What are you all up to
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Lovely photo Goldie. Our first foray to France was to a site called La Brazilia (I think) near Perpignan. It was with a company called Inn Tent where the tents were already erected. Like you it took us 3 days there and 3 days back with 3 children in a very small Sunbeam car. We had 2 weeks of glorious sunshine (and a few thunderstorms!) and many trips out (a couple over the border into Spain - very exciting). We loved it so much we bought our own (second hand) frame tent and that started our years and years of camping and caravaning.
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Great picture Goldie. Very nostalgic all this talk of French holidays. Our first time was in 1986 with 2 early teenage boys and our trailer tent, what a pain that thing was, especially erecting the awning!! We went to the Vendee that year and they loved it so much we went further down to Gastes in the south west the next year by which time we had purchased our first caravan. Then started our love affair with the Dordogne and went there most years in various places, without the boys by then. Our youngest son did a summer after Uni working for Keycamp in the south west of France (can’t remember the site) from erecting the tents to welcoming guests and sorting problems etc, it was very hard work but he had fun, mostly!
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Vbfg. Potatoes are grown where we live, different types in rotation, some for the commercial market, crisps etc. We buy a bag each year from a local Duchy farm (£5) and the potatoes last all winter, just coming to the end of them now, we store them in paper sack in a shed. You'll probably find that different types of potato go out of circulation although some favourites remain. Can't remember the name of the latest ones, perhaps they are Nadine?! They've been good but no doubt next year the farm will use another type. Now looking forward to Cornish and Welsh new potatoes.
I mentioned on here yesterday about the road closure in Devon. Just in case anyone is heading for the South Hams it's the A381 Totnes to Kingsbridge road, completely closed at Halwell (for around a month?) The diversions will be difficult for some larger outfits. We will use a longer route from the north via the A3121 and A379 to Kingsbridge. There are details on line.
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We had unbroken blue skies first thing this morning and, although the clouds gathered quickly we managed to avoid the thunderstorms promised by Madame Kirkwood! So we drove across to Baslow for a walk down through the Chatsworth estate (busy being set up for the horse trials which, I think, are next week) and on to the pretty little church at Beeley. In the churchyard are a number of gravestones of former estate workers the earliest I could find was from 1687. Sadly the inside of the church, though interesting was very gloomy so no chance of a picture there!.
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Gave the car the day off and had a decent walk, lasting 3 hours as we headed down onto "The Flats" and walked towards Whitton alongside the extensive reedbeds on one side and scrub vegetation on the other. Excellent for birdwatchers like us.
Enjoyed the sunshine and the walk and 15 minutes after getting back to the caravan the heavens opened. Been on and off since.
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Our local river was on flood alert which means some of the roads flooded but it seems places like Bruton (on the Brue
) and North Cadbury etc fared badly, same in Devon too. Where we live on a rise just above the levels we don't get flooded although parts of our village suffer. We had to go out yesterday just as the heavens opened and the thunderstorms arrived, was glad to get home safely!Nice photos of Derbys Moulesy, there used to be an estate cottage in Baslow where someone sold homemade marmalade.
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WN & Brue -- I was watching a repeat tv prog t'other night about a bit of a breeze that took place back in 1987~~ Mr Fish's " Don't worry, there's not going to be a hurricane " about a couple of hours before the breeze got up a touch !!
Seems strange now to travel thro the southern counties and see how the tree-scape has picked up after, comparatively, just a few years since some of the felled trees were of great age.
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I think it's the suddenness of it Brue. There had been more threatening clouds pass over without a drop being spilled but the one that caught me unawares looked fairly harmless. ABM, I had a friend who lived looking out at the "Sevenoaks" but after that storm should have been renamed "Gummy".
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Comfortable drive down to Mid Wales, although I did invent a diversion, having missed a turning on the A44!
