Postcard from… is my series of Saturday mini-posts. Today’s postcard is from a bird hide in Tottenham Marshes, part of the Lee Valley Park which borders the 2012 London Olympics site.
Selfridges food hall, the Designer’s Guild Warehouse Sale, St Tropez; there are many places I’d rather be than sat in a bird hide and more still that I’d rather be than Tottenham, North East London. So the two together are hardly my usual form of entertainment.
Nevertheless, I can see the appeal of a wooden shed to sit in. I just wish it was a pink beach hut decorated with cute Cath Kidston accessories in Tankerton instead of a dusty shack with a big letterbox cut out of it.
We came here, in the depths of winter, to entertain my grandparents (not the Grandma Kitty side) a few short months before Ted’s arrival. My grandfather and his second wife who has been my new grandmother since I was around six years old are both ardent birdwatchers and they had come to visit. We’d marched them around Walthamstow Village, looked at stuffed animal displays in Epping Forest visitor’s centre and admired Blackheath Farmer’s Market. Now we needed something else to amuse them on the Sunday afternoon.
My aunt (on the Grandma Kitty side) who lives near by and also likes pointing binoculars at our feathered friends suggested a visit to the nature reserve at Tottenham Marshes down the road. It was just the ticket and we passed a pleasant couple of hours ambling from one wooden hut to another peering into the distance at birds and… more birds.
I’m sure my companions would have been equally unmoved by a tour around the china and glass department of John Lewis so with that in mind, don’t judge me too harshly when I say the best bit was the flask of hot chocolate and the jaffa cakes. I got a bit bored once we’d finished those and started daydreaming about these geese above being nicely browned, upside down and on a roasting rack.
Heavenly Housewife says
January 23, 2010 at 9:05 pmI am totally with you on the Selfridges food hall daaaahling, divine!
Rambling Tart says
January 24, 2010 at 3:05 amOh, you make me laugh. 🙂 The hot chocolate sounds lovely! 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
January 24, 2010 at 2:23 pmHehe you know what? Hot Chocolate and Jaffa cakes would probably be my favourite part too lol
BonjourRomance says
January 24, 2010 at 8:08 pmBonjour Sarah,
Love your mini posts, you have a great sense of humour!
Enjoy your Sunday evening!
Kitchen Butterfly says
January 25, 2010 at 8:37 pmOh Sarah….I knew we connected on more than just the food level…..JAFFA Cakes are my thing!!!!!!!! Big time! I'm now going to have to make them :-0
Jeanne @ Cooksister says
January 26, 2010 at 1:53 pmLOL – lots of people checking out the geese in Norfolk too, which is where I was over the weekend (although not in a hide!)