Tootling and Tramping

Now on the train on the way back from Cornwall and just realised that two weeks have passed since I corresponded and despite having little idea if anyone is actually reading the damn thing I will add another post.

A couple of weeks ago I met with my Avins cousin John who had organised a walking tour of old Leicester (what was left of it as like in Newcastle UponTyne town planners in cahoots with developers have destroyed so much heritage).

We managed to find remnants of the castle and Norman keep in between hideous 20th century constructions including roads.

Leicester has finally seen the light with the very recent building of the Richard III Museum (over the carpark and in a magnificent Victorian school building) and Richard's very impressive and quite beautiful tomb in the cathedral (no need to be concerned, it is still Viva the republic).

John presented me with a beautiful book he had made for me with old postcards of Leicester (our parents birthplace) and family photos and the text handwritten in beautiful calligraphy, it will treasured.

Back in London I managed to see exhibitions at the Tate Modern,The Royal Academy, the V&A . ...and in all London's millions I managed to run into a friend from Katoomba.

Joanna bought us all tickets to a night of The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra (the triangle player was very impressive Rigmor….actually the whole orchestra was incredible) playing Elgar.,.that night will not easily be forgotten as will Joanna's thoughtfulness and generosity.

Before Ben and I set off for our Cornish sojourn (anticipating lots of mackerel ,mussels and clotted cream, obviously not at the same time) I managed another day with Shirley (and her lovely friend Erica) to walk part of the Norfolk Coastal Path , lots of wind and rocks and refreshment stops (the thing about walking here is you are never far from a cafe or pub, very civilized really).…so we were always well watered and fed. It was hard to say goodbye as who knows when we will meet again (there is a song in that I'm sure).

Ben and  I have just had 3 nights in Southwest Cornwall staying in a little stone house on the edge of the coast in Rising which fortuitously near just the best little fishing village ,Porthleven,with fantastic scenery,food and birdlife.

We managed to visit 5! Cornish gardens : the sensational Heligan(a 30 year wish fulfilled), Trebah and the National Trust's Tudor Godolphin (with it's layers of Cornish history over 1,000 years) were the highlights….whooho!🌷🌹🌲🌳

I have to say the food in Cornwall and elsewhere in England has been amazing with sustainable local in season produce the status quo….also lots of renewable energy production in place all over the country. It is a tragedy that the country at present ruled by buffoons and a no-deal Brexit could potentially tear the place apart.

Off to Lisbon on Thursday and I will be home Friday week…..as the saying goes all good things must come to an end.

 Kath xo

Walking the Derbyshire Peaks.

I met up with my old friend Shirley in the Hope Valley for a few days in the Peak District.

Mike (he and Heather are friends of Shirley's and source of our accommodation,..stone cottage surrounded by fells and moors,you get the picture) and resident whippet Pie took us around the laneways of Bradwell (a magnificent village of stone houses) to get the lie of the land and it's long history (Iron Age, prehistoric,Roman evidence of occupation everywhere).

The following day we conquered Stanage Edge ,not so out of breath that we could not manage to admire the stunning scenery for miles around. In the distance we could see Kinder Scout famous for the 1932 mass trespass of Manchester worker's led by communist Benny Rothman to highlight the fact that walkers in England and Wales were denied access to open country. Those rights are now secured so we have much to thank them for. The Peak District is now a National Park and development is tightly controlled (not a croc park, MacDonald's or a house made of ticky tacky),.so good.

A diversion to Bakewell for the tart of course was well worth it ... especially as Mike knew the Derbyshire way to serve it with marmalade and clotted cream !

Just as well we were so well fortified for the hike up another bloody big hill just above the village and down again in time (just)for the annual pagan Well Dressing Festival which dates back hundreds of years .The 5 village wells are adorned with large framed mosaics made of millions of flower petals stuck on to clay depicting stories of historical significance (Moon landing, Wizard of Oz movie anniversary,Haddon Hall.,a rather eclectic mix). The parade was a lot of fun with it's theme this year of Welcoming People (Australia could take a leaf out of their book)....it was generous and heartwarming and humorous (even included a lampooning of Trump on a float paying homage to Mexico,..a portent of terrible things to come in a couple of days).

On the morrow we moved to a town nearby for the last night , which turned out to be fortuitous as we had to drive past Chatsworth so got a peak at it's magnificence (but decided to forgo the tour of the house as apart from being too big the fee to enter was exorbitant)

So we decided to visit the other big old house nearby, Haddon Hall(aka Thornfield Hall, if you have seen Jane Eyre you will know it well) a Tudor Manor house that dates back originally to the 12 century.  It is the general consensus that it is probably the finest example of a fortified medieval Manor house in existence…..it really was FANTASTIC!

Back to Hammersmith via Shirley's in Norwich.

More blogging anon..🛤️

Kath xo 

On the Thames and Tyneside

Sitting on the banks of the Thames writing this, expecting to see Ratty and Mole a d a Pooh stick or two at any moment...all that reading we did when we were much (much) younger makes this

landscape very familiar and comforting.

My time on the Tyne was really good ,Mish was a wonderful host and had all sorts of bits and bobs organised tailored it seems to my eccentric tastes and interests..what was great mate she is...the Laing Art Gallery, the Lit and Phil, a librarian's dream: like going back in time to live before technology claimed the world ,books books and more books and lots of places for people to sit and (heaven forbid ,talk to each other, as they were, not a smart phone in sight)....2 stories in magnificent Victorian building with galleries,ladders...you get the picture. Many of the public libraries in Newcastle have closed due to the Tories austerity measures so this is a vital part of the cities intellectual landscape even with a membership fee attached to borrowing.

We had a long walk along the coast from Whitley Bay to Tynemouth with it's atmospheric ruined (Henry viii again) medieval priority and a long history shaped by invasions (including Vikings) and wars.

A friend of Mish's gave us a tour around Barsham Community Centre, a beautiful Arts and Crafts house that has been restored with Grant funding in that style with William Morris wallpaper and stained glass. We heard the impressive story of the Tyneside community through the occupants of the house and their involvement in the anti-slavery, suffragette and socialist movements over 200 years. William Morris was a frequent visitor to the house as a friend of the original Quaker family that owned it. The women of Tyneside raised money to free the escaped slave Frederick Douglass who for some time stayed in this house went on to work with the abolitionist Wilberforce and went on to be the first black publisher in America.

Back in London, happy in Hammersmith.

Two nights ago we went to see The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Globe...absolute perfection,belissimo….a good time was had by all,cast included!

Today on the banks of the Thames (5 minutes walk from Ben and Joannas) I managed to pick a ton of blackberries and apples and we will have foraged crumble with Cornish clotted cream...wish you were here to share it ! Kath xo

Hotting up in Hammersmith

Enjoying the heat, the air heavy with the scent of flowers and Joanna and Ben's excellent company. Hammersmith is the place to be: on the Thames Path, Georgian streetscapes, lots of greenspace (largely thanks to the  generous Duke hiving off some of his enormous Chiswick estate, but who needs a weekender in London when your main abode is Chatwsworth) and beautiful gardens and lots. Of opportunity to forage on public land (this morning we came home with apples, blackberries and a bunch of wildflowers).

Ben has made their garden at the back of their ground floor flat into an oasis….much in need particularly after yesterday's news..,

The Conservative party's lurch further right has left the country in shock, especially with the news that Nigel and Donald are cooking up a scheme to stage a coup (just when you .think things cannot get any worse!).

Yesterday I caught the train to Portsmouth (the trains were in a shamb!es with delays,cancelled services and signal failures with thousands filling the trains and stations in the heat... the Brits have the patience of saints, I seemed to be the only one who was cranky, especially as the 2 hour trip cost 30x what it would at home)..,so I finally got to see The Mary Rose in all it's glory after a nearly 40 year project of archaeological excavation (a lot of it underwater) in it's new purpose built museum. The 9,000 artifacts and genetic testing on remains are used to great effect to tell the personal stories of some of the nearly 500 who lost their lives when it sank 450 years ago.

Tomorrow I go to Newcastle Upon Tyne to visit my Geordie (committed to socialist and Corbanite )friend Mish...hope the trains are back on track!

Keep Manning the barricades!!

Kath xo xo