This month has just flown past! We have been so busy and our calendar has been choc-a-block full. Some of this was planned, but some events especially towards the end of the month came completely out of the blue. So, here I go…
We started the month with a trip to Talkin Tarn in the evening to watch another great outdoor theatre performance of Hamlet. This time, it was done by one of our favourite theatre groups, The Pantaloons, and once again it was really good. This was our second outdoor Shakespeare in so many weeks and although the weather was not as balmy as the Cambridge one, it did stay fine and we did not need too many layers, which is unusual for Talkin Tarn! The performance itself was really good…Hamlet done by four actors taking lots of different parts…and yes, they all did die in the end…except Horatio of course who needs to do the epilogue!!
We followed that up the next week with an overnight stay in The Lakes. Geoff had wanted to see an art exhibition about The Trees of Cumbria (if you have been following this blog for a while you will know that Geoff loves trees!) which was on at Brantwood House near Coniston. There was also another exhibition there, featuring watercolours of birds which I wanted to see, and although it is possible to do that trip and get back home in a day, we decided to stay overnight nearby instead and not have to rush. We took our time driving down and had a lovely picnic at Tarn Hows…somewhere I had not been to before and which is very beautiful. Both of the exhibitions were fantastic and we really enjoyed them. We stayed in nearby Grizebeck, at a pub…which was an experience! It turned out that the owners were not in residence (they had been called away unexpectedly on a family matter) and some friends were trying very hard to run the pub in their absence. They were coping quite well, but it was very busy and they soon ran out of food for evening meals. We did get something to eat eventually and then retired to our room to watch TV…only to find that we couldn’t, as it ran on WiFi and the signal was dreadful! Early night for us then. Next morning was like the Marie Celeste with no-one anywhere to be seen and no breakfast on offer! We had to leave the key and depart, driving along to the next village for breakfast…at a real “hipster” café, where my very expensive bacon sandwich had doorstep sized sourdough bread slices which frankly were difficult to eat! However, we took the advantage of being so far down in the Lake District to meet up with our son Matthew and the grandchildren for lunch near Carnforth, at our usual spot and had a great time with them before driving back home.
We continued our very “arty” exploits during the next week with a visit to the annual local artists exhibition in the Fratery, at the Cathedral in Carlisle which again we really enjoyed. We also had another trip to the theatre (this time indoors) to see Noel Coward’s Present Laughter at the West Walls theatre in Carlisle which we also liked very much. Geoff went to see The Marriage of Figaro performed by Cumbria Opera in Penrith one evening too, taking our friend Mike with him. Geoff has discovered that he really likes opera (I do not!) and so is always keen to find willing companions to take with him. He thinks Mike enjoyed it but he wasn’t totally convinced! Hazel and I had a very good evening in Carlisle too attending a book launch evening for Mike (M.W.) Craven’s new book. I have loved all his `Poe and Tilly` books for ages and have tried many times to get tickets for his talks without success, until now. We both really enjoyed the evening listening to his funny anecdotes…and yes, of course we bought the book!
Our normal activities have taken place as usual this month. My appointment at the eye clinic was a bit disappointing as the progress that had been shown on my last visit, had gone backwards again and I had to have injections in both eyes again. I suspect this condition I have, is never going to disappear. I have continued with my normal weekly Op shop shifts plus a few more as we are short of volunteers again and cover for holidays is always difficult. I did have one great afternoon though where one lady spent a three-figure sum on various items to help furnish and equip some Air BandB places she owned! We don’t usually get sales like that so it was a real red-letter day! Geoff has also continued with his volunteering at the CYZ in Carlisle and his pickleball sessions as usual. I have done my Talking Newspaper for the Visually Impaired stint this month and as always, found it very difficult to find interesting and cheerful local articles (as requested by the service users) from our local newspapers here in Carlisle! Most of the news here (as worldwide) is not cheerful at the moment I’m afraid and it is very difficult some weeks to find interesting stories.
We have not been out and about to eat on Wednesdays as much as usual this month…we have been too busy with other things and out of routine a bit really. We ate locally in Carlisle once at Sage and Vine (one of our favourites) and we combined a trip to our favourite outdoor swimming pool at Greystoke one day with lunch at a new venue for us, The Sun, in Newton Reigny where we ate in the sunshine in their beer garden by the river. We have been swimming several times at Greystoke this month and have really enjoyed each session. The pool has now closed (it is only open during the summer) which is a shame, but we will be back there next year when it reopens, as we really enjoy swimming there. Geoff also had one other trip out (on his own this time) when he drove our neighbour down to meet up with his family for lunch at T Bay one Saturday. Geoff left them to their family gathering and took his picnic up onto the moors near Shap to find some standing stones he has wanted to visit for ages. This is definitely not my thing and so he is best left alone to do this! The whole trip was deemed a success…Russell enjoyed meeting up with his family and Geoff enjoyed stone hunting! Win win 
Some other random things have been taking up our time too this month. Hazel and Phil have been watching a lot of cricket, both on TV and live. Our little one gets taken along to these matches and seems to love going. Personally, I can’t stand cricket, and fail to see the allure, but each to their own I suppose. Our little one has also just finally left the nursery where she has spent many happy days for several years now. She starts “big” school in a week’s time and is very excited. I suspect that will soon wear off when she realises she has to go every day! Our eldest grandson Ethan, also starts secondary school in September…where does the time go?? We also went as a family to Dalston Agricultural Show a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed that outing. And at long last my good friends Rose and Robin came to see us in the flat on one of their trips to Brampton…we have never been able to
co-ordinate a visit before, when they have been here. It was lovely to see them and they liked the flat…but as Robin put it… where were the garage and shed?? Where could he put his workshop if ever they decided to downsize like we have done?? That is a dilemma for so many of our friends who are still living in big houses. I am so glad we decided to bite the bullet when we did. Living here in a small flat is not ideal for some things, but is so much easier for our lives now.
This last week has seen us off on our travels yet again…but not too far. We took our two older grandchildren, Ethan and Hadley, for several nights in a mobile home on a holiday park at Silloth. We did this last year and once again it was a great success…if a bit tiring for us! We were joined this time by our little granddaughter too for one night, which was the first time she had spent a night away from her mummy and daddy. She was super excited to be spending time with her big cousins…and I have to say they looked after her so well. They were a bit amazed to see how fearless she is and were a bit shocked when she set off up a climbing wall in the playground! Not to mention being chased all round the swimming pool by a “shark”! They all had a great time though…as did we…but we were very happy also when respective parents arrived to take them home. It’s very tiring looking after three of them…I really don’t know how these grandparents who do it all the time manage. Five days for us…and we were shattered!!
And now here we are going into September…and more fun times ahead. We have exciting things happening in our family atm and we are off to France in a week’s time, all being well, for most of September. We are due to arrive in Nice on the eve of the big protest day in France, so no doubt it will be fun getting to the flat due to strikes on that day. Hey Ho! I have a few days before we depart to get all the last-minute stuff done before we go, and I must get on with that, so I’ll finish now. The next blog post will be from a sunny (we hope) Cote d`Azur
A bientot mes amis…
I miss her, she is long gone and was my Mum’s age, in fact she was a teenager with Mum and Paddy, another cousin once removed, but they thought she was a swot and didn’t approve of her seeming disinterest in boys, quite unlike Mum and Paddy (her name was Margaret but had been Paddy all her life due to a childish quick temper apparently, but she always took her godmothership seriously with me). 
Given the choice I would retire further west, to the West of Ireland.