Four churches

After a dull start today it brightened up. After lunch I went out. A few miles south of Kirton in Lindsey are four villages in a straight line. I will go and have a bimble around those. They all have a church, sadly none of them were open. This one is St Radegund  at Grayingham. It's a grade 2 listed Anglican church. originating from the 13th and 14th century. There is more info about it here. 

Next we have the Church of St Alkmund at Blyborough. This is the view from the road. It does look rather uncared for. The gate is missing and the posts are rotten. 

The view of the front door looks a bit better, but the churchyard is not particularly tidy. Behind it is Blyborough Grange. Couldn't get a look at that, it has a gated yard. There is more info here. 

Next onto Willoughton. This is St Andrews Church. It was restored in 1888 and is Georgian style. There is more info here. 

This is The Stirrup Inn at Willoughton. Not open when I passed. 

Still in Willoughton, The Primitive Methodist Chapel. Built in 1866. Wiki says it's been converted to apartments, but when I looked through the windows it's empty. It's a shame if it goes into disrepair, the front is very attractive. 

And the last church is at Hemswell. The sun was starting to go down as I had a look at All Saints Church. This was partially rebuilt in the 13th century when a new tower was added. There is more info here. 

Here is some more info about Hemswell. 

That was a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon. Let's hope we have some more sunshine. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona
 

Sunny days

A reminder of what blue skies used to look like. We have had grey skies and rain for what seems like ages now. I took these photo's on the 2nd of February, my usual stomping ground. Cant walk here at the moment, it's like a muddy bog. Not much fun slipping and sliding about. 

Trevor put fresh flowers in the vases on each side of the memorial bench. They are probably drooping or  dead by now. 

The horses have their coats on.

Give it a month and the weather might improve, I need to be outdoors. Now I'll check the map and see where I can walk on tarmac. 

Have a good Sunday. Toodle pip,   ilona

A shopping video

The weekend starts here. A shopping video for everyone who likes them. What did I buy. 

Enjoy your weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Ropewalk exhibitions.

I was at the Ropewalk in Barton last week and took a few snaps of the current exhibitions. These by Louise Stebbing I particularly liked. I took the photo's at an angle to try and eliminate some of the reflections. Louise has a web site with more of her fabulous pictures. This is the blurb from the Ropewalk web site. She lives in Norfolk and hosts printmaking courses in her workshop. This exhibition at Barton is on until March 3rd, if you fancy a trip to Barton and the Humber Bridge. Or you can buy direct from her shop. 

The other exhibition at the Ropewalk is Totemic by the artist Julie Oxenforth. I can't find a web site for her, but here is the write up on the Ropewalk web site.  I only took one photo here, and included the blurb write up on the wall for this post. I do like the use of found objects in art, but this is not speaking to me at all. This exhibition is not my cup of tea. It finished on March 24th. 

Coffee Morning this morning. I managed to give away some of my arty crafty freebies on Monday to the Chatty Crafty crowd. Two ladies kindly gave a donation for the local cat rescue. I added a few more items to what was left, and gave away more this morning. There is no point in keeping things packed away in boxes for a long time. I have been asked in the past by blog readers if they could buy what I make, but I have to say no sorry. I don't want to get into distance selling, too much hassle in that. The reason I post my art on the blog is to hopefully inspire others to make things. So many say, oh, I couldn't do that. My answer is, have you tried? 

Thanks very much for popping in. We will catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Home entertainment

I have just found Josh and Sarah. They live in a remote cottage in the Lake District, with just their bicycles to get around. No public transport, and miles to the nearest shop. 

A very relaxing 20 minutes of entertainment while I eat my dinner. Give it a try. Brenda in the Boro, I think you will like this one. Play it on full screen to enjoy the scenery. Some great drone shots. 

Toodle pip.  ilona

Poppycock

 Here is an article about wokeness and diversity in the Armed Forces. 

I am appalled at the level of wokeness that has infiltrated our Armed Forces which damages morale and weakens effectiveness.

Having served in the Army, I know that all we cared about was whether the man or woman to our left and right could do the job.

The problem with this focus on diversity is that it creates division where there is none. 

I experienced massive discrimination in my early years of lorry driving. I was continually judged by my appearance, and questioned how I managed to carry out tasks that required some physical strength. I always said there are right and wrong ways of doing things. Watch, learn, take all the information on board then work out how best to lift heavy things, rope and sheet a 40 foot trailer, strap and chain loads down. It didn't matter that I was not as muscular as a man. 

I remember my first rope and sheet job. I was delivering food to a Co op warehouse in Nottingham. I joined the queue of trucks and prepared for unloading, they had a fork lift truck so that was good. I then removed the ropes and sheets and pulled them down to the ground. After folding the sheets I asked the driver in front of me if he would give me a hand to lift them onto the back of the trailer. His reply took me by surprise. He said, 'you chose the fucking job, you do it'. I quickly learnt how to lift safely. 

Fast forward a few years and there was a shortage of HGV drivers. I saw in the transport press that BP Oil were offering ten free courses to women who wanted to go through the training to get an HGV licence. I felt that was unfair discrimination to men and I said so in a letter which was published in the following Transport News. 

The main stream media picked up on that and I was invited to go to the television studios in London to discuss it on a morning chat programme, with representatives from BP Oil. The programme went out live so I was able to challenge them. The two women from BP didn't get much chance to promote their diversity inclusion training programme. I shot them down. The presenter was more interested in my driving career. 

So when I see such poppycock about selecting people for a job because of their colour, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, or disability it annoys me. It does not matter what a person looks like, it's their attitude towards learning the job, their ability to adjust to the tasks they are paid to undertake, and what they can bring to the job. 

Forget quotas. All this inclusion stupidity is a distraction to what is really going on. 

EDIT. Changed my mind. It's not a distraction. It's part of the plan. I can guess what comes next. 

Have a great day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Freebies

Good morning, it's a sunny start to Monday. 

This is a display of my art and crafts which I set up at the Christmas Fair in the Village Hall in December. I sold two pictures for £3 each. 

I have had a big sort out and have packed my shopping trolley with some of the smaller pieces which I want to move on. Some of them are on this picture. There are some that I don't want to part with because I like them. I will keep those. It's a hard decision to decide, keep or go. 

So back to the Village Hall this morning for the Crafty Chatters Club. Everything I take will be offered free to the ladies of our club. I hope to come back with an empty bag. 

Sees ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

A walk in the deer park

It was misty, almost foggy early this morning, then the sun came out. I had a walk to the park after lunch. I felt I ought to do five miles today because I am a bit behind on the challenge. Normally it is three miles there and back, so I thought I would extend it a bit and walk around the outer edges. I set off through the gate of the deer park, which leads to the lake. This interesting tree trunk is really twisted. 

Oooops, this one went down in the wind. 

There are a few trees dotted about in the deer park, quite a lot of them have fallen down. This one is lovely. 

View of the back of the Hall from the deer park. 

Then I could go no further. I wonder if I can zoom in to take a picture of the deer. 

As I stood watching them a Park Ranger came along. I asked him if they were behind a fence. He said they were waiting there for him to come and feed them. They recognise him and know that he will be bringing them their food. There are about 70 deer. He feeds them sugar beet which he has to get from the store with his wheelbarrow. When they see him approaching they move towards the store. 

Then I lost sight of him and the deer. 

I explored a bit more of the park, and the mist started coming down. It was 4pm so I called into the shop just before it closed and bought four bags of corn and went to the pond to feed the ducks before I went home. The extra walking bumped it up to five and a half miles. 

Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Big night out

The first proper night out I have had in yonks. It was all down to a friend inviting me to go with him to see this show. Em and his wife had booked tickets to two different shows, unfortunately they both fell on the same night at different venues. Pat went to the Baths Hall in Scunthorpe with a friend to see a Great Northern Soul show, we went to Gainsborough Trinity Arts Centre. 

This venue brings back memories for me. I remember, about 20 years ago, standing on the stage doing a ten minutes stand up comedy slot at the Open Mike event. My then boyfriend was cringing in his seat. It was an experience I must admit. After doing numerous one hour talks to group audiences all around the midlands, I thought this would be a doddle. It wasn't. Picking out the funniest stories about my trucking life, and condensing it into ten minutes, doesn't quite work. It wasn't a complete flop though. When I overrun my time they sent a man with a brush onto the stage to do some sweeping up. The audience were laughing their socks off. 

Anyway, back to last night. The stage set up and ready to go. We were on the second row. The seats are quite steeply tiered so no dodging behind people's heads for a good view. The Trinity Arts Centre is a converted church. 

Sit back and watch the show. 

Change of costume for the singer at half time. She was really good. 

Sophie on her fiddle was fantastic. 

The audience were loving it. After two encores they take a bow. It should be mentioned that the drummer was a young lad standing in for the original band member who couldn't make it. I don't know where they got him from, but after a couple of hours practice he fitted in perfectly. 

If you see these advertised at a venue near you, go and see them. Their show is rollicking good fun. Here is their Facebook page. This group also tours as The Wild Murphys, a tribute to Irish music. Check out their site here. The Trinity Arts Centre Gainsborough has a web site. 

Now it is Saturday morning and the sun is shining. Might be a good day to go outside. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Tasty

Friday fantasy. How many people pay a visit to Asher House, just to eyeball Lee Asher in the buff. Well almost in the buff but not quite. Occasionally you get to see him wearing shorts on a hot day. 

The dogs are nice, but Lee is the bonus eye candy. 😍😋😎

Happy Friday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Cro.

 Cro was very brave to write about the prickly subject of politics on his blog today. Very well written I thought. I offered my thoughts on the subject which he was brave enough to publish. Most bloggers will engage in conversations. Everyone knows that I delete a lot of comments, so they are entitled to ignore me. 

It's a shame that Cro had to delete comments. It doesn't matter who you are, the haters are out there waiting to pounce. Bloggers have to decide who they are writing for, themselves or to please the audience. A few words out of place and they've got you. When my comments are closed, they follow me around. There are some very sad people out there. 

Thank you to all my genuinely nice readers. I appreciate you sticking around. 

Toodle pip.  ilona. 

Back to normal?

Let's have a bit of normality shall we. I can hardly remember what that was. I will wait till you catch up. 

Now what have I been doing since Sunday? Well, I went onto the pier and had a ride on the Big Wheel. 

And then I had a night in a lovely posh hotel with great views over the city. 

I rang my builder friend and asked him if he can beat Anglian Home Improvements on price. 

It was lovely down on the beach today. I even had a swim in the beautiful blue ocean. 

I've put a bid in for this beautiful little stone cottage. I want to buy it. 

Having a few days off could become a habit. Might do it again sometime. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

'Me' time.

 A quick in and out. I am having a computer detox. Not sure how long it will last. My research has reached it's conclusion. There has been several times when I thought I had the whole thing sussed, then something else came up which added another layer. The information coming out now will be more of the same, and it will end with the downfall of the West. 

I wish I could blame everything that has happened on the incompetence of our Governments, but I can't. They have been bought. They are carrying out the orders of their paymasters. 

There is still a long way to go, it's a gradual process. I suggest that you all start building your own communities. Watch the videos I mentioned on the previous post, and check out Whitney Webb. Turn off your TV's. The main stream media is just regurgitated lies. 

Clocking off now for some 'me' time. See ya later. Toodle pip. ilona

The last piece . . . .

 Good morning. I believe my blog is being infiltrated and targeted by those who wish I would go away. The evidence all points that way. Support for the Globalists is way bigger than most people realise. If you think differently from the official narrative, which is pushed by the WEF, the WHO, the MSM, and all Western Governments, you are seen as the enemy. There are dark forces at play here. 

My natural curiosity has led me to many places. The first questions I had were, why are they pushing for everyone to get jabbed, and why did they say that other forms of medication to treat a virus were not to be used? It didn't make sense. And so on, the questions kept coming, and they still are. 

It has taken me a long time to piece everything together, and to join the dots. When something doesn't make sense I want to know why. There are many different tunnels to this rabbit hole. Some may have dead ends, but I have had many lightbulb moments. 

Last night I watched some videos about the southern border of the USA. Why had Biden opened them? And why were hundreds and thousands of people making the long arduous journey on foot through a jungle, and on trains, escorted and supported by charitable groups supplying food and shelter. The conditions are terrible and many people die along the way. 

Two journalists from Muckraker.com have filmed the entire journey from Equador to the US, through the Darien Gap. Thousands of Chinese people are trafficked that way. A 40 minute video here.  

Brett Weinstein joined them on this journey. He speaks to Tucker about what he saw. 

Combat Correspondent Michael Yon talks with Del about the US funded journey of immigrants through the Darien Gap in Columbia. 

EDIT. I have just watched the Michael Yon interview again. Behind the border crisis. This man knows his stuff. Watch this one. He digs deep. So much corruption going on.   

Now I have all the pieces of the jigsaw fitted together I don't need to go over old ground. Everything that happens is for a reason and it's all connected. What is going on at the US border is why our Government is not stopping the boats. They have no intention of doing that. 

If you still don't get it here are a few clues. . . .  Tell people they are going to die if they catch a nasty bug. Lock them up, arrest them if they go outside. Fear is the weapon. We are all going to die, of hot weather, cold weather, wet weather. The new pandemic will be worse. Tell kids that they can change gender, chop their bits off, block puberty, get them on medication for life. Cameras everywhere, facial recognition. Get everyone addicted to their mobile phone. Cashless spending. Bring in CBDC. Suicide rates go up. The war is already upon us. It will not be quick, expect a long painful death of the Western World as we know it. 

If you have got this far, what comes next? Easy. They don't need us little people, we are surplus to requirements. Make our living conditions so awful that we lose our minds and start fighting each other. No need for a big bomb to blast us all to oblivion. The slow erosion of our freedoms will be hastened so that we really do lose the will to live. They have AI on standby. 

I must eat. Have a good weekend everybody. Lots of love.   ilona  

Smile

Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone who checked in with their walking reports yesterday. We shall be doing this again on the first of every month. Keep it up. I am not able to hold your hand, but I will certainly be encouraging you from afar. Nice to see some new names committing themselves to keeping fit. Don't forget walking outside has benefits for both physical health and mental well being. Along with decent food of course. It is even more important to look after yourself these days. 

As I opened up the comments for people to check in, it was inevitable that this alerted the trolls to come on in and play their silly games. I call them trolls because their only mission is to disrupt the flow of the blog. They have nothing useful to contribute. 

I have moved most of my controversial stuff over to the other blog, and I shall continue to add to that. Nobody has to go there if they are not interested, and I won't be engaging in any discussions on the subject matter. 

Here is a message for those not in a happy place. If you are so wrapped up in your own anger and fear, you must seek out others in a similar situation. Join forces and engage in discussions with them. You may be able to thrash out your anger together, and find a better way to navigate the uncertainties of life. I have several friends who I can have meaningful conversations with. We are on the same wavelength. The support of a like minded friend is invaluable. 

I spend a good part of my day smiling. Knowing myself and understanding my feelings is how I work out what I am going to do next. It is something that can be learnt. The ability to make sense of things stretches the mind, and enables you to go off a different direction when changes are needed. 

Time for lunch and then an afternoon walk. Look after yourself. If I have to close the comments, all you lovely readers out there can be assured that I am not going anywhere. I can function perfectly well as someone on the edge looking in. I don't have to be in the middle. 

Toodle pip. ilona