A Happy Christmas

I have had a very difficult November and had been planning a post during the month, but it never materialised and I was in danger of not getting up to date for Christmas.  However I can report that, after panicking, I have caught up with myself and only have mince pies to make on Sunday.

With some friends I went to a wreath making workshop here and we knew that as it was only 2 hours long we would not be using a basic ring and bound with moss.  We were given a ring of floral foam (Oasis) set into another solid ring and already wet.  Lots of greenery was provided but plus other items and voila, after 2 hours 

and some dried orange, berries, glitter, a bow etc it is now hanging on my front door.

I was unable to attend a Higham Piecemakers workshop in October when members would be making an indoor wreath.  However I was lucky enough to have help in cutting out the shapes from SH a member of CUC (we call them Cock Up Corner but they make lovely things!!) and made this

I love it and released my inner designer self!!

Luckily I had made my Christmas cake at the end of October and it was maturing well through November and then a week ago I put on the almond paste

 and have just finished icing it  I used to spend hours doing smooth royal icing and decorating with piped icing, but now it is rough iced with some treasured figures that are used each year.

I only make the cake for my younger son and a little bit for myself, but when I asked whether one was needed this year, he said "Christmas may as well be cancelled" so here it is.

Finally Higham Piecemakers had their Christmas Parties this week and the Monday ladies always have a bring and share lunch

(the desserts were elsewhere!) and as usual there was a great deal to eat and this was followed by raffles and games.  BUT the final item is distribution of the Christmas Challenge and for 2019 we must -

"Make a 3D item of your choice using the pack of paper pieces provided.  You can use the shape alone or applique it.  You also have a fat quarter of fabric which you can use of not, but it would be nice to see it used in some way.  You have until 30 March 2020!"

My brain is working overtime and I will not start it until the New Year as so many ideas are whizzing around.

My apologies for the shortness of this blog, but I have had a very difficult end of the year, but may I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a good New Year to you and your families.

Spooky goings on

The day after my last post I incurred an injury whilst walking that has laid me up for a few weeks, hurt to go up and down stairs and generally made me feel grumpy and not wanting to write the blog.

However I am now back to normal and though I am struggling to walk too far feel that I can now 'put pen to paper' so to speak.  Actually I wonder if I am the only person who struggles to actually put pen to paper.  My hand wobbles, my thoughts race ahead and there is a general blur in my mind, all of which I put down to typing all the time!!  I have lost the knack of hand writing with a pen.

Anyway here goes - I have had two outings with the 50+ Adventure club (we've changed our website so do have a look) in the last month. The Autumn Walk and lunch and our Halloween trip to Nottingham.

I have no photos for the walk but we all met up in Sandy on a lovely day and made our way into the Riddy along the River Ivel where we had to cross a ditch with some water in it.  The temporary planks looked rickety so I decided to cross on tussocks of grass but put my foot on some and immediately sank up to my knees in water!!!!  Great hilarity for the group, but my waterproof boots filled with water over the top and I sloshed for the rest of the walk!!  The boots were so well waterproofed that the outsides were dry before I got back to the car but the insides were still full of water!!  However the lunch made up for any discomfort!

So to our annual Halloween trip and this was a first as we had to book our own train tickets to Nottingham for two 'Adventures' later in the day!!  We all managed that and had the morning to ourselves, so the group I was with headed to the Justice Museum.  I loved it and took many photos -

Made of Lego

and read this to see what a criminal looks like

'a thief could be identified by small wandering eyes!!'

This truncheon was used at the Peterloo Massacre 

and my friends sat in the original dock from Bow Street Magistrates Court

with a photo in front of them of some of the people who would have sat there, including Oscar Wilde, Roger Casement, Dr Crippen and Ethel Neave and in more recent times Jeffrey Archer.  Go to the link above for Bow Street and you can see what these people were there for.  After lunch in their rather chaotic cafe we went on quick walk round the lace quarter, now turned into flats etc

The Adams entrance 

Our first organised walk was in the sandstone caves under the city.  Considering how soft sandstone is it is amazing that there is a shopping centre above!

The tannery in the caves

 Lots of talk here about pee and poo being used in medieval times in the tanning process!!  Children and the 50+ Adventure Club love it!!

The tanning pits using poo and pee!!

More tanning with oak bark in these pits

 The caves were also used as air raid shelters in the second World War.

The basement kitchen of a dwelling

Great walk and then a visit to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem for a drink and meal before the ghost walk 

Even this pub is set into the sandstone cliffs below the Castle.  It was packed but we had a reserved room, thank goodness!  When it got dark we went on our ghost walk along the castle walls 

Guess who this statue is?  Answer at the bottom -

So ended a very busy, but enjoyable day.

I have been doing some crafty things:-

This is an ongoing smocking project for a file cover tht holds all my patterns.  The last bay tree is supposed to look like that as I will not be using it.  In the meantime I have started this Christmas decoration ring 

All will be revealed in a few weeks!

Sock Club continues and I am making a new pair

 from this book by Winwick Mum and I have also bought another one by her.

I can't wait to have a go at the pattern on the front!!

Answer to photo above - Robin Hood 

Norfolk week with friends Part 2

As I had already walked 16+ miles over three days, on the third day I decided to go and explore on my own. In fact I went with 'L' and we had a great morning in a very strong wind!

I had booked us on a boat for a 'Seal Trip' so we headed off to Morston Quay an hour earlier than booked in the hopes that we could catch an earlier boat, but our provider was not there but another boat was, so after paying we hopped on just as it was departing.  I hadn't paid the other people!!  What a morning we had.

It was quite calm even at high tide, but we could see the breakers in the distance, looking very stormy!  We passed this moored up, East Coast Sailing Barge,

flocks of gulls fishing,

until we arrived at Blakeney Point and the open sea!  The captain of our boat managed to turn it so that we could get in close to see the seals, but it was rough, with plenty of spray.

So many of them hauled up on the shingle - both common and grey seals - who took no notice of us

except this one who came quite close to the boat.

We saw the old lifeboat station

and then it was announced that we could get off the boat for an hour (and would be picked up later thank goodness!) and we could walk around and explore.  Off we got, the boat left

and I personally wondered it the boat would return because it was a long walk back to the mainland!!

L and I explored the Old Lifeboat Station and discovered that three wardens live there from the Spring until November.  

I loved seeing the little clumps of Sea Thrift clinging close to the ground in this exposed position made up of shingle.

In the Old Lifeboat Station there were boards explaining how Blakeney Point was formed 

Double click to get a bigger picture

and this explains that nature has built up the shingle over hundreds of years and is still doing it.  On the return journey we saw more Turnstones (see last blog) very well camouflaged and taking no notice of us!

While waiting for the boat to return I explored a little and then came to a shallow beach and saw this!

A Common Seal pup about 36 inches long

This made my day and I took so many photos and even a little video of him.  I did show our warden who said he was a quite late pup, in good condition and just sunning itself.  He would keep and eye on it, though I did see a seal quite close in the water so that may have been Mum!

We were picked up by the boat and after lunch we drove back to Wells.  It was mid afternoon and I decided to ride the Wells to Walsingham Railway.  It was delightful

Turning  round to go to the front

if a little drafty as the carriages are open.

That evening most of the group met up in Wells, for our final evening meal before returning home after a memorable week away.

Norfolk week with friends Part 1

Last week the 50+ Adventure Club went away to walk part of the North Norfolk coastal path.  What fun I had!  Laughter, walking and good food with friends; what more could you ask.

With two others I was based at the Quaker House in Wells next the Sea and it was basic accommodation.  Fine as we were only staying there and going out every day, but I was in the main building on my own and when the main front door was closed late at night, the kitchen door was always open, so my bedroom door was always locked!!  

We walked into Wells on Sunday afternoon and I took this iconic picture of the town -

the quay and granary with lots of small children fishing for crabs (which they put back because they are small).  The 'Lifeboat Horse' could be seen as it was low tide

Next morning was not the official start of the walking week as many were driving that day, but some of us met up and went by coastal bus (thank goodness for my 'bus pass' that gives me free travel) to Cromer.  We walked along the front and the pier, bypassing the theatre to visit the Lifeboat Station behind.

Here I had a minor catastrophe in the shop, as my full water bottle fell out of my rucksack, the top came off and the full contents went all over the floor.  The nice ladies behind the till mopped it up with me apologising profusely.  "At least it is only water" they said "we have had worse".  I leave it to your imagination what it was!!  After a brief lunch of Cromer crab sandwiches, a must and delicious, we walked the 4.5 miles back to Sheringham and caught the bus back to Wells.  That evening we went to The Jolly Sailors pub in Brancaster Staithe, where after eating, we watched the Nelson's Shantymen rehearsing ready for the weekend's cider festival and we were mesmerised.

The pub was so busy they had to go outside so thank goodness it was a mild evening.

Tuesday morning we walked into town to catch the bus and the tide was right in over the quay and the poor 'Lifeboat Horse' was just visible -

The whole group met up at Burnham Overy Staithe, a delightful hamlet on the edge of the sea and crossed the marshes on a raised pathway and saw this in the distance which was quite unexpected!

A very long shot!

A chariot pulled by four grey horses and a charioteer in green - could this be a stand-in for Tom Cruise or George Clooney.  No such luck: they were filming a commercial for Haven Holidays to be shown on Boxing Day!!  We pressed on until we came to the new Visitor Centre at Holkham where we had lunch.  The next part of the walk was back to Wells where I cheated for the last part and caught the little Wells Harbour Railway into town and saved myself half a mile in a total of 6.5 miles that day.

I also caught the Lifeboat Horse from another angle

The tide out again.

Next day we were back at Sheringham and before catching the steam train to Holt we walked along the front and saw these birds, but what were they?  A passing lady said they were Turnstones which I have never heard of before.  They over-winter here from Scandinavia and do turn over stones to find little grubs etc.

We arrived at the station and I loved seeing these two together and requested a photo

Very smart station staff!

I love trains and this was my second in two days so I was in my element.  It was on our arrival in Holt that the heavens opened and delayed our start but the sun soon came out and we started to steam!!  A trip on this train is a must if you are ever in the area.

We set out to walk to Sheringham, walking beside the railway at one point and then we heard a toot and our steam train was coming along the track

and then the path rose and we crossed over the railway and in the distance saw this

deer running across the field.  At this point we could see Sheringham in the distance and were told that we could either go over the top or down onto the beach and walk on the sand.  Mmmm, when we got to edge of the cliff the tide was in so no beach walking and all I could see was this climb!!

Keep walking to the top and the little house!!

I nearly asked one of the golfers for a loan of his buggy, but I find it easiest to keep my head down and keep going under these circumstances and my trusty Nordic Walking poles got me to the top, with just a very short walk to the car the other side.  Another 6 miles completed.

That evening our whole party of about twenty went to the 'End of the Pier Show' in Cromer for a night of entertainment.  Good fun and we gave a cheer when our group name was called out by the compere for the evening.  Very, very windy when we came out and nearly blown off the pier!!

So ends part 1  .......  watch this space