A Floral Bouquet

I know that I signed off on Friday, but the packing has gone smoothly so why not share some of the floral delights we saw yesterday as we enjoyed the open gardens in a local village with our friends. Was most tickled by the small plastic fish in the birdbath which the owner says frequently go missing. Her little grandson likes to add them to the borders!

Arilx

Toodle-loo

Many thanks for all your kind comments about David. This little corner of the blogging world is full of kind folk. This past year has taught us to live more and make sure that we get on with doing the things we have always spoken about trying. No week is the same and I have done the reverse to what most people do when they retire by stepping away from all the volunteering for which I needed to give a regular commitment. This week alone I've found some Roman sherds of pottery on another archaeological dig, got soaked to the skin whilst counting orchids in a local meadow and somehow found myself having a pint and watching my first ever cricket match which turned out to be a hilarious combination of the Horsham Lions versus the Lardy Army which is the name the supporters of our town's football team give themselves raising money for our nearest hospice. We were supposed to just be walking straight home after completing a dormouse and reptile survey. How do these things happen eh. Anyway it was a rather splendid diversion and not a bad way to spend an hour in some most welcome sunshine.

Every June I ponder whether I'll still be blogging in a year's time, but here we are thirteen years on and I'm still enjoying it so if you'll have me I've no plans to give up. We had rather a surprise this week to discover that we are due to go on holiday next week and not the week after as I had thought. Thankfully the cattery have been very accommodating about changing the dates for Humphrey. I will be back in a few days hopefully with fully recharged batteries and a tale or two to tell. 

If you're wondering the photos are from Winchester's small toilet museum which appropriately enough is displayed in the window of the public conveniences in the city centre. I was particularly drawn to the medieval water pitcher with the face. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Arilx

 

Potty

Now either David has shrunk or that is one massive pot! If I reveal that the brush in the back of the  photo below is as big as your arm that should give you the answer. This is the work of the artist Felicity Aylieff. These huge masterpieces were created by the potters in Jindeszhen, China and then decorated by her. The non blue and white ones use the Chinese tradition of Fencai which means pastel colours, but in a striking and modern reinterpretation. Normally I don't give Chinese porcelain a second glance and it really doesn't do it for me, but on this trip to Petworth Park I paid attention and surprisingly enjoyed what I saw. The old next to the new particularly pleased me. This is the 'Blue Expressions' exhibition currently on and the perfect thing to do on a wet June morning.

Let's just say that the last few weeks or so have been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster. Having been told that David was very likely to have cancer again, but elsewhere [looking at a probability of 90%] it's been a worrying time. Yesterday we had the results of the biopsy. As we went in the oncology nurse left and the professor opened with 'it's always good when the nurse doesn't need to be here'...incredibly and against all odds it would appear that the 'cancer' is probably caused by other factors relating to his ongoing treatment and he is clear! I'm a bit all at sea to be honest, but immensely relieved at this unexpected turn of events. Lady Luck was definitely looking down on us.

Arilx

Kirdford Tales

With more comfortable temperatures over the weekend I fancied doing a morning walk locally which would leave me with the afternoon free to get other stuff done. A three miler from nearby Kirdford exactly fitted the bill.

Now I really rather like this small Sussex village. It's got lots of ridiculously gorgeous old houses, two [yes two] thriving pubs and a delightful shop which was bought out by the local community a few years ago and continues to be run by them. Some of the earliest industries recorded were iron and glass making and the 20th century village sign plays homage to both with the decorative ironwork and diamond glass panel on top. Both needed large amounts of wood to make their end product and eventually the more lucrative iron industry saw off its less successful competitor. Over the years of the glass making sites have been identified by the glass shards in the ground and in a nod to this part of the history several were collected and made into this fragmented stained glass window in the parish church. Since those days many shops and trades have come and gone, but my personal favourite was learning of the walking stick business which switched to making crutches for the soldiers during WWI.

The walk itself mainly took us through woods and round the edges of fields so nothing out of the ordinary, but one thing you will often encounter on any amble of this type round here is sheep. The one with the horns gave us a very fierce stare and stood his ground and as for the ones with the chocolate brown fleeces and white faces I have never seen the like. My ovine knowledge is very poor [as in I know nothing] so haven't a clue as to what these two particular type of possible heritage breeds are.

This was our view from our coffee break....definitely moodier skies than we'd had the previous few days, but thankfully we managed to dodge the forecast rain showers.

This is a grave I have searched for before, but without success. I looked it before we went this time as I thought that I stood more chance if I knew what shape to look out for. It paid dividends, but the epitaph has almost completely disappeared. It marks the burial of five young lads aged between 13 and 19 who worked at Sladeland House [now demolished] baking and brewing. All shared an unheated room at the top of the house and their nightly routine was to bring up a bucket of hot ashes from the brick ovens to keep themselves warm. Tragically the carpenter mended the broken window in their room without telling them and they suffocated from smoke inhalation on 21st January 1838. Two of the boys were brothers and their family must have been totally heartbroken. A rather unbelievable tale recalls that a local gamekeeper was murdered by a poacher and from thereon in the grass never grew again on the spot where he fell and the bare earth remained in the shape of a cross.

Admittedly I have featured this Temperance movement plaque before which is on the wall outside the former vicarage. The rumour is that some who dwelt within didn't pay it much attention and I have to admit that we didn't heed the warning either. Instead we headed straight for the Foresters Arms and a most welcome half pint of Fursty Ferret😋

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

꩜Aril꩜

Happy Monday

One of my longest standing friends has just retired and is just starting to find her feet in the new world of not working. She developed a love for walking and nature during the lockdowns and is particularly fond of birds. We wandered out from GBT to my beloved Warnham Nature Reserve which she hasn't been round in many years. Her delight at seeing the fluffy tern chicks was joyful. We get good use out of our membership and it's been one of our favourite places to go when life feels unsettled. Jo enjoyed it so much that she has now joined too.

It's only been a week since I was last up and in that time this rather fabulous new mural has appeared in one of the hides 

Arilx