Pom Pom

Ah the daily permitted walk...it's taken on far more significance than I had ever thought it would and has really driven home to me how important it is for me to see new things and enjoy new experiences no matter how scaled back. We go out after we've eaten our evening meal so it marks the end of the chores and the beginning of relaxation. It gives Mr GBT and I a chance to download our days [he's still working albeit from home] and discuss anything knotty. On his one non running day of the week TYM joins us for our meander. Still photographing as we go....every day something has changed.

People's personal interpretations of the current situation and how they express this in the art they display on their homes. Some of it is precise and intricate others more naive/folkarty.

The keyworkers being celebrated by their children who are still attending the local school. There have been lots of teddies appearing in the windows on our rounds these past few days [we've put some up here which Humphrey delights in sending flying!]. I gather these are for the little ones to enjoy a bear hunt whilst they're out walking with their families.

Nature carries on doing her thing quietly. These stunning tulips were a deep crimson and custard yellow, but difficult to capture the full effect in the evening light. I popped into the woods near the river bank for a quick chance to reconnect with the trees.

Somebody's pride and joy. I might not be interested in vehicles per se but I do love to see beautifully maintained older vehicles and the attention to detail on the bodywork. I haven't seen a Moggie in years.

Got to love a bit of brutal humour...I heeded the sign and neither tarried not trespassed!!

Pom poms....lots of them. This has to be my favourite so far.....an entire hedge of handmade pom poms......if I were the homeowner I'd keep it there permanently! We have a hedge on one side of us, but it's not ours so don't think I can recreate this look for us sadly!!

Arilx

Almost down to a t

Much of our evening perambulations takes us through a network of roads lined with standard Victorian terraced houses. They are built on a former estate and the road this particular property is on takes its name from the original estate. As you might expect the names of the houses don't stray far from the norm for the era either. So when I noticed this one it struck me as rather odd by comparison.  An online search didn't throw up anything so I opened it up for discussion on a local FB group.

Every day's a school day isn't it and although we didn't get to the bottom of i,t lots of theories were offered and I learnt lots. I hadn't encountered a flat topped 8 as seen in the date before, but I understand that rather stylised version was popular at the time and is seen quite often. However, with regards to the possible "T" suggestions varied from whether it was some type of insurance mark or a builders marker to whether it denoted a tied or a tenant's cottage. The one I liked the most was that it might have been a Temperance mark and shown that the occupiers had taken a pledge of abstinence from the demon drink...there were some very prominent members of the Temperance movement within the town [they owned one of the hotels in the town centre] and maybe one of their number had put up the money for this house. Sillier ideas were it was a half finished game of hang man or that it looked like a bird table....

I may be none the wiser, but I did enjoy engaging with people and the lively discussion thread that ensued. Maybe one day I might be able to clear up this little mystery!

Arilx

Clap for the NHS

Last night's "clap for the NHS" was a deeply personal one for me. A family member, who's spent the last two and a half weeks in hospital fighting the virus, was discharged home yesterday. It has been a bit touch and go at times, but we are all immensely relieved and grateful for the care he's received. I think people need to hear good news amongst all the bad in these strange times.

Arilx

Green and Beautiful

If you live on the outskirts of our town you can get out into the woods fairly easily on foot. We are that little bit further into the built up area, so I have been looking on enviously at others photos of the bluebells they have been sharing on the local social media. Last night we did a bit of a deviation from our normal walk and realised that we could cut back behind the houses and follow a bit of the local riverside walk. I was rewarded with this and the rather beautiful sentiment on the bench.

I hadn't realised just how badly I needed a short time out in nature. The feeling of release and lightness of spirit when I got home was immense.

Arilx

Eaves Drip Graves

This very moving memorial to all the little souls lost before birth was put up in our local cemetery back in 2002. I'm sure it has brought comfort to many who are grieving over the years. Last weekend I read about a type of grave called an eaves drip grave. It was a term I'd never heard of before, but it's used to describe the burials of stillborn/ premature babies who couldn't be baptised or mothers who lost their lives in childbirth and hadn't been churched [a Christian blessing normally given to women post birth to re-purify them after the unholiness of the sexual act of conception and pregnancy]. This was a Medieval practice which saw these specific types of burials places right up next to the church walls in some areas. Many churches didn't have guttering at this time and in order to prevent the walls and foundations from being damaged by the rain a line of prominent stones were inserted so that the water could drip from them instead. It was believed that because this water had touched a Christian building it had in turn become sacred and once it fell on the graves it would bless them for eternity. For anyone wanting to learn more there is a more indepth paper here http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/82807/2/Eaves-drip_book%20chapter.pdf

Arilx

"Don't be a puddin'"

Unless you're one of these and then always be a puddin'!!

Sunday has been designated "pudding night" here at GBT and it's the one time during the week we indulge ourselves. Mr GBT fancied making a suet pudding, so I donated the recently unearthed jar of homemade raspberry jam [I thought it was chutney...don't ask!] which had turned up after my latest rummaging session.

Bog standard recipe was followed except half the flour was replaced by two slices of stale bread that had been crumbed. It makes the whole thing much lighter and we used the veggie suet we already had in the cupboard. Rather than steaming it on the stove with all the risks of it potentially boiling dry we put an inch of boiling water in the bottom of the slow cooker and then cooked it on high for 4 hours. Much less electricity used that way too.

Arilx

My talisman

This funny little fellow came into my life by mysterious means back in 2005. A few months after Mr GBT was suddenly made redundant I found this little chap on one of the shelves in the garage where I store extra dried foods like tins. He was very prominent yet neither of us recognised him or had any recollection of putting him there. The more prosaic explanation might have been that it came in with a broken old Davenport desk that a friend had saved from being burnt [so Mr GBT could reuse the mahogany for his furniture business], but at the time I took it as a sign of support from where ever and adopted it as my talisman.

For a long time it had hung on a ring off my purse, but my most recent purse wasn't suitable for this so so I shoved him on with my car key instead and not having driven for weeks I haven't seen him. Earlier in the week I sorted out my costume jewellery and realised that I had a spare necklace cord.  Yesterday I joined up the dots and have made him into a necklace which I shall enjoy wearing. I always wondered what he "was", but a spot of google searching has confirmed he is a Cornish pixie no less and they are believed to be a sign of good luck!

Life can be strange sometimes.....

Arilx