Rattling On...

Duchess for a day...

If you've seen the film The Duchess you may recognise where we went yesterday. Kedleston Hall, which stood in for Chatsworth in the film. Due to the terrible weather the river was very high and racing along.

You notice the similarity to Chatsworth as soon as you arrive, even the drive up to the house is reminiscent.

In the entrance hall the four massive fireplaces contained crackling fires and it was surprisingly warm. I've often wondered how those mansions fared in cold weather. Basically, if you light big fires all over the show it does the trick.

Here's just a little tour...

The bathroom was put in for a visit by the King in the 1920s, he slept in the rather impressive four poster with the feather dusters on top. I think most people these days would be dismayed to have an ensuite that is so spartan, but it was the height of modernity once upon a time. The tiles are like little pieces of glass.

The disappointing part of the visit for me was that we only went round the impressive showy parts of the house and not any 'downstairs' rooms. I asked a guide about this and he explained that the tour we did was almost exactly the one that would have been offered to visitors in the 18th century. Think Elizabeth Bennett turning up at Mr Darcy's crib and wanting a lookie round. They just showed her the good bits.

The old kitchens and scullery are now the restaurant, which is very good. The blue theme, which is all over the house, continues even in there. It could be considered either classy or a bit too much, the jury's out on that.

There's also a lovely little church that dates back to the 17th century but I'll save that for another post. Good to see even a stately home could do with the windows cleaning.

In fact there are a few interesting little things I've decided to save for other posts. The weather is so bad (hailstoning today) that photo opportunities are few and far between!

Cream teas and churches...

This is the front of the Market Hall in Longnor, which is in Staffordshire but has a Buxton post code and is considered to belong to Buxton in a lot of ways. The boundaries are odd round here. My friend and I nipped over there last week for a quick cream scone, as you do.

Do you recognise it at all? If you've ever watched the BBC's Pride and Prejudice then you'll know this street (Chapel St) as the outside of the Inn at Lambton.

Longnor is very small, but has a craft centre, two lovely cafes, a chip shop, shop, pub/hotels and some gorgeous holiday cottages scattered around. The countryside and views are just lovely. My Mother's family has a strong connection, via farming, with the village and the graveyard has some familiar names.

St Bartholomew's is being done up at the moment and has unattractive scaffolding creeping all over the outside, but it's a pleasant chapel to visit.

We had a good wander round the church yard and signed the visitor's book, it's amazing how far and wide the signatures belong to. As we were in a visiting mood we decided to go a little further to another picturesque village, Warslow.

St Lawrence's is another interesting country church.

This is the posh pew for the use of the land-owning gentry, the rest (which I prefer) are plain pine. Even this exclusive one is on the spartan side.

The windows are William Morris, don't you think that's fantastic for a church in a tiny village? The photos don't do them justice but I never feel right using a flash in a church.

When I go to church, which isn't very often these days, I love having a roister-doistering organ accompanying the hymns. But for me they have to be the old-style hymns, not modern re-worded stuff. I like fire and brimstone, doom and gloom, threats and promises.

More signing of the visitor's book then back to the car as it was about 6pm by this time. A good move as it turned out as the heavens suddenly opened and the rain poured down.

Lincoln...

We went to Lincoln yesterday. I've been before but it was many years ago, before the girls were even born. This time we wanted to look at the university and No1 was meeting a friend who lives there. It's about a two hour drive, normally. But I don't think I've ever driven anywhere where so many roads were closed and diversions in place. Very frustrating and such a waste of time and petrol.

No2 and I arrived at the uni to find, serendipitously, that there was an open day on and we were welcome to go on a full tour. The campus is right by the river and had a nice, cosmopolitan feel to it. We were impressed with what we saw, despite (or maybe because) of all the new building work going on.

The city itself is a real mix of old and new. Although it had been raining heavily when we set off it turned out to be a very warm day in the end. We ate on the waterfront and it felt like being abroad, the sun beating down on us, swans gliding past and music in the background.

Nice shops, plenty of restaurants, history: a good day out. Very photogenic as well!

Scream if you want to go faster...

This week is Wells Dressing week and this is the main well, St Anne's, in the centre of town. I've posted pictures for a few years now: here, here, and here are a few previous ones.

You can see how this year's very hot weather has affected the decoration, basically it's completely dried out and cracked and a lot of colour has been bleached out. The children's well further on is completely ruined. One of the panels on that one was designed and made by a boy I work with. He spent several days pushing the petals into the clay and it's all done in by the sun.

The carnival was yesterday, again I've written about this before: here and here are some pictures which basically sum up every year. Same old, same old; in a good way generally. It's like a time warp.

It was boiling hot, incredibly so. The town was packed with visitors lining the streets to watch the procession, which starts with a Carnival Road Run. The starting line was much depleted, fun runners just decided to give it a miss due to the heat. Sensible people!

I stood under a big old tree in the shade, on a road not far from home. Not my usual place but it turned out to be sensible as there was a long delay as the road closures had been messed up. The while shebang came to a standstill.

The town band took the opportunity to down tools and have some bottled water, I think a few bottles of beer were also handed round from some people having a front garden BBQ party nearby. The Carnival Queen's float stopped right in front of me and the Queen, her deputy and a rosebud all hopped off to go to a nearby nursing home to use the facilities. The hold up lasted almost half an hour which could have killed the atmosphere but actually provided a lot of banter.

When the pipe and drum band came past they got a special cheer

which really spurred them on. I think people were just full of admiration for them ploughing on in the heat wearing the full regalia and playing the pipes to boot. They must have been sweltering.

I walked back into town through the park. It was full to bursting with picnics, gazebos, sunbathers, children playing and couples canoodling. Basically all the things that should be going on in a public space in summertime. Only usually it's not nice enough.

At home later on I was in the garden and I could hear the fairground music blaring in the background and the people squealing on the rides, the rock band playing in the park was coming in from the other direction. Fabulous day.

Saturday saunter...

Yesterday evening Coco and I went for a stroll. Well, it set off as being a stroll- to a local landmark. It's reasonably steady going but very steep in places.

It was one of those overcast and humid days which, combined with being under dense tree cover a lot of the way, made it a bit less pleasant than it has been in the past!

We've already climbed a fair way at this point, with quite a way to go. Can you see where we're off to between the trees?

You can see how dull it was on this side, the low clouds were making it very muggy. Coco was loving rolling around in fox poo; and eating it.

We're at Solomon's Temple, want to see some views?

The light gets a bit better on our way down.

It was quite quiet up there, some tourists, a few teenagers. The folly is a go-to at bonfire night and midsummer, there are parties and all-nighters. I prefer it in winter as it's pretty much deserted, the biting winds keep all but the hardiest away.

We started off last night with the intention of walking to the top and straight back down, but found we had more energy. The paths in the woods zig-zag and double back so in the end we walked up hill and down for two hours. Bit more than a quick walk, but a good kick-start to my power walking.

Earlier in the day I did manage to get to the Emma Bridgewater sale. And I bought stuff, but you knew I would, right?

Brought to you by the colour green...

I drove out towards Matlock today and I was struck, as I often am, by just how beautiful it is where I live. Especially when the sun shines!

Every other vehicle was a tractor, bringing back this and that from the fields, or towing mowers. They are slow, it doesn't bother me at all; farmers are just doing a job and they keep our countryside looking as good as it does. Some people get very impatient on our winding roads, especially the motorbikes that are everywhere whenever the weather is dry.

You can hear them from early in the morning, roaring and screaming on the roads out of town. Them, or the ambulances that spend as much time scraping them up from the same roads. You'll see from this list that we have three of the top ten dangerous roads leading right to us. And I was travelling on number two in the list earlier today.

In other news: I cleaned the windows. This is an event so rare and unusual it really demands an entire post of its own. It's a bit like getting a new prescription at the opticians.

Should've gone to...

I went for a walk yesterday, through the allotments and down to the fields that lie beyond them. It was sunny and warm; the lambs were dozing, occasionally flicking an ear.

I'd noticed an older gentleman huffing along behind me and it seemed to me he was keeping a beady eye on me. As I walked back up the path I thought he had a confrontational look so I said 'I's ok, I'm not casing the joint.' 'I don't care what you're doing.' Was his grumpy reply.

Turned out he was near his allotment and was having a little stroll, made more difficult by a recent heart operation and the warm weather. We got to talking about this and that and then he asked me if I'd seen the limers over the wall.

Limers... I thought it was either a farming term I wasn't aware of or something to do with the local stone; limestone, which can be burned to make other products. Maybe it was an awful new industrial unit put there to blight the landscape. I fessed up and said I hadn't seen them.

'Well, I say them' he said, 'but there's only one now. The other died last week.' Curiouser and curiouser. We walked down the lane together discussing the price of potatoes and the recent hard winter. On reaching the gate he pointed into the field where I'd just been watching the sheep 'There's your limer...'

Hurly Burleigh...

It was tipping it down yesterday so it seemed a good time to jet off to The Potteries for a bit of pottery porn and possibly a purchase (or two). We started a Emma Bridgewater, partly as the food there is so good! So, lunch over and some pasta bowls to the good we headed off to Burgess and Leigh (aka Burleigh).

I had something in mind to buy but they didn't have any in stock. Never mind, pudding basins were on sale and proved irresistible.

To be honest I just like wandering around in here looking at the displays and imagining myself having walls lined with shelves and dressers full of chintzy china.

There was a sale on a lot of the stuff, 50% off RRP, so if you're passing it may be worth your while making a detour. It's not the easiest place to find, mind you, and some of the road layouts have changed recently which confused me.

I'm like a rat, I follow the same routes over and over, preferring to go the ways I know well. Which often ends up quicker in the end. I followed a short cut recently, recommended by M at work. It added over half an hour to my journey as I just ended up lost.

Burleigh now do textiles and other bits and bobs, very tempting but I was strong. Sometimes a good look and buying a cup and saucer is all it needs. I think it must be a great place to work, though. Not as good as Bridgewater's, the staff are all lovely and always chatty and helpful. They've also been there years, which tells you a lot.

The factory shops sell mainly seconds ware (Bridgewater's also has a 'proper' shop with perfects and other goodies) and as such you need to give the pots a good once-over.

I always check out the rims by running my finger over them; I don't buy pots with patches where the galze is thin or missing (unless it's the very base); I do the ping test to check for cracks; I don't mind tiny specks of firing dirt or tiny bumps- usually food covers these up and, this is a really important one, if the piece has a design on it check it's in good nick and doesn't have missing bits, blurring or overlaps (see the lilac teapot in the picture above). It's tempting to just grab the bargains, but inspecting them first can save you a lot of money and frustration.

More grotty weather today so maybe a bit of baking will be in order. Then we can eat it and mainline tea all day.

Here is the shipping forecast...

I walked through the park yesterday on the way to meet a friend and, well first of all I must eat my own words regarding the weather. It has been a glorious weekend; sunny and breezy and just lovely.

Anyway, as I passed the 'boating lake', that hasn't seen a rowing boat for maybe twenty five years, lo and behold there are boats scooting around. A group of modellers was out putting their creations through their paces. The schooner was particularly good, unlike my camera- I only took the tiddly one as I wasn't expecting to see anything interesting. But there you go, and I was a Girl Guide so should know better.

The operators were all gentlemen of a certain age, with plenty of people watching. The ducks and swans were impassive and swam alongside the boats, maybe they come every week and I've just not been out early enough?

When I was in the 6th Form and summers seemed to be better, the boys would row us round the lake for what seemed like hours on end. Or we'd go to a small cafe in town and commandeer the back end, drinking endless cups of tea and talking, talking. The lady owner liked us as we always cleared up and took the trays back to the counter.

When the lake was remodelled some years ago a little dock was put in, to make it easier to get into boats, instead of having to half-leap from the shore. But the boats never came back, such a shame.

More recently a slightly hysterical girl decided to end it all by leaping into the lake, followed by a few would-be rescuers. She was mortified to find it's not much more than thigh deep, and had to wade back to the dock and drip all the way back to school. She did, however, get her fifteen minutes of fame and that seemed to do the trick.

A 17th Century day out...

I have been busy, very busy this past week. Which is the reason (excuse?) for the dearth of blogging. I also dropped and broke my phone. The one where everything from phone numbers and passwords to appointments is carefully stored. A right royal, fur lined, ocean going pain in the unmentionables. Oh and I went on a course, to Rotherham.

But first... Last weekend (I told you I'd been busy) we went to Eyam Hall, not far from home and somewhere we've been several times before. But now it's being run by the National Trust and entry is free to members, so we thought we'd go and see if anything had changed.

The house was lived in until very recently and it's a strange conglomeration of very old and very new, you can sit in the fitted kitchen the family used!

The floors are sloping and incredibly creaky upstairs.

Thw walls are hung with tapestries and the wood is dark without being gloomy

I love windows in old houses, and this was built in 1671- the windows don't disappoint, they even have 18th century graffiti scratched on them

 

The National Trust have started work on the garden, it looks like it may be a cross between formal and cottage, bits of each. The espaliered apple trees against the old, old walls were possibly my favourite things there. I can't get enough of old walls and I love the way nature can be trained a little to give pleasing form to a garden. The French have this down to a fine art in public spaces as well as gardens.

Tomorrow I'll show you the plague cottages and the graveyard. I know how to live it up...

Twilight time...

Twilight, dusk, sunset, the gloaming. Whatever, I think it's probably my favourite time to go out walking. A little bit of light for dramatic contrast and some impressive shadows.

I have been out walking at night in the past but it's probably not sensible on your own. Not in case someone jumps out, more in case of an accident. You're far less likely to encounter a passer by. It's not unusual to hear the search and rescue helicopter out at night though.

The word twilight always makes me think of when I was small and my Mother worked the twilight shift. My Dad used to let us watch the Waltons before bed!

Curly wurly...

I'm trying to walk as much as possible, I don't walk enough these days. You get to see much better things as well as hopefully some health benefits. And by health I mean the calorie burning potential of a good stride out.

When the weather gets a bit better I shall be getting the bike out and quite possibly riding it to work. Just got to find a suitable parking spot for it.

On a completely different tack, does anyone know the name of this?

It looks like a little fir tree that's growing as a bush, it's not been cut down from anything, and is maybe a foot high. Looks like it's spreading. Anyway, I want me some of it but need to know what it is first!

Blue horizon...

I drove over to Leek for the flea market on Saturday. It was nice to be getting out for a change.

The weather was bitterly cold with a biting wind. I stopped on the moors to take a few photos. This horse was trotting along on the horizon, just after this picture he kicked up his heels and disappeared from view. A heron also flew right over his head. Timing, eh?!

I didn't buy anything from the market. Which isn't to say I wasn't tempted, there was lots of good stuff. It's more that I try all the time now to just admire it and move on. I really want to stop the randomness of my collecting habit and just concentrate on a couple of areas that really do it for me.

It's hard, as committed magpies will empathise with. I wasn't always this bad and I'm not sure what happened to change things. I suspect available space has a lot to do with it.

Out of interest, what can't you walk past?

Cafe society...

This is our favourite cafe in town, we went there on Sunday to cheer ourselves up a bit in the cold and dismal weather. It was just after three o'clock and almost dark. Which made the fire, the tea lights on the tables and the decorations even more welcoming.

The staff here are lovely. In the summer, after the carnival we went for some late lunch. I had a bad back and one of the waitresses came up to me with a heat pack, she'd noticed me trying to slide into my seat. How nice is that?

It looks empty, but I always wait 'til there aren't any people in the photo if at all possible. I'm funny like that.

This is the other room. All the lights are on because, while changing a lightbulb in a wall light, one of the staff blew the circuit breaker. To the right, round a corner, was a table full of well-dressed women who'd obviously been there a while and had been taking full advantage of the cafe's licence.

I heard them ordering cakes, two each. And then one caught sight of herself in the mirror...'Bloody hell, look at my face. It's like a beetroot.' Much laughter, much cake. A good afternoon out. We were very conservative in comparison. Note to self...

Spinning classes...

So, yesterday was the spinning workshop when I attempted to turn one of the above into something useable! Two friends and I toddled off here in the mist and ice to spend the day crafting. Two of us did spinning and one (and another woman) did loom weaving.

It was a cold day, -4C when we drove there, and I'm glad I took my wellies and plenty of layers. We went out to meet the 'ladies' and I certainly wasn't overdressed. There was one gent in the field, who is just finishing his annual duties, he was very polite and well-behaved.

Back inside, we carded fleece before wrangling with the spinning wheels. My worst nightmares of tension and co-ordination were all realised. The treadling bit was easy, as was adding new bits of fleece, but I found getting any consistency very difficult.

But I suppose that's the point of practise, and like anything it would all get better with time. I suppose. I managed to fill two bobbins before 'plying' one of them with a contrasting yarn. A bit of a flirt with the niddy noddy and a skein was mine.

I have an idea of something to make with it, of a rustic nature as befits its rather artisan appearance.

I had a quick shufty on ebay for spinning wheels and almost dropped bow-legged when I saw how much they cost. I'm not sure my talents warrant that sort of outlay...