The Rose Tattoo

End of the week in Cromer

2015-10-11T22:33:00.000+01:00

Friday

Lovely day again, and after breakfast we drove to Blakemey Point. Parked up, and went for a walk across the marshes. Saw lots of birdlife, including this Eagret

The walk was lovely, about 2 miles out to the beach, where we saw the huge wind farms that exist out to sea.

Walked back into Blakeney, still in gorgeous sunshine, past the dinghy park!

Found a lovely pub just round the corner where it was so warm we sat outside for lunch. On the way back we called at Leathersett WaterMill to pick up some flour for Stuart to make bread with.

Then we went into Holt, in much better weather than when we were last there on Sunday. Called at the Adnams shop and picked up some Christmas presents, as well as some gin and liqueurs for us.

Back to the little villa we've been calling home for the last week.

And we spent the evening in, a bottle of wine, a home cooked meal, and more jigsaw!

Stuart did rather blot his copybook by nearly finishing it after I'd gone to bed!

Saturday

Last day. Another misty start, but looked like being nice again, so we went to Sherigham Park. Another National Trust property. The house isn't open to the public, but the grounds are extensive, and we had a great walk round the park. Saw lots of fungi again! Also some fantastic views of the coast, some come the top of wooden towers in the park. I managed to brave a coupe of them , but the last one pictured below was too much for me. Managed to get half way up, but then realised that not only could I see through the steps. But it moved!

After a sandwich in the cafe on site, we went for a walk round Sherringham, specifically along the sea front.

At the end was the RNLI station, where we got a chance to sea the lifeboat, surprising with the same name as someone we know. Really interesting to get on the viewing platform above it and look down on all the gear on board. And it wasn't very big, going out with 4 crew, it can still rescue 22 people.

Back to pack, and for the last time to the resort bar for a very nice steak.

A couple of nightcap, and a relatively early night ready for a long drive back tomorrow!

Great week. Lots of good food, walks, houses, and a really relaxing time.

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Mid week in Cromer

2015-10-09T21:36:00.001+01:00

Wednesday

Woke up to a miserable day. Raining and misty. Got up latish, and Stuart went for a swim in the pool on site. I decided I also needed some exercise, so I walked to the pool and sat in the sauna for a while, then the poolside jacuzzi for even longer. It was hard work watching Stuart swim.

Then we drove along the coast to Wells next the Sea. Which is actually nowhere near the sea. I may return to this point. We had been recommended a pub to go to by a friend, the Golden Fleece, and it seemed rude not to try it.

Luckily we were both hungry, so we ordered lunch, and I had another wonderful crab salad. I had always assumed Whitby crab was the best in the world, but I'm actually having to reconsider...

By the time we had come out of the pub it had stopped raining so we decided to walk to find the sea. Setting off from the harbour

We walked for about a mile over the marshes. Finally we got to the beach, with some amazing beach huts on stilts.

But, the sea was still a long way off. It's where the breakers are on this picture

About another mile away. But, at least we saw it. Then we drove back via a supermarket to pick up food for the evening. It was going to be a long evening....

We put some braising steak in the oven, as we had a lot to watch! It was the opening night of my son Daniel's play, The Hound of the Baskervilles which he had written and directed but we were missing because it clashed with our holiday. It was also The final of Great British Menu, Great British Bake off final and the final episode and the denouement of Dr Foster. Luckily a colleague had agreed to film and live stream the opening night of Baskervilles, so with my trust iPad and a bottle of fizz to toast Daniel we were set up.

With only a couple of issues with the wifi where we had to watch it in my iPhone for a few minutees it worked really well,and I really felt we were there. It was a fantastic experience. Daniels's play was great and the actors did it justice.

Then when it finished, we had all of the other programmes to watch. Thanks goodness for iplayer on the iPad and a good wifi network. We were late to bed!,

Thursday

Beautiful sunny day, Staurt went off for a swim and I decided to start a jigsaw I'd been bought as a Christmas present. Then as soon as he got back we set off for another National Trust property, Blickling Hall and Estate. Beautiful place.

We had an amazing day. The house was lovely.

As were the formal gardens

Whilst walking round the gardens we saw a sign for the Sitooterie, which I jokingly said must be somewhere you "sit oot". Turns out I was right!

Made from weaving together yew trees and some stained glass, it was lovely. After the formal gardens we had lunch in a pub in the grounds, very handy, then walked round the lake.

On such a beautiful day it was fantastic. Saw lots of fungi under the trees. Assumed it was all poisonous, so,was very careful not to touch...

Drove home, and got back in time for Pointless, always a bonus. Chilled out for a while with the jigsaw and some gin and tonics, and ate at the local bar where we were serenaded by the entertainer singing a medley of songs. Of course I particularly enjoyed the Neil Diamond ones! Back in time for a film and some more jigsaw action.

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Off to Cromer

2015-10-06T23:09:00.001+01:00

Off on our hols again, this time to Cromer, a place neither of us have ever been to. I last came to Norfolk on holiday when I was a teenager I think when we hired a boat on the Norfolk Broads. So, Cromer Country Club is our home for the next week, and here's a diary of our week.

Sunday

Set of around 1030, surprisingly early for us. And a good drive all the way to Kings Lynn with no traffic. At aroud 1330 we decided we needed lunch, but suddenly all the pubs and stops disappeared. With the help of our satnav we found The Green Man just outside Fakenham. Disappointed that they were only doing Sunday roast, we were very impressed with landlady who offered us a Cromer crab salad instead. And it was magnificent!

Arrived in Cromer late afternoon, and as we'd both been sitting in a car for nearly 4 hours decided we had to get out steps,up somehow, som went to explore the resort and where we were in relation to Cromer. At the top of the resort we found a lighthouse

And soon realised we had fantastic views of the beach

Walked along the cliff path, and saw Cromer pier appear in the distance.

Walked right down into the town, had a bit of a look round and walked back. In time for a Whiskey Mac, and some nibbles before going to the onsite restuarant for a meal. This time I gave in and had a proper Sunday roast!

Monday

Short drive to Sheringham in the morning and hopped on a steam train to Holt.

Lovely journey, and even I was impressed that we passed a train called The Black Prince!

I love these restored lines, and the beautifully preserved stations

When we got to Holt it was quite a walk into town, about 30 minutes, but quite a pleasant walk, past Greshams School, which is enormous. Despite the forecast, it was dry, and Holt was lovely. Full of Georgian buildings

And so many shops, many of them in little squares

The first shop we went in was an Adnams shop. I knew they made beer, but didn't realise they also had a distillery, and the lovely man in the shop made sure I tasted all of their gin, vodka and liqueurs. Felt quite tipsy afterwards! Spent the morning walking round the lovely town and shoppes, and went for lunch in Byfords which is apparently quite famous.

Couldn't resist their fish platter - and a glass of wine of course!

When we came out it was throwing it down, so instead of walking back to the station we deiced to catch a bus or get a cab. That was a bit of a challenge. But we eventually got a cab and caught our train, and watched the rain on the way back.

Made it back to our little apartment in time for a whisky Mac and Pointless, which I think might become a bit of a recurring theme! Needed to do some steps so went for a walk in the rain, but On the plus side managed to find a little shop selling ice!

Dinner was in the onsite restuarant again, and then we watched a film over our night caps.

Tuesday

Another late morning, just catching up on sleep, and we went to Felbrigg Hall, a National Trust property. Had to do a detour back to the house as Stuart had forgotten his membership card, but got in eventually. What a lovely place it was.

The house was decorated for Harvest time, and had lots of flowers and fruit everywhere

Fter the house we went for a walk round the gardens, which included an amazing walled garden which has been lovingly restored.

After lunch in the cafe, and you can't beat a National Trust cafe, we went for a walk round the park, and found a tiny church which had an interior a little like Whitby Church, with individual areas for parishioners to sit, and a bonus of beautiful brass plaques in the floor which had been carefully covered with carpet which you had to roll back to see them.

Then we walked to the lake and passed a flock of goldfinches feeding on thistle seeds, and saw many water birds on the lake.

On the way back we passed a Sessile Oak. Not sure what it is, but very old, and hollow.

Again, very lucky with the weather, didn't get wet at all, and even after calling at a supermarket for essential supplies, got back in time for Whiskey Mac and Pointless!

Watched the last ever New Trickes and feasted on jacket potatoes, cheese, beans and sausages. Our main staple meal in the middle of a holiday!

As I type this, Stuart has decided he hasn't done enough steps, and as it's now raining outside, is walking round and round the room... I'm just about to pour another glass of wine!

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My baby is 30....

2015-02-24T23:01:00.000+00:00

Can't quite believe my baby, my firstborn is 30!! 30 years ago I thought I had 4 more weeks to go before he would be born. How wrong I was. it was snowing, really heavily, and we only just got to Nether Edge Hospital. When he finally decided to come out, nearly 20 hours after I'd gone into labour, he was heavily affected by the pethidine the midwife had given me less an hour before he was born, was blue, not breathing and only just 5 pounds. And look at him now :-)

As a birthday treat, we went to London for the day last Saturday. First class travel of course - dead cheap on a Saturday, and coffee and bacon butties on the train.

When we got there we made straight for Baker Street - which has a
very atmospheric tube station.
Outside the station is a statue of Sherlock Holmes, which is why we were there of course. Then it was off to find 221B, where the Sherlock Holmes museum is located.

Complete with period policemen outside. I was surprised how busy it was - we had to queue for 30 minutes to get in, and how popular it was with Japanese tourists.

It was a great little museum. All done out to represent the period, and illustrating many of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Dan certainly looked the part, and in fact got mistaken for a guide by tourists asking him questions about the exhibits. Not surprisingly, he knew more about them than the real guides...

And of course, we found the Hound of the Baskervilles, the story of which Dan has adapted into a play due to be performed this October.

After the museum we went to Picadilly Circus, and walked down through Leicester Square to Covent Garden for lunch - a fish finger sandwich! Then walked round the market, and down to the Duchess Theatre to see the matinee of The Play That Goes Wrong. I've seen it before, and it's one of the funniest plays I've ever seen. An amateur dramatic company putting on a murder mystery, and if anything can go wrong, it does. Sort of a cross between Noises Off and a Farndale play - and if you're involved with AmDram, as we are, it's even funnier.

Then we had to pay a visit to the big Forbidden Planet shop round the corner

and off to a Brazilian BBQ for tea - Cabana. Great food and atmosphere. Then it was back up to St Pancras and the train home. Great day out - really enjoyed it, and I think Dan did too!

What a reunion weekend!

2015-02-17T22:27:00.000+00:00

In 1967 I left my junior school, Carr Hill, in Retford, and having passed my 11-plus, went to Retford County High School for Girls. In 1974, I left, along with a great many friends made during the 7 years there. Over the past years we've had a few reunions, and last November had another to celebrate 40 years since leaving school. I know. 40 years. That can't be right. But it is! Facebook has been instrumental in us getting back together, and we have our own private group where we share pictures and memories and chat to each other.

Our last reunion was such a success, we decided to go for a weekend away, and last weekend some of us we descended on a lovely cottage in Staffordshire. I arrived late Friday afternoon, with a car full of food and booze, to discover 4 of them already there and a cottage already overflowing with food and booze. As we said several times over the weekend. I think we overcatered.

Mulled wine flowed. Rosemary arrived with another car load of food and drink. Selfie sticks were practiced with.

Balloons were blown up and danced with (don't ask).

Then we had a fantastic goulash courtesy of Siobhan. Plus puddings, more booze, more laughter...

Then there was Valentine's cards and presents.

Finally bed. Despite the fact that there were 3 bedrooms, someone decided that the five of us should all sleep in one room - which a nice girly thing to do. Except for the fact that someone snored. And ground their teeth. People seemed to think it was me but I don't believe them.

Next morning some were up bright and early (not me), and there was coffee and kedgeree which was delicious.

Sally arrived, and we started being artistic. Wendy had brought paints, pens, canvases, paper, and a lot of patience and coaching skills.

After the painting came sewing. Sewing machines were produced and Siobhan and Susan helped us start quilting cushion covers.

Then we had lunch, and decided maybe fresh air was in order. By then Carol had arrived, and we went for a walk.

More sewing when we got back - and we all finished our cushion covers - ably helped along by Prosecco, Baileys and wine ;-)

Goulash for tea. More drinking, more laughing, some quizes - were there were winners, and losers...

and bed.

Next morning we had smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and Bucks Fizz for breakfast. Cooked by Sally and it was delish!!

Then more painting. I really got the bug and couldn't stop! Janice arrived, and she and Sue worked on their sock monkeys.

I had a hat to knit, and everyone helped with it! The day seemed to pass in a blur of painting, eating, drinking and sewing. Great fun. This is my output at the end of it - the hat wasn't quite finished at this point but was a bit later

In the evening, when there was just 5 of us again as Carol, Janice and Sally had left we watched films. The kareoke version of Mamma Mia which we sang along to enthusiastically. Priscilla Queen of the Desert for more Abba songs. And finally, of course, The Rocky Horror Show where we all did the time warp...

And next day it was time to go home. A great weekend, great fun, and great company. Can't wait to do it again!

Wendy has written a much better post than this with lots more pictures, which is here.

Center Parcs

2015-01-25T21:36:00.000+00:00

Yay, Center Parcs time again!! I've been going to Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest since just after it opened in 1987. I think we first went in October 1987, when Dan was a toddler and I was pregnant with Luke. Then we started going in January as me, Dan and Luke have our birthdays within 5 days of each other and it seemed a good way to celebrate. Now we go with grown ups - 4 couples in a luxury villa with a steam room, sauna, games room and a wonderful hot tub. And I try and make sure we're there for my birthday. We slightly over-cater on the booze (and there was a wine fridge full of wine and fizz as well as this shelf...)

Monday - met for lunch on the way there at the Rose Cottage Pub, got to the villa, unpacked, a nice walk round the lake and the forest, and back for some singing and playing of pool, after a great meal of venison casserole!

There might have been quite a lot of time spent in the hot tub as well....

Tuesday - hungry squirrel waiting on our patio at breakfast time for us to feed him,

And lots more wildlife it he garden. Any food we put out went very quickly!

Walked to the bird hide just by our villa, and the pond was frozen, but still saw a lot of birds

And then went for a walk....

To Rufford Park. Lovely place - nice old hall, coffee shop

Interesting gardens with lots of sculptures

And a lovely lake to walk round, which was frozen.

