What are you all up to
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Sunny here today, and quite warm, busy cutting down more stuff in the garden, shredding, and filling the garden bins for collection on Tuesday.
Van all cleared and cleaned, ready for DD & co's stuff to be loaded up tomorrow.
New little boiler lined up for fitting in "granny flat" in early September, need time to clear the space first.
Thinking of investing in a small trailer, not sure what make/size to go for, would be good for transporting logs etc in, rather than in the back of the car.
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Sunnier day here to today, so far no rain. Must be the first day for awhile, thankfully not been all rain just some heavy showers. Gardens gave had a good drink even the hedges and under bushes are soaked through.
Should have been meeting up with our pals from the west coast today for lunch. Had to rearrange, OH had to visit dentist. He was having a bit of toothache for a few days and yesterday at 11.30 I persuaded him to call the dentist "can you come in at 14.45" he was asked 😲 as I suspected it was an abscess. Back again this morning to have it removed. He's been sleeping most of the afternoon, he didn't have a great night last night. That + Co codomol, zapped him. Seems to be OK just now managed some soup for dinner.
I've taken up crochet again, haven't done it for many years and even then could never read a pattern. I did back in the day make a Poncho and bed cover. Granny squares are all back in fashion so I'm told.
I got talking to a lady on our last campsite in France, who was busy making a blanket. It was beautiful never seen one like it before, she told me she had only started crochet last September, going to classes at her local wool shop. The amount of things she had made was amazing and the skill she showed, she could have been doing it for years. Anyway it inspired me to give it a go again. Thanks to the Internet, U tube and the like I have learnt some new stitches and new granny squares patterns. Just need a bit more practice then I'll make something.
Its warmer out than in today, our house has good thermal properties, so on a day like today we need to open doors and windows to benefit. Only thing is we can't do that as we would have a house full of cats. Someone nearby keeps getting kittens, then once they are a year or so old leaves them to get on with it 😡😡 it's becoming a bit of a problem now. We have 2 of them who insist on sleeping on our decking as if they belong. Can't leave the door open as they will be in like a flash. I suppose the wood is warm and they are out of the wind and rain as its covered. Chairs can't have cushions on them or the cats would be up there. One is a male and does like to mark his territory 😡😡 I've never got through as much disinfectant.
Seems strange looking out the window and not seeing the car and caravan 😞
Good to hear those away are enjoying their trips. Hoping to get away at some point, might just take advantage of the other clubs offers.
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A better day w weather wise so we parked at the P&R for Shrewsbury and headed into that fine place.
It's been a number of years, probably at least 10, since we last visited and we had never to our disbelief visited the Abbey, so we rectified that today. We were very lucky as it had an excellent "Millie" so we were given the whole spiel and very grateful we were. The lighting in the Abbey was too poor for photos but the grandeur of the place surprised us, mainly as it seemed to have survived almost unscathed from the Dissolution. The original Norman columns still in place and there was a Roman column cap from nearby Wroxeter Camp supporting the Font.
We took a photo outside of the memorial for Wilfred Owen, the local Poet killed in the last week of WWI. It's a strange shape but it makes sense when you realise that he was killed whilst putting a pontoon in place over a canal.
Had a good wander around town and went down to the River Severn for lunch, calling in on the way back for a pint of TT. We then visited St.Mary church renowned for its stained glass and I have to say we were mightily impressed by it. Also impressed by yet another "Millie", a real treasure trove of historical facts, not only of the church, but of the town itself. There's a memorial stone set high up on the entrance. It needs expanding probably to read it but worthwhile.
All in all, with pleasant meanderings down old alleys and passageways and looking at some of the wonderful architecture it was a lovely way to spend a day in town. Not often I say that either. One rather unusual name still in existence for an alley way was "Grope Lane" One does wonder how it got its name.
We did venture down it but I have to say I remained unsullied.
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Just a heads up for anyone wishing to visit Shrewsbury.
They have 3 P&Rs, one next door to the Morris Leisure site at Oxon and they run regularly on a loop around the town. £2 per person with discount for English bus pass holders.
If you just want to visit for a couple of hours then drive to the car park opposite the Abbey where charges at the time of writing are £0.60 per hour. You can access town from there easily but note it is uphill. There was plenty of available space when we passed it today.
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You could park MHs in the Abbey car park last time we visited WN. Quite a while ago now. We like Shrewsbury, lovely Abbey. Interesting Border town. Long gone now, but I had a nice time in the Cadfael Museum, which used to be close to the Abbey.
