Bouncy bouncy!

Archie and Meriel made this series of photos. I made the GIF.

Fun Day - Vickersway Park

Fun day in Vickersway park was organised by various groups around Northwich. Transition had several stalls and our friend Beth was running a puppet workshop - making sock puppets for a dispensing machine she had aquired/ upcycled. Very windy and quite nippy after all the sun we'd had. So we didn't stay long - just show our faces and wander round for a bit. Hazel went on the amusing walking / exercise machines they have installed. Also donkey rides, bouncy castle, roundbout, golf, football dribbling, free book stall etc. The wind caught some papers in one of the gazebos and they flew everywhere - much merriment chasing them round the shrubbery!

Hazel's Birthday and Our Anniversary

Hazel enjoyed opening her presents on her birthday - also our 6th wedding anniversary. Nice big parcel from our boy. Some nice cards too. For lunch we went over to Whitegate to sit outside and have some salad and orange juice. Audrey came too for a treat. Granma wasn't keen to come. Then to Blakemere to look round the expensive antique emporium. Very hot again. Good to see the work on the boot sale field was finished and the boot sales were starting again tomorrow though the weather forcast doesn' t look too good - thunderstorms approaching from the South. Typical!

More Mouzay

More "lost" snaps from our holiday in France. Luckily re-discovered again through a useful bit of free software called RECUVA - highly recommended!

Mouzay and the Loire Valley

Lovely week in the Loire Valley with our old chums Roger and Jilly and their amusing doggy Jasper. Ate far too much of course as one does. Need to go on a diet. Excellent trips out to Emmauss and the junk markets and boot sales, fetes etc. Bought all manner of tat. Hazel got the most bargains. Too hot to walk around too much so trip to the garden festival was cancelled. Just as well as the temps. were quite ridiculous! Muggy too. Hard to sleep at night. Got stung by a bee or ant or something on the way to village to buy bread. Right on the knee. Thankfully it eased off after a spry of anti-bacterial thingy. Alos trips to river illuminations in nearby town with animations projected onto the chateau walls. Ethereal Satie like music playing through speakers all along the river. Lovely meal out and lots of picnics in the garden and by lakes etc. More pictures to come but lost a lot when camera played up sadly. Even recovery software couldnt find them. O well.

Vagrants Boot Sale

Two boots today at Vagrants near Crewe and the cricket ground a few miles further on. Slim pickings but I did get a sill PS3 game Borderlands with extra levels which I had not played. Also a nice Penguin Book of Comics from the 60's. Hazel got a few bits including a tin jug, French linen table runner, brooches, necklace, beads, etc. etc. Some mad drivers on the roads but we made it back in one piece. Glad of the cool tiles in our little house. More mail art sorting. Now Hazel is painting the landing floor boards a bright bluey grey. Chucking out lots of stuff that was gathering dust.

River Festival and Artisan Market

Lovely sunny and very hot day again yesterday for the annual Northwich River Fest. Beforehand we went round the excellent artisan market where all kinds of foods and home made stuff was being sold by vendors braving the intense heat. The Dragon Boat race was good - we managed to find a shadey spot on the other side of the River Weaver to watch it - well, the first race anyhow. It went on all day and today too so we didn't stay long - just long enough to soak up the atmostphere and watch some miscrient pirates fire a small cannon and say piratey things into the Tannoy system. Aaarrrrgh Jim Lad! etc. Also happening were lots of charity stalls and food outlets, bar-B - Q's etc. The smell of burning sausages and onions wafted over the assembled crowdsW

Boot Sales

Two boots today ( Whitegate and Verdin Park )with Beth and Hazel. I didn't get much - just slightly fried and a stack of blank CD's. Hazel found some interesting objects including a needle case ( which Bob saved for her ) a file box ( which was on our list of things to get ), a metal file box, a small nuts and bolts cabinet with lots of plastic drawers, a plant, a plastic banana, flowerpots amd a toffee tin. Nice to back into the relative cool of the house.

Rubber Stamp Demo

I foolishly voluteered to demonstrate how to make hand carved rubber stamps at local art fair yesterday. It had been a while since I'd actually made any so tricky in that artificial light and with failing eyesight! I managed to bluff my way through with Hazel's help who is always very engaging with the punters. The "Grand Day Out" organised by the chap at the local art shop was a big success despite the World Cup England match being on at the same time! We had to rush home afterwards to catch the first goal.

Mail Art Sorting

More mail art sorting for proposed exhibition at Special Collections in 2019. Steph, who is in charge of SC came over for lunch and looked through some of what we had sorted and tried to get an idea of the task involved in looking through 40+ years of correspondence and finding out more about it. At the moment putting the regular correspodants into zip lock files. When they have outgrown them they go into a box file. Art Nahpro ( Paul Jackson ), Mark Pawson , Eric Finlay, John Evans and Michael Scott have their own box file and close behind are Creative Thing, Ed Giecek, Mark Greenfield, Vittore Baroni etc.

Car Boots at Care UK and Moss Farm

Two boots this morning. A few bargains inc. a "cow moo" for the cow moo collection. Hazel got lots of clips, ties and a copper ash tray pressed by machine - a sample Bob said.etc. A hollyhock and beads for Beth - who came round with some delicious vegan carrot cake this afternoon. We sat in the garden to eat it with some tea - a welcome break from all the mail art sorting. Three boxes today. One box too many! Phew! Also a snap of Hazel in the pantry which she cleared out yesterday to make room for the small cupboard from the front room - now swapped with a document cabinet to stand the small TV on.