1st March, 2015....Minus 2 wind chill on St David's Day!

We opted for Sunday Lunch outside today....it looked a bit overcast and windy, but we're always okay with that!! How cold could it be on St David's day??

 

 

Looks okay doesn't it....plenty of folk had done the same...wrapped up warmly and set out with their dogs!

 

 

So, at mid day we settled down at Abbey Mill and waited for our lunch....other customers were opting for sitting inside, but not us!!

 

 

And very nice it was too.....but by the time we had sat in the -2 degrees Celsius wind for half an hour on metal chairs, we had lost all feeling in our hands and other parts of our anatomy, and could only rush home and huddle around the gas fire!! Spring has definitely not sprung yet!! The very early flowering daffodils are out down here however, and my favourite weather forecaster John Hammond promises me 15 degree temperatures by next blog!!

 

 

 

 

 I've just noticed an ancient nail in my favourite old tree...what stories could it tell, I wonder....

 

 

 

What a difference in the beck too, from the end of September.....

 

 

 

.....it was the fullest I've seen it for a long time, and water is collecting in the fields, which hasn't happened for a while!

 

 

The Steve Hillman camera visited the Lake district again this week, on a mission to check out the Kendal area before our year six children descend on Tuesday....he took some stunning shots of the low fells, covered in the last vestiges of snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm starting to think I might have a talented husband...don't tell him I said that though!!

 

 

Talking of all things Tudor....Wolf Hall.... the final episode....phew....it was perfect, even though we all knew how it would end!!! I have the next Mark Rylance in my class at the moment....I just know this kid is going places with his acting ability!

 

 

 

Well, St David.... you must have been freezing sitting in your Welsh monastery at this time of year....actually, I've just looked out of my window, and it is now sleeting! Get the kettle on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st February, 2015.....Out-and-about at half-term!

Half-term holiday has slipped through our fingers like quicksilver....but it was an excellent time to catch up with family and friends, and reflect on happenings in the next few months. February weather is, at best, unpredictable, but it has been quiet and a bit flat lately.

 

 

 

My 'blog' look....I'm now being recognised in 'pie shops'!! Frankie is not fully fit at the moment...he seems to have the 'bug' that many Barrow folk have succumbed to....cough, earache, sinus pain and general tiredness, so we have to fortify him with snacks from Jackie's Abbey Mill if we walk down here at all at the moment!

 

 

We've had reason to visit Ulverston, Windermere and Kendal this week, and as usual, the Steve Hillman camera (and nana!) accompanied us!!

 

 

I think it was a 'thumbs up' for afternoon tea at Gillam's (I'm sure the owner did some drumming workshops in our school back in the day!). They serve a lovely pot of 'real' tea there, and a mean scone!!

 

 

Met up with a friend and colleague here....I used to come through to this shop from Barrow, in my teens, because it sold 'ethnic' Indian print clothing, cheesecloth kurtas and 'thong' sandals!! The shop is mainly gifts and gadgets now, but I'm sure there are many fifty somethings of my era who remember how we fought over 'hippy' clothing back then! And it wasn't even the swinging sixties....it was just a backlash against the early eighties New Romantic boys we hung around with!!! 

 

 

Some lovely little quirky shops in Ulverston though!

 

 

 

We had to check out Kendal Dry Ski slope for a visit we are planning there, so Kendal was next on the agenda.....

 

 

 

 

.....and Frankie found his 'heaven', here on Earth! Lovely stained-glass window in....Booth's would you believe!

 

 

 

And a quick trip to Lakeland Plastics, just for the fun of it!!! Very modern and futuristic inside now!

 

 

 

 

We have always had superb support for our school from the local Neighbourhood Management team, with their wardens supporting us on trips, providing training for our kids and generally getting us involved with local events. Sadly, their functioning has been paired back to the bone, with only a small team remaining, and a move from their own office on Dalton Road to an office within Barrow Town Hall. However, we will be happy to continue working with them, as they have provided us with really valuable input over the years, and I know most of the local community would agree with me on this (and anyway, they are a lovely group of people who are hilarious to work with!!). Rant over!!

 

 

Here's Paul, helping with one of our trips last year!! He was great!!

 

 

 

 

There are a few early signs of spring in Abbot's Wood at the moment.......

 

 

....and a lone flowering gorse bush on the hillside! As thoughts turn to spring, the Steve Hillman Website has been updated to fit in with all the new brides he has photographed over the past twelve months....check it out.....

http://www.shphotographer.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15th February, 2015......Early spring sunshine and Valentine's Day romance.....!

Well, we made it to half-term, but the Hillman cameras are never at rest! Both father and daughter had to shoot Valentine's Day weddings, and they could have sold the date at least five times....well, it has been many, many years since Valentine's Day has been on a Saturday! Both the brides looked lovely and I've seen previews of some stunning photography!

 

Busy down at Furness Abbey today, I mean REALLY busy...we couldn't get a table at Abbey Mill! It was a lovely, sunny afternoon though, and registering 8 degrees celsius on the thermometer, which we haven't had for ages!

 

 

 

 

Yes, I think Frank is pretty much matching me in terms of height...though he's still only TWELVE!

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of bird life on show today....coal tits, the woodpecker, buzzards and jays, but not the elusive heron...! And kids camping!!!

 

 

 

We did laugh at this indignant sheep who refused to move from her patch in the warm sun as we passed! I was interested to read about the next new housing development planned for the old Thorncliffe School site....it does seem even dafter that the Manor Farm development...houses from 350K to 450K, bought off plan but ready for late 2015.....who's got that sort of money in this town at the moment? And the site is at this stage now.....who is doing market research for this I wonder?

 

 

 

So, we headed out to Roa Island to maybe get a cup of tea at The Bosun's Locker...alas...that was full to bursting too! We did watch this gyrocopter (?) messing about on the Piel Sands, with a perfect view of it from the stunning new ferry landing pier...when did that happen??

 

 

 

 

Bird watching again! It's that same oyster catcher that landed on our house the other day!

 

 

The RNLI Lifeboat station is a show-stopping building too!

 

 

Now, the Steve Hillman Photographer tells me he has found a lovely new place to buy gifts for me....and he did surprise me on Valentine's Day.....

 

 

 

 

...... Yew Tree Barn....it does look like my kind of place.....

 

 

 

...but, amongst the photos he took, was THIS ONE.....

 

 

...which he insists was someone else's breakfast and he just photographed it! I think you know he's lying!!! The place looked really photogenic......

 

 

 

.......it won't beat our number one favourite though.....!