TARDIS Tuesday- KILL THE MOON!

 Today's TARDIS Tuesday is an outfit I wore strangely recently (in comparison to others which have had a long hiatus)

Image borrowed from:
https://claraoswaldcosplay.dreamconnect.de/?p=639

It was worn by my old favourite, Clara Oswald, in series 8 of Doctor Who in a controversial episode called Kill the Moon. Controversial because it turns out the Moon is, in fact, an EGG...which hatches into a creature!

She wears a black and Autumnal coloured floral dress from ASOS plus her typical black opaque tights, her block-heeled Bertie shoes and a tan belt.

And here I am:

There's not much to say about this outfit except to say, I am wearing the ASOS dress but with leggings.  Mine was shortened...NOT something I needed to be done but when you buy it 2nd hand, not much you can do!  I also sold my screen accurate shoes so I am wearing an alternative pair of Clarks shoes I've had for a loooong time!

  

From the Archives- Autumn Treasures

 I was looking at my blog and found this post from October 2015. 

It included a poem about Autumn and reminds me of my need to make an effort to like Autumn. I don't. But I try!

So, come on then Autumn, show me your finery!
Take me on a journey of discovery, that we may know each other as dear old friends.
Deck yourself in your most dandiest of threads
And serenade and woo me with your beauty.
Dazzle me, hold aloft your greatest finery.
Pave my paths with gold and my walls with the richest of rubies.
Allow me to tread gently upon your veined-dreams.
Offer me the finest delicacies, enjoyed by the richest of your patrons.
And lead me to places with untold, unimaginable intricacy.
Exhibit shapes in myriad forms and the whole spectrum of shades.
Share your tree-dappled light as a lamp to my feet.
May lace-like ferns adorn my routes.
Like palms in far-off lands.
Show me that life still brims within you.
And that you are echoes of friends past, still near, still loved.
Teach me the ways of older beauty.
That you too, may be long-cherished in my heart.

CBC and I went for a forest walk today after a rather long and protracted detour in which we aborted an attempt to visit a nature reserve in the place of my ancestors, Tollesbury.  Instead, we returned to Danbury, a place I posted about walking in, in January.  I tried to look closely at the colours of the season and appreciate that there still is incredible variety, delicate beauty and not all shades of futile decay. Indeed, comparing it to my January walk, I see a great contrast and realise, that whilst Summer is my true love, that there is still much to rejoice in!

It is a joy to be on holiday for another week in which many joyous plans, dear friends and family to see and adventures will ensue!

I hope all is well with you!

xxx

Linking with Claire Justine at Creative Mondays 

AND, for the first time,

Linking with Photo Friday with Jen from Pierced Wanderings

Clematis glory

Last October, I wrote a short post about the wonderful Clematis Tangutica that we inherited when we moved to our house.

I realised that I only shared one picture last year so this year, I thought I'd give it to the glory it deserves.

Below, you can see just how much it has grown this year and how it surrounds (and clings onto) our swing seat.

It spreads quite far.

I'll show you the flowers at various stages

Here you can see the flowers as they have turned into seedheads. If you leave them, they go grey-haired and even more fluffy with distinct seeds attached. I've been cutting and saving these for my work colleague who makes beautiful dried flower arrangements.

Above, you can see the stage before, when the fluff is spiky and growing outwards.

Before this, you can see how they lose their Chinese lanterns revealing the stamens and stigma

Here it is at peak deliciousness for the myriad bees of all kinds who are flocking here in droves. It's wide open.

The stigma or stamens are bright yellow- hadn't seen that before!

Squeezing in that gap.

Here they are at the stage where the bees are itching to get inside but can't quite get in unless they squeeze in those gaps.

And here are the totally closed petals.

Can you see the tiny yellow bud?

It's such joy to see these beauties reach their Autumn Zenith. I am grateful for Mrs Baker (previous owner) and her clever planting!

