In keeping with my yearly tradition I created a calendar for Mr C, showing one photographic memory from each month of the previous year. I also created a calendar for mum, having noticed a perfect place for it in her new kitchen.

2018 didn’t go according to plan. We had intended to visit Italy in June for our 20^th wedding anniversary, and during which we had planned to renew our wedding vows. However, in January, mum put her house up for sale and placed a deposit for a new-build bungalow due to be ready for occupation in late May.  We knew mum would need support immediately after moving in to her new home so we postponed the Italy trip until September. Snow and cold, adverse weather over the winter months and other factors caused delays and there was no clear view of when the bungalow would be completed. Each delay brought us closer to our September holiday plan and, once again, we found we couldn’t risk a holiday abroad because we would be needed to help with the move.

Mum’s move didn’t affect our Easter plans; a short break in York to coincide with mums’ 85^th birthday. We stayed in the Minster Hotel and from it we visited; The Yorkshire museum with its temporary dinosaur exhibition, Fairfax House, The Treasures House, Barley Hall, Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop (which proved expensive), York Minster with its Easter garden and the famous Betty’s tea shop where we had to queue for a short while outside whilst waiting for a table and where the staff, after learning it was mums birthday, presented her with an individual cupcake complete with lit candle. On Easter Sunday, we attended the Easter Eucharist Service in York Minster which was presided over by the Archbishop of York (Dr John Sentamu).

In April we had a family gathering in the Little Amsterdam Café in Banbury. There were traffic problems on the Motorways that day and some of the party were badly delayed. Lunch of Dutch pancakes and waffles was thoroughly enjoyed by all (eventually).

Instead of Italy in June, we visited family in Kent for their house warming party and followed this with a few days in Chichester. We paused our journey to Kent in Banbury, taking another opportunity to lunch in the Little Amsterdam Café. Whilst in Kent, we were able to visit The Church of St Mary, Willesborough.

From Kent, we made our way to Chichester, taking the coastal route and stopping off in Eastbourne for lunch. We chose to have fish from a chippy and eat it whilst enjoying views of the English Channel and Eastbourne pier from the promenade. Just as I was finishing my lunch, a seagull did a duck and dive manoeuvre, passing between Mr C and myself as we sat on a bench, and tried (but did not succeed) to relieve me of my last piece of fish.

Lunch complete we continued along the coast road towards Brighton and then inland on a more direct route to Chichester and No. 4 Canon Lane, the former archdeaconry. We had a fabulous room looking out over the garden. During our stay at No. 4 Canon Lane we visited many interesting places; Arundel (including the Castle, Parish Church, Fitzalan Chapel, Catholic Cathedral and the Wildlife and Wetland Trust Reserve), The Bishop’s Palace Gardens (adjoining the B&B), Weald and Downland Living Museum, Tangmere Museum of Aviation (although several planes had been removed temporarily so that they could take part in the RAF 100 celebrations in London), Chichester Cathedral (complete with scaffolding and a dubious modern art display), Novium Museum, Pallant House Gallery, Fishbourne Palace, West Dene Gardens (where Mr C managed to misplace his glasses and had to have them posted home). Last but not least, called in at Stonehenge on the homeward journey.

In September, just before our main holiday, we had a mini-break in Malvern staying in the Cotford Hotel. We picked this hotel because we had enjoyed a very pleasant dining experience when we staying in the area the year before.

When making the booking we were unable to book our room of choice or even our second choice so we opted for another of the rooms that was available. When we arrived at the Cotford, we were delighted to find that we had had a complementary upgrade to our original room of choice, The Bishop’s Room.

Our overnight stay was ahead of a gathering of the Shutterchance group of photographers for a special birthday celebration. The meetup the following day was at Croome Court. The weather was kind to us and a great day was had by all.

For our main holiday of 2018, we returned to one of our favourite parts of the world, the Northumberland border. We stopped off for a couple of nights in Jesmond Dene, just outside Newcastle, before moving further north and spending a week in the Collingwood Arms, right on England’s border with Scotland. Mr C insisted on us travelling in his car even though I had wanted to drive in my car. As it transpired, I was glad I wasn’t driving because whilst we were there we were caught in the countryside when Storm Ali was in full blow. The wind and the dust storms were alarming and I had never before seen trees move like that!

Our journey to Jesmond Dene was quite circuitous. The SatNav plotted a route that took an hour to get not very far, leading us to lunch in Sandbach (i.e. before joining the motorway) rather than Kirkby Lonsdale (i.e. after leaving the motorway) as intended. We reprogrammed the SatNav for a more direct route, albeit a different route from the one we usually take. We did stop in Kirkby Lonsdale for a cup of tea before the SatNav directed us through some stunning scenery and past some interesting sites including Barnard’s Castle and Raby Castle.

Whilst in Jesmond Dene we met up with a friend (JD) and had a day out to Cullercoats, St Mary’s Lighthouse and Whitley Bay. JD gave me another lovely painting. That evening, we dined in the excellent Peace & Loaf restaurant (another plus point for a stay in Jesmond Dene), travelling in style in a Mercedes (although the return journey was much more modest).

Our journey from Jesmond Dene to Cornhill on Tweed incorporated a brief detour to Barter Books in Alnwick before we visited Bamburgh Castle. The beginnings of Storm Ali were whipping up and the wind was booming down the chimneys and causing movements in some of the upstairs floors.

This was the first time we had stayed at the Collingwood Arms. We still miss staying in our original B&B but feel it would not be the same without the previous proprietors with whom we have become friends and still meet when we are in the area.

The Collingwood Arms is ideally located, allowing us to visit; Cragside (almost, wind stopped play on two separate occasions), Chillingham Castle (almost, wind stopped play), Rothbury village including Lord Armstrong’s grave, Thirlestone Castle, Abbotsford House, Melrose and its Prior Wood Gardens, Scott’s View, Roslyn Chapel, the Coastal drive from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, Jedburgh Abbey, Dryburgh Abbey, Chain Bridge Honey Farm with its Bus Café and new bee garden (which was an unexpected delight), Flodden where we found again the nearby CherryPie tree that was painted by JD, the River Tweed and Traquair (where I missed an entire floor of the house!).

Finally, on our way home, we encountered two fully grown, escaped bulls in the road near Jedburgh.

Our final break of the year was in Ely staying in the delightful Peacocks B&B where we were treated to complimentary tea (or in my case Elderflower Presse) and cake on arrival. During our stay in Ely we visited; Toppings Book Shop, Cromwell’s House, City Cycle Centre, Ely Cathedral, Cutlacks and World War One 100 years poppy memorials. On our way home, we also visited Anglesey Abbey.

At the beginning of the year, we joined the HHA. We thought the variety of houses would be fun as the National Trust has become corporate and stale, its individual properties not being quite as charming, special or unique as they used to be. At first, we struggled with the HHA. The properties all have different opening times and some of them are only open mid-week, which means that we couldn’t on a whim just go on a day out to visit a property. We had to plan it. That being said, we have enjoyed our visits over the year; Fairfax House, Adlington Hall, Broughton Castle, Hodnet Hall (just me), Haddon Hall, Arundel Gardens, West Dene Gardens, Bamburgh Castle, Abbotsford and Traquair.

In between our breaks we had the opportunity to visit Pitchford Hall on a private “invitation to view” ticket. I also took Mr C on a surprise magical mystery tour to Shropshire Lavender for lunch followed by a visit to Boscobel House, home of the Royal Oak. After many years of not quite getting around to it, Mr C and I went to the Elan Valley. He was blown away by the size of the dams. Glorious weather meant the water levels were rather low so not quite as impressive as they might have been. We also visited Arley Arboretum, Shugborough Hall and Ironbridge to see the bridge under wraps as it was being renovated which enabled us to see the ironwork underneath the bridge from a temporary viewing platform.

Our last excursion of 2018 was a December treat to see Chirk Castle and Powis Castle decked out for Christmas. Both displays were well worth the visit.

We were blessed with a fabulous, hot summer, perfect for holidaying in the UK and lots of fine dining experiences on the patio. Throughout the summer months I committed to a walking challenge of at least 10,000 steps per day which I achieved but after the challenge was complete I fell by the wayside.

I visited Attingham Park several times throughout the year, taking in the different seasons although unfortunately I missed seeing it decked out for Christmas.

We embarked on a programme of house decorating, painting and refreshing. The latest room is the one where my computer is. I love the new colour because it gives out a warm glow which is the effect I was trying to achieve for what is one of the darker rooms of the house.

The year brings us full circle back to Mum’s house move. Her house move finally took place in August but there remain some ongoing issues with repairing faults to the property that we noticed when she moved in.

I wonder what 2019 will bring my way

As has become a yearly tradition I created a calendar for Mr C for one of his Christmas presents. I choose one photograph from each month of the year. This year however, rather than printing it off at home I used the services of Moonpig, after being impressed with the 2017 calendar that I ordered for myself in the January sales.

During 2017 we were lucky to have several short breaks, the first was a visit to family in Lenham, Kent. Whilst there, we had a guided tour of the quaint medieval town and also visited Leeds Castle on what was an unexpectedly sunny day for the time of year. We were only able to stay for a short while because we had to get back to entertain two mothers with a special meal for Mother’s Day.

For Easter we returned to Stoberry House in Wells, with my mum, so that we could attend the Easter morning Eucharist service. At one point in the service, just as the choir responded to the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer, I noticed that, high up in the Cathedral, the figure of Christ on the Cross was fully illuminated by bright rays of fanned sunlight streaming through a window and across the scissor arches where the figure of Christ is situated. During that Easter break we visited the Bookbarn for lunch, Wells Cathedral, Montacute House, Kilver Court Gardens, The Bishop’s Palace, enjoyed a leisurely drive through the Cheddar Gorge ending up in Wookey Hole and, finally, SS Great Britain on our journey home.

For our Anniversary in June we took a short break in Colwall Park, Malvern. We had enjoyed our previous visit there but on this occasion it did not quite live up to our expectation. However we still had an enjoyable time. The barman recognised us from our previous visit and when he realised it was our anniversary that weekend he presented us with a free bottle of Prosecco. Whilst we were there we visited the Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery which houses the Worcester Yeomanry display and we were privileged to have a spontanious personal guided tour by one of the curators. We also visited Worcester Cathedral, Hop Pocket Shopping Village, Hampton Court Castle and Gardens, Little Malvern Court and Gardens, Croome Court, RAF Defford Museum and the village of Broadway. On our journey home we stopped off at Leominster which didn’t quite fit our mood so continued on to Ludlow to enjoy a picnic lunch in the sunshine underneath the castle walls.

Over the August bank holiday weekend we stayed (with my mum) in a little village called Hurley so that we could meet up with one of my nephews in Windsor. We arrived in Windsor a little later than intended due to the bank holiday traffic but managed to quickly link up with my nephew and his lovely girlfriend. This led to a late lunch in a delightful patisserie called Madame Posh before taking a walk over the bridge to see Eton College. On our way to check into to the place we were staying, Ye Olde Bell, we detoured so that my nephew could show us the house where he lives.  Ye Olde Bell is a lovely old coaching inn but also did not live up to our expectation. We returned to Windsor for an evening meal where we sat outside in an open top conservatory with large, open windows. The roof was slowly rolled shut in stages as the sun went down. It was a perfect setting for a warm summer’s evening.

During the rest of our stay we visited; The Savill Garden, the Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede, Dorney Court, parish Church of St James the Less (situated just behind the house), Hurley Church, Henley-on-Thames and Stonor.

Our main holiday for the year got pushed back from September to October due to various commitments, including a special surprise silver wedding anniversary party for two of our friends.

Our holiday in  Ravello, Italy was worth the wait. We stopped overnight in Manchester we needed to get up at 3am in the morning to catch our flight. Everything ran according to plan including our private transfer from Naples airport to Ravello. We were treated to breathtaking views as we travelled the direct route along mountain roads. Ravello was quiet and relaxing with many fine dining establishments. We visited many interesting places in Ravello; hotels with views over the Amalfi Bay, delightful churches, the Cathedral (Duomo) and the spectacular gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone.

We ventured further afield to Amalfi to visit the Cathedral (Duomo) with its relics of St Andrew, Salerno where we visited the Cathedral (Duomo di Salerno), Capri’s monastery Certosa of San Giacomo and the Cathedral of Santo Stefano (where I almost found myself taking part in a service that was due to start).

Our stay allowed us to enjoy exquisite and sometimes ‘interesting’ cuisine, including a Michelin starred restaurant and yet another free bottle of Prosecco. We also endured the terror ride up and down the hillside from from Ravello to Amalfi and back. The leisurely boat rides to Salerno and Capris were much more enjoyable.

Our final weekend break of the year was in Cambridge for my birthday and, once again, the hotel did not quite live up to expectations. Whilst on two of our previous vacations in 2017 we received free bubbly on this occasion the pre-ordered bubbly did not arrive without us prompting. The empties were never removed from the room and to add insult to injury the hotel tried to charge us for it twice! During our visit; we explored Cambridge, The University Press bookshop, G. David’s antiquarian bookshop plus another excellent bookshop, Fitzbillies, the Cam river bank, King’s College Chapel, St Bene’t’s church. On our journey home we visited some sites of the Battle of Naseby including the delightful town of Market Harborough.

The weather has not been perfect for day trips this year, although we managed a few; The National Ironworks centre (twice, in January and December both times with Christmas decorations), Banbury for a family lunch time gathering, Powis Castle for the opening ceremony of the East front stairs (it rained), Harvington Hall, David Austin Roses, Manchester, Attingham Park, Broughton Castle, Buildwas Abbey, Moseley Old Hall, a London rooftop restaurant to celebrate a young lady’s graduation.

On a  less happy note early in the year we had a saga with the fitting of a new back door. The fitting was appalling and it took many phone calls to get it fixed. Also during my Ravello holiday my camera failed and proved not to be cost effective to repair. After some research to find the right replacement, Mr C treated me to a new camera for my Birthday and Christmas present

Back on a more positive note, I had the opportunity of taking early retirement, leaving my place of work after 39 years. I had hoped for many sunny days to spend in the garden and on day trips, however the weather had other ideas which led me to catching up on a backlog of reading. And later in the year a perfect opportunity arose that enabled me to trade in my car for a new one that is a joy to drive.

As 2017 came to a close we were treated to an unexpected downfall of snow, making it feel like Christmas. At this time we also visited Attingham Hall with its rooms decked out for a 1940s Christmas and also had an impromptu visit to Lichfield Cathedral all decked out for the Christmas season.

I wonder what 2018 will bring…

Click on the photo for links to the original size photographs.

You will recall from a previous post that over the past few years I have created a personalised calendar as a Christmas present for Mr C. For 2016 a fellow blogger sent me a lovely calendar in PDF format that I was able to print off hang on the wall above my computer. I enjoyed his beautiful photos so much that when the year ended I left the calendar hanging up with December’s photo as we crossed over into the New Year of 2017.

I was wondering what I would replace it with until I received an email  offer from Moonpig on half price calendars. I thought the offer was too good to miss and created a January gift for me. I am impressed by the photo quality and printing, so next year I think Mr C will be getting a personally created but professionally printed calendar at full price. He is worth it

I tried to mix the photos about a bit but some of them are inevitably the same as the photos I chose for Mr C. Below is the front cover photograph that I chose for my calendar as a bit of fun. Seeing it full size and professionally printed I think it would make a good advertising photograph for Bottle Green or the Alnwick Garden

PS: Click on the top photo for links to the original uncropped photographs

For the last few years I have made a personalised calendar as a Christmas present for Mr C as one of his Christmas presents. I choose from the photographs that I have taken from the previous year, one from each month. The process of choosing causes me to reflect on the things that we have done throughout the year.

The first memorable event of 2016 was a lovely family get together in the Haughmond restaurant. One of my nephews organised the get together to make up for not being able to meet up with my mum over the Christmas period; she was ill over Christmas which meant she was unable to join the family gathering.

Mr C and I had many enjoyable days out including; Glansevern Gardens, the Brockhampton Estate, Keddleston and Chester Zoo where we were privileged to see a day-old, new born Zebra

We enjoyed several holidays and breaks, all in the UK this year. The first was a Valentine’s break in Colwall near Malvern. We travelled through the land where mistletoe grows to a delightful hotel, spending time at Gloucester Docks, Gloucester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey.

This was followed by a return to Lincoln to view the Poppies: Wave displayed at the castle. This allowed Mr C to visit the National Civil War museum on the way home. The museum, annoyingly for Mr C, was not quite open the last time we tried to visit after a stay in Lincoln.

A stay in Wells at Stobbery House was the highlight of the year. A beautiful setting and a place we will return to at Easter in 2017 which will allow us to take part in the Easter service at Wells Cathedral. Whilst we were in Wells we visited the Cathedral and the bishop’s palace. Stobbery was only able to accommodate us for three of our four nights’ break so we moved on to Salisbury taking in Stonehenge and staying at the White Hart for our final night’s stay. We enjoyed our visit to Stonehenge because the site access has been transformed and the stones are able to be enjoyed in the context of the original landscape. We took a leisurely stroll to the stones and back again. Unfortunately our choice of venue for our evening meal during our stay in Salisbury did not meet expectations. The meal was quite unpleasant and not up to the standard of our previous visit to the same venue.

For our main holiday we visited Northumberland choosing Newcastle and Alnwick as places to stay. Our stay in the Jesmond Dene Hotel just outside Newcastle was a perfect choice. It was a relaxing place to stay with music playing as we entered the room and a rooftop patio where we could sit out and relax in the exceptionally warm autumn sunshine. One evening during our stay we dined in the Peace & Loaf restaurant which turned out to be a special dining experience. After our stay in the Jesmond Dene we moved from the city to a small B&B in Alnwick; although it was lovely we missed staying in our usual venue, the Coach House. We did however meet our friends, the former owners of the Coach House and enjoyed a wonderful evening in the Alnwick Tree House with them. Somehow we managed to get the dates of our holiday muddled up and we ended up returning home a day earlier than we had booked for…

The places we visited during our stay included Vindolanda & The Roman Army Museum, Alnwick Garden, Brinkburn Priory,  Wallington, the coastal drive leading to the Grace Darling museum and Manderston where we met a delightful lady guide who we came to realise had a long standing connection with the family and was highly regarded by them. Also during our stay we tried to find some stones displaying megalithic rock art that are prevalent in the area. Unfortunately we failed in the quest, although I did get to meet a cow half way up a hillside. Mr C romped up the hill and disappeared out of sight and the sweet cow came down to say hello, licking me profusely in the process. On our way home we stopped briefly in Ripon so that Mr C could visit the Green Howards military museum.

Our final vacation of the year was our annual trip with my mum and the venue was Winchester.  The Cathedral wasn’t quite as tranquil as the last time we visited due to ongoing repair work and scaffolding leading to parts of the Cathedral being closed or obscured. We were however able to see the Winchester Bible in its temporary display area. During our stay we visited the Mary Rose museum, Hinton Ampner,the Royal Green Jackets museum & diorama (which had closed the day before our last visit), The Great Hall and its garden, The hospital of St Cross and The Vyne.  We also saw HMS Victory which is in the process of being restored including a more historically accurate paint scheme.

On a less happy note I had to deal with a small bump to the back of my car and some awful insect bites which thankfully subsided over time. These were obtained whilst celebrating my brothers wedding which was a much a happier occasion.

We completed several household projects; tiling the hall, a new pavia drive and patio and the still ongoing garden project. The latter, and favourable weather, led to much dining on the patio in the summer months. The birds also saw fit to give us the gift of a sunflower which looked spectacular.

We also went on our annual London trip which might be the last one in this format. We had a lovely afternoon visiting the museum of The Order of St Cross.

The year concluded with many family gatherings, several of which we hosted, leaving us a little tired and in need of a few days rest.

I wonder what 2017 will bring…

• Click on the photo for links to the original size photographs.

How many days are there between full moons – think you know?  Is there an ancient key to the calendar hidden in the stone circles?  What is the magical secret of the Sun-Moon-Earth system?

If you have ever wondered about eclipses,  tides or the seasons, this amazing little book by acknowledged time-lord Robin Heath will quickly introduce you to the astonishing beauty of the primary cycles around this planet.  Advanced wizarding at its best!

Review:

This book may be tiny but it is perfectly formed, giving a detailed overview of the subject. The pages in the book are crammed full of interesting facts and information, although you may need to don your specs so that you do not miss some of the tiny script that hides in and around the book’s illustrations.

The book left me wanting to do further (more detailed) reading and research on the subject.