Thursday, December 20, 2007
Christmas Parties Galore
Last week I was rather busy, no time to be playing on the computer. Three Christmas meals in a row!! The first Christmas party was on Tuesday, at the Inn on the Lake in Godalming, with my friends from Fleur de Lys Morris. I thought the food was delicious (I had goat's cheese and onion tart to start, sea bass fillets for main and chocolate pudding with local icecream for dessert). However those that tried the Brussels sprouts complained they were like pebbles! The beer was not bad, the Taylor Landlord and the London Pride were acceptable. Then on Wednesday it was my BRI work doo at the Home Cottage in Redhill. The food wasn't up to it's usual standard as last year's cook was on maternity leave (my steak was over done) but the beer was excellent (they still had some Youngs Double Chocolate Stout) and the pub quiz was good fun (I cheated by phoning a friend!). Lastly was the East and Mid Surrey CAMRA Christmas Meal at the King's Arms, Dorking. Beer was great, as you'd expect, with Whitstable Bay Stout and Scattor Rock Scattor Claus going down a treat with the lads and lasses. I thought the food was very good too - that time I went for Duck Terrine, Roast Beef and chocolate cheesecake for pud.
I could have gone for a fourth meal in a row with my friends from the train at the Pilgrim in Dorking, but by then I was absolutely exhausted!
This week has been relatively tame, with a festive Ploughmans and champers in the work canteen today. It will be Patrick's work doo tomorrow. I think I've actually ordered turkey for that one but I can't remember! Looking forward to the Christmas break, lots of time with Patrick and with my family.
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS!
See you in 2008 x
I could have gone for a fourth meal in a row with my friends from the train at the Pilgrim in Dorking, but by then I was absolutely exhausted!
This week has been relatively tame, with a festive Ploughmans and champers in the work canteen today. It will be Patrick's work doo tomorrow. I think I've actually ordered turkey for that one but I can't remember! Looking forward to the Christmas break, lots of time with Patrick and with my family.
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS!
See you in 2008 x
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival 2007
A rather grand title for a CAMRA festival, but since it was held in City Hall, Cardiff then it had some entitlement to grandeur! Patrick and I left Bath on Saturday morning and arrived at the festival at 10.30am. Things seemed in their normal state of organised anarchy. I introduced Patrick to my old friends, mainly from Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan branches of CAMRA, some of whom hadn't heard the news about my split with Kevin. Then we rolled our sleeves up and got stuck in with work.
At first we helped set out the CAMRA Products, including some interesting t-shirts to do with beards and religion! Then it was over to the main bar, which seemed very busy, with a short interlude on Foreign Beer (more complicated to serve than you might think) and a couple of breaks for food (huge pasties and tasty curry). We had lots more customers during the Rugby (Wales v SA). As the beer range started to dwindle, it being the last day of the festival, the crowds dwindled too. I still had the chance to sample some excellent beers - Wye Valley Santa's Delight being my beer of the festival. We headed off at about 10.30pm back to the hotel for some well earned rest!
At first we helped set out the CAMRA Products, including some interesting t-shirts to do with beards and religion! Then it was over to the main bar, which seemed very busy, with a short interlude on Foreign Beer (more complicated to serve than you might think) and a couple of breaks for food (huge pasties and tasty curry). We had lots more customers during the Rugby (Wales v SA). As the beer range started to dwindle, it being the last day of the festival, the crowds dwindled too. I still had the chance to sample some excellent beers - Wye Valley Santa's Delight being my beer of the festival. We headed off at about 10.30pm back to the hotel for some well earned rest!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Rye Weekend
Went to Rye for my second birthday weekend (!) just because I'd always fancied going there. Rye town was very beautiful with lots of unusual medieval buildings. The highlight was the view from the church tower at the top of the Rock - a stunning vista of the rivers, the sea, the town and the South Downs. THere were lots of really nice shops there, including a photographer's gallery with some beautiful local pictures. A spooky picture of Dungeness was particularly appealing. We had a superb lunch at the Ypres Castle Inn, washed down with pints of Harvey's Best.
Later on we walked along the Royal Military Canal Path and over to Camber Castle, getting back to town just as the sun was setting. We decided to get fish and chips at the 'Kettle of Fish' before the town started getting busy for the Bonfire Parade - a good call as when we came out we found people queueing down the street!
The firework parade itself was spectacular, with bonfire societies from Rye and its neighbouring towns all dressed up in wierd and wonderful costumes, floats from the scouts, the local school etc, a fire breathing dragon and a 'burning' ship. I took lots of photos, they will be in the gallery soon.
The fireworks were really good, if short lived, and the bonfire itself was huge, made of wooden pallets in which catherine wheels and other small fireworks had evidently been added. The bonfire societies stood round the fire throwing firecrackers around (not at each other, which I've heard happens at wilder towns). Thought they should have performed some circle dances round the fire for more crowd entertainment!!
Next day it was raining so Patrick drove to some locks that he wanted to see on the Royal Military Canal (not strictly speaking a proper canal, more a defensive ditch)
and we went on from there to Snargate and the excellent Red Lion, quick look around Lydd, pasty and mug of tea at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway cafe in Dungeness. Lastly, the walk on Camber Sands just as the sun was setting was a beautiful experience.
Another amazing weekend - was sad to have to return to Farnborough!
Later on we walked along the Royal Military Canal Path and over to Camber Castle, getting back to town just as the sun was setting. We decided to get fish and chips at the 'Kettle of Fish' before the town started getting busy for the Bonfire Parade - a good call as when we came out we found people queueing down the street!
The firework parade itself was spectacular, with bonfire societies from Rye and its neighbouring towns all dressed up in wierd and wonderful costumes, floats from the scouts, the local school etc, a fire breathing dragon and a 'burning' ship. I took lots of photos, they will be in the gallery soon.
The fireworks were really good, if short lived, and the bonfire itself was huge, made of wooden pallets in which catherine wheels and other small fireworks had evidently been added. The bonfire societies stood round the fire throwing firecrackers around (not at each other, which I've heard happens at wilder towns). Thought they should have performed some circle dances round the fire for more crowd entertainment!!
Next day it was raining so Patrick drove to some locks that he wanted to see on the Royal Military Canal (not strictly speaking a proper canal, more a defensive ditch)
and we went on from there to Snargate and the excellent Red Lion, quick look around Lydd, pasty and mug of tea at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway cafe in Dungeness. Lastly, the walk on Camber Sands just as the sun was setting was a beautiful experience.
Another amazing weekend - was sad to have to return to Farnborough!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Happy Birthday to Me!
What a wonderful evening at the Talbot Hotel, Ripley. Through the grapevine I'd heard that the local Ale Taster had been invited to do his annual quality inspection of the Hotel's ales, as it turned out he was accompanied by the Lord of the Manor and flunkeys, the Town Crier, a Magistrate, Fleur de Lys and Thames Valley morris teams, a marching band and a pair of Scottish pipers!
Patrick and I had booked a table in the restaurant and he treated me to a three course Birthday meal - bread and olive oil dips to start, then lamb shank with pearl barley sauce and potato hotpot, then warm dark chocolate cake with mascarpone sauce for dessert. I talked shop with Peter the Ale Taster (resplendent in authentic English ale-tasting costume) and he recommended the Ruddles County which was indeed as good as it gets! The entertainment was great, and it was a chance to catch up with the Fleurs again. Wished I'd been dancing with them, at times.
Ian and Janet arrived for last orders, they very generously bought a bottle of bubbly, which we ended up taking to our room, a large medieval bedroom with a four poster bed, very romantic!
