Goodbye for now

 

Hello again!

Almost a week late, I know, but this will be my final post before we go to Ireland for the whole of September and I'll have a long break from blogging. I'm getting quite excited about going to Ireland and am looking forward to it very much. Anyhow, back to when I left you more than a fortnight ago:

Hot again on Wednesday. I found this dress in the half-price sale  in Barnardo's last week. By Lascana and made in India it was cool, green and easy to wear. I wore a pre-loved lace Next top  underneath, sandals by Monsoon and all jewellery pre-loved. I'll be able to wear this dress over a jumper and trousers and with boots when the weather becomes colder.

On my early morning walk with Rain she knocked me off my feet again, by crashing into me at full pelt. We had stopped in a playing field and she was running around doing 'zoomies' with 2 Bedlington whippets. She has no spatial awareness when running I've realised; and I need to keep out of her way! Her head hit my knees and shins at full force and I have huge bruises to prove it. The woman with the 2 whippets was very concerned when I fell but I was up straight away albeit with my dignity somewhat dented...

I only swam 40 laps on Thursday morning as my knees were protesting somewhat by the end. They have now returned to normal I'm glad to say but the bruises on my upper shins remain. I did the usual weekly food shopping and made dinner for middle grandson, son and OH. Youngest grandson was still at his Dad's house in London.

I wore this dress on Thursday. It's pre-loved and by Next. I don't love it so it's off to the donations bag; it's not as if I don't have enough long dresses! I wore my Timberland sandals via Vinted and all jewellery pre-loved. 

On Saturday morning my daughter and I set off to Dunstable Downs. She had wanted to do a specific 4.5 mile walk from here for ages so we made an early start and were walking by 9.30 am with the dog. The views are fabulous and below you can see one of the beacons that were lit across the country to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The Downs are situated within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is the highest point in Bedfordshire.

We had downloaded the walk instructions which were broken down into 12 steps; the first being to walk past the windcatcher below and down the slope to the footpath. The windcatcher provides ventilation for the Visitor's Centre and cafe which is is to the right of the photo out of shot.

St. Mary Magdalene Church, Whipsnade which we passed on our walk. There's been a church on this site since the 12th century with the current church having been built in the 16th century.

This unremarkable looking path is known as a 'Holloway'. Holloways (or sunken roads) are roads or tracks that are significantly lower than the land on either side and NOT formed by recent engineering but of probably greater age. There are several theories as to how and why these holloways evolved; often explained as tracks made by erosion, water and traffic; notably people and people herding animals. There is thought to be about a thousand miles of holloways across the country and a recent project by 'Mapping England' is seeking to identify them and their history. You can find out more about it HERE.

Daughter managed the dog whilst I followed the instructions for the walk. We didn't take a wrong turn anywhere and were back at the Visitor's Centre less than 2 hours later after a really enjoyable walk. The dog was so tired she spent the afternoon asleep on the sofa!

On Saturday evening we finished watching this Croatian/Ukrainian series. Luckily there is a second series available and we'll start watching that next. Very gripping and gritty. I also finished the sixth book in the Tom Thorne crime series by Mark Billingham. I was quite shocked to read the grisly scene at the end of this book was set in the village of St. Paul's Walden, Hertfordshire where I walked with my group earlier this year. The next door village of Codicote also got a mention and we walked there the year before. Both very pretty and idyllic villages.

It was hot on Sunday at 28 degrees and bright sunshine. I managed to stay in cool in this outfit. Everything I wore was per-loved except the Brakeburn sandals. Linen shirt by Wallis; loose trousers by Quiz. All jewellery pre-loved. The pendant was yet another of the job lot I bought from Vinted some weeks ago.

On Sunday morning's early walk with Rain I spied this information board. I'd never seen it before and it refers to a type of planting where native trees are densely planted to establish a new miniature woodland at an accelerated rate. Who knew? Click on the photo to read more about this technique.

Monday was forecast to be the hottest day of the year. It was bloody hot; the temperature here in Bedford reached 31 degrees by 4 pm. I wore this pre-loved dress (Barnardo's) for coolness. The last time I wore this dress was to meet my sister Mandy for the first time last year. She's actually my half-brothers' half-sister but we've claimed each other as sisters which is brilliant. I wore my Timberland pre-loved sandals and all jewellery is pre-loved.

