Marbury Walk

Escaping from the drudgery of mail art sorting we felt newly invigorated in the bosom of Mother Nature ( Marbury Country Park ). Hazel said "Let's sit down on this quiet bench opposite an empty field and see what turns up" Indeed after a couple of minutes the field was filled with mad dogs and their owners throwing balls. A constant file of cows wandered by behind us in a neighbouring field and gave us puzzled looks. A bird chirped in a nearby hedge. A helicopter flew past but decided not to land in the field after all.

Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza

Another year flies by since the last Llandudno V.E weekend. Always a treat to go there and enjoy the the old fashioned seaside town , the charity shops, museums, art gallery and delights of the Showground and fun fair etc. So much to do and see in just three days. A lot of deja vu ofcourse but that's why we enjoy it so much I guess. Highlights were the steam engines as always, the mini circus, the old bus rides, the walk down the pier to the slot machines, a curry at the Bengal Dynasty, George's Plaice for fish and chips, walks along the prom, Derek Boshier exhibition at the Mostyn Gallery etc etc. Our hosts at the excellent Promanad B&B were very welcoming as always - and amazed this was there 4th year in charge of the place! How time flies! Weather wasn't too bad - very sunny all day Friday and Saturday but rather chilly - cloudy with sunny spells on Sunday. Found a few bargains in the various junk shops and antique emporiums inc. another silver trophy, Nuddie Golf Tees, BLU-RAY beatles documentary, postcards of Southend and Westcliff, notebooks, rubber stamp rack, medical book with illustrations, a tin whistle, a plastic ray gun ( won on the pier ). Some sad moments when we discovered our favourite antique shop had closed and been turned into a hairdressers. Also no side shows on the promonade as in previous years.

Blakemere Boot

Slim pickings at the Blakemere boot sale this morning. The cold must have put a lot off people off - not surprising really. A dozen brave souls turned up to sell stuff in a soggy field. Hazel bought this illuminated "J" for Jones for a quid. I didn't get anything. Home via the Co-op to get a few bits.

Glossop and Marsden

Lovely two day jaunt over to West Yorkshire to visit our old chum Dave Smith. Stopped off in Glossop to break up the journey and have a banana. Popped into some charity shops for bargains - a tapestry, DVD's and wool. Hazel wanted to sort out his downstairs rooms as they were full of junk and needed a bit of a clean. He's due for a hip replacement soon so needs a room downstairs to recouperate. I mostly watched the snooker with Dave and listened to his stories, some of which I've heard before. Nice pizza from the Co-op on our first evening ( highly recommended own brand ). Dave cooked it in his weird space age oven. The next night we had fish, chips and mushy peas from the local chippy. Tanya picked it up on her way round to say hello and see what work Hazel had done. Cleared lots of stuff - some going back to Cheshire tip and lots in the bin. Looks much more roomy now. Rigo was very stand-offish but soon made friends when she saw we had fish on the menu. Her cat hair will be saved for a possible sweater and knitted blanket. Hair raising ride over the Peaks but managed to get home in one piece despite the rain.

Vagrants

Nice drive through Cheshire's leafy lanes to Vagrants near Nantwich for boot sale. Got a few bargains including some films I wanted to see again particularly the Bob Dylan doc. by Pennebaker. Nice old snakes and ladders board with wooden dice cup and counters. A battered "Striptease" card game that Hazel found. She also got some metal bits, hooks, a massive teaspoon, shelf brackets a table tennis trophy "Barnoldswick Winner 1956 Arnold Greene " , other bits and bobs. Just nice to walk around in the sunshine listening to odd snatches of conversations, some in Polish. Home again via the Co-op for some bread and salad stuff. Tried to get some ice cream wafers but they had sold out.

Marbury Again!

Good Friday - wandering around town - got some CD boxes for 49p from Scope. Then off to Marbury for another walk round the blue bells. They looked brighter in the warm sunshine. Woods were alive with mad wet dogs and the smell of wild garlic. Or was it the smell of wild dogs and the mad garlic?

Marbury Woods and Blue Bells

Our boy is home for a couple of days so nice to go for a walk in the woods to see the blue bells which are just opening here in Cheshire - next week may see a better display. Then to Granma and Audrey's to meet up with Great Cousin Betty and her son in law who drove up from the West Midlands to share some curios and lovely mandolin that Archie managed to tune and play much to Betty's delight. Fish n chips n mushy peas for lunch from the Codfather. Yum!