Bakewell, Derbyshire

Bakewell in Derbyshire is a quaint small town nestling amongst high hills of the Derbyshire Dales. It is reputed to be where Jane Austen stayed when she edited ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in 1811. The town of Lambton which Miss Elizabeth Bennet visits is based on Bakewell and the grand estate owned by Mr Darcy is supposedly based on Chatsworth, which is not far away.

Bakewell also lays claim to the fact the delicious Bakewell Pudding was invented here and can be purchased from the ‘Original Bakewell Pudding Shop’ in the town - amongst other places.

I visited Bakewell not long ago to visit the ‘Bakewell Show’ which is a wonderful event taking place every year in August. There are many stallholders in the Craft tent, Food tent and WI tent. Whilst in the arenas there are heavy horses on display:

My father used to be in charge of 51 of these horses when he was young. The horses were used to pull milk carts and funeral hearses.

Apart from heavy horses there are cattle and dog shows:

Milford Designs is pleased to announce that we will soon be having an outlet in the wonderful town of Bakewell - watch this post for further details.

See you soon.

xx

Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show

Once again we are pleased to be able to attend the Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show this weekend. This is an event not to be missed by steam enthusiasts and, apart from many attractions in the arena and side shows, there is a wonderful Craft marquee with a superb variety of stalls. details can be found on the website:

Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show

We will of course be bringing our range of stock from tea-light holders and scarves to wonderful pieces of sterling silver jewellery.

Remember -  July birthstone is the Ruby and August birthstone is the Peridot and we will have both these gemstones available while stocks last as well as all the birthstones for other months. However if you are looking for that little extra something for a friend or loved one we are sure we can provide exactly what you need.

We are now developing a reputation as a  New Forest business for providing specialist quality items and you will not be disappointed when you visit us this weekend.

As a special show offer on Friday and Saturday we have 10% off all sterling silver items with a special end of show offer on Sunday.

xx

Last Slam Door Trains

Many years ago I used to commute to work on these trains and gradually they were replaced by newer models and now there is only one place left in Britain where they run - on the Brockenhurst to Lymington Branch line. However progress has even overtaken them and on Saturday the last slam door trains will have their final run on the branch line.

So for nostalgia here are some photos of the trains:

See you soon.

Love Living Here

I visited the Shetland ponies in Brockenhurst yesterday. Usually Shetlands are vicious but this particular herd is quite amenable - I suppose they are used to people stroking them. I wouldn’t recommend stroking any ponies in the forest as they can bite and kick.

This Shetland pony herd has five foals this year and as usual they are gorgeous - the size of labrador dogs and smaller.

This little filly has a curly mane. She came up to me and was chewing my trousers. Her hooves measure about 3 inches wide and when she trod on my foot I could hardly feel it.

This is why I love living here.

xx

Family

I’ve been looking through old family photos recently and I came across this grainy photo of my great grandfather George. It seems odd now to think someone would visit the beach wearing his best suit and tie but this is what they did when this photo was taken probably in the late 1920’s.

George was a plumber and every year he would visit Bridlington for his family holiday - so presumably this is where the photo was taken. Not only was George a plumber but he was also a very good drummer. It’s funny how talent is passed from generation to generation, yet this talent seemed to miss some offspring. His daughter never had the talent but my father (his grandson) did. It missed me but has now reappeared in my sons.

I like the grainy quality of this photo as it is so reminiscent of the photo of my son’s great great grandfather George. This is my youngest son playing the drums in the Indie Rock Band:

La Heroine

The band used to be called ‘Rabbit of Fire’ which I have written about before, but they have now evolved and in doing so have developed a reputation for being ‘ Much better than good… Ballsy Indie at its best…”

Simatik Promotion

-  to quote another source (other than being a proud mother).

They launched their EP earlier this year and have become well known in the Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester area.

Brilliant music guys - well done!

And would George be pleased? Undoubtedly!

See you soon.

xx

Doing nothing

Those of you who know me will know how difficult it is for me to remain still for long - things need doing, places to go, people to see - so having had a major operation last week I have to do virtually nothing except sit or lie still.

I have worked on my computer for two full days and I then re-acquainted myself with my favourite film ‘You’ve Got Mail’. There’s something about the music and the mis-en-scene which gives this story a quaint feeling, that life will always turn out well no matter what.

Another favourite is the legendary ‘Pride and Prejudice’ - the BBC one. There’s nothing like a spoonful of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and a dollop of Mr Darcy to brighten the afternoon.

I came across ‘The Holiday’ amongst these DVD treasures. I think I have a love/hate relationship with this film as sometimes the characters are annoying but I skip to the ‘nice’ bits. You might like it.

Incidently and purely by chance I’m listening to the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ CD as I’m writing this - so I’m definitely in the zone.

See you soon I hope!

xx

A Fresh Spring

There is an innocence about a new life, whether it is a human or animal. These three lambs were huddled together after playing a game of ‘follow my leader’ in their field. There were about a dozen of them running round and round a large hole in the field, jumpling and frolicking with all the excitement of new experiences.

Those of us who have lost their ‘newness’ experience new awakenings every spring when trees, flowers, wildlife jump into life within a matter of days.

The greatest pleasure for me are the light evenings and renewed warmth in the daylight hours; the smell of delicate primroses and the sounds of spring. The lambs were in a field high in the Purbeck Hills and amid the bleating of the lambs and the throaty calls of their mothers there were Skylarks and Rooks announcing the arrival of Spring.

So get out there everyone and enjoy.

See you soon.

xx

Charity Donations

We were very pleased to present the Piam Brown Childrens’ Cancer ward at Southampton General Hospital with a cheque for £210. The photo shows Karina giving the cheque to Jane Buchanan the Funding and Events Manager at the Piam Brown Ward.

We were also able to give money for a swing to a young patient recovering from Leukaemia, donate a sum to Great Ormonde Street Hospital and purchase a well, buckets and soap for a village in Africa.

In 2010 we hope to raise more money through Craft and Gift Fairs.

Thank you to all those people who supported us in this endeavour  - it really is worthwhile.

xx

Wonderful Sights

Last year my son had the opportunity to visit a friend in Orlando and it just so happened that a space launch had been re-scheduled. They got up very early and travelled to Cape Canaveral where the Dawn Space Probe was being launched. The nearest they could watch was on the beach 5 miles away.

Just as the sun rose, washing the waves in early morning light, the engines fired and there was a bright light followed a few seconds later by a thunderous roar.

As the rocket took off, there was an optical illusion, it appeared to be curving into the sky but it was actually going straight up - the curvature of the Earth made it look as though it was arching across the sky.

Have you had any wonderful experiences? Write and tell me about it.

See you soon.

xx

Thoughts on being a grockle

I thought I would walk along with the tourists (grockles in this part of the world) so I went down to Lymington Quay - past the shop that sells shellfish, where a local cat queues along with the people - but he’s no good when it comes to paying for the prawns he likes.

I walked down along the cobbled street until I reached the quay where people were eating lunches, children were throwing crab lines into the water and others were eating ice creams.

If you wait by the quay you might see the elderly train trundle down to the ferry terminal taking people to and from the Isle of Wight.

Or if you want a smaller boat you can have a boat trip along Lymington River into the stretch of water that separates the mainland from the Isle of Wight.

Of course you can always moor your boat in the river and take your dinghy out to your mooring.

A friend of mine spent 22 years climbing on and off her boat, from a dingy, and now she is older she was wondering how much longer she could do this - then good news she got a mooring alongside one of the jetties.

So no more balancing in small boats.

See you soon.

xx