Saturday, 14 December 2019

Carsington Christmas Capers

Carsington

Friday 13th December - unlucky for some!


At precisely 9.57 on a very grey, damp and dismal day we assembled at Carsington for our pre Christmas gathering. We were almost a full house of babes apart from Helen J who had escaped the weather and the politics and was lazing on a beach in sunny Thailand, we seem incapable of making a decision without her! but we did manage to make one decision and headed to cafe - after we had finally worked out how to use the car park payment machine - it was a case of how many retired teachers does it take...... turns out the answer is five.

Fortified by coffee in the cafe and now joined by Pam, we were well placed to put the world to rights and analyse the depressing and slightly terrifying political situation resulting from yesterday’s election. Julia had cheered us up by wearing her Christmas jumper and thankfully the conversation took a more lighthearted turn as we caught up on everyone’s news of holidays and cruises and Lynn’s confession that the delightful Tali has been banned from a dog friendly pub!

Pam doing a sterling job of clearing up after us.

Coffee over it was time for breakfast - putting the world to rights certainly works up an appetite. For some reason the menu didn’t show any veggie options but we soon discovered that by asking at the counter we could have pretty much what we wanted - although they didn’t seem to have any impala available.

  Maggie will never have curly hair - or perhaps she is subconsciously saving the crusts for the dog.

Without anyone to guide us on our secret Santa procedure we yet again struggled to make a decision as to how to proceed - we had managed to smuggle them into a large shopping bag so no one knew who had brought which present but the big question was now or on the day - we decided that now was more fun and everyone could see what everyone had got. Unfortunately someone had got confused and had left a parcel at home (must be an age thing!) which meant that Alison didn’t have a present to open, she was very good about it and tried very hard to hide her disappointment and I am sure that Santa will get it to her before the big day. If only people would read instructions, forgetting to put a name on a parcel is bound to confuse and some people had blatantly ignored the recyclable wrapping instruction, there was almost a candle blunder but thankfully it turned out to be sparkly lights - phew!

Some jolly well chosen gifts and smiles all round- apart from Alison!

By this time the cafe was filling up with lots of people in Christmas jumpers settling down for a festive lunch and the miserable weather and other commitments made the decision not to go for a walk an easy one so we said our goodbyes until next year.

Mass takeover of Santa’s grotto

Today’s bird list:

Partridge (just the one)
Turtle doves
Blackbirds - otherwise known as colly birds
French hens
Geese
Swans



Friday, 8 November 2019

Wet. wet, wet around Wirksworth

Sanctuary at Maggie's
Friday 8th November 2019


The plan was so simple.  0915 at Maggie's for oatcake breakfast.  1100 at Chatsworth for a walk. As I only organise  GB days to be sunny, it came as a bit of a shock to have plans thwarted by the rather soggy outlook.  So, after about 51 panic WhatsApp messages and a couple of phone calls, we went ahead anyway as is our GB way, limiting ourselves to breakfast, just to be on the safe side. 

And of course, the day was absolutely gorgeous, as proved on my journey. 

Blue sky! 

However, not everyone could join us, including Lynn had to go for a welly walk instead before she got cut off from the rising tide. 

Tali, not sure whether river swimming is a good idea today.

At around 0930, Maggie, Charlotte, Jo, Alison, Julia and me plus newcomers Maureen and Bob met in the kitchen sanctuary. We briefly thought about Pam being a cool dude in Bude...'jazz hands' and Helen M who was probably still having a sundowner at whatever time of day it suited her! 

The kitchen was lovely and warm and a perfect place for drying off wet trews.

Ooohhh. That's a bit toasty! 

A bit of wafting works wonders!

 Maureen and I then settled into the serious business of the day, to try and find the most efficient way to cook up a lot of oatcakes, with Charlotte advising on the side. But in doing so, missed a lot of gossip! 

This one is far too sticky

This one takes up too much time 

But this method is perfect...

And magically, Chris turns up bang on time.  Perhaps eating oatcakes was a little more exciting than watching paint dry!

Cheers everyone

 "Fruit bits in mine too!  Cheers!" 

