July Blog

At last summer arrived. July started with the hottest day of the year and probably the hottest event of the year.

On the first day of the month we almost witnessed the marriage of our son Joni to his ‘long term partner’, Fiona, as they became Mr and Mrs Norten.

Fiona’s parents, Alan an Annette collected us and we all went off to pick up the new couple’s belongings from ‘Sat Baines’ where the pair had enjoyed a meal the night before. I immediately noticed the hat box and I began to think about the ‘no hats rule’.

After waiting outside the council offices for a little while Joni and Fiona emerged, married, and with their two witnesses.

 Photographs followed and then Alan and I had this idea about going off to purchase a hat each, which we did.

Then we set off to ‘Jamies’ for the wedding breakfast. We were led through to the garden where enjoyed strawberries and champagne. As we were completing the antipasti there was a rumble of thunder and then the rain came. Our table was reset up indoors. First two large, yellow tomato cans arrived. This puzzled me. Then a board of assorted starter was placed on top of it.  As we ate the sun came out and once more we were in the garden. Without further interruptions the meal was concluded and we parted company.

 Three days later the wedding celebration took place in the Norten’s garden. Alan had bought the hog roast which was a large oven containing a pig under a large gazebo. For our part we purchased 96 pieces of cheese cakes. Our hosts supplied plentiful alcohol. There was a speech and there was a wedding cake. The cake looked like Lego with two Lego figured on top. The cake was ceremoniously cut. Having spent time and enjoying the company of Tim and family our time there ended.

 Iona had finished her secondary education and chose to spend a few day with us.

The following day, Sunday, the three of us went off with Paul and Mary to a well dressing at Aston on Trent. There is not really a well there but the standard of display was good. The village pulled together to put on a good show.

 On Monday Iona joined us at the morning café and we put her on a bus to Nottingham to do some exploring on her own. She said that this was the first time that she had been on a bus apart from going on school trips.

On Tuesday I took Iona to the University Park. We walked along the lake, up to the Millennium Garden, down to the walled garden and then to the Trent building for coffee. From there we went down to the Djnogly gallery to see the summer exhibition. In the afternoon Irene and I went shopping while Iona spent some free time at home. In the evening we went for a walk across the field opposite.

Iona really wanted to do one of our walks into Derbyshire. So, despite the less than favourable forecast, we set off to conquer ‘White Edge’. This run parallel and higher than our regular ‘Curbar Edge’ walk. Not far along ‘White Edge’ the damp came on us but it was never enough for me to consider putting the camera away. This was fortuitous since just before the top we encountered a herd of red deer. The ‘Grouse Inn’ came in sight and it seemed ages before we eventually arrived. Here we refreshed ourselves before walking on to Curbar Edge and the picnic. We made good time back to the car and home.

 This was Iona’s last day with us. In the morning I drove her back to the university to meet up with Fiona. At the end of the morning Irene and collected Fiona and I drove them into Broadmarsh to leave them at the coach station. Iona journeyed back to MK. Irene returned and we ran the ‘Eagles’ group which went on longer than usual.

A busy birthday ended a little more relaxed with a meal at the Victoria Hotel in Beeston. It something of a themed pub. The food was very good and it really has a claim to fame in that mobile phones must be switched off on entry.

We ended the day with a little evening walk in Attenborough where I used my new phone to do a selfie.

After the committee meeting, with other things to do, we all but abandoned our Wednesday walk. However, we did make our way to the university park (Highfields). Arriving early meant there was plenty of parking. Part way along the lake we were accosted by a man with a clip board who started by saying he had nothing to sell. We were able to give a glowing review of the park. Since last week the tatty boats have been joined by a pair of brighter coloured boats. On the top of the boats was a heron, making a strange photograph. At the end of the lake we made our way across the stepping stones and then up and across the lawns to the ‘Millennium Garden’. I wanted to take some long exposure photographs of the fountains.

From there we dropped back down to the ‘Walled Garden’. This is the first time we have been in the summer and it was a riot of colour.

The next stop was the student union section of the Trent Building and once again I enjoyed a Costa coffee and muffin.

Unfortunately, we got to the Djnogly gallery to find that the summer exhibition had come to an end. A few of the paintings were propped up waiting for the owners to collect them.

The next stop was the tile warehouse. They no longer stocked any border tiles. The sales person said it was something to with Spain and the recession. Now the only place we know that stocks them is in Scarborough.

And so on to B and Q for a cooker hood filter, two pedestal fans and three light bulbs.

We arrived on the Trent embankment in time for lunch. This was followed by a walk along the river to the Victoria Gardens. Some years ago the headmaster that I worked for came into the staffroom to say that he was just passing the statue of Queen Victoria when her head fell (this was verified). She now stands at the back of the fountains but is now surrounded by a green security fence.

After a little walk on the bridge, which is now festooned with ‘lovers locks’ we went back to the car and so on Long Eaton for the afternoon shopping. It was market day and so we were able to get a punnet of strawberries for tea. My only disappointment was the lack of fruit boxes at Tescos. 

However, tea was enjoyable. Joni and Fiona came over and once again there was strawberries and cream and delicious champagne.

On Thursday I had business in the hall which a bit of a waste of time. No one turned up to the drop in and blood donors forgot to say that they would be later coming. The afternoon ‘Haven Eagles’ went well and was enjoyed by all.

On Friday I did the final undercoat on another door and in evening it was dance time.

Saturday was busy. It was the afternoon of the table top sale at the church. The ladies across the road from the church had blessed us with a garage full of stuff to sell and this needed moving from the store to the table. We arrived home about six and I was somewhat exhausted. Our table raised over £110 pounds and I purchased Italian leather coats. A selfie is needed. Thanks to Tim and co. I am now the proud owner of a selfie stick.

On Sunday it was church as usual but no Jan and Lawrence. At last I was able to get on putting paint on the canvas that has stood around for ages. It was the first time that I have done this outside in this country. I say this because I did two paintings outside in NZ.

For me Monday was particularly busy. Irene had to go into town on community centre business (looking for curtains with the other Irene). Not only did I have to setup the morning café on my own I also had to investigate why the centre microphone was behaving badly. Fortunately a church friend came over to help run the café.

Tuesday started well. The shopping was done efficiently in the afternoon and then we set off to help Paul copy the files off his computer. However when we got to their house we were met by Paul who said that Mary had had an accident and could we drive him to her. On arrival Mary was standing shaken by the incident. The other party to the accident was on the phone and had involved the police. After a reasonable length of time a police car and two policemen were on the scene. They made a thorough investigation which involved breathalysing both parties and taking statements. After about an hour we were free to go. No one was hurt. Mary’s car was not damaged and I expect that the other lady’s wing mirror will soon be replaced.

Because the weather did not look too hopeful and that we were going to travel to Milton Keynes on Saturday we decided to stay local. With pacamacs on we walked up Coventry lane to join the path by the derelict Nottingham canal. We dropped back home for morning coffee. After this we rejoined the path at the bridge and continued on passed the garden centre until we reached the road where we went under the motorway. This view of the area was quite confusing but we gained a new perspective on our area.

In the afternoon the rain set in so it was a railway afternoon. Irene set about garden upgrades and the siting of more dustbins while I positioned and wired in the light of the newly built garage that had been a present from NZ. Now it looks like it had always been there.

Tim’s 45^th birthday was on Saturday and it started off as being the one of the sunniest of July. The journey did not go well. We told Mary that we would take no more than 1 ½ hours. In the event we took three with one of them being stationary on the M1 near Leicester. An overturned caravan was to blame.

We purchased food at the local supermarket. This, together with the delicious cream cake, made by Irene, made for a great birthday lunch. There were even candles which I don’t think we could light. I think Tim was pleased with our present of a ‘Dr Who’ tee-shirt. After lunch we drove to Stowe Gardens. I got a good shot of a little perch and a damsel fly which insisted on sitting on Isla’s arm.

After ice-cream we got home quicker than we had taken to arrive.

On Monday, instead of our regular afternoon café we took the ladies to Attenborough for lunch. When we got back to Leicester house Jim and Jeanette arrived. There had been a communications mix up and so we entertained them for an hour.

Clive from church came to tea with us on Tuesday. He told us his frightening stories of life in Malawi. To this day he does not whether or not he shot and killed a violent, potential intruder.

The weather still continued untrustworthy but we decided that we would brave our planned walk along the last 1 ½ miles of the High Peak trail from Hurdlow. For a third time we enjoyed the delicious coffee and warm chocolate muffin at the ‘Royal Oak’. The landlord was agreeable to us leaving the car in his car park. The walk along the section did not disappoint. Once again there was the profusion of summer flowers.

The dark sky never came to anything
 but it made a dramatic backdrop to the scene 

 We honoured the landlord by finishing up our walk with cider (me) and tea (Irene). She drove us home and we stopped at B and Q to check on the doors and also purchase another tube for the community centre. It was a shock when the £9.00 item rang up at 10p. We were told that there was no mistake. They were changing stock. However, I could only buy 2 as the others on the rack rang up at £9.00.

Parrots arrived at Haven Eagles. Three members of the East Midlands Parrot Club bought two of their birds and gave an interesting talk about their hobby. It was a great end to our first season of the Haven Eagles Club.

The last day of the month was Friday when I officiated at our regular Friday dances. It was a very warm evening to end one of the less weather blessed July. Fifty people (something of a record attended). All door and windows were open and fans at full setting.

What Happened to August – It Went

What Happened to August – It Went

The review of August is odd. We seem to have had little free time to pursue our explorations of Derbyshire.

The first set of photographs was of the building that was to become ‘Haven Church’. The purpose of the work was to document the state of the building. It was a school that was simply abandoned. More than that, the last occupiers left the junk that they did not want and removed anything of value. Included in the items removed was the control board for the alarm system.

On Sunday the church said ‘Goodbye’ to the old building.

The normal flow of life was interrupted on the following day when the scheduled installation of our new patio door to place. It was a hot dry day when man and son demolished our property. At one point the upper floor was supported on two jacks. At the end of the day, after many cups of tea, the work was done. It was then that the installers pointed out some damage to the doors and we found more damage. First the handle was replaced (and is awaiting another replacement) and the casement was taken back to the factory. This was done on Friday. There was a big hole into our living room for several hours. Just as the men finished the rain came. The door was shut as the heavens opened.

The next day there was an opportunity to complete the photographs of the new church building. Irene and I also made a start on painting the ‘Community Area’. Our painting work continued into Wednesday. And on Thursday morning the building was open for ‘Food Bank’. Then we continued with painting the area of the church.

On Friday the rain continued to pour, but it was hot. In the evening I opened the windows and the doors of our community centre. But the rain came so suddenly and we were flooded.

Sunday the 10^th was the opening of the church for worship. The rain continued to pour. We had the pleasure of collecting two ladies to take to church. Each one has disabled walkers. Before we even left the last house we were both soaked to the skin and paddled from the car over the flooded driveway.

On Monday Irene Bexton and I examined the guttering and found that the filter over the drain pipe was blocked and so we cleaned it out.

The committee meeting was on Tuesday and so shopping was on Wednesday morning. By way of a treat this was followed by our friend Phil buying us a meal at The Nurseryman. We had not been there for many years and I really appreciated the ‘stilton melt’ as a starter. Phil paid for the much appreciated meal and then we took her home. The afternoon ended with more painting in the church building.

Friday came again and so did the rain. This time we closed all the windows and doors of the hall in time. I went into the porch and was pleased to see that there was no water running down the door and that it was rushing down the drain pipe. Ten minutes later I went to look again but this time something like a bucket of water fell on my head.

The following day was dry but cold and windy when we set off for Leeds. The plan to get to the Travelodge was quite good but I made a mistake and went through the city back to the M1. Once on Stile Hill Way we found not only the Travelodge but also Macdonald’s. The coffee and muffin was actually quite nice. Then we went to park nearer the motel.

After notifying the staff of our arrival we caught the bus into the city. There were some impressive carvings on the buildings as we passed them on our way to the town hall. Our first visit was to the art gallery. Some of the paintings were dramatic but it was not the largest collection we had ever visited. However, attached to the main gallery was the Henry Moore Institute. Some of his work was on display in the main gallery also.

Next we headed up to the City Museum passing and entering the Catholic cathedral. It was quite small, as cathedrals go. There was a wedding on and so our visit was brief. Opposite the museum was ‘Millennium Square’. A seaside feature was on. Judging by the state of the museum carpets we could tell that sand was involved.

In the museum we learned that Leeds has a short history and it was named after the river which has since been renamed. We also learned that that there were few celebrities of note and few achievements. However, we did enjoy the display of competition photos. It reminded me of the advice about not becoming a professional. We had a good lunch and left in search of the Tetley Gallery.

We had already discovered that the people of Leeds were very friendly and for the second, and not the last, a passer by volunteered assistance without being asked. Getting to the gallery meant going across and along the River Aire. This took us along the back of the main offices of Asda.

The building in which the new gallery was housed was the old Tetley brewery. (This is one of the city’s best products.) Unfortunately we are spoiled by being so close to the Nottingham Contemporary, and found that the Tetley was not that exciting.

At about this time we received a text from Tim and met him at the entrance to the art gallery. Our choice for dinner was Wagamama Japanese restaurant. The food was interesting and tasty. I ended with the white chocolate and ginger cheesecake. Tim ended with the ‘mix it up mochi ice cream’.

Just before we left the gallery area we spotted a new landmark for Leeds.

Now it was time for the event of the weekend. The three of us made our way to our seats in the town hall; collecting 4 large brown paper bags each on the way in. The town hall interior is just fabulous, glowing with civic pride. No one minded me taking a few snaps, but this changed when Izzie appeared on stage. Now we were under orders to take no photographs because children were on the stage.

The orchestra filed on to the platform and the warning about photography was loudly repeated to the assembled audience of admiring families and friends. For the most part this fell on deaf ears. The six pieces of music was played with absolute professionalism and at the end the audience player their part with their paper bags. The 1812 should really have had cannons, but the bags were very effective.

Having seen Tim, Izzie, double bass, large stool and other things to the car we had our hour wait for the bus. It has been a long time since we joined with the Saturday night revellers (if ever we did). We made our way passed bars and clubs to the city centre bus stop. Have you tried getting coffee on a Saturday night? We settled for two beers in the Café Chocolat.

Although we were in the city centre the bus stop was completely dark in a completely unlit place. Once more we were given the pleasure of hospitable Leeds citizens. A young couple, seeing that we could not work out when the bus was due, showed us the timetable on an app.

There really is an Arkwright's

After a good night sleep it was time to go home. The plan had been to visit a local National Trust priory. However, rain threatened and we decided that a visit to Eyam Hall would be a better plan.

The route took us over the Derbyshire moors. Through the murk of rain the purple colour of the heather was visible. Now was not a good time to stop, but later in the week might prove better.

The Hall was quite fascinating and worth the visit. The coffee and rocky road was good too. The little museum about the plague was also interesting. By the time we left the sun was shining and people were piling into the little village.

Three days later and the promised visit to the heather happened. We drove out to view the heather at one of our favourite places; Curbar Edge. Before setting off we did our usual stop for coffee. It was the first time that we had stopped in the village, but the rocky road was good here as well.

We were able to park a little below the car park and walk up to the gate into the walk. As always the views were stunning as was the heather and the stones that decorated the route. We walked as far as Frogatt Edge to find a place for lunch. At the first group of rocks a family were sitting and so we moved on to the next group of rocks. Once our lunch was opened the family came over to sit and have their lunch near our space. What does this tell you about human nature?

 The sky began to darken. We turned to go back. Behind us the valley began to show signs of rain. As we neared the end of the path the first spots of rain landed.

We went passed men in silver suites who began to put things over them and their camera. The rain came heavy as we reached the car and set off home.

On the way back I called into B and Q to collect some weather sealing strip. On Thursday I applied it, with difficulty on the community centre doors. On Friday we experienced rain again, but none managed to get through to the hall for the Friday night dance.

On Saturday morning we had to make the trip to see Nan in Milton Keynes. It was bank holiday and the traffic was horrendous. Nan is not eating well and is getting thinner.

On Sunday it was our wedding anniversary (46 years or 16,801 days). We celebrated with crispy duck for tea and chocolate from our friends.

On Monday it really rained. We removed a damaged floor tile from the kitchen and replaced it. This took some effort. In the afternoon we spent some time on the railway planting trees and in the evening sat to play some board games.

We finished off our August walks with a visit to Lathkill Dale. We first visited the Dale about 7 years ago but did not walk far. I took a number of shots of a building we saw, but was disappointed not to find it this time.

Our second visit to the dale was last August when we walked from Alport to Over Haddon. At the end of July, this year, we walked the 'Limestone Way' from Monyash, down to a bridge on the dale and up to the top of the dale at Monyash.

To finish our exploration of the dale we needed to walk from Over Haddon to the above mentioned bridge. This necessitated a stop at the 'Old Smithy' cafe in Monyash for another helping of fudge cake etc. and of course the use of the toilet. Is was then a short drive to park on a street in O. H. and walk past the 'pay and display' car park, down the hill and along the dale. We had allowed 1.5 hours to get to the bridge which was exactly the time we took. 

The river has a habit of disappearing but the waterfall, marked on the map, was in full flow. At the bridge we sat for a picnic and returned the way we came. We were dry, reasonably not cold and successful.

The following day was Jan's birthday and we went to join them for the 'Curry Club' at Weatherspoons in Ilkeston.

Today, Sunday is the last day of the month and, just to end on a good note, we have just had an electric-car charging point fitted. It has added £2000 to the value of the house and cost nothing. I do not think that we will ever have an electric-car. The cheapest is around £30,000.

Having said at the start about the lack of days out we did not do too badly after all.