Bank holiday 'up North'...

On a whim, faced with another 3 day weekend (I never imagined I would dread these long weekends but at times I do - the inevitable sense of family/couples stuff going on serves to highlight those of us not in those kind of relationships!), I visited a friend in beautiful Yorkshire.

Hadn't entirely anticipated the bank holiday/first weekend of the school half term traffic which made a 3 1/2 hour journey take 5 hours and there was a twinge of irony leaving scorching sunshine and 26C in Norwich to arrive in Knaresborough as the heavens opened with a torrential thunderstorm! 

It wasn't cold though, and once it brightened up we went for a wander round the town and beside the river. Knaresborough is a pretty little town with lovely open public land - covered in buttercups at the moment...

It was lovely to catch up with a dear friend over a glass of wine...

My friend belongs to a walking group and on Sunday we joined them at Sutton Bank National Park Centre for a 12 mile walk. It started a bit grey and blustery but the pace was brisk so there was no time to get cold! And not much time to take photos! But you can see for miles from the path along the edge of the escarpment... 

And I couldn't resist more buttercups...

As we walked, the skies cleared and we all shed layers as the temperature soared. The sense of expanse of countryside up in the hills always takes my breath away...

And this area rightly claims to have stunning views...

Beautiful place to stop for lunch...

I love the lush green of these hills and the contrast of the terracotta tiles on the cottage roof...

The hedgerows and meadows are full of colour at this time of year - the last of the bluebells, pungent white flowered wild garlic, yellow buttercups, pink campion and white hawthorn blossom... 

Delicate fronds of cow parsley...

Towards the end of the walk we came through a village with pretty stone cottages...

...before a welcome cold beer in the pub in the nearby village of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe. I rarely drink beer but this was a very welcome half!

In the evening we headed to Leeds for a night of entertainment at "Trouble at Mill' night of comedy and music - the headline of the night was Tom Wrigglesworth who is a regular on Radio 4 comedy shows and lived up to expectations. But the spellbinding act off the night for me was a 'speed painting' artist called Dave Sharp who painted this huge canvas in a matter of minutes...

 

Initially it wasn't obvious who the subject was - he paints with two brushes and his hands with such energy and the first few brush strokes look entirely random, then suddenly it became clear. So clever. And he was auctioning these paintings this weekend for the victims and families of the Manchester bombing. Check out his work on his website or via twitter... https://twitter.com/DaveSharpsArt Amazing to watch!

Good to do something different for a couple of days, back to work with renewed energy tomorrow maybe!

Sx

random things...

A week or so ago a new piece of 'art' arrived where I work...

We have a visitor from Southwark...

If I'm completely underwhelmed by Wenlock, however famous he (she? it?!) is. But I think there must be a fundraising purpose of some sort so... 'whatever'... And I quite like our elephant, and really love the beautiful tree sculpture (which looks great on the days when we get some sun through it) so there could be worse things to greet you on your way in and out of work.

The other interesting (well I thought so...) thing was this moggie that appeared over my garden wall one weekend...

Is that not the most unusual coloured cat?? As Tom said, looks like a ginger tom thats been badly dip-dyed! No doubting its confidence though, as it boldly headed for my open back door!

It has been lovely to have a few days to sit outside for a bit, makes me feel a zillion times better. And although today has been cold and grey again, I can put up with it better for having had some recent sunshine. At the weekend we actually had some proper 'warm enough to eat ice-cream at the beach' sunshine. Bliss. When I get my act together with my camera (instead of my lazy phone photos!) I'll share my sunny seaside pics.

And I'm feeding my crochet habit with a bit of 'selfless' hooking (is there really such a thing? its all a bit self indulgent I suppose) - inspired by Lucy's plea for bunting for Yarndale...

Terrible photo, hastily snapped on my bedside table by the light of my bedside lamp, unblocked, unfinished but I'm a bit over excited by these. I love the idea of lots of people contributing to a colour fest and as I've not attempted granny triangles before I'm quite enjoying whipping these up. I don't know how many I'll manage but I figure any extras are an addition to the total.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to work out if I can figure out a way to justify going to Yarndale, so very tempting!

Maybe just squeeze in another triangle before sleep...

Sx

beautiful things...

Each May Norwich holds a festival of arts and cultural events. It runs for a couple of weeks and is an eclectic mix of the beautiful and bizarre, interesting, clever and sometimes just plain fun. There are always a fair few free events on and the city seems to come alive with people enjoying the atmosphere.

The festival kicked off on Friday evening with a show in the grounds of the cathedral which definitely came into the bizarrely beautiful category. Called Reve D'Herbert (Herbert's Dream) it had an eerie, haunting quality and although I think it got mixed reactions, I loved it. I forgot my camera so only had my phone but you can read more about it and see some better pics here if you are interested.

The cathedral setting as darkness descended is so atmospheric in any case...

Looking forward to the events of the next couple of weeks!

Yesterday was beautiful in a different way - I went up to the coast with a group of ladies and we walked 17 miles of the North Norfolk Coastal Path. They are all heading to Yorkshire at the end of the month for the Yorkshire 3 peaks which I can't make thanks to work, but this was a bit of a training walk (minus the ascent/descent element! This is Norfolk after all!).

I can't say much more about it - this particular bit of coast holds a lot of memories for me and I was glad to be able to walk on my own for a bit, complex emotions but beautiful open skies and sandy beaches. 

One wistful dog, wishing he was sitting in the front seat...

This is how far behind you end up when you keep stopping to take photos...!

I love the ripple patterns in the sand...

Welcome coffee stop...

This has to be the most well-behaved dog I have ever met. She was rescued 3 years ago as a pup from the streets of Athens and lived in Corfu for 2 1/2 years with the people she owns (believe me, she does - English girl, Greek partner) before moving here 6 months or so ago. She ran off the lead for almost all of the walk (I think she must have done nearer 50 miles!), came absolutely every time she was called (even with the distractions of other dogs, rabbits, children and a couple of alpacas!!) and sat quietly on the bus when we were heading back to our starting point. And she only speaks Greek! If anything ever tempted me to get a dog...

Onwards and upwards, more gardening, house tidying to do today...

Til next time

Sxx

a bit of culture...!

Every year Norwich has a couple of weeks in May when art, music and theatre take over the city. I'm not sure how long it has been happening for but it has certainly grown in recent years and there are loads of varied events, some free, at different venues across the city. Its a great opportunity to see and experience new things and the city buzzes with activity.

This weekend saw the opening of the festival and, as luck would have it, after all those horrible grey days the weather was glorious - blue skies, sunshine and even a bit of warmth out of the wind!

It also coincided with the annual visit of the all male Shakespeare company Propeller - last year we saw one of the two performances they put on (Comedy of Errors) which we  loved so this year Ben and I decided to go to both shows. We started our weekend Friday evening with The Winters Tale, with the second half of the Bard's 'double bill', Henry V, on Saturday night. Neither production disappointed - this company perform Shakespeare much as I imagine it was intended to be performed, with all its clever language and bawdy humour, with lively direction that makes these stories as relevant and current today as ever. We loved it and I'm already looking forward to next years tour!

Saturday was so beautiful we headed into town after breakfast at the pub over the road to see what was happening festival-wise.

I joined a friend and a growing crowd by St Andrews Hall for the 'Voice Project' - a kind of auditory choral artwork. Some hardy folk had started the day with the choir in the cathedral welcoming in the dawn at 5.11am (!!!), we joined them at 2pm for a colourful, tour round the old streets...

from the front of St Andrews Hall round to the Art School...

and on down Elm Hill where the crowds watching/listening filled the narrow cobbled streets...

The singing came from the streets, the arches between the ancient buildings and even from the windows...

before a finale in the riverside gardens...

It was unusual, and slightly strange and really rather lovely - enhanced enormously by the warmth of the sun.

We stopped for a cup of tea at the Britons Arms (I've mentioned this place before) where we spent a very pleasant hour or so in the tiny enclosed garden...

I love these fancy, deep purple tulips...

Our childish streak came out when Ben spotted this...

There were actually rather more modern facilities but it did rather look as though this small tin bucket was it for the gents!!!

It was a lovely relaxed day and so good to spend unhurried time with my biggest boy :-).

My weekend continued today as, for the first time in a while, I managed to have my Monday off so met a friend for afternoon tea at the Assembly House. This was such a treat! Plates of sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, no less!), scones with jam and cream and pretty little cakes, with as much tea as we wanted...

We decided we could probably manage to be 'ladies who take tea'...

The other thing I've noticed this weekend is that yarn-bombing has hit Norwich! Not sure if this is just for the festival or if its going to stay but I'm loving their work!

The only 'fly in the ointment' this weekend was the havoc being wrecked in the garden...

These were my carefully nurtured seedlings - courgettes, beans, nasturtiums & salad leaves... Were being the operative word! One of the culprits is still sitting on the pot cheekily! They haven't just had a nibble at the leaves, they have scythed the tops of many of the plants altogether! Generally speaking, I'm one for letting the garden creatures have their share of plants but this is sabotage beyond forgiving! I  haven't yet quite decided how to tackle the little blighters but I am officially declaring war... Any bright ideas???

Til next time then,

Sx