Local litter checking circuit

 I did a local check round on the litter situation yesterday. Through the churchyard and out of the back gate. There is a footpath through to a housing estate, which a lot of people use as a short cut. I was surprised to see that the people in the big house in the corner has chopped down most of the hedging between the fence and their garage. The rickety fence is very old and won't last much longer. This has exposed numerous bottles and cans, and now looks a mess. I will tidy it up, even though as a litter picker, we don't go into private gardens. I dragged the church bin through the gate and put it close to the fence, so I could reach over and pick up the debris. I could do with a longer stick, so I hopped over the fence to dig out the hard to reach stuff. Looks much better now. It will be interesting to see what they do with this narrow strip of land. 

Onward I walked to the picnic area car park. They still call it a picnic area although nobody could picnic there now because it is so overgrown. 

There is a litter bin here, but it is not big enough. I pulled out the extra black binbag that someone had tried to put in, then proceeded to pick up all the fast food debris and fill the extra bag. Two nitrous oxide cannisters were found in the bushes. Here is a description. We don't get many of them around here, but I believe they are popular around town and city centres. 

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is a colorless, slightly sweet-smelling gas used medically for sedation, recreationally for euphoria, and industrially as an oxidizer and propellant. 

I left it all tidy, but this car park needs regular monitoring. 

Sunday morning and the sun is shining. 

Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Saturday night . . . . . . .

 . . . . . . . . is film night.

BAFTA-winning drama starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. A plucky young hairdresser starts university and meets a cynical professor who takes her under his wing. 1983

One of my all time favourite films. I bought the soundtrack on an LP, remember black vinyl. Several scenes stick in my mind. Remember the singsong in the pub where Rita's mum sheds a tear. The line, 'there has to be a better song'. There is. Never give up, there is always a better song.

It's a shame there was never a sequel to this, where she followed him to Australia. 

Goodnight. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Not again.

 Posted in 2021 on Bill Gate's vaccine website Gavi:

2000 – Gavi is the result of a broad collaboration, with the Gates Foundation as the largest financial and visionary driving force in the initial phase. Other founding partners: WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Please be mindful. Look after your own health first.

Have a great weekend. Toodle pip. ilona

Let's Booooogie

Here is your weekend bonus. 

A very special moment at the piano with Jools Holland & Ladyva, captured at his home in London.

Worth two minutes of your time. 

Toodle pip.   ilona
 

Great Yarmouth - Great Britain

 You dun it Rupert. Now keep going. 

Have a GREAT weekend. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Don't fall off the edge

Good evening. Well that's the elections over, done and dusted. Did you get who you wanted in your area. Mr Starmer had a bit of a wake up call. From listening to his speech afterwards, it seems that he refuses to be pushed out of the door. He still thinks he has a chance of turning things around for our country. He is living in cloud cuckooooo land. His hands are tied, he will carry on following orders. 

I knocked up this video this morning, and left it uploading while I went out. It's a bit tongue in cheek. A micky take. If you are offended, so be it.   

Remember the litter I found at South Ferriby yesterday. Today I went back to tidy it up. I parked my car in the lane, and went down a track to the waters edge, with a carrier bag and my picking stick. I was foraging around in the reeds and found loads of plastic bottles and cans which must have been washed up from the river on high tides hundreds of time. I couldn't go right into it, didn't want to lose my balance and fall into the mud. 

Back at the car I was wondering how to do the next pick. There is a wide open gate across the path, and the rest of the litter was about a quarter of a mile down there. The sign on the gate says no entry. I could get my trolley set up and walk down there. Just then a little truck came along so I waved at the driver to stop. I told him what I wanted to do, but would rather drive to the spot. As luck would have it he knew the farmer who's land I wanted to drive onto. Although it is a public footpath, vehicles are not allowed. The very nice man rang the farmer and told him what I wanted to do. Back came the reply, tell her she has my permission to drive down. Well that was good, saved me a lot of bother dragging my trolley back and forth. 

There is the River Humber, a long way down below the steep cliff. Don't fall off the edge. It was lovely to have a change of scenery. Nice and quiet and nobody watching me. Not a soul about. 

Plenty to pick. I filled the bag. 

All bagged up ready to go. One small bag of glass bottles. Plus a thing that floats in the water. Must have fallen off a boat. 

There is a small pond and a garden which the residents look after, and a very convenient litter bin next to it. Another one for the Council to collect. 

I might look for more places to pick litter. Will check the Industrial Estate from time to time. 

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

Danger - Bus on fire.

 Stagecoach

Sponsored ·

Make the most of it by leaving the car at home and enjoying more free days out.

Discover new places, meet friends, and travel with ease.

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Get in your car at any time of the day or night. Go where you want to go. Stop and start. Have a break. Long journeys or short journeys. No timetables. Build your car costs into your overall budget. It's that easy. 

Or, stop driving your car, sit on a bus with a lot of sweaty people. But make sure it's not this one. Stagecoach bus on fire this morning on the slip road off the Humber bridge. Other photo's showed that the fire started at the back in the engine compartment. The driver was quick thinking and got everyone off safely. Now the bridge is closed to allow emergency services to recover the wreckage.  

Have a good day. Stay at home and don't go anywhere, then you will be safe.

Toodle pip.   ilona

High above the river.

Today I went to The Ropewalk at Barton, to pay £55 for a bookbinding workshop that I want to do. Here is a tutorial on Coptic Bookbinding. Everything is supplied, take your own lunch. I am looking forward to that. Something new to learn.

Then I parked at South Ferriby and went for a walk along part of the Viking Way footpath, which starts at the Humber Bridge. It follows the river for a while. This section is high up with some good views across to the other side. No sunshine today though, it was cloudy.  

Ferriby Hall is now a private residence once again, having formerly been used as nursing home. Originally a private house until at least the 1960s. In 1953 some contents of the house were lent to Hull Museum on permanent loan. The house was owned in the 1960s by the Booty Family but had to be sold after Leonard Booty, grandson of Frederick Booty absconded with the family inheritance

Two swans cruising down the river. 

Then one got out and went foraging for food. It's quite high up here with no access to the beach. No sand, just thick mud. 

There is an area which attracts youngsters hanging out. There is car access so they come here to party. 

There is rather a lot of litter. I may come back here and fill a bag or two. 

A nice bracing walk. Windy but not too cold. 

I did this walk in 2020. Here is the blog post with photo's. I did go down onto the beach then. 

Two hedgehogs so far tonight. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Voting has started.

Here we go, the boxing gloves are out. The circus begins. My faith in political parties to do the right thing, have diminished greatly. It's inevitable that people will vote for more of the same. They feel comfortable with knowing what's coming down the line. They will continue to follow whatever instructions they are given. 

I am hoping that people will take the leap of faith and give other options a chance. Career politicians are not working in the interests of you, me, the working class, the patriots of Great Britain. They are embroiled in a battle for world dominance, funded by the corrupt, and mainly bankrupt, global elite. Numbers on a spread sheet are easily manipulated. Follow the debt, not the money. 

What will be will be. I watch with interest. I will not get into a debate about political shenanigans. 

In the meantime I get on with my own life. 

Catch ya later. Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Litter picking plan was almost scuppered.

There were quite a few faces missing from the Coffee Morning, this morning. Holidays perhaps. One new lady came along. Her husband recently passed away and she came to see what the club was about. Everyone made her welcome, so I think she will come again. 

After a natter with Angela I went home and had some lunch. The drizzle had stopped and the sky brightened up, so I decided to have a couple of hours litter picking. I wanted to tackle the small fly tip which I spotted on my last visit. This is what I found when I got there. They have blocked the entrance to the road off and I couldn't drive my car to the end of it to start the job. I decided to walk down to it. At the halfway point I had already filled my bag, so I turned round and walked back. 

There was still time to fill another bag so I went back to a fly tip I had started picking at last week. So my two bags from the last pick turned into four. Someone has added the Lidl bag. 

As I was loading my car up and putting the trolley away two teenage boys walking by stopped to put their drinks cans into the litter bin. I thanked them for being considerate. Then we discussed littering and why people do it. What intelligent boys they were, a joy to speak to. They are college students, and one of them lives in my village. As the conversation went on it became apparent that they know exactly what all the troubles in the world are about. They were definitely wide awake. I hope there are more young people like these. It gives me hope for the future. 

Three hedgehogs are scoffing at the moment. I must go out and fetch Mayze in. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Job opportunity.

How do you fancy a job like this? 

Here is the job description. 

Here at 2 Sisters Food Group in Scunthorpe we don’t waste a thing! Our main products are whole chickens and portions (breast, drumsticks, wings, etc), but we also make use of everything else that is produced throughout our processes via our by-products plant.

The By-product plant, or Protein Plant as its commonly called, is where we process all by-products from the main manufacturing facility ready for despatch. By-products from the main process include; feathers, feet, innards and blood. Many of the by-products are utilised for animal consumption and others are used as part of the process for creating bio-fuels. 

The Protein Plant team is small; hence reliability is key, all holidays are covered by the team, strong teamworking skills are a must!

This reminds me of how I started my working life, in shops, offices, and factories. When I was 16-17 I worked at Robirch. It's a meat processing facility, not chickens, but pigs. I could manage the packing sausages job. They come down a conveyor belt and I packed them in boxes. 

After doing every job in the sausage room I found it pretty boring. I asked for a move to another department within the factory. They told me to go into a massive walk in fridge room, and bring out big vats of pigs blood and guts. This was to go into Savoury ducks, or commonly known as faggots. The stench was awful. I had to wear white welly boots, I was paddling around in the stuff. 

I lasted about five minutes. I came out ready to puke up. I went to the managers office and said I can't do that. 

His reply was, 'If you can't settle into one particular job then you will have to go'. I went. It's the only time I have been sacked from a job. I walked out and went straight to Wesleys, a paper products factory. As well as packing toilet rolls, another job I did was sewing Christmas Garlands. I soon became bored but at least it was a clean job and I wasn't feeling sick. 

When I think about it I wasn't a team player, and hated repetitive work. Once I have learnt how to do something I become bored and have to move on. Then I found driving, which ticked all the boxes. First van driving delivering spares to garages. Then a driving instructor, then lorry and bus driving. The rest is history. 

Proof that if you are in the wrong job, in the wrong place, with the wrong person, keep looking until you find your niche. 

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

Working in the garden today.

On my craft table. Oh dear it looks like I might not get very much done today. The sun is shining through the window. There is a thick soft cat bed for Mayze to lie on but she much prefers to sprawl out just where I want to make a button arrangement. 

Oh well, I'll go outside, I have plenty to do in the garden. I'll get the electric hedge trimmer out. Up and down the ladder. Then get the lawn mower out and cut the grass. I'm getting too old for this. Have to keep taking a break every 20 minutes or so. The brown bin is now full, ready for collection tomorrow. 

A few pics of flowers. Real flowers, metal, plastic, and artificial flowers. I don't mind. Adds a bit of colour. 

I bought some flat mushrooms for a change. I usually get the small white button type. I cut them up and made a stir fry. It was like chewing rubber. I gave up, and turned them into soup. Zap it with the stick blender. Looks awful but it was amazingly tasty. 

Hedgehog count tonight 5. They all came at the same time. Must be a family because they are getting on together so well. 

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

Baffled

Good morning.  It is Tuesday, the day after a Bank Holiday.

I was at the Ropewalk at Barton yesterday. The current exhibition is by artist Chris Brook. 

Here is some of the blurb taken from the Ropewalk web site. Even after reading it several times, I still don't understand what it is about. 

Sat, March 28, 2026 - Sun, May 31, 2026

Mark making is paramount throughout Chris’ work. 
He is intrigued by the partially revealed, and our innate ability to extract information from the fragile and eroded remnants which remain.

Chris Brook expresses so clearly the painstaking slow process involved in these mesmerising, decorative artworks each with a hidden narrative of time and place partially obscured below the veneer of the paint through finely crafted artistry and imagination.

This is a big picture. Look at the price of it. 😵😕😬

I found one with a red spot. Only £650. 

There's no accounting for taste in the artworld. I am baffled by most of it.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Yesterday and today

Good evening. 

Here's a video about what I did yesterday. As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to Barton on Humber to the Visitor Centre, and to The Ropewalk, and to Tesco. I spent a bit of money. This is what I bought from the Craft Fair. 

This is what I did today. back to the Industrial Estate. It was very quiet this afternoon. Later on the night trunker trucks started rolling in at about 5pm. 

I have picked this area before, thought I had better come and check it out. Oooops, I think I might have over filled the bag there. It's all tidy now.  

Two bags filled. One tyre found, and a smaller bag of glass bottles. 

Checking out my next picking spot. Found a small fly tip. There isn't much, I can tidy that up. 

The first hedgehog out tonight is quite small. Let's see how many more arrive for their supper. Or is it breakfast for them if they have just woken up.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Lucky find - a unique church

Happy Bank Holiday Monday.

The third and last blog post from the day out on Saturday. From Goole I set off along the A161 towards Crowle. I decided to take the scenic route. Not that scenic because it is all flat farmland with many twists and turns. I passed through Old Goole, Swinefleet, Reedness, and Little Reedness. The road now runs alongside the River Ouse on the South Bank. Once you are in this little corner of the Isle of Axholme you are trapped, as there is limited places where you can cross the river. 

I came into Whitgift, and on a whim I stopped to have a look at this church. The large burial ground at the back remains largely uncut, with pathways mowed into the grass. I really like walking among the sleeping dead hiding amongst the grass and wild flowers. 

I came across a lady who was tending a family grave. She asked me if I had noticed an odd number on the clock face. I hadn't. It's hard to see it from ground level, so I have blown up the photograph. Apparently there isn't a number twelve, it has the Roman numerals of X111.  Here is the explanation from Wiki. 

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is an Anglican church in the hamlet of Whitgift, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church is noted for its clock which displays the number 13 in Roman numerals in what should be the 12 o'clock position – the only one in Britain to do so.

A piece of land behind the old graveyard has been extended to accommodate the more newer graves. 

The two contrasting plots compliment each other. It has benches where one can relax in the peaceful countryside. 

From there I decided to take the more direct route through Crowle back home. Time was getting on and I had my little family waiting for their dinner. 

I haven't yet decided what I am going to do today. I had a little trip out yesterday to Barton upon Humber. There was a Craft Fair at the Visitor Centre. Combine it with a visit to the Ropewalk, and pick up a few foodie items at Tesco, it is perfect for a three hour afternoon visit if the weather is not so good. 

Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday. Toodle pip.   ilona