Visiting Lotherton Hall

Today was sunny but very windy. Not to worry, I'll go out anyway. Every time I see leaflets for days out and exciting adventures I pick some up, then look through them to plan where I might like to go. Today I went to Lotherton, which is just off the M1 in Yorkshire. It took about an hour to get there. The price to get in is £9.50, no reductions for pensioners. You approach it on a long driveway, and pay at the booth, then proceed to the car park. There was some parking close to the house but the spaces didn't look very big, so I went to the overflow car park on the field. Much better. 

This is the back of the house. The gardens looked pretty bare as you would expect in winter. A few heathers and some shrubs.   

The Stables Courtyard has a cafe and gift shop. The stable doors were shut so no horses. The toilets were in the bottom right hand corner. 

This is the front entrance. I thought the back of the house looked better. 

Next to the house is the Chapel. The door is locked so I can't go in. 

There were quite a few people around, it is half term so lots of children having fun. I decided to go to the Wildlife World first. It's like a mini zoo, but mostly birds and some small animals. 

Then I went in the Hall when it wasn't so busy. I took photo's which I will post tomorrow. Video photography wasn't allowed. It's a shame because there was some lovely furniture in there. 

Now chillin with a glass of cider. Tatty byes. See ya tomorrow.  ilona

Keep layering up.

Well the dreaded utilities bill has come through the door. I wasn't looking forward to this. But, hey, that's not bad is it. 😹😺😸😼😻

This covers the dates 10th November to 8th February. The cost for gas and electric was £220.36. Then they deducted the Government Discount Energy Bills Support scheme, £67 x 3. If I divide the total by 3 it makes it £73.45 a month. I am not going to unravel the cost of the standing charge from the price per kWh. There was one price change during the three months. Although this is high for me, I have enough to cover the charges. 

Now we are coming into spring so hopefully the next three months will be a lot less. I think there is a price rise again in April. Who knows what will happen next winter. 

This house is quite well insulated, cavity wall and extra loft insulation. I got those on a Warm Front Grant 14 years ago.  

All we can do is be careful with our usage and not waste it. Keep layering up.

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona  

Uncancelled

 Good morning. I am really getting into this psychological war that is going on. Katie Hopkins talks about how she was beaten to a pulp by the Main Stream Media in the last few years, but has now gained a massive following because she speaks as she finds, and will not be silenced by people who drag up every little slip of the tongue she has made in the past. I can think of several names of those that this has happened to. You only have to mention Icke and you can almost see the steam come out of people's ears. I think he might instruct his family to  incorporate the words 'I like lizards', on his headstone. 

Words can be taken out of context and planted into a sentence which bares little resemblance to the original point that the speaker was trying to make. Anyone in the public eye will have come across this tactic to discredit them from the moment they opened their mouths, or indeed they appeared on the internet.  

It happens to me. People drag up insignificant morsels which I may have spoken about in the past. The words hypocrite, racist, and bigot, have been hurled my way more than once.

In this video Katie gives a full explanation of what happens when you get cancelled by the Main Stream Media. She was approached by a young journalist who asked her for an interview for a short article they were writing. After several messages back and forth, the journalist had to cry off because permission from above was not given. Katie is blocked in a lot of places, yet she can tour America with her one woman stand up show. She has been sued, and bankrupted, but came back fighting. Mark Steyne has just been cancelled but he isn't going anywhere. He has his own channel now. 

If you want to watch Katie's video on how the media is silencing people, click here. It has had 51,000 views in two days.  

Porridge with seeds and raspberries this morning. Now I'm ready for the day. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Strange food

 I was in Home Bargains a week ago and took these pics. All the Christmas stock has gone now, and in it's place was lots of strange looking packet, tinned, and jars food. I didn't recognise any of it. They are having an Extreme Fitness Event, according to the signage. What does that mean. This doesn't look like real food to me. I looked closely at a few labels and decided to give it a miss. Give me Brussels Sprouts, and broccoli any day. It is all very strange.  

Not the usual crowd at Coffee Morning this morning. Some of them have gone off on a coach trip. I decided I was going to go out on my bike this afternoon, but when I got it out and pumped up the tyres, the sun disappeared and it went very dull. I worked out how to fix my camera to the handle bars to do a bit of filming as I went along. It didn't happen because it threatened rain, so I thought not today. 

Instead I drove to the Post Office in the next village and taxed my car. £165 for one year. 

A credit card statement came in the post today, not sure why they sent it. I haven't had one since December 21 because I haven't used the card, and haven't authorised it. Payment is due on 5th March, for the grand sum of nil. Maybe they are trying to tempt me into using it again.

What shall I have for dinner tonight. A pan of stew I think. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.    ilona 

Ssshhh Mayze is sleeping

Quietly as you pass by this one. Don't disturb my little girl. 

😂😎😹😻😴😺

Toodle pip.   ilona

Home cinema

Howzabout this then. I have a new to me monitor, a bigger computer screen. It works a dream, easy to swap over from the old one. This is not new, it is about 8 - 9 years old, or something like that. My friend Carol gave it to me ages ago. 

It's fantastic for watching videos. Click on full screen, and it's like being at the cinema. I prefer to watch real life videos rather than films which are made up where actors are paid a lot of money to pretend to be someone else. I suppose there is a lot of skill involved with acting, and if you do it long enough you become quite good at it. I don't watch films because always at the back of my mind is the thought that it's just a story and not real. Some actors think they are special, but they are just doing a job like anybody else. 

I like watching Patrick Dickinson's videos. He is a gentle soul, explaining everything in great detail about his camping adventures, and the pub shed he has built in his back garden. He makes me chuckle. His camera work is superb. He sets the camera up on the ground and walks towards it or walks away from it, then has to go back and pick it up. He does everything himself. 

Here he is, hiked to the top of a hill on Kinder Scout. An area he knows well. 

He precooks most of his food. Stew and dumplings, and warms it up in the tent. 

Coffee and croissants for breakfast. 

Then he packs up his tent and goes home. 

If you want to watch Patricks latest video click on this link.  45 minutes of gentle entertainment, from a man who loves camping. 

Catch ya later.   Toodle pip.   ilona

Preppers

 I continue to dig. Each shovelful of shit gets you a bit closer to the truth. There is a saying, 'follow the money' and you will find the answers you need. When each new revelation throws up some tiny clues, put them all together and you will find it all leads to the ultimate goal. Total domination of ordinary people controlled by the state, and by those who are supplying the money to bring it all about.  Who are they? The bankers. 

A lot of what happens in the world is engineered distractions. These incidents appear to be unconnected, but they are. Distractions are needed to divert our attention away from the plan. 

Don't waste your time with endless conversations about a bug, being locked in your home, covering your face, and getting an experimental procedure. There is enough information out now which confirms it was a distraction. 

The war, climate change, net zero, transgenderism, social credits scheme, digital money, people being moved around the world en masse, food production plants burning down, gates buying up farmland, and now shooting down balloons. All distractions to ramp up fear. The only thing we should be fearful of is the banks stealing our money.  Banks and businesses have fucked up the whole monetary system. The only way they can sort out the mess which they created is to get everyone over to digital. And to do that they have to destroy the fabric of society that we are used to in the west as free people. They have to deliberately make us poor so we have to go begging for help. Digital ID means we will not be able to do anything without the permission of the Government. This is the definition of enslavement. 

The way to combat this is to earn your own money. Become self sufficient, look after your families, help people in your communities. The preppers in the US have been saying this for a long time. I thought their methods were a bit extreme, but now I have learnt a hell of a lot over the last three years, I know what they say is true. They are not 'nut jobs' as my MP calls them. Preppers are wide awake. They have the will to survive whatever is thrown at them. 

If you want to know what is driving this plan forward, watch this interview. Richard has moved to Rumble because he can never be sure that his content on the yoootooob will be censored. Justin Walker explains how the bankers rule the world. This is a meme which he helped to create.  

Apologies for the clarity of the print. Which side are you on. 

Now it's time for breakfast. It started sunny today, but now the fog has come down. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Dashing about

I had a bit of a wobble this morning. Switch the computer on and a blank screen. Oh no, the monitor has packed up. Disaster. I rang my computer man, his wife said he will ring me back. And so he did, an hour later. I had already started a plan B, get the little Samsung Netbook cranked up. Oh lord, I have forgotten how slow that is. It was asking me for passwords to log in. Consult my notes which are so old that most of the sites I used to log into are now defunct. 

I have a spare monitor for the big computer so I brought that down. This might do the trick if I can sort out the leads and swap them over. A spray polish and duster was needed to move the computer into the middle of the desk where I could see the back of it. I don't do much dusting. 

Keith rang me back and I explained what I was doing. He made a few suggestions, I wriggled a few of the leads connected to the back, and bingo, the monitor lit up and was back to normal. I think I might try the other spare monitor because it is bigger than the one I am using. Keith said it is easy to swap the leads over. Big sigh of relief from me. 

I had the bonus of a deer sighting on Saturday. It darted out of the wood and came to a halt in the middle of the field when it spotted me. 

And then it took off. 

No sun as such but I like the way there is a glow coming down behind the dark grey clouds. I am sure those windmills are reproducing. There seems to be more of them. 

