The coastline of Yorkshire.

Hiya, welcome back for part two of a day out in Bridlington. After a very enjoyable walk round Sewerby gardens, I decided to walk along the cliff top to the town. There is a train turn around on the edge of the estate, and there happened to be a train about to depart. After a quick word with the driver I decided to carry on walking as it was a lovely warm day, and maybe get the train back. They run quite frequently so no need to make a note of the times, in any case if I missed a train I could easily walk the one and a half miles back. A quick photo opportunity before we set off. 

The tarmac path runs close to the edge, and the views towards the chalky cliffs of Flamborough Head are quite dramatic. The beach at this point is very pebbly, not like the soft sand on the north shore.

The cliff top is mostly a wide expanse of cut grass. There were lots of people about with dogs, and buggy's. I stood for a few minutes to watch this man unpack his hang glider, then battle with it as he checked the wind speed. I was quite interested to see him take a running jump and throw himself off the edge. Is he ready to go?

No not yet, it came crashing down, several times.

He looks as if he is about to take the plunge, here's the train passing. 

No, not quite ready yet, then the cavalry arrived. Two of his buddies dropped their parachutes to the ground to assist. I waited, and waited, nope, not going, he removed his harness. At this point I gave up and carried on walking. Might see them on the way back. (Note added.....they were gone. The weather changed, and the wind had dropped).

Here is another view of Flamborough Head, a bit further down the coast. You can see the long footpath which stretches from the Hall to the town. There are lots of benches to sit down on and take in the lovely sea view. 

There are signs indicating where you can pick up the train. Both trains are running today.

Had to take a picture of this lovely little Morris pick up. The man jumped out and seemed to be in a hurry, I wanted to ask questions. He said it is a 1959, so, fiftyfive years old. Not sure if it is a conversion from a car, looks like it could be. No fancy interior, pretty much original. He even left the key in the ignition while he went on the beach to retrieve his small boat. 

It was a lovely walk to the town, but when I got there I didn't linger, lots of people about. The funfair was busy, flashing lights, lots of noise, and the smell of fish and chips and donuts. I saw someone standing on the train platform and decided to wait. Sure enough a train came along a few minutes later. I didn't know how I was going to get the buggy on board, but needn't have worried, the driver came to the back and lowered the ramp for us to get on. Perfect, in a five minutes we were back at the Hall.

It was half past four when we got back to the car. As we weren't far from Flamborough I thought we would go and have a look. I have been to North Landing before, so this time I followed the signs for South Landing. The road comes to a dead end for motor vehicles, the only ones allowed any further are those belonging to the staff that man the lifeguard station, and other emergency service vehicles.

It's a very steep walk down the tarmac road to the waters edge. Not much sand here, mainly white chalky stones of all sizes, washed smooth by the constant waves lapping over them. Quite difficult to walk over. I knew Rocky would be itching to get in the water, so I carried him  to the edge. He enjoyed his paddle. The light was now beginning to fade, black clouds were looming threateningly overhead, time to head home. It wasn't long before the heavens opened and lashings of rain came down. phew, that was lucky, we made it back to the car.

It was gone 7pm when we got back, then it was a mad frenzy to get everybody fed, Of course I had to wait till last, as usual. It was a lovely day out, glad I made the most of the fine weather.

Today it started off foggy, and is only just clearing at 2pm. Sewing for the rest of the day I think.
Enjoy what is left of your Sunday. Toodle pip

Visit to Sewerby Hall.

Aye up me ducks, I've been to Yorkshire today. The sun was out this morning so it was too good a chance to miss. I decided to go back to Bridlington and see the north side of it this time. I've never been to Sewerby Hall before, so I checked the web site for opening times and admission fees. That's a nice surprise the estate is free to enter at the moment, and the house and zoo have a small charge. The car park is also free.

There are 50 acres of award winning landscaped gardens, numerous woodland walks, and hundreds of benches to rest your weary legs as you walk around. There's a golf course, picnic areas, Clock Tower Tea Rooms, and the Stables Shop, they even have holiday cottages if you want to stay there. 

The Hall is a grade one listed building constructed throughout 1714 to 1720. Between 1808 and 1856, lots of additions were made to The Hall, and last year it went through a major refurbishment project. 

