On Sunday (after getting up at a slightly more civilised time of about 9am!), Julia and I headed out to Flamborough Head for a more leisurely stroll.
Fantastic views over the cliffs and the coast - watching all of the fishing boats out in the water as well was amazing. Julia regaled me with tales of how they would go out there when she was young - her family used to farm a lot in that area.
Stunning scenery and so different from what we'd seen the day before - it was hard to believe it was so close geographically.
And we had the second best fish & chips I've had this year! Second only to the ones Tracey & I had in Kilkeel - absolutely delish! Completely removed the stain of the abomination Leigh, Maurie, Kevin and I suffered when we attempted to go to the sea forts!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Dinner - and Nellie's
Saturday night we went out for a lovely meal with Julia's parents. Julia has often talked about the lovely pub meals she has when she goes home, and this one was fantastic. I haven't eaten that much in ages - starter, main, dessert and coffee!
Towards the end of the evening conversation turned towards what we would do on Sunday and then about how we would fit in a visit to Nellie's - a pub that is an institution in Beverley (which is where Julia grew up - about 10 miles or so down the road). So off we go to Nellie's that night.
I was knackered, full and really didn't feel like another drink, but I could hardly refuse. And I can honestly say it is one of the best pubs I've ever been in - Maurie you would love it! It is gas lit (yes really!), and is made up of several different rooms which are still furnished with pieces of furniture from when the original owners (a couple of elderly women - one of whom was called Nellie) ran it. It was not like any other pub I've been in - it wasn't 'styled' as a house - it literally was one that had been converted. Julia had tales of doing her under-age drinking there, her dad Joe now drinks there after his badminton games, and he knows people who did their underage drinking there as well. Absolutely brilliant - and it was great to see it at night in all its dark, gas lit murkiness!
Towards the end of the evening conversation turned towards what we would do on Sunday and then about how we would fit in a visit to Nellie's - a pub that is an institution in Beverley (which is where Julia grew up - about 10 miles or so down the road). So off we go to Nellie's that night.
I was knackered, full and really didn't feel like another drink, but I could hardly refuse. And I can honestly say it is one of the best pubs I've ever been in - Maurie you would love it! It is gas lit (yes really!), and is made up of several different rooms which are still furnished with pieces of furniture from when the original owners (a couple of elderly women - one of whom was called Nellie) ran it. It was not like any other pub I've been in - it wasn't 'styled' as a house - it literally was one that had been converted. Julia had tales of doing her under-age drinking there, her dad Joe now drinks there after his badminton games, and he knows people who did their underage drinking there as well. Absolutely brilliant - and it was great to see it at night in all its dark, gas lit murkiness!
Now if only I was a Heartbeat fan...
Seeing as how we were only a few miles down the road we headed off to Goathland - which is where the tv series of Heartbeat is filmed.
Very pretty - but very busy!! Loads of tourists - and really there isn't a lot to see. But they had a lovely wee railway station, and Julia made me have a touristy photo taken outside the garage!
I might just have to watch an episode now...
Very pretty - but very busy!! Loads of tourists - and really there isn't a lot to see. But they had a lovely wee railway station, and Julia made me have a touristy photo taken outside the garage!
I might just have to watch an episode now...
Julia enjoying the sun
Julia enjoying the sun
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Julia enjoying the sun at Goathland train station - we were waiting for a steam train that never turned up...
The Hole of Horcum
Which some people believe was created by alluvial activity, but obviously it was created by the giant picking up a handful of earth to fling at his wife...
On Sat morning we chose our walk - a circular walk around the Hole of Horcum, so armed with walking book, OS maps, the road atlas and a packed lunch, Julia and I headed off. Julia's dad had very helpfully marked our route on the road map - most useful for me as a navigator!
We started from Levisham - which both Julia and I kept wanting to call Lewisham - two very different places! And straight away the walk was fantastic. Through lovely countryside up to the Hole which was just stunning, then around the edge of it to drop back into Levisham. If we'd been a few weeks earlier the heather would have been in bloom which would have just been stunning - but even so the scenery was just fantastic.
Look out for the photo on Flickr which has the triangular building in the distance - this is Fylingdales - the British equivalent of Waihopai. And apparently they used to be the golfball style too, but have now been changed...
We ate our lunch on heather which had been burnt off looking out over towards the other side of the Hole, with the sun blazing down on us. Absolutely brilliant. Just before the end of the walk we saw the cutest hairy looking cows - a bit like Highland cows, but the horns were slightly different. Very cute! Then it was back to the pub at Levisham for a drink in the sun before heading off to Goathland - or should I say Aidensfield...
(Check out my Flickr for more pics)
On Sat morning we chose our walk - a circular walk around the Hole of Horcum, so armed with walking book, OS maps, the road atlas and a packed lunch, Julia and I headed off. Julia's dad had very helpfully marked our route on the road map - most useful for me as a navigator!
We started from Levisham - which both Julia and I kept wanting to call Lewisham - two very different places! And straight away the walk was fantastic. Through lovely countryside up to the Hole which was just stunning, then around the edge of it to drop back into Levisham. If we'd been a few weeks earlier the heather would have been in bloom which would have just been stunning - but even so the scenery was just fantastic.
Look out for the photo on Flickr which has the triangular building in the distance - this is Fylingdales - the British equivalent of Waihopai. And apparently they used to be the golfball style too, but have now been changed...
We ate our lunch on heather which had been burnt off looking out over towards the other side of the Hole, with the sun blazing down on us. Absolutely brilliant. Just before the end of the walk we saw the cutest hairy looking cows - a bit like Highland cows, but the horns were slightly different. Very cute! Then it was back to the pub at Levisham for a drink in the sun before heading off to Goathland - or should I say Aidensfield...
(Check out my Flickr for more pics)
Friday, September 19, 2008
And so to East Riding, Yorkshire...
On Friday Julia and I headed off to Yorkshire. It occurred to me I didn't actually have any idea exactly where I was going - I didn't even know the name of the village that her parents lived in! But seeing as how she was with me that was ok...
Trip was fine, and after meeting her parents we headed off and had a late dinner at a pub en route back to Hutton Cranswick (out ultimate destination as I found out on the train...).
There was a bit of discussion that night about where we could walk on the Saturday, but no decisions were made - aside from us having to get up at 7.30am! Scary stuff for a weekend...
Trip was fine, and after meeting her parents we headed off and had a late dinner at a pub en route back to Hutton Cranswick (out ultimate destination as I found out on the train...).
There was a bit of discussion that night about where we could walk on the Saturday, but no decisions were made - aside from us having to get up at 7.30am! Scary stuff for a weekend...
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Parlimentary Library nostalgia
I was sent a link to the photos from the book launch and the staff function at the Parliamentary Library recently.
Very strange to see photos of Tracey on the internet when they're not on my blog! Also saw photos of Anita and Des, plus people I worked with when I was there for about eight months. Recognised a lot of faces, but couldn't quite put names to all of them...
Am off up to East Yorkshire tomorrow with Julia to visit her parents and do some walking, so hopefully will have some great photos to post next week!
Very excited - a new part of the country for me!!
Very strange to see photos of Tracey on the internet when they're not on my blog! Also saw photos of Anita and Des, plus people I worked with when I was there for about eight months. Recognised a lot of faces, but couldn't quite put names to all of them...
Am off up to East Yorkshire tomorrow with Julia to visit her parents and do some walking, so hopefully will have some great photos to post next week!
Very excited - a new part of the country for me!!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Never stop...
I wanted to type that as Echo & the Bunnymen sing it, but its quite hard to translate to the typed word on a blog...
Anyhow - what a fantastic gig. The first set was like the 'best of' their old stuff - headline for me was 'Never Stop' - my all time fave EATB song. I remember Tracey had the ep of it at home and I just loved it. Weirdly it was a bit like the encore was the first half - I would have been happy (or so I thought) to leave at the end of that as it was great.
First gig I've been to where I've had icecream at an 'interval' as well!
Ocean Rain was just great. Its the first gig I've been to where they play the album and it was slightly odd to know what they were going to play next, but the orchestra just matched it perfectly. It was just such a good gig - it has joined the ranks of my all time fave gigs - and it takes quite a bit to make that list!
Weirdly it seemed to round off the last week as well. I really associate EATB with being at home and somehow the gig helped me get deal with last week's emotions. Power of music aye :-).
Anyhow - what a fantastic gig. The first set was like the 'best of' their old stuff - headline for me was 'Never Stop' - my all time fave EATB song. I remember Tracey had the ep of it at home and I just loved it. Weirdly it was a bit like the encore was the first half - I would have been happy (or so I thought) to leave at the end of that as it was great.
First gig I've been to where I've had icecream at an 'interval' as well!
Ocean Rain was just great. Its the first gig I've been to where they play the album and it was slightly odd to know what they were going to play next, but the orchestra just matched it perfectly. It was just such a good gig - it has joined the ranks of my all time fave gigs - and it takes quite a bit to make that list!
Weirdly it seemed to round off the last week as well. I really associate EATB with being at home and somehow the gig helped me get deal with last week's emotions. Power of music aye :-).
Monday, September 15, 2008
And how excited am I..
about going to this??
VERY!!
Late offer of a ticket as Kevin's mate can't go - really really looking forward to it - I've been blogging to Ocean Rain to get myself geared up for it.
Roll on tomorrow night!!
Although I'm worried I'm tempting fate by blogging about it before the event....
VERY!!
Late offer of a ticket as Kevin's mate can't go - really really looking forward to it - I've been blogging to Ocean Rain to get myself geared up for it.
Roll on tomorrow night!!
Although I'm worried I'm tempting fate by blogging about it before the event....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Loopy walkers... Part One
And thats the only time I'll use that as a title for a blog post!
This weekend (amazingly) we had two lovely days of sun which is the first time for absolutely ages... And perfect timing as it was also the start of my new walking endeavour.
On Sunday Nicola, Mhairi, Jackie and myself walked the first section of the London Loop - 8.5 miles from Erith to Old Bexley. We're going to do a section roughly every 6 weeks - eventually we'll complete the 150miles...
So the first section was not too bad. Fairly industrial in parts - (a highlight was walking past the industrial trailer park unit complete with snarling, savage enraged rottweiler guard dogs leaping up and down. It felt like a scene out of a movie! Fortunately the fence was high...) and we had to cope with the sound of the motocross track just across the Thames from us, but it was still a grand start.
Next time we'll be a bit more prepared in terms of timing for lunch etc - I did have a wee bit of a sense of humour failure at one point as we were trying to find somewhere for tea and cake, and I didn't want to 'schlep around un-necessarily' as I put it... Low blood sugar - I couldn't help myself!
A couple of pics below - and once I get one of the group I'll blog that as well. I was being a bit stupid and couldn't get my self timer to walk. Doh!
This weekend (amazingly) we had two lovely days of sun which is the first time for absolutely ages... And perfect timing as it was also the start of my new walking endeavour.
On Sunday Nicola, Mhairi, Jackie and myself walked the first section of the London Loop - 8.5 miles from Erith to Old Bexley. We're going to do a section roughly every 6 weeks - eventually we'll complete the 150miles...
So the first section was not too bad. Fairly industrial in parts - (a highlight was walking past the industrial trailer park unit complete with snarling, savage enraged rottweiler guard dogs leaping up and down. It felt like a scene out of a movie! Fortunately the fence was high...) and we had to cope with the sound of the motocross track just across the Thames from us, but it was still a grand start.
Next time we'll be a bit more prepared in terms of timing for lunch etc - I did have a wee bit of a sense of humour failure at one point as we were trying to find somewhere for tea and cake, and I didn't want to 'schlep around un-necessarily' as I put it... Low blood sugar - I couldn't help myself!
A couple of pics below - and once I get one of the group I'll blog that as well. I was being a bit stupid and couldn't get my self timer to walk. Doh!
Rustling reeds
Rustling reeds
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
These made a very pleasant rustling sound in the wind... not enough to drown out the moto-x tho.
Signpost lovelies...
Signpost lovelies...
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
The little green sign post is the London Loop one...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Bad moon rising...
Moon rising over Surbs
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Well maybe not - but I did have a fantastic view of the moon rising out of lounge window on Saturday night!
No I wasn't out doing cool and exciting things - I was at home watching the wonder of nature... :-)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Walking during 'Monsoon Weekend'
Julia and I had hoped to go for a 'proper' walk this weekend, but the weather was bad at the end of the week, and the headlines on the paper were talking about the 'Monsoon Weekend'.
So instead of heading out into the country we did a wee stroll locally instead. Walked up to Wimbledon Common (didn't see the Wombles - they must have been hiding...), through the common to Richmond Park, through Richmond Park (past the deer), into Richmond for lunch, then along the river past Kingston and back to Surbiton. So we reckon it was probably around 6-8 miles anyhow, so not a bad stretch.
And in between the rain it was really rather pleasant!
So instead of heading out into the country we did a wee stroll locally instead. Walked up to Wimbledon Common (didn't see the Wombles - they must have been hiding...), through the common to Richmond Park, through Richmond Park (past the deer), into Richmond for lunch, then along the river past Kingston and back to Surbiton. So we reckon it was probably around 6-8 miles anyhow, so not a bad stretch.
And in between the rain it was really rather pleasant!
Deer at Richmond Park
More deer at Richmond Park
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
This was one of the smaller groups we passed. There was a fantastic large group (herd?), with some pretty full on antler action going on, but the camera on my phone wasn't good enough to get a pic of it from that distance.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Shock and awe
On Wednesday it was off to the Luminaire to see The Autumn Defense, a side project of two of the guys from Wilco.
I realised I had been to the Luminaire a few years ago to see Goodshirt play, but it seemed like a much better venue this time round. Laid out a lot more sensibly for a venue than I think it was when I first went.
Kevin spotted John Stirratt walking past him so nabbed him, shook his hand, and had about a 10 minute conversation with him. Towards the end of the evening he was still 'shocked and awed' from his encounter with someone from Wilco!
They were fantastic - and at such a small venue we were very close. Brilliant musicians, and they played a lot of my fave songs :-). Kevin took the photos below on his phone.
I realised I had been to the Luminaire a few years ago to see Goodshirt play, but it seemed like a much better venue this time round. Laid out a lot more sensibly for a venue than I think it was when I first went.
Kevin spotted John Stirratt walking past him so nabbed him, shook his hand, and had about a 10 minute conversation with him. Towards the end of the evening he was still 'shocked and awed' from his encounter with someone from Wilco!
They were fantastic - and at such a small venue we were very close. Brilliant musicians, and they played a lot of my fave songs :-). Kevin took the photos below on his phone.
Monday, September 01, 2008
And it feels like it...
Check this story out from the BBC
I've almost forgotten what it is like for the sun to shine for more than one day ... Saturday was gorgeous - blue skies and hot in the afternoon.
Sunday morning - woken up by thunderstorms and it proceeded to drizzle most of the day, then storm again at the end...
I've been here too long - I'm obsessing about the weather...
I've almost forgotten what it is like for the sun to shine for more than one day ... Saturday was gorgeous - blue skies and hot in the afternoon.
Sunday morning - woken up by thunderstorms and it proceeded to drizzle most of the day, then storm again at the end...
I've been here too long - I'm obsessing about the weather...
Poker-tastic
Well sort of!
Friday saw the inaugural poker game at Simon's house (the venue of choice in case you hadn't worked that out from previous posts!).
Me, Simon, Sylvia (his sister), Julia, Jennie and Kevin sat down (eventually) to play some poker... Several hands of Texas Hold'Em later, I was reigning fairly high, Simon was creaming us all and Sylvia had bluffed once too often...
We ended up playing Stud poker which I think is what we used to play as kids (with matchsticks!). When you get dealt 5 cards, and then have two more rounds when you can get new cards dealt if your hand is rubbish - does that sound right Eryn/Tracey (I'm figuring it was you guys I used to play with!).
Good fun tho - and it looks like it may become a more regular event. Simon is desperate for us to play with real money in the kitty - and I've got a sneaking suspicion Kevin would prefer that as well!
Friday saw the inaugural poker game at Simon's house (the venue of choice in case you hadn't worked that out from previous posts!).
Me, Simon, Sylvia (his sister), Julia, Jennie and Kevin sat down (eventually) to play some poker... Several hands of Texas Hold'Em later, I was reigning fairly high, Simon was creaming us all and Sylvia had bluffed once too often...
We ended up playing Stud poker which I think is what we used to play as kids (with matchsticks!). When you get dealt 5 cards, and then have two more rounds when you can get new cards dealt if your hand is rubbish - does that sound right Eryn/Tracey (I'm figuring it was you guys I used to play with!).
Good fun tho - and it looks like it may become a more regular event. Simon is desperate for us to play with real money in the kitty - and I've got a sneaking suspicion Kevin would prefer that as well!
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