Good morning. This week we have mainly been enjoying rain, rain, rain, rain, mud, mud, mud, mud, rain, rain, rain and more rain. Our little brooks are overflowing, the countryside is sodden, and the dog is filthy. Lovely!
STOP PRESS: It looks like there’s “No End in Sight” to Britain’s wet weather!
Met Office forecasts more rainfall to continue UK’s 37-day run, and flooding expected especially in south-west England and Midlands.
Rain, rain, rain, etc.
Sorry about the short notice last weekend. On the spur of the moment we decided to drag our sorry backsides up to Northumbria and have a little mooch around. Pity the weather wasn’t a tiny bit more cooperative.
We stayed in an AirBnB in Alnwick, a lovely Northumbrian town with probably the best second-hand bookshop in the world, Barter Books, as well as a castle. The town itself is lovely and we stayed at The Posthouse right on the Market Square which was “fine.”
We arrived in freezing temperatures – whose idea was it to have a quiet weekend in Northumbria in January? Sadly, the owners of the AirBnB didn’t think to put the heating on before our arrival – the flat was an icebox when we got there. To make matters worse, there were no instructions on how to get the heating on or, more specifically, how to keep it on. By pressing a number of random buttons we managed to get the heating on but never really did master the technique of somehow getting it to stay on for more than a couple of hours. Still, by the second day I guess we’d thawed out.
As I say, the Posthouse was “fine” but the best thing about it is that it was about a three-minute walk to Adam and Eve, an excellent, dog-friendly dining establishment with great service, a marvellous ambience and great food. Daisy, as always, was much admired by everyone as she relaxed at our feet under the table. This place was so good we dined there on both evenings.
Northumberland is a beautiful county with glorious sandy beaches and lovely walks. We intended to let Daisy go mad on the beach but on the afternoon of our arrival there was a howling gale blowing and a gentle stroll along the beach was out of the question. We did, though, get a couple of other opportunities and she does love the beach and especially all the other dogs similarly enjoying a romp. Some dogs, sadly, are obsessed with chasing a ball or stick but thankfully there are always a few like Daisy who prefer a good game of chase me, chase me!
We were only in Alnwick two nights and then stopped at some very dear friends and former neighbours in Beetham, Cumbria on the way home. We stopped just the one night with them but managed to cram in a couple of lovely walks – the snowdrops are out in abundance!
As well as being short notice for all of you, our visit was short notice for Lesley & Graham as well but they were their usual generous selves. They had been planning an outing but our arrival rather scuppered that idea. Instead, I “stole” Lesley’s ticket and Graham and I went to see and hear Hamza Yassin, a wildlife photographer, at the Kendal Leisure Centre.
He was absolutely spellbinding. I’ve always admired the wildlife photographers who might spend days or even weeks hiding in a blind waiting for The Shot. He showed lots of photos and videos as he told the story of his life and career so far. His work is simply outstanding. I was so blown away by his “show” that we’ve booked to take Jessie when his tour reaches Northampton in May.
Nick and I are gearing up to avoid all social media, printed or audio news outlets to avoid seeing or hearing the result of the Superbowl until we get the opportunity to watch it on Monday afternoon. No spoilers please! We’ve made our picks as has Penny – she always takes the team with an animal name so she’s firmly behind the Seahawks in preference to the Patriots. Not sure our friends Chip and Leca would approve.
And finally, this was Penny the other morning . . .
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And, be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get. And, hold your loved ones close.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg