Sunshine and Harleys

                                           Museum of Science and Industry Manchester    

                                                                                  
                                                                            

Well its ages since I wrote my last entry, the weeks seem to have flown by. The weather has been amazing , many days of sunshine and its been  hot at times, I burned my nose gardening. Now I can rest the garden is looking really tidy and the grass is growing well and looking much greener.. The bushes are filling out and my Hostas are showing, they look like the tips of bullets sticking out of the ground.  I spent Mothers Day up in Knaresborough  Stu loves to cook and he certainly filled the table. Took a walk with both of my boys, Sam just back for his Australian adventure, he has  grown at least a foot, towering over his Dad and me. Lovely to see him home safe and well.   I had a few days feeling really down ,stayed home and pottered around feeling miserable with all that is happening in this country and overseas,  so much anger and sadness . It sometimes seem that all the news is bad and we rarely get a glimpse of the good that must be around us.  What has also brought me down is the conclusion of  “Everwood”  my favourite morning TV show.  It was a real pick me up to share my breakfast with Treat Williams, sad too that he  has since died,  I do miss his smiling face every morning. . To cheer me up I booked my flight to the States. I’ll be staying with my good friends Leslie and David in Tehachapi  California, now I have a smile every time I think of my trip.  Then my Computer crashed following  125 windows updates.  I eventually had to reboot and reinstall programmes, applications and drivers it took me  6 hours. Thank god for Recovery Disks and backup, lost one or two photos but nothing important…  

Yesterday I went into Manchester to the  Museum of Science and Technology to witness a cavalcade of Harley Davidson Bikers. Many came from various parts of the North West  to ride into Manchester to the World Premiere of Customising, Culture & Harley - Davidson,   they filled the car park with  their colourful leathers and bikes.. The Museum is hosting an exhibition of old ,new and modified HD bikes, there where some really fantastic models. I was escorted round the exhibition by a  friend who rode his Harley into Manchester !  No I didn’t ride, but took some photos and really enjoyed the day.

http://www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/customising,-culture-harley-davidson.aspx

Marching into Spring

Daffodils -Forsythia

Carmelia  

Its not been a good start to 2011  with the  Middle East  in turmoil, financial crisis throughout Europe and the   earthquakes in  New Zealand and  Japan, horrendous . I was watching the BBC when the tidal wave was shown rolling over the  Japanese shore, it was surreal, unbelievable, 10,000  people missing such unimaginable  horror. Then the Nuclear Reactors, three  exploded releasing  toxic  fallout that is increasing every day and  travelling over seas which will  affect  us all eventually. It was like the worst disaster movie ever.  There are so many questions that need to be answered as to why  they built Nuclear Plants on an island prone to earthquakes, I just don’t understand....  probably it's financial !  There has been one natural disaster after another, Mother Nature say’s, “ It's pay back time.”
But its amazing how the human spirit lives on in spite of all adversity. It’s true we are a global village and with today’s incredible fast internet connections our communication system is instant.
TV News travels fast, scenes of events around the world are transported into  our homes daily. I remember the Twin Towers  vividly, it was lunch time and I was watching  TV, at first I thought they were advertising a film drama but soon realised it was news. I was shocked, in tears most of the day. And again seeing that tidal wave hit  Japan … I was in tears again..
 Now to less mundane news, my wonderful  new cooker is now installed, I love it and it fits perfect after all that dithering . It really makes the  kitchen so much brighter as the old cooker was brown and  this one is a sparkly bright white and certainly makes a difference.
Managed to get to see  “The Kings Speech” and yes Colin Firth  deserves his Oscar he was very good as King George, even though some are critical about what was left out regarding the Kings alleged allegiance to Germany during his reign.
Its been wonderful weather recently, very warm sunny days that have brought out lots of colour to the gardens. Some are complaining that the bulbs are flowering to early and will suffer if we have frost. The daffodils, forsythia are out and my camellia coming into bud. I cut the grass on Saturday, last year I intended to change to  a   hover mower as they are much easier to use, but for whatever reason didn’t.  So I will be looking into that pretty soon as my present mower is knackered.   Spoke to Cathi  and the kids, they are missing Sam, since he got  back, he managed to find a job until he starts Uni in September.I must go up and see him soon..  Its been a strange few weeks now that Andy has moved on, I miss his presence more that I thought I would.    Haven’t been to Poetry, spent too much time on my own this month, will have to get motivated and  sally forth again. Still going to the Library, but the Council’s financial cuts have sadly stopped the Community Project work I was involved in.
I thought I would cheer myself up with  a shopping trip, had a good spend. Bought a nice red jacket, red floral skirt and  top, I don’t know why  red I have every little in red , it just  felt right.  I  tend to wear safe colours in the winter, lots of black navy and brown. So, as the clocks  have sprung forward  into  Spring , bring on the colours..  hope I have the nerve to wear them…

