9.2.09
Monday Monday!
5.12.08
Skywatch Friday and Wilma!
4.12.08
Weather here today, Thursday!
29.11.08
Frost on Saturday!
23.11.08
Sunday Sunday!
26.10.08
Dull Skies!
22.8.08
This, that and the other, but we wont mention the weather!
20.7.08
Remind me it is summer!
A Photo a Day
Wilma, last night.
Typical British weather Forecast
It will be raining all Day
with short intervals of showers
you may not see the sun
for many many hours
By Seed4ever D. D.
This is how we all feel about the weather!
Wilma's body language says it all, an ideal contribution for Misty Dawn'sCamera Critters
Yesterday, (Saturday) Wilma and i managed a good walk early morning. We no sooner returned home when the skies opened and we had a torrential downpour.
Right now, the sky looks a bit dodgy!
We are hoping for a few hours of dryness and if this is the case we will go to Whitby for lunch,
but we know rain is expected this afternoon!
As you know I enjoy poetry. I have written some over the years and will share some if you are not careful! LOL! Recently however I have been really inspired by the poetry of George Skaife.
He is an elderly man who lives in the neighbouring village of Easington.
His work is particularly inspired by the surrounding countryside.
I shared one of his poems some time ago and when I was speaking to him on Friday he was particularly touched by the responses I told him about. He is 90 now, his sight is deteriorating and he is slightly deaf. Tomorrow I am going to have a cup of tea with him. He is thrilled that I want to share his poetry here on my blog and is giving me some of his poetry books.
I can not tell you how touched I am.
I am looking forward to tomorrow, I will share later in the week.
In the meantime, here is the poem I shared earlier.
Wayside World
By George Skaife
Come, take a quiet evening stroll
Down a pleasant country lane
Into Nature's "wayside world"
A wide and wonderful domain
Within these wild grass verges
Often hidden from view
We find wild, blue forget me nots
The yellow primrose touched with dew
Here, white umbrella flowers sway
On a sea of tall hedge parsley
Soft whispering in the undergrowth
On a stoat looking unwary
High above the wayside
A kestrel hovers in the sky
In fear the timid creatures hide
To escape its eagle eye
Browsing in warm sunlight
On the purple thistles head
We see the colourful butterflies
Their fragile wings outspread
Scattered along the hedgerows
Standing tall in wild confusion
Foxglove and Rose Bay Willow herb
With scarlet poppies in confusion
The beauty of a wild dog rose
Sweet honeysuckle's clinging vine
Shy violets hang their dropping heads
Where twisting stems entwine
From deep within these leafy bowers
We hear the cheerful cries
Of Chaffinch, Wren and Blackbird
Their melodies fill the skies
Among these wayside flowers
The constant hum of busy bees
Green dragonflies hang motionless
In the warm, soft summer breeze
Now as the twilight shadows fall
On this peaceful countryside
We slowly homeward wend our way
In the gentle hush of eventide
20.3.08
RAIN STOPS PLAY!
20.03.08
View from the window
I didn't delete it as I thought it was a nice glimpse of Wilma in her element!
The weather is particularly cold because we have ran out of heating oil.
Living where we do, we have no mains gas, so our central heating is powered by oil fired central heating boiler and a solid fuel Aga, which is housed in the kitchen.
When we have moments like today we have a portable electric heater.
It is just a case of dressing warm and working out what I need to do and where I can do it.
The kitchen is the warmest room so it would be sensible to spend time there, I may cook or bake!
My day was brightened when I saw this...
I received a Post of the Day award from David!
Thanks David...it brought a ray of sunshine to my cloudy day!
(cue for a song!)
Well I was thinking about a song for the day and went down memory lane.
One of my all time favourite groups is/was Roxy Music.
Bryan Ferry is just soooooooooooooooo cool!
He was born in Newcastle and went to the same school as somebody I once worked with.
She was a deputy head....later to become a Headteacher.
She dressed in crocheted waistcoats and always wore thick woolly tights, brougues and tartan skirt...........I use to giggle as I imagined her sitting next to Bryan Ferry in school!
LOL!
Now there's a picture! LOL!
A definate better start to the day!
18.3.08
Weather! Who'd have it?
Weather
Horrible Weather
Staying in bed weather
Cuddling up close weather
Ignoring the world weather
Alison Smith
This poem sums it up really!
Even I can't find anything to add! LOL!
23.2.08
That was the week that was!
ON A WINDY DAY
by: Anne Bronte (1820-1849)
My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing,
The bare trees are tossing their branches on high;
The dead leaves beneath them are merrily dancing,
The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky
I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing
The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray;
I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing,
And hear the wild roar of their thunder to-day!
Wilma and I had the beach to ourseles today and as the tide was out it was ideal for our morning exercise.
We have two balls and I throw one as far as I can for Wilma to run and fetch. As she approaches me with the ball I throw the other ball in the opposite direction, repeating the exercise yet again. We do this for at least 30 minutes. Today we did 40 minutes. I run with Wilma too, so we were both quite tired by the time we finished.
We kept close to the cliffs today.
The weather was so windy!
Here you can see Wilma's fur being buffeted by the wind. At one point I figured we both must have looked a funny sight. The wind was so powerful it was blowing us along! I was standing in a diaganol fashion, against the wind with my hair flowing in mid air. It is a good job I had it in bunches, but we must have looked so funny. Wilma in the meantime was being blown over the beach! Although I had my camera with me at the time because the sand was being whipped up by the wind I didn't want to get the sand inside the camera, so my description will have to suffice!
It has been a busy week.
The church was full for Ian Dutton's funeral, a true reflection of the respect and affection he held by those around him. I made a sympathy card using dried flowers as I knew how much Ian loved the countryside.
I included some words which I thought were very apt.
Death leaves a heartache
no one can heal,
love leaves a memory
no one can steal.
The following day I had a Christening Card commission to do. The light isn't particularly good on the picture, but it will give you an idea of the design.
I am busy at the moment with four wedding commissions. All quite different and once the invitations are finalised I will share them here
All of these life events reminded me of the words of Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds
To every thing, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
Jon is also busy. He is working today but I am not sure about tomorrow, we will just have to wait and see....
Watch this space!
NB....SUNDAY 8.45AM
Rumour has it we are going out on the motorbike this afternoon.......so I will be in search for my "F"!
12.2.08
ABC Wednesday...
How to participate in ABC Wednesday.
1. Post your D picture on your blog.
2. Come to my blog and sign in on Mr. Linky
3. Enjoy the beautiful D pictures of the other bloggers.
There is a new Mr. Linky each week so you always have to sign up on the current one. Please do not sign your name on Mr. Linky unless you have a D picture posted on your blog.
Last week there were a number of comments made re people not leaving comments here, so please leave a comment here and if possible, a reference back to this blog.
We reached 80 participants last week, so please be assured we will do our best to visit each blog, not necessarily on Wednesday, but it would help if you did leave a comment here.
Thanks
D
Please note....8.10am Mr Linky seems to be playing up!Or is it Blogger Make sure you read Edmund's exciting news over on his blog.
HERE!
D is for.....
Ducati!
As I have said before, I do like to have an element of adventure and surprise when it comes to my choice for ABC Wednesday. So, last Sunday when we decided to go out on the motorbike I decided to go along with an open mind and just see what came along.
When we pulled up to the Whistestop Cafe I knew there was a strong chance of finding a Ducati bike, and sure enough there was this fine specimen. Red is a common choice for a Ducati...so I am told, remember we have a Honda.
Despite
the promise of lovely weather , just as we pulled into Whitby the fog descended!
We had our lunch and watched on as some bikers departed!
Bikers always give a wave as they leave.
We decided to go in search of better weather!
Although Bridlington was mentioned I said I wanted to go here.......
for no other reason, simply because it began with the letter "D"!
Now that is where the adventure bit comes in!
LOL!
5.2.08
ABC Wednesday.........
How to participate in ABC Wednesday
1. Post your ABC Picture picture on your blog
2. Come to my blog and sign in on Mr. Linky
3. Enjoy the wonderfully unique ABC pictures of the other bloggers.
There is a new Mr. Linky each week so you always have to sign up on the current one.
Please do not sign your name on Mr. Linky unless you have a C picture posted on your blog.
C is for......Coast!
We often hear a saying..."It's grim up North!
and indeedthere are some people who think that it is indeed dark and dreary here.
It is so nice to know that some of the participants in ABC Wednesday are great Northern fans.
When I see other people post photographs of my surrounding landscapes it warms the cockles of my heart!
I try to get down to the beach at least twice a week in an effort to not only blow the cobwebs away, but to give Wilma the exercise she craves in order for us to have some sense of order to the day.....well we can live in hope! LOL!
We have a great selection of local beaches, eachonly a matter of minutes away.
The North East coast covers a wide variety of places, but it is the quieter beaches I enjoy.
We are definately exposed to the North Sea andindeed as we leave our drive and turn right we can see it!
The North of England was the home of many famous people.
We should celebrate our heritage.
which brings me onto my next offering...
C is for....Lewis Carroll,
famous Victorian author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, who has a great many connections with the North East and Whitburn in particular.
He made a number of visits to his cousin Margaret Wilcox, who was the wife of the Collector of Customs in Sunderland and lived in Highcroft, in Whitburn. Sadly, the house at Highcroft no longer exists. ( I wonder if our very own Maria, from Argument Cottage knows this!)
According to The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll, by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood, whilst Lewis Carroll was staying with his cousins, the Misses Wilcox in 1855, they entertained themselves one evening with a game which involved making up verses. Carroll’s contribution was a Stanza of Anglo-Saxon Poetry which begins:
"'Twas brillig and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe."
Those lines are now familiar as the opening to Jabberwocky, which was first published in Through the Looking Glass in 1872.
During his time in Whitburn, Carroll would have visited Whitburn Hall, home of Lady Hedworth Williamson. She was second cousin to Alice Liddell, to whom Caroll’s most famous books are dedicated. Here he met Frederika Liddell, another of Alice’s cousins whom he described as “one of the nicest children I have ever seen”.
But the work most associated Carroll’s Whitburn connections is perhaps TheWalrus and the Carpenter. In the poem, the two characters walking along a beach,
“…wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand.”
Could this be a reference to the vast expanse of sand visible at low tide at Whitburn?
Even today, the character of the beach can change between tides. Sometimes the waves wash up huge quantities of pebbles or seaweed. At other times, the golden sands are swept clean, as though they’ve been cleared up by Carroll's “seven maids with seven mops”.
However, it’s a popular myth that the Walrus of this poem was inspired by a stuffed walrus which was on display for many years at Sunderland‘s museum. In fact, this famous exhibit only went on display after the publication of Carroll’s poem.
Of the museum’s walrus, sadly only the head now remains, but a magnificent bronze statue in Mowbray Park still maintains the link.
But before you dismiss the North East’s claim to the Walrus altogether, consider for a moment another local Carroll connection. In April 1869, Carroll’s sister, Mary, married the Rev Charles Collingwood. Their home, the rectory at Southwick, now Holy Trinity, on Church Bank, has recently been recognised with a historic blue plaque and there is some evidence that it too once housed a stuffed walrus.
Today, you can see a statue of Lewis Carroll in Whitburn library.
It was moved from its original home in Cornthwaite Park after it was damaged. He originally also had a young companion - not Alice, as many presume, but her cousin Frederika.
Whatever you choose to believe, Lewis Carroll did visit this area and no doubt walked along its beaches and cliff tops. He may even have stopped to jot down a note or two and his magpie mind mixed and mingled all sorts of images and influences to produce his unique poems and stories.
The Walrus and The Carpenter
( A long poem, but wonderful!)
Lewis Carroll
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done--
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead--
There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it would be grand!"
"If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."
"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?
"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!"
"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"
"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.
25.9.07
Rain, rain go away!
25.09.07
View from my Study Window.
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me.
Jon has made great progress with fitting the window and one of the doors into the shed and I managed to work on my shrubbery.
Then there was the bike ride to Scarborough!
Yesterday however saw a deluge of rain!
Monday morning , the start of the new working week saw me pegging washing out.
I always have the washer on at night, so when I get up I can peg the washing out.
I had washed a white load during the night and was all set to peg it out and load the next load, the dark coloured stuff, mostly Jon's work clothes etc.
The weather soon put a stop to that and as I resigned myself to finding places round the house to dry the clothes the rain stopped and the sun put in an outstanding appearance.
I rushed outside and pegged the white washing on the line.
The sun stayed out for just over an hour.
In the strong breeze my washing was soon dry, when lo and behold the rain returned.
I rushed outside like a woman possessed and got all the washing inside!
It always makes me laugh really, I see the washing of my neighbours billowing in the breeze then frantic door slamming as we all rush outside to rescue the washing! Then, we watch for the sunshine and rush out again to get the washing back on the line, Sometimes this happens 2 or 3 times before we give up!
I took Wilma up the lane but the rain caught us out and we returned home soaked!
Today the chimney sweep is coming to clean our chimney, so the AGA will be lit by the weekend I would have thought.
Yes, winter is creeping in!
David has set another topic for us to think about...best childhood friend?
I had a good think about this (in the bath) and my choice would have to be our neighbour John Cooper. He was my best friend from the age of 6 to 11, when his family emigrated to South Africa.
We had great adventures.
We invented our own games and exploits.
I guess it was in the days when we could allow children to "play out" in the streets and surrounding areas. Having said that we didn't go far, usually just in our back yard or the alley way.
Our favourite game was secret agents.
The programme we watched was "Man from Uncle" back in the 1960's.
We both had old transistor radio aerials which we would extend and say those immortal words from the programme "Open Cheannel D, Come in Mr. Waverley"
I had an old small brown case which I kept my secret agent tools in, infact we both had such a case come to think of it.
We would search local jumble sales for bargains.
I remember on one such visit as my mum sat with John's mum, Nancy, who I referred to as Auntie Nancy, (infact come to think of it in those days we referred to every woman as "Auntie")
and on our way out Mum shouted "Don't forget me fur coat!"
Well, we were then on a mission and sure enough I found a fur coat at the Salvation Army Jumble Sale.
I was so chuffed and ran home to show mum.
Ofcourse there had been a reason why somebody would donate a fur coat to a Jumble Sale, but mum wasn't taking any chances and it found its way to the rubbish bin...fleas and all!
We had roller skates which we used to skate up and down the local streets, again a thing of the past.
When they were packing up to go to South Africa Auntie nancy called me in.
They had an upright piano which had pride of place in the front room.
I had always liked the piano, No I couldn't play it but liked the look of it.
"Would you like the piano Denise?" she asked.
"Ooooooooooooh yes please Auntie Nancy!"
The piano was pushed next door to our house.
"What do you want that for?" Mum enquired (well more or less her exact words!)
And so, we got a piano.
My uncle Moss had an Austin 35 car.
One night he came round and asked mum if he could borrow a wire from the back of the piano.
He went away with a wire and over the next few months I noticed more and more notes on the piano would not play! I was trying to teach myself to play the piano, but my progress and development was hampered by the amount of keys which could not play. Eventually it went to the rag ad bone man! LOL!
We heard via the odd letters and Christmas Cards from Auntie Nancy and John, I often wonder what they are doing now.
I certainly remember the happy, carefree times we played together, inventing our own games and making our own toys and games.
Being an only child I guess I was quite resourceful and independant, but nevertheless looking back it was an incredible few years of adventures with John Cooper.
Thanks David...a good topic!
4.8.07
Sea, A ruin, and some country scenery! What more could you ask on a Monday morning!
Photo of the Day
06.08.07
Wima, Saturday morning
You thought that I would need a crystal ball to see right through the haze
Well, here's a poke at you
You're gonna choke on it too
You're gonna lose that smile
Beacuse all the while
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
And miles and miles and miles and miles
The Who
The weekend really must have been the hottest so far.
Jon is really busy at work, so he decided to take Saturday afternoon off.
I had been down to the beach on the morning,
making sure Wilma had a really extensive run
Would you believe she actually returned home with her frisby?
We set out after lunch and travelled through Guisborough, Stokesley, Helmesley.
Just as we approached Helsmsley,
we came across a road to Rievaux Abbey...
so off we went.
You can read all about the Abbey here
and see how it would have been
before Henry VIII stepped in with his property development plans.
We stopped for a while and took some photos.
There was a tearoom so we had a cup of tea and some of the Abbey's tea loaf!
Delicious.
We then drove through Helmsley, down Sutton Bank and on to Thirsk and later Ripon.
As we drove through Thirsk Market place I thought about our Glitter Sister meet Up!
We came home via Northallerton.
Saturday night was BBQ night.
Jon's sister came over and we had a good night.
On Sunday morning, Maureen and I took Wilma onto the beach.
We were there for a couple of hours.
It was really warm and Wilma had a fantastic run and swim.
Yes, she lost her frisby!
We drove home along the coast.
As we turned onto the moor road there was no way I could turn left.
It would seem the world and his wife were going to Whitby or Scarborough.
I turned left, eventually in the Whitby direction,
and then made a round about turning to come back over the moors to home.
Maureen went home and Jon and I went out on our bike adventure.
We decided not to go towards the coast and so we headed West.
It was ideal biking conditions.
For once we had just our leathers and a T-shirt on.
For the best part of the summer we have still had to wear our fleeces or even a jumper.
Ofcourse we had our gloves, boots and helmets too! LOL!
As we drove along the A171 we knew we had definately made the right decision.
The volume of traffic going in the opposite direction was so heavy.
We drove through Darlington and he aded towards the Teasdale area.
We stopped for our customary map check!
We stopped at a little place called Middleton - Teasdale for some lunch.
It had been the village Carnival and there was still evidence of the celebrations.
Here you can see the wonderful backdrop
of the countryside we had been travelling through
Many of the houses had entered the village competition!
It was so hot, but once back on the bike we made our way over the hillside to Alston, towards Brough and Penrith, then made our way home.
We stopped to take in a bit of the scenery!
A lovely day!
As we headed up the A171 towards home,
I counted 228 cars in a 4 mile stretch from the bottom of Birk Brow to our turning off for home.
We were both quite tired, but felt invigorated after such a great weekend.
By the looks of today, cooler and cloudy, we definately made the right decision to have a break.
Jon has a hectic week ahead and I am so pleased he had a break!
I hit the pillow last night and had a couple of really vivid dreams.
I was restless as I knew Ella was still out.
I awoke at 3.30am, went downstairs to let Ella in, who was sitting on the chair outside the kitchen patio door,then I nodded off into the land of nod again.
Today I am having a big cooking day and will fill the freezer with meals for the next few weeks.
We have a poor selection of groceries at our local shop,
so I am using Tesco Home Delivery again.
I tried it for the first time last week and was impressed by the variety and the price.
Would you believe I added a couple of things I had forgotten, at 3.30am this morning!
LOL!
So, a day of cooking.
Ali & Blue....8 random facts eh?
I guess the ones I did a few weeks ago here
are now old hat, so I had better think of some more!
Watch this space!