I must say the exterior looked fresh and clean, and well cared for. 

The archway at the side of the house goes through to the courtyard, with seating for picnics, and a shop.

Clock Tower Tea Rooms, lots of people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. I took my pack up as usual and sat on a bench at the front of the house, where there is a wonderful sea view.

There was still a lot growing in the walled garden, though some of the beds in other places were empty. Would be best to come earlier in the year to see the beds in all their glory. 

Walking through to the Rose Garden. Not many roses left but lots of greenery and a few flowers.

What a cheek! Oh yes, and Rocky came too. 

Photo not so good, shooting into the sun. Nice colours.

This is The Pleasure Garden, and contains a collection of monkey puzzle trees. They are said to be amongst some of the oldest in England. 

Stunning Sewerby Hall.

We couldn't go in the Hall as buggies are not allowed, couldn't go in the zoo either, dogs not allowed. Not to worry, it was lovely to bimble around the grounds. It's just a short walk to the cliff top from here. That's where we went next. I'll split it here, and tell you about that tomorrow. Too many photo's for one post. If you are ever in East Yorkshire, try and visit, it's lovely.
Toodle pip.

Saving money, Hancock's style

Me again. I've just watched this, follows on perfectly from my post about switching things off. Tony Hancock and Sid James in a 1959 British comedy. Tony is on an economy drive. 29 minutes long if you can spare the time, it will make you titter.



Toodle pip again.

A very exciting day ;o)

I renewed my library books online today, just learnt how to do it, that will save a few bob as they were due today and I couldn't be bothered to take them back and the mobile library didn't come on Monday so I couldn't take them there. Aint technology clever. What with booking an MOT online, I am getting brave. What next, internet banking, no I don't think so.

I now get text messages from the dentist and doctors surgery, reminding me of appointments, not that I have many, almost nil in fact. I have heard that if you have a new fangled phone you can see the person you are talking to, not sure that's a good idea, means you have to comb your hair and put on a bit of slap just in case you want to impress the caller. Not that I am bothered about impressing people. I look pretty much ok as I am, sort of ordinary, I'm a blend in sort of person.

I had a chat with John the other night on skype, he said my hair looked nice. Don't know where he was looking, think he might need to go to Specsavers. I bought a £1 colour yesterday, need to do the roots. Did think I might go red again, but decided to stick with the blonde, it's ages since I was a redhead.

I've got a tickly cough, not a cold or anything. I feel pretty good, but I did a foolish thing at lunchtime, I breathed in through my mouth while I was eating cream crackers and cheese, and a few crumbs went down the wrong hole. Have you ever done that? It's very uncomfortable. Been trying to clear my throat all afternoon, Think I'll get another drink. Gargling didn't shift it either. Why oh why don't I keep my cakehole shut when I am eating. It's still irritating me now, hope I am not going to be coughing all night.

I spent an hour cutting my hedge, on the neighbours side, this morning. Picked up the bits as best I could, but not easy when they have fallen among the rose bushes. Good job they are not too particular about the border being tidy. All three of my cats came with me while I did it, they follow me everywhere.

Needed a filling lunch today as I was feeling a bit empty. Porridge is a good filler for breakfast, but it soon wears off by lunchtime, even with stewed apples and sultanas in it. So, lunch was mushrooms, courgettes with scrambled eggs and salad.

It was a nice day so I went off to Barton and had a walk along the waters edge, and Rocky came too. Another ride in the buggy. He likes watching the ducks.

Did some work on the weaving picture, it's coming along nicely. A friend from the craft club lent me some embroidery books and they have some good ideas in them which I might be able to use. I'm really getting into this textile art, it's fascinating.

Oh chuffin heck that crumb is still there, it's driving me nuts, I'm going to have to get a drink. I fancy a hot Ribena, maybe that will calm my throat down a bit.

Tatty byes and Toodle pip.

A top up shop is all I need

Hello, Thank you all for your comments on yesterday's post, it certainly got people talking, and thinking. That's the name of the game here, sit up straight, pay attention, and don't fall asleep, ha ha. 

I went to town today, paid some bills, stocked up on pet food, and did a small top up shop at Aldi. The Age UK charity shop got two bags of stuff, and I bought a very nice pale blue fleece for £1. I've got a thing about fleeces, all lovely and snuggly.

While I was in town I popped into the Arts Centre. The awful scaffolding was still there with more negative comments in the visitors book, It's being dismantled at the weekend, I don't think anyone will be sad to see it go.  

There is a new photographic exhibition by a local man who worked alongside the soldiers in Afghanistan. I don't normally have any opinions on military photo's they don't interest me, but these really held my attention. I stood alone in the quiet church and moved slowly along, pausing at each one in turn. I don't know what happened but I felt an overwhelming sense of  emotion, it took me by surprise, I certainly didn't expect that. 

Soldiers at the ready, guns poised.

The inquisitive children looking into the camera. The boy playing soldiers with the helmet. The girl holding the child looking up the street, what is she looking for.

Look at the expression on that little boy's face, the way his eyes are lit up in amazement. He is mesmerized by the soldier 

The love of a man and his dog. After everything that is going on around them, they find time for togetherness.

The photographer has captured all kinds of emotions in his pictures, it's a very powerful exhibition.

My top up shop was......
Six pack fruity yogurts 95p
Pkt cream crackers 28p
Large tub plain yogurt 55p
Six medium FR eggs 89p
Large quiche £1.19
350grm mature cheddar £1.75
1kg bananas (8 in bag) 68p
Cauliflower 59p
Mushrooms 99p
White grapes £1.39
Wholemeal loaf 69p
2 jars whole grain mustard 78p
A treat, multipack hoolahoops 60p

This should keep me going, don't need a bigger shop just yet, plenty to be going on with. I'm half way through another big pan of veg stew. Coming towards the end of the fresh runner beans, plenty in the freezer though, and plenty of spuds still in the garden. I keep thinking I might not bother with growing veg next year, but the truth is it does save money.

Pleased to say I have no adverse effects from my flu jab, except a slightly sore arm. Pleased about that, had visions of me coughing and sneezing. It hasn't happened.

Thanks for popping in. Haven't checked the weather for tomorrow yet, it would be nice if we had a dry day. Fancy going out.
Toodle pip.

First list your priorities

Good morning, I'm going to rattle this one off quick, have plans for the day. It always intrigues me how people prioritize their spending, what influences their choices, and how they decide what is important to them. We are all different and have different needs, but I can't help thinking that poor choices are at the root of many a problem debt. It's the psychology of what's behind spending which I find fascinating, but unfortunately I haven't time to write a whole book about it, so a blog post will have to suffice.

I'll start with what's at the top of my priority list, which I am sure many of you financial savvy people will agree with. First off is to pay for a roof over my head. I used to pay rent from the age of 16 to 27. Board and lodgings to my mum from the very first wage packet, then rent to a landlord for a bedsit or flat. At 27 I bought my first house which came with a mortgage. I never once defaulted on rent or mortgage because I didn't want to find myself without a home.

Second priority was to pay for any services to the accommodation. Council Tax which used to be called Poll Tax, and before that Rates, had to be paid. Heating and lighting had to be paid. I used it, I paid for it. So, that's a roof over my head covered.

My next priority was to eat, I always made sure I had enough money for food, even if it meant having to cut down a bit when things were tight. Now the edges start getting a bit blurred, things are not clear cut any more, there are choices to be made. Now the questions start. What are your priorities where food is concerned? What would you never give up no matter how much it costs? I still like to think I can adapt my eating habits according to how much money I have to spend on it. Squeeze my finances to the bone and I will find something to eat within my budget. I can't think of one thing that I would still buy if I had no money and had to go into debt for it.

Now comes the juggling bit, do you know how to juggle, because if you don't you need to learn. The term robbing Peter to pay Paul is imperative these days, though I wouldn't call it robbing, No need to go without if you prioritize before it gets to crisis point. And there is the crux of the matter. Good old fashioned sitting down and making a plan, thinking about what is important in your life.

I will never understand people who say they wouldn't give up this and give up that, and are perpetually in debt. So what they are saying is, plastic isn't real money and I will have whatever I fancy. I will have a latte every day, I will have the latest mobile phone gadgety thing, and I will change my car every year, because those are my priorities. I say, sunshine, you have got it all back to front, arse about face, and there will come a time when you will be drowning up to your eyeballs in debt because your priorities are all wrong.

But you can't tell folks that. Eventually they have a light bulb moment when the penny suddenly drops and they realize that something has to give. But the changes they need to make are like climbing a mountain, their habits are so ingrained in their lifestyle that they fight against change. They want to carry on with their current lifestyle and still get out of debt. Their juggling becomes more intense as they search out a remedy which will not impede their comfortable life.

The remedy is simple and staring them in the face, I'm stating the bleeding obvious here, where's Nellie when I need her, ha ha. If you spend more money than you have coming into the house you will go into debt. Spending someone else's money is not a good idea, it will come back to bite you on the bum eventually.

This is where the psychology comes into it. How do you decide what to spend your available income on? How do you divide it up and prioritize? Say you were down to your last couple of £'s would you spend it on a pint down the pub or a loaf of bread, a tin of baked beans, and six eggs?

Let's imagine we are all down to our last couple of £'s, no let's make it £5, I'm being generous. Imagine this scenario, we have paid the rent, and we have heating, what would you spend your last £5 on when you have a week to go till the next payday. I know what a lot of you are going to say, eat out of the freezer and cupboards, good for you. But there will be those who say I have nothing in my cupboards. Hang on a minute, what's that packet of pasta then, and what's that onion, and I see you have a stock cube. Isn't that food? Oh, I see, you don't fancy it so you are going out to spend your £5 on a pizza. Why not add a fizzy drink and a pancake to that and put it on the credit card!

Can you see what I mean, I'm sure you can, this is like teaching my grandma to suck eggs, but if there is one person out there who is desperately searching for that light bulb moment, then writing this post will have been worth it.

There is a lot more I could say but I don't want to appear sanctimonious, I don't know everything, I'm just drawing on my experiences and adding my thoughts. Questions you can ask yourself and only you can answer them. Do you have any debt? If not, you are swimming, if you have then you are sinking. What would it take to throw a life belt to you? You can do it the hard way, carry on sinking until you are eventually totally submerged, or you could sit down and work through your priorities. Divide up your income into pots according to what has to be paid, and when it has to be paid, but make sure you don't prioritize a new dress over slashing £50 off your debt. Never ever leave your debt languishing at the bottom of the list, promising to pay what ever you have left into it. It should be somewhere near the top. You have to pay your rent or mortgage, you have to pay Council Tax, you have to pay utilities, but you have control over how much you use, as I highlighted in yesterdays post.

Right, I'm off, done my bit, trying to help, need to go to town to pay some bills. I shall be looking for your comments, hope it all works out for you, whatever your situation.
Toodle pip

Switch it off! Even better, don't switch it on.

Hello, I've spent most of the day indoors today, the weather has been horrible. I did pop out briefly to run to the doctors surgery, yes run, only two minutes away, I got distracted and nearly missed the appointment. As soon as I went in I was called straight away for my flu jab, other people were sat around waiting. I don't want to be in there longer than is necessary, all those nasty germs floating around. I was in and out in two minutes.

It seems one of my readers is most impressed with my gas and electricity charges, and asks how I keep my usage so low. Thank you for your email, I'll try and give you a few pointers. For a start there is only me here, so no one to fight with over switching things on and off. I only switch lights on in the room where I am sitting. I have my desk light on and the small Christmas lights on in this room at the moment.

I don't have anything on standby except the fridge freezer. My gas cooker can be plugged into the electrics but I don't bother, I don't need a clock in the kitchen. I switch the microwave on when I use it. In fact I don't have any clocks at all plugged in. I have a wrist watch and a wind up clock in the bedroom, that's all I need. I have a music centre/stereo/radio which I only plug in if I want to listen to something. I like quiet in my house, don't need constant noise, don't need a tele or radio for company.

I use the dyson when the floor looks a bit mucky, and have a blitz every so often on the cat hairs. I have a hair dryer but very rarely use it, always let my hair dry by itself. I use the washing machine when I have a full load, and only wash things when they are dirty or smelly. All the washing gets dried outside on the line, so I only do a wash if it's windy or sunny. I have plenty of clothes, bedding and towels so could last several weeks without doing a wash load. If it's a nice drying day I might do two loads. I use the thirty minute setting at 30 degrees for everything.

