A SHORT OUTING

One sunny afternoon this week we headed for Redesmere, which is a large lake,very near us.



There is a sailing club there, and as it was a very breezy day, the little boats soon came out.




But the big attraction there are the water fowl. After a putting up with a dodgy and potholed parking spot, the Council has made it into a very much better spot for spectators, and a great deal safer




Lots of people come with bags of bread to feed the various birds, there is plenty of room for those that feed the birds, the photographers and the children.

There is no doubt at all as to who are the big greedy ones! The swans always push forward, but the gulls are pretty good at catching stuff thrown in the air! Then there is a terrific fight for the bit of food!





Mr. G took our dog Max for a walk, I went part of the way but although I got over the first style, the second one defeated me, so I stayed there and did a bit of nature photography, as I was sitting almost underneath a Sweet Chestnut tree!

PLANTING TIME

Last week I bought some plants from the Garden Centre, plus tulip bulbs, but only found time to plant the bulbs and some wallflowers. Then the rains came!



But today is a lovely sunny day, very windy, but I found a pot for the Heuchera I had bought. I fell in love with it as it was so pretty. Its called something like "Silver coils" - I love heucheras!




I was going to plant the Heuchera in the pot these begonias are using, but I hadn't the heart to pull them up as they were still looking so lovely! So I've left them for a bit. The pansies are in a big trough in front of them, but I had too many for the trough so was hunting a couple of smaller pots to plant the overflow!

Its lovely to see the sun today, a real autumnal day, windy but not too cold. So many leaves have already fallen that I don't think we are going to have a long-lasting autum this year.

To all you kind friends who asked after me, following a spell in Hospital - I am fine, but I am going to see the Consultant at the end of November in his clinic, and maybe we can find the source of the trouble. But I sincerely hope it doesn't happen again, twice in one year is far too many times!

MADE IT AT LAST!

I intended to post a new blog last week, but an unexpected stay in Hospital has thrown all my planning! However, we did manage to get to Leek Flea Market on Saturday.



It was also a Farmers' Market, though it seemed to be all meat, sausages, eggs and things like that. I don't think I would have fancied the meat here, which was is the full sun. (Not that the sun was actually very warm, and there was a very cold wind!)




There was the stall with the usual eclectic array of stuff....




.....but the Baby walker, or whatever it was, looked very uncomfortable for the poor baby! Someone said it was french, which could have accounted for it!!




There was a doll and a teddy - I had a doll just like that when I was a small child.




It was so cold there I had to buy a scarf from Oxfam! I tried to take this photo of me looking in a mirror that was on one of the stalls. I'm wearing the scarf, and was very glad I bought it!




And lastly it was so cold and I was very tired, I took shelter in my favourite cafe to wait for Mr.G who is far hardier than I am! And yes, I did have a piece of the cakes there, plus a good hot cup of coffee!

A LONG TIME AGO

I was looking through old photos, and came acxross this one - and it started me thinking! I expect we have all got similar photos - this one is the First XII hockey team at my school. You will have to look hard to find me, but I am there!

I thought back to my schooldays - they weren't great, and I must have been a real pain in my early years there. I went when I was 10 rising 11, and it was all so different from the private school I had attended during the Second World War. But eventually I got my head round most subject and did quite well. Not Maths though. I missed a lot of lessons one year, and never caught up. Some things are still a mystery to me.

What were quadratic equations actually for?? Has anyone used them in adult life?

I didn't keep up with my ex-classmates - I moved away, and life changed. But I sometimes envy people who have stayed in the area they were born in, or went to school in, and still know what everyone from their school is doing.

But if I hadn't moved away, I doubt I would have found the opportunities I did find, and I don't suppose I would be the person I am now!

A very philosophical blog! But what about you? Did you move away? Stay in the same area? Do you now wish perhaps you had done things differently?