Our return to Hong Kong!

I feel as if I have just caught up from the last whirlwind trip to HK and now its only 3 1/2 days until we leave again. This time we know what to expect (I think!)....
Our hotel was lovely - fantastic views to the harbour - in fact you could lie in the bath and look at the view....  the bathroom had only a huge panel of glass between the massive kingsize bed and the bath! For me the other great thing was the gorgeous outdoor swimming pool, on the night that we flew back last time I had such a great swim - in the warm Hong Kong rain. It was very fortifying after a long day of quite intensive media interviews  and endless photographs.
 The last session of the day was a photo shoot for a photo to be used for further promotion of the event. I was joined by a beautiful little boy and girl (dressed as a bride and groom....) they held traditional Chinese wedding sweets and I held a red and yellow 'carriage', created from sugar paste, carrying a plastic bride and groom (who were dancing in the carriage)...... I'm not sure that there will be any pictures of the three of us all doing the right thing at the same time........lets hope that perhaps I might be spared that indignity!!

another update soon!

room with a veiw

My room with this view........................As the sun rose above the mist like a gossamer cloak skimming the ocean................... like an old moggy  I stretched and yawned feeling so pleased that I was again going to enjoy another day in this incredible land. Refreshed and ready for another adventure with Iffo my guide for the day. 
Breakfast first and how stunning it looks .
 I eat with my eyes as I take a selection of beautifully  prepared fruit and that's just for starters.................so colourfull and enticing. Drat! Most of it not on the slimming worlds daily free page though.
Today am off to the flower market and then to see fabrics and much more hopefully to enable me to gather information and ideas for our aprons we hope to have made whilst we are here. We plan cloths and labels , postcards and bags so this is a voyage of discovery with a lady that comes from China and knows all of the options and possibilities . I cannot believe my good fortune to be blessed with this experience.
 Poor Carolyn has another difficult day with the media preparing her meal again for the press in readyness for the next trip on May the 4th . I seem to have the fun part now that all my flower prep is out of the way.
Another thought to share with you before I skip off   is that our sheets get changed every day!!! Gosh that is such a treat ..................I always said if ever I make it, the best thing would be to have   that pleasure and hey....I haven't made it yet but at least I get to know what this indulgence would actually feel like ....................Oooh it feels GOOD!!!!
Will colour your day with the latest happenings later!!!
Lots of love everyone 

hong kong

Hong Kong has seduced us with her warmth, humility and colourful demeaner.We already look foraward to our trip on May 4th. We are involved in lunches , dinners and four workshops. No mean feet but we have the support of Betty Luk and her team.
The lansdscape continues to consume us as we headed right across town to Kowloon toinight . Crabs and tofu carresed with wok fried vegetables dance  quench . The water front is  smoky, sultry and yet radiant in her own reflection . We walk and walk embraceing the mood and its people. I am so taken by the trees thatt drape above our heads , danceing to the rythm of the people beneath.
Tonight weary from all our smiles created for the gleaners today........... our beds look inviteing.
 In work we are professional , polished and glowing enticed by the odd caramel macchiato and a chocolate old fashioned...........we found ourselves sustained until this moment.
 Invited down town tommorrow I head off alone to experience the flower market and fabrics.......... woven of the landscape whilst also of the loom. Poor C has another press call..................whilst I indulge my starbuck fix and obsession for a culture sweep in the remaining hours tt tick and tick.!

Travelling.................

Having spent a whill wind trip in London last Friday meeting the inspirational Holly Becker , Queen of the Blog and interiour designer and creater of Decor 8 let us tell you, WE ARE TRULY INSPIRED!!! Wow what a lady and such an honour to meet chat and discuss the art of bloging and much more.
 We also had the pleasure of meeting Jo Packham the creater and editor in chief of the magazines "Where Women Cook" and "Where Women Create". Caroyn will be in a forthcoming issue so look out for that. We are both hoping to join Jo at The Creative Comnnection in St Paul Minnesota in Sepember. We will be so thrilled and delighted to be apart of this wonderful inspitational event .
In the meantime we are packing as we speak for our visit visit to Hong Kong. We take off tommorrow evening for a journey of discovery. We hope you will follow our trip from the departure lounge across the miles into a country that never sleeps apparently. We hope we get some thats for sure.
We are there until Friday when we return to the UK briefly for me as I touch down and head straight to France and the Tarn et Garrone for a holiday...................going home, it is a journey I love to take. The landscape transports me through the country with colourful images of markets ,sleepy vollages , amazing architecutre , chateaus to die for and of course the vineyards , the wine the food and the people.............C'est Parfait!
Look down  find the image for our new transport!!! Have not shared this with Carolyn yet...............thought it best to ease her in gently. We just need to get her another pink helmet and we are taking to the road! At least you will hear us coming!!!
Meanwhile we continue to pack , myself for the three journeys as on return from France we head off to Hong Kong again for a week. Gosh we will have so much to share , exotic food and flowers combined , Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm we are in so excited!!

Three days until our next appearance...

Tonight there is quite a feel of Easter in the air here. I have been getting out some of my favourite Easter recipes in readiness for our demonstration in Ashleworth this Wednesday. I'd better not let the cat out of the bag and give away too much about what we will be doing, but our theme is; 'Spring - cum - Easter - cum - Wedding - cum ... any time is a good time for pretty flowers and good things to eat!'

There is so much more to gastronomy at Easter than Hot Cross buns... Simnel cake (fruity, marzipanny), Easter biscuits - which are not just 'bunny shaped biccies' - traditionally they contain Cassia oil , (which you should be able to get from your chemist.) Then there are many traditional Easter breads from around the globe - my favourite is based on a traditional Swiss bread called 'Zopf' - light, buttery, slightly sweet and straight from the oven it is almost impossible not to eat too much of it!

Enough writing for now as I must get to the kitchen and start doing some of my preparations and filling the atmosphere with deliciously bready, cakey, spicy aromas! I expect Sarah's house is filled with the wonderful scent of many a spring flower as she works hard on all her preparations...

After Wednesday - next stop Hong Kong!
Do follow our progress as we spread our wings and our food and flowers across the world.......

Ashleworth, Hong Kong, California.....

I can't believe that here we are on Friday night, the week draws to a close and I am only now doing my first blog - oh dear. This time there is a more legitimate excuse than my usual run of the mill ones! Each night I have been burning the midnight oil as I tussle with technology..... one night it was trying to print off, fill out, scan and e mail off visa application forms to Hong Kong - sounds easy I know but believe me its fraught with danger and I know Sarah will back me up on this - its been a nightmare and taken hours. Another night it was e mailing high resolution photos that were requested only to have them all bounce back again as this time they were too big. Then it was searching on line for suppliers of edible gold leaf and those famous (rare and EXPENSIVE) white truffles from Alba in Italy and calculating how much of each I will require to for 200 people! Those are just some of the many time consuming tasks that have been filling the all too few hours between my Lucy going to sleep and waking up again!
However, we are both very excited and motivated by what lies ahead for us in Hong Kong and California.

But first we have our engagement in Ashleworth next week. I know that Sarah has been gathering together wonderful and  probably unexpected bits and pieces for our demonstration which will embrace spring, Easter, 'that' wedding and of course Sarah's great passion for flowers and mine for wonderful food ....