Mawdesley to Harrock Hill

Sunday and we were off to Mawdesley; weather wasn't good but "a little rain doesn't hurt anyone!".

With black clouds skittering across a "Fisherman's Jacket" sky, we set off towards Harrock Hill, with a bitter wind at our back. I did comment that at sometime we would have to turn back into the wind and face the wintery blast; we did and it wasn't nice at all.

Squashed frogs, primroses, celandines (A perennial Eurasian herb (Chelidonium majus) having deeply divided leaves, showy yellow flowers, and yellow-orange latex. Also called swallowwort) etc. pulled our wattery eyes to ditches and roads alike. Squashed frogs carrying spawn leave a very black, elderberry like, stain on roads. The blackthorn/sloe blossom was impressive (not May blossom; I always get them mixed up)

We made our way up Harrock Hill, a gentle slope at first, with views across Lancashire opening up as we acended; I took four pictures, when we rested near the top (on a well placed bench), and used autostitch to produce the following image.

The M6 and Camelot on the right, Preston in the centre and Southport on the left; in the distance the mountains of the lakes could just be seen (in the sunny spells. Continuing our walk we retraced our steps, of some months ago, as we neared the remains of the mill at the summit. Wouldn't it be a good place for a wind turbine in modern times? My cheeks suggested it would be ideal.

We left the mill and decended back towards Mawdesley; we were accosted by an inquisitive native, being taken for a walk by her dog; apparently the dog wouldn't move until we had caught up and told her where we were going. "Careless words, cost lives!" so I tried to keep everything quiet but, Chris was happy to tell all! We returned to the carpark via the millennium park, Mawdesleys offering to the 2000's.

To keep the youth of Mawdesley in control, the officials placed a reminder of what may happen to them, if they put a foot out of line. It worked, there wasn't a child to be seen anywhere! Come to that, nobody was around in Mawdesley during daylight...

Blogged with Flock

Using Flock

I'm trying out a different browser that allows me to blog directly to Maghull Meanders; if you can read this it has worked!

I should be able to drag images from the 'built-in' image bar (linked to my flickr account) such as the 'auto stitch' I produced today...

That was so much easier than the usual way I've been writing blogs. If, as I've said already, you can see this then take my word for it Flock may be the way to go!

technorati tags:Flock, Autostitch, Harrock Hill, Lancashire

Blogged with Flock

Where does time go??

It seems as if Chris isn't having much joy in uploading the images I've put on Flickr! having lost her text, at least twice, she has abandoned the blog in preference for Dum Aloo (Potatoe Curry); Today we went on our first walk for some time; Ruff Wood to Lathom and back to Ruff Wood. I had to take the picture of the 'Black Sheep' as it was unusual for them to be in the majority! They would go just as well with mint sauce as their fellow white sheep!
The day was 'fresh' and neither of us was looking forward to the second half of the walk when we would be walking into the 'stiff breeze'.
By the way Ben, Chris was wearing a very smart rucksack that apparently was a present from the USA! :-)
It is always surprising to see how close places are when you walk across country. Sorry I wittering! Ruff wood was full of white dogs exercising their owners and, although heard, a woodpecker avoided observation as it drummed out its beat on one of many fallen trees.
Crossing the main Ormskirk/Skelmersdale Road we headed across country past the afore mentioned sheep and joined paths we had walked before when walking the Burscough- Lathom-Burscough loop. We passed 'Ratty' just past the Lathom Hall' Chapel; Chris thought he was tired and just taking a power nap!
The second half of the walk was as expected; a cold wind into the face. We were greeted, near one farm, by a 'Tara' look-a-like who was as soft as... I was in danger of being licked to death! Soon it was back across the Skelmersdale-Ormskirk Road and up past St James' Church; it was just before we got to the church that, just before we crossed a stream, we saw the first primrose of the Year - and then some more.
The walk was coming to an end, walking past some large houses we both liked the look of the Half Timbered house pictured here. Note the 'white sheep'. Lynn, if you read this before I speak to Dad, tell him the walking stick behaved very well!
A quick stop in Ormskirk, M & S and the Veg stall on the market and it was back home for M & S soup and Rugby on the TV. Ireland managed the Triple Crown (beating Scotland by 1 point) and Italy beat Wales (by three points) who have yet to win anything! England France tomorrow... time will tell but I'm not expecting a win.

February Catch up...

