Another circular walk from Thorne

Hiya, I've been a walkabout today, back to Thorne for another bimble. Parking is free in Thorne, and the car parks are located in the centre, handy for the shops and anything else you might like to do. I chose a different area to explore this week, taking the main A614 road, to junction 6 of the M18. This old school building caught my attention as I was passing it. It's boarded up, looks like it has been empty for years. What a shame that this magnificent building has fallen into a state of disrepair. 

The creeping ivy has just about devoured the top of  this side of the building.

Look at the wonderful clock tower, they don't make them like that any more.

I reached the M18 junction and turned right and took a minor road which runs parallel to the motorway. Along here is a huge distribution depot for BMW cars, and a depot for The Range department stores. At one time this road used to be a favourite place for trucks to park up overnight, but sadly there are 'No Overnight Parking' signs everywhere. The road runs alongside the motorway, then follows the railway line, before it turns left and crosses the motorway. I took a picture of this dog poo bin because I had just walked along the road and found piles of dumped rubbish all along it. How ridiculous to put a dog bin there, when there is no dog mess around. They should park a skip at the side of the road so all the disgusting people who make such a mess with their rubbish can deposit it in the proper place.

The oil seed rape is back again, this time there is a new variety which doesn't grow so tall. Last year I was wading through it at head height, now it is only just past my knees. I didn't have to go through any today though. 

The weather has been overcast all day, but at least the rain has kept off. This narrow bridge crosses the River Don. There are bollards at each end to restrict the width to 6 feet 6 inches. I sat on a big rock and had my lunch while watching everyone creeping carefully through the gap. Some of them had obviously done it before and put their foot down to get to the other side before anyone came onto the bridge at the other end. One big van got a bit stuck and had to reverse out. The surface of the bridge has wooden slats which rattled noisily when a car went over it.

According to the map, the tracks I was following were supposed to be well defined bridleways, but some of them were very overgrown and lacking signposts. This one went through a wood, but on the map it shows it should be around the outside of it. I persevered for a while but had to give up as it got a bit wild. I got out of it and walked along the field edge next to it.

I got onto the New Junction Canal at Sykehouse Lock, where Kirk Lane Bridge goes over the top of it. 

This is part of the Trans Pennine Trail, a long distance cycle track.

After about half an hour I crossed back over the canal at the next bridge, the Kirkhouse Green Bridge. This is a road bridge that lifts up if any boats want to pass through.

Oh dear, what a sight for sore eyes. The dumping of rubbish is an epidemic in these parts. 

A bit of road walking then onto a footpath, past the pond, to Fishlake. Only one swan here, couldn't see if there was a nest anywhere.

This is St Cuthbert's Church at Fishlake. It's only a small village but this magnificent building dominates it.

Looks more like a Cathedral from the back view. It's lovely. Sadly it was locked so I couldn't go inside.

It was time for me to head back to Thorne. I was on the wrong side of the river so I followed the road back to the narrow bridge, and after a short walk along the main road I was back at the motorway junction. I walked 14 .85 miles today, I'm pleased with that.

Now is the start of Easter, I won't be going anywhere. I picked up some Ordnance Survey maps from the library this morning before I set off, so I shall be studying those over the weekend. Have a good time whatever you are doing. Toodle pip.

Not back breaking work.

Hello. I'm all for making household chores easy for myself, I do only as much as I need to, to keep things ticking over. Today I will share a load of washing with you. It's a warm and sunny day with a gentle breeze  so a good opportunity to strip the bed. The washing is in the machine, a 30 minute cycle at 30 degrees. My method of transferring it from the machine to the garden is not a conventional plastic basket. I don't drag it all out in one big pile, all tangled up, and drop it straight into the basket. By the time it gets untangled and hung up it's already creased. 

I don't have a basket because I don't like having to bend down and remove the items piece by piece as I hang it. This tall seat is what I use for transportation. I carefully take the washing out of the machine, shake it flat, and lay it on the chair. 

Like this. Heidi getting in on the picture again, ha ha.

I lift the whole lot up, chair and washing, without bending down, and pick up the pegs hanging on the nail on the back door. This keeps me in an upright position and doesn't put a strain on my back. When I peg out there is no bending down. I can move the chair along the length of the line if I need to. Mostly I just walk up and down, removing items one at a time as I hang them.

When the washing is dry and ready to be brought in I have the chair close by. I shake each item and fold, and lay it on the chair, starting with the largest items first. Again, no bending down to put it in a basket. When all washing is collected it takes hardly any effort to lift the chair a few inches keeping my back straight, and taking it all inside. It is then ready to be put away, but in the case of this load it will go straight back on the bed. I don't iron anything, can't be bothered with such mundane tasks. I don't buy clothes that need ironing. 

I have two sizes of wooden spring pegs, the bigger ones for the larger and heavier items. The smaller ones for such things as teeshirts, pillowcases, and pants. 

I also have some coloured plastic pegs. These are no good at all for hanging washing out. They are not strong enough for the job and they break easily. They are however very useful for clipping together the tops of half used packets of food stuffs. I like to keep things in their original packaging so I can check on the dates now and again. 

That's my washday system, it works for me. Have you got a system?
Toodle pip.

The cheek of it !

Good morning. I'll zap this one out quickly before I go about my daily business. If an idea comes into my head I have to act on it quickly before it gets lost and buried in the grey matter. An incident I recall from last week. I was in Sainsbury's looking for offers on cat food, Bugsy likes the small tins of pate type foods. They are a bit expensive, but they agree with his dodgy tummy so I buy them for him. I don't get much at all from Sainsbury's most of it is too expensive for me. There is an odd yellow sticker from time to time, or a special offer, but that's about all. I couldn't do a whole shop there.

Anyway, the small Pate tins were on offer at 4 for £1.50, so I picked out two turkey and two chicken flavour. I waited my turn at the checkouts and when my goods were transported up the moving belt ready for scanning, the lady on the till asked if I had a Nectar Card. I answered no. She reached for a new card from the rack and proceeded to scan it before she started scanning the goods. She handed me the card and said fill the form in and send it off to register. I was so taken aback I took it.

Scanning done, bag packed, and shopping paid for, I checked the receipt. I noticed that the offer for the cat food had not been accounted for and I had been charged the full 45p per tin. I went straight to customer services to query this. It turned out that the chicken flavour was not included in the offer. I said that was very confusing for the customer as it was in the middle amongst all the other flavours. There was large signs on the shelf, clearly stating 4 tins for £1.50. The assistant had removed the signs, and handed me 30p. I asked why couldn't the chicken tins be stacked at the end of the row with a clear sign on. She said,that's how the shelf plan is. Pathetic answer I thought, where is common sense?

While I was at the desk I decided to complain about being given the Nectar card when I didn't ask for one. I was quite annoyed actually and needed to get it off my chest. How dare someone assume I want a card, and thrust it into my hand without asking. Was the woman on some kind of bonus I wondered, earning points herself for the amount of customers she managed to recruit. I was told she should have asked me first, I gave the card back and said I don't need it. My goodness, it would take me a million years to build up a substantial amount of points, the way my spending is, or should I say my non spending.

I think you have to make a stand over these things. Generally my shopping experiences in supermarkets are problem free, but occasionally mistakes are make, staff training may be lacking in some areas, and sometimes they take us customers for mugs. It's up to us to be vigilant, to keep track of prices, and make sure the offers are fair and complain if they are misleading.

I see some people walking around in a dream, loading things willy nilly into their trolleys. Ok if you can afford it, but for those of us on a tight budget, checking every price and searching for offers is a fact of life. It has to be done.

Sun shinning, I'm going out. Toodle pip.          

Here is today's News at Ten

Good evening, and here is the news. The Craft Club this morning had a full house. There was lots of jollity, stitching and knitting, slurping of coffee, and the scoffing of biscuits. One member brought a crochet hat that she had recently finished, and the other members passed it around to try on. It was noted that it was a tad too large and if it was pulled down over the eyes it would make an excellent disguise for a bank robber.  

A member brought in a selection of small stuffed animals that she had made, all painstakingly hand stitched with such precision. It was suggested that these could be made into a mobile for a small child, but would have to be hung out of reach due to the small parts used.

The meeting closed at 12.30 and the tables and chairs were left in place ready for the committee meeting tonight. The meeting scheduled for next Monday was cancelled as most people will be away for the Bank Holiday.

My lunch today was mushrooms which needed to be eaten, and two scrambled eggs. Very filling. Then it was straight outside to finish painting the garage. There was only the doors left to do. I had two part used tins of clear varnish to use up, this was just enough to do the job. 

Next was the 'watering up' as they call it round these parts. There is no rainwater left at the collection site, (buckets and bowls to catch it in), so tap water had to be used. I have some water in the bath, I will carry it downstairs tomorrow and use it, saving some to flush the toilet. The potatoes in the raised beds are not yet showing, but the broad beans are coming along nicely. The seeds in the pots have to be moved about the garden to get the maximum sunlight on them. Close to the house first thing as the sun is rising, then moved to the bottom of the garden in the afternoon when the sun is overhead. 

My dinner tonight was cauliflower, runner beans, peas, and onions, and a portion of Tortelloni. I used to like this, but now I am not so sure, I don't think I will be buying it again. It's egg pasta with a cheese and spinach filling, produced in Italy for Aldi stores. Didn't seem to have any taste at all, in fact it was quite rubbery. One to cross off my list I think. 

Tonight I have been on the dog and bone, checking with my cat sitter the dates I have in mind for my forthcoming walkabout. Thankfully she is available, so now I am able to start planning the route. Thank you to Anon who offered me accommodation if I should ever do the Pennine Way. Very kind of you. It is very doubtful that I will be doing that particular long distance walk, I prefer to do my own thing, I don't want to be walking in convoy with lots of others. If you email me your location, I might be passing your door one day, on one of my home made walks.

It was suggested by Charlotte and Mary, that I buy a return train ticket to wherever, and do a circular walk from there. Let's say I got a train to Carlisle for instance. It would take me a day to get there, then get a room, ready to start the next day. When I landed back at Carlisle I would have to get a room because it would be too late to get a train back. Then the next day will be another day on the train to come back. Long distance walks are generally a walk from one place to another. They don't start and finish at the same place, unless you are walking around the coastline of an island. The adventure for me in getting a train out is to see if I can walk back. To have a start and finish point of some significance, like across the country on a coast to coast, adds to the challenge, to get from one side to the other. Or last year when I did the River Tyne to the River Humber, or walked along the River Trent, from where I used to live to where I live now. 

Mary, I had a Senior Railcard for a year, thinking I might have some trips out. It didn't happen as I had commitments elsewhere. I could not sit for hours on a National Express coach, it would drive me nuts with boredom. I used to drive them, and after years of tramping up and down the length and breadth of Britain in lorries and coaches, I do not want to be a passenger on the roads any more. I don't mind driving my own car, but sitting still while someone else does the driving, no thanks. I am a member of the YHA and have used them a lot, but on a long walk there is never one where you want one. There isn't enough of them. Thank you for your queries. 

So, I have decided that I will start walking from home, that means on day one I will be fresh and will be able to cover more miles, getting the more familiar roads done first. Still not sure of the destination, it will come to me soon, ha ha. 

Golly gosh, look at the time. And that ends today's news. So it's goodnight from me, and goodnight from them.