New Year's Eve ...

And so dear readers of this blog of Wear and Dao, tomorrow 2023 begins and we look forward to another year with two new births in the extended family ... a first grandchild for yours truly and third for the partner.

After the three weeks winter holiday in Cyprus, we're looking forward to more holidays this year ... including one in Spring and maybe more in Summer in Britain perhaps  ... Autumn also. And certainly a Winter break in a warm location, though not necessarily Paphos again ... who knows, perhaps a month in Sri Lanka?

But this is jumping the gun of course, though anticipation is fine it won't be limiting our possibilities for the future ... and we wish you all you wish for yourself dear readers. .. thanks for following the blog thus far ... see you next year, maybe virtually or in the physical realm!

Towards 2023!!

Well well dear readers of this blog ... Christmas 2022 has come and gone and time marches relentlessly towards 2023 in a few days!

Hey ho, that's the nature of reality, like it or not ... time moves forward, not back (that's nostalgia or dementia) ... all we have is a succession of present moments, whatever we wish the future to be or regret, accept or celebrate the past! The truth is one day the blogger will move on to other worlds as will we all of course ...

A few days at home enjoying Christmas 2022 has moved on to the anticipation of New Year 2023 and Christmas 2023 too.

Today Bill is coming for lunch and philosophical discourse no doubt ... and so the seasons roll on, whether called Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter until it's time to pass the baton to other human beings with thoughts, regrets, ambitions etc etc etc and so on ...........

Boxing Day

Apologies for the absence of posting in the last few days dear readers, but it has been Christmas after all!

Friday we went to M&S in Bishop Auckland for more food, then to the partner's daughter and grandchildren for presents. In the evening we went to see Jules and Peter our previous neighbours.

Saturday, Christmas Eve, we went out in Stanhope for a walk then ate a delicious and nutritious lunch ...

Today, Boxing Day we had early lunch and a drink in the local pub ... no attendance at church however ...

Thursday catching up with Christmas news ...

Well, dear readers, yesterday was spent visiting the partner's Mother in Jarrow with Christmas gifts ... her sister and brother came too, meaning the 90 year old Mother had all three of her children together with presents to exchange, which was lovely for all of us! As it happens the sister and brother will eat Christmas dinner together with theMother, while the partner and the old blogger will eat lunch in Stanhope.

The whole week has been preparing for the big day, with cards and gifts arriving daily and friends and relations also ... Sunday of course was for the old blogger's two delightful daughters, and Monday the carols round the Christmas tree in Stanhope, Tuesday just shopping and enjoying the ambience, Wednesday the grandchildren came to help decorate the room and enjoy the day playing chess, playing games eating lunch popping out for a short walk and visiting the local pub for a drink before going home to Toft Hill to their Mother and Father ....

Today, dear readers, it's off to Bishop Auckland to collect even more food from M&S ... then round to see the grandchildren with their presents ... let's face it Christmas is primarily for young children ...

Tuesday before Christmas ...

Not long to Christmas now dear readers. .. plenty of festive cheer not to mention mince pies.

Yesterday, after a quiet day, we went to the Carol Service in Stanhope in the evening. Nice to join in singing round the Christmas tree with friends and neighbours. .. then to the pub for a swift half before bedtime.

Today, after lunch, we drove over to Consett for presents and more provisions. .. as if we didn't have enough already!

Tomorrow the boys come for lunch in Stanhope ... should be fun  ......!!!

Monday before Christmas

Well, here we go again dear readers. ..Christmas fever builds remorselessly in Christian ountries around the world ... and not only Christian given the seduction of the stories, the sparkly trees, the feasts ... the time for good will between all human beings (with some exceptions of course!)

The children are most drawn in to the story of course, not only because they get 3 weeks off school, though that's certainly a bonus for children and teachers alike (again with exceptions - some children miss the school dinners and the kindness of teachers, whilst lonely teachers miss the joy of their students. That's the reason why in the weird covid year a mere two years ago, when pupils stayed at home and were taught remotely, exceptions were made for those whose parents and carers were essential workers ... plus those whose parents and carers could not be trusted to take care of their children properly or feed them their free school dinners Monday to Friday. The blogger's nephew was one of those teachers. Of course, the whole covid nonsense was a social experiment and the new normal is back now ...)

Yesterday, after breakfast we headed to Newcastle to have lunch with the blogger's two delightful daughters we always loved Christmas time even though they also loved their primary school on Chillingham Road ... the secondary school not so much! Of course that's normal, after all, dear readers, part of the magic of Christmas is belief in Santa Claus, which wanes with time! So, in with lunch in Sambuca's Italian restaurant in Heaton ... a delicious  (and nutritious ) lunch was dished up, whilst the children discussed what they were doing Christmas Day (the elder with her mother-in-law, the younger with her Mum), whilst your old blogger and his partner will eat lunch in Stanhope, probably just the two of us, though guests are always welcome, Christmas or not!

Returning to Stanhope we discovered France in a spot of trouble in Qatar at the World Cup Final, trailing Argentina 2-0! Amazingly they turned it round with a penalty, then a spectacular shot from Mbappe to equalise and go into extra time. During extra time two more goals were scored, one each, meaning penalties. Argentina scored more so finished World Cup champions. The last time England won it was 1966, when your blogger was 16 and watched Bobby Moore lift the trophy at Butlins in Minehead.

Today, Monday, who knows what we'll do, or where we'll eat lunch ...

Saturday though not Christmas Eve ...

Another brief post dear readers of Wear and Dao. .. today was basically mundane and after breakfast and shopping in the street, coffee and pain au chocolat, lunch etc it was time for the third place final in the World Cup. Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 to take third place.

Tomorrow it's the final, and your ex-football playing old blogger and his partner are off to Newcastle to see the blogger 's two daughters for lunch in Sambuca's Italian restaurant in Heaton Park. It's a combination of Cyprus gifts and Christmas presents.

So what are you doing for Christmas 2022 dear readers?

Friday afternoon at The Greenhouse ...

After breakfast of porridge and brunch of fried bread, baked beans and fried egg, it was time to head off to The Greenhouse for the Driver Speed Awareness course ...

Now The Greenhouse is well known to the old blogger,  dear readers of Wear and Dao. .. Du-it had an office there some years ago, when the blogger and Cameron Gordon were trying to persuade folks engaged in Community Transport to adopt the example of several other progressive European countries, bringing the transport services of several players together in the mission to integrate public transport services. .. a logical way to improve public transport in County Durham!

Suffice it to say that whilst the patient transport ambulance service, PCT and others saw the advantages of integration,  Durham County transport saw only a threat ... that's Durham County for you dear readers! Never mind, we've had setbacks before and doubtless we'll see more. Meanwhile the partner also attended the Greenhouse for meetings and to give advice on a new job evaluation scheme being introduced by the NHS.

Today however the  mission was simply to turn up at 1pm and listen to the chap delivering the course for 3 hours approximately, including a short tea break.

Tomorrow the 3rd place of the World Cup will be contested between Croatia and Morocco ...

Thursday, briefly. ..

Another bright and sunny day dawns and no further snow. After food shopping in the street, coffee and croissants and later fish lunch,  Gillian the Angel of Stanhope arrives for tea at two and mince pies for Christmas ...

Tomorrow dear readers, due to a summons from Cornwall Police, your old blogger will be attending a speed awareness course a 1pm. ...! Looking forward to that of course ...

Wednesday washing and shopping ...

PWednesday dawns frosty and cold again ... a perfect day to head to the laundrette in Chester le Street to get the clothes from the holiday washed and tumble dried, so that's how we spent a couple of hours this morning dear readers!

After that necessary chore we popped into the Arnison Centre, Marks and Spencers specifically, in search of a Christmas present for the partners Mother ... new pyjamas!  After coffee and hot chocolate we headed out for home, passing a Big Issue vendor with the Christmas issue for sale which we bought as you do to read at home.

A late lunch of salmon fillets, potatoes and spinach was cooked by your talented chef and blogger ... it would be immodest to claim it was delicious and nutritious so you'd best ask the partner for her opinion!!

Tonight Morocco and France compete in the second semi-final .... France are favourites as wear Argentina but you never know with football ... as an interesting aside, French is widely spoken in Morocco since it was part of the French Empire years ago ... as your old blogger discovered when he was much younger and visited Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakesh etc hitch-hiking through the country after first visiting Andorra and Spain ... hitch-hiking again ... this mode of free travel is rather less used these days, the Bla Bla Car is quite popular with young people nowadays. As it happens dear readers, it's how your old blogger travelled from Fisterra to Santander a few years ago after another Camino de Santiago. ..

Tomorrow,  who knows? Maybe Gillian the Angel of Stanhope will visit to discuss the Paphos holiday!

P.S. France 2 Morocco 0

Tuesday at Wallington Hall. . .

Tuesday 13th December and the day dawns frosty with clear blue skies ... so, dear readers, why not exercise the car and the National Trust card to drive  over to Wallington Hall near Belsay for a good walk and lunch ( Tuscan three bean soup).

This evening at 7 Croatia and Argentina meet in the semi-finals ... Argentina are favourites with Messi on fire, but Croatia have already beaten favourites and seem to have no fear of losing in this game or indeed the final, why not?!

Well, that's it for today dear readers. .. see you all tomorrow by which time last night's result will be known!
P.S. 3-0 to Argentina!

Monday snow ...

Monday morning and we wake to see snow on the ground and the cars. ...not a surprise of course, and the morning news reflects on youngsters playing on the ice in Solihull and some falling through ... some rescued others presumed dead ...

Airports are closed all over the country, motorways  clogged with thick snow, even early trains cancelled.

The snow in Stanhope is not particularly deep so the windscreen of the car is cleared and we head over to Toft Hill to visit the partner's daughter and her grandson off sick from school. After stopping there for an hour or so we head off the Sainsburys for provisions, then back home to Stanhope.

So, dear readers, an ordinary day in December!  Nothing else much to report. ..
As for tomorrow,  who knows?

Sunday back in Stanhope

Well, dear readers of Wear and Dao,  we finally reached home about 7.30 am after the long wait for the plane, a long search for the car in the airport car park and a long drive from Manchester to Stanhope including a break for coffee and croissants.

Of course England were knocked out of the World Cup by France 2-1 after Kane missed a penalty kick ...so, disappointment on the plane!

Stanhope was and is cold and frosty as expected (that's why we went to Cyprus after all!) but pleasant enough nonetheless and it was good to greet friends on the street whilst out shopping.

Paphos was full of Christmas decorations and carols in the hotel, but somehow it just didn't seem like Christmas given the temperature ... Well dear readers we've bought Christmas presents and holiday presents with us and are already musing on the next holiday ... maybe Santander by ferry in early Spring?!

As for the World Cup it looks like Argentina are clear favourites now Spain, Portugal, Brasil and England are out ...

Home ... eventually!

So, dear readers of Wear and Dao, Saturday after three weeks in Cyprus it's time to return home to Stanhope via Manchester Airport. The transfer bus picks us up from the hotel in good time to check in and catch the plane ... very good  time as It happens dear readers, since Manchester is rather snowy and the flight toPaphos is delayed meaning our flight is delayed too!!

Of course it's not a big deal in the scale of  things and anyway vouchers are issued for food and drink in Costa Coffee as we while away the time awaiting further announcements as to the time we might take off ....

Meanwhile in Qatar, Brasil are eliminated on penalties against Croatia, while the Netherlands are knocked out by Argentina also on penalties ... tonight it's England v France in the quarter finals and before that Morocco ...

At the  airport check in with the customary searches, a British soldier appears on leave from his posting in Cyprus also delayed. .. never mind dear readers,  we'll get home eventually ... hopefully!

Friday, Coral Bay again!

Well, here we go again dear readers of Wear and Dao  ... the winter holiday in Paphos finishes tomorrow, so we're making the most of the hot sunny December to return to Coral Bay one more time!

Lets face it, Stanhope in December is not quite the same ... still, though not hot it may well be sunny and frosty ... and in the summer Paphos is roasting and best avoided, whilst the  beaches in County Durham and Northumberland pleasantly sunny and warm ...

After tanning our bodies and bathing in the sea, we dressed and went up to see Maria for Americano and Cappuccino for the last time. Maria says she hopes to see us next year, but frankly that's unlikely ... after all there are many other places to visit, Albania, Tavira (Portugal), Spain again, Madeira, Malta, Sri Lanka etc.

After more tanning we head up the Coral Bay for lunch at Andria Steak and Seafood restaurant ... Feta cheese salad and salmon cevice, delicious and nutritious  ... really divine!

Tomorrow we check out of our room in the Athena Beach Hotel at midday for the 4pm flight to Manchester. .. after a wonderful Cyprus holiday, highly recommended by the way, it's home to Stanhope in Weardale ...

Thursday at Latchi for lunch. ..

Today, Thursday, the last one of this winter holiday, after breakfast at the Athena Beach Hotel we took the bus to the harbour station then on to Old Pathos bus station for the connecting bus to Polis ... from there after a coffee in town we wandered along to Latchi and the harbour for lunch ... fish burger and prawn pannini respectively, both delicious etc etc!

On the way to lunch we bumped into Rory from Guildford who has retired here and loves the life. At the fish restaurant we sat next to a Cypriot chap and discussed current affairs and the history of Cyprus ... fascinating to hear his perspective!

And so dear readers of Wear and Dao that's today so far and another warm and sunny one ... Tomorrow, who knows?

Wednesday back in Coral Bay ...

Well dear readers of Wear and Dao,  since the sun's still shining and the buses so frequent why not head out to Coral Bay again?

Yesterday saw Portugal thrash Switzerland in the World Cup and with Spain eliminated by Morocco unexpectedly on penalties it just leaves England's game with France to see us through to the semi-finals. .. if we beat them! Portugal and Brasil are clear favourites though who knows, England could win their first World Cup since 1966!

Meanwhile, back to today  ...and Coral Bay, clearly it's not the  only sandy beach in Cyprus but it's certainly the best for us in Paphos. Maria who works the little cafe at one end of the bay has been friendly and accomodating allowing your old blogger and partner to make use of the tables and chairs when not on the beach a bonus that i doubt we could be afforded in the height of the summer season. Back in Great Britain there are many sandy beaches, including Druridge Bay in Northumberland and Studland Bay in Dorset. Both wonderful for sunbathing and swimming when it's warm and sunny e.g. Spring, Summer and Autumn but not really Winter! Hence the winter holiday in Paphos ... a decision we havn,t regretted for a moment.

Now, dear readers, we're sitting in an Indian restaurant eating vegetable korma and tuna sushi respectively  ... delicious and nutritious as usual ...

Tomorrow, who knows?  We still have two days before flying back to Stanhope via Manchester!

Tuesday, Coral Bay yet again! https://wdportugal.blogspot.com/2022/12/tuesday-coral-bay-yet-again.html

Tuesday, Coral Bay yet again!

Yes, dear readers of Wear and Dao  ... Coral Bay yet again and why not?!

When the bus stops right outside the Athena Beach Hotel for the Harbour bus station then the bus to Coral Bay in the sunshine it would be shame to waste the last few days of the holiday especially since the weather in Stanhope is forecast rather chilly to say the least!

A swim in the sea followed by a walk up to eat fish soup and grilled salmon means a perfect Thai lunch ...

As for tomorrow. .. well, who knows what Wednesday will bring? Sunshine and warm temperatures for sure!

Monday in Coral Bay again ...

So dear readers of Wear and Dao, the last Monday of this Cyprus holiday and since the hired car was returned yesterday it's the bus from outside the hotel to the Harbour bus station and then onwards to Coral Bay for more sunbathing and swimming in warm sea. Yesterday England beat Senegal 3-0 to progress to play France on Saturday ... interestingly that may cause some rivalry between your old blogger and his younger sister who now lives in France with her French husband and family.

From the seaside it's a short walk to a restaurant where we had vegetable soup and sea bass and spaghetti carbonara respectively. The Bulgarian waiter explained that many non-Cypriots work here, since the locals are not keen on working! Of course it's the same story all over the place ... in Weardale we've heard the same story 're the Poles ... anyway it's good for folks to mingle ... when you're old blogger was younger he worked in Athens for a while perhaps one of the few times your old blogger worked in a foreign country and like the waiters here worked harder than the management .

Tomorrow who knows where we're going on the bus ... maybe Limmasol again ... let's see!

Sunday Sun again

Well dear readers of Wear and Dao, it's Sunday again and the sun is shining in Cyprus as usual. and it's the last day with the hired car and last week of the winter holiday in Paphos...it's a shame but the 3 week winter break has been great and of course we're looking forward to seeing friends and family again ... though  not necessarily the the freezing weather!

The winter holiday has indeed been wonderful ... can you believe it's not peak season in Cyprus?? Actually that's in the summer holidays when Cyprus is roasting and England, even in the North can be pleasantly warm ...

Tonight dear readers it's  England v Senegal and if England survive tonight and go forward to the final ... well we'll be watching in Stanhope in Weardale, while the England will be playing in Dohar, Qatar!

Meanwhile in Cyprus after a delicious and nutritious breakfast in the hotel we set off along the coast in the car and stopped off for a swim in the sea, then drove further along the coast for quick walk then lunch of fish soup and seafood platter ... that's where we are now dear readers. . a few more days in the sun and bus rides about the place, then home to England.

Saturday Sauntering in the car

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao, we ventured out in the car hired for four days. Yesterday we headed for the Troodos Mountains and explored there. We found a big monastery where Archbishop Makarios was interred and after looking around monastery museum found a restaurant serving good food for lunch ... vegetable soup for starters followed by spaghetti Neapolitan for her and octopus in red wine sauce for your old blogger. Then we went in search of Troodos itself which took a while, and found it in the dark so we saw little of it! On the way home to Paphos we got rather lost and were running low on fuel ... worrying somewhat since the fuel stations we found were automatic i.e. no staff and it took quite a while to find someone to explain the system in English ... third try and bingo! the car was fuelled ...

Anyway back to today Saturday 2nd December ...so we ventured out after breakfast in the Athena Beach Hotel and headed north up the coast towards Polis then on further along the coast on another warm sunny day, finding a beautifully located restaurant for soup made with goat's milk, bulghar wheat, tomato and grated courgette. .. delicious! Then we drove north a
some more and found another beautifully located restaurant overlooking a harbour for more lovely food. Now we're sitting in the sun, digesting our food and looking at the view before heading home to Paphos. ..

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao, on the first day of December 2022, we set out in a hired car for Nicosia in a hired car since the bus driver demanded masks for passengers as well as wearing one himself ... funnily enough that's the first time it happened in Cyprus including yesterday's trips to Polis and back ... anyway our car hired for fo four days took us to Nicosia no problem and we crossed the border with our British passports, though on the Turkish side the young Turkish Cypriot can't cross to the Greek side without travelling to Turkey where he was born! Well dear readers, this is the crazy world in which we live ... Tomorrow let's see where else we can go ...

Paphos to Polis again ...

Wednesday again, the second of this Cyprus holiday ... England beat Wales 3-0 to qualify for the next round last night, while the taffs crashed out. It's a lovely warm day in Paphos so we set out to explore more of Cyprus and decided to visit the capital,  Nicosia ... however on arriving at the intercity bus for Nicosia the driver not only wore a mask but insisted we wore one too!!

So, dear readers of Wear and Dao, we changed our plans and headed for Polis again, where we found a seafood restaurant by the harbour in Polis and delicious and nutritious seafood ...

Tomorrow maybe we'll hire a car and explore the island properly without stroppy bus drivers telling us what to do!

Further afield ...

Paphos municipality is quite broad and whilst Coral Bay is a firm favourite, Polis to the north is well worth a visit. We've been twice by bus recently dear readers of Wear and Dao and both times found it delightful, though the first visit was rather wet ... nevertheless we found a dry restaurant for a delicious and nutritious lunch of fish soup.Yesterday we went up on the service bus again and saw the the Christmas market in full swing.

Today we took  the bus to the harbour bus station then on to a stop where we could see more of Paphos from an elegant road crossing to see the ancient archaeology from above. After this we took the bus to Coral Bay again to sit and read by the sea ... Philip Pulman's Dust and Lawrence Durrell's Cyprus history respectively.

Returning on the bus to the harbour station, we found a fish restaurant for a delicious and nutritious lunch of sea bass and new potatoes followed by dessert.

Limmasol

After spending the first few days in and around Paphos, yesterday, Friday, was a longer ride east along the coast to the city of Limmasol or Lemamas as it's known these days post British empire. Cyprus of course long played an important role in trading between Africa, Asia and Europe along with it's strategic role often involving empires vying for power. The British empire still has RAF bases, notably two in Limmasol along with hundreds of staff, mostly enjoying the wonderful posting in the beautiful island of Cyprus, though they don't wear uniforms around the city these days. A remnant of colonial days is the fact that vehicles drive on the left ... and the English language is widely spoken.

As yesterday, thunder showers soaked the ground all around plus the people wandering the city. Great for the landscape, not much fun for the tourists ... nevertheless we found shelter here and there including a restaurant serving delicious fish soup.Returning to the hotel we discovered Wales had lost to Iran and after a walk to the local cafe for carrot and coriander  soup and watched England and the USA draw 0-0 leaving the group open until Tuesday when Wales play England and the US play Iran ...watch this space!

Today, Saturday, we set off bright and early after a delicious and nutritious breakfast including porage, took the service bus from the hotel to the Harbour bus station and on to Coral Bay where no rain was to be seen and a restaurant was found after sunbathing and swimming. .. guess what we found in the restaurant dear readers?  Yes, you guessed it, a delicious and nutritious lunch of fish soup or asparagus soup for the partner. ..

Coral Bay

5 km from Paphos Harbour lies the beautiful Coral Bay with sandy beaches to be explored and a warm sea in which to swim. Outside the Athena Beach Hotel a bus to the harbour takes us the short distance to the bus station and the 10 minute drive to Coral Bay where the sun was shining and the temperature at 25° very pleasant.

This was the day before yesterday i.e. Tuesday ... today,Thursday, after a delicious and nutritious  breakfast  in the hotel our 5€ day bus pass took us first to the harbour then up to the old Paphos a well restored hill top settlement.  After a look around there and a sunny sit down for a Greek coffee and Ouzo. From there we returned to the Harbour bus station then back to Coral Bay for sunbathing and swimming in the sea.

After this the bus took us back to the Harbour bus station then on to the hotel for a quick shower etc and a walk along the coast from the hotel arriving finally at the Tea for Two cafe for delicious carrot and coriander soup followed by scampi all washed down with  Guinness. .. back in our room at the hotel we saw Spain hammer Costa Rica 7-0.

Today, Thursday, we took the bus from the hotel bus stop to the Harbour bus station again and hopped on the first bus that came in which was for Coral Bay. There we swam again in the sea, then took the bus on to Polis 60km away up a steep hill and had a lovely meal of fish soup followed by calamari and scuffed vine leaves. Now we're sitting here at the restaurant waiting for the bus down to Aphrodte's Baths ...

To Cyprus today ...

And so the fun begins dear readers of Wear and Dao ... three weeks winter holiday in Cyprus!

Since the flight is due to depart from Manchester at 9am we travelled down last night to stay at the Holiday Inn by the airport and arrived in good time to check in, though not without some difficulty finding the entrance even though we could see it right by terminal 2 ... so, spotting two police officers asked them for assistance, which they kindly offered and escorted us to the entrance.

So, at approximately 5am, we set off from the hotel to drive the short distance to the parking place where an airport bus was booked to take us to terminal 2 and Paphos. This left us with plenty of time to check in ready for boarding at 8.30 ... hey ho, theory is one thing practice something else and sure enough sat nav had us demented as the clock ticked relentlessly towards deadline time! Just when it seemed we'd miss the flight, we found the car park and stood in the rain waiting for the airport bus, which took a while ... then the first bus went past us full. Finally we got to terminal 2 with an hour to spare to take off and the Jet2 folks rushed us through the baggage checks leaving us with just the hand luggage to check which they never rush for obvious reasons. We finally boarded the Paphos plane at 8.45 and took off at 9 on schedule.

4 and a half hours later we landed in Cyprus, cleared passport and other checks double quick and found the bus to our hotel. The beachside Athena Hotel is delightful and the 3rd floor room overlooks the sea and a veranda means we can sit out and ponder how lucky we are ...

After unpacking we went to the restaurant for a buffet dinner then a walk along the beach before calling in to a bar at the hotel for a drink and a band playing light music. Tomorrow is free to explore Paphos and plan some trips around the island for the coming 3 weeks.

Two visitors curry favour!

Here we go again dear readers of Wear and Dao,  another weekly blog ...Monday was not notable (or maybe that's just memory loss), Tuesday more of the same, Wednesday ditto.

Memory kicks in on Thursday when we went to Nenthead in Cumbria with Wheels to Meals and the Hive for a delicious (and  nutritious) lunch and good company, notably Gillian the Angel of Stanhope and Graham Rendell a new volunteer driver and published  author.

Friday we lunched in Stanhope on a delicious and nutritious meal of pasta bolognese. ..

Yesterday we went over to Jarrow to visit the partner's mother, who's not feeling great ... at 90 that's not bad is it dear readers of Wear and Dao? I'd   take that dear readers  ... How about you folks?!Today, Sunday we had curry and rice for lunch when Bill the philosophical friend and Andrew from next door came for a delicious and nutritious lunch! P.S. editor please let me know when you 've  had enough of this food stuff ...

Another Sunday ...

Well here we are again dear readers of Wear and Dao. .. another Sunday in Weardale, this one the first in November 2022.
After Monday's car service just outside Durham when several hours were required and a decent walk into town (or to be precise, city), plus a delicious and nutritious lunch at a Turkish restaurant, we returned home for a rest before the usual quick drink at the local.

Tuesday was unremarkable, Wednesday too. Thursday we set off for for Durham again, this time to talk to Curries in Dragonville about a redundant mobile contract with id mobile where the contract had been signed several years before. Try as he did, the Curries representative couldn't resolve the issue, so we abandoned the effort and headed home via Barnard Castle where we exchanged sterling for euros ready for the forthcoming Cyprus winter holiday. Needless to say lunch in Barney was delicious etc.

Friday in Stanhope we called in to Barclays Bank to cancel the direct debit to id mobile ...!

Saturday was the partner's mother's birthday treat, a matinee performance of the amazing Les Miserables at the Sunderland Empire, a tale of the French Revolution and love lost and won performed live on stage, orchestra and all. A proper treat! After the show we left Mother in Jarrow and headed home for Stanhope and since we were peckish stopped at the Brown Horse at Tow Law for a bite to eat ... scampi and chips plus peas and salad; delicious and so on, before heading home to bed, skipping the customary drink at the Grey Bull for a change.

This brings us to today dear readers, when we had no fixed plans except a visit to our friends nearby to catch up, then lunch at home. After the trip to the local we received dreadful news of the death of the son of a dear friend from near Hexham. What could be worse than such a tragedy dear readers?

Such is life .......

Sunday worship

Today, the last Sunday in October 2022, was spent in the company of the partner's mother in Jarrow, where the partner spent a happy childhood before escaping to Weardale. After dropping the mother at church the partner and the old blogger went for a walk along remembered paths dear readers of Wear and Dao, and returned after the church service to whisk the mother over to The Red Fox for Sunday lunch ... turkey for Mum and nut roast for us, delicious and nutritious of course!

The rest of the week was spent mainly in Stanhope except for a trip to Chester le Street with two bags of washing at the laundrette ... sheets and towels.

Otherwise there's not much to report dear readers, hence the gap in blogging. Let's face, it the blog was started to share the stories of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela anyway!

Tomorrow, Monday, we're off to Durham for a service on the car ...

Wednesday back to normal

After yesterday's high drama, today, Wednesday, was more or less back to normal. A quick trip up to St John's Chapel for an appointment with the G.P led to a quick chat with the nurse and another E.C.G. to check that all was well I.e. normal.

After Chapel it was home to Stanhope for a delicious lunch of spinach and feta cheese plus smoked mackerel and various vegetables ... yummy indeed!

A post lunch wander around the village seeking blackberries and eldberries, still in abundance hereabouts, revealed a craft fair at the railway station ... we wandered into the station where the train for Wolsingham was waiting. Though we had no wish to ride it, nevertheless we took a look round the stalls at the craft fair and met folks we knew.

On the way home we popped into the Co-op for supplies then went home for a rest and a read before the usual drink at The Grey Bull nearby. After last night's late supper night tonight's supper is earlier I.e. normal time ... so, dear faithful readers of Wear and Dao it's Goodnight from her and Goodnight from me aka your ancient blogger.

Mid-week dramas ...

After Sunday's convivivial day dear readers of Wear and Dao,  Monday passed pleasantly enough, though yesterday's drama more than made up for it!

In the morning it was decided to head South to Ripon and Fountains Abbey and just as we arrived there, with the partner driving, your doddery old blogger had an "episode" which was rather alarming ... meaning we abandoned the trip round Fountains Abbey after a quick coffee and headed home Stanhope toute suite!

It was decided that a trip to Dryburn Hospital in Durham was a good idea, so we spent several hours having various tests to find the cause or causes, whilst observing and sometimes engaging the other patients patiently waiting for their turn in the waiting room of A&E ... Returning to Stanhope about 10.30 pm, it was time for a quick supper and bed after the unexpected drama of the day. Anyway, all appears to be well happily ...

Wet Sunday

A damp day in Stanhope and the post breakfast walk for stuffing at the Co-op was dry enough ... the fresh air and exercise being the main aim ...

The partner was making toad in the hole for Bill and Andrew next door plus us of course. (For any other pedants out there dear readers of Wear and Dao, please explain why toad and which hole?!)

The Carlo Rovelli book passed the time whilst the partner laboured in the kitchen before the guests arrived. Also the archive from the blog you're reading was perused as a reminder of those days on the Camino. .. nostalgia as is observed is a jolly good thing, but it's not what it used to be :) ...  The door bell rang at 1245 to signify the arrival of the guests and a delicious and nutritious lunch was served at1 pm. After lunch a game of chess between Bill and Andrew over a cup of tea passed a pleasant half hour or so before Bill departed and Andrew played a game of chess with the blogger. Let's just say Andrew won both games before going home next door leaving your old blogger to continue reading Rovelli's book on quantum physics.

Another walk was dodged due to rain and our final quick walk to the pub for the usual pint of Guiness rounded off a sociable day ...

Around Stanhope ...

After the Duns trip Thursday and yesterday's visit from Lee and Martin, today, Saturday, was spent in Stanhope cooking a mushroom omelette after a lovely walk in the sun, then another walk in the afternoon ...

In the evening a pint of Guiness and a bag of cheese and onion crisps in the Grey Bull, the return home entailed the telly and BBC 1 with game shows whilst eating cheese and biscuits ... very decadent!

Current reading is Kate Atkinson and Carlo Ravellli the quantum physicist. .. always a fascinating subject what with non-locality, Schodringer's Cat, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle etc...

Tomorrow Bill comes for lunch for delicious food and psychology  ... happy days for your old blogger! 

A short trip to Duns ...

As mentioned in yesterday's blog, we went North to the Scottish Borders near Duns today on the A1 via Morpeth and Longframlington for supplies for the elder daughter ... notably sourdough bread, steak and onion pie for her and quiche for us.

After a lovely day, albeit wet, we returned via the A68 via Jedburgh where we stopped for fuel and a pee. .. from there it was along the A68 to Stanhope, where we arrived in time for two pints of Guiness with lime and crisps at the Grey Bull... to see Arsenal beat PSV 1-0 at home.

Tomorrow dear readers of Wear and Dao,  Lee and Martin plan to come over for fish and chips and mushy peas ... well it is Friday after all ..........!!

Blog returns!

For the few loyal readers of Wear and Dao, good news. The recent failure of service, due to technical incompetence is remedied here today ... hooray! Frankly there has been a dearth of vaguely interesting stories to report anyway.

But first a heartfelt obituary. .. a dear friend of A Place to Be and Wear and Dao passed on to another world some weeks ago and was buried in a woodland funeral attended mainly by family. Alan Charlton died peacefully in his sleep and will be fondly remembered by the many folks in County Durham and further afield.

Meanwhile, in the land of the living, life goes on inexorably until we ourselves hand the baton over to the coming generations.

Tomorrow, dear readers of Wear and Dao,  the ancient blogger and his partner head north from Stanhope in Weardale to the Scottish Borders to see the elder daughter, soon to bring new life and light to the world.

The winter holiday in Cyprus is close now, which is very exciting.

Such is life for retired folks with sufficient funds in the 21st century.

Wednesday with the boys and girls ...

Here we go again dear readers of Wear and Dao, so sorry for the lag in the blogging  ... it seems ages since the partner's mother had her birthday party but it was just a week!

Bill the philosopher came for lunch on Sunday and enjoyed the food and the philosophy. Monday morning we set off early to the Lake District, Windermere specifically, where we had a delightful meal: risotto for her and sea bass for me in a swish hotel overlooking Windermere. Yesterday, Tuesday we made lunch for ourselves, always delicious (and nutritious) in this case mushrooms and other vegetables cooked to perfection in the oven.

This brings us to today dear readers, when after lunch we went over to Toft Hill to meet the grandchildren, Dan and Harvey and their mother Elizabeth after their holiday in Mallorca which was great fun, as usual.

Tomorrow Gillian, the Angel of Stanhope is due for afternoon tea so let's see shall we dear readers what we'll serve her with her Earl Grey tea ...

Saturday Birthday Party

So after Thursday and Friday passed mostly inconsequentially, Saturday was the blogger's partner's Mother's 90th birthday party at the Black Horse at Beamish ...

Briefly, Thursday Gillian came for afternoon tea as expected and John from the Weardale Hub popped in too. Friday was a lovely trip to Wallington Hall in Northumberland, with delightful walks by the river and delicious food at the cafe, plus a look around the Hall of course!

Now there were 9 guests invited to the birthday party: Elizabeth the guest of honour of course plus her her 3 children, Susan, Geraldine and Simon. Next came the grandchildren Ruby and Nancy, then the blogger guest of Geraldine and two cousins, Norman and Janet.  The meal was wonderful and the whole event also ... not bad going eh dear readers, 90 and going strong!

Tomorrow philosopher friend Bill comes for lunch, so we've yet to decide the menu but hopefully the food will be delicious and nutritious. ..

Two days post Bank Holiday. ..

Well well dear readers of Wear and Dao, where did those two days post Bank Holiday go to? Yesterday was for a dental appointment in Consett in the morning  and the afternoon was spent cooking lunch and cooking up the blackberries from the Blanchland Show. So, nothing much to report dear readers yesterday ...

Today, Wednesday, was rather more exciting for both your old blogger and his partner in different ways, as the partner drove her car to her hairdresser and chatted as women tend to do and as she emerged from the hairdresser's shop she tripped causing her much pain. Meanwhile the blogger bumped into Mac, an old friend from Scotland who'd moved to Stanhope with his wife, now deceased and a regular reader of the blog you're reading now! Mac was delighted to see me and me him too, so I invited him in for lunch or a cup of tea which he declined and promised to call in again sometime.

Mac's career was in the Royal Navy, where he served with distinction becoming  commander of a ship serving Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth whilst the blogger was a republican determined to overthrow the monarchy altogether and as a communist found ways to foment the glorious 'revolution in Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... madness basically, but there you are, that's youthful enthusiasm for you dear readers! 

Anyway, tonight brought exciting news as we booked a trip to Duns in the Scottish Borders and plan to go to see the elder daughter next week. Tomorrow, Thursday, Gillian the Angel of Stanhope may come for afternoon tea which she usually does each Thursday ... indeed who knows, Mac might pop in for tea and a scone or something, now that would be fun in the sun would it not?!!

Bank Holiday Monday at Blanchland Show

Bank Holiday Monday dawned sunny and dry dear readers of Wear and Dao,  and the old blogger and his partner set off for Blanchland and Hunstanworth annual show early to discover the bridge at Baybridge was being repaired entailing a short diversion to Blanchland for the Show. Having parked at Baybridge car park we walked along the River Derwent which leads to Derwent Reservoir picking blackberries and raspberries from the hedgerows. In the Show we paid our £5 each entry and went for coffee in the Community Centre. .. imagine our surprise dear readers to find Jane and Andrew from Langdon Beck Hotel serving the tea, coffee and cakes. With our black coffee we took a pain au chocolat and a slice of lemon drizzle cake and went next door to see the stalls and buy some things like cheese etc then walked around the Show ground buying more things such as chocolate flavoured honey and a metal robin for the front garden  to keep the painted cockerel company!

Leaving the Show for lunch at home picking more blackberries as we went, we arrived home in Stanhope to make lunch of salmon fishcakes with vegetables  ... delicious  (and nutritious ) ... After a nap for the blogger and the partner sorting out her bedroom, we went for a drink at the Grey Bull  then came home for soup for supper and an early night.

Tomorrow we go to Consett for a dental appointment, which won't be much fun!

Sunday plus a Bank Holiday Monday

Sunday at the end of August means a Bank Holiday Monday tomorrow dear readers of Wear and Dao. Anyhow today started warm and dry as your old blogger prepared lunch of salad with prawns, tomato,avocado, sweetheart cabbage, spinach and mayonnaise which went down well with the blogger's partner and Andrew from next door.

After Andrew left we decided to go for  a walk through the caravan park where the rain became heavy and your old blogger wasn't kitted out for the adverse weather conditions. We called in to see Sharon and Kevin at no2 Wear Terrace for shelter, and when the rain eased we went home rather wet!

That was the news for today dear readers. .. tomorrow is Blanchland Show which we plan to visit ... let's see shall we?

Saturday at Chapel Show

Time flies in blog land dear readers of Wear and Dao, and Friday's report about Beamish went missing ... briefly, let's just say it was a warm sunny day and the day at the museum was good fun as the blogger and his partner wandered the site picking blackberries and enjoying the ambience plus the good food at the tea rooms (quiche and salad). On the way back we called in to to the Black Horse pub and restaurant to check it out for next Saturday's 90th birthday for the blogger's partner's mother.

Today, Saturday, we went to Chapel Show with Dan and Harvey the grandchildren to enjoy a lovely day at the Show in more warm sunshine and wandered around seeing the tents and the exhibits until it was time to take the boys home to Toft Hill as they prepared for Monday's flight to Mallorca and a week's holiday.

Tomorrow the day is free, so let's see what we'll get up to shall we dear readers. ..

Thursday cooking ...

So, dear readers of Wear and Dao, another Thursday in 2022 and the last one in August as showtime commences in Weardale, County Durham. First up is Chapel Show on Saturday at St John's Chapel and the smallest of the three shows.

Since Thursday is usually the day that Gillian comes to afternoon tea  the blogger and his partner set to early to prepare a Dorset Apple Cake to welcome the Angel of Stanhope after her absence last week since she and her husband Colin were away for a long weekend celebrating the tenth anniversary of their wedding.

Before Gillian's visit lunch was prepared  (smoked mackeral with roast veggies, spinach and artichokes plus cheese and gravy), which was delicious and nutritious and very filling. Gillian arrived about 3 pm and the three of us had tea and Dorset Apple Cake outside in the sunshine,, again delicious, mostly nutritious and very filling!

After Gillian's departure we contiued moving furniture about since the hospital bed downstairs was deemed unnecessary after the miraculous recovery from the pulmonary embolism of several months. Then it was up to The Grey Bull for a pint each of bitter shandy with a lime top  before returning home for soup and an early night.

Tomorrow is free, so let's see in the morning shall we dear readers. .. Beamish Mureum is a strong contender ...

Wednesday to Nenthead

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao  the old blogger and his partner joined the Wheels to Meals crew on the trip to Nenthead in Cumbria ... specifically The Hive a converted Methodist Chapel with delicious food to eat at a reasonable price. We sat at a table along with John Lloyd the minibus driver and Dennis an old friend from Stanhope. We chose vegetarian curry which was        delicious and nutritious and returned home to Stanhope via the fascinating model village nearby.

Back home in Stanhope we read for a while (A Very French Wedding by Maeve Haran), then the old blogger went walkabout for a little exercise after the filling curry lunch. Over the stepping stones I went to collect more apples to eat or cook and give to friends and strangers including a Jewish Orthodox family on holiday from Hackney in London. Since the ice cream van was open for business an ice cream with a chocolate flake was purchased, then Gillian, the Angel of Stanhope turned up and we walked along to the Stone Bridge over the River Wear and back home to Rose Terrace where we offered tea and pastries and had a good chat about philosophy as usual.

When Gillian departed we went to The Grey Bull for a pint of bitter shandy with a lime top and some cheese and onion crisps before returning home for soup with croutons and an early night to read some more and write the blog you're reading now dear readers! !

Tuesday lunch alone ...