We pondered about the difference between oatcakes, pyclets and crumpets, but decided it was a northern-midlands-southern thingy, but they tasted so lovely that in the end there weren't any spare for Bob to take home and freeze. So, he left full, but empty-handed. 

With lashings of tea and coffee, conversation flowed, but we did pause to sing 'happy birthday' in tune to James who is celebrating a 100th birthday in Amsterdam. We thought about buying presents for much older folk, and decided that a trip out is all that's needed. Julia and Bob seemed pleased that this had worked. 

And we may not all need an 'Alexa' ....just yet, but a geeky little dual usb drive for one's mobile phone can really sort one's storage and memory out!

Maggie:  Ooh, a modern-day slate.. marvellous! 

The occasional glance out of the window, revealed that the sun was indeed still shining and life was carrying on as normal in Maggie's garden.

Nuthatch of the day

Squirrel of the day

But that's what happens when you let your garden 'go wild'!

So we came to the end of a wonderful morning without having really done anything at all.  And before we had even blinked, Maureen had cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher; there must be a super domestic goddess gene in the family.

On the way home, still blue sky driving....



































Saturday, 12 October 2019

Sudbury Hall and Childhood Museum

Ceilings and Splashing around in Sudbury
11th October 2019

 It was a quiet start to the day.  Jo and I arrived, and with  no sign of anyone, waited patiently, only to eventually discover that Helen M, Pam, Julia, Maggie and Alison were playing hide and seek in the café.   Mindful of the needs of others, and courtesy of an autistic coffee morning special event, the Babes had been waiting in silence for some time.  But Jo and I soon put that right although it would have been even better with Charlotte and Lynn!.

Talk flowed easily, as did Pam's teapot, so when we eventually ran out of steam and the rain had eased, we puddled across to the Hall for our first glimpse of the Vernon's household.

Helen M takes on the role of tour guide and proves to be very good at reading

...very good at  playing hide and seek

but always in the right place for vital information

We move out of the Hall and under the staircase (so dazzling, it didn't get photographed) because at this point we are all reading and chatting at the same time.  We learn that George Vernon, who at 25 years old, inherited Sudbury Hall in 1660. Being quite visionary and depending on which wife he was married to, he rebuilt quite a lot of Sudbury.  The 5th and 6th Lords added bits and took bits away.   By the time we get to the 1900s, a bit of colour was need: brown to white and cream to yellow.  If only the 9th Lord hadn't handed it over to the National Trust, they could have made a TV Series... Sudbury: Houses Under the Vernons, with repeats on Dave or was it with Sue Perkins?

We spent a lot of the day looking up

I spy a dragon... do you?

A pair of lizards will do nicely...

Unfortunately parts of the House were not open, and there were claims of a shortage of volunteers. 

But we daren't ask why!

We have a change of guide and Jo, missing having a bird list to do, reminds us of which parts of THAT film were created here. In anticipation of the day, some of the Babes have already dusted off their DVDs and are re-living THAT moment


but THAT moment is far away from here, so we have to cope with

HIM in the bedroom... dream on..

To be named the Long Hall can only mean one thing, it must be Long:  

51m just about does it.


Portraits adorn the walls and we play spot the difference with the poster girls, one of whom never did visit so we assume was a bit of fanciful dreaming.

A bit of a wardrobe malfunction on Nell Gwyn

I hope this looks as good on me as it does on you

We meet a lovely volunteer who furnished us with lots of information and with one click,  we are added to the portrait gallery.  Obviously, we are all appropriately dressed, as befits women of a higher standing.

Just think, we are all pausing in Mr D'Arcy's footsteps..

We turn into the library where another very knowledgeable volunteer talks us through the process of cleaning the books involving an Ikea bag and a piece of old rope! Sadly, the books  are not allowed to be read anymore (not even if one dusts the pages very, very slowly) .  And some were never meant to be read at all but have wonderful titles such as The New River by Old Salt and Rapid Streams by Slow Coach. 

'Tis such a 'sham' they are covering up the water pipes.

Moving on, we come across the Stump Box, a beautifully embroidered box
And on closer inspection...

Well, perhaps a bit too much information this time!

Feeling a little bit peckish, we head back to the café pausing just enough for a windswept photo

Hold onto your hats, girls!



We admire the tree scape

the water features

and through the long lens,  Canada geese in the distance.

  Over lunch and several discussions later:  should one continue with Sanditon or The Capture (both it turns out), camping out at home whilst water is extracted from gas pipes, young ones adulting with mortgages and most importantly how long does a 'season' last and are puppies on the horizon? Sadly, Jo now had to leave us to see how well Bob had managed in the car all morning.

With the weather persisting wetwards, we puddle across the path again, to the Childhood Museum.  Oh what fun!

a trip down memory lane

... along the chimney and out again

oh no she didn't!

'Cherish' ed by at least two babes

At the chalkface ... again

And with things not always what they seem or where they should be, we end up with a mini power cut and a bit more topsey turvey:

..snoopy and a space-hopper on the ceiling?

We spent so long in the museum that by the time we came out, the sun was shining!


Yey!!

Hats off, smiles on!


This was obviously our cue to gather round Pam's car, marvel at her dexterity in getting a tall plant into a packed boot and exchange past and future birthday presents.  Timing of our first Secret Santa will be fun and may not end up being quite so secret after all!

The bird count was easy today... one, but rather a lot of them.  Canada Geese. Tally still at 102!  A pity we can't add a hoopoe to the list!
























































Sunday, 15 September 2019

Kedleston - the return

Shady Oaks and Splash Pools

Friday 13th 2019

  

With several of our number otherwise engaged four of us gathered on a glorious morning with not a hint of Friday 13th in the air, well done Jo for ordering perfect weather and a picture perfect venue.
We started with a stroll around the gardens to see the stunning wild flowers recommended by the lady volunteers in  the ticket office and also to give Bob and Betty a chance to let off a bit of steam and anything else they might feel the need to let off!

   
They really were quite a sight to behold

 
But we did decide that none of our gardens were really big enough to recreate the effect and also none of us have the team of volunteers needed to maintain such a scene.

 
Next on the agenda was coffee and a good long chat catching up with all our summer adventures, in fact the chat lasted so long it almost turned into lunch.
 
 
 
Armed with the trusty National Trust walk leaflet in the capable hands of Maggie our duly elected guide for the day we set off on the 'long walk' which the leaflet told us should take an 1hour and 20 minutes, however with such a lot to chat and about and so much to see (including birds that required spotting) we were worried that it might take twice that and that there would only be cake left in the café for lunch.
 Maggie proved to be an excellent guide and pointed out the Sulphur Bath House which none of us had ever spotted before despite several previous visits - not sure that bathing in sulphur sounds like much fun.

 
Hard to believe that Jo didn't have a notebook with her - but bird list making equipment was soon found and was soon followed by some excitement when a nice gentleman from Dudley gave us a false sighting of a shoveler on the lake - his wife was very dubious as were we and it didn't make the list - he tried to redeem himself with some Brummie jokes - mainly for Maggie's benefit.
 
 
Betty looking longingly at the water.....
 
 
.........and getting her own way - as usual.
 
 
Onwards up through the shady oaks, taking in the views and admiring the beautiful striped lawn. Our guide informed us that this is one of the best examples of an 18th century circuit walk in the country.
 
 
Enjoying the view and the lovely benches in Vicar Wood and wondering what the vicar actually got up to in the woods - and also what the priest got up to in Priest Wood which are also known as Pleasure Garden Woods - probably better not to know!
 
 
Back through the gardens and back to the café  which thankfully still had lunch left - still lots left to chat about - Jo and I couldn't compete with Julia and Maggie's famous people that I met on my holiday stories - quite a quartet of Greg Dyke, Noel Fielding, Lynn Faulds Wood and John Stapleton and then Maggie topped it all by spotting her chum Lord Curzon sadly he was in his land rover so couldn't stop to chat.
 
Our Bird list for the day:
 
Coot
Mandarin Duck
Little Egret
Heron
Mallard
Crow
Swan
Canada Geese
Buzzard
Black headed gulls
Wren
Great Crested Grebe
Grey lag Goose
Hacksaw
Pied Wagtail
House Martin
Long tailed fit
Tufted Duck
 
Not a bad list considering that we weren't really concentrating and a lovely day was had by all.