Six Stalwarts gather at Cromford

 Six Stalwarts Gather at Cromford

12th October

On a chilly morning six stalwart members, back from their travels, gathered at the Wharf Cafe at Cromford. It took a while for us to deal with the archaic technology of the coin only parking payment machines but between us we managed to crack it.

Pam broke with tradition and arrived first and was already tucking in to her post outdoor swim toasted tea cake. She was able to reassure us that she dresses appropriately in the pool and that there is very little danger of hypothermia. Strangely there was a mixed reception for Pam’s plan to walk the Cleveland way next year to celebrate her birthday with a zero.

A warming  cup of coffee was very welcome and there was a lot to catch up on. Holiday tales and adventures were exchanged and we speculated on what our absent chums were up to.

Once we had warmed up and donned the appropriate footwear we set off to stroll along the canal.

The moss tree caught our eye as we set off

On the lookout for Thrush - who knew it lurked in the great outdoors!

Arriving at Aqueduct cottage we were relieved to find a supply of high vis jackets, just what we needed on such a difficult walk!

The cottage looking very smart.

Dodging the recently felled ash trees we headed down the Nightingale Arm. This sculpture was number 10, not sure where the previous 9 were hanging out, probably in the woods somewhere. Surprisingly we didn’t spot any otters in the river even though there was a sign alerting us to their presence. 

But we did see and hear lots of Jays and Helen J supplied us with the astonishing fact that Jays can remember where they have hidden fifteen thousand nuts but squirrels can only remember where they have hidden five. (The numbers might not be quite accurate but it was an interesting fact)

When a pretty waterside plant needs identifying Jo has no qualms about accosting a man in waders who is working hard to clear out a stream, he very obligingly helped out.

Not sure what the grumpy face is for!

Back on the canal and a welcoming party of swans and cygnets 

On the return down the canal the sun came out.

Back at the café several bowls of very good sweet potato soup were consumed. There was some discussion about what the green bits in it were: onion, leek, bits of blanket and the least appealing was dog hairs which they definitely weren’t and thankfully we had all finished at that point!

Recommendations for good telly watching were shared - someone surprised us with her enthusiasm for Cowboys! Various ways of catching spiders were discussed- apparently Chris Packham does not approve of sucking them up the hoover and feeding them to the dog is probably a better option. Maggie has been spending romantic evenings with Chris watching their pet hedgehog. We now know that baby frogs have pointy noses and according to Alison we should only worry about rats when they run across our feet when we are sat in our cosy armchairs in front of the fire. 

And finally we must watch out for Helen J on Britain’s got Talent performing her wonderful bird impressions!

Such spoilsports! We were all planning to exit via the dumb waiter!

Bird list for the day

Black headed hill

Blackbird

Blue tit

Canada Geese

Coal tit

Jay - bird of the day

Little Grebe in glorious colour

Long tailed tit

Magpie 

Mallard 

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Wood pigeon 

And a lot of squirrels 

Raindrops keep falling

Raindrops keep falling.

Friday 14th July 2023  or near enough.

A shout out to meet up, was mostly met with... 'another county or country is calling'. But having not seen each other since snowdropping in February, and  not put off by the weather forecast, Alison and I met at Allestree Park. 

With full wet kit on, we needed to find beauty on a drab day. So although Allestree House may need lots of tlc, Alison found subtle shades of pink amongst the grey quite appealing. 

Well, stone me! 

'Tis not even a pretty puddle 😆

We chatted about the cost of living and what it was like, back in the day,  paying off a mortgage of around 15%, made affordable by making up a flask and sandwiches, finding last minute holiday deals and camping... everywhere, throughout the year!  Pleased not to have to go on strike to get our well earned 10.1% state pension rise this  year though. 

Walking through the trees, a lot, meant when we got a view, albeit in low cloud, we could still see far away. And if you haven't been to the Park recently, the old greens are now brown, 

That's a fair way🤭

Back in the woods,  just to prove we'd met up, Alison obliges.. 

Yep, rain's down, hood up! 

We finally head to the Little Shed at Allestree for our well earned brunch. To the amusement of other customers in summer dresses and sandals (yep, really), we peeled off our wet kit and settled down to dry off and check out the menu. And were our eyes deceiving us?

Can't think why we gave the Puppaccino a miss!! 

We chatted about all sorts  but the only thing of real significance was Alison going off-grid; she has the app but not the sunshine, not today anyway.  🌞

We talked about where everyone else was and whether they were all faring with better weather? 

Perhaps not, Helen M in Yorkshire!

The grass is greening up nicely though. 

Wonderful Wharfedale in the Yorkshire monsoon season.

There was a hint of a rainy festival photo heading my way at one point  but I think, at the time of writing, Janice and Pam were actually not at the same one so...

🎪 👢☂💃☔👢🎪

That'll do ! 

Jo was en route back from rural life abroad and catching up a bit of culture, finding the only cool spot in Spain. 

A pretty cool building...

Charlotte, Julia and Lynn all busy too. But no one was as busy as Maggie under blue skies, again. As we know she'd already launched a rocket earlier in the week but here she is  bird watching at Rosscarbery at the exact moment Alison and I were brunching.  Maggie having a turn... 

 At watching  terns diving (our only bird for the day!)

And to round off, here's a lovely water feature

My first ever water lily!! (So proud) 

The Art cafe of conversation in Ashbourne

The Art cafe of conversation in Ashbourne

Friday 9th June 2023

Seven out of ten babes do Ashbourne is a pretty good number especially as it included Charlotte! We each arrived in our own time at the revamped  and 're-placed' Courtney cafe in the Art gallery. In fact it was a case of 'guess who's coming up the stairs next?' With Pam leading the way, waiting for the rest of us to join her; it's always good to have new experiences. The rest of us blaming our tardiness on the coin- only operating car park (with contactless signage hidden from view), new hairdos, tractors and a near trip to the golf club. 

Once we had caught up with Charlotte's continuing horror story of post-Covid, post-fall and post-concussion, we did move on to other topics: the wonders of Ukrainian musicians, the difference between Ashbourne's day and night clientele and hairdressers' chat (best pretend to need a snooze). Spoilt for choice, we finally ordered our lunch. 

Beautiful freshly-made vegetarian salads above. And below,  fresh salads made vegetarian for Charlotte,  shown in a slightly fuzzy photo

Obviously empathising with Charlotte's state  the day after any activity.

And the other side of the table demolished apple and parsnip soup with an unknown, but lovely shake of tasty brown bits.  

Hope it wasn't the left-over sprinkles from your coffee, Maggie!

I'm only sorry not to capture Helen M's avocado on toast, but I'd already been reprimanded for my plate of  🥑 avocado air miles ... and  didn't wish to upset the applecart so to speak. And I'd tried sooooo hard to ensure the vegetarians had a good choice of menu too. 

We chatted about chance meetings with friends and ex-colleagues. Perhaps Babe Jane might share views of her art work? (Let's see if she reads this!). And when she becomes famous, all personalised gifts from her might make us a bit if money  too 🥰. 

Horror Spring Watch viewing, and we're not just talking about some presenters, led us to our own horror stories. Fact: magpies' beaks can reach into penned chicken eggs,  a Babe dog is a secret robin killer and beware the sparrowhawk on our fledglings.

And did you know that gannets' eyes change colour after avian flu? 

Not sure it works for a puffin though....

There appears to be a bit of garden competitiveness too! How full are your water butts? How are the herbs growing? You had a crested newt?! How many frogs? 🐸 As it turns out, not many if the Babe robin-turned-frog-killer is let loose! 

How well are your herbs? How many frogs? 🤣

Matters turned back to the ageing process, and 'no' we're not all hurtling towards being 80, Maggie! Although Charlotte admitted that her practise on the zimmer -frame was a comfort, but something for the distant future. Care needed in choosing which films to attend at the cinema with youngsters and yes, someone's house did 'rock' with sounds of the Download festival (Can you hear them now as I type?  Slipknot are on later)

7/10 thinking about Alison, Lynn, Janice and wishing they were here with us. 

As Pam didn't want to get yet another parking ticket, we had to say cheerio at speed, but not before our photograph and present exchanges.  How many birthdays? And whilst we are getting better at re-using bags for presents, a homemade one is even better!

 

Hope you all got home in time for a cuppa before the heat built up. Here's to next time, whenever and wherever that might be.  Cheers! 

Mini May

 Mini May Gathering at the Stone Centre 

May 17th 2023

Finally after the hiatus that befell us in April we finally managed a mini get together for lunch at the Stone Centre. So Lynn, Alison, Maggie, Julia and Helen M gathered on a marvellous May Day. 

Pam  was off to sunny Ilfracombe and Jo was in sunny Scotland and Charlotte and Janice were otherwise engaged.

Helen J sent greetings from windy Porto.

Alison arrived directly from her invigilation duties with stories of ear buds and toilet breaks and other such innovations which made us reflect on how lucky we are to have escaped when we did! We all agreed that she definitely deserved her hot chocolate with all the trimmings.

We were all very pleased to hear that Bubbles has escaped from quarantine in the cupboard and had been off skiing  - perhaps she was the only one who was pleased that there was almost too much snow.

We met a pack of delightful whippets and a lovely Irish terrier and said hello to a colleague from the distant past.

The conversation covered many subjects, the joys of cauliflower, the dubious joys of Brussels sprouts, the benefits of having a dog along with the disadvantages and is there any way to guarantee you won’t end up with a poo eater. The horrors of Ofsted were briefly touched upon, something else to remind us how lucky we are! Maggie is working her way through 70 things to do at 70 and Lynn admitted that she has forgotten what is on her bucket list so couldn’t possibly manage 70 things to do. We shared a few good book recommendations and how annoying sobbing in the cinema can be, some of us admitted to still hanging on to dvds and Alison sang the praises of her fire stick which we think might be illegal or just very up to date. We all agreed that growing up in cold houses had made us a tough bunch not phased by broken boilers and misbehaving heating systems and we wondered if the failing postal system means the death of the hand written letter. We all agreed that May is the best month and that we are very lucky in very many ways.

Bird list

There were lots of them singing their hearts out but we were far too busy chatting to spot them. 

Tali had been very good waiting patiently in the car and was very relieved that Lynn finally set her free!

Discovering Derby

 Discovering Derby

March 8th 2023

On a very chilly day with snow forecast a decision was taken to assemble in Derby and explore some of the industrial heritage of the city from the warmth and comfort of the Silk Mill.

Those of us of a certain age decided to try out our bus passes and brave the bus and it has to be said it worked very well, those not yet of an age to qualify for a bus pass took advantage of the two pound bus fares or a lift from Pam!

Alison, Janice and Lynn weren’t able to join us for various reasons but the rest of us made it

to the Quad for coffee and caught upon everyone’s recent activities including European Grand Tours, living it up in posh hotels in the Caribbean, discovering the home of the two Roberts in Scotland and even a school trip to Germany which provided delicious souvenir chocolates.

Fortified with coffee we headed off to the Silk Mill

Three very splendid specimens 

Lots to see and we have only just made it through the door.

Lots of very impressive machinery, some old and some much newer.

And certain exhibits that required a pound of our hard earned coinage…

……..not sure they were all such good value for money!

And plenty of signs to ensure that everyone behaves in an appropriate manner 

Jo and Helen found a friend but couldn’t get through the locked door to the best bit of the whole museum that only Pam and Maggie managed to see.

And on International Women’s Day it seemed very appropriate that we discovered these two.

Despite the best efforts of some members of the group we weren’t able to gatecrash the buffet laid out for the visiting school trip but we did enjoy some very good soup and delicious cheesy herby bread……

…… with this hanging over our heads!

Realising it was almost 2 o’clock and almost time for the trainee jumped in the lift and headed up stairs to catch it…….

…..typically it was running slightly late but once the lady in charge had worked out which buttons to press  it set off on its journey.

With that as a grand finale we all headed off home clutching our bus passes and our two pounds and all intending to return to make some more fascinating discoveries.