Today, Tuesday, the old blogger was deserted by his partner who had a friend to visit up the Dale. Before she left he set out to deliver some things to Beryl at the Charity Shop at the Community Centre. Then he called in to see John at the Hub to ascertain the arrangements for tomorrow's trip to Nenthead with Wheels to Meals. Arriving home too late to see the partner depart he settled down to read his latest book (A Cat called Bob and the story of James with his struggles against heroin addiction). Another book of poetry by Jamie Tucknut a local author was on the go too, between tucking in to a coffee and croissant when a friend called Dave arrived with his collie dog called Tess. After a brief conversation Dave departed for lunch with Sandra whilst the old blogger set to preparing lunch for himself ... cheese omelette with vegetables followed by blackberry and apple crumble with custard since you ask dear readers!

The partner returned soon after the lovely lunch was finished so we sat out in the sun reading our books before walking over the stepping stones to collect more apples. Returning laden with apples we sat reading again before popping up to The Grey Bull for a pint of bitter shandy before supper of soup and booking a hotel for the forthcoming trip to France and the Eden Project in St Austell ... and writing the blog you're reading now ...

Monday on oxygen etc

Well here we are again dear readers of Wear and Dao, another Monday in and around Stanhope ... the morning started with a trip to Meadowfield to test the fitness of your old blogger with a walking test at the Oxygenation Clinic. This proved very satisfactory indeed and we went home via Tow Law to buy provisions including pain au chocolate to eat with coffee. .. delicious!

Lunch was prepared of yesterday's frittata leftovers plus runner beans provided by Andrew, who left early this morning for Oakhampton where he's working for a few days with others on the Peatland Project.

After lunch your old blogger walked into the village to see John at the Hub to find out information about Wednesday's trip to Nenthead, to no avail since John and others were in a meeting,  so he returned home via the apple tree behind the Dales Centre to provide more apples for Beryl.

Various things needed sorting out indoors including the meter readings for Octopus Energy the provider of electricity and Good Energy who pay the returns on the Feed in Tariff from the solar panels at no 5 Railway Terrace. Then there was the parking fine to pay and Brittany Ferries to book for the forthcoming trip to France to see the blogger's sister Judith Bohic nee Day.

What a life eh dear readers!

Sunday lunch with Andrew

Today, Sunday dear readers of Wear and Dao,  was another day in Stanhope in bright sunshine after yesterday's rainy day and occasional downpours ... that's what makes England the promised land as William Blake told it in his poem Jerusalem.

Our next door neighbour, Andrew, came for lunch and frittata was on the menu, involving lots of veg and four duck eggs ... dessert was blackberry and apple crumble with custard and the starter was vegetable soup ...delicious and nutritious!  Many of the vegetables came from Andrew's allotment ... such a great idea these allotments for folks with no growing space at home, like the miners in their terraced houses etc.

Before lunch we went in search of apples, in abundance at this time of the year, and found plenty behind the Dales Centre by the Church of St Thomas, we gathered plenty in to store for the winter and make apple sauce and chutney plus those we cooked with blackberries in a crumble topping with custard for lunch.

Andrew works for the A.O.N.B on the Peatland Project, which aims to restore the peatland to its former glory and maybe reforest the moors as they were hundreds of years ago.

After Andrew departed we set off in search of more apples to cook and store.

Tomorrow is another day with no fixed plans apart from a medical appointment at 9am so let's see how the day pans out shall we dear readers?

Friday to Jarrow

Another sunny day and the visit to the blogger's partner's mother took us to Jarrow in South Tyneside dear readers of Wear and Dao. First task was to do some shopping in Morrison's then on to lunch at The Red Fox. Mam is almost 90 years young and still fit and healthy despite a recent bout of Covid, whatever that is ... hmm, Sars-Cov-2 or a corona virus with symptoms like influenza but hyped up to scare the world for no good reason!

After lunch we returned to Stanhope to rest a while and pick blackberries to go with the apples of which we have many. Then we went to visit Jules and Peter to celebrate the conclusion of the sale of the Retreat House at no.5 Railway Terrace.

Tomorrow is unknown at the moment ... maybe a trip out, maybe just sort out all these apples ... who knows? But you can be sure dear readers that you'll read about it here.

Thursday to Cumbria again ...

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao,  your old blogger and his partner set off bright and early to visit the Lake District at Sizergh Castle, a National Trust place near Kendal (where they make the mint cake, a minty concoction aimed to give energy to the walkers and cyclists so often found around The Lake District).

The weather forecast was rather dull but not too much rain, which turned out about right, and the visit to Sizergh Castle was a delight, especially the apple trees bearing an abundance of fruit which we decided to pick to take home to Stanhope for apple pie or crumble with custard.

Before all this we stopped off en route for coffee and cake in Middleton in Teesdale at the wittily named Teespot. Over the hills we went along the M6 for a while before arriving at Sizergh Castle in time for lunch of chilli beans on baked potato and after more wandering about the gardens and castle itself we returned home for a pint of bitter shandy and a chat with Muna, a friend of ours ... then it was supper of soup and ready for bed a looking forward to visiting the partner's mother in Jarrow.

Wednesday 17.08.22

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao was spent at home in Stanhope, Weardale in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty just east of Cumbria with its National Park, south of Northumbria and north of North Yorkshire ditto ...

Of course the main aim today was to see our solicitor in Crook and sign the contract for the transfer of 5 Railway Terrace to Jules our dear friend and neighbour ... which was done by 3.30 pm and we returned home in the sunshine to celebrate at  the Grey Bull with a pint of bitter shandy  and get a message from Lee  that she and Martin were calling over on their motorbike to see us at Rose Terrace. .. After Lee and Martin departed it was a light supper and off to bed to read and write the blog you're reading now ...

Tuesday at Whitby

Those of us who know Whitby in North Yorkshire will probably think of fish and chips with mushy peas or the gothic drama of Dracula and Bram Stoker. Anyway, that was the destination for today dear readers of Wear and Dao and after a night of heavy rain your  blogger and his partner set off south and east past Middlesbrough, Guisborough to Whitby by the sea. Whilst there the weather was dry though heavy rain fell on the way back through the North York moors via Pickering, Northallerton and Darlington. ..

After coffee and a pee at the Royal Hotel on the clifftop, we wandered through town with the other tourists seeing the sights and finding a restaurant for fish, chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce we were ready for a walk back to the car for the drive home.

Back in Stanhope we found a message on the phone from our solicitor saying both sides were ready to sign the contract for the sale of the Retreat House ... finally! After a pint of bitter shanty at the Grey Bull  we had supper and an early night ready to go to  Crook to sign the contract tomorrow  ... and write the blog you're reading now.

Monday swimming

And so another week begins dear readers of Wear and Dao,  and the old blogger set off to buy milk from the Co-op in Stanhope in order to make porage tomorrow, then after lunch the blogger and his partner headed over to Toft Hill to see the partner's grandsons Dan and Harvey and how Harvey was coping with his football injury ... playing in goal yesterday he made a brilliant save at the cost of an injured wrist.

Oreo the dog required walking then Dan had a swimming lesson for 30 minutes at 4pm. Harvey came along but couldn't swim due to his wrist injury, so he watched while Dan swam. After this it was back home to Stanhope via the Co-op for cheese and vegetables for soup. The soup was superb as usual and supper of vegetable soup and sourdough bread filled the tummy gap before an early night.

Sunday with Bill

Today, Sunday 14th of August 2022 dear readers of Wear and Dao,  was another hot and sunny day in Stanhope in Weardale.  Being Sunday it's not unusual for Bill our philosopher friend to come for lunch, this time a salad with a mushroom bake and ice cream, strawberries, some sweet tarts and a chocolate flake for dessert.

Before lunch your old blogger wandered over to 5 Railway Terrace to see Jules and try to sort out the sale of the house, hopefully to be finalised tomorrow!

Lunch with Bill was delightful and afterwards Bill and your old blogger left the partner clearing up to go for a walk along the River Wear picking blackberries. .. foraging food in this season is easy of course. After Bill departed the blogger and his partner popped up to the pub to quench the thirst before supper.

Tomorrow hopefully the solicitors will get their fingers out and get the contract signed!

The weather forecast continues dry and sunny until Tuesday when some much needed rain is predicted  ... Let's see shall we!

Saturday to Barney and Rise

This morning dear readers of Wear and Dao,  the blogger and his partner set off for Barnard Castle bright and early to buy some sourdough bread from Rise. We took a circuitous route via Middleton in Teesdale, Langdon Beck, Mikleton, Romaldkirk, Cotherstone and Lartington before arriving at Barnard Castle in time to meet John from the Stanhope Hub for lunch at Rise ... not only a bakery but a cafe too with wonderful food.

We stopped at the Langdon Beck hotel to see how our friends were faring with the refurbishment of the hotel, which is slowly returning to its former glory ... Jane and Andrew, sister and brother and son of Beryl at the Community Centre in Stanhope were found busily working alongside the painters as they hurried to finish the job.

Back at Barney we met John and enjoyed a delicious and nutritious lunch before going to see John's house which looked really good. Returning over the hill to Stanhope we went for a pint at the Grey Bull to assuage our thirst before a light supper of egg mayonnaise in a white sourdough sandwich  and an early night.

Tomorrow our philosopher friend Bill arrives for lunch of mushroom risotto made with the wonderful wild mushrooms found growing on trees called Pheasant of the Woods.

Friday at Alnwick again ...

First, dear readers of Wear and Dao,  to apologise for  the error of the date yesterday, when actually the 12th of August is today I.e. Friday. Off we went bright and breezy to Alnwick Castle with the partner's two grandchildren, Dan and Harvey to see the stately home of the Percys, the Earl of Northumberland. The castle is very impressive and full of valuable artwork, like Van Dyke and other master painters and the current Earl, Ralph Percy has made a great job of selling the place to visitors, with participative games from yon times like quoits and bowls plus animated stories of the history of the place.

We brought a picnic for the two boys and ourselves which we ate on the lawns then played petanque or boules which was fun then moved on to crazy golf. What a great day we had dear readers, with more warm sunshine to enjoy.

Tomorrow it's to Barnard Castle for sourdough bread from Rise ...

Thursday 12th August 2022

Some say: "The glorious 12th of August", though obviously not the pheasants and grouse getting shot by the wealthy hunters who kill birds for fun. Anyway, notwithstanding the sporting connotation, your old blogger set off up the path through Stanhope Dene with Annie and found, guess what? Yes, pheasant of the woods a delicious mushroom growing on trees.

Meanwhile the old blogger's partner was at home preparing lunch for Kathryne and Gillian, the angel of Stanhope. Let's just say, dear readers of Wear and Dao that there was sufficient food to feed an army ... a salad of quiche with prawns, hard boiled eggs and more ... certainly enough to feed us four and enough for tomorrow's picnic  at Alnwick Castle with the partner's grandsons.

