Stunning Staffordshire

The walkers needed to take great care during the steep ascent from Waterhouses, in Staffordshire. The path was narrow, muddy and slippery, and it was evident, from the footprints and slide marks that the descent had been even tricker for some recent walkers, so we were pleased that Brian had decided to reverse the direction. He also told us that had he led us in the original direction, it would have involved even more steep ascents. So that was the easier option Brian? Glad we didn't do it the other way round then! Still, the rewards for steep ascents in this area of the Peak District, are the magnificent views from the tops. A little further on, whilst negotiating even more mud, I came a cropper, but I doubt if any of the others even noticed, as they picked their way carefully alongside a stream. Later though, here were some remarks about the state of my trousers.

The weather couldn't have been better with, once again, a bright blue sky, sunshine and the magnificent colours of autumn. With a stone wall to lean against, and our faces to the sun, lunch was taken high above the Manifold Valley, with Thorpe Cloud in the distance, and the fields and farms in miniature far below. There was another steep ascent, which left me (and others) quite out of breath, and questioning Brian about the 'not so many hills this way' statement. The final descent, down a long lane was quite a relief, although that too was a bit of a strain on our tired leg muscles, but it had all been worth it, thanks to Brian. Another super day, enjoying the countryside in the company of good friends.

Just one complaint - there were some of the stiles were very difficult to negotiate and could do with attention, and we even noticed a way-marker next to a gap that had been completely blocked with barbed wire. Fortunately we weren't going that way!

Heavenly Herefordshire

We returned, yesterday, from another short break away with our caravan, at The Millpond, Little Tarrington, mid-way between Ledbury and Hereford. The benefit of being a passenger is that I spent the whole of the journey home delighting in nature's rich tapestry of autumn colours, as we travelled through heavenly Herefordshire, glorious Gloucestershire and wonderful Worcestershire. Even Birmingham looked pretty beautiful. In the bright sunshine, and under a cloudless, blue sky, the reds and golds of the trees were the best I've ever seen. This was possibly due to the sudden drop in temperature the previous night, but more about that later.

It turned out to be a good first time camping experience for our friends D & D, who joined us there in their newly acquired mobile home. Apart from some heavy rain during the first night, the weather was perfect, with blue skies and bright sunshine.

On Saturday, we all visited the Taste of Herefordshire Food Fair, which was very enjoyable if a little over-crowded, so much so that part of the marquee floor had collapsed. There was lots of food and drink sampling, and we returned with bags of goodies. D & D were impressed with the site, set as it is amongst lots of trees and on the banks of a very attractive lake, and were sorry to be leaving, as they set off home on Sunday.

We stayed on an extra night, and what a night it turned out to be. We were told that it reached minus 5 degrees, and although we were warm enough under our extra duvets the air around our faces was freezing. It was a pretty unpleasant experience to have to get up in the morning. The windows had frozen up inside and the gas had frozen, so we couldn't turn on the heating (we will be changing over to 'red', as recommended by other campers), the nearest water taps had frozen, and as the sun gradually melted away the frost, the warmest place to stand, clutching our mugs of tea, was our little light weight porch awning. Still, we have now experienced our first night in a frozen metal box. We'll change our gas to the one that doesn't freeze up, buy a litte electric heater to supplement our gas-only heating and, in future, it would be a good idea to keep some form of heating on during the night if we are to expect sub zero temperatures - even for hardy folk like us! Once the frost had melted, it was warm to be outside in a t-shirt - well, for me.

Once I'd emerged from our frozen caravan, I enjoyed taking photos around the pond, including this close-up of tiny toadstools and lichens on a frosty log. The vibernums were particularly colourful, and the berries looked like little jewels.

Passing the orchards, on the way home, I couldn't help noticing how many apples lay on the ground under the trees. It seemed such a waste. I wondered if they would be gathered up at all, or would they just rot away. It's been such an excellent year for fruit.

Our youngest son, who has been travelling the length and breadth of China in the course of his work, will be flying home from Beijing in a day or so. I notice the temperature there is somewhere between 11 and 15 degrees, so not too different to ours. Hopefully he had moved on from the south of the country, before the predicted typhoon hit. We are looking forward to hearing all about his experiences when he returns.

I will be too busy today to visit the plot. The weather isn't too inviting anyway. When I was last down there, I noticed rips in the long fleece cloche, covering my newly planted cabbages. I was about to attempt to repair it when the whole cloche began to shake and from the far end a cat ran out. As I was a bit pushed for time, I just threw an old rug over the end, but I doubt if that will have done the trick. I'm expecting my cabbages to have been flattened.

Last Saturday I started the day with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs - well, it was my birthday! The day continued in that vein, with Mike cooking all the meals. We finished the night off with a glass of bubbly. In between, there was present and card opening, and a visit from our son and granddaughter (our grandson wasn't too well, so he stayed at home with mum), and a text from our other son, presently in China. Lolling around indoors, reading the paper and popping in the odd chocolate, I enjoyed being spoiled, but by the late afternoon I was becoming fidgety and joined Mike outside in the cold, to help him put some new trim on our caravan. Then my day suddenly became rather pear-shaped when I lost one of my well-loved earrings, as it pinged off somewhere amongst the ornamental grasses in the front garden. Panic over - I found it eventually, as it hung delicately half way down one stem of a very large clump of grass.

Sunday was ear-marked for an allotment session and despite the lovely weather, I was surprised to find I was on my own, down there at the bottom of the hill. Still, perhaps it had been busy the previous day, which was also a good, fine, sunny day. I came home later feeling that I had actually achieved something, having cleared away the courgette and squash plants, re-set the strawberries over some membrane, planted out garlic, and also some onion sets. I'd noticed that Eric had been busy setting out onions at the front of his plot.

Tuesday was a kitchen day - apron on, radio on, ingredients out and off we go - weighing, bagging and freezing various veg and fruit, baking cakes and preparing meals. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I was quite exhausted by the evening. I can garden for hours and walk for miles, but all that standing in the kitchen really takes it out of me. "I won't be going walking tomorrow if I still feel like this." I muttered, as I retired early to bed.

A good night's sleep did the trick, and upon opening the curtains and seeing what a stunning morning it was, I was ready to be off with the Wednesday walkers. Just as I was about to leave I had a call from my neighbouring plotter, John, to tell me that someone had driven over the front of Eric's plot, disturbing his newly-planted onion sets, and leaving deep ruts. There was nothing I could do at the time, as I was off to Lichfield, but I didn't think Eric would be well pleased.

Repton looked particularly picturesque, with the church spire standing out against a deep blue sky as we set off, climbing through the woodland at the back of the houses, passing the small enclosures containing pigs and geese. Anywhere out of the sun was pretty cold, and by the time we'd reached the banks of Foremark Reservoir, where the icy wind was whipping up waves, even the hardiest amongst us had to admit that it felt almost Siberian, although it looked almost Mediterranean. I wouldn't have fancied a dip in that water! Our walk leader, Jo, led us through a delightful orchard of old varieties of apples which, I have to admit, were a little too tempting! I've no idea which variety it was that I tested, but it was delicious. Newly ploughed and harrowed fields looked like samples of rich, brown cloth, under the blue sky, I could have taken dozens of photos, but it was a chatty day, so my camera was forgotten as we walked and talked together. Back in Repton, after a most enjoyable 9.5 miles, a group of us enjoyed cuppas (and cream teas) before returning home.

I just had to nip down to the plot, to see the damage, where I took some 'scene of crime' photos. The culprit has very likely sustained some damage to their vehicle.

Berry harvest

It was grape harvesting time a week ago, and I don't think we have ever had such a good crop. At the very last minute I changed my plan to open-freeze them, then bag them up for later use. Mike thought it was a pity not to make wine with them, there and then, so we brought out all the wine-making equipment (some ingredients were rather old and had to be replaced) and spent the rest of the day cutting down the bunches, stripping the grapes, and washing and weighing them until we had the required 11K, leaving a few bunches on the vine for the birds. We still have another vine, growing along the garage wall, and bearing yet more grapes, although these are possibly destined for grape jelly. Since then, the must, has been steadily fermenting in a large bucket. Let's hope all continues to go well.

Taking advantage of a warm, sunny day during the week, Mike and I parked by the church at Canwell, and strolled along the lane, carrying a couple of plastic containers, just in case there was something worth collecting from the hedgerows. As the blackthorn bushes were heavily laden with sloes, we spent some time gathering as many as we could, until the sun went behind the trees, and the temperature dropped considerably. The second photo shows the ripe sloes, looking just like bunches of grapes. The resulting sloe gin is turning a very pretty shade of deep pink, and there are enough sloes in the freezer for a further batch..... when I've bought some more gin.

The Wednesday walk, led by Judy, began at Baggeridge Country Park, near Wombourne. After a dull and rather raw start, the day suddenly improved and we all enjoyed the blue sky and warm sunshine during what turned out to be a particularly pleasant area. The trees continue to look spectacular and were mirrored in the lakes around the park. At the end of a long walk along the old railway track we had time to enjoy the rest of the sunny day, sitting outside the Old Station cafe, enjoying tea and home made cakes, before continuing on our way. This was the first time I'd walked in this area, and hopefully it won't be the last.

At the moment, we have our atlas open at the map of China, where our youngest son will be working over the next two weeks. He arrived in Shanghai on Thursday will be travelling to a number of cities there, by plane and train. In the meantime, we are following his progress on the map, and fact-finding on the internet, about

the places he'll be visiting.

A couple of days ago our new neighbours brought round a large bag of apples, so most of yesterday was spent chopping and preparing them for the freezer, and making two crumbles with the rest - one for us and one for our neighbours. The freezer is now packed with veg and fruit - enough to keep us going through the winter. Which reminds me, I must get down to the plot to plant the garlic and onions, not forgetting the cabbage plants.

Enjoying the blue skies

"Cancel everything - we are going out!" After all the miserable weather, last Thursday turned out fine and sunny, so Mike and I set off to spend a day in Kenilworth - a return visit for me, as I'd enjoyed my recent day there with the walking club. We did the tourist thing, walking around admiring the buildings, enjoying lunch in a cafe, sitting by the lake in the Abbey grounds and, finally, exploring the castle. I must say I was impressed with the historical information and displays. English Heritage haven't overdone or over-dressed the place, unlike some of the National Trust properties we have visited. What I can't get over is the amount of money lavished on Queen Elizabeth's visits there, by Robert Dudley. In particular, it is said that it cost him around £1,000 a day, during her her last visit of 19 days in July 1575, which almost bankrupted him at the time. I've included the photo of flowers on the mature ivy, growing up some of the large trees in the area. The air was heavy with their perfume, and the bees were loving it.

Yesterday turned out to be another good, fine day, in between the wet ones, so I spent a good part of it clearing out large clumps of day lilies, that have taken over part of the front garden. They look good when in flower, but there are too many strappy leaved plants there now, and I've decided that more colour is needed, particularly as there are already quite a few ornamental grasses. It was hard work, but now I'm left with a decent space where I can plant some suitable brightly coloured flowers. I had hoped to start harvesting some of the grapes, but that will have to wait for another day. Instead I joined Mike, sitting in the sun, under a clear blue sky. I couldn't resist taking photos of the heavily laden vines at the side of our house. The black grapes, in particular, looked so good against the blue sky.

And here we were, feeling very sorry for my sister and her husband, spending two weeks in an isolated cottage on Mull. What a holiday - in all that rain (we'd been watching the clouds over the West coast of Scotland, on the weather forecast). Then we received a card from them, telling us what a great time they were having, and no mention of bad weather. Last night my sister K rang me to tell me again about their wonderful holiday on the island, and that they can't wait to go back.