Well December, haven’t you been a busy old month so far!

Work has been frantic: my fingers ache from hand sewing, my feet ache from standing behind my stall at fairs, and my face aches from smiling.

When Christmas does finally arrive, I think I will be lucky if I manage to stay awake for it.

But I am amazed and proud of the amount and quality of work I have produced…

My Australian niece returned briefly from her adventures in Spain, to rest and rejuvenate ready for more travel. To celebrate, and because we won’t be spending Christmas and New Year together, last weekend we took a family trip to London.

We didn’t do all the tourist stuff this time, as we had covered much of that when my sister and family visited before. This time was just for fun – no agenda, no timetable, no real plan, other than to go where we felt like going, seek out nice vegan and vegetarian food and see whatever took our fancy.

I found us an AirBnb that looked comfortable enough for two oldies and interesting enough for two teenagers, and off we went, driving through the dark on a busy Friday evening after work and school.

And it was perfect. I haven’t enjoyed a weekend so much for ages.

Our home for the weekend was in Clapton, East London, inside what was originally, many years ago, the local tram depot. The old buildings are now occupied by a couple of small independent film studios, a club/bar, café and other mysterious creative ventures hidden behind closed doors.

Our own apartment was tucked away with no clue as to it’s existence, just a sign saying “Clapton Country Club”.We were flummoxed at first, but when we finally did get in, oh my!It was one of those places where the history and charm of the original industrial building were preserved, with big old factory windows, bare brick walls and original wood floors. They had added two sleeping platforms (one with a double and one with two single beds) accessed by wooden ladders. Plus a bathroom with a barn door and a luxurious shower, a kitchen area, a big table, books and magazines and board games.

It was simultaneously warm, stylish and comfortable, whilst rough-around-the-edges enough to prevent us feeling unable to relax or touch anything.Next door was a store room that we peeped into when the door was left open…

Inside, it looked like this…It reminded me of the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter.

The country club itself, a big industrial hall with a bar at the end, was being dressed for an event. By the time we left it was ready and looked like this…

We all loved the place. I could have moved in and never left.

But London beckoned… So on Saturday morning, we decided that a museum visit suited the weather (i.e. it was WET).

I don’t think anyone was as keen as I was to visit the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, but they all changed their minds after a couple of hours in there.Apologies for the terrible quality of the photos, but I only had my phone with me (being unwilling to lug my camera around London all day) and the light wasn’t great for taking pictures. But take pictures I did, because there was so much to delight and inspire…The floor alone was worthy of photographs…But then there was so much more…There’s simply too much to include here, but suffice to say that the Museum of Childhood holds the largest collection of dolls in the UK. You can find out more about them here.

And then, of course, there is a whole town of dolls houses…We all wandered around in wonder, pointing out playthings we remembered from our respective childhoods, marvelling at ugly dolls, elaborate installations and familiar toys.

It was a heartwarming trip down memory lane in the nicest possible way. And a journey of infinite inspiration for me, work-wise.

As well as the many dolls and their magnificent houses, my favourites were, of course, the teddy bears…The collection includes Ching, the saddest panda in the whole wide world…I have to admit, I actually shed a small tear for the bears. They all just looked so sad, imprisoned in their glass cases.

Once upon a time they had been so much loved and now… never again to be cuddled or hugged, which is, after all, the whole point of their existence. I wanted to break the glass and free them.

Instead, feeling guilty as I left them reluctantly behind, I whispered my heartfelt apologies and bid them goodbye.

I fear I am a silly old thing. Or perhaps I have just watched Toy Story too many times.

But somehow, at that moment, it felt right not to be too much of a grown-up. ♥