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Lia signs a copy of My Cool Allotment for Helen Reeley |
First book launch of the year and it's the lovely Lia Leendertz's My Cool Allotment with photos by the handsome and debonair Mark Diacono.
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Er.. not really Mark.. No.. |
After a harrowing few weeks of various disasters chez Sock I was glad to escape from Sock Towers and catch the train to London to meet the LazyTrollop for a couple of stiff G&Ts at the Jugged Hare (our favourite post RHS-London Halls-events pub) before travelling only slightly south of the river to the Garden Museum the venue for Lia and Mark's book launch. I have a suspicion this is only my second social event of this year - the other also involving Lia during a thoroughly enjoyable evening at Lia and Juliet's Supper Club where we dined on beautifully cooked produce from Lia's allotment.
So Lia knows her allotment stuff pretty well and Mark is a dab hand at capturing the essence of a place with his camera. Working together they toured various interesting and inspirational allotments and community gardens in the UK and Europe and this is the result - a good partnership producing a great book which is already at the top of the gardening book charts!
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The lovely Juliet and vibrant Anne Marie |
After such a long hard winter the last few days have bought some warmth and sunshine and the chance for a jolly meet up with some old friends and make some new ones was well overdue.
And what a jolly evening it was - a real sense of Spring and love in the air - at least that was how I felt after partaking in several more glasses of wine.
And what could be better than a good laugh! Our first meeting with twitter friend Petra Hoyer Millar who laughed at all our jokes! What more could you ask for? I hope LazyTrollop didn't nick that copy of the book she's making off with...
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Laughing Trollop and Petra HM |
And old friends Michelle Chapman, Rob Stacewicz, Anne Marie Powell are not impressed by the size of James Wong's carrot!
James certainly seemed to think it was Spring! What happened to ne'er cast a clout til May is out?
There were more lovely ladies, glamorous Laetitia Maklouf with daughter and the gorgeous Sarah Salway who Lazy Trollop and I voted our new crush
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Laetitia & Sarah |
and I finally met Emma Townshend who was around in my earliest blogging days and was instrumental in creating a fun and interactive blogging community!
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Emma Townshend and RobStacewitz |
And there was cake - because there always must be cake! Lia had made it and very good it was too fittingly decorated with little marzipan carrots! I ate lots - even on top of all the G&Ts and wine.
We do so enjoy a good book launch! LazyTrollop, Ms. Reeley and I are setting ourselves up as 'Ladies who Launch' (a great name isn't it and we thought it up all by ourselves!). We are available to liven up any book launch as long as there are interesting people, free booze and food. If we like your book as much as we like 'My Cool Allotment' that will be a bonus all round!