A Wet Day Out

Last Monday a coach trip to the pretty market town of Market Harborough should have been a nice day out but the rain was unrelenting. My plan to stroll along the riverside and take in a Heritage Walk was abandoned in favour of going in and out of shops in an effort to stay dry.

 

St Dionysius Church was for pilgrims, it doesn't have a graveyard

  

The Old Grammar School

 

After lunch I stepped out of the restaurant straight into a puddle, water covered the front of my trainers! Thankfully it wasn't too bad, my feet were wet but not drenched, although when I got home and changed my socks were slightly damp.

The highlight of the day was a visit to Foxton Locks, a Grade II listed site, and home to the longest and steepest staircase of locks in Britain, rising 75 feet up a steep escarpment. There are 10 locks and it takes 45 minutes to traverse them.

 
The locks have been an essential part of travel, trade and leisure for over 200 years. The Grand Union Canal is a union of lots of smaller canals. In 1810 an Act of Parliament authorised a new section to be built from the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Canal at Foxton to the Grand Junction Canal at Buckby. It meant that for the first time boats and cargo could travel from the River Thames at Brentford to the East Midlands, including the coalfields of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
The locks were opened on the 9 August 1814, and today they are essentially the same as when they were built.

 

I hoped we would see a boat travelling through.

This image is courtesy of the web.

21 hardy water babies went on the included boat trip. The boat had a top cover but open sides and I knew from experience that the roof cover would not be adequate protection from the wind and rain. So myself and a few others sought refuge in the Foxton Locks Inn.

 

On a nice warm sunny day it would be lovely to sit here enjoying the view over the river.

 The clouds finally dispersed and the sun appeared at 6 o/clock as we were approaching home!

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

Happy Birthday

As a rescue we don't know the exact date when Rufus was born so I worked backwards from when we adopted him and guessed that it was September 2012 and decided he could share his birthday with me.

We will both have treats. I have a gift voucher from my daughter, a parcel is on its way from my Ozzie daughter and I'm pretty sure I will get something from my grandson later today.

 

The rain has stopped, we've had a walk in the sunshine, and later I'm going out for lunch with my daughter.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

Lunchtime Concert

Lunchtime concerts in the Cathedral have started again after a summer break. Friday's concert was Crispin Lewis and Raymond Lewis - Baritone and Pianist.

Accomplished musicians but not to my liking. 

The programme featured the rediscovered songs of Herbert Murrill. Along with the programme information was a songsheet. Very obscure, this is a small sample:

 

Mistletoe on the handlebars of the bicycle, gift from the guide

Lisie leaves for Paris

Leo leaves for Lisieux

Mistletoe on the handlebars of the bicycle, gift from the guide

Bicycle on the misletoe

Handlebars over the eyes

Leo leaves for Lisieux

Lisie will buy the eggs

Mistletoe on the handlebars of the bicycle, gift from the guide

Leo leaves for Paris

Vivi leaves for the suburbs

On the misletoe

On the gift

On the handlebars of the bicycle, gift from the guide.

I left after only about 20 minutes.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

My Village Church

As well as a place of worship my village church is also a community hub for various social events.

The cafe opens on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, staffed by volunteers.

beautiful new oak doors

and a new cycle rack, which this owner chose not to use!

Cream teas on the church lawn have been enjoyed once a month

throughout the summer

Last Saturday the event was a Murder Mystery play.

 The tape was to prevent people going to the tables until later.

 

the bar

We sat in the pews for the first half of the play. At half time the cast moved among us so that we could interrogate them ask questions. We then moved to the tables for delicious quiche, potatoes, salad and coleslaw with red or white wine. There were packs of clues on the tables. After the main course we returned to the pews for the unravelling of the plot and revealing the identity of the murderer. Then back to the tables for a scrumptious sherry trifle. It was a great night, but very few worked out who dunnit! The cast didn't want paying, all the profits went to the church roof fund. 

 

The next event is a history of the pub and and an update on the work to date. It will include pub food and entertainment. Should be good.

 

And next month we have a concert with Brentwood Mac playing Fleetwood Mac's hits.

 ∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

A Nice Walk

Another U3A walk a couple of weeks ago

Tasty blackberries

interesting architecture

lovely cottages

Back to the pub for a meal

It was a good walk and the weather was glorious.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x

Rufus' Diary

Hello dear reader I hope you are well. Autumn is on its way, daylight hours are shorter, it's dark by 8 o/clock, the evenings are slightly chilly but the days are still sunny and warm.

Crops are being harvested

We're enjoying lots of lovely walks

The bonfire that never goes out is still not out 😄

Polly loves her small patio at the bottom of the garden and now she has created another lovely shady area to sit, under the cherry tree

That whole area behind the recliner was completely overgrown with nettles and weeds which was great for bees and butterflies but when it all died down she cleared it away.

There's a nice cool place for me to enjoy too.

We don't know what this cute little insect is.

A guy in the village is a Naturetrek Group Leader. Now and again he sets up a box in the churchyard to see how many moths visit. There were lots of species, sizes and colours but they didn't all photograph well.

Because I was a rescue the exact date of my birthday is unknown. Polly worked backwards from when they got me and how old they said I was and guessed that I was born in Sep 2012 and so she decided I would share my birthday with her later in the month. I will be 12, I daren't tell you how old Polly will be 😀

∼ Be safe and well ∼

Rufus 🐾