tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30834277379112414092024-03-14T14:18:36.008+00:00Autumn VoicesAdventures in eclectic interestsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-71676540649993942442020-06-23T10:59:00.001+01:002020-06-23T10:59:57.414+01:00Foraging - Elderflower CordialElder flowers in late May/June, and it's the best time to collect some and make elderflower cordial!It's important not to confuse elderflower with other, similar looking plants... (excuse the worn off nail polish) these are elder leaves.The flowers have five, rounded petals. Don't collect clusters where the flowers have already turned brown, or where some are still in bud. The most common, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-73558614401508107122019-12-27T20:57:00.000+00:002023-12-07T16:33:57.790+00:002019 - A Year in Book Reviews
I'm not going to list every book I read in 2019, but I am going to pick out my highlights from the year.
Born Lippy: How to Do Female - Jo Brand (5 stars).
I like Jo Brand's comedy anyway, and this managed to make me laugh, even whilst dealing with difficult subjects. She uses her own life experiences to serve as a sort of practical guide to dealing with situations that may arise in life, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-23416751281562996832017-10-02T00:39:00.002+01:002024-01-29T11:34:36.869+00:00Walking: The Bridgewater Canal - Section 2 - Norton to LymmAs I lost a lot of photographs, particularly from the end of the walk in July, and even though I've walked from Norton to Moore along the canal a few times since, I planned to walk from the Top Locks to Moore and then do the blog post before this one... but logistics got in the way. I couldn't cadge a lift to the top locks, so I would have either had to walk from home to the Old Town, most Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-15072026882758350712017-10-01T22:31:00.000+01:002017-10-01T22:33:44.736+01:00Walking: The Bridgewater Canal - Section 1 - Top Locks to Preston Brook It's been a while since I blogged, and I walked this section of the canal - I actually walked it at the end of July, and, have accidentally deleted most of the photographs! Argh! I will re-walk this section at some point.
Anyway, I happened to be in Runcorn Old Town, and near to the start of the Bridgewater Canal, and I decided to walk from the Top Locks to Preston Brook Village Hall, whereUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-67443485793154024262016-10-16T23:35:00.001+01:002023-12-07T16:44:23.927+00:00The Battle of Hastings 950th AnniversaryEvery year, English Heritage hosts a reenactment of the Battle of Hastings at Battle Abbey, which is near Hastings. This year, being the closest thing to a proper round number we're likely to get (I'll be elderly, and properly so, if I'm still alive in 2066), we bought tickets.
Now, we bought our tickets a few weeks in advance, and we're glad that we did, because they sold out. Absolutely no Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-69154701894489731652016-09-26T22:37:00.002+01:002016-09-27T13:21:58.401+01:00My friend Jane does an amazing thing for charity, I go a bat walk and a trip to the Museum:On Thursday, I met my friend Jane in town to photograph her "Braving the Shave".
After having six plaits cut off, which she has since donated to the Little Princess Trust to be turned into real-hair wigs for young cancer patients, she then had her remaining hair shaved off in order to raise money for MacMillan. There's still time to sponsor her here.
Before
After
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-16605173088347007992016-09-17T09:43:00.000+01:002016-09-23T14:55:31.153+01:00Theatre Review: Jack the Ripper - The Real TruthOn Friday (16th September), my Mum and I went to the Brindley to see a show entitled Jack the Ripper - the Real Truth. Presented by a former London Police Detective, Trevor Marriott.
I won't ruin the ending, fear not! However, Trevor has reviewed the Jack the Ripper evidence as a cold case, using 21st Century investigative techniques. The show was Trevor talking us through his findings, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-39770675123797446792016-08-31T22:18:00.002+01:002016-08-31T22:18:59.331+01:00Bank Holiday Cycling - The Monsal Trail - Take 2If you read my previous post, you'll already know that we tried a section of the Monsal Trail while we were on holiday recently, and wanted to try and cycle it again. We only cycled from the Buxton end to Millers Dale Station last time, but we did have to use the steepest section of the Pennine Bridle Path which had already worn us out.
The bank holiday weekend provided an excellent Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-26974607858241398702016-08-22T22:44:00.000+01:002016-08-22T22:44:00.830+01:00The Monsal TrailWhile we were on holiday, our campsite was about a mile away from the Monsal Trail, a former disused railway turned into a walking and cycle route. The way to get to the Monsal Trail from our campsite was down part of the Pennine Bridleway, mainly the part which has signage asking riders to dismount, and which Beloved was able to cycle down, but LittleBit and I had to walk!
At the bottom of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-44436220069374947462016-08-21T10:30:00.000+01:002016-08-21T10:30:42.260+01:00Poole's Cavern and Grin Low and Buxton Country ParkWhile we were on holiday, one of our day trips was to Poole's Cavern, which we have visited before, and Grin Low and Buxton Country Park, handily situated above the cavern!
Named after an historic local outlaw who hid in the cavern, the cavern itself was formed by water dissolving the limestone beneath the ground.
There's a small exhibition before you go in, and the entrance fee entitles Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-33333843127051996552016-08-05T17:32:00.000+01:002016-08-19T20:38:52.671+01:00August 2016 - Norton Priory.Away back at the end of 2014 start of 2015, Norton Priory museum closed to be redeveloped, and yesterday (Thursday 4th August) we were invited to a special preview evening before the Museum reopens to the public tomorrow, Saturday 6th August.
We've been able to visit the walled gardens for the past 18months, but it was nice to see the new museum.
The New Front Entrance
There wereUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-53890543464044095202016-08-02T19:09:00.000+01:002016-08-19T20:39:49.855+01:002016 - AugustAlready! I know! And it's been two months since my last blog post (which was not the plan).
Not going to bore you all by catching up on the last two months, so let's just kick off, shall we?
Reading:
Not been doing as well as last year, I have slumped a few times this year, and got all muddled up with 6 on the go at once. So, I'm not allowed to start anything else until I have cleared these Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-54633491399973301222015-10-12T01:31:00.000+01:002015-10-12T01:45:46.368+01:00Week 41: The Wirral Way and Norton PrioryIf you've had a nosey at the blogs I follow (if you're on a laptop/pc, they're listed somewhere on the right, but they don't show on the mobile browser version) then you may already have found my friend Linda's blog, Somewhere Slowly... One of her hobbies is walking. Not to the shops, but long distances.
One of her favourite places to walk is along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-44598951060229689852015-10-05T22:59:00.001+01:002015-10-09T08:42:13.688+01:00Pasta Sauce, Book Club and the Wrexham Writing WorkshopFirstly, I have decided to revert to weekly blog posts. The monthly thing lasted six months, but it hasn't quite been as I had anticipated. So I'm changing it back.
Secondly, this post contains a recipe, a book review, and a bit about a writers workshop that I attended recently.
Pasta Sauce:
After a discussion about pasta sauces, I actually sat down and thought about what I use. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-1236323561690881462015-09-26T20:44:00.001+01:002015-10-01T20:37:31.674+01:00Bag Making Bonus Blog PostAs promised, I am posting again before next month's post... it's slightly later than I would have liked, mainly due to my having been poorly.
I won't cover all the usual things, I'll save those for the next post (around a week away), this is going to be a how-to about making a reusable shopping bag.
This is because I have a bag pattern, which I was trying to upload to a Facebook Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-49885398804964577192015-06-21T23:34:00.000+01:002015-10-01T20:33:16.394+01:00Where I Live - Post 2 - The Bridgewater CanalIf you remember back in September 2014, I posted the first of my "Where I Live" blog posts, while we were living, all be it temporarily, in Frodsham.
The Runcorn one, I am, rather surprisingly, having a little trouble with. Although probably not the kind of trouble you would expect. I am struggling to edit it down to be a realistic length for a single blog post... so, I decided to split itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-77535278874364529512015-05-14T18:24:00.000+01:002015-10-01T20:34:17.195+01:00Election Special...I can't wait for the end of the month. I was going to include a write up about the election in the first of my monthly posts, but it got a bit lengthy and it's too far away in time! So here's my write up of the election, as it happened. I did try to keep any political bias out of my write up, so apologies if I haven't managed it.
On Thursday 7th May, the electorate of the entire
United Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-40293176456825234222015-03-23T20:04:00.001+00:002023-10-16T14:31:37.221+01:00Week 11, Lent 5Friday saw a total eclipse of the Sun. Sadly, the best place to see the total eclipse was the Faeroe Isles, which is somewhat further North than we are, so we only got a partial eclipse, but it was very close. There was an event at Wigg Island, and I was able to take some photographs. This is my favourite of those that I took, using a sheet of astro-foil I was given by someone from the astronomy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-78942306326290645012015-03-13T09:44:00.000+00:002019-02-23T10:18:59.168+00:00Sir Terry PratchettAll else this week has been eclipsed by the loss of the awesome Terry Pratchett.
Even in death, he is more eloquent than I could ever hope to be, so, in memory of him, go, read one of his books. Read all of them. Revel in his genius, and if you are feeling generous, perhaps donate to an Alzheimer's research charity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-87831837470747939922015-03-08T22:29:00.000+00:002015-10-01T20:39:42.720+01:00Week 9, Lent 3 and Neil GaimanNEIL GAIMAN. Yes, the Neil Gaiman, came to the University of Liverpool to open the new Centre for International Writing. And he was fantastic.
He read a short story from his book, Trigger Warning (signed copies of which were available for sale, of course I got one, and also a signed copy of The Sleeper and the Spindle), he answered questions, including a rather good one (I didn't submit it) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-31434972877677823102014-12-15T02:50:00.002+00:002016-07-15T12:19:00.906+01:00Ebaying things
I occasionally sell things at car boot sales. In the summer,
I can cope with the odd early morning on a Sunday to stand in the cold while
strangers tell me my belongings are worthless, but the promise of enough cash
to pay for the entry fee and Sunday dinner and taking home less than we took in
the morning, is usually enough to keep us going, while we stomp our feet and
breathe into cupped handsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-13692361642229630992014-10-27T20:00:00.000+00:002015-10-01T19:46:44.950+01:00Harrogate History Festival 2014Unlike the Crime Writers Festival, I couldn't stay for the whole weekend this time. I left home disgustingly early, braved the M60 and M62 at morning rush hour, and made it to the Old Swan in time to get a front row seat to see the awesome Bernard Cornwell!
He is amazingly funny, and was interviewed by Radio 4s Mark Lawson, who was very, very good at asking open questions, and like Val McDermid Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-83181595053369991802014-10-10T22:55:00.001+01:002015-10-01T19:48:12.022+01:00The Following Blog Post is Especially for the British Medieval History Group on Facebook...... and carries directly on from a thread in the group.
Firstly, it was Donna Franklin Dennis who made the original chart of how many mentions each historical author was getting in the thread, then someone (I think it was Donna again) suggested that someone else should count all of the likes that each comment had... and I had some time to kill whilst waiting for a cake to bake this evening, so..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-32748679851454362682014-09-14T10:00:00.000+01:002015-10-01T19:48:52.307+01:00Where I Live... Post 1 - FrodshamAs you may, or may not, be aware, my family and I are temporarily living in Frodsham (which I believe comes from the old Norwegian meaning Frode's Hamlet, I have no idea who Frode was though!)
I don't know an awful lot about Frodsham, except that Djibril Cisse (former Liverpool player) used to be Lord of the Manor of Frodsham and his wife runs/ran the salon in Helsby. Oh, and I have learned thatUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083427737911241409.post-80013570547095285102014-07-21T18:30:00.000+01:002015-10-01T19:49:38.019+01:00Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2014erm... yeah... just WOW! What a weekend!
It all began, very early in the morning of Thursday 17th July. I was up in time to leave the house by 5:30am, collected the lovely Linda at 6am and then drove to Harrogate.
I knew that I needed to use the M62, around peak time, so I left three hours to get there. Luckily,. although the traffic was heavy, we made it in very good time, and parked up at theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0