Glorious weather!

The weather did improve on Saturday but we had no sun! It was cloudy but very warm. I recce'd my walk again (7 miles) and I was dripping with sweat by the end!

 On Sunday I had a lovely, lazy day. I did a wash, made dinner and sat in the sun - yes, finally we had sunshine in Bedford after a whole week's absence; and read my book, 'Meadowland' by John Lewis-Stempel. I'd heard his latest book 'The Running Hare' serialised on Radio 4, so I reserved it from the library and Meadowland. It's excellent, beautifully written and just so interesting. I'm very fond of nature writing and if you like it too, there's an excellent blog called 'Tales of the City' by Melissa Harrison (author of 'Clay' and 'At Hawthorn Time') here.

Sunday's outfit - top £1.00, Bedford market, years ago; trousers; charity shopped, lace up pumps; Primarni.

I found some abandoned plant pots and planters on the street, waste not want not I thought, when I was taking grandson home and OH just had to go buy more soil and plants to go in them...none of them are in this picture, but do you like my lavender in the galvanised bucket?

All jewellery charity shopped.

They say age shows in the hands and my hands do look their age. I'm sure it's because our hands are usually exposed to all weathers. I know in the summer my hands are the brownest part of me even though I try to keep out of the sun.

Here's a few more things blooming in the garden...

Night scented stocks

My lupin bloomed today!

 Geraniums, fuschias, pansies and petunias; I don't know what the other ones are -  they're the ones OH bought today...

On Monday I had Poll Clerk training  for the Referendum on the 23rd and on my way back I bumped into Naomi - our lovely local fashionista!

She makes all her own clothes adapting what she finds in the charity shops. When it's hot she usually has a parasol which matches her outfits....

 On Tuesday I walked my walk again (7 miles) and oh boy was it hot. I was melting by the end. I had to pop into town when I got back and I got home just before the thunderstorm broke. It rained and rained but the garden was looking very grateful after it stopped - several hours later. Lots of lightening flashes and very loud cracks of thunder. Luckily, I don't have a nervous disposition...

 On Wednesday I bumped into Naomi again. Sometimes I don't see her for months and then I see her twice in the same week! Sod's Law at work again. Naomi doesn't mind posing for a photo - which is a piece of luck! Can you see her lace parasol and an exquisite looking jacket on her shopping trolley? She is never without the shopping trolley.

We have a charity furniture shop (one of 3 in Bedford) which is a charity for people with learning disabilities. I walked past it on Wednesday and decided to pop in for a quick look. I spent the princely sum of  £1.90 and bought: a vase; (50p) a small jug (20p); a book (20p); a hat and pair of cotton trousers! Bargain! They don't normally do clothes but they had two rails upstairs; one for men and one for women and everything was 50p!

Here's the vase.

I don't normally have a tablecloth on the table but on Monday evening my 3 brothers all came for dinner and my eldest brother stayed the night. He had just come back from Denmark where he had a gig and it was lovely to see him. He's always so busy rehearsing, performing, producing. composing and writing music that he makes it to Bedford only a couple of times in the year. We do go to watch him perform when we can especially if it's within easy travelling distance such as Northampton or Milton Keynes.

I only knew of and met this brother in 2013 and I will do a post one day about how he came into our lives.

Here's my 50p hat!

This was Wednesday's outfit. Everything charity shopped. I had white loafers on from River Island - also charity shopped. I remembered to take a photo just as I was getting ready for bed....

All jewellery except rings charity shopped and earrings from E Bay

Not very exciting outfits this week but I just want to be cool and not sweaty all the time...

Everything charity shopped. I'd just come back from a late afternoon walk with my daughter (7 miles). I just wore my walking boots and took the kimono off!

Most of the bangles are charity shopped although one was a present from OH soon after we met - it's 3 entwined bangles which can't be separated. Ring charity shop.

Necklace - Primarni. Angel wing earrings, charity shop.

Here's hoping we have a glorious weekend, too!

Rainy days and Mondays...

I'm sorry now, I packed my winter stuff away! It's been a horrible week of weather here; cold, wet and windy. I actually put my heating on for two evenings because I was tired of feeling cold. Despite the weather it's been a busy sort of week. Too busy to take outfit photos much of the time, but here's one I remembered to take as I was getting ready for bed on BH Monday night:

I still haven't got round to painting my toenails....

Everything charity shopped except the trousers which were bought from the sale rail in Sainsbury's!

I didn't go to a car boot sale on Monday because the weather was dodgy. I didn't want to drive there - it's about 9 miles away - to find it had been called off because of the weather. It didn't rain that much in the end but I did something very useful instead. I got out my sewing basket and did some mending! I sew so rarely it's worth a blog mention.

I took up two pairs of trousers (including the one in the photo above), sewed a tie back onto a dress and mended, quite successfully, I thought, a rip in my eldest grandson's jacket. He turned up unexpectedly on BH Monday and it was lovely to see him. I did lots of his washing and he set off back to London with a red suitcase full of clean clothes and a large shopping bag containing a dismantled computer desk.  I picked it up in the British Heart Foundation shop for a fiver! 

The weather has interfered with my walking, too. I wanted to walk on Tuesday but it was a day where it rained all day without stopping until about 5 pm. I'd gone to the the food bank in the morning and had hoped it would clear up enough in the afternoon to go walking  - but it didn't. It wasn't a particularly nice day on Wednesday either, but I went walking in London with my daughter.

One of the many beautiful canal side homes we passed on our walk. This one was between London Zoo and Regent's Park Mosque.

We walked part of the Jubilee Greenway. We didn't realise this when we started out but kept seeing discs in the towpath saying 'Jubilee Greenway'. In fact, we were following a walk I found online, but it dated back to 1999;  'Little Venice to Mile End', 8.3 miles.  By the time we added the walk from the train to the tube, it came to 10+ miles. 

We started off from Little Venice (nearest tube Warwick Avenue). My primary school was quite close to here and it was a frequent outing taken by the school .  Here you pick up the Grand Union Canal and the walk was mostly on the canal towpath. We passed London Zoo, where we saw a couple of boars and in the aviary some herons and cranes. At some point we picked up the Regents Canal and came to Camden Lock; then King's Cross, then Islington where we had to get off the canal towpath and walk to the Angel. We picked the towpath up again and we stayed on it until the end, at Mile End. We could have gone on for another mile to Limehouse Basin, but daughter was freezing so went for a coffee to warm up. It was a col, windy and wet day but the walk was great!

We saw this wonderful display on one of the many narrow boats we passed.

One canal side dweller had opted for a life size cow as an ornament on their balcony...

This gorgeous lady, on closer inspection, is being defecated and urinated on by two cherubs  - or is it just me?  She was dangling from the opposite bank of the canal.  She looks uncannily like Amy Winehouse.

Finally, an extremely enterprising person has set up a floating bookshop on the canal called: 'Word on the Water'. How clever! Unfortunately, it was closed so we couldn't have a nose round.

We saw police divers at work. I asked them if it was a training exercise and they said no. As there weren't any body bags  or stretchers around I assumed they might have been searching for a weapon but I suppose I'll never know. Damn it, I want to know what they were looking for!

Back to London on Thursday to see ex mum-in-law. We took middle and youngest grandsons to Nandos - they love it. Can't see why - I was not impressed.

Friday's outfit. Top and cardigan; charity shopped. Skinny jeans and boots - Primarni. Necklace, bangles and earrings; charity shopped.

It was so cold, this is what I wore when I went food shopping!

Luckily, I don't pack everything away for summer. This coatigan is by Mint Velvet and I bought it three years ago from a charity shop in Northampton. Yes, it was cold enough for gloves!

I believe the weekend is bringing better weather - I do hope so!

I'm linking up with Anne's 52 Pick Me Up - Black/White at Spygirl here just because I can!

T'was the week before half -term...

It's been a strange week this week. I haven't done much walking; only two days and both times only 4.5 miles. I did one of the walks with my daughter, which is always enjoyable; and next week is half term week, so we're going to do a long walk in London. Transport for London (TfL) has loads on their website here. I just need to choose one!  I'm so used to walking about 3 times a week minimum and doing reasonable distances; that when I don't I feel a bit discombobulated! When we do go to London to walk we'll meet up with the oldest grandson - I have missed him.

I volunteered on Monday and on Tuesday did my final  invigilation. On Wednesday I had planned to go to London for the day, but a good friend needed some support and practical help; I took her to see her oldest son who is currently in a coma in hospital. She lives in Cambridge and the hospital is in Huntingdon.

 Her mobility is impaired at the moment as she recently had an operation and still has an open wound.  She needed a wheelchair, so I pushed her in the chair from the car park to the unit and back again. It was very sad to see her son in this state and no one knows what the future holds for him at this present time. It came out of the blue. None of us know what might happen tomorrow and it's why we have to make the most of the time we have and show our love and appreciation for the people in our lives.

On a happier note, our friend, who had a stroke back in February is making excellent progress. He's getting up and down the stairs and around using a tripod. He's having all the necessary interventions and will hopefully be back home soon.

This was Thursday's outfit. The weather is so weird that I'm never sure what to wear. It seems to be chilly in the mornings and usually warm and sunny in the afternoon, so a cardigan of some description is always needed. I've packed all my heavier cardigans away for the summer so have mostly lightweight ones at the moment.

