Hello. I'm having a little bimble. My first port of call is the Anderton Boat lift at Northwich, it has been on my 'to do' list for ages. It's an amazing piece of engineering which moves narrow boats from the low level of the River Weaver to the high level of the Trent and Mersey Canal. there are two lifts side by side, so when one is going up the other is coming down. I paid the £7 to ride on a boat and go up on the lift. The pilot gave a very informative talk. It was a slow process, steering the boat into the lift, waiting for the lock doors to open and close. It was similar to going into a normal lock.
Luckily the rain held off long enough for me to walk around the site. The Anderton Marina was full of boats. This part is for permanent residents.
That's one place ticked off, tomorrow I am going to see the Pontcysllte Aqueduct. My B & B for two nights is in Llangollen. I had a walk around the town and bought some food for my picnic in the room. The River Dee runs through the town. Beautiful scenery.
The weather hasn't been too good today, where has the sun gone? Tomorrow I plan to walk the four miles along the canal to the Aqueduct, and back again. Janet, if you are reading this, the mobile phone signal is very poor here.
I'm a bit tired so I'll sign off now. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
And a very good morning to you my lovely readers. I'm full of the joys of summer. Were you up early enough to see the beautiful sunrise this morning? Isn't it just the best free show on earth? I went to bed early and got up early. Made a coffee, and watched it rise behind the trees at the bottom of my garden. Not my trees, the silver birches are in the garden behind mine. A panoramic view from my upstairs window.
Stunning, love the whispy reds. It's looking like another blue sky day today. Yesterday I started my walks again, the leg is better, then another afternoon in the summer house. Could be the same pattern for today. Best make the most of the nice weather.
I hope you have a lovely Sunday, with your mum, your kids and grandkids if you have any. My mum would have been 99, sadly she died 35 years ago. Love you mum.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Good morning. I had a smashing day yesterday with relatives in Nottingham. A time to catch up with the news. Thanks Auntie and cousins.
Just time to put on these pics from the Arts Centre before I go to Crafty Club. There is my picture, Three Trees, hanging proudly with the rest of them.
This is an interesting textile picture. There is a second layer behind the tree at the front, which has been stitched onto fine organza. Lots of machine stitching.
I love the skill and detail in this stitching, all done in cotton on fabric.
A free standing sculpture. A mosaic made of fused paper and painted, supported by lots of fine wires with beads threaded onto them.
Must dash, I need to get ready. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. I wish I'd known about this, I would have been there. A wind turbine blade has been installed in Hull City Centre overnight. I just love big load manoeuvres. Those guys at ALE, Abnormal Load Engineering at Stafford, certainly know how to squeeze these monsters through small spaces. I used to work with them when I was on Leicester Heavy Haulage. Their skill is amazing, they have some brilliant kit.
Looks like they cleared Queen Victoria Square of the light show equipment overnight, and brought in cranes to install cradles which will support the wind turbine blade. The move was planned for a 2am start from the Siemens Factory. This is part of the Year of Culture, and will be on display until March.
I have a fascination for all things heavy haulage, I was part of it for three years. Ah well, that's in the past, but I have some brilliant memories, and when I see them on the road part of me wishes I could turn back the clock and do it all over again.
Back to my artwork. Have a nice Sunday. Toodle pip
Hello. A few more pics of my visit to Hull on Thursday. The main attraction was the amazing light show in Queen Victoria Square. I saved this experience for last. Glad I did, because a lot of people were heading out to The Deep when I was coming back into the centre of the city.
The three main buildings were the screens for this epic show. They all had the same images and sound playing simultaneously, so no matter which way you were facing you didn't miss any of it. The story of the last 70 years of Hull's history was played out in fabulous sight and sound panoramic views. I stood facing the Maritime Museum. As well as spectacular it was also very emotional to watch.
A shame that part of HULL was missing in the doorway of the building.
By the time I had watched this I was shivering with cold and thought it best to make tracks for the bus station. I would have liked to see it on one of the other buildings but I was cold, and there was an hour in between bus times. I caught the 6.25pm bus. It was busy with passengers from the South Bank all making their way home.
If you want to watch the whole show, it's here on yoootooob, thanks to Adam Reeve's excellent video. Thanks to Lesley for sending me the link. Put it on full screen, it's very emotional.