Back to the villa for lunch, and of course, straight into the hot tub. Liked this photo of my flowery back tattoo.

The hot tub is a very popular place - at all times of the day or night...

In the evening Stuart was on Strawberry Daquiri duty, his specialty cocktail

And we walked round to the country Club for dinner.

Wednesday. Segway day! It was snowing but that didn't put anyone off. These were off offroad Segways, very different to the ones you have in cities. Big wheels, and after a quick practice we were off through the forest.

It was very, very cold and wet, and miraculously Stuart didn't fall off! One of our number did though,
twice ;-) Lunch in the village square, then we went to the Spa, whilst the others went back to the villa.

The Spa is very relaxing - an outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi, and 16 different spa areas, different saunas, steam rooms, different temperatures, and lots of relaxing places - including water beds, and an outdoor area where you can wrap yourself up n a blanket. My favourite is the Laconium, which is the picture at the side. Very gently heat, very comfy, very quiet. I fell asleep! We even had a free facial in there.

Back to the villa for another evening in, with an antipasti starter...

More pool more cocktails, more hot tub, more music.

Thursday. Gentle walk to the bird hides, all three of them. Saw lots of birds,

And I loved this cheeky Lesser Redpoll - so cute.

In the afternoon we went bowling - some of us are better than others :-)

And in the evening, in honor of my birthday the next day - a meal in Cafe Rough

Back for more hot tub, and even I played pool...

Friday
Early morning. Yuck! Packed, got out. Walked round lake, which was lovely

sat in the bird hide again

and then we all had brunch - eggs benedict and Prosecco. Made even better because they gave me the Prosecco free as it was my birthday, and that morning the manager had given us some free food vouchers because our hot tub alarm had gone off late at night. Admittedly while we were still in it...

Chatsworth Stags

2014-12-31T18:30:00.000+00:00

As it's being snowing, we decided to drive out into the Peak District today to see what it looked like. The view from the top of Hathersage was amazing:

And we even saw a very ugly pig, snuffling around in the snow. I thought it was ugly, Stuart had a conversation with it.

The snow was very localised, not much at all as we went out towards Castleton, so we went over to Chatsworth where there was a lot more. Loads of sledging just as you get into the park opposite Ednesor, and as we drove through the park, we saw the deer. Very close to the road - they looked magnificent.

And on the way back we stopped at the Devonshire Arms in Baslow for lunch. You can't beat a good beef sandwich and chips!

Christmas, the real thing

2014-12-30T20:51:00.000+00:00

I love Christmas :-) It's very different without small kids waking us up at 5am, so we have a nice lie in now, and open our presents together with a glass of Bucks Fizz

My tiger onesie was wonderful and I got a whole stack of other stuff, Then the boys come round and we have a load of more present opening. Then my Mum and dad and Brother and Sister-in law come round and we have Christmas dinner in our kitchen. Luckily my neighbour has an aga which I borrow, because I don't think the turkey would fit in my oven!

Rest of the day is drinking, eating more and finding some games to play. This year we had indoor fireworks, which was a bit an experience!!

On Boxing Day we set off for Handsworth to watch the sword dancers - more carol singing, and the mummers play as well as the sword dance.

Because our family is quite extended, we have several days of various kids and grandchildren turning up for more meals, and of course, more present opening - makes Christmas last even longer!

This year, the night most of the family came round - it snowed! Looked lovely, and we built snowmen on the road, but it did mean no-one could get home. Borrowed lots of bedding form the neighbours, and we had an impromptu sleepover!

Our new cat, Gelly, had never seen it before. He wasn't impressed.

Our annual drinks do between Christmas and New Year is a fun event - its amazing how many people you can get in our kitchen! It doesn't look like this for long.

After it was over, we cleared up, and walked through the snow down to Fagans for our regular Sunday night pub quiz. A combination of snow, and Christmas festivities meant that when we got there, we thought we stood a reasonable chance of winning...

But, others turned up, and we didnt't win.
And of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pantomime - we always go to the City Hall to see whatever Manor Operatic are putting on, and this year it was Peter Pan. Oh no it wasn't....

Christmas - the anticipation

2014-12-23T14:21:00.000+00:00

We all know when it's getting close to Christmas, because we go on the Santa Cruise! A canal boat trip with the grandkids, and friends and their children (although the number is reducing as the kids get older)

Its a trip up the canal, which is actually very pretty, and some years made more exciting by the boat having to break the ice. There's mulled wine, mince pies, biscuits, Santa, a present for the kids, and a bauble for the christmas tree for the grown ups.

Usually followed by a walk into town, a mulled wine in the Sleigh Bar and a nice meal with everyone.
Then there's the carol concert - some of our friends are in the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, so we go to see them sing a mixture of traditional, modern and local carols. And for the past few years they have had the Black Dyke band with them - who are amazing. Another good evening, preceded by a meal with everyone in town.

This year we had a really special evening in the run up to Christmas, where we went to a gourmet evening at Chatsworth with friends. Cocktails at our friends, champagne and canapes in the painted hall, a private tour of the house, and then a seven course meal in the candlelit Stables. Very nice, and I think we scrubbed up well!

We also went to Chatsworth during the day to their Christmas market - packed as usual, but we managed to buy lots of unusual presents, so it was worth it.

On the Sunday before Christmas we go to a social lunchtime hosted by Handsworth Traditional Sword dancers - this year it was back at the Devonshire Cat - a good lunchtime with carols, dancing, beer, and a mummers play or two.

And finally, our Christmas Tree. this year we had two. After the Handsworth event, I noticed how many needles ours was dropping, and realised it would be bare by Christmas. Serves me right for buying from a pop up shop rather than go somewhere reputable. So, in a fit of pique the next morning, I moved all the presents from under it, took the decorations off it, dragged it out into the front garden, and through it into a skip we handily had outside.Went to B and Q, bought a new one for one pound!! Apparently by the end of the day they were 10p! Was so pleased to see the new one up - it looked great!

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London weekend

2014-12-16T13:57:00.000+00:00

For the past few years we've a weekend in London to see Robin Ince's show, Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People, but last year he decided it had run its course and would do something new, so we still got our weekend in London. Traveled down on Sunday morning on a very cheap First class Advance ticket, and went for a walk. Ended up at Covent Garden where we had a great lunch of a pint of lager, fish finger sandwiches and chips. Brill! Then we had a walk round the market, which is always decorated for Christmas

and this year had a Santa, sleigh and reindeers made from Lego!

As it was a Sunday , there weren't many shows on, but we managed to get tickets to an early performance of this:

The story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. The only problem was, I'd bought tickets in the balcony by mistake - I thought I'd got circle tickets. We came in at the back, at the top of a very steeply raked balcony, had to walk down it to out seats at the front, and then have what to me looked like a sheer drop to the stage. I don't like heights!! Stuart went and got me a bucket of wine, which did make me feel a bit better. The show was great, and you don't realise how many hits the Four Seasons had until you hear them all.

After the show we wandered up through the west End, through Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square, and ended up back at the same pun where we'd had lunch for a proper pie for supper. One with pastry all round it. It does annoy me when you get a dish of stew with a circle of puff pastry on top and they have the cheek to call it a pie!!

