This week I played hostess to an inquisitive young lady who hailed all the way from Pittsburgh, USA. An impressive-looking city on the Ohio River in Pennsylvania, I kind of worried what I could show her in my humble little home town Hartlepool, on the north east coast of England.
Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, by Wikipedia
I needn’t have worried. Flat Ruthie knew her manners and had been impeccably brought up in her website home http://cardboardmetravels.com/
Our town has a strong maritime heritage so it was off to the marina and Hartlepool Historic Quay http://www.hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com/ Cameras swinging nicely in tune we checked out the paddle-steamer PSS Wingfield Castle.
Hello sailor!
And Britain’s oldest fighting ship, HMS Trincomalee, built in India in 1817, was restored in Hartlepool over a 10 year period.
Pirates lad? Where be my cutlass?
A pirate party was about to break out on board so I steered Ruthie away to admire some smaller craft. I’ve seen what a cutlass can do to a cardboard lady!
The Customs Office! Any smuggling still going on in these parts?
Let's just hang around a while
Whoo, I'm dangling!
Swiftly on to the lock gates, I think.
Tickets anybody? No? Oh, you can cross over for free- great!
Ah, now we're talking! You know I like monkeys.
Knowing Ruthie has a fondness for monkeys I didn’t like to share with her the Legend of the Monkey Hanger! But you might like to read it- it’s just a bit of folklore. http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/thehartlepoolmonkey.asp
Tired with our efforts and beginning to attract a crowd of admirers, we decided to save the beach for another day and head home for a cuppa.
Is this a seahorse, Restlessjo? No dear, just a bookend.
Very grateful thanks are due to Ruth of http://cardboardmetravels.com/ for creating my little friend and allowing her to travel with me. I’m hoping she just might accompany me to the Algarve sometime, and there I really can promise her a beach.
I absolutely love Ruth’s idea. You can read all about it and follow Flat Ruthie’s travels by following the link. Maybe some of you would like to escort Ruthie on a little trip yourselves? The gal loves to travel- we’re kindred spirits.
restlessjo 
LOL The first time I saw Flat Ruthie she was on a ski run in the Alps. Such a cute concept!!
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We’ve had fun- she accompanied me from the Algarve across the Guadiana to Spain too!
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Oh, I can see Flat Ruthie had lots of fun with you. 🙂 Stunning shots! Thanks for the lovely comment and visit on my blog. Now I can visit you as well. 🙂
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Thank you. Flat Ruthie’s certainly helping spread the love.
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Flat Ruthie is a weirdly cool idea, haha. I don’t think I can bring her with me though, as she’ll probably get crumpled or lost.
That took some creativity to position her just right. 🙂
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She’s sitting on the mantepiece, waiting for my next expedition to the Algarve!
I understand all now! http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/
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Oh Tita, thank you for this! You can always rely on bloggers. I searched under “felt family” and understandably couldn’t find it. My daughter used to play with Fuzzy Felts endlessly and I do like the blog. Thanks again.
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Is Flat Ruthie any relation of Flat Stanley? I used to have a book about him when I was wee, he could slip under doors and through letterboxes, very handy.
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Incidentally, when I clicked on your link for Cardboard Me Travels it didn’t seem to work. I’m curious to know more.
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I really am having PC probs. Will look at this again and change the link. Ruthie would love to accompany you to a tearoom! Should be http://cardboardmetravels.com/ Try again?
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Thank you, that worked!
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Think I’ve heard of Flat Stanley. Must Google him. Anybody know the name of the website with the “felt” family? It was Freshly Pressed a while ago and I loved that too.
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Hi, Jo! Are you referring to The Middlest Sister? It’s one of my favorite blogs. 🙂 Here’s the link: http://themiddlestsister.com/
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Love the picture with the MONKEY! Flat Ruthie sure gets around.
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Knew you would! I have a soft spot for Missy too.
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What a fun idea! The only trouble is – I ignored your lovely pics so I could look at Ruthie’s reactions.
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I was concentrating on not dropping her in the marina! She’s on loan y’know!
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How funny! I have heard of people taking dolls places, but never drawings of themselves.
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Me neither but it’s great, isn’t it? I got some strange looks while I was taking the photos.
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Lol some people are too serious! I’d rather be fun:]
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what an endearing story !
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Thanks Kitty. You could teach her to cook? Me too, come to that!
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ahhh…its not that hard you see…come to it and I am sure you both will be fine
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Hartlepool isn’t so special!! Go stand in the naughty corner 🙂
When I first saw the first photo, I thought that somebody had done some work in photoshop and cloned the Saltburn Cliff Lift onto the Pittsburgh photo. It is uncannily similar. Check out the photo on my blog. Nice post Jo and excellent idea.
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I think it’s a superb idea David. Could’ve done with your expertise as I struggled to get the background sharp and had to ditch some of the shots. You get the idea though.
I felt the same way about the cliff lift! I did a piece about Saltburn quite a long time ago. Love the place.
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Such a cute idea. nice job Jo!
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I’m glad to see you hosting Flat Ruthie. She is such a world traveler now. I have been following her adventures and so enjoyed your photos of her recent adventure. Your hometown is delightful and worth a visit.
BE ENCOURAGE! BE BLESSED!
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Hi Francine! Isn’t it a wonderful idea? I wish I’d thought of it first, but my drawing skills leave a lot to be desired. She hails from your hometown too and I was quite interested to see what Wikipedia had to say about Pittsburgh. In my ignorance I couldn’t really have pinpointed it on a map.
Hartlepool isn’t so special but it’s home. Changes came about with the marina development and when we hosted the Tall Ships in 2010- well, we really thought we were somebody!
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this is a creative way of sharing your story.
Nice to meet Flat Ruthie 🙂
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Isn’t she wonderful? It’s the most brilliant idea. So happy to’ve been allowed to show her a part of my world.
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