Posts that Didn't Happen: October 2024

At the time of writing (actually May 2025), the blog has rather fallen behind - so time for some catch up posts . . .

Back in time to October 2024 - life was pretty busy, what with the van conversion, and (for me) some archive consultancy work, although there was time to get out and about too.

At the beginning of the month, the planned meet up with the 'Archive Girls' went ahead on schedule.  

This was pretty much a re-run of last year's trip, staying at the same property, eating out at the same pub, and with another visit to Hay - time to relax, watch Strictly and have a good natter!

Then there was a trip to Cardiff (mostly in the rain) - some work, some 'van' shopping in Ikea, and an 'interesting' journey home through flooded roads - I was glad not to be driving!

Inbetween there was yet another Folly reorganisation swapping the desk with the sofa, so I'll be a bit closer to the heat from the wood burner as the days get colder.

Finally, towards the end of the month, we also had a trip to visit family - lovely to see everyone, and get a few bits and pieces sorted while we were there.

While all this was going on 'Project Van' was also continuing - albeit slowly, and with many frustrations - electrics, reversing cameras, window regulators, etc.  

Not least of these, was the realisation that the 'plan' for the bed layout wasn't going to work - there just wasn't enough room to overlay two single beds (as shown), so it was back to the drawing board.

The thinking now is to go for a sliding transverse bed (hence the trip to Ikea for more Skorva bed beams - a van conversion staple item!).

Some other tasks were completed, including the rather scary cutting of a hole in the side of the van for the electric hook-up:

So much more to do though . . .

Back to the Lakes

Off to visit friends in the Lake District for a few days - it's been a while (pre-pandemic!) since we were last in the area, and it was lovely to be back, and catch up with people. 

Also took the opportunity for some Ikea van shopping on the way 😊 

First evening:

walk and sunset

Had a couple of days around the Southern Lakes area - which we are less familiar with.  

A day out visiting RSPB Leighton Moss took us for a wander and a spot of bird watching, although we may have spent longer watching a mini-digger trying to extract another mini-digger from a section of the mud flats they were obviously working on!

We had a lovely sunny Saturday, starting with our hosts doing the Windermere Parkrun - while we mooched around the lake, watching some rather extreme paddleboarding!

Moved on to Kirby Lonsdale, where I had the best ice cream from a local 'artisan' shop The Milking Parlour . . .

Biscoff Cheesecake ice cream in a waffle cone lined with melted milk chocolate 😋

Visited a couple of other places in the area, had a picnic, stopped for a pint, and just had a lovely day!

All in all a great break - good friends, excellent food, beautiful scenery, and some actual sunshine  🌞

Archive Girls On Tour Once More

This time it's taken us four years for what we always intend to be an annual archive girls reunion - of course the Pandemic did rather interrupt proceedings, and we'd only ever really managed a biennial event anyway!

Another new location (mid-Wales, a quicker journey for the Aber contingent), with Hay-on-Wye selected as our main 'day out' as a result.

Visited the fully refurbished Hay Castle, lots of bookshops (obviously), and enjoyed the last food market of the year, all on a gloriously warm and sunny October Saturday.  

For once I didn't buy any books, but did come home with a box of very nice cider!

Dinner out at the local pub on Friday night, then cooked-up a feast on Saturday while watching Strictly (as is tradition).

Finished our Saturday night toasting marshmallows sitting around the outdoor fire pit, glasses of wine in hand.

All in all a lovely couple of days - goodbyes were said on Sunday morning as everyone had places to be, but looking forward to (hopefully) doing it all again next year!

Just Life

Well, the rest of September has been pretty uneventful on the whole - just life really . . .

As ever the garden has needed a lot of attention, with Martin focusing on the annual 'autumn' hedge cutting, and me strimming back my 'still-not-a-proper-meadow' (although I have now invested in some Yellow Rattle seeds, which are supposed to suppress the grass and allow the wild flowers to thrive - so fingers crossed for next year!).

Started my next Welsh class - moving up to the Canolradd (Intermediate) level, with two online classes a week.

Continued with my swimming three times a week (other things permitting), and some home Zumba sessions too.

Also indulged in a Lego set - the brother-in-law is a huge Lego fan, and I finally succumbed to this Lego lighthouse, when it came on offer.  Haven't started it quite yet, but have been doing a few jigsaws again.

Martin managed to fit in a fishing trip or two, and of course we've been out and about walking the prom when the sun has shined on us.

Socially, we had a trip across country to visit family, and I had an online meet-up with old university friends (one now living in the US). 

Said goodbye to our Peugeot diesel car along the way - we've been looking for a van to convert into a camper for a while now, and although that search continues, it didn't make sense to continue to run two cars in the meantime (in light of the car insurance renewal quote anyway!).  

We were offered a decent price for the Peugeot and so let it go - that just leaves us with the petrol Astra we acquired when my Dad gave up driving back in 2021, which will do until we go 'electric'.  Still sad to see it go - especially when it comes to tip runs with the garden clippings!

So, nothing terribly exciting to report - but pretty good all the same.

Jen's Hen

And on to the second girly weekend of October - this time my sister's hen do 'Girl's Night In' . . .






Stayed in a very nice cottage in Norfolk -  food, cake, snacks and drink (they even provided 'emergency wine' cover!) - a log fire, massage and manicure (and of course, Jen's favourite films - cue Love Actually and Mary Poppins).

We did have a day out in Norwich - including an 'escape room' experience in the old Guildhall - so nearly 'escaped', but were timed out on the final lock.  Great fun - topped off with dinner and cocktails!

All in all a lovely weekend.

Archive Girls On Tour: The Return

Time for the unintentionally biennial archive girls reunion - this time basing ourselves in the Forest of Dean.

A different cottage - a different location for our main 'day out' (from Ludlow to Ledbury), but the same great company!

Good food, a few drinks (of course), and the traditional evening of Strictly.

Finished our trip with a visit to Westbury Court Garden  - a restored Dutch water garden, with some interesting old trees, and lots of carp to feed . . .

The question now is whether we can actually manage to keep the diary date for next year, or whether I'll be reporting back again in 2021!

Silver Wedding Weekend

Five years on, and it was up to the Lake District again, to meet up with some old schoolfriends - this time for the Silver Wedding 'Do'!



Lots and Lots and Lots of Cake - and some fun activities too . . .


There was time for a wander round Kendal while we were there - think we spotted an otter in the river - and a day trip out and over to Keswick, with windsurfers on the lake, and ever more tourist shops and cafes.



Then it was home via Oswestry, and the British Ironworks Centre.

Stopped for tea and cake, and a tour of the very impressive Sculpture Park, although I think my favourite was the dragon in the car park  . . .




A bit of a packed weekend, but lovely to see everyone - the sun even shone on us some of the time - might stay away from cake for a bit though :)

Archive Girls Back on Tour

Finally got our act together for a repeat of our 2015 meet-up - very much a repeat, as we ended up back in the same place on more or less the same weekend of the year!

Went Gruffalo hunting (with the little people) while two of our party did the Parkrun, revisited Ludlow, ate cake, commented (at length) on Strictly, and drank some wine (although most people were in bed and asleep by 10.30pm, so can't say it was a wild weekend!).



On Sunday morning we had a somewhat bizarre visit to the Gobbett Old Breeds Farm, complete with many varieties of feathered fowl, and some very cute goats.  Much enjoyed by our smallest companion!


After a bite of lunch at the Ludlow Food Centre, it was time to say final goodbyes - date already set for next year!

Flower Show Reunion

From the Lake District we moved on to Yorkshire to meet up with some old schoolfriends for the weekend - a bit of a reunion, and a celebration of the first set of our 50th birthdays.  Meandered our way across the Dales, taking in Settle and Skipton, before arriving late afternoon in the village of Bramhope where we had booked a barn conversion for the weekend.

On the Saturday we'd all got tickets for a Flower Show (well except for Martin and one of the other chaps who headed off for a day's mountain biking instead!).

It proved to be a good day - wandered round the outside stalls in the sunshine (some lovely things) - visited craft and food tents, and the competition tents, including an amazing range of giant vegetables:






Of course there were lots of flowers too  . . .

All in all a great weekend - finished the day back at the barn, meeting up with the muddy mountain bikers - with a meal out at a local pub in the evening.

Unfortunately we couldn't hang around for long on the Sunday as it was a long drive back to Wales - more 50th birthdays though in 2017!

Archive Girls on Tour

Another 'reunion' weekend, this time with the 'girls' from my archive course (and next generation!).


Got ourselves a cottage in a village near Ludlow for a couple of nights and had a good catch-up.

Cake was eaten, small people (babies to age 4) were kept amused, and some wine was drunk (but perhaps not in the quantities of days gone by).




Had a nice day out in Ludlow on the Saturday, and finished the weekend with a walk round the village, and lunch out in a local pub.

Good to see everyone, and meet the little ones - looking forward to the next time!

Old Friends and New

Visitors this weekend - old housemates / friends from my University days, and a new friend in the form of our first canine visitor, a border terrier called Wilf.

The sun shone for the most part, walked the prom, kicked the bar, nice lunch out, the returned home to Skype our missing housemate in America - Wilf kept wandering behind the tv trying to work out where she was!  Barbecue tea, lots of wine, more reminiscing, even a Buffy episode or two.

Great to see everyone - house seems empty now without the pitter patter of doggie paws . . .

Lincoln Reunion

Just back from a long weekend in Lincoln, catching up with some old friends from school.

Initially not too impressed with the area around our hotel (the Premier Inn), but a walk up towards the cathedral and castle soon revealed some picturesque steep cobbled lanes and old buildings . . .

. . . shown here the so-called 'Norman House', believed to date from c.1170.

Had a day in the sunshine looking round the Cathedral and Castle and old town, before dinner at a pub by the canal that evening (by which time it was raining - good meal and good company though!).

The Castle was an interesting mix - medieval wall walk, a Victorian prison, and an original Magna Carta (the display of which was very impressive, given that the document itself is rather a dull looking thing).

The highlight for me was probably the Cathedral . . .

. . . soaring pillars, stained glass, and fantastically carved masonry . . .

. . . just beautiful!

On the way home we had the opportunity to call into a National Trust property, Moseley Old Hall, an Elizabethan farmhouse, which once hid Charles II from Cromwell's hoards.  The house doesn't look particularly Elizabethan from the outside, but the interior is very atmospheric, especially when taken over by a troop of re-enactors cooking period food, playing contemporary music, etc.



All in all a great weekend - looking forward to next year's meet-up.

Lakeside

Couple of days in the Lake District this weekend, catching up with old schoolfriends.

First stop Sizergh Castle in the (very hot) sunshine - the gardens were looking lovely - before moving on to Milnthorpe to meet up with everybody.

Barbecue on the beach at Silverdale that evening - good to catch up with folk, and in such a lovely location.  All those years living in the Lakes and I never made it to this bit of coast!

 
Great sunset too:

Next day, sun still shining (although not quite as hot) and we headed for Windermere and a visit to Wray Castle.

Although it's been National Trust since 1929 they've only just opened it to the public.  Lovely building, in a fantastic setting, although it doesn't have quite as much 'history' as most NT properties.



Had a bit of a walk and a picnic by the lake as well, before returning to Milnthorpe for a very nice dinner in a local restaurant, and to toast our hosts' 20th Wedding Anniversary (how the time flies).

A good weekend.