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Showing posts with the label Colour

The Best Christmas Present

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  I know that across the world there are so many communities that through war, natural disasters or lack of funding for infrastructure are going without what we in the West regard as basic necessities. Contaminated water alone brings so much illness and disease. The statistics are appalling. According to Water Aid’s website,  almost 1 in 10 people globally do not have access locally to clean water. Back at Chez Nous, retired life has had some luxury restored to it with a temporary connection from the new water pipe to the house. After laboratory testing early in January, we are confident that the Do Not Drink Notice will be revoked. The best Christmas present ever! It would be wonderful if we could share it with those who will continue without but, in the absence of some truly miraculous Christmas magic, I guess a charity donation must suffice. In the meantime my best wishes too for your very own Happy Christmas.

Unscathed

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  We have recently returned from another little foray. On this occasion we went to Malta and what can I say? Flying again after all this time- it was almost a new experience but bit by bit the memories return: the queues; the waiting; the cramped airline seats; the appalling range of  over priced and undertasting snacks; those passengers at the various airport checks with the wrong documentation. I could go on but, discomfort and all, it was quite simply great to be able to do it again. Malta too was a new to us destination. Another place that we had cancelled our planned visit to, back in 2020. A home from home in ways that I had not expected; well it always makes crossing the road easier when the traffic drives on the left, not to mention finding a post box when it's red! Staying in Valletta, we wandered to our limits finding the light, history and architecture very much to our pleasing; an urban photographer's paradise, even in the rain. We also had easy access to local bus

A Humdinger

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    Oh my goodness! After avoiding sniffles and sneezes for over 2 years, Yours Truly is suffering big time. Sadly, in May 2022, we can't even tell if it's a common cold or Covid-19, the symptoms, especially after vaccination, apparently being very similar. I'm also conscious that I attended the party I blogged about last time and what could be better for spreading a cold, Covid or other infectious disease than conversing by shouting over music? No more function rooms, let's call them what they are: Soup Kitchens for the cultivation of viruses. On the plus side, I'm testing negative but then stories abound, from multiple people I know, of  failing to register a positive test until several days after first experiencing symptoms. In the meantime the Eldest and Dilly  are due to arrive tomorrow for the weekend, after their previous trip was postponed at the last minute when Dilly tested positive. I could, of course, be veering completely on the wrong tack and this may

A Day Out

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  There's nothing like a day out to boost the mood. When your destination is an unknown quantity that you have never visited before, it provides both stimulation and reinvigoration. The problem at the moment can be persuading yourself to enter potentially crowded places. However, on the basis that so many people are thinking likewise or sheltering from the cold, frequently a place that would normally be teeming with people can, contrary to all expectations, be deserted. So yesterday found me travelling again by train, this time to meet up with a friend for a visit to the Bankfield Museum in Halifax where an art exhibition by Kate Lycett had been recommended to us. Her paintings were an interesting mixture of  golden threads, geometric patterns, and landscape in an architectural style. I confess that after admiring her work, I subsequently wasn't surprised to discover that she had been influenced by an architect originally and had also specialised in textiles. The colours were

Normality

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  Sunday was a beautiful day. Looking at the forecast, it could well have been the last summer's day as winter fast approaches. What better way to spend it though, than on the patio eating lunch outside with friends. In contrast the weather yesterday morning was demented, with the rain falling in torrents. At least I'd had the forethought to check the likely conditions a couple of days ago and a rendezvous with an old friend was hastily altered from a day walking in the countryside together to a trip to York. With the media's non-stop reporting of petrol shortages (1st world post Brexit problems that you seriously can't make up), it seemed better to travel by train. It appears that these days the Transpennine Express actually lives up to its name. Gone are the abysmal two carriages pulled by a diesel engine that I recall from those pre-Covid days and instead a five carriage high-speed train now dashes down the East Coast mainline. A day out by rail; normality really is

Onwards and Upwards

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  (Image by David Reed from Pixabay) It might be all those Scandi-noir series we watched last year or, now I've matured a little, an aversion to the millennial green gracing our walls but, entrenched in decorating and decluttering, I'm aiming for a minimalist feel. So much so, that today we decided on a trip to IKEA for some wooden storage boxes to complete the look of the upstairs area that I'm very gradually painting at the moment. An incentive to finish what I've started if you like and believe me, with the contents of one large cupboard strewn all over the landing, I do need to get on. Trouble is we only got half way there when the tyre pressure warning light popped up on the dashboard. I slowly drove off the motorway to the nearest garage which, as we'd hoped, had an air supply. A visual inspection failed to reveal an obvious puncture, so Mister E sprang into action, checking the pressure for each of the tyres and then inflating the culprit. Of course that the

Sea-Saw

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    Today we saw the sea, for the first time in over a year.  My last sighting had been on our trip to Cyprus last year, whilst Mr E had made a quick dash to Crinan to mothball the retirement project just before the first lockdown was implemented. Since then it's been all fields, trees, and grass in varying shades of green and brown. What a contrast to be surrounded by blue.  It was a glorious day. With gale force winds forecast, we thought we might find the coast quiet and were not disappointed. In the event the huge cliffs around the bay at Saltburn and then at Sandsend seemed to keep out the worst of the wind and the sea was surprisingly calm.   There was no haze or drizzle to spoil the view southwards to Whitby and the abbey. In fact we found several brave souls in shorts; some with feet in the water. I had gone dressed for the worst in thermal-lined winter trousers and a heavy duty coat that I wear for cold walks on the hills. I didn't quite get down to shorts but I did

Photo Shoot

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  With the dreadful spread of the virus and the constant reminders on the news and social media as to how overwhelmed the NHS is finding itself, it inevitably preys on your mind. Just to be extra careful, we've upped our home deliveries and so avoided the local High Street now since before Christmas. A fairly pointless boycott I acknowledge, when I had to attend a six monthly outpatient's appointment at the local hospital on Tuesday; is there another place closer to a source of infection? Anyway with that in mind, heeding the regulatory restrictions on movement and in light of the weather that seems to have alternated so far this year between cold and very cold, with frost, snow or rain, I've found myself staying close to home. I have ventured out to walk through the village on a couple of occasions but have ended up slipping and sliding. Is it an age thing? For, suddenly, I've become concerned about falling and being rushed back to that hospital with a broken limb.   T

December

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  Yes, December has arrived again and how much shorter the days are now. I'm not sure how it happens but every year, despite all my good intentions, I still find myself planting bulbs in the garden when sensibly it's far too cold and late to do so. Recently I've been trying to dig over and plant a couple of square metres a day and suffice to say, if the weather holds, tomorrow should see the completion of this arduous creaking-back task. Despite the low temperature, today was very pleasant for the couple of hours I spent outside. The sun shone and the soil turned easily, although there were any number of weeds to remove.  I have been ruing the fact that having decided to try my hand at soap making, so many recipes recommend picking your own flowers to dry and use for colour and decoration. Had I known in advance that I would have a sudden urge to turn to the chemistry of saponification this winter, I might also have had the forethought and good sense to gather and dry bloss

All's Well

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I don't know why, other than that they make me smile , but it has become something of a convention for me to grow sunflowers at the back of my vegetable plot. Just over a week ago they began to bloom: the harbingers of summer .   It really is hard to look at them without feeling happy . Apparently they symbolise adoration, loyalty, longevity, good luck and even wisdom. Well if that doesn't bring you joy in retirement then I don't know what will. For me they signify that all is well, or at least they would if the slugs hadn't attacked this one!  

Hairdressing

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Image by Arturs Budkevics from Pixabay "What are you going to do about your hair?" That's been a popular refrain from Mister E of late. Seriously, I don't think it's too bad, after all I had it cut quite short not long before all hairdressers were ordered to shut shop and it never looks great at the best of times. Also, I made a useful decision in retirement to let it grow into its now natural colour, a mix of grey and white, so there are no roots to worry about. I have had a hankering for some time to dye it a soft pastel shade. However, there is no hair dye in the house and it hardly counts as essential shopping so, despite the fact that an enforced period of staying at home would of course be a wonderful time to experiment, I guess it is not going to happen. I did find myself chatting over the wall to a neighbour who confessed that her husband had "done her roots" for her. Desperate times! Mister E is very handy and an excellent

Pastures New

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I'm thinking this blog could become a schedule of all those places I was planning to visit, but haven't. (Today Mister E and I were meant to be in Amsterdam.) However, the last thing I want it to be is a tale of woe and missing out. Retirement is all about new experiences as well as places and in the case of Amsterdam, as you can guess from the photographs, I have been on a number of occasions before. Whilst there can't be many people who have a pandemic on their bucket list, I have to admit that the past week has certainly offered up opportunities to wander, metaphorically, through pastures new. I've previously described the surreal experiences of collecting medication from the surgery and shopping for groceries as well as doing HIIT to YouTube videos.   I've even referred to streamed Pilates classes where elegant West Coast ladies with beautiful smiles coax you to stretch; there are occasions though when my muscles have found out that their sparkling pearly te