March 2025

We had some beautiful weather at the beginning of March. They do say of March, in like a lion, out like a lamb, and there's a variation where it can be the opposite way round, but no, the weather this month hasn't been too bad at all.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post about Archie. I've also had some lovely cards and emails too, it means such a lot to know that people are thinking about us at such a difficult time. Obviously, it's been an extremely sad month for us and we're still grieving his loss, he was such a loved member of our family. This photo was taken at Filey the day before we had to say goodbye to him. I'm so glad that he was enjoying life right to the end.

Mick had already booked some time off from work before Archie died as he had some holidays he needed to take before the end of March. He had Friday the 21st and all last week off, and he's off today too. We haven't really felt like doing much but we knew we had to force ourselves to get out of the house so we've had days out at RHS Harlow Carr, Skipton, Ripon, Harrogate, York and Ilkley. We even had an overnight stay in Windermere in the Lake District and visited Beatrix Potter's farmhouse, Hill Top. I was taken for a lovely meal yesterday for Mother's Day. Nothing has been able take our minds away from Archie but we figured we might as well be doing something rather than just sitting in the house. In hindsight, the trip away was a step too far, we couldn't wait to get home again. It's one thing being sad at home, quite another when you're in a strange bed. On our days out I've kept turning round and looking to the back seat of the car expecting to see Archie there and at home I keep looking to the places where his beds used to be (he had one in just about every room and three in the bedroom!), it's so distressing seeing those empty spaces. It's going to take a long time before we get used to him not being here.

I've read four books this month.

I've read so many great reviews of The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher so I put it on my Christmas wish list and Eleanor bought it for me. It's quite a hefty book at 688 pages but it held my interest the whole way though. A family saga, it tells the story of Penelope Keeling, the daughter of an artist, and her relationships with various people throughout her life. I like how the chapters are named for a character involved in that particular period of Penelope's life. The book was written in the 1980s and does seem rather dated in parts but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.

What can I say about A Little Place in Prague by Julie Caplin other than dull. What a disappointment this book was. I've read all the books in the Romantic Escapes series by this author and I've enjoyed them all, some more than others, but I've found the storylines in the most recent ones getting gradually weaker until this latest offering was, frankly, very poor. The characters were flat and page after page of details about Czech food was very boring. I see that a new book in this series is due out this year but after reading twelve in the series already, I'm not sure I'll bother with another.

I'd been so looking forward to reading Nella Last in the 1950s and it didn't disappoint. Following on from Nella Last's War and Nella Last's Peace, it's the diary, written for the Mass Observation archive, of an ordinary woman. This book finds Nella in her 60s. I love these kind of diaries, they give a no nonsense insight into what life was like at the time.

A Room Full of Bones is the fourth book in the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. I've got the full series in my bookcase waiting to be read but I'm rationing myself as they're so good and I don't want to finish them too soon. This book was another great read.

I'm afraid I don't want to say much more about March. We're all still so upset. Archie was a huge part of all our lives and his not being around is taking some getting used to. He's left a huge hole in our hearts.

Archie

Archie died on Monday. He was just two months shy of his fifteenth birthday. He'd had a long and happy life, but I wasn't ready to let him go. I don't think it matters what age they get to, you always want more. It was a shock, we'd had a lovely day out on Sunday at Filey. He'd had a toddle on the beach, enjoyed meeting other dogs and then shared our fish and chips. Archie had the majority of the fish, minus batter! The following day he couldn't breathe and it was discovered he had a tear in his heart. We had to say goodbye at the vets.

The house is so empty and quiet. We got Archie just after I stopped working in 2010 and since then he's been my little shadow and constant companion. He spent just two nights away from us in the whole of his lifetime, once when he had to have stay overnight at the vets in 2017, and the night of Eleanor's wedding in 2022 when a friend of Mick's auntie looked after him. We took him everywhere with us, days out, holidays. He went as far north as Scotland and as far south as Cornwall, well travelled. He was the most loyal, sweet-natured, funny little dog and we loved him so much. He was such a good boy, not a minute's bother.

We're all devastated. He was the best boy. I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

National Coal Mining Museum

We're always on the lookout for new places to visit where we can take Archie with us. We see the National Coal Mining Museum signed as we pass by on the motorway but it's only recently that I've actually looked to see if it's somewhere we could go and was pleasantly surprised to find that dogs are allowed in the outdoor grounds. As we woke to beautiful sunshine on Saturday, and with no plans already made, we decided to go and explore.

Based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, Wakefield, the museum opened in 1988. The colliery here was sunk in the 1770s or 1780s and the Hope Pit in the 1820s. The pits became the Denby Grange Colliery.

Dotted around the site is all manner of machinery used in coal mining, each exhibit is well signed with information given about its purpose. This rocker shovel mechanically reproduces a miner's shovelling action.

This double ended shearer cuts coal underground.

Free steered vehicles were used underground to move equipment and materials.

Diesel locomotives were used to move coal around the colliery.

We weren't able to visit the indoor exhibits, nor take a tour underground, but there was plenty of interest in the outdoor exhibits for us.

We took a walk in the woodland surrounding the museum. I should think it's lovely here once the trees are once again covered in leaves.

The museum pumps out the water in the mines but as it mixes with chemicals and minerals it becomes dirty so it's cleaned before being released.

The Pony Discovery Centre tells the story of working horses.

The museum is home to Eric and Ernie, two Welsh mountain ponies who were rescued from an abandoned coalfield area by the RSPCA, as well as Bud, a blue and white cob.

Finn, a Clydesdale, is also cared for by the museum. He's typical of the type of animal that would have worked above ground transporting workers and coal.

The Miners' Memorial Garden celebrates the individuals and groups whose lives have been touched by the coal mining industry and its communities.

Looking back to Caphouse Pit from Hope Pit. We really enjoyed our visit, there was plenty to see outdoors and the woods are a nice place to walk a dog. There was lots we didn't see indoors so a reason to return at some point in the future.