We have had a lovely local afternoon out. Picnic and then a good walk around beautiful Renishaw Hall Gardens. We even got some sunshine. I think it’s one of the best gardens we have ever been to for herbaceous borders and roses, stunning planting colour schemes. It was looking a bit battered today though in places following all the wind and storms we have had in last week. Head Gardener was saying they are way behind trying to catch up with daily maintenance like weeding, dead heading, grass and hedge cutting. He gave me some seed heads as well👍Very pooch friendly.
Some photos…… the open castle structure is a rather lovely pet cemetery area, individual little gravestones, all named.
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Lovely TDA these garden visits are so restful even looking in from home.
Thanks everyone for all the photos and places visited. WN, we have never walked round Shrewsbury but will be staying at Ebury Hill fairly soon.
OH has taken the MH for it's airbag recall, passenger side today. So all up to date.
Off for a dog walk, nice sunnymorning but not easy due to new road surfaces and lots of tar and grit. Will be avoiding the roads for a few days.
Getting used to an empty house but we do seem to have more room to move.
Hope your OH feels better soon TG, good job he was seen so promptly.
Do hope Millie and Mr H are doing well.
Enjoy your day folks.
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Brue if you do happen to visit anytime in August then you might be interested to know there are organised events every day showing off Stained Glass windows in various churches. St.Marys in the town centre is a good place to start.
Had an enjoyable spent at Attingham Park NT and at Wroxeter Roman camp nearby.
Off home tomorrow. Been an enjoyable short break.
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With another wet day forecast we decided to head westward where it was supposed to be dryer. So Bishop Auckland, a bit further? Barnard castle, a bit further... So ended up in Keswick where it was dry, lovely and warm, while it was torrential rain back home.
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Dropped the van in yesterday afternoon at the dealers for it's service today, with a list of jobs that needed sorting, under warranty. Got a phone call just after lunch to say that it was ready for collection with all jobs done. Duly collected the van and there were still a couple of things that they had not fixed!!
Saw the boss there, showed him what was what and he was not a happy chappy and has promised that they will get what's required and call us back when they have the bits and fix everything. So van is now home and hopefully we might get away for a couple of so week in the very near future.Sounds like a good day, WN, have a safe tow home tomorrow.
Brue, we really like the Ebury site, and were there before we went to Chipping Camden, and will certainly return
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Think we must be living on another planet here in Stubbers, weatherman keeps forecasting cloud and rain and all we get is clear skies and sunshine, maybe tomorrow will be not so good, most of country forecast for rain.
Watched a programme on Sharks early in week on BBC, young Gdaughter sent me a text to say be careful swimming in the Solent, but only ever seen the odd seal in Portsmouth Harbour although we do get dolphins on the channel side of the IOW. Only ever panicked re sharks whilst in Fremantle, after a few beers a few of us went skinney dipping, not until the morning did we realise we had been swimming outside of the shark nets.
Beautiful day yesterday and I think due to some very high tides and the water moving very fast round the IOW the Solent is very clear. 15 degs already and clear blue skies so could be another glorious day.
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Arrived at the NYM site, yesterday afternoon after coming through the most horrendous thunderstorm just south of Scarboro'. Actually had to stop in the middle of the road because the windscreen wipers couldn't cope and I couldn't see a thing other than a wall of water. By the time we had left Scarboro', the roads were bone dry and it was obvious they hadn't seen a drop there.
I have never seen the site so empty. We thought we wouldn't be able to get on our favourite pitch on the grassed area just inside the entrance but when we arrived, the whole of that area was empty - filled up a bit later but still nothing like it was this time last year and the rest of the site is the same. Perhaps a few more will arrive this afternoon for the weekend.
Having a lazy day today - just as well because it's pouring down now. Looks as if the planned BBQ later will be taking place under an umbrella
Pleased with my Wifi set-up here - TP Link Router and Poynting external aerial - getting 55 Mbps download which isn't bad considering were virtually in the middle of nowhere.
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Interesting weather updates from around. It really is a lottery what you get at the moment, and can be very localised.
I remember being in Looe back in the 80’s and 90’s Rufs, there were always sharks of various kinds hanging up in the harbour area, trophies for those who enjoyed that sort of thing. I always found it rather sad. Not sure if they still fish for them out of there. Nothing like your Fremantle Sharks of course.
Mum day for me here, but sun has come out, so I will get an hour in her garden hopefully🤞
Few more photos from our Renishaw visit…..
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"Perhaps a few more will arrive this afternoon for the weekend."
English schools finish for the summer today so stand by for the massess, mind you, ours have not been in school much this week, seemed to have spent most of the time on the beach doing what children do on the beach, lots of paddle boards and canoes and good to see all in life jackets, teachers in wet suits with lifeguard bibs on very professional, and the children are loving it, the tide when out leaves behind shallow type lagoons which are great for playing in.
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"Nothing like your Fremantle Sharks of course. "
worked there for 3 months and never saw one, but all the good beaches had shark nets.repots now suggest that shark nets maybe not such a good idea as sharks are getting caught in the netting and this is providing easy food for others
Hate to see anything killed just for the sport, but in the programme it explained how i think shark livers? play an important role in how they get about in the ocean etc, and investigatations had shown that the liver? in many sharks was very small probably due to malnutrition due to difficulty in finding food, hence the more frequent attacks near beaches etc, especially in the Red Sea.
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My cousin lived in Aus for a decade, not far from Sydney, they saw a good few. I am trying to recall what type of sharks were spotted occasionally in St Ives Bay when we spent time down there a lot. Might have been Mako🤔 We have seen a few Basking, they are a right old sight with their mouths open.
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Last chance to see West Bay before the crowds arrive although we thought it was quieter than usual. Also noticed the Parkdean resort has cut down it's touring pitches even more and replaced them with "lodges." Had a saunter round after a visit to the local garden centre as OH needs to replace a heavy garden fork broken by daughter's partner...whenever we lend something out someone in the family seems to break it..grr. Anyway we came back forkless as the only decent one for sale was too heavy. Quite a few holiday families having breakfast in the garden centre so OH succumbed to a sausage bap.
Good weather here, just a light shower on the way home.
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I wouldn't be able to not say anything to your stupid and selfish neighbour about getting his/her cats neutered. Cats breed from an early age and having many cats soon leads to inbreeding. Sooner or later there will come a time when someone will complain to the RSPCA or similar and they will come and take the cats away, costing huge amounts of money to neuter, innoculate and worm them, then try to rehome them. People like your neighbour should be very heavily fined for not looking after their animals properly, but here in the UK our laws are far too soft in every aspect. Of course it isn't just about the welfare of the cats, but as you point out, it affects the neighbours, like yourself as well.
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It's always best to contact the local rspca or cats protection for advice on this, they will usually help. We successfully prevented a cat colony expanding and this also prevented illness etc. We also ended up with a lovely tabby cat as a pet!
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"Last chance to see West Bay before the crowds arrive although we thought it was quieter than usual. "
could be true for us, we used to stay at Highlands End caravan park, however, the hill down from and up to is probably not for us now, there is a circular walk that is not quite so strenuous, but we did love the site but it was not for the faint hearted when it was windy.
We also stayed at Bingham Grange when it was family owned. OH used to spend hours browsing thru the antique centre, myself and pooch used to toddle off for some refreshments
Spanish daughter was there last week touching base with some school friends, she said those new apartments etc were looking a bit seedy, but i do love the harbour and beach areas0 -
Yes, I would do that as well Brue. The cats need looking after properly. Not everyone is kind to cats, when I ran one of our local Leisure Centres, we knew someone close by had a lot of cats. Another person, (we suspected the local pub landlord) took things into his own hands and actually shot some of them. Staff ended up raising a couple of orphaned kittens, but we took them to Cats Protection for their own good. I had already taken one kitten in, he was gorgeous, but he only lived 18 months. Vets said he probably had some inherent disease. All three of our cats have been orphaned kittens, far too young to leave their mothers. Our last one was 21 when he died, so we got his care right.
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It doesn’t rain but pours. Arrived in the peak district yesterday and it’s been raining on and off ever since. Not only that but it looks like our leisure battery is giving up the. Ghost. Fortunately when we leave this CL on Monday a caravan dealer is going to test the system for us. Hopefully the weather will improve so we can get some walks in
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Quite a few years ago now we had neighbours, she was American and he was English. They decided to move to the USA, the only problem being is that they also had a cat. They just left it at the property which was a pretty mean thing to do. The neighbour on the other side, Judith, took pity on it and called the Cats Protection League, or something similar and they came and picked it up and I assume got it rehoused. It does cross your mind why they had a cat in the first place if they weren't prepared to look after it?
David
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It is a bit hit and miss around us OP, we are a bit North of the Peaks, but getting both torrential rain and lovely sunshine today. Hope you get the battery sorted.
