Cold Sunshine

After a week in the Lake District, I thought ever-changing weather was done for the year but alas, this week at home has been a little bit of everything. Unfortunately I wasn't fully prepared for steep walking; having never been to the Lake District I didn't know what the landscape was like and thought that the walking would be pretty much flat. Oh how wrong I was! Beatrix Potter's house was such a disappointment. I forget how much the admission fee was but the only written information available around the house (and not all of the rooms were open) was a label on a clog. Of all things, a clog! So the photos, pictures and other niknaks were just objects without any history. Chance of getting the National Trust lady to speak at a reasonable volume, not bellowing, was not likely and even then, I genuinely don't think she knew a great deal; she was just there, letting people in.

Thankfully though, the visit to Wordsworth's house was far more enjoyable. There was a detailed, guided tour and visitors were left to wander around the [albeit small] garden at our own leisure. And the things the girl knew ~ I'd imagine there's a degree in the life of Wordsworth in the works there!

I found a spot on Thursday where a rainbow kept reappearing and you could see the whole span of the arc, even the end which faded out against the trees; something I have never seen before. This one above was actually a double arc, which is quite common in Carterton near the health centre, but it was so incredible that I could see the whole thing and it kept coming back.


The above is from the boat ride across Lake Windermere which was a 90 minute journey and mighty cold! I thought I could withstand the wind blowing but crikey, out on the open, not very kind so on the return journey I stayed downstairs in the warmth. I have to say though that was thoroughly disappointed with the display of items at the Lakeland shop. It's good to see their products for Children In Need and that the charity receives a decent amount from the sales but everything else...I think it may have been built up in my head to be something spectacular but in the end it was just a bit shop.

I could take pictures of clouds forever! I don't know what it is..I like seeing the different shades with the rain and when the beams of sun burst through and produce the rays..I find it very inspiring. On the drive home, I stopped at Oswaldtwistle Mills at Topaz Crafts was there, whose 'shop' was again, a little disappointing. However, there was a rather large section devoted to Yankee Candle who I absolutely adore so it was nice going around and smelling the new scents since my last big purchase last year in Orlando. And I still have some left over, surprisingly. Now what I would really like is to find the lemon cheesecake candle I bought from the Disney hotel, made with soya bean wax. The smell was incredible and even outshines Yankee Candle with that scent.

The last stop before heading home (Cadbury World had shut before we'd gotten to Birmingham unfortunately ~ thanks mobile web!) was Heptonstall as I wanted to visit Sylvia Plath's grave. It wasn't an easy one to find and there was an odd sense of calm and silence when I did find it. I was quite disgusted to see that the Hughes part of her name had either been covered over or blackened out. It was part of her life. As much as fans may loathe the man, Ted Hughes was her husband and father to her two children. You can't erase someone's history like that. I hadn't anything with me to leave but I did tidy up the flowers a little. Unsurprisingly I felt terribly sad when I thought everything through.

Which brings me to this week. I'm getting my hands stuck in on a big filing project with an archive for various chunks of paperwork for nearly 900 assets on base. It'll take a little while for my part to be done but I'm actually looking forward to getting a system in place..something I can leave when the time shall come. Headaches are present everyday for the past fortnight and I may have to speak with the doctor again and get something done, again. You'd have thought after thirteen years of being medically alert to these, something would have been done. A thought, hmm.