Spotlight on Louth

I don't know where the time has gone today. A bit of housework, a trip to town, a walk, and ages to upload a video to yootoob, then get all the photo's onto here. Yes, two of you guessed right, I was at Louth yesterday. An 85 mile round trip in the car. I almost ran out of petrol on the way back. The gauge was on red for ages, then the warning light came on. As it was country roads most of the way, there wasn't a petrol station in sight. I think I did the last few miles into Brigg on fumes, ha ha. 

St James's Church has the highest church spire in the UK. It is very difficult to get a good photo of the whole church because it is surrounded by other buildings. It stands quite high in the town and can be seen from miles around. Most of the photo's taken of it are from this street.  

It has a very impressive tower.

And I climbed the 199 steps to get up there. There was some wonderful views. It costs £1.50 to go up, and when they show you to the entrance at the bottom of the steps, they lock you in. The steps are too narrow to let people go up and down willy nilly, it is one way traffic. I went up on my own, as there was no one else waiting. When you come down you have to press the buzzer to alert someone to come and unlock the door and let you out.  

It was bitterly cold up there, the wind was howling, it was difficult to hold the camera steady.

I don't mind going up high and looking at the view, but I don't like looking straight down to the ground. I can't stand close to the edge. It's too scary.

After a few minutes I was ready to come down, it was far too cold to hang around. My fingers were frozen. Shut the door on your way down.

I took a few photo's of the inside, but have only added this one of the magnificent window. Although St James's is a church, it is almost big enough to be a cathedral.

A young lady came to practice on the organ, I was chuffed, this is the icing on the cake. A good opportunity to make a little video of the interior. I hope you l;ike it.

This is the best I could do to get a photo of the whole church, but even so, the bottom of it is lost amongst the rooftops.

While I was standing there I got chatting to a man who was walking his dog, as you do, ha ha. I usually have some treats in my pocket, but was disappointed to find I had forgotten to put some in, in my rush to get out of the house, so no treats for his dog. He told me he has a shop in town, and was on his dinner break. Most of the shops in Louth are independantly run by their owners. It is a very close knit community town where everyone supports their local shops. The man asked me where I was walking, and he was kind enough to suggest a nice scenic route for me to take. So I followed his directions to Westgate Fields and Hubbards Hills. Through the park there are wooden sculptures on the ground. Gigantic leaves cut out from huge chunks of wood and bolted together like a jigsaw puzzle.  

The path follows the River Lud for a while.

There are several small wooden bridges crossing it. There was a few people about, mainly dog walkers with children, as it's the school holidays.

I soon arrived in Raithby, which is not even a village, just a cluster of farms dotted about. Even so, they have a lovely church. The door was unlocked so I had a look inside.

When I came out I found a man unloading a wheelbarrow and some gardening tools out of his van. I thought he must be coming to do some tidying up. He asked me if I was the church warden. He looked a bit worried as he was tapping on his mobile phone. He told me that he had come to dig a hole so that some ashes could be buried, but he didn't know where it was supposed to go. He tapped again on his phone. Then he told me a tale of when he dug a grave in the wrong place at a cemetery. The body had to be dug up a month later and relocated to the right plot. I left him to it when he managed to get somone on the phone. The last I saw of him he was wandering around amongst the gravestones while getting instructions on where to dig. 

Down the road and through a gate into a field is where I went next. Are you going to let me through, little lamb.  

I hate upsetting sheep as I walk through their field, I feel like I shouldn't be there. But no matter how hard I try not to disturb them, they always run away. I want to take one of those black ones home with me.  

The next village was Tathwell, again not really a village, just a few houses, and some farms nearby. The small church sits high on a hill. I was ready for a bite to eat and was pleased that the porch was open so I could get some shelter from the wind, even though the main door was locked.

I haven't seen a thatched roof for ages, this one really suits the rest of the house. I love the way it comes right down low at the front and the upstairs windows are peeping out from underneath it.

I have a long trek back to Louth now over several fields. It was so windy and cold, I was ready to go back. So, this view is where I have come from at Tathwell,

And this is where I am going, over that hill. Brrrrrrrr as I pulled the hood over my ears. Head down and march on. My eyes were all teary and my nose was running like a tap, it was blooming cold.

At last, back in Louth. A quick look around and a few more pics. If you look at this window from the side, it bulges outwards. It looks as if it might collapse at any minute.

Oh, the divine chocolate in this window.

Excuse the reflections in the window. Pink and blue chocolate, doesn't it look lovely.

Olde Worlde pub, there are lots of these.

Do you know, I'm not sure what this building is, maybe I'll look it up later.

An old fashioned sweetie shop

Just as I was on my way back to the car, who should I bump into but the man who had recomended the walk to me. He had closed his shop and him and his wife and dog were off home. That was a coincidence. And as I was about to walk past their shop, I thought I would take a photo. So if you are in Louth, pop in to see Marcia and Gary, and tell them I sent you. Don't forget to ask for a discount  :o) They are at Eastgate, by the way.

I will have to go back to Louth at some point. They have loads of charity shops which I didn't have time to look round. And there are more walks in the area, but I'll go when it's a bit warmer. Only 8.33 miles this time, far too cold to do any more.
Toodle pip.

I've been out, but where to?

Good evening. I've had a day out today. Really enjoyed it, but boy was it cold. I was well wrapped up for walking, but battling across big wide open fields with a 50mph wind full in your face, doesn't half make the skin red and sore. Sunburn, no, I've got windburn, ha ha. Think I need to get me a balaclava. There's lots of pics but I haven't sorted them yet, also a little video. Here's a little taster, can you guess where I am? A clue. I have climbed 199 steps to the top of the tallest Anglican church tower in the United Kingdom. More pics tomorrow.

While driving to this place this morning I was listening to Womans Hour on Radio 4. My ears pricked up when I heard my name mentioned. Immediately I knew who they were talking about. Ilona Royce has been featured on the blog http://advancedstyle.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Ilona I know some of you follow the blog Advanced Style, and I sometimes call in there on my blog hopping rounds.

They interviewed the blogger, Ari Seth Cohen, he photographs stylish older women who he meets on the streets of New York. He has a massive following, and his ladies, and sometimes gents, are lovely. Ilona is 92 and lives on the third floor of an apartment block. She likes to design and make her own clothes, often using second hand materials.

If any followers of Advanced Style who want to listen to the interview on Womans Hour today, click the link, and move the slider across to 18mins 56secs. Both Ari and Ilona are featured on it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01rlpth/Womans_Hour_Tanika_Gupta_Older_womens_style_Cook_the_perfect_kofta/

I'll catch up with you tomorrow. Toodle pip

Nuts about nuts.

Hi to anyone who is reading. I hope you can keep up with me, as I dart about a lot. Keep it fresh is what I say. Here you'll find trekking tales, rambling on about my rambles, chatting about arty crafting, cooing about my kittycats, pinching the pennies till they bleed, droning on about my doggy friends, shopping till I drop (yellow stickers of course), and harping on about healthy eating and exercise, all with a dose of old fashioned common sense. So if you can stomach all that, you're very welcome here. 

Today is about nuts. I am wanting to incorporate more nuts into my diet, but the trouble is that they are so expensive to buy, and the other problem is that they are so darn hard to chew. I am on a mission to look after my teeth as I want them to last me the rest of my life, so masticating gob fulls of nuts is not a good idea. However, I will not be beaten. I have decided that I have to find more money to spend on nuts, they have to be at the top of my priority shopping list. I don't make lists by the way. Although my diet is pretty healthy I can fall by the wayside occasionally and buy a packet of biscuits, this has got to stop, now. The temptation to buy cheap and buy junk is always there, I just have to be stronger, nuts are the priority now. 

As for chewing them, there is a simple answer to that, smash 'em to bits with a pestle and mortar. The brazil nuts have been smashed, and some of the walnuts as well. I have mixed them together.  

The nut mix is in a sealed container in the fridge, but it won't be there very long. I have got into the habit of munching on a piece of cheese when I open the fridge door, not good for the salt and fat intake. So from now on I shall be dipping into the nut box with a teaspoon.

There must be lots of things you can do with nuts. I know you can make nut cutlets, perhaps mix them with mashed chick peas or beans and mould it into burger shapes. You can sprinkle nuts onto breakfast cereals and add it to porridge. You could add it to stews if you want to. Today I'm making a superduper protein shake with it. It's a bit of an experiment really, I don't know how it's going to turn out. A lot of my food is experimental, ha ha. So, slice a banana into the jug, add four teaspoons of smashed nuts.  

Next add some milk. I bought a carton of almond milk to try it, because it was on special offer. I doubt whether I will pay full price for it when the offer has finished. Add about half a cup full. You could use any milk. I've just had a thought, I've always shied away from buying cheap long life or skimmed milk, as it tastes awful. Perhaps using it in this way might make it more palatable.  

Whizzzz it with the stick blender, add more milk if you want a more fluid consistency. I added a touch more, but it was still quite thick like porridge. I like dipping into things with a spoon so left it at that. While I have been sat here typing this it has all gone. It was lovely. You could make this and serve it as a healthy pudding, not that I do puddings after a meal. For me, puddings are a meal in itself.

How is the yellow sticker shopping lasting? It was a week ago when I stocked up my fridge for peanuts, ha ha, geddit, nuts on the brain. All the fruit is eaten, the root veg made into stew and frozen. I've eaten mushrooms, brocolli, and sprouts every day for a week. Spinach gone, some salad leaves and a whole lettuce yet to be eaten. Now I've got some lentils soaking, I shall be adding mushrooms and sprouts to make a spicy three day stew. No Tesco shopping is needed this week, I have plenty to be going on with.

It's sunny, and I'm off out for a walk. Toodle pip.

Art for free

It is done, the artyfarty garden is finished. My first idea was to add the flowers in no particular order, to make it like a higgledypiggledy cottage garden, everything mixed up. But then I thought I would put some order into it. Make it neat and tidy. The first three photo's I took indoors but wasn't sure if the colours were right, so I took it outside and photographed it again.

The stripey lawn is from a childs hoodie which I got from a charity shop. I stuck it down with double sided tape.

I started by painting the whole thing pale green, then added darker shades of green, in the same way that I did the painted flowery one. I added some green net fruit bags to give it texture.

I wanted stepping stones to make a walkway, but rather than use something stone coloured, I thought I would make a yellow brick road from a plastic bottle. Also stuck down with the tape.

This is the before pic, the grey panel across the middle comes out. I painted it shades of blue to represent a pond, then covered it in a white nylon net so I could add the green wool around the edge of the pond.  

Each flower is on a wire. I had to make two holes for the wires to come through and tie them together at the back. The wire I got from an old video player, using two pairs of pliers to pull the knots tight.

And there you have it. Art for free. The sticky tape I got from the Scrapstore before it closed. The paint I got from Woolworths before they closed, cost negligeable. Some of the beads came from car boot sales for pennies, some from old necklaces I already had. The hoodie cost 25p, there is lots more left for other projects. And of course the broken car body panel was free. 

Think I could have a new career as a garden designer, ha ha.

Toodle pip.

 

Repairs in the garden

It's April Fools Day today, has anyone caught you out? Has anyone made a fool out of you? No one has tricked  me today, because I haven't been anywhere. I have spent the day pottering. I thought I had better get some seeds sown or I'm going to miss the boat. I haven't much window sill space to put them on though, I have to keep them clear for the cats.

So here I have got two blue plastic trays, lined with a piece of plastic, so they don't leak mucky water all over the place. I have used plastic cups from the tea machine, collected when I used to go to work over four years ago. Lasting well aren't they. No need to buy pots. I bought the compost last year but didn't use it so I hope it's alright. Well they have two choices, they either grow or they don't grow, ha ha. There's runner beans, broad beans, dwarf beans, courgettes, tomatoes, and cucumber. It's a start, maybe I'll sow a few seeds straight into the beds as well, when it warms up.   

The plastic around the bottom of the greenhouse is disintegrating and needs a repair. I have four sturdy long pallets standing on edge around the base.

Luckily I have some of that gazebo roof left, that I got out of a skip. Remember that? I used the blue panels to make ten shopping bags but the white sections were too dirty to use for bags. It has come in handy for other jobs around the garden, like lining the seed trays above, putting a back on the wooden shelving up against the garage, and now repairing the bottom of the greenhouse. That will give it another years service.

My next door neighbour has removed his garage, and now there is nothing between his garden and mine. My compost heap sits between the garage and greenhouse, I have a board up across the back to contain the compost. The original concrete posts are still there, all they did was to string some wire across when they built the houses. I think it might be my responsibility to put something there as it's on the left hand side of the garden. As I don't want to spend loads on a new fence, and don't want to grow a hedge between us, it's going to have to be something simple and cheap.

About a year ago my friend gave me a roll of this green stuff. I don't know what it's for but it is pretty strong. I utilised some old bits of metal from a broken gazebo which I had, and hammered the posts into the ground, then fastened the green stuff on with cable ties.

Looks alright dunnit. It will do for now. I'll wait and see if my neighbour erects anything on his side.

I've spent a lot of time on the new artyfarty project today. I must say, it's coming along a treat. I think it's going to be the best one yet, better than the others. It might be finished tomorrow, but then again it might not, ha ha. There's just one more thing I need to add before the final inspection. I won't unveil it until I am 100% happy with it.
Toodle pip.