'supporting each other through really tough times'

[Deleted User]

Morning Toughies, the sun is struggling to show through the clouds here this morning but I can see patches of blue, so I expect it will be a better day later on. The newly planted seedlings in the polytunnel must be related to triffids, every time I go up to water they are an inch higher and have grown more leaves,great stuff. Is anyone else having problems getting peas to germinate this year? We've started off 3 batches so far and have one plant in the poly and 4 more coming along in the greenhouse to plant out later on. We've sown 60 seeds, I wonder if the odd weather last summer has left the seed stock weak??? I'm going to have a busy day today as He Who Knows is out and busy so I'll do a top to bottom clean and polish and a general tidy up. Hope you all have a lovely day, Cheers Lyn xxx.

mardatha

Well one year we went to York for a few days...it was meant to be a fabulous fest of archeology and history for me. I was gently dreaming of Romans, Vikings, Medieval church life, blahblahblah.
What we got were roads that were chock a block; ravening hordes of visitors pouring down wee narrow lovely lanes; and York was one massive car park covered in Spanish schoolkids who linked arms and charged down the pavements, knocking everybody flying. I lasted a day!
Got lost coming home and found the Yorkshire Moors which made us even more homesick as it felt like home. Then Whitby which looked magic but we couldn't find a place to park - so we gave up and came home. I know one thing about England. It's FULL!

Mrs_Chip

Mar - the secret is to go out of season. We never go anywhere during school/bank hols, it just is not worth it (but we were lucky not being tied to school holidays). Central London is awful in tourist season if you need to get around the streets, people and vehicles everywhere. But I guess there are some places that are always busy. It's usually busy here at BH times but both Easter and this one have been very quiet, a sign of the times I think.

GreyQueen

:rotfl: Oh Mar, I now have a vision of two wee Scottish country mice being appalled by the heaving hordes of York and running back home in horror.

I've been to York several times and it is chocka. And I feel the same way when I go to Lunnon Town; too many peeps in too much of a hurry for this hick from the sticks.

PS If you're ever in Whitby again, there's a big supermarket on the quay with a lot of carparks (pay ones) behind it. That's where I parked. Five chazzers, if memory serves, and a very nice chippy.

Was chuckling on both Thurs and Fri last week as my walking commute thru the city centre took me up some very narrow streets, overhung with ancient buildings with jettied upper floors, where blinking HGVs and other lorries were trying to squeeze thru to deliver things. One after another. Bet the language in their cabs was a bit ripe.

It's mental, these streets were laid out 500+ years ago and I don't think they imagined in their wildest dreams that something on wheels the size of a HGV could exist, never mind that it would be shoehorning itself around those corners.

It's so bad in places that you have to hide in doorways when they're creeping around - if the truck jumps its clutch, you'd be squidged on the walls. Tourist buses are quite fun, too........... come see our scheduled ancient monuments! Oooops, just knocked the corner off that one, did anyone catch that on the CCTV? Phew! And around the next corner we have........

I'm reading a book at the mo, called The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer (he did one on medieval england, too, which I've also read) and it's brilliant. People back then were getting stressed by over-population and the biggest place was Lunnon with a humungous population of......wait for it......70,000 at the start of Queen Liz I's reign.

Mark you, it was 200,000 at the end of her reign, proving that there was a fair bit of hey nonny-no going on back in olden times.

[Deleted User]

MAR I promised I'd tell you, I saw the very first swallow this morning, mind I almost missed it as I was looking at 3 Roe Deer in the field it was hunting over!!!!! I also heard the cuckoo this morning, fairly early as I was walking up to open the polytunnel - I think it really MUST be spring. Very odd though to see swallows flying over trees that are still not in leaf, summat odd there!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

fuddle

That's how we feel about taking part in attractions and visiting etc, we just don't go any more because if crowds and trying to park.

