Sunday 1 September 2019

Clearing the Camera

Hello there! We have a holiday looming, so I thought I'd take half an hour and clear my camera of this month's photos. To be honest, I'm not exactly looking forward to the holiday. I know I sound incredibly spoilt and I should be very grateful that we can afford to even have a holiday (which, of course, I am) but I find that I'm feeling rather anxious of late. I think it's my hormones - I'm of an age! - and find that I'm awake at night fretting about the silliest things. I hate flying at the best of times and the upcoming travel has sent me into a bit of a downward spiral.  I'm sure it will all be fine (although, things do tend to go awry when we're let loose on the world!) and I'll look back and think what an idiot I've been, but the thought of this holiday has marred an otherwise lovely summer. Which is ridiculous.
Anyway, here are a few of the displacement activities that I've been up to as I've tried to distract myself:

The Bristol Balloon Festival - E was coming home for a while, so we thought we could combine picking her up with seeing this famous event. Unfortunately, the day was too wet and windy and things had to be cancelled. In the evening, we paid an arm and a leg in parking fees to park in a field a 40 minute walk away from the supposed action. We walked downhill across fields to see a funfair (I'm never that keen) and then sat under umbrellas waiting for the famous 'Night Glow' where balloons are illuminated in time to music. Because it was so windy, however, the balloons themselves weren't attached to the baskets. We found ourselves singing along to The Wurzels' 'I am a Cider Drinker' in the rain, whilst people  lit the burners in time to the beat! It was surreal and also not very environmentally friendly for a city known for its green ethos!
After 30 minutes there were fireworks and then the heavens opened again, just in time for our 40 minute walk uphill back to the car. We were absolutely soaking and the car steamed up nicely on the journey home. It was memorable though!
Hamish moulting on the sofa!
Harvesting my comedy veg!
Knitting my first pair of 'Rose City Rollers' socks. The yarn is in the colourway 'Mind the Gap' and the colours represent the different lines on the London underground:
I spent some 'about to expire' Tesco vouchers on an English Heritage membership. Our first trip was to Avebury. It was a lovely summer's day, made more quintessential by the presence of Morris dancers:



My friend, S, and I took a trip to Montacute House in Somerset (Unfortunately, National Trust, rather than English Heritage!). It was lovely and has been home to many a film setting. Wolf Hall was filmed here, as was some of 'Sense and Sensibility'. It was also the inspiration for Tottington Hall in 'Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit':



More lovely lilies from my neighbour. People keep buying them for her, not realising that she is allergic to them!
Driving by Stonehenge (R was driving!):
A trip to Lyme Regis. We ate Teriyaki Tofu Bao in the sunshine, washed down with lime, cucumber and mint Kombucha - delish!


On the way home, we stopped off in Salisbury for Indian street food:

Bank Holiday Monday was wonderful. We store L and J's inflatable kayak in our garden shed. As it was such a lovely day we decided to borrow it (call it rent!). We paddled along the Kennet and Avon Canal, watched flocks of swallows scooping up water as we ate our sushi picnic, and spent ages just drifting whilst watching a kingfisher fishing. It was magical.......................... then R put his back out as we lifted the kayak out of the water to go round a lock and we had to paddle very slowly back to the car!

A visit to Crofton Beam Engines:


Another pair of Rose City Rollers, in cotton this time. The colourway is 'Watermelon', which I like but I didn't enjoy knitting with the cotton.
A trip to the Southern Wool Show at our local Racecourse:
A knitted version of our town!
Finally, spotting a new fawn in the garden. Apologies for the blurry photo - they were moving very quickly and the fawn kept pronking about!
Well, that's all for this month. Enjoy the last bit of the summer and I'll get back to my fretting!
Toodle pip for now. x

11 comments:

  1. Your aubergine looks fun, with its two stubby arms. I am highly anxious about travelling or anything that is not my normal at the moment. Could be hormones, could be the times we live in. I hope you'll be able to enjoy your holiday all the same. Once there, there will be no doubt lots to explore and the worries might be put to rest for a while.

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  2. Love the underground socks. Looks like a busy time you’ve had lately. Hope the holiday is good.

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  3. I’ll be thinking of you on your travels, wishing you happy carefree journeys. Gorgeous socks and lots of fun summer activities. Hopefully your better half has recovered from his kayaking! I’m sure you’ll make make use of your English heritage card. Avebury was visited long, long ago. Time I returned. B x

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  4. Oh, I totally get the worry re travelling thing! I used to absolutely dread flying and would worry about it for months, now I just have several drinks before I board and I'm fine. Hope all goes well and you have a wonderful time. So many lovely outings, what a shame the balloon festival was such a wash out. Loved the kayaking, hope hubs back is better now! I'm smiling re the lilies....all good for you though! Wonderful socks! SO jealous re that doe and fawn, how I'd love to have them in my garden.xxx

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  5. Wow, the wool town is amazing. And I love the idea of an inflatable kayak. The middle boy and I were talking about such a thing when we were away. It appeals to me because I imagine it is more transportable, although maybe you have to pump it up first? I can relate to the holiday travel anxiety, I am exactly the same, and not just about holidays. The balloon fiesta evening out made me smile. We've had a few outings like that. I do love a bit of Morris dancing though, brilliant. Hope you have a wonderful trip, I shall look forward to hearing all about it. CJ xx

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    1. Hi CJ! Yes, the kayak is great fun, I'd definitely recommend one. You can pop it in the car boot and inflate it when you get to the river. The oars come in 2 halves that slot together, so they're quite easy to transport too. The only tricky bit is making sure that it is properly dry before storing it again. xx

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  6. You've been to lots of my favourite places, and we were also at Crofton Beams a fortnight ago- did you have a lovely lass do the talk? She was brilliant when we were there. I empathise about flying. And I LOVE the picture of dear Hamish xx

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    1. Hi CT! There was one lady there running part of the machinery - it did make a very refreshing change from the 'boys'! She was indeed lovely and very knowledgeable. There was a craft fair on at the same time which was nice to look round and I impressed myself with my restraint! xx

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  7. Love following all your days out. Ever since I read Tracy Chevalier's "Remarkable Creatures" I have wanted to visit Lyme Regis. Are you nearby? Love the watermelon socks!!!

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    1. Sadly, no! It's a nice journey though and we tend to stop en route. Charmouth, I think, is the best place for fossil hunting but it's not too far along the coast. xx

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  8. Loving your comedy veg and the socks! Hope you've been able to relax on your holidays and have a great time xx

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