I must get on. Dog to walk. Thank you for popping in. Have a nice weekend. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello and good morning. I enjoyed my visit to the Hull City of Culture light show yesterday. Even with a huge hoody parka jacket on it was bloomin cold. I drove to the next village where I caught the bus, easiest way to get there, no looking for car parks and no Humber Bridge toll to pay. There seemed to be more passengers than normal, so the journey took a bit longer with all the stopping and starting. Everyone had the same idea, lots of people from the South Bank, using their bus passes to have a free couple of hours entertainment.
At the bus station there were volunteers in their distinctive blue uniforms to hand out leaflets with maps, showing where all the attractions were. I set off crossing the busy Ferensway and went down Jameson Street to Queen Victoria Square. This is where the big light shows take place. I was too early as it was still light, so I carried on down Whitefriargate. There were a few shop windows to look at which had been filled with relics from the past, a trip down memory lane.
Along the route I came across some people left over from the Sea of Hull a blue art instillation which was photographed last year. You may remember I wrote about hundreds of volunteers who had stripped off and were painted blue.
Along the way I walked across the new Footbridge. I quite liked this cloud formation which reflected a red sun going down.
Arriving at The Deep I was lucky enough to get a shot of this amazing sky just as the sun was dropping down below the horizon.
Opposite The Deep was a building loaded up with a bank of high powered projectors waiting for the sky to darken enough to allow the show to begin. All around were Lots of speakers which would tell the story of how people from all over the world made the journey to Hull.
This is The Deep, my picture from a previous visit. It's one of Britain's biggest aquariums. As you can see a perfect canvas for a light show. At the top of the pointy bit were spotlights reaching up into the dark sky.
I took lots of snaps, but discarded a lot of them. Here are a few of the best.
The story starts in 1800 and goes through to the present day, depicting who came to Hull, how they arrived here, and where they came from. It was fascinating. It was on a loop, I watched it twice. It's a shame that the tide was out and there wasn't very much water in the channel below. The reflections would have been a whole lot better.
I looked to the side and got this pic of the tidal barrier. Love the light reflections in the deep mud.
Now to cheat. Adam Reeve has done a very good video, it's on yooooyooob. It's 13 minutes long, with sound, well worth a look, and the tide is in.
There are too many photo's for one post, so I'll put more on tomorrow. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.
Hello. How about this then. The new look designer gardening boots. Everyone will want a pair like these. I'm thinking of going into the refurbishing boots business, could make quite a packet with my quirky designs. I think a price tag of around £75 will cover the cost of my time, and materials used to upcycle a pair of boots.
Planting flowers in them was suggested by quite a lot of you. I tried it once and the flowers died. I'm not sure why because my feet are not particularly smelly. They get a wash once a month whether they need it or not, ha ha.
This quick makeover took all of three minutes, and I expect my gardening boots to last at least another couple of years. They will be great in the summer because I have incorporated a complex ventilation system in the design. You will note the open grid at the front, this enables air to enter the boot in the toes area, which then circulates around the whole foot and exits around the ankle. A blow through draught will ensure the feet are continually kept cool when other parts of the body may be sweating profusely.
I can see that there might be a problem during the winter months when the ground is sodden after a rainfall. There is a possibility that mud and water will enter the boots, which could cause some problems, like dirty socks and feet which will have to be washed upon entering the house. I will have to put my inventing cap on and come up with a solution. Perhaps two plastic carrier bags could protect them, the handles could be tied around the ankles to prevent them from slipping off. At least the plastic bags will get another use out of them.
Anyway, I am taking orders for my new boot refurbishment business. Send me your boots with the cash, sorry can't do cards or cheques, and I will do my best to give them an attractive makeover. You will be delighted with the results, if you are not then tough, like it or lump it as my mother used to say. There may be a delay in sending them back to you as I expect demand for this service will be pretty high, so do not expect miracles. If you find you need the boots quickly I suggest you go out and buy another pair to tide you over.
Now I must go and do other things, so I'll leave this with you. Admire my genius inventiveness and if you would like to have a go at boot refurbishment yourself just send £65 in cash and I will dispatch to you a comprehensive kit which will contain everything you need to redesign your boots to a high standard like my own.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
