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