The following morning we set off early to Bethnal Green, to the V and A Museum of Childhood. I'd never been before, and it is well worth a visit. A huge open space inside

with displays on two levels. It brought back so many memories - I even found Tressy dolls.Before the advent of Barby, most little girls had a Sindy doll, but I had a Tressy, who's hair grew if you pushed a button in her tunny!

We'd gone to see a Dolls House Exhibition which was really interesting. Old and new dolls houses, telling a story from the era in which they'd been built or decorated.

Then we got the tube to Tower Bridge, and walked across it to the South Bank - only at road level. My fear of heights wasn't up to me going up to the top deck, especially as part of the floor is now glass!

The walk down the South Bank is really interesting. You pass the Golden Hind

and some converted warehouses which are now posh shopping centres, and have to wind your way under some tunnels, and past old prisons. We got as far as Millenium Bridge, which gave us a lovely view of St Paul's in the sunset.

After a meal at an small Italian place near the hotel, it was our usual short walk to the Bloomsbury Theatre (one of the only theatres I've ever been in where you can get Eduroam...) to see Robin Ince and many friends in his Christmas Special - we saw The Ghost of Christmas Past which was the usual blend of science, comedy and music.

An interesting act was the rapper Baba Brinkman and his wife, neuroscientist Dr Heather Berlin, who talked about creativity, neuroscience and rapping, and Baba freestyle rapped some neuroscience!

Following morning we went to the National Portrait gallery - one of my favourite galleries in London, and saw an exhibition by Grayson Perry called Who Are You. i knew little of him, apart from he has an alternate persona which is a little girl called Claire, but I was bowled over by his exhibition. A huge tapestry about what was Britain - this is only a small part of it

and ceramic figures and his famous vases. All stunning.

Finally we had a walk round Trafalgar Square where living statues, most either Yoda or father Christmas, abounded, and I was glad the see the big blue cock still on the fourth plinth.

Then we picked up our cases and walked back to St Pancras in time for lunch in the Betjeman Arms.

Barcelona

2014-11-17T13:17:00.000+00:00

One of the first things we like to do when we get to Barcelona is visit the Placa Reial for lunch - and it's always the same. A large bucket of beer which takes me two hands to hold, Pa Amb Tomaquet (bread and tomato), serrano ham and a tuna salad. And if Stuarts feeling hungry, chips :-)

Then we went across the Ramblas to the market. I love the market, it's usually packed, full of delicious food, beautifully set out and a photographers dream. I've got loads of photos of fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, and pasties!

We then went for a walk round The Gothic Quarter and visited the Cathedral which is magnificent inside

Back to our hotel on the metro, which is a great way of getting round Barcelona - cheap, fast, and not normally busy. Just opposite our nearest Metro station is the Telefonica HQ building, which looked magnificent in the evening sunlight.

A trip to Barcelona isn't complete without visiting the Sagrada Familia. I've been going to it since the early 1990s, and although its come on a lot, it's still no where near finished. There are some huge towers being constructed in the centre, but the inside is complete and amazing.

Last year when we were here we went on a one hour Segway tour which we thoroughly enjoyed.this year we went on a three hour one. Weather was fantastic, and our tour guide was really good. We went round the Gothic quarter, round the harbour, along the beachfront to Barcelonetta, and into the Parc de la Ciutadella which Ive never been to before. It was lovely - went to the Arc de la Triomphe, and saw this fountain. This photo was taken just after Stuart had fallen off his Segway. You are not supposed to be able to fall off them, but Stu has managed it twice. this time he was trying to take a photo of the fountain, holding his camera in both hands, so no hands on the Segway which slowly rolled backwards into a cycle. So Stu took one foot off. Segways dont like only having one foot on them... Next thing I knew, he was flat on his back with the Segway on top of him, but he didn't drop his camera!

Barcelona is full of Gaudi architecture, and Stuart had never been in Casa Mila before, so we went for a visit. Stunning architecture, but the chimneys on the roof are what most people visit for. I must admit, I didn't like it up there

On our last night we went back to the Placa Reial for a meal, and half way through, the heavens opened and it poured down - we had to move ourselves and our food very quickly under cover!

But it soon stopped, and the next day was lovely again. We went for a walk round a park which is outside our hotel - this is th view of it from our hotel window:

It's really strange - lots of twisted metal which look like monorail lines, and ceramic structures.

And just as we left for the airport, the hotel staff were putting the final touches to the Christmas Tree, which I still think is odd to see in glorious sunshine!

Last couple of days

2014-11-05T20:41:00.000+00:00

Sunday
Last day, and we decided to drive to Pitlochry, a town I first visited many, many years ago when I was a teenager. Went for a walk around Loch Faskally which is formed by the hydroelectric dam.
Started with a suspension bridge, to which people have attached "love padlocks".

To help the salmon get back to their spawning grounds, there's a salmon ladder at the side of the dam

You can walk right across the top of the dam, and you get a great view along the valley

As we set off round the loch, the sun came out and the colours were fantastic and together with the reflections in the Loch, it was impossible to take a bad picture!

The walk was lovely, and after a couple of hours we were ready for a pint and some lunch, and we found a lovely pub called the Watermill, with a real mill wheel.

Back home for some packing, a couple of drinks (well, we didn't want to take it home), and dinner. Went for a walk after dinner round the site, as the Loch loved lovely in the evening, and there's a old gate from when the site was the gardens to Taymouth Castle.

Monday morning, up early for a long drive back, and it had been snowing on the hills!

Left about 10, and after a stop after a coule of hours, we were doing well. Until we hit stationary traffic at Scotch Corner, and had to do a U turn over the central reservation to find a different way. Eventually got home just before 6. Tired, but we'd had a fantastic week.

More waterfalls, Birks and Cows

2014-11-01T18:45:00.000+00:00

Friday
Rained overnight, but still mild, so decided to walk up the side of the River Tay, on the opposite side to Taymouth Castle. At first we thought it might be a very short walk as the path was flooded

But we soon climbed higher and got away from the bank.

Came across a folly on the way - presumeably from the Castle estate.

Lovely walk, high above the river for a lot of the way, but you could hear it rushing beneath us.

The colours were fantastic, and for a lot of the way we were walking through an avenue of lime trees.

The only problem was the amount of rhododendrons, which I know look pretty when they are in flower, but they are not native, and grow so thick they choke native plants, and also form a barrier so you can't appreciate the views.

The path finishes at "Chinese Bridge" which was designed to take you on a circular walk over the Tay, past the castle and back into Kenmore, but unfortunately it's currently closed for maintenance, although there was no sign of any maintenance actually being carried out!

We took a short detour to see "Rock Lodge" - a deserted dwelling in the rocks, and then walked back the way we came.

Also came across a rather splendid dog called Dougie who delighted in running full pelt into the river to chase the ducks. Especially near the bridge where it was flooded, and children were waiting to feed them..

Back in the village we popped into the church, which has some rather interesting windows - etched glass rather than stained glass.

After a soup lunch in the cottage we drove up to Fortingall where we saw the Fortingall Yew - estimated at 5000 years old it is probably the oldest living thing in Europe. Protected by a wall it had a diameter of 52 ft a couple of hundred years ago, but then it was damaged by tourists taking parts of it, and locals lighting fires in the trunk. Now it is properly protected.

The nearby church has a barrel vaulted ceiling, and some interesting celtic crosses in the graveyard.

Then we drove along Glen Lyon, apparently the longest glen in Scotland. It was beautiful.

More waterfalls

And cows who were most interested in me and my camera. I don't think they get much entertainment up there!

Back for the early evening ritual of whisky mac and Pointless and then out to the Kenmore Inn for dinner - the oldest pub in Scotland and there's a poem by Robbie Burns by the fireplace which he apparently wrote whilst staying there.

Saturday

Drive to Aberfledy for a walk round the Birks O Aberfledy. A lovely circular walk up one side of a Gorge and down the other. Again made famous by Robbie Burns who wrote a poem called the Birks O Aberfeldy. Even the parking barriers have his head on them....

We climbed high on the first part of the walk for some amazing views

and saw many waterfalls and rapids.

Crossed a bridge at the top over an amazing waterfall, and then quite a steep climb down to river level for the walk back. We saw the stone seat where Robbie Burns had written his poem

And even caught up with the man himself at the bottom!

Into Aberfeldy where there was a little festival on - live music and a market in the town square, and then lunch in the Fountain.

There's a good independent bookshop in a converted watermill which was great to browse around, and we drove to the distillery to buy some more whiskey cake, but they had sold out! Still we did see some pretty good fungi on the walk up there.

Back home, and we picked up some hampers which we had bought for Christmas from a great shop opposite - we had picked out the contents and they had gift wrapped them. My first Christmas presents bought!

Back home, and shock horror, no Pointless. Still there is Strictly and Doctor Who!

Waterfalls, whiskey and crannogs

2014-10-30T19:35:00.001+00:00

Wednesday

Short drive to Acharn a few miles away on a lovely sunny morning and a walk to see the Falls of Acharn. Quite a steep climb up the side of the gorge, but we got some great views of the Loch.

When you get close to the falls, there's a "hermits cave" which you go through to get a fantastic view of the falls. Not really a cave, but a man made folly built a few hundred years ago to make the view a bit more spectacular. They really were fantastic, there's been a lot of rain recently and the colours were fantastic.

We carried on the walk up to the top of the gorge, then crossed a wooden bridge to get a view of the top of the falls.

Back down the other side, really loving the autumnal colours.

Lunch at the cottage - good old cheese and Hendos on toast!!

Then it was off to Aberfeldy to the distillery there.

They make Aberfeldy Single Malt, and the very famous Dewars Blended Whiskey. I'd bought Stuart a special tour for his birthday, and we had a great time.

With our own guide, we got a personal tour of the distillery, which included a special tasting from the cask - a 26 year old, 55% proof whiskey. Amazing. I had to give most of mine to Stuart as I was driving!

Then it was off to the blending room, where Stuart was helped through the process of blending his own whiskey into a specially engraved bottle. Just like being a chemist again! The result was a very pleasant blend - but with a strength of 58% to be saved for a special occasion. He sealed the top with wax, so it should keep well!

The visit was excellent, and I really recommend it.

Back home. A couple of aperitifs, and we ate in. We always revert to comfort food when we're away, and so it was jacket potatoes, brocolli in cheese sauce, and pork chops. Lovely. Followed by a triple sacking on The Apprentice! And I knitted a scarf, which I was quite proud of till I cast off, and then realised I'd dropped a stitch half way up - will have to work out how to recover it!

Thursday

Woke to a miserable, rainly day, so didn't bother to get up early!
After a late breakfast, off to the Scottish Crannog Centre which was very close on the edge of the Loch. Extremely interesting visit, where there's the only genuine reconstructed crannog in Scotland.

Demonstration of various Iron Age skills including wood turning and fire making.

I decided to walk back to get some exercise, and although it was damp, it was very atmospheric. Misty, and still beautiful.

After lunch of cheese and hendos on toast, again, we set off on a late walk from the cottage to Taymouth Castle.

Lovely colours, a nice path, and mild, damp weather.

The castle has been empty for some time, but apparently is being renovated at the moment as a luxury hotel.

By about 4 it had got quite misty, so we set off back.

Just in time for a whiskey mac, and a nice relax before a meal in the on site restaurant. I have taken to wedging my iPad behind the taps of the bath so I can have a long soak watching a video (at the moment The Big Bang theory). I'm sure its going to end in tears....

Water, weddings and waterfalls

2014-10-28T21:47:00.002+00:00

Our Autumn week away this year is in Scotland, at the Kenmore club and the end of Loch Tay. As we could only get in Monday to Monday, we decided to break the journey and do it in two 3 hour drives, so set off on Sunday and drove to Gretna. A66 road from Scotch Corner was closed for high sided vehicles (although we saw loads), and it was very windy! I hadn't realised that Gretna and Gretna Green were two different places, so we were a couple of miles from the famous blacksmith's wedding place. But it was a lovely hotel and I was determined to get as many steps in as possible, so went for a walk in the pouring rain, and the dark, round a quite dismal Gretna.... A good meal, including haggis, cheered us up no end!

Monday

Our twelfth wedding anniversary! Silk is the appropriate gift, so I got Stu silk socks and a DVD set of Silk, and I got an engraved whiskey glass in a silk case and some chocolate. Set off straight after breakfast and called into the real Gretna Green for a look at the famous blacksmiths anvil.

Then set off for the long drive. Stopped for coffee just before Glasgow and I took over the driving - it was pretty horrendous with heavy rain and wind, and lots of spray. But got to Aberfeldy in time for a late lunch, and then to our resort. Soon settled in with our cards, presents, and my flowers which I brought up from Sheffield.

Went for a walk round to ground to get some steps in - found a good circuit by the Loch, but in the pouring rain again, while Stuart swam, and then I went into get warm. A few lengths swimming, and then some time in the jacuzzi! Lovely meal of venison in the resort restaurant, and back for a nightcap.

Tuesday

Mainly waterfalls! The loch and river are very high, and there's been a lot of rain in the last week, so we decided to go and look at some waterfalls. On the way from Aberfeldy we'd spotted one, and went back to look at it. Quite spectacular.

Then we drove along the north side of Loch Tay to Killin past some spectacular views. And by then the sun had come out, so some lovely autumn colours. In Killin there was a church which I couldn't help thinking of as a "tin tabernacle', and I'm sure my Mum and Dad will know what I mean!

Walked through Killin where the river was very high, and bits were flooded, but there were some great photo opportunities.

Finally got to the Falls of Dochart which were amazing. Not huge high falls, but more of a gentle slope But a real raging river which went on for ages. Very difficult to convey in photos, but I could have watched and listened to it for ever.

After watching the falls for a while, we had lunch in the pub by the side of them. I had cullen skink - one of my favourite soups. Smoked haddock, potatoes and cream. Yum. Then came back out to watch the falls again, and a nice round walk back to the car along the river.

Lovely drive back, and then a visit to a shop across the road from our resort where I was amused to see "Broons" Christmas hampers.

Relaxing time in the apartment, predinner drinks, long hot soak in the bath, and across the road to a local bar for a meal. More haggis!-

Harrogate with the Girls

2014-10-23T16:58:00.000+01:00

Annual girls weekend away last weekend, and this time we went to Harrogate. Lovely town house by the station, so after a quick, uneventful journey there, we were able to leave our bags and head for the Station Tap to get the weekend off to a good start.

Then we had a walk round town, where there was still a lot of evidence of the start of the Tour de France

Lunch was in a lovely pub, and then back to the house to unpack and wait for the Tesco's order which was mainly heavy stuff, ie booze. Off to the shops for food, and then a lovely relax on a sofa which was very comfy but difficult to get on and off. Lots of knitting was in evidence later, but not when this was taken!

A good home cooked meal, some alcohol was taken, and a quick trip to the tap again before bedtime

Saturday up bright and early for a bus to Harlow Carr Garden. First thing we had to do was have a cup of tea and a cake in Betty's tea room, and what a good cake it was too. I think this counted as one of my five a day!

The garden was lovely, and there was a set of new willow sculptures. This tickled me as it was called The Hare-y Bikers...

So much colour, whoever had planted it had really thought about what it would look like at all times of the year.

We walked back though the pine woods

And then through Valley Park. After lunch in Harrogates oldest pub which is still lit by gaslight

We had a look in the Pump Room Museum, and round some of the lovely shops.

Back to the house for our famous Christmas dinner - chicken, pheasant all the trimmings, with of course a hedgerom cocktail to start. elderflower cordial, Prosecco and sloe gin floated on top.

Sunday was a leisurely day. We did the town trail from a map, and walked tound all of the Harrogate sights, with Beka as tour leader

Taking ina nice coffee shop, and a pub lunch of course on the way. We even visited Weatherspoons, whch is rather spectacular in the old Winter Gardens.

A lovely meal in Jamies Italian to finish the day off. Monday we had to be out earlier, and had to put our bags somewhere, so we utilised a cycle shed to much amusement form us. Spent the morning having coffee, looking round the shops and a lesurely lunch before coming home. Another fab weekend with the girls!

Orlando...

2014-10-16T22:11:00.001+01:00

Spent a week in Orlando recently at a conference, and as usual made the most of the spare time we had. The first day off we had a few of us hired a car and drove to Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. Nearly two hours drive, made all the more exiting by being in a left hand drive automatic car on the wrong side of the road with 6 lane highways and exits that go off to the right and left! Only two of us had driving licences, and I was the only one who'd driven over there before, so I took the first leg and drove there. Luckily we had a sat nav or I think it might have taken us considerably longer....

Big Cat Rescue is just what it says - a rescue centre for big cats which have been rescued. It's a fantastic place, but it was very hard hearing the stories of where they have rescued the cats from - abandoned pets, circuses, entertainment venues, concrete cages not big enough for them to turn round in... Many of them have been declawed badly so have deformed feet. But, all of them are well cared for here, and spend the last years of their life being well looked after.

We arrived just after lunch and checked in for our keeper tour.

The first thing we did was make some "enrichment" for the cats - filling bags and tubes with strong smelling spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg and catnip, or spraying them with perfume. The cats love them, and roll over on them and rip them to pieces - just like my cats do with catnip!

It was great going round with the keepers. There is no contact with the cats, so in order to make sure they can look at their paws, bellies etc, they train them with a piece of meat on a stick to stand up, open their mouths and show their paws. The first cat we saw was a snowcat, very small, very cute, but very fierce!

We also saw cougars, servals, bobcats, leopards, lions, tigers, and lots more. All in very big enclosures - bigger than they look in these photos as there are many enclosures joined together by tunnels.

The tigers were definitely my favourite. The last picture is of Nikitta, a lioness who was recused from a drugs den, where she had been kept as a 'guard lion"! Bit of a surprise to the police when they broke in....

Half way round it rained, and we had to put on our fetching ponchos

and Nikitta refused to come out, looking at us as if we were mad standing in it!

A really good day, spoiled only by two insect bites I got which over the next two days swelled up to about 6 inches in diameter, to the point where friends were threatening to take me to hospital. But luckily they went down as quickly as they had swelled up!

The other free day we had was spent at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. It was so quiet, couldn't believe it. Went on my favourite Superman ride first, and instead of queueing for an hour, we were on in 5 minutes, so went straight round and on it again.

I love the park, and prefer it to Disney. I'm not a roller coaster fan, so gave the big ones a miss, especially the Incredible Hulk:

Since I last went, they've developed the Harry Potter attraction complete with Hogwarts and Hogsmeade

Fabulous attention to detail in the shops - the owls in the post office were animatronic and moved...

There was also a Harry Potter ride - one of the best I've been on - difficult to explain. A simulation where you felt you were flying and taking part in a game of Quidditch!

Of course we went on the obligiatory get wet ride where we dropped hundreds of feet (I could be exaggerating) in a log flume

But since I was last there they've installed people dryers. Not that it made much difference to us

Just as we were leaving the heavens opened, and it rained so hard we couldn't move. Luckily we were in a Margarita bar watching it...

The Orangery

2014-10-12T17:29:00.000+01:00

In another dolls house development - I've built an orangery. When I bought the house, I bought the basement as an added extra, and when you stand the house on it, the french windows from the kitchen open out onto nothing! My idea had been to construct a conservatory or orangery next to the house with a flat roof which would be a roof garden, and I was going to build it from scratch because none of the kits I could find were the right size. But then I found a Dolls House Emporium Orangery which has been discontinued for a few years) on eBay. This was just about the right size, nd although didnt hve a flat roof, I was fairly certain I could adapt it to have one. It was a plain MDF kit, so plenty of opportunity to decorate it the way I wanted to.This the first time I had it out of the box, just checking it fits, and you can see the hanging french windows.

The first thing I did was a "dry build" where you put it together held with masking tape, so you can work out how you're going to decorate it etc. I decided to paint it in sections, before assembling it. All of the windows came in multiple pieces and had to be assembled - very fiddly, and everything took several coats of paint.

I went for a pale green and white theme which I thought matched the house, and looked a bit French! I wanted to make the inside very sumptious and lush, so had already decided on a marble floor, and wanted some sort of tiled effect or murals in the arches at the back. I downloaded and printed loads of pictures and experimented with them, until setting on Alfonse Mucha's the Seasons - could only use 3 so missed out winter!

Eventually I had it all assembled and I was able to put it next to the house

My next trip was to Miniautra, the miniatres exhibition in Birmingham where I conentrated on buying plant and garden material - I got quite a haul!

I made myself a pond using the stone trough, some plants, some goldfish I made from Fimo, and solid water. You can see it in the finished roof garden

Actually it's not finished - I'm still experimenting with it. Nothing is fastened down so I keep moving things around to see what looks best. I've even got some veg and an apple tree by the back door. All of the pots and beds I bought empty and made myself

Inside the orangery I'm still experimenting with what to put in it. This is what it looks like at the moment

Lots of plants, a chandelier, a table set with champagne, vases and garlands. I'm looking forward to putting a Christmas tree in, and lots of fairy lights! I'm quite pleased with it, but it will probably remain a work in progress for a while.

Decorating the fourth wall

2014-10-12T16:31:00.001+01:00

Right it's definitely time I posted about my Dolls House - its over a year since I did! Not that I haven't been up to stuff, but I haven't got round to writing about it. One of the things I was thinking a lot about last year, was what to do with the inside of the doors that you open to see into the house. I had originally just painted them cream, and then added some curtains to some, but it didn't look right. So, I decided to decorate them to match the rooms. I've since found out it's called the fourth wall.

I started with the nursery, and painted the walls as close a match to the wallpaper as I could, and then cut out the balloons from the wallpaper and stuck them on upside down. Did something similar with a mixture of paint and wallpaper in the pink room - was quite proud of the results!

Then I started on the other rooms. I tries wherever possible to match up skirting boards and picture rails, and the wallpaper and any border. Some I painted to match. I managed to find curtains or blinds to match every room, and added as much detail as possible by sticking things to the wall. This is ground floor hall for example.

and the kitchen

The lights are battery operated so no need to wire them in.

The window seat I change occasionally, sometimes with flowers and champagne, and at Christmas it had a small tree, champagne and fruit meringues!

All of the fourth walls are now finished, and I think it makes the house look a lot more finished.

My next task will be to decorate it for Halloween with all of the pumpkins, candles and toadstools I've made from polymer clay.

Last few days at Whitby

2014-09-01T13:15:00.000+01:00

Thursday was another lovely morning. Nothing particularly I wanted to go to, so had a wander round the shops, and met everyone in The Shambles for lunch.

Then off to the storytelling - first one I've been to - Pete Gritton and Gill Redmond - an excellent hour of stories and music.

In the evening it was the traditional themed ceilidh, and this year it was "Narnia". Not an easy one to think of costumes for, but we had an excellent wardrobe and a Lucy.

I made the mistake of letting someone loose on my face and hair with silver make up, and went as the White Witch

A great night and of course the band entered into the swing of things as well

And even Newcastle Kingsmen did a rapper dance featuring Will the Wardrobe Hampson. If this link works, watch it - it's hilarious!

Friday started with a talk on the life and times of Orkney's John Rae, a Victorian Arctic explorer who went by the nickname of Long Strider. Told in story, song, verse and music by Bob Pegg. Very entertaining.

Then I went for a walk, over the new bridge and along the estuary. The view from the bridge into Whtiby is one of my favourites.

Met Stuart who was in a music session with the Longhill Ramblers, and then walked out along the pier. although the sun was out, it was pretty windy and cold - couldn't believe some people were in the sea!

Had a really good view of some cormorants sitting on the pier

and then caught some dancing at the bandstand on the way back - the colourful Gog Magog Molly

and Mortimers Morris

Then it was up for our traditional pint in the Elsinore to watch the procession go past, lead by Goathland Plough stots carrying the garland

Pie and mash from the pie and mash shop (where else) for tea, and our usual attempt to finish off what we had left in the drinks cabinet (not much by now!)

Jez Lowe was on in the Spa Theatre, so we caught a great concert from him

before the final ceilidh where as usual everyone gathers. Not as lively as usual, but we had a good dance anyway, and then it was time for the garland to be carried out, and the singing of Wild Mountain Thyme before we all got a piece of heather to take home.

Late night walk back and a final nightcap.

Saturday is an early start, coffee in town, walk round the shops, and lunch in the Crooked Billet on the way home.

Great week again - fantastic weather, good acts, and of course the lovely town that is Whitby. Just realised I haven't mentioned the Yards this year, so here's a picture of one. They're all over. So called because they're a yard wide apparently

Whitby - costumes, walks and salad!

2014-08-22T18:58:00.000+01:00

Tuesday

Long walk up to the Rugby Club in the morning for a talk on traditional dress in the North East. Never quite sure what you're going to get in these talks, but this was really interesting. It was about the fisher women of a village in the North East called Cullercoats, and the lady giving the talk had researched their costume. Lots of petticoats, thick skirt, blouse, shawl and bonnet. And of course, open drawers. Called either easy access if they were in two pieces, or harvesters if they were in one piece. As in all is gathered in :-). Very interesting talk.

After that we headed for a rather fine crab salad at The Shambles

And then a walk to the Spa. The sun was shining and got some great views of this beautiful town.

On at the spa was a concert from John Kirkpatrick who was doing "Tunes from the Trenches" in commemoration of 100 years since WW1 started. He sang a mixture of songs from both wars, some of them music hall based, some from the soldiers, some funny, some very sad. Excellent concert.

After that it was Family Folk Tunes where a 100 folkies really are asked an assortment of questions - I know, I'm one of them :-) - which the two teams have to guess the answers to. Another fine event MCd by Stanley Accrington,

Then back home for a very nice beef stew cooked in the slow cooker, and a bit of a rest before setting off to the spa again where we had a few dances and watched Mortimers Morris do the floor spot.

It was also the annual Speed Ploughing Championship were various people see how fast they can play 2As and 2Bs of the speed the plough. Winners are normally around 15/16 seconds, with additional prizes given for humour!

Wednesday
We'd agreed that this was going to be our annual seafood salad day so I started by going shopping. Very few lobsters or crabs to be got, probably the seas were too choppy. But I managed to hunt some down, and some other tasty things. Then a walk up Caedmon's Trod which used to lead us to our holiday cottage. Quite a trek but it did give us amazing views every morning and evening.

Of course the cottages fell down a couple of years ago, which is really sad

Then onto the abbey where I had a great ice cream. Not the wisest thing to do when you've walked up three to burn off some calories.

Great view from up there, and I watched the Bark Endeavour being tossed all over the place on the choppy seas. Glad I wasn't on it - felt sick just watching

Then walked down and discovered that the Abbey steps had a marker on every 10th step. Who knew???

On my way down I discovered a lonely Morris Dancer dancing his way up to the Abbey, and he made it to the top. The others cheated and walked!

Cheeky pint in The Angel and then to the Coliseum to here Graham Pirt give his excellent history in slides and songs of the Miners Union in the North East which although we've heard it before is excellent.

Back for tea!!

It was quite a salad and Beka, Paul and family came to help us eat it. Lots of good food, fizz and wine.
Then a few dances at the late night extra, and back for the usual nightcap.

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Whitby part 2

2014-08-20T14:13:00.001+01:00

Sunday
Lovely bright sunny morning, and we went to a workshop on songs of the North East. Ably and hilariously compared by Johnny Handle, it featured several singers from Tyneside and Teeside explain gin how they'd got into singing local songs, and giving us some examples. The Mighty Wilsons were there again, and it was a great concert. At the end they gave a joint rendition of Union Miners, a great way to finish.

On the way out we spotted our local dance team, Sheffield City Morris Men who were dancing at what used to be called the Scoresby Monument until it blew down a couple of years ago.

With them were Mortimers Morris, another of my favourite teams

So I stayed and watched and chatted to friends in the sun. then off to the Station for a pork pie and a pint!
After that I did a bit of concert dashing. Up to the Rifle Club to see Jim woodland, a singer songwriter who I remember from many years ago when he used to come to the Hefts and Blades folk club with the Salami Brothers. he was an absolute joy to listen to.

Then a dash to the Spa Theatre where I caught Tich Frier, who was excellent and gave a passionate tribute to the centenary of the First World War singing some great songs from the trenches, including When This Lousy War is Over, and At The end of The Road.
The Foxglove Trio were up next, and I really enjoyed them. A singer, and guitar and melodeon player, and a wonderful cellist.

Then it was back to the flat for dinner, and then out to the Spa for another dance.

Monday
This morning's workshop was on Songs in South Yorkshire Customs from Ruaridh Greig. He'd done a lot of research on "house visiting" customs including the Tup, Old Horse, Wassailing and Caking. Unfortunately most of them have died out know, but I was surprised how prevalent they used to be in villages around Sheffield, and how local they are. I'd always assumed they were fairly national ones. A great talk.
Up to the Rifle Club again for lunch, and then down to The Coliseum to Cath John Kirkpatrick, who gave a great performance as always.

I came straight out and got in the queue for the next concert which was the April Verch Trio. A Canadian fiddle player and step dancer with a bass player and guitarist. Wow, they were fantastic. Lots of bluegrass, Appalachian, old fashioned swing, and some amazing step dancing.

Back into the queue again for Dance Adversity Challenge, two dance teams in a spoof of University challenge.

Back to the flat for a rest and some fish and chips ( second so far, good job we get plenty of walking in!), then we all went our different ways to concerts, and I went up to the spa to see April Verch again. Unfortunately as I left the flat, the heavens opened and I got thoroughly drenched. My jeans were soaked, and were still wet four hours later. Despite sitting steaming int he audience, I Really enjoyed it, and her step dancing was some of the fastest I've seen, even whilst playing the fiddle!
The the Welsh band Calan were on, who were also very good.

And they had some clog dancing to accompany them

All met up in the late night extra for more dancing, and a spot from another Sheffield team, Boggarts Breakfast, who had decorated themselves with blue lights for the occasion.

It's Whitby time again

2014-08-17T11:07:00.001+01:00

It's Whitby time of year again, Folk Week is something we don't like to miss! As usual, it took us 2 days to get here :)

Thursday
Set off with our fiends Andrea and Donald, stopped for coffee in Tadcaster, home of many good breweries,where we learnt that the water, so important for brewing, comes out of "popple wells".
Arrived in Pickering at lunchtime and checked in to our lovely but rather quirky hotel where there were sweets and biscuits in the rooms, and the tea and coffee were in empty herb and spice jars. Lunch in the Black Swan, and then a walk round town which is really pretty.
Dinner in the evening was in the White Swan.

Friday
Up bright and early, and off on the steam train to Goathland

Half way there we heard the engine getting slower and eventually it stopped, having run out of steam. We had to wait for about 20 minutes whilst presumably more coal was shovelled in and steam built up again. Goathland of course was the setting for Hogsmeade, and is also Aidensfield in the Heartbeat series.

We had a pint in The Goathland Hotel, aka The Aidensfield Arms, and then walked to Beck Hole, where there is the wonderful pub, The Birch Hall Inn, home of good beer and pork pies and pickle. To our delight, this time we were treated to a corned beef and pickle sandwich!

A lovely walk then to Grosmont, which involves a bit of hill over a tunnel, but you get a great view of the town.

Train back to Pickering, this time a diesel, and dinner was a curry in a local Indian restaurant which was very good.

Saturday
Checked out , and drove to Thornton le Dale to get some chocolate from the lovely little chocolate factory in the village, and then off over the moors to Whitby. Normally the heather is bright purple, but a lot of it looked dead this year. Still got the wonderful view of Whitby as we came over the moors though.

We have a bit of a routine from this point:-)
Coffee in Sherlocks

Shopping in the co-op, lunch in the Duke of York

Which for me, has to be a Whitby crab sandwich

Then pick up the tickets, which this year a wristbands, horrid!! Have to fasten mine so it's easy to remove. Can't abide wearing them all the time.
Then of course the parade of all the dance teams. Gog Magog Molly were the most colourful

And Sheffield City Morris the rudest!

Back for Whitby fish and chips in the cottage, then out to the Spa Theatre to see the Doonans and The Wilsons in concert together. Missed the first bit because it was full, but managed to get in to see The Wilsons, and then the best bit, both families together. What a sound! This isn't the best quality video, but gives you an idea of the sound

Into the ceilidh for the last hour, where the band were Steamchicken, excellent. Then the shortish walk home for a nightcap before bed. We've got quite an assortment of night caps in our drinks cabinet this year.

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More beaches....

2014-03-11T14:10:00.000+00:00

Thursday we went with Helen and Owen to a lovely place on the beach for lunch - I had conch and it was fantastic. So nice to sit under palm trees and look over to an almost deserted beach.

After lunch we played on the beach, and went in the incredible shallow and warm sea.

In the evening we stayed at our hotel, drank lots of cocktails and listened to some reggae!

Friday we drove up to the top of the island - Leeward - and went for a walk along the beach.very busy again as you can see.

When we got back we went to the pool, and were amazed to see a small heron join us. He stayed by the pool, right next to us, for about an hour, and even drank from the pool.

In the evening Helen, Toby and Owen joined us, and we had a BBQ - there were a couple of communal BBQ areas in the grounds of the hotel with gas BBQs, implements, fridges, and places to eat. We had a great meal of salad, bread, grilled vegetables and steak.

The following day - horror - it was raining. We just managed to get our breakfast before the heavens opened - had to shelter as it was coming down too hard for us to get back to our room.

No trip to the beach as we'd planned, so what better to do than find an ice cream parlour that serves cocktails!

The rain did stop eventually, and we had a lovely walk along the beach

Sunday was our last day, and the sun was shining again

After checking out of the hotel and dropping the hire car off, we went off to the beach again for the day. Another almost deserted beach, warm shallow sea, golden sand....

The only bad thing to happen was I dropped my camera in the sad, face down. Got sand in all of the lens mechanism and completely broke it. Otherwise a lovely lazy day, rounded off with a lovely late lunch in another restaurant with an amazing view.

Back to Toby and Helens, a quick shower and change and off to the airport for our long journey back. A fab time!

Sheffield peregrines in Provo

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Woke up on Tuesday to a familiar sound, I thought it was one of our peregrine falcons from Sheffield outside of the window. Looked out, and there it was, tearing a smaller bird to pieces. By the time I'd got my camera, the smaller bird was gone and the falcon was having a rest. Got a reasonable picture of it on my camera, this ones not so good form my phone. From a quick glance at Wikipedia, I think it's an American Kestrel.

Went for a walk along the beach. Really busy, as you can see.

And the sea really is that colour. A pelican thoughtfully stopped to fish right by us.

Then back to the pool for Stuarts daily 40 lengths. Went to see Helen for lunch and delicious tuna sandwiches, and when Owen woke for his nap we tried out their pool which is lovely. Owen enjoyed kicking around and splashing.
Lots of fun time playing with Owen later, who loved Grandpa's car keys.

Another fab meal cooked by Toby at the BBQ, mohito chicken, washed down with mohitos of course! Came back and thought we'd have a nightcap at the resort bar, but it was shut. They obviously go to bed early here.

Wednesday we went for an adventure, and drove to North West Point, most of which is down an unmade road, and the last couple of miles down a sandy track. Probably best if we don't tell the hire car company where we've been. Luckily the tyres stayed undamaged and we didn't get stuck in the sand. Another glorious beach.

And more bird life, an egret and an osprey. The osprey has made its nest on a pole which had think has had a light in it in the past, and the nest is made from all sorts of rubbish it has picked up, including some bright blue rope from Fisherman's nets.

On the way back we stopped for lunch at Da Conch Shack.

Stu had conch, I had jerk chicken and rice and peas, washed down with local beer. Another day, another beach, another beer.

I bought a conch shell from a local seller, and also found a couple in the sand which will look good somewhere at home. Not sure where yet.

Back for a swim and a read by the pool. Then off to see Owen again before bedtime, and dinner at the Tiki Hut with Toby. It was chicken and ribs night. So, we had chicken and ribs. Plus a couple of mohitos of course.

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