Juvenile I know.....but funny

Back to reality

It's been back to the grindstone for me today after having a week off work. A whole ten days off, over in the bat of an eyelid. It's been good though. I wouldn't say I was ready to go back to work, but I was certainly feeling a little more relaxed and refreshed than I did.....until I saw the mound of paperwork on my desk this morning. Depressing.
So what did I do with my week? Lots of walking with Barney, I went fruit-picking with my mum and then made 28 jars of strawberry jam (I was a little bored of that one by the final batch, but it tastes fab), had some retail therapy in Manchester (bargains were found!), went to a 70th birthday party and ended it all in style in the company of Voley. We went to see Harry Potter in Birmingham followed by dinner...all most enjoyable. Harry Potter was excellent, though the individuals chomping on popcorn, rustling crisp packets and opening cans of pop all rather loudly for the first half an hour were somewhat annoying; I thought at one point that Voley was going to turn green and start bursting out of his clothes! He was not amused.
I'm now counting down the days till my next week off.......

Last night I dreamt....

I have really vivid dreams. I am sure that if I put as much imagination and effort into writing as I do dreaming, I would be a bestselling novelist!
What is preferable though, waking in a cold sweat from a nightmare but then feeling the relief that it was only a dream, or waking from the perfect dream to the realisation that it was little more than fantasy?
I am lucky that I don't have that many awful dreams these days, although I do dream a lot which probably means my mind finds it difficult to switch off. My dreams are quite often a bit jumbled with people from different times in my life all popping up together at places where they would never in reality meet. I think a dream analyst would have a field day with me...they would most likely deem me a little mad, and probably wouldn't be too far from the truth!
When I was young I went through a phase, as most children do, of having a lot of nightmares, it was horrible. I also used to have these other really weird experiences that were half-dream and half consciousness- in these semi-dreams I would have to perform some impossible task, a recurring one being having to make a fruitcake the size of the house and then eat it (I wonder if the fruitcake was some kind of symbol of my mental state?!). I usually was conscious enough to get to my parents and come out with some drivel like "I can't eat it, it's too big", at which point I usually woke up. All very strange.

Memories

It is five years today since my Grandad, my last surviving grandparent, died. He would have been 100 now and, were he still alive, would probably still be as fiercely independent as he always was. I still remember the morning I drove to work past my grandparents' house, only to see Grandad at the top of a set of 6-foot ladders that were placed at the edge of the road, cutting the back of his garden hedge...he was 90 at the time! Needless to say I didn't peep my horn as I went past.
My grandparents were always a huge part of my life as I grew up and for the last few years of my paternal grandparents' lives they lived nextdoor to us, so I saw them on a daily basis. Whenever our dog, Ben, went missing, we knew Grandad had stolen him and was secretly feeding him biscuits or toffees! He always swore blind that he hadn't, but Ben trying to get toffee unstuck from round his teeth usually gave the game away.
Before we moved more locally to our grandparents, we used to visit them at weekends. I have fond memories of staying with my paternal grandparents on Saturday nights and having Sunday lunch cooked by Nanny (we never let her forget the time she forgot to make the Yorkshire puddings), and then going a few miles up the road to see my maternal grandparents. My Nana used to spoil us rotten and I used to love rooting through a suitcase in which she stored lots of old toys and random bits and bobs from my Mum's and Auntie's childhood. Grandad often took us walking and in September we always went blackberry-picking with him.
Nanny used to babysit us a lot when we were young and my brother and I loved her reading stories to us at bedtime. We were mean though. We used to make her read the first chapter of Roald Dahl's 'George's Marvellous Medicine' just so she had to read the line, "She had pale brown teeth and a small, puckered-up mouth like a dog’s bottom"- we were children, we thought it was funny hearing that coming from our Nanny's mouth! She also hated the story of the Teeny Tiny Woman which appeared in my Richard Scarry Storybook so we used to get her to read that too. It was a really boring story that went on and on and on- again, we were children and we thought it was funny because Nanny hated it! Years later I got my comeuppance though when a child brought a book to me and asked me to read them a story...and guess what the story was?!
In recent years I have done some research with my parents into our family history and have managed to trace back quite a few generations on both sides of the family. I first started to chart our family tree whilst my paternal grandad was still alive; he developed dementia in the last few years of his life and whilst his short-term memory was pretty non-existent, his long-term memory was still fairly good and he would talk for hours about members of his family that I never knew...drawing up a family tree was the only way of keeping track of who he was talking about! It was fascinating learning about my ancestors, especially as both my Nanny and Grandad had unusual starts to their lives...my Nanny was orphaned at 8 years old and my Grandad was brought up by his grandparents from the age of 8 after his father died.

I loved spending time with my grandparents, though as I got older and life got busier I didn't see as much of them as I did as a child, and that I regret. I miss them very much and one thing that makes me sad is that were I ever to get married or have children (the likelihood of either is getting increasingly slim) they won't be there.

Nana and Grandad with my mum, 1948

Nanny and Grandad, c.1938

A trip down memory lane

Last weekend I spent a couple of days in Snowdonia. As I was going to be climbing Snowdon on the Sunday, we decided to travel on the Saturday and come back on Monday to make the most of the weekend. It's years (I feel ashamed) since I was last in Wales and I didn't realise just how much I had missed it till I returned. We (my Mum and Auntie came with me) stayed in Betws-y-Coed, which is itself a beautiful town set in the heart of Snowdonia, but travelled out to Beddgelert on the Saturday- having spent the majority of my childhood holidaying there, it is like a second home to me. The village itself hasn't changed much, except for the re-opened stretch of the Welsh Highland Railway which now runs again through the mountains and alongside the river. I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing one of the trains come past, not to satisfy some long-repressed urge to become a trainspotter, but because I have walked the stretch so many times over the years. Part of me felt a little disappointed that I could no longer walk through the tunnels that carve their way through the mountain above the Aberglaslyn Pass- I remember the thrill as a child of walking through the longest tunnel and not being able to see light at either end when the halfway point was reached- but it was great hearing the whistle of the train as it emerged from the mountainside.We didn't have that much time to spend in Beddgelert but we had a good stroll down the river and I even had a paddle (had to for old time's sake!)...it was freezing! We then walked back up to the new train station to see the diesel train collecting its next passengers- I felt a bit like I was on the set of Thomas the Tank Engine!I've posted a couple of photos of Beddgelert below, the rest are here, and a few of Betws-y-Coed are here.

I can climb any mountain....

.....well, maybe I won't be attempting Everest any time soon, but I have certainly conquered Snowdon. Last Sunday fifty of us faced the elements and battled through rain and strong winds (very strong winds!) to raise money for the North Staffs Special Adventure Playground (I won't start raving again about what a fantastic charity it is). Despite having spent the majority of my childhood holidaying in North Wales and spending three years at university in Bangor, I had never climbed Snowdon before so was really loooking forward to it. I love walking and can go for miles on the flat, but I have never been very good on hills (and Snowdon is definitely a very big hill!) so found the steeper stretches a challenge, especially when also trying to contend with gusts of wind which were determined to set you off balance. One thing I had been really hoping for was that we would be able to see from the summit, but from all the years of driving past Snowdon and it more often than not being covered in cloud, I knew we would be exceedingly lucky to be afforded these views; and starting our ascent on Sunday, with thick cloud coverage from about half way up, I resigned myself to the fact that we weren't going to see very much at all. When we reached the summit, which was bitingly cold and, as expected, completely hidden in the cloud, our first port of call had to be the loos! The summit cafe is a stunning building from the outside (I can't really comment on the inside as it was so packed you could hardly move); I find it amazing how they managed to build it at the top of the highest mountain in Wales, especially considering the extreme weather conditions they would have faced.
I can't pretend that, although I had a great sense of achievement from having successfuly climbed Snowdon, I wasn't just a little disappointed that we couldn't see anything from the summit, so imagine my excitement (I was a bit like a child at Christmas) when we emerged from the cafe half an hour later to find that the cloud had lifted and we could see for miles. It was breathtaking. It wasn't the clearest of views, it was still very hazy, but after seeing nothing but cloud for the previous couple of hours I was elated! I still can't believe how lucky we were as an hour later when we were on our way down the cloud started to come back over again. We certainly experienced the full wrath of Snowdon and just how changeable the conditions can be.
I had a fantastic day, I would love to do it again (maybe without the rain!); I just hope now that we have raised a good amount of money for our charity.

A few photos from the day are below, you can view the rest here.

The team ready for the off

Clouds on the way up

I made it! The summit once the cloud had cleared.

Views from the summit- the photos really do not do justice to how stunningly beautiful it was.

Looking back at the summit on our descent

The Highland Railway train- my mum and Auntie took the easy route!

Soaked

I’m drenched. I thought the storm had passed so decided to take Barney out….I was wrong, it absolutely poured. At least Barney found it entertaining, he was trying to catch the rain!

We were a little more lucky with the weather this weekend. I spent a lovely couple of days in the company of Voley and we managed quite successfully to dodge the showers for long enough to go for two afternoon strolls with our cameras. On Saturday we drove to Nantwich and followed the Riverside Loop, a circular walk which takes you along the River Weaver and the Shropshire Union Canal. I was feeling a little lazy with my camera so I don’t really have any good pictures of the walk, but you can view Voley’s photos here.

Sunday saw us drive further into Cheshire to Capesthorne Hall and Gardens where we ambled through bluebell woods and around the lake before looking around the Hall and then having the compulsory afternoon tea and huge slab of cake! Some photos are below, with the rest here. It was rather amusing seeing a cat being turned on and chased by a flock of sheep- Voley has some better action shots here.

The Gardens

The Bluebell Woods

The Lake

Pet Cemetery

Watchful sheep

Sheep turn on cat

(Sorry about the formatting, blogger doesn't seem to want to let me move things around today)

Getting in training

I thought it was about time I got in some training for my fast-approaching climb of Snowdon, so last Monday I spent the day walking around Cannock Chase and Shugborough with Jill (and her dogs which, being significantly smaller than Barney, I kept tripping over). It was a beautiful day, though a little hot for my liking at times, and I even spotted deer in the woods. A few photos are below, the rest are here.

Through the woods above Milford Common

I love all the different shades of green

Grazing deer

This tree trunk looks like it has a face in it

Looking back along the canal from Shugborough

What happened to the slightly more delicately phrased 'Mind the child'?

School dinners

Last week I went on a training course. It's a standing joke at work that we judge the quality of a course by the quality of the lunch provided. Lately though, with all the funding cuts, there have been no lunches, so how excited were we when we discovered that on this occasion we were going to get fed?! However, imagine our disappointment when on approaching the 'restaurant' we realised that we weren't getting a nice buffet lunch, but what smelled suspiciously like school dinners.... and to my horror I realised that the two options for our cooked lunch were cottage pie or cheese and brocolli quiche. I can't stand potatoes, haven't eaten them in any form since I was about two (I know, I'm very odd), and I remain traumatised by the mere sight of quiche or flan from when I was at primary school.
What were your school dinners like? I have vivid memories of being on last sitting for lunch (which meant you had no choice of what to eat, you had what was left) and being fed cold cheese flan that tasted of vomit (hence my ongoing hatred of quiche and flan), cold soggy chips (don't eat potatoes, so don't like chips) and cold mushy peas...vile. If you were lucky, there may have been a semi-edible dessert left which was most often served with a bizarrely coloured custard (why did they serve it green or pink?). I also remember a teacher sittting with us, pratically forcing us to eat what was on our plates and not letting us leave the table until we did. It was awful. Needless to say, once I went to high school, I took a packed lunch...soggy Ryvitas and cheese were so much more appetising.
I'm back for the second part of my training course this week. Should I brave the dinner options or just take my own sandwiches? You never know, we might get green custard.

Is Spring finally here?

All the signs would suggest so. The first daffodil has come into flower in the garden, buds on the trees are starting to break, frogspawn has appeared in the pond and the sun is shining. I had a lovely walk across the fields with Barney this afternoon (thankfully I did not have to extract a semi-disembowelled rabbit from his jaws today) and watched as five buzzards soared around overhead. I wish I had had my camera with me. Back in the garden the birds were singing and I caught this robin chirping away in the trees.

A couple more photos....

.... and a few more here.

These boots are made for walking

I've bought some new walking boots today. Why?....well, to go walking in of course. Firstly, it may be OK during the muddy winter months to be walking Barney in a pair of Smarties-patterned wellies, but I may start to look a little daft(er) in them once the weather starts to improve. Secondly, I'm going to be climbing Snowdon so possibly need something a little more substantial.

Last year I stupidly organised (and so had to take part in) a sponsored abseil to raise money for the charity for which I work. I was not keen on heights (or dangling from said heights on the end of a rope) before I abseiled; I'm no keener since, so this year's sponsored event had to involve keeping my feet firmly on the ground (please, no comments about someone having fallen from the Pyg track earlier this month). Bungee jumping and skydiving were completely out of the question......and the person who suggested swimming with sharks for next year's event can seriously think again!

There will be a team of around 30 of us taking part in the climb and I can't wait.... I love walking (though I'm not so keen on hills, which doesn't bode well!), I love North Wales and I love raising money for my charity. I'm also looking forward to being able to put to good use my recently purchased zoom lens. I hope the weather is good- I know from spending a great deal of my childhood holidaying in Snowdonia that invariably the mountains are shrouded in mist or fog. It will be a real shame if we reach the top and can't see anything! It will be fantastic to be back in Wales again though, it's way too long since I was last there- I have probably only been back half a dozen times since leaving Bangor University 15 years ago.

So, I now just need to get some hill/ mountain walking practice...I want to be the first to the top, not the last!

I hate Valentine's

What's the equivalent for Valentine's Day of saying 'Bah! Humbug' at Christmas? Whatever it is, I'm saying it. Not that I'm at all grumpy that another year has come round and the only Valentine's gifts that I have received are the ones I have bought for myself. Rant over. Hope you have all had a pleasant one!

Helping in the garden

Barney took advantage of the strong winds last weekend and collected up all the fallen branches in the garden. More here.

Birds

I took these pictures last week in the garden (a few more here). I've been waiting to catch a shot of the buzzard or the heron but they seem a little camera shy.

Robin
Blue tit
Long-tailed tit

Blasts from the past

Whilst eating my lunch today I popped the television on and flicked through the channels to see what was on. Channel Five was showing the 1985 Christmas Top of the Pops so I thought that, purely out of nostalgia, I would leave it on for a bit. What did I learn?

1. Pete Burns and Michael Jackson both clearly had way too much plastic surgery done in later years
2. I am older than I like to think I am as I remembered every song/artist that was played (in fact I probably watched the programme when it was originally aired)
3. 80s singers really could not mime...in fact half the time there was absolutely no evidence of a microphone either
4. 80s backing singers and dancers were ace...pure cheese
5. Feargal Sharkey should never have embarked on a solo career
6. I am probably a closet 80s pop fan

The backing singers/ dancers are so cheesy

Feargal in better days

Idiots

I took Barney out this afternoon, in the rain (not fair as, according to Voley, it was snowing only 10 miles away at his house). We were walking up the lane when this car drove past peeping its horn (very considerate when you have a dog on a lead), the two male occupants blowing kisses at me through the window. Now, I know I look highly attractive in my walking clothes and wellies, and I know it's Christmas, but is it really necessary? I suppose of course they could have been blowing kisses at Barney.

It's Christmas!

How has your Christmas been? Mine's been good. Lots of good food, lovely presents, snow on the ground and the company of family and friends. What more could a girl ask for? Maybe Johnny Depp turning up on my doorstep on Christmas morning, but I guess that isn't likely to happen.
Christmas Day was a relaxing one, just spent at home with my parents. We took Barney for a long walk in the snow and frost and there was hardly a soul around...just the occasional dad with children wobbling about on their shiny new bicycles! I remember those Christmases...new bike, first pair of rollerskates, first computer (Commodore 64, now that shows my age!). My favourite presents though were always the little gifts stuffed into my stocking. It seems that these days children aren't happy unless they have a mound of the latest technological gadgets. I remember last year asking a child what they had had for Christmas- the reply, "erm, a mobile phone, a Nintendo DS and a laptop, that's all". What happened to the days of getting excited by wind-up toys, puzzles and board games. Or perhaps I was just a strange child.
Boxing Day was spent in the excellent company of my best buddy, with the exchanging of more presents and the consumption of more good food. I am now the proud owner of a book-on-a-page framed print of Wuthering Heights. Fab.
All in all a great weekend.

My book-on-a-page print of Wuthering Heights. Thanks Voley!

A bit more snow and frost

These photos were taken at work. We haven't had anywhere near as much snow here as some parts of the country but the frost has been quite spectacular, though my amateur photogtraphic skills do not really do it justice. You can see more photos here.

Snowing heavily

Very frosty trees

Cobwebs

A little bit of frost

...well quite a bit actually. How are you enjoying the winter weather. I'm not much for it being -12C on a night out and having to slide across icy carparks in 3-inch stiletto heels, but I love the snow and the frost. I've been out around the garden taking some photos, some of which are below. The rest of the photos are here.

Icy, misty pool

Frost on twig

Frosty trees

Happiness is....

....a whole ten days off work. Bliss. I feel a bit of a skive considering we are so close to Christmas when I get another ten days off but I need the time to get my Christmas shopping done. Not that that is going entirely to plan. Despite a trip to Manchester and another to Chester, I have so far failed to find half the things I was looking to buy. I think I will have to revert to plan B if this afternoon's shopping trip is equally unsuccessful... the internet.
Failed shopping trips aside, my week off has been most pleasant, it's been good to relax. Voley came to stay at the weekend which was great- I'm hoping he returned home without any Barney inflicted injuries after being bulldozed by six stone of rather excitable puppy! We went to see Harry Potter on Saturday which didn't disappoint. It was dark and atmospheric but with moments of humour and I can't wait for the final part next year, it should be excellent. Could have done without the group of giggling teenage girls who went into raptures when Harry Potter stripped to his boxers though!
Sunday lunch was at my brother's pub and then we had a drive round the country lanes of Staffordshire before a short stroll around Bateswood Nature reserve.

Ducks in the gloom

Muscovy duck

I've been able to do a bit more walking whilst I've been off work. It's been a little nippy walking across the fields with Barney, the wind yesterday afternoon was like needles on my cheeks, but I love it. There's nothing better than being able to go out and not meet a single person..appeals to the hermit within!

It's been a long time

Well, this blogging lark isn't going so well, it's nearly 3 months since I last posted anything...must try harder. In my defence, I have been busy and don't seem to find the time to spend in front of the old computer screen...and my internet connection has been playing up. OK, enough of the excuses, I'm just rubbish. I shall make an effort to start writing again, but for the meantime I shall leave you with a couple of photos from bonfire night.

The bonfire was a little warm

Do you like my wellies?!