Author: jl.boreham

I’m on holiday from work for Easter! It’s not all adventures, cocktails, ice cream and growing old disgracefully though. Sometimes I have to be really responsible and morph back into my role of ‘Mum’ or ‘Mother’ as I am affectionately called (but I hate the latter title because it makes me sound very old). They’ve always called me ‘Mother’, I’ve no idea why. Now, this role is not half as glamourous as my role of ‘Middle Aged Adventurer’ or even ‘Competitive Athlete’ but it is huge fun (most of the time) and the most rewarding role I have. I’ve missed them loads and I love to have them home. But they do drive me slightly crazy and this is why…………I’m convinced girls would not be the same by the way, but I’m sure they come with their own challenges, or so my friends tell me.

They both arrived back within two days of each other and within 24 hours their rooms were an absolute tip again, although I think they may be a little less tip like than at Christmas as I can actually see the floor, but it’s early days.

Only one day into the holiday and I have already transitioned quite effortlessly into the role of full time chef, personal assistant, launderette attendee, chauffeur, personal shopper and beautician.

So a typical day in the life of ‘Mother’.

Request number one…….”Can you help me book return flights from Bristol to Faro in June, I’ve booked a villa with my mates?”; fifteen of them, boys and girls, all descending on one Algarve villa………….think ‘Love Island’. So, we are doing a degree in Astrophysics but we need assistance to operate the EasyJet website! But of course I assisted and flights are now booked.

Request number two (this is gross so if you are squeamish skip this paragraph). Can you get rid of this blackhead on my back? So then I get my makeup bag and utensils out and morph into beautician for extraction of said spot. Job done and the other one needs a lift to his girlfriends. Hopefully not the same girlfriend as the one that it looks like he’s going to grow over the Easter holiday in a glass of water! Seriously, I’ve just stopped asking questions!

Chauffeuring done and everybody says they are going to be around for dinner so I spend two hours cooking a Spaghetti Bolognese. Then the text arrives to say we won’t be back for dinner after all, so Bolognese sauce goes in the freezer for another day.

Then I fall over a pair of wet shoes in the hallway. We have a shoe cupboard for shoes, we also have a rug inside the front door to protect the wooden floor. But the most sensible place to put a pair of wet shoes is in the middle of the wooden floor to leave a water mark on the floor and ensure that someone breaks their neck on the way to the kitchen.

I decide I’ve had enough for one day, the house is quiet because they are out, so I decide to take a shower, wash my hair and go to bed early with my book. Or so I thought! Now this next occurrence has happened before and they know it drives me insane and I have a proper “Mother take a chill pill” moment, so why they still do it I have no idea. We have one of those ‘magic’ cupboards…..the one that ‘Mother’ ensures has a spare of everything in so we never run out. You know the one I mean. It contains toilet rolls, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, laundry products, cleaning products etc. We’ve had it since they were born and the contents never change. So why is it then, when they run out of shampoo in their shower, they take my coloured hair shampoo out of my shower (neither of them has coloured hair), rather than getting a full bottle of their shampoo out of the ‘magic’ cupboard which is closer to their shower.

So there I am, wet through, in the shower when I reach down for my shampoo which is not there. ‘Mother’ really did need a chill pill at that moment when she had to get out of the shower, cursing, to retrieve her shampoo.

Anyway, said day was repeated three more times. Different days and different dilemmas but all along similar lines, until I’d had enough. I love them dearly but it is so important to take time for yourself otherwise you go crazy and it stops being fun. So I went AWOL. The answer to “Where are you?”, was as follows!

Yes I lasted four whole days before I drove myself down the motorway (after turning down the bass and adjusting the seat in my car……but that’s another story) for a little bit of an escape; half a day at the Turkish Baths, Harrogate. I don’t tell them exactly where I’m going for fear they’ll be waiting outside for me when I come out, I just disappear. The lady on reception when I telephoned the day before said they had just one space left for the morning session, provided I did not want any treatments. I explained that I just needed a phone free lie down in a darkened room for the morning in the baths so that would be fine.

The Turkish Baths are amazing. If you are ever near Harrogate, go! They are fully restored Victorian Turkish Baths that underwent a major restoration at the turn of this century. Harrogate itself is a beautiful town. In 1571 the water springs were discovered which made Harrogate a ‘Spa’ town. In the 1880’s the then mayor of the town came up with, and had developed, an international quality bathing and hydrotherapy centre which became the Royal Baths. The baths opened in 1897 and the water was pumped to them from various springs around the town and treatments were offered for conditions such as arthritis, rheumatism and sciatica. After the war the number of wealthy visitors coming to take treatments declined and the Baths limped along until they finally closed in 1969. They remained closed until they underwent a restoration project costing millions commencing in 2002. All the glazed brickwork was restored along with the terrazzo mosaic floors, ornate wooden carving and Arabic decorations.

Inside there is a cold plunge pool, eucalyptus infused steam room, showers and a caldarium of three rooms, each one intensifying in heat as you work through them. It is heaven! The sign on the wall in reception by the coffee machine says it all…….’Perfecting the art of relaxation since 1897′. By the time I got there I felt like I had been born in 1897 but three hours inside the baths sorted me out. Before you come out, there are some lovely loungers to lay on, as they recommend you spend at least 20 to 30 minutes acclimatising back to a normal temperature before you leave or you can go a little light headed. I laid down with my book for the last 20 minutes and oh my goodness, I’m not embarrassed to tell you that the next thing I remember was being woken up to tell me the session had ended…….I just hope I did not snore!

So that was my perfect morning of rest and relaxation. I just had time to purchase a little treat in reception as I’m running low on it and this is a good recommendation for anyone who has trouble sleeping. This last year my sleep pattern has been severely disrupted by that time in my life. I’m hot, then I’m cold, clothes and covers are on, then they are off, then I need the toilet, then I’m wide awake. It drives me crazy but this little bottle really helps me get to sleep. It might be psychological but I don’t care…..it works for me and that’s the main thing. It’s basically a pillow mist of lavender, chamomile and patchouli. It’s all natural and just one little spritz on my pillow if I’m having a night when I just can’t settle, and some focused breathing and I’m soon off into a relaxed slumber. So that’s another mid life crisis tip…..I’m just full of them.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you, there’s a Betty’s in Harrogate too, like the one in York, so I went in there after, but no cake pictures were taken because I had eaten my treat before I even thought about photos. But it was a delicious end to a lovely relaxing day going AWOL. I am now safely back at home ready to take on another fun filled day in the glamorous role of ‘Mother’.

The other weekend I had a lovely weekend at home with not much planned and sometimes that is just the sort of weekend you need. I was ready for a little rest.

First I had my usual morning coffee with my bird feeders, but this weekend it was so sunny it was warm enough to sit out on my garden bench for coffee, with a coat on of course, it’s not quite cracking the pavements yet here in Yorkshire!

I noticed this weekend just how much the spring flowers in the garden have come out with the little bit of warmth and sunshine following the snow and the garden is starting to look really pretty.

It was so nice by lunchtime that I decided to have a little drive out to the Peak District and the village of Eyam for a little hike and a bit of fresh air as I’ve not been to this lovely little village for quite a while.

If you don’t know Eyam, it is worth a visit as it has a great deal of history. The village became famous during the Black Death Plague (Bubonic Plague) of 1665 and 1666. The plague reached the village in a flea infested bundle of cloth from London, which was delivered to the local tailor. Shortly after, he died, and the plague started to spread amongst the villagers. The villagers decided to completely isolate themselves from the rest of the country and surrounding area in order to stop the spread of the plague. The outbreak lasted for 14 months and only 83 of the 350 villagers survived. There are all sorts of little bits of history regarding this event dotted around the village and one of these is Mompesson’s Well, named after the Reverend William Mompesson, to whom the villagers turned to lead them through this pandemic. I walked up to the well on my visit. It is about a mile and a half out of the village, up on the hillside. Its significance is that it is was a dropping point and the place where everything the villagers needed to survive was deposited by the outside world in order for them to collect it later the same day.

There is a lovely view from the top of the hill but the most spectacular thing today, in addition to the daffodils, were the clouds. They were quite enchanting with the sun shining through them and you know how I love clouds.

On the way back I had just enough time for one small adventure. A plunge in the ‘Plunge Pool’ at Rivelin Valley. It’s quite simply a pool at the bottom of a waterfall in the River Rivelin, Sheffield. I thought I’d just have a little look to see how fast flowing it was, and how cold it was after all the snow melt of the previous few weeks. But I just could not resist. The wet suit was on and I was in. Freezing cold but much better than a jacuzzi! My face says it all!

And then to top off a lovely day I got home to my Mother’s Day greetings card on the rug! Yes you heard that right……one card….. I have two children but one card! Funnily enough I got one card on my Birthday (three days late). The one that forgot my Birthday remembered Mother’s Day and the one that has forgotten Mother’s Day remembered my Birthday. Or perhaps they are just sharing the card sending responsibility out, I don’t know. It’s a good job I love them lots and the message more than made up for it! I can’t wait to see them at Easter as it’s been months and despite them descending and creating chaos when they return I still miss them so much!

I will forgive the forgetting of the odd card, although I do like kisses in my card so I’ve sent a little sarcastic tutorial message about the location of the ‘x’ button on the keyboard for when typing your message on an online card order. Oh yes, I forgot to say, it was an online card order with the message computer typed inside! It would be far too much effort for a student to go to a card store, hand write a card, put a postage stamp on it and then locate a post box! No mother is worth that when you can sit in the comfort of your gaming chair and order an online card at the touch of a button. But it’s the thought that counts! Now, I know we have to move with the times and I might be getting a little cynical and long in the tooth but there are just some elements of this modern world of convenience that I just can’t adapt to. If you get a card from me I can guarantee that it won’t be an online one. I will have handpicked it personally, it will be handwritten in my best handwriting and it will have a little personal message. If I’ve not seen or spoken to you for ages it might even have a letter in it. Call me old fashioned but that’s just the way I do it!

And what a fantastic Birthday this was!

Now normally I don’t really celebrate my Birthday. I think when you’ve had small children you focus on their Birthdays so much that yours becomes just another day. Then there is the fact that we’ve all had two pandemic Birthdays, one of them being my 50th, so I wasn’t really planning on this one being anything special.

The boys are still away at University until Easter so I decided to go away to the Lake District for my birthday earlier this month as it probably has to be my favourite place in the UK, and I’ve not been here since my two running races around Ullswater and Helvellyn in October. I just adore it here. It’s an adventurer’s playground. If you don’t like mountains, lakes, walking and solitude then you’ll hate it. But I love all those things.

The lake, and namesake village, of Buttermere was my base this time around. Oh, please can I have a view out of my bedroom window like this every morning, not just my Birthday morning?!?!

I’d decided on Buttermere for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve not stayed here before to explore its hills and fells and secondly it is the base for exploring Haystacks.

Haystacks was the favourite peak of Alfred Wainwright so I thought if it’s his favourite it must be quite spectacular. He described it as a “place of great charm and fairyland attractiveness.”

So first a bit about Alfred Wainwright. He was a British fell walker, guidebook author and illustrator, and quite a fascinating chap. I guess you’d describe him as a bit odd. He was agnostic and had absolutely no time for religion. He also described himself as antisocial and would avoid engaging with other people at all costs. He used to wander alone on the fells and his 7 volume pictorial guides to the 214 Lakeland fells, containing his own illustrations, are the go-to guides for anyone who loves to wander in these parts.

He died in 1991 and his ashes are scattered alongside Innominate Tarn on the top of Haystacks. So, I thought that it was about time I paid him a visit, because although he was quite a solitary figure, he did come out with some quotes which were absolutely spot on and resonate with me so much.

The first of his quotes which you’ll hear me say a lot is, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” Too right. And my birthday was freezing up in the lakes, but suitable clothing worn, off I went in search of birthday adventures after my full Cumberland Breakfast…..yum!

So here is where I went, what I discovered and a few absolute gems from Wainwright thrown in for good measure.

First summit of the day Fleetwith Pike, reached by going directly up Fleetwith Edge. At 648m this is a difficult climb and isn’t really a walk, large parts of it involve scrambling on all fours and if you aren’t comfortable with heights, it can be a bit of a challenge. I’ve trained myself to like heights so that wasn’t too much of an issue, but even I was glad to get up to the summit cairn, it was hard work! You are rewarded with the most amazing view of Buttermere Lake, Crummock Water and Haystacks from the top.

“The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.”
― Alfred Wainwright, The Western Fells

From the summit of Fleetwith Pike you then make your way towards Haystacks. But not before you come across two amazing little discoveries enroute. Dubs Hut and Warnscale bothies, both members of the Mountain Bothies Association. A bit of an explanation about these cute little discoveries. They are managed by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA), a registered charity whose purpose is: ‘To maintain simple shelters in remote country for the use of all who love wild and lonely places.’

The MBA was founded in 1998 and looks after approximately 100 of these mountain huts. Over 90 of them are in Scotland but these two are a couple of the few they maintain in England. They are all unlocked and anyone can use them free of charge. There are no facilities, no electricity and no piped water. Well, when I say no facilities, Dubs Hut does have a cute little stove for you to light a fire and a camping kettle. Both have a source of water nearby, Warnscale has a fast-flowing ghyll close by and Dubs Hut has a yellow bucket and pipe capturing the mountain rainwater runoff but both would need a good filter or boil before consumption. Fortunately, I’d got a small bottle of prosecco in my rucksack to celebrate my birthday………why have water when you can have prosecco!

There are also platforms to use as beds if you want to stay overnight, or need to stay in an emergency, but I decided I quite liked my hotel! I wouldn’t be averse to staying in one overnight for fun but I don’t think I’d be one hundred percent on doing it without a friend as they are so remote and in the middle of nowhere and you are stuck spending the night with whoever turns up, in a very lonely location. I did however bump into a lovely walking group in Dubs Hut who were fun to share a cuppa and a chat with, I’m not quite as unsociable as Wainwright. In fact, I’m not unsociable at all, I love to chat, too much!!

Warnscale quite possibly has the greatest view from any mountain bothy in the UK. It looks out over the whole of the Buttermere valley and on a clear day you can see the Irish Sea. I had to get the flask out here and just sit and rest a while.

“Oh, how can I put into words the joys of a walk over country such as this; the scenes that delight the eyes, the blessed peace of mind, the sheer exuberance which fills your soul as you tread the firm turf? This is something to be lived, not read about. On these breezy heights, a transformation is wondrously wrought within you. Your thoughts are simple, in tune with your surroundings; the complicated problems you brought with you from the town are smoothed away. Up here, you are near to your Creator; you are conscious of the infinite; you gain new perspectives; thoughts run in new strange channels; there are stirrings in your soul which are quite beyond the power of my pen to describe. Something happens to you in the silent places which never could in the towns, and it is a good thing to sit awhile in a quiet spot and meditate. The hills have a power to soothe and heal which is their very own. No man ever sat alone on the top of a hill and planned a murder or a robbery, and no man ever came down from the hills without feeling in some way refreshed, and the better for his experience.”
― Alfred Wainwright

Then it was onto Haystacks and the discovery of Innominate Tarn. It is exactly as Wainwright describes it and it does truly have “great charm and fairyland attractiveness.” I can see why he liked it and why he wanted this to be his final resting place.