We went tothe last art installation if light in Durham the last time it was on. 35 different very impressive art shows all around the city. We knew we would get parked so got dropped off. Once there we were crammed amongst so many people we didn't have time (or the wish to stay any longer!) to see everything and really upset and not getting a chance to see the lights on Durham Cathedral. We're not going this year simply because of the logistics of moving around the town and the carrelling of people that just didnt feel safe. We then had to walk 2 miles to get picked back up in a spot that wasn't in standstill traffic.

Whitby is one of the worst places I have seen at holiday time but to be fair any generic Saturday is chocka there. Gorgeous town and GQ, been in yer car park

I wish to visit York at Christmas as I think it would be so magical (I adore York) but the thought of trying to capture that feeling amongst Christmas shoppers fills me with dread. Im yet to experience it and have no plans to try in the coming years.

I've never been to London and feel I'm missing out being an English Woman but I've just no desire (and scare of tubes)

As I get older I getter more and more wanting to be away from people, bustle, small talk, selling etc once drawn to shops and pubs I cannot now think of anything worse!

Mrs_Chip

We have had the swallows here for the last few weeks - oddly we saw two in March, then none at all until mid April - perhaps they were sent ahead to check the weather out!

We often get buzzards overhead being chivvied by the crows and jackdaws but last week I saw a sparrowhawk being harried by two swallows. It was circling the sky above the garden (unusual as they normally swoop in then out again unless they make a catch). The two tiny birds were dive-bombing the hawk, actually hitting it, and giving out lots of squeals. The hawk finally gave up and flew off, but not for long. It came back a bit later and I think it took the female black cap, I found a pile of feathers on our steps , and she was not around. The male went a few days later, off to find another wife. They say that being visited by a sparrowhawk is a good thing, it means you have a very healthy bird population, but it is very sad to see the poor little birds made into dinner .

[Deleted User]

Morning FUDDLE, glad you have such a nice day yesterday. We hate crowds too, many years ago when DD2 was a baby, we went up to the Chelsea Flower Show. It was a really hot day and so crowded that we just couldn't get to see any of the exhibits and too hot to go inside the marquees. We gave up and went home where we saw the show on TV and saw everything we couldn't get to see when we were actually there. We learned a valuable lesson that day and just don't do big events any more, Cheers Lyn xxx.

SDG31000

Morning Everyone Happy Bank Holiday weekend.

I'm recovering from feeding the masses yesterday, only 10 of us this time, but DH was at a juggling convention yesterday. So my helper was absent and I could really tell the difference. DS2 tried to help and then sliced his finger open peeling potatoes. I can heartily recommend Nigella's caramel croissant bread and butter pudding. I used YS croissant and pain au chocolat and a good slug of spiced rum. The booze could be replaced with vanilla extract. I also made this cake http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-lemonblueberry-yogurt-cake-with-lemon-cream-recipes-from-the-kitchn-186846

I love Whitby and have booked a holiday there for my 40th next year. My lovely parents in law are paying for most of it as my present. We are going back to La Rosa Hotel, a hotel with it's own tea room

I told DH that we had to do something together today and his suggestion was to paint the garden shed *insert eye rolling smilie here* Instead we are going to an exhibition of artists that work in paper, even DS2 wants to go as he is now showing an interest in origami.
Time to go and deal with the laundry pile before we go out.

Take care everyone xxx

ginnyknit

We had a kestrel sat on the fence a couple of weeks ago, I was mesmerised, so beautiful. We often see them or possibly some kind of hawk, hovering over the motorway verges as our ring road is cut right through the countryside.

We try to avoid weekend visits to anywhere as the crowds are impossible and wheelchairs are apparently invisible, I get very angry with people and its just not good for my sanity. Hubby worries I will actually maim someone

My seeds are growing as I watch them, its quite surreal. Yesterday I opened the greenhouse and when DGS and I went back half an hour later more had grown. This year he isnt swopping the plant labels he is moving the pots from shelf to shelf and peering in them to see what happening, it makes him giggle so its worth it Went out this morning with a pot of salt as the slugs have started appearing, the will not win :mad:

Going to have a baking session as its flipping chilly here and I have some ys pastry to use up, so it will be a cheap session and warm the house up.