Olympic Fun

It's been a pleasant week weather wise culminating in a very good opening presentation of the 30th Olympiad, the London 2012 Olympic games. Hate is an awful word and I rarely if ever use it. However, I hate all the detractors, the whingers, moaners, spiteful media and people who are just so negative, their ulcers must be on overtime.

Instead of being negative over sport, why don't they sit back and enjoy the spectacle and learn a few things. It is interesting that the cost of the opening ceremony was £27M which is a lot of money albeit it had a global audience of over 100 million. One footballer, sold to Liverpool FC last season cost £35M. For goodness sake put it into context and go and find something else to moan at - or preferably, try and see some good in something.

There were several highlights for me and Mr Boyles vision was very well portrayed. I think one Los Angeles newspaper called it 'very British.' Certainly, and why not.

I got  a little damp today as I cut the grass surrounded by black clouds and eventually a short but heavy shower put paid to the gardening today although this weekend has seen lots of work emptying and tidying our garage ready for the conversion into a bedroom. 15 years of accumulated spider skeletons are hidden in various corners.

I hope you have a great week, and wherever in the world you are reading this from, I hope your Olympic team do well.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Beauty and the Beast

A bee on my dahlia flower this morning

Pyracantha will be familiar to some gardeners; it's a shrub which has beautiful cream or white flowers in spring and lovely berries for the birds in winter. The berries come in a number of colours, but predominantly cream, orange and red. Blackbirds and pigeons love the berries, especially in late winter when there's nothing much left.  This year's tiny young berries are here already. 

Pyracantha - before pruning

However as with much that is beautiful in the garden, there is a dark side to this hardy bush. 

Pyracantha - after pruning

This evergreen shrub, its common name 'firethorn' as the name suggests has thorns. If you want an effective barrier or to deter potential trespassers, then pyracantha is for you. The young thorns on new green growth are fairly soft, but wait a few months and those thorns on hard wood can grow up to about two inches in length and are like needles. They are truly awful. I cut mine back today because it was getting out of hand and it is advisable on this scale of job to use electric shears or large hand shears rather than small secateurs and without doubt gardening gloves. But beware, gloves are probably still not thick enough to prevent your hand being skewered so pick up cut branches gently and dispose of rather than compost.

'Akantha' - thorn

Although bitter, apparently pyracantha berries can be made into a very nice jelly, but I don't think the birds would be too happy. A member of the apple family, the name pyracantha apparently is first seen in the 1660s and is a mix of Greek pyr - fire and akantha - thorn.

My first water lily of the season

You may recall that I've talked about nothing much else but the weather this year, i.e., the rain, but the summer has finally arrived with some fine weather, blue skies and sun. It's hot. I read Donna's blog who comes from central Illinois and they are in a very bad drought, so I hope some of the rain we've had can find its way over there for her. The power of thought probably brought us rain so lets wish rain for Donna and her community.

We're having some building work done soon to convert a garage to a bedroom and a morning room to another bedroom which will give our children who are still at home larger bedrooms rather than the cramped ones they have at the moment so the house will be in a bit of a state in the next few weeks. The trick is to empty the garage which tends to be a junk room (it's never seen a car in the fifteen years we've been here.) Wish me luck!

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Bramshill, an English Country Seat

Bramshill House (south west front)

Its been a busy week this week with a trip to the other end of the country from sunny Yorkshire (from time to time) to rainy Hampshire which from here is 'down south.' The two day trip was a days travelling down there on Wednesday and a workshop on Thursday and travelled back the same day which meant a long day in all. It's a long way to travel just for a workshop, but it was important and ultimately, it will be very useful.

Bramshill House lake

I stayed at Bramshill College, now owned by a quango of the Home Office and it's set in beautiful open grounds in beautiful countryside. The college buildings are fairly modern and well appointed for residents/students and the site has many facilities including its own lake. However, the pièce de résistance is the old manor house which stands overlooking glorious  Hampshire countryside.

Regrettably not open to the public (although there are open days), the Jacobean house is a wonderful example of English Building opulence of the 17th century and of course as with all old large houses, it has its fair share of spirits, (and I don't mean drink in a bottle). Regular readers will know I am a Spiritualist, but I'll give a history of this beautiful old house before I tell one or two sad tales of yesteryear which has lead to many ghost sightings over the centuries.

Details of the south west frontispiece and it includes one of my favourite images - a green man

Edward, Lord Zouche

In 1605, the 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth, Lord Edward Zouche (pictured left courtesy of Wikipedia) built Bramshill House on the site of a 14th century manor house in the Parish of Bramshill or Bromeselle. Nothing remains of that original house save for a single four foot nine inches thick wall. A travelled man and a diplomat, he was not a brilliant politician in the highest echelons of government, lacking some of the shrewdness required at the time of political and social upheaval in England. The house itself took 20 years to build, mainly through Lord Zouches' lack of money (many other large houses of a similar size were built in about 4 years). Zouche died in the house and although the whereabouts of his remains are unknown, he never lived to see the house fully completed and died without a male heir.

The small lake next to the house where, legend has it, the Black Prince drowned in 1376, although the evidence suggets that he died elsewhere of cancer or multiple sclerosis

King James I visited the house in 1620 and after World War II, the exiled King Michael and Queen Ana of Romania lived at Bramshill. Sadly, Edward the Lord Zouches' only lasting legacy is the house itself.

A storm approaches from the south west - time to go

Allegedly the 3rd most haunted house in the UK, ghostly sightings are stuff of legend and there have been many sightings, even in modern times and made by credible witnesses. There are too many to mention here, but I will cite you a couple of the most popular stories, again courtesy of material informally published by the college.

Today inside the entrance hall to the house stands an Italian oak chest known as the Mistletoe Chest. The story goes that a beautiful Italian Ginevre Orsini was married upon a Christmas Eve in 1747. After the wedding and the wedding breakfast, the bride, carrying a sprig of mistletoe challenged her husband  to find her in a game of hide and seek. Her husband and family spent many hours and days searching for her to no avail. The heartbroken family left and started a new life in France.  A few years later, they returned to their ancestral home and in preparation for their arrival, a servant opened the old oak chest to look for some linen.  The chest was locked from the outside and when it was opened, revealed was the body of the bride, in her wedding dress still carrying the mistletoe.  The chest was imported into the House from Italy and the ghost of Ginevre came with it. 

The ghost of a beautiful young lady dressed in white, presumably Ginevre, has been seen often in the house and indeed whilst lodging at the house, the King of Romania asked staff to move his children to another room to prevent them from being disturbed by the lady in white who regularly walked through their bedrooms at night. The White Lady.

A Grey Lady, a member of the Cope family (who bought the house in 1749) has been seen for many years is still seen even today and she is always accompanied by the scent of lilies. This lady dressed in grey with blonde hair is always said to be sad and has been seen with tears rolling down her face. However haunting is not the exclusive job of women and there are many male spirits at the house including one man dressed in tennis gear. Ronald, the son of the last private owner of the House, Lord Brocket who died after falling from a train

There are stories of an old man with a grey beard as well as a gamekeeper accidentally killed by an arrow fired by the then Archbishop of Canterbury in 1621 whilst hunting. The nun in the chapel, the green man (Henry Cope), the Black Prince near the small pond, the gardener at the lake and the little boy on the terrace are just some of the other stories of ghostly sightings at this wonderful old house.

Sleep well

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Double Bubble

Today's blog is a double hatter, two stories for the price of one; a report on Cottingham Day yesterday 7 July and a visit to Burnby Hall Gardens in Pocklington, East Yorkshire today.

I had my stall with my partner in crime Linda in the Darby and Joan Hall in Cottingham for the Cottingham Day celebrations in East Yorkshire, a day celebrating the best of the village and what a fabulous day it was and the weather shone like high summer - well done Mother Nature for smiling on us just for one day! The day was fantastic and a huge success.