For cooking I never use the oven, I don't bake or make pies or roast anything. I use the top gas rings, usually just one as I steam all my vegetables in one pan. I sometimes use the grill. I don't fry food because it makes a mess of the cooker, and I don't like washing greasy pans. In fact I have a new system for washing up now. As soon as I have finished with a pan, a plate, a mug, cutlery etc, I rinse under the cold tap with a brush. Saves on wash up liquid, water, and heating the water. I might do a proper washup in the bowl if I have used several pans for different things. For that I heat the water on the hob in one of the pans that needs washing. Then have a blitz and wipe down all the worktops and top of cooker, and scrub the sink. I might do this once a week.

I have only one mug of coffee a day, first thing in the morning. The rest of the time I drink diluted juice or water. I have a kettle but hardly use it. I put a mug of cold water in the microwave, take it out after a couple of minutes, add coffee, sugar, and dried milk, taste it, then put it back in the microwave for another minute so that it's hot. I must save loads of money by not drinking endless cuppas during the day.

I heat a tank full of water when I have a bath. I have a good soak and scrub every bit of me. Every morning I wash in cold water, it's not too bad if you do it quickly. If I want to wash my hair in between baths I use the sink in the kitchen, for that I boil the kettle, can't wash hair in cold water, that's a step too far.

I have the computer on a lot, but have switched to using the small netbook, it probably uses less electricity than the big one. Other gadgets, sewing machine, lawn mower, strimmer, slow cooker, stick blender, food processor, battery chargers, all used occasionally.

So that's about it really, keep things simple. At the back of my mind I always think that when I switch something on it's costing me money. I am used to living this way, for me it's normal, it's no big deal.
Hope that helps, thanks for asking. And now for the question. Is there any way you can cut down on your use of gas and electricity? Winter is approaching and bills will be creeping up, now is the time to start thinking about how you can monitor the situation, be more aware of what it is costing you to run your home. The next quarterly bill for me will be in January, I will be ready for it.  

And now for tonight's simple dinner. One portion of home made veg curry frozen in a margarine tub, and a portion of frozen rice.

A few minutes in the microwave, and Bob's your uncle, instant dinner, and I know exactly what's in it, well more or less. Can't quite remember but I know it hasn't any nasties in it.

Thank you for popping in. Toodle pip

Let sleeping cats lie

Hello.The weather looked so promising this morning, I even jumped in my car at 7 o clock and drove two miles to get a picture of the spectacular sunrise. Alas it didn't last, half an hour later it clouded over and we have spent the whole day being rained on. 

I went to the craft and chat, only seven of us this morning. I really enjoy Monday mornings with the ladies, a nice start to the week. I wanted to return some library books but then I remembered that the mobile van isn't there this week, it is off the road for a couple of days for it's MOT test. Think maybe I'll have to renew them on line, or take them back to the big library in town. 

After lunch, the last portion of veg curry and pasta, I got into arty crafty mode. My dining room table at the moment is covered in materials for the weaving, Oh dear, Heidi seems to think it is a bed made specially for her. I've just turned round to see if she is still there, she is, ha ha. 

Still more to do on the weaving, but I had a change today and made a tree. I need to make three of these. My first idea was to use ordinary chicken type wire and mould it into shape then cover it in fabric. I searched everywhere for the right sort of wire, found some but then went off the idea. Then I remembered I have a reel of electric cable, one of my skip diving finds, so this is what I did. Although quite stiff it bends into shape quite easily.

Join the branches on the main stem with pieces of tape.

Then bind it once with strips of fabric cut from a beige teeshirt also found in a skip. It is too big for me so I might as well use it. Then bind it again in a more colourful fabric. My own teeshirt which is past it's sell by date, I have far too many teeshirts anyway. The three trees will be different colours. I'm thinking about making leaves for them. Watch this space. I want plain trees that show up against the multicoloured background. Could be good.

Dinner tonight was an omelette, two eggs, I never cook just one egg, always two. It's got a chopped onion, chopped courgette, and half a tin of chickpeas in it. It's massive, had to cut it in half to get it on the plate, would have easily done for two people. Served with lettuce, two tomatoes, and grated carrot. It was very filling and loverly. A tip when making an omelette, don't try and turn it over or flip it in the pan, put it under the grill to cook the top. 

Two bills came through the door today from my newish energy supplier, Ebico, I changed in January. It's looking like the change from British Gas was a good move. My gas bill is £6.04, electricity bill is £21.04. They used estimated readings, the gas is almost spot on, and the electric is slightly under estimated. I expect the electric bill to rise throughout the winter as we put lights on earlier. I email my meter readings once a month, so for the first year they will be building up a picture of my usage. Ebico is the only supplier that has nil standing charges, and doesn't penalise customers for paying quarterly. If you are thinking of changing to them you need to check how much energy you use, because it might not work out cheaper if you are a high usage customer. It works fine for me because I can monitor my usage and keep it low.

I found a pressie in my front porch today. My nice neighbour across the road left me a carrier bag filled to the top with apples. Every year their tree is heavily laden, and every year she gives me some. They are cooking apples but so sweet I don't need to put any sugar on them. I have been giving her runner beans and courgettes, so a good swap I would say.

That's all for now, nighty night and toodle pip.

Enjoying village life

I was expecting to have another day in today, after the miserable weather yesterday, but this morning it was back to fine and sunny again. I had a morning on artwork, with a break for elevenses and a fruity smoothie. One nectarine, one banana, a few peach slices from a tin with a drop of juice, a dash of Ribena, and two tablespoons of plain yogurt, topped with ground almonds. It was scrumshus. Deliberate spelling mistake, I make my own words up. 

Lunch was veg curry and pasta, I made extra portions yesterday to save cooking today. Dinner was the same and still some left for tomorrow.

I had a short trip out this afternoon to take a look at Winteringham Music and Arts Festival. My friend Helen is on the Parish Council and helped organize it. There has been a lot going on over the weekend, something of interest to all age groups. There are photo's on the web site of events that took place yesterday. I must say they are very quick to post updates on the site.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon, which brought a lot of people out. The art exhibition was busy, I forgot to take photographs, oops. I sat for a while on the bench outside the church. People were arriving for a classical choir concert. Here is Helen manning the pay desk.

Me in my summer pink.

The concert is just about to start. I decided not to stay as the sun was beckoning me to go for a walk. The ladies were getting tea and cake ready to serve in the interval, I wanted to buy some cake but they weren't getting it out until the interval.

I bimbled around the village and called into the Village Hall where there was a photographic exhibition going on, There weren't many photo's but those that were there were interesting and good quality. I had a nice chat with a man who told me all about the camera club and said I would be welcome to come as a guest to a meeting. I might just do that, I'll look at my calendar.

Tonight I am making a tree for the new weaving. I needed some wire to make a skeleton tree, and as luck would have it I have a massive reel of electrical wire which I recovered from....you've guessed it, a skip, ha ha. I'm quite excited by this, now I have to decide what colour to make my tree. Best to get on with it. Enjoy tour Sunday evening. 7 o clock and it's dark outside, oh dear, the days are getting shorter.
Toodle pip.

It's a slow process

Hiya. Miserable day outside, until about 5pm when it brightened up a bit. I've spent most of my time indoors, with half an hour filling the brown wheelie bin with garden rubbish. Tidied the raised beds, and covered them over for the winter. I'm going to re think my veg growing for next year, there may be some changes. Sick of doing battle with the slugs. 

I've been alternating between the weaving, and sewing the smaller picture today. More fabric strips added, still more needed. A long way to go on this so don't expect things to happen quickly. 

If you remember, this was part of four small pictures sewn together to make one big one. I decided it would be better to unpick the stitching and separate them, and decorate each one individually. Maybe frame them individually also. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, not sure if even like them. Thought it was a good idea at the time, but now I don't know.

I'm sitting here sipping home made wine. My friend gave me a bottle of raspberry wine he made a couple of years ago. It's delicious, just like the strawberry one he gave, me. He suggested I could do some wine making, he would give me the demijohns. I haven't got the patience to do that, I would be itching to drink it before it was ready. A glass of wine now and again is nice, I can take it or leave it.

I'm starting to yawn. I'll get off up the apples and pears. Goodnight.

Where are Hockney's trees?

Good morning, Saturday, raining outside, and I am listening to Sounds of the Sixties on Radio 2. A day in I think, sewing and stuff. Just popping in to say thanks to Liz for the link about Hockney's trees. I thought one of my readers would come up with more information, I supply the skeleton, you put the flesh on it. Have a look at this article in the Daily Mail, 28th March, 2009, aren't archives wonderful. Hockney's horror after trees are massacred.

I've found more about Hockney's art, take a look at these in the Guardian.

Here is an article about Bigger Trees near Warter. The Guardian has a lot of info about Hockney.

Hope that has whetted your appetite.
Catch you later, Ilona

Pensioners day out

The day started bright and sunny so I thought it would be a good day to go out, as the forecast is rain for the weekend. Another trip to the seaside, this time over the bridge into East Yorkshire. I didn't go straight there, instead made a diversion through Market Weighton heading north to the small village of Warter. David Hockney did a huge painting called Bigger Trees near Warter, it was made up of  fifty canvases, and when I saw it at Hull it took up the whole of one wall. I wanted to find the actual spot where he took the photographs and did some of the painting. I parked in the car park next to the school and asked a woman where I might find the trees. She said they had been chopped down. Oh no, how terrible. 

I had a look around the village while I was there, went in the small shop and was served by a young woman who looked like she was about to burst, baby due next week. She had heard that the trees were chopped down also. 

Warter is an estate village, where most of the houses and land have belonged to a single landowner. These cottages were altered and thatched in 1930. 

The church of St James was declared redundant in 1990 and threatened with demolition. It was saved by the Yorkshire Wolds Buildings Preservation Trust which now owns the church and the greater part of the churchyard. Substantial grants were obtained and it was restored in 2006 and adapted for use as  cultural. educational, and heritage centre for the Yorkshire Wolds.

Ludhill House is an 18th century farmhouse recently enlarged and altered.

A view of the memorial taken from the church.

I have tried to find out about the bigger trees, and according to Wikipedia they weren't chopped down, so I don't know what to believe. I didn't look for them as I wanted to get off to Bridlington. 

I headed for South Beach and parked in the Park and Ride car park next to the holiday village. There are hundreds of static caravans all packed onto the site with not much space between them. It's very close to the beach and Rocky was so excited when we went down onto the sand. Oooh look, there's the sea, can I go for a swim?

 No, best to paddle in this pool, those waves are too big for you.

There are quite a lot of wooden beach huts along the promenade. These are very modern.

We walked all along the front to the town, Or rather I walked, Rocky rode, ha ha. We had a look around the harbour.

Oooh look, he has found a new friend, don't they look dandy together. I stopped to chat for a few minutes. I thought our buggy was cheap at £6, but they found this one free, it was dumped next to a rubbish bin. Now that's frugal, ha ha. 

More views of the harbour. I sat and ate my late lunch, cheese and lettuce sandwiches and boiled eggs. It was a glorious day, lovely to sit and watch the world go by.

Wow, look at those big wheels, I want one of these.

Hey, what's this, another buggy pooch. Say hello Rocky. No, he's got a hood on his buggy and I haven't got one, it's not fair. Don't sulk, I took it off, we don't need it in the sunshine.

It was a long walk back to the car, good exercise for me. I like Bridlington, it's a nice place. The beaches are lovely and clean, and a lot of the sea front has been modernized. I didn't see any evidence of run down properties. I didn't go into the town so I don't know what that's like, but there are plenty of eateries and lots of seats everywhere. Nice for a stroll on a sunny afternoon.

It's the weekend, I hope you have a good one whatever you are doing. Thank you for all your comments on yesterdays post, it's interesting to read about what you use your computer for. I'll let you off a question for today, but comment if you feel like it.
Toodle pip.

Food for the brain

Hello, Getting on with things a bit earlier this morning. It was a big ask yesterday to point you in the direction of a video that takes an hour and a half to watch. Not everyone has the time to sit through something that long. There is a natural break at the point where the first story appears to finish, and a second story emerges. You could split it that way and still enjoy the whole thing, because the two stories run parallel, drawing it to a very emotional conclusion at the end.

