Armed Forces Day, Sports Days and a Race for Life That Didn’t Happen.

Have you ever psyched yourself up for something?  Something that you really, really wanted to do and then that something is cancelled.  Well, that happened to Caroline, my younger daughter, today. 

She rose with the larks and was all ready, set to go run a 5k Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research in Huddersfield.  Charlie and I went along to give support.  However when we got to the venue there was no crowd ready and raring to go with her.  The race had been postponed due to the course being deemed unsafe to use because of all this flippin’ rain we are having!  Talk about disappointed!  What was a girl to do?  Head to the nearest coffee shop and have a little treat, that’s what.  Caroline wasn’t the only deflated runner there.  Several other ladies followed us in all with the same forlorn, can-you-believe-it look on their faces. 

*****

George and Nicholas stayed overnight with us Friday night.  Here’s Nicholas making pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning.  This was at 7.30 and George, sensible boy, was still in bed.

*****

Sunday last was Armed Forces Day. Caroline had seen an ad for events taking place in Halifax Piece Hall and that’s where these pictures were taken.

The day had a 1940s  theme.  The band played songs from the era, mainly those associated with the war. 

Both boys had a turn at dressing up like a real soldier.  Charlie particularly was in his element.

Both got to ride on this vintage funfair carousel.

People came dressed in character for the day.

I loved seeing this old lady in her house pinny and carpet slippers.  The 1950s trolley is just like the one my siblings and I would’ve been pushed around in.

*****

Charlie’s Nursery School Sports Day was held earlier this week.  He did really well and won quite a few of his little races.

Afterwards his little friend came to play at Charlie’s house.  Don’t they look sweet holding hands?

Nicholas’s Sports Day was also held earlier this week.  He too did really well and won lots of his races.  George, Nicholas’s brother, fell foul of the weather and his Sports Day was cancelled.  He wasn’t happy about it, poor thing. 

What a long post this turned out to be but I’ve been dragging my feet over this one and when I finally got stuck in I didn’t want to leave anything out!

 Kathleen.

A Month’s Worth of Rain.

I don’t know if it’s a threat or a promise but a month’s worth of rain in a day is what the Met Office insists is heading our way!

So, with that in mind when the sun was shining and the threat/promise of rain did not materialise I headed to Hebden Bridge for a late breakfast this morning.  I was able to sit outside my favourite cafe in the warm fresh air with the sound of the river roaring over the weir right in front of me.  Yes, roaring!  This little town has suffered badly and was flooded recently. The river was still very high today, hence the roaring.  Several of the shops were still closed for business while repairs and refurbishments go ahead.

I’ve been working on the silhouettes above.  They are of my grandsons, George and Nicholas.  I printed them off as 5 x 7s in time for their lovely mother’s birthday which was the day before yesterday.

Happy birthday daughter dear!

I’ve been trying to write a post covering the last week or so but I seem unable to get my act together and just do it.  Never mind, I’ll try again tomorrow.  I think maybe I need a little blogging break.

Kathleen.

Weekends

Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays.  I like ‘em.  Even now, when I no longer work outside the home Mondays to Fridays, I still like it when the weekend rolls around.  

Yesterday afternoon Victoria brought the boys round for a visit and we took them and the dogs for a walk round the neighbourhood.  

I snapped this happy picture of Nicholas when he sat still on a grit box for half a minute.

This toy car, which is modelled on a Model T Ford, belongs to a sweet little girl who lives across the road from me.  Her daddy is very mechanically minded.  He bought and completely refurbished this 1980s car and one lucky little girl got it in her stocking on Christmas Day. 

It’s battery operated, is very quiet and can really zoom along.  You can see in this photo how fast the boys are running but that little car is keeping up no problem!

Emily, a friendly generous little girl, was happy to let George and Nicholas have a ride in it.  George just about fit in it but still had a great time.  I spent a fun but anxious quarter of an hour or so watching them zoom around in it.  I was sure one of them was going to press the pedal too hard and end up in the stream that runs behind the hedge in the pictures!

iPhone pic.

Forward to today in this pic.  William and I took a walk close to home through Ealees to the visitor centre around lunch time.  We sat outside the cafe sipping a latte until it started to rain, at which point we took shelter in the centre until the shower passed.  Not so this group of four men, they just stayed put and put a brolley up!  It really amused me.  So, being a good blogger, I whipped my iPhone out and snapped a quick piccie.

iPhone pic.

Poor old England has been having torrential rain and flooding in lots of areas over the last few days.  We’ve had plenty of rain and high winds but thankfully nothing like as bad some towns only a few miles away.  I feel so sorry for the poor people affected.  Our only casualties are our gardens.  I mentioned this beautiful garden in my last post.  It is now all battered and sad looking, as though it’s been trampled by a herd of elephants! 

TTFN,

Kathleen.

The First Day of Summer

A few photos.  A few words.  A few memories to keep.

1. Afternoon Tea yesterday with a group of lovely ladies at Nutter's Restaurant.    A few of the ladies sipped strawberry champagne.  I liked their style!  (iPhone pic)
2. Tea and scones the day before in the pub by our local lake with my lovely cousin, Sylvia.  (iPhone pic)
3. A walk through Ealees to the lake with John and Lesley.  I always enjoy time spent with those two.  In an evening William will ask me what I did during the day.  When I tell him about little outings like this he always says it must be nice to be retired.  On days like this it definitely is.
4. Five very special people, my girls and their boys.
5. I collected Nicholas from school one day.  These giant size chairs are new in his school playground.  So, naturally, I took a picture of him sitting in one.  (iPhone pic)
6. John spotted this wonderful grey heron by a stream on our walk through Ealees.  It was patiently waiting for a little fishy to come along.
7. I took a few photos of Victoria one day. 
8. A gusty but sunny afternoon at the lake.  Perfect for a walk and natter in good company.  That company would be sweet friends, Vanessa and Diane. 
9. Harley.
10. Sunday, a bracing walk up on Blackstone Edge with Caroline and Harley.  The weather was wild up there!
11. Poppies and lupins in a neighbourhood garden.  For the last several years this garden has been one I look forward to seeing in bloom and it’s getting better every year.  (iPhone pic)
12. The same garden.  Absolutely glorious.  (iPhone pic)

So, the first day of summer was yesterday.  I’m sorry to say it doesn’t look much like summer round these parts.  And it doesn’t look too good for the rest of the week either.

Kathleen.

Salcombe Regis

On Thursday of our week’s holiday the heavens opened and it rained cats and dogs all morning.  Non stop!  I knew there was a Country Fair being held in Salcombe Regis and I wanted to go take a look. I hoped maybe there would be a village hall for the Fair to be held indoors. Amazingly the rain stopped as we drove to the village and held off while we had a look around!

Salcombe Regis is a beautiful little village nestled deep in a valley in the Devon countryside and only a mile or so from our campsite.

For such a small village there was a lot going on, all centred around the church.  That’s a burger and hotdog stall up there.

The church was a-buzzing!  The organist was playing away, homemade cakes and cups of tea were on sale, bric a brac, raffle tickets and the Union Flag in pride of place over the door.  I made a couple of purchases in here.  The prices were very reasonable.  It was great!

Pretty, pretty graveyard. I’m in no hurry to be a resident in one of these places but I do love to wander around one.

Residents had opened their garden gates and garages and were manning stalls selling books, toys etc.  I made a couple of purchases here too.  Books were only 50p each.

The residents had gone to a lot of trouble.  The scaffolding contraption up there on the left held the tombola stall.  It was doing a roaring trade too.

All kinds of junk and good stuff on sale out here in the church car park.  There’s William with my purchases in the brown carrier bag.  A chap I was standing next to bought one of those hand held car vacs, which looked brand new, for just £1.   The prices were right and people were buying.

I bought a church guide book and discovered that throughout the summer on Sundays teas are available in the churchyard and the money raised helps to swell the church funds.  I think we’ll be going back in July to give that a whirl.  Will you be joining us, Caroline?

And finally, just because I like ‘em, a photo of one of the old timey signposts still to be found in Devon.

Kathleen.

All photos in this post were taken with my iPhone and edited using Pioneer Woman’s Actions in Photoshop Elements.  I love PW’s Actions and use them a lot these days.

Jubilee Week in Devon…

…didn’t really get off to a good start.  William wanted an early start on Saturday morning.  It being a Bank Holiday weekend we knew the roads would be busy and this was a rare double Bank Holiday weekend including the Tuesday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.  An early start turned out to be at the unearthly hour of 4 a.m.!  Trouble was, we weren’t the only ones with that bright idea.

Taken with my mobile from the car.

The roads were chock a block for the second half of the journey.  We spent a lot of time, on a dull day, stuck in one long traffic jam with other equally stuck and fed up folk, arriving at Oakdown at around 12 noon.  Eight long hours it took us – a good two hours longer than it should’ve done.

Sunday morning came.  We planned our day, packed a picnic lunch, eager to get some of that good old fresh sea air.  And what did we get?  A flat tyre!  Not a good start.  This was Sunday. No garages open on a Sunday.  The following day was a Bank Holiday.  No garages open on a Bank Holiday.  The day following the Bank Holiday was another Bank Holiday!  It wasn’t looking good. 

Instagram pic.

However, we weren’t on holiday alone and thankfully were able to tag along with Caroline and Trev on their excursions.  One of which was to Exmouth.  The only day of the holiday that Charlie was able to dig in the sand this time around.

West Bay

On the Tuesday even though it was a Bank Holiday William managed to find a garage open and was able to get a new tyre.  Yep, we had to buy a new tyre, the damage was too bad to just be a cheap repair job!

West Bay, Dorset.  Love it!

These pictures were taken on Saturday, the day before we came home.  The weather was good.  Bright and blustery. 

We had lunch al fresco at the Watch House Cafe which is right on the beach and has recently been refurbished.  We’ll definitely be eating here again too.

We had a lovely afternoon in West Bay – exploring areas we hadn’t done in previous visits, lunching, sometimes just sitting and reading within sight and sound of the sea.  All good stuff!

Then, on the way home we stopped off at The Harbour Inn, Axmouth…

iPhone photo.

… for a quick drink.

Next up is the pretty village of Salcombe Regis.

Kathleen.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Yes, I know the Jubilee party is over but I was happily down in Devon when the party was on and away from my computer.  In fact we only got back last night but I didn’t want to let the occasion pass without a couple of memories being saved.

What could be a more fitting tribute than a portrait of the Queen? My little grandson, Charlie, painted this portrait of the Queen at Nursery School.  I think it’s really good considering he’s only just four and his teacher assured me he did it all by himself!  Can you see that Her Majesty is complete with a glittery tiara?

The school held a Jubilee Celebration in the stiflingly hot school hall.  Parents/grandparents etc. were invited and it was a sight to behold, all those little Union Flags being waved like crazy high above excited little heads.

On Grandparent’s Day, which was in the week running up to the Jubilee, Charlie’s Nursery class gave all the grandparents a preview of them singing “the Queen’s song”.  It was very, very sweet!

Mobile phone photo

My younger daughter and her husband are both serving police officers and as such were awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.  Now that’s something to save for posterity.

I totally enjoyed all the pomp and ceremony that was on show.  I think it’s something we Brits do well.  I don’t like to think too much about the cost etc. but a little bit of light relief now and then can’t be a bad thing can it?

I’m trying to put another Devon post together so hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with that.

Kathleen.