An "interesting" last few miles up to the site though. Had a pick of pitches, and although originally having booked a grass one we elected to go on a hardstanding one because of all the rain last week, but still good value on a full facility site at under £20 pn Very quiet on here, with only about 13 units, some seasonal and unoccupied, on an 80 pitch site. Looks as if there are more than enough in the local area to keep us occupied during our stay here.1 -
If you are in a position to grow your own the variety you want seems to be available as a seed potatoes.
David
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My Sis grows her own potatoes, not in bulk of course, but enough for a good few special meals. We love Pink Fir Apples. She uses large containers. Gets seed potatoes online usually.
Hopefully, we should be off soon. Not far away, but a much longed for break. 🤞😁
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We are set up at Englethwaite Hall - now sitting outside making the most of a bright dry spell.
Despite our best efforts we arrived early yesterday - we usually struggle to get away in the morning. We drove fairly slowly and even pulled in to let a car pass on the approach road, but still drove up the lane at 12:58! We needn’t have worried about being chastised as there were four outfits in front of us. For those who say sites are almost empty, it didn’t reflect that here (though of course a fair few have left this morning).
A photo of the queue - as I’ve never experienced one before!
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For all dog owners, if your dog is a regular grass eater, be wary that they don't eat any wild garlic which has intermingled with the grass. A couple of years ago, my dog was sick shortly after a walk and was ill for a few days afterwards and I remembered that there had been garlic growing amongst the grass. Of course it may have been something else which made him ill, but better to be safe than sorry.
DK and TDA, I don't have enough room to grow potatoes as there are that many rose trees, interspersed with the remains of quite a few cats and dogs buried in the garden (I've lived here for 38 years). No ex husbands though, even though a few people have asked!
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I think the fact Englethwaite is no facilities so very reasonably priced is why it is busy. Some no facs sites are now cheaper than equivalent CLs, particularly the CCC sites. Especially with the age discount.
We will be using their site at Shrewsbury in late June, HS with EHU, just under £17 per night.
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We have had to change our break away next due something as cropped up nothing serious but emailed the site and all ok now for early June instead and they now have ANPR for the barrier system so asked us for car plate number, just as well as the weather is awful at the moment although dry at present but thunderstorms forecast for next few days and more rain next week so hopefully early June it will be dryer and warmer at present it is 15C brr.
OH has his early blood test yesterday in Cahors all done very quickly and no trouble finding a vein as the local nurses do sometimes then a quick bite to eat as he had nothing after a early tea on Tuesday, then some shopping done and back home.
Not sure about no May here as the grass is growing apace and will soon need wellies to go around the field but it is looking pretty with wild flowers out.
Take care folks.
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note for some of you after good all round spuds when at armathwaite go to Pioneer just off j 43 M6 turn left at t lights and follow road round you will see it on your right after about 300yards great for meat fish and vegetables.mostly local grown in our lovely county yup am a local
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A few years ago we planned to holiday in Yorkshire with my cousin and her OH, unfortunately due to a couple of health problems with the OHs and then Covid it didn’t happen. Yesterday they suggested we try again and go next year. I’ve done a quick search for a cottage which must have 2 good bedrooms (not 2ft 6 child’s beds) and 2 bathrooms, I’ve been looking in the Thirsk area but it’s taking some doing. Has anyone ever stayed in something that would suit and could recommend it.
This morning the site male swan was sitting next to the female on her nest, all I could see through the reeds was him swaying his neck and head back and forth, it looked very strange. Later I crossed the bridge and closer I could see new green reeds piled around her nest. He must have been pulling them up and re-enforcing the nest as the river has risen. She has just a little space now for the forecast rise tomorrow. Hopefully the now fast flowing, muddy waters won’t reach her eggs.
Yesterday we received a ‘Save the Day’ notice from my nephew and his fiancé for their summer wedding next year. Thinking if I can wear an outfit that I wore to a wedding for the other side of the family a couple of years ago as no one will have seen it. The problem is can I still get into it!
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Hello DEBSC We stayed at Masham with the family recently. The cottage was lovely with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was very well appointed. Our DIL booked it. It was called Barn Owl cottage and was booked through 'Ingrid Flute's Yorkshire' which is part of Yorkshire Holiday Cottages. Hope you find somewhere that you like.
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It's our last day here in Little Longstone - managed to get out with Ralph first thing, then it rained for most of the morning. Luckily it did brighten up this afternoon so had a longer walk from the cottage up to the next village, Great Longstone and had a look around the very interesting church which has some graves dating back to the 17th century. Off up the road (to you-know-where, it's only a minute's walk!
) for a meal tonight and just to test that the Jaipur is still up to standard.Had an email from the organiser of the walk on Sunday to say that just shy of £1500 was raised and they're well pleased with that!
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Quite a busy week for us thus far. Out of the blue Margaret had a message on her phone to attend a Diabetic Eye Clinic at MK Hospital on Tuesday. She should have these appointments every year but this was the first one since before the pandemic!
Yesterday it was our ex works pensioner group which meets once a month and we had a talk about living on a narrow boat, was interesting and everyone seemed to enjoy it. In days gone by it would have been held in our ex place of work but now we have to be self supporting and hire our own meeting place. I help by providing email communications although it's sometimes difficult to get all the information I need. We are slightly hampered by the fact that a fair proportion of our members are not willing to use electronic communications plus those that some that do but don't really understand it!
Today we had our Lunch Club meetup at a local restaurant. We tend to meet up every 2/3 months. The group makeup is slightly different as it tends to be people your have actually worked with in years gone by and probably a bit closer to than a general group. Interesting mix of people. One of the guys, who in the past, worked for me as one of my managers trained as a Vicar after he retired. I don't think it was me that drove him to the Priesthood!!! We have always met at the same restaurant and the last time we were there the food wasn't very good but, strangely, today the food was much better. The other thing I noticed was that apart from our group the pub wasn't very busy which is a shame.
And just for good measure, Waitrose tomorrow!
David
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Another day of mixed weather, although it has been mostly fine with a couple of claps of thunder late this afternoon and one heavy rain shower just after I got back from an exploratory riverside walk. Visited a beautiful bluebell woodland and RSPB reserve, Dinas, this morning. There were lots of birds about, and only a few visitors. Then drove up to the car park at the Llyn Brianne dam for another walk. Impressive evening sky following the rain.
Riverside site's dogwalk and sunset.
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Debsc, not sure if this will be of interest, but it’s somewhere we have used over half a dozen times
http://www.valleyviewfarm.com/
Beautiful cottages situated around 2 miles from Helmsley, you climb up Sutton Bank from Thirsk, which is around 20 minutes drive away. Stunning scenery, Rievaulx Abbey is around half a mile away. We have stayed in the big cottage, Granary, which has three bedrooms, three bathrooms all ensuite. Downstairs bathroom is good for limited mobility. We have also stayed using two of the smaller cottages when away with another couple, sharing the lovely courtyard area. Lots of parking space.
We are away😁 Who cares if it has rained, we are on a lovely CL, quiet and scenic.
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It seems man6 companies have become very stingy with pensioner benefits.
When I managed our Glasgow office, pensioners were always invited to the Christmas meal, even accommodation provided if it was somewhere remote, and received the same Christmas gift vouchers as the staff.
That all changed about 5 years after I retired, the then manager rang me to apologise and explain that he was no longer allowed to invite pensioners, unless they wanted to pay to attend. I was incredulous.
We still have a pensioners association, but no longer have to pay a subscription as meetings are very few these days. As they are usually held in either London or Aberdeen, not that many pensioners attend, I have never been to one.
These days we pensioners only see a few others at funerals.
A group of us from the original Glasgow office have met up a couple of times down in Ayr, but not since Covid. At least we are still all alive!
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