Who knows…
On Friday night – another ‘black’ Friday, apparently because it is when office parties and pre-christmas revels tend to get out of hand – we in fact were relieved to be heading sedately for bed at 10.30pm, after a very sober evening, somewhat exhausted for various reasons to do with tax returns and the HMRC. Continue reading An Unexpected Pre-Christmas Adventure
Sorry about the very long silence. This very long silence is not because there was nothing to tell you about, but actually because too much was happening. So Christmas greetings will have to wait, because in this post I shall be looking backward at what has happened and not forward to what is yet to be… Continue reading Leapfrogging Towards Christmas
Stunning! Once in a Lifetime Opportunity! Highly Sought after Location! Upgraded and refurbished to an Exceptionally High Standard!
No, this isn’t my blog (and I am truly sorry there has been such a stunning hush this end, at least as far as my blog is concerned). Continue reading The Doubtful Joys of a House-Hunter
Yesterday John was talking to a couple of friends who had been admiring his photos and wanted to see more. ‘Have a look at them on Marion’s Blog,’ he suggested. Both ladies looked embarrassed, as if he was suggesting something rude, and quickly tried to change the subject.
What did they think? Continue reading Blogs: What Is It That Alarms People?
With a flurry of excitement and an enormous fanfare of publicity, a brand new out of town supermarket opened in Ashbourne last week. Apparently according to all the excitement that was being generated, it was to be just what Ashbourne needed, but it seemed hard to see why, in a small town already served by a Coop, Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S, and already concerned about the future of small local independent shops. Continue reading Another New Supermarket for Ashbourne
Alice, dear Alice, will be 100 on Thursday, 12th November. The queen has been reminded. Alice is a very special person, who has touched many lives since she was born a century ago during the 1st World War, and there will be many many other people near and far – as well as the queen – wishing her a very happy birthday.
Continue reading Alice is 100 years old…
At last! This is another very special recipe, from my secret stash of delicious maximum impact/minimum effort trusted favourite recipes. I have been promising to put it up for weeks, ever since it won 1st Prize at the Parwich Bake Off! (Don’t inquire too hard about how many entrants there were.)
I am a fan of the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine, and cut this recipe out on one of our trips to Australia to see our daughter Sara and her family, husband Derek and their son Tom. I was interested merely because it was advertised as both delicious and easy to make. The fact that it is gluten free has proved an added bonus… Continue reading A Gluten-Free Delight:
We are delighted to include a post by Guest Blogger/our friend Shelley, who moved to Japan a few months ago. We asked her to write this post as we were intrigued to learn how they were getting on.
Shelley is a very talented photographer, and she and her husband Jonathan helped us a great deal a few years ago when they were staying in Douglas’s Barn and John was wondering what camera he should get.
We spent a delightful evening with them as we drank wine and they let John try their cameras and talked him through the pros and cons of various models. Their advice has proved invaluable.
Shelley’s website is http://www.www.shelleybray.com. Do have a look. She tells me she hasn’t had much time on it recently, as they have been rather preoccupied with getting to grips with all that is new for them since their move to Japan.
We could pack up and make our move to Nagoya, Japan’s 3rd largest city, our new home for the next 3 years.
Buxton Opera House, High Sheriffs plus Parwich Ladies (and gents) – a powerful, if varied, mix…
John and I have just had the pleasure of being in the company of both groups and in the process enjoyed two, very different, aspects of the Buxton Opera House. Continue reading Buxton Opera House
The red, yellow, bronze and crimson leaves of autumn are always a joy to behold, particularly spectacular in the Peak District (or perhaps we are biased?). However, perhaps not as I remember John’s uncle and aunt, Tim and Peggie Sessions, used to make a point of coming over from their very beautiful corner of Herefordshire every October just to enjoy the colours here. Continue reading The Best Autumn Colours Ever?