Bye for now, love you all XXXX

Primroses hidden amongst the Rhubarb

Every thing is springing into life in my garden

Michael Bublé - Everything (Video)

Imperial War Museum North

Mellenium Bridge Salford Quays

                                                                   Media City  Salford Quays                                                                           
I just can’t believe we are into the second week of March already. Since Andy moved house I have been spring cleaning and rearranging everything back to where it was before . I can almost hear the cupboards sighing with relief as I removed all the extra things I had rammed into them. The bathroom looks bare and the garage is looking like a garage instead of a hock shop. Other than this it has been an uneventful couple of weeks, post birthday. Still awaiting developments on the library closures, lots of petitions and protest letters are being sent to the local paper and Borough Council but since when has that ever been affective! I remember the thousands of signatures that went against replacing our wonderful Victorian Market Hall with this ultra modern clone of every other Shopping Mall in the UK. Time will tell but I am not too optimistic as to the outcome…. My grandson is having a great time in Perth with his cousins, Facebook is excellent for keeping me updated with photos and messages. They are going to miss him when he comes home. I am happy now I am back into my usual routine, the gym is fully operational now after six weeks repairing flood damage. Hopefully I should lose the extra pounds I put on over Christmas plus enjoying heaps of delicious chocolates I received on my birthday. Thank fully the chocolates are all gone and I have vowed not to be tempted by Cadburys chocolate cream filled Easter Eggs that are everywhere and are so mmmmmmm (I feel if I write this pledge down it might help me) as I am so passionate about chocolate. Last Sunday was a beautiful sunny day rather windy, but nice. My friend and I visited The Imperial War Museum Salford, it’s my second visit so I was able to take in more, it’s a extensive collection of war time memorabilia, facts and many interactive displays, you could spend hours there but all this standing gets tiring. I was especially please with their exhibition War at Sea with Dad, Andy and Cousin Jack having serving in the Royal Navy, in time I will go back for another visit. The Lowry Gallery was worth a look and of course the shops. History was a disappointment the lecturer spoke so low and tended to mumble. With my Speaker hat on, I evaluated her as a failure. Disaster Monday the cooker finally gave up the ghost, it had been erratic for a few weeks but I managed. After much deliberation a new cooker is coming to day . The problem in replacing household items is the sizes. When I came to replace my Fridge freezer I could not get the same size, as the previous one had been tailored into the kitchen, the space was too small I ahd to remove a shelf. I have had the same problem fitting the cooker, any way it kind of fit’s into the space, enough that I can live with it. Two lunches this week , one being our WI’s annual lunch at the University Catering Department where the students show off their skills, an excellent meal beautifully served 10/10. Oh, Sam is now safely home after what he termed a boring, boring flight.

Imperial War Museum North        http://www.iwmnorth.co.uk/

Well lots of love to you all, keep smiling and be happy/
Love You - Me. XXX

Valentines Day Birthday

                                                                   The Birthday Girl                


Well it has certainly been a wild few days, with the wind and rain rattling windows and  blowing fences over. Fortunately I suffered no damage  like last time, when I lost slates and  guttering.  I feel for the people in Queensland Australia who have  suffered terrible flooding and now a Cyclone to contend with that his destroyed many towns along the coast.  Now we hear of fires over in Western Australia , fortunately its north of Perth well away from  the city where Cathi and the family live.  Due to all this extreme weather on the east coast my grandson, has not been  able to find work so  decided to cut short his trip and is now in  Perth staying with family, he will be  home  in March. Its great that they have this opportunity to meet up again, they emigrated in 1996. Sunday 6th February was Waitangi Day in New Zealand it’s a day I remember well.  In  2005 during my stay with Ann and Derek we were  initiated as an honouree Maori during a ceremony in the ` Marae`  their Communal Meeting House on the outskirts of Nelson.  The Lodge is build of logs and  had a very distinctive decorated entrance . The large hall was colourful  with carved totem poles, masks and  paintings around the walls.  The ceremony was held in their language by twelve elders in ceremonial dress, who recited their history and then spoke in English, after listening to their stories we each rubbed noses with all the elders and then they took us in procession  to enjoyed a feast, a great memory.
History this month was all about the rise of Quakerism  by James Naylor and George Fox two very unusual men who set about delivering their interpretation of Christianity in the 17th Century.  I found it  very interesting  as I didn’t know anything about the founding of the Quaker Religion.
As I am sure you all know that Valentines Day  is my birthday . I had a great week , out to a couple of  lunches, lots of presents  and heaps of love I am exhausted. Wonderful phone calls from everyone I had hoped to hear from.  We had a Valentine Poetry Evening  on Sunday it was a hoot, more funny - mad poems than usual. I once won the competition in Wigan, it was a good night I was totally surprised.
 Andrew is finally moving into his own house, next Friday he gets the keys. I know I will miss him but I’m  look forward to getting my space back. The house was almost taken over and filled with his possessions 12 months ago, the amount of stuff he had was incredible. We both will  have an exciting time finding all the things that have been squirreled away and probably forgot that we had. I am very excited for him he has been very patient waiting for this moment .

http://hubpages.com/hub/Waitangi_Day

Three Weeks into 2011

A winter walk

                                                                       

Hello my friends, I hope everyone has settled in to  2011, a New Year its always a challenge  and we sometimes set ourselves to many, I am optimistic and feel good about this year as so much is happening around me.   Sunday was this years first Poetry Evening, we have moved into a smart café bar in the centre of town called Butterflies. It has an excellent sound system and a guy to work it. For years we have frequented a local pub on the outskirts, but it changed hands last year and they  introduced gaming and video machines that attract  rather noisy  clientele, so I am very pleased with the move.
Three weeks into the New Year I am seeing bulbs pushing through the soil and  tiny buds appearing on the Hydrangea  bushes that I thought where dead due to the severe frost.  I know we are to have more snow because it always snows around my birthday in February, but I would like to think it won`t be as bad as the last time.    Also its coming lighter, every day a few minutes more, I would hate to live near the  North Pole where its night for six months.  History was interesting this month we learned all about the  English Origin of the Olympic Games by Trevor James Editor of Local History Magazine he was very good I really enjoyed what at first looked to be a dull lecture.
www.localhistorymag.com
I bought a new  HD webcam with integral mic, enrolled on Skype so if any of you fancy joining me for a chat let me know.  The gym is still closed, the flood must have really caused some  damage but we are hoping it will open on the 26th.  I am  walking as much as I can and dancing around to Abba, but  truly miss the gym.   I must apologies to those who received  weird E-mails apparently from me this month,  malicious adware had invaded  my address book. Its taught me a lesson though , my excuse is it was due to a lapse in concentration after  having more than one or two glasses of wine.  I thought it was sorted after  two hours of deep scans and was  sure it had  been erased, but it came back from nowhere and attacked my address book again. I got such a sick feeling when this happened again, it  felt like a personal assault. This time I was recommended to  change my passwords so I really do hope its gone..
Felt so energised last week I cleaned all through the house, and planning some changes this year..

Happy New Year

                                                        
                                                      Walking over the Cricket Field

                                                   The River Nidd Christmas Morning

Well hello! its been ages since I felt like writing again. Happy New Year to everyone 2011 has to be a better year, even with all the financial restrictions and threatened unemployment, we must strive make it better. Yes the thaw has come there are still some mounds of snow along the road side but its good to see the grass again , my poor Hydrangeas have been hit by the frost and I fear they will never recover. I hope you have enjoyed yourselves over the festive two weeks . I found the long weekends a bit of a drag, after all the initial excitement, over eating and frenzied activities. I did manage to get over to stay with Stu & family for Christmas, the motorway was clear, with blue skies and sunshine I made good time, there and back. No snow after all, I had a wonderful time, it felt very special to spend Christmas with them.. I will post some photos of our walk by the river Christmas day with Bob Stu’s four legged best mate . I received some great gifts and saw almost everyone I had hoped to see. Cathi rang and we had a nice long chat, they are having a heat wave and extensive flooding in Western Australia as well as in Queensland, the weather has gone crazy.. New Years Eve my friend Betty and I saw ‘We Will Rock You’ at the Palace Theatre Manchester a musical based on Queen’s songs. There was a Rock Band playing and boy it was loud, but after a while we became accustomed to it and enjoyed ourselves singing and acting like teenagers, it was a good show.
I have had a look round the Sales,70% off in some stores, but I wasn’t tempted I feel a bit jaded after all the pre Christmas shopping. Thankfully all the extra food in the house has been eaten but some temptations are is still around . I need to cut back on the chocolate as I can’t go to the gym for a while as they are closed due to a flood, so I will have to walk more this next week, hope it doesn’t rain.