You know I am a nosy person, I have said it many times, but I am not nosy for the sake of it, it's not that I want to know everybody's business. It's just that my little brain keeps asking me, what's that all about, I want to know how things work, how they fit together, why things happen, and what makes them happen. The internet is an ideal tool to satisfy my curiosity. I wasn't interested in learning at school, the only lessons I liked were practical subjects like cookery, sewing, art, and cross country running, and writing stories. I hated being forced to sit for a couple of hours my head jammed up with a mass of numbers that made no sense at all, or listen to the teacher drone on about some battle or other that happened a million years ago.I didn't need to know that stuff. I wanted to know about life, how and why things happen, right now while I am a part of it.

I walk around my village in the evening, and now it is getting dark early I see people watching the tele. The screens are that big these days, it's easy to see what they are watching, and the same tele's in the same houses are on, night after night. There seems to be a lot of run of the mill stuff, which is neither taxing to the brain, or even remotely interesting. I suppose they call that entertainment. I ask myself if I am perhaps missing out, should I get a tele. But what would I learn from Strictly Come Dancing, or the X Factor, or the many quiz programmes it seems to be awash with. And don't tell me I can learn a lot from cookery programmes, my mum was there to show me how to knock up a meal.

No, tele on the whole does not add to my learning experiences at all. I have an appetite and I need to feed it. Just like my body needing food, my brain also needs sustenance in the form of stimulating information which I can dissect and consume.

I do pick out a few programmes for their entertainment value, to watch on the computer, but I am paring that down now in favour of  something that will give me food for thought. Even Coronation Street has been given the boot, where do they get those barmy stories from, and so repetitive as well. Same old same old is not what I want. I need fresh, new ideas to feed the old grey matter.

I've been checking out a few crafty web sites which I am happy to share. You never know, there might be some new ideas here to give you inspiration.
Contemporary Quilt is all about erm,... quilting. There are lovely pictures of amazing quilts and details of events which you can visit.
Effie Galletly is a landscape artist and quilt maker, her works are inspired by the landscapes and structures of the Western Islands and the West Highlands of Scotland. She runs workshops on the Isle of Lewis, which were very successful in 2013.
Gillian Travis is an award winning textile artist living in the north of England. Her web site is choc a bloc full of interesting stuff, I will have to bookmark this one. Her work is colourful and contemporary, inspired by her extensive travels, all are documented on her blog.
Anne Kelly is a textile artist who lives in Sussex. She collects recycled fabric and paper to create a range of work which is mostly framed. She has a blog, and teaches at her workshops.

There's a few to be going on with, Now here's the question....what do you read up about on the internet, what subjects feed your desires for more knowledge?  What are you studying, what subjects  are you keen to learn more about? Are you feeding your brain with the right fodder, or are you slumped in front of the box, content with chillin after a hard day with your nose to the grindstone? Hey, that's more than one question, never mind, I'm being nosy again, ha ha.
Toodle pip.

Inspiring

Hello, I'm a bit late with this, I've been watching yoootooob again, someone on a forum posted a link to a video which was 1 hour 30 mins long, I stuck with it as it was so interesting. If you are into healthy eating and food nutrition and losing weight, you might like to watch. It's a documentary about an Australian guy called Joe Cross who described himself  as fat, sick, and nearly dead. He decided he must do something about it because he didn't want his life to be dependent on the tablets he had to take every day. 

His plan was to take himself away from his usual environment and travel around America for 60 days while living entirely on juices. As time went on you could see the changes in him. He lost a whole lot of weight, he looked and felt better, and it looked like he was reversing the aging process. 

As well as the benefits to his slimmer frame he was also able to stop taking his medication. This was all done with the support of a medical doctor, who monitored his blood throughout the experiment. 

As well as it being a story of one man's determination to change his unhealthy lifestyle, there is a twist to it about three quarters of the way through. I won't tell you what it is in case you want to watch it, but it is so emotional it brought tears to my eyes. As well as being a heartwarming story, it is also educational, describing exactly what happens to your body if you choose to eat all the wrong kind of foods. It is well worth watching if you have the time.Switch the tele off when there is nowt on and watch this instead.

This is my dinner tonight, no cooking required. Lettuce, carrot, pickled onions, tomato, chickpeas, portion of quiche, cottage cheese, and dips. Lovely jubbly.  

Can't write any more, Heidi has her head on the keyboard. Toodle pip