26th February, 2017...Storm Doris and the Bumpkin Billionaires!!

Well.....Storm Doris has been and gone, and I can't help think about my own Nan-her name was Doris- and she was what we, in the family, call 'a Puddefoot'! That was her maiden name, and the Puddefoots had a reputation for an element of stubbornness......DON'T!!! Anyway, as Doris has passed, we have managed to get a breezy walk down to Furness Abbey at last.....

...muddy, but refreshing........

....as was Abbey Mill Cafe's morning tea!

Although things have conspired against us this week and we didn't manage any trips away for half-term, we did manage to get to Blackpool Arena for a spot of ice skating....with 48 children in tow! I love skating.......

.......but one of my colleagues liked kneeling on the ice rather than gliding across it (sorry Mr Mac!)!

The Blackpool Pleasure Beach staff were excellent though, and it's well worth a trip to the rink! We've had our old pal Joel in school also....he's not living locally anymore so we don't see him much....but he's alive and well and as brilliant as ever!!

Couldn't allow him to juggle knives over kids though, so my poor colleague had to volunteer!!

Who says 'romance is dead'? My lovely husband knew I really wanted to see the kingfisher who nests along the banks of the beck at Furness Abbey, but we're never early enough or quick enough, so he bought me this gift on St.Valentine's Day.....

.......I always call him 'Bumpkin Billionaire' because of his humble 'Dalton-in-Furness' roots but 'world famous photographer' branches.....ha ha!

(Yes, that's very like The Hillmans!)

But he did do a rather cosmopolitan, international wedding earlier this week- Lovely Barrow girl married New Yorker, at Abbey House...

......and he has been invited to The Swan, to take part in next weeks wedding fayre (a good PR job by my brother Mike-thanks for that!)....and from his humble origins too!!!!!

Can't let this blog pass without mentioning another humble Dalton life....Uncle Danny was laid to rest on Wednesday....the word 'inspirational' was used quite a lot...

12th February, 2017...Arctic winds at Furness Abbey!

Brrrr....what is going on...it's freezing! Standing outside on dinner duty every day for forty minutes is killing me...don't know how dinner ladies do it.....especially my mad 75 year old mother!! The field full of herdies at Furness Abbey have got the right idea....keep your winter coats on!

We kept ours on too!

Hillmans seem to be 'last man standing' today....many family members, including Frankie , have got the dreaded 'lose your voice' bug....met my boss down here today...she has it too!

Just a lonely tea and coffee at Abbey Mill today!

Still looking lovely down here though, but the violet skies are definitely  pointing to snow!

Lovely family gathering this weekend, and the food at Oscars, and the newly refurbished Swan Hotel, was excellent!

The Swan had a really rough time of it after the Christmas 2015 floods, but the refurbishments are excellent and well worth a look. Well, we're on to phase three of the building works ourselves.....

...retaining walls built...excellent work by Brown and O'Neill builders.....

.....front door done....excellent work by Mike Doddings from Clear View.....

...drive work next.......then, who knows!!!

29th January, 2017...the blog's back!!!!

Hi all....we've finally had the chance to visit Furness Abbey in the morning sunshine...we've had messages from our ex-pat followers all around the world (hi Canada, USA, Australia, Dubai, Phillipines!!) asking if something had happened-they love catching up with their home town and families-nothing has happened.... we've just been flat out trying to survive with work and weddings and never seeing the daylight...just like everyone else!!!

Lovely cuppa at Abbey Mill......

........and there is a bit of a 'buzz' that English Heritage have got some exciting plans and projects for the place in the near future, and also that the Abbey Tavern might be included in those plans...let's hope so.

Frankie seems to be having yet another growth spurt at the moment.........

....and keeping his sister entertained with stories about school and smashed phones and sausage buns!

Nana had a bit of a muddy fall today...the air was blue, because she'd dirted her 'traw-ziz'!!

We joined many other Barrovians a couple of weeks ago, in Emlyn Street car park to photograph the gathering of waxwings that were brooding in the rowan trees...it has been three years since we spotted them in Barrow in a tree on the green at Dunmail Raise, and they were gone by Saturday tea time, but we got a few shots!

Hillman senior road trip earlier this week, in all that sub zero weather.......

Hillmans with the Hillman!

                                                           Can't take him anywhere!

I did get a new Herdy for my collection, even though I was probably working quite hard whilst they were all having fun!! We've been up in the loft this weekend-we've got big building projects starting on Tuesday and needed to do some clearing- and we've found some hilarious photos, from the time when photos actually came on photographic paper...

...that's me and my sister in 1991- I think I was in my fourth year of teaching....

...now I'm in my twenty-ninth!!!!

Some beautiful Furness Abbey Sunrise shots for all you ex-pat followers out there.....

...this blog is dedicated to you all!!