A Whirlwind Week and Visitors in the Shed

Hello Everyone,

Well, I've hardly had time to draw breath this week. It has certainly been the busiest and most social week we have had in a long time.

The week started well with a trip to Sheffield on Sunday afternoon where we spent a couple of hours down on the Quays at the Dorothy Pax bar where Ray Hearne and his daughter were performing. The bodhran player, Ciaran Boyle also made a guest appearance, as did the Fagan boys, Hamish and Harry. The whole show was a real treat and our first trip to Sheffield Quays was a total success.

On Monday we had to take the car in to have the breaks sorted out (an essential job) and while Halfords were sorting that out, David and I took a look in the shops, first B&M and then Dunelm. We wanted a few bits and it was good to just mosey around the isles and see what was on offer. We have now discovered that B&M is a good place to go to buy the Greek larger, Mythos. We didn't actually buy any, but we now know where to go should we decide we need some. Anyway we had a snack in the Dunelm coffee shop and that was very pleasant.

On Wednesday I spent the whole afternoon with Valentino (cello). The first time I have touched him in ages, shame on me, but it was a good practice.

Thursday was cleaning the house day ready for visitors on Friday, but we did manage a trip down the road to the 'jam lady' and as we were passing The Cock, we popped in for a cheeky pint.

And that brings us to Friday, Shednight, Yeah! And while we were enjoying life in our back garden we happened to see our new next door but one neighbours. Well, we had a chat and one thing led to another and before we knew it we were sitting in the shed enjoying a bottle of wine with Graham and Glenna - a Shed Afternoon.

The day unfolded perfectly and our evening guest arrived just after 6p.m. John Carter and his partner Karen. We knew John way back in Crete where he was a holiday rep. It's many moons ago and a long time since we last saw him. To cut a long story very short, we are invited to John and Karen's wedding and thought it would be great to get together to talk about their upcoming day. It turned out to be a brilliant evening, ending with toes toasting round our fire pit. So, here is our shedcast with visitors, John and Karen.

Saturday, and 10.30 to Belmont Club at Hoyland for our weekly rehearsal of 'That's the Spirit!' Get your ticket soon if you haven't already got one.

AND SUNDAY we were off partying again. This time it was at the Boatman's Rest at Worsbrough Dale where we had a family gathering for our son's partner's birthday - Tracy, 50 today! It was a great get together with our lovely granddaughters, Star and Jade. Here are a few pics:

AND TODAY, MONDAY as I write we are awaiting the arrival of my sister, Joanna, her hubby, David, and their eldest son, Ben with his bride to be (in January), Hayley. They are on their way from Manchester and we are all going out for lunch at the Strafford Alms, near Birdwell. It's another first for us, so we hope it will be OK. See next week's blog for a full account.

So, as you can imagine, I am slightly busy getting ready to go out. I hope you have all had a good week. For us it has been such whirlwind week, and beautifully sociable one. I think I could get used to having visitors in the shed, give us a ring if you fancy popping round.

Until next week then, keep well and keep smiling, 

Lots of love, Jane and David xx

P.S. And as we have a wedding to go to next Saturday, there will be photo's of that to look forward to.

Covid Blues and Jane's Weeping Woman

 Hi All,

I'm not going to hide this, I'v been in a shockingly depresses mood this week, not least, because my weight has shot up and I hate being hungry. Anyway, I did cut down on the number of slices of bread in a day, and there was no cake in the house (another reason for the depression) so my trousers do once again fasten around the waist. That said, I still feel like a living Beryl Cook lady, and I know there are going to be hungry days ahead.

And whilst feeling thus, I produced my painting of the week, my very own 'weeping woman':

Jane's Weeping Woman

And do you know, while I was in the shed, a terrible accident happened in Birdwell, when a motor cyclist and a car were in a collision. The first I knew of it was when the Air Ambulance came thundering overhead. The accident had been somewhere around Aldi's just up the road. I didn't know at the time, but I guessed someone was not having a good day. More tears!

However, I had a buzzy night (and yes, I mean buzzy) at the Hoyland Theatre Group meeting on Thursday evening, and successful rehearsals today for our up coming play at the Academy Theatre on 11/12 September, so I am, in fact, feeling much better. I even wrote an Aunt Martha verse or two, which I have recorded here: https: //youtu.be/ypaVv-DNPdI

I have noticed that the Youtube Shedcast is not visible on mobile phones, but if you go to the bottom of the page you will be able to open the website, and find the Youtube videos. Otherwise check them out on FaceBook by looking in my Timeline.

We have not stopped walking, but have only managed three decent hikes this week, still, we have been busy doing other things. It has taken us all week to get over the many celebrations we have had over the past few weeks, and now we are building up to the next round of popping corks. 

My task for the coming week is to paint something 'jolly' and lift the spirits a bit. I'm trying not to watch too much TV news whilst keeping up to date with radio broadcasts. 

David is going to fix a little coffee table for us, then when we have visitors we won't have to balance stuff on our knees. And we finally got rid of the remnants of the old sofa at the tip this week. I am formulating ideas for new curtains, too, (remember the ones I got at the charity shop? They have served us well all summer, but I am getting very annoyed by the fact that one curtain is shorter than the other and I am having to hide the shorter one with a flower vase that is also well past its sell by date), very annoying.

These things matter, you know.

So, before I find anything else to moan about I'll say ta taa! I know what you will all be saying: KEEP WELL AND KEEP SMILING!

So that is exactly what I aim to do.

Love to everyone,

Jane and David xx

53 Years and Still Laughing!

 

Hello Everyone,

The Art House is our favourite dining out place, interesting, intimate and indulgent. For our 53rd Wedding Anniversary we dined in style, yes, steak and chips and a bottle of champagne. It was the perfect way to end a perfect day, a day spent discovering Lincoln. We had never been to Lincoln so decided it would be a lovely day out on our anniversary, to trip off in The Dream Machine and take a look at the Cathedral. So that is exactly what we did. Here are the pics of our jolly:

And the next day, to clear our heads a little, we walked out of Birdwell to the campsite where our son, David Jnr, is trying out his new model festival tent cum yurt. However, the heavens opened and we all got a bit wet, that's life!

On Thursday we popped over to see our Granddaughter, Star, at her new flat in Hoyland, where David fixed new curtain rails. And on Friday we had an 'at home' day, I did a bit of painting, and David was researching for our up coming trip to Arran. Then of course it was Shednight, yeah! and here is our Shedcast number 31:

And that brings us to David's birthday and another jolly day. The morning was taken up with rehearsals for me, and shelf putting up, for David, but that was over by lunchtime by which time we were in Birthday mode. We tripped off to Wentworth and took a look around the antique centre, had a cuppa in the tea shop then went to Elsecar to look around the Heritage centre. That was a good move because I managed to find new shoes and a matching handbag that are perfect for the wedding we are invited to at the end of August, and hopefully will be OK for the other wedding we are invited to in January. Then it was home where we parked up and walked to The Traveler's Rest for a Birthday pint and a glass of cider before the cutting of the cake. And because those pictures have not yet transported to Google I will have to put them up later. You will probably have seen them on Facebook anyway.

My mission for today, as it is tippling down outside, is to finish reading the book I bought by Grayson Perry, The Decent of Man, and not a lot else. I suppose there will be a small saucepan of cooking involved, and the odd episode of Heartbeat to catch up on.

So, we'll catch up again next week. Have a good week, all. Keep well, and keep smiling,

Love, Jane and David xx

P.S. And here is my Anniversary poem: