24th April, 2016...."It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves..." Shakespeare 400 years on!

Okay....it's not a 'word perfect' quote from Julius Caesar, but the meaning is clear, and 400 years later The Bard's wisdom still holds true...just got to look at the education system in his native country at the moment.....but don't get me started!!!!

 

Luckily, the kids at our school have teachers who focus on their 'self' development, and not on the transformation of them into 'test-passing' automatons!! Hence, not many blogs at the moment...hyper busy doing this! But still time for a chilly walk to Furness Abbey this morning....

 

 

 

 

...and it's looking slightly more green that when we came down last....a few signs of the blossom daring to open up against the icy wind!

 

 

 

Some beefy looking bullocks in the fields now......Frankie's not exactly looking 'dainty' either is he....still only thirteen!!

 

 

Always time for a spot of tea at Abbey Mill, whatever the weather!!

 

 

The SteveHillman camera has been busy as usual this week....My colleague and I went on a training course to the beautiful Netherwood Hotel in Grange, so along came the camera for a day out....

 

 

 

 

 

....lovely spot...not ready to retire there just yet!!!

 

 

Very elegant wedding at Abbey House yesterday too....gorgeous flowers, lovely setting, beautiful bride.....what a life the SteveHillman camera leads.....

 

 

 

...he even got to photograph HRH a few years ago...Happy Birthday to both her and The Bard this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6th April, 2016...Sunny Stratford and Blustery Barrow!

There's quite a few degrees difference between the temperatures up here and those in the Midlands, as we found out last week. It was our annual pilgrimage to Stratford via Northants, and the weather was lovely!

The magnolias are already in full bloom down there...unlike mine, which are still tightly curled up!

We did see a very 'forward thinking' production of Hamlet at the RSC.....look at those blue skies!

That's me, with The Bard himself!!

We did get to visit Anne Hathaway's cottage this time, and the gardens were stunning!

I have mad children....

....and don't even mention my mother!!

We did have a lovely lunch at my brother's BARN too!

Lovely place! But then we headed back up the motorway to Blustery Barrow....what happened to the mild spring weather??

Parkas and wellies back on!!! It's freezing today, although these photos don't show it! There is hail in the 'northern' weather forecast!!!

The SteveHillman camera shot his first wedding at Ford Park in Ulverston last week....the weather was awful for that too...poor brides who think a 'spring wedding' will be lovely!! (sorry Em!)

He also had a very interesting time at his first Chinese wedding....apparently when a baby girl is born, the relatives all buy gold bracelets for her to have at her wedding, so here they are....

......when he arrived home from that wedding, his first words were..." most of the guests had better cameras than me"! But, in the words of our friend Mike Resort, "it's who is behind the lens that counts, not the camera!"

20th March, 2016.....Furness Abbey, falconry and fashion...!!!

As my friend and colleague Mr Woody rightly says, I use the exclamation mark quite wrongly!!! If you are a year six teacher at the moment, you understand the joke...if not...thank your lucky stars!!! What a fabulous day though, so we headed off to Furness Abbey for a sunny walk (can't believe we missed Jason Watkins down here on Friday...loved him in 'The lost honour of Christopher Jeffries'!)

 

Who's that giant with me??

 

 

 

Silverband Falconry visited school earlier in the week...fascinating to watch, and kind of mesmerising.....luckily the Harris Hawk didn't swoop down and steal any children, but the local seagull fraternity were not happy with the visit!!

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning!

 

 

First wedding ever for the SteveHillman camera at the new Levens venue The Villa yesterday. And he even bought back a souvenir for our friend Wedgie so that she can expand her 'afternoon tea' horizons.... can feel an Easter tea coming on!!

 

 

Talking of lovely venues, it looked beautiful out the back of Abbey House this afternoon...yet I bet a lot of people don't really explore the grounds when they go there...have a look....

 

 

 

They have a lovely display of daffodils too!

 

 

I think I've been watching too much 'Countryfile'....even my reading materials of choice are reflecting an agricultural or horticultural theme.....

 

 

...the Tracy Chevalier one is fantastic, as always, and I had to stop myself 'binge reading' yesterday, as I had work to do!!! (oops...wrong exclamation marks again...sorry Woody!!). This is my 30th class of kids, and I think they will probably get by without knowing whether a sentence is an exclamation or not...

 

 

...modelling 1980's fashions earlier in the week!!!!!!!

 

 

This was Frankie's first day out after three days in bed with the tonsil problem again.....so a milkshake and scone at Abbey Mill Café was in order....

 

 

So, the question is...will the scales fall from Richard Roper's eyes or will he let Jonathon Pine go???