Six Word Saturday

Six word Saturday

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In the blink of an eye!

I haven’t been very mobile this week- a combination of injured foot and the dreariest of weather.  So there was real joy in my stride as I set off, on a glorious sunny morning, to meet an old friend in Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Normally we bundle into the nearest coffee shop and just talk, but it was much too lovely to be indoors.  I suggested we walk down to The Quay and the vibrant riverside.  We arrived just as the siren was sounding at The Eye, otherwise known as the Gateshead Millenium Bridge.  At midday the bridge tilts open, or blinks.  What a wonderful sight!

Crossing the Tyne Bridge, The Eye and The Sage Theatre are clearly visible
There are a variety of bridges crossing the Tyne.
An artificial beach in the Summer time
And all kinds of street theatre
But the star of the show is The Eye
As the siren sounds people hurry to get off the bridge
And then the tilting begins
At first you can hardly tell
But then the space below increases
And increases
Until it’s fully open- an impressive sight.

Click on a photo to see the bridge in action.

We sat outside The Pitcher and Piano with a perfect view, but some of the time we barely noticed it.  The important thing was our friendship and just being there together.

You all know that I love a good walk, but I’ve never mastered the art of bicycling.  Someone who has is The Cycling Scot.  Colin is a gifted travel writer with a great fondness for cake.  He’s written some great stuff over the years but his blog is fairly new.  I’m sure he’d appreciate a few visitors, so please do say hello.  He recently received the Very Inspiring Blogger Award, which he has kindly passed on.

As usual, I’ve far exceeded my six words.  Perhaps I really should abandon this challenge.  Next Saturday I won’t be here as I’ll  be visiting my lovely daughter in Nottingham.  Thanks Cate, for all your tolerance, and for being my hostess at Show My Face.

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No zumba for me this week

Wouldn’t you know that it’s a perfect English morning (at last!) and my normal Saturday morning walk down through the park to zumba would be a delight?  Instead I’m going to take you on an uphill walk which is the cause of my incapacity.  Then I might sit in the garden with a book- a novelty in itself! (and ignore the pile of ironing just a bit longer)

The Algarve countryside is stunning at this time of year
Even the weeds are a delight
And there are always surprises!
The thistles are everywhere!
These cloches cover courgettes (was the consensus of opinion) at
There’s always a charming cottage or two
Sometimes with a curious inhabitant (Bom Dia!)
This shy little fellow’s mum is close by
Then we start to climb higher
There are amazing plants in the few gardens this high up
Always a goat or two in the shade
The masthead at the very top is far from pretty
And this was the final view

Unfortunately I wasn’t wearing the right kind of footwear, and as we scrambled back down again I could feel the damage to my toes.  It was the “quick route” down as everyone was starved and we were heading for a very nice restaurant as a reward for our efforts.

I struggle to get a shoe on and have been wearing flipflops ever since.  Still, I did enjoy the walk, and the company.  Hope you did too?  Don’t forget to visit Cate at Show My Face to see what’s been happening to everyone this week.  My Six word Saturdays are all on the button below.

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And ten in Portugal with Michael

Following on from my last Six word Saturday, my feet have just about touched the ground and it’s Michael’s turn for a holiday.  Lucky me gets to go too, of course!

Dad is still in Poland, sitting in Uncle Jakub’s garden if it’s sunny, and playing dominos.  While I know he’s in good hands, it seems like a good time to escape for a little sunshine of our own.  If you’ve seen O is for okropny and the Ojcow Valley you’ll know the weather wasn’t always kind in Poland.

I’ll be sharing more Polish tales on my return but for now it’s back to my postcard collection.

Exactly why I love the Algarve so- pretty as a picture.

Exactly why I love the Algarve so- it’s pretty as a picture.

I'll soon be strolling in the riverbank gardens again.

I’ll soon be strolling in the riverbank gardens again.

Checking out a few more churches

Checking out a few more churches

Especially the azulejos in Igreja da Misericordia

Especially the azulejos in Igreja da Misericordia

And you know my evenings will be spent beside this bridge.

And you know most of my evenings will be spent beside this bridge.

Not hard to see what keeps taking me back, is it?  And I haven’t even mentioned the beaches!

I’m catching up with as many of you as I can before I leave tomorrow evening.  It’s Mother’s Day isn’t it, so have a good one!  I’ll be frantically cooking, ironing and restocking the freezer for our son, but what a lovely present tomorrow evening will bring.  Take care, all!

Thanks Cath for hosting Six word Saturday.  Don’t forget to check out the other entries on Show My Face.  Just click on the header or the link.

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Nine days in Poland with Dad

 

It almost didn’t happen because when I started to check us in online, I realised that Dad’s passport runs out on 30th April, 2013- the precise date we travel to Poland.  Thank goodness for the days of online check-in.  Otherwise, we might have been at the airport!  A swift dash to the Passport Office in Durham has rectified all, and we are good to go.

Here was Krakow

Here was Krakow

Veit Stoss Altar, Mariacki Church

Veit Stoss Altar, Mariacki Church

Gilded wood panels of the Altar in close up

Gilded wood panels of the Altar in close up

Courtyard of the Jagellonian University

Courtyard of the Jagellonian University

Professor's room in Collegium Maius

Professor’s room in Collegium Maius

And in complete contrast, a postcard that is very special to me, and seems appropriate for this time of year.  It was given to me by my Aunt Anna, who is no longer with us.

Good health from the mountains

Good health from the mountains

I won’t be about next week as I’m a very low tech traveller.  In any case I will be working hard at my abysmal Polish.  Wish me luck!

Don’t forget to visit Cate at Show My Face at check out this week’s Six word Saturdays.  Just click on the link or the header.

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A woodland walk in Spring sunshine

Not feeling too much like talking this week, so I’m letting the photos speak for me.  Click on a photo to start the gallery rolling, if you’d like.

Guisborough forest loop
These woods are full of creatures
Mr. Fox
Some hedgehogs who forgot to hibernate
Squirrels are always cute!
You can sit awhile on a butterfly
So new, she hasn’t weathered in yet!
Some spares
Newcomers?
Poor wise owl’s going nowhere.
The woodcutter’s cottage?
Disgusted that nobody had an apple!
The deer doesn’t look too happy either
This chap has to earn his keep.
The owl family have simply dozed off!
Back to the Woodland Information Centre
For a craft
Or two!

Cate at Show My Face will be glad to have your company.  My thanks to her for being our kind hostess.  I actually didn’t go much past my Six Words this week!

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What do you do for fun?

My idea of fun is creating interesting travel-related blog posts. (well, trying to!)  It’s bordering on the obsessive some days but it’s all that’s kept me sane while I’ve waited (and waited) for warmer days to arrive.  Some of you may know that I’ve been taking a trip back in time and reliving the past in “A tale or two : my Greek Odyssey”.

In those days I used to keep a diary on the back of my postcard collection.  It served two purposes : preserving the memories, and providing a few reliable photos in case the holiday snaps weren’t up to much.  While I’ve been writing this series I’ve had to dig out the postcards to check a few facts. (the holidays were 20+ years ago)  I thought that this Saturday I might share a few with you.

The island of Zakynthos (Zante)

The island of Zakynthos (Zante)

Neos Marmaras in Halkidiki

Neos Marmaras in Halkidiki

Time for an ouzo- speaks for itself really

Time for an ouzo- speaks for itself really

Mandraki harbour on Rhodes

Mandraki harbour on Rhodes

The beautiful island of Symi, near Rhodes

The beautiful island of Symi, near Rhodes

A slightly too rosey Rhodes Town, but I like it

A slightly too rosey Rhodes Town, but I like it!

I love maps too! Bizarre for someone who excels in getting lost

I love maps!  Bizarre for someone who excels in getting lost

The Melissani Lake on Kephalonia

Last but not least, Melissani Lake on Kephalonia

The last postcard is the only one I’ve shared already.  Mostly our photographs were good enough, but on the lake we were too busy just looking, in awe.  Hope you enjoyed these.  Trigger any memories?

If you’re interested in the series at all, click on the Categories box in my sidebar and you will get a dropdown menu. Select “A tale or two : my Greek Odyssey” and it’ll take you there.  Wordpress is clever sometimes, isn’t it?  Meantime, let’s go and see Cate at Show My Face and see how she’s feeling this week.

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How to dance a jig doll!

Sssh, whisper it, but I think we may just have turned the corner into Spring?  Yesterday I spotted a hint of pink blossom in the trees, and the curves of crocuses throughout the town were valiantly trying not to shiver.  I was still caught in a shower of sleet midweek, but I’ve also been out, striding along clifftops and beaches under wonderfully breezy blue skies.  Want a quick look?

The beach at Hartlepool Headland and derelict pier in the background

The beach at Hartlepool Headland, with derelict pier in the background

The retreating tide

The retreating tide

Approaching the pier

Approaching the pier

My sea monster

My sea monster

The dunes back of the beach

The dunes back of the beach

The habitat of the dunes

The habitat of the dunes

The good old days

The good old days of Crimdon Dene, resort?

The caravan park that remains

The caravan park that remains

Not a good place to throw the stick for your dog

Not a good place to throw the stick for your dog

And home, over the stream

And home, over the stream

Highlight of my week?  Dancing a jig doll!  It was totally unexpected.  At my first ever visit to our local branch of the U3A, the entertainment was a lovely couple, Ron and Pat Keady.  With Ron on guitar and vocals, Pat demonstrated her versatility and love of Appalachian music and dance forms.  The Auto Harp (or dulcimer) was unfamiliar to me, but I recognised the Jew’s Harp and spoons, of course.  When the paddle and the jig dolls appeared, I was enthralled.  Even more so when they were passed around for the audience to try.  Bashing away at the paddle, I thought I did a very creditable version of “Jambalaya”- for a beginner!

What fun!  I think I’m putting one on my Christmas list.  If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, the YouTube video links below will demonstrate.  You will love the dog! (second clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNEgMNV8UM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwuRfGDOrsY

Don’t forget to visit Cate at Show My Face this sunny Saturday, and share your week.  Hope it was a good one?  Click on the button for my previous 6WS’s.

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Happy Easter from a generous friend

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I “won” this beautiful floral arrangement as a raffle prize at my friend Kath’s house on Thursday.  Traditionally we have a Girl’s night at her home in Newcastle just before Christmas, but last year we had to defer, and it became an Easter celebration.  As if to make up for lost time, Kath pulled out all the stops and threw her heart and soul into the evening.

The mantelpiece was adorned with woolly lambs and fluffy bunnies, and giant pastel Ikea eggs, which rattle mysteriously, have accompanied us home as an Easter “surprise”.  There was Pimms in a punch bowl of fruit and mint, and heaps of the most delicious food and drink.  Kath was aided and abetted in the kitchen by partner, Trevor, and I musn’t forget the star turn- Koffee, their large chocolate brown poodle, who delights in raiding handbags.

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My own home is less flamboyantly decorated, but the hearth has a splash of Easter colour, and the mantlepiece a card or two from my Polish family.

Just a few more hellebores, in retreat from our chilly garden

Just a few more hellebores, in retreat from our chilly garden

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Easter blessings from Poland

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Hope you will all have a blessed and peaceful Easter, surrounded by family and wonderful friends like these.  Thank you so much, Kath.  You made it very special.

Joyce, me, Janice, Mary, Mamie, Kath and Joan

Joyce, me, Janice, Mary, Mamie, Kath and Joan (that’s my floral arrangement!)

Join in with Six word Saturday by clicking on the header or the link to Cate at Show My Face.

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Pull up a chair and sit?

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Well, maybe not today.  It’s not the warmest!

I used a photo of Hardwick Hall Country Park in one of my posts recently.  It proved quite popular, and it occurred to me that I’d never given you the full guided tour.  Very remiss of me.  Lingering weather, it’s not, but if you’re passing Sedgefield with some spare bread for the ducks in your knapsack….

It's a park of follies and eccentricities

It’s a park of follies and eccentricities

Wide open so you feel the chill on a Winter's day

Wide open, so you feel the chill on a Winter’s day

But with a hint of sun the reflections are nice

But, with a hint of sun, the reflections are nice

Some of the follies provide shelter with your view across the lake

Some of the follies provide shelter for your view across the lake

The birds will carry on, oblivious, till you rustle the bag

The birds will carry on, oblivious, till you rustle that bag

The temple looks on stoically.

While the temple looks on, stoically.

As you walk around the lake you catch glimpses of the tower and the statue

As you walk around the lake, you catch glimpses of the tower

And the statue

And the statue of Neptune

The old bridge provides the best views

The old bridge provides some of the best views

It took a while in the building but the modern cafe and exhibition center is a welcome addition to the park.  A bowl of homemade soup goes down well on a Winter’s day, and in Summer you can sit outside and observe your youngsters clamber on the climbing frame.  The village of Sedgefield is just a walk away.

The Dun Cow Inn on the High St. has always been a good grub pub.

The Dun Cow Inn on Front St. has always been a good grub pub.

Hope you enjoyed our Saturday stroll, though, to be fair, a very brisk walk would be more appropriate today.  Cate at Show My Face has indulged me, as usual.  It is my afternoon treat to visit her page and check out the other entries.  Use the links to accompany me?

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How I like to display hellebores

 

My delicate white hellebore
Hellebore heads floating in a bowl of water

 

They have such a pretty face, but they’re shy!  I love to snip the heads off and float them on a bowl of water, then I can openly admire these jewels of colour.  Especially when the weather is too cool and damp to venture into the garden.  They grow quite prolifically so they should last me a while.

Share six words of your own?  Cate at Show My Face will be a gracious hostess, as ever.  Join her via the link or the header. I’ve amassed quite a few now, and you can see those by clicking on the button below.

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