Best Birthday ever, I think :)
Patrick and I had booked a table in the restaurant and he treated me to a three course Birthday meal - bread and olive oil dips to start, then lamb shank with pearl barley sauce and potato hotpot, then warm dark chocolate cake with mascarpone sauce for dessert. I talked shop with Peter the Ale Taster (resplendent in authentic English ale-tasting costume) and he recommended the Ruddles County which was indeed as good as it gets! The entertainment was great, and it was a chance to catch up with the Fleurs again. Wished I'd been dancing with them, at times.
Ian and Janet arrived for last orders, they very generously bought a bottle of bubbly, which we ended up taking to our room, a large medieval bedroom with a four poster bed, very romantic!
Best Birthday ever, I think :)
Marple to Bugsworth Basin
Bit of a boo-boo on the way up – I got on the wrong train at Euston and ended up in Stafford instead of Stoke, so Patrick had to pick me up from there. Luckily it wasn’t too inconvenient - Stafford is only about 15 miles from Stoke, and there were traffic problems on the motorway anyway! Still a bit scary when I realised I was on the wrong train – the guard only announced the stops as the train was pulling away.
Spent the night at Patrick’s parents in Marple – a very erudite evening with beer, whisky and cream cakes – then off to Ripple’s moorings in the morning, Ripple had collected a number of autumn leaves so Patrick had to sweep them off before the acid from the rotting leaves attacked the paintwork. The BMC engine seemed a bit reluctant at first,, emitting black clouds and stalling once, but soon seemed happier once we were underway.
The Peak Forest Canal was particularly beautiful with the autumn leaves all shades from gold to deep rust. Not so good for steering the narrowboat though, as the fallen leaves in the water kept sticking to the propeller. We kept having to pt the boat briefly into reverse to clear the propeller again – but sometimes this was awkward, especially when trying to steer round bends where other boats were moored. Somehow all the other boats seemed to have picked really awkward places to moor up as well!
We stopped at the Dog and Partridge just outside Whaley Bridge for some excellent beer (I had Coach House Navvy mild) and a lovely meal (I had sausage filled Yorkshire Pud) then up to Whaley Bridge basin. Then back down the canal and up to Bugsworth Basin, where we met Patrick’s parents again. By sheer good fortune there was also a firework display in the evening from the local pub, the Navigation, and we happened to moor at the best spot to see all the fireworks! The four of us really enjoyed watching the display from Ripple’s back deck, with the fireworks reflecting in the water. Then it was off to the pub for another meal and some more beer!
Next morning we had a brief wander around the basin, which is a scheduled ancient monument, with some very interesting industrial archaeology. It was a leisurely cruise back down the Peak Forest and Trent and Mersey Canals to Ripple’s home moorings, and we arrived just as the sun was setting. Shame to leave!
Spent the night at Patrick’s parents in Marple – a very erudite evening with beer, whisky and cream cakes – then off to Ripple’s moorings in the morning, Ripple had collected a number of autumn leaves so Patrick had to sweep them off before the acid from the rotting leaves attacked the paintwork. The BMC engine seemed a bit reluctant at first,, emitting black clouds and stalling once, but soon seemed happier once we were underway.
The Peak Forest Canal was particularly beautiful with the autumn leaves all shades from gold to deep rust. Not so good for steering the narrowboat though, as the fallen leaves in the water kept sticking to the propeller. We kept having to pt the boat briefly into reverse to clear the propeller again – but sometimes this was awkward, especially when trying to steer round bends where other boats were moored. Somehow all the other boats seemed to have picked really awkward places to moor up as well!
We stopped at the Dog and Partridge just outside Whaley Bridge for some excellent beer (I had Coach House Navvy mild) and a lovely meal (I had sausage filled Yorkshire Pud) then up to Whaley Bridge basin. Then back down the canal and up to Bugsworth Basin, where we met Patrick’s parents again. By sheer good fortune there was also a firework display in the evening from the local pub, the Navigation, and we happened to moor at the best spot to see all the fireworks! The four of us really enjoyed watching the display from Ripple’s back deck, with the fireworks reflecting in the water. Then it was off to the pub for another meal and some more beer!
Next morning we had a brief wander around the basin, which is a scheduled ancient monument, with some very interesting industrial archaeology. It was a leisurely cruise back down the Peak Forest and Trent and Mersey Canals to Ripple’s home moorings, and we arrived just as the sun was setting. Shame to leave!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Engaged!
Well, the news is everywhere, and anyway you guessed this would happen from my last post, dear readers!
Patrick proposed on Wednesday 17th, whilst we were watching the sun go down on a beautiful clear evening at the top of Leith Hill, so of course I said yes! It was four months to the day since that fateful weekend in Middlewich. Some might say it was a bit quick, but then we have known each other for 17 years!
So it was ring shopping on Saturday in Bath - I'd had a scout round the shops on my own in the morning, whilst Patrick was at work, and so when we met in the afternoon I showed him my favourites. We both liked a gold ring with an aquamarine and 2 diamonds, so that's what I'm wearing now! All my friends have remarked on how beautiful it is. Then it was off to the Salamander for a celebratory beer and burger.
We watched the rugby on the big screen at Bath Beer Festival in the evening - disappointing rugby but great beer and cider. Our beer of the festival was Star Spangled Banner from Saltaire Brewery - delicious American hop taste. Cider/perry of the festival were from Ross-on-Wye press - aged in whisky casks for an unusual finish.
Sunday was the walk along part of the derelict Somerset Coal Canal - very interesting, especially the bits about the lives of the ordinary bargees and coalminers, but a bit of a scramble in places, and I hadn't brought my walking boots, d'oh! It was good to meet Patrick's canal enthusiast friends - no doubt I'll be seeing them again soon for some 'vertical gardening' (clearing the weed from canal remains). Patrick offered to drop me off in Salisbury; we thought we'd have a quick walk to the Old Mill and back (again, really nice clear evening) and a pint and takeaway curry at the Village pub round the corner from the station.
Another wonderful weekend :)
Patrick proposed on Wednesday 17th, whilst we were watching the sun go down on a beautiful clear evening at the top of Leith Hill, so of course I said yes! It was four months to the day since that fateful weekend in Middlewich. Some might say it was a bit quick, but then we have known each other for 17 years!
So it was ring shopping on Saturday in Bath - I'd had a scout round the shops on my own in the morning, whilst Patrick was at work, and so when we met in the afternoon I showed him my favourites. We both liked a gold ring with an aquamarine and 2 diamonds, so that's what I'm wearing now! All my friends have remarked on how beautiful it is. Then it was off to the Salamander for a celebratory beer and burger.
We watched the rugby on the big screen at Bath Beer Festival in the evening - disappointing rugby but great beer and cider. Our beer of the festival was Star Spangled Banner from Saltaire Brewery - delicious American hop taste. Cider/perry of the festival were from Ross-on-Wye press - aged in whisky casks for an unusual finish.
Sunday was the walk along part of the derelict Somerset Coal Canal - very interesting, especially the bits about the lives of the ordinary bargees and coalminers, but a bit of a scramble in places, and I hadn't brought my walking boots, d'oh! It was good to meet Patrick's canal enthusiast friends - no doubt I'll be seeing them again soon for some 'vertical gardening' (clearing the weed from canal remains). Patrick offered to drop me off in Salisbury; we thought we'd have a quick walk to the Old Mill and back (again, really nice clear evening) and a pint and takeaway curry at the Village pub round the corner from the station.
Another wonderful weekend :)
Monday, October 08, 2007
Emma and Ting's Wedding
Emma is my oldest friend that I'm still in contact with, having known her since school days, so I was very pleased to hear the news that she and Ting were to get married. I'd met Ting once a couple of years before, and wasn't sure that he recognised me, especially as I was with a different partner! Emma looked stunning in her embroidered silk wedding dress as she came up the 'aisle' in the wedding suite of the Chilworth Manor Hotel near Southampton. Both sets of parents looked very pleased, always a good sign! Noriko, a Japanese lady whom we met on Emma's hen night, had arranged the fresh flowers and Emma's bouquet, and these looked wonderful despite their train journey from London.
Patrick and I were witnesses, so we had to sit quite near the front. It did bring back a few sad memories of my own wedding day of course, even though I was happy for Emma and Ting - an odd mix of emotions. I'm just a hopeless romantic just as it says on my profile.
After the simple registry-office ceremony we were invited outside for some sushi and buck's fizz or orange juice. But as soon as the guests started relaxing and chatting to each other the photographer appeared on the roof and started rearranging us in a more asthetically pleasing way (although we had to pretend to still be chatting)! The photography seemed to take forever, but the grounds of Chilworth Manor were beautiful to look at, and Patrick and I had fun explaining the culture of Georgian English nobility to Noriko. Then it was all single girls to the fore for the Throwing of the Bouquet shot - Patrick laughed as I selected a prime position and posed like a goalie taking a penalty shootout! I managed to catch it quite easily - Emma seemed to have been aiming it straight at me. Don't know what Kevin will say when he sees it though LOL.
Next it was off to Kam's Palace for a ten course Chinese banquet. We all signed a piece of red silk with our best wishes for the couple, which is part of the Chinese wedding tradition, then found our tables. Ting and Emma had generously provided beer, wine and soft drinks. The courses were mostly seafood - the ones I can remember were roast pork, abalone with mushrooms, lobster (my favourite, athough messy), trout, crab's claws (very nice), duck and yam pancake, squid, shark's fin soup and dried scallop with turnip. I don't know why it was mainly seafood - Hong Kong specialities, perhaps? Ting's best man surprised the Chinese guests in mid-feast by making a speech and showing humorous slides from Ting's life story - apparently it's not part of Chinese wedding tradition.
Later Emma changed into a stunning traditional Chinese wedding dress, made with red silk and embroidered with dragons. We had to leave a little early as we had to give Noriko and two other guests a lift back to the station, but Emma cut us some wedding cake to take away and we said goodbye to her and Ting, wishing them a fantastic time on their honeymoon in Florida.
Photos in Valerie's Gallery soon!
Patrick and I were witnesses, so we had to sit quite near the front. It did bring back a few sad memories of my own wedding day of course, even though I was happy for Emma and Ting - an odd mix of emotions. I'm just a hopeless romantic just as it says on my profile.
After the simple registry-office ceremony we were invited outside for some sushi and buck's fizz or orange juice. But as soon as the guests started relaxing and chatting to each other the photographer appeared on the roof and started rearranging us in a more asthetically pleasing way (although we had to pretend to still be chatting)! The photography seemed to take forever, but the grounds of Chilworth Manor were beautiful to look at, and Patrick and I had fun explaining the culture of Georgian English nobility to Noriko. Then it was all single girls to the fore for the Throwing of the Bouquet shot - Patrick laughed as I selected a prime position and posed like a goalie taking a penalty shootout! I managed to catch it quite easily - Emma seemed to have been aiming it straight at me. Don't know what Kevin will say when he sees it though LOL.
Next it was off to Kam's Palace for a ten course Chinese banquet. We all signed a piece of red silk with our best wishes for the couple, which is part of the Chinese wedding tradition, then found our tables. Ting and Emma had generously provided beer, wine and soft drinks. The courses were mostly seafood - the ones I can remember were roast pork, abalone with mushrooms, lobster (my favourite, athough messy), trout, crab's claws (very nice), duck and yam pancake, squid, shark's fin soup and dried scallop with turnip. I don't know why it was mainly seafood - Hong Kong specialities, perhaps? Ting's best man surprised the Chinese guests in mid-feast by making a speech and showing humorous slides from Ting's life story - apparently it's not part of Chinese wedding tradition.
Later Emma changed into a stunning traditional Chinese wedding dress, made with red silk and embroidered with dragons. We had to leave a little early as we had to give Noriko and two other guests a lift back to the station, but Emma cut us some wedding cake to take away and we said goodbye to her and Ting, wishing them a fantastic time on their honeymoon in Florida.
Photos in Valerie's Gallery soon!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Girly Day at the Spa
Spent the weekend at Patrick's flat in Bath, with my sister Shirley joining us at Saturday lunchtime. We then gathered our swimming cossies and towels and headed off to the new spa in Bath, Thermae
Unfortunately the slightly cheaper Cross Bath was full, but we managed to get into the main spa with the rooftop pool. The views from this were beautiful - really good view of the city and the hills surrounding Bath. I cursed leaving my glasses in the locker! We did rather wish we'd brought bath robes and flip flops with us, as we got out from this 35 C (naturally) heated pool and got caught by the Autumn breeze, before padding soggily down the stairs to the steam rooms.
The steam rooms too were a wonderful experience - there are four, and the steam is scented with different essential oils in each room. We guessed eucalyptus, jasmine, pine and peppermint! We did not stay long in each as we are fainty types and found the steam a bit stifling, cooling ourselves down in between steam doses in the large central shower.
Lastly we made our way to the indoor Minerva pool - very modern, despite the Roman name. We had ago in the very gentle Jacuzzi before discovering the Lazy River, a current that pulls you round the edge of the pool. Great fun, we went round and round and round in it! One woman tried to swim against the current, she made very slow progress but no doubt it helped her fitness levels.
We loved it, and our skin felt lovely and smooth afterwards thanks to the natural Bath mineral water. A great idea, even if it was built SOMEWHAT over budget!
Patrick arrived back from the rugby somewhat overexcited - turned out Bath had narrowly avoided defeat, as Sale had missed a penalty just before the ball went out of play at the end of the match. Think our girly spa day was much more relaxing! Patrick had obviously enjoyed the rugby though.
Next day we visited Bradford-upon-Avon, a very pretty town but shhh, don't tel the developers! The Tithe Barn, canal/river area and Saxon church were particularly lovely. Near the Tithe Barn were also some lovely shops and galleries, one with displays from female artists, lending more girliness to the weekend! Patrick is quite easygoing though, he didn't mind us sisters doing our girly-things as well.
We had a good pint of Wadworth Malt and Hops at the Dandy Lion, also nice Sunday lunch.
Another superb weekend - didn't last long enough!
Unfortunately the slightly cheaper Cross Bath was full, but we managed to get into the main spa with the rooftop pool. The views from this were beautiful - really good view of the city and the hills surrounding Bath. I cursed leaving my glasses in the locker! We did rather wish we'd brought bath robes and flip flops with us, as we got out from this 35 C (naturally) heated pool and got caught by the Autumn breeze, before padding soggily down the stairs to the steam rooms.
The steam rooms too were a wonderful experience - there are four, and the steam is scented with different essential oils in each room. We guessed eucalyptus, jasmine, pine and peppermint! We did not stay long in each as we are fainty types and found the steam a bit stifling, cooling ourselves down in between steam doses in the large central shower.
Lastly we made our way to the indoor Minerva pool - very modern, despite the Roman name. We had ago in the very gentle Jacuzzi before discovering the Lazy River, a current that pulls you round the edge of the pool. Great fun, we went round and round and round in it! One woman tried to swim against the current, she made very slow progress but no doubt it helped her fitness levels.
We loved it, and our skin felt lovely and smooth afterwards thanks to the natural Bath mineral water. A great idea, even if it was built SOMEWHAT over budget!
