Another snowy day!

It’s an understatement to say that it was bedlam on the snow covered roads this morning.  Two colleagues had rear end shunts and several others took 2 or 3 hours to make journeys of 3 or 4 miles. There were so many prangs simply because cars were driving too close to the vehicle in front and then finding themselves unable to stop safely when a problem arose.  I cycled in as usual and as I passed two minor accidents on Scotland Road, I wondered how drivers in other countries manage to cope with snow so much better than we do.

Cockersand Abbey

The red sandstone remains of Cockersand Abbey sit on a windswept, coastal site overlooking Cockerham Sands. I hadn’t visited the tiny, resilient chapel for many years but a year ago, I re-discovered it on a stormy day as part of my desire to celebrate beautiful and interesting places close to home. Being in the area again on Saturday, I returned. It’s bleak place, even on a sunny day, but the ruins retain a haunting charm and it isn’t difficult to hear whispers of plainsong on the wind, a lasting legacy of the monks offering their devotions over 900 years ago.

Birmingham's secrets

I've belatedly discovered that Birmingham is a city of delightful surprises. Having never visited, I’d always imagined a concrete jungle made infamous by the “Bull Ring”. And then rail travel arrangements between Carlisle and Reading changed, requiring a break of journey at New Street Station.  Spending a large proportion of my working life on teleconference meetings, the city centre has become a convenient place to undertake calls free of “the train leaving platform 5a…” type announcements. On my search for quiet locations among the concrete, the city has revealed its secrets of canals and monuments, factories, galleries, libraries and churches

Sitting on a railway station

A deeply buried, embarrassing memory rose to the surface on hearing that Leon Brittan had died.  In 1986, waiting for a train, I became aware of a vaguely familiar, middle aged man standing nearby.  Our glances met and we exchanged a slightly uncomfortable half smile.

“I’m sure I know him”, I thought, trying desperately to recall where our paths had crossed.  Eventually, being young and bold, I approached him and uttered the immortal words “Hello. Have we met before …?”  He smiled and replied, “I’m Leon Brittan”. Mortified, I laughed nervously and scuttled away! At least I didn’t mention helicopters!

A random act of kindness

I was the happy recipient of a random act of kindness today. While waiting in a lengthy queue to order a coffee, I suggested to the young man behind me that he went ahead as I was rummaging in my purse for the correct change so that for once, I would be ready to pay when I reached the till.  On placing his order, he turned and handed me a loyalty card that entitled me to a free coffee. I was truly delighted at his thoughtful gesture and on thanking him, vowed to pass his kindness forward. So I did! 

Spring is on its way!

The snowdrops are now in flower on my journey to work! They really seem to have bloomed in the last few days, providing a cheerful sight as I cycle past along the woodland path above the river.  There is also a wonderful clump of bright yellow winter aconites peeping out above the leaf litter adding to the overall feeling that despite the recent snow flurries and gale force winds, spring is only just round the corner. I haven’t smelt spring on the air but that is just a matter of time once the catkins appear and leaves begin to unfurl!

Bedtime Stories

Last night, when I was reading during the wee small hours, I began reflecting on the best sleep-inducing material for the “nocturnal” among us. (For nocturnal, read insomniacs. Nocturnal is a kinder way of describing those of us who spend hours awake while the rest of the household is sleeping).

Anyway, back to the musings. I decided that anything exciting means there’s no chance of dropping off until the book is finished while something bland, instead of soothing the active mind, causes an irrational outrage at the banality of the plot.  

And, then the alarm woke me.  An unexpected success!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

On Sunday, after saying goodbye to our friends who live along the Lincolnshire coast at Sutton-on-Sea, we headed to Mablethorpe on a brief diversion in search of seaside rock and a geocache to mark our visit to the East Coast. There was an extremely cold gale blowing but the beach still looked stunning in a windswept way. Mr Glis and I both have a genuine fondness for shabby seaside towns in winter. There is a real charm to their enduring optimism that remains steadfast despite the unpredictable nature of British weather and the lure of exotic resorts in warmer countries.

The Angel of The North

It’s hard to believe that Antony Gormley's “Angel of the North” has been embracing travellers in the North East for 17 years.  A landmark on the hillside close to Low Fell, it’s become one of the most recognised and loved pieces of British public art, despite some initial resistance to its installation. A young Miss Glis and I visited years ago but despite seeing it from a distance on my journeys east, I hadn’t returned to the windswept location until recently.  The Angel was no less impressive on my second visit and well deserves its place in the public’s affections

 

 

Oranges are the ONLY fruit

I simply adore oranges.  I happily eat any type of fruit but if pressed to choose a single, all-time favourite then I would always select oranges.  To many, my choice is inexplicable as nowadays, there are so many new and exotic varieties readily available to eat such as pineapples, passionfruit or mangoes but as mum would have said, “there’s nowt so queer as folk”. I can’t explain my deep seated love of them but I can devour several oranges at a time. On occasion I have been known to empty the fruit bowl in an afternoon.  I did that today! 

The replenished fruit bowl

The Humber Bridge

The Humber Bridge is impressive. Really impressive. But then it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world for 17 years

Although we’ve driven over it a couple of times, it’s hard to gain an impression of scale so when we were in Lincolnshire last weekend, we visited Barton on Humber to view it from the location where the ferry used to land. Our initial intention had been to walk over it but as the winds were so high, we ambled along the banks of the Humber instead, admiring the enormous structure spanning a very grey, formidable looking river.

Causey Pike

Just after Christmas, unexpectedly, we found ourselves with a day when we didn’t need to do anything that impacted on others. As there was a slight dusting of snow on the Lake District fells, we decided to revisit another one of our favourite mountains, Causey Pike. Easily identifiable at a distance by its knuckle-like appearance, it was the first mountain Andy and I climbed together and as such, holds a special place in our memories. The walk up from Stoneycroft Ghyll  onto the snowy ridge was beautiful and it was wonderful to remember our first visit, over 33 years ago

Celebrating the Small Things

Since I began “celebrating the small things” it’s been surprisingly easy to find something positive about each day, be that a walk with friends, shared laughter during a family game or an unexpected, friendly gesture. Today saw me gifted with “A Spot the Archers Character” mug from an Archers' listening colleague.  It didn’t matter that it was an unwanted, duplicate Christmas present; it was the thought that someone considered me as a suitable recipient that made it a lovely gesture.  I feel very lucky to be surrounded by people who make my life better by their simple acts of kindness. 

Cranberry and Walnut cake

Trying to rid ourselves of all the delicious things we bought for the Christmas festivities before entering our well-intentioned (but likely to be short lived) period of fasting and abstinence, I made a cranberry and walnut loaf using up some fresh cranberries and the last few walnuts in the bowl.  I used an American recipe and once I’d converted cups to metric weights, it took moments to whip up the mixture.  It baked really well, although that may in part be as a result of my new oven, and tasted fantastic, the cranberries adding just the right amount of sharpness!

 

Cranberry and Walnut Loaf

Ingedients

250g (10 oz) SR flour

150g caster sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g (4 oz) chopped cranberries

50g (2 oz) chopped walnuts

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

180ml fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

 

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4.

2. Grease a 23x12cm (9x5 in) loaf tin.

3. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a roomy mixing bowl. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour.

4. Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice and orange zest in a separate bowl.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin.

6. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted near the centre comes out clean. Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool down completely.

Optional

Drizzle with orange glace icing

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2015.  Here’s hoping that it’ll be a year when every day is lived to the full

Although last year was full of positive happenings, they were over shadowed by the tragic death of Fiona, Alex’s mum.  But Fiona wouldn’t have wanted excessive wailing and wallowing in grief so despite feeling some sadness  when Alex was chatting with us after he and Nerea had returned from their Hogmanay partying, I also felt a great sense of hope as a new year begins for him and his dad, Bill.  Every day is so precious; remember to celebrate the small things!