Tapas

We are fortunate that we can walk from the house, across the Moor, round the pond, over the race course and along the River Ouse. It really is a treasure. We had a good walk Saturday.
Yesterday evening we saw friends Sue & Eddy for tapas at Ambiante [used to be a guitar shop - sad sign of the times]. We went on tandem [bit of a theme this weekend] Sue was on crutches after a pavement fall.

Like sunsets, graveyards are too easy to photograph badly so I tend to avoid. But I could not resist this one overgrown above Todmorden.

This and That

We cycled by tandem over to Danielle's running friend Jacqui's new post-divorce house for a house warming. Good evening, new people, new lives [including tales from the Ambulance service ...]
Into Quaker meeting today, which is always good for bringing in doses of perspective.

Rowan is happily back at school and, this weekend, on "showing new people where everything is" duty. Here she is with her peers.

Packhorse Bridge

Walking up to the Moors from Marsden we came across this old packhorse bridge on the packhorse route over the Pennines known as Rapes Highway http://www.marsdenhistory.co.uk/transport/packhorse.html . A beautiful spot

Free From

Danielle has been eating gluten-free for a year or so. This is a gluten free cake she made using fruit from the garden. It was very good.

Stoodley 2

There are few things better in life than a grim Pennine moor with a dry stone wall across it.

Marsden

The next walk took us up above Marsden, along Standedge on the Pennine Way then back up Pule Hill which you can see in this photo. It was another great walk. Only down side was I managed to somehow get a sceptic thumb which is incredibly painful and debilitating; saw the nurse today, should respond to antibiotics.

Stoodley Pike

Our walks in the West Yorkshire Pennines continue. A great walk up to Stoodley Pike last week; I really love the Calder Valley. This is our sixth walk from the calendar of walks by Chris Goddard, http://www.westyorkshiremoors.co.uk/the-book.html - it has been a great adventure together.

Runner Beans

The Beans have grown well this year - a real pleasure to have them available from the garden.

Cleveland 3

Last shot from the Cleveland Hills ride. This is Carlton Bank with hang glider and exhausted cyclist [out of picture].

BTS

Rowan went back to school last Sunday - two weeks early for Cross Country pre-season training, and prefect induction - felt very empty after she left. As you can see from her leaving photo, Rowan was very happy to be starting her second year at George School in Pennsylvania.

Cleveland 2

Part of my route was off-road on this track on the top of the Moors; I hope you can get a feel for the heather and the space.

Cleveland en Provence

Cycling towards the Cleveland Hills from Yarm recently on a beautiful summers day, I was reminded on cycling towards Mont Ventoux in Provence last year. Swap the corn for vines and 400metres height for 2000metres and it could be the same place.

Cardoon

The Cardoon plant in the rockery has gone full bore this year. Here is one of the flowers with a wine bottle for size reference [and sleeping dog for context].

Record Shops - Part 2

When I left school and went to live in Leeds for a year I got into Dub Reggae, so naturally went to the local Reggae Record Store to buy Big Youth and Tapper Zukkie singles. Quite an experience, very friendly but totally daunting at the same time for a 17 year old.
By the time I got to Liverpool punk was on the verge of happening, so I was glad to discover Probe records in Matthew Street; it had all that you wanted - the latest Slaughter and the Dogs single as well as white label Skip James blues albums. Penny Lane Records was pretty good as well.
By the time I moved to London in 1980 I found Honest Jons in Camden town as well as the more famous shops. But records were becoming less and less important, the start of the slope that led to the virtual end of the record shop.

Todays unrelated photo is of Rowan from the Groupon shoot.

Portrait 2

Here is a shot of Danielle from the Groupon experience.

Portraits Not By Me

Danielle and Rowan went to a photographer for glamorous portrait groupon; not something I have an interest is taking. Not bad if you like that sort of thing.

Record Shops - Part 1

Record shops have just about disappeared for good now. When we moved to York there was one independent shop but this has long since closed. Got me thinking.

The record shop in Preston market square was where I remember going with Mother getting the latest Beatles singles when they came out in the 60s. It was a modern shop with listening booths that I later visited to hear weird and unknown sounds from the Progressive section of the racks and racks of albums that lined the shop.

When I was at boarding school at Rossall we spent hours hanging out in Cobweb records in Cleveleys which is where I got my education. The guys who ran it were great; after buying the Velvet Underground second album I took it back to school and hated it [a hate since overcome] so much that I took it back and swapped it for one by Roy Buchanan.

By the time I was in the 6th form the family had moved to Ulverston in Cumbria; here was a typical small town mom & pop record shop that also sold guitars. I saved until I could buy the Avon SG copy that stood proud in the window. Record wise they had a few imports [I got James Brown - Payback there, a sparse double album] and could get northern soul singles [George Bad Benson - Supership].

When I stayed at my Auntie Alison's in Oxford I could go to the brilliant shop in Little Clarendon Street - loads of imports and rare stuff. I think I got Ohio Players - Fire and Jefferson Starship - Dragonfly.

Visiting universities in my final year at school gave me a chance to check out record shops in those cities I visited. In Birmingham I found the Virgin Record shop, the hippest underground type of shop you could find then, up some dingy stairs and into a gloomy treasure chest [I came out with Carla Bley - Escalator Over The Hill].

The non related photo is of the cattle on the Moor with one canine impostor.

Lincolnshire Wolds

On the way down to Suffolk, I travelled via the Lincolnshire Wolds. These are chalk hills geologically linked to the Yorkshire Wolds which I know and love. Some similarities, some differences, but still a lovely lonely place to go a walk.

Camp

Rowan is back home after having a great time helping with the kids in Suffolk. I went to the last night bbq and met all the volunteers and children; a really inspiring project.

Here is Rowan and some of the children.

Chives

Chives are a nice herb to grow for cooking purposes, the flower [these are from the garden] is an added bonus.
Friends Dave & Emma came round the other night, unannounced and very welcome - we all shared some craft beers and chat in the garden. Only Milo was fed up - I had been about to take him out for his walk.

Produce

I seem to have grown round courgettes this year - they have done well. We have the usual "What can we do with 6 kilos of courgette?" discussions that occur this time every year. Stuffed last night, cooked with pine nuts and ricotta the night before.

Across The Fields

We walked from Great Glemham to Fram to see Mother last week; it was a great bridleway all the way. The wheat fields are being harvested so sometimes following the path was an exercise in texture variation.

The Medal

Rowan took this picture of me after completing the ride last week; at least she didn't make me bite the medal ...

Suffolk

We drove down to Suffolk so that Rowan can help Pete on a summer camp for primary school kids from inner London out on the Suffolk coast. Ro & Pete are grandogging Hettie, Tom & Catherine's Labradoodle; here she is with Rowan and Milo.

Danielle and I saw Mother and she seemed well, recognised us straight away - lovely to see her.

Weekend

Friday I stayed with Rob and Kath, then Saturday we all stayed in Hackney with Alison and Brian; they had some friends around for a meal in the evening - really pleasant. I sloped off to bed early ahead of my ride, but it was still a nice relaxing evening.

Comma

This Comma was on Hob Moor last week. They used to be rare in Lancashire when I was young, two a penny now; still lovely though.

Railway Pond

This is the old brick pond that is know locally as the railway pond. Over the last year it has been totally cleaned out, oxygenated and given love and attention. The result is this really beautiful place that emerges from the undergrowth to present a vista of perfection.

Fuel Up

On the ride yesterday I stopped at my all-time favourite cycling cafe [which is actually a biker's cafe] Seaways on top of the Wolds at Fridaythorpe. Here is the perfect lunch: beans on brown, extra large mug of tea, homemade apple pie.