It's not been an easy week, and activities spilled over into the weekend, but I am finally here with an update of last week's events.
It all started a week last Saturday with our journey to Oxenhope where we met up with family and boarded the Worth Valley Railway steam train for and celebratory 50th Wedding extravaganza. David's sister, Nan and her husband, Lawrence were the hosts of a brilliant party aboard the train as it travelled up the valley and back. Here are a few photos:
And at the end of a wonderful afternoon of booze and buffet we tumbled out of the train and began our holiday. First stop Settle, North Yorkshire, where we met up with my second cousin, Carol, in the Golden Lion. We had a lovely meal and later stayed in the holiday flat, which daughter, Jo had rented for the week. (Her holiday). Next morning David and I were away early on our journey to the Isle of Arran, Scotland. We caught the ferry at Ardrossan and were united with our friends, Bob, Barbara and Lorraine, who had travelled up the day before (while we were whooping it up on the train). Our holiday house was the most beautiful, modern, 4 bedroom raised bungalow, with views across Whiting Bay. So, here is a taste of our hols in pics:
Entering the Jaws of the Ferry.
On Deck Leaving Ardrossan
And we are there, Brodick.
Views of Holy Isle
The House at Kildonen
Climbing the Mountain on Holy Isle, Mullock Mor
Basking Seals
And by our last day, the bottle of gin was almost empty
The Ferry Home
Pie and Chips, yummy!
And we were back on the mainland and on our way home. We arrived back in Birdwell at about 8.30 pm after a 270 mile drive down almost empty roads. It was a fantastic week of great food, drink, entertainment and exercise. We had travelled around the Isle of Arran, we had taken a boat to Holy Isle and climbed a mountain, we had visited a distillery, a burial mound with huge standing stones, art workshops, and numerous small craft workshops. And, yes, we did bring home a few souvenirs, some were bought and some were picked up as we beach-combed along the shore. I can't wait to return to Scotland for another such holiday - maybe next year, who knows?
The very next day, Saturday 11th September, was the opening night of 'That's the Spirit' at the Academy Theatre in Birdwell, where we spent the whole afternoon in rehearsals. The show went on to an almost full capacity audience on both nights, and I can't say just how fulfilling the whole experience was. What a great team of people to perform with, what brilliant writers, what a great audience. We had a little party when it was over, in the bar, with a great buffet brought by Bev, one of the cast. And I am going to single out Jade, our prompt, who, I think, had the hardest job of the night, sitting in the wings with the script and a little torch ready to keep everyone on track. Luckily she didn't have to shout at us, but she still had to follow every word. Well done, Jade! And well done, David for swinging on the curtain rope backstage.
So, here are a few pics:
Script writer, Lee Pollard
Script writer (and set erector), Paul Athorne.
,
'Scarred for life, not only mentally...'
Paul, dreaming up his next script
Now we are all fired up waiting for the next play. Over to you, Lee and Paul. Meanwhile we have news of 'That's the Spirit' being performed at Penistone next March as part of their Art Festival.
The Shedcast was a bit of a sorry affair this week, just a short report as we drove down from Scotland. But at least we tried. So here it is:
And that is us for another week. The week ahead looks a little quieter, though I have words to write, paintings to paint and music to practice. On second thoughts it might not be such a quiet week.
This is a very short blog because we are very busy this morning preparing for the weekend. More on that next week, but we did manage a Shedcast last night, so here it is. I have to say sorry for the abrupt ending but in all the jollity I forgot to check the battery and my computer blacked out - it was probably the hand of God saying 'enough already'.
If you are reading this, Jim and Pam, we are thinking of you and hope you are feeling better soon. I will probably ring you in the week.
Have to go now, please everyone, be careful when you are out and about, this Covid is still on the rampage. I am still disinfecting my weekly shopping delivery.
Lots of love and hugs to all, I'll be back next week with a full blog. Keep smiling!
Jane (and David) xx
P.S. Hope to see as many of you as possible at the Academy theatre in Birdwell, next Saturday or Sunday for our performance of 'That's the Spirit'.
Oh and if you are looking for a good read or are thinking about Christmas presents then buy one of my books. I need the revenue. Love you, byeeeeee! Go to Amazon.com Many thanks, Jane x
David and I have had yet another action packed week. We are certainly making up for the lonely lockdown days. I am going to start back to front this week, because yesterday, Sunday, was such fun and the perfect way to end a perfect week.
Just after lunch we donned our hiking boots with a specific destination in mind - The Acorn pub at Burncross, a 5 mile gentle jaunt through West Wood along the Trans-Pennine Trail. The weather was a bit overcast but very pleasant for walking. And why The Acorn? Well, our very good mates, Lee Pollard and Paul Athorne were performing in their band, Atlantic Heights. It's the first time we have seen them play so we didn't know what type of music to expect. We were not disappointed - rock music. It was a 2 hour mini festival, complete with hotdog/burger stand, outdoor bar and all the fun of an outdoor band. And lucky for us there was a group of young girls sitting near us whose enthusiasm only added to the enjoyment of the afternoon. So, thank you ladies for all the fun, and thank you, Lee, Paul, Gareth, Matt, and Karl for your excellent music making.
Working backwards, Saturday was just as much fun at the wedding of John and Karen.
And we danced the night away...
One step back and it was Friday night and Shed night, so here is our Shedcast, number 34 - The Surprise Parcel
I spent the whole of Wednesday (it felt like it anyway) in Barnsley doing a bit of last minute shopping and picking up David's trousers from the dry cleaners. And I had my hair trimmed a bit. I did enjoy going round the shops, although places in the Alhambra like TK Max and Next were very low in stock as they are on the move next month to new premises in The Glassworks. Not to worry, I still managed to get what I wanted, mainly a glittery belt. I then did the market and bought a sloppy top and an oversized dress (£10) which, I have to admit is a bit big. Anyway, the way my diet is going with all this new found social life, I might need it.
MONDAY - On Monday my sister Jo, her hubby David, and son Ben together with his bride to be (in January), Hayley, came to see us and we spent a brilliant afternoon and evening, catching up as we had not been together for months. We had lunch at the Strafford Alms just down the road, which was lovely, and then went home for a good old natter. The old photos came out, and Ben played piano for us. I did try out a bit of cello (not good after a bottle of Prosecco), and we had such a laugh opening the box (see Shedcast 34 above). We rounded up the day around our little firepit in the garden before waving them off, back to Manchester.
Did I mention last week that we went to a birthday party last Sunday, It has been such an action packed week. And in between all of this I have had rehearsals for the play, which is coming up fast, 'That's the Spirit' at the Academy Theatre on 11/12 September, and, a fun night at the Belmont Club with the Hoyland Theatre Group. Have you got your ticket yet?
Gosh! And I'm still breathing! And if I thought I could now relax, none of it. Our daughter, Jo is coming at the weekend, we are going to an exciting Golden Wedding Anniversary party (David's sister, Nan and Lawrence) on the Worth Valley Railway Steam train, followed by further adventures, so no time for binge box sets this week.
Do log on to my blog next week to see what we have to report. I am sure it is not going to be a quiet week. Thank you again for all the people who have been part of our lives this week, may you also live in interesting times.
Keep healthy, and keep smiling,
Lots of love,
Jane and David xx
PS And a special hello to Vito and Sharon, David and Kaeley (hope I've spelt that right) whom we met at the wedding.
