Flat Susan's adventures in POWYS

A little parcel fell through my letterbox yesterday.
It landed with a squeak on the doormat.
I picked it up and carried it into my kitchen and unpacked it carefully.
As I took off the last bit of sticky tape I could hear a little chuckle.
Inside were several little packages.

When I opened the last little package I heard a sigh of relief.

Look what I found inside........

Yes - you guessed - Flat Susan with all her bits and bobs!
(If you need to find out more about Flat Susan then do pop over to her very own Flat Susan blog.)
Cathryn had sent a beautiful tag for me - there are so many clever crafters out there aren't there?
Thanks Cathryn - I will put in my WOYWW tag book along with all my other special tags.
Also there seemed to be lots of other bits and bobs for me to check over so I will tell you more about those later.


Flat Susan was so pleased to be out of the parcel and quickly settled into the home that had been specially put ready for her arrival.

I think she liked the facilities but I did hear her mutter that things seem a little old fashioned out here in the Welsh Marches!

She loved her little pink bathroom and couldn't wait to take a long relaxing bath to soothe her aching bones after her long journey.

However her kitchen facilities and laundry equipment certainly left  a lot to be desired.

She will ony be here for a week so I bet she saves all her washing tor Annie to do next week when she moves on to her!

She was delighted to see her cosy little sitting room, complete with a sewing machine all set up ready for her to join in with the crafty activities that take place regularly here.

I hope she will be very comfy.
I am sure she will enjoy all we do this week.
Pop back later and see what she gets up to.

A Visit to A Stately Home in England

Flat Susan has been spending some time with Cathryn who has had an operation on her eye so I am hoping Flat Susan has been of help around the house.  Cathryn is feeling a little better so she took her out - here is Cathryn's account:

Phew its been a very hard time since I had some work done on my eye and this is the first time I am online - and yesterday was the first time I ventured out somewhere serious - and of course Flat Susan came with us!

We went to Chatsworth Show - and I enjoy my time just wandering around all the stands there - I pick up lots of different ideas from the various stands which are all country stuff.   But they have tons of stuff which will spark off the imagination.   It feels so good to get back to doing something - albeit nothing terribly close cos basically I cannot bloody see it!!  I couldn't take a lot of photos, mainly because I still cannot bend fully, or turn my head too sharply all that kind of stuff.... but here goes!

So here is some blurb about our day!

This doesn't even give you an idea of just how large this show is - its HUGE and spreads all over the estate - a lot of folk take caravans etc and spend the whole 3 days there - Flat Susan gasped (which believe you me was pretty difficult for her to do!) when she saw how large it was and also at the entrance fee!   

She insisted on having her photo taken at the main VIP tent - you can just see Chatsworth in the background and the VIPs are all milling round behind me to get her autograph.   She was introduced to many famous people during the show - Mr Kipling, Mr Whippy to name but a few.

These are put up just in case you forgot where you are!   

Actually it backs onto this......

Now there are certain protocols to follow when visiting the show - numero uno is that you have to have the infamous HOG ROAST!!  Yeah!  this year they were a splendid £5.98 a go!  I can remember when they were £1.50 and everyone was moaning how expensive they were - but to be fair you get LOADS of meat in the roll - you also have to fight off the trillions of dogs who are under your feet, goosing you (ok that's not so bad!), and wrapping around your legs.  Flat Susan really did enjoy her hog roast and she had the Pork by the way - along with a huge dollop of apple sauce which she promptly got all down her front, cos when she bit into it, it squished either side (you know I am not really talking about Flat Susan now don't ya!)

The other rule is that you must wear these boots - and do I have a pair .....natch!!!   But take it from me they rip your feet to pieces until you bed them in - I still haven't bedded mine in yet and I have had them 3 years, but to be fair I don't like to wear them in bad weather cos they were too expensive to get mucky!   I like to take them out and admire them, and put them back in the box.  You wear them with your leggings and think "not so bad after all" till you turn round and see all the junk in the trunk and everyone puts their clocks back or looks for the eclipse!

Also you have to wear the full tweed combo - Flat Susan couldn't get anything to fit her, and these boots were a little too large.   The full tweed wasn't right for her either, as the skirts were all too short.

And so, she had the most wonderful day - coming home she was dropping to sleep cos she had "had the fresh air round her" - and now she is ready to go onto her next visit.   She was a delightful guest, no trouble at all, very quiet I must say - in fact she fitted in with us quite nicely!

Pam Takes Susan to a Festival

We're finally back from the festivals and have enjoyed some glorious weather and fantastic music.

We also had a very special guest with us...can you guess who it was?

Of course, Flat Susan!  

Flat Susan had an uneventful journey getting to us, I'm pleased to say that the Royal Mail didn't manage to crush her!  We set off in our campervan and arrived at Warwick Folk Festival where it didn't take her long to start making new friends.  She seemed particularly taken with these 2 chaps on the bus into town.  They were off to perform Morris Dancing in the town square.

Given half a chance I think she might have hidden in their hats and run off with them!

It wasn't all fun though, we soon put Flat Susan to work helping with the filming for the big screens on the stage.  The cameras were a bit heavy for her so she stayed in the OB truck and oversaw the vision mixing.  

She did so well that she's been offered a contract for next summer!

There were certainly plenty of interesting people at the festival who all wanted to get to know Susan.

This is the Green Man, famed throughout Folk Legend in the British Isles.  He stopped by to tell stories and thought Susan's travels were wonderful.  He told us about a small drum that is travelling the world on it's own and being taken to festivals and rituals where it's played.

We did have time off for some sightseeing.

Susan on the bridge overlooking Warwick Castle.  If she looks a little blurry, it's because she had a late night with some real ale the night before!

 On top of a Victorian Post box.  One of two that are each side of the arches that lead into the town centre.  They were placed there in 1866.  There's not many of this style of post box left.

No sign of Susan in this one....she was taking a rest.  It's one of the streets near to the castle.

That's all for today. 

Flat Susan Leaves South Africa

Was a sad goodbye indeed, funny how a little flat doll can get in your heart!  She was such fun to take places and entertain, sadly just over a week flew by and I have had to pass her on so she can continue on her world travels.  This was mailed off last week Wednesday (that was the intention, but it was really Thursday as life happened!) so she should be almost home by now...

I made my tag for her next hostess and here she is sitting next to it.  I took inspiration from Tim's July tag but made it South African in nature.

Below you can see how she travels in style with all her kit and very clear instructions.

When I went to the post office, I asked for pretty stamps cos the lady inside would appreciate it...this is what they gave me...I think they are fabulous.  The flying pig is a G45 stamp which they thought was hilarious, but added their airmail sticker, just in case the message was not clear enough!

Bella is Busy Making Flat Susan a House

I could not let Flat Susan go without making her a house...cos every doll should have one!  I recently purchased this die that makes a 3D bird house and thought it was just the right size for Susan!  She even got a matching chandelier for her chair and so she thinks she is really in vogue!

I have all the post cards of where she has been ready to go in her envelope and will be sending all her collected paraphernalia with her (chair and house)...show me a girl who does not go back home without over-weight baggage after a long trip to another country. 

Flat Susan Gets Ready to Leave South Africa

Tried to make this photo more to scale...

I have been hosting Flat Susan for the past week and what a pleasant guest she has been!  I have tried to show her the more interesting parts of my city in my previous posts and thought I would leave you with a map of Africa so you could picture where she has been.

Cape Town is right at the southern most tip of Africa at the join between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  So depending on the weather, you can quite literally go to one side of our city or the other for warmer or cooler sea to swim in and believe me, there is quite a temperature difference!

Bang in the middle (well not quite, but it does divide the CBD from the rest) of our city is a great big rock known as Table Mountain, because from its front side it looks completely flat.  This I can tell you is an optical illusion as I have climbed this mountain and walked along its top...it is by no means flat!  Here is a view of the city taken from above of Robben Island where

Madiba (Mr Mandela who is currently not well and about to celebrate his 95th Birthday on Thursday) was incarcerated for many years!

Below is a photo of Cape Point.  I have been here in a helicopter and it is truly magnificent, but my photo was not as clear as this one.

On the left is the Atlantic (cold) Ocean and the right the Indian (warm) Ocean and this is Cape Point.   Not quite the most Southern tip of Africa, that is Cape Agulhas a 2 hour drive from here where they claim the sea changes, but my toes tell me a different story!   If you look at the top right hand mountain in the far distance, that is the "back" of Table Mountain and where Flat Susan has been residing.

She is getting ready to wing her way back to Neet who will send her on to her next hostess.

Flat Susan Goes to Table View with Bella

Here we have FS on her throne...a somewhat doctored photo as she would not stay in focus to get the shot I wanted of the famous Table Mountain in the background!  This is a 30 minute drive from the other side of this mountain where I live in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.

Yes, this is WINTER, well not all the time!  They are predicting rain for the next 3 days so I was glad to get out and about to let my little guest stretch her legs.  My son who is 8, thinks I have quite lost the plot,taking a little plastic doll on a jaunt around my city, stopping to take photos at will, having conversations with her about sitting still and staying in focus etc, etc and then carrying on to our destination as though nothing unusual has happened...This is such fun!

I even did a panoramic shot to give you the perspective of how little FS must feel!