Last look at The Old Rectory

 Good morning. It is Thursday and I will wrap The Old Rectory series up with one last post of the outside. The restoration of this house, and the grounds, is going to be one heck of a mammoth task. I might schedule another visit for a years time to see how it went. 

There are some brick built outhouses at the back. I wonder if they will be demolished, or they could be converted into an annex, maybe a granny flat. 

I wonder if there are any hidden vintage cars in the garage. 

I think a lot of the renovations will have to be taken back to bare bricks and start again. 

As pretty as this looks, the ivy must be playing havoc with the structure of the building. 

Let's hope someone will bring a fresh life to the house. 

Check out my original post from 12th August 2013 for earlier photographs, and comments from people who have connections with the house. 

Here is a link to the Rightmove site. The Old Rectory is soon coming up for auction. 

And so concludes the story of The Old rectory. For now. 

Time for breakfast. Thanks for visiting my blog. You may comment. I will catch up with my replies  later. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Last look inside The Old Rectory

Good morning. It's still frosty. I have been out in the back garden to break the ice in the water bowls and refill them with fresh water, which no doubt will freeze again soon. I will check them again later. The bird menu this morning is much the same as most mornings. Scraps of wet cat food left over from the day before, shop bought wild bird seed, and dry kitten food. Sometimes they get grapes and a chopped up apple if I have any. I have the fattest pigeons in the village.

Oscar cat has eaten and gone outside. Mayze cat is eating now, and Mickey cat is still in bed. He will be down shortly looking for food. 

Continuing The Old Rectory collection of photographs. I think most of us remember Terence Conran. I see copies of this book are for sale on ebay, price quoted £8.44.   If you want to read his Wiki page it is here.  It lists 32 books, and he married four times. 

The outside is creeping through the walls to the inside. 

Strange looking oddments on the sideboard.

My, that potplant has fared well over the years. 

A lot of this will have to be skipped. 

I hope someone sorts through the books. Could be some valuable historical references hidden there. 

Interesting documents from 1988. 

There must be some web sites where searches could be made to maybe find the rightful owners of these photographs. I have started to pass some of my old photographs to family members who might appreciate a look into our family history. I have some of my grandparents early life which I will keep for the time being. 

The sun is out which prompts me to go out. Not far though, Wednesday is Coffee Morning at the club. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

A short catch up post.

 Good evening. 

The snow didn't last very long and has now melted. It's blooming freezing cold though. Luckily I remembered the Sloth furry head gear I bought last winter from Aldi. It keeps my head and neck warm, and was a good investment. The scarf is attached so it keeps all the draughts out. 

I went to the Post Office this morning, and had coffee and cake and a natter with the ladies. They laughed because I went in my fleecy dressing gown and crocs. It's only a five minute walk so it doesn't matter what I look like. 

I didn't take Rocky dog out yesterday. There wasn't enough time, so he had his walk this morning. The good news is that Malcom is feeling a lot better after his heart operation. He looks well, so he can take the dog for short walks. I shall still help out with the longer walks from time to time. 

Another string of bunting flags made today. I have no reason to make them, it gives me something to do, and they are easy to run up on the machine. Purple and green yesterday, pink and red today. 

Thank you to the person who wrote a lengthy comment on my previous post. I am glad the video was interesting for you. These are the subtitles, if anyone wants to watch it.

1. Time feels more precious than ever.

2. Relationships change and so do we.

3. Trust becomes more complicated.

4. The world feels different now. 

5. Solitude isn't loneliness. 

6. Why I avoid people now. 

7. Does this sound familiar.

8. Embracing this chapter. 

Two negative anonymous comments also came in. I don't know why they bothered. 

It looks like the Farmers Rally went quite well in London. 

That's all for now. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

I'm 70, and a bit more.

Good morning. It's Tuesday and it started snowing last night. This is a photo from 2010, taken at the back gate of the church. No need to go out today and take more photo's. The heating is on, me and the cats will stay in the warm. 

Cats fed first. Coffee and a banana sandwich for me. I will be making some more bunting. Sewing machine at the ready.  

While drinking my coffee I watched this video. It appeared on my sidebar. The title attracted me to it. I am a bit over seventy, so lets find out what it's about. I am on a learning mission. There are things I need to know, and things I can immediately dismiss and drop in the 'not interested' file.

I see in the blurb that is it copyrighted, so I don't know how that works when you upload a video to yoootooob, which is a platform where people share their content. This is a motivational video of which there are thousands floating around on the internet. I do not claim any part of it as my own, although some of it describes me and my life. The copyright stays with WISE ADVICE. 

 There is a big Farmers Rally in London today. I wish them well and hope it goes peacefully. There is a big landgrab going on. The UK is bankrupt and the Government are intent in filling the big debt hole with whatever means they have at their disposal. That means, tax tax tax. Steal a few pennies from the little people and make their lives miserable, while they still swan around in their private jets, sail their superyachts, and head off to meet up with their rich buddies in exciting and exotic places. This goes against the grain of covering the land with solar panels and wind turbines, in the name of a Net Zero scam. 

No, this is not going to turn into a moanfest. 

I have just watched Mayze dash outside for a pee. The snow took her by surprise. Funny to watch her. Quick squat, then dash back in again. 

I'll be back later. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Inside again at The Old Rectory

Monday afternoon. It's still cold outside, but we were nice and warm in the Village Hall. Knitting and stitching, chattering and nattering, supping coffee and nibbling biscuits. When I got home I finished making some bunting which I started yesterday. I have spare tape and fabric so I want to use it up.

Here are some more photo's taken inside The Old Rectory. Oh how I would have loved to climb this spiral staircase. The painting was already leaning against the wall. I wonder if the owner is an artist. 

There is a glass roof up there. I bet the views are fantastic. 

I took three photo's of this glass ceiling. Didn't know which to show here. Might as well share all of them. Note the barbed wire to deter unwelcome visitors. 

There wasn't much furniture left. Beautiful tiled floor in this room. 

I watched UK Column News while eating my lunch. It's live on their web site, and Twitter, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 1pm. Available soon after on their web site.

Now I am going to walk two dogs. Billy and Rocky. Not together, but separately. I'm not sure if they would get on together so I won't risk it. It will be dark in an hour. 

Hello to my new best friend, Monika who I met yesterday. Thanks for the comment. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Monday morning round up.

 Good morning. A quick post to thank you for your comments. I am still working on getting the problem sorted. 

Thank you to 

Bovey Belle. . . Jane. . . Tammy Ray . . .Anonymous'

This sounds interesting. From Anon.

Look into Swedish Death Cleaning. Basically, we should tidy up in preparation of popping our clogs so our children/relatives don't have to deal with our stuff.

Thanks to Will for this useful link.

 Re problems with technology - just came across this: https://thecritic.co.uk/escaping-the-digital-dark-age/

Another Anon......Ever since the upgrade happened on my 'puter, I've lost my identity on Blogger! I sign in, see my account and when I go to your blog, I've become anonymous! Not a troll, just a confused 65 yo. Yes, I am a confused 75 year old. 

Thanks to Terra for your comment. 

Thanks to Tracy, and Linda, and Hilde.

Thanks to Lynne, Pecos USA, Laura, At Home in New Zealand, Caz P, theboatgal.

Thanks to Kath, Sally from Devon, Ro Italy. 

Anyone can send a comment. If you are rude and have nothing useful to contribute, please don't bother. 

. . . . . . . . . 

There was a frost overnight so quite cold here in North Lincolnshire. The sky looks grey and I think snow may be on it's way. 

I had a nice day out yesterday at a Craft Event at Lincolnshire Showground. Lots of chatting to some lovely crafty people. I bought some knitted flowers from a nice young lady. There was also a Flea Market in the other exhibition hall, so I had a look around that as well. Two events for £3, and £3.50 entrance fees. 

Now it's time to eat, and go to Crafty Club. 

We'll catch up later.  Toodle pip.  ilona

Inside The Old Rectory

Good morning. It's Sunny Sunday. I will slot these Rectory posts in as and when I have time. Shorter days are a pain, I never have time to do what I want to do. Yesterday I did a seven mile walk, chatted to a man who was tidying his garden, he wife came home so I chatted to her as well. Then I passed a friend who was tinkering with his car on his front driveway. I chatted to him and his wife, I like them, a nice couple. Time spent walking, and chatting with friends, is important for my mental health and well being.

The computer problems are ongoing until I have time to sort them. Now I know why other people have reported that they can only comment as Anonymous. I am beginning to wonder if Big Tech want to weed out all the useless social media users. Is this the plan. They don't like it when we speak out against the official narrative. We'll get rid of that lot. I am suspicious of everything. 

Anyway, take a look at these pics. Beautiful wall tiles just inside the front door entrance. I hope this is saved and reinstated in the renovations. 

Small lavvy room just inside the front door. 

Most of my indoor photo's were shot in the dark. I couldn't actually see what was there. Had to be careful not to stumble on the rubbish strewn about. I have brought the colours out with lots of saturation. I didn't touch anything. This is just how I found it. 

There was a lot of personal items. Such a shame that someone's life has been discarded. I hope someone new comes along and sifts through them and catalogues them.  

I personally think that everything in this place which is salvageable should be preserved for history. It is doubtful that somebody will want the job of sorting through it and it will be thrown in a skip. This is heartbreaking for me, and prompts me to sort through my own possessions and scale them down before I die.

 

I went to our local council tip the other day to dispose of a rotten old door and some broken plastic bowls which I have used in the garden. A woman was there throwing a big bag of things which didn't look like rubbish to me. I said to her, looks like there might be some useful stuff there. Her reply, 'I am clearing out the kids toys to make room for the new ones I am buying for Christmas'. I looked down into the supposedly scrap wood skip. There was some useful small furniture pieces in there, which could have been painted and made new again. We in the Western World have had it too easy to go and buy new stuff. 

Anyway, I will quit the rambling. I have a plan for today. 

Thanks for popping in. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.  ilona 

What next

 Good morning. It's Saturday and it's raining. Just popping in to let you know what is happening. I still have one or two trolls hanging about. Don't you feel sorry for them. They really must find a way to move on. 

I still have computer problems. I did get some help, but without going into too much detail, partially solving one problem gave me ten times more problems. I tried to put things right but failed at that. Then more help came, which sort of helped. Now I need to find someone else to sort out the niggly problems. 

I have four posts prepared in drafts which I will publish in the next few days, then I need an expert to come in and explain things in more detail. In the meantime I cannot reply to comments in this blog, or on other blogs. Thank you for your patience. 

Anyway, I won't bore you with my problems, They will be sorted, I will just have to be patient. This spanner in the works has brought it home to me that we should never be reliant upon technology to organise our lives. The complications that can be foist upon us when it fails, or is misunderstood, can have dire consequences. I personally want less technology in my life, but a lot of people are are happy to embrace more. Be prepared for internet outages, digital problems, poor signals, banking collapses, and an explosion of scammers who prey on easy targets. Life will never be as easy again as paying with cash and watching the tele. 

Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

More photo's of The Old Rectory.

Good evening. I am still struggling with composing blog posts. Mainly it's about where are the photo's I edited yesterday. Much searching is going on, are they in here, or in here. Click click click. No not there, try something else. Very frustrating but I will carry on. 

You can see that the ivy is starting to cover the roof. 

This is the orangery at the back of the house. 

The top floor has a large room which overlooks the open countryside. We weren't allowed to go up there. 

Around the back, a damaged door.

All the doors and windows were boarded up or locked on the ground floor, except the main front door. 

The viewing time was 10am to 10.30am.  I was almost the last one out of there. I walked the short distance to the church next door and made this video. 

Today I have been to the Farm Shop, disposed of some garden rubbish at the council tip, and called in to the 20 21 Arts Centre in town. This afternoon I did two dog walks. 

I will post some more photo's tomorrow, that's if I can find them. 😁😆😨

Thanks for popping in. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

New photo's of The Old Rectory.

Hello. I've been to Claxby today to photograph The Old Rectory. The agent for the Auctioneers was there. He opened the place up at 10.am. Quite a lot of prospective buyers were eager to have a look around. The place is in a dangerous condition so large parts of the building were out of bounds. We were not allowed to view the upper floors. 

Silly me forgot to take a torch. It didn't occur to me that it was pitch black inside. Thankfully other people had torches. I was shooting into the dark, so as I pressed the shutter ever so lightly the flash activated and I could get a bit of an idea of the scene around me. 

I've got rather a lot of photo's so I will separate them into several posts. I have been playing with the contrast and saturation to enhance the colours. What you see here are not the true colours. 

I was not looking for pretty pictures. Anything that looks interesting fits the bill, while paying attention to it's artistic merit. Zoom out or zoom in, landscape or portrait. I have done very little  cropping with the outdoor pictures. Filling the frame with subject matter was easy. 

This is the front door. 

There are extensive grounds to this house, with several mature trees. Autumn is a good time to visit. 

The Old Rectory was abandoned 25 years ago. So this is a good example of nature claiming back the land. 

It is going to auction quite soon, as I mentioned on a previous post. More photo's to come. I recorded a video from the church next door which will be going onto my yoootooob channel shortly. 

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona