What the heck is the weather doing?

Although the temperatures in April were below the seasonal average it was still a lot warmer than before we went to Cornwall. I didn't need to put the heating on in the morning and although we were still lighting the fire each evening; it was usually around 7pm and not 5pm as before. On the last Wednesday in April, I went to recce the walk I'd be leading on 12th June and walked 7.5 miles. There were so many cowslips everywhere; it seems to be a bumper year for them.

More wildflowers spotted on my walk: left - Lungwort, top right; Greater Stitchwort; bottom right; Common Daisy.

I went to the hairdressers on Thursday morning and as she is near the Daycare Hospice I popped in for a quick look and dropped a carrier bag full of donations off. I bought a pair of dungarees and a cobalt blue top. I've never owned a pair of dungarees and I'm just hoping that at 67 I'm not too old to wear some! Just need some warmer weather...

This is the homemade dress I  bought from the Wood Green Animal Shelter charity shop when I dropped off a bag of donations last week.

I wore it with my bargainous 50p River Island jacket which I really love but swapped over to my denim jacket when I went off to the weekly shopping for a more casual look. Everything charity shopped including green River Island boots and thick woollen tights underneath. It was still a bit chilly thanks to the cold wind.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I went to Sharnbrook for logs and kindling; then Aldi, Lidl and Sainsburys. In Sainsburys, I got a real bargain; L'Oreal mascara for 1.50! Either Sainsburys are no longer going to stock this brand; or the company have discontinued it so they wanted to get rid of it. I like L'Oreal mascara and wear it all the time; I liked this discounted one so much I bought 3! In the evening we went over to my daughter's house with a birthday present for her partner.

Friday was a really nice day with bright sunshine and in the afternoon it was actually quite warm. I went swimming in the morning and did my 40 laps at last in 56 minutes. I was in need of bird food supplies so taking advantage of the lovely day walked to B&M and Home Bargains; both on the far side of town. I walked along the High Street and was pleased to see both the Marie Curie and the Autism Bedford charity shops were now reopened. I had a quick look in both and bough a green wool Jaeger high neck jumper in Marie Curie for 2.00. Updated to say when I washed it I noticed it had moth holes at the front! However, I am going to try and darn them - me who's never darned anything in my life!

The trousers are by F&F from Vinted, charity shopped shirt is also by F&F; jumper by H&M and boots; both charity shopped.

                                            

All jewellery charity shopped.

As well as going to B&M and Home Bargains; I walked to County Hall to collect some Covid -19 home testing kits. I'm acting as a Poll Clerk on 6th May at the local Police and Crime Commissioner Elections. I had to do some online training on Wednesday evening and we were advised to pick up the kits and test ourselves at least 4 days before the election and on the actual day itself. By the time I got home having finished all my errands; I'd walked 3.68 miles and was very hot; I didn't really need a jacket at all.

OH had his second jab on Saturday. After that we drove over to Kettering and went for a rummage. I bought a green shirt; 2 necklaces and some earrings. We met my brothers outside in a pub garden and had a catch up and then we drove home in brilliant sunshine. It had been quite chilly all day despite the sunshine and especially sitting in the pub garden.

Everything charity shopped except boots bought online. Trousers by Quiz bought from my Barnardo's and top by F&F bought from the Bedford Daycare Hospice shop.

I wore this M&S jacket from Vinted; it wasn't warm enough!

All jewellery charity shopped.

Sunday was a pleasant day. I went for a 5.5. mile walk in the morning along the river to Great Denham and onto Biddenham. In the afternoon we finally emptied out our compost bin which takes up far too much room in our garden.  I was going to take it to my friend Lynne's allotment; she told me when I met her on my walk that she could do with another one. We got six bags of rich black soil out of the compost bin which was very pleasing.  I washed the bin down as it was covered in bird poo being situated near the bird feeding station. I made a roast dinner for OH and both the grandsons.

Although Monday was a bank holiday in the UK; the charity shop was opened so I did a shift from 10 am to 1pm. We weren't very busy but the donations came in steadily. I was very naughty and bought a dress, a skirt and a jacket; which the new manager was going to assign to the rag bag. I rescued it! After I got home from the charity shop OH and I went to the garden centre and bought some plants to fill up our new space; I also stopped at Aldi and bought a small tray of petunias. It was a horrible day cold, wet and windy. We decided to move the compost bin to Lynne's allotment another day.  I did the housework and made soup with the leftover chicken from Sunday. I spent Monday evening catching up with blogland and reading.

All jewellery charity shopped.

Back to the food bank on Tuesday. Everything I wore was charity shopped. Trousers by Dunnes Stores (an Irish chain store); boots by Vanilla Moon; shirt by Punt Roma and top by Classic. It was a very windy day and pretty cold with the occasional burst of sun. It's May and I still haven't taken the summer stuff down from the loft AND we're still lighting the fire in the evenings! I went for my usual swim of 40 laps in the afternoon; then cooked dinner of salmon, roasted Mediterranean vegetables and sweet potato fries. I watched 'All That Glitters' and read in the evening by a nice warm fire... 

All jewellery charity shopped.

The plan was to go for a walk on Wednesday afternoon. I had errands to do in town and had a quick rummage; as both the 3:16 charity shop had reopened and the new YMCA. My outfit was all charity shopped. Red camouflage leggings from my Barnardo's; the striped dress is by H&M and also from my Barnardo's. The red and black striped cardigan is one I charity shopped somewhere years ago but can't remember where...boots as before. Once I got back home the heavens opened and we had hail followed by rain - all afternoon. Walk cancelled! However, I did go to Lidl and do my weekly shop.  Thursday was polling day here in the UK and as I acted as a poll clerk it meant an early start on Thursday. I got up at 5am for a 6.30 am start. The polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. We have to set up the polling booths and dismantle them afterwards as well put up and take down notices and reconcile the paperwork.

This was me at about 11 pm on Thursday 6th May after a 16 hour stint at our local polling station. The time went surprisingly fast; I worked with someone I'd worked with before so that was good. We were steadily busy throughout the day. We were asked not to wear colours associated with political parties so I opted for black and white with red boots. Jacket by Zara; charity shopped at my Barnardo's; the dress was picked up at the 3:16 charity shop; which reopened this week with a half price sale. Leggings by M&S retail. All jewellery charity shopped.

April was mostly wet and cold and in the garden flowering was somewhat later than usual. Adam Frost of 'Gardner's World;' a popular gardening programme here in the UK felt his flowers were blooming about 3 weeks later than usual. I'd say we're about the same compared to last year anyway.  Here's some of what is starting to bloom in my garden. Top left; the wall flowers are doing well; we have some others that have no flowers yet. Top right; the delphinium is starting to flower. In the planter the pansies have become huge and a bit blowsy. Bottom right the aquilegia (our first) is doing well.

The lavender has come on in leaps and bounds this week; the new magnolia has quite a few flowers but they haven't yet fully opened. The rhododendron has had buds for ages; but they've suddenly become bigger and look about to pop! There are also some buds on one of the clematis. Unfortunately, our first time ever anemone which had a lovely purple flower was destroyed by the winds on Thursday. Luckily there are several others in the pot so I'm hoping they'll bloom soon. 

On Friday, I went for my usual swim of 40 laps. I was so puzzled by the incongruity of the Fitbit watch recording of my swimming; I spoke to a couple of the pool attendants and queried the length of the pool. Shock, horror! It's 33.3 metres and not 50 metre as stated on the website. All the times I've been swimming 40 laps and thinking it's 2km are wrong. I've only been doing 1.3km! If I can manage 42 laps in the 60 mins available to swim; I could bring that up to 1.4k so that's the plan for next week's swimming. I've noticed this week how much more crowded the lanes are at the pool. Hopefully, after 17th May we may no longer have to book in advance and maybe the showers will finally reopen, too! I went to Aldi and to Sharnbrook for coal in the afternoon. It was a very pleasant afternoon, warm with lots of sun. I decided to go to Kempston for a quick rummage and bought a Gudrun Sjoden dress in The Cat's Protection League for 5.00; and a M&S floaty shirt in the Keech Hospice shop. There are 5 charity shops in Kempston but I only went to 3 as I'd spent enough by then...

Sunday's outfit. jeans by Next; top by Masai  both charity shopped and clogs by Evie via Vinted.

Earrings from eBay and beads charity shopped.

Saturday, in contrast to Friday, was grey, miserable and wet. It rained for most of the day. I had an extremely lazy day. After I'd got up and eaten my breakfast; I had a second cup of tea (such decadence) and sat on the sofa and finished my William Wisting (Norwegian detective) book. Then I decided it was time to do the swap over from winter to spring clothing; I don't know why, as the weather certainly wasn't springlike. It was quite a big task and took about 3 hours. I put 4 black sacks of winter clothing in the loft; unpacked 4 bags of spring/summer clothing and hung them up or found room for them. I discarded 20 items of clothing to the charity shop bag which; taking into account what I bought recently in Cornwall and on the few rummages I've done since we came back, still means I've got rid of more than I bought - whew! I went for a 5  mile walk on Sunday morning, did the housework and we had a mini bbq with my daughter and two grandsons in the afternoon; we had to run indoors as it began to rain halfway through. It had been an overcast but pleasantly warm day at 19 degrees and it was lovely not to feel cold for a change!

This was what I wore to Barnardo's on Monday. The skirt by Topshop and the jacket by BHS were bought last Monday from there. The skirt has an asymmetrical hem which I didn't realise when I bought it and it also has two slits; it's a most peculiar skirt.  I don't like asymmetrical hems so I will re-donate it. It's a shame as I love the colours and the ditsy print. Shoes charity shopped and green top also charity shopped. I managed to buy zilch this week and plan to buy zilch for a while as I have wardrobes full of summer wear to choose from...

All jewellery charity shopped.

Just as I was getting ready to leave the shop someone brought in about 8 plastic sacks of women's clothing (our limit is 3 per household). They said there was a lot of designer stuff and that most of the clothing was brand new and still had the labels on -  we took the lot! I really don't understand how you can have a wardrobe full of clothes you've bought but never worn. I opened one bag to have a look and everything was either designer or from popular high street clothing stores; all with shop tags intact. All very small sizes of course. I had asked the donators (jokingly) if they'd robbed a warehouse; they said their wardrobes were full and they were making space for more...

I finally wore my new to me dungarees to the food bank on Tuesday. Totally practical for bending, stretching, lifting and carrying but not so good when you need the loo! Luckily, I rarely need to use the loo at the foodbank. They're a little baggy; I think a size down would have been better. I have my swimming cossy on underneath so maybe when I wear a bra it might be less baggy in the chest area. I did try them with a belt but me and belts don't work; I always look like a sack of potatoes tied in the middle. They were extremely comfortable to wear. Charity shopped from the Daycare Hospice shop for 6.00; top also charity shopped and the yellow shoes were charity shopped in Ireland.

After the foodbank; where I put away 10 crates of toiletries and cleaning products; made up 21 hygiene bags and put cereals away I took the car to the garage for its service. Then off I went for my swim.

All jewellery charity shopped. I lost yet another earring!

I hope by the time I post again in a fortnight; the weather will have settled into a more consistent rhythm of being warmer and with more sun as it should be for this time of the year. We will also have moved to yet another stage of easing out of the lockdown and we'll be able to eat in restaurants, go to the cinema and theatre and have overnight visitors. Normality is beckoning...

Cornwall; here we come - and go!

 Was I stiff and sore on Wednesday morning after my first swim in four months!  

I had planned to go for a walk and then have a good old rummage in Bedford; but only managed the rummage. I was exhausted by the time I'd done everything and couldn't wait to sit down and put my feet up. I must have walked miles just around town.  I walked to the Daycare Hospice shop on London Road; then back to the High Street where I visited Cancer Research, Oxfam and the Salvation Army charity shops. I bought new towels in Cancer Research they're very good quality; I'd bought 4 bath sheets there previously. I also bought a pair of jeans by Next in the same shop; to replace my boyfriend jeans which don't fit as I like around the bum. I bought a pink jumper in Oxfam as I possess very little in the way of pink clothing. I then went into and around the bus station area and visited Sue Ryder; Wood Green Animal Shelter, Keech Hospice and the RSPCA. I bought a brown cross body bag in the Wood Green Animal Shelter. Three of the charity shops had closed down permanently; Mercy in Action, Bedford Autism and the Independent charity shop (where I bought the cardigan I'm wearing below 2 years ago). We have a new YWCA shop which has yet to open. I'd also forgotten about the British Heart Foundation shop and the 3:16 charity shop; but had a bag of donations to take another day.  We're back to 10 charity shops in the town centre not 12 as before.  I was still looking for a denim shirt but hoped to find one in Cornwall.

Red jeans by Laura Ashley and navy jumper by Bon Marche. Boots bought online.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I wore my new to me Laura Ashley raincoat from Vinted. It was just the right weather for a raincoat; bright and not too cold. No rain was forecast either. With that in mind I hung washing out when I got home and made dinner. I was delighted to see the 'Great British Sewing Bee' was back for a new series on Wednesday evening. I'd also begun to watch a new series on Tuesday evening called 'All That Glitters' which is like the GBSB  in format but about making jewellery rather than clothes.

As we were going away on Saturday I didn't need to do too much shopping on Thursday. I went to Sharnbrook to buy kindling; to Aldi and to Lidl. After the shopping was put away I decided to go to Kempston and visit the Barnardo's and say hello to my old manager.  She'd asked me if I'd go and see what she had done to the shop since she took it over. First, I put a bulging black sack of donations in the car to drop at the 3:16 charity shop. It wasn't open and to judge by the pile of donations at the door hadn't opened on Monday when the non-essential shops were allowed to re-open. I took the donations to Wood Green Animal Shelter in Kempston instead; where I bought a handmade summer dress for 3.00. Barnardo's had been transformed and looked really fresh and inviting. I had a good look round; congratulated the manager and bought myself a lightweight polo neck top by Zara; which with my discount came to 2.80 - about the price of a posh coffee! I just wore jeans and a top and didn't bother with photos as you've seen it all before. On Friday I went for another swim and swam 38 lengths before I ran out of time. Next time I've promised myself I'll manage 40...

Well, we arrived in Cornwall on Saturday at about 6pm. We had stopped at Hilary's first (in Devon) in a record 3 hours and 20 mins; I was driving. It was so good to see her again; I hadn't seen her in 14 months. We had lunch with her and then set off for our holiday stay which was another 2 hour drive. We stayed at a farm in the bottom half of a cottage called 'Coachmans;' overlooking Praa Sands Bay.  You can see the cottage HERE. There was also a campsite (for caravans and tents) on the farm; there seemed to be one family camping when we arrived. Once we'd settled in we drove to Penzance about 7/8 miles away and picked up supplies at Morrisons. We had a wander around and had an Indian takeaway curry for dinner. I slept well but was woken rudely in the wee small hours (it was still dark) by the alarm on the radio going off! At first I thought it was a bird; but the insistent, perfectly rhythmic sound persuaded me otherwise.

The view from our window in Higher Pentreath, Cornwall looking down on Praa Sands Bay.

We went for a walk along Praa Sands; it's about a mile long I'd guess. I'm very sensibly wearing my walking boots...

On Sunday morning, after a walk along Praa Sands beach we went into Penzance again. It had a lovely sea swimming pool which I'd like to try and is a really nice town.  There were places open to eat but as it was a bit breezy with a definite chill in the air we didn't bother; plus there were lots of people in the queues. I think it's the first time post lockdowns I've seen so many people around.  In the afternoon, we visited St. Ives which was wonderful. Full of quirky streets, lanes, buildings and of course the wonderful light; which has and still does draw so many artists to the area. It was a cloudy day so we didn't see the magical light at its best:

Top left: looking down on St. Ives from the car park. We cheated and caught a local bus to and from the town - it's a very steep walk! Unfortunately, the Tate was closed but the building is quite distinctive (bottom left). There were two charity shops open and I bought a pair East jeans in the Cancer Research shop. On the way back we went to both Helston and Hayle for a look and paid a visit to Lidl in Helston to pick up more supplies. We made dinner in the cottage that evening.

The monument to the Charter granted to Helston by King John in 1201; a game of bowls was in progress on the green behind.

Lots of street  names in Cornwall are unique - I'd never heard of an 'ope' - had you? Another interesting thing was the street names and signs were also written in the Cornish language. Cornwall is known as Kernow and has its own flag called the St. Piran's flag.

On Monday, we went back to Penzance for a good old rummage. I bought a skirt and the perfect sized tin for my solid shampoo and conditioner bars.  We visited about 7 charity shops and then decided to go to Redruth and have a rummage there. In Redruth I bought a ring and a felt hair doodad; which with the addition of a cunningly placed safety pin I can transform into a brooch. Not much to say about Redruth except it was at the heart of the Cornish tin mining industry; as shown by this statue of a 'tinner' in the town centre. The town looked a little neglected and worse for wear, I thought. Lots of empty premises.

In the evening in search of dinner we went to Marazion. We were too late for pub/restaurant food which had stopped serving at six so had takeaway fish and chips instead. They were delicious and well appreciated as by then we were absolutely starving. Marazion was a wonderful place and we made plans to go back and explore further. It's where you can walk  out onto the causeway (just visible in the photo below) to Mount St. Michael.

On Tuesday, I had booked a visit to a National Trust garden called Glendurgan which wasn't too far from Falmouth. It was a beautiful day; warm and sunny and the temperature ranged between 14 and 16 degrees. Glendurgan garden was created by Alfred and Sarah Fox in the 1820s. The garden was set into hilly woodland and at this time of the year there were rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas and lots I don't know the names of. There was very little labelling which I find annoying as I love to know the names of trees and plants.

The garden had a large collection of wonderful trees and a fabulous maze.

The gardens were carpeted everywhere with bluebells and primroses and eventually led down to the tiny fishing hamlet called Durgan; on the Helford River.

We had our first Cornish cream tea here sitting in the sun. I didn't take photos as 1) it didn't last long and 2) it was all in paper bags - it was takeaway only. It was delicious; the scones were made on the premises daily and the jam was made from local produce and from a local supplier. What can I say about the clotted cream except that it was thick, creamy and topped with a yellowish crust. It sounds disgusting but was the opposite! I eat my scones with the jam first and add the cream afterwards - the Cornish way. OH adds the cream first and then the jam; the Devon way. We then set out for Falmouth where we had a rummage. I finally found myself a denim shirt!

Top left; this was once a theatre; the harbour at Falmouth and I don't know the significance of the sheep mosaic which was repeated on all 4 sides of a cup shaped structure; couldn't find out anything about it - but I liked it. We sat in the sun on a bench and ate a Cornish ice cream before returning home. We went for another walk along Praa Sands after making and eating dinner. More people had arrived at the campsite in their camper vans but there were no people camping in tents. We had a chat with a couple who keep their camper van on the site until September and drive up every weekend to it.

On Wednesday, we paid another visit to Marazion and had a good walk around and stopped for a coffee. This quaint building was Marazion's Town Hall.

 A lovely collection of painted pebbles. It became a bit of a craze during the lockdowns, I believe.

Wednesday's outfit. I forgot to bring my tripod with me so had to rely on asking OH to take photos of outfits - when I remembered! Everything charity shopped except the bag from Vinted and the jacket; present from my daughter.

 After our exploration of Marazion I'd booked us another garden visit to Trengwainton Gardens near Penzance, in the afternoon. There was a house but it's not open to the public. You can see it below:

The gardens were very pleasant but apart from the absence of hills the planting was very similar to the garden at Glendurgan. Lots of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas and many, many magnolia trees with the blossoms dropping by the second. My little one at home had only started to open when we left. There was a formal terrace which I expect has a herbaceous border later on in the year. OH was sitting in the small summer house type thing at the end of the terrace. It was a beautifully sunny day with the temperature peaking at about 17 degrees; but it was not to last.

After our visit to Trengwainton (we had arrived early and were allowed in) we had time to visit another place we both wanted to see; Land's End. It was the first time we paid for parking; we'd noticed that wherever we had been there were no parking charges; this was unusual but was clearly Covid-19 related and we were quite happy at not having to pay parking fees! Until that is, Land's End, where we paid 5.00. I didn't complain after our free parking run lasting several days. Land's End was horribly commercialised with most of the 'attractions' closed due to Covid-19. We walked along the coastal path (left) almost to the bay at Sennen Cove (right). About a 2 mile walk.

It was quite difficult to eat out whilst we were in Cornwall because of the need to mostly pre-book and to eat outside. The evenings were quite chilly and not conducive to al fresco dining so we cooked at the cottage mostly. We woke up on Thursday morning to bright sun but gale force winds which continued throughout the day. Our plan was to visit Truro; Cornwall's county town and the only city in Cornwall and centre of administration; and where we also had a bit of a rummage.  I bought a pair of green summer shoes. Truro has a wonderful cathedral but we didn't venture inside.

In the afternoon we drove on to St. Austell town centre.  Once the area was the heart of the china clay industry producing 50% of the world's supply by 1910. The china clay mining left huge deposits of waste which formed peaks and became known as the 'Cornish Alps. We saw some of these driving in.  It would have been great to have visited Charlestown; which was a small town developed specifically for the china clay industry with mine etc; and still had a working harbour but you know what put paid to that. 

I wore this; everything charity shopped. Trousers by M&S, top by Primarni and cardigan as before. Boots by M&S; local FB buy and sell page. 

All jewellery charity shopped.

The bright sunshine but very strong winds continued on Friday. OH wanted to buy gifts for work colleagues so we decided to revisit Penzance in the morning.

The sea was rough!  That's St. Michael's Mount again in the distance. You can see Penzance harbour in the top photo. We walked around the town and found a lovely park with a memorial garden. The other plan was to visit Porthleven which was only a few miles down the road from where we were staying. I'm so glad we did. A lovely little fishing port which still operates a fishing fleet. And as an added bonus on our exploratory walk; we found a community charity shop where we both bought some stuff. There was a box of handmade felt and wool brooches for 25p each so I bought 4!

Porthleven Harbour.

This building is Porthleven Town Hall. Cornwall has some quirky town halls! I liked how the metal bar had been corroded by the salt, sea and wind into layers like the rocks surrounding the harbour. From Porthleven it was a short drive to The Lizard; the southernmost point in the UK. Renowned for its flora and fauna The Lizard has nothing to do with lizards - although they are plentiful in the area - but a corruption of the original Cornish name.

The Lizard.

I wore this outfit. Everything charity shopped except the cross body bag from Vinted.

That was our Cornwall adventure. We had a great time and OH had a really nice break from work but it was slightly strange in that it was difficult to do anything spontaneous such as visiting galleries or museums as most places were shut. It was also difficult to eat out; which is one of the things I enjoy a lot on holiday.  However, these things were out of our control thanks to the pandemic, so not worth stressing about. It was very nice to get home after an uneventful drive back. I started to put away my winter pjs, skirts, trousers and coats when I got back. I won't get the summer stuff out yet; I have enough transitional wear to last a good few weeks unless the weather turns really hot. On Sunday, for the first time in many months I wore shoes and not socks and boots!

It was back to Barnardo's on Monday. I caught the bus in as the car wasn't behaving itself. It turned out it needed a new water pump so OH took it into the garage for me as he still was on holiday; and he picked me up afterwards. I bought this colourful tunic in the community charity shop in Porthleven; it's by Tu and I wore it with navy blue leggings (retail), polo neck top also by Tu; charity shopped and charity shopped boots. Having bought a fair bit in the charity shops in Cornwall; I bought nothing in Barnardo's except a couple of books...

All jewellery charity shopped.

After I'd volunteered  at Barnardo's I went into to town to run some errands. I picked up 3 more Fred Vargas books that I'd reserved online from the library. I went into the library and  collected the books from the reservation section; they had already been electronically checked out. It was just in, pick up, and go!

    

In the evening I went for my 2nd vaccine so I am now fully vaccinated. I must say it feels very good but I won't be doing anything stupid and going to any big crowd events. I will be carrying on pretty much as I have, so far.

Tuesday's foodbank outfit. Busy, busy, busy.

I fancied some pink on Tuesday. The skirt by Kushi was bought from Vinted; the pink jumper by Next from Oxfam.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I went swimming in the afternoon. I wore my fitbit watch and set it to the right pool length; 50 metres. When I got out of the pool it said I had swam 58 laps and just under 3 km! I hadn't; I'd swam 38 laps of 50 metres which is 1.9 km. Another thing with the fitbit watch is that when I go walking I also set the Samsung walking app on my phone; I then compare it to my fitbit watch. The fitbit watch records my walking as about 0.4km less than the Samsung app. Technology; it's supposed to make life easier not confuse us!