Patrick arrived back from the rugby somewhat overexcited - turned out Bath had narrowly avoided defeat, as Sale had missed a penalty just before the ball went out of play at the end of the match. Think our girly spa day was much more relaxing! Patrick had obviously enjoyed the rugby though.
Next day we visited Bradford-upon-Avon, a very pretty town but shhh, don't tel the developers! The Tithe Barn, canal/river area and Saxon church were particularly lovely. Near the Tithe Barn were also some lovely shops and galleries, one with displays from female artists, lending more girliness to the weekend! Patrick is quite easygoing though, he didn't mind us sisters doing our girly-things as well.
We had a good pint of Wadworth Malt and Hops at the Dandy Lion, also nice Sunday lunch.
Another superb weekend - didn't last long enough!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Anderton Lift and the River Weaver
A bad start to the weekend, as I had an awful tummy bug which started on Thursday, when I had to come home from work. I still wasn't well enough to travel up to Cheshire on Friday, that coupled with Ripple being in Nantwich rather than Middlewich as we had expected, and traffic problems on the M6 on Saturday morning, led to a rather rushed weekend's cruising!
Added to this was a narrowboat which had floated loose from it's moorings across the canal on the outskirts of Nantwich. A couple of passers-by managed to drag the boat back towards the towpath but it had lost a mooring peg and they couldn't secure it. Patrick jumped out with another peg and a mallet - but that meant giving away one of our pegs to total strangers! Good job we had a spare one really.
We made it into Middlewich just as it was getting dark, I managed to take Ripple though Wardle Lock but light was fading fast and I didn't feel confident to take her through the next three - I could barely see the lock gates. So we moored up in Middlewich and went to the Narrowboat pub for some good food (me not on beer, sorry TCA, was still feeling queasy! Pat had a cold pint of London Pride though).
Next day we were up at 7.30 to start the cruise to the Anderton Lift and to meet up with Patrick's parents, also canal enthusiasts and very knowledgeable. The weather was great, I was able to relax a bit!
We got to the Lift a little after Patrick's parents; his mum had brought loads of provisions, and there was time for a look round the shop before our slot. Another boat came down with us too - obviously regulars. Going down the Anderton Lift was an amazing experience, really impressive engineering! Well worth the millions spent on restoring it. Note: new photos on Valerie's Gallery - freshly updated!
The River Weaver was a totally different boating experience as well - nice and wide, we were able to go much faster (over 6mph!) steering required more energy but not more effort really. The scenery was lovely at times - it would have been far nicer without the salt and chemical works every now and again but I suppose without them the river wouldn't have been navigable. Locks and swing bridges were very interesting too - on a much larger scale for a start!
We went as far as White's Bridge near Runcorn in one direction, then next day upstream back through Northwich to Winsford where we defied the British Waterways navigation limit to do a gentle turn in Winsford Bottom Flash lake.
Moored up outside the Red Lion (no real ale) and then sadly had to leave Ripple with Patrick's parents and get the taxi back to the car in Northwich.
Added to this was a narrowboat which had floated loose from it's moorings across the canal on the outskirts of Nantwich. A couple of passers-by managed to drag the boat back towards the towpath but it had lost a mooring peg and they couldn't secure it. Patrick jumped out with another peg and a mallet - but that meant giving away one of our pegs to total strangers! Good job we had a spare one really.
We made it into Middlewich just as it was getting dark, I managed to take Ripple though Wardle Lock but light was fading fast and I didn't feel confident to take her through the next three - I could barely see the lock gates. So we moored up in Middlewich and went to the Narrowboat pub for some good food (me not on beer, sorry TCA, was still feeling queasy! Pat had a cold pint of London Pride though).
Next day we were up at 7.30 to start the cruise to the Anderton Lift and to meet up with Patrick's parents, also canal enthusiasts and very knowledgeable. The weather was great, I was able to relax a bit!
We got to the Lift a little after Patrick's parents; his mum had brought loads of provisions, and there was time for a look round the shop before our slot. Another boat came down with us too - obviously regulars. Going down the Anderton Lift was an amazing experience, really impressive engineering! Well worth the millions spent on restoring it. Note: new photos on Valerie's Gallery - freshly updated!
The River Weaver was a totally different boating experience as well - nice and wide, we were able to go much faster (over 6mph!) steering required more energy but not more effort really. The scenery was lovely at times - it would have been far nicer without the salt and chemical works every now and again but I suppose without them the river wouldn't have been navigable. Locks and swing bridges were very interesting too - on a much larger scale for a start!
We went as far as White's Bridge near Runcorn in one direction, then next day upstream back through Northwich to Winsford where we defied the British Waterways navigation limit to do a gentle turn in Winsford Bottom Flash lake.
Moored up outside the Red Lion (no real ale) and then sadly had to leave Ripple with Patrick's parents and get the taxi back to the car in Northwich.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Towersey Festival 2007
Traffic delays meant that we had to dash straight into the Peter Donegan Band on Thursday night, then pitch the tent in the dark afterwards. Peter Donegan gave a superb tribute to his recently deceased father, ‘King of Skiffle’ Lonnie Donegan – not too many of the old chestnuts like 'My Old Man’s A Dustman' - although there would have been a riot if he hadn’t sung it for the encore! Patrick is a Lonnie Donegan fan and knew most of the words to the songs. We had a good dance as well, great fun. Trouble was, Pat did his leg in, so he had to take it very easy for subsequent dancey bands!
Seth Lakeman was the headline act for Friday – the tent was absolutely packed with his fans, who had evidently just come for the day. Despite his fame in the pop world, there’s still no denying he’s a bloody good musician and dedicated folk song writer. Earlier, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan did an excellent set, and we discovered James’s sister Kate Fagan was also very good. The evening finished with one of my favourite bands, 3 Daft Monkeys, who often support the Levellers. Their Cornish/Yiddish crossover music was supremely dancey and an instant hit with the crowd, but they started at 11.15pm and didn’t finish till 12.40am! Phew, knackered!
Saturday we went to the ‘Three Horseshoes’ for lunch and the folk session – for which about 20 musicians turned up, crowding the listeners out of the pub, almost! Apparently some just come to the festival to play at the pub all weekend. Then it was off to workshops – Patrick went to the Stanley Holloway workshop run by Dave Sealey, which he really enjoyed. I went to the singing workshop in the main tent but it was so hot, I kept feeling faint and oxygen-starved every time I stood up to sing! Peatbog Faeries were the headliners but we went to see Van Eyken instead – good impromptu second encore outside the tent!!
Lastly Sunday night finished off with The Demon Barbers’ fancy dress party – demons and Barbies! Patrick looked naughty but nice in with black horns, whereas I looked suitably stupid in a blonde wig and pink miniskirt! Got a front spot with a good view of the clog dancers and Damo’s dragon tattoo, so we were both happy ;-)
Nice festival with something for everyone – will bring an ABEK face mask before attempting to use the campsite toilets again though!
Seth Lakeman was the headline act for Friday – the tent was absolutely packed with his fans, who had evidently just come for the day. Despite his fame in the pop world, there’s still no denying he’s a bloody good musician and dedicated folk song writer. Earlier, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan did an excellent set, and we discovered James’s sister Kate Fagan was also very good. The evening finished with one of my favourite bands, 3 Daft Monkeys, who often support the Levellers. Their Cornish/Yiddish crossover music was supremely dancey and an instant hit with the crowd, but they started at 11.15pm and didn’t finish till 12.40am! Phew, knackered!
Saturday we went to the ‘Three Horseshoes’ for lunch and the folk session – for which about 20 musicians turned up, crowding the listeners out of the pub, almost! Apparently some just come to the festival to play at the pub all weekend. Then it was off to workshops – Patrick went to the Stanley Holloway workshop run by Dave Sealey, which he really enjoyed. I went to the singing workshop in the main tent but it was so hot, I kept feeling faint and oxygen-starved every time I stood up to sing! Peatbog Faeries were the headliners but we went to see Van Eyken instead – good impromptu second encore outside the tent!!
Lastly Sunday night finished off with The Demon Barbers’ fancy dress party – demons and Barbies! Patrick looked naughty but nice in with black horns, whereas I looked suitably stupid in a blonde wig and pink miniskirt! Got a front spot with a good view of the clog dancers and Damo’s dragon tattoo, so we were both happy ;-)
Nice festival with something for everyone – will bring an ABEK face mask before attempting to use the campsite toilets again though!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wickham Festival 2007
Arrived at Botley station on Friday evening and was soon whisked off to Wickham Festival for a weekend of folk and blues with the Fleur de Lys Morris girls. I’m not so keen on Blues myself, it’s a bit samey. Some of the folkies were commenting ‘so-and-so were a bit miserable’ – well what do you expect from a blues band? Luckily Les Barker was on hand to cheer things up a bit, with his laughter-inducing poetry like ‘Dachshunds with Erections Can’t Climb Stairs’, ‘Mange-Tout’ and ‘The Long Lost Land of Dyslexia’. Class. Some of the ladies looked a bit puzzled though – not quite their sense of humour perhaps? I’d heard good things about Cherish The Ladies, who were on next, but they seemed a bit lacklustre. Apparently one of their friends and fellow musicians had died just a few days before, and perhaps that was why. We were unanimous though in liking the Dolmen, a folk-goth band from Weymouth. Some of us even had a bit of a bop at the front!
Saturday was dancing day – and was also baking hot, which came as a bit of a surprise to us after the long rainy spell. A reasonably successful dance outside the Kings Head, with refreshing pints of Chiswick available to quench the thirst. Then on to Chesapeake Mill, by which time I was rather peckish. I’d just been served a fat slice of home made Vanilla Fudge Cake when Janice the Squire requested our presence in the dancing area. She did let me off the first couple of dances so that I could eat it though, nice Squire that she is! The Rabble folk-dance and theatre team was with us here, and put on a very entertaining Robin Hood play and some good Border-style dancing.
Most of headed off for lunch in the Italian café on the Square. Then our last performance was outside the Community Centre, which again went really well. Sweat was pouring off me in a rather unladylike manner by then! Was very glad I’d brought a change of clothes with me.
Discovery of the Festival – ‘Yves Lambert & Le Bebert Orchestra’. Yves had a strange accent – sort of a cross between Scots, Canadian and French – turned out they were a band from Quebec. Excellent Celtic-French-sounding music.
Some considered Kathryn Tickell’s band the highlight of Saturday. Good solid North-Western dance music, especially good if you like the Northumbrian pipes. Being more of a song person I was quite content to sit in the cream-tea area whilst some of the others had a good dance.
Eddi Reader’s band had quite a good set, less of the insipid numbers that I’d heard before at Guilfest and more of the pop style crowd pleasers. Boo Hewerdine was on guitar, and unsurprisingly she sang a few of his songs – ‘The Patience of Angels’ being my favourite. I quite liked Donnie Munro, the ex-Runrig front man, despite the accusations of rock-star egotism levelled at him from certain quarters. Again, not something folk bands ever indulge in. Well, hardly ever.
Another lovely weekend – good music, good company, good weather for once!
Saturday was dancing day – and was also baking hot, which came as a bit of a surprise to us after the long rainy spell. A reasonably successful dance outside the Kings Head, with refreshing pints of Chiswick available to quench the thirst. Then on to Chesapeake Mill, by which time I was rather peckish. I’d just been served a fat slice of home made Vanilla Fudge Cake when Janice the Squire requested our presence in the dancing area. She did let me off the first couple of dances so that I could eat it though, nice Squire that she is! The Rabble folk-dance and theatre team was with us here, and put on a very entertaining Robin Hood play and some good Border-style dancing.
Most of headed off for lunch in the Italian café on the Square. Then our last performance was outside the Community Centre, which again went really well. Sweat was pouring off me in a rather unladylike manner by then! Was very glad I’d brought a change of clothes with me.
Discovery of the Festival – ‘Yves Lambert & Le Bebert Orchestra’. Yves had a strange accent – sort of a cross between Scots, Canadian and French – turned out they were a band from Quebec. Excellent Celtic-French-sounding music.
Some considered Kathryn Tickell’s band the highlight of Saturday. Good solid North-Western dance music, especially good if you like the Northumbrian pipes. Being more of a song person I was quite content to sit in the cream-tea area whilst some of the others had a good dance.
Eddi Reader’s band had quite a good set, less of the insipid numbers that I’d heard before at Guilfest and more of the pop style crowd pleasers. Boo Hewerdine was on guitar, and unsurprisingly she sang a few of his songs – ‘The Patience of Angels’ being my favourite. I quite liked Donnie Munro, the ex-Runrig front man, despite the accusations of rock-star egotism levelled at him from certain quarters. Again, not something folk bands ever indulge in. Well, hardly ever.
Another lovely weekend – good music, good company, good weather for once!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Blog War!
A certain ugly blogger has been publishing rubbish about me again. Usually she publishes mostly boring domestic things and alibis for her sordid sex life but she's taken to character assassination once more. I make a point of ignoring her these days, which only irks her as she has an almost pathological need always to be the centre of attention.
I notice two other relatively new bloggers whom she has attacked have vowed not to sink to her level. However I am a far better writer than the Ugly One, and since she knows I hate her, and with good reason, I've got nothing to lose. So I say, blog war, bring it on! It can only make things more interesting for my readers!!
Edit: definition of 'greedy bugger' - someone who takes a helium balloon from a friend's party with their permission, or someone who is grossly overweight and hates immigrants?
I notice two other relatively new bloggers whom she has attacked have vowed not to sink to her level. However I am a far better writer than the Ugly One, and since she knows I hate her, and with good reason, I've got nothing to lose. So I say, blog war, bring it on! It can only make things more interesting for my readers!!
Edit: definition of 'greedy bugger' - someone who takes a helium balloon from a friend's party with their permission, or someone who is grossly overweight and hates immigrants?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Guilfest 2007
Was lucky enough to get a take-out of cask-conditioned Old Speckled Hen from work on Friday, just right to take to the festival with me :)
Soon met up with Trev and Angie with their family, Sparky and Freedom from the Alt Levs board and sat down to listen to The Hold Steady, which made quite pleasant background as I caught up on the gossip and guzzled my OSH. Rodrigo Y Gabriella stood out far more - frenetic punk-guitar playing from Mexico - I liked! Also liked the Ordinary Boys, depite the Big Brother connection; I hadn't thought I would. Too much like the Clash? Is such a thing possible? Might get their album, "Over The Counter Culture", at some point.
Gave Supergrass a miss to go and catch the end of Newton Faulkner, whom I'd seen before at Cityfest, and get a prime front-row position for The Saw Doctors. Fantastic set from the Irish folk-rockers, caught most of their classic songs before having to leave early to get the last train back from London Road, bit of a blow.
Next day woke up late but got to Stoke Park in time to enjoy Jimmy Cliff. Jimmy was playing classics like "Many Rivers To Cross" and Johnny Nash's "I Can
See Clearly Now", which was for once appropriate, as it was a bright sunshiney day! Jimmy had an orange silk suit on which only he could get away with, and was dancing up and down the stage with amazing energy. A good start to my evening, then!
By contrast, went to see Damien Dempsey with high expectations but sat through 2 limp songs and decided to try some of the smaller stages instead (there were 5 stages with non-famous bands, as well as a theatre stage and a comedy tent this year!). Not much to note though till Rory McLeod, who gave a really good performance, even though it was limited to half an hour. Rory kept his ramblings short - I don't mind him rambling, but I can see storytelling is better suited to long sets and venues such as the West End Centre (under threat, apparently). He did sing "When Mummy and Daddy Made Me" which got the biggest applause!
Crazy P and Captain were quite pleasant as I guzzled my Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, which I'd decanted into my big plastic beer bottle. Then it was off to see guitar hero Richard Thompson, who resembles my friend Simon except with a black beret. The crowd were inevitably demanding "Vincent Black Lightning" and "Beeswing", which he eventually obliged with, but there were evidently more recent fans there, shouting for "Dad's Gonna Kill Me", his contemporary anti-war song. And yes, he finished the encore with "Valerie", glad he still admires me ;-)
Richard's set unfortunately overlapped with Squeeze's, so that I ended up having to run down the field to catch them playing "Tempted" and have a sing along. Again, had to leave early, but sang "Labelled With Love" all the way back down the road to the station.
On Sunday my train to Guildford was cancelled - damm! But by an amazing coincidence one of the lads at Farnborough North suddenly said, "Are you Val Badger?" - turned out it was fellow blogger Lever!!! Lever, his mate Simon and me duly headed to the Prince of Wales to sup some real ale until the next train arrived. At the festiew, met up with Lever's other mate Phil, a huge Duke Special fan.
Had some port with me but discovered some real ale in the beer tent ("Guilfest Ale" at £3.50 a pint, ouch! Especially as it was apparently Tetley's Bitter) and some Brother's Pear Cider which was quite tasty. The Icicle Works were a bit disappointing, doing mainly cover versions, Toots and the Maytals were great though. Sadly I'd missed Simon Friend's set in the acoustic tent but caught him on the Ents 24 Stage. Think Lever quite liked him but Phil seemed a bit cynical! I thought it was a great set, had a dance to Men An Tol and Beanfield, he also played a couple of Paddy Stratton numbers which also got a lot of applause from the crowd of (mainly) Levellers fans.
Phil, silent though all the other acts, was yelling enthusiastically for Duke Special and singing wholeheartedly to all the songs. The star of the show for me however was Duke's drummer Chip, mad as a hatter but a totally amazing percussionist. Have got photos of him playing the egg whisk and cheese grater, as well as whacking the two huge bass drums. Marvellous.
Another dash across the field to Madness - by the time we got there we could only get as far as the mixing desk, and could hardly see Suggs and the boys! Still, had a good pogo to "Baggy Trousers", "House of Fun" and "Night Boat to Cairo" amongst others before the day sadly ended!
Shared taxi home due to crap train times and so ot in at an almost reasonable time for bed - just as well, was folding at the knees! Had fabulous time though, just a shame Patrick had other commitments for the weekend. Still there's always next year!
Soon met up with Trev and Angie with their family, Sparky and Freedom from the Alt Levs board and sat down to listen to The Hold Steady, which made quite pleasant background as I caught up on the gossip and guzzled my OSH. Rodrigo Y Gabriella stood out far more - frenetic punk-guitar playing from Mexico - I liked! Also liked the Ordinary Boys, depite the Big Brother connection; I hadn't thought I would. Too much like the Clash? Is such a thing possible? Might get their album, "Over The Counter Culture", at some point.
Gave Supergrass a miss to go and catch the end of Newton Faulkner, whom I'd seen before at Cityfest, and get a prime front-row position for The Saw Doctors. Fantastic set from the Irish folk-rockers, caught most of their classic songs before having to leave early to get the last train back from London Road, bit of a blow.
Next day woke up late but got to Stoke Park in time to enjoy Jimmy Cliff. Jimmy was playing classics like "Many Rivers To Cross" and Johnny Nash's "I Can
See Clearly Now", which was for once appropriate, as it was a bright sunshiney day! Jimmy had an orange silk suit on which only he could get away with, and was dancing up and down the stage with amazing energy. A good start to my evening, then!
By contrast, went to see Damien Dempsey with high expectations but sat through 2 limp songs and decided to try some of the smaller stages instead (there were 5 stages with non-famous bands, as well as a theatre stage and a comedy tent this year!). Not much to note though till Rory McLeod, who gave a really good performance, even though it was limited to half an hour. Rory kept his ramblings short - I don't mind him rambling, but I can see storytelling is better suited to long sets and venues such as the West End Centre (under threat, apparently). He did sing "When Mummy and Daddy Made Me" which got the biggest applause!
Crazy P and Captain were quite pleasant as I guzzled my Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, which I'd decanted into my big plastic beer bottle. Then it was off to see guitar hero Richard Thompson, who resembles my friend Simon except with a black beret. The crowd were inevitably demanding "Vincent Black Lightning" and "Beeswing", which he eventually obliged with, but there were evidently more recent fans there, shouting for "Dad's Gonna Kill Me", his contemporary anti-war song. And yes, he finished the encore with "Valerie", glad he still admires me ;-)
Richard's set unfortunately overlapped with Squeeze's, so that I ended up having to run down the field to catch them playing "Tempted" and have a sing along. Again, had to leave early, but sang "Labelled With Love" all the way back down the road to the station.
On Sunday my train to Guildford was cancelled - damm! But by an amazing coincidence one of the lads at Farnborough North suddenly said, "Are you Val Badger?" - turned out it was fellow blogger Lever!!! Lever, his mate Simon and me duly headed to the Prince of Wales to sup some real ale until the next train arrived. At the festiew, met up with Lever's other mate Phil, a huge Duke Special fan.
Had some port with me but discovered some real ale in the beer tent ("Guilfest Ale" at £3.50 a pint, ouch! Especially as it was apparently Tetley's Bitter) and some Brother's Pear Cider which was quite tasty. The Icicle Works were a bit disappointing, doing mainly cover versions, Toots and the Maytals were great though. Sadly I'd missed Simon Friend's set in the acoustic tent but caught him on the Ents 24 Stage. Think Lever quite liked him but Phil seemed a bit cynical! I thought it was a great set, had a dance to Men An Tol and Beanfield, he also played a couple of Paddy Stratton numbers which also got a lot of applause from the crowd of (mainly) Levellers fans.
Phil, silent though all the other acts, was yelling enthusiastically for Duke Special and singing wholeheartedly to all the songs. The star of the show for me however was Duke's drummer Chip, mad as a hatter but a totally amazing percussionist. Have got photos of him playing the egg whisk and cheese grater, as well as whacking the two huge bass drums. Marvellous.
Another dash across the field to Madness - by the time we got there we could only get as far as the mixing desk, and could hardly see Suggs and the boys! Still, had a good pogo to "Baggy Trousers", "House of Fun" and "Night Boat to Cairo" amongst others before the day sadly ended!
Shared taxi home due to crap train times and so ot in at an almost reasonable time for bed - just as well, was folding at the knees! Had fabulous time though, just a shame Patrick had other commitments for the weekend. Still there's always next year!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Gillingham Folk Day 2007
Well, I really shouldn’t be posting about this, it seems Gillingham’s Folk Day is Dorset’s best kept secret! It’s a lovely small festival based at the North Dorset Rugby Club, in a big (mostly waterproof) tent outside, with bar and food available in the clubroom. There was a little stage for Morris and Irish dancing, as well as Mummer’s plays. Also a few stands from local charities, crafts and CD selling.
The lineup was absolutely fantastic for a one day folk festival (although the Gillingham Festival itself went on all week, with music from various genres). Kirsty McGee and Mat Martin had the first slot – which shows you the quality of the other acts! I had seen Kirsty and Mat at Wickham Folk Festival last year and had been impressed by their impassioned song lyrics and their eco-friendly recycled guitars! Patrick was curious about one of their songs set in Manchester and I wanted to own the song about Hell (‘Fresh Water’) so we went up to them for a chat and a signed CD afterwards. They were nice to talk to - I admired Kirsty’s porkpie hat and she admired my shirt from Fat Face!
Psychedelic-folk buskers The Huckleberries were next up. I could see the good people of Gillingham thinking what on earth are this bunch of pikeys doing here, get orff moi laand! But although they look like the street-corner ambassadors that they usually are, the Huckleberries are excellent musicians. Especially Paul the fiddle player, who might look like he’s drunk the world but amazes all with his virtuosity – seeming to go into a trance like state, hardly moving the bow to produce the sweetest violin music. They played a variety of stuff too, from their own compositions to well-known Irish session music like ‘Raggle-Taggle Gypsy’ and ‘Wind That Shakes The Barley’. By contrast Flook were very polished, and despite their stunning musicianship were in danger of being a bit boring after playing one to many sets of jigs and reels.
Mike Silver got the audience singing with his hymn-like self-penned songs, including the famous (in the folk world) ‘Pretoria’ which Patrick was still singing in the car on the way back! It is a classic song; we should remember the days of Apartheid, and there’s still a lot of racial injustice out there.
I’m not a big fan of Cara Dillon although many are – somehow she always seems a bit wooden. She had just given birth to twins about 6 months ago but was as skinny as a rake! Some women eh. The twins were very cute though.
Next the moment we’d been waiting for – the arrival of the Oysterband on stage – yaaaaayyy!! I think not being the final band had affected their choice of set – there were a lot more slower numbers from their new album, but they did belt out some of their classics like Northern Lights (my favourite), Native Son and Everywhere I Go. They also played Patrick’s favourite, Uncommercial Song, so he was happy too! The somewhat too topical ‘The Flood’ was sung to the audience, JJ came down from the stage with Chopper and Alan Prosser so we felt well and truly part of the experience. The Oysterband are fantastic entertainers, no doubt about it.
A lot of folks left after the Oysterband, but us diehard dancers stayed right to the end for Salsa Celtica. A beautiful fusion of Celtic, Spanish and Latin music, they have bags of energy and joie-de-vivre, daring you not to dance! Think I’ve mentioned them before. The little Irish girls who had previously entertained us on the dance stage were up the front dancing away, and even the Morris dancers were getting on down to the beat!
Excellent little festival but let’s keep it quiet, we don’t want everyone turning up there!
The lineup was absolutely fantastic for a one day folk festival (although the Gillingham Festival itself went on all week, with music from various genres). Kirsty McGee and Mat Martin had the first slot – which shows you the quality of the other acts! I had seen Kirsty and Mat at Wickham Folk Festival last year and had been impressed by their impassioned song lyrics and their eco-friendly recycled guitars! Patrick was curious about one of their songs set in Manchester and I wanted to own the song about Hell (‘Fresh Water’) so we went up to them for a chat and a signed CD afterwards. They were nice to talk to - I admired Kirsty’s porkpie hat and she admired my shirt from Fat Face!
Psychedelic-folk buskers The Huckleberries were next up. I could see the good people of Gillingham thinking what on earth are this bunch of pikeys doing here, get orff moi laand! But although they look like the street-corner ambassadors that they usually are, the Huckleberries are excellent musicians. Especially Paul the fiddle player, who might look like he’s drunk the world but amazes all with his virtuosity – seeming to go into a trance like state, hardly moving the bow to produce the sweetest violin music. They played a variety of stuff too, from their own compositions to well-known Irish session music like ‘Raggle-Taggle Gypsy’ and ‘Wind That Shakes The Barley’. By contrast Flook were very polished, and despite their stunning musicianship were in danger of being a bit boring after playing one to many sets of jigs and reels.
Mike Silver got the audience singing with his hymn-like self-penned songs, including the famous (in the folk world) ‘Pretoria’ which Patrick was still singing in the car on the way back! It is a classic song; we should remember the days of Apartheid, and there’s still a lot of racial injustice out there.
I’m not a big fan of Cara Dillon although many are – somehow she always seems a bit wooden. She had just given birth to twins about 6 months ago but was as skinny as a rake! Some women eh. The twins were very cute though.
Next the moment we’d been waiting for – the arrival of the Oysterband on stage – yaaaaayyy!! I think not being the final band had affected their choice of set – there were a lot more slower numbers from their new album, but they did belt out some of their classics like Northern Lights (my favourite), Native Son and Everywhere I Go. They also played Patrick’s favourite, Uncommercial Song, so he was happy too! The somewhat too topical ‘The Flood’ was sung to the audience, JJ came down from the stage with Chopper and Alan Prosser so we felt well and truly part of the experience. The Oysterband are fantastic entertainers, no doubt about it.
A lot of folks left after the Oysterband, but us diehard dancers stayed right to the end for Salsa Celtica. A beautiful fusion of Celtic, Spanish and Latin music, they have bags of energy and joie-de-vivre, daring you not to dance! Think I’ve mentioned them before. The little Irish girls who had previously entertained us on the dance stage were up the front dancing away, and even the Morris dancers were getting on down to the beat!
Excellent little festival but let’s keep it quiet, we don’t want everyone turning up there!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
News!
Good news - I've got a new boyfriend. Yes, you've guessed it, it's Patrick! Some have expressed concern that I'm on the rebound still, it being only 5 months since the breakup of the marriage. Seems like years ago since that dreadful St Valentines Day, I've come so far in that time. I really thought that my life was effectively over and that I would never love again. So strange then that I felt that little flower of love inside me slowly opening up over the course of that Sunday at Middlewich. I really didn't think it would be Patrick either, till that day I didn't fancy him at all! Somehow we reached an understanding between us and everything clicked into place.
We have the Demon Barbers to thank for the thing that brought us together - me deciding to ask them to sign their album 'Waxed' to Val and Pat! Well, it seemed so right at the time and indeed it was.
We're still at the soppy, glowy stage at the moment, very happy together. Fingers crossed that love lasts this time!
We have the Demon Barbers to thank for the thing that brought us together - me deciding to ask them to sign their album 'Waxed' to Val and Pat! Well, it seemed so right at the time and indeed it was.
We're still at the soppy, glowy stage at the moment, very happy together. Fingers crossed that love lasts this time!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival 2007
What a bloody good weekend - despite the stormy weather throughout!
Was good to be able to enjoy a folk festival again, and gratifying that Patrick enjoyed it so much - he'd never been to a folk festival before. All the artists were good apart from a couple of duff musicians, very good considering. Discovery of the festival was the Demon Barber Roadshow, great music and fantastic sword, Morris and clog dancers (Patrick pretended not to appreciate one of the attractive clog dancers' boob tube slipping down). Seth Lakeman's gig was of course packed, and he gave an excellent gig, one big Northern bloke at the back was inspired to shout "Ah loov you, Seth" - perhaps being fed up of his girlfriend fancying Seth! Elbow Jane also gave a brilliant gig, and Breeze and Wilson were superb, generously giving out not one but two excellent free CDs.
It was also good fun to wander around the Boat Festival (which seemed quite separate, strangely), there were some gorgeous owls from a nearby sanctuary and a very interesting demonstration of how horses were used to pull narrowboats. Patrick had a go at the 6 Knot Challenge - the quickest time to tie six knots won a full set of new fenders, which would have been useful as Ripple had just knackered her front fender in a lock. Considering Pat had only had one quick demo of the knots before the attempt, he did very well, coming pretty close to the leading times!
Show of Hands gave their usual great performance, lifting the roof of the blue-and-yellow stripey tent with numbers like Santiago, Country Life and Roots. Very much pleased that Patrick was yelling enthusiastically for their encore! What's not to like about Show of Hands though?
The weekend also included some really nice pubs such as the Swan at Fradley Junction (good food/beer/atmos), the Narrowboat in Middlewich (OK beer, excellent food and the chance to say hello to Seth Lakeman) and the Newton Brewery, a lovely old-fashioned pub, only one beer (Pedigree) but best pint of the holiday.
So good to be able to enjoy a folk festival again - good music, good company and good beer, and the chance to stay on a narrowboat! Fantastic.
Was good to be able to enjoy a folk festival again, and gratifying that Patrick enjoyed it so much - he'd never been to a folk festival before. All the artists were good apart from a couple of duff musicians, very good considering. Discovery of the festival was the Demon Barber Roadshow, great music and fantastic sword, Morris and clog dancers (Patrick pretended not to appreciate one of the attractive clog dancers' boob tube slipping down). Seth Lakeman's gig was of course packed, and he gave an excellent gig, one big Northern bloke at the back was inspired to shout "Ah loov you, Seth" - perhaps being fed up of his girlfriend fancying Seth! Elbow Jane also gave a brilliant gig, and Breeze and Wilson were superb, generously giving out not one but two excellent free CDs.
It was also good fun to wander around the Boat Festival (which seemed quite separate, strangely), there were some gorgeous owls from a nearby sanctuary and a very interesting demonstration of how horses were used to pull narrowboats. Patrick had a go at the 6 Knot Challenge - the quickest time to tie six knots won a full set of new fenders, which would have been useful as Ripple had just knackered her front fender in a lock. Considering Pat had only had one quick demo of the knots before the attempt, he did very well, coming pretty close to the leading times!
Show of Hands gave their usual great performance, lifting the roof of the blue-and-yellow stripey tent with numbers like Santiago, Country Life and Roots. Very much pleased that Patrick was yelling enthusiastically for their encore! What's not to like about Show of Hands though?
The weekend also included some really nice pubs such as the Swan at Fradley Junction (good food/beer/atmos), the Narrowboat in Middlewich (OK beer, excellent food and the chance to say hello to Seth Lakeman) and the Newton Brewery, a lovely old-fashioned pub, only one beer (Pedigree) but best pint of the holiday.
So good to be able to enjoy a folk festival again - good music, good company and good beer, and the chance to stay on a narrowboat! Fantastic.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Southampton Weekend
Had a great time in Southampton *deleted*. Had a really nice meal with Pat and Shirl in Buffalo Bill's in Commercial Road - excellent burgers and very big portions. Just right to line the stomach before heading to the beer festival at the Guildhall.
Decided to make it a dark beer night with Bradfield Farmer's Stout, Cairngorm Black Gold, Little Valley Stoodley Stout and some others which I forget!
*deleted* Mary Jane were still very good, and I knew a lot of the words to their old stuff, so could appreciate Burning Times and Matty Groves, for instance. Shame their new album wasn't ready yet! The new songs sounded fab though, lots of nice fast Celtic numbers, and some slower woodwind-led ballads.
*deleted* Next day we all met up again and we drove to Romsey to show Pat the canal, the Salmon Leap and other sights. *deleted*. No pubs were involved, although we did point out quite a few of our old haunts! Had a nice tea and cake at the King John's Lodge - I'd definitely reccommend it. They've done a lovely job with the museum there.
Back home again now - have finished all the painting - hooray! Hope we have some offers on the house soon - I can't wait to get away to Redhill and start my new life.
Sorry about the deletions folks - Kevin has requested that I do not refer to a certain incident in my blog, which is probably for the best.
Decided to make it a dark beer night with Bradfield Farmer's Stout, Cairngorm Black Gold, Little Valley Stoodley Stout and some others which I forget!
*deleted* Mary Jane were still very good, and I knew a lot of the words to their old stuff, so could appreciate Burning Times and Matty Groves, for instance. Shame their new album wasn't ready yet! The new songs sounded fab though, lots of nice fast Celtic numbers, and some slower woodwind-led ballads.
*deleted* Next day we all met up again and we drove to Romsey to show Pat the canal, the Salmon Leap and other sights. *deleted*. No pubs were involved, although we did point out quite a few of our old haunts! Had a nice tea and cake at the King John's Lodge - I'd definitely reccommend it. They've done a lovely job with the museum there.
Back home again now - have finished all the painting - hooray! Hope we have some offers on the house soon - I can't wait to get away to Redhill and start my new life.
Sorry about the deletions folks - Kevin has requested that I do not refer to a certain incident in my blog, which is probably for the best.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Taking it easy
Shingles are all but healed, although still giving me stabbing pains every now and again. But I decided to take it easy for a while, eat healthily and give my immune system a chance to build up. I also walked back from North Camp station to home a few times just to keep a bit fitter. So not much in the way of news (although it's Southampton Beer Festival and Mary Jane tonight) - I did get rather drunk after choir on Monday though and decided I was everyone's kindred spirit! I'm sure they put something extra in the HSB at the Royal Oak...
Meanwhile here's a Wikipedia game - search Wikipedia for your birth date (day and month). Then post 3 events, 1 death, 2 birthdays (other than yours) and 1 holiday celebrated on that day.
Here's mine (6 November):
Events
355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II raises his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him of the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls.
1935 - Before the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation," i.e. FM radio.
1975 - The Sex Pistols play their first concert at St. Martin's School of Art in London
Birthdays
1494 - Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1566)
1926 - Frank Carson, Northern Irish comedian
Death
1893 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (b. 1840)
Holiday
Sweden - Death of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and official flag day
Meanwhile here's a Wikipedia game - search Wikipedia for your birth date (day and month). Then post 3 events, 1 death, 2 birthdays (other than yours) and 1 holiday celebrated on that day.
Here's mine (6 November):
Events
355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II raises his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him of the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls.
1935 - Before the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation," i.e. FM radio.
1975 - The Sex Pistols play their first concert at St. Martin's School of Art in London
Birthdays
1494 - Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1566)
1926 - Frank Carson, Northern Irish comedian
Death
1893 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (b. 1840)
Holiday
Sweden - Death of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and official flag day
Monday, May 28, 2007
Shingles - ow ow ow ow ow!
No, not the kind you get on the beach, but the dormant chickenpox type that has decided to resurface because I am stressed. Yeah thanks, body, that's just what I need at this moment! There's a patch on my ribs and another on my back. The one on my ribs is really painful, it's like getting stabbed in the chest every now and again.
And it means I can't come into contact with other people, as I could give them chicken pox/shingles if they haven't already had it. So no Chippenham folk festival for me this weekend. Also no more flat viewings for a while, and nobody can come here either for viewings as I'm staying in the house.
On top of all of that, it's hissed it down with rain all weekend, so I couldn't even go into the garden!
Good thing I have friends and relations to phone up when I'm feeling down. The Aciclovir tablets knock me for six and the disease seems to have scrambled my brain as well, I'm not at my sparkling-est.
And it means I can't come into contact with other people, as I could give them chicken pox/shingles if they haven't already had it. So no Chippenham folk festival for me this weekend. Also no more flat viewings for a while, and nobody can come here either for viewings as I'm staying in the house.
On top of all of that, it's hissed it down with rain all weekend, so I couldn't even go into the garden!
Good thing I have friends and relations to phone up when I'm feeling down. The Aciclovir tablets knock me for six and the disease seems to have scrambled my brain as well, I'm not at my sparkling-est.
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