Curly's Capers

With the weather turning a little nasty last week, as far as visits are concerned, I don't have a great deal to share with you. The photographs above show the extent of the flooding of the River Severn. The top picture was taken last Thursday (27/9 ) at Tewkesbury. You can see in the distance the Severn Ham; common grazing land, which is  showing evidence of flooding. The bottom three were all taken today (29/9) at the  Riverside pub ' The Coalhouse, ' near Apperley. There was no risk to property; but to quote Captain Beefheart: " It was looking fat and bulbous. " Yesterday we visited the Cotswold town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire. The main street had the usual range of shops, selling apart from the Co-op and bread store; things you didn't really need; but making for interesting browsing. What it did have, however was, inscribed on a pavement edge a note  from Sir John Betjeman, extolling the virtues of Malmesbury and hoping it didn't cha...

Last Tuesday (18/9) to Thursday (20/9), D. and I visited London. The above picture shows a view taken from a train carriage on the DLR line. We were on our way to Stratford in the East End of the City to look at the site of the recent Olympic Games. This was our first sight, from the train of the Olympic Stadium. After arriving at Stratford, We walked past the giant Westfield Shopping Centre. Westfield and made our way on foot to the Olympic Park. To our dismay, there was no public access to any part and it had the appearance of a building site. According to a message board, the only public view-point was from the third storey of the nearby 'John Lewis ' store. The above two photographs  were taken from that vantage point. It seemed a shame to me that so quickly after the event, the park was closed. If they could have managed part access until the new year, it would have allowed the magic of the Games to linger a little longer and satisfied the ma...

The Blackberry Way It's that time of year, for culling  the blackberries. A dark fruit, with a dark secret. You need to climb high to pick the ripest crop. Brambles, thorns and nettles will evade  your progress. intertwine your fingers and grab your clothes; an uncomfortable stretch to claim that haughty black oval softness. I wonder;  is life like this, full of thorns, prickles and difficult choices to make? Must we travel through pain-barriers, which scratch and scar to eventually arrive by grace  at that inner sweetness and  so  become a  contented soul. For when berry and apple are lain to rest; covered in a shroud of pastry; committed to the oven; then it is: that spirits rise and with the final anointing in an urn of custard or cream, the transformation is complete. Rise up taste buds and greet  nature's mellow  autumnal fruitfulness of seasons past and present....

Last week, with the sun shining, we visited North Wales. The countryside looked stunning; the roads were superb and all was well with the world. After visiting a waterfall ( more later ) and staying a night, near Barmouth, we made our way to our principal  reason for the journey, namely the charming village of Portmeirion in Gwynedd. It was created by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, between 1925 and 1975. It is now run by a charitable trust. Portmeirion More details above. Portmeirion came to the public eye with the TV series " The Prisoner " See the opening sequences Here. Prisonerl It proved to be a fascinating visit. Portmeirion has a ' wow factor ' which embraces you at every turn. Here are just a few of the many photographs I took. The last picture shows a stump of a tree into which coins have been inserted by visitors.  My last picture of Portmeirion  shows the garden, complete with palm trees, in a radi...

Had a quiet week, so not  a lot to tell you about. However the week started with a visit to the Flower Festival at Deerhurst The  old Anglo Saxon  Church completely fills with  flowers on themed subjects,  over the entire August Bank Holiday period. This year's theme was 'Desert Island Discs.' More info on the church here: deerhurst So here for your viewing, a selection of flower pictures. As you can see, a lot of thought went into the process and it is really good to see the church used in this way. *8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8 Older readers may remember the fondness our family has for the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in the county of Northumberland. A place we have visited over the years. Lindisfarne Six miles from the Island is the town of Berwick upon Tweed.  It is situated on the border of England and Scotland. Uniquely  the town's football team Berwick Rangers plays in the Scottish Third Division, although it is...