Not stopping...and a lot of art

Well!

Here I am again. Thank you to everyone who sent me encouraging and just plain lovely comments. The support I received and the knowledge that there are people out there who look forward to my posts has made me want to continue. And as Sheila pointed out bloggers seem to have a need a record their lives and that is very true for me; particularly as I age. So onwards and upwards!

Wednesday, the first day of February was bright, sunny but very windy. I had the choice of walking with my Ramblers walking group in Rowney Warren; or recce'ing my own walk which will take place on 15th February. I decided to take advantage of the weather and do the recce. I combined two previous walks I'd led and set off from Milton Ernest Garden Centre (great starting point for a walk; free parking, loos and a cafe for afterwards) walking 7.6 miles towards Clapham, Thurleigh and back to Milton Ernest. 

The first day of February 2023 was also the day England saw the biggest spate of industrial action with 500,000 people out on strike; from seven different trade unions including nurses; teachers; train drivers; and civil servants. The fire fighters union had also announced they would be striking. I'm telling you it's like being back in the 1970s! 

The first of February was also St. Brigid's Day. My cousin Susan sent me St. Brigid's Day greetings from Ireland and told me both elderly aunts in the nursing home in Roscommon were not very well but nothing serious - thank goodness. When they're gone that's the last of my mother's generation gone...

I was going to wear a yellow and grey plaid dress by Vegas, but it was a little too roomy for me and I put it in the donations bag; choosing this dress, also by Vegas, instead. I needed to drop off the donations bag, it was full to the top. Everything except the boots pre-loved; the thermal leggings were an online retail buy a few years back when we had a very cold winter. The yellow suede jacket from New Look and the red pleather jacket were both Barnardo's finds. In the end I wore neither as my trip to see the exhibition after my walk didn't happen.

I was exhausted after the walk. There were a lot of bridleways;  and because they were designed for horses and riders, the horse's hooves churn up the ground. As we'd had some wet weather recently the ground was also muddy on some of the footpaths across the fields and in the woods, too. Consequently, a lot of the time I was walking with great difficulty; huge platforms of mud under each boot and it was like walking in lead shoes; hard to lift one foot in front of the other at times. I had to keep stopping to try and clear the mud off the boots to lighten my load; but when you want a decent stick there's never one around when you need it! I didn't have my rucksack with me unfortunately; I keep an old knife in it just for scraping mud off boots. It was a good walk all the same and in the spring, summer and autumn when the ground is drier; it's a lovely walk. I saw a couple of fields filled with lapwings who took off; flashing their pale coloured underbellies as soon as they saw me. Missed my binoculars; also in my rucksack. I saw several red kites; one in particular was constantly calling out; to its mate, perhaps? Or even a juvenile calling out to its parents.

I stopped at Aldi on the way home then had something to eat; put my feet up and had a short nap. That's how tired I was. The exhibition was on until April so I still had plenty of time to see it...I forgot a couple of things in Aldi so will have pop in again on Thursday...aargghhh! I'm always doing this and it drives me nuts. On the way back from Aldi I spotted a Sparrowhawk in a tree. I've seen it before but wasn't sure it was the same tree. I'll keep looking out for it again until the trees get their leaves back.

I spotted these snowdrops growing on a grass verge on my way back from Thursday morning's swim. They're winter flowers but because they bloom early in the year they always fill me with hope that Spring will soon be here...

(I think the photos have improved. A shout out to Vix  who suggested using the 'portrait' function on the camera).

I used to think the rings under my eyes were down to the swimming goggles leaving their imprint; they're not, I have eye bags especially under the right eye. Oh the joys of getting older...

Everything had been worn before on the blog and all were pre-loved items. I could call this an Irish outfit as the skirt by M&S was found in a Belfast charity shop; the multi-coloured jacket in a Co. Derry charity shop. Thursday was very mild so I got away with not wearing a coat. All jewellery pre-loved except the earrings bought years ago in Sainsbury's. 