I look at least 8 months pregnant from this angle - but I blame the top!

This is one of the tops I bought last weekend in Ely. The cardigan is an old one from a La Redoute sale. I love the colour - it's a sort of washed out blackcurrant and I knew it would be a good match for this top. Purple leggings bought on line; loafers charity shopped.

It was  so chilly on Thursday morning, I wore this velvet coat from Boden into town with a scarf - both charity shopped. I like this coat but this is only the second time I've worn it and I've had it for years! I'm trying to stop having 'going out' clothes (such as this coat) because I rarely go out anywhere dressy; it's pointless keeping clothes for 'best'. I love the colour of this coat; it's almost the same as the cardigan. I also love velvet - so tactile!

All jewellery charity shopped.

I visited a few charity shops in the week and bought a pair of beige (yes, I'm afraid so!) snakeskin type print trousers, (2.99) white cuffed trousers  (3.99) - perfect for holiday; spotty top (1.49) below and a pair of loose, black trousers for 99p.

Saturday's outfit. Everything charity shopped except earrings which were from Sainsbury's about 8 years ago. The spotty top was from the new charity shop in town; Wood Green Animal Shelter.

I took the youngest grandson to the audiology clinic on Thursday. He was born with Microtia so only has hearing in one ear, but he's doing fine. On Friday I went to the hairdressers and for short walk of about 4.5 miles. My daughter and I walked on Saturday, in glorious sunshine for a 4.5 mile walk.

On Sunday I went to visit my son and everyone came for dinner. Again it was chilly when we left about midday but by the time we returned at 5 pm it was warm and sunny.

Top: Monsoon, charity shopped, trousers bought with voucher from Tesco -  so almost free; coat: David Emmanuel, charity shopped. Yellow loafers; old, Tesco outlet store.

Earrings, necklace, watch and bangles all charity shopped. Middle grandson took the photos, so this one is a bit blurry.

I'm looking forward to next week - half term. No school run so a couple of lie-ins instead!  Probably going to a car boot sale on Bank Holiday. I'll be going to the food bank on Tuesday;  I've missed about 3 weeks because of the invigilation. Two trips to London - one to see ex mum-in-law and one for a long walk and visit youngest grandson at the restaurant where he works.

I'm  on the last of the Monica Dicken's books and need to decide what to read next.
I've got a new Anne Cleeves (she writes the books the 'Vera' and 'Shetland' TV series are based on). I've got Angela Thirkell's autobiography; Emma Tennant's reminiscences of her affair with Ted Hughes in 'Burnt Diaries;' or a new Kindle download about the Orkney Islands called 'The Outrun'. Spoilt for choice I am!

Ely weekend

We had a brilliant time in Ely. 

Ely is in Cambridgeshire and is part of the Fens; 14 miles north east of Cambridge, about 44 miles from Bedford. The name Ely  is derived from the Isle of Eels, when the city was surrounded by water and marshland.

 The Fens, also known as the Fenland, is a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region.

Ely Cathedral. Known as the 'Ship of the Fens' as its height makes it visible from miles around in the flat countryside.

I am standing outside Oliver Cromwell's house. He crops up a lot in these parts; he went to school in Huntingdon where we visited a few months back here.

White jeggings and green top bought in Tesco's sale about 2 years ago. Scarf, loafers, earrings, bangles and watch all charity shopped.

On Sunday, we went to the Cathedral. We were lucky enough to hear the choir practising. The music they made caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.
 The cathedral was magnificent. I'm not religious but you cannot but feel a sense of awe in such places at the lengths people went to in their design and devotion to their God.

Beautiful stained glass windows. There is a museum of stained glass here as well.

The Octagonal Tower

Amazing detail  and painting on the ceiling.

After looking at the Cathedral we strolled around looking at wonderful buildings and then walked by the Great River Ouse. We felt quite at home as the same river runs through Bedford.

Prior Crauden's chapel - finished in 1324.

Lady's Hall - completed in the 1330s.

Don't know whose house this is but isn't it gorgeous?

We rummaged on Saturday. Ely has 7 charity shops and we also went to Newmarket in Suffolk which was about 15 miles away and checked out theirs. I bought a spotty cup and saucer in Newmarket and that's all! I bought two tops; a pair of shoes and a small tray with an Art Noveau print on it, in Ely.

This shop (in Newmarket) was originally a butcher's making special sausages under Royal licence. It's now a building society.

Jeans, Save the Children; top British Red Cross; coat, Age UK; scarf, present from step daughter, handbag, birthday present from middle grandson and his mum. Shoes, Primarni.

Can you see the original tiling and lovely pillars?

Earrings - donated by my daughter!