Autumn Begins - Sort Of

At the beginning of September (the meteorogical start of autumn) autumn chill began. There has been the occasional respite since. On that first Sunday we joined the New Life Church for 'Picnic in the Park' at Alfreton. Despite the sun it was chilly as the picture of thick coats gives testimony. The event was the usual town gala. Our church put on a magic show, races and, of course, the tug of war. Needless to say we stayed until the picnic in the car and so we did not witness much more of the day.

Work on the extension was beginning in earnest. The old path was up and the new clothes airer was being put in place.

No, not a missile crashing into the ground

By the following day the airer was up and running.

 On Thursday the sun and the warmer air reappeared giving us an opportunity to visit a 'Two for One' garden. Brodsworth Hall is an 'English Heritage' property about 40 minutes from here. Being autumn I had not anticipated finding so much colour.

 The gardens were also cleverly laid out. Although there bridges across the fernery and steps down it was also accessible by walking around the house in another direction. Accessibility sorted!

 The house itself was, outwardly, quite plain. Inside it was far more ornate. However, it was left largely in the state that English Heritage found it. (It was something after the way that National Trust dealt with Calke Abbey.) One thing that had to be done was to deal with the mess left by previous owner's dogs. Apparently the dogs never went outside and the mess was not cleared up, but periodically more carpet was put over it.

 On Sunday we carried on with our habit of having our after church picnic. One part of the canal that we had not walked on was the stretch from Staveley to the 'Holingsworth Hub'; in particular to Katey's Coffee shop. So, after our in-car picnic we set off. The afternoon suddenly became warm and I felt overdressed. It was a pleasant walk to the 'greasey spoon' and back.

 On the way back we met a couple. They had taken a photo of a kingfisher near the basin. Further on another man with a camera, taking a photo an extraordinarily large group of Canada geese told us of a place where a kingfisher could usually be spotted at 10 in the morning.

On Monday we stayed in to greet the builder who came on Tuesday. Even then there was no skip so work continued to be delayed although some breaking up of concrete took place.

Nick, the younger builder supervises the placement of the skip

At last the skip arrived and the digging began. By the end of the day we had a hole.

The following day the first lot of building materials arrived.

The hole could now be filled with ballast and the steel mesh cut to size.

True to form, with building work, the next lot of materials arrived at not quite the correct scheduled time. But the builders managed. First came another lot of building materials.

 Then sooner than expected along came the cement mixer. This left Nick with a hurry up to bed down the ballast.

 Now Peter could push the steel mesh in with what is technically known as 'the boot'.

 The concrete was then left to set over the weekend. This gave us chance to have a trip out. It was 'Heritage Time' and so in our research into the Chesterfield Canal we set off to Retford. Retford is a little market town in the north of Nottinghamshire. Before getting near the canal we spotted some off road parking and our senses of direction led us to cross the road and go down a footpath. This led straight to the canal.

The picture shows our entrance to the canal. Walking on the right took us to the events that can be seen in the distance. Also to be seen is narrowing of the canal which gave 'Cuckoo Boats' a special significance.

The term "cuckoo" is believed to have originated from comments made by boat people on the River Trent. They said the vessels were "cuckoos in the nest" - different and out of place on the waterways.

The craft were made of oak from the 1770s to the 1920s, with the design hardly changing in that period. Cuckoos were horse drawn and never equipped with engines, a mast was used when they ventured on to the Trent.

In 2015, the first cuckoo boat to be built in about 80 years was launched on the Chesterfield Canal.

We were told that the boat would raise its sail and were disappointed when it did not happen. 

From the canal we walked into town. Our first stop was refreshments at the (would you believe) 'The Kiwi'.

Following the directions given we made our way to the Bassetlaw Museum. Of particular interest was the demonstration of rope making. We made and kept a short length of rope. We also learnt that many towns had a 'Rope Walk'. This was a long straight stretch of road where rope was made.

The museum was also doing a preview of the new 'Pilgrim Fathers' gallery.

Interestingly, many dissenting Christian groups came from this area.

After another little walk down the canal we decided to go to the performance at 'Retford Little Theatre'. The two lady performers were definitely boat people and were steeped in the knowledge of the canal. Each one gave a performance consisting of monologue, poetry and song to tell the story of the 'Idle Women'. These women came from upper class homes and in the Second World War found themselves working the canal boats. This was something like the girls of the 'Land Army'. They were not idle. The term 'idle women' came through one of boat girls. After the war they were given a medal to show that they had worked on the Inland Waterways. Susan Woolfit when asked by her daughter what 'IW' on her badge meant replied, jokingly, 'Idle Women.

Three days of work on the extension followed.

 

The membrane is laid

The structure is complete

 Everything stops for nearly three weeks while the window frames are being built. Peter the builder is supposed to be making the patio. We wait.

While waiting we head for Teignmouth for a long Lena and Julia weekend.
The journey down went well and we arrived early. This gave us time for a walk along the seafront. The flower beds were very colourful.

 We were able to get round to 'Back Beach' and the busy harbour before returning to our accommodation.

 After being greeted by our host, David, and unpacking our bags we headed back to find our dinner. We had passed a 'Weatherspoons' and chose that as place to eat. Eventually we found that it was 'curry night' and ordered. As I eat I noticed that the sauce bottles and the table top was very sticky. The floor was littered. It did not take long before I became ill. This got worse through the holiday and took until the following Thursday to clear.
Before the illness took hold we had time for an evening walk along the shore. The waves were getting bigger that earlier and the sea was beginning to take on its evening colour

 A final treat of the day was to witness the 'murmuration' of a small flock of starlings. It was fun watching them jockey for places on the wire before suddenly taking off and, just as suddenly, returning to the wire.

 The following day was Friday and we headed off for Brixham. Noticing a 'park and ride' we turned in, but was greeted by two tourists who were expressing their annoyance that they paid at a similar car park only to find that the service only operated in the season. However, the bus shelter clearly displayed a regular service into Brixham. We had our bus passes and were sure that we could use them. Sure enough the 'park and ride' bus was the scheduled service.
A couple were getting off the bus behind us. I turned to ask if they knew which way to go. The man replied that he did not know; he was following us. We spent the morning walking and talking together. They were retired farmers from Jersey and had interesting stories to tell.
The walk took us by the harbour and along the harbour wall

 The seaward side of the slipway showed just how strong the winds were getting.

Having left our friends we found a place for fish and chips. The chip restaurant had a 50s touch to it although there were pictures of Michael Jackson. Finally we called into an art gallery. I was impressed by how a number of artists had captured the glow of the light shining through the wave crest. We were told that one of the best picture was the one in front of us. I did have the equipment with me to make proper capture.

Back in Teignmouth we caught up with Lena and Julia. Although wind was strong and the waves high Julia needed to have a walk on the sand.

I followed down in the hope of getting some dramatic pictures of the sea.

 Back up on the promenade I caught up with mum and Lena for last picture to end the day.

The weather broke and we were confined to staying in town. As it was Sunday we went to church. As last time we stayed we went to the 'Mars Hill' church. This meets in what was a cinema called the 'Riviera', opposite the pier.

The plan was that we would meet Lena and go to the Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum before lunch. As it was 'Heritage Week' entry would be free. As we came down the stairs we met Lena who told us the museum was closed so we pottered around the harbour with the intention of meeting up with Julia for lunch. Some literal pottering went on and we explored the 'Aladdin's Cave' - that is, a workshop making garden ornaments. Outside was a picture made of footwear.

Outside, the wind was getting up, making it necessary for hair to be tidied before a photograph.
 The clouds were also gathering over the harbour and the town, making for dramatic pictures.

 Julia did not make it down in time to eat at Perrylicious. Instead we found another cafe selling vegan food called 'The Lemon Tree'. We were treated to live music.
One a Julia's favourite places is the 'Devon Guild of Craftsmen'.

Here you could buy hand made ties for £78. But we just had beverages and cake before returning to Lena and Julia's place for a second game of 'Takenoko'. This is the panda game where the farmer grows bamboo and the panda eats it.
Our last day was Monday and, once again, we found ourselves in town. We got to the harbour for more dramatic pictures.

 Most of the morning was spent in dodging the rain by going in and out of shops and finding a place to eat.

This was one of the more colourful charity shops

Finding a place to eat was not easy, but eventually we decided to make a reservation at 'Finley Browns Cafe' and hope Julia would turn up on time. Apparently we (mum and I) are pathologically punctual. Julia was only slightly late and we sat down for an enjoyable meal together.

 There was time for a Lena and Julia photograph before returning for another game of Takenoko.

Earlier than usual we took our leave of them so that we would have time to pack ready to leave first thing in the morning.
The journey home was dreadful. A hold up diverted us off the M5 through villages and Exeter. At Birmingham the rain came in earnest. We were so late that the man in front of me at our motorway stop bought the last meat pie.