Now it's time for lunch, so I'll grab a bite to eat and watch UK Column News while I eat. Thanks for popping in. We will catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Coffee chat with new art reveal.

Good morning. Cereal, seeds, banana, and yogurt for breakfast this morning. I am well stocked up with food as I went to Sainsbugs and spent £112. Please be aware that if you go in the early evening as I did, you may not find any check out people on the tills. I don't use the self service tills, but a kindly assistant who was there to supervise all of the checkouts, put mine through for me. I was on the verge of walking out, but he came to my rescue. 

I finished this picture three weeks ago and have just found time to put it on here. My friend gave me the frame, thank you Janet. 

This is the tapestry I saw at Louth church which gave me the idea. 

I painted the background on a piece of cotton sheet, about a year or so ago. I knew I would find a use for it. Please excuse the clarity of the pics, the glass throws up some reflections. 

So, what to talk about today. Click and watch if you are nosy. Todays subject is health. Do I take up the offer of a free health check from the NHS. We are told they are stretched to the limit and we are discouraged to seek help. Drive yourself to the hospital if you feel ill.  

That's all for now. Have a good Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Inside Wentworth Woodhouse.

Good morning. Possibility of going out this afternoon, I'll see if it stays dry. Let's have a look at the interior of Wentworth Woodhouse. Just a few of the 365 rooms in this Georgian Mansion. They have several guided tours to choose from if you wish to see more of the house. I was not allowed to make a video because they make their own. This is a good one to start with. It details the history up to the present day. 

From the reception at the entrance through the first door, and you arrive here. What struck me was that the rooms are empty, there is no furniture.

Up the main staircase to the Marble Saloon. 

The Marble Saloon hits you as you walk into the room. A great big smile and a WOW. It is beautiful. 

This was where they filmed the ballroom scene for Downton Abbey. 

A look down into a stair well.

And the cosy nook at the bottom.

This room with a view was closed, but I was able to zoom into it. 

The Whistle Jacket Room.

Here is the web site for Wentworth Woodhouse. 

This video is called Behind the Scenes Tour. There is a lot more information on this magnificent house. The restoration project is ongoing for the next ten years. 

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

Visiting Wentworth Woodhouse.

The car park at Wentworth Garden centre is massive and free. There is no one to check you in and out. The notice at the entrance says it closes at 5pm, so I left the car there, knowing I would be back before then. I walked out of the entrance and followed the boundary wall on my right, turned right at the junction, and ten minutes walk along there takes you to Wentworth Woodhouse, the Georgian House. 

Just across the road I noticed an old windmill which has been converted to a house. That will make a nice picture. 

The view from the Windmill House across the valley. 

The big house is accessed from a long driveway. The first sight you see when you turn off the road is this abandoned building. I asked an elderly couple about it, they were out for a stroll. Apparently there used to be a big college here, and these were students living accommodation. It has been left to fall into disrepair for the last 20 years. What a shame, when it could have been converted into apartments if they had acted quickly. Now they are going to bulldoze it to the ground. 

I walked along the long driveway and came to the Stables. No horses I'm afraid. I took these photo's from inside the courtyard because the sun was in the wrong place to snap them from the outside. All these rooms look empty, also abandoned. There is a building site next to it, so some work is being done to rejuvenate the area. 

Can you just hear the clatter of hooves on the concrete. Nope. I can hear the banging of the digger machine right next door. 

Closer to the House is this information board. 

I have dug this pic out from the archives. This is what I found three years ago on a previous visit. I was so disappointed. 

It was a massive project to repair the roof. Doesn't it look grand now. At over 600 feet it has the longest facade in the country. It is currently owned by a Preservation Trust. 

Time was getting on so I first went inside to have a look around. It closes at 4pm. As I only had an hour and a half left the kind lady let me pay a reduced price for a Garden ticket, and said I could also look around the house. She saw I wanted to pay cash, but said it's normally card only, but on this occasion it was alright as long as I had the right money. I will put the inside pics on the next post. 

The grounds and garden are massive. That folly is quite a distance away and I didn't have time for a closer look. She gave me a map. 

This is the Ionic Temple, set high up in the corner of the grounds. 

There was a lot of landscaping work going on in the woods, to create an adventure playground where kids could have fun while studying nature. This is the view of the back of the house. 

In the summer this will be teeming with visitors. There are tables with parasols, where people can order their food in the cafe and eat outside.  

My time was up, quick visit to the Ladies. I still had an hour left so I walked to Wentworth Village. That was a nice end to the day out. 

I'll be back with the photo's of the interior of the Hall. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona