Undiscovered London

I feel slightly cheated if I visit London and come away empty-handed in terms of interesting places seen. Often, I stay overnight, which makes it easy to find some little historical gem, but day trips present a greater challenge. I thought I knew Westminster pretty well, thanks to geocaching, where informative caching pages have directed me to previously unknown locations but  today, a new cache showed me two more! A delightful mosaic tucked away in a side street which, in true geocaching style, led me to the entrance of the former Westminster House of Correction. If it weren’t for caching……..

Nostalgia on the train!

My day trip to London was hectic, noisy, interesting and exhausting but for once, it was the journey home that captivated me . The train was busy and I found myself sitting at a table with 2 other ladies. After we’d dozed our way to Crewe, we struck up a conversation that revealed they lived in my home town, with children who attend my former Primary school and go Brownies in the same Girl Guide hut I frequented 45 years ago. The journey to Preston passed quickly and by the time we arrived, unusually, I felt quite nostalgic for Poulton-le- Fylde!

Ely

I was lucky enough to visit Ely last week, albeit in a work related capacity. I don’t know the fenlands well although with friends in Lincolnshire, the flattish landscape wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Although part of my visit involved a whistle stop tour of the wider area, I was fortunate enough to steal an afternoon off and take a short walk in the footsteps of the past round the delightful city of Ely. Dominated by the huge, grey Norman cathedral, the town is actually perched on top of a small hill allowing for some lovely views across the flat, agricultural landscape.

Dog walking memories!

Walking Molly and Monty along the River Eden today, suddenly reminded me of another dog walk about 25 years ago along the same stretch of river bank, although with the amount of scrub that has grown up since, it’s barely recognisable.  Andy and I were setting off straight after work to visit Terry and Mandy in Lincolnshire so had brought the dogs into Carlisle for the day. Walking Hector and Wesley before the journey had seemed like a good idea until Wesley found a dead salmon to roll on. Suffice to say the 4 hour journey was a stinky one!

Whatever happened to Scrumping?

I was reflecting as I saddled up for my cycle to work today that times have definitely changed. And the reason behind my musings?  Hanging over our wall giving onto the back lane was a clump of delicious looking conference pears which no one has scrumped (yet).  I admit to helping myself to the odd illicit apple from the Brown’s garden during my childhood, although as my brothers and I went to school with their children, I don’t think they minded. Anyway, because no one has taken our fruit, there will be more for us to eat or give away!

Angle Tarn

On Saturday I was thinking that we were about to enjoy a period of unseasonably warm weather, something that I would find very appealing given the underwhelming summer we’ve just endured.  But no, it was not to be. It was hats, gloves and waterproofs on Sunday as we reached Angle Tarn Pikes on our walk up from Patterdale. The wind was vigorous and had a distinct chill as we bog-hopped round the tarn. But our outing was nonetheless enjoyable despite the vagaries of our English weather; who could not feel uplifted by walking in the hills with those you love?

Arthur's Seat

I can’t remember if I’ve ever been to the summit of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh before, but if so, I have no recollection of it. I may have climbed up with my family at some point in my childhood (it would have been the sort of free activity that we usually enjoyed on an outing) but when I reached the top on Thursday, I didn’t experience any sense of familiarity. Instead, I was lucky enough to see stunning views in every direction. The climb was certainly worth the effort for me and the countless others who also made the pilgrimage.

Old Reekie

I always enjoy a visit to Edinburgh although invariably, there’s usually another purpose to the occasion, be that a rugby game or work. But with some holiday to use up, I was able to clear my diary for last Thursday and enjoy an unexpected day out. Mr Glis was schmoozing with some European auditors and Nerea was at college so I took a solo visit on the train with the intention of finding some interesting geocaches. The city is blessed with such a diverse landscape and history that it was hard to decide which caches to choose, but I managed!

 

Top Dog

Molly may be an old lady but she has certainly asserted her position of “top dog” since Monty joined the family”. And despite not being a candidate for canine MENSA, she has surprised us with her wily ways.  Being fond of the odd flavoursome treat, and a lover of her bed, she has appeared to entice Monty into a game, encourage him to become over enthusiastic and then, when he is being directed in robust tones to his bed, nip in smartly ahead of him and wait for a treat while he looks on in bewilderment!  Watch and learn, Monty!

Lessons to be learned!

Monty is settling in well but if he was a child, he’d be described as having “behavioural issues”. He’s very affectionate and enthusiastic but totally lacks any sort of focus, being distracted from his immediate “favourite thing” by the next “favourite thing” in the vicinity. We can’t even begin to think about letting him off his lead to run free so I’ve made enquires about formal training to take us back to basics.  I suspect he’s quite intelligent but something of a free spirit so we need to address that to let him be “the dog that he can be”!

The 4 Rs

Being an advocate of the “reduce, reuse, repair, recycle” mantra, I was horrified to see an abundance of perfectly good carpet tiles appear in a skip next to an office refurbishment location. If the state of the carpet tiles was any indication, there seemed to be little wrong with the furnishings which made me reflect on work place environments. It seems that the moment an office becomes vacant, the builders and decorators move in as a matter of course, whether the office needs upgrading or not. Although refurbishments keep tradespeople in work, it still seems a needless use of resources