyone seems to be going there at the moment), from North West London by public transport is not the easiest (unless you are a crow flying), but not impossible. It takes a good 2 hours by bus, Tube, train, a second bus, and you need plenty of toffees.  The good thing is, while …

Tipsy at Greys Court Garden

Greys Court House and Gardens are a short drive from London and perfect for pets with itchy paws who need to get out of the city and explore the nearby countryside and the gardens, which are the main draw here.

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We drove up and pretty much took the last free place in the car park.  The overflow hadn’t opened yet, and there seemed to have been some confusion among the staff whether it would be or not, with a tail back of cars not sure what to do, so just note, it is a place that gets busy on lovely Bank Holidays.

We first had a quick wander around part of the estate – which is huge – so we didn’t wander too far.  We met some very friendly cows and crossed a pretty Japanese Moon Bridge.

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Then we joined a really interesting guided tour of the gardens, which were superb.  The owner had been keen to create spaces of walled garden, with little doorways that led on to more gardens, that then opened up into surprising spaces; and she certainly managed to get the desired effect.  There’s even a special statue of the gardner, bee hotels a plenty, and lots of pretty fountains.

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Although we had just missed the wonderful wisteria, and were too early for the corridor of roses, the gardens didn’t disappoint, with beautiful colours, scents and bees buzzing around.

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We also visited the house – which was issuing timed entries as it was so busy – and that was nice too.  There’s also an interesting horse and donkey wheel, a tea shop, and a gift shop to nose around.  But it is the gardens that really steal the show here and deserve a second or third wander.

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Tipsy and the London Fire Brigade

No, Tipsy Cat didn’t get stuck up a tree.  She met these rather lovely chaps and their fire engine when they came home to do a London Fire Brigade Home Safety Visit.  Every home in London can book one – it’s free, because they want to prevent fires of course – and it’s especially good if you a worried about an …

Tipsy Cat at Christmas at Kew

What can be more festive than oohing and aahing at twinkly lights and wandering round an enchanted garden (with a clever flask of mulled wine) on a frosty December night?  On the recommendation of a couple of Tipsy’s Little Pet’s colleagues – one of whom had provided the handy hint of the pre-prepared mulled wine (you can also buy mulled …

On an Instameet: A Murumuration or Whisperation at Brandon Marsh

We went on our first ever instameet on Saturday, and it was a lot of fun.  Now, there are two things any would-be instameeters should be made aware of when out on a nature expotition*.  First, a bunch of photographers on a single-track path are likely to stop utterly randomly and without warning when something catches their eye.  This could …

I’m not a Scaredy Cat: Tipsy at the Dersingham Road Charity Halloween Party.

Tipsy’s not really a scaredy cat (at least that’s what she says!), and she has been known to bam-bam ghosts in the past, but luckily she didn’t need to today.  There were only nice, friendly ghosties and ghouiles, and very friendly witches at the Dersingham Road Charity Halloween Party in aid of Cancerkin and the Royal Free.  Organised by Lindsay …

Pets’ Mewspaper: Issue 4 – Halloween

–  Knock Knock –  Who’s there? –  Hallo –  Hallo-who? –  No, Halloween! Heheheheh, it’s a Halloween special issue this month, and it’s super-duper full! So take a break from carving the pumpkin or turnip Jack-o’-lanterns, and get reading now. issue-4 Lots of love, Tipsy Cat xxx

Cat, Curry and Canals

Birmingham is a buzzing city.  Brummies (that’s people from Birmingham), will tell you it’s got more canals than Venice – and it has got a lot, and the canal ways are very nice for a wander, and lots of interestingly named streets. It’s also got lots of building work going on and a great state-of-the-art, whizzy library (with a bar). …

Bakewell Pudding and Tickley Things

Bakewell Pudding – Yes Please Now, did you know that Bakewell Pudding and Bakewell Tarts are two different things?  The famous pudding which gave the village its name (well, according to Tipsy anyway), was supposed to have come about from a misunderstanding.  The happy accident occurred when the mistress of the White Horse inn instructed her cook to add an …