a bear called...

I don't often mention work on here - perhaps an effort to keep this entirely separate, perhaps because it rarely seems relevant in this context. But this week there has been a teeny crossover, unusually, between my crafty unwind time and something close to my heart on the work front.

I am involved with a couple of charities for people with lung conditions, British Lung Foundation and Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis.  Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a condition which results in scarring in the lungs, reducing the normal stretchiness of the lungs and making it difficult for oxygen to get into the body. Sufferers have progressive worsening breathlessness which affects all their activities. The cause is unknown, there is no cure and it causes 5000 deaths a year in the UK. 

September is 'global PF awareness month' and activities are on worldwide to raise funds and awareness of this devastating disease. We have a few things planned, one of which is to have a 'name this bear' competition'. He (or she?!) needed something to link him to the campaign so I have spent the last couple of evenings knitting him a jumper in APF colours - just have to add the lung logo now...

I knitted this in the round, from the bottom up, and added in the sleeves as I went. I'm not sure it is completely even as I had to do a bit of 'on the hoof' shaping to account for his considerably fatter tummy than chest! There was definitely a bit of guesswork involved but overall I think he looks quite smart! If a bit sad-faced...

Any suggestions for names for me to throw into the competition??!

If anyone is interested, there is a very moving video on you tube made by the wife of a sufferer which illustrates how this condition affects not just the person with the condition, but also their families. I hope raising awareness will help to focus the attention of those commissioning healthcare services and funding research.

Makes you count your blessings.

S x

birthday food...

How do those little people turn into such big people so fast?! Today my 'baby' is 21. Doesn't seem possible.

Some lovely friends took us out Friday evening for a special meal and they brought his dessert out like this out for him...

It tasted amazing too!

Last night we had a night at the cinema for the launch of the new Dr Who series (he's a big fan!) and today he and I shopped and had tea in a quirky little cafe in Norwich...

Love the lamp made of teacups in the background...

and these scones were warm and delicious! I had lavender scones with cream and lemon curd - a whole new take on a cream tea...

I'm guessing this may not be your average 21 year old lad's idea of the best way to spend his birthday - disadvantage of end of August birthday, everyone busy on August bank holiday, but I hope he's had a nice day. Tonight he's out with his brother so I expect that will rate highly, love that they enjoy each other's company so much.

Definitely all 'grown up kids' now!

Yikes. 

S x

Beeston hill...

It has definitely felt a little bit more autumnal this week so it seemed essential to make the most of another lovely evening. I started off just driving in vaguely the direction of the coast (this is Norfolk...to be fair, that means anything from about 10 to 5 on a clockface from Norwich!) then when I got up to the North Eastern bit of the coastline I had an urge to go 'up' so I drove West along the coast road until I got to Beeston Regis, Sheringham. 

Beeston Hill is one of the highest points in the county, at a 'mighty' 60-odd ft above sea level. Now I appreciate that hardly counts as a 'peak' and it is also known as Beeston Hump or Beeston Bump, so we have no delusions of grandeur!

Nonetheless, as you head up there it gives you a great view over the town and the coast...

This bench had a little plaque to commemorate a couple who loved to spend time here - what a lovely spot to sit and breathe the sea air...

Looking inland you can see across Beeston & Sheringham to the North Norfolk countryside - in spite of common myth, lowland but not entirely flat!

This was one of a number of wartime 'Y' posts - wireless intercept points where messages from enemy shipping were picked up and sent to the Bletchley Park decoding centre. Seems a far cry from the relative tranquility of the place now.

As I walked back towards the town the sun was getting lower in the sky and looked as though it was streaming through the gaps in the clouds...

There were still a few people on the beach, including one fairly small boy with this lovely kite...

I hadn't really noticed the wind turbines in this shot until I got home and put them on the computer; rather like the juxtaposition though - the static uniformity of the turbines with the freedom of the kite, both harnessing the wind. And actually, I quite like wind turbines anyway, something quite beautiful about them - though I know not everyone feels the same!

Surprisingly difficult to capture a kite in reasonably strong breeze, particularly with somewhat excited small boy on the other end of the string! Neither were exactly keeping still!

I do  love the seaside...

Hoping for more sunshine tomorrow...

Sx

banishing Bertha...

Sunday saw the remnants of 'Bertha' pass through the county. I think we got off pretty lightly in Norwich really but there was an awful lot of the wet stuff! At one point the wind was blowing so hard that even with a fast shutter speed I couldn't avoid a bit of blurring as the fuschia waved about madly. A lot of them ended up on the deck but it seems that these delicate looking little blooms are pretty resilient. And I have to say this plant has given the best value - it started flowering in early spring and has been covered in colour ever since, with nothing but neglect from me!

At one point it was raining so hard that it sounded as though a bath was being emptied down the side of the house! Not sure the gutters were up to the job! Those lines on the picture below are rain, just coming down in what my mum used to call 'stair rods'. (never quite understood the connection between rain and stair rods but there you go, linguistic quirk perhaps?)

I discovered its pretty tricky to capture raining on the window, even when there's lots of it!

At one point there was a break in the rain and we took the opportunity to nip into town for a few things - before long the sky was heavy again...

I just managed this shot of the castle before the heavens opened again...

and as we headed home, we came across this huddle of hardy tourists. So loving that brolly!

Within just a few minutes the skies had cleared and the sun was trying to show through again...

Something very fresh about raindrops glistening on the plants...

All in all, I thought Bertha was a pretty mild mannered hurricane, at least by the time she got to us! Hope you all got away with no more than a drenching.

S x

evening musings...

After an unexpected shift at work, I was a bit desperate to get out and enjoy the last couple of hours of sunshine yesterday. It feels as though this year is just flying past and already the trees and gardens are showing signs of approaching autumn. I have to confess to a slight degree of panic about this - something to do with the speed with which my life seems to race by and the fact that I so struggle with long winters and can't quite bear the thought of this lovely summer coming to an end.

Tom and I took the opportunity for a sneaky coffee in a little cafe courtyard...

Just occasionally I wish I liked milky coffee! His looked lovely but actually my black coffee tasted fab and I know I hate the taste with milk!

This is a pretty courtyard with timber framed buildings, though it looks as though at some time years ago another floor was added so it has a rather strange 3rd layer that looks much more modern.

After coffee, he went off for a night out with friends and I wandered. I love my little house and for the most part I am ok with my own company, but just sometimes I can't bear the thought of going back to the emptiness. Silence is a mixed blessing and I have completely conflicting feelings about being on my own - the freedom and independence is undeniably liberating; I can do what I want, eat what I want, when I want... But deep down I think we are social beings and I guess we all need or would like the companionship of someone kind to share life experiences with. And there are always days when your kids or your friends are busy with their own lives and families and it is these times when the reality hits you in the face a bit, that actually, this may be how its going to be, always. And then I wonder where I went wrong...

Anyway, with these slightly maudlin thoughts in mind, I just walked, first round the shops and made a few unnecessary purchases (gawd help me, I even bought a Christmas present! This has to be a record for me!) then kept walking until I got to the cathedral grounds where there was a spot to sit in the early evening sun...

The cathedral close is really beautiful. It is the site of the Norwich School - a public school which undoubtedly provides for a privileged sector, but what a fabulous setting for school rooms. The seagull in the photo was doing its best to wreck the scene by systematically emptying the rubbish onto the grass!

I rather love this sculpture, lit by the evening sun which was throwing long shadows by this stage...

The cathedral is a beautiful building and I think the kids that go to school here are very lucky to be educated in such great surroundings. 

I'm not sure I completely banished my low mood (just me that notices all the couples strolling along hand in hand??!!) but it shortened the long evening at home considerably!

Today's another day, and I'm giving myself a kick - really have nothing to complain about on the grand scale of things! Best go and make something of the day!

S x

chillin' VW-style...

Once a year, a VW festival called Whitenoise comes to the area - we have been a couple of times over the last few years and the venue has changed as the festival has grown. This year it was at the rather lovely estate of Euston Hall near Thetford where the bulk of the action was at the bottom of a gentle slope in front of the estate Church...

The sun was shining on rows of campervans, some beautifully restored and polished...

and others with more worldworn features...

There was a bit of a breeze and the festival flags fluttering...

I thought it had maybe a slightly more commercial feel this year, with a lot of the stalls that seem to be at every festival now, selling varying degrees of expensive tat, but Whitenoise has a lovely friendly feel and definitely is full of VW enthusiasts with a range of everything you might need for sale, from 70's deck chairs and crockery to unidentifiable (to me!) bits of metal VW parts. There is an endless choice of the kitsch and 'vintage', some authentic (I swear one stall had the contents of my Nannie's bungalow from the chairs to the potato masher!) to the currently available vintage-style. I remember rather loving this stall full of pretty fabrics when we came before...

There is something about these events that makes you feel a bit chilled and lazy, so we took a coffee to the stage area and took to the stage area to listen to a very relaxed set, ended by an unlikely and quirky rendition of 'Mysterious Girl' which had us all smiling and tapping our feet...

 I think this was my favourite van, actually not in the display bit of the field but obviously used and loved...

whereas Tom was taken with this rather less 'subtle' version! 

Something for everyone.

Lovely little trip out.

S x