Thursday 23 April 2020

Tuesday 21 April 2020

Hidden Honley

Cycling into work, deserted roads, outdoor sketching with pupils during the Lockdown, discovering hidden paths........

Saturday 18 April 2020

Captain Tom

Congratulations to the intrepid Captain Tom on completing his 100 laps and he's now raised over £20 million for the NHS. Outstanding effort. Inspiring stuff. Oh and he's opening the new Nightingale Field Hospital in Harrogate...not bad for a 100 year old!

When Ants Attack


My Gardening Misadventure recreates 1970s B Movie  (Empire of the Ants).
 No prizes for guessing where they stung me!


Wednesday 15 April 2020

Fornicating Toads

Nature red in tooth and claw..... toads on Sunny Bank crossing to the pond, squashed on the way to spawn. The hares I saw at last (put my glasses on in bed during morning cuppa), curlews too, plus a wonderful grey over-coated heron also looking for toads.....


Even More Gates

Even more gates, mainly contemporary with the building of the reservoir at Blackmoorfoot (1870 ish) 


Tuesday 14 April 2020

Gate Spotting

 Tracking down more old gates...some in a sorry state, but all blacksmith made...

Thursday 9 April 2020

A Letter from No. 10 and a whole bag of worms

The strangest combination in the post, brought by our brilliant postie Daz. A letter from 10 Downing Street.....and I kid you not, a bag of live worms. For Robin's worm composter. 

Wednesday 8 April 2020

Boris and the Queen (5th April 2020)



5th April 2020: A surreal day. 
The Prime Minister in hospital and the Queen's Speech is televised to the nation.......


Super Scary


This was 2 weeks ago. And no it wasn't the virus!

Early Birds and Conspiracy Theories

Here's the first birds I saw every day in March. The winning bird was wood pigeon, followed by crows and magpies. The oyster catcher was in a field up by Blackmoorfoot reservoir. No oysters there last time I looked!

Meanwhile, the strangeness ramps up each day......

Saturday 4 April 2020

Time, Gentlemen, Please




Lockdown : 
And I couldn’t escape the waking dream 
of infected fleas
in the warp and weft of soggy cloth
 by the tailor’s hearth in ye olde Eyam. 

Then couldn’t un-see the Boundary Stone, 
that cock-eyed dice with its six dark holes, 
thimbles brimming with vinegar wine
 purging the plagued coins.

Which brought to mind 
the sorry story of Emmott Syddall and Rowland Torre, 
star-crossed lovers
on either side of the quarantine line
whose wordless courtship spanned the river 
till she came no longer.

Simon Armitage

The Plague Stone

I'm reposting these sketches from my walk round the Peak District in May 2018. I stayed at Eyam, famous for self isolation back in 1666 and walked past the Plague Stone between the villages of Eyam and Stony Middleton. Villagers left food on the stone and the 6 holes drilled in the top were for vinegar to disinfect coins left in payment......
The Plague doctor. A whole different kind of face mask.....

Friday 3 April 2020

Corona Virus Diary


 I hesitated before starting this......things are moving so fast , it's hardly something to make light of.

But then, in the spirit of New of the Stews, I thought, I'll start it whilst I can. 
Those headlines from a week ago already look dated......