Entertainment in the churchyard

Hello. A quick post today, I'm off out soon. 

Last night I couldn't find Heidi, I searched everywhere, and here she is, hiding behind the lights, between the speakers on the top of the cupboard. She does cause me some consternation sometimes, little madam. 

Me and the pooch usually go for a bimble round the church yard before it gets too dark. There was a lovely red sunset last night.

Thursday is bell ringing practice, it starts at 7.30pm and finished at 9pm. I've made this little video which you might like, just caught the last peel of bells. Apparently it's called, ringing down the bells.



Right, off to meet my sister at their caravan which is on a site not too far away. An afternoon of scoffing and natter. Lets hope the sun holds out so we can sit outside. I have been told to bring my own chair. Thanks for popping in.
Toodle pip

What's Goole all about?

Hello. Me and the pooch went for a ride out yesterday, we were fed up of staying in. Well I thought pooch was fed up, maybe he wasn't. I put a few bits and bobs into the car, he stood at the door watching me, then I put his collar on, and when he saw the open car door he scurried back indoors and into his bed. Oh dear, he doesn't want to go, I thought. C'mon Rock, we is going for a ride, I picked him up and plonked him on his favourite cushion on the front seat. He was alright once he was settled in and I explained to him that it wasn't going to be a long journey. 

I had Goole in mind, with a nice leisurely drive, crossing over the River Trent at Gunness Bridge and up through the country lanes, through the villages of the Isle of Axholme. It isn't really an island, but it's surrounded by four rivers, the Ouse, Trent, Don, and Idle. This site gives more information. 

After tootling through the villages we came to Reedness, which is not far from the River Ouse. Spotted was this redundant Chapel, now up for sale through auction to take place in September. Originally it was on the market at £55,000. I would love to live in a place like this, but not this one in this location. It was flooded in December 2013 when the tidal surge hit many villages along it's banks. Even those a good distance from the waters edge suffered the same fate. Also this building is a bit too close to the road for my liking.  But if you are interested, here is the listing on Right Move web site, which shows pictures of the interior, and side gardens. 

We arrived in Goole, and I was careful to find free parking. Thank you Leisure Centre.

These are the signs you have to look out for to make sure you are not ripped off. Sharing the same entrance as the Leisure Centre is a retail park with a large car park. The signs are high up on posts, you have to squint to read them, the wording is intimidating, and anyone in a hurry could be caught out if they are a few minutes over their time. Even one minute will bring a demanding letter through the door. As I have said before, if you are unlucky enough to make a mistake, then the first place to appeal is the owner of the shop you bought goods from, save receipts. If no joy there, go to the MSE forum and follow the advice on there as regards appealing to the company. Be prepared to be bullied into submission. There is a court case going on at the moment, a Mr Beavis has taken his appeal to the highest court in the land, and a judgement is expected in October. If he wins, and I sincerely hope he does, it will set a precedence as to how private parking companies run their business in the future.

Right, now I have got that bee out of my bonnet, we are parked free at Goole. The town is built on docks, and in the middle is the wonderful St John's Church, left standing among the huge freight sheds. A little bit of calm among the heavy industry. Shame there wasn't a bench to sit on.

The town centre is pedestrianized, this is an interesting resting place, made of stainless steel, the pictures and words all cut out like stencils.  

The Clock Tower stands tall in the centre of a roundabout where six roads meet.

I used to have an outdoor stall at the market, it was flippin freezing standing around, and not many customers. I had to give it up. I remember another stall holder felt sorry for me stamping my feet to try and keep warm, she gave me a pair of fingerless knitted gloves. I still have them years later. A kindness not forgotten.

There are many old buildings like this one, all reminiscent of a thriving dock town. 

We didn't escape the rain, one heavy shower had us sitting on a bench under the canopy at Morrisons Supermarket for half an hour.

I like to look round a working port, but alas, there are not many docks accessible to the public. I have a fascination for heavy cranes and marvel at the skill of the operatives.

The Lowther Hotel in the background.

This is the Sailors Memorial Garden, on the banks of the river. It has a fence around it with a locked gate.

Time was getting on, I was a bit late starting out anyway, so it was back to the car, and a quick drive down Dutch River Side to the Yorkshire Waterways Museum. The museum was closed, but I had a walk around the marina. If you want to visit, the museum it's free to enter. A few pics. A massive place with lots of residential canal boats.

Take a look at the website if you want to know more.   There's a lot more to Goole than I saw, I just look at the bits that interest me.

It was 8pm when we finally landed back home. A nice afternoon out. Thanks for reading.
Toodle pip

Let's experiment

Hello. Ooooops, didn't post yesterday, ran out of time and if I leave it too late in the day my brain starts shutting down. I was up early yesterday, 4.30am, I am a morning person, feel alert in the mornings, full of energy, full of anticipation of what the day might bring. Yesterday was crap weather, so it was a day indoors. The pooch was bored so we did venture out twice, dogs still need to walk, even in the rain. We did manage to get an hour in the garden just before tea time. I filled the brown bin with hedge clippings, looks tidy now.

Indoors I carried on sewing, and playing with various bits and bobs. It's good to have a vision of how my arts and crafts might work, but sometimes it's necessary to just play around and see what happens. I have a lot of pieces of bark, my friend a wood turner was going to chuck them, but I thought, no, I might be able to do something with them. A cheap £1 tin of varnish from the Pound Shop, lets see if it improves the looks and strength of the bark. Yes, looking good. Two coats, right, what next? I dunno, something will come to mind. I have an idea to add five small hooks to it and hang the little hearts, would make a nice wall decoration. Could sell it for twenty quid, maybe thirty, in one of those posh gift shops by the seaside.

Something else I played with. Large pieces of paper, with some flimsy fabric sandwiched in between the layers, stuck together with diluted PVA glue. Now waiting for it to dry. Think I may have watered down the glue too much, it looks as though some of the layers are separating. Hmmmm, well you don't find out these things until you give it a try.

There's lots of things to experiment with. Cooking - mixing different types of food together, I do it all the time. Makeup - used to but don't wear any now. Boyfriends - been there done that got the Tshirt. Tried them all, old - young, thin - chubby, tall - short, bald - dreadlocks, miserable - happy, wealthy - skint, confident - shy,  easy going - control freaks, fanciable - maybe not.  Tried being a couple - didn't work out, now happy with my singleness. Career - tried lots of different jobs, kept moving on. I reckon life is one big experiment. A little bit of uncertainty is good, makes you look at things in a different way. Something not working so let's try something else. The secret is to not let the failures get you down. Wipe the slate clean and start again. 

I'll leave you with this thought. Try something today which you might have been thinking about, but wasn't sure if it would work. Great if it does come right, but no big deal if it doesn't. Just say, bugger, that didn't work, let's have another go. 

Thank you for popping in. The sun is out, things to do. 

Toodle pip 

All stitched up

Hello. Who do you wake up with each morning? This little madam sneaks into my bed when I am fast asleep, she enters at the bottom and burrows her way up to the top until she is alongside me. It's a wonder I don't suffocate her, luckily I keep fairly still during the night. She normally gets up when I do, but this morning she opened her eyes for a quick peep, then went back to sleep. Isn't she a sweetie. Note the mishmash of  different coloured bedding, most of it is donkeys years old, nothing matches in this house. 

Twas Crafty Club this morning, I am getting on with the heart picture. Here are some pics of what the other crafty ladies are working on. There were a few knitters, but I am more drawn to the fabric crafters. Janet is working on these squares, she has quite a few now, and is thinking about how she will join them together. She has a knack for tiny neat stitching, and always manages to combine her colours beautifully. They are puffed out with wadding in between the layers.

Carol brought in several pieces of stitchery which she has recently been working on while on a crafting course. Some of these pieces of fabric have been painted by her. The top left piece is a bit of lace curtain with multicolored paint daubed on it.

Then she goes over it with hand stitching.

This is going to be a book cover, she has added lots of running stitch over it.

More fabric painting, strips machined onto a backing, with Suffolk Puffs and beads added. A lot more hand sewing will be added to this.

More experiments in hand stitching with beads. Her work has an arty look about it. All the designs come from her imagination. I love seeing what she is making, she is a good source of inspiration and ideas. Sharing is what the club is all about. I missed the two year anniversary as I was on holiday, I missed the birthday cake, oh dear.

For art lovers among you, I thought I would mention what I have been watching on yooootoooob. Tateshots are short films commissioned by the Tate Gallery, showcasing a wide variety of artists and their works. It's fascinatiing to get an insight into what drives them to create their work. Try this one for starters. Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist born in 1929. She is an amazing lady, I love her work.



Maybe try a few more of these films when there is nothing worth watching on the TV channels. Grayson Perry is another of my favourites, also Ai Weiwei.

It's raining and I must go to the library, so I'll say Toodle pip till we speak again.

The pooch has his say. Guest post

Hello and woof woof. The old bat has been pestering me to write a guest post for her bonkers blog, so here I am. I don't know why she sits at this computer for hours, tapping away, shuffling pictures about, deleting and re writing, I will show her that it can be done with the minimum of fuss, just belt it out, click publish and be done with it in half an hour. She waffles on like there isn't a sensible word in her head, when all it needs is a kick up the arse to get on with it.

We went on holiday, you probably read that load of twaddle, that was her side of it. Now let me tell you my side. It was a chuffin long way down there, being strapped up in the car was not much fun. There was no room to move about, change positions, or even pick my nose. She got me fastened in so tightly, what did she think was going to happen? I wasn't going anywhere, hardly sensible to jump out of a moving car. Alright, I know, she was only thinking about my safety in case of some idiot smashing into us. Going through the windscreen would not do anything to enhance my already handsome mush. Her driving is A1, I'm sure she would pass a driving test with flying colours if she was required to take one, so no worries there.

Anyway, we arrived at the campsite without incident. I managed to keep my legs crossed for most of the journey, but to be fair, she did make a pee stop or two. We pulled into a service station on the M5 for a comfort break, around about Gloucester I think. With a lot of mumbling and chuntering, we pulled straight out again. What was all that about? No bloody grass she says. The place was a new build, the grass had not yet grown around the car park and it was still bare earth, I had to laugh.

A pitch was located at the camp site, away from the maddening crowd, not that there were many people there, they had all gone home. She put the tent up and we had some nosh. I couldn't see how we were both going to fit in that piddling little tent,. The night was still young so she took me for a walk. Luckily the canal was close by so off we went down the tow path. The smells down there were smashing. I love to find new pongs, especially when a lady dog has been piddling around. Ooops, that's my street cred gone down the drain, ha ha.

We managed to fit in the tent alright, I'm glad that she put my proper bed in the car with my favoutite cushion. Next morning we woke nice and early, well she did, I just opened one eye and caught a glimpse of her backside crawling through the tent flap. Do you know, she slept with all her clothes on, how disgusting is that. I know it gets a bit chilly overnight, but really. She was gone for ages, I decided to go and look for her. It was easy to break out of the tent, and I made my way to the toilet block. Lo and behold, out she came with her wash bag. Smells a bit sweeter now, I thought. You should have seen the look of surprise on her face, doesn't she know that I can find my way around by just following my nose, ha ha.

We went to some great places, good job she put the buggy in the car, my little legs wouldn't have been able to do all that walking. One thing I did get a bit fed up with was being plonked in front of an unusual building,  or a lot of hanging baskets, and being told to smile while she points her camera at my mush. I mean, how many chuffiin pictures does she need? Every few minutes the camera came out, must have been a couple of hundred, and most of them will get thrown away. That woman sure does make a lot of work for herself.

I like the bit where we got to sit in a campervan, well she sat, and I lay on my bed on the floor. I have never been in one of those before, it was well cozy. I could have stayed there all night. Maybe if I ask her nicely she might get us one of those.

We did the usual traipse around charity shops, I was allowed to go into the Blue Cross shop, the nice lady patted me on the head and said what a cutie I am. Oh gawd, another pat on the head. I know I'm a cutie, but all this patting on the head is likely to give me a migraine. As a consolation for my discomfort, she who cracks the whip bought me a teddy. Two in fact, as they had an offer of buy one get one free. By the way, she might think she is the boss, but I know what I can get away with, ha ha.

So, what was the best part of the holiday? I like the pesky squirrels in the park, pity I haven't got the energy to chase them any more. I thought it was funny to see her huffing and puffing up that steep hill to Berry Head, and then when we got to the top, all the nice views that she wanted to see were lost in the fog. That was funny. I went to sleep on the way down, ha ha.

I must say though, I'll give her credit for making it an interesting holiday, seeing lots of different places suits me down to the ground. Mind you, I need a rest now to recover. Too much excitement is no good for the old ticker. There's a bit of good news to pass on though. My arthritis is greatly improved just lately. I can now go for a walk without the buggy. Not quite hopping and skipping just yet, but you never know, I'm on the way to becoming a recycled teenager. She's been putting some yellow stuff on my food, and now there's some cod liver oil in there as well. Must be doing some good because I'm feeling quite perky again when I go out.

I know I poke fun at her, but she's not a bad old stick, and I love her.

PS. By the way, I've got my manager onto the job of starting my fan club. The opening offer is £20 for a years membership, only available for one day. If you miss that the normal price will be £200  ;o)) 

Thank you Rocky for your doggy slant on life. Love you too. 

Busy doing nothing

Hello. Do you ever have one of those days when you think you have been busy but don't seem to have achieved very much?  I don't know where the day has gone. I was up early enough, 7.00am, I gathered some things together to give to Janet for her stall at the car boot sale. That's more clutter out of the house. There was a lovely teapot, she sold it for £5. I've had that teapot for forty years, never brewed tea in it, I don't drink tea, I don't like it, except when someone gives me a cup, ha ha. 

I started cutting these hearts out this morning, it's taken me all day to cut out 32, that's in between doing other things as well. The front hedge is growing too tall so I went out and chopped some off. That took over an hour. Then I went in the back garden and re potted some plants which were too big for their pots. Then I pulled some weeds up. Flippin weeds, you pull them up and they just come back again. Fed up of weeding. The brown bin is full, such a lot of garden waste at this time of year, some of it will have to go in the grey bin. Once a fortnight to collect garden waste in the summer is not enough, especially with a big garden. 

Two dog walks, post some photo's on Down the Lane forum, beans on toast for lunch, steamed vegetables and a piece of quiche for dinner. Cats wanting feeding, meowing, gimmee food slave. 

I'm going to lie down in a darkened room. Toodle pip and Goodnight.

I give you my heart

Hello. I bet you really really want to know what I have been eating, don't you, go on admit it. No, oh well, here are a couple of pics anyway. Eating is back to normal after the odds and sods I was consuming last week, apart from the meals I had with Lovely Grey of course. She likes cooking and I enjoyed eating her very tasty meals. The rest of the time it was a sandwich here, a packet of crisps there, a flapjack, and God forbid, I even ate some cake and biscuits. Back to normal now, junk in the house is banned. 

I had some sweet potatoes which needed using up, I'm surprised they lasted the week in the fridge and were edible when I got back. So here we have them with onions and peas and pasta, in some kind of sauce, curryish and other spices. 

Followed by....more sweet potatoes, onions, peas, and sweetcorn, this time with a tin of chopped tomatoes thrown in. I can't see the attraction with sweet potatoes, I only got them for a change. I much prefer ordinary potatoes, or swedes.

I've done a bit of shopping today, didn't need much but was in town to have my two year eye check at Speccysavers. It's free so it's worth getting it done. Of course they expect you to buy some new specs, but I don't need any, mine are fine. I have the prescription so I can get some another time, if I feel like it that is. Maybe I won't bother for a while, the ones I have will last another year or so.

I called in at the Cash and Carry and found these bags of nuts, four for £1. Worth a go I thought. Too hard to chew though so I will crush them in the mini chopper one bag at a time, or maybe do the whole lot in the big chopper.

I also got two jars of Heinz mayo for £1, and two packets of Ryvita with pumpkin seeds and oats, also two for £1. I did a small shop in Aldi. Wholemeal bread, carrots, cheddar cheese, milk, spinach, cream crackers, filled pasta, prunes, yogurt, grapes, lettuce, eggs, and quiche, and wafer thin roast chicken for the cats.

I have been doing a bit of sewing and made some more felt hearts. These are smaller than the last lot, and I have left them single, not joined together. They are four and a half centimeters across and stuffed to make them like little pillows. The yellow loops are a narrow strip cut from an old T shirt.

Today I made one a bit bigger, it's seven centimeters across.

I've got the bug for this, so I have an idea to make some hearts and turn them into a picture. I have a suitable frame which will hold sixteen. They won't have a back or a loop, just the decorated fronts. Should look good.

The quarterly utilities bills came while I was away, so they have been paid. Gas usage is well down as you would expect for this time of the year, it was only £5.30, which was 30% down on the same quarter last year. The electricity bill was 21% up though, shock horror, it was £26.55. Still not too bad, but I need to be more careful with switching things on and off in future.

It's the weekend again, I hope you have a good one. Glad I am at home and not getting stuck in horrible traffic. One thing I did notice while down south, although it is a lovely part of the country, there is too much traffic. Up here in North Lincolnshire, we very rarely get a traffic jam, we just tootle along our country lanes, it's so quiet. The only hold ups we get are around the football ground on match days, and next to the steelworks when the shifts change. We know to avoid those areas at certain times. There's a lot to be said for hassle free motoring.

Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip

Hello Evesham

Hello. The last day of hols. I waved Lovely Grey off to work, had breakfast, and set about dismantling the tent and packing everything into the car. My plan was to break the journey up by popping into somewhere for a couple of hours or so. Cheltenham looks appealing, wonder if they have a Park and Ride. A break at Taunton Dene Services and a quick natter to Caz, then check the time. I had an idea I might pop into my nephews house near Coventry as well, but I need to time it to arrive after 4.30pm when he gets back from work. I decided I didn't have enough spare time for Cheltenham, one on the list for the future. 

Evesham looked a bit more doable. Get off the motorway at junction nine and take the scenic route through Evesham, Stratford, Warwick, Leamington Spa, and Coventry. Yep, good plan, that would give me a couple of hours at Evesham. I found a parking place in a side street with no restrictions. We went walkabout. Love this beautiful church, it's St Mary's and St Egwins Catholic Church. Love the detailed stonework and the ornate windows. 

At a main crossroads in the town is Ye Olde Red Horse pub.

This is the Almonry Museum and Heritage Centre, which was originally part of the Benedictine Abbey.

Beyond the Abbey grounds is the Abbey Park, a steep slope down to the River Avon. Rocky admiring the view from the little bridge over the lily pond. 

This is a 15th Century Merchants House in Market Square.

Here we have the Eof Statue in the Market Square. I won't go into lengthy details, but if you want to know more, please look at the Town Council web site.  Here is a better site, which shows the artist and the sculpture in the making. 

We finished our visit with a treat, a Magnum ice cream. Rocky looks intently at me as I unwrap it, he knows what's coming next, ha ha. I get the chocolate, and he gets a taste of the ice cream. Only a small taste mind you, it's too nice to share. Evesham is well worth another visit at some point in the future, I only saw a small part of it.

The traffic wasn't too bad through the towns to my nephews house, he arrived a few minutes after I did. I spent a couple of hours there, and then made another stop at my Uncles house in Burton. It was a long day, finally landed home just before midnight.

Phew, I feel like I have just done the whole lot a second time. Thanks for following our journey. I have talked Rocky into doing his own post about the trip, just need to familiarize him with the computer ;o))
Toodle pip