Today was another hot and sunny day  ... as for tomorrow, the forecast is much the same.

Wednesday in Weirdale and Consett

Wednesday 10th August 2022 and your old blogger and his partner spent the morning in Stanhope foraging for blackberries now ripening daily. Talking to friends in the allotments elicited courgettes, peas and grapes, whilst all that was really sought were paints to paint the cockerel in the front garden ... an artwork worthy of the Sculpture Park in Wakefield yesterday!

After a delicious and nutritious lunch of fried duck egg, fried bread and fried potatoes with baked beans, off we went to Consett site of a steelworks many years ago in search of a few items of shopping ready for Gillian and Kathryn's visit tomorrow and the grandchildren's outing on Friday.

It had also been decided to plant up a box of flowers for Annie two doors along at 8 Rose Terrace as a surprise necessitating compost for the planter. Returning from Consett work soon sorted the planter for Annie then work commenced on the painting of the cockerel which turned out well and very artistic. After this it was the pub for half pint of shandy and half of cider before a light supper of cheese and biscuits before an early night to sleep and write the blog you are now reading. It was another hot and sunny day in Weardale and the same tomorrow. ...

Tuesday at the Sculpture Park

What a beautiful day it was today on the way to Wakefield and the Sculpture Park. .. blue skies and warm Sun all the way from Stanhope to South Yorkshire and the Sculpture Park in a park dominated by Henry Moore.

We wandered about admiring the artwork and picking apples and pears from the trees. After coffee and croissants we wandered some more before lunch of falafel and sea bass with chips to share. Another, longer walk revealed even more sculptures including Anthony Caro as well as more Moore, before returning to base having met Hilary Friend who lived there many years ago with her family.

A swift drive home along the M1 via Leeds included a stop at Piercebridge Garden Centre for tea, compost and a Buddha for the front garden. What a day eh dear readers. .. as for tomorrow who knows where we'll go ...?

Monday in Stanhope and Barney

So, dear readers of Wear and Dao,  another week begins in Stanhope with strong coffee and porage and a walk into the village for a haircut and a wet shave, followed by a visit to see Gillian the angel of Stanhope for a cup of tea and a chat about Wheels to Meals and other things.

Home for lunch then off to Barnard Castle via the travel shop all to sort the passport of the blogger's partner to enable the winter 3 week holiday in Cyprus in November. Then it was home again to Stanhope before popping over to see Julianne to sort out the details of the property transfer of the Retreat House at 5 Railway Terrace which is dragging on somewhat thanks to the solicitors.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the plan is to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, South Yorkshire. Well that's the plan anyway, let's see how it pans out shall we dear readers! Anyway, the Sun continues to shine, so what could possibly go wrong ...

Sunday ending the weekend. ..

Well here we are dear readers of Wear and Dao, another weekend comes to an end as Monday looms on the horizon. An early wander around the village for some shopping was followed by cooking a lovely lunch of toad in the hole with strawberries to follow ... after which we headed up the Dale and over to Alston for a walk, rehearsing for a possible Camino de Santiago de Compostela!

We took the little steam train up to Slaggyford and walked back picking raspberries for tea. Now dear readers, who knows whether another Camino de Santiago de Compostela is possible, but the walk this afternoon was excellent fitness training anyway.

Tomorrow, Monday, there's things to do in the village, and with luck you'll hear about it tomorrow. Let's see shall we?!

Saturday shifting

Well here we are again dear readers, a warm Saturday in early August in Stanhope in Weardale and stuff to shift around to make life a little easier. It's often said by chaps with Luton vans: "No job too small", but surprisingly it was tricky find a man with a van prepared to shift a bed from Railway Terrace to Rose Terrace then pick up a couple of mattresses and take them to Bishop Auckland. Our saviour finally was found in Hope Street in Crook - Andy who had moved your old blogger into Wear View by the River Wear in Stanhope some years previously.

That was arranged yesterday when the morning included a trip up the Dale for a coffee and muffin at Chatterbox cafe in St John's Chapel followed by a walk up Slitts Wood collecting raspberries and blackberries for later use indoors, to combine with the apples and rhubarb scrumped from an empty house by the river in Stanhope.

After lunch of eggy bread with salad we spent some time moving furniture about upstairs to prepare for Andy's arrival today. Then we rang our solicitor in Crook to finalise the house sale and went shopping in Front Street for essential supplies for lunch today. So that's your update dear readers!

Stanhope into the weekend

Friday 5th August 2022 dear readers of Wear and Dao, and the weather continues dry and warm as the weekend approaches.

After the break in Bournemouth, Stanhope remains to be the place to be ... the seaside is great in the summer and also the hills of the North Pennines! Home is where the heart is after all ... and the heart is here now.

Where better to lounge about reading  ( Mark Haddon's amazing "The Porpoise") and writing the blog you see before you.

As for the weekend, well, we expect to complete the contract for the sale of 5 Railway Terrace very soon and bank the money enabling more holidays including Cyprus in November for 3 weeks. What a life eh dear readers!

The Royal Bath Hotel

Monday August 1st 2022 and it's off to Bournemouth for a short holiday down South at The Royal Bath Hotel. The traffic was remarkably light and your old blogger and his partner made the 350 miles in around 7 hours including one stop for fuel and picnic and pee.

Of course these parts are well known to your blogger, who spent his childhood hearabouts.

Bournemouth is a great tourist place and since it's the summer holidays where better to spend a couple of days before heading West to The Eden Project.

Bournemouth, Wimborne and back

The last day of the short break in the Royal  Bath Hotel entailed a trip on the upper deck of a bus to Wimborne.

Before that an early walk along the promenade saw old chaps prospecting for coins that dropped from the pockets of folks enjoying the golden sands the day before. Then came a full English breakfast to fill the tummies since breakfast was included in the price. The trip to Wimborne followed and was certainly a more relaxing way to see the countryside. .. have bus pass, will travel is the motto hereabouts!

Let's see what tomorrow brings shall we dear readers ...

Alnwick Gardens

Alnwick Gardens is a beautiful place created by the Duchess of Northumberland, who seems to have taken Versailles as the inspiration for the amazing cascade in Alnwick Gardens.  Your old blogger and his partner visited there today with the old blogger's two daughters. .. The elder lives in Duns in the Borders of Scotland and the younger lives in Newcastle so it  was decided that Alnwick was around halfway ... The blogger and his partner collected the younger daughter then drove up to Alnwick for lunch and a wander around the grounds. We were lucky with the weather after over night rain ... The rain had cleared and the sun made an appearance meaning a warm dry day.

Tomorrow it's off early to Bournemouth for two days and nights at the Royal Bath Hotel then maybe Devon and Cornwall and The Eden Project. Let's see shall we!

Saturday in County Durham

Today, dear readers of Wear and Dao, was a day spent in County Durham in the Northeast of England on the last weekend of July before August arrives on Monday, when your old blogger and his partner set off for Bournemouth on holiday. Now however it's Saturday and a day in Durham City in search of a light bulb and gravel for the Belfast Sink in the front garden of number 6 Rose Terrace to be used as a planter. After the shopping trip including a coffee stop the couple returned to Stanhope to make lunch ... a delicious and nutritious  concoction of fried haloumi, onions, sweet potatoes , tomatoes, with garam masala and spinach ...

After lunch it was time for a trip to see Mick the Hat, a good friend in Frosterley and retired criminal whos tragic tale deserves it's own blog or book. Basically he was beaten as a boy by the couple who adopted him, which set him off on a life of crime in London, where he knew the Kray twins, Reggie and Ronnie and steered clear of them! His escape from the clutches of the adopting parents entailed learning boxing until he was strong enough to confront his father with an uppercut to the jaw which meant a sentence to an approved school in Blyth, Northumberland, then borstal until proper prison beckoned! Let's just say a life of crime ensued by an angry young man who couldn't understand how this world was so full of injustice.

Before that visit the pair called in to see Jules and Peter are in the process of purchasing the Retreat House at Railway Terrace. .. finally the solicitors appear to be happy and the transfer should be completed next week.

Then it was home for supper, basically lunch whizzed up into soup and an early night to write the blog you're reading now, before tomorrow's trip to see the daughters in Alnwick Gardens.

POETS Day!

Today, dear readers of Wear and Dao,  is affectionately known as Poet's Day where folks work Monday to Friday with the weekend off. As you may know already dear readers, the acronym stands for: Piss off early, tomorrow's Saturday!

The blogger's partner was out all day with a friend leaving the old blogger to chase up the solicitor to finalise the sale of the Retreat House at Railway Terrace, make lunch, do some shopping in the street and read the book by Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame. The day turned out fine and sunny meaning sitting outside to read and research hotels in Bournemouth for the next leg of the holiday starting Monday the 1st of August 2022. The Royal Bath Hotel was chosen for 2 nights bed and breakfast at a reasonable price considering the imposing location on the seafront with a view of the Isle of Wight on a clear day.

Tomorrow, Saturday , is a day for preparing for the trip up to Alnwick Gardens with the daughters and sharing stories and photos from the trip to Verwood where the blogger spent an idyllic childhood before packing in school and seeing the world ... Scotland, Spain, Andorra, Morocco, France and Germany, sleeping rough or camping and hitch-hiking or walking ... rather like the Camino de Santiago many years later.

Meanwhile, tomorrow's forecast damp at the start and getting out sunny later. Sounds good here, more vitamin D from the natural source!

Thursday updated

Well dear readers, the rain indeed stopped well before lunch (spaghetti bolognese with prawns in by the way) and the old blogger left his reading (Joanne Harris of "Chocolat" fame) to collect some sand and stones for the Belfast Sink now a planter for the front garden. After lunch the Angel of Stanhope, Gillian arrived for tea and scones and philosophy naturellement ... elle parle Francaise tres bien. .. when dear Gillian had left news came from the two daughters that they wished to visit on Sunday and meet at Alnwick Gardens for lunch.

That's about it for today folks, except to say that living in Stanhope is delightful and your old blogger, albeit born in Fordinbridge, finds Weardale more to his taste nowadays ... (to be continued God willing!)

Thursday after Cragside

Good morning dear readers of Wear and Dao, the blog now going on for many years since the decision to put your blogger's life in a rucksack in 2014. Over the years the editor, a County Durham friend found in Barnard Castle, when we shared political views and strong opinions about Durham County Council and how corrupt they could often be, has stayed with the writer of the blog you're now reading through thick and thin even when the blog became rather ... thin!