I did the weekly food shop; going to Lidl and to Aldi for the things I'd forgotten on Wednesday. I also went to the farm shop for logs and kindling and had time for a quick look in the Castle Road charity shops. Still no table but I found a knitted striped tunic/dress. I'd cancelled my dental appointment as I knew it would be too much to fit in. They re-booked it for my birthday; also on a Thursday but at an earlier time. I picked up youngest grandson; who sadly was feeling very poorly. He obviously had a temperature and said he had a sore throat. I gave him some paracetamol and made him a honey and lemon drink to soothe his throat. Needless to say he didn't go to basketball practice but I took him home after his dinner; which he hardly touched - not like him at all. His close friends have both had a bug recently and he had clearly caught it.

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We started watching this German crime drama 'Dark Rivers' on Tuesday. Another in the 'Walter Presents' international drama section;  it's available on All 4 and recommended. It's a bit quirky and with only four but extended episodes we'd have finished it by Friday evening. It seems a new 'Walter Presents' drama begins on Saturday evening and would then be available to stream so I expect we'll give that one a go.

Both Thursday and Friday were mild at 12 degrees but a slight breeze made it feel cooler. I gave the unofficial bus walk a miss deciding my body needed a rest. I'd been feeling very tired all week and think I need to slow down; I can't do as much as I used to and I need to act accordingly. Once I was up, showered, dressed and made up; I hung a wash out on the line hoping the breeze would dry it. I swept and washed the kitchen floor then sorted out my bangle collection which was something I'd meant to do for ages. I'd noticed I hadn't been wearing some bangles very much since the summer and decided to let them go. I did keep a few (about a half dozen) of my favourites back but I put most of my wooden painted bangles into a box and out on the front garden wall for people to help themselves. And they did - including the box!

This is the dress/tunic by Apricot I bought on Wednesday. I saw the exact dress online by Roman priced at £38.00; I paid 4.95. Washed and dried overnight. I like to wear my purchases as soon as I can to see if they're staying or going. This one stayed; I love stripes and I love green. I wore black M&S jeans and the faithful black polo neck. The long cardigan was another Irish charity shop find in the Donkey Sanctuary shop in Ballyboffy, Co. Donegal. It has since closed down; such a shame it was a bit of a treasure trove. All jewellery pre-loved; as were the boots which I'll tell you about shortly.

I thought I'd have a day at home on Friday; I don't do that very often but I always have to go out for something; and this time I needed more bird food supplies and some household stuff from B&M; and to drop off my donations bag. First, I stopped at the Daycare Hospice shop on London Road to drop off the donations and look for a table - and guess what? I found one. A small round gold coloured metal table that my Bose CD player can sit on in the living room. It had been in the dining room  but I like to listen to music when I'm using my laptop (there's no point when I'm reading as I don't hear it) and I usually sit in the living room. In the end I put the Bose on the sideboard and the lamp and a plant on the table.

 From the charity shop I went to B&M who didn't have what I needed; as I came out of their door the sole of my boot fell off. I'd bought these boots at the 3:16 Christian charity shop a while before Christmas and the first time I'd worn them the sole fell off. OH kindly glued it back on for me and this was only a second wearing of the boots. Not a good buy. They were put in the bin when I got home but I continued onto Home Bargains with one boot having a sole and the other having none! At least Home Bargains had most of what I needed. When I got home I took the washing off the line which was almost dry. I finished it off on the clothes horse in front of the fire in the evening.

I love the weekends. I (usually) don't have to be up and somewhere by a certain time. I can potter about doing chores here and there; get ready at my leisure and go out or stay in as I decide. I finished my book whilst eating my breakfast. It's this one. I'd resisted reading it for ages; the reviews weren't very good when it came out; anyway I find the hype around a lot of books unwarranted. However, my daughter recommended it to me and lent me her copy; which she had been lent by a work colleague, and as I trust her judgement I read it. It was a fun read and last week on my rummages I'd picked up the second in the series for my daughter; which she will pass on to me when she's read it. The retirement complex where the book is set sounded like the Wixhams Retirement village we saw on last Friday's unofficial bus walk; if you see what I mean.

When I haven't prepared an outfit ready to wear the night before I often resort to jeans. Easy and comfortable. These Next jeans  have been put in a new donations bag. They don't fit snugly enough around the bum and the rips let the cold in! They were pre-loved as was everything I wore, except the boots by New Look retail. Top by M&S and shirt underneath by Punt Roma. All jewellery also pre-loved.

This coat by M&S is not a winter weight but it wasn't a cold day on Saturday so I didn't bother with the beret either. Coat, gloves, scarf and bag all pre-loved. So where was I off to? Once I'd done yet another wash and hung it up; I decided to finally go and see the exhibition of modern art at the Cecil Higgins gallery and combine that trip with a few errands in town. I stopped at YMCA charity shop which I rarely visit as it is in a place in town where I don't often get to walk. Everything that was once there has gone; River Island; Debenhams; Beales; Waterstones (moved further along the same road); and Accessorize. The YMCA now occupies what was once River Island. I found a couple of books for Hilary and one for me and  a lovely plaid maxi dress by H&M; which I might wear to brother Julian's 70th birthday bash next week. I haven't quite made my mind up about what to wear; I'll be mulling that over for a while; there may be some trying on and taking off. At least I was down to a shortlist of two outfits ... 

I paid a visit to the Irish shop in town. Yes, we have an Irish shop in Bedford that sells all the Irish food brands like Tayto's crisps; Barry's tea and host of others. I go there for the home made soda or wheaten bread and as they only open on Wednesday and Saturdays it's often weeks, or even months between visits. I also went to Iceland and to QD to buy black sunflower seeds for the birds - neither B&M nor Home Bargains had any on Friday.

The exhibition of modern art at the Cecil Higgins Gallery in Bedford was a joint venture with the Ingram Collection:

I prefer modern art to most others and below is a selection of my favourites. I particularly like figurative art and there was plenty to see...

Sculptures by Elizabeth Frink, 1930-1993.

I discovered an artist new to me whose work I loved - William Roberts:

William Roberts 1895 - 1980

 'News' (1942)

The people in this artwork are anxiously reading the newspaper accounts from  WW2. The artwork above this one depicts Adam and Eve  in the Garden of Eden. The one below is called 'Saturday Night at the Local Baths' (1970).

One of my favourite artists, Edward Burra.(1905-1976) 'Hop pickers who've lost their mothers' (1924). I have 3 of his prints on my living room wall.

Another new to me artist; DOD PROCTER (1891-1972) The Golden Girl, about 1930

Edgar Ainsworth 1905-1975 'On the Platform' 1945 (pen and ink)

The Hop Pickers (1945) John Minton - 1917-1957

Edward Bawden. 1903-1989  'Lindsell Church' (1963)

Eric Ravilious. 1903-1942 'Rye Harbour' (1938)

I really enjoyed the exhibition. Next week I'll be viewing more art at 'The Guildhall' in London with cousin Marian. And on the subject of art here's the New Yorker 2016 cover print (on wood) I bought in West Hampstead. It's the smaller one below with the darker background. The other two cover prints were found in the 3:16 shop for 50 p each about 9 years ago; with one from 1960 and the other from 1976.

I treated myself to a bunch of Spring flowers from Lidl on Thursday.

I went for a 5 mile walk along the river towards Priory Marina on Sunday morning. We did the usual housework and OH cooked dinner. I made a dish with silken tofu but neither my daughter nor I liked it. Won't be buying that again! I also spent a while in the garden cutting back plants that should have been cut back before Christmas. There are lots of signs of new growth in the garden and OH and I were just waiting for a good day (and the time) to get out in the garden and give it some TLC. I watched the final episode of the final series of 'Happy Valley' on Sunday evening; in real time for a change. What a stonking good series but alas there will be no more...ever.

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We started watching another 'Walter Presents' international crime drama series on Monday evening; this one from Sweden called 'Top Dog'.

Compelling Swedish drama from Walter Presents. A mysterious disappearance creates an unlikely team: ambitious attorney Emily, and Teddy, a paroled convict. How will the ad hoc

duo work together?

Monday's outfit. Dress by Cos; polo neck as before; cardigan by Next. All pre-loved including boots; tights and jewellery. The dress is olive green but looks more like brown in these photos. It was a very cold day at 1 degree to start with but warmed up to 9 degrees later in the day.

Woke up to the terrible news of a huge earthquake in Turkey and Syria. One feels so helpless in these situations and the only thing I can do is to send a donation to one of the charities assisting in the rescue mission; which I did. 

We had lots of donations (not of the monetary sort) at Barnardo's on Monday and were kept busy processing them all morning. I also went to the post office in the village of Bromham where I used to live; to do the banking. It was a day of finds at Barnardo's for me. I bought a set of dinner plates and as my daughter needed more plates I gave her my old ones. I found a couple of books; a knitted dress; a summer jumpsuit; and a red plaid blanket scarf. Some weeks go by with nothing of interest and then a day like today with lots of interesting things...I also found this which I wore to the food bank on Tuesday.

A hand knitted tabard. We are not supposed to accept hand knitted items (something to do with proof of fire retardant materials) and the same applies to items with no labels (people often cut out the label because they itch and irritate the skin; I know I do). This tabard also had pulled threads which would have meant it was destined for the ragbag anyway. I rescued it and put a donation in the donations box in exchange; pulled the threads through to the inside; washed and dried it and voila! I wore it with the Store 21 leggings and a pre-loved polo neck sweater underneath and red pre-loved boots. I think it would also look good over jeans. All jewellery pre-loved except the earrings which I bought online.

My first crocuses this year!

Spotted on my brisk 3 mile urban walk on Wednesday afternoon on a grass verge close to Bedford Park; which I circumnavigated and then walked through the surrounding streets to home.

I found this skirt in the Christian 3:16 charity shop a few years ago. I wore it with thermal leggings underneath; Diesel belt via my daughter; a pre-loved Whistles jumper; online retail cardigan and boots; pre-loved Viyella denim jacket. I ditched the jacket as it wasn't warm enough (more of a Spring outfit; Wednesday was 6 degrees) and stayed with the yellow cardigan. I even went for my walk wearing the cardigan with the addition of a scarf and gloves. I could also have worn my yellow suedette short jacket with it or the longer yellow suedette jacket. Spoilt for choice.

  Once I was up and ready I took my car to the the car wash; it was absolutely filthy and I felt ashamed of it. If I washed it myself, of course, I could save some money but living on a busy street with double yellow lines makes that impossible. It did look all shiny and new once washed. I went to Aldi to pick up some food items and then went to buy Julian a birthday present. No cooking as we had fish and chips for dinner. The fish and chip shop around the corner does very good haddock and chips. OH also has gravy and a battered sausage with his...

All jewellery pre-loved. The brooch came from the Heart Foundation shop some years back and I have a similar one in blue; also from the same place.

Sorry, don't know what happened to the camera here; it decided to bathe everything in blue on the left! I went for a swim and booked next week's swims whilst I was there. It's half term here next week so next Tuesday's swim will be from 12.30 to 1.30 pm instead of 2-3 pm. I hope I remember! This is the Zara knitted dress I bought on Monday from Barnardo's. It's an ochre colour and I wore it with brown camo leggings; brown boots from Tu - present from daughter and my long  yellow suedette jacket by F&F from the Castle Road junk shop.

Necklace and earrings pre-loved.

After getting ready I went to do the Lidl shopping and to the farm shop; with just enough time left to have a quick mooch around the Castle Road charity shops. Only 2 out of 3 shops were open; I found a couple of books. I picked youngest grandson up from school; sorted out the fire; lit it and made dinner after unpacking the shopping. After dinner I took the youngest grandson to basket ball practice. It was a relief to crash out on the sofa catch up with blog land and with 'Top Dog' which was turning out to be a very good series indeed.

On Friday I was off to London to see cousin Marian and for a long awaited visit to the Guildhall Art Gallery. I discovered its existence by chance reading something online. We had a great time. The last few days the weather had been cold but bright and sunny so I took a chance on wearing a jacket. Luckily, I stayed warm enough as long as I stayed on the move.  Everything except the boots was pre-loved. The boots were very comfortable; even after a day of pounding the London pavements. Jacket by New Look; top by Tu; tank top by Next; scarf, gloves and skirt with unknown label all from my Barnardo's. Bag from the Daycare Hospice shop. All jewellery and belt pre-loved.

Built between 1411 and 1440 by John Croxton, Guildhall was designed to reflect the power of  the city of London and its leaders. It was here that the ruling merchant class held court, fine-tuning the laws and regulations that established London's wealth.

Housed in a sort of square opposite the magnificent church of St. Lawrence, Jewry; the actual Guildhall is not open to the public but the art gallery is. The City of London is the original London and everything flowed outwards from it.  One of the exhibits in the gallery was the Agas map dating back to the 1500's (I forgot to take a photo) and it was fascinating to see how much London has changed; yet how much (such as the Guildhall) has remained. The map showed the original Roman Wall around the city; fragments of which can still be seen today - see below.

We couldn't read the text either!

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Very close to the original London Wall was what remained of the Tower of St. Elsing Spital; founded as a hospital beside the street called London Wall in 1331 by a merchant (Mercer) called William Elsing. The foundation was intended as a refuge for blind beggars of both sexes, paralysed priests and, if space was still available, for beggars who wandered about the City.

The Guildhall art gallery was built in 1885 to house the City of London corporation's collection of artworks. The Victorian gallery was almost entirely destroyed by a severe air raid in May 1941. In 1985 the City decided to re-develop the site and build a new gallery at a lower level; where the exploratory archaeological dig discovered the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. The art gallery finally opened in 1999 after the excavations were complete. I remember the many news items about the amphitheatre find and it was a pleasure to see the actual remains for myself on this visit. Unfortunately, my photo didn't come out at all well as I should have set the camera to night vision. It was dark in the amphitheatre for obvious reasons but a what an atmospheric place.  You can find out more HERE.

We started our visit with a guided tour of several paintings including this one by Dante Gabriel Rossetti called 'La Ghirlandata. I'd never had a tour that included paintings and it was an excellent experience. Our guide was a volunteer and had undertaken a year of study to achieve the recognised certificate of an official City of London Guide; his enthusiasm and knowledge about the paintings was infectious. We spent quite a long time discussing a military painting which normally; I would glance at and move on, but he pointed out so much more within the painting and elaborated on it, too.

One of the original founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Rossetti painted 'The Garlanded Woman' in 1873. He used a model called Alexa Wilding for the main figure; the two women at the top of the painting were based on May Morris; William Morris's daughter. The frame was spectacular. I loved the four medallions which looked very Celtic in design. Apparently, this painting is the one that the gallery sells the most postcards of...

This painting was called 'London, 1975' I seem to recall but cannot remember who the artist was. Professor Google didn't help either...

I just loved this building; the way the light seems to beam up out of the basement and the hint of the cosy interior see through the front door. It's a depiction of a  hotel in Bayswater, but once again the artist's name escaped me. As befits a City of London art gallery the predominant theme is London and of the annual Lord Mayor's Parades. I didn't take any photos of those.

Camberwell Flats by Night. 1983. David Hepher (b1935)

One of the things I love about London is how ancient and old buildings live cheek by jowl with much newer buildings; as above in this artwork and in the photo of St. Elsing Spital's tower. I grew up very close to flats like these and can remember them being constructed; I also had friends who lived in this type of flat. What I love in this work is how the artist has produced the differing light through a range of windows and once again there's a glimpse of a cosy interior with a lampshade and a picture on the wall.

Greta Marks 1899 - 1990. London Wharves, 1972.  A collage of ceramic, glaze, wood, paint, grout, metal, plaster and plastic. 

I really enjoy pictures of harbours, wharves and water in general. I have a collection of such pictures; going up the stairs in my house and on the landing; about 7 in total and 2 further prints in the dining room so this really 'floated my boat' if you'll pardon such a terrible pun!

John Virtue (b1947)

Landscape 714. 2003-2004.

Painted in black, white and grey the light in this painting is amazing. That's St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance. One of the security guards told me it was his favourite painting in the whole collection. I can see why.

Allen David's Glass Fountain.

Trying to find the Guildhall from Moorgate tube station; we passed this wonderful glass sculpture in Aldermanbury Street. After returning to Marian's house in Hendon to pick up my car I then drove to visit my friend Bernie in Neasden and spent a few hours catching up with her. I returned home about 9 pm; cursing the lack of lighting in places on the MI motorway. I do not like driving in the dark very much, anymore. Never mind, once the clocks go forward we'll have longer and lighter evenings so it won't curtail my adventures as much.

I've been dithering about this dress for a while. Should I donate it or keep it? I always seem to wear orange with it.  On the plus side; it's made of a warm material. I tried it with a belt - no. Then with a jacket, but in the end I decided it was boring and it went into the donations bag. Everything was pre-loved; in the case of the M&S dress it was never loved so why did I buy it? Boots were a quite recent find; can't remember where or where I found the felted jacket which I've had for years. Polo neck underneath by F&F; another Barnardo's find. Tights by Snag and all jewellery pre-loved.

I wore this outfit on Saturday with the addition of walking boots and socks to walk with my daughter to and around Priory Marina. After a walk of 5.5 miles we stopped at the vegan cafe where my daughter had lunch and I had a pot of Earl Grey tea and a croissant. I then ran some errands in town; popped into the library to see if the first book in the Dr. Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths was in - it wasn't. I want to read the series in order otherwise it offends my sense of continuity. I'd already accumulated several of the books in the series via visits to charity shops; but the first in the series continued to evade me. I will have to reserve it from the library. I did find a lovely lamp in the Keech Hospice shop on my way home; it was being returned by someone and I snapped it up.

My current read - second in the series

And this is my TBR (to be read) pile on the table next to my seat on the sofa; I bought 5 for 2.00 on Saturday from the Sally Army charity shop of which 4 are in this pile. The other is for Hilary who I'll be seeing near the end of this month and I try to bring her a pile of books every time I go to see her.

This week our Sunday was different to most. There was no Sunday dinner to be cooked for a start; although we did the usual housecleaning chores. I walked into to town in the morning to pick up my library reservation that hadn't actually arrived; of course I didn't know that until I went into the library! (I received an email on Monday morning saying it had now arrived) so another library trip to do. After OH and I had got ready off we set off for Covent Garden in London by train to go to brother Julian's 70th birthday bash. What a fabulous night we had. I drank too much wine and danced my socks off...

The birthday boy and OH.

Wearing H&M dress pre-loved from YMCA; pre-loved pleather jacket my Barnardo's; pre-loved boots as before and all jewellery pre-loved.

Me and the daughter.

Back to Barnardo's feeling somewhat the worse for wear on Monday morning. I'm not used to drinking...I spent the afternoon on the sofa and went to bed early. See you in a fortnight. Stay safe and warm!