BLOGGING MY LIFE, PAST - PRESENT & MAYBE THE FUTURE

Scavenger List January 2012

2012-01-24T20:42:00.001Z

Well, oh dear me, I didn’t start this list until last week! I don’t really know why but all of a sudden last week I realised how far we were into January and I hadn’t made a start! I’m sitting here scratching my head wondering where on earth January has gone!!!

My photos this month are pretty ordinary and I’ve just done the last few around the house to get it finished as we have a busy weekend coming up attending my niece’s wedding - (I’ll post about this after the event).

So here goes folks – prepare to be bored stiff!

First up is ‘soft’ – this is my lovely fleece/furry throw which I snuggle up in when watching TV on cold evenings.

Second coincidentally is ‘2’ – I forgot I had already taken a photo for this and did another one so this time you have 2 for the price of 1.

The first one I took was of a neighbour’s camper van which is called Duetto – I’m assuming it is because it sleeps 2 people – so a bit of quick thinking on my part I guessed it must mean 2!

The other subject for ‘2’ is a birthday card I made for my great-nephew who will be 2 this year.

‘Blur’ is the next photo – why is it when you don’t want to take a blurred photo you can achieve one very easily but when you need one it takes a few attempts! I took this ‘blur’ by moving the camera as I pressed the shutter button! It’s a silk flower arrangement, our family name coat of arms in the left hand frame and one of our wedding photos on the right.

My interpretation of ‘in season’ is a bit odd I suppose – it’s a photo I took from my back garden of a lovely red sky at night scene taken through the winter trees which have lost their leaves – hence the subject ‘in season’! I couldn’t resist the beautiful early evening sky.

‘In my bathroom’ – easy peasy just went upstairs and took this:

‘Mess’ – another easy one – there’s always a mess of some sort in our house! This is a pile of craft stuff and other bits and pieces I need to sort out when I get the time! I don’t how anyone can live in a house with absolutely nothing out of place – I’d feel so uncomfortable – that’s a good excuse for being a messy person isn’t it?

‘Information’ – a sign explaining the parking restrictions in our local Tesco car park.

‘Company’ – very boring – a photo of the ‘Clarks’ brand name on the shoe shop over at Weavers’ Wharf.

‘Warning’ – this is a notice at the side of the river which runs through Kidderminster warning of danger.

‘Odd’ – I decided this meant an odd quantity so took a photo of three things on the bookcase on our landing. From left to right we have: an old ornament of a little girl and her dog which belonged to hubby’s grandmother: a little Spanish house brought back from Tenerife for us by my father when he went on holiday there with my sister and her family: a money box which looks like a bundle of pound notes – there were two of these in my parents’ house from when I was a little girl – I have one and my sister has one now – although she did buy another to go with hers at a car boot sale but I think it was numbered differently. I can’t remember where my mam and dad bought these.

‘In the distance’ – a scene from my front door over to the local common.

‘Entrance’ – my front door! Two fat ladies – 88!

That’s it then folks – January completed in record time. Can’t wait for the February list and really must make more effort next time.

Jordiegirl!

Technorati Tags: January Scavenger List 2012: Postcards from the P P

A furry friend comes to play

2012-01-05T20:04:00.001Z

How cute is this furry friend – Barny? He used to live next door and as his owners were out all day he came around to visit us for some company most days.

During the summer he found some friends in the garden to play with! Here he is having a paw at it!

There were two frogs in our garden hiding amongst the plants in the border and he kept coming around and fishing them out so that they hopped around the lawn. He would then lie there watching them and if they didn’t move he would slap them on the head with his paw – the frogs then gave out a squeak and leaped away from him! I’d never heard frogs make this noise in the past, I always thought they just sat and croaked.

It was a very funny sight to see. The neighbour wasn’t aware he was doing this so when I told him he watched from over the fence.

He looks like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth!

We do miss him coming around to visit as he’s moved away to the neighbour’s parents’ house for now as they have a smallholding with a large barn etc – once the neighbour finds a new house in Devon Barny will be relocated.

We’ve heard that he is working for his keep by catching rats etc – he’s also caught mice and even a baby rabbit – which apparently he ate most of! yuck!

Happy 2012 to all.

2011-12-31T17:08:00.002Z

Just want to wish all my followers:

A very Happy and Prosperous 2012 - look forward to see you all in the New Year.

Thanks for following me - I'll try to be a better blogger and keep up to date next year - promise!

Christmas Scavenger List A-Z 2011

2011-12-30T20:41:00.001Z

A – Angel – one given to me for our Christmas tree from my dear sister.

B - Bell – A German Christmas tree decoration I bought back in 1984.

C – Calendar – an advent one by Cadbury to be precise.

D – Dove – soap!

E – Elves.

F – Fir cones – on a Christmas decoration.

G – Gingerbread man – please look at the page of images after the photo for Z.

H – Holly – a bush in our local Churchyard.

I – Ivy – hadn’t realised it was where it was until I started looking around for photos for this list!!!!!

J – Jingle bells – on a Christmas decoration.

K – Kings – please look at the images after the z image.

L – Lights on our Christmas tree.

M - Manger – another decoration I embroidered back in the 1980s.

N – Nativity – please look at the image after the one for Z.

O – Owls – in a nesting box – please look at the image after the one for Z.

P - Poinsettia – on our Christmas mantle runner.

Q – Queen – Christmas speech to her country.

R – Rudolph – he’s on an embroidered Christmas tree decoration I made in the 1980s.

S – Snowman – one I made for our Christmas cake.

T – Tree – our Christmas one.

U – Under our tree – some of my Christmas gifts and the tree skirt.

V – Vintage Christmas card.

W – Windmill – on a Dutch Christmas decoration/key ring.

X – xxx – kisses on a Christmas card.

Y – Yule log – an old Christmas card image.

Z – zzz – A child sleeping and no doubt dreaming of Santa bringing her presents.

That’s it folks – the last scavenger list for 2011.

Jordiegirl.

The rest of our 2nd week of holiday.

2011-12-06T21:36:00.000Z

This week we needed to catch up with relatives and old friends so Tuesday saw us visiting my late cousin’s husband and her daughter to see how they were doing. Then on Wednesday Martin and I met up with my old school friend. She took a half day from work and we picked her up from her house, we then went down to Blyth beach to have some lunch as there is a lovely fish and chip restaurant there now. Being a lovely sunny day the place was packed.

After lunch we had a walk along the prom to blow the cobwebs away, then diverted to the path which runs through the sand dunes stopping periodically at the benches on the way for a rest as my leg was giving me a bit pain. As we walked we past these wooden carvings which show cyclists – I am assuming they are a memorial to some cyclists who were killed on the road close by. They were cleverly carved like triptychs.

Thursday we visited one of my old work colleagues at her home – it’s always good to catch up with her and we got talking about family trees and I ended up promising to find out what I could for her about hers – I’ve done some research for her and will take what I’ve found with me on my next visit.

On Friday my sister and I took the two little ones out to the Royal Quays Shopping Outlet where my eldest nephew has a toy shop and I took some photos of the boys trying out one of the remote controlled cars.

He also has a website: www.toyinfinityandbeyond.co.uk

Saturday saw myself, my sister and my youngest niece wandering around Costco looking for wedding favours.

Then all too soon Sunday arrived and it was time to return home.

Our next visit will be a flying one at the end of January for my niece’s wedding.

Technorati Tags: Blyth,friends,Royal Quays,Toy Infinity,Costco,home

Jordiegirl

Monday 22 August – Wallington Hall

2011-12-04T21:18:00.000Z

Like Cragside and Seaton Delaval hall it is many many years since I visited and as we bought National Trust Membership for our Cornwall holiday it was a good idea to make the effort to visit again.

Here’s a view of the front of the house and also the Clock Tower.

Here’s the back of the house. I bet you are wondering why there is a bed floating on water!!!!! After we’d had a tour of the house which includes a room full of lovely doll’s houses – and also an art exhibition with the title ‘Unfinished Business’, we crossed the main road and had a walk down to the Walled Garden.

This bed was on the lake on the way to the Walled Garden which mystified us at first but then when we got nearer we found a notice telling us it was part of the Unfinished Business art exhibition!

Here’s some photos of the Walled Garden too.

Another lovely day out.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Wallington Hall,near Morpeth,Northumberland,Unfinished Business Art Exhibition

More August holiday! and it’s now December!

2011-12-02T20:37:00.001Z

I know I am way behind on posting what we did on holiday – time just seems to run away from me at the moment!

Saturday evening we went ten pin bowling as my sister purchased a deal from LivingSocial which included a hot dog each – we had a lot of fun. Instead of cooking we stopped at the chip shop to buy our supper.

On the Sunday we visited Seaton Delaval Hall – which has just been on Antiques Road Show. It was a busy day as there was a Dog Show on too.

Cars were parked on the grass at the front of the Hall. This photo shows the frontage of the Hall. We had a tour of the Hall first then went to view the other parts.

Above are the stables and to the right the rear of the Hall.

Below you can see where they are restoring the main part of the Hall and also the memorial to one of the family who died when his horse threw him and dragged him along The Avenue – it is said the memorial was erected where he died which is a good way from the Hall down in the fields.

This is the side of the Hall and some statues, a lily pond and a fountain in the gardens.

When we went around the front again we went into the Tea Room and then had a look around the Cellars which also housed the staff, and included the Butler’s Pantry, Wine Cellar etc. The floors were very uneven.

They have their own little Chapel and there are only about 6 headstones in the graveyard. On the way back we drove along the coast and stopped for an ice cream at Blyth beach as they wanted to show us how much the area had been improved. I took a photo of the lighthouse which leads into the harbour where a small boat was going in, the beach and also one of St. Mary’s Lighthouse which is at Whitley Bay on an Island which can only be reached by boat at high tide. I had to take the one of St. Mary’s using the zoom as it was a long way off.

We had a lovely weekend.

Jordiegirl.

Technorati Tags: Ten pin bowling,Seaton Delaval Hall,Blyth,Whitley Bay

November 2011 Scavenger List Photos

2011-11-26T18:19:00.002Z

Here’s my photos for November – and for a change I have got them all quite quickly!!!!! They are in no particular order.

So here goes:
Polka dots: a scarf given to me by my good friend Gingeyginge.

Something that lights up: my Ottlite which I use when crafting.

Something you have made: these are a couple of pieces of bobbin lace I made back in the 1980s – the top one was made for my mother and the bottom one was made for my mother-in-law – as they are both no longer with us I have them hanging in our dining room.

A lucky charm: a little lucky boot which I have carried around in my purse for many years now – supposed to mean that you will never be without money – looks like it works even though there isn’t much in my purse!

Comfort food: a box of lovely Shortbread biscuits – yummy!

Poppy – this is a lovely ornament made for the British Legion – she’s beautiful isn’t she?

Something purple: this is my Boxer Board from Crafter’s Companion.

A staircase: this is the staircase at Langley Castle and this is my niece’s husband on the evening of their wedding – a little worse for wear I think!

A memorial: this is the obelisk in the Church yard of St. Hilda, Ellerburn, North Yorkshire erected to the memory of some of my Dobson ancestors.

Warmth: my lovely gas fire which reminds me of home and the lovely real coal fire which always burned in the grate.

Self portrait: a photo of me – taken by me – as I can’t draw for toffee!

Silhouette: sorry, the only one I had to cheat on – I downloaded this free silhouette from the internet.

Well, there you have it folks – November completed already!
Bring on the December list!

Jordiegirl.

Technorati Tags: November Scavenger list

Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th and Friday 19th

2011-11-10T19:34:00.001Z

Wednesday we went to Ashington to take a look around the shops, then on Thursday we went to the shopping centre in Cramlington with my great-nephews, then on the Friday I met up with my sister at her daughter’s where she was taking care of the two boys and we walked up to the shops to take a look around and have a coffee with the little ones.

Here’s some photos of the little ones:

Jayden looks like Popeye in the one on the right above.

This little cutie is a more studious child, very serious! A bit like his great-aunt!

While we were there we spotted some of our relatives who were also taking a break in the cafe. The chap wearing the spectacles is the husband of my cousin who died earlier this year, he was in the cafe with his daughter and grandson.

Technorati Tags: shopping,cafe,boys

Evening of Tuesday 16 August 2011

2011-11-08T19:18:00.000Z

Tonight we went into Newcastle to a restaurant called Azurri down near the Quayside for a family celebration, it was my sister and her husband’s Silver Wedding Anniversary – yes they have been married 25 years!!! Where on earth have the years gone?

Being an Italian restaurant they got a little confused when they brought out the anniversary cake! – they had added the words Happy Birthday to it although they had been told is was a silver wedding celebration – and the waitress even started to sing Happy Birthday!!!! We all had a good laugh at that!

Technorati Tags: Silver wedding anniversary,meal,Italian restaurant,Newcastle,Azurri

Back to my summer holiday!!!! Tuesday 16 August

2011-11-06T18:51:00.001Z

Martin and I had arranged to go to a National Trust property ‘Cragside’ today and asked my niece and her little one to join us for the day as she had some holiday from work.

Cragside is at Rothbury in Northumberland where you can discover the world of Lord Armstrong who was a Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius. Cragside is built on a rocky crag and was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electricity.

There was an owl carved from a tree. A view of the house above.

Part of the house and garden. There were some Northumbrian pipers playing.

This is the lake at Cragside and also part of the formal garden.

A view across the countryside from the formal garden, and another view of the formal garden.

Although we did have some rain we still enjoyed our day out.

Technorati Tags: Cragside,Rothbury,Northumberland,National Trust property

All too son it was time to leave as we were going out for the evening to my sister and her husbands 25th wedding anniversary meal.

Time to do your Christmas Shopping or even need a birthday gift?

2011-11-03T10:48:00.000Z

If you don't want to have the hassle of going around the crowded shops for your toys for the little ones this Christmas why not take a look at this website for your purchases:

wwww.toyinfinityandbeyond.co.uk

Lots to choose from and the remote controlled cars for the kiddies to ride in are amazing, if they are too small to drive the car themselves they come with a parental control.

Happy shopping.

October Scavenger List!

2011-10-31T22:05:00.001Z

Well, I’ve only just managed to scrape together all the photos for this month – I just don’t seem to have been in the right places to get what was needed this time so some of them are a bit of a cheat!

Here goes:

A black cat – I found this in my latest copy of The Create and Craft Club Magazine – lucky or what!

Candle lit – the middle one is battery operated which I bought from QVC a few years ago, the other two are real perfumed candles.

Crunchy leaves – these are something there is never a shortage of in our garden once they start falling off the trees – we live in front of an old railway embankment which is covered with trees which constantly drop leaves into our garden in the autumn.

Fog/mist – we hadn’t seen any of this for a while, then a couple or mornings last week we had some morning mist – yeah – I managed to get this photo before it disappeared.

Golden – this is my gold wedding ring.

Graffiti – I intended going to a local underpass to take a photo of some graffiti which has been especially done in there to brighten it up but I never got around to it! So, sorry, I cheated on this one and just wrote the word ‘Graffiti’ on a sheet of paper. Naughty me!

Heritage – for this it was my intention to take a photo of the Rowland Hill statue in town – the inventor of the postage stamp – but because there were people standing around at the bus stop I didn’t want to take it in case they thought I was photographing them! Instead I took a photo of our local Debenhams Desire department store which is housed in one of the old carpet factories in town – hence the heritage!

Pumpkin – two for the price of one in a local newspaper.

This is the river Stour which runs in the river Severn at Stourport – I took this photo earlier in the year when we had the really bad snow storms.

Something Eerie – I was a bit stuck on this one – first of all I took a photo of Martin’s Simpson’s magazine – then I took a photo of the front of a horror story book which I received as a School Prize back in 1971 – as I couldn’t make up my mind which one to use I’ve posted both!

Sunset – sorry this is not a photo I took myself – I got this from my ‘Sample’ folder on my computer as sunsets are something we can’t see from our house because of living beside the old railway embankment – the sun goes down behind there!

Last but not least – another one I was struggling with – Witch’s hat/broomstick – in the end I got both and the black cat! I found these in a book of Martin’s called Ghoul School – it’s a pop-up book which he has had since Middle School.

So there we have it – October list completed. Let’s hope I do better for November and December. I always start off with good intentions then fall at the last hurdle!

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: October Scavenger List

R I P Betty Driver

2011-10-15T21:36:00.000+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

I was sad to hear the news from Martin this morning that Betty Driver has died at the age of 91. Betty has been in Coronation Street forever - at least it seems like that. What a stalwart - still working at 91!!!!

I know she hasn't been on our screens for a while so guessed she must be ill again. Such a shame that she has passed away. I suppose they'll be doing an episode covering her character's funeral now.

Image via Wikipedia

Some years back I visited the Granada studios and took the Coronation Street tour with a friend - we had a lovely day out. Must blog some of my photos when I get them uploaded to my computer as they aren't digital ones.

Sunday & Monday 14th/15th August, 2011

2011-10-08T18:21:00.001+01:00

Today we went out for Sunday lunch with my sister and brother-in-law to one of the local pubs, The Sea Horse which does a carvery – which saved them cooking. We’d been here last time we were up on holiday so knew it would be very busy as it’s a very popular place for Sunday lunch.

Monday was a day for visiting a cousin and his wife over at Crook in Co. Durham – they live in a house on the corner of a crossroads which used to be where the reservoir was, their nearest neighbours are over the fields or down the hill. We arranged for it to be a Monday so that my sister would have only one of the grandchildren to look after that day and take with us. Martin, my sister, great-nephew and I all went. My cousin is from the oldest sibling my father had so there is quite an age gap between us, his sister died earlier this year, so he is now our oldest living cousin I think – must check the family tree to be sure.

As usual they were very welcoming and June had been cooking – we weren’t surprised. She’d made a lovely corned beef and potato pie and a pile of gorgeous little buns. We always look forward to devouring her cooking! As it was early afternoon when we arrived and we hadn’t eaten before we left we were ready to eat the pie and saved the buns for later when we had another cup of tea before leaving them.

We had a good old chinwag with them and caught up on all the news.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Sunday lunch and Monday visit

Saturday 13 August 2011 – time to go ‘home’ on holiday.

2011-10-08T18:05:00.001+01:00

We had a later holiday up ‘home’ this year due to having a wedding to go to on Thursday 11th August – don’t think I’ve posted about that yet – I’m so behind with my blog. Never mind, I’ll carry on with the holiday for now.

Saturday morning dawned and we got up at a reasonable time to have breakfast before loading up the car to leave around 9am. Things, however, did not go according to plan! There we were sitting in the car and I put the address into the satnav but Homer wasn’t having any of it – he just would not work! This has happened before, nothing works and I have to connect to the computer to sort it – I wouldn’t mind but I’d only used the blumming thing a few days earlier! So we went back into the house and I turned the computer on, connected the satnav to put it right which you have to do through TomTom Home.

I don’t know what I was thinking but I decided whilst I was doing that I may as well update my maps (which incidentally I meant to do a few weeks ago and never got around to!) – what a stupid idea! It took almost 2 hours to do this after sorting out the problem! Consequently it was about 12.30pm before we left! I wrote a quick text to my brother-in-law to tell him that we were just setting off now so they had some idea of what time we’d arrive – I’d already sent a text saying we were delayed.

I was not a happy bunny I can tell you!

Technorati Tags: delayed holiday,holiday delay

Jordiegirl

Dear Brother

2011-10-03T20:17:00.001+01:00

I should have posted this earlier today but have been a bit out of kilter today because Martin has not been to College as there was a big fire very close by and College could not open today.

Well, today would have been my dear brother's 65th - yes 65th birthday!!!!! I really do not know where the years have gone since he was taken from us way before his time at the age of 18!!!!

Oh how I wish he was still here with us - he was such a fun-loving young man and I can't help but wonder what he would be like now at the age of 65. Would he be married? Would he have children? Would he live close by or far away? Sadly these are questions that will never be answered.

This afternoon I took Martin to the dentist for his six monthly check-up and on the way there I mentioned that it would have been Brian's birthday today and he would have been 65. Now obviously Martin never met my dear brother (but I am sure they would have got on like a house on fire) but he said that was your brother wasn't it - he was a bit of a prankster wasn't he - did he play jokes on you? Then he asked me what I thought he would be doing now and I said I didn't think he'd still be in the Army but would be doing a job in civvie street. My sister and I have told our children about the uncle they never met as we would not want him to be forgotten.

I wonder if he would have taken up the occupation that he mentioned to the Careers' Officer - 'an Undertaker' - because he'd never be out of work as people are always dying - that was Brian - trust him to say that. Sadly he needed an Undertaker far too early in his life and the wrong choice of career was to blame.

I look back and think of the times when I say to myself I wish I had done this, or wish I had done that instead of the choices I made but at least my choices have meant that at the age of 55 I am still alive to live my life.

So my dear brother, I just hope you are up there with mam and dad, and grandma and granddad looking down on us today and celebrating your 65th birthday in style with them.

Rest In Peace my dear one.
Love you forever, you will never be forgotten as long as I live.

Brian is first on the left of the front row as you look at the photo - this would have been taken up at Troon where he did his training. I remember going up there to see him at his 'Passing Out' parade - couldn't spot him on the parade ground cos they all looked the same with their peaked caps pulled down over their eyes and their uniforms on.

September 2011 Scavenger List

2011-10-02T12:46:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, oh dear, struggled again this month for my photos!!!! Sorry if you again find them boring!

Back to School – a choice of two here – one the sign by the school where I work which I have to pass every day now I’m back at work in school or my son’s backpack and pencil case – but he’s in college not school so a slight cheat!

The football/soccer season – we aren’t really into football but we have this football from a local team which I won in the school raffle one year – it’s signed by the players and sits on top of my son’s bookcase in his bedroom.

What’s in your bag? What isn’t in my bag would be a better question! Like all ladies I carry around with my everything but the kitchen sink then I wonder why my bag weighs a ton!

First I did a photo with everything in my bag but wasn’t sure that was good enough. As you can see I have a bag in my bag!!!!! Big bags are very good for stuffing everything into but then you can’t find anything so I have my smaller bag inside!

Then I did a photo of things I took out of my smaller bag and now I’m wondering how on earth I get all that stuff in there – no wonder I struggle to fasten it. Compulsory Cliff diary and Cliff purse which I keep my keys in to make them easier to find rather than them drop to the bottom of my bag! Yes there is a pair of latex gloves on there too – when I did my first aid course last year the guy suggested you carry a pair with you just in case you come across an accident and need them so I put them into a little capsule that came with a hair colourant I’d taken the gloves out of to do my hair.

Relaxation was a simple one to do. Here’s my son in his favourite position in front of the TV!

Harvest – this is some of the harvest from my own garden.

A pile of things – too much choice for this one – there are so many piles of things in my house! especially when I’m crafting! so here’s one pile of my crafty stash shoved in a corner in the dining room because I’m using it whilst making Christmas cards and don’t want to have to keep running up and down the stairs for it!

Your desk/workspace – my messy computer desk – with supper in place, remote on hand and of course my Donny Osmond photo with me and my sis with him when we went to the meet and greet which I have as my background on my computer.

A public telephone box – sorry it’s a modern one – I wasn’t cheeky enough to go across the road and ask a neighbour if I could photograph the one they have in their back garden which has been turned into a WC! They have a shed in their garden which the guy and his mates use as a drinking den and she got sick of them traipsing through the house to use the loo! I remember them having the phone box lifted by crane into their garden. This phone box is by the school wear I work and the glass is broken in it – I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the phone itself doesn’t even work!

Something taller than you – well there really isn’t much that isn’t! I took a photo of our floor lamp – it’s one of those mother and child ones where it has the reading lamp on it.

Apples – I was given these apples by a friend to make apple sauce.

A road sign – one on the way back from work advising of a low bridge for high vehicles.

And last but not least a view from above which is just a view from my bedroom window of our back garden – fortunately I had done a tidy up!

There you have it folks – my photos for September – now I must pop by Kath’s blog to get the October list.

Jordiegirl

Time waits for no-one! Help please! Ditloid problems!

2011-09-19T14:28:00.000+01:00

I've already asked for help on this from my Facebook friends but no-one has been able to assist me yet.

Time is now running out for me to get the answer sheet sent off so I am going to ask my blogger friends for help too.

I am doing a charity ditloid type quiz and am stuck on the following:

PCAPCA
10 B IN A P
CKTCSBIB
13 E OF B
BK, TWITW
J,M,P,S (TMB)

Here's a couple of examples so you know what I am talking about:
5280 F in a M = 5280 Feet in a Mile
OFOTCN (F) = One Flew over the Cuckoo's Next (Film)

Any help you can give me will gratefully be received.

August Scavenger List Photos

2011-09-03T19:28:00.002+01:00

First of all I need to apologise for the quality of my photos for this month’s contribution as they are rubbish. I promise to try harder with the September list.

So here goes with what I have:
A boat: on its way into Blyth harbour.

Festival or Fun Fair – the annoying thing is that I could have taken a photo of the real fun fair down by the river in our town when we went to the crazy golf but for some reason my brain didn’t tell me I still needed this photo! So here’s a photo of Jayden’s toy!

Fountain: This is the fountain at Seaton Delaval Hall, Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, one of the National Trust properties we visited when we were on holiday.

Picnic: not a real picnic but one out of a book!

Sport: This is the pennant my brother gave to Martin when he visited us from Canada back in 2001.

Bread: just what was in my sister’s cupboard when we were there – not very exciting.

Fabric: My sister’s sofa.

Market: Blyth market taken last year when I was up ‘home’ on holiday.

Mountains: I’m sure I must have photos of mountains in old albums but haven’t the time to look so here’s a page from my old road map showing mountains in Scotland!

Something ancient: the cellars at Seaton Delaval Hall.

Something bizarre: This had us intrigued when we visited Wallington Hall, near Morpeth in Northumberland, after viewing the house we walked down to the Walled Garden which is across the main road and this was on the lake!

Yes, it was a bed, complete with bedding and turned out to be part of the Art Exhibition entitled ‘Unfinished Business’!

Street food: again I could have photographed this more than once during August, but again my brain didn’t remind me I needed this photo! We had hot dogs when we went ten pin bowling, we ate ice cream down at the beach etc etc. So a poster which is on Martin’s bedroom wall of Bart & Homer pigging out is all I can show you!

That’s it then folks – a dreadful contribution to August!

Jordiegirl

Just a quick 'Happy Birthday'

2011-08-31T18:01:00.000+01:00

This is just a very very quick post as I haven't really got back into blogging again after my holiday as yet:

It's just to say:

Happy Birthday Mam - you would have been 90 today had you still been with us. I don't know where the years have gone since you were taken from us on that sad day in October 1989!!!!!!!

Janice is putting flowers on your grave today for us.

Still miss you each and every day.

All my love
Yvonne

July 2011 Scavenger list photos

2011-08-04T11:04:00.000+01:00

First of all before I post my photos for July - a big big apology for my lateness due to finishing off some wedding stationery which obviously had to take priority.

Okay, so here goes with the photos and they are in no particular order as I've lost my list yet again!!!!! This month I printed off 3 copies the theory being that I would always have one to hand - one in the house, one in my handbag and one in the car - well don't ask me where they all as I'm not sure!

Flip flops - I don't possess any flip flops so had to photograph these out of the Candis magazine!

Something that makes you happy (but not a person or animal!) - this one was easy for me - it had to be the river Tyne and its bridges.

Red, white and blue - this could do for the flag too but I've done it for this category.

A flag - I borrowed this from work as my colleague had taken it in for an outdoor game - it's really meant to go on a car window.

Ooh - great excitement - found one of my lists - and where was it? On my computer desk upside down!!!!! What can I say.

Ice cream - one of our favourite ice creams - and on offer at Tesco cheaper than the one without clotted cream!

Stars - some pretty silver starts from my crafty stash.

Stripes - just a photo of some of the wallpaper in our dining room which desperately needs ripping off and replacing now - anyone out there want a job?


A kite - oh this was a hard one - I wondered if I could find a kite of the bird type but not and no one was flying kites but I knew we had one in our shed - when I went to find it I discovered we have two - but they are both a bit decrepit now and all the strings were tangled together so I needed to detangle before I could do the photo! the things we do for the scavenger hunt!!!!

Strawberries - easy peasy lemon squeezy - freshly picked from my garden.

Fields - sorry this photo is dreadful - it was taken on my mobile phone from the window of a steam train on the Severn Valley Railway because the battery on my camera was flat so I didn't take it with me on our day out! However, needs must so here it is! I could of course have just uploaded an old photo of fields from my computer but I took this for the list so I'm posting it.

Sea shells - another one taken on my mobile phone! I spotted these at work in the corridor in a plastic bag because the children were fiddling with them as we walked past so I had to stop and take a photo of them - a bit blurry I'm afraid as I couldn't see what I was doing as I didn't have my glasses on at the time and was supposed to be taking the class outside!!!!!!

Celebration - Martin blowing out the candles on his birthday cake this year.

Well that's it folks - July posted at last. Does this list get longer each month or is it just me being rather laxadaisical?

Another prize!

2011-07-27T21:25:00.000+01:00

We received yet another prize from Candis on Saturday after having had an email informing us we had won a KittyCollar. I then had to reply to the email and tell them the colour, size and details we wanted on the collar. I asked the neighbour if he'd like it for their cat as he's still wearing the collar from the cat they had before with the wrong name on it. He said he'd be happy to have it and thanked me very much, so I sent an email telling the company what we would like and the collar turned up on Saturday.

Barny now has a lovely new blue collar complete with bell, his name and his owner's mobile phone number. Our neighbour just added his disc which tells everyone that he is chipped. The collars have a safety clasp on them so if he gets caught on something the collar will open so he can break free.

He does look smart in his new collar.

School's Out For Summer - Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-22T17:49:00.000+01:00

School's Out For Summer by Alice Cooper - I remember this being in the charts back in 1972 which is the year I left school

Today is the last day of school here in Worcestershire - so again, School's Out For Summer - I've never been so happy to see the end of the school year arrive. I'm not usually like this as I love my job the majority of the time, but this year has been horrendous.

The ~~awful children who make up Year 6 left today,~~ the little darlings who make up Year 6 left today, ~~and I couldn't wait to see the back of them,~~ oh how sad it is I will miss them so.

Trouble is that this Year's year 5 will be Year 6 next year and I know already that they are going to be even worse than this year's! Between the two years there have been many ~~fights,~~ squabbles which has made lunchtime unbearable. It's been so bad I actually banned both classes from coming to the garden area where we do organised football, volleyball, rounders and badminton.

Roll on July 2012 when I can say goodbye to the next lot of ~~young hooligans,~~ little treasures.

Six weeks R&R - bliss!

What's arrived today?

2011-07-21T10:53:00.001+01:00

Oh dear,

I really am neglecting my blog lately - I just seem to have so much going on at the moment and don't have enough time to get on here to do any posts - although I am trying to check out the posts of the lovely people I follow.

Anyway, we've had a little bit of a run of luck lately. We are members of Candis and have been for quite some years now. Back in May we received a copy of a book 'Vitamin D for Dummies' which we had won, then we had a letter last week to tell us we had some SBC goodies, this week an email arrived telling us we have won a KittyCollar - I know, I know, we don't have a cat so a bit silly to enter the Daily Prize Draw for that I hear you say!!!!! Well our neighbours have a lovely cat called Barny and he's always popping around to say hello and come in for a lie down and a bit of company when they are at working so I've offered it him!

This morning the parcel from SBC arrived with the body products in it. I've never tried SBC before although I have seen them on QVC so this is a great opportunity to try out their products for free.

So what did we receive?

In the box were Raspberry & Cranberry Skincare Gel, Bath & Shower Creme, Hand Wash, Body Scrub and Body Butter - I'm going to be so clean and smell absolutely gorgeous.

I am going to put the Hand Wash in the bathroom as we are having visitors from Rotterdam next week and I think it will look rather nice in there.

Hopefully I'll get some photos when we take our visitors out so there'll be something else I can post about very very soon. I do hope the weather picks up a bit for their visit.

Christmas in June!

2011-07-02T22:02:00.001+01:00

Yes the post title does say Christmas!!!

No, I’m not talking about the crafting goodies I purchased lately because I ~~wanted~~ needed them!

I’m talking about all the lovely parcels I’ve been opening at work.

Like most schools we collect the Sainsbury and Tesco vouchers to get equipment. This year I was asked if we would like to spend the Sainsbury vouchers – silly question!!!! Of course I’d love to spend them – let me loose on that catalogue!

I had a whole weekend to decide what we should have – I was like a kid in a sweet shop! I was very kind and at the top of the list I put a pair of netball posts which the whole school can use, not just at lunch time but also during P.E. and at After School Club because ours have broken so many times. However the balance of the vouchers have been spent on lunch time toys for the children.

I managed to spend all but four of the vouchers and took the order in on the Monday which was duly placed by the lady in accounts.

In the meantime I purchased a couple of soft rounders bats for lunch time play because some of ours have broken and summer is rounders weather and we had just been given our budget.

Normally the equipment ordered with vouchers does not arrive until the end of September, beginning of October. However when I went into work on Monday I was greeted by being told that our order had arrived. I couldn’t believe it, the accounts lady couldn’t believe it, the head couldn’t believe it!

I also wasn’t prepared for the order to be here now! I hadn’t yet purchased extra storage for all the new stuff and all we have at the moment is a 6’ x 4’ wooden shed plus a small plastic garden storage box, the sort you put cushions in! I intended to buy a new storage box in September when we return after the summer break.

I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to shove all that stuff into the shed and close and lock the door! It was a bit like ‘how many people can you fit into a mini?’

After I’d finished work and eaten my lunch I went on the internet and placed a reserve and collect order with B&Q.

Next morning after breakfast I jumped in the car and went off to the local B&Q to pick up my order along with some padlocks. Luckily the boxes are on offer at the moment at £25.

I took it into work with me, and myself and my colleague put it together. As we were a class short that day I had some time on my hands to start filling the box – and fill it I did!!!!! It was so full that when I got home I had to make another reserve and collect order. Thursday morning it was deja vu – back to B&Q to collect another box! This time when I got it home I put it together myself and it took all of 5 minutes – that saved us some time at work.

On Thursday the weather was a bit contrary so the children ended up all in one play area which gave me a chance to go around the back and sort out the 3 boxes we now have! Having the 3 boxes means we can organise the equipment much better, the equipment for one area is mainly in box 3, for another area mainly in box 2 and a mixture in box 1. It also means we don’t have to constantly carry heavy items from the shed at the front around to the back play areas, which not only saves time but also saves our poor aching backs and legs.

Thank you to all the parents for collecting the vouchers, all the equipment will be well used.

Technorati Tags: Sainsbury vouchers,toys,games,playground,shed,storage boxes

June Scavenger List Photos

2011-07-01T19:48:00.004+01:00

Well, what can I say! I started off this month’s list fairly quickly but then somehow the end of June arrived and I hadn’t finished.
Now, I have come up with ~~an excuse~~ reason for this! It’s because Martin has finished college now until September so I haven’t been running backwards and forwards with him each day giving me less chance of getting the photos I need.
30th June arrived and I still only had seven of the required elements so I’ve had to be a bit inventive with the ones I still needed!
So, here goes … … …
A childhood memory

This large doll dressed ready for an evening at a Ball is Darling Debbie, she belonged to my sister and last year when she wanted to dispose of her I took her off her hands as I have her sister, Sweet Rosemary dressed in pink, somewhere in my house. My mam actually won Sweet Rosemary in a raffle at the local Miners’ Welfare Club and then she went out and bought Darling Debbie so we could both have one for Christmas. My sister says her doll is ugly but mine is pretty so she doesn’t like her!!!!! Poor thing, she’s lost her ear-rings, necklace, shoes and knickers and she’s not loved by her own mother!!!! I’ve adopted her!

A farm animal

Okay, I cheated with this one, I didn’t take the photo – one of Martin’s college tutors took it on a day out with the group.

A wheel trim

Didn’t have to go far to get this one – it’s my own car wheel trim!

An elephant

These elephants belonged to my mother-in-law and may have belonged to her mother-in-law (will have to check that with my hubby) They have lost some of their toe nails and the tusks were much longer but m-i-l cut them in half because some of them were lost, as you can see some of them need glueing back in. The elephants are carved wood.

Architectural detail

Not particularly interesting but this is part of the old Brinton’s carpets office building which dates back to 1926.

Cheese

How much cheese does a family need in their fridge????? The reason there is so much of the dairylea is because the local Tesco had it on offer as a BOGOF – you have to get the bargains when you can – it’s not on offer this week.

Cutlery

No, this isn’t all of the cutlery we have in the house – in fact we have so much that I have to house it in two of the kitchen drawers! I decided to photograph this cutlery because this was given to Martin as a christening gift from my sister and her family.

Night

Not very clever, not very interesting and only taken last night. My computer screen taken in the dark!!!!!! Yes I was playing on Jewel Quest III – I only have one game to do to finish it – I’m on 99% at last!
Something beginning with z...

What else but a zebra!!!!! Yes, I was going to find a photo of a real live one from when we were at the local West Midlands Safari Park (there’s a plug for them) but I hadn’t time to hunt it out so just took a photo of one in Martin’s encyclopaedia from when he was small.

Something with your town's name on it

Yes, it would have been nice to have taken a photo of a sign telling you that you are entering our town, but like I said I haven’t been out in the car much lately and even if I had it would be awkward to stop to take a photo of the signs. So sorry folks, a photo from a local free paper advertising Cook’s Garden Centre, a local family firm – a plug for them too!!!

The view right outside your door

Yes, my little Space Star is on the right, that’s where I park it when it’s not in the garage where it sleeps every night. The Mercedes on the left belong to the day driver of our taxi, hence the taxi isn’t there. The trees in the background are on the local common.

Tree branches

Some of the trees out on the old railway embankment at the back of my house.
Okay, so there you have it – my ~~feeble, useless~~ attempt at June’s list!
Note to self – must try harder for July!!!! Watch this space.

http://postcardsfromthepp.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-scavenger-hunt.html
Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: June Scavenger List,Postcards from the P P

I don't think I showed you these

2011-06-19T20:28:00.000+01:00

On our second visit to Treasure Park after I'd been to use the facilities I mentioned to the boys how lovely the ladies were and that there were Egyptian statues in there which I had taken a photo of!!!!!! I waited until there was no one else in there otherwise they would probably have thought I was a bit of a nutcase! Bob said that there were flower displays in their loo and took the camera in to take a photo so I could see! Are we mad?

How lovely are these statues?

This was the display in the Gents' loo - lovely carved vase of some sort.

Here's a photo of one of the Rattler glasses I bought complete with Pear Cyder:

Our last day out Friday 3rd June

2011-06-19T18:58:00.001+01:00

After Paul recommended the Healey’s Cyder to me on Sunday, particularly the Pear Rattler, I was keen to go to the farm and have a taster so I sent Jo a text to see if she knew exactly where it was – the straight answer was no – but she said she’d Google it for me and get me a postcode for the SatNav. Excellent.

So the plan for today Cyder tasting then a nice drive up the coast then back towards our ‘home’ for an evening meal. It was again a beautiful hot sunny day when we arrived at Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm at Penhallow, Truro and parked up. As we didn’t want to spend too much time here we headed straight for the shop and the tasting counter! I decided that indeed Paul was quite correct and the Pear Rattler was my favourite too. After determining this we went into the tea shop to partake of refreshment, which once again was a Cornwish Cream Tea – yes I know, it wasn’t technically tea time, in fact it was only 11a.m. – but what the heck, you can eat Cornish Cream Tea at any time of the day as far as I’m concerned. We would then go back into the shop to buy a case of Cyder and a couple of the Rattler glasses to drink it from.

The above information was on the wall of the shop as the family are descended from the motoring legend Donald Healey.

Having made my purchases we got back into the car and headed off across country and up towards Newquay. This bay south of Newquay as quite busy with lots of people on the beach with deck chairs. As the car park was full we just drove around and took a photo then headed on towards Newquay – famous for surfing.

The next six photos are Newquay. Fancy living in that house on the top of the rock with the only access being that little bridge across the gorge! Seems like a strange place to build a house!

The house on the photo above was on the other side of the bridge on the mainland. I wouldn’t like to have to climb those steps every day!

After we’d had a wander around and taking the photos we returned to the car to continue our journey. The first photo below was taken from the car looking back towards Newquay.

The next two were taken from the lay-by above Watergate Bay – the beaches on this side of the coastline are beautiful golden sand.

Next stop was Bedruthan Steps – which is the name of the rocks in the bay – we parked here for free as it is a National Trust car park. It was dangerous to go too near the edge of the cliffs here as they are eroding so I only took a couple of photos and did some video. We then returned to the car park, used the facilities and looked around the shop then drove on toward home.

We ended the day at The Kings Head, Newquay which was just down the main road from Quintrell Downs. The meal there cost us £43.55 for 2 soups, a sirloin steak and all the trimmings, scampi and chips, a child’s scampi and chips and three drinks. It was okay, much more of a pub meal, but nothing can compare to the meal we had at the Warehouse Bistro in Falmouth.

Back at the house we started packing our cases as we needed to check out at 10a.m. the next morning and we didn’t want to leave everything ‘til the last minute. We spent the rest of the evening in front of the TV and I continued to read my book.

So, that’s it folks, the end of a lovely week in Cornwall – our holiday is over – I do hope we will be able to return again soon and meet with Jo, Paul, Sally-Ann and Mike.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Healey's Cyder Farm,Penhallow,Newquay,Watergate Bay,Bedruthan Steps,Kings Head

46 years ago today

2011-06-10T14:45:00.002+01:00

Yes, it’s 46 years ago today since we lost my darling brother Brian he’s the one first left, front row of this photo.
This is just a little post to let him know I’m still thinking of him even after all this time.
My dear Brian, I love and miss you every day, you are never out of my thoughts.
Love from your dear sister Yvonne
xxx xxx xxx

Oh my goodness – Thursday 2nd June already!

2011-06-02T20:58:00.001+01:00

Okay, so here we go, this is where we went and what we did on Thursday – I’ll try to keep it a bit shorter than the last few posts – just in case you are starting to nod off!!!! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Well, as I told you in a previous post, Bob, silly man, lost his pipe lighter, and after searching everywhere he decided he must have left it on the grass at Glendurgan Gardens and as soon as they opened on Wednesday he rang them to see if it had been handed in – luckily it had so he told them we’d call back for it either Thursday or Friday. Today was to be the day to make the journey back there to collect it which wasted some of our day but at least it saved him having to buy a new one!

After picking up the lighter and thanking them profusely we set off for Treasure Park which we’d visited on Sunday with Jo and Sally-Ann as we fancied a game of Crazy Golf (not sure why cos none of us are good at it –lol).

After our game, which Bob won, as usual! Martin was second – but always needs help and I was last – as usual! – we went inside to use the loo, have a look around again and have a snack.

This crown was worn by the Prince of Wales when he attended his Investiture at Caernarvon Castle.

Here’s Martin by the James Bond car again!

Next stop Falmouth – after checking that the boat was running today. We managed to park on the quay beside where the boats leave. As we had a while to wait before the boat left I took some photos as we stood about in the beautiful sunshine.

Once on board I alternated between camera and camcorder for a record of our trip up the river Fal.

When we got back to dry land we needed to move the car as the parking limit was 3 hours so we drove around to the other car park. Then we had a wander around the area where Tesco and Rick Stein’s Fish Shop is, in the square we found somewhere to sit and have a cold drink in the shade until the time came for us to make our way to the restaurant.
Tonight we dined at The Warehouse, we were the first customers through the door as we got there at 5.50pm and it officially opens at 6.00pm. The lady allowed us to go in and took our order, telling us that the proper waitress would be arriving shortly and she would be dressed correctly, unlike her as she had just come down to open up and she was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt! I did think it was strange attire for a waitress!
Bob and I had soup to start, then we both ordered Fillet Steak and Martin ordered a 9” Pepperoni pizza from the children’s menu – and amazingly he ate every bit! the sea air must have given him an appetite.

Clean plates all round! and we still had room for dessert!

Martin shared mine – as usual! Bob had ice cream with his and I of course had the Devon clotted cream – what else!
The bill came to £46.00 – the meal was the best we had on our holiday in a restaurant and was well worth what we paid – it is not to be compared to the lovely meal we consumed at the Rumbling Tum as that was more of a cafe.

When we returned to the car I needed to pop into the Tesco supermarket to buy some bread and milk so the boys sat in the car and waited for me. Before I went into Tesco I took a couple of photos down at the harbour again.
We’d had another lovely day out and now it was time to return ‘home’ for the evening.
Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Glendurgan Garden,Treasure Park,Falmouth,The Warehouse restaurant,boat trip,River Fal

Wednesday 1st June – a beautifully sunny day

2011-06-01T23:26:00.000+01:00

June arrived with the sun shining beautifully – a real summer’s day. Ideal for today’s planned outing.

My boys had never been to the places we planned to visit today but I have been twice with my family – the first time back in the 1960s and the second time in the hot summer of 1976. I really wanted Martin to see these beautiful places – I’m not sure he had a great deal of interest in them but at least he can say he’s been there – just as he can also say he’s been to a Cliff concert! That’s my boy!

First stop The Lizard – the most southerly point in England where I took these photos:

Imagine living in this house with a fabulous view out to sea.

As you can see Lizard Point is owned by the National Trust so being members we did not need to pay to park.

After having a look around we made our way back to the car to continue our journey along the coast, we stuck to the smaller roads near the coast as far as possible. Next stop was Marazion to see St. Michael’s Mount which can be reached by walking across the causeway at low tide and at high tide only by boat. As it is a steep climb up to the castle we did not intend going across to the island but just to view it from the mainland because Martin would find the climb too much. I did visit the castle back in 1976 with my mam and dad.

We weren’t able to park in the centre of Marazion so made our way back to a car park on the outskirts which cost £3 all day and walked along the sea-front as far as possible to view St. Michael’s Mount. When we arrived the tide was out and people were walking across to the castle, but before we left the tide had turned and they were using the boats.

They were doing some work on the causeway so part of the walk people were having to walk on the beach.

The binoculars we received free for joining the National Trust were so good I could see the Union Jack flying from the castle and also someone in an open doorway – it is where the black rectangle is towards the right of the photo.

Here’s another panoramic photo I took.

We stopped off at one of the hotels in Marazion for cream teas. Two cream teas were £6.00 for including tea and consisted of 2 scones, cream and jam, Martin had a coca cola and we split the 4 scones between the three of. Bob asked for butter for his instead of cream so I ended up with extra cream as Martin didn’t want cream either!!!! This was turning into a rather fattening holiday for me! We were not set up to continue on our journey.

Next stop was Land’s End which is the extreme Westerly point of England. Off the coast is a group of rocks just over a mile out by the name of Longships.

Here’s Bob and Martin beside the famous signpost – it was £9.95 for a photograph so we just took our own! I have a black and white photo of myself with my sister and mam and dad from the 1960s with the mileage to our little village in Northumberland on the signpost- that day it was very wet as my sister and I are wearing our burberry raincoats and mam and dad have raincoats on too – we really look bedraggled!

Last time I was here in 1976 I bought a serpentine rock vase which I still have. Unfortunately Land’s End is much more commercialised than back then with a visitor centre, fairground ride and shops. We had to pay £4 to park even though we were only staying a short time as it was 3.03pm

Technorati Tags: Lizard Point,Marazion,St. Michael's Mount,Land's End,St. Ives

when we arrived.

Here’s another of my panoramic shots – I’m getting quite good with these – even if I do say so myself!

Yes, sorry – here’s another panoramic shot – I like to keep practicing! You can see Bob and Martin walking along the top path just on the right of the photo making their way to The First & Last House. Once their they found a bench to sit on whilst I went off to take some photos and video.

Yes, yet another panoramic shot:

This is Longships Lighthouse above

This is an old George’s Reign postbox which is out of commission now, above that is a lifeboat which children are allowed to climb aboard and below is a Cornwall Air Ambulance.

We then headed off to along the coast to wend our way home via St. Ives which I don’t recall visiting in the past. We parked at the top of the town and walked down for a look around – it was a bit of a hike back up the hill and the steps to the car park and we were exhausted when we got in the car. Whilst there we ate tea in the Dolphin Fish & Chip Restaurant which had an excellent view of the harbour as you can see from the last photograph. I had fish and chips, Bob had chicken breast and chips and Martin had a child’s portion of sausage and chips with far too many chips, I had tea and Bob and Martin had coca cola.

We left St Ives and made our way back up the coast to our temporary home after having had a lovely day out.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Lizard Point,Marazion,Land's End,St. Ives

The happenings on the evening of Monday 30th May plus Tuesday 31st at Falmouth and Glendurgan Gardens

2011-05-31T20:17:00.001+01:00

We had eaten a snack lunch at Lanhydrock just before noon, Bob had a Cream Tea minus the Cream!, Martin and I shared a Cornish Pasty and a piece of Carrot cake, Bob and I had tea and Martin had a Coca Cola so we needed to have a proper meal later in the day.

After we’d looked around the house we had a look around the gardens and Church too. Before we left Lanhydrock we purchased a jigsaw of the house, a tea towel depicting the house for our neighbours who were taking care of our post and plants back home and also a book by an author I’ve never read before but because the novel is set at the house with a change of name we decided to buy it – plus the author was actually signing the books that day – it is called Churchyard and Hawke by E V Thompson. As we walked towards the gatehouse the buggy was just coming down the driveway so we were lucky to have a lift back up to the car park. by the way the entrance fee to Lanhydrock was £11.50

We decided to go into Quintrell Downs for our evening meal again but this time we tried eating at the Premier Inn named Treffry Tavern. Bob and I had soup to start, my main was Chicken Fajita, Bob was a 70z Fillet Steak and Martin’s was a Chicken Wrap from the children’s menu. To be honest Martin’s meal and mine were the same thing, different quantities and different names, his was $4.00 mine was £8.99. The boys both had Coca Cola and I had a J20 Orange and Passionfruit flavour. None of us wanted dessert. The bill came to a total of £40.12 and meal was on a par or slightly better than the one at The Quintrell.

Our destination on Tuesday 31st was Falmouth and Glendurgan Gardens if there was time for both. Jo and Paul had recommended a restaurant by the name of The Warehouse in Falmouth for a meal so we planned on going there at some point and they’d also mentioned that we could do a boat trip up the river Fal. We arrived at Falmouth and parked at 12.03 paying £3.30 for 3 hours, we then made our way down to the harbour to see what time the boat trips were. When we got there we were told that the 1.oopm trip had been cancelled as there weren’t many punters about but were offered a trip around the harbour and bay - I didn’t fancy that so we decided we’d return another day for the trip up the river, the guy from the boat company gave us a leaflet and his mobile number so we could give him a ring to check if the boats were running.

As we weren’t going to stay in Falmouth too long we headed for the Warehouse to eat before heading off to Glendurgan Gardens for the rest of the day. Unfortunately we discovered it didn’t open until 6.00pm – so we had to rethink our eating plans. Down one of the little side streets we saw a cafe called The Rumbling Tum at 48 Church Street, they did hot food in there so we decided we’d eat there. There were a few empty tables so we went in and placed our order. Martin opted for Sausage and Chips with a Coca Cola to drink, I chose Sausage, Egg and Chips with a cup of Tea and Bob decided to have the All Day Breakfast where you chose what you wanted on your plate plus some toast, he also had a cup of Tea. The food was delicious, very nicely cooked with no sign of any grease on the plates. The bill came to a total of £20.95 – it was certainly value for money. When we went to pay Bob complimented the lady on the food but told her that the sauce let it down – a friendly argument ensued in which the lady said if she supplied branded sauces she would have to add that to the cost of the meals and if the food was that good it didn’t need sauce! One – nil to her I think – and I must admit I have to agree with her! – sorry Bob.

As you can see there was a small cruise ship in dock along with some rather smart looking yachts and cruisers.

After a quick look in Trago Mills to check out the craft department where I purchased a large and small corner punch plus a couple of A4 boxes to keep some of my card in paper in to stop it getting dog-eared we set off for Glendurgan Garden. This branch of Trago presented itself rather better than the one at Liskeard in my opinion and their craft department was a little larger too.

Glendurgan Garden is located at Mawnan Smith near Falmouth – we wanted to visit here because it has a maze and Martin rather likes going around a maze. the National Trust description is as follows:

Lose yourself in the three valleys of Glendurgan Garden – full of fun, natural beauty and amazing plants. Discover giant rhubarb plants in the jungle-like lower valley and spiky arid plants basking in the sunny upper slopes. Wander through the garden down to the beautiful hamlet of Durgan on the Helford River: a place to watch birds and boats, skim stones and build sandcastles. Find a boat-seat, gigantic tulip trees and ponds teeming with wildlife. Learn about the Fox family who created this ‘small peace (sic) of heaven on earth’.

The cherry laurel maze is 176 years old and this is what we had particularly come to see. There was a choice of two pathways down to the maze and we chose to use the steeper one going down and return via the less steep one. I was rather surprised to find the the hedging of the maze wasn’t very high so it really wasn’t too difficult to arrive at the centre! The giant rhubarb was a sight to see! Although we would have liked to have gone down to Durgan we decided it was a bit too far for Martin to walk down and back again – besides it was a red hot day too so we were all flagging a bit, especially after encountering all the steps in the maze. In fact my right knee wasn’t half giving me some gip, so much so that I was having to climb the steps using my left leg first! Luckily there were a few seats periodically on the way back up where we could rest a while.

Here’s my attempt at trying to do ‘panoramic’ on our newish camera – something I haven’t really gotten the hang of before when I’ve tried it -

not bad eh!
On the walk back up I photographed some of the flora and fauna which was about - can you tell I rather liked the Calla lily?

The last two photos were taken from the top of the valley looking down to the river which was quite a distance away.
After our climb to the top we went into the tea room to see if we could get a snack and a drink, however there really wasn’t much left and they only had elderberry type cold drinks so we decided we’d just head back to the car then either find something on the way home or just eat something light back at the house.
By the toilets there were these lovely plants which the bees seemed to love so I just had to take a photo of them before we left -

Bob and Martin decided to sit on the grass while I took the photos where Bob lit his pipe, then they got fed up with waiting for me and headed off to the car.
I was keeping my eyes open for a little cafe to pop into a shop to buy a cold drink, a little way along the road I said ‘Oh, there’s a Spar’ and I thought Bob would stop so I could go in and buy some drinks, but he didn’t, further on I said there’d been a Spar further back and I discovered he thought I’d meant a spa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wally! So we ended up not finding anywhere else by the road to stop at to get a drink.
Driving back we had to go through Truro where I was surprised to see how big the Cathedral is so I took this photo as we drove past – it looks like it has had a bit of a clean to me -

Before we knew it we were back at Atlantic Reach so we just went back to the house and I made a sandwich and a drink there. During the journey back Bob went to light his pipe and discovered he couldn’t find his lighter – he isn’t supposed to smoke in my car really so I was quite pleased – but then it transpired that he had an awful feeling he’d put it down on the grass at Glendurgan and not picked it up again. This was deja vu as he did that with a lovely blue pipe when we were in Rotterdam but when he went back to find it someone had picked it up so he lost that.
We’d had a lovely day out other than the fact that Bob had lost his pipe lighter and we were now looking forward to returning to Falmouth for the boat trip and eating at The Warehouse.

Technorati Tags: Falmouth,Glendurgan Garden,cherry laurel maze,Rumbling Tum

Monday 30th May continued – the interior of Lanhydrock

2011-05-30T18:14:00.000+01:00

Here’s the interior photos of Lanhydrock which I promised to show you. In most National Trust properties you are not allowed to touch any of the items because they are so old but at Lanhydrock there were some items labelled for you to actually touch or use, like brushing the bowler hat, typing on the old typewriter or using the telephone. There were even old-fashioned toys and games for children have a play with and slates to chalk on. I loved the dolls’ house and just had to have a photo of it.
There was a brilliant way of keeping cheese and other items of food cool which you can see in one of the photos, the benches had marble tops and around the edges were troughs which were filled with cold water.

The National Trust’s description of Lanhydrock is:
Lanhydrock is the perfect country house and estate, with the feel of a wealthy but unpretentious family home. Follow in the footsteps of generations of the Robartes family, walking in the 17th century Long Gallery among the rare book collection under the remarkable plasterwork ceiling. After a devastating fire in 1881 the house was refurbished in the high-Victorian style, with the latest mod-cons. Boasting the best in country-house design and planning, the kitchens, nurseries and servants’ quarters offer a thrilling glimpse into life ‘below stairs’, while the spacious dining room and bedrooms are truly and deeply elegant.
There are 50 rooms to explore and you can play the Steinway piano in the Long Gallery.
Jordiegirl

Monday 30th May

2011-05-30T18:04:00.000+01:00

Today we decided we should go and take a look at Trago Mills. This is a shop that friends of ours always rave about and visit every time they are down in Devon or Cornwall so we felt it was something not to be missed. Before we left home I had emailed Jo over at Surf Chick 100 to ask her where the shops are located and she told me there was one in Falmouth – I think she said this was her favourite – but for a first visit we should go to the one at Liskeard at it was bigger and also built over an old gunpowder factory!
Close to Trago at Liskeard is a National Trust Property by the name of Lanhydrock House so our whole day was mapped out for us – after Trago we’d pop over there. I knew this was going to be a lovely house to visit as Jo has already posted about this over on her blog – so definitely one not to be missed.
The day started off rather rainy, and it was still raining when we arrived at Trago but it didn’t matter as we were going to spend some time inside – or so we thought. We parked up and I took a few photos before we went into Trago and paid a visit to the loo.

When I saw these statues I felt like I was entering a theme park!
We went into Trago and first impressions – not good – I found it was a mish-mash of departments, lots of which I had no interest in whatsoever – apologies to anyone who loves Trago – but that’s my personal opinion! We went upstairs and Bob took a look at some of the shirts on offer but didn’t purchase any. We then went to the Craft Department because I wanted to see if they had anything different to our local shops. As this was a large Trago I thought they’d have a big Craft Department – but they don’t – again disappointment. All I bought were 2 packets of wobbly eyes – I did feel a bit foolish and nearly put them back on the shelf to be honest – worse was to come as a security guard checks your receipt and looks in your bag when you exit the shop! I had the 2 packets of eyes in my shopping bag along with a bread bag with a couple of crusts in to feed any ducks we saw! I’m hoping that Trago at Falmouth will be better and have more crafting goodies for me to look at.
We decided to move on to Lanhydrock and luckily the weather brightened up for our visit. On arrival we parked up and walked across to the entrance. There were 2 queues, one for National Trust Members and one for non-members so we joined the left hand queue. A lady was busily scanning membership cards in front of and behind was a family with a couple of small children, one of them was kicking the stones about and being told off by his parents. The lady said she enjoyed doing the scanning of the cards as it was something new. I then heard an old gentleman shouting ‘Stop – don’t do that’, he had appeared from inside the check-in building. I thought he was talking to the little boy but he wasn’t he was actually talking to the lady with the hand scanner! He proceeded to tell her off and tell her that she was doing his job and she must stop. She told him she’d been told to do it but he still had a moan at her and told her to go! He turned on his heel and walked off back into the building, she turned to the queue and apologised about him and said to us ‘If you would like to follow the elderly grumpy gentleman he will book you in’. We went inside where Mr Grumpy merely looked at our membership cards and waved us on – what a jobs worth!
The lady had told us it was quite a walk down to the house but that there was a buggy ride if we wanted to save our legs. We decided we would do that even though it was downhill – the sign said a donation of 50p per person would be appreciated. We arrived down at the house in no time at all and told the gentleman that we hoped he would be there for our return and he told us if he wasn’t there they would call him up on the radio for us.

The above photos are views of the front of the house – it looks rather impressive – I’m sure you will agree.

The first picture in this set of five shows the view looking back down to the Gatehouse. The second one shows the old stables where there was an old fire engine and some carts and the second-hand bookshop is on the right-hand end.   The third photo shows the Tea Shop which we visited later. The fourth photo with the cars in it – I assume these cars belonged to the volunteers and perhaps disabled visitors – shows part of the house. The last one is a view of part of the garden. After a toilet stop we made our way back around to the front of the house to explore.
By the time we got around there a group of people were standing about in period costume so I just had to get some photos. Seeing them made me think I’d like to volunteer if I could dress up too!

Once inside the building we were handed an Invitation which read:
‘Lord and Lady Agar-Robartes
at Home
Sunday May 29th and Monday May 30th
Lanhydrock                                                          12 noon – 3 p.m.
                                                                       An answer will oblige
Then on the reverse was an explanation as to what an ‘At Home’ was:
‘At Homes’ were a very popular form of entertaining in Victorian times and could be formal or informal affairs. They would include a tea in the form of a buffet if there were many guests or served by her ladyship for close friends or relatives. Sports such as tennis might be offered for the younger guests.
Around the house you will meet a cast of characters from the Victorian era of the house’s history. These will include Lord Thomas Charles and Lady Mary Robartes, their guests Lord and Lady Heathcote-Amery and Lady Gaunt along with various members of the household staff. Please feel free to have a chat with them and find out more about what life might have been like for the inhabitants of Lanhydrock and their guests at the end of the nineteenth century.
There will be photo opportunities at the front of the house at 1pm and 2pm. Stories will be told at 1.30pm and 2.30pm, in the gardens by the Church steps if the weather is fine, or inside if it rains.
My next post will show you around the inside of the house as I feel that this post will be too long if I continue with the interior here.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: Lanhydrock House,Liskeard,Trago Mills,Robartes family,National Trust

After the meet

2011-05-30T10:39:00.001+01:00

After we said our goodbye to our new friends it was a little too early for us to want to return to our accommodation for the day so we decided to give our new National Trust Memberships an airing.

We chose a property quite close to us and headed for Trerice at Kestle Mill, near Newquay, Cornwall TR8 4PG The cost of entrance was £7.70 each if we had not become members – as we are new members we were taking note of the prices as we want to see if we get our money’s worth for the year.

The description of Trerice in the National Trust Guidebook is as follows:

An intimate Elizabeth manor and a Cornish gem, Trerice remains little changed by the advances in building fashions over the centuries, thanks to long periods under absentee owners. Today the renowned stillness and tranquillity of Trerice, much prized by visitors, is occasionally pierced by the curious lilts of Tudor music or shouts of excitement from the Bowling Green (surely you will want to try a game of kayling or slapcock??, bringing back some of the bustle and noise that must have typified its time as a busy manor house.

Exploring:

Handle replica artefacts and armour and make a brass rubbing.

Discover the beautiful architecture and fine plaster ceilings.

Enjoy the tranquillity of the informal garden and Cornish orchard.

Try the Tudor open-air games of kayling and slapcock.

Eating and shopping:

Relax in the Barn Kitchen tea-room or tea garden. Try some Tudor recipes or our famous lemon meringue pie. Visit our shop for children’s armour, books on Tudor life and historic Cornwall and buy local produce from the area.

Technorati Tags: Trerice,National Trust property,Cornwall,holiday

It wasn’t allowed to take photographs inside the house so I could only take some external shots for you which I hope you will enjoy.

Jordiegirl

The really really important part of our holiday.

2011-05-29T19:48:00.000+01:00

After we’d checked in we enquired as to whether the restaurant was open and what the menu was for that evening as we thought we’d just eat there instead of having to get back into the car and drive to somewhere for a meal. The receptionist pointed us in the direction of the restaurant so we could check out the menu but were disappointed to find that the whole menu was Italian food! – yes – at a family holiday resort! Not good for us as Bob just does not do foreign food, although Martin and I would have been happy to have pasta and something. We returned to reception to pass on our disappointment to be told that in fact the menu had just changed that very evening and it was a new idea which they thought would be more popular than the previous one!

We decided to go down to our accommodation and unload the car, unpack and have a nice cup of tea then go into Quintrell Downs to the Quintrell pub for a meal, which had been recommended by the receptionist as we had only had a snack at the Services on the journey. The pub was only about 15 minutes away in the car.

We ordered 2 Coca Colas, 1 J2O, 2 Vegetable Soups, Chicken Nuggets and Chips, Ham, Egg and Chips and Chicken New Yorker and Chips which came to a total of £40.20. After eating we returned to the accommodation to relax for the rest of the evening as tomorrow was going to be an exciting day!

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Bloggers Meet

For some time now I have followed Surf Chick 100 who was previously Cornish Beach Brummie – when I started blogging this was one of the first blogs I followed, attracted to it by her Cornish Beach Brummie title, and from her blog I started following her friend at Cornwall-beside-the-Sea. I soon learned that Jo did Family History Research and also Cardmaking – what a coincidence – 2 of my hobbies!!!! Her friend Sally-Ann also does Family History Research and I was attracted to her blog because she posts about her visits to the Norfolk Broads and other parts of our lovely country. I just knew that Jo and I would get on if we were ever able to meet but we do not live close to one another, in fact 3 and a half hours apart! Meeting seemed like a pipedream, but then fate handed us a golden opportunity to make meeting a reality – last year I entered a competition in a local newspaper and the prize was a week at the Atlantic Reach Resort near Newquay – I never dreamt that I’d win of course, but then whilst I was on holiday at my sister’s last July I received an emailing advising that I was in fact a runner-up (I didn’t even know there were any runner-up prizes so thought it must be spam mail). Well of course it wasn’t the prize was real enough, a week at the resort at a discounted price – I jumped at the opportunity. I of course emailed Jo to say I’d won and that I’d be in Cornwall this May half term so we agreed to meet up.

It seemed ages away of course, but then all of a sudden the time had arrived so I asked Jo if she had any idea where we could meet and suggested that she bring her hubby Paul along too (I thought Bob and Martin would be a little bored if we just met with Jo as the two of us would be talking non-stop about cardmaking, genealogy and blogging). |Jo also thought this was a good idea and also asked Sally-Ann if she and Mike would like to come along too, they of course agreed. Mike came up with the idea of us all meeting up at Treasure Park which was about half an hour away from where we were staying. The time and date were set for Sunday morning at 11a.m.

Jo had told me that it would take us about 40 minutes to get to Treasure Park and because we didn’t want to keep them waiting we decided to leave a little earlier as the roads may have been busy with it being Bank Holiday weekend. We arrived about 10.40am, parked up and got out of the car. I’d told Bob and Martin to look out for 2 MX-5s coming into the car park and whilst I was taking a photo of the statue of the Cornish Miners in the car park Bob said he’d just seen someone wave from a little green sports car. Just after that a little blue sports car turned up too. We were supposed to meet by the fountain but because we were all early we met in the car park. Little did we know that Jo had over-estimated the time it would take us to get there! then of course we allowed extra time! After introductions had been made we headed off into Treasure Park where we intended to eat at Oscars restaurant as they did a Sunday Carvery. We had a quick look around and I took some photos of Martin:

Here he is besides James Bond’s car and the vehicle from Back To The Future:

We also saw this tarantula in a glass case with some gold bars:

Here’s Martin with Superman.

We went into Oscars where we discovered that they had in fact stopped doing the Carvery for the summer months. We now had to decide where to eat! Paul made some phone calls, the first choice weren’t answering so he tried the Portreath Arms and booked us in there. We now had time to sit down with a drink and have a chat. Jo, Sally-Ann and I hit it off straightaway. I felt it was just like meeting up with old friends. Bob seemed to be fine chatting to Paul so that was good – phew!

More photos of Martin and some stars:

Yes, Marilyn was wearing knickers – I checked! Much to Martin’s embarrassment – lol!

Here’s C3PO and Spiderman:

After our drinks we went outside and had a look around Treasure Park – I’d checked the place out on the internet before we left and knew there was a 4D ride to go on – so after checking there was time, Martin and I had a go on it.

We then made our way back to the cars and we followed the 2 Mx-5s into Portreath. I took a couple of photos from the car park of the pub:

We then went inside to order our meals, Paul bought us all a drink which started a discussion on Cider and Paul told me about Pear Rattler – that’s another story. While we were waiting for the meals to arrive I felt it was time for a photo of the 3 of us to post on blogger so all 3 hubbies obliged in taking photos for us.

Then Jo decided she should take one of us with her camera and I asked her to take one with mine too – but as she wasn’t used to my camera she ended up taking more!

Paul told us Jo that was in the habit of taking photos when they go out for meals and snapping them with their mouths full so I took one of Jo:

and another two:

We all then decided to partake of dessert too – I thought I’d taken a photo of them but obviously not!

When we’d eaten and supped our fill we were given a guided tour of Portreath. Sally-Ann and Mike popped into home to collect Hamish so he could come for a walk with us.

Jo told me that the object on the top of the cliff was known locally as the Pepperpot so I took a photo. I then turned to Jo to ask her if anyone lived in it – but when I looked around she wasn’t there! she’d walked further along the promenade unknown to me!!!!! It was so funny, we couldn’t stop laughing! Paul said she was always doing that to him too!

There were some surfers on the beach, it looked like a surf carnival or something was going on – I said it reminded me of Home and Away – which then got us onto what TV programmes we watch.

By now we’d done a circular tour of Portreath and it was time to return to the cars and say our goodbyes.

I’d had a great time meeting up with my fellow bloggers. Being with Jo was like being with my sister, having a laugh and a giggle.

I do hope we’ll all be able to meet up again in the not too distant future and stay friends.

Thanks for a super day Jo, Paul, Sally-Ann and Mike.

Technorati Tags: Atlantic Reach Resort,Treasure Park,blogger meet,Oscars,Portreath

This is where we stayed

2011-05-29T18:54:00.000+01:00

As I told you in previous posts, we stayed at the Atlantic Reach Resort, Whitecross, near Newquay in Cornwall.
Here’s some photos of the property:
Inside

and out

Technorati Tags: Atlantic Reach Resort,Whitecross,Newquay,accommodation,2 bedroom home

Off to Cornwall

2011-05-29T12:29:00.000+01:00

Saturday 28th May arrived at last – this was a day I’d been waiting for since last July when I received an email telling me I had won a runner-up prize in a local newspaper competition meaning we could holiday at Atlantic Reach Resort near Newquay, Cornwall for a week for the princely sum of £199!!!!! Well this was too good an opportunity to miss, especially as I ‘talk’ to some lovely bloggers from that beautiful county and we wanted to arrange a meet. I was on holiday at my sister’s when the email arrived and told my husband about it over the phone, saying we’d discuss it when I returned home. As soon as I got back we had a quick conversation in which I insisted we must take this opportunity of a week’s break at such a good price without telling him of my ulterior motive!!!!!! As soon as he agreed I was on the phone to make our booking for the May half-term week – I was quite surprised that we allowed to book during a school holiday for that amazing prize!

As we couldn’t book in until 4pm there was no point in leaving too early as the SatNav said it would only take 3 and a half hours to get there, this meant Bob could have a few hours sleep before we set off as he’d been working all night on the taxi. It was around 11.30am when we left and the journey was going very well until we neared the Bristol area of the M5 – the signs started flashing advising that there was a long delay from Junction 14 to way past Bristol. We decided to ignore Homer Simpson and turn off the motorway so he would recalculate our route so we went off the motorway. We’re not sure if this was a good move or not but we didn’t want to sit on the motorway stationary for ages so we chanced the move. Our journey ended up taking us nearer to 6 hours but at least we kept moving!

This is a photo I took through the car windscreen of the traffic jam up ahead, by now it was also raining and horribly dull – sorry it’s not too clear – but you can see why we made our decision to detour off the motorway.

We arrived at Atlantic Reach and went to Reception to check in – we were greeted by a Security Guard who said to Bob ‘Wristband’ – which he didn’t understand so he said we were coming to check in. The staff at Reception were very friendly and helpful and we checked in very quickly, we were given the key and directions to the accommodation along with a black wristband each! These were for security purposes because some of the properties are owned by people who do not sub-let to Atlantic Reach and anyone renting these properties are not allowed to use the facilities. We were told to wear the wristbands during the length of our stay but we could take them off if we were going somewhere posh for dinner etc and request a replacement at Reception, without them we could not use the indoor pool, gym, bar or restaurant.

We drove down to the car park we had been advised to use for our property and it was so congested, cars were parked up on the kerb by the properties and the car park only had one awkward space left. We parked in here after some steering manoeuvres to turn around and unloaded the car, took our belongings up to the house, then Bob took the car back up to the main car park by Reception where it would be safer as the Security Guards were on 24/7 and it was easier to park which meant the car shouldn’t get damaged by anyone else trying to park. It was but a 5 minute walk down to our accommodation by the pathway.

Jordiegirl

Technorati Tags: traffic jam,journey,holiday,Newquay,Atlantic Reach Resort

Photo Scavenger Hunt – May 2011

2011-05-27T19:38:00.001+01:00

I really don’t know where May has gone – good heavens it’s already 27th – our young man has just had his 19th birthday – so where have those 19 years gone too?

Anyway, back to business here’s my contribution to this month’s photo scavenger hunt:

A butterfly – okay okay these are not real butterflys but the one I saw wouldn’t keep still for me to take a photo so these are lovely sticky backed acrylic ones which I use in my cardmaking.

A bicycle – I could have taken a photo of quite a few bikes as the children at school do take their bikes but I’m always a little wary of taking my camera to work so instead I hunted out this little old penny farthing bicycle which used to belong to my mother-in-law – I think it needs cleaning up and repainting!

We went to visit a friend last Saturday and her back door is a shade of red.

A cartoon character – who better than one of our son’s favourites – good old Scooby Doo – and this is a Playstation 2 game he received for his birthday from his Godparents.

An emergency vehicle – this is the last one I needed to get for this collection. It’s difficult to photograph emergency vehicles because normally when I see them I’m driving!!!!! However I took a walk across town the other day to see if I could take a photo of a fire engine in the station and what happened? They duly obliged me by actually driving one out of the station and I just managed to catch it crossing the canal bridge. Later in the week I could probably have photographed about half a dozen because the Common just up the road from us caught fire on Wednesday evening and they had to close the road whilst the emergency services fought the fire all night!!!!!!

Think vintage – so what to choose? In the end I went for this lovely old brooch left to me by my grandmother which I thought was just an old piece of costume jewellery but when I went to get the catch repaired on it I discovered it’s actually gold!!!!!!

Something blue – blue for a boy!!!! lol – blue for a buoy!!! These little buoys were bobbing about on the river Severn at Bewdley when we went to The Merchants Fish & Chip Restaurant for tea on Tuesday.

A street light – this lovely old street light was also captured in Bewdley on Tuesday. Bewdley is a lovely Georgian town on the river Severn in Worcestershire.

A texture – this is a lovely black dress which a friend gave to me for my niece as it no longer fits her and it has these lovely flowers on the sides of it.

A sign of the zodiac – what better sign than my very own – Capricorn on my mug.

An interesting local building – this may not be interesting to anyone else but it is to us as this is where our son rehearses and performs with Areley Kings Players. This is the lovely village hall which replaced the old tin hut. As you can see they have recently invested in solar panels to reduce their carbon footprint and their bills.

A portrait in black and white – immediately I saw this on the list I knew which portrait I was going to use. This is the lovely Princess Diana, and my favourite photo of her which hangs on our landing wall.

Well, that’s it for this month – I can’t wait for the June list to be published by Kathy and to see what everyone else has managed to get for this month.

Jordiegirl

Look what I found!!!!! Hollie Hobbie

2011-05-25T20:36:00.001+01:00

A while back I published some photos of what I’ve made in bobbin lacework on my card making blog and I do believe I mentioned that I made a Hollie Hobbie as a gift for a baby girl. At the time I couldn’t find the photo because it wasn’t in the album it should be in but I’ve just come across it.

Well this blooming piece of lace took me ages to do and I would sit up at night in front of a roaring coal fire which gradually burned further and further down as the evening wore on because sometimes I was still sitting there at midnight!!!!! I can’t remember how many times the flipping thread snapped and I had to rejoin it, more than once this piece of lace was nearly thrown into the fire!!!! Somehow though I eventually finished it and it was given to the little girl in question – I can’t remember if I gave it to her for a Christmas gift or if it was a birthday present.

So here for everyone to see is the photo taken back in 1984.