However folks can leave behind a much loved pet (although in your neighbours case, not that loved) DK just don’t know. 🤷♀️ The only pet we have ever parted with, most reluctantly, was an Indian Runner Drake. He was too fond of dragging chickens into the pond and of course as he was “pleasuring” them, they drowned. He had to go, but he went to a good home with a BIL. Drakes are horrible at breeding time, they will even have a go at each other, if you get my drift🫣 I keep contemplating a Guinea Pig, quite portable as I keep telling my OH. He’s not convinced🤣
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Cats are very opportunistic, if someone feeds them, they keep going back😁 I warned all our neighbours off feeding ours, as I didn’t want them to roam far. We had two together at one bit, they loathed each other. One was a go out cat, the other stayed very much at home.
At one time we had a small zoo. A horse, three dogs, two cats, a rabbit, and lots of chickens and ducks. We had house sitters luckily, although the horse was at livery. Nightmare trying to sort things before we went away, I got OH to thin down his chooks (as they died), didn’t replace the rabbits and cats. I do miss a cat around though. OH would have had another horse, but we had a hard think about that one. Decided we liked going away too much.
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OH seems to be getting better day by day but still has to take like slowly (not easy for him!) and he is still very tired. The children have been marvellous and have done a lot of the jobs that he has been unable to do this year. So the garden is looking good, the garage is better as is the shed so he can now relax for a while (hopefully). I think I have found a gardener to give us some help in the garden - fingers crossed.Our son and grandson have now gone back to N.Ireland so the house seems very quiet. Having said that our local son popped over last night and our daughter came to keep OH company for a while while I was 'welcoming' at the Cathedral. WN I did a 'millie' this morning as while the Star Wars exhibition is on there is no access to Katherine of Aragon so I took pity on a number of visitors and escorted them to her and told them all about her. It made a nice change as I am no fan of Star Wars! OH is fed up as he has been told that he must not drive until he has had all the results of all the cardiology tests. He is not a good passenger. He has quite a few appointments coming up - I could do with a spread sheet if I knew how to do one.
brue I sympathise with you over your family breaking things. Our SIL seems to break everything he borrows - hedge trimmer. strimmer, angle grinder to name but a few. Daughter and SIL want to borrow OH's car when they go camping in a few weeks so I have just insured our daughter for our car not SIL.
TG I have every sympathy with your OH over his tooth abscess. I have had a couple over the years and it is so painful. That is why I keep on with the denplan payments. I hope he feels better now.
WN your recent trip sounds lovely. It is a few years since we have been to Shrewsbury. Lovely photos.
tda I loved the photos of your day out as well. What a lovely garden.
Strange weather today. It wanted to rain but couldn't quite get up the energy to make a good job of it so just spits and spots. The forecast tomorrow is awful.
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PS Has anyone heard from Helen and Trever recently? They don't seem to have posted on here for quite a while.
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In the past we have had dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, canary, budgie, cockatiel and a horse. The birds and rabbit were all taken in by us from other army families that got posted overseas and couldn't take them with them. The boys had 2 guinea pigs lovely things they were very friendly and happy to be handled. They always wanted a dog but we wouldn't have one while we lived abroad, at that time they had to go into quarantine for 6 months on return to UK. Once we had our own place here we got a rescue dog, only 5 mths old and lived to17 years. The horse we had on our last posting in Germany, both of used to ride her, mainly hacking but I did do dressage on her a few times.
Cats, this village has to many of them and they are a nuisance, it doesn't matter how many times you chase them away they still come back. The 2 that are a pest are very thin and have sores, not sure if they are from fighting or if they have a skin complaint. Strangely they don't appear to have fleas. The male is lovely and friendly, just wants to have company. I'm keeping my eye on them and if they get much thinner I will contact someone.
Busy old day today, cut the grass front and back with the new mower
strimmed the edges, tidied up a few bushes, did some shredding. OH making up fence panels for a new front fence.Weather has been lovely and warm even hot at times, now we have rain.
AD, I know what you mean about trying to find everything for the van, we've been the same. Thankfully I have a check list so hopefully we won't leave anything behind. Not going away yet but there is so much to remember to put back in the MH. I want to give the carpets a shampoo but it will have to wait until we have a good hot day as they have to be done by hand. Last time I tried to use my carpet shampooer on them I caused it to burn out. The pile on the carpet is to fluffy and it clogged up the machine. New machine bought but I'd best not do that again.
R&R, we bought a TP Link router, seems to work fine just with the 2 antenna it comes with but even better with the pole antenna that OH is trying out. We have a very poor mobile signal in the village but it seems to work fine, most days.
Have a good weekend folks whatever you are doing.
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