First Christmas Card - Advent Calendar Day 5

Some friends are very organised - this arrived on Saturday in the post - a fun start to the month :)

I'm joining in this month with  Julie's Advent Scavenger Hunt - a post a day (more or less) from now until the 24th.
You can check in here for the details of the prompts and the list of who else is playing and to join in yourself if you fancy playing along.

Christmas Book - Advent Calendar Day 4

I spotted this book at the gift shop in Woodbury Mining Museum last week - looks interesting - full of lots of useless information - the best kind :)  It might be a present for someone else, but it may equally well be a present for the house.

I'm joining in with Julie's Advent Scavenger Hunt - a post a day (more or less) from now until the 24th.
You can check in here for the details of the prompts and the list of who else is playing.

Stained Glass - Julie's Advent Scavenger Hunt Day 3

I'm joining in this year with Julie's Advent Scavenger Hunt - a picture a day for the run up to Christmas.

near Roscoff in Brittany

Something Handmade for Christmas - Advent Calendar Day 2

This is something I knitted for the holidays for a friend - little fuzzy jumpers for some baubles - pity about the less than imaginative box, but hey ho we can't have everything - maybe next year lol

Do you fancy joining in?   Then the list is on Julie's Scrapbook and I'm sure she'd love to have you join in.

Letterbox - Julie's Virtual Advent Calendar Day 1

I almost squealed with delight when we passed this cafe yesterday in Ponteland in the Cheviot Hills I finally know where the Cheviots are now - just in case I ever go on to The Chase!).

Not only was there a big red letter box outside it, but look at the name of the cafe.  We were en route to our last gig in Denholm last night so we only had time to stop for a take away coffee, which was excellent.  But it was as pretty and inviting inside as it was outside.

This is Day 1 of Julie's Advent Scavenger Hunt - a post a day (more or less) from now until the 24th.
You can join in here for the details of the prompts and the list of who else is playing.

November 2017 Scavenger Photo Hunt

It's the end of another month - the year is passing fast - and it's been so good to be back out on tour again.   I'd forgotten what hard work travelling and performing each night is, but I'd also forgotten the sheer delight of being back on stage.  So all my photos for this month's Scavenger Hunt come from this trip through England and the Scottish Borders.  

Thanks as always go to Kate at I live I love I craft I am me for hosting this delightful bloghop each month.   As well as the fun of finding photos to match the words it's also a chance to get a glimpse into friends' lives in other parts of the world.  

So here's mine.  

1. Blue

The mining museum at Woodhorn near Ashington in Northumberland.   The sky was so blue - perfect early Winter weather, freezing cold but thankfully dry.  I loved the architecture of the wheels against the sky and the museum, which has an interactive mining experience as well as an exhibition of the Washington Pit Painters, really brought alive the tough tough life of the miners and their families, from the earliest days right up to the Miners Strikes in the 80s.  Very interesting and sobering afternoon. 

2. Me

Well wrapped up and freezing cold at the Christmas Market in Chester.

3. Starts with a ...... W 

The Pit Wheel at Woodhorn

4. Rainbow

Driving through the Lake District last week this beautiful rainbow popped up - right on cue.

5. Arch

The ruins of Jedburgh Castle in the Scottish Borders - how about that for arches..

6. Toy

Every folk club holds a raffle to help with their funds and for nearly 30 years Tom has been buying raffle tickets - at every club we play at.   When he won his first bottle of wine years ago we reckoned it probably cost him about £200!!  

The raffles are always fun - whoever wins the box of chocolates or sweets has to share them around, usually under the nose of the singer , humph

This was the result of his winnings one of the nights this trip - a Kinder egg!  which produced this crocodile when opened and put together - "Don't forget his fish!" was the retort behind the drivers wheel! 

7. Swirl

Isn't this lovely?  We went to a folk club concert early this week and the singer was playing this guitar...  I thought it fitted perfectly.   Some of you may have seen him - Stanley Accrington.   It's the funniest evening I've spent in years.   A real belly laugh.    Stanley's a hoot - a clown, a jester and a very clever wordsmith.  A comedic commentator on life and all its anomalies and quirks, skilfully dropping in some very poignant thought provoking songs that kicked our emotions back into touch, and then rescuing them again with some hysterically funny observations.  

8. Brush

I love these everything shops - whether you need a brush or a beach ball, an egret or a lampshade, this is the place to find it.  You might even find a pair of leggings !   A heater would have been top of the list this week - this pic was in Jedburgh.

9. Nail

Back at Woodbury - these are Dog Nails (spikes) - large headed thick, mild steel nails for fastening rails to wooden sleepers.  

I have to confess this prompt had me stumped and after searching for weeks looking for a really impressive and imaginative photo for nail, this one arrived just in time.

the exhibition followed a young lad of 13 becoming a man and going down the mine for the first time, the experience of going underground, the ribald humour of the men, the desire to get the top job of the hewar - a man who basically stayed crouched down in a space smaller than one metre high for his entire working day and working life.   What a life!   When it came to reading about the strikes in the 80s which I remember very well, I felt so sorry for these people who's lives were totally controlled by the establishment and the strength with which they fought back.  

But, in spite of the lack of jobs, I'm sure there's very few would wish to be back underground.  

10. My own choice

A guy was making huge bubbles at the Christmas Market in Chester last weekend - I managed to catch this one before the children burst it.  What is it about bubbles that makes everyone smile - such a simple delight.  

So that was my month.   I'm writing this on the ferry heading homewards, head full of ideas and plans, and looking forward to this month at home, getting Singmarra ready for the village pageant and taking part in the various events that lead up to mid Winter.

Head over to Kate's blog to check out the other Scavengers and we'll reconvene in January sometime.

Back on the road

The star of light at Chester Cathedral

Thank you all for your lovely comments on the Positive News story - and apologies for not answering them all - we're back out travelling and delighted to be doing so.   After so much illness this year we're slowly getting back on track, although the body has been grumbling a bit lol

Our new songs have been getting a great response, especially the more political rants that we've both been writing lately - it seems that nobody is happy with politicians at the minute.

So far we've been in the Lake District, Redcar on the East coast, Hull, across the M62 to Bradford and further along the same motorway to Northwich and yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Christmas market in Chester - what a beautiful town that is.  And it was freezing cold, perfect weather for a Christmas market.

Have a great week whatever you're doing - we're heading back north now, to Yorkshire, then up to Northhumberland and finishing up in the Scottish borders, where apparently it's been snowing - yikes - hopefully we'll miss the worst of it.