One of the choirs I’m in went to a singathon today. Choirs and performances all day. This is a photo in the cafe. I don’t have permission to take photos of the participants.
It was lovely to join in with the choir, we sang songs from around the world including Tonga, Trinidad, France, Romanian, and Maori. I had to have a chair as I cannot stand for long, which is immensely frustrating. But it was great to be out and about, and driving through the autumn countryside was a bonus.
As we left we heard the theme to “Blackadder” played on recorders through an open window. A really eccentric English moment.
North… Cheshire and Peak District, Staffordshire Moorlands, East – Derbyshire, South- Staffordshire, West – Shropshire and Cheshire. Further West – Wales. Also Stoke-on-Trent has good road links to motorways and A roads. Sometimes they are a little congested, but you can usually get out into the countryside in 10 to 20 minutes. It is interesting because of the variations in geology depending on the direction you take. Farmland and flat land South and West, with the hills of Wales and Shropshire in the distance. North and East hills and moorland including the start of the Pennines.
Stoke-on-Trent is situated in the North Midlands of England, it also has canal and train connections and the local area has many countryside attractions including National Trust properties, historic railways and museums, Alton Towers is nearby and Jodrell Bank observatory is a few miles north west. You can even reach the seaside in Wales or the Wirral in about 80 miles.
Hubby on a swing we found, at the edge of a field a couple of years ago on a country walk. Soon he was flying up to the sky! Luckily the rope didn’t give way.
When covid was going on we actually went walking more, getting away from the city and people, then when lock down ended we continued but with more friends. This was one of those occasions.
Later I stopped walking as much after badly pulling a muscle, but we were trying to get back into walking when I trapped my leg in the car door and that resulted in a wound that took months to heal. We were just getting back into walking when my hubbys health deteriorated and he passed away. The universe seems against me!
I think I need company to get back out again. I don’t like walking on my own, easier to hide.
When I passed my driving test I couldn’t afford to buy a car so my mom gave me her Austin Allegro? as she had wanted to replace it. She did say the brakes were a bit dodgy. But with the enthusiasm of a new driver I wasn’t too worried.
A couple of weeks after getting it we decided to explore the countryside where we used to cycle. The narrow lanes were tricky but I got us safely to Rudyard lake and a peaceful afternoon.
What possessed me to take a wrong turn on the way home will never be known. Possibly I thought I was taking a shorter route? But we got lost, the lanes were narrower, steep banks on either side. I came down a hill approaching a bend when suddenly another car roared round the bend coming head on for us!
All I could do was violently swing the car left toward the side, the other car got past, but the brakes didn’t stop us in time. I hit a low stone wall straight into the radiator. The car stopped. I had to find a phone (no mobiles in those days). We rang the AA who came out. The car was a write off, the engine had been knocked back six inches!
Despite the fact the car was destroyed I still think it was the best gift. And I learnt a valuable lesson. Don’t drive beyond your capabilities.
Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?
Abstract Devon
Dark cliffs that people sometimes dive off, sandy coves and dark rock pools. Big city Plymouth with it’s summery vibe, small shops in narrow streets in historic villages. Long drives overland to get to a beach half a mile away on the coast. There are lots of rivers and streams that need to be negotiated. The North coast and South coast are seperate by rolling green countryside and steep and craggy moorland. I want to go back. The old oak trees and cider are calling!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
We were cycling home on our tandem one summer evening, when suddenly we turned round in the road. I had no idea what was going on, it was a narrow country road and it surprised me.
We pulled up and my hubby started looking on the grass verge. There was a camera just lying there! We didn’t know what to do, so we took it home (we were in the middle of the countryside), with the idea of seeing if there was a film inside and getting it developed if there was. We would try and get it back to its owners somehow? This was about 30 or so years ago before we had the Internet, so there wasn’t much hope of finding its owners.
We sent the film off, but it came back blank, it must have been lost when someone put a new film in, maybe put it on top of a car and forgot to move it when they drove off.
I have to say I had forgotten all about it until I saw this prompt, and now I feel guilty for not reuniting it with it’s owners.
It looks like blossom, but it’s actually a puddle with trees reflecting in it then wind born bits of twig and flower petals floating on top. I thought it looked interesting and unless you look closely it’s really hard to tell what’s going on. Anyway this is from Rode Hall again. I also took lots of pictures of benches dotted around the grounds. I might post a few photos here. There is a Bench Appreciation group on Facebook that I shared them to. I wonder if there is an abstract nature page for this sort of photo?
We finally got the weather for our walk around the grounds of Rode Hall. It was lovely, calming and peaceful. I know it’s strange, but I wondered where the musical backing track was….. But there was beautiful birdsong.
This was the last day of the actual bluebell walks, but they are obviously still there for a little while. There is a Rode Hall website and I’m sure there will be details available for visits there.
Looking out of our house, I can see gardens on the side and rear of the house, but a grey factory building in front. I wish we had a view of the sea or countryside. The road in front of our house is on a steep hill, and quite often cars roar up and down it, ambulances rush by with sirens blaring, or motorbikes speed up, exhausts popping and banging. The hill is one of the steepest in the area and seems sometimes to be a racetrack! Oh to see a yatch in the distance, sails catching the rising or setting sun. That would be magical.
Mallaband-Brown 