Bank Holiday Weekend

I can't remember much of the last week's doings. Archie left school but has to go back from some exams in June. He seems much happier and even freed up his brain enough to start some new animation projects.
Today we went to two boot sales in Whitegate and Moulton. The first was in a sunny field and well attended with 50 or so cars parked round the edge of a football pitch. Betty had a stall there with her daughter. We didnt find many bargains just a couple of DVD's so went on to the next one at the British Legion in Moulton. Juts a few stalls here and also not many bargains except ( a blackbird just flew into the window with a bump!) another DVD of an old Orson Welles film "The Lady From Shanghai". Hazel got some plants.
Then to Morrisons to get some bar-b-q foods like buns and vege burgers, salad and orange juice etc.
Had lunch in the garden which was very pleasant under the shadey sycamores. No noisy neighbours with power drills this time.
Talk was of old recordings of Archie when he was 5 or 6. I knew I had some on cassette somewhere and after lunch managed to find two and dubbed them onto MP3. Very funny they are too.
Now its dinner time already and time to get some cheese on toast and salad.

Happy Norway Day!

Another day of sunshine and showers. Luckily we missed the showers when at the boot sale at Weaverham this morning. Not many bargains to be found though had fun looking.
I got a DVD of "Erik The Viking" from Terry Jones and some of the Monty Python crew. Not one of his better efforts but worth the pound I paid for it if only for the extras like "making of" and "documentary" etc.
Hazel found a strange metal measuring thingy for narrow gaps. Also some plants and other bits and bobs.
A bit of a lazy day in front of the PC and telly - watching Come Dine With Me etc.
Also read the Sunday Times and ate a Linda McCartney pie and chips. Very naughty - will have to have a salad tomorrow to make up for it!
It's National Norway day today so clever of them to win the Eurovison Song Contest to celebrate. Got a nice photo and text from our Norwegian chums.

Long Dark Lonely Night

Excellent new animation and song by our clever poet friend Roger Stevens.

Grosvenor Museum

Had to pop into Chester today to fetch rejected collage from the museum. Hazel drove to "park and ride" and then the bus. Got there a bit too early. Looked round the charity shops first and found a CD wallet that are always useful. Hazel went off to Morgan's and other clothes shops she likes while I waited for the museum to open with all the other rejects!
It took about 15 minutes to shuffle in and sign a form whilst frazzled looking helpers looked for the rejected work and held it up so everyone could see it and think to themselves " Oh yes, awful, I can see why they rejected that one!"
Maybe just me then.
I went back to get Hazel and we looked round the Open Exhibition which was open already though the PV is on Tuesday. My collage was hung about 6 inches off the ground so great for any midgets or elves. Other abstract work of the same size was hung higher up which made no sense whatsoever. Hazel wrote as much in the visitors book but I restrained myself incase they black listed me! The whole show was a bit of a jigsaw with pictues hung higgledy piggledy with no apparent thought of how they would be seen. It was a bit of a curates egg as most open exhibitions are with the shoddy amateurs hung side by side with more accomplished professional work.

Went to sit on the Roman gardens to eat our vege sausage rolls and drink our Cola.
Then back via all the buskers and the town crier to the bus and home.
Archie phoned us just as we got to the Craft Centre and asked if we'd had lunch. We told him we had bought him a sausage roll and he could wait 30 minutes or make his own. He agreed to wait. We popped into the co-op to get more food. Didnt see hardly any motorbikes despite the annual Thundersprint on today and tomorrow..

Flobcast

Revived Flobcast from way back.

Novelty songs from the 30's from a tape called "Comic Cuts Vol. 2" on the Old Bean label released in the 80's.

Tracks are-

1. You Can't Do That There 'Ere - Jack Payne & His Band
2. Fanlight Fanny - George Formby
3. The Pig Got Up And Slowly Walked Away - Ambrose & Orch.
4. A Thick Thick Fog In London - Jack Payne & His Band
5. Madame Ah! La Marquise Ah! - Billy Cotton Band


Walked into town this morning in between the drizzle showers. It brightened up later and was quite warm.
I got a bit of shopping including pickle, fish and parsley. Found two old scratchy 78's in a charity shop. Can be found uploaded to my audio blog.
Saw Treena and Betty in the Age Concern shop. Betty says there are several boot sales this weekn including Hartford, Antrobus and Verdin Park. She prefers Hartford she said as it would be drier - a bit damp under the trees in the park especially when the wind blows the leaves covered in rain which drips down on the stalls underneath.

I managed to get a bus back in time for elevens's.
In post was news that one of my collages entered for Chester Open was accepted which was gratifying but annoying that I will have to go all the way to Chester to fetch the other which didn't get selected. They had over 500 artworks sent in for 157 spaces so I suppose they had to choose carefully and not annoy too many people.
Also nice stamp sheet from Leslie Caldera in California of his collection of bicycles plus some late stickers for the Wheelie Bin Gallery.

Llandudno-Angelsey

Lovely May weekend bank holiday. The weather was beautiful - too hot really . We all got burnt - forget to take the sun block. Usually it rains on bank Holdays so it took is by surprise.
Drove to Llandudno and stayed in hotel we usually stay in. It was double booked so we found outrselves in the house behind the hotel with a view of the car park. The landlady was very apologetic and tried to make us as comfotable as possible.
Another surprise was the annual Victorian Extravaganza - three days of steam fairs and parades and sideshows etc. All great fun though very crowded.
We got there early so able to play the penny slot machines without too much trouble. Some steam rides including a huge "galloper" with ornate horses and pipe organ in the middle. Lots of pipe organs on the sea front too including one on the back of an old van.

Crammed a lot into the first day including parade of all the floats, marching bands- including an amazing one from Woumhout in France. Traction engines, stilt walkers etc. Great to see the George Formby massed ukulele society of North Wales in the town square. We sat and watched them for a while.
Wonderful victorian inspired sideshow in a tent called Professor Voltini and Electra the electric lady who sat in an eletric chair and had sparks coming out of her via a cucumber and a spoon! Prof. Voltini also swallowed swords. Plus a rubber lady from Cuba whose contortions made your eyes water. A Faraday Cage finale with sparks flying round the tiny tent.
Walked down the pier to play the slots and back up to the Happy Valley gardens to have an ice cream and sit on the grass and watch the tide come in.

Later we had a lovely vegetarian pizza at a resturant we discovered a couple of years ago when we were here. There wasa film show in the eveing somewhere of "The Card" with Alec Guinness- filmed in Llandudno apparently but we were too tired to go and see it. Walked along the prom and collapsed at hotel.
The next day a long drive to Anglesey and beach party with Hazel's colleaugues at MMU and Nick who was retiring. Nice picnic and beach games on the beautiful sandy bay on the west coast down a narrow country track. Lots of kite flying and wine drinking etc. We all packed up at dusk and made out way home. Glad we didn't drive all the way from Northwich as it would have been too much. Thankfully a better room when we got back to the hotel and a sea view. A piper in full scottish kilt and regalia was on the hotel steps trying to lure people in to the 40's singalong inside the hotel bar but I think he just frightened them all off!

Bluebell Woods

We walked down to the Co-op this morning to get the papers and check out the boot sale in the car park. before we got there a man and his dog said "Only two cars!" and indeed there was and they hadn't even unpacked the boot yet.
Anyway, plenty of other car boots today - typically a famine last week and feast this with boots at WhiteGate, Lostock and Walnut Farm.
We drove next to Whitegate and found the field eventually by peering through hedges as we sped along the leafy lanes.
It was well attended by over 50 cars and all around the edge of the football pitch.
I got a few DVD's for a few pence each including Billy Connolly Live, The Good. The Bad and The Ugly, The Serpent & the Rainbow and a great documentatry abou the Music Hall era. Also a double DVD of Wall-E that was brand new, an unwanted Xmas gift.
Hazel didnt find much but found some tiny german dictionarys and some plants.
We drove to Lostock next and found a few stalls at the Community Centre. More DVD's including Cabin Fever and a doc. and concert with Al Green.
After lunch of mushroom pate on toast and salald we went for a walk to Marbury as it was still very sunny to see the bluebells before they faded.
So nice to see the woods transformed by the colours and the other spring flowers like the wild garlic whose strong aroma filled the air.
Actually we had lunch after the walk. the day has flown by and now Hazel is catching up with some college work and Archie who should be swotting for his GCSE's is playing some old games on the SuperNintendo he's dusted off from the cupboard.
Soon be time to start thinking about dinner. Maybe those quorn chunks Hazel bought from the health food shop.

Chester

Hazel dropped me off at the railway station this morning and we had a quick scout round for the missing number plate that vanished yesterday. She's not sure if it fell off ( just stuck with double sided tape ) or someone had stolen it for illegal porpoises. Apparently they stick it on hot cars for robberies or breaking the speed limit. In the end she went to get a replacement which cost twenty quid and the Halfords chap just stuck it on with tape again and it promptly fell off! So she made him fix it securely with screws.
The train was packed to Delamere Forest with tiny tots and their minders and I had to move from the window seat to make way for little Charlie and Abigail so they could press their sticky faces against the window and gurn at the cows and rabbits.
I had to take two collage sto the Grosvenor Museum for this years Open Exhibition. I've never tried before - always missing the sending in date for some reason or other so this year determined to take something along. It didn't seem all that busy and just one person infront of me with a large canvas covered in brown paper. All the work was resting face to the wall so no idea what the competition was like. No harm in trying though I feel past doing such things and will be greatly cheesed off if I dont get at least one accepted to make up for the bother of having to fill all those forms in and the journey and the exorbitant handling fee!

My bag was lighter now so happy to go rummaging round the charity shops. Found a nice hawaiian double LP by Alfred Apaka and His Village Serenaders and a bollywood DVD for 99p in the cheapo bookshop.
Had lunch of veg. sausage roll sitting outside the town hall surrounded by cooing pigeons.
It was very warm so regretted taking my duffle coat. I got so hot carrying it around I curtailed my shopping and got the train home only to be surrounded again at Delamere by the same group of toddlers all sweaty and grubby from their walk around the forest!
Reading matter was the great book by Philip Norman about the Beatles called "Shout", Just up to where they have just had three number ones and writing hits for Cilla Black, Billy J, Kramer and Gerry & The Pacemakers etc.

Scaffolders

They have gone now but it was very noisy for a couple of hours - clank- thump! bang ! clang! I just had to go outside and sweep the side passage of debris and dust - cough splutter! I checked the roof and it looks o.k. - no tiles dislodged as far as I can make out.

Southend Art School 1967

Old ex-student of Southend Art School , Alistair Young got in touch recently which was a nice surprise and trying to think back to what he looked like made me dig out these old snaps that Phil Spellacy took at the historic sports day back in the halycon days of 1967 - the Summer of Love and beatleish hair do's.
I may be wrong but I think that is Alistair on the back row with the glasses and the blazer? I'm sure Alistair will tell me if I am wrong! My memory of names is a bit hazy - the day too is a bit of a blur like most of the 60's - you know what they say!
I expect most of these people are retired and gaga by now. I expect Tony Oldfield and Leo Hardy are long gone. I'm still in touch with Barry, Phil, and Maureen but no idea what happened to all the others.

Alderley Edge

Catching up with the week and our doings. Ive forgotten most of it though highlights were certainly the drive to Alderley Edge for a walk among the trees and a picnic by the Wizards Trail or whatever it was called. The map pointed to many exotic locations including the Mine Workings and Beacon Hill etc. It was a beautiful day for a walk and we almost didn't make it - getting lost in the town of Alderley Edge frequented by blue rinsed ladies and WAGS and chavs. We popped into a couple of charity shops with prices that rivalled Harrods and popped straight out again! Some kind man pointed the way up the very steep hill - too steep to climb so we got the car and drove up.
You could see for miles at the top and at the very "edge" of the EDge you could peer over into a sizable abyss. It was very misty so could just make out the Pennines in the hazy distance but on a clear day I'm sure you could see Yorkshire.
The Caving Centre nearby also had a small museum with a 50 foot shaft down to an ancient copper mine below. We looked down into the pool of muddy water illuminated at the bottom by a 50 watt bulb. The man in charge says they often go down and explore the caverns and tunnels below that go off in all directions. The whole hill is perforated by many holes and tunnels that once echoed to the sound of pick axe and shovel.

Went into town yesterday to do some shopping. Found a John Lennon - Live Peace In Toronto for 99p on DVD. Some nice clips of old rockers - Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, etc. on the same bill. Spoiled only by the wailing banshee that is Yoko Ono at the very end. Also a cheap DVD from some newspaper of "Millions Like Us" a film made to boost morale in the war years.

Today we ventured to Chelford again and the huge boot sale in a big muddy field. Several big muddy fields around it too for all the cars that had to pay two fifty for the privelege of parking! It was very crowded again with the sunshine eventually breaking through the early morning haze. I didnt buy a thing despite money burning a hole in my pocket. Hazel got qite a lot though - mostly metal keys, pins, needle holders etc. Also a very old Nymph razor made of vivid green bakelite or some form of early plastic. A lovely green glass eye bath. A Medico medicine glass and some signs for the outside loo - "in case of electric shocks" and one for Archie which says "No Admittance!" Also a small tin clockwork train with the chimney missing.

Time to go and light the bar-b-q for lunch outside.

Easter Sunday/Monday

A nice sunny weekend up in Cheshire though we hear the South East was a bit grey and damp. Makes a nice change for us to get some good weather at Easter. Though this will probably turn out to be our Summer!
Hazel and Archie had fun with their circus skills in the back garden. It was nice just to sit out there and enjoy the birds tweeting and ants running off with the cake crumbs.
On Sunday hazel and I went to the big boot sale at Chelford which costs two-fiftyto park. It is huge though and took us a good hour to walk round. Hazel was annoyed at first with all the jostling and crowds but soon relaxed and bought a few things including some nails and rusty Elastoplast tins etc. I found a few DVD's including "Help!" with bonus disc of extras for two quid and loose 50p extra disc of "Pans Labyrinth".
In the afternoon we had lunch at Granma's and weeded their back garden. Took out three buckets of dandylions! Also had tea and trifle later on which was far too filling. They wanted us to eat cake as well!
Today Archie has gone off to see a friend in Weaverham and we drove on to Frodsham to look round the charity shops and have lunch in a bakery. Afterwards went to Lady Heys antique centre to rummage in more junk. Bought another recycled tin indian lantern to balance up the other one. Its made from baby milk cans. Also a record by Jimmy Durante which will no doubt feature on my blog soon. It has all his hits on it like "Ink Dinka Doo" and "The Lost Chord" etc.
Hazel got more metal thingies for her blog. We tried some freee samples of beer in the Staion House micro-brewery that's just opened. Delicious bottled ales . We bought three to try.

Nantwich - Alsager

A nice day out to Nantwich to go round the charity shops. We had lunch outside a cafe watching the world go by. It was very sunny and warm - like a real Summers day.
There was live music too from a great band called the Swing Commanders on a small stage in the town square. They played lots of western swing and some old Andrews Sisters songs etc. Here you see a clip of their Hawaiian War Chant. This Flip video really doesnt do them justice.
Then off to see Tony and Pene and their sons and new grand-children Esme and Ellwood. Sat in the garden and had tea and cake. Nice to catch up with what everyone was doing and see the babies do their thing. Being cute and the centre of attention ofcourse. I bounced Esme on my knee but she looked like she might cryso I gave her back to Daddy pretty sharpish!


We got home just in time to see the easter Dr. Who and have some cheese on toast.
Have also been watching the new Red Dwarf trilogy which is O.K. but nothing special. I found the old Smeg Ups afterwards much funnier.

Another Week

Another week has flown by.
Our chimney has been knocked down by Bruce the builder and he's putting it back up again. It looks pretty good so far but his visits have been a bit erratic being "double booked" and the house over the road has distracted him too - overseeing the plumber and electrician etc.
I have a new Epson scanner which I managed to track down and had delivered on Friday. Its been working fine ( touch wood) and have enjoyed raking through piles of old negatives and slides to upload, I still have trouble with some of the settings for more obscure size negatives but it seems to cope with most things. See results at Flickr or on Facebook.
Today we avoided the rain and went to Chester for a wander round the shops and see the buskers etc. Motley groups of musicains playing accordions ( four in all ) and two trumpet players within a hundred yards of each other. Standing in the middle you got a weird ossilating sterao effect! Also the juggler above who had trouble atrracting a crowd at first and could hardly be heard above the din of the accordion and trumpet group. One of the highets diabolo throws I have ever seen. One of those big halibut faced aeroplanes flew over during his performance which brought a surreal slant to the proceedings.
Had a nice vege sausage roll for lunch. Managed to drag Hazel from the Morgans shop before she spent huge ammounts of money on a tentlike dress.
I got a Victor Borge 10 inch LP from a charity shop but not much else. hazel bought a book about inventions in the Oxfam and Archie got a book about piano chords ( much to our surprise) in the Works.
Got the "park & Ride" back and got home in time to make Bruce a cuppa before the rain came down and he covered up the chimney and went home.

Walk Round Shackerley/Organic Farm

Find more videos like this on Small Museum Association: Little and Lively

Our walk round Shackerly Mere on Sunday. Afterwards to the organic farm shop to get some honey and mustard. New spring lambs in the field just vanishing in the distance. Nice views over the valley towards Davenham church.
Earlier we had gone to the boot sale at Hartford High School. I found two old scratchy 78's by George Formby.
Hazel got a nice old salt Witch Domestic salt packet from the 40's or 50's I imagine. Salt from the Middlewich Salt Company - still being produced today.
Also a small book of bicyle parts and "aids"from 1962 but looks much older.

The Bells amd Theatre Mimi

Had a very nice lunch out on wednesday with Tony, Pene, Dave, Nick and Hazel at The Bells in Lower Peover. We dont get out to see our chums much so made a pleasant change to chat with them all and hear the latest gossip.
We poppped into Knutsford too to go round the charity shops. Good to see another has opened where a snooty dress shop used to be - a sign of the times. I bought two great old CD comps of British Vintage Comedy. Some featured on my audio blog.
Last night it was more culture at the Whitegate Community Hall and a travelling band of players called Loon/Theatre Mimi who did a great show called Phileas P. Souper. They all come from Newcastle I think and it was organised by the Cheshire Rural Touring Network who really do a great job in providing some class acts in tiny rural hamlets. The hall was packed though and hardly enough room to swing a bed or a trombone! Elements of Spike Jones, Laurel & Hardy and the circus all rolled into one!
It did take us ages to find though and the Tom Tom fell off the windscreen with a crash and sent us halfway home again it got so annoyed! We didn't win the raffle but got a free tumbler of orange juice in the interval and everyone was very friendly, wanting to know if we came from the village or further afield.

Spring Bulbs, Cables and Harlequin.

Another week has sailed by on the tide. My brain is bobbing along on nicely - catching the Spring breezes. It was quite windy yesterday- the scaffolding built last week by the side of the house to mend the chimney ( next week possibly ) was making a most perculier noise - like a drill being annoyed by an armadillo.
It looks very precarious up there on that little platform. I dont envy the builder his task. Mind you, when he was over the road he didn't seemto have any platform atall and just balanced on the tiles and some how didnt fall off. Hazel dare not look. He made a good job of it though so thats' why we asked him to do ours. More expense.
At the weekend we saw a great theatre group at the Harlequin - a duo called RAW ( Random Acts of Wildness) - a silly name but they did some great physical theatre and clowning and reminded me a little of the League Of Gentlemen crossed with Bottom! Sadly only about 16 people in the audience including us. Northwich is not known for its culture vultures! I think it could have been advertised a bit better mind.
On Mothers Day , Granma and Audrey came over for fish and chips and cake. Audrey found a Norwegian jumper design she liked on the internet and printed it off to take home and knit. She said they had bought all the wool in Aldi and there was none left! I can well belive it.
Archie gave Hazel some chocs, flowers to plant in the garden and a home made card with a pencil drawing on the front.
All the power went off yesterday for 4 hours due to the high winds. I read my SHOUT by Philip Norman and listened to the wind-up radio.
As ill luck would have it the gas man came to mend the boiler which has been giving us luke warm baths but he had to go away again as there was no power. His mate came this morning and fixed it- a fluttering diagram he said. I thought so. He's coming back tomorrow to add a screw that was lost.
I went to town this morning to get some shopping, post some mail and get some HDMI cable for the new telly. It improves the DVD picture no end and almost as good as High Definition they reckon though I have no idea what that would look like.
Nice catalogue for the exhibition Hazel is in at MMU. She's displaying her Rusty Nail Collection.

Another nice sunny springlike day. I walked to town to get some groceries and pots a pile of mail I did yesterday. Hazel was expecting some people from the Manchester City Art Gallery for lunch and to look round her workshop so I got some nice salad and cheeses etc.
Did the usual tour of charity shops and bought a DVD of "Man Thing" for a quid. Also a double cassette of Spike Milligan reading the second part of his war memiors "Rommel- Gunner Who?"
Had a nice lunch and the two girls from the gallery were very enthusiastic about all out collections and stuff on the walls.
After lunch I went upstairs to continue with some collaging.

Gave up looking for a new scanner in the usual shops so have ordered one online today and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow which will be nice. Can't wait to scan all those old slides and negatives we have gathering dust.
Hazel spoke to the builder over the road and he's getting his scaffodling taken down on Friday and moved over to us- so hopefully he can start working on our chimney soon and stop the bits of brick falling off it which is a bit worrying! More expense!

New Telly Box

A nice weekend - very springy. Our old telly has been on the blink for a while now and so we splashed out on new digital LCD wide screen Sony job that is really fantastic after the last one. We watched a great film last night I borrowed from the library - "The Fall" about a little girl and a paralysed stunt man back in the Hollywood of the 20's. A very rich fable filmed in many beautiful and exotic locations round the world. It reminded me a bit of the "Princess Bride". Ideal viewing for the tv's first evening. We will have to watch all out favourites again now and see them in a new light.
We dumped the old telly at the tip this morning after the boot sale at Weaverham.
We got a few bargains including more DVD's whuch included "American Werewolf In London" and Woody Allen's homage to NYC "Manhatten".
Hazel didnt find any gadgets or metal thingys but some plants, an old OXO tin and a CD box to be converted into a Cornell box if Archie wanted it but he didn't.
WE went for a walk this afternoon to Marbury and Archie took some joiner photos for his art GCSE work. We watched the blue tits, ducks, jay, and moorhens feeding and tried to get away from the hoards of noisy kids and dogs that descended on the place as it was so warm!
Hazel is now going to the tip again as she just moved someone off her white line and feels obliged to drive the car somewhere to prove how inconsiderate they were!

How Do You Make A Venetian Blind?

Poked more holes in the walls for shelves and the blinds which look good . We don't feel like we are living in a gold fish bowl anymore. Our neighbours are very nice but they do tend to stand at the open kitchen window and blow smoke outside and always seem to be watching me do the washing up or cooking etc.
On Tuesday went to town and borrowed a DVD "The Fall" from the library. Archie has watched it already and said it was "weird" and gave me some impressions of the characters in it. It looks stunning visually from what I have seen on YouTube.
Hazel is back at college and feeling a lot better- though trying to talk less and catch up on the form filling.
Went back to town on Wednesday with Hazel to get some shopping and look at some TV tables as Hazel is fed up with the pile of gadgetry and wires that surrounds the TV at the moment. They all seem too bulky though for our little alcove corner.
Saw Treena and Betty in the Age Concern. Betty said there was a boot sale this Sunday at Weaverham - first of the year - which we are looking forward too as they are usually very good and well attended. Hopefully the weather will improve by then.
next door are having their windows replaced now so lots of banging, drilling and smashing of glass yesterday. They seemed to be grinding it into a fine dust - crunch! crunch! crunch!
One of the blokes doing the work looked at our multi-coloured stickered wheelie bin as Hazel dragged it back from the roadside and said " Are those travel stickers?" and the idea that the bin had been on holiday , even a world cruise, tickled me.