I was asked to go and volunteer at the the Kempston Barnardo's on Monday morning where I operated the till and processed incoming donations. Unfortunately, Kempston Barnardo's didn't have any air conditioning so it was a pretty sweaty morning! No house cleaning was done either - it was simply too hot.

Tuesday was a bit cooler (27/28 degrees) but very humid. I wore a recently found pre-loved black linen dress with short sleeves to stay cool but forgot to take outfit photos. The dress had pockets which I so appreciated as I had to carry my phone around with me at the food bank. I was expecting a call back from the doctor about extra BP medication whilst we're away in September. Tracey and I made up Kettle Packs and a few Cold Packs; packed the toiletries and a mountain of donated nappies away and still finished early.

I took Rain for a two hour long walk on Wednesday morning and let her off the lead in the large field where we'd previously encountered cows. No cows around on Wednesday and she had a wonderful run around. On the way back we met a woman with her baby and her Lurcher called 'Gary'. Gary was found abandoned in a ditch in Oxford with a broken leg but is in perfect health now and has been living very happily with his owners for the past 2 years. We also met another dog (Dixie) whose owner I've got to know quite well and we finally swapped first names...

OH and I were meeting sister Mandy and husband Paul for a meal in the early evening. We drove to Borehamwood where they live and then onto   their local called 'The Gate'. The food was delicious and we all enjoyed our dishes.  Mandy is a Mark Billingham fan too and had the first 10 books in the Tom Thorne series; she gave me books 7 -10 to read as I had just finished reading the 6th book. I was so pleased! My son and daughter had gone to visit their Nan in London but on their return my son dog sat for us until we got home from Borehamwood.

I wore this pre-loved Masai tunic with cropped wide legged pre-loved trousers and my Brakeburn sandals to keep with the black and white theme. It was a lot cooler at 23 degrees but still quite humid. I swapped the black and white bangle for a white one in the end but after I'd taken the photos. All jewellery pre-loved. We finished watching the second series of 'The Silence' on Wednesday evening and very good it was, too.

I stayed with the same trousers on Thursday just  adding this pre-loved tunic bought in Ireland in 2013 and my red Monsoon sandals. All jewellery pre-loved. Thursday, as always, was busy. It started with an hour's walk with the dog followed by swimming. I swam 36 laps; getting out of the pool early as I had to take my youngest grandson to an appointment at the orthodontist at Bedford Hospital. Once that was over it was off to do the Lidl and Sainsbury's weekly shop. I was very lucky as my son came with me and that was a great help. Home to start cooking and unpacking the shopping. Both grandsons were there for dinner and middle grandson had received his re-sit 'A' level results. He did much better this year. I'm so proud of him as he had no help from the Sixth Form College in the way of revision classes and did it all by himself. He's decided to take up the offer from Brighton University and will start in late September. Well done, Isaiah!

 
OH had a return of the gout he suffered previously; a side effect of the medication he was initially prescribed for his heart and kidney issues. He still takes some form of anti-gout medication but somehow it had returned. He was immobilised by it and sat on the sofa all day with his foot elevated. He usually takes the dog out for her second walk on a Thursday but my daughter kindly came and did the walk instead. My kids are lovely and often very helpful...OH made a doctor's appointment on Friday about the return of the gout.

The Greensand Ridge Walk is a long-distance walk of 40 miles (64 km) that crosses Bedfordshire, with brief sections in Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. 

I joined the Friday (official) bus walk group to walk part of the Greensand Ridge. One of our members had broken the walk down into 6 separate walks and this was the 4th walk. I'll miss the final 2 walks as we'll be in Ireland when they take place and I'd missed the first 3, too. One day I might get to walk the walk in its entirety. I'd certainly like to give it a go. In our walking festival which is always held each September; this 40 mile walk is offered over two days x 2 20 mile walks. I won't be here for that either but what we did on Friday was a  really good walk and as you can see from the photos it was a beautiful day. 

We caught a bus from Bedford bus station to the village of Maulden and started walking from this pub; The White Hart.

View from Maulden Churchyard. From Maulden we walked to the village of Clophill.

We passed this round thatched cottage but the hedge which surrounded it was so high all that was visible was the roof. It was in the middle of nowhere so I didn't understand the need for such a high hedge but each to their own, I suppose.

Seen in the village of Clophill. I think the Thatcher's signature on the roof above is meant to be a long eared owl; I should have zoomed in but the top of the owl's head was going bald...

Clophill, St. Mary's Church. Now deconsecrated and a sacred ancient monument.

We sat here and had a break before walking the final 2.5 miles to the village of Haynes where after a latte in the Greyhound pub we caught a bus back to Bedford.

I took Rain for a long field walk on Saturday morning; letting her off the lead for about 30 minutes. She was very good and didn't run off at all. Once I had returned home and had breakfast and got ready I walked into town to run some errands. Rain slept for most of the day...

Pre-loved trousers and top by Laura Ashley. I wore the grey suede sandals I found some months back in a charity shop in Cambridge. All jewellery pre-loved.

On the last stretch of our morning walk I saw this from the bottom of the field. Someone must have been having a children's party; it's a bouncy castle helter-skelter!

Sunday was a different sort of day. I wasn't cooking dinner for everyone for a start and after walking the dog for 1.5 hours along the river; OH and I set off to London on the train. We went to see an exhibition at the British Library called 'Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music'. The exhibition documented the 500-year musical journey of the Black Diaspora in the UK.

The British Library is just around the corner from St. Pancras/King's Cross stations so we didn't have too far to walk; which was just as well as OH's gout medication hadn't yet begun to work its magic...and we had to stand in the train all the way to London...

We had lunch in pub not far from the British Library once we'd seen the exhibition and then set off for home. Both of us had a nap on the train on the way home...

What made this exhibition so fascinating to us was that we both lived through some of this history from the 1960s at least. I grew up in a part of London where the population was made up of mainly immigrants from Ireland, the Caribbean and South East Asia. I grew up with Ska, Bluebeat and Reggae music. The house next door to us regularly hosted 'Blues' parties on a Saturday night when the bassline or B-line vibrated in my chest as I lay in bed...

A warm day again on Sunday. Everything pre-loved; skirt by Jasper Conran; top by Next; jacket found in a Derry charity shop; sandals found in a Cambridge charity shop and were wonderfully comfortable. We had  seats on the return journey from London which was just as well as we were both worn out by then. I couldn't help myself and in the evening started on the 7th book in Tom Thorne series;  one of the books I got from Mandy even though I still had 4 books left to read in my TBR pile...

All jewellery pre-loved.

Monday was busy and I didn't think to take an outfit photo. It was overcast and cooler with a good breeze. The weather seems to be turning towards the autumnal and there were leaves on the grass verges across the road from my house. In fact, once I'd finished my shift at Barnardo's and was at home; I actually felt chilly with my bare legs, sandals and linen knee length dress and put on a cardigan. OH and I did the weekly house cleaning chores and for dinner we ate leftovers. The door of my fridge had not been closing properly or even hanging properly for the past couple of days and it looked like a new hinge was needed. There's always something that needs repair or replacing in a house. Daughter's partner came to have a look and will try and find the appropriate hinge. He installed the kitchen so knows what he's looking for.

I was trying to make sure I wore all of my maxi dresses at least once over the summer; on Tuesday it was the turn of this linen Woolovers dress; found on the sale rail at the 3:16 charity shop a couple of years ago. The patterned top underneath also pre-loved; is very old and from Next and I wore my Tu trainers. All jewellery pre-loved.

It rained overnight and again during the day after I'd finished my shift at the food bank. Tracey and I did the usual Kettle Packs and put toiletries and household cleaning items away. We finished early again.

I made dinner and took Rain out for her second walk of the day in the evening with my daughter across the fields near where she lives.

I finished the 7th book in the Tom Thorne series and started reading 'Bond Street Story' by Norman Collins. I was a great fan of Norman Collins in my youth but hadn't read this one before. I loved it.

It's a relief on Wednesdays to be able to have a bit of a lie-in and know I don't have to rush to get the dog walked before I have to be anywhere. I wake between 5.30 and 6 am normally and usually get up by 6 am. On Wednesday, I was up by 6.30 and by the time I'd showered; dressed; breakfasted and got ready it was almost 9.30 before I took Rain out for a long walk by the river. I'm usually out walking her by between 7 am and 7.15 am. The weather was decidedly cooler and as the breeze continued I managed to hang out a wash before I left home. Once I returned I had to go to Aldi for some groceries. I saw (with great pleasure) that Aldi had their facial serum back in stock. I hadn't seen it in the UK Aldi's since the start of the year. The last one I bought I picked up in Donegal when we there at Easter. I bought a couple of tubes as it lasts well and it maybe sometime before they re-stock it again.

I have a lot of summer skirts and wanted to wear as many as possible before we went to Ireland. Although I liked the skirt I wore above; I'll be donating it; it's too long and even wearing it with a belt doesn't stop it from tripping me up. It was a Barnardo's find last year; it has no brand but simply says 'Made in India'. Maybe that's a brand? I'll also be glad to stop dropping sequins everywhere... pre-loved T shirt by M&S; pre-loved denim jacket seen before. Pre-loved M&S trainers that I forgot to change out of after walking the dog. All jewellery pre-loved.

I went for the usual swim (I managed 46 laps) on Thursday morning after taking the dog for a walk along the river.  Once i was ready it was off to Lidl and Sainsbury's and on the way back I dropped off a bag of donations and collected a parcel. The parcel was the latest Kate Atkinson 'Jackson Brodie' book and I'd pre-ordered it with birthday money I'd received several months ago. It'd been 5 years since she last published a Jackson Brodie book and I was so looking forward to reading it. I'd pass it along to my daughter, who is also a fan, when I'd finished it.

This label-less skirt was an end of summer find from Barnardo's last year and it will be re-donated. I don't like how it hangs and it's a little long. I wore it with my Tu adapted sliders which I had to bin as one of the straps had parted company with the sole and wasn't fixable. Pre-loved tee by Next and denim jacket as before. All jewellery pre-loved.

On Friday I met with the unofficial bus walk group. We didn't catch a bus this time but met at Bromham Mill and did a 6 mile circular walk stopping for coffee at Archer's cafe in Great Denham. We had to cross two freshly ploughed fields which was hard work with such an uneven surface. At least it wasn't muddy; and despite a very fresh breeze thanks to Storm Lilian it was a beautifully sunny day. I didn't take outfit photos just wore black jeans, trainers and a black and white shirt; no jacket required.

All Saints Church, Kempston Church End.

One of our walking group, Val, (in her 80s and as fit as a fiddle) was married in this church in 1962; her parents and brothers were buried here, and her daughter was also married here. The church, situated by the river Great Ouse in a rural part of Kempston; has been on this site since 1099; where it was founded by Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror. It retains several Norman features including the tower.

Oh my goodness this denim shirt was such a pain! I took the dog for a long field walk after the rain stopped on Saturday. It had rained overnight and all day until after 3 pm. I hadn't noticed during the day but the buttons kept popping out of place on the walk; exposing my bra to the world! I'll have to either replace the buttons which seemed too small for the buttonhole, or think of something else. It's a shame as I really like this fitted denim shirt; a recent pre-loved find from Barnardo's. The skirt is very old by Rapp; also pre-loved and comes out at least once a year. I wore my Swedish brown suede clogs and the jewellery was all pre-loved.

We started watching a Polish drama on Netflix on Saturday evening called 'Signs'. It looked very promising.

I wore this pre-loved via Vinted, Artigiano tunic over Dash white pre-loved jeans on Sunday. Pre-loved metallic sandals by Dune. All jewellery pre-loved. I took Rain for a 2 hour field walk on Sunday morning and tired us both out. I then made the final Sunday roast dinner for everyone before we leave for Ireland.

There'll be radio silence from me for a while as those of you who've been following me for a while know there is no Wi-Fi where we stay in Donegal and I have to rely on my phone data for everything.  I find phone screens too small for anything except browsing and photos so I won't be posting and will find it difficult to catch up with your blogs, too. I'll do my best to catch up on my return, though, and wish you all the very best for September.