Waking up

I was awake at 4.30am this morning. Stumble to the bathroom half asleep. There is a warm orange glow coming through the window. Oh WOW, I know what that is, I need to get the camera. I took ten photo's, here are the best of them. 

Zoom in a bit closer. Tweak the contrast and saturation. Fabulous. 

The previous owners put the right glass in this window. 

The view from the window at the top of the stairs. The world is waking up. Here it comes. Are you ready. 

Then back to bed for a couple of hours. 

Glorious start to the day.

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Late afternoon litter pick

It's been a busy day today. First Coffee Morning till 12noon. Then hedge trimming. I use shears, not electric. I started it yesterday but was rained off, so I have finished it today. Mind you, it is never completely finished. I pop outside whenever I have a spare half an hour just to keep it looking tidy. 

I was in two minds whether to do any picking today. The sky keeps going black and threatening rain. I made a quick decision. I took a chance and went to the Industrial Estate. I'm glad I did. It was windy but warm, and no rain. 

Two bags filled. There was quite a lot of walking involved because it wasn't all in one place. It was spread about on three roads and two roundabouts. 

I got chatting to a lady who was walking her dog. She has been picking in the same area as me. So now we are a team of two. She goes to work so I won't be seeing her very often. 

I dropped them off at my usual spot at the entrance to the pond. Pleased to see that the previous four bags plus extra glass bottles have all been collected. The Council is doing it's job. Now I need to ask them for more bags, I am running out of them. 

Tonight there are five hedgehogs partying on the garden. 

Now I am tired. Thanks for popping in. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Boy Bands rule, ok.

Happy Wednesday.

I am starting my day with Collabro. This video is 12 years old, and brings a smile to my face every time I play it. 

The sun is shining. Have a good day. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

EDIT. 

And here they are  singing the same song at Carlisle Cathedral in February 2026. Big difference in their appearance, but still got that amazing talent. 

A letter from my penfriend

Good evening.

Fresh out of the oven, another episode of the 'no licence required' saga. I'm still waiting for a visitor from TV Licensing. They didn't turn up on the 29th of April. 

Thanks for reading my blog and watching my videos. I hope you find them entertaining, and full of useful information. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Commuting to work

 The area where I am litter picking at the moment is a well used track between an Industrial Estate and a housing estate where a lot of the workers live. They are lucky enough to have found work within walking distance, and in some cases, biking and electric scooters distances.  

It gets quite busy when it is shift change over time. Most who walk this route are factory workers. What I have noticed is that most of them are plugged into some kind of listening device. Smart phones and such like. They hold their little gadget in their hand and listen through their headphones or ear buds. 

It's very rarely that they look up. So it's head down and march on, lost in their own little world.

The scooters and bikers whiz by me so I have to be constantly looking out for them. One or two do slow down which allows me to move to one side and let them pass. Sometimes they take me by surprise and pass by a little too close. 

I wonder what kind of jobs they do. Those on wheels are in a hurry to get home, so I assume it is some kind of work on a production line. Maybe they are pleased to be released and can claim their freedom back. 

There are some strollers who are concentrating wholly on what is coming through their headphones. I wonder what they are listening to. Some of them are apparently talking to themselves, but are communicating with their friends and family. 

Maybe they are doing a further education course online. I like to think they are being productive and using their travelling time to better their work prospects. Who knows. 

In the main, most of them are oblivious of their surroundings. It is so normal now to be walking past piles of litter and fly tipping, as they accept it as the norm. Some of the workers may be blotting out the ugliness surrounding them, so they take themselves off to a land of make believe where everything is perfectly inline with nature. They just want to get from A to B as quick as they can. 

I hope that my presence of an older person picking up rubbish that some selfish person has discarded, might, just might, prick a conscience or two. Just think, if nobody ever picked up rubbish now and again, how long would it be before someone notices that we are living on a poisoned planet. 

Looking like an at home day today. It's raining. Thanks for popping in. 

Toodle pip.   ilona  

At the Gardeners Market

The sun was shining yesterday at the Gardeners Market. It brought the shoppers out. I went to look at the metal flowers. I have three of them and wanted to add some more to the collection. I was only going to buy one, but decided to splash out and get two. My birthday present from me to me. 

Now which colours shall I get? 

It was lovely to browse the stalls and chat with people. I haven't seen Michael and Helen, my arty friends, for ages. There was such a lot of news to catch up on. Helen was selling her home made preserves. Here they are in their studio. Blimey, this photo is from 10 years ago. 

My collection of metal flowers. I love them. 

This morning I went to Crafty Club. As is the tradition when someone has a birthday, presents and cards are given. They gave me a solar garden ornament, which is now lit up on the table in the back garden. It looks very pretty.   

This afternoon I did a couple of hours litter picking. I carried on where I left off on Friday. Still plenty to go at. I don't think I can manage to move that mattress. 

I wont be going down there. Looks a bit too isolated for me. 

Another double deck load. Two red bags and some glass bottles. 

Two from today added to two from Friday. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Epworth St Andrews Church

Hello. How was  your Sunday? I have been out to a Gardeners Market at The Ropewalk at Barton. This is a popular event. I was surprised at how many stalls there were. A lot, and it was busy. Plenty of customers spending their money, including me. I have some photo's for the next blog post. 

In the meantime here are the photo's from yesterdays visit to St Andrews at Epworth. 

Lots of information for those who are keen to study the history of Epworth and the church. 

Bluebells in the churchyard.

If you would like to come for a ramble around the churchyard, follow me. 

 Thank you for reading my blog and thank you for your comments. 

Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Churches Festival

 Good morning.

Yesterday was a day of contemplation. I went out, and talked to people, and I stood on the sidelines and observed. I can easily retreat into my own little world when I need to. 

First I drove to Belton and visited All Saints Church. Then I went to Epworth to take a look at St Andrews Church. This weekend is the West Lindsey Churches Festival. There is a brochure listing all the churches which are open to visitors. I look a few photo's.

All Saints Church at Belton. 

View from the back of the church. Dead trees and dead people. There is a slight hope that the trees will recover and regrow. The people have already left the scene and gone to another place. 

A lot of the grass has been left to do it's own thing. It swallows the gravestones. I like to see this natural look in a graveyard. 

A memorial garden has been laid for those who wish to deposit the ashes of a loved one. 

Inside the church is this simple tapestry. 

There was an event on at the Pavilion so I took a short walk along a path to go and have a look. Amazingly I was spotted by two ladies walking towards their car. One of them is a subscriber to my channel and watches my videos. How cool is that. 

Families enjoying the afternoon out. I chatted with the ladies from the Cat Rescue charity and bought some home made gifts. 

Then I went to Epworth. There are two churches there. This the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. Sadly I didn't have time to go inside. The gardens are lovely and there is plenty of seating. It was starting to cloud over and became quite cold, so best to move on. 

Time was getting on and they close at 4pm, and I wanted to see St Andrews. 

There are more photo's of St Andrews and a video, so I will put them on the next post. 

Thank you very much for the Birthday wishes. I have to say that being 77 doesn't feel any different from 76. Onwards and upwards. Our time is limited on this earth. I live with an attitude of gratitude. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

PARTY DAY TODAY

Good morning. The sun is shining and I am happy. 

853 views 16 May 2019

This is a spacial Birthday request for Meanqueen Superscrimper Ilona for today 16th May 2019. HAPPY BIRTHDAY from me Terry Miles xx

Seven years later. I still watch Terry and his amazing keyboard skills. 

If you are wondering how old I am today, here is a clue. 

Every day is a bonus. So grateful to be alive. So grateful to be me me me.  

Lots of love. 💖🙋😍🎂Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona. 

The mowing machines have been.

I went back to the same place where I was picking yesterday, to finish the job. Parked in the corner of the Industrial Estate. The red bag I left next to the red bin has been collected. They probably wanted it gone before the weekend. 

Cross over the busy road, intending to carry on where I left off. I was surprised to find that the Council mowers had been out. As well as cutting the grass, any litter not picked up has been shredded. So I had to go over the area I did yesterday. 

This path is a long back alley that is a shortcut between the backs of the houses. I did some picking along there and it was becoming apparent that there was far too much to clear it today. 

I went so far down it and my bag was full. It goes way past what you can see here. 

There are always gloves to be found. No thanks, I never wear other peoples gloves. YUK

I have no idea what this stuff is. 

Why do people buy food, then chuck most of it away. 

Big load, double decked, plus a bag of 21 glass bottles to drag back to the car. It's a smashing trolley. Dropped them off at my usual spot next to the pond. 

On the way home I noticed that a lot of grass cutting had been going on. All those areas that I picked all need doing again. I do despair. 

Big day tomorrow with the march in London.. Wonder how it will turn out.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Funeral

Oh dear, my baby is broken. Sorry baby but we will have to have a funeral. Which would you like, burial or cremation? You have done well to last 70 years. Sorry that you have been confined to the top shelf in the wardrobe for 25 years. Never mind. I have created a memorial. 

I knew this glass I found on the roadside would be useful for something. 

There you go. Looks much better in a group setting. 

I'll have a look through this mail order catalogue. These babies are much more lifelike these days. Not AI, but a new breed of plastic dolls. 

Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona