Easter Week 2011

A bit of all kinds of things have gone on this week.

Easter Sunday, we had five for lunch and Simon had his at Supper Time. After we had eaten, Peter went out to hide the eggs. The searchers are two in number and aged 13 and 36! I was the photographer and my eldest brother is disabled so wasn't able to get around a great deal not that he was bothered anyway.

First egg to Isobel!




Gemma on the lookout!



Is that all?



Peter keeping an eye on things.

Eldest brother, Lucjan, with a 'characterful' face.

Easter Monday we went to a car boot sale and here is Isobel showing off some of the things she got: Pink Bag, All in one sleepsuit, bunny ears and red hair colour














Tuesday we went into Leeds and as Isobel had never been inside the Corn Exchange we went in there. It really is a magnificent building but a lot of the units inside are empty which is a great pity as it could be a great showcase for all kinds of smaller boutique or crafts type shops. The rent must be too high though hence it's emptiness.The ceiling in the Corn Exchange

Looking down at the Cafe in there

In one of the shops I got Isobel trying on different hats but the face tells the tale of how she felt about them. I said she looked like Edna from Emmerdale in the first one.



































Wednesday was a beautiful day and we nabbed Gemma and went for a wander with the dogs down the Leeds Liverpool canal. Very quickly we saw a swan sat on her nest and a one-eyed tree sprite.












I loved the limey green of this willow as the sun shone through it as it hung over the water's edge.






Some of the views from the canal across fields etc

















Then there was these farm buildings. The house was boarded up but the adjoining barn was in use. We decided that Gemma would live in the boarded up part. We would live in the converted barn next to her. Then there was a building at an L-shaped angle to the barn which we were going to convert to B & B and Gemma would run it for us!

Do you like the graffiti?

On Thursday I had to take the Land Rover to the garage for an MOT before we eventually sell it. So I took the dogs with me and walked back, which takes me past and across a golf course. Next to the golf course is a small wooded area where I knew there was an open flat piece of ground in the middle. So I took the dogs up there for a run around as it is reasonably secluded. I was dismayed to see it had been used for partying. Not that I have anything against partying but just the flaming rubbish that has been left behind. Remains of fires and beer cans mostly.









But Bear enjoyed it anyway

The Royal Wedding Day arrived but I had made plans for a short bike ride with my neighbours. Chris, Amanda and I met up at 8.35am. We cycled to the Spen Valley Greenway and enjoyed the fact that it was fairly quiet.


Amanda on her bike

When we got to the end of the Greenway we joined the Calder Valley Greenway for a little while and came out in Dewsbury Town Centre.

That's where things got a little more difficult. From Dewsbury back to our house is ALL UPHILL! We went at a steady pace but a gap soon appeared as Chris and Amanda pulled away from me. Then I got caught at the lights and the gap widened further. Can't say it was easy but I wasn't purple with exhaustion and was able to talk when I caught up with Chris and Amanda. 16 miles done and eight of them were steadily uphill and still home in time to watch the Wedding!

So that was my week! How was yours?

St George's day training ride

This morning was scheduled as a training ride with the group who are going to do the next charity ride in June. My friend Amanda and her husband came with me just for the ride and Mike our intrepid leader was there. No-one else turned up! We knew about some of them but not all.

Chris

Amanda

Anyway we did the run that we had done a couple of weeks ago to Bolton Abbey and back. Chris was a junior hillclimbing champion but that was some 30 years ago. Amanda had a shiny new bike she bought just yesterday. So off we went.

The day started off warm and sunny but by the time we set off on the ride it was spitting with rain and the sky ahead was dark and threatening. Thankfully it went elsewhere to be threatening and didn't meterialise into anything worse.

We deviated only slightly from the last time we went to Bolton Abbey as we went under a tunnel instead of across the road. Amanda was struggling up and down the undulations but Chris managed them fine. We got to Bolton Abbey to find there was an Easter Egg hunt going on. We saw a big white Easter Bunny.


The Easter Bunny

or is this The Easter Bunny

A lovely sit down outside the Cavendish Pavilion with a cappucino and a scone, a chat with a lady with two rescued labbies and we were refreshed and ready for the return journey.

Mike

All went well on the journey back. When we got to the long drag (2.5 miles uphill) Mike disappeared into the distance and then Amanda must have fitted a rocket to her bike as she zoomed past me and was suddenly also disappearing into the distance. Chris tucked in behind me and we plodded up the hill steadily.

The other two waited at the top of the hill and we all rode back to the cars together. 28.69 miles done and all survived intact.

Gardening

HAPPY ST GEORGE'S DAY.

Yesterday we were a little slow in getting started but eventually we got outside into the garden and did lots of chopping, shearing, mowing etc. There is a lot more stuff to do but it is ongoing.

Thought I would share a few of the quirky things in my garden as there aren't many flowers as such. We have a lovely Ribenis in flower at the moment. A big surprise was at the bottom of what we call the field. This is a bit of land we own and where we park the cars. Many wild flowers grow there and the dogs roam in that area. However we planted a tree there and forgot about it. Yesterday I went down to that end of the field and it has beautiful hot pink flowers on it.



Green man - I got him at a car boot sale

Wind chimes - a friend bought this for my birthday a few years ago. I think the rust adds to it's charm.


Twisty, dangly thing I bought in Somerset last year.


A different set of wind chimes - I bought these at a table top sale for £1.


Another twisty, dangly thing. Got this at a car boot sale last week for 50p.


This is a strange object in the garden! Isobel washing the cars in the field.


The gateway to my top garden. You go up a little hill and through the gate to a flat piece of garden where there is a tree swing, a trampoline and a shed. It's not overlooked by anything apart from one of our bedrooms and a gable end window of a flat above a hairdressers behind our house.

OK so Lent went wrong!

I did really well with not eating rubbish for the first three weeks but then fell off the wagon in a big way. Combination of things but mostly my own weak will power, lol.

Anyway I have now been doing a bit of training for the bike ride this year. It is nothing like as intense as the usual Hamm ride training and it does seem a bit hit and miss. This is an account of the ride that we did on 10th April. I posted it to our cycling website.

What an absolutely beautiful day! There were nine of us who rolled up to Guiseley Station this morning. Rich T was doing his Del Boy bit, selling cycling glasses whilst checking over his shoulder that there was no law about. Dean was trying to work out where the wheels went on his bike and the rest of us were faffing around with sun cream and helmets. Meanwhile Neil disguised himself as a ninja which made it hard for us to tell whether he was grinning or grimacing behind the mask. Mike had his bright grey jacket on with his oven gloves and gave us a little pep talk before we set off.

Then it was time for off. We headed down through Menston, through Burley in Wharfedale and out onto the main road which was pretty busy seeing the weather was so good. We crossed the bridge over the river and passed lots of walkers, runners and other cyclists. We did have to restrain Mr Herbert as the fields were full of sheep and lambs! After we had passed Nell Bank, the lido and the golf course the lanes became a bit narrower and more undulating.

There were lots of shouts regarding pot holes (I presume that was meant by 'pot' anyway) and other road users. Some of the uphill undulations had me asking if anyone was carrying oxygen but I managed to get up them without getting off so that's a bonus.

My friend Amanda came for the ride. She hasn't done a great deal of cycling so this type of riding was new to her although she is a bit of an exercise fiend. She kept Dean company up the hills encouraged by Rich. Meanwhile Neil and David were being mentored by Tracey and Dobbo who all did a fantastic job.

Coming out on to a main road at the end of Nesfield we would normally have headed up the road to the roundabout but Mr Dobson knew a cunning short cut so we all disappeared through a gap in the wall, crossed the river and passed a lovely little farm shop to come back out at a cafe that was obviously popular with cyclists judging by the amount of bikes propped up outside (either that or it was a bike shop!). We were headed for a better place (I think). A bit more road that passed Bolton Abbey and a short sharp hill and we were heading down hill to Cavendish Pavilion. After parking our trusty steeds we all dived in for refreshments of some kind or other and other comforts!

Sitting outside in the beautiful sun hardly anyone wanted to set off again but we had to. So we left the throngs (that's throngs not thongs) at the cafe and pedalled back up to the road. Everyone was in good spirits and Neil and David were flying along quite happily.

We returned by the same route without mishap although Richard did have to tinker with Amanda's bike at one point. Dean jumped off at Ilkley and got the train home mumbling something about his mum's birthday, the wimp!

After Burley there came the long drag back up to Menston which we all did at our own pace but we all managed it fine. A bit more of a climb up to Harry Ramsdens and then the euphoria kicked in as we were on the final leg back to the station. What a fabulous day and a great ride.

Thanks to Mike for his leadership and to everyone else for making such a nice group.