Interment

It is nearly a year since my mother died, and yesterday we interred her ashes with my father's in Kirtlington church yard in Oxfordshire where she lived for 30 years. It was a gathering of village friends and family, and it felt a very positive occasion to me. Afterwards we went to the farm cafe on my cousin's farm and had some tea and cake (which mother would undoubtedly have approved of].

We drove there and back in the day, so were glad to have the S-Town podcast [from the makers of Serial] to keep us entertained, which it surely did.

Bingley Five Rise

Also on the Canal we passed the Five Rise locks at Bingley, a beautiful solution to a practical problem.

Swans Way

Last week my church bike ride with Robert took us to the flood plain of the Derwent east of York. In winter it is a lake, with these Whooper Swans making a lot of noise.

Spring Watch

I saw a Treecreeper by the pond, a Brimstone while out cycling, and a Chiffchaff in the garden. Plenty going on as spring arrives.

Pond in Wanstead

FSD

Last weekend was a good weekend; great ride with Dave into the Wolds on Saturday. Totally by chance and on the backest of back roads I met my neighbour also out for a ride. Only in York.
We all watched one of the best Film Noir, Out of the Past by Jacques Tourneur, in the evening; it pleases me that the family are prepared to put up with one of my interests, and even enjoy it a bit.
Sunday we went to Meeting, a beautiful day then Danielle tended to the bees and I assembled a log store. And it is First Shorts Day for 2017 too.

Reeds on Wanstead Flats

Saltaire

The Canal walk took us through Saltaire and past the magnificent Salts Mill, now a complex of shops and galleries but still a great historic sight [World Heritage sight no less http://www.saltairevillage.info/ ]

Kings Cross

The whole time I lived in London the redevelopment of Kings Cross was mooted and delayed; now it has happened and is happening still. This is the latest bit to go live, on the way from the station to St Martins art college, Google to the right, St Pancras in the middle distance. The change from place-to-avoid to place-to-seek-out has been made.

St Pauls

When I was down in London last week I went to meet Danielle after her meeting in the City near the Gherkin building. This involved walking past St Pauls, it remains a great sight, somehow the new just enhances the old.

Canal Walk 6

Robert and Julia joined us for the sixth leg of our canal walking project. The route took us on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal from Silsden to Shipley. Another great walk full of interest. The canal was built getting on for 250 years ago and it remains a thing of wonder.

MrP

Going through the family photos looking for pictures of Aunt Sheila I came across this one of Rowan when she was six, playing with that high quality toy Mr Potato Head in Royce's house in Pennsylvania.

Aunt Sheila RIP

Danielle's Aunt Sheila died this week. She has had cancer for the last year. She acted in loco parentis for Rowan when she was at high school in the States and was a real friend to all our family. She will be much missed by us all.

Walk

Friends Paul & Kelly were up in Yorkshire, so we went a walk in the Wolds with them and their friends David and Jill, who we had not met before. Had a great time in the slacks at Fridaythorpe then had a greasy spoon lunch in my favourite cycling cafe - Seaways.

Thames

Last one from our fleeting London visit. This is the footbridge alongside the railway bridge over the Thames at Putney.

Honey Time

Danielle's bees are local celebrities. Neighbour Gwen spotted this one collecting pollen from a crocus in her garden. Good to know that good things are on the way.

Magazine Article

The magazine article about me and the house is in Yorkshire Living this month: here is the link. The article is on pages 26-28. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?PBID=489fe4d6-a966-43fa-8357-cffbecbbd8e7 Not too excrutiating I hope.

Harrods Store

The Harrods furniture store on the Thames by Hammersmith Bridge has long been a landmark. It has now [surprise, surprise] been turned into the ubiquitous "luxury flats". Still a great building though.

Venice or Putney

With so many boats on the water it all looked a bit Canaletto on the Thames on Saturday.

Rowing news

Rowan was rowing on the Thames in the women's head of the river races. 320 crews, some from as far away as Aberdeen, rowed the route. This is the Warwick boat just about to row up-river to the start at Mortlake, before racing back past Craven Cottage to the finish at Putney bridge. We saw Rowan for about ten minutes after the row, but it was great to support her.

Railway Pond

The Railway Pond, ten minutes away, just gets more and more beautiful to me. A dedicated bunch of volunteers are transforming it. Good job.

Real Musicians

Neighbour Ken's father was a professional double bass player who did three world cruises before the war and worked on the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary out of Southampton after the war. Ken now has to put up with hearing me and Greg and our guitar noise once a week ...

The band on the Franconia

Portrait Artist of the Year

We are enjoying watching Portrait Artist of the Year [with the unlikely host pair of Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell] it is a great programme. This evening was the semi-final. As you can see Milo was caught up with the tension of it all.

St Olav

St Olav's church in the grounds of St Mary's Abbey is one of my favourite York churches.

York in the Winter

A nice winter sun when I was in York last week. This is the Yorkshire Museum with St Mary's abbey in the background. Rowan was up for a couple of days, which was great, and we had an Lithuanian AirBnB person which was also good.

Skosh

I've mentioned Skosh, the best restaurant in York a lot in the last year; it is just a great place to eat. So it was good to see it getting a euphoric review in the Observer today https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/05/skosh-york-restaurant-review

This is Totnes castle a week ago.

BTR

I only have three Bruce Springsteen tracks on my iPod, and they are all from Darkness on the Edge of Town which I used to own back in the day and which is atypical. So I am not a big fan of his music. But. I am listening to his autobiography on Audible which he actually wrote and reads himself; this could have been a recipe for awfulness but it is brilliant. A really great read, I might have to have a listen to some other albums after all. Recommended.

As regular rail users, we can all relate to this in our family. It is from long long ago but still hits the spot.

Dartington 4

One of Danielle's trustees lives just outside the Dartington estate, so we walked over on Sunday to have a cup of coffee with her which was pleasant. We then had a bit more time in Totnes [too much traffic up the main street - it should be pedestrianised] before getting the train back home.
The photo is of a well on the estate. I am in it - the photo not the well.

Dartington 3

I got plenty of walking in; on Saturday we both walked to Staverton on the Dart then into town. The South Devon steam railway was running at the weekend which was a good surprise. Here is a GWR tank engine in full flow.

Dartington 2

There was a big meal for the conference on the Friday evening that I accompanied Danielle to. It was in this medieval banqueting hall - a really beautiful building inside. Good company and a good meal