By this time the sun was dimming in the sky and knowing it was another couple of hours walk back to the hotel I decided to descend and call it a day as my little legs were tired, the bar was beckoning, I was hungry and I needed my bed! The food was delicious. Now I can be a sophisticated eater when I need to be and can eat ‘haute cuisine’ with the best of them but I’m sorry, when I’ve trudged up a couple of peaks in the freezing cold there is only one thing for it………pie and beer!

Day two of the Birthday weekend I was up early ready for another day of adventures. When I’m off on an adventure I don’t mind getting up early. It’s about the only time I am a morning person, when I’m walking, exploring or adventuring.

“Morning is the best part of the day for walking. The air is freshest then, the earth sweetest. The flowers preen themselves after their bath of dew, and stand erect with rare self-assurance, proud of their bright clean colours. The birds are happiest in the morning, and most lively then. They dart across the path before you, wheel and soar above the trees, swoop unerringly to their nests. They chatter and chirrup and sing in unending chorus, blithely contented and gay, and so very very glad to be alive.”
― Alfred Wainwright

I’d decided I wanted to walk around Crummock Water which is next to Buttermere as it would be a nice flat walk after the hills of the day before, but also because it is supposedly one of the prettier and quieter lakes in the Lake District with the tallest waterfall in the county, Scale Force, off to one side of the lake. I’d not been around this one before and it really did take my breath away. It is beautiful. The weather was perfect, a really cloudy sky but dry and perfectly still so it made it so atmospheric. The lake’s surface was like glass and everything was reflected in it. I love clouds at the best of times but on this particular day, reflected in the water, they really were something else.

“Clouds are the most transient of nature’s creations. They come out of a clear sky, disintegrate before your eyes, vanish. You never see the same cloud twice. Every moment of its brief existence brings a change, a change of form or tint or texture; but its beauty remains constant to the end. The beauty of the clouds is there for us to see every day, if we are not too busy to look up….”
― Alfred Wainwright

Half way around the lake you pass a way marker pointing you in the direction of Scale Force. It’s a good half mile uphill climb from the edge of the lake. When I reached it, it was beautiful but you can’t quite see the main waterfall, just the lower fall. I can’t resist a bit of a challenge and I really wanted to see the main waterfall. I stood a while and pondered whether I could climb a piece of exposed rock to the left of the lower fall to get to the next level. I eventually decided to go for it and it was the right decision. I got absolutely soaked from the spray and blowback from the waterfall as it was quite windy up the gulley but it really was such a spectacular sight and so worth the effort.

Being both wet through and freezing cold by now, I called it a day and headed off to the car for the three-hour drive home, vowing to visit more often as this was my idea of the perfect weekend and the best birthday adventure ever!

This post is more snowy pictures than words. Storm Larisa certainly delivered! I got up last Friday to my poor little Mini underneath a pile of snow.

It was going nowhere as I live at the bottom of a big hill. School closed, so it looked like a working from home day. It literally snowed all day but just as I logged off my laptop before dinner the snow stopped and out came the sun for the last couple of hours of the day. Now I love playing out in the snow so couldn’t resist a quick walk around the village before the sun went down. It’s at times like this when I just love Yorkshire. It looks so pretty in the snow. So here’s just a few photos of the village I call home.

Saturday was even better as the snow was still there and the sun was out again. I need to get some serious running training in as I’ve got a race coming up so I managed to dig the car out with a shovel and drive the few miles to Langsett reservoir and moor. There’s no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothing, apparently, so I attached my spikes to my running shoes and saw it as the perfect opportunity to do some hard uphill training in the snow.

I just love it here. It’s the perfect escape, up on the moors, and you can run for hours and not see a soul. It’s hard going when it’s snowed though as it feels twice as hard. The views more than make up for it and it was just beautiful. I only managed just short of seven miles and it was a slow seven miles at that.

I also had the wrong clothing on! In my running tights the bottom part of my legs are uncovered and about 3 miles in I had to turn back, The snow had drifted and was above knee height and ice and snow on bare legs is excruciating. It stings so much and feels like someone is cutting into your legs with razor blades. I stood it for around five minutes and then it stopped being fun so a hasty retreat was made.

It’s always windy up there too, head wind outbound and tail wind on the way back. I’ll make no excuses for my choice of headwear. My little skull cap keeps my head so warm and the wind out of my ears. I have so much hair though and I am acutely aware that it makes me look like I’ve got two ears like a spaniel where my hair sticks out but sometimes fashion has to give way to practicality!

This was hard, up and up and up through the woods. A bit like wading through treacle, two steps forward and three back.

I felt so exhilarated though after my snowy run. I just love being outside exercising. Its so important to me to get out there after a busy week at work. All life’s worries and stresses are a million miles away when you are out adventuring in a happy place.

There were of course refreshments involved. This time Bank View Cafe came up with the goods …….. a Terrys Chocolate Orange Luxury Hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and a piece of flapjack but I have to admit, I was so cold and hungry, it disappeared very quickly and I forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

I’m adventuring quicker than I can write at the moment so this one is about the trouble I got myself into two weekends ago. I hope that it makes you smile and makes you feel better if you struggle with some forms of modern technology, you are not the only one!

Generally, I am quite good at working stuff out. I work on a PC all day, have lots of gadgets and really do think technology is marvellous most of the time. However, I got myself in such a tizz with it this particular weekend and got into trouble with the one person who you do not want to get into trouble with ……….. my mother! What did I do?

Well in short, I went for a lovely bike ride on the Kirklees Way. It was one of those Sunday mornings when I could have done all my jobs and housework but I thought they can wait until tomorrow, I’m off on a bike ride. I will however admit to taking the electric mountain bike. My legs were so tired with lots of running as I am training for a race at the end of March. From my house to Kirkburton and back on the Kirklees Way it’s 33 miles or 53km and it is very hilly so I had a bit of battery powered assistance for the hills. You still have to work hard on an electric bike. Some people think it’s cheating, but it’s still quite a workout for 53km.

It’s a lovely ride as it is almost all off road through woods, across fields and down farm tracks with some lovely views. It was one of those dry crisp days with a very moody sky but fortunately it stayed dry. The first part across the fields is lovely.

Then you come into the very lovely village of Upper Denby……..and what is located there?!? Only the best ice cream parlour in the area which makes its own ice cream from its own dairy herd. So, what did I have?

I bet you guessed wrong! Yes, for the very first time in my life I went to an ice cream parlour and did not have an ice cream. It was Sunday morning, I was frozen and I just needed a bacon sandwich and some caffeine.

So once I’d fuelled it was off again for the remainder of the ride. It was a super ride and the first time I have done it in its entirety. Under railway viaducts, through woods and past the sweetest little pony which I just had to stop and pet.

However, it all went slightly downhill when I got home and discovered my technology issue and the dozen missed calls from my mother!

You see I have one of those new fitness watches now I’m a ‘competitive athlete’! I say this as a joke because I use only 3 things on it, distance, speed and elevation. I have no interest whatsoever in all the other fancy stuff it does like cardio statistics, cadence, oxygen saturation etc. But they just don’t make anything simple these days do they, everything has to be so overcomplicated. Now I have to admit I’ve never really sat down and set anything up on this watch. I’ve sort of fiddled with and amended settings as they’ve annoyed me. Like when I sit still for more than 5 minutes at work and it tells me to move…….I rapidly disabled that! I did the same for the ‘relax’ warning because I don’t do ‘relax’, I’m wasting adventuring time if I’m relaxing, I feel guilty, like I’m missing an opportunity.

Anyway, I suspected something may have gone slightly wrong with my new fandangled watch when I checked my work out on Strava when I got back. My 33 mile very tiring workout had recorded 38 seconds of the ride with zero distance and 1 calorie burned……..so not even enough for the bacon sandwich. It had then published it on Strava and attracted comments from my running club friends along the lines of, “Some bloody workout that!”

However, if that wasn’t bad enough, I then discovered all the missed calls from my mother demanding I ring her ‘IMMEDIATELY’ ‘to let her know I was ok, the first one received four hours previous. Apparently, my watch has an inbuilt incident detection alert, which monitors your GPS activity for sudden stops and impacts and then notifies contacts that you may be in trouble, via SMS text message. Now I do vaguely remember putting my mother’s landline number in as my next of kin when I first got the watch, along with that of my eldest son but did not really pay attention as to why. Well, I now know that when you go down a very bumpy track at speed on a mountain bike, the sudden impact detected by my GPS, alerts my mother that I’ve been in an incident and am in trouble! What’s worse is that it does this every hour until I disable it. To say she was worried by the time I contacted her four hours later is understatement of the year and I was in more trouble than I’ve been in for a long time. At the opposite end of the spectrum was the text from my son which said “I’ve received an incident alert on my phone, I’m sure you’ll be ok, ring if you need me!”. I did point out that the whole point of the system was to summon help because if I’d had an incident, I might not be able to call him.

So, I quickly attempted to disable it and took her out of my contacts thinking that was job done. But no! I then got a call on Monday after work, a whole day later, from her mobile to advise me that, “Your Dad had had to unplug the landline phone because that watch of yours is still calling us every hour!!”. Anyway, to cut a long story short I’ve disabled the feature altogether as I’ve decided that lying in a ditch injured until someone finds me is a better option than being in trouble with my mother.

So, if you have issues with some forms of modern technology, don’t stress, it happens to those of us that are supposedly quite ‘with it’ when it comes to technology. I do however, strongly recommend turning the incident detection facility off on your watch if descending a bumpy track on a bike!

This was a lovely last-minute booking. The half term holiday came around so quickly and I had the opportunity to squeeze in a short four-day break to Prague, Czech Republic. This has been on my bucket list of European cities to visit for a long time and I had actually booked to go during the pandemic and had to cancel my plans.

I knew it would be very cold, with a forecast of minus 5 at night, but the weather was dry, and remember, there’s no such thing as too cold, just the wrong clothing! I hoped I’d packed the right clothing and off I went. What is there to do in Prague and would I recommend it? Yes, and most definitely yes, it’s a fantastic city.

I went with hand luggage only, which was quite a challenge given the temperature forecast! I just about managed at 9.8kg but did have to board the plane in Leeds dressed like an Eskimo as I had to wear most of my luggage allowance! I like to travel independently and prefer to use to local transport if possible. Prague has an excellent system of trams, buses and a metro system and it was no problem getting from the airport to the city. Once in the city it’s really compact and you can walk everywhere. I stayed right at the end of the Charles Bridge at the Hotel Pod Vezi. It was on a B&B basis as I like to venture and try local food on an evening. I would definitely recommend the hotel to anyone that is thinking of visiting. I like quite small, traditional places, not the big, pretentious, impersonal hotels and it was perfect. It was excellent value for money and in a super location but still had all those special little touches (think bathrobe, slippers, Nespresso machine and a chocolate on my pillow every night!). Every girl likes spoiling a little bit!

First stop had to be the number one attraction in Prague and everyone’s iconic photo, the Charles Bridge! It’s beautiful. It’s a medieval pedestrian only bridge which crosses the Vltava River, linking the two sides of town. It was started in 1357 and completed in the early 15th century. It is over half a kilometre long and has a large tower at each end. Along the bridge are 30 statues of various prominent figures of Prague. One of them is St John of Nepomuk who was the Queen’s priest at the time. He was thrown off the bridge for refusing to divulge her confessions! Apparently if you rub this statue legend has it that you will return to Prague. There are also excellent views of the bridge and river from one of the towers which you can go up.

I like to visit cities which have quite a lot of history and Prague is no exception. It’s not so long ago that the Czech Republic was under communist rule and it wasn’t until the end of November 1989 that Czechoslovakia, as it was known then, overthrew communist rule and ceased to be a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest. I guess we sit in a sort of bubble at home in the UK. We see the Ukraine / Russia conflict daily in the news but it feels such a long way away, and our daily lives, other than the price of gas and some food stuffs, are relatively unaffected by it. That’s not the case here. They quite clearly feel much closer to it, and I guess they are, being geographically just one country between them, but you can very much sense the solidarity with the Ukraine and the anti-communist stance. There are Ukrainian flags and banners ‘Hands off Ukraine, Putin’ draped off many buildings. They do not hide their celebration of the events of 1989, in what was called ‘The Velvet Revolution’, which saw an uprising of the people to overthrow the regime. I visited the ‘Memorial to the Victims of Communism’ which really brings the impact home and depicts disintegrating human figures descending a staggered slope. I guess all over Europe the symbol of the fall of Communism in 1989 was very much the removal of the Berlin Wall, as that is a physical image which we remember. However, the death toll and impact of communism across Europe went much wider. This memorial remembers the terrible human toll of the communist era on the Czech Republic alone: 205,486 arrested, 170,938 driven into exile, 248 executed, 4500 died in prison and 327 shot trying to escape. ‘The Velvet Revolution’ started on 17th November 1989 and there is actually a brass plaque on the side of a lawyer’s office in the street where it started to mark the tragic events of that day when tens of thousands of protesting students marching to remember the Czechs murdered in WWII were attacked by riot police. Nine of them were killed by the police and the plaque represents the 9 outstretched hands with fingers splayed in a ‘V’ for victory. I have to be honest I’d been oblivious to the impact on the Czech Republic before my visit and it was actually quite moving to learn how many suffered in just this city and country.

Anyway, on a lighter note, Prague is also good for beer! Its local beers are Budwar and Pilsner Urquell and they are good. They are more what I as a Northern girl would call a lager though, not a ‘proper’ beer like we have up North in Yorkshire! But not to worry, I found the proper beer. If there is one thing that monks are good at, other than praying, it’s brewing beer. Just like in Belgium I managed to find a monastery, the Strahov monastery, that lets you into the brewery to drink. They do a dark ale, with a proper head, called St Norbert’s that could rival any Belgian beer, and is almost as good as a proper Yorkshire pint! It was really good.

Another must see is Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral which are both together on the same complex. The Castle is very interesting and the cathedral is spectacular inside, particularly the stained-glass windows. It is guarded by a number of sentries in their very official looking uniforms. They look really intimidating and trust me, you’ll not get one to smile, I did my very best guard impression but I’ve just not got a face serious enough for it.

Next stop, the main squares, there are two. First there is Wenceslas Square. This square is the least pretty of the two but has historical significance. It’s where in 1918 the republic of Czechoslovakia was announced, in 1945 the end of the war was declared, where a number of ‘The Velvet Revolution’s’ protests were held and where the Jan Palach memorial is situated. This memorial remembers university student Jan Palach who, in 1969, set fire to himself to protest about the Soviet invasion the preceding year. He died from his wounds and is now a national hero. The Old Town Square is the prettier of the two and is where the ‘Astronomical Clock’ is. The clock was built in 1490 and does a little amusing performance on the hour with its many figures and the cockerel.

If you like food you’ll love Prague, but possibly not so much if you are vegetarian. Think lots of pork and lots of goulash and dumplings. There is smoked roast pork cooking on a spit in a lot of places. There is also a traditional cake called a Trdelnik or Chimney Cake. It’s a spiral of cinnamon and sugar-coated dough roasted on a spit and then filled with a filling of your choice. Mine was filled with strawberries, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and then topped with cream. The photo demonstrates just how excited I get about ice cream, I really must try to contain myself! Then there are cakes, I like cake. The pistachio cake was just delicious and then I found myself in another cake shop where there were just so many beautiful cakes I could not decide. So, in short, if you like food, you will not be disappointed with Prague.

Oh, and there are some very quirky cafes. I loved this one, Vytopna, in Wenceslas Square. It has a model railway running all around the café with a train line to every table. You order your drinks or food and it is delivered to your table by a little train, which hoots and chugs around. It even knows when you have taken your drink out of the wagon at the back and then chugs off again. Childish as I am I will admit to ordering my drink and then my food separately five minutes after my drink came just to make the train come twice!

If you like sculpture and architecture there are lots of examples to see. There are the obvious buildings of baroque, gothic and cubist architecture, which you would expect to see in Prague. A more modern design, however, is the ‘Dancing Building’ designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic. It opened in 1996 and is ‘Deconstructive’ in style. It opposes the order of form, structure and symmetry and is meant to defy and rebel against the more traditional styles.

Prague is also the birth place of Franz Kafka, novelist and short story writer. The sculpture of his head by Czech sculptor David Cerny is definitely a must see. It is 11 meters tall and has 42 rotating panels that rotate in differing frequencies throughout the hour before finally resting in their original position. There are many Cerny sculptures in Prague. In addition to this one, another quirky funny one is that of two men urinating into a pond. The weirdest one though is out at the TV tower a short tram ride away. It’s another one of those that’s a bit lost on me. Ten large very creepy babies crawling up the outside of the Zizkov TV tower, creepy because instead of a face they have a sort of embossed bar code face, very odd.

Another interesting part of the visit was to the Jewish Quarter. Again, something else I was a bit oblivious to before the visit. I never realised the country had such a large Jewish population which suffered horrendously during the Holocaust. The Jews were confined to their own area of town and this has been really well preserved as a museum of 6 synagogues and a Jewish cemetery. Each one tells a different story but for me the most moving and informative is the Pinkas Synagogue because on the walls are inscribed the names of the almost 80,000 Czech Jews that perished in the Holocaust. There is also an exhibition in there at the moment of children’s drawings which were completed in the ghetto under the supervision of artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis between 1942 and 1945. They really are quite moving and telling as they unconsciously express the emotions of the ghetto children at the time. It’s amazing what truths you get if you ask a child to draw a picture, it’s a window into the mind. There are similarities in the pictures: lots of black, lots of trains and lots of train tracks and it really makes you quite sad.

Finally, I just had time to squeeze in a quick walk up to the Letna gardens for the most amazing view of the city from up above, with the added bonus of a beer garden!

So that’s it, the whirlwind guide to Prague. Four days was just enough time to see everything I wanted to see. An amazing city with so much to see, do, eat and drink!

This weekend really was the weekend best forgotten but it gives me the opportunity to tell you about one of my other pastimes……….the ‘pandemic jumper’ and what I do when I can’t go anywhere and have to stay in.

This weekend I really have had my adventuring wings clipped as I’ve been in hospital for a colonoscopy and it was a delight. You see, it’s not all adventure after 50, some things do start going slightly downhill, but luckily nothing too serious that can’t be managed with a few dietary adjustments, and I’ve already tested my resilience to ice cream and alcohol and it went well so it’s not all doom and gloom.

However, the weekend was an issue for me as there are three things I’m not good at, in fact, I’m really quite bad at them, and that’s not adventuring on a weekend, early mornings on a Sunday, and not eating. So, roll all three into one weekend and you have a pretty miserable me.

So firstly, 24 hours without food! Oh my goodness, food is my hobby, I love making food, I love eating food and I can actually read a cook book instead of a work of fiction book and get just as much pleasure out of it. Twenty four hours without food was quite an issue. So mid-morning on Saturday I had my piece of plain white sliced toast as part of my low fibre pre day-surgery diet knowing it was my final snack until Sunday afternoon. You know the type of bread I mean, it is like a piece of polystyrene, horrible. And how come you suddenly realise you are starving, just because psychologically, you know you can’t eat.

Then came the exciting bit, the drinking of the solution ready for the procedure, and the reason I could not stray too far. Oh my goodness, what an ordeal. I try to look on the bright side of everything so I sat there thinking how all these celebrities pay a fortune for colonic irrigation and there was me getting it for free on the NHS with the self-administration of sachets A and B. I also thought I might lose a few pounds and bear more of a resemblance to a supermodel afterwards, but sadly that did not happen. I did however, lose the will to live slightly and I really do question why anyone would want to do it on voluntary basis, I really can think of a thousand better things to do on a weekend.

The real sting in the tail was that I was the lucky individual who had been given the 8:30am slot on a Sunday morning for the procedure. In an effort to catch up on the backlog the NHS are now conducting these 7 days a week and until 9:30pm on 3 days a week. All well and good I thought, get it done early, until I realised that meant drinking my solution through the night, so basically, I was up all Saturday night, and needed to entertain myself.

It did not help that my current book that I started this weekend is Stanley Tucci, ‘Taste – My Life Through Food’. How ironic is that. The 24 hours I can’t eat anything I’m reading all about Italian food traditions throughout Tucci’s life. A lovely book by the way, but not when you are hungry and fasting. After a few hours reading my book Stanley was not helping my cause so I had to find something else to do.

Another love of my life is music, both playing, listening and singing and I love all types of music. I play flute and piano, but flute much better that piano, but you know what they say, practice makes perfect so I had a couple of hours on my pride and joy, my piano, and by one o’clock in the morning had perfected Mozart’s Menuett in F. I really enjoyed myself as I just don’t get chance to sit and play that much anymore, and I find it so relaxing.

Then out came the ‘pandemic jumper’! I need to tell you about the ‘pandemic jumper’, it is a standing joke in the family that the jumper will never be finished, but I beg to differ. I am going to surprise everyone one day when I turn up wearing the pandemic jumper in all its glory! The pandemic jumper was commenced almost 3 years ago in March 2020. I like to knit and I thank my wonderful Grandma Kathleen again for this life skill. In addition to Saturday baking, we also did knitting and sewing. Knitting has made a bit of a comeback recently but in the past many people have laughed at my love of knitting, it puts years on me apparently, “only old people knit Mum”.

I have long been aware of the benefits of knitting, it’s just a different type of mindfulness, like yoga for the mind. The mind is still, it reduces stress, improves cognitive function etc. etc. So, when good old Boris Johnson announced lockdown I thought, “how am I going to get through that?! I know, I’ll knit a jumper”, and I ordered the pattern and wool online. The only issue is, I’m still knitting the jumper three years later! The jumper’s pattern name is Delilah and she’s not just any old jumper, she’s got a pattern around the top and three different colour wools, talk about biting off more than you can chew, but that’s me all over. Delilah and I have spent many happy hours together but little did I think that we would still be growing together three years later. The problem is she is made of the finest wool, 70% Falkland lamb’s wool and 30% British alpaca. Being so fine in texture, you spend hours knitting and the jumper grows one centimetre. Delilah is now two sleeves, one back and I have now started the front. Then there is only the fancy patterned yoke to do and she’s finished. She will get finished one day and she saved the day this weekend, stopped me going slightly crazy, and grew 3 centimetres. We could well be into another pandemic by the time she is finished but watch this space, I will arrive wearing her one day in the not-too-distant future, much to everyone’s amazement.

Anyway, music, reading and knitting got me through the night and kept my mind busy. Then it was off to the hospital first thing for the procedure. By that time, I was ravenous, tired and not full of the joys of Spring. The nurses were superb and the consultant a lovely man, I mean, you really have to be interested in gastroenterology to do that for a job don’t you! I did warn him if he stood still for too long, I might actually eat him I was so hungry but it was all over relatively quickly in half an hour. I opted to have it without any sedation as I wanted to be up and out of there eating and adventuring immediately after, not under 24-hour supervision. I thought if I can run three and a half miles with a thorn in my shoe, I can tolerate this. There were only a few moments when I thought I might have made the wrong choice but I gritted my teeth and stopped the circulation in the hand of the nurse instead. And the bonus was, if I wanted to, I could watch the whole procedure on the TV positioned straight in front of me! I am being sarcastic on this point. The last thing I wanted to do at 8:30am on a Sunday morning was to watch a 30-minute video screening of my insides. It was quite funny though and demonstrated the consultants absolute love of his subject, he found it quite surprising that I did not want to watch and sort of made it sound as if it was on the shortlist for an Academy Award or BAFTA. Anyway, I hope this is not his nightclub chat up line, but apparently, I have a lovely bowel and an amazing resting pulse of someone years younger than me due to my adventures and running. I’ll add it to the CV along with my recent running competition prize for smiling in the face of adversity whilst battling sore legs and horizontal wind and rain. So, if asked to describe my good points I smile a lot, have a lovely bowel and an amazing heartbeat, but hey, when you get to almost 52, you’ll accept any compliment thrown your way!

Anyway, procedure done, another slice of toast and tea consumed to prove to the discharge nurse I was well and good and I was free to leave. I was told I might not feel able to eat much for the rest of the day. They clearly have misjudged the importance of food in my life! Before I’d even left the hospital, I’d booked a table at my local bistro and then devoured that good old British classic, the Sunday roast with my favourite beef brisket and a Yorkshire pudding. Delicious, finished off with a scoop of Cadbury Crunchie ice cream. Every cloud has a silver lining and I’ll be back onto proper adventuring next weekend! I also had a very exciting 4-day trip to Prague recently. It was lovely and I will find the time to tell you all about that at some point as it should definitely be one for the bucket list if you like European city breaks. Anyway, onwards and upwards!

Yes, it’s almost that time of year when I can start thinking about coming out of hibernation and not being quite as grumpy a bear in a morning. My favourite season of the year, Spring! I like Autumn too but I think Spring just beats it. One of the things I love about Spring is the awakening of all those little plants that have been keeping warm under the soil for these last few months. I also have a bit of a thing about baby birds and animals too, particularly lambs.

So, last weekend I thought I’d go to one of my favourite places that I’ve not been to for a few years, the Royal Horticultural Society Garden at Harlow Carr, Harrogate. This is where, around 19 years ago, I did a one-year evening course in garden design and absolutely loved it. So off I went in search of Spring on this bright crisp morning. I love flowers and plants so I’ll tell you a little about my favourites from this visit.

Now this occasion, being a cold one, called for the wearing of my new bobble hat! Yes, that’s right I’ve got another one. I have got this one to match my hair. Because there have been developments on the mid-life crisis front. I’ve gone back to my youth and am once again a red head as I decided that red head’s do have more fun. I was getting greyer by the day and was having a mini meltdown, I am not going to age gracefully, I’ve promised myself I’m going to do it disgracefully. I was red when I was younger and I thought what’s the worst that can happen, if I don’t like it, I can just have it stripped out, no big deal, so I’ve done it. It is very ginger, and it makes my eyes look very blue for some reason. I think I need to wash it a few more times to tone down the brightness before I make my mind up whether it’s staying. But, it gave me an excuse to buy a new hat, so all is well. I have had the expected responses from my two ‘bundles of joy’ who’ve had the ‘do you like my new hair’ Facetime call. One said “It does not look as bad as I thought it would”, I don’t know whether that’s a compliment or not and the other burst into a rendition of “The Sun’ll come out Tomorrow” from Annie the musical (you’ll have to google Annie but I swear on my life I do not look like Annie). They’ve put me off it slightly but I’ll leave it a bit longer before I decide whether it’s staying.

Harlow Carr is one of five public gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society, a gardening charity founded in 1804. It holds various flower shows throughout the year, the most famous being the Chelsea Flower Show which I have been lucky enough to attend on two occasions. Its gardens are absolutely spectacular and showcase some of the most spectacular plants in a magnificent setting. It’s good to visit four times a year, once in every season, as it is a year-round garden and it changes throughout the seasons. A visit now is lovely as people often think there is nothing much to see in a garden in winter, but the RHS prove otherwise and there are some fantastic winter plants that thrive in the northern hemisphere, and now is the time when all the new spring shoots and bulbs are coming to life. May is superb as they have lots of rhododendrons in the woodland area which are a sight to behold. I love perennials so end of June/July is another perfect time to visit. Then finally Autumn just for the spectacular colours in the Arboretum.

What did I see?…………………Snowdrops, snowdrops and more snowdrops. They have a whole garden dedicated to this plant. There are around 20 different species of snowdrop in existence and in each species, there are number of varieties. In total, there are over 2,500 varieties found in the UK alone. There are huge snowdrops, tiny snowdrops, snowdrops with single layered petals, double snowdrops, pure white snowdrops, snowdrops with green markings…….just so many. Here are some of my favourites from today.

Then I went off in search of one of my favourite spring flowers. On my way I passed a plant with some really big orange berries on there. Very pretty and perched on the top was the most beautiful female blackbird, tucking into dinner between bursts of song. There were so many birds in the garden, and even they seemed happy it’s nearly spring, birdsong from every direction.

Then I found them, the daffodils. It must be a little warmer in Harrogate than at home because I actually found some that were out! It made my day. Daffodils to me mean Spring. They make me think of the poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as Cloud’ by William Wordsworth. One of my favourite poems as I can relate to his thoughts on daffodils, I can’t remember all the words to it like I used to be able to as it was a poem we once had to learn to recite from memory at school.

In addition to flowers the RHS also like to showcase the growing of fruit and vegetables, often showing how they can be grown amongst flowers in a domestic garden. I got really excited when I saw this one, rhubarb! It’s a love or hate thing is rhubarb, but I love it. I have two big crowns of rhubarb on the allotment, one early, one late. The first will be ready in around a month and that means rhubarb crumble, rhubarb pie, rhubarb jam and absolutely anything else I can think of that involves rhubarb.

Then it was time to have a look at the ‘Winter Walk’. This was lovely, full of Cornus (Dogwood), which just looks like it’s on fire from a distance, so bright. I love Hamamelis (Witch-Hazel) too. So pretty in winter and it smells beautiful, although it just will not grow in my garden at home unfortunately, I’ve tried it unsuccessfully.

By this time, I was so cold, but luckily there is a ‘Betty’s’ tea kiosk in the garden. I have Raynaud’s and whilst it’s not a serious thing it is really annoying to live with at this time of year and drives me crazy. At this point I’d lost all my finger ends and they really start to sting and throb so I needed a hot drink to hold to get them back. I also did not need an excuse and used the opportunity to eat a ‘Fat Rascal’. It’s a bit like a scone but has more fruit in, mixed citrus peel and a cute little face made from glace cherries and blanched almonds.

Fingers working again and refuelled the final bit of the walk took me through the Japanese garden and pond and into the arboretum and woodland. In winter I think my favourite winter woodland plant is the Hellebore. So many different colours of purple, pink and creamy white and there were so many varieties of it in flower today. There were lots of Silver Birch with some very cleverly planted red dogwood in front which contrasted perfectly, all ideas for the garden at home! Then I spotted the most spectacular tree, a Tibetan Cherry or Prunus Serrula, it had just the most amazing bark. Time then for a quick visit to the bird hide which I think must have been the busiest hide in Yorkshire today. There was a Woodpecker, who was too fast for his photo, Robins, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and one of my favourites the Nuthatch, who really does not like anyone else on the feeder except himself, so funny to watch.

A lovely day: birds; plants; trees; sunshine; coffee; a ‘Fat Rascal’ and a new bobble hat, what more does a girl need. Well, perhaps one more visit to the Betty’s cake shop before I drive home? But that would be two buns in one day wouldn’t it. But the plan was to go for a 5 mile run when I got home so I decided that based on that fact, if I ran a little bit faster than normal and went a little bit further to burn off a few extra calories, and also the fact that it’s around Valentine’s Day, and this year I’m trying to focus a bit more on self-love, I came to the conclusion that a Betty’s fresh fruit and cream iced heart cake was just what was needed! This was even better than the ‘Fat Rascal’, it was delicious. And “Yes” I did go for that run when I got back and it was almost 6-miles at breakneck pace!

Oh it’s all happening here, extremely busy run up to half term and I’ve been so busy I’ve realised I forgot to post this the other week, I’ve just found it in the ‘draft’ box . It’s a bit out of date and not in sync as my lodgers have been gone a couple of week’s but thought I’d post it anyway to share with you a bit of the cultural side of South Yorkshire. I’ve also been somewhere lovely this weekend and feel all Springlike, like it’s nearly time to stop hibernating, but I’ll tell you about that next weekend as there will be no adventures next weekend, the magical mystery tour will be temporarily on hold for a couple of days as I’m in hospital, which will drive me crazy, thank goodness for books and music! So here goes, sorry it’s late.

Last weekend was an adventure of a more sedate kind for me. I’m slightly injured with a sore tendon so there was no Park Run for me, just a steady little 5 mile trot around the village to see when and how much it hurt. It hurt, so the rest of the weekend went at a more gentle pace. I still needed to get out and about though.

I like art, it was one of my favourite subjects at school. I’m still really creative now and love to make and do crafty things, and I love an art gallery. Unfortunately no-one else in our house does like a gallery, even the one who studied art, so I’m on my own on this one and there’s nothing worse than trying to drag someone around a gallery who’s just not interested. I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it come to art though and some of the more modern weird and wonderful stuff I get, but some I just don’t understand. I particularly like sculpture because I like 3D and I like to touch and feel art. I think it’s harder to portray emotion and connect with the viewer in a painting than it is in a sculpture. I’ve never been moved to tears by a painting but I have a sculpture, and that was the ‘Abduction of Proserpina’, a huge Baroque marble sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the Borghese Gallery in Rome. Whist it covers an uncomfortable subject I don’t think there is another sculpture which captures the detail like Bernini does in the grip of Pluto’s hands on Proserpina’s thigh. When you get up close to it in the gallery it looks perfectly lifelike, from the veins on the back of his hand, the profile of his muscles, the creases on his knuckles, the indents in her flesh and the bit that you can’t see on the photo below is the way he has managed to carve the emotion of abject terror into the features of her face, for me there is no other piece as beautiful as this. I’ve visited a lot of galleries all over Europe but this one piece in the Borghese Gallery in Rome is still my favourite.

Now it will be no surprise to you that Yorkshire, God’s own county don’t forget, being as amazingly beautiful as it is, was the birth place and home of some very famous artists. David Hockney is Bradford born and bred, Barbara Hepworth from Wakefield, Henry Moore from Castleford and, although born in Bristol, Damien Hirst grew up and studied in Leeds. As a result of this, Yorkshire has the ‘Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle’ which encompasses four leading cultural venues; Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, The Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds.

I went to Bradford last year to the two main exhibitors of David Hockney’s work when one of my boys was completing his Art ‘A’ level and I was trying to inspire him (it did not work and he sat in the foyer on his phone but at least I tried), but it’s quite a few years since I’ve visited both the Hepworth Gallery and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, despite the latter only being five minutes from me. Out of the above four artists Hepworth and Moore are definitely my favourites so I decided this weekend I’d have a bit of a steady arty weekend to rest my foot.

First stop in the morning was at the Hepworth in Wakefield, named after, and dedicated to, Barbara Hepworth.

The Hepworth itself is a work of art. It opened in 2011 at a cost of £35 million and won David Chipperfield Architects numerous awards. In 2017 it was named the UK’s Museum of the Year.

It’s a stark grey concrete building which almost looks like it’s floating on the river. It’s main permanent exhibition looks at the life and work of Barbara Hepworth and it has a number of key pieces of her work. Barbara Hepworth was born in 1903 and died in 1975 and her work would be classed in the genre of ‘modernism’. I don’t like a lot of modern art but I love her work. Her sculptures are of abstract shapes and in interviews she tells how she was inspired by nature and the world around her. She remembers driving through the countryside with her family, and the shapes, bumps and ridges of the roads, hills and fields. All of that is evident in her work and I think that’s probably why I can connect with her work, because I too have a very special connection with nature.

There are lots of flowing curving lines. She uses different textures, different materials and the sculptures just seem to blend into the landscape. To me her work, whilst good to look at in the Hepworth, is better viewed at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park as it almost feels like it needs to be outside where it just blends into the landscape. The only downside , and this goes for the Henry Moore work too, is that none of the work on display can be touched and it’s such a shame because I really feel like I want to touch it and I’m sure the artists intended for it to be touched to appreciate the lines, textures and different materials in the work.

Once I’d had my little Barbara Hepworth fix I went into the temporary exhibition which was a photography exhibition by Hannah Starkey. Her photographs are of women in staged settings and urban spaces. Her work particularly looks at equality, women’s right and femininity. She talks about women’s equality being the longest revolution in human history. Now I had mixed feelings about this one, because I have a bit of an issue with the feminist movement, well some of it anyway. However, the photographs were really good, and interesting, and there were some powerful messages, particularly in the photographs of women in exile and women in Belfast during the struggles of the 80’s. And yes they do send a powerful message about the strength of women and the fact that women are quite often the backbone that holds it all together in a crisis. Wars would not have been won without the toil, support and dedication of women in the background. I know how in our house it all falls apart very quickly without me around because I instinctively do too much for them when I’m there, but I’m just a lot more comfortable letting it all fall apart now after last summer. I leave them to it hoping that they will learn from the experience. So overall I thought the exhibition was really well executed and the message was good. No photographs allowed though so you’ll have to take my word for it.

What do I have an issue with then? I just think the feminism movement has gone a little bit too far sometimes. I think some people get the words ‘equality’ and ‘same’ mixed up and they are two entirely different things. I get the equal rights, voting rights, freedom of choice and putting a stop to some of the dreadful forced practices that occur throughout the world. However, we are not the same. Men and women are entirely different, we think differently, we behave differently and we are scientifically proven to be different to each other. Sometimes I think the movement seeks to polarise the two and promote the fact that one is better than the other, like so many of today’s movements do. We seem to have to have a sector of society to blame for the issues in another sector. It would be far better to just understand and respect each other’s differences and work together rather than claim to be the same or better. It’s got to the point now where if we are not careful the art of chivalry will be dead because no man will dare to display it. I’m quite comfortable with being a woman, I wouldn’t want to be a man, and I like a gentleman, I would be very sad if a man felt like he couldn’t open a door for me, pull my chair out for me when I go to dinner, tell me I look lovely, or offer to lend me his coat when I’m shivering cold.

After the Hepworth, the afternoon was spent at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The park is 500 acres of beautiful rolling countryside, throughout which is scattered hundreds of sculptures. Some of them are permanent, like the Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth sculptures and some of them are temporary and the displays change on a regular basis. I particularly like the Henry Moore work in the park. Henry Moore was good friends with Barbara Hepworth and was active in the same time period. His work is similar and belongs to the ‘modernism’ genre but is often depicting the human form or mother and child in an abstract way. A lot of his work is in bronze.

There’s some really interesting work around the park at the moment. There’s an exhibition of Robert Indiana’s work, an American sculptor, whose work often speaks of human love and identity, his iconic ‘LOVE’ images being one of the key iconic images of 20th century art.

Then there are some really weird and wacky sculptures, like Daniel Arsham’s huge ‘Eroded Bunny’ and ‘Eroded Melpomene’ in bronze, and Sophie Ryder’s ‘Sitting’ Hare. I quite liked these.

But the most wacky to me are the Damien Hirst sculptures on display at the moment. I just don’t get them! Damien Hirst is the sculptor who caused a stir when he placed a dead cow in a glass box full of a formaldehyde solution in the name of art. A lot of his art incorporates the human or animal form and quite often exposes the inner of the body with the skin stripped off and organs, muscle and bone exposed. The one entitled ‘Myth’ is a unicorn and whilst I don’t understand it it’s not too jarring on the eye.

However, the other one ‘Virgin Mother and Child’ is completely lost on me. I find it quite horrific to look at. It was designed for display in the inner courtyard of Lever House in New York and is part of their art collection. It’s absolutely huge and sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of the landscape. it’s basically a huge cast bronze sculpture of a pregnant woman, 36 feet tall, painted in bright car paint. Half of her entire body has been stripped of skin, exposing all the inner cranial head, muscular and circulatory system and and inverted foetus in her womb. I just did not get it and found it quite uncomfortable to look at, but that’s perhaps what he’s hoping to achieve, I don’t know. It’s just not my sort of art.

So that was my little wander this weekend, very sedate by my standards and living proof that people from Yorkshire do do culture. I will be back to much more exciting things next weekend hopefully if my injury feels a bit better. And here is living proof that it all falls apart in my absence.

Yes, I’m embarrassed to say that’s my kitchen sink. I was out for around 5 hours. I don’t think that constitutes child neglect as they are 19 and 22. The strange unidentifiable object directly below the sink on the right is the dishwasher! And no, the door has not broken, it opens quite easily, but the student arm is quite obviously incapable of opening it. The items in the sink are the breakfast pots, a milk bottle and an empty tin can which they must believe finds its own way to the recycling bin. Then when you run out of space in the sink and it gets to lunchtime you just start piling everything on the draining board. See, I told you it all falls apart. I did have a slight moan and made them tidy it themselves and yes of course I was “over reacting Mum”, they were always intending on clearing it up themselves apparently! Back to University after the weekend, so as per usual I’ll be jumping for joy on the station platform and then missing them like crazy five minutes later, but at least I’ll have a good few months of child free adventures and exploring until chaos descends again at Easter.

I’ve been to the seaside! It took me a few hours to get there but the sun was shining and I just love the seaside. It’s the sea I like, I don’t like sand! I’ve always had a bit of a sand issue, it’s a bit like the issue I have with glitter. It gets everywhere, I can’t stand the fact that it just clings to you and you can’t get it off. But the sea is a different thing altogether, it has to be in my top 10 favourite things. I like to watch it, I like to swim in it and I just love to listen to it laid down with my eyes closed.

So which bit of seaside did I go to…….the North Yorkshire Coast. Runswick Bay and Staithes to be precise. I adore these two places and there is the most fantastic cliff top circular walk between the two, so that’s what I did. These are not the big commercialised tourist hotspots, they are still little working fishing villages, and they are so pretty.

You can do the walk in any direction but I parked up at Staithes and walked north to south, into the sun. Staithes has the prettiest little harbour with bobbing colourful fishing boats. Its streets are winding and cobbled. You can almost imagine the smugglers and pirates hanging out there in days gone by. The beach is really sandy and there are hundreds of rock pools in which I’ve spent many a happy hour with my two in the past looking for crabs.

I think it reminds me of happy family holidays when I was little. We used to go to Bournemouth every single year, same two weeks, same hotel because my parents are creatures of habit. I have such happy memories of childhood holidays. Apparently, I was the nightmare child on the beach though. Who would have thought?!?! I had to be watched like a hawk because I made an instant dash for the sea as soon as I was able to walk, but before I could swim. I have photos of my dad engaging in what can only be described as child cruelty. I’m only joking, or am I? Perhaps this is where my sand issue came from. His answer to this dilemma was to dig a hole in the sand as soon as we got to the beach and basically, when my parents wanted a bit of peace and quiet and a break from constantly watching me, they put me in the hole to thwart my escape plans. I then spent a couple of hours trying to get out of the hole. The only way they could keep me quiet was to buy me ice cream or put me on a donkey. Some things never change, even now the only thing that shuts me up on the beach is an ice cream, I’m a bit too big now for a donkey though!

I need to get as close to the sea as possible too. I didn’t take my swimming stuff on this occasion because it was far too cold. The closest I could get to the sea was by doing my best mermaid impression on a rock with my book. It was quite rough though and I got soaked as the waves crashed against the rocks but it really did blow the cobwebs away. I love the smell and taste of the sea too, when you get the salt all over your face. I wanted a swim so badly. I need to tell you about my swimming though. Although I love to swim and love water, I just can’t put my head under. You will notice on any picture of me swimming that my head stays above water and my hair is dry. If it’s otherwise, I’ve gone under by accident. I have an instantaneous panic reaction as soon as my face goes in. So, I can’t dive, only jump. It’s one of the things on my bucket list to get over it and learn to dive, I’ll do it eventually, maybe this year with some patient instruction! The back of my head is fine, I can do backstroke all day, but as soon as my nose and mouth are covered, I panic. According to my dad, I am the only person who can jump off a 5-meter diving board and not get my hair wet. I’ll have to video it one day as it’s hilarious to watch. How do I do it? I start doing breast stroke arms as soon as I leave the diving board. I create a huge splash and it makes my arms sting but I don’t go under!

This fear of putting my head under comes from when I learnt to swim when I was little. I think my swimming instructor went to the school of how not to teach children to swim. I’m sure she would be struck off in this day and age and I can’t believe anyone teaches swimming like this now. We never really started off in the shallow end or had flotation devices. She made you jump in the deep end and had a huge wooden pole which she promised would be within arm’s reach. I used to paddle furiously with my arms and legs, it wasn’t swimming, it was just trying to avoid drowning, and then every time you reached for the pole, she moved it just beyond your reach. I can remember being absolutely terrified of going for my swimming lesson and it’s a wonder now that I like water and swimming so much, but I just can’t put my head under. I used entirely the opposite methods to teach my two and they both swim like fish and are excellent at diving so I’m convinced I didn’t learn to swim the best way.

I had a brisk walk along the cliff top, wearing my bobble hat of course because it was windy, until I got to the next village, Runswick Bay. This is another gorgeous little fishing village and the beach near here is famous for fossil hunters looking for fossils from the Jurassic age. In the early 1990’s the fossil of a sea going dinosaur was found.

At the turn of the 20th century there were around 80 full time fishing boats going out of Staithes and Runswick Bay to fish the North Sea. They fished in a boat called a coble which is a type traditional fishing boat developed in this area. It was flat bottomed and high bowed so could be used in shallow sandy areas like this. Unfortunately, now there are only a few part time fishermen and a lot of the cottages are holiday lets as the younger generations have moved out of the area to pursue other, more lucrative careers.

It was truly a beautiful day. The blue sky and clouds were endless and the photographs don’t really do it justice.

I walked back along the cliff top to Staithes and even though you walk the same way back, in reverse it looks completely different. The advantage of doing the walk this way around is that you finish at the ‘Cod and Lobster’ the lovely harbourside pub which would at one time have been full of fishermen. Not so much today, but it does do the best cod and chips with mushy peas, slice of lemon and tartare sauce. Any visit to the seaside has to end with a drink in the pub and good old British fish and chips, and this day was no different. They always taste so much better by the seaside.