Warton Crag

I’ve often noticed Warton Crag, the small, prominent limestone hill near Carnforth, visible from the M6 but, until last week, I’d never visited. Finding myself in the area, I headed up to the top through wooded slopes covered with spring flowers, serenaded by cheerful birdsong. Once on the limestone pavement summit there were surprisingly glorious views across Morecambe Bay, the Lakeland Fells and the brooding escarpment of Ingleborough. And, close to the Trig Point was a replica beacon, used in more violent times to warn of the approach of invading forces. It was a delightful way to spend an hour

Grimaldi Park

Childhood visits to Blackpool Tower Circus have left me with an uneasy feeling about clowns. I know I’m not alone in being disturbed by the exaggerated makeup, masks and unpredictable tragic-comedic behaviours but that didn’t prevent me visiting the Grimaldi Park in Islington last week. I was actually on an (unsuccessful) geocache hunt but the park itself, a former graveyard, was interesting in its own right. The “original” clown, Joseph Grimaldi is buried there, his grave adorned with theatrical masks but additionally, there are two sunken “caskets” of bronze tiles, designed to play musical notes when walked or danced on.

Custard Creams!

The combination of wind direction and a baking session at McVitties meant that last night, when I was walking Molly by the river, the air was redolent with the sweet, synthetic but compellingly fragrant aroma of custard cream biscuits. Despite not having eaten one for years, a Pavlovian response was triggered and I desperately wanted to relieve my childhood rituals of eating that iconic, English biscuit. I suspect I was not alone in de-constructing the components, taking off the top layer of the biscuit sandwich, enabling an appropriate savouring of the vanilla cream before nibbling the sweet, crispy biscuits themselves!

The Last Horsemen

Yesterday the sound of curlews and skylarks filled the air as I looked for a geocache on a farm that still uses heavy horses. Seeing the hand-ploughed field, I was reminded that years ago, we visited friends who used to live nearby. Reared on James Herriot and the delightful story of two elderly carthorses that enjoyed a long and happy retirement, I asked the farmer what happened to his horses when they were too old to work.  I was shocked and crushed on hearing that they ended up on a French dinner plate or a in a dog food tin!

Ealing

Ealing wasn’t somewhere on my “top ten locations to visit” but as a result of a last minute, non-refundable hotel reservation by someone with a limited understanding of London’s geography, I found myself embarking on a voyage of discovery at the end of the District line!  I knew that the town had a Common and that the Ealing Comedies were produced at the studios on Ealing Green but that was it. My historic town trail yesterday took me past several lovely churches, the theatre, and through beautiful parks. It definitely pays not to judge the Ealing book by its cover!

A splendid dog on Twitter

Misty has returned home after her extended holiday and the house seems empty. Her stay was uneventful, but none the less, we managed to maintain a record of her adventures through guest posts on Miss Molly Malone’s newly created Twitter account! Not being a Twitter user myself, I hadn’t really got any idea of how it worked but it seemed to be relatively straightforward to set up Molly as a user and begin posting.  As I’m a firm believer in the old adage “a picture paints a thousand words”, it was particularly useful to be able to post photos. #misstmemories

Miss Molly Malone

A chilly start to April!

My beloved, late Mother was a great one for idioms and proverbs, leaving me with a lasting legacy of partially remembered and muddled sayings. This year, I can’t remember whether March “came in like a lion” but it certainly “didn’t go out like a lamb”! Yesterday was absolutely freezing as I discovered when I made the mistake of taking the dogs out for their afternoon walk without wearing any gloves! Today, it’s been a rainy and windy April 1^st and as we’re heading for the Easter weekend, I’m not expecting it to improve very much over the next few days!