Mick's 60th - April

We're heading through a year long celebration for Mick as it will be his 60th birthday in August. I thought it would be nice prolong the festivities so I'm organising little surprises for him throughout the year, hopefully one each month.

Mick's been a lifelong supporter of Leeds United so when I saw that Leeds Grand Theatre were staging a Leeds Legends event last night I grabbed a couple of tickets. It was a real surprise to Mick, it isn't something he ever thought I'd have booked.

The event included live interviews, audience questions and answers, and a memorabilia auction. The ex-players were Dom Matteo, Ian Harte, Nigel Martyn, Michael Bridges and it was hosted by Andy Couzens. Anyone who knows anything about Leeds United will know that the Leeds team in the 1970s, managed by Don Revie, was a force to be reckoned with. This is the team that Mick remembers from his childhood and sadly, most of those players are no longer with us, however, Eddie Gray is and he was a special guest at the Leeds Legends evening.

It was a really good night out, I thought I might be a little bored as I don't have much interest in football but I wasn't. It was so entertaining and excellent value for money.

On our way to the theatre we stopped off for a meal at a restaurant not too far from home, but one we hadn't visited before. Mick's favourite food is Italian and we're very lucky to have a fabulous Italian restaurant within walking distance of home so we don't often try others, but it was nice to have a change of scenery on this occasion.

The food was good and the staff were very attentive but we both said we preferred our usual restaurant. It was good to try somewhere new though.

It was nice to do something a little bit different for Mick's April surprise and I was really pleased that I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting to too, we both really enjoyed the evening.

Spring Staycation - Part Two

Following on from my last post, Mick had some holiday to take from work at the end of March so we decided to have a staycation. I wrote about the days out we had during the first part of the holiday in my Spring Staycation - Part One post. 

We'd now reached Wednesday and we visited somewhere very familiar to us, Haworth. We just love this village which was the home of the literary sisters, The Brontës. The Parsonage where they lived is now a museum which houses the largest collection of Brontë items in the world. This is the dining room where Charlotte, Emily and Anne did much of their writing. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey were written in this room and it's believed that Emily died here, on the sofa. Haworth itself is a picturesque village with a steep, cobbled main street where many independent shops can be found.

We had planned to take a walk along the canal at Five Rise Locks later in the day but we'd had snow flurries in Haworth. In fact, I think we had all four seasons in one day as it also rained, was extremely windy and the sun put in an appearance too. We put our walk on hold but I wasn't too disappointed as it gave me the chance to visit Knitters Paradise at Coldspring Mill instead. Of course, I didn't leave empty handed.

On Thursday we visited Ripon. We always enjoy looking around the cathedral and on this particular day, the students from Ampleforth College were rehearsing for a concert they were performing later in the day. It was lovely hearing the beautiful piano and violin as we wandered around.

There's a Thursday market in Ripon so we had a look around that and I managed to pick up a few plants for the garden before we continued on our journey to Masham, mainly so we could visit Theakston's Brewery and stock up on some of Mick's preferred tipple.

We'd booked tickets to an artisan market which was being held in the grounds of Harewood House for the Friday. We've visited this particular market a couple of times before but I'm sorry to say that this one wasn't very good, there were much fewer stalls than previously, but these events allow us to explore the grounds too so it didn't really matter. Tickets can be upgraded to include entry to the house but we didn't bother with that. Afterwards we called into the garden of remembrance to take flowers for my mum as the following day was the seventh anniversary of the day she died. I was pleased to see that the roses we'd taken for my dad the week before were still going strong, plus the tête-à-têtes we planted were flowering too so there was plenty of colour.

On the Saturday we had a trip up to Richmond, a friend was exhibiting her artwork so we went to support her. We made the most of the jaunt and had a wander around the town. In the distance you can just see Culloden Tower, built as a folly to commemorate the Hanoverian victory over the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. There's a Saturday market in Richmond which we had a quick look around. It's been many years since I've visited Richmond Castle, it's somewhere I'd like to see again but sadly, that wasn't the day, it was blowing a gale and was bitterly cold, despite the sunshine and blue sky so that's still on hold.

We had planned to visit the Yorkshire Dales on the Sunday but the weather forecast was for heavy rain and wind with gusts of up to 50mph, definitely not the weather for a gentle stroll. Instead we took ourselves off to see the John Atkinson Grimshaw exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery. Born in a back-to-back house in Leeds, he was a Victorian-era artist known for painting nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes. It's many years since I've visited Leeds Art Gallery, it's actually very rare that I venture into Leeds these days, but it was well worth the trip. I'd seen the exhibition advertised and was keen to see it so I'm glad I got the chance.

Mick was back to work again on the Monday but I'm sure you'll agree that we packed plenty into his time off. There are so many interesting places we're able to visit on days out, town, coast, countryside, art, literature, science, history, nature, we've got it all going on. Aren't we lucky.

Spring Staycation - Part One

As usual, Mick had some holiday entitlement left to take before the end of March so he's ended up carrying over nine days to tag onto the new year's entitlement, but that also gave him six days to take before the month was out, so we had a little staycation, having days out but not staying away from home overnight. It suits us, there's so many wonderful places to visit, all within easy reach in a car.

Mick's first day off was a Friday, we decided to visit a National Trust property we've never visited before, Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, home of Sir Isaac Newton, the mathematician and physicist. There was such a lot of information about his life and his work, and the National Trust guides were very knowledgeable too adding to information already provided. There's a Science Centre in the grounds which Daniel and Eleanor would have loved as children, in fact they would probably still enjoy it now, we did. Some of Newton's famous experiments are displayed and they're hands-on, so you can have a go, and learn, yourself.

Isaac Newton gained his BA degree at Cambridge University in 1665, shortly before the university temporarily closed owing to the Great Plague and he was sent home. It's during this period that an apple fell from this Flower of Kent apple tree in the orchard of Woolsthorpe Manor which caused Isaac to question why things fell straight to the ground, and so began his theory of gravity. 

On our way home from Woolsthorpe Manor we decided to call into Clumber Park for a walk. It was quite late in the day by this time but we were still surprised by how quiet it was, especially as it was a nice day, there weren't very many people about.

Saturday was shopping day so that took up the morning. Afterwards, we took some flowers to the Garden of Remembrance for my dad whose birthday it would have been the following day, and as we were then about half way to Ilkley, we decided to carry on with the journey and have a mooch around the lovely town. The Grove was at its most beautiful, the sunshine had brought out all the cherry blossom on the trees.

People were queuing, as usual, outside Betty's Tea Rooms. We didn't go inside on this occasion but we had a look around all the independent shops, and there's so many charity shops in Ilkley so we had a mooch in those too. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

We visited Hardcastle Crags in Calderdale on the Sunday. Managed by the National Trust, it's a great place for a walk. A wooded valley with Gibson Mill, a 19th century cotton mill at its heart, there are over fifteen miles of footpaths to explore.

It's about a mile and a quarter to the mill from the car park. We took the estate track to the mill which is above the river, a nice flat track suitable for pushchairs and surrounded by woodland. We took the riverside walk back to the car, the terrain here is more uneven, there are rocky sections and sets of steps, but it's a beautiful walk with stepping-stones to try out along the way.

It was a beautiful spring day so we decided to head into nearby Hebden Bridge after our walk. A market town known for it's arts scene, it's such a lovely place to spend a few hours. There are pavement cafes and bars which spill out onto outdoor tables, plenty of independent shops, galleries and a river which flows through the town. We decided to take another walk, this time along the tow path of the Rochdale Canal. We really enjoyed our day.

We couldn't have a staycation without visiting the Yorkshire coast so on the Monday we took ourselves off to Whitby. I've never known it as quiet as it was that day, it was nice to wander around without the crowds which are usually there.

Afterwards, we called to see Falling Foss waterfall and then took a short detour through Littlebeck Wood on the Coast to Coast Walk to see The Hermitage, a cave carved into a boulder which dates back to the 18th century. It's said that someone once lived here, I'm not sure that's true, it's a folly which stands in the former grounds of Newton House. I think a story always adds to the mystery surrounding something like this though.

On the Tuesday we visited somewhere new to us, Lincoln. I've been wanting to visit this city for a long time, I don't know why we haven't got there before now, it's less than an hour and a half by car. We had a lovely day visiting the beautiful cathedral, once the tallest building in the world, and looking around the city centre.

Lincoln's High Bridge is a medieval bridge which spans the River Witham. It's the oldest bridge in the UK to still have buildings on it. Shame about the Vodafone shop to the right, it spoils the whole aesthetic.

This is where I'll leave Part One of our staycation, we're exactly half way through so the second half is to follow.

Lake District Goodies

I seem to be rather lucky when I enter giveaways on blogs, I've received some wonderful prizes over the years, and I've recently won another. My lovely blog pal, Jules, from the Along the Way blog was recently celebrating ten years of blogging by way of a giveaway on her blog and I was lucky enough to have my name pulled out of the hat aka random number generator.

Jules sent me a lovely parcel full of goodies from the Lake District where she lives.

If you know Jules' blog you'll have seen her wonderful photography, many photos taken on her walks on the Wainwright Fells, 214 peaks located in the Lake District. I love this tea towel listing all 214 and showing where they can be found.

This Lake District National Park water bottle will come in very handy when I'm out and about, I always carry a drink with me so it will be perfect. It's years since I last had Kendal Mint Cake, sugary fondant confectionary popular with hikers and climbers, I've already eaten it and I'm pleased to report that I still like it. The same goes for the Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread Fudge. In my defence it had a short use by date so had to be consumed almost immediately. In reality, there was no way that was going to last beyond a couple of days in my house! I've visited the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop and it's the most delicious treat, though I'd never tried the fudge before so this was something new but just as delicious as the gingerbread. I've never tried Farrer's tea before either, again this is a Lake District brand. I haven't tried this yet but I'm looking forward to doing so.

As a knitter, I've definitely heard of Herdy, the Lake District brand with the cute Herdwick sheep as its logo. How cute is the pen. There's a sample of Bath House patchouli & black pepper face, hair & body oil, again a company from the Lake District, specialising in skin care and fragrances. And last but not least a packet of sunflower seeds which Jules sent so that Jack could sow some and watch them grow, isn't that so thoughtful.

Aren't I lucky to have won such a lovely giveaway, and everything came from companies local to Jules, a very special prize indeed. I have emailed Jules to thank her but I'd like to say thank you again here. So many wonderful treats which I shall enjoy using. If you haven't visited Jules' blog before I'd urge you to do so, she lives in a beautiful part of the country and often takes us on wonderful walks with her. The scenery where she lives is amazing.