Sunday, 27 March 2022

Fabulous Fabergé

It was time to leave Birmingham this morning and Cat and I had planned to travel to London by train in the morning, in order to be in plenty of time to meet James and Ally for lunch. (James travelled to London by train yesterday and spent the evening and overnight with Ally.)
However the best laid plans o’ mice and men gang aft agley, and not only did our train get cancelled, so did the next one. This meant that we would not arrive in London in time for the lunch that Cat had booked. So Cat quickly researched what transport was available and found that there was a direct bus from Birmingham to London, leaving very shortly. VERY shortly - I had to run for it while much fitter Cat strode along, very kindly carrying my case as well as her own overnight bag! And we made it with minutes to spare. The bus ride was nearly three hours but it went by surprisingly quickly and then at London Victoria bus station we jumped into a taxi and arrived at the restaurant only 15 minutes late. 
The restaurant was fabulous, called The Terrace, decorated with lots of plants and ferns. The food was middle-eastern and delicious, and Ally and Cat treated us to lunch as my Mothers' Day present. I feel like a very loved Mum, with Davie and Chanel’s also very generous present on Wednesday, and phone calls and messages from my New Zealand boy Jamie.
We relaxed and chatted over lunch, having completely caught up with our plans thanks to Cat.
Our next visit was to the Fabergé Exhibition at the V&A, which I thought was great. We learned a lot about the history of the firm as well as seeing their beautiful miniature creations, including tiny pieces of furniture, lots of cigarette cases and of course the eggs. The Fabergé Eggs were created as luxury gifts, particularly for the Russian Royal Family to give each other at Easter. Each one is unique and many have “surprises” inside them like for example a wind-up peacock that can walk along while fanning out it’s tail. They are so very intricate and gorgeous, but I couldn’t help thinking that ultimately they were rather pointless! Or are such things of beauty worthwhile in themselves? 
Later we all had a curry together in Ally and Cat’s fabby flat overlooking the Thames. What a fantastic Mothers' Day. 

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