Sunday Post : Natural Resources

This Sunday morning, as the rain sloshes down, I’m thinking that many people will be battling nature this weekend, as they watch the rising floodwater.  Jake has chosen Natural Resources as the subject of this week’s Sunday Post.  We are blessed with wonderful nature all around us, but I can’t help reflecting on how resourceful man has had to be in both harnessing and utilising nature.

The reservoir at Stanhope- a beauty spot for walking, guarantees water, should we ever have another drought!

The winter meltwater gushes over the weir at Grassington

The River Wear at Durham gets pretty full at times too

On a gentler day you can stroll over and beneath Durham’s bridges

Our woods and streams provide perfect picnic spots

For centuries we’ve been harvesting the crops and fields

Here come those clouds, but they won’t trouble the modern windmill

Whilst on our coasts, sea defences have become mandatory

And we have tamed the tide to provide a safe harbour

And a lovely marina to linger and admire

I’m sure you can think of many more instances.  The rain is easing and I hope the flood damage isn’t too severe this time.

It was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning but now the Sunday lunch beckons.  Well, it will if I cook it first.  I’ll be back later to check out all the entries for Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post.  You too?  Don’t forget to click on the flying dragon or the links.

Six word Saturday

Not going to panic, just yet!

It’s fun to shop for a wedding outfit, isn’t it?  I keep repeating that to myself.

The following video features Jema Hewitt (aka Emily Ladybird), who will be my daughter’s matron of honour at her wedding in February, explaining just what is meant by Steampunk fashion.

http://www.themuse.tv/2012/11/gothic-glam-steampunk-fashion-part-1/

I know- it stops short right at the point where you could look at some of Jema’s designs!  I’ll have to hunt down Friday’s edition of the show.

You see, I had in mind an Ossie Clark style, fitted, floor length frock, with tiny covered buttons, long close fitting sleeves, maybe in cream or a pastel.  Although I much admire my daughter’s style of dressing, I’m not sure that I can carry it off.

As Jema says, you can adapt it to yourself, but so far I’m not having much luck with the shopping.  Lisa has almost finished sewing her wedding gown, but then has a bridesmaid’s frock and waistcoats for the grooms to do, with Christmas looming.

I guess I just need you to wish me luck.  I don’t have any skills with the needle, and am online hunting for something suitable whenever I can.

Before I go this morning, I’d just like to send my very best wishes for a speedy recovery to Viv Blake.  I understand that she’s in hospital undergoing tests.  She’s too far away from me for a hospital visit, and will be sadly missed on this week’s Six word Saturday, so get well soon, Viv.  As always, grateful thanks to Cate at Show My Face for the opportunity to share my six words (and more).  Follow the links for details.

Related articles

The Booker Award

This has to be the scariest award I have ever received.  There is so much potential here to fall flat on my face.  Not that it’d be the first time, but I only have to look at the other recipients to tremble in my boots.  Madhu, whose work I revere, has nominated me, alongside The Wanderlust Gene and Jo Bryant.  How intimidating is that?  Or maybe I mean inspiring?

Reading the small print, “for those who refuse to live in the real world”- well,  I can certainly relate to that.  Such a cruel and heartless world it can be.  There’s every reason to escape into fantasy.  The nightly news horrifies me.  Why can we not live in peace and harmony?  Our minds are capable of so much that is amazing.  Why then are we so prone to destruction?  Naive I know, but I don’t understand it.

I couldn’t, hand on heart, describe my childhood as a happy one, and books were always my preferred means of escape.  The difficulty I find as I grow older is that my powers of recollection struggle.  Even books that make an enormous impression on me are hazy in the detail just a few weeks after reading.  So this award filled me with both joy and dread.

My solution?  Like Alice, I’m off to a fantasy world. I could so easily be the White Rabbit, scurrying along with never enough time.  I’m sure many of the nuances of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” were lost on me, but it is the ultimate in escapism.

Croquet on the village green

Oh my ears and whiskers, I’m late!

Growing up, I loved Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows”, of course, and Louisa Alcott’s “Little Women”. Graham Greene and Hemingway found me next.  Loving travel as I do, it’ll come as no surprise to find that I’m drawn to books with exotic backgrounds.  Thus it was that I found myself in Afghanistan with Khaled Hussein’s “The Kite Runner”.  I was swept along with Amir, on his quest for redemption, in a world of which I had no conception.  I guess that what I look for most in a book is an insight into, and hopefully a little understanding of, another world.  It’s not always a happy journey.  I found Dave Boling’s brilliant “Guernica” harrowing, no less so for its being based on real life events.  Escapism doesn’t always work out well.

Markus Zusak, however, held me enthralled with “The Book Thief”.  Making Death a narrator, sympathetic to humankind, was pure genius in my view. It seemed so appropriate in book burning, hatred filled Nazi Germany. The book is a real celebration of both the power of the written word, and the human spirit. I loved it.

“Some like it Hot”, iconic 50 years after her death- Monroe courtesy of Wikipedia

When I discovered Joyce Carol Oates I was stopped in my tracks by her formidable writing talent.  To me a great writer expresses things I would want to say, but don’t have the means.  Joyce Carol Oates has this in abundance.  I cannot conceive of writing a book such as “Blonde”, however drawn I am to the legend that was Marilyn Monroe.  Neither could I envisage penning “The Gravedigger’s Daughter”.

How am I doing?  I had to list my five favourite books for this award.  Not so easy, is it?  I’m going with the ones in bold, and that still leaves me one to choose.  I am an unashamed romantic, and “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”,  by Louis de Bernieres, gets my last vote.

Rugged Kefallonia

“What is left when the passion is gone” is how Pelagia’s father describes love.  It certainly has a lot to endure in the case of the Captain and his lady.  I saw the film before I ever read the book, and was quite happy to picture Nicolas Cage as my hero.  As always happens with a great book, it was better than the film, and truer to life.

If you followed the link to Madhu, you’ll be aware that I’m about to pass the Booker Award on to five more readers.

Just Add Attitude  As blog names go, this is a nice one, and I’ve enjoyed finding out about B’s love of London, Paris and Dublin (her native city).  Now to find out which books she likes?

Writing between the Lines Naomi is an inspiring writer and photographer whose warmth and affectionate nature shines through between those lines.

Colline’s Blog is “a potpourri of thoughts and experiences”, in her own words.  I’d like to hear more.

Travel with Kat  A true world traveller is Kat, with an interesting past and an absorbing present.  I hope she can find the time to accept this.

Read Me If you look at Patti’s blog it will immediately become obvious that she’s another Alice fan (and I don’t mean Cooper).  We both have two children with a huge gap between them.  I wonder what else we might have in common?

Thank you Madhu, for sharing this with me, though like your friend Rommel, I have my doubts.

Sunday Post : Architecture

Architecture : what a huge subject that is!  It’s Jakesprinter’s theme for this weeks Sunday Post, and already I’m struggling!  I mean, how many of you know a song with “architecture” in the title?  The following will be a silent, contemplative post.

What does architecture do for us?  Shelters us, gives us a place to work, to be educated, to worship, to shop.  It enables us to cross from one shore to another.  It expresses both our practicality and our creativity.  Formidable, constantly moving on.  Old and new, both are capable of amazing me.

The battlements and reconstructed “old town” in Warsaw- both old and new

The prettiest of patios in Cordoba

The rooftops of Porto

Thatched housing in the north of Madeira

How about a nice place to work?

Wonderfully elaborate Town Hall in Wroclaw

Or to study?

University buildings- Wroclaw wins again!

Starting out at the “smiley” local school

Where would you prefer to worship?

The tiniest of Greek Island churches?

The cathedral in Porto

Or Wroclaw’s Ostrow Tumski- stunningly ornate!

Shopping- as important to some as religion.  There’s no lack of choice here either.

Lello’s amazing book store in Porto

A simple shop in the Polish suburbs

Or a trendy new shopping centre in Warsaw

I can’t choose between these bridges.  Tradition or modernity.  Can you?

The beautiful approach to Cordoba and the incomparable Mesquita

The Infinity Bridge, Stockton-on-Tees

It seems we are only limited by our imagination.  That doesn’t seem to be a problem for Jake.  I was sold from the very first time I saw the flying dragon logo.  Click on it, or any of the links to see his interpretation this week, and maybe join in yourself?

I’ve been amazed already by some of the entries this week:

http://thirdeyemom.com/2012/11/18/the-sunday-post-architecture-that-melts-my-heart/

http://catbirdinoman.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://rfljenksy.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://francineinretirement.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://50yearproject.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://adinparadise.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/architecture-hola-spain/

http://the-serenity-space.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://traveller2006.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

http://ilargia64.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/sunday-post-architecture/

Six word Saturday

Not an artistic bone in my…

What can I do with all these pretty leaves?

I often have good ideas, but am totally incapable of carrying them out.  The other day I saw a wonderful leaf photo of Ganesh.  I wish I could remember whose blog it was on, and I could show it to you.  The leaves were mostly green, but I got to thinking that with all the fabulous Autumn colours still about, I ought to be able to produce something a bit special.

Nothing too ambitious, you understand.  I know my limits!  A dog, a cat, maybe, if I tried really hard, an elephant with a howdah on it’s back?  I could picture them perfectly.  So after much effort, what did I produce?

Not exactly a floppy-eared puppy dog!

A cat? This is more like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.

And the elephant? What a disappointment! An anteater maybe…

Not going to be framed any time soon, are they?  I’ll roll them up and put them away.  Well, at least I may have given you a Saturday smile.

If by any chance you’re reading this and have recently posted “Autumn Leaves”, or the Ganesh photo, please give me a shout, with the link, and I’ll be glad to include it here, to show what real artistry is.

As usual, many thanks to Cate for hosting Six word Saturday.  The link or the header will take you to her Show My Face blog and all will be explained.

Secrets

I’ve been invited to share something with you. (no, not secrets- don’t worry!)  The Works Stores are hosting a competition for travel bloggers who love to read.  Inspired by the film release of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road“, the idea is to post about a memorable read you’ve had whilst travelling.  My good friend, Richard, of A Bit of Culture must be a contender for the prize of a £250 book voucher, with his excellent Trainspotting post.  Nip over and have a read to get you in the right frame of mind.

Meantime, I’d better get on with it.  The closing date for entry is 30th November.  I don’t have a hope of winning, but I do like to entertain.  The book I’ve selected is Freya North’s Secrets.  I can’t pretend that it’s a classic, but it does have a setting which is close to my heart, and funnily enough I was there just the other day, gathering up Autumn leaves.

Huntcliff Nab, from Saltburn beach

Leaving an unhappy life in the south of England, Tess fetches up in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, on the north east coast, in search of a new beginning.  She delights in the panoramic views of Huntcliff Nab, and is just a little taken with her landlord, Joe. I’m a bit of a romantic so I was one hundred percent behind the liaison. Mingled with the story is an exploration of Saltburn and it’s history.   Joe is an engineer who builds bridges, and is passionate about the area.

View from halfway up the cliff, with “Old Saltburn” in the background

Old Saltburn started life as a single row of smugglers cottages down by the shore. In the 1860s Henry Pease, a local industrialist, had a vision for a cliff top town to cater for the wealthy, with formal gardens sweeping down to the sea.  Its crowning glory, the Zetland Hotel, was the world’s first railway hotel. The building still commands wonderful views out to sea, but sadly today the hotel has given way to flats.

Pease’s father was a founder member of the Stockton and Darlington Railway– the first passenger railway in the world- so it’s no surprise that a miniature railway was constructed to run through the Valley Gardens.  It still runs in the Summer time, with its little steam engine, “Prince Charles”.  You can follow the “Sealt Burna”, for which Saltburn was named (a salty stream, coloured brown by alum in the soil) back through the gardens to meet the sea.  It’s a captivating spot.  Beneath the low mound of Cat Nab nestles the corner cafe, Camfords.  Warm purple blankets sit on the chair backs, so you can still enjoy the outdoors, even on a nippy north eastern day.

Tess and Joe explore their relationship within this nurturing backdrop.  I love that Tess plays “Poohsticks” with her daughter under the same bridge that my son sometimes used when small.  And that the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough has a minor supporting role.

The “Poohsticks” bridge

The most striking features of Saltburn are the Victorian Pier and water-balanced cliff lift, both of which have been photographed and painted numerous times.  “Pier Arts and Crafts”, next to the lift entrance, has many examples.  So too does “Artsbank” in Milton St., a short wander through the faded grandeur of the jewel streets (Diamond, Ruby, Pearl, etc).  This beautifully restored building needs strong legs to climb its many stairs, but you can pull up a chair to watch video footage of the town and its history, and relax in the cafe afterwards.

View of the pier from Pier Arts and Crafts

A peak into one of the rooms in “Artsbank”

I hope I’ve saved the best till last when I tell you that Saltburn lies at the end of the Cleveland Way.  Ascend the steps to some of the most beautiful cliff top walking our coastline can offer.  This is also the point at which I tell you that my memorable read began on a days hiking along the Cleveland Way to the pretty village of Staithes.  I stopped to browse a book display, and there it was.  I fished the book out, started to read and was immediately entranced that I had walked those same streets.

Clifftop walking on the Cleveland Way

Dropping down into Staithes

The village of Staithes, North Yorkshire

Freya North has an obvious fondness for Saltburn, which she describes as “quirky and enchanting” in her notes and photographs at the end of the novel.  I finished the book in next to no time, and always now think of Tess whenever I return to Saltburn.  I won’t spoil it for you by telling you the outcome.  Where would be the “secret” in that?

Looking back along the pier as the sun sets over Saltburn

To enter the competition, as detailed in http://www.theworks.co.uk/travelbloggercomp I now need to nominate 3 bloggers who might like to take part:

Hobby Fabulous is a Canadian living in London and seeking diversion from the hum drum.

Vics Pics and More I hope Vicky won’t mind this nomination.  We have covered much of the same ground in the UK, and at one point even found ourselves in the same place at the same time. (but we didn’t know it!)

Lorna’s Tearoom Delights is an exquisite looking blog I can highly recommend.  I’m on the skinny side but if I’d tried out as many tearooms as Lorna, I’d be huge, but highly satisfied.

All the details about hashtags, etc are in The Works website.  Finally, everyone needs A Bit of Culture in their week, so don’t forget to say “hi” to Richard.  Good luck everybody!

Sunday Post : Surroundings

Jakesprinter’s Surroundings look beautiful this week, as he lounges on the shore and waves to a passing boat.  Often enough I, too, sit with a beautiful vista before me.

Fountains playing in Lagos

Lagos fortress and old harbour

Taking to the sea, beneath Ponte da Piedade

And returning, surrounded by stacks

Boats on Tavira Island

And trees

And the setting sun

But today I’m feeling sad for all those people whose surroundings are miserable. People whose homes have been damaged by flood and fire, from Hurricane Sandy and all of nature’s extremes.  People who live in poverty.  People throughout the world who are confined by harsh leaders, or are victimised for their differences.  People who in this time of financial squeeze are struggling to maintain a grip on their surroundings.

And of course, on this, Remembrance Sunday, I’m feeling sad for those who risk their lives for us daily, often in grim surroundings.  My thoughts are with those whose surroundings are so much less desirable than my own.

Thanks, Jake, for this opportunity to share my good fortune.  Lest we forget.

Six word Saturday

Ever had one of THOSE weeks?

Who hasn’t?  Everything slips through your fingers, like butter.  Catastrophe slides in upon catastrophe.  If you read my Richmond post earlier this week, you’ll know that things didn’t quite go to plan on Monday.  Still, I managed to have a lovely day.  So when I met my Nordic walking friends on Thursday, I should have known I was the jinx.

The plan was to meet at Grosmont, on the North York Moors, ride the steam train as far as Goathland, then walk back to our starting point.  We’ve already done this earlier in the year, and I wrote about it in Steam’s up in North Yorkshire.  Someone forgot to consult the railway timetable, however, and in November- guess what?- there are no trains.  Ah well!  We’re all relatively fit, and fortunately, it was again a pleasant day, so- a double dose of Autumn colour.  We walked there and back again, just stopping for our picnic and a brief look around in Goathland.

Bit of a climb up first- isn’t there always?

Nice view back down. There was a steam train on the platform but no passengers allowed.

It’s always nice to follow a stream

A woodland sculpture along the way

And a nosey sheep! Seems the privet is quite tasty.

It’s a bit tiring on your hind legs, so he settled for grass.

The village of Goathland appears regularly as  Aidensfield on the TV programme, “Heartbeat”, and attracts lots of visitors because of that.  It was lovely to see it bereft of people on a crisp Autumn day.

There’s a cluster of shops and tea rooms, and a couple of village pubs.

“Aidensfield” stores

And post office

I loved the metalwork on the tearoom windowsill

And it’s not everywhere you can buy gollies any more! Anyone remember Robertson’s marmalade and collecting the badges?

Proof that it’s Goathland, not Aidensfield, in reality.

Eventually we had to set off back again.  The shadows were lengthening by the time we approached Grosmont.

Almost back to Grosmont again

Tired walkers troop downhill

Made it!

How to salvage the good out of a “dis-aster, Darling”!  (You do watch “Strictly”?)

Hope your week was better organised than mine, but no less lovely.  Many thanks to Cath at Show My Face for the opportunity to share.  The header and links will help you join in, and see what everyone else has been up to.

Wynding through Richmond in Autumn

My best laid plans have a habit of going awry just lately.  I have a long standing wish to do the backstage tour at the tiny and exquisite Georgian Theatre in Richmond, North Yorkshire.  I reasoned that my November birthday, with the current unsettled weather, would be the perfect occasion.

Leaving home in the rain, I was delighted to find blue skies in Richmond.  I went straight to the theatre for the hourly tour.  But, no!  The backstage tours finished yesterday, I was told.  I have one of those faces which feelings rampage across- nothing is hidden.  The receptionist hastened to assure me that the theatre was being readied for the upcoming production of “Calender Girls” and then panto season.  Taking pity on me, she asked if I would like just a little peak behind the scenes.  What could I say?

Georgian Theatre, Richmond, viewed from the Gallery- by Cloud9 Photography

It looked nothing like this.  All was in darkness save for a spotlight, which wandered around the stage looking for that perfect spot.  The 18th century theatre is Grade 1 listed, and the oldest theatre still in its original form in the UK.  The Woodland Scene in the above photo was painted soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and is the oldest piece of theatrical scenery in Britain.

At least the weather was on my side.  Richmond is a beautiful little market town with the River Swale running through it.  The castle, with its imperious keep, towers 100 feet above.  The town was founded by the Normans in 1071, with the castle at its heart.  Narrow lanes or wynds link the wider streets.  Wynd is the Old English word, meaning “to spiral”.  Crossing the broad cobbled Market Place, inevitably, you are lured down to the river.

The bridge straddles the River Swale

Trees line the river, below Castle Walk

The Autumn colour contrasts wonderfully with the darkly swirling river

Sunlight glints beautifully off the water

You can hear the thunder of the falls as you approach the corner.  Once there, I always have to linger, mesmerised by the rush of water.

I love the noise and exuberance of the water

There’s always a bed of rocks for scrambling across, though I’m content just to look these days.  Too easy to turn an ankle.

Tricky customers, those rocks

A last look back at the falls

Another bridge hoves into sight

Here you have a choice.  You can follow the river on either bank.  If you stay on this path you can take the Drummer Boy walk to Easby Abbey.  This day I wasn’t wearing suitable footwear and was happy to cross over the bridge to The Station.

Now this is a rather special place.  It’s great for a cuppa, or maybe to pick up some books cheaply (as I did).  It also has craft shops, and an icecream makers, and in Summer you can sit outside with your choice.  What I especially like is the use of the old station building as an art gallery.  Some very interesting exhibitions take place.

Looking down from the gallery into the body of the station

Current exhibits, by David Clarke Palmer

I thought these were quite clever

Light floods in through the ceiling

It’s a train- of course!

It’s great that this building has been so lovingly restored.  The Heritage Centre in the Ticket Office tells how it came about.  As I strolled through the town I had observed that the French restaurant, “Rustique”, in Finkle St., was open.  Mondays are often closing day in these parts so I was very happy to return there for my celebration lunch.  Very nice indeed.

Which riverside path to choose, to return?

My well-earned luncheon venue, “Rustique”

Richmond has many interesting nooks and crannies, but today I’ve restricted myself to the riverside.  If you would like to read more about the Wynds and the town itself, in my sidebar there’s a piece called Romantic Richmond and its Ivory Tower, which I wrote a couple of years ago.  I often seem to find myself there in Autumn.

And the Georgian Theatre?  I guess I’ll just have to settle for a production instead.

Sunday Post : Wonderful

Jake’s back, and how wonderful that is!  In case you’re “wonder”-ing, yes, I did go to the fireworks last night.  The tide was coming in as I walked along the promenade, and there was a delicious whoosh as the sea met the shore.  The white caps in the darkness were beautiful- just one of the many wonderful sights that make up this world of ours.

I’ve never witnessed any of the spectacular world-renowned sights that fill our world with wonder- the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall of China, Macchu Pichu…  I’m going to start small, with the things that are wonderful to me.

Lisa, on the beach at Scarborough

My wonderful firstborn child.  I make no apologies for the quality of the photo, which is 38 years old.  What you can’t see from this shot is the absolute fear which gripped me that day, as I thought I’d lost her, there on the beach.  Or the relief when she was returned to me, wailing, as I frantically combed the beach.  Or the wonder that she is now a fullgrown and beautiful woman.

James, by the lakeshore at Fuschl, in Austria

Nineteen years behind his sister, James brought his own wonder.  Here, I think he’s wondering which piece to move next?

When it comes to family, it doesn’t get more wonderful than the reunion that brought my Dad together with his brothers and sisters in Poland, after 64 years of separation.

Together, at last, in Poland

So that’s the sentimental part.  For me, it’s always wonderful to wake to the sun, rising in the sky.  The sky and the cloud formations are endlessly fascinating as the sun climbs up through them. 

An Algarve sky has a different quality.  The view from my Tavira rooftop is wonderful to me.

And the sky so often ends up purest blue, reflected in the sparkling sea.

Just now and then, I can capture some clouds.

Often they build towards the end of the day, then it’s over, as wonderfully as it began.

What do you find wonderful in the world?  There is so much to celebrate, and Jakesprinter works hard every week to share with us his talent.  He would love you to share your world too.  Don’t worry- he’s always kind.  Follow the flying dragon or the links to join us.

No song this week?  My friend Madhu says “What a wonderful World”, but I was singing that old Jimmy Ruffin song.