February seems to have dashed by, no sooner have I celebrated my birthday (with a four hour journey home from work and a late celebratory meal at the Blue Elephant) than I'm off work with "man flu". I wouldn't wish that on any body. Before the Flu we had completed a walk that included part of the Delamere Forest; it also retraced some of our steps on the "Sandstone Trail". Images can be seen at Delamere Forest Walk by John Dalziel and as you will see, spring has arrived early! Lambs, snowdrops and Quince Blossom to name but three! This Sunday was the first time, since then, that I felt strong enough to attempt another of our walks so Chris and I set off to complete the Three Parks walk; we were just parking, back in January, to do this walk when Lynn telephoned to tell me mum had died so memories flooded back as we parked again. The following link take you to Bookr showing images of our walk with appropriate titles Liverpool 3 Parks Walk by John Dalziel
The walk, as you can see from the photographs, started in quite thick fog and ended in bright sunshine. Lots of spring flowers and birds, including a wood pecker, in evidence. At the end of the walk it was off to the Tate Cafe for a coffee and a bite to eat before returning home.

Another version of the photographs

I thought you may all want to look at another version

Not forgotten!

As Lynn said in her "Ulphies News", the 19th of January 2007 was one of the hardest days of my life; There wasn’t anything that I could do or say to ease the pain that I felt. Messages of thoughts and sympathy, from you all (and many others who couldn’t be with us on that day), have reinforced what, in my heart, I already knew.
Betty, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend to many, was “a lovely lady”; “one in a million”; “thoughtful, caring, kind, loving and generous”; “she will be missed in the community of Hadleigh, by both young and old, and remembered for her hospitality, especially her cooking, and her smiling face”; “family was everything to her and she was very proud of us all and wanted to share that with us at every opportunity”.
Since her sudden death, Lynn, dad and I have found strength and comfort from each other and the wonderful memories of times we have spent together -
She is still beside us, in our hearts and always will be. This Bubblr Strip links together those of us who meant so much to her. This is for you Mum.

Darwen Tower & Sunnyhurst Wood

Below is a link to my bubblr accout of Saturdays walk. Just click on it once to activate; a second time to be taken to the 'actual size' strip.
I think this is an excellent tool for bloggers and has huge potential in teaching and learning. (Sorry I slipped into work mode!)
I'm sure Chris will want to add a few comments but I think the bubblr strip says it all!

Catching up

What a lot has happened since the last blog! J has spent a lot of time with his Dad and they both came home last weekend. I picked Madeline and Ben up from the airport early on Saturday morning and it was hugs and tears all around! They both had different ways of dealing with the inevitable jet-lag but I am not sure who won that one! A trip to Asda and an evening meal at The Pheasant on Saturday evening finished off the day and Dad seemed to enjoy it all. Sunday was clear and bright and we set off for Martin Mere to feed a few ducks.
B & M took quite a few photos (!!) and we all enjoyed the sunshine and ducks. I hope I am adding a photo from each collection to save arguments! We then headed to the Owd Barn for toasted cheese sandwiches and back home to view the photos! We played board games and laughed a lot with a few sad moments in between. Dad and I went to get Grandma’s photo printed out and to buy a frame on Monday and had a quick look round the new stands at Aintree. J had an interview on Tuesday and I went to work so the young ones kept Dad amused at the Ice Cream Parlour in Maghull, I suspect it wasn’t quite what Madeline is used to!! M & B cooked for us on Tuesday evening and J and Dad set off back to Hadleigh on Wed with Ben and Madeline who were dropped off at Mandy’s. I popped into work and went to the gym in the afternoon. Mel and I set off for Peterborough at about 1 pm on Thursday and finally arrived at midnight due to gales and road closures. I think that is all we need to say although I am thinking of writing a novel about our epic journey!! We all headed for Hadleigh on Friday for Mum’s funeral at Ipswich crematorium. It was amazing to see so many people and although a very sad occasion it was good to see so many friends and relations. J stayed on with Dad and the rest of us headed back to Peterborough. Mel, I, Ben and Madeline drove back on Saturday and J arrived just after us from Hadleigh. An early start to the airport on Sunday and having seen the lambkins safely off to the departure lounge, we went for a 4 mile walk around Dunham Massey. It was certainly cold but very pleasant and we saw lots of deer in the park, some of whom were trying to rub off their old antlers.
We waited to see if a set would just fall off nearby but unfortunately they didn’t. Disappointed we headed for the café for sandwiches and hot drinks. Everything seems to be back to normal now and everyone is at work today, I do not have to be in Southport until 10 am so thought I would just catch up before I set out for the day. We still have the internment to come but a chapter in our lives has ended and we all look forward to the next one, what ever that may be. With flights already booked for 9 April, San Francisco should be the next great adventure!!

A very sad Sunday

Last Sunday should have been a really good day, Mandy and Dave were home from Oz, Mandy was 30 and we were off for a walk around the parks of Liverpool. All that changed when we got the phone call from Lynn to say that Mum had died. There is that awful feeling that you just don't know what to do or say and so many things go through your mind in a few seconds. All the lovely times with the children when we lived in Fordham, the fantastic cooking and that very special feeling that I still had a mum even though not by birth. We phoned Mandy and Mel and John and Mel set off to Suffolk with me following in my car. We met Mandy and Dave in Hadleigh and it was good to see so many of the family united in grief. Dad seemed totally shocked and I know that John, Lynn and he have had a hard time of it this week with all of the arrangements to be made. As Lynn said, ‘a lot of tears but a lot of laughter’. I came home on Monday having stopped at Mandy's with Mel and life has resumed with a little bit missing. The joyous news to come out of all this is that Ben and Madeline are coming over tomorrow from the US in time for next Friday's funeral and having just read Ben's blog I am sure there will be a few more tears. Rest in peace Mum wherever you are and thanks for all the joy you brought into our lives. Ben’s photo for you says it all.

Happy New Year!!

A Happy New Year to all our readers. Glad you enjoyed the fireworks Mandy and Dave and that Oz is treating you well! The last few days seem to have been a bit of a lazy blur. I have been suffering with my back/hip since Wednesday and the gym didn't seem to help. I am much better now and we managed a 4 mile walk yesterday from a village in Cheshire, called Bunbury. Part of it was VERY muddy and part along the Shropshire Union Canal which was nice. I am booked in to see Diane on Wed afternoon so I am sure she will sort me out.
We spent a very exciting new year's eve in front of the TV with Mel and bottle of wine and champagne. The fireworks in London looked very good on the TV but doubtless not as good as Sydney! They cancelled the Liverpool celebrations due to very high winds - I have seen worse! Have just been on an abortive trip to see if any shops were open but they were not. J nearly bought a new watch from Colin Beaver (who was there in person!!!) but they didn't have a big enough strap. What a crazy life we lead!! I can't believe where the last 10 days have gone but it is back to work tomorrow and only a few days before the OZ wanderers return - but you probably didn't need reminding of that sorry.

December 27 2006

Have just caught up with the traveling bloggers - fancy having the heating on in S California!! Your photos are all lovely and it is great to see what you are all up to. Jan and Dave came yesterday around noon and we headed off for Crosby to see the Anthony Gormlley figures. Quite a few festive decorations and a very very cold wind on the return walk but good to get out for a blow.
Back home for spicy soup and traditional Boxing Day cold buffet with trifle to follow and good wine. Liverpool were on TV so Mel was excused from the table at 3 pm! We all tried the sloe gin which was very pleasant and well worth the wait; you will have to celebrate the big 30 with some Mandy!! I have suggested going to collect some sloes tomorrow if it is fine ready for next year's bottle. We started playing Balderdash at around 6.30 pm closely followed by Pit and Pictionary and Janet was amazed when it was only 8.30! We gave up at around 10.30 as there was a lot of yawning and after a Bailey's for Jan and whiskey for J and I we went to
bed. We all had a lie in this morning and it was well past 9 am when we got up. J and D left about 11ish and we went to Asda to buy a few essentials! A lazy afternoon and plans for going to the gym tomorrow - how lazy can you get in a week! Take care and keep blogging. Thanks to Greg for his wonderful Christmas letter and for the Christmas card, lots of love xx

Christmas 2006!

