Sunday Sevens #55

I haven’t written a Sunday Sevens (devised by Natalie at Threads and bobbins) in such a long time. In fact I’ve not written any type of post in a while. So I think it’s about time I rectified that don’t you? I’ve managed to scrape together a few pictures from the past week for a Sunday Sevens (more truthfully a Sunday Sixes :p). It’s been quite a mixed bag!

#walk1000miles:

This week I’ve been struggling to get my miles up. What with buses running late, low motivation and feeling poorly, all I’ve achieved is a sorry 29 miles for this week. Which brings my overall total to 1,556 miles.

If you are participating in the challenge, how far have you walked this week?

#walk1000miles

Riley wearing a poppy

Poppy Appeal:

In commemoration of this years Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, I decided to buy Riley a poppy to wear. I think he looks grand.

Book I am reading:

For the past week or so I have been reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I don’t know why I picked the book up as I don’t like post-apocalyptic stories. The narrative is of a father and son travelling and struggling for survival. It is a very bleak read.

Have you read this book? Saw the film? What were your impressions?

The Road

Burst Pipe

Burst Pipe:

The downside to this week was a burst water pipe in our kitchen. The positive was that it happened when we were at home so we could quickly turn off the water and clean up. We managed to stop the flood encroaching too much into the dining room and thankfully the floors dried out after a day. David luckily was able to replace the pipe and kitchen taps without much cost to us. I don’t know what I would do without him! The pipe itself was rusted in a few places and would have burst at some point. It was a sobering event but we can glean more positives than negatives from the experience.

Beatrix Potter 50p:

I managed to acquire a 2018 Beatrix Potter 50p. A friend kindly found Flopsy Bunny for me.

Flopsy Bunny

David and Christine at Tavern Co

Celebration:

To cheer ourselves up after the burst pipe incident, David and I joined in with a family celebration. My brother’s girlfriend had recently graduated from Derby University, so we all headed to Tavern Co for a Mexican knees up!

So, that was my week, how was yours?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

A Year in Photos – 2016

Sharon from the wonderful Sunshine and Celandines suggested the topic for today’s post. I already do a yearly video compilation (watch out for that in the new year), but I thought I would post 12 pictures (or video) that give an impression of the year 2016!

So here goes!

January: 

The year began with a little trip to North Wales. On a cold, drizzly day David and I visited Rhosydd Slate Quarry at Cwmorthin. The weather made the scenery even more atmospheric! Who knows how many ghosts wander the rugged, unforgiving slate scattered landscape?

Rhosydd Slate Quarry, Cwmorthin

February:

On another of David’s days off work, we visited the Lake District and took a leisurely stroll along Derwentwater. Little did we know, we would visit the shores of Derwentwater several times in 2016! I had discovered a new hobby!

Derwentwater

March:

With spring just around the corner, March was all about the yarden! I busied myself with planting free packets of seeds that I’d requested from Grow Wild, a Kew Gardens initiative!

April:

The much anticipated Hans Zimmer concert in Birmingham came and went in a blink of an eye! A good time was had by all that night! Hans himself introduced film classics such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy.

May:

In May, David and I returned to the shores of Derwentwater. This time I bravely stripped to my swim suit and slipped over rocky stones to embark on my first ever wild swim! It would be the beginning of many swims undertaken in 2016 in scenery that is nothing but inspiring!

Facing Blencathra

June:

For the second year running I took part in The Wildlife Trusts, 30 Days Wild. This year I packed even more wild into June. We built a pond, harvested our first crop of maris bard potatoes, grew borage for bees, and I even went without technology for a day!

Maris Bard Potatoes

July:

In July, David and I took a day trip to Sheffield to see their herd of colourful elephants.

August:

The year wasn’t all fun days out and wild swimming! There was lots of hard work to be done on the house. With detritus clogging up the space under the hallway and sagging/rotten beams found under the dinning room, the long summer days were filled with the sawing of wood and hours of reconstruction.

Dining room floor

September:

At Browns Liverpool, I partook in my first, but very rich afternoon tea. The red velvet cake was delicious but the whole afternoon was a sugar overload!

Afternoon Tea, Browns, Liverpool

October:

Autumn became centre stage in all its colourful glory as I participated in Wild October! I watched a garden spider spin its web, relived childhood by kicking fallen leaves, turned 40 and holidayed in the Lake District.

November:

The iconic Weeping Window from the Tower of London poppies came to Caernarfon Castle, just in time for Armistice. The poppies are touring the UK, thanks to 14-18 Now, and are a fitting memorial to the fallen.

The Weeping Window at Caernarfon Castle

December:

Christmas Tree

December is all about Christmas and spending time with family. My little 3ft Christmas tree, adorned with birds and polar bears always goes up on the 1st. Artie once again had an Advent calendar to count the days to Christmas, and this year I managed to get a Christmas wreath for the front door!

So there you have it, my 2016 in pictures!

For some this year has been a harsh year, but for David and I there have been more happy times than sad. Indeed we have made many wonderful memories out of new experiences this year.

I wish you all good health and happiness for 2017! Let’s make it a year to remember!

Thanks for reading,

Christine xx

#PoppiesTour – Caernarfon Castle.

If you have seen my previous posts about the poppies at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Liverpool, you will know that I am trying to see them as they visit various places around the UK!

Sadly we never made the journey to see The Wave at Lincoln Castle, but I made sure we booked free tickets to see the Weeping Window at Caernarfon Castle! The event was hotly anticipated and we managed to get a time slot on the penultimate day the poppies were being displayed. All other Saturday’s had been booked up! So on the 19th November, David and I headed for the A55 and Caernarfon.

Caernarfon Castle

Caernarfon Castle has always been on my list of places to visit. Seeing the poppies and the castle together was a perfect combination. Then add the free entrance to the castle whilst the poppies were at Caernarfon and it made for a fantastic day!

The castle was already bustling with people when we arrived at 11am. (Having parked the car for £4 at the harbour carpark). I have a feeling the castle has never been so popular as it has been since the poppies arrived! I now understand why you had to book a time slot to visit. The narrow staircases going up and down the towers were treacherous. It was bad enough climbing single file but when faced with people wanting to go past you on a narrow stone staircase, things grew a little scary! Thankfully we were only stuck on a tower’s staircase once, and I came away with a slightly grazed hand!

Stairway

The poppies were as I remembered them. Their emblematic hue made people pause, silently in awe. We took hundreds of pictures of the poppies and below are a selection of the best!

Once we had seen the poppies, we made the most of the free entry and explored the castle. We walked along curtain walls, took in the views from the towers and even managed to dress up at the Welch Fusiliers Museum.

We spent a good two – three hours at the castle and I would recommend a visit if in the area.

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From Caernarfon we headed home via two llyns (lakes). I was on the lookout for prospective swims for next year and two I had in mind, fitted the bill!

Llyn Cwellyn

The first was Llyn Cwellyn, actually a reservoir. Sadly there wasn’t much of a walk along the lakeside and we were only at the lake for about an hour. (Having paid £2.50 parking fee for four hours!) To make the llyn wheelchair accessable there is a wooden walkway but sadly, there was only one actual ‘beach’ in which to enter the water.

However the water was crystal clear and the shingle floor looked an easy entrance into the llyn that seemed to deepen quickly. David and I were the only people at the llyn, (while others headed for highs such as Snowdon). The area was so peaceful, the sun sitting low on the horizon, gave me a sudden wave of nostalgia. Wast Water came to mind. I wish I had brought my swimming costume with me and braved the cold!!

Afterwards, we headed towards Llyn Gwynant. Looking for parking places we passed Llyn Dinas which also looks a lovely place to swim!

We parked alongside Llyn Gwynant and headed for the shore. I got Terence (turtle thermometer) out and measured a very chilly 7°c!

 

Llyn Gwynant

Testing the water temperature!

Both llyns have got me super excited for next year. Spring/Summer 2017 can’t come quick enough!

Have you visited North Wales/Snowdonia? What are your favourite llyns?

Christine x

100 Years.

7.28am on 1st July 1916 was the first day of the bloodiest battle in British military history, the Somme. 19,240 British men lost their lives that day. Multiple offensives would continue until November 1916. Over the course of four months, more than a million men were dead or wounded.

We should not forget their sacrifice.

Poppies at YSP

The Weeping Window: Liverpool

Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window: from Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Liverpool, St George’s Hall, 2015.