Nearly March again!

Here we go again dear readers, March approaches and February will soon be done once more ... time marches on remorsely the way it does ... always forward.

Today, Saturday, dawns rather damp and at 11am the funeral of a much loved woman will be held in St Thomas's Church.

Around 1pm friends are due for lunch ... when doubtless discussion will include the usual questions of the meaning of life and why we're here. Joe came to Stanhope some years ago to join the circle of friends at A Place to Be at Wear Terrace seeking to understand these deep questions with others sitting in circle in meditation and seeking some answers.

The days, weeks and years have flown by since those times, and some friends have left, others passed on ,but Joe from South Shields still keeps in touch.

The week or so since the last post on here dear readers, has flown by, mostly at home in Stanhope. Last Monday we went to Beamish Museum with the boys on a sunny and breezy day and walked round the usual route, stopping for lunch of macaroni cheese then hopping on the old bus back to the entrance/exit and gift shop, where we found a gift for the front garden: a metal sign advertising the Women's Land Army! As it happens, dear readers, the blogger's Mother met Dad in Dorset after WW2 as she was serving in the Land Army  and he in the Army Medical Corps. The rest is history!

The holiday to Tavira approaches fast ... other holidays too, including Findhorn again.

Thoughts of another winter holiday are premature ... let's see shall we dear readers? !!

Thursday 16.03.2023

A brief post to update you dear readers and reflect a little on things past and possible future. As we know, dear readers, what's past is done and dusted and all we can do is learn any lessons worth learning and try not to repeat any not conducive to one's physical or mental health, or, indeed that of folks dear to this old blogger!

The past few days have passed happily in Stanhope ( clearly the best place to live in the whole world ....), plus a trip to Wallington Hall to enjoy the benefits of National Trust membership again.

It's been a contented life so far, though never boring ... the challenges have been met head on, sometimes successfully,  sometimes not. That's life after all and winning or losing is not the fundamental question, but to do our best to the benefit of ourselves and others dear to us.

As for future plans, well next month's trip to Tavira is anticipated with joy by your old blogger, dear readers, since he's spent lots of time there on and off over the years, starting when a good friend Pedro, a refugee from the fascist regime in Portugal, decided to return to join in the revolution against Caetano, the successor to Salazar a friend of Franco the fascist dictator in Spain. We had a wonderful time visiting old friends and relatives around Lisbon and then south to the Algarve and Tavira. Further trips to Tavira were as a base between walking the various Caminos to Santiago and Fisterra ... the partner however has never been there, so will see the beautiful town and surrounding countryside and seaside at its best time, which is Spring, when then flowers bloom, the sea is warm and the sun too.

It's been quite a life so far dear readers, and there's a few a few years left in this life with luck ... let's see!!

Coldingham, St Abbs, Holy Island and Farne Islands ...

Saturday again and we've returned from the visit to your blogger's daughter and grandson near Duns in the Scottish Borders.

The trip up to Scotland via Jedburgh for coffee and a scone was our first stop, followed by Coldstream for lunch and the purchase of a kilt at the army surplus store. .. let's see who will wear it and where! Next stop was Coldingham at the guest house where we'd booked for two nights. Having settled in we walked to the nearby New Inn for a drink and light supper.

From there we walked to St Abbs the following day for a snack of Cullen Skink or fish soup... mmm! Delicious. ..

After the snack we walked back and drove the car to see the daughter and her baby son near Duns. The afternoon was delightful and the weather stayed fine for a lovely walk in the sun, then returned to Coldingham to rest awhile then head out to walk to the New Inn again.

The next day ie today we left early and drove south to Lindisfarne or Holy Island where we had breakfast before walking round the island to burn off some calories. From there we drove past Bamburgh to Seahouses and embarked on the catamaran Serenity for a 90 minute guided tour round the Farne Islands seeing seals basking in the sun and heard the story of Grace Darling the girl famous for saving the lives of many survivors from shipwrecks.

We drive south again on the Coastal Route to Morpeth then picked up the A1 to Newcastle. From there it was not far to Stanhope and home after a great short break in Scotland!

Saturday 04.02.2023

Just a quick update dear readers on Saturday the 4th of February. .. after another fine morning walk up the hall road and round to Crawleyside via the redundant quarry, then home for lunch. Black bread toast spread with Philadelphia cream cheese and stuffed with smoked salmon followed by soup ... quite delicious and as usual nutritious!

The week or so since the last post has been mostly in Stanhope apart from a trip to Toft Hill to see the partner's daughter and grandchildren, which was fun as always. A tutorial with Mac in the week enabled the further development of the blog you're reading and the autobiography you may read as it moves through childhood memories, adolescence, adulthood, adultery, fatherhood, divorce (see above) and middle age, however that's defined. Both blogs are ongoing for now and both will cease when this life's done. ...

As for tomorrow, Sunday, the day is open ...