Yesterday dear readers the weather was fine for the visit to Cragside with the partner's two grandsons where we had fun in the sun, enjoying the day out at Cragside again.

Today there's nothing much to do except wait for the rain to stop and write the blog you're reading now until lunchtime.

Tuesday at Kilhope Wheel

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao the blog,  the doddery old blogger and his partner set off to explore Kilhope Wheel up in the North Pennines of England in the AONB onthe way to Alston in Cumbria. With Daniel the grandson of the partner aboard the day was great fun in the Sun running about and enjoying ourselves at the abandoned lead mine, where .the tourist experience is geared for children and very educational with spar boxes to see plus the old workings.

The cafe serving coffee and snacks was open and we enjoyed tomato soup while Dan chose a fried egg sandwich with a chocolate muffin to follow.

Returning home to Stanhope, we played scrabble until it was time to take Daniel home to his mother and brother Harvey.

That's about it for today dear readers of Wear and Dao, and tomorrow mornIng early we collect the two boys to go to Cragside near Rothbury in Northumberland, the home of Lord Armstrong  who made his money inventing things including better armaments with which to kill people in WW1! He was knighted by Queen Victoria for his efforts, though it's  hard to justify killing people these days.

Monday fun in Stanhope

Being Monday dear readers of Wear and Dao, the old blogger and his partner spent the day in Stanhope awaiting a call from the solicitor to finally sort out the sale of the Retreat House at Railway Terrace to our friend Julianne. Obviously solicitors have a duty to look after the interests of their clients, though it sometimes seems they over do things to justify their fees!

The call from the solicitors was finally scheduled for 2pm, meaning lunch was prepared for two ... vegetables with 3 duck eggs which was delicious and very nutritious and plentiful so it became soup this evening.

The sun was shinlng brightly after rain last night so some time was spent outside enjoying the heat and walking before preparing lunch. As it happens the solicitors postponed due to an emergency and we never heard from him again!

Tomorrow's a day for a trip to Kilhope Wheel with the partner's grandson Dan while his brother has dental work done.

Mother's, daughters and grandchildren

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao  we set of to Toft Hill near Bishop Auckland to see the partner's daughter and grandchildren for a trip to Rise in Barnard Castle. Rise, as is known to local folks is renowned as an artisan baker who first had a shop in Crook, then Newcastle Green Market and finally Barney, also home of Teesdale District Council before the districts merged into the County Council where your old blogger first met the editor of Wear and Dao the blog! It's a funny old world of coincidences isn't it dear readers. ..

Anyway we went for elevenses at Rise for sourdough bread and foccacio plus cakes for the mothers and daughters and grandchildren not to mention the old blogger before the old blogger and partner returned to Stanhope for late lunch of foccacio of sourdough bread of  cheese and spinach not unlike spanokopita from Greece. Since this post is rapidly becoming a foodie blog, we must mention supper of scrambled eggs on sourdough toast.

And so to bed as foodie Friday becomes Saturday when the day is free for a National Trust trip. though who knows where?

Thursday in Jarrow

Thursday in Jarrow dear readers of Wear and Dao  was spent visiting the partner's mother.  At touching 90 she's still bright and breezy as is your old blogger at 71. It's nice to be able to walk without a stick as the vitamin D and various drugs plus exercise seems to have healed the bloggers blood clots at least temporarily.

We went for fish and chips by the sea at South Shields at a nice hotel and a good chat about family matters before returning to Stanhope. Tomorrow is another day and a visit to the partner's daughter.

That's it for tonight dear readers of Wear and Dao, see you in the morning!

Durham Fun

After collecting antibiotics for the partner's chest infection we headed into Durham for a look out dear readers. For those who don't know Durham, it's a world heritage site for a reason, mainly the Cathedral and the Rose Window of stained glass. In fact it was the second, after the centre of London to have a charging zone, albeit rather smaller. The Park and Ride system encourages the cars to keep away ...

After looking around the Cathedral and buying some gifts we returned home to make lunch of salmon and new potatoes and a nap for an hour by which time it was almost time for supper. It's all rather like being on holiday at home!

Tomorrow we drive to Jarrow to see the partner's mother, still fit and healthy at nearly 90 years of age.

Despite being a soft southerner for years these days it's Weardale in Northeast England for me!

Holidays day 5

Being based at the Horton Inn meant further family meeting and greeting, this time at the farm where the two elder grandsons of the old blogger now live and work, with arable farming being the main income stream supplemented by free range eggs from hens.

It was great to reminisce on the good times shared over the years with the nephews, daughter in law and great niece.

Now we're planning day 6 dear readers as the Sun continues to shine so the seaside calls ... maybe Bournemouth or Swanage, let's see shall we!

Holidays end!

After 5 delightful days on holiday in the Sun, an unexpected turn of events meant your old blogger and his partner returned to Stanhope instead of the planned Bournemouth stay in the Royal Bath Hotel. Breakfast at eight of coffee, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon meant a decent breakfast before heading North along the M1

After that the road was clear and the car windows open wide to generate a cooling breeze. Two brief stops later and we were home by 3pm, so a very fast 350 miles.

Frankly dear readers home is just as good as hotels and somewhat cheaper of course. A nourishing soup at 6.30 is sufficient for us ... as for tomorrow, who knows but the weather's still fine and antibiotics prescribed, so let's see shall we!

Holidays day 4

Here we are again dear readers of Wear and Dao  the blog. Day 3, yesterday was the third day of the holiday from Stanhope to Cornwall with the route evolving as we go. Today we leave the Rufus House Hotel after two nights in Lyndhurst the capital of the New Forest National Park which is bisected by the A31 a dual carriageway in need of a third lane. Indeed Ringwood currently has road works closing the slip roads to the A31 though with no intention of creating that third lane. Frankly the ancient New Forest is far more important than roads and as for public transport the mainline train runs from London to Weymouth with plenty of bus connections along the way.

The road we took yesterday aimed to end up in Verwood, Dorset, the childhood home of your old blogger and where his elder sister and brother in law still live. The route  involved visits to Wimborne where your old blogger went to school and Cranborne in the middle of which lies the Horton Inn, where he worked as a waiter all those years ago. Popping in to the Horton Inn we were delighted to discover a room free which we booked for tonight!

The afternoon spent with the sister and brother in law was quite delightful with tea and cake and a short walk around the new estate where fields sprouted houses the source of significant cash for the family.

Holidays day 3

Holidays day 2

Well the Railway Hotel didn't disappoint and breakfast was plentiful and included in the price meaning lunch was not really necessary and turned out to be a picnic part 2 with sandwiches of egg mayonnaise and stilton with beetroot chutney in the grounds of the Krishnamurti Centre which we visited yesterday. It was delightful to see old friends and new and introduce the kind caring friend to the Centre for the first time.

Since the Railway Hotel was only available for one night the trip to the Krishnamurti Centre meant a wander along country roads of Hampshire in search of a new place to stay. Before all that, a brief note about the history of the Railway Hotel which was previously named the Augustus John after the racy old artist who not only painted but was well known in Fordinbridge as a member of the London based set including the Bells and Isadora Duncan who loved to dance naked except for flimsy chiffon gowns.

On the way to Bramdean and the K Centre we found a delightful hotel in Lyndhurst available for 2 nights run by Ernesto an Italian and Suko his Japanese partner. A brief conversation with Ernesto sealed the deal of 2 nights at £240 which he reduced to £220 because "I like you!" However breakfast is not included sparing our stomachs for a couple of days.

Today is a visit over the border to Dorset to see the elder sister of your old blogger and her husband at the childhood home we shared with a brother who died rather young in Australia and a sister who married a Breton and still lives in France. The childhood was idyllic with woods and fields to play in and the fields were later developed for building meaning a windfall for the heirs and heiresses. Of course as is known to regular readers of Wear and Dao your old blogger now lives in Stanhope so it's lovely to see the old family home before moving on to Devon tomorrow.

Holiday Time!

Friday 15th July 2022  dear readers of Wear and Dao, and it's summer holiday time for your old blogger and his kind caring friend meaning a trip down the M1 to the New Forest of England, which is not actually new of course but ancient and set aside for hunting by the Norman invaders in 1066.

The weather was fine and mild with a light cloud cover for good driving conditions and considering it was Friday remarkably free of excess traffic. After roughly 6 hours of driving, with a couple of stops we were at our first destination of Fordingbridge where the old blogger was born, the third child of four, in 1950. After looking around for reasonably priced accomodation we found the Railway Hotel which is designed to reflect it's name with a Pulman railway carriage and a great restaurant for cannelonni.

Today, Saturday we move on to our next accommodation but at the time of writing dear readers we know not or where it will be! Rest assured however that you'll read about it on here.

Wednesday with W2M!

Another warm summer's day in Weardale where we live and after helping found the scheme of using community transport to bring folks out to lunch now your old blogger is using the scheme. The outing today was to the A68 cafe near to Toft Hill with several old friends aboard, including the wonderful Mary Bell, now 91, from Cowshill, Susan, Wendy and Gillian plus Tina a new passenger assistant.

The cafe was very busy and  the meal delicious. A new driver, Kevin made up the numbers at the table reserved for us and a great time was had by all

Excitement mounts in Rose Terrace where the old blogger now lives with the good friend as we prepare to head South on Friday to visit the childhood home of the old blogger where his elder sister still lives ... Verwood in Dorset.

Monday Lunch

Monday today another warm day 25° though a light cloud veiled the heat of the sun making the heat far more bearable than yesterday at Seaton Delaval Hall by the coast. At home in Stanhope it was definitely shorts and sandals weather with an early start at 5 a.m with coffee as per usual, then porage followed by sourdough toast and marmite for the B12 vitamin.

Next the mobility scooter was assembled and a trip into the village to talk to the Hub and Wheels to Meals to book a trip for Wednesday to the A68 cafe which overlooks Weardale, which is always a rewarding view. A brief stop at the MS charity shop found a scrabble set for the coming summer holiday., then Woodhalls Greengrocers for 2 goose eggs and a chat with Diane about local events.

Back home at Rose Terrace it was time to prepare lunch consisting of the lovely dish from Saturday's bolognese sauce, which was very filling meaning a brief nap to recover dear reader! The afternoon was mostly reading the book by LJ Ross, a murder mystery thriller with Chief Inspector Ryan as the hero ... this one's called Seven Bridges based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Afternoon tea was a toasted teacake with butter, bramble jam and mascarpone cheese all totally delicious and nutritious before lunch. The coming summer holiday by the way is to Devon for a week or so, via Verwood the childhood home of your old blogger dear readers.

Tomorrow is also predicted to be hot and sunny and who knows where we'll go ...

Summer Sun Fun

After all the political chatter about Boris Johnson and his final demise the blog of Wear and Dao returns to pleasanter stories of sunny days at the weekend of 8.07.2022 to today Sunday 10.07.2022 when plans are afoot for a trip up to the seaside to Seaton Sluice near Whitley Bay.

On Friday we visited dear Dawn, a good friend from Ferrybridge Station, who in her youth lived in London working at Wapping on Rupert Murdoch's plan to break the power of the print union as a personal assistant to journalists. At the same time your erstwhile communist young blogger was outside protesting at Murdoch's scheme, not because the print unions were noble bearers of honest trade union principles, which they weren't,  but in a crazy battle between communism and capitalism!

Anyway Dawn bought a property in Ferrybridge Station cheaply and spent years doing it up to it's current state of a beautiful house and garden as an Air Bnb hosting students at Durham University.

Yesterday the elder daughter of the old blogger visited Stanhope for lunch (spaghetti bolognese with foccacio bread bought from artisan bakers Rise in Barnard Castle and dessert of polenta cake from Dawn). It was lovely to see the elder daughter again in the sunshine for lunch and a walk before she returned home to Duns in the Scottish borders ...

Tomorrow who knows where we'll go but the weather forecast is fine so let's see shall we! 

Political Issues ...

What to say about the Boris Johnson fiasco dear readers, except that it's a mystery how he gained power in the first place let alone held on to it for so long! I mean to say, a wealthy man, educated at Eton playing the buffoon but as anyone can see totally without principles and clearly untrustworthy... twice Mayor of London where he supported the E.U who switched sides to become a Brexiteer.

Has the world gone mad dear readers where supposedly intelligent folks around the world vote against their own interests? How on earth does that happen? It's said that freedom of the press is reserved for those who own one, and it's bloody obvious that brainwashing is going on and has been for ages.

Still that's all politics and games people play ... today meanwhile in reality, the here and now, the Sun is shining and it's another warm sunny day in Stanhope in summer and the old blogger and his kind caring friend are off to Ferrybridge Station for cake and a tour round Dawn's house before going over to Rise in Barnard Castle for seeded sourdough bread and focaccio plus a few cakes and maybe late lunch there too.

Tuesday in Durham

Today Tuesday 6th July 2022 we headed off to Durham City in County Durham ,England since the kind friend's car had to spend the day being serviced while we had the day before us to spend the day in Durham, a delightful quaint city situated on a bend in the River Wear with the Cathedral and Castle looming above.

The sun was shining and the temperature high as we wandered around taking in the view from the Cathedral and Castle enjoying the morning sunshine until Bell's Fish and Chips beckoned us in for a traditional lunch of guess what ... fish and chips with tartare sauce and mushy peas. A Japanese group was enjoying similar food eschewing  sushi and chopsticks like good tourists or students, learning the language and embracing cultural and culinary  habits of the local folks.

Back at the car we waited a while with complimentary coffee and tea and checked out the prices of other cars, more accessible for a mobility scooter and enjoyed a comfortable sit down viewing the impressive workshop.

Back home in Stanhope before four a cup of tea was brewed and the day reviewed before supper of soup and an early night to read and write Sycamore Gap by LJ Ross and a historical book Northerners - a History and writing the blog you're reading now dear readers of Wear and Dao.

Tomorrow who knows but the weather forecast is fine ...

Stanhope and Bill

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao was Bill our philosopher friend's day to visit meaning home cooked food for lunch (Spanish Omelette plus caramel and date cake with custard for dessert). As per usual philosophy ensued until Bill headed off to The Garden Station to meet other friends and we two had a nap before going over to the Retreat House to see Julianne and Peter to discuss the long delayed sale of the Retreat House to Julianne.

Frankly dear readers our solicitor is the cause of the delay and the only reason he's not named and shamed here is the well earned reputation of the legal profession for litigation!

Never mind that's life and there are far more important things in life than money worries. Granted abject poverty is no fun but surely enough is enough as seen in the blog you're reading now.As it happens the solicitor who dealt with the purchase of the Retreat House in the first place was a friend, very fit and relatively young died of a heart attack a year ago ...

Tomorrow is a free day dear readers so what we do and who we see who knows? Frankly the main priority is the visit of the two dear daughters next Saturday and all the rest inconsequential though the arrival of a book on Teach Yourself Greek is rather exciting and will fill the time between when the book arrives early this week and the holiday in Cyprus in November.

Today at Ormesby Hall

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao,  we went to Middlesbrough to visit Ormsby Hall a National Trust place near there. As usual with these places the house was handsome in the Palladian style and the gardens beautifully designed and kept ...

The  food as usual was wonderful albeit rather limited. Sandwiches of egg mayonnaise  and tuna and smoked salmon really filled us up especially with the bags of crisps added.

Our neighbours at the next table arrived with father and son wearing masks and mother maskless. Naturally the father and son removed their masks before eating ... all rather weird for one who never bought the brainwash of face masks. We kept coming across this family until we introduced ourselves when it appeared they came from Skipton in Yorkshire since the weather forecast was wet there and dry and sunny in Middlesbrough.

It's a funny old world we live in dear readers where we find strangers very interesting and probably normal in their worlds, whilst we consider ourselves normal in ours.

Back home in Stanhope friends and neighbours Janet and Arthur popped in for a cuppa and cake, plus philosophy... Arthur is an ordained CoE priest though long retired.

Tomorrow's Bill the philosopher's turn, when he arrives for lunch  ... so, see you then folks

People and Places

Now then dear readers of Wear and Dao the blog, regular readers may have observed the lack of blog posts recently. Rest assured dear readers that the blog will continue in a new format called People and Places whereby the tired old blog is given a makeover so standby for the new version of Wear and Dao, coming soon to a tablet near you.
(to be continued)

Monday mixed day

Monday began rather wet dear readers of Wear and Dao,  so the proposed trip to Cragside for more books in the D.I Ryan series by J.L Ross including "Cragside" and several others, was postponed until tomorrow when the weather forecast is fine and no rain ...

So, today your old blogger and his kind caring friend stopped indoors for a while whilst the rain persisted only venturing out for some potatoes to make chips for lunch with a goose egg each and baked beans which was delicious and nutritious of course and rather filling.

In the afternoon we set out for Bishop Auckland to the Vodaphone team who sold the friend an updated phone recently and gave her old phone to the old blogger in order to transfer the data. Mission accomplished we returned to Stanhope in time for tea (leek, potato and butter bean soup).

Tomorrow is another day so who knows where we'll go and for what? Rest assured however folks that we'll be going somewhere or other and enjoying the life of being retired  ... it's a nice life indeed when Monday is no different to any other day.

Cyprus in winter for 3 weeks and Devon and Cornwall for a week or so is possible ... let's see how those plans work out shall we dear readers!

Sunday philosophy

Today dear readers of Wear and Dao the blog Bill the philosopher arrived for lunch prepared by the kind caring friend and chef de cuisine and your old blogger, plus Alan well known in Northeast England and Cumbria for his work on community-based action and social enterprise  and well known on Facebook too. Bill had never met him before today so it was an opportunity for them both to find out about each other not to mention philosophy and psychology, the Meaning of Life and the Nature of Reality, while the chef prepared a delicious, nutritious meal of chick pea curry with poppadoms and pitta bread, followed by a trifle.

As you can see dear readers Sunday really is a day for deep thinking ... not unlike the Christians who go to church religiously on a Sunday, except of course that philosophers question everything!

After a good session of discussing philosophy over a cup of tea Bill departed whilst Alan stayed for more philosophy and psychology before heading home to Sherburn, Durham.

Tomorrow is another day and who knows who will arrive or where we'll go, but books still need sorting out and more bought for the library of A Place to Be now based inn a different house ... anyway A Place to Be is where you are obviously, and each human being the centre of their own universe which is tricky since logic infers billions of human beings are creating their own worlds.

Another option is a trip out to a National Trust place such as Cragside near Rothbury in Northumberland. .. let's see what tomorrow brings shall we dear readers?

Friday Fun

Yesterday dear readers of Wear and Dao the blog was another day that started sunny and became showery later. Before all that an oxygen nurse was awaited at about 11a.m to check the breathing problems of your old breathless blogger. Prior to that he called into the Stanhope Travel Agents in search of winter holidays. As it turned out the first choice of Tavira via Faro was eliminated due to travel restrictions to Portugal and Spain to visit Santiago de Compostela also!

This left Albania, Cyprus and Greece as main choices for warm weather winter holidays  ... and Greece the favourite since your old adventurous blogging friend visited there many times: Corfu, Athens, and Crete for example, not to mention Santorini with its black volcanic Sandy beaches and Ios famous for its naturist beaches, halfway to Crete. So which would you choose dear readers?  Crete appeals to your blogger whilst his kind caring friend prefers not to change flights, though finds the hotel accommodation not to her taste even though a direct flight sounds preferable.

A light lunch of cheese on toast was taken with the imminent  arrival of the specialist nurse on the cards . After being pronounced as good as expected and a further appointment being made to check oxygen requirements we decided to visit the vodaphone store in an attempt to keep up to date with the younger generation and be able to do face to face calls with friends and family .......maybe !

Then to a local school to mix with an even younger generation and pick up grandchildren to take them out for a promised supper . Yet more face to face contact dear readers and a pleasure to see the excitment at greeting us.
Rise at Barnard Castle was the agreed venue for supper , the old blogger and younger child having cheesy tomatoe pizza and the grandmother and older child sharing a rather large sandwich with accompaniments.  No meal at Rise would be complete of course without one of their many types of pastry , chocolate and raspberry tart and lemon tarts being chosen.

Then back to the childrens' home for further babysitting which saw your old blogger assisting with a 3D jigsaw; who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks !

Tomorrow dear readers, Bill the philosopher and Alan founder member of A Place to Be plus maybe Peter another founder member and teacher of Mindfulness making 5 for lunch (vegetarian chick pea curry and rice) which is nice for a sunny Sunday ... philosophers all round exploring the Nature of Reality and the Meaning of Life and enjoying a delicious nutritious lunch.