Good morning. The weekend is just about here, phew. I am certainly looking forward to this weekend as there absolutely nothing on the calendar, No plans, no "to-do" list nothing. Just a weekend for my body to catch up with my soul.
It has been non stop ever since our break away came to an end and I can not believe how shattered I am. I will recover bit by bit slowly, starting today.
So what have I been up to? Shall we start with last weekend, its a good a place as any. My friend Jayne and I hopped on a train and headed to Birmingham for the very first Summer Stampin' Retreat, organised by Helen, our European Success Field Manager. What a wonderful couple of days it turned out to be.
Before heading to the venue, we decided to find somewhere for a bite to eat. It turned out to be a great decision because we had no idea what time the day would finish. We stumbled across a lovely little Greek taverna/cafe and shared a few delicious dishes between us before setting off to find the venue that would be home for the next couple of days.
From the moment we arrived, everyone was so happy and smiley and the room was buzzing with creativity and inspiration. There was a little hunt for seats, as some places had been saved for friends who were still making their way there. We found ourselves a table in the end and before long we were swapping our handmade projects with fellow demonstrators. It's one of my favourite parts of these events. Seeing everyone's creativity up close is always so inspiring.
This is the card I made to swap, I used lots of different Designer Series Papers (DSP) from the Floral Charm pack, the Fern and Flora embossing folder and the Banner Sayings and co-ordinating punch. Rhinestones were used to embellish.
Here are the beautiful creations I was lucky enough to receive in return.
Then it was time to get down to business. We enjoyed introductions, presentations, plenty of crafting and lots of laughs along the way, all wonderfully hosted by a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator who kept us entertained from start to finish.
Once the day came to an end, we jumped in a taxi and headed to our accommodation for the night, which was absolutely perfect. After we'd had something to eat, I said goodnight to Jayne, convinced it must have been around 10.30 or 11.00 pm. Imagine my surprise when I realised it was only 8.30 pm. Oops! I certainly wasn't complaining though, as it meant I managed an early night before another early start the following morning.
After enjoying breakfast and checking out, we made our way back to the venue, where the excitement was already building. The room was buzzing once again and the day was filled with more crafting, presentations, chatting and, of course, plenty of laughter. It really was the perfect balance, and before we knew it, it was time to head home.
Well... that's what we thought.
For some reason, we'd convinced ourselves the event finished at 5.00 pm, so we'd booked our train home for 6.00 pm. As it turned out, the retreat actually finished at 3.00 pm. Oops again. Never mind. We found ourselves a comfy spot at the station, grabbed a coffee and happily chatted the hours away. Time actually passed surprisingly quickly.
Eventually, we boarded our train and settled in for the journey home. About 15 minutes later... oops... we came to a complete standstill in the middle of a field.
After a while, we slowly set off again, but it soon became clear that all was not well. The train manager announced that the train had developed a fault and we'd be making an unscheduled stop, where the journey would end and everyone would need to change trains.
By this point, our poor husbands were already waiting at the station to collect us. Still, these things happen.
When we arrived at our unscheduled stop, everyone piled off the train and headed straight up the stairs, over the bridge and down the other side to the next platform. Jayne and I stayed put because I needed the ramp to get off the train safely (knees, hips... you know the drill).
Once I was off, a lovely member of staff took our bags and cheerfully said, "You just need to go up the two flights of stairs, over the bridge and down the other side."
"Oops... I can't do stairs," I replied, asking if there was a lift instead.
She'd seen me leave the train using the ramp but hadn't realised it was because I couldn't manage the steps. The look of horror on her face when she told us the lift was out of order was priceless. Yikes. She quickly sat us down on a bench while she disappeared to see what she could do. A few minutes later, she returned with a smile and almost at the same moment an announcement came over the tannoy:
"Would all passengers who have just crossed to Platform 2 please return over the bridge, as there has been a platform change."
Oh my goodness... I was mortified. I couldn't even look at Jayne because I knew I'd burst out laughing. There must have been well over a hundred people who had just hauled themselves up the stairs, over the bridge and back down again... all because of little old me.
Thankfully, we both got home safely in the end and it certainly gave us another story to tell.
The group photo of the majority of us
I guess I will have a little more catching up tomorrow. Thanks so much for having a read. Tracey x
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