Tag: Day out

Meet a dalek..

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One day at a train station we bumped into a dalek. It was trundling backwards and forwards along the station platform… A police telephone box was inside the ticket office. My hubby had mighty fun and enjoyed meeting one of our favourite TV characters. Unfortunately Dr Who was not in attendance.

The Dalek was remote controlled and was a replica of one of the original models of the space monsters. Apparently they were pedalled around by people sitting inside them on the BBC TV series. I just loved the cheek of my hubby holding on to it….

Odd bike sculpture

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I saw this yesterday. A tandem stye bike. It might be two bikes converted by removing the back wheel of the first bike and the front wheel of the second. I don’t know if it would be stable enough to ride?

It’s been painted gold and might be part of a sculpture trail? I couldn’t get close enough to get a better look, this is zoomed in.

Freedom to say no.

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One of my digital drawings

I was due to go out to an annual craft fair and party today, but I feel panicked. I could go, force myself, but I’m tired and I need to go shopping, get medication and tidy up because I’m expecting a visitor tomorrow.

Then I realised that I have the freedom to say no. I don’t have to rush out, to stand in a long queue for a burger, or listen to over loud music. Being in a crowd bothers me. I usually get a headache. My friend who was coming with me has not been able to get the time off. I already feel hot and bothered. So I’ll give it a miss this time. X

If a loud crowd is not your thing then don’t be cowed, be proud and say no.

Lake view

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The visitor centre at Westport lake stands on stilts and appears like the curved prow of a boat above the lake. The roof juts out over the balcony and offers some shelter from rain that can blow in on the prevailing wind. The visitor centre has a cafe, and sells gifts relating to the wildlife on and around the lake and wooded areas. You can buy bird food and bird nesting boxes, and books including natural history. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust manages the park and does various activities to encourage children to get into supporting the environment and nature. There is also a children’s playground. The only drawback is that the council has bought in parking charges.

Biddulph Grange

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Japanese garden at Biddulph Grange

Somewhere I’d like to visit again. We haven’t been this year and I miss it.

Biddulph Grange garden is run by the National Trust and is a garden built on a slope that is made up of seperate areas… The Japanese garden, Egyptian garden, Swiss cottage, China area and other sections. The Daliah walk should be in full bloom. There is also a lovely tea room within the Grange building, although it can be quite busy.

It’s one of many attractions that are within a short distance of the city of Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. So if you are in the area check out its visiting times and prices. Worth a day out.

View out

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The sun was shining through the checking office door at Etruria Industrial museum. The age of the building means that the walls are damp by the door. I like the red fire extinguisher and the blue in the corner add pops of colour that work with the browns and greens outside and the terracotta colour on the wall. The conduit pipes to the electrical switches give a hint of the buildings Industrial heritage. This office is set between two arms of the Trent and Mersey canal and the Cauldon arm of it. Inside are old bakalite telephones and other old fashioned equipment.

Today at Middlewich

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Just back from singing at Middlewich with the Loud Mouth Women choir. It was a bit of a competition with a band playing over the road! There were performers all afternoon at the White Bear in Middlewich. But there was a restaurant over the road which also had a band on and they were over amplified so that a lot of the time they were drowning out people at the White Bear.

I enjoyed our performance although it was hard to tell if people could hear us. We sang along with Kate Barfield and Esther Brennan from the Boat Band so it was a bit of a change for all of us as we had never done anything like that before. I couldn’t take photos while we were performing but I got photos of the Raj circus act that followed us…. They did various tumbling, acrobatic and juggling tricks and really got the crowd going with their drumming. I’m tired out now! Fell asleep when I got home x

Alliums

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Alliums are part of the onion family and are grown for their spiky round flower heads in purples and reds.

This display was at the Dorothy Clive garden a week ago. I think the leaves are from a different plant that was growing below the allium stems. I think if we go back in a few weeks a completely different set of flowers will have opened up. If you are in Staffordshire I would recommend a visit. The garden is down a country road and is on a sloping hill. Lovely on a summers day.

I wish our garden was sunnier but we planted a lot of trees soon after moving in and now the garden resembles a jungle. Still that must be good for our carbon footprint.

Dorothy Clive garden today

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A few miles from Stoke on Trent in the Staffordshire countryside is the Dorothy Clive garden. We went there today because I knew the rhododendrons would be in flower and also I wanted to see if I could drive that far (my arm is still shaking and very sore and it’s hard to drive). Luckily I was OK and it was a gorgeous day and a lovely place to visit. You walk up from the car park at the bottom, past the pool, up a steepish slope covered in trees and flowerbeds. There is a cafe at the top and a dry garden and quarry garden at the top (where the majority of the rhododendrons are). There is also a stag sculpture and a waterfall. From the top of the garden you can see three counties, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire. Worth a day out….