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The lounge at
The Barrister's Clerk, Retford
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The bedroom at
The Barrister's Clerk
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Alnwick Castle. The ball was thrown from the balcony
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The piper
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The Shrove Tuesday football match in progress
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It was the annual 'bluebell walk' yesterday, but although they were still blooming nicely in the fields, they had 'gone over' in the woods where the main display usually is. Shame.
Twice to the Royal Albert Hall in the space of a fortnight! Once to see Alfie
Boe, and yesterday to see The Drifters. Both were loud and dramatic.
We also went to Greenwich yesterday, making a day of it. We thought the Observatory
at £16 a throw was a bit expensive for what we saw in it, and there was
no time to see anything else.
We tried to get from there to the Albert Hall by bus – the first part went
OK taking the No.166 to High Holborn, but from there it seemed there were no
buses west to Kensington. Strange. In the end we took the tube.
I did!
We've decided to redecorate the lounge. I'll let you know if I survive the ordeal!
So, the date for the UK to leave the EU has come and gone (29th March) and
we're still in. Those who know me, know my feelings on the matter (see 27
Jun 2016).
I had a small bet with myself at the time that we'd not leave, and it looks
likely that I may be right. If so, I'd be overjoyed. The EU with all its faults
has ensured peace in western Europe since the devastation of WW2. It needs to
change to accommodate a changing world, but we can assist if we work from the
inside.
Forgot to mention last week that my cousin William's son Rupert is working on the discovery of an eighth continent, Zealandia. See him on Youtube.
Up to Northumberland for a few days. We made a halfway stop at Retford and
slept in a bookshop! See pictures below.
Arriving in Alnwick on Shrove Tuesday, we were recommended to go and watch the
annual football match
between players from the two parishes of St Michael and St Paul. The ball was
thrown from the castle gate by the Duke of Northumberland (or it may have been
his son) and walked down to the flood plain of the River Aln following a Northumbrian
piper. We watched the first half (of 30 minutes) but as it was raining and not
overly exciting we left then and sought the warmth of our hotel!
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The lounge at |
The bedroom at |
Alnwick Castle. The ball was thrown from the balcony |
The piper |
The Shrove Tuesday football match in progress |
4th March 2019We had Christian & Maryse from our French twin town of Corné
to stay for a couple of nights, and of course gave them the 'full English'
for breakfast (see right). |
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Yesterday I mowed my lawn – in February! Is this a global warming warning?
The previous day I was dressed as Sir Robert Hunter again at a 'Mystery and
History' day set up by the NT at Hindhead for kids at half term. Luckily it
was a lovely spring-like day, because there was a lot of standing around waiting
for an audience to turn up. However, I did learn several ways to start a fire
from the man doing 'bushcraft' demonstrations, so not altogether a wasted day.
18th February 2019So, after having the No.18 bus run through the village from Haslemere
to Aldershot since bus services began in the 1920s, we now have the No.23
instead, running from Haslemere to Alton – and only once every 2
hours instead of hourly. Not sure who this is supposed to benefit! |
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11th February 2019The Sunday walk last week was a curtailed affair due to snow, but 6 brave
souls and a dog rambled up the riverside and back (see photo). |
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Spent two evenings in the village hall helping Dil to make stage curtains last week, and another there dressed in a kilt being MC at a Burns Night. We seem to spend as many evenings in the hall as we do at home! The Burns Night is organised each year by our Twinning Association – so there you have it: a group promoting jumelage with the French putting on a Scottish evening in an English village. Vive le difference!
The final weekend of Toad of Toad Hall went well – see pictures. Audience numbers were average, which means as good as recent years but nowhere near the halcyon days when we had full houses. I guess people's habits have changed, but it's still good to put on a show involving the kids and adults together, however fraught it gets at times!
The first weekend of Toad of Toad Hall went tolerably well. Let's hope the final weekend goes well too.
Today I placed my first order for books via KDP rather than CreateSpace. It was a bit of a struggle, sending me to Dil's Amazon account first of all – but in the end it looks as if books come quicker, more cheaply and invoiced in Pounds rather than Dollars.
A week of activity in the Village Hall and at home preparing for Toad of Toad Hall. At times the lounge floor looked like we'd had a snowfall as Dil made furry animal costumes!