Poorly

I am pathetic. My nose has already availed itself of a full box of balmed tissues and my throat has used up a jar of honey to no avail. This sore throat, tickly cough, cold (I can't say plum jam) and nausea will just have to run its course. This is certainly going around...... but it will get it over at the start of the winter so I will be bug free for the season. I must make an effort!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Keep abreast of the times.....October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so check it out girls! All the Debenhams stores (Lingerie department /fitting rooms) have a collecting box for your unwanted bras for which there are all sorts of uses and Breast Cancer Campaign reaps the rewards of gaining some funds too. So sort your drawers out (!)and keep your undies out of landfill!!!!!
I am on the hunt for a bonny, blushed shirt for H1 to wear on October 29th when we shall both 'wear it pink'; there is some controversy over pink being too frivolous for such a serious disease BUT I reckon if it focuses attention on checking breasts, funding, research etc then pink is fine and female.

Having heard there were possible LibCon cuts in the pipeline for the financial support charities get from Government, I approached my MP; she sent me letters responded from the Minister of Health suggesting that yes! the former 'matchfunding' (charity finds money & governmment gives a matching amount)will probably be abandoned; the MP's words for this included 'absurd'! How can charities finance longterm labs,staff and research without a sustained supply of money?

Walking has been wrapped around a 'Nurse Nancy' trip to London; first we circled from 'The Rat' at Anick via Fawcet and Stagshaw along country lanes red with holly berries and robins.

On our next stroll we went woodland; stealthily skulking in the Plessey undergrowth, we Ladies peered at the Wansbeck wildlife; a large, grey heron high-stepped in the river, spearing the innocent and unsuspecting while two red squirrels scampered in the branches above us. To move would mean to rustle so camera stayed in my backpack.

Latterly our group walked from Dissington Hall which was built for a relative of Lord Collingwood {my hero!}. we lunched at Milbourne; am I weird that I love tombstones? they contain so much history and mystery. Spike Milligan's epitaph is written in Gaelic and says ' I told them I was ill' -so Goons and Spikey. A Milbourne gravestone maintains 'Here shall you see no enemy'- a quote from Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'- but why? What did that mean in reflection on the lady's life?.... When did the Witchfinder General damn the innocent of so many villages? Do the dates fit?.... Anyway- in the land of the living, Dissington provided us with cuppas and cakes and diverted funds to a special school for outdoor play equipment- we all approved of that so forced the chocolate cake down!

Three cups of coffee at Mimmo's meal with friends last night has disturbed the quality of my sleep; throughout the night I thought of so much to put in my weblog until I eventually got out of bed and my mind has blanked- so I need sustenance. Mmm! Porridge

The Lake District

The lashing rain rattled against the window pane; hesitation... procrastination... deliberation...decision...We will still go... loyalty to our leader dictated that we should drive to our B&B in Portinscale in violently inclement weather. A meal with the gang put us all in a better frame of mind; what did it matter if we were plodging through clarts when the company was so good? A thinner Steph and Brendan greeted us at The Mount Bed and Breakfast like long lost friends- which we are!



As it happened we could see Derwentwater as clear as a bell the next morning from our bedroom window. Bootclad and waterproofs at the ready, we strode upward and onward in the Glenderterra valley under Blencathra; we were stripped down to T-shirts by the time we worked our way round to the bench above Keswick at Latrigg. A cuppa, Steph's cookies, a quick read to finish my book and a shower revived us enough that we all made the Derwent Lodge.


The morrow's return of rain deterred a couple from a walk half way up CatBells; they missed lunch beside Sir Hugh Walpole's plaque (from his friend- just one?)amid the broken lights of bracken. H1 sang over DerwentWater opposite the Lodore Falls and above the ferry trundling round the lake.



Peaks drifted with levels of mist which allowed us a ghostly vision of the tops every now and again. Beech leaf litter glowed and squeaked under foot; a 'little gentleman in velvet' pushed his way through the leaf litter on the forest floor. Gold chestnut hands pointed at dirty brown sycamores as though reminding them that they needed to colour up. At the Borrowdale Hotel we timed it perfectly for the open topped bus which disgorged us for coffee at the Theatre on the Lake; a walk in sunshine through Keswick brought us back over the pedestrian bridge (rebuilt after the floods which washed it away) to Portinscale.

There are not enough colours on an artist's palette to describe the patchwork of fields looking from Hartside down over the Eden Vale; fields were picked out by outlines of drystone walls and field boundaries of dark woodland. Roadside verges waved burnished rosebay willow herb's feathery seeds; spruce hung heavy with long, thin cones while yellowing ash trees held on tight to blackening keys. We climbed up between newly flailed roadside hedgerows. Below us a solitary finger of smoke points up to a small chink of blue sky- enough to patch a sailor's trousers.

Now we are up on the rolling harshness of bristling moorland , where snow poles mark your route home and dull-brained pheasants stand jewel bright on top of stonewalls. 'Welcome to Northumberland- England's Border Country' is greeted by Newcastle's loss to Manchester City and commentary on the Ryder Cup. Past Garrigill, over Cupola Bridge, don't stop (as we usually do) for a drink at Langley Castle..... let's just get home.

Autumn days

Mmm! On the doorstep tonight were apples which P&A have scrumped from their trees... tarts, crumbles, purees, chutneys....Did he take sweetpeas while here?



Life is whipping past so quickly I missed the autumn equinox on September 21/22nd; I like all the seasons in England but nights drawing in and clocks going back an hour(October 30/31st this year)do dismay me a little.

Torrential rain coming down like stair-rods has been the mood of the last week. Is this responsible for the worsening ache in my gammy middle finger? Pain gives me a rigid digit and it locks hooked when I tie my boots or wield a knife - which will relieve H1 when he infuriates me and I am working with a Sabatier! C. says she has been told it is a sign of Viking heritage.

Heaven has been partying this week as it has been the Feast day of the archangels- Michael, Gabriel and Raphael; what happened to Uriel? Raphael fits in with the book I have just finished; Miss Garnet found there were seven archangels according to the book of Tobias which is in the Apocrypha.

A walk at Otterburn pattered heavily on our water proofs evoking memories of green ridge tents of childhood holidays; 'Don't touch the sides of the tent!' meant you just had to put a finger on the canvas. The MOD red flag was up but our leader M checked with the local farmer who said it was all right to walk up on the moor as they weren't using live ammunition that day!!!



Today's blue sky and golden sunshine brought temperatures of 19 degrees and a sweat as we stormed along the Derwent Walk at Swalwell.

Tonight C and I have been to see 'Made in Dagenham'; I recommend and commend it to you, girls! The struggle of the Ford, female, upholstery workers in the 1960's was so gutsy and won equal pay for women in Britain and eventually for woman all over the 'industrialised' world; Sandie Shaw (there is bare foot from the past!) who worked at the car plant sang the credits through. Also well done to the BBC which made this film!

Wimpishness

This morning I stood warming through under a hot shower spray and realised I was a wimp; I have given in to autumnal temperatures. I reflected on my subservience to chill factors....while heat played on my cellulite I realised
a) the dryer is up in the utility room and is festooned with tights and jeans while outside heavy, sodden T shirts hang sadly on the line.
b) I was so cold in bed that I have swopped the 4.5togs for 9.5tog duvets before October 1st.
c)I have brought the indoor plants in from the patio where they have spent the summer; to thank and reward me for the warmth they have all broken out into flower.
d)I have worn a jumper today!In fact I have installed shorts and T shirts on the ceiling shelf above the wardrobe and brought sweaters and cardigans down from on high.
e)We have had the central heating on and the lounge fire.



So days are getting shorter and the porch light needs to be put on earlier- there is the doorbell......




...and to think H1 braved the drift of rain to play golf while the Ladies dodged walking and went to the cinema at the Gate wherein Julia Roberts was (painfully) finding herself. Newgate Street seems so much darker and narrower between Darn Crook and Clayton Street.




We have attended a really interesting (honest!) talk on 'Diversification in Farming in Northumberland' (Think farm shops, Northumbrian cheeses AND Doddington's Icecream and it becomes more interesting!).
We have walked 6 miles back to Wallington from up near Cambo and managed to avoid any forecast showers.
I have read much of 'Miss Garnet's Angel' and wondered why I wasn't struck on Venice the twice I waded through the grafitti, muck and rain that greeted me there; maybe Angel Raphael wasn't guiding me inspite of my links with his/her celestial body at school.



I baked for hours and realised how wonderful friends are who make massive efforts to bake to help one; M, M, A and B all arrived laden with cakes and muffins to add to my trays which sold well at D3's Family Fun day.



I am thinking political , philosophical thoughts....

I wonder how new Labour leader Ed Miliband will handle 'the House' when the unions put him in while the party, MPs, and MEPs voted his brother in; apparently Ed is not married to the woman who has(&is) bearing his children and has not put his name on the birth certificates- what a role model for the country- I won't be voting for him.



According to letters to our MP which she has forwarded to me in response to my emails, it looks like the coalition Government will cut their financial input for medical research which charities fund; I have also signed a petition to plead with the coalition government as it looks as though (Early Day Motion 413) the coalition may stop funding free school meals; I know parents should feed their children but in the event that they don't, why punish the poor and vulnerable who have no voice? It seems the poorer echelons of society are carrying the can for what the bankers caused (& who are still getting big bonuses).

Where are my banners and duffle coat from the Sixties?

Plummet or plum it?

We have catapulted into autumn; temperatures have dropped- to 9 C last night; rain showers have been like stair rods; evenings have been the best & sunniest part of the day. Should I dig out the autumn duvets? I have even supped porridge and the Ladies went to the (free) Discovery Museum for a day to avoid rain and chill- surprisingly a day there was not long enough....



Still in Menorca mood we hosted a barbecue- I played boules & other garden games in my fleece; as the evening drew in we adjourned to the kitchen table for Cluedo- you will have gathered board games are our thing!



I thought I would take a photo of wor Jackie (Milburn of course) on the Boulevard especially for Menorcan P. who asked was he still on Northumberland Street- Hey up! St James's Park is silhouetted in the background!

We have looked like a weatherman and woman popping in and out to hangout/gather in holiday washing dependent on drizzly conditions. This intermittence has led to much reading- at last finished 'The Tenderness of Wolves'(so what was her name?), 'The Gift' by Cecilia Ahern (strange tale of Time) and '3rd Degree'(by James Patterson- not usually my type, very American cop, but quite intriguing). Now to Bookcross them........


We walked in showers around Horsley ; the hedgerows were laden with berries- rowan, elderberry, hips and haws; ash and sycamore keys are ready; acorns and conkers are littering the drove roads; leaves are colouring and falling. I was surprised at how some farmers have not harvested in cereal crops yet even though wheat, barley and rye ripened up so early this year. Autumn is the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' so we went fruitpicking; damson and plum jam now adorn the garage shelves alongside the jars of summer fruit jams.

I admit we have done a lot of gallivanting of late; after meals out (Zizzi and Pizza Express give offers which are too good to ignore!!) No wonder the style speaker at Eslington Villa tried hard to ignore my plaintive attempts to catch her eye when the ladies went to 'How to Create a perfect body in 5 minutes with illusion' Harrumph!

We 3 made a snap decision to go to the Theatre Royal after lots of excellent reviews on 'The King and I'; brilliant especially Anna.


That reminds me (!?) the Pope has been to the UK. I can't warm to said Pope so have not seen anything about his trip- eeeh! Heathen! I think I expected so much real world 'fresh air' from the 1962's Vatican Council that John 23rd pulled on the Holy See lot- and Cardinal Ratzinger has closed the window (standing behind Pope John Paul too)........


I cannot write a blog without writing about the Great North Run- I love it - it makes me feel so proud- not just of Newcastle upon Tyne but of all those people who have personal reasons for tackling a half marathon. I feel so choked as I watch the 54 thousand runners stream over the Tyne Bridge as the Red Arrows streak the sky above. D2 was working on a breast cancer charity tent on the Leas alongside the stewards, masseurs, St John's Ambulance, teabrewers and sandwich makers who volunteer for this event; how many people from all over the world come to run this for so many charities- and the costumes of the funrunners- bananas and sunflowers, donkeys and Darth Vaders, Buzz LightYear and pink bras- wonderful! Many of the locals from South Shields come out with icepops and misting hose pipes on hot days, boiled sweets, orange slices etc.



PS When is a pumpkin ripe and ready to take off the plant? Anyone out there know?

I cried!

The cases and I are sitting folorn and empty on the landing; they await manhandling into the loft to be hidden and discarded till the next season; I am there sorting out washing into piles of white cutoffs, shorts,and T-shirts into washing-machine sized heaps. I have fallen off the end of a lovely, lovely week with friends in Menorca and I admit I am sad.



It took so long for Facebook and offspring to reunite us after 20 years and nothing between us had changed. K and I can still talk for England!


We four (and Jack)



drifted (often with glass in hand) around a beautiful island.... bumping into Richard (Branson)...eating at D. M, and S's sister's expensive and superb Biniarocca hotel (where L gave us cuttings of the most fragrant plant- 'Ladies of the Night')



....drifted around Mahon harbour with 'the twins' in P's boat, passing cruisers, Admiral Lord Collingwood's house, bars (admittedly we didn't pass all these)



Good company, good food (4lbs on in a week!), good friends, white painted houses, much laughter, beautiful coves, great memories (what a memory K has!), fab music, adult playgrounds (which didn't interest P & H1)



and wonderfully good hospitality.



Goodness me! How I cried.. Parting is such sweet sorrow.....Supposing I don't see K, P, and J again?