Aqueous August 2017
☔☔☔☔☔
An E mail
from HJ at the beginning of August read:–
“Anyway... have
checked back through what folks could do for August
and
dates between 25th and 29th seem favourable.
However, it
is bank holiday weekend and my Phil has
also booked
something up for us during the week. So, I
think I may
have to bow out.
Jo.. as
it is you who has been missing for much
of the
time, perhaps you could organise this, so you get to
see
someone!? At the time of request Pam, Maggie, Alison
and yourself
could do the dates; Lynn would need to know
pretty
quickly.
So having been asked by HJ to organise something for August I found a
window on the 30th and 31st August. Lynn couldn’t do
Thursday as she looks after the grandchildren so Pam, Lynn, Maggie, Alison and
I decided to meet up at the Gate Inn car park at Tansley at 10.45 for a walk
around Lumsdale. - A short hike up hill and then downhill all the way back to
the pub in time for lunch.
The morning had started with rain but had cleared by the time we arrived
and the forecast was OK. We waited for Pam until 11.10 and then set off up the
Knoll towards the top of the hill leaving her a message to join us when she
arrived.
Unfortunately there were not many trees to shelter under when the
heavens opened and literally threw buckets of water at us.
Lynn discovered that her coat was not waterproof
and Alison was feeling under the weather with shingles
With wet underwear and rain seeping through to the skin we decided to go back and dry off at the pub. Luckily Lynn had a change of clothes from the night before.
The drains coping with a mini hurricane Harvey.
Was the downpour
anything to do with lucky 13 ??
the little house whose garden was full
of mischievous little people and woodland folk?
Thankfully the pub allowed us in and we ordered coffees to warm and comfort us. Some of us would have preferred one of the exotic gins on display. Lynn appeared knowledgeable and recited poetry about Opihr Gin by John Masefield with star anise! Rumour has it that It’s at a good price at Tesco but you have to ask for it from out the back! Prohibition or moonshine?
Still no Pam and Jo’s mobile needed charging so no message
either despite it being nearly time for lunch. Also no more photos! We ordered
at 1.00pm according to the correct time on the schedule.
As the jackets potatoes were reported to be “still in the
oven and rock hard – won’t be ready for another hour” (after everyone has
finished their lunch!) we ordered delicious alternatives on a variety of
different platters following modern trends of food presentation.
We had a hearty discussion about the new Bake Off programme
on Channel 4. It’s gonna be OK! But the ads are annoying (Editor's choice.... record it and skip through ads; or skip through the whole thing altogether!)
Bird count:
As there were no birds out and about in the storm we
resorted to birds that each of us had seen that morning at home:
Alison was very lucky to see a wren, a chaffinch, a robin, a
great tit, a blue tit, a coal tit, a dunnock (not a sparrow) and a collared
dove while eating breakfast. And also wins first prize for holding down 5 paper
rounds during the school holidays when 7 out of 8 boys were away.
Lynn saw a jackdaw and heard something singing sweetly at
5.00am while her granddaughter climbed all over her and woke her up.
Maggie saw none and Jo didn’t either. Hopeless! We thought
about going to the garden centre and looking for budgies, canaries and finches
but then thought that was taking birding far too seriously.
The two Helen’s missed a treat of a day – one visiting sunnier climes; the other, as it turned out an uninvited babe, being billy-no-mates in the dry, at home!
Pam got in touch later to apologise for not getting there:
Car trouble, which could turn out to be expensive to fix. We missed you Pam.
Hope the car is OK.
We are all looking forward to seeing everyone going to see
Bess at the theatre in September. Not so bad if it rains when you are indoors.
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