I need a hot toddy!

Stock up on the “Lemsips” for I’m feeling wretched with a cold.  There was an inevitability about developing it as Mr Glis has been working alongside a colleague who had an absolute stinker about 2 weeks ago.  Andy succumbed to it last week leaving me to bring up the rear towards the end of last week.  My head is fuzzy, my nose alternates between feeling blocked and running like a tap and my chest is tight with a painful cough.  To cap it all, I have cold sores on my nose and lips too.  Let’s hope it dries up soon.

Nicky Nook

It's behind you! (Blackpool Tower, that is)

Suggesting a walk up Nicky Nook revealed that it was a place that held special memories for several school-friends. Being Fylde Coast children, it was an easy way "to get out in the hills" by public transport for those of us without cars in the 1960s and 70s. And, to ensure we finished the "tiring" hike, we’d all faced parental bribery and corruption ranging from promised views of Blackpool Tower to 99s in Scorton.  The atrocious weather on Saturday saw the deployment of similar tactics with the lure of "lunch at The Barn". Unsurprisingly we didn't even glimpse Blackpool Tower!!

Baby Tarn

It pays to be flexible

Setting off before the rain

The rain came

Some days don't turn out quite as planned but are no less enjoyable for that. And so it was on Saturday. An invigorating hike up Nicky Nook followed by lunch at The Barn in Scorton (with other friends less enthusiastic for fresh air), was fairly dependant on good weather so naturally, it rained. Foolish members of the party still headed for the summit in driving rain but opted for a shorter descent, rushing back to the cafe to steam gently throughout lunch. A delightful afternoon followed with much gossiping before we reluctantly went our separate ways, until the next time

A stormy summit

Lunch

Meetings, meetings, meetings

I’m in York today and even though it’s raining, it’s still looking lovely, as a favourite city should when dressed in her spring robes,.  Sadly my own mood is somewhat damp, as I’d hoped to meet a friend this afternoon but the meeting that had been arranged for 10am, then slipped to 11am has now been rescheduled to 1pm with a follow up at 4pm.  I can’t say I’m too happy as I’m not sure what time I’ll get something to eat or arrive home and as I left this morning at 6am, I really don’t want to be late

 

The chairman has not activated the call, please wait.....

Teleconference calls are the bane of my life, which is why a comedy video of a teleconference, acted as if it was a physical meeting, was hilarious but disturbingly accurate.  Attendees were soothing children, playing on-line games and randomly wandering in and out, all while pretending to participate in the meeting.   On a genuine call last week, many of my colleagues had phones without a mute facility so we could hear children crying, sheep bleating and trains thundering past. We even had a thunderstorm causing people to drop in and out of the call.

Amusing? Definitely. Effective communication? Absolutely not!

"I'm on the train"

Cups and Rings

Although aware of cup and ring markings, carved by Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples over 3000 years ago, I'd never actually found any until I discovered geocaching. Since then I've visited several sites but never one with such well-defined markings as those on a wild, lonely moorland in Northumberland.

That it was a very foggy day when I trekked to Tod Crag, added mystery to my adventure. Wrapped in a chilly blanket of freezing mist, I cautiously made my way across rough ground with nothing other than the curlews and skylarks for company, an eerie pilgrimage to a spiritual place.

An eerie spot

Driving on a remote road across the wild moorlands of Northumberland, looming up out of the mist was the very eerie sight of a wooden gallows. I stopped the car (as I knew there was a geocache nearby) to read about the grizzly memorial.  It transpired that after he had been executed for his crime, the body of the murderous felon, William Winter, was hanged in chains from the gibbet, within sight of the murder scene. At that lonely spot on a gloomy day it wasn't hard to imagine the presence of restless spirits, forever condemned to haunt this place.