Stanage In The Snow

Another trip on the 272 took us to our friends in the Hathersage-Stanage area. The snow gave a Christmas Card feel to the walk across the fields. The sunshine didn't really make up for the cold wind, but the whole scene was worth the chill.

Filled to the brim with food, we spent a snug night only to wake in the morning to find the snow falling again. Everything look really lovely and the absence of any wind allowed the garden to feel like silent perfection; birds' twittering was the only sound to break the silence. A Wood pecker and several Robins feeding at the hanging, bird feeders, along with a couple of male Pheasants pecking at the seeds that had fallen onto the ground, finished the scene. Delightful!

A quick breakfast and we were off to walk across the fields to the village where we caught a 272 back to the smoke.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow ...

Loads of snow fell overnight and, as usual, traffic came to a standstill on some major roads. The proportion of idiot drivers is as it always has been. When will they ever lean? Never ...

We're snug in our cage and we've little intention of going too far from  it's under-floor heating unless we make a quick dash to the supermarket for something chrissy-like to add to the overall seasonal feeling the snowy scene brings. We had the Chestnuts the other day when we went to the Christmas Fair in the city centre ...

English weather? It's great if you like change!

Yesterday, I went to the Millennium Gallery for another life drawing session which was very enjoyable. The walk back home through the city was cold, but the evidence of Christmas retail therapy gave the place all the bustle of a busy market. We have, so far, managed to resist all the hype ... "Humbug," I hear you say ... 

I'm Not Dreaming, It'll Be A White Christmas ... Maybe

The first snow of the year and the roads are blocked in West Yorkshire and The North. Scotland has had a dose - well it is expected up there in the Bonny Blooming.

Sheffield has, so far, escaped, but the temperature has plummeted and the wind become bitter. Bitterness equally seems to be affecting the attitude of most, if not all, students towards the Lib Dems, the leader of which is the Sheffield MP. Sit-ins and demonstrations seem to be in fashion at both unis and elsewhere.

Ah, I remember the demos in the late 60s and the mess made by naughty students during the sit-ins. We were a militant lot in those dark ages. Some even went to Paris to "help" the students at the Sorbonne; what a violent event that turned out to be ... I confess I had too much work to do; I camped out in the main library! Back to today ...

Thank Big G for under-floor heating and double glazing! Plus, a couple or three nuclear power stations to keep the volts volting and the amps flowing. Beggar the obsession with renewable power; I like to keep warm and have my toast a-toasted.

It's interesting how one's attitudes change when one is exposed to weather other than sunshine day-in day-out ...

Sunny Rotherham ... Not

We took a train to Rotherham. The weather was sunny, but very cold; the station platforms had the remains of salt scattered during the early morning - must have been a frost. Rotherham town centre didn't really inspire us; loads of Neanderthals and shops boarded-up. There are large developments in progress; one had 154 shops and 114 food and drink outlets; let's hope the investment improve the future for the local young people ...

We went to see Rotherham Minster which is right in the town centre. A church has been on the site for over 1000 years, hence, the minster is historically important. The building is well worth a visit and the Tea Ladies provide a decent cupper with biscuits for a pound - Kit Kats and Penguins are an extra 15p; what an expense!

Back to Sheffield by train - fortunately the carriage was well heated; the afternoon temperature portended snow which had been forecast.

Snow, Rain, Wind ... I Think I'll Go Back To Bed

It's one of those bleak, late Autumn days when I delight in being one of the lucky ones who are cast on the scrap heap called Old Age. I know what you're thinking. Pool, old beggar has slipped into senility and self pity. Er, no you're totally wrong! The rain is lashing down on the minions who are dashing off to their work; brolly blown inside-out and bodies soaked to at least the second of three layers of warm clothing. Some clutching at an extra-large Costa's coffee in the vain hope that it's tepid contents will warm them when they eventually get to where ever they are destined to toil. I only hope they earn enough to pay their taxes so that they can support me in my leisure ...

Ah, the warmth of a duck-down duvet, a fresh espresso and a cherry Danish! I'll just turn over and have a little nap. Wake me when the weather gets better ...

Lincolnshire

Five days in Sleaford enabled us to travel hither-and-yon. Lincolnshire, as always, offered open vistas of rural landscapes in both dismal, rain-mist and duck egg blue skied, sunshine. Villages visited temped us with excellent pubs offering tradition Plowmans' lunches and excellent beer. Churches, abbeys, medieval houses and Knights Templar oratorios all called for immediate exploration. We reckon you could spend several lifetimes trying to get to grips with the history of the area.

Sun, surf and the congestion of  eucalyptus forest has a certain appeal, but I openly admit to heresy; English mixed-woodland and the open fields have something more to offer ... maybe if we ...

Isobaric Manic ... Poo Distressed

Another day, another dawn, but the Caillech and Lugh seem to be in a bad mood again. It's been raining buckets with a faint hint of sleet plus high winds. Maybe we should have gone down to Waitrose, Morrison's, Tesco or Sainsbury's and bought a pre-prepared sacrifice to put a smile on the ancient deities' faces. Hey, ho ...

We risked the deluge and walked in the very large, Sheffield General Cemetery which is now a sort-of park-cum-reserve for the local fauna some of which wear traditional ethnic dress and smoke certain substances while skulking in the undergrowth.

Another puzzling activity of  some of the locals is the desire to share their dogs excrement with all and sundry. You can be sure that the largest dog is housed in the smallest flat occupied by a Raskolnikovian reprobate; the crime seems never to be punished - I'll clean my shoes when I've finished my wanderings ...

And The Big Wheel Came ... Has Gone ...

A visit to the city proved that I can wander about and not notice that a huge object has gone. The observation wheel has been dismantled and removed!

No doubt the same people who moaned about it being built will now bemoan it's removal.

Weather today? Looks like rain ... QED

Who Forgot To Pay The Sun Tax?

It's sort of raining today. When I say, "sort of", I mean that "raining" doesn't quite do justice to the volume of water being delivered in vertical-downward and horizontal-sideways directions. Plus, there is the accompaniment of Hitchcockian sound effects suitable for the high towers of  Heathcliff's country estate.

I think we will batten hatches and run under bare-poles today whilst issuing a extra ration of rum to ourselves under the pretext of warding off the flue - porcine or otherwise.

Fortunately, we have a very large HDTV on which we can watch a wide range of ancient Brit programmes most of which have a cheerful and uplifting obsession with WW2.

What it is to have a positive outlook and optimistic view of life ...

Fireworks Night ...

Bonfire night again. I wonder how many folk actually know why they are setting fire to squibs and rockets. The Chinese Fireworks Shop has been open for some weeks now. Hard-earned cash has changed hands in supermarkets. Enterprising would-be chemists have mixed their saltpeter, sulphur and iron filings and tamped their concoctions into various containers. I'm sure Guy Fawkes would be delighted that his failed antics are still celebrated country-wide.

We watched from our balcony. A near-by display lasted for quite a while; evidently someone had the cash to buy some very expensive rockets that not only lit up the sky, but the resounding explosions echoed through the streets. It made me wonder how some of the inmates of the council tower bock flats felt. Why? Quite a few are immigrants from war-torn places in the Middle East.

It's all too easy to forget how fortunate we are to live in a stable, welfare state; all too easy to loose ...

Nottingham Art Extravaganza

An excellent trip to Nottingham (that of Robin Hood fame) by National Express coach was all the more pleasant when the weather on the return journey is taken into account. Rain and high winds. I just sat back and let the driver have all the stress of the M1 ... excellent and all for 4 quid!

The show we went to see was "British Art Show 7". A Hayward touring exhibition which made you think it would be one of the better shows - wrong! Frankly it was one of the poorest I've seen; you would have thought it was an end-of-year graduate show at best.

We off-set our appointment with two interesting shows we came across. "Four Visions" included work by four artists (Julian Woodcock, Sarah Cavani, Bob Sparman and David Mallard) at the Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery. We spent at least a couple of hours talking to three of the artists and solved all the problems of the modern world - an delightful time with non-arty-farty artist (a bit of a contradiction you may think ...)

Visiting The Exchange Building in the centre of the city took us to the second show: "Nottingham Studio Presents". Four artists again and all very different. Michael Forbes (one of the exhibitors) directed us to a quiet veggie cafe where we sheltered from the rain and had a tasty lunch.

We walked down Memory Lane and visited one of my old colleges which is now Trent University. Nostalgic? No. That was over 40 years ago; another life ... The main building looks the same and the modernisation is fantastic.

An excellent day out and food for thought.

Spooky Doings in the City

Halloween is upon us again and Sheffield has it's "Fright Night" Fair in the centre of the city. Roads are filled with fairground rides and stalls along with fast food stalls - even Candy Floss stalls. The locals take the fair seriously enough to get dressed up - especially the kids. The fair is a family event and it's great to see so many families out-and about. The whole thing stops at about 9 pm and, by early morning, there is no sight that the fair was there.

We had a walk around and enjoyed seeing so many people enjoying themselves even though the politicians tell us all the doom-and-gloom that seems to justify their tawdry existence.