Balaton Brits Queen's Diamond Jubiliee Party

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Party, Bronya and Brian's Garden, Cserszegtomaj, Hungary

 

Keszthely and Lake Balaton in the distance


Bronya and Brian again hosted another incredibleí Balaton Brits celebration: this time in honour of the Queen's 60year reign.  The weather was perfect, cool and cloudy, the food fantastic, the decorations superb so much so that most cars going by slowed down in amazement

Cheers to Her Majesty

To ensure we didn't fall asleep after all those cakes, there were games too.  We played Wellie Tossing, Egg and Spoon racing and Boules.  

 

The Queen's Breakfast winning hat competition entry!

Natalie's amazing Jubilee Cake

Just to remind us we were in Hungary, while all this excitement was going on in Bronya and Brian's garden, a little gypsy horse and cart quietly trotted by the back lane, with the owner scything and collecting the tall grass from the fields.

Thanks to Andy for all the great photos and of course thanks too to Bronya and Brian again for your wonderful hospitality and hard work to make it such an occasion to remember. 

Cheesecake in the garden

cheesecake in the garden

This wonderful cheesecake moment was later spoilt when I spent about an hour trying in vain to post the photo onto my status page in FB.  I can't work out why these things never seen to work for me, but just in case you wanted to see a photo here it is now on my blog. The recipe was a combination of one from the wonderful 70's cookbook Hungarian Cookery by Fred McNichol (my copy is so worn I have to hold it together with elastic bands) and the equally wonderful The Joy of Cooking by Irma and Marian Rombauer Becker.  It's definitely not low fat but good for the soul if not the arteries.  

Walking on the Sea of Stones

In between Lake Balaton and Somlohegy, on the road to Veszprem, lies the amazing sea of stones, near the touristy village of Szentbekkalla, nestling a beautiful valley strewn with boulders and wonderful rocks to climb and admire.

 The stones are basalt and although we were here to walk, it was so hot that we spent a long time sitting on the stones and hopefully absorbing some of their energy to restore us on the way. 

Although tempting just to sit and listen to the birdsong all day, we did follow the trail back to the picturesque village where the houses are built from the beautiful stones with walled gardens. Definitely a place to return to and explore some more.

Comings and Goings On the Hill

Some go and some came back this month.

  This month Marci said good bye after as he gets ready to take his leaving exams and heads off to university.

Good luck Marci, I wish you every success in all your exams and a wonderful future ahead of you.  

It was a pleasure to teach you and thank you for the lovely flowers too!

As Marci said good bye, Bela came back after an absence of one year.

 He's made a new friend in little Blackie the neighbour's latest stray cat and has re newed  his acquaintance with Arnie, who at first, swore at him and refused to come into the house, but after only a few weeks, they are back to sleeping in the same chair! Amazing!

  

  

Under Deck Storage Project

The famous under deck storage project

For those of you who haven’t yet seen the amazing feats of engineering Andy has so far carried out using only a shovel and a wheel barrow, here are a few photos to astound you.  We are waiting for a delivery of dry mix to arrive this week and then it will be all systems go again as the incredible Andy hand mixes and spreads it all below.

I think this project could well last all summer long although Andy is confident it’s just another one of those 5 minute jobs.  I am so looking forward to the completion and having a living room free of gardening, wine making, DIY tools and various other assorted paraphernalia.  But I don’t think I’m looking forward to it half as much as he is.  An opening ceremony party is in order I think.

Concreting

On Thursday, 10 May, the weather was finally good enough to allow Attila the Hungarian Concrete Mix Delivery Man to drive his little flat bed down the bumpy property to off load the mix.  Andy was ready and waiting, wheel barrow and watering cans all set, to mix and pour and level.  Our kind and helpful neighbour, Karcsi, soon appeared and spent the whole day helping.  Amazingly, another load later, and after much sweat and toil, it was all done. 

Wow, it's all finished!

Pour guys were so tired they could hardly pick up their beers!!

Didn't we do a good job?

 Thank you Karcsi for all your help.

Well done both of you !

Some of my completed sewing projects

Hexagon paper patched

Rectangle Squared Quilt looks great on the washing line

Sarah's Cathedral Window cushion in the sunshine

Last walk of the old year

Thank you Chris Eva and Kristian for you good company and excellent bird spotting! We were so lucky with the weather and the great views and especially seeing the amazing white tailed eagle! Just about ready for our next outing, hiking boots and walking socks all just waiting for the sun!

New Year's Day Breakfast Extravaganza

Thank you Erzebet and Werner for your fabulous hospitality and amazing breakfast! We had a lovely time and it was the perfect start to 2012. We hope we see you soon.