Our stall

I met two old school friends, neither of whom I have met for 39 years and many other friends came to say hello. I also met a friend who was in the Cottingham Dramatic Society with me a lot of years ago. We sold a bit on the stall and had a wander round the village centre and saw all sorts of stalls and events, vintage cars, a parade, Her Majesty the Queen look alike, music, games, food and fun. I was carrying quite a lot so didn't take my camera which is very unusual but I took some photo's on my phone which isn't quite the same, but here they are:

Someone's been busy polishing

Vintage and not so vintage motorcycles

Village green taken over to keep the kids happy

Vintage cars

Today I went with a friend to Burnby Hall Gardens in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, which I've been to in the dim and distant past,  to see the magnificent ponds with the nations collection of water lillies and a hungry shoals of hundreds and hundreds of huge koi carp set in beautiful gardens.

The gardens are run as a trust for the benefit of the community, left by the former owner Major Percy Marlborough Stewart who died in 1962. There is a very good modern visitors centre, a small museum and a lovely cafe. There is a small collection of birds in an aviary and hidden gardens. There's a children's play area and a Victorian garden. You can even buy some of the plants which can be found in the gardens. The prices are reasonable to get in and you should put at least two or three hours to go round everything. There are regular events, band concerts and displays for the public.

Just bear in mind the pictures show a tiny fraction of the lake and huge number of lillies (I don't know how many but there seems to be hundreds) in many acres of water. Here is an amazing bit of nonsense footage, but shows you the size, quality and voracious nature of the Koi carp in the lake:

Hope you've had a great weekend.

Chat soon.

Ta-ra

Rain, Rain, Rain

If us British folk didn't have the weather or a British (actually he's Scottish) tennis player in the Wimbledon finals for the first time in a thousand years, we wouldn't have much to talk about. Yet again the weather dominates the headlines today as more rain deposits itself on the bulk of the UK and flooding alerts are too numerous to count. Even after the rain has stopped, and there's more forecast, river and stream levels continue to rise as flood water comes off the land.

At 35 metres above sea level, we don't have too much to worry about in terms of flooding but the grass is squelchy to walk on and plants have been damaged by the latest heavy persistent rain.  Elsewhere in the East Riding of Yorkshire, roads have been closed and homes flooded for the second time in a year. 

I was going to be party to a paranormal investigation in Lincolnshire on Saturday night, but that's been abandoned as most of it is outside and the ground is sodden.

Still on Saturday, it's Cottingham Day. Cottingham was where I was brought up. Allegedly the largest village in England (I don't think that was ever true), it's a pleasant place and Cottingham Day has been going many years. In my childhood, the fields between Cottingham and Hull were home to a show-jumping competition hosting the most famous names of the day such as Harvey Smith and other international renown stars.

These days it's much less opulent as the weather has wreaked havoc from time to time and the fields do flood. So tomorrow with my business partner Linda, we have a stall in the Darby and Joan Hall in Finkle Street safely under cover selling our angel items - part of the arts and crafts section.

It is a coincidence, but the Darby and Joan Hall has personal connections with myself and my family. The Hall has been the home of the WRVS (Women's Royal Voluntary Service) and my aunt Marjorie and her mother, my grandmother Daisy Alice were both active in parts of the service. 

My mother still serves Friday lunches at the Hall for the elderly.

My lovely Aunt Marjorie in her WRVS uniform (parts of the picture were coloured years ago) at a flower show in the Darby and Joan Hall.

The opening ceremony at the Darby and Joan Hall, Cottingham on 31 December 1954, my grandmother Daisy Alice circled at the back on the left, my aunt Marjorie on the right at the back.

It took me a while to find the pictures which I scanned many years ago from an album belonging to the hall.

Keep dry!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

What a Doughnut!

Assorted best seller doughnuts from Krispy Kreme

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun? I placed these pictures on the blog nearly a fortnight ago, got busy with something else, saved the page and completely forgot until reminded by a blog follower that I hadn't posted for a while - thanks Linda!

Well there's nothing too much new other than summer has arrived in the UK at last but due to an unusual flow of the jet stream, we are subject to westerly Atlantic fronts bringing occasional thunderstorms and torrential rain and many parts of the UK are being subjected to flash flooding. Although locally we haven't had flooding, residents in this area who were flooded five years ago this week following unprecedented levels of rain will be looking nervously at weather forecasts. 

Doughnuts (or donuts depending on which part of the world you come from) above were a father's day gift and don't they look good? I have to say that in terms of taste, some of them didn't quite live up to how they look. I've no great experience with doughnuts, but I like soft fresh doughnuts, sweet and light. Some of the above were almost bread-like which wasn't quite what I expected. Needless to say, before you ask, I only had three over two days, the family ate the rest.

As a child, my mother occasionally had a treat from the local bread shop Skeltons (long gone) of an apple turnover. This was a clam shaped doughnut with stewed apple and cream in the middle. I loved the jam donut, a round rock shaped doughnut with delicious strawberry jam in the middle and as a very rare treat, a chocolate éclair, a long slim doughnut with cream in the middle and a covering of chocolate on top. By the way, they were a fabulous bakery and their freshly baked Danish loaf was stunningly tasty.

Everything is very green and bright outside and plants, shrubs and trees are growing well but the flowers just need some sun to bring them out. It's certainly warm enough and on a night it's been a sticky, humid 18 degrees; the fan might have to come out. I even meditated on the patio a couple of nights ago it was so warm.

My friend Linda's daughter Helen decided that her two pet goldfish, Arthur and Merlin, really needed a new home and a better life than to be swimming around in a tank. So in a short ceremony, having offered to accommodate them in the small pond, I let them loose among goldfish cousins and rudd half cousins. After a few moments of sluggishness and no doubt shock, they happily swam off and a fortnight later, they seem to have integrated and are eating happily with the rest of them.

A small goldfish being released into the pond, either Merlin or Arthur

It's a busy couple of weeks coming up starting with Cottingham Day on 7 July (in the East Riding of Yorkshire) and my angel stall is getting an airing in the craft fair. On the same day, in the evening, I'm covering a paranormal investigation in Lincoln. In the week after, I am travelling down to Hampshire for a 4 hour meeting which takes two days out of my life because it's a day travelling down, an overnight stay, a workshop and a long day travelling back. In context this is nearly 250 miles and 4 hours each way at the speed limit without a stop. In reality, I have to drive around London on the M25 and will need a couple of stops so just travelling takes the time.

Oh joy!

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Umbrellas Out!

A busy few days and dodging the rain showers has meant that my grass is desperately overgrown and I can't get on it to cut it. I've been to one wedding evening (I wasn't very well), and yet another wedding evening, I've done a day at a local Hospice summer extravaganza to try to help them raise money and many other bits and pieces. I've even cleaned someones carpet using one of those new fangled carpet cleaners - it worked well. I've been to Derbyshire on business and the Queen's had her birthday.

Well the jubilee celebrations are now at an end and life sort of draws back to some normality, except that it's Euro2012 football tournament and as I write this, England have just drawn with France 1-1. Now although I did ten years on the committee of the local Boys League and I am on the board of Directors of the East Riding County FA, these days I am more interested on how football is run than the actual game itself.  When I was a kid I supported Hull City AFC which as the nearest local team and my dad was a junior there in the 1950s. These days I remain firmly neutral and to be fair, its great. The only team I 'support' and by that I mean I really want them to do well, is my national team, England. I follow Hull City in the news and watch for the results, but that's about my only interest in them now although of course I hope they do well.

I've never been to the national football stadium at Wembley either the old one or the new one and I don't think I have the passion to go to be honest. Given a free ticket, I might get myself there one day - I might put it on my bucket list.

I was never very sporting, I never had the stamina to run about for hours on end. I played a bit of cricket which I enjoyed tremendously, and I love cricket to watch and even now, I rarely miss any cricket on the TV or radio if I'm in the car. I've been to Trent Bridge in Nottingham to see an England test match (I think it was against the West Indies) and I've been to Headingly (Leeds) to watch England versus Australia which was abandoned after a vandal broke in on the night after I went and daubed the wicket in oil to protest against a miscarriage of justice! Idiot! 

Its a bit noisier now at test matches but I have to say I love the atmosphere that is portrayed on the TV, lots of singing, dressing up in fancy dress on Saturdays and great coverage. Different from the stuffy old days. I wish I had the time to go these days; you never know, I may do.

Chat soon - stay dry

Ta-ra

Postcards from Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes Victorian Pier

Sunny Clee. On the North East Lincolnshire coast, co-joined with Great Grimsby, Cleethorpes sits on the southern bank of the Humber looking out over one of the countries busiest, most dangerous estuaries. 

The town is a busy vibrant place with lots of nightlife although some wish it hadn't, but that's the way of the world these days and it could certainly do with some investment in its business areas, none-the-less its a nice place and has pleasant parts of the town, particularly in its residential areas.

The tide goes out leaving rippled wet sand and lazy buoys

I just went for a ride out, just half an hour away from home, across the magnificent Humber Bridge where I could see the Jubilee Flotilla (Humber style) adjacent to the southern banks of the Humber with the tug boats pumping gallons of water high in the air in tribute. The air was clear, there were few clouds and the evening was still. The car radio was broadcasting the Jubilee concert on BBC Radio 2 and it was fun and entertaining to listen to. I parked up on the sea front between the Leisure Centre on my right and the Victorian Pier to my left and just took in the atmosphere and the river scene.

The Greenwich Meridian runs through the town which means that Cleethorpes is zero degrees longitude.

Huge ships including one of the European ferries were travelling out to sea on the outgoing tide in the deep channel closer to the north bank of the river and several ships were anchored in the mouth of the estuary, presumably waiting for the next high tide to come in to one of the many docks on the river. 

The Spurn Point lighthouse on the north bank of the Humber was crystal clear.

I don't think they caught much, evening shadows draw the day to a close

A powered hand glider swooped noisily along the shore line doing acrobatics, twisting and turning to entertain the few families and wanderers that sauntered along the promenade. A young couple were fishing just in front of us until the tide went out so far, that all that was left was the rippled wet sand. 

Powered hand glider touring the beach

The two ancient forts that stand alone in the river guarding the Humber were highlighted in the late evening sun which bathed everything in golden light creating shadows and contrasts. 

Built in 1914 as protection for the river and its trade and traffic during the first world war (but ironically not finished until 1919), Bull Sand Fort lies adjacent to the north bank and Haile Sand Fort (slightly smaller) lies just south of Cleethorpes. Now disused, they were once the home of guns and soldiers and were regularly attacked during the two wars.

The name Cleethorpes is probably made up of clee - meaning clay and thorpes meaning village or hamlet. In 1801, the population of the village whose main interest was in fishing not surprisingly,  was just 284. Today, the population of this seaside resort  is over 30,000.

If you come from Cleethorpes, then you are known as a 'Meggie,' but no-one is sure how that name came about which is a shame. There is a rail link to Cleethorpes and an easy motorway and trunk road access to and from the west.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend; here in the UK, it's been a four day long Bank Holiday weekend to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the reign of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll. It'll be a shame to go back to work tomorrow albeit for just a three day working week!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Feel-Good Times Required

A spell of warm weather has come and gone and it was very pleasant while it lasted although most of it was spent in the office but the effect on the garden has been wonderful and has really brought things both into flower and created new green growth. A birthday has come and gone spent with friends and life goes on apace.

Although I can't explain this at all, life is a little unsettling for people who are sensitive at the moment. This has been going on for some time and everyone I speak to who I know is sensitive is going through a soul searching time. This has inevitably meant that our spiritual activities and concentration has increased somewhat as people seek some calm and answers to personal questions.

In the UK, this has not been helped by a particularly long damp grey season and a huge increase in uncertainly on the political scene. Even if you are not political or are not particularly interested in politics, it affects all our lives, not just here in Blighty, but globally.   As costs and taxes increase, employment becomes more tenuous, pressures on families that are not well off is biting and pressures on public services cutting front line services to those who need it most makes people feel nervous.

Brightness and relief comes from people. People who are kind and considerate. People who are thoughtful and compassionate; people who give hope and comfort in a way that is either tangible or intangible. The human spirit, for as long as it has free will, coupled with the elements of love, has the ability to overcome he worst of uncertain times. I have said many times that friends are a crucial element of our lives - be that as a close personal friend, or the good neighbour who keeps a look out for the vulnerable, or someone who cares for their environment or community taking into account the needs of individuals within it - they are so important to us.

Friends of course also include family because families should be friends within the unit. To share the good and not so good times, to offer the support where needed and to show that certain level of understanding that often only family can show should be the minimum goal for us all.

A chink of light in these strange times is the Jubilee celebrations this weekend in the UK. Although the weather is mixed, street parties, people getting together and having fun is happening all over. Bunting is abound in most streets you walk down and it's not just about arguments over monarchists and anti monarchists, whether you are a citizen or a subject - its people, communities and a country getting together.

This is an important year for the UK: the London 2012 Olympics proper is just round the corner and the Olympic torch is already winding its way around the country, through towns and villages; England is participating in the Euro 2012 football championships being held in Poland and the Ukraine. The English cricket team have started the summer's sport well with a series win over the West Indies although a greater challenge against South Africa is coming up.  Championship Tennis at  Wimbledon arrives in June and the UK have a potential contender in Andy Murray.

Sport means more than most people believe. When the country is doing well in sport, there is a feel-good factor around, a bit like when you get good weather, the country has something to believe in and relax with.

All my plants are in the ground now or in baskets or tubs and they are all doing well. Begonias and petunias, geraniums and dahlias and a few perennials are growing well. Sadly, I just watched the weather forecast a few minutes ago and there is a risk of a frost overnight Monday into Tuesday although this will be largely confined to open countryside.

Anyone who uses a phone to send texts will inevitably use slang or 'text speak' - abbreviations to save finger tapping (for example, a topical one is LOL - Lots of Laughs). However as I am now officially in mid fifties, here is some senior slang used by senior citizens:

ATD: At the doctors;

BFF: Best friends funeral;

FWIW: Forgot where I was;

GHA: Got heartburn again;

HGBM: Had good bowel movement;

BYOW: Bring your own wheelchair;

CBHI: Covered by Health Insurance

FWP: Friend with pacemaker;

JFO: Just fell over;

LMWO: Laughed my wig off;

MDPBD: Must dash, pacemaker battery dead;

GGLKI: Gotta go, laxative kicking in!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Fiddlehead Appears

Now this is the start of a new frond on my fern. I always thought this highly attractive 'bit' of the plant was a frond too but after a bit of research, I can now reveal, other than to the botanists among you that this is called a crozier or a fiddlehead. Even weirder is the name for the actual process of unfurling into a frond: circinate vernation. Well there you are, you can now amaze your friends with your knowledge in the pub quiz!

Even more amazingly, there are over 12,000 species of fern and the species is only 360 millions years old, first appearing in fossils from the carboniferous period.

Lovely couple of days here in the East Riding of Yorkshire with sunshine for most of the day once the cloud has burnt back to the coast but at least Spring has arrived at last. Time sort of caught up on me really, I didn't realise that by this time, I've normally got my plants out and I am planning planting out this weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra