Whatstandwell Revisited

There and Back and Variations

12th February 2020

A simple there and back walk planned for today to accommodate people opting in and opting out at various points. Even without our chief organiser we managed to organise a perfect day - chilly but beautiful blue skies.

Julia, Maggie, Jo and Helen M met at Cromford Wharf at almost the exactly the planned time and along with an excited Betty and after a bit of scrabbling about for change for parking we set off along the canal.

We met Lynn and Tali at High Peak junction - another marvellous piece of organisation. Betty and Tali were very quick to make friends and Betty was really enjoying her freedom and showing Tali who was boss. I think we can definitely say that Julia really fell for Tali in fact she was completely poleaxed  - but after a quick bit of first aid from Jo she was back on her feet and we were all alert for the cry of dog behind after that.

We were all impressed with the work going on at the aqueduct cottage and we had a bit of history from Jo (did her ancestors once live there?)

Find out more here

Onwards through the tunnel and at last a bit of the walk where Jo felt that her wellies were justified.

Eventually we met up with Pam who had walked from Whatstandwell to meet up with us and join us for lunch. There is always time in Pam’s busy schedule for lunch so onward to the Family Tree with fingers crossed that they have enough soup to go round.

Spicy Parsnip soup all round and very delicious it was too. Betty did her very best to show Tali how to behave in a cafe but Tali was determined that everyone should know that she was there! A nice leisurely lunch with a good catch up and much discussion of holiday plans the hot topics being Israel and coronavirus on cruise ships. We also had a good game of where’s Helen J as no one seems to know which beach she is reclining on - Torremelinos seems to be the favourite answer.

Maggie was the lucky person with the pre Valentines Day bread roll.

After lunch we said goodbye to Pam and Jo who had appointments to keep and the rest of us set off back along the canal.

Betty and Tali seem to have endless energy and had great fun in the water and mud seeing who could find the best stick.

We said goodbye to Lynn and Tali at High Peak Junction and the three stalwarts continued on to Cromford. Maggie suffered some confusion when we met a dog with the same name, we had to restrain her from obeying when the owner kept shouting ‘Maggie come here!’

Back at Cromford we came across Bob, Julia had succeeded in locking him out of his own home and he had been patiently waiting for our return after trudging back from Matlock.

Our bird count for the day: all the tits, lots of dabchicks, mallards, swans, coots, crows, robin - I think we need to spend less time chatting and it didn’t help that  most unusually Jo didn’t have her note book and pen!

January Ladies who Lunch

January 8th 2020

Let’s Just do Lunch

This will just be a quick one and will lack the usual visuals as I forgot to take any photos. 

The day nearly didn’t happen  - we did have plan A but it fell apart at the last minute when Charlotte’s house guests sabotaged the hot tub and Charlotte got the dreaded lurgy. Plan B involved a return visit to Attenborough with our trusty bird expert Helen J who then also got the dreaded lurgy! Alison and Pam where both off playing in the snow somewhere and Jo was working so our numbers were drastically reduced. Rather than cancel the day we decided to opt for a lunch and decided to meet at the Family Tree at Whatstandwell.

As it turned out Jo was able to join us on her way to Belper so then there were five. We had a lovely catch up, hearing all about everyone’s Christmas and we are all boycotting Sainsbury’s after Julia’s turkey horror story. Holiday plans for the year ahead were outlined and we spent a lot of time cooing over Jo’s calendar featuring the gorgeous Jack!

Lunch was good despite the fact that Jo very selfishly had the last bowl of soup, the brie in the toasties had to be replaced with cheddar as the brie had also run out and Lynn was somewhat disappointed that her her chips were skinny not chunky.

We did manage to spot a cockatoo and a bullfinch (on Jo’s scarf) and we did feel a bit guilty that the only walk we managed was to and from the car park but it was good to catch up and we even managed to plan our next two get togethers.

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

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....

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!