Have you come across this beautiful before?

From the Archives: Blanchland calling!

I like looking back on past blog posts! I miss the times where I was really good at charting my travels and walks. I find it a bit more exhausting nowadays which is a pity!

I remember the first time I visited Blanchland in October 2015.  CBC and I were staying in Haltwhistle with WOMOTM and we had gone for a walk after a drive to Blanchland to visit a newly refurbished pub/hotel.  Blanchland sits on the Northumberland/Durham border and you pass the Derwent reservoir on your way up there.  We had an hour to kill and we were recommended a walk.  It's now one of my favourite walks which I have done at least twice this year and in the Summer, there's the bonus you can paddle in the river!

Hope you enjoy the Autumnal colour pictures.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Blanchland calling!

Blanchland is a village around 10 miles or so away from Corbridge in Northumberland.
We ended up going for a walk there because a friend recommended we visit the Lord Crewe Arms hotel there for lunch.
The restaurant/pub was full until an hour after we arrived so we went outside and calling in at the Post Office, CBC asked if the lady could recommend an hour's walk and she instantly gave us directions for a walk. Walking boots on, we set off towards the river.

Because the skies above us were so grey and lugubrious, the colours of the grass and foliage was by contrast, bright and cheering.

It was rather boggy and muddy walking by the river, but just the sound of a river is calming to the soul.

The sight of a path of crisp leaves amidst the mud was a most welcoming carpet, rather like a Sir Walter Raleigh cape to Queen Elizabeth's path.

The path took a right at one point past this dry-stone wall

The canopy of trees above our head was a sea of golden bells in bright harmony.

Even the green moss adorning the walls had the quality of green velvet and rather suggested opulence rather than decay.

Rain upon green blades resembled sequins and beads.

Here, where the branches were much sparser than those we'd seen before, the appearance was pleasing and resembled sparklers on Bonfire night in my mind.

And the tree below with its drapes of yellow made me think of the story we were told in primary school of a poor Christmas tree which the family could not decorate. Some spiders spun their webs all over it in the night and an angel saw it and turned the webs into silver and that's how tinsel came about.

A small pebbled beach appeared by the river side and a whooshing and burbling indicated the presence of a small waterfall or downward stream if one cannot use the word correctly.

Continuing, a pictureseque bridge was our next landmark to tell us to change our path.

Coming onto the bridge, we discovered that we'd hit the border of County Durham which surprised us both!

Turning into towards the woods, the path was drier, crisper and more pleasant. The colours were bright and pleasing.

It was therefore justifiably shocking seconds later when we entered the woods to be hit by the sight of a stark path bereft of any colour other than the dull brown, caused, I presume, by the needles dropping from the pine trees.

It was quite eerie to be struck into sepia mode without any warning and be surrounded by such imposing trees.

If things couldn't get any wierder, this silver birch (?) seemed to be looking at me!

...in more places than one, it seemed.

And apparently the eye of Sauron was there too!

It was rather a relief to find our way out of the enchanted woods and back towards the town, where an old ruin greeted us.

And finally, there we were, back in Blanchland itself, ready to sample the delights of the Lord Crewe Arms.

I hope all is well with you. I had a successful day with many positive moments:

• Teaching a maths lesson in which pretty much everyone got on and did stacks of work!
• Singing assembly- learning a French carol well.
• Recorder Club- totally nailing Hark the Herald Angels sing and Joy to the World.
• The response of the children who were told they'd been picked for KS1 Choir. One after my saying, "Do you mind, are you happy being in choir?" said, "It's my dream."  I cocked my head on one side and she elaborated, "Before you said it, I'd been dreaming and hoping you'd pick me and now my dream's come true."  This from a quiet little mite. I almost cried.
• My 4 year 3's who I picked to play 4 recorder pieces they've been learning in class for Achievement assembly, practising and being totally great and excited at playing.
• Eating Tempeh curry for dinner!

xxx