Samhain 2025

The people round the corner who do their own rather fabulous Halloween decs in their front garden have smashed it again❤👻💀 

My Halloween shot is rather gentler as the old boy cuddles up with his black cat cushion that TYM bought me last year. Of course, being a typical feline, Humphrey was having none of it. He was actually rather grumpy at me having disturbed his 19 hour nap and plonking the dratted thing in his way!! Looks cute though and as the only resident black cat here it's the single day of the year when I expect him to pose to earn his keep😂

We're performing with Mythago tonight at our All Hallows event. Here's hoping that it stays dry. Have a good weekend folks.

Arilx

Labour of Love

Apart from the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool I don't make a habit of visiting RC churches. I find the interiors too brash and not to my taste and by rights this rather ugly 1970s one in Goring-by-sea shouldn't have been any different. However, stop we did and it was a deliberate choice for we had travelled across specially. Within its four walls it hides a secret.

Back in 1986 one of the parishioners, Gary Bevans, went on a pilgrimage to Rome and returned a changed man. Inspired by the Sistine Chapel ceiling he sought permission to recreate it here. Paid for by the other parishioners he started this project in 1987. This chap is a sign writer and not a professionally trained artist yet look at what he achieved....the only reproduction in the world and on a 2/3 scale. He had to board the entire ceiling himself and work out all the dimensions and when he completed this in 1993 he had 1.5inches to spare. He was sponsored by Dulux and spent many pounds and many hours poring over books to get the colours true to the original which were now concealed under many layers of dirt in the original [Michelangelo's work was cleaned four years ago]. What an achievement...he painted on any work free days he had and in the evenings after he'd put his small children to bed. Quite astounding. The figure in pink and yellow is believed to have been a depiction of Michelangelo. Mr Bevan's artistic endeavours haven't stopped there though because he's gone on to create lots of faux marble paint effects around the church and the 'Last Supper' with a cheeky extra...the pet dog belonging to the priest has somehow snuck in🐶

David and I have been talking about going for years, but have never quite got around to it. Even now we had intended to go the day before, but the weather was so foul that we postponed it. Thank goodness we did for the following day was fabulous sunshine and as it turned out also the last day of the season for viewing. What I hadn't appreciated was that the church has such fabulous jewel coloured windows. They came into their own with the light beaming through. 

What a fabulous little gem. Since I shared a few photos elsewhere local friends and family have mentioned that they've driven past many times, but without a clue of what treasure lies within. It seems that they might have a few more visitors heading their way next year when the new season starts again in April.

Arilx

 

Fungi Forays

Retirement is suiting me. Nowadays I have time to indulge all my weird and wonderful obsessions and at this time of year fungi forays are high up there on the list. May I totally confess that I am very shallow when it comes to fungi...I want colour, glitz, whacky forms or at the very least something which does something like produce an ink/milk/blood ooze when you draw your nail across it or a dramatic explosions of spores. I am enjoy seeing fungi in all its forms, but it's things such as this one which I'm in the market for. The Devil's Fingers...most appropriate for the upcoming All Hallows season. Perhaps one year I might get to see the Dead Man's Fingers variety too [here's hoping eh!]

Quite extraordinary isn't it. We've been on two free fungi walks this past week and seen many wonders, but this is one of the ones we all brag about😂 I wish I could claim I found it, but alas I would be fibbing. We were taken off the beaten track to an area of land where there is no public access and shown it by the organiser. There are many on my list that I would love to see, but I had made my peace with the fact that I was only ever destined to drool over other people's photos of it. What a fabulous surprise to end our foray.

Arilx

Holiday Highlights

 A few final favourites of mine and then it's time to pack it all away.

1. Southwell

The Bramley apple was discovered here in 1856 and it has the absolutely fabulous Minster. TYM mentioned that it's now a cathedral which I hadn't realised, but I should know by now that he's usually right with his facts and indeed it has been since 1884. There's so much to see both within and without, but it's particularly famous for all the different types of carved leaves in its 13th century chapter house. I did chuckle when one of the stewards sneaked over to me and said 'I see that you've found our Donald Trump....😂. It's a rather shifty looking character and I shall say no more🙊

2. Vindolanda 

This museum is absolutely incredible. Due to the layer upon layer of earth that built up over time as the Romans rebuilt the fort nine times an accidental, but perfect set of anerobic conditions were created which has preserved all sorts. The small selection here show Lepidina's Slipper which is a very expensive sandal made by Lucius Aebutius Thales in Gaul. Yes it has the maker's mark on it! Many of the shoes on display show signs of repair, but not this one...when the toe thong broke it got chucked out. The horse mask is made of cow hide with a soft leather lining and is called a chamfon. The boxing gloves are a very rare find. One glove is larger and is stuffed with grass and bracken whilst the other one hides a nasty surprise for contained within is a coil of leather designed to inflict injury along with a hard leather edge which acted a bit like a blade. A most brutal sport. Now we've all had things arrive which have got broken in the post, but this is not a new phenomenon. This Samian dinner service arrived smashed from France. It got thrown into the rubbish pit, but the new owners must have been very disappointed. The final shot is of a hair piece made from the local hair moss. It has properties which repelled insects.

3. Hexham

You can't go to Hexham and not talk about the abbey. It started out life as a cathedral from 678-821 and the Frith stone stool may very well be the original Bishop's Cathedra [seat] which Wilfred could have brought with him in 674 when he first established the abbey. 'Frith' is an Anglo Saxon term and meant 'peace, security and freedom from molestation' and would have originally stood near the high altar. Those attempting to escape from danger would have sought sanctuary and safety there, The church is awash with several 15th century paintings which, when considering how much damage was done during the destructive times of the Commonwealth, are in themselves a fabulous survival. Annoyingly I now find that I managed to miss the danse macabre set, but it always happens that way. Indeed I also failed to spot that the central figure on Rowland Leschman's famous tomb [he was the prior from 1480-91] is tricephalic and actually has a skull hidden on one side. I must instead console myself that I saw many other wonders that day!

4. Beamish Museum

Well what can I say. The initial outlay seems quite steep, but if you're local it does give you access all year round and it's just amazing. We allowed one day...how naive were we! Last time I went I was 8 months pregnant and that had been enough time, but it has expanded hugely since then, so this time round we actually went back the next day as we'd have never got round it otherwise. I was a little startled to see that the dinner service my Nana had [I have got the teapot and my parents are still using the rest of it] was on display in one of the 1950s houses. I felt even more on an old codger when I overheard that there are plans to bring in stuff from the 1980s. Talk about 'Living' History😂

5. Harrogate

This was our final stop off on the way home and we spent the last night just across the road opposite this rather amazing modern pyramid. To be honest I had expected to fall in love with the town and in the end it didn't really float my boat. Don't get me wrong it's a charming place, full of high end shops, but after a couple of hours of endless Victorian architecture I'd had my fill. We did enjoy our flying visit though. Those two shifty characters in the pub made me smile and I was far more pleased that I should have been to discover Trotter's Bar up a side street which has been gently lowering the tone for more than 30 years. It made the perfect end to our trip away and who am I to grumble when you get to have a Spoons breakfast in the Winter Gardens😋

Next time there will ramblings about more recent amblings. Thanks for bearing with me.

Arilx

  

Alnwick

As threatened she's back already with part two of the Alnwick outing....let's get going shall we.

What could be more perfect in my little world than finding a huge second hand bookshop....why one that's been put inside the old station and has a model railway running round above the bookshelves that's what! You will be amazed to hear that I didn't actually buy anything. I didn't dare look as I'd have left with armfuls and if you knew just how many books I've already got here waiting patiently for my attention. I should be embarrassed, but naturally I'm not and I'm sure that I'll collect yet more to add to the collection before the year is out!

I spotted this heartfelt message up a side alley. Having attended my first ever anti racism conference last week here it sums up my feelings exactly. Nobody is saying that you have to like everyone, but it bamboozles me how someone can hate you based on the tone of your skin. We live in a fabulously diverse society here in the UK and long may it continue I say.

These made me chuckle and the cheeky little dog is high up on the local pet shop.

This pub is called the Dirty Bottles and true to its name it really does have some filthy glass bottles in the window. I expected the sign next to it to provide some sort of explantation, but that only told me that Robbie Burns had slept there at some point. It was originally known as 'Ye Old Cross' [if you squint you can just about make out the black cross against the white background], but it was said that the then landlord died instantly after moving the bottles in 1725. His widow claimed that the bottles were cursed and should anyone attempt the same thing the same fate would befall them. From the state of them I'd say that people took her at her word and noone's laid a finger on them since.

This however, was my find of the day. A very rare 14th century Flemish chest in the church of St Michael's. It was our final stop and not one that I was aware of before I crossed the threshold. Such was my delight that I took a whole heap of photos, but I'll leave you with just a couple to give you a flavour.

One final round up holiday post should do it and then I can start catching up with the backlog of the other doings which have been keeping me amused over these past few weeks.

Arilx