Sun, Rain, Olympics And ...

Thursday ... Down at Porterbrooke studios we had an excellent evening daubing away in near steam-room conditions.

Friday ... The Olympic Games opening. What a great piece of theatre! The section based around the Industrial Revolution which ended with the five-ring Olympic motif was worthy of a Soviet Shakespeare.Totally patriotic; breast-beating; brilliant. The skit with Aunty Betty and 007 was a good old fashion jape ... I'm sure the yanks would think it was really happening ...

One finger to the rest of the world and a stirring trumpet call to the country ... I'm pleased to report that all the folk I've talked too seem to have been energised by the event, especially the "young"; let's hope it lasts.

Sunday ... Out to our friends in Hathersage using public transport; the 272. Sun warming, cottage garden sitting and birds flittering. Teaed, crab-pated, pork-pied and caked-scoffed lounging. We charged our batteries and thanked God for the privilege.

Monday ... Driving to Lincoln we stopped of at Littleborough to look at the church of St Nicholas. The Norman arches drew us there. It is said that Harold stop at this church on his way south to meet the William at Hastings.













We enjoyed a more than adequate lunch at the Eyre Arms pub in Rampton. Rampton's great claim to fame is that it sites the Nut Bin for the Criminally Crackers - Rampton Hospital. I have the dubious honour of delivering loaves and fishes to the hospital shop during one of my very many pre-university jobs ... a very sad and sobre experience ...

On to Lincoln Cathedral ... fantastic - always.

Hot In The Hills

Wow a sunny day! The scarcity of this phenomena in this year's summer weather could not be wasted. The trusty 272 got me to Fox House Inn where I set my walking engine on max thrust. Up and over the moor, down the valley and through the heather and bracken. Sheep baaed, birds twittered and the wind cooled my effort. Back at the Fox House Inn and I mounted the 272 for the return to Sheffield.

All this in a couple of hours. That's why so many folk like The Steel City - hop, skip and jump and you are in another world.

Sunny Stoney

A lovely English summer day ... at last.

Stoney Middleton well dressings proved to be exception ... if too professional. The effect of computer precision in design and possible expert crafts-person execution seems to out weigh the folk-art aspect. That said, the well dressings were stunning.

Ample tea and cake was available and dutifully consumed.









Driving up Middleton Lane brought us to the re-claimed land above the quarry. Spectacular views of The Dale and the prospect of wild flowers, including native orchids, are the attraction here. We were not disappointed.







We went on to a friend-of-a-friend's cottage and were totally wowed by the garden. Sitting on the grass in brilliant sunshine, consuming excellent Darjeeling tea and munching chocolate cake and shortbread biscuits, while having conversation about hither-and-yon is, to me, one of life's perfections. Apart from the infrequent sound of a passing car, the only background sounds were birds a-twitter, the wind blowing thorough the trees and plants and bleating of sheep in the surrounding fields. Pure gold!

Final Millennium Drawing Session Until September

A very wet Friday but, it didn't get in the way of taking the advantage of going to the last drawing session until September.

Talking to the gallery education person was, to be honest, a sad experience. The echo of so many empty civil service word-speaks seems to confirm that the silly bean-counting rhetoric of today's society is endemic. Be it UK or Oz the same pseudo-free-market clap-trap abounds. The Oh-Limp-Hicks dominates everything ... health, education, police service can go to the beggar's bowl. That virus SPORT takes no prisoners. It infects all and they are happy to keep paying for their infection.

The Millennium Gallery room used for the drawing sessions will, I was told, remain empty for the period - nothing was planned. Given that most, if not all, the attendants would be glad to continue the sessions through the summer, it seems a wasted opportunity to rake in at least some lucre. I suppose the incumbent manages are filled with self-congratulation that they have, in their own minds, filled their aims and objectives and met budgets. Interestingly, the tutor is now in the throws of organizing session that will have nothing to do with the gallery ...

Caer Daun Per Ferrum Equum

A sunny but blustery day gave us a good reason to get out and about. We sped of to Doncaster on the Northern Line train. The labyrinthine shopping centre cause some confusion. One of the local tribeswomen gave us the guidance needed so that we eventually found our way out into the sunshine again. The streets were packed with locals foraging for black puddings and tattoos but, thankfully, they were over-fed so that we were in little danger of being taken for a passing snack. After a passable coffee in a Costa café we wandered to the Minster.

Doncaster Minster is a excellent example of Victoria Gothic. The building occupies part of the site of the Roman fort (AD 80). The Minster is a delight to visit; being a relatively new construction all is in excellent condition and the stained glass quite stunning in the sunshine.

We braved the shopping centre on our way back to the rail station and nearly lost our way again. The train trip back to Sheffield was fast and the train clean ... a delightful way to travel.

Orchids By The Dozen

A blustery and sunny day gave us the chance to visit Dirtlow Rake near Castleton in Derbyshire so that we could look at the native orchids. The weather has been ideal for their growth so that there were lots to enjoy. The biggest surprise to me was the deep blue variety which have a very pleasant and strong perfume.

Grantham Wedding

A visit to St Wulfram's church in Grantham proved to be more interesting than expected. We have visited before and knew about the chained library. Memory had faded so that we were surprised by the size of the building and the overall excellent condition.

The added extra was a wedding ... which gave us the opportunity to listen to the excellent organ.

Tea and cake - proper Victoria Sandwich - rounded off the visit.

Dashing About In Lincolnshire ... Again

What a hectic week! About 550 miles of there-and-thither mostly in the rain. On a clear day the countryside looked green and more than pleasant. The area around Grantham, famed for falling apples and rabid politicians, was new to us. Views across central England and the Trent River valley from the ridge (Lincoln Cliff Jurassic limestone) were quite amazing. The availability of excellent watering holes in all villages not only satisfied our hunger but, encouraged us to visit local churches.

'The Stag' in Barkston provided a reasonable lunch and some tasty ale. This hostelry is on Church Street so we wandered down to the church of St Nicholas ... closed as per usual.

Honington village is where the church of St Wilfred stands ... we only visited the church.

'The Wagon and Horses' at Caythorpe provided reasonable sandwiches and a passable coffee before we visited St Vincent's church.

St Nicholas' church at Fulbeck is a surprising building both in size and location. The village has a magnificent hall, manor, church and cottages with delightful gardens. 'The Hare and Hounds' completes the set. This is an excellent place to eat and sample good English ale.

We didn't visit 'The Plough Inn' at Wilsford but, were surprised by the size of the delightful church of St Mary the Virgin.


All this over a few days ... no we're not boozers but, we have to have repast out of the rain ...

Summer Time And The Weather Is ...

Another damp day. Not to worry it's dry on the 272 ...

Low misty clouds blanketed the hill and fine rain lent an Irish softness to the day. We had an excellent walk from Hathersage, through Hugh's Manor and up to the Hay Meadows up on Coggers Lane. Blossom covered the meadows. Bright yellow buttercups and dandelions, sparkling white daisies and everywhere the bowed seed heads of the grasses covered in tiny rain drops. Some blue orchids poked through the mass of  low growing plants. A beautiful sight even in the misty rain.

Walking down to the cottage and back through the meadows gave us a second chance to enjoy the view.

Tea and conversation - always a pleasure - was added to by the boisterousness of the sheep dogs.

A damp but delightful day.

Bank Provided Shelter

Some days you just have to give in to life's essentials ... shopping. So it was and we were happily festooned with goodies when, bang crash double wallop, we subjected to a downpour. Where to shelter? That's when I spotted the open door of the Barclay's Bank. Zooooom - in we sloshed. In today's banking situation we must have been the fastest people who wanted to enter, not exit, Barclay's portals. The rain deposited as much as the bank is accused of depositing into it's own coffers ... possibly in as short a time. We are Barclay customers so we took the opportunity to don out wet gear before braving the storm; this had relented to a gently rain.

Is this the most shelter that a bank can offer in today's economic climate?

Millennium Gallery - Life Drawing

Another Millennium Life Drawing session filled the morning. The added delight of these sessions is meeting people from all walks of life - not just arties.

I had a long, possibly predictable, conversation with a local magistrate about her experiences on the bench. Nowhere is free from the freeloader, petty crook and stupid. It has always been so and no amount of  hang-wringing or "education" will change the nature of the herd. As she said, it's no good twittering what a "you", assuming a sensible person, should-would do in their place, It just ain't that way ... book 'em, try 'em and "next!" ...

Drawing/painting wise it was an excellent session.

Well Dressings, Tea, Cakes and Ice Cream

A break in the wet and cold weather allowed us to have a very pleasant day in Derbyshire. The trusty 272 took us to Hathersage where we changed mounts and rode off to Tideswell and thence on to Litton.

One of the well dressings at Tideswell was surprising because it featured Lincoln Cathedral ... maybe because this year saw the proper recognition of the efforts of Bomber Command during WW2. Lincoln being the home city of one of the most famous squadrons ... 617, the "Dam Busters".

Remember that the Well Dressing is made mainly of flower petals pressed into a clay base which is supported by a wooden panel.

We did our part to support the efforts of several members of the Womens Institute by eating their cake and having tea. The sun shone on a very green and pleasant land which meant for some sort of celebration ... locally made and excellent ice cream. This latter was consumed in traditional stile ... a lazy wander through the village under verdant trees and whilst appreciating the historic, rustic cottages and flower filled, bursting gardens. Had there been a Brass Band I'm certain that we would have been mindfully singing, "And did those feet in ancient times ..."

Returning to the cottage, we were given a boisterous welcome by the boys who, rightly, expected a handful of treats ... which they got. More tea and conversation and the early evening drew to a close. We haven't got used to it being still light at 9.30 pm ...

Two buses later and we were home for a late but delicious traditional English dinner - shortcrust pastry, beef and kidney pie with proper new potatoes. Note to Ozers: "chats" are not proper new potatotes. Sometimes plain and simple really hits the spot!

A Portrait Day Out

Why Sheffield you often ask ...

I spent a full day at Tim's studio with five other arties doing some portrait painting. This was an excellent experience - no noise just the sound of brushes on canvas. The professional model was a very pleasant woman who had good conversation during the breaks and who sat, without comment, during the working periods - what a delight!

Lunch at the Mexican Canteen on Arundel Street provided both good food and good conversation.

An all round excellent day out; even the weather brightened up ...

Life At The Millennium

We got soaked on Thursday and Friday dawned wet and cold - where is the summer? Not to worry. I went to the life drawing at the Millennium Gallery in the morning. Sadly, the bean counters have reduced the sessions to AM only; much to the disgust of the artists. It was good to catch up with folk I know. Coffee at the cafe was acceptable. Despite the rain all was really enjoyable.

Two Days Hectic Resettling And More

We arrived on Monday and had moved in by lunch time Wednesday. That day being sunny we took a quick trip to Stanage and met up with our friends. After a pleasant walk up to the Mill Pond I went off to help gather sheep for one of the local farmers.

The sheep were grazing on a very steep moor which meant that the farmer and my friend with his two dogs had an exhausting time getting the sheep to come down to the fenced yard. I just stood by while the herd came down and eventually helped get them into the yard and gated up. Among the flock was one of the biggest rams I've seen; I kept well away from him.

As expected there were some less cooperative individuals who ran back down the field and over the beck so as to get back where they came from. After much effort the escapees were gathered. I ended up helping drag and carry a lamb and two awkward old ewes, one soaked from the beck, into to fold. The strength of an unwilling ewe has to be experienced to be believed - roast mutton came to mind more than once! The effort the local hill farmers have to put in to farm these sheep makes my knees weak just thinking about it ...

Back at the cottage we had tea and a great natter with our friends. The dogs, as always, expected biscuits and a stick/ball throwing game out on the fell next to the cottage. It is really great to be back again!

Seamless Travel - Paris to Sheffield

The shuttle from the hotel to CDG Terminal 2 was like the proverbial sardine can ... with a few extras!

Processing at CDG was slow and efficient. The small baguette that cost 9.50 euros was the most expensive bite I've had for some time ...

The Flybe flight to Manchester was on time and faultless. Train from Manchester to Sheffield was on time and CLEAN and quiet. Hoorah for progress! Coffee and baguettes at Sheffield rail station equaled what we've come to expect in France ... don't faint ...

The Premier Inn Hotel is, as always, excellent.

Andrew's cafe served a good afternoon tea and  he and the staff were as sociable as  ever.

Marks and Spark provided an excellent selection of  high quality inner nourishment for dinner and the London Ale wiped me out ... cheap drunk that I am.

What could a traveler want other tha a good night's sleep?

French Reflections

Overall we really enjoyed our time in France.

Only two complaints:

• The general unpleasant attitude of Parisians ... I suppose most of the French population, ex-Paris, feel the same.
• Dog excrement! Had we not been experienced dancers and had the odd bout of Hasbro's Twister, I'm sure that wandering the streets would have proved to be a very sticky experience.

Where will we visit next in France? Too many lovely places to list ...

Amiens to Paris CDG ... Excellent Rail Travel

The Intercity train from Amiens to Paris Gare du Nord was on time both times .... a fast and quiet trip. The Maze of Death proved to be un-deathlike so that we got to Line B, down two levels, with little or no problem. The only problem was pain-in-the-six young Arab chap who tried to flim-flam us at the ticket machine. I politely told him to depart swiftly ... which he eventually, after a bit of insistence, did. Beggars can sometime be crafty little ferrets!

The train to CDG airport was packed ... as always. We thought for few minutes that we had been transported through some sort of Star Gate to North Africa but, no. We reminded ourselves that we in Paris again and that civilized, well mannered behaviuor was not to be expected from the denizens of the City of Lights. That comment applied well to the taxi driver at the airport ... "Me no speekee inguish mister ... etc etc"; what avoisdupois mon petit chou!

The Millenium Hotel CDG is fine.

Abbeville - A Trip In The Sun

The train from Amiens to Abbeville took us quickly and quietly to the start of an interesting, rain-free and sunny day's trip. The WW2 history of the town is horrible and the rebuilding of the place a testament to the resilience of  the survivors.

On May 20 1940, Guderian's blitzkrieg broke though the Allied forces at Abbeville and so reached the channel. Just before the arrival of the German Forces, twenty-two Belgian Right-Wing political leaders were shot by the French Police in a public park which resulted in hundreds of the victims followers joining the Waffen SS. The "Abbeville Boys" were one of the most famous German fighter squadrons. In December 1943 the RAF carried out two bombing raids (47 and 51 aircraft) on flying-bomb sites located between Abbeville and Amiens, The Lancasters were from 617 Squadron of Dambusters Fame based north of Lincoln.

Enough of that ...

The church of St Vulfran was badly damaged but, has been brilliantly rebuilt/restored. This church is really worth visiting; a peacefully plain and calm interior with many interesting objects.

Lunch ... you would have loved the almond tartlet and the millefleur ...

The church of St Sepulcre was also badly damaged and has been rebuild/restored. The modern stained glass, designed by Manessier, is spectacular. We were blessed with brilliant sunshine which showed the windows at their best.

The museum in town had an excellent exhibition of Manessier's designs.

Back to Amiens by express train.

A beer and Pernod plus a coffee while watching the passing crowd ended an excellent and thought provoking day.

Amiens ... Without So Much Rain

Not so cold and rain-ridden today.

The Notre-Dame cathedral took most of our time today. The front is magnificant. There dosen't seem to be a missing statue in any of the nooks and the only heads that aren't attached to shoulders are held in the hands of the respective owners. A good indication that Olly Cromewell's lads were a bunch of  vandals in dear old England ... which they were. Give Amiens was in the thick of The Hundred Days Offensive (Battle of Amiens) in 1918 it's amazing that any of the building still stands. That is even more surprising when you consider the Battle of the Somme in 1940. Much of the city was destroyed during these excusions so that rebuilding has produced some spectactular modern developments.

Back to Amiens cathedral ...

The cathedral dates from 1288 and is magnificant in all respects. The nave soars to a great height (42 m) and the rest of the building follows suit. There are six massive relief carved screens which have polychrome figures (1490-1530)... these are the best I have had the pleasure to see. The two Rose Windows look fantasic both from a size and colour point of view. The massive stained glass windows in the Lady chapel and the adjacent chapels fill that end of the nave with a kaleidoscope of light. These chapels also have painted walls.

We also put in some foot hours wandering along the banks of the Somme enjoying the quiet of the allotments and gardens called des Hortillonnages.

Note to Ozzers: We should chip in to buy a new flag for the lads that died in the wars ... the one in the cathedral is tatty.