Christmas is almost over for another year! Strange to hear tales from around the world of Christmas swims – perhaps we will try it tomorrow if we make Formby! We have had a good day with nice food and drink and some good presents. Thanks Ben and Madeline, I am looking forward to my grown up book, I shall try to read it in the daytime so I don’t fall asleep.
We did a repeat walk yesterday of one we did a couple of years ago on the Wirral, We decided that 12 miles of the Ribble Way was a little ambitious for Christmas eve! We did 10 miles last week and it was very boggy in places and almost dark when we got back. Perhaps we will get an early start next week and go for it. We saw lots of birds yesterday; because it has been so mild lately I think they have missed out winter and are getting into Spring mode. We saw a huge flock of curlews (big birds with long curved beaks!) and quite a few flowers which shouldn’t have been in flower. Hopefully J will provide the pictures. We are both off work now until 2 Jan but poor Mel has to go to work on Wednesday! Not sure what we will do, possibly lots of trips to the gym for me to get rid of the Christmas sloth! (Two toed).I think there is probably a connection Ben between the drink and the hangovers, perhaps you are just getting too old to keep up the pace!! Glad you had a good time with Paddy and Katie; let me know if you think a week in SF would be a good idea in April and if you would have any time to spend with us?? I know you are busy but we can do some self entertaining too – I have the book! As you are going to be there for at least 2 years I am sure we could come again later and possibly do the trip down south? Let us know what you think sometime!
Lots of love to you both and the OZ travellers too – take care if you meet any big kangaroos!! xx

Catching up .....

Last weekend we had Mandy and Dave to visit, which was nice. They arrived uncharacteristically early on Friday evening so had to go to the chippie for tea as we had already eaten! Saturday we went to Southport shopping as Dave had discovered that there was Russell & Bromley shoe shop there. He bought boots and trainers which was a great success but I don’t think anyone else got anything. We went home via Farmer Ted’s for meat and the farm shop for veg and a hot drink and snack, apart from Mandy whose toasted teacake never arrived.
On Sunday M & D did a bit more shopping at Asda and we had lunch around 2 ish – steak and kidney with dumplings followed by baked Alaska which seemed to go down well. Lovely to see them before their great Antipodean adventure (is that the right word??). The rest of the week was pretty much as usual, work, sleep, gym. TV etc. Friday night I parcelled up Mel’s gifts for Ben and Madeline and delivered them to Tickle’s mum who was amused that I called her daughter Tickle rather than Katie. I was equally amused that she only knows Ben as Scouse! We wrote all the Christams cards and I wrapped up books for the great nephews and niece. Yesterday I did some bits of Christmas shopping for people at work (I suffered a serious cardboard cut in M & S which bled profusely!) then in the evening we went to the Packet Steamer with Mel and Lucy and Ian who had come up to watch the football. Mel had got them tickets and we had a very pleasant evening of good food and pleasant conversation. I had my hair cut in the afternoon, I am glad to say that it has nearly recovered from the butchering at Toni & Guy.
As the forecast for today was stormy with strong winds and wall to wall rain we decided not to continue with the Ribble Way and went instead in search of culture. We went to the Walker Art Gallery where there was an animation thing called Insyde http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatsonnet/displayexhibitions.aspx?mode=current&venue=2#InsydeInsyde
which kept us amused for quite a while. We then went and looked at 3 rooms which had been rehung with modern art – pretty rubbish! Then it was off to the Tate to see the Henry Moore sculptures (J got told off for stroking one!) and then to the Paul Caulfield exhibition which was quite nice. http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/ The big canvas of brightly coloured pots on the web site was my favourite. We then went to the Tate café and I had toasted blue cheese with roasted pear and rocket leaves – very tasty. We have just watched the last bit of the semi final of X factor which we missed last night and poor Ben has been sent home!! I think it might be crossword and nap time now as J is watching rugby! Looking forward to tales of Oz and San Fran xx

Ribble Way Part 3

Our adventures seem woefully inadequate having just read Ben’s latest blog all about Thanksgiving. It sounds a lovely idea for the whole family to get together especially at Big Bear in the sunshine. Saturday was the usual – gym for me, some food shopping then both J and I did some work and generally lazed the day away. I am sure rugby featured on somewhere during the afternoon!
Sunday didn’t look too hopeful with lots of black clouds about and very wet from the previous night’s rain but we set off undeterred to Clitheroe (end of walk) and then Ribchester to start the third stage of the Ribble Way. We walked past the badger wood but no sign of them; they must have been tucked up in their set. The river is very wide and with all the recent rain was very high as well. There was a long stretch through fields which were incredibly muddy and J quickly had very wet feet. He had new waterproof trousers which kept the outside nice and dry but didn’t breathe so got a bit damp inside!! The wooded stage was even slipperier with all the mud and leaves and it was quite a relief to get on to a hard surface for the final part of the walk. About 2 miles from the end we found a nice little tea shop where we had sandwiches and fresh orange juice which managed to revive us for the final stretch. They had a book called ‘Tea shop walks in Lancashire’ so I shall be ordering that!! We saw Stoneyhurst College in the distance which is where Tolkien’s son studied. The area around there is supposed to be the setting for Middle Earth in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. We didn’t see any Hobbits but then it was very wet underfoot and it wouldn’t have done their fur any good. By the end of the day it was lovely and sunny and we got home around 4 pm just in time to cook a roast and chill out. Do you remember doing a walk near Stoneyhurst one Christmas Mandy? It was equally wet that day!!
I am hoping that my car will be back either tomorrow or Wednesday but I must admit I am very pleased with the Polo, perhaps they would like to do a swap. Mel and I are going to the Lowry tomorrow night to see Arnold Bennet’s The History Boys. We went to see the film of it a few weeks ago but then someone at work mentioned that it was on in Manchester so I managed to get 2 tickets – not necessarily together but not far apart! I hope I don’t get stuck on the M62!!
I have just come back from the gym so thought I had better catch up before I forget what we did!! Love to you all xxx

The alternative version!

My poor new car received a bump to the side last Wednesday! I was not in the car and a new driver was reversing out of a drive opposite and didn’t have quite enough room. I thought it would be easy to solve but the garage I took it to just for a look thought it would have to have a whole new side panel welded on!! I have therefore left it to the insurers to sort out and they are coming to collect it tomorrow. I picked up a nice silver Polo tonight to use until mine is returned home. Very annoying when it was so new but at least the girl involved waited to tell me that she had run into me which I thought was very honest of her.
The Ribble Way is going well if somewhat muddy especially when you have slippery shoes (not me!) but we have been really lucky with the weather and it is very exciting seeing deer (spotted by Tracker John) with the unlikely prospect of badgers next time. I have now got a gym programme which only lasts an hour rather than 1.5 hours but as a result everything is now up a level so it is hard work but better. Mel and I went to see the Taming of the Shrew at the Playhouse last night which was really good and very funny. J declined the invitation and is currently watching Liverpool playing football at the mo with Mel. (Mel isn’t playing football). Mel and I went to see Borat last Saturday which was probably one of the worst films I have ever seen but I am sure Ben would find it hilarious.
I hope the wok chef soaked and precooked the black beans- it is easier to buy a tin!! Chinese 5 spice is readily available from the spice rack section of all major supermarkets. They had it in Asda in Skem!! We have just had the third lot of savoury rice which J made on Monday but turned out rather more than he expected, hence why we are still eating it!
Keep up the good blogs, it is lovely to have them to read. Take care and love to you all.

Preston to Ribchester

I'm sure Ben will like the 3B village I've produced to show my 'Ribble Way' Photographs to date. 3B is an 'alternative' Browser that combines a '3D walk through' with web links; at work I've produced a 3B Village of Websites I use day-2-day. There are a number of different types of 'village' for the photographs I've chosen 'Art Gallery'

To view my 3B village, please download the 3B browser. Then click on the picture to open Weekend Walks 01 Ribble Way village.

The walk on Sunday was blessed by good weather again but for most of the walk the fields in particular were boggy! We did however see two deer along with a wide range of flora and fauna.
The vase-shaped fungi was of particular interest! Seen high above the Ribble in woodland; the climb up was a struggle as the bank was very slippery. Your mother managed to stop me slipping back down to the bottom... What a star! As you can see, the birds wont go without this winter! Plenty of berries in the hedgerows.
I'll update the Live.local map of the Ribble way walk when I get a few mins; watch this space... I think Chris was upset that the cafe, that we visited last time we were in Ribchester, was closed; the alternative visit to the pub (a local pub for local people) was not good! We ended up buying sandwiches from a shop and eating them while watching 'boy's football'; The traffic Warden arrived... Many of the dad's had to get parking tickets very quickly! Looking forward to the next section; Chris quite excited as we pass the wood where we went to 'see the badgers'!

Ribble Way

Sorry Mandy/Dave, the choice was the
Ribble Way! Mainly because we didn't have instructions for the Bronte Way. (We have now). We set off from the Dolphin out towards the marshland beside the river; Signs told us not to feed the donkeys in the next field and to keep out of another field as there way clay pidgeon shooting in progress (It's worrying if they couldn't they tell the difference between a clay pidgeon and us!)
Your mum was wrapped up against what was a very cold wind. The path was well walked and clearly signposted. Along the river there was a huge range of different water fowl and other birds including geese, cormorants, various breeds of duck, oyster catchers etc. Pity we didn't have the binoculars with us.

The cold onshore winds had hastened autumn and many of the more exposed trees had lost all their leaves; however in sheltered parts the warm October/November had brought the gorse into flower (what a contrast!)Ben, I'll say sorry now but, I couldn't resist the temptation of taking this photograph...
I know it was one you always planned to take but the opportunity was there and I couldn't resist.
Once we were past the entrance to Preston Docks, the walk became much more interesting and the autumnal (fall for those who still have to learn English) colours added to the beauty of the scenery see the photographs on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/acljohn/?saved=1
Ive also plotted the map, as usual, on Live.Local and the link is http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!638.
Pushpins 1 to 24.

We stopped on the way back from the walk at one of our 'eating houses' the Owd Barn. Chris had Thick Onion Soup and I had a cheese & Onion Toasted sandwich; Date and walnut cake to take away. Your mum was impressed that the cake was cheaper to take away so it will be take-away from now on. Look after the pennies...

Wycoller Walk

The question on Sunday was "where do we go now the Lancashire Trail is completed?"

The answer was located on the internet and it was
Wycoller! On the Bronte Trail (that is a possible walk; Chris is keen!) Wycoller is a very attractive Lancashire Village. The, now ruined, hall was possibly the inspiration for one of the buildings mentioned in Jane Eyre (Chris may get round to telling you about it in more detail) A visit to the information centre in the converted barn provided us with maps for three walks; the walk we did can be found at: -
http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!595
Images can be found by pausing over push-pins or at...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acljohn/sets/72157594231686898/
We now have to decide if we are going to do the Lancashire Coastal path, the Ribble Walk (mouth to source) or the Bronte Trail. Watch this space...

Maps and Pictures

70 and one quarter miles over 9weeks; From St Helens on Merseyside to Thornton-in Craven on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border. Nine walking days (Sundays including one Saturday I think) with stunning views over Lancashire and the Cheshire Plain ending with a gradual climb to Pendle Hill with unsurpassed scenery all round. Meandering streams, leafy lanes, hidden pastures, reservoirs, canal towpaths and woodlands. The view can be changed by clicking on Road or Aerial as shown. You can zoom in and out of maps by using the toolbar or, I prefer, using the scroll wheel on your mouse (assuming you have one). You can also move around the map by clicking and dragging.
http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!578 provides you with a link to the overview of the Lancashire Trail; didn't we walk a long way!
Hovering over 'pushpins' provide images (if I've added them) and More details; This will open other maps with step-by-step directions. Photographs taken on the Trail are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/acljohn/sets/72157594231686898/
Other links to maps: if you want to look at them individually, are...
http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!108
http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!310 and
http://local.live.com/?v=2&cid=A379F4C664F7684F!517
Watch this space for the next walk...

A rabbity and squirrely day!

Sunday was beautiful! The sun shone (too much at times for J), the rabbits played the squirrels jumped and climbed, the river gurgled and all was right with the world. Our final leg of the Lancashire Trail was completed from Barley to Thornton in Craven through some truly amazing and peaceful countryside with autumn colours all around and the smell of damp leaves underfoot. It really hasn’t been like October weather-wise which just proves that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet Ben!! Having said that it is raining and very windy today so perhaps this is the real autumn. We went to the Theatre last night to see ‘The way home’, a social comment type play about a family of gypsies who lived down the road from a typical Scouse family (if there is such a thing). There was lots of swearing and some poignant moments which made you question who was the most dysfunctional! Tonight it’s the Playhouse and a play called ‘The man with two gaffers’; no idea what it is about but hopefully it will be good!
Glad you had the chance to play cricket Ben but don’t ever admit to being good at anything more dangerous such as shark fishing! Hope you have got over your worries about the homeless – unfortunately part of modern life.
We are having a visit from a man from the DfES today and I have the honour!! of entertaining him for an hour and a half so I shall be showing him the sights of Bootle in my new car – lucky man. This is an early morning blog as I don’t need to be at a school until 8.45 am and it is not worth going into the office first. The clocks changed at the weekend so I was awake at 5.45. Love to all our lambkins and keep up the good blogs, those who bother!!