Wednesday 18 September 2019

Ireland and after 2019

I started a blog post before I left for Ireland and it seems a pity to waste it -  so here it is and my current post starts further on....

 Here's a lovely summery picture for you. It's called 'Along the Shore' by A. Southall and it hangs in my hallway to one side of my hall table (which I rescued from a skip). I bought the painting for 10.00 a few years ago from the 3:16 charity shop.


The good weather continued for my final week in England. It was quite a busy week - as always. I volunteered on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I took my youngest grandson and his friend bowling in St. Neots and out for something to eat afterwards. On Thursday, I finally went out for a walk as it seemed a little cooler. I walked 10 miles recceing a new walk but it's too long. The difficulties with trying to find new walks is not the walks themselves; there are dozens of walks that I've discovered by myself just out meandering through the countryside; I also have three books of Bedfordshire walks (all charity shopped of course!) and there is a council website that has some as well. 

No, the difficulty is with the parking. We have to start from a venue that has somewhere to park and as there are up to 40 cars to park at a time this is not always easy. It was a really nice walk but my poor legs were feeling it by the end. It was a fortnight to the day since I'd done any proper walking so I wasn't surprised. I tried again on Saturday starting from a different place and I managed to get it down to 8.5 miles which was better; but still a bit too far. I decided to try again when I get back from Ireland to see if I can find a shortcut and knock at least half a mile off. Wish me luck! I've got till almost the end of October to perfect it.


These are some of the outfits I wore this week. Everything charity shopped. Top by Glamorous from my Barnardo's; 2.00, I think - when we had the 2.00 on everything special offer. Trousers by H&M but can't remember where.


On Monday at the charity shop I bought myself a fancy pair of flip flops with diamonds on them; for 2.50. I should have worn them with this outfit! All jewellery charity shopped.


I was being brave here and wearing my top tucked in. The skirt by M&S (it's striped denim) was also 2.00 in my Barnardo's. I've had the Paris top for ages and can't remember where I got it from. Trusty Clark's sandals; retail about nine/ten years ago. All jewellery and scarf charity shopped.



Another Barnardo's buy but 3.99! It's a Joules top and I wore it with the red Simon Jefferies skirt I bought at the car boot sale for 2.00.


Green shoes; online retail. Headscarf; Barnardo's 1.00.


All jewellery charity shopped except the necklace which I bought from a local shop called Simi and Lola; alas now only online.

Went to see my son on Friday and wore a new to me Masai top that I bought at Barnardo's on Monday along with my posh flip flops. The top was 3.00 and I like it but it has a cowl neck which I don't like. I folded it inwards when I wore it and I'm going to cut the neck so it folds inwards and lies flat. It is blue with a big floral print but I'm afraid I forgot to take photos. I wore it with navy linen trousers.

On Saturday, after my walk and taking my car for a much needed wash; I spotted a sign on the way home that said a garden was open for charity - so we went for a nose. It was part of the National Garden Scheme and what a beauty it was. Not only were the flowers spectacular they had ducks, a couple of geese and some chickens! The bees were everywhere. It was just an ordinary Victorian villa with a bay window at the front but they had transformed every bit of outdoor space with flowers and plants. Absolutely lovely. 


At the back of the house a wall of sweet peas with the most wonderful scent. I couldn't stop sniffing them. If anyone knows of a scent that has a sweet pea smell please let me know; I'll buy it straight away!


Another flower bed at the rear of the house. We bought some of those yellow and red plants at the bottom of the picture.


At the front of the garden.


Also at the front.

This was a postcard with various different scenes from the garden.
I had seen several notices around Bedfordshire villages advertising Open Gardens but this was the first I actually managed to get to.

Well,  now I've got that out of the way, hello to you all! I hope you've had a wonderful summer. I have. I didn't want to come back from Ireland and could have happily spent another 6 weeks there...this a beach photo heavy post so you've been warned! I completely forgot my tripod so not that many OOTD, though.
The necklace was a Donegal charity shop purchase as was the white top (3 euros); trousers; La Redoute sale years ago and yellow cardigan from my Barnardo's. Headscarf same place.

This was taken on a Co. Sligo beach I'd not visited before. It's called Streedagh (pronounced Streedjah) beach. Beaches are called strands in Ireland. This one (see below) had very big waves the day we visited so I wasn't sure about swimming there -  but apparently it's very safe to swim there; it will just have to wait until next year now. 
On the same strand, these rocks were completely covered with Goose Neck Barnacles. The barnacles are alive and pop out their heads and wave them about which is rather creepy...


A coolish day in Donegal.  We were off to Letterkenny for a rummage. Trousers; Tu sale some years ago, black dress 1.00 rail somewhere. Part of my caravan wardrobe. The jacket was bought in the Donkey Sanctuary charity shop in Ballyboffy, Co. Donegal, this trip, for 5 euros. Although you can't see the detail on the front there are a lot of  different buttons sewn all over and the back embroidery detail can be seen below. You can see why it called to me!



All jewellery charity shopped.


I spent quite a lot of time  in the sea whilst I was away. Not because the weather was great because it wasn't. It was cloudy, grey, but never cold and of course we had rain and it was very windy at times.  There were some sunny days and on one giddy occasion it reached 20 degrees! But I had a revelation whilst I was there and that was at this time of the year - late summer/early autumn; the sea is warm (ish). Now, in the UK I live at least 80+ miles from the sea and don't get to the sea side very often, so it's taken me all this time to learn this. In Ireland I went swimming when the air temperatures were 13 and 14 degrees and the sea was lovely! It's all to do with the Gulf Stream, I've been told.

 This was Muckross Bay in Co. Donegal. Didn't manage to swim here but there's always next year!



Everything charity shopped - this is part of my caravan wardrobe. Beach shoes are old Clark's loafers.



Muckross Head. Taken from a viewing point looking down on the bay.


Now this beach I did swim at. The Silver Strand at Malin Beg or Trá Bán in Gaelic. The a in Trá  and Bán have a 'fada', which is like the French accent symbol.


A beautiful place to swim - a very special place to me.


I was astonished by this sea weed. At the top of the photo you can just see two spiky objects; these were part of the sea weed and felt just like rubber balls. Yes, I squeezed them to see what would they felt like!


We visited this Court Tomb which was close to the Silver Strand. Both of the strands are in the Gaeltacht or Gaelic speaking part of Donegal.


On the Silver Strand. Everything charity shopped.


I liberated these hydrangeas from a bush on the mobile home site...


This was taken on Rossnowlagh Strand., Co. Donegal. The coat is by Gudrun Sjoden and was bought a few years ago in the charity shop in Killybegs for 6 euro. I have three other summer coats so I left this one behind. Everything charity shopped but can't remember where I bought the trousers. They were bought in the UK somewhere and in the last couple of months.


A not very good selfie!


This lovely garden is on St. John's Point where I did a good bit of walking. There was also this one further down St. John's Point:





It was my paternal Uncle and Aunt's 50th wedding anniversary whilst I was in Ireland. The party was in Co. Offaly where they live and I saw lots of relatives some of whom I last  saw 50+ years ago. These three ladies are my father's sister's. The eldest is Aunty Maggie in the middle who is 90 years old. She has lived in this nursing home for the past 9 years and doesn't know anyone anymore. Aunties Maura on the left and Joan on the right. Aunty Maura is 85 and was not off the dance floor!


Here we are having a dance! I bought the vintage 80s (I think) dress from Etsy and the sandals are by M&S; charity shopped in the Killybegs charity shop about three years ago; jacket bought in a Beales sale some years ago. This is a photo of a photo so the quality is not very good...



My Aunty Maggie looks so much like my Granny it made me cry when I saw her. My Granny (on my dad's side) died when I was about thirteen or fourteen. On a lighter note you might have spotted that I've painted my nails in this picture. The only time my nails grow to the same length and don't break is when I'm here in Ireland. It's because I do very little housework while I'm here!


The wedding anniversary couple - Uncle Jerry and Aunty Ann and my six cousins; from L to R; Martin, Terry, Fintan, Mary, Philomena and John Paul.


Mullaghmore Harbour, Co. Sligo. This is where Lord Mountbatten, his grandson, his grandson's grandmother and  a local boy, who was taking them lobster fishing; were blown up by an IRA bomb in 1979. The grandson's parents and his twin brother were seriously injured. My cousin and his wife live here and I visit them a lot when I'm in Ireland. They're about 40 miles away from me and are geographically nearest to me. I haven't swam here yet but that's another one for next year. My cousin's children have all gone pier jumping from the steps you can see at the entrance to the harbour. This photo was taken outside the restaurant where we often have something to eat.


My frequent walking companions; cousin's Caroline; Martina (my cousin's wife) and Willow, the dog! We had walked around Rosses Point in Co. Sligo on this day.


There is always a week in August in Ireland known as Heritage week. You may remember last year I did a 20 mile walk as part of Heritage Week; which was to commemorate the 460th anniversary of the sinking of some of the Spanish Armada ships off the coasts of Donegal and Sligo. This year I went to some very interesting talks on Donegal women in history and St. John's Point in WW2. The Eire sign picked out in stones and painted white (above) was No. 73 in a series of lookout posts (you can just make out the lookout tower in the very far distance) all around the Irish coast. Used to guide aircraft to safe landings or just to orientate the pilots. Ireland remained neutral during WW2 but whether that was actually the case was part of the discussion. Both events were fascinating. There were two further events I wanted to attend but both were called off because of heavy rain!


This is the Peace Bridge in Derry. I always visit Derry when I am in Ireland and I had planned on this day to walk all around the walls, as it is a walled city; but once again I had to abandon my plan as the rain came down and down...


These murals were found just off the side streets in the main shopping centre.



And this one was especially for me!  My name plus a bird (and a skull and some bones). I don't know what is was. It may be the back of a shop which is called Veronica's and sells women's clothes. I will have to check it out next time I'm there...


I went to listen to some live music in Sligo Abbey with Martina one Sunday afternoon - and very good it was too!


These carts or traps were very common when I was a child visiting Ireland. This one is left outside a pub in Dunkineely, Co. Donegal and is a bit of a tourist attraction. They are rarely seen nowadays although I did see one in Co. Waterford and in Dublin, both pulled by ponies.


A man gutting his catch in Killybegs, Co. Donegal. The gulls were flocking to him...


My cousin Marian came out to Ireland with me and stayed for a week. We went to visit relatives in Co. Leitrim and here we met some second and third cousins. From L to R; cousins Marian, Linda, third cousins Harriette and Sinead and cousin Doirin. Harriette and Sinead are hairdressers and this photo was taken in the salon in Mohill. Marian really enjoyed her stay and can't wait to come back. 


OH and I went to spend a weekend in Co. Waterford with my cousin Sinead and her husband, John. We did a lot of bird watching which I loved and John spotted a quite rare bird called a semi-palmated sandpiper. All I saw was a blur...

BallyMcCaw Bay, Co. Waterford.

We had a lovely weekend and Waterford is a lovely city and one I'd not visited before.  It's on the south coast and is warmer than Donegal in the north west, but you know I prefer Donegal with its rain and all!

On our way back to the UK we stayed a night in Dublin and went to visit my cousin Richard's (who sadly died last year aged 49) wife and children who moved to Dublin earlier this year from Co. Leitrim. It was lovely to see them again and we'll be regular visitors to them in Dublin as we were when they  lived in Leitrim.

So, between visiting relatives, walking, swimming and rummaging you can see I had a marvellous time in Ireland. The crochet bag was not even opened! I read quite a few books and watched one DVD. I did quite well on the rummaging front. I bought 3 jackets (oops!) three tops, two tunics, a pair of trousers, two bags, and two dresses = 43 euros in total. It's been a few days since I got back and  normal routine has been re established. In fact, Ireland seems but a distant memory now. But it's good to be back in the blogosphere - I missed you!


Monday 29 July 2019

Last post before Ireland!


This will be my last post for a while as I'm taking a blogging break whilst I'm on holiday in Ireland. Those of you who have been following me for a while will know that I spend quite a lot of the summer in Ireland at my mobile home in Donegal. There is virtually no internet access and I have to rely on free wifi in cafes and pubs and restaurants; which of course makes blogging difficult. I do my best to keep following your blogs and try to comment where I can but actually writing a post is pretty difficult so I take a break.


This was Monday's outfit worn to the charity shop to volunteer. The top is from Bedford market; a 1.00 bargain bought  a few weeks back. Trousers from Monsoon; bought from the 3:16 charity shop. The Mary Jane shoes from Clarke's  were also charity shopped but I can't remember where.

I've just realised that I have broken my #slowfashion pledge by buying the 1.00 bargains in the market. I was fooled by the cheap price;  forgetting they weren't second hand...although come to think of it,  the striped linen top I bought and wore on my previous post had a very clever mend on the front. Maybe these 1.00 bargains are customer returns because they have flaws? I will have to ask the stall holder the next time I see him. All the items he had on the stall for 1.00 had tiny flaws; I believe they're called 'cabbages' in the trade. They also all had 'Made in Italy' labels or at least all my buys did. He probably buys a job lot of 'cabbages' from the manufacturer and then flogs them as cheap as he can.
And why not? I assume they'd only go to landfill otherwise.


Scarf and jewellery both charity shopped.
This top has a bit of fraying at the shoulder seam.



I wore this to the Food Bank on Tuesday. It was a scorching hot day. Dress charity shopped; can't remember where, it's by Mantaray.


All jewellery charity shopped and scarf.


White cardi charity shopped. Shoes by Clarks; charity shopped 10.00. Could have worn my pink top I bought in Teignmouth with this - see below!

On Wednesday I walked with the group. It was a lovely sunny day again. We walked from Eynesbury - Eaton Socon - St. Neots and back to Eynesbury. Most of the walk was by the river.  The good thing about Rambler's walks is that you never come back by exactly the same route. We did 7 miles in total.


This is the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Eaton Socon seen through the trees.


An Oast House in St. Neots. Used for drying barley and hops to make beers and ales.


This was the site of Payne's Brewery in St. Neots. Now converted into flats.

Some wild flower planting in the meadow by the river bank.


I went to Sandy in the afternoon and had a rummage. I bought some bits of jewellery and a M&S coral linen top for 2.00; and that was it.

Thursday was a busy day as I had to take youngest grandson for a doctor's appointment;  which meant collecting him from school and later in the evening taking him for football training. I also did the food shopping. I went for a 4 mile walk whilst grandson was at football training.

On Friday, I took him for a hospital appointment then onto school in the morning. I had planned to go for a swim; but as my muscles were still quite sore I thought I would give it  a miss this week. I completely forgot that the school holidays start the following week; and that apart from 7 am to 8.50 am; there would be no more lane swimming.  Oh blast it. I might have to try evenings when it will be quieter.

Lovely gladioli from Lidl.

 I spent a few hours on Friday looking around the town centre and High Street charity shops and I bought nothing!


I went to see my son on Saturday taking my middle grandson, as I always do. Another beautiful day!
I bought these trousers and top from the Children's Society when I was in Teignmouth. Both were 2.99 each.


I did start out with a cream jacket but it was too warm so opted for this lace waistcoat instead; also charity shopped. I have to wear something over the top because when I was removing the price tag from the top I stupidly ripped it instead of cutting it; resulting in two small tears. As I can't do invisible mending I have to cover it up.

Sandals 3.99 my Barnardo's. Scarf from Primarni retail last winter.


All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings which were bought in the New Look  winter sale. I didn't have any gold coloured hoops and these were reduced to 2.50.

On Sunday OH and I ventured to our local car boot sale which is only held once a month. Although I had decided not to buy anymore clothes; I did! A red maxi skirt by Simon Jeffries for 1.00; a green embroidered jacket by Olsen for 2.00; a white lace coat for 2.00; and an African print skirt for 1.50.

The jacket needs an iron!


I wore this to the charity shop on Monday. It was hot and humid. The pale pink trousers are by Dotty P and were from the 1.00 rail in the 3:16 charity shop - another pink item added to my wardrobe. The top I've had for years and the lace shirt too; both charity shopped. I can't remember where I bought them. Pink shoes charity shopped  in Donegal for 3 euros.


Necklace 1.00 from my Barnardo's a few weeks ago. All jewellery charity shopped. Scarf from Primarni.


Tuesday's outfit.


I don't know why I thought this M&S: 2.00 coral linen top from Barnardo's in Sandy, would go with this skirt by Classics and charity shopped, too. Maybe because there is a faded coral flower in the pattern? Not that discernible in the photo  - sorry. Although I love the print on this skirt I can never really find anything in my wardrobe that goes with it. It's gone into the charity shop bag which is almost full again. By the way, the pink cotton top I bought in Teignmouth is a faded pink and would have gone better; I had washed it but hadn't tried it on and when I did on Tuesday morning it didn't fit! I'll wear it as a cardigan instead; over my short sleeved maxi dress above with the blue and pink pattern.

Anyway, I think I need a shocking pink top; preferably in linen or cotton and with sleeves.  I have three maxi skirts it would go with and various other things. I've spotted a gap in my wardrobe! This will be my charity shopping mission for the next few weeks. I'll probably find something in Ireland...

I don't look hot in this photo but I was! The sweat just ran down my face all day and I hate it.

My plans for walking this week were totally scuppered by the heat. We had really high temperatures. 26 degrees on Monday; 32 degrees on Tuesday. I wanted to go for a walk after the food bank on Tuesday but it was too darn hot. I decided to go to Olney; a small town I haven't visited for a while; which has about 4 or 5 charity shops. Unfortunately, there were road closures and although I tried to get there via a different village the road was still closed. I couldn't be bothered with sat navs and maps; it was too hot and my brain goes to mush in the heat. I went to Kempston instead. I didn't find a shocking pink top but I bought a brooch for 2.45 and 3 items for 1.00 in the Cat's Protection league. A wooden box; an earring holder and a paper lampshade still in its box.

On Wednesday it was 31/32 degrees. Definitely not walking weather. My face was running with sweat as I tried to put my make up on! I persevered with it and went to volunteer at the charity for another four hours. At least they have air conditioning. Otherwise, I'd be at home twiddling my thumbs. The charity shop was very busy and I was mainly out the back processing the donations - we had dozens and dozens of donations.


Top and Phool skirt charity shopped from the Day Hospice shop in Bedford.
Shoes; Tu retail. I saw them reduced to half price when I was in Sainsbury's the other day. Don't you just hate it when that happens? I did buy mine in March or April though!

All jewellery charity shopped.


I wore this on the hottest day of the year. It reached 37.8 degrees in the Botanic Gardens  in Cambridge. For us it was about 35 to 36 degrees. I did the food shopping early and then my daughter and I went to Leighton Buzzard. We had wanted to go to Ascott (home of the Rothschilds) so I could make use of my National Trust pass again; but it was simply too hot to be walking about gardens and houses. We had lunch in Leighton Buzzard and a quick look round the charity shops - about 4 in total,  then came home. I bought nothing.


Striped top by M&S charity shopped in Ireland for 1.00 euro; skirt from M&S also charity shopped but can't remember where. It's a few years old and I have a similar one in the caravan!


The headscarf came from my Barnardo's. Shoes bu Tu at Sainsbury's; retail.


All jewellery charity shopped.


On Friday I spent the day with the middle grandson. I took him to Cambridge for the day.  He's very interested in History (and Politics). It was a black and white day for me. Everything charity shopped. Linen top by Next:; trousers by New Look; sandals by Clarks.



Kimono by Halys and charity shopped  in Ireland.


All jewellery and scarf charity shopped.

   We went to the Whipple Museum in Cambridge at Grandson's request as it was about the history of science. There are 7 museums in Cambridge so you are really spoilt for choice. I'd also booked a tour of the colleges and I wanted to take Grandson for a punt on the River Cam. We didn't manage the last as by the time the tour finished we were both pretty tired. Plus, I'd got stung by a wasp when we sat down for a cream tea! I was trying to bat it away from us when it got lodged under my big yellow ring (!) and stung me. I was able to pull the stinger out but my hand became swollen and sore. The last time I got stung by a wasp was when I was 17 and walking with my maternal grandmother back from the little town where she lived in Ireland.
These photos were taken before the tour began.
We started our tour at The Round Church; bottom left. Grandson is never off his mobile phone..top left photo; part of King's College - we didn't go to this one but it's where the Christmas Carol Service (Carols from King's) is broadcast from on Christmas Day. The top right photo is Thomas Harvey; the man who discovered how blood flows round the body. He is holding a heart in his hand!
This is Christ's College, Cambridge.
There are 31 colleges in Cambridge and the older ones have a similar layout. There is an imposing gate; (top left and middle right) and an inner part called a court at Cambridge and a Quad at Oxford;  the court usually consists of the dining hall, a chapel, the Master's house (bottom right); student and Master's rooms/offices. Some of the larger colleges have more than one court.
 The tour begins:

Trinity College - the richest of all the colleges.
St.John's College. Two prominent abolitionists studied here; Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce.


Sidney Sussex College (and below). Oliver Cromwell studied here as it was the Puritan college.


We also visited Magdalen College but I didn't take any photos.

On Saturday we went to Kettering to celebrate my brother Mark's birthday. A good time was had by all! We went to the local Thai restaurant which we've been going to for nearly 20 years and it's still as good as it was when it first opened.


I'm wearing the same outfit twice on the same post!  I think this could be a first for me.  This trouser and top combo is very comfortable and I jazzed it up with the white lace jacket bought from local car boot sale for 2.00. It has no label in it but it's going to be one of those really useful pieces. It rained for most of the day on Saturday and was a lot cooler. Our mini heat wave was over!


All jewellery charity shopped, as well as scarf and sandals from my Barnardo's.

Shiny!

That's all from me folks; I'll see you in mid September!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A weekend visitor and an exhibition

 Hello!  I'll soon be off to Ireland  so let me tell you what I've been up to over the last two weeks.  I'll start with a whinge...