Still here

Mother used to say that time rushed when one is old. I’m not old in my mind , but 

as time is rushing I must have made a sea change since my last blog post. 

It always seems to be Monday and I’m putting out the wheelie bin again. It always seems to be time to get spouses lunch prepared when Ive only just cleared the pots, hung the washing on the line and done Wordle and Worldle . 

Boring is not a word I could use these days. I use tired , I use what have I gone upstairs for, I use its time to do the online grocery order again, but never bored. 

Well maybe routine becomes ritual , but in this house we are always delighted when someone is at the door or online to us.  Today we had Kevin from Evri, 2 neighbours, 1 grandson, as well as three friends on Zoom Morning Prayer. No routine here, as we never know what a day will bring. 

 

I have Sue coming to Help with cleaning tomorrow. I have the excitement of climbing down  to the back door of our Newsagent to pay the Paper bill. ( A car drove into their shopfront in the summer and the work to replace is soon to be finished, after they have waded through red tape and planning permissions). I shall walk to the allotment with a bundle of 6foot bamboo canes, a sack of vegetable waste for the compost bin, and a 5l container of drinking water, as we wait for the frosts to finish and the water turned on again. 

No  not boring at all. The pavements in Filey are all looking awful as workmen install cables to every house , BUT joy of Joy the road surfaces in Station Road and Station Avenue have been efficiently re done, so no one can complain of potholes in the town centre.

It’s so long since I wrote anything on this platform that I have actually forgotten how to justify the text alignment. So sorry here. 25 years since i was in the Evron Centre doing all my Computer classes, and nearly 20 since I did my first Blog Post. I didn’t even know how to insert a picture in the first months. 

Today I’m still reading Seed catalogues, Arthur Upfields, Jane Austen (all every 2 years) lots poetry ,Malcolm Guite, Lemm Sissay, the Times obituaries , The Filey Parish Link, . I’m still reading my Bible every day, mostly at 4am . I’ve just done Malachi and Zechariah, and today I began Haggai. I read a Psalm a day. Ive got to 35 again.

Spouse is having to eat some odd meals as I count carbs for him and forbid all sorts of his favourites. WE have stew and Yorkshire Pudding but no potatoes. We have Celariac Mash and sausages, we have Veggie Lasagne made with layers of Aubergine. He never complains. He has always been a delight to cook for . (Note to myself , I am running out of ideas. Mary Berry’s Cauliflower steaks are tasty and easy but can only eat once in a while.

My brain spins when I contemplate Air Fryers, I have a dry Fry pan which have used for 30 years which does the same job. Dixons our local Emporium now does a huge range of silicon inserts for Air Fryers, and the display looks like Medical Supplies. But no ordinary Stainless steel pans with lids. Now I am sounding like my mother!

So now dear readers you have my update. I have not been to Scarborough Much , 3x to Skipton Building Society in last year, I took myself to Peterborough for the day in September to see the Must Farm exhibition in the museum. (No leaflets to buy or even read). Ive been once a month to the Eye Hospital in Hull with Sutton Village Sister, and this is a real trip out , as the train ride lovely, and we often get a lunch together in the Omelette . Filey daughter is running me up to see the Gypsey Race running again. Last year it was amazing. I leave you with the 2024 pictures.

Vicarious

I've just been to Iona . Its not  the Isle of North Harris but will do for now. 

My screensaver reminds and enthrals. The one on my main PC does a slideshow of all my picture files , and I particularly like the way it gets many windows out of one picture by zooming in to bits of one . So one seemingly ordinary picture of a field, when seen another way,  is a fascinating collection of random items; bent grass stems, patch of Butterbur, spoor and droppings of Canada geese, rainbow, stream , stile and clump of earth . I then remember that the picture was taken just after dawn when I was trying to see a Corncrake  , could hear one  , but not see one .This time . 

So I've revisited Iona where I've been 5 times for week visits. One has to go  for more than 2 days to ensure at least sunshine on one of them . I've been back to my favourite "Bay at the back of the ocean ", Ive imagined the sound of the spouting cave , and the smell of rotting seaweed , and the inconvenience of the accompanying flies. 

These last two months I've been in the Hebrides nearly every day as neighbour has lent me the Lewis trilogy by Peter May . I'm on the third one now ,The Chessmen . Unlike many trilogies , and I should know, as spouse has just read the Hilary Mantel one , which got heavier and heavier , literally and metaphorically , the Lewis ones tick all my boxes. They are Murder mysteries, can stand alone, but better read in order, are well written , are about the sort of landscapes I love , are in the DNA, speaking as one whose forbears came from Skye, whose detective is flawed but  interesting, and best of all for me, a cartophile,  can be enjoyed best with a map. 

So I'm in the Isle of Lewis in my head. I know more than is recounted in the books , as I have explored all the other interesting places on the island , the brochs . the archealogical sites, the cafes and distilleries , the peat bogs and the flora. I've had a holiday all of my own choosing from my home . 

I've had many vicarious holidays this year. I've been round Australia with Arthur Upfield, a holiday I do every 2 years , binge reading each novel with my new map .The last 2 Australia maps dropped to bits from over indulgence. I've been again to Monterey with Steinbeck and Sweet Thursday and all over the rest of California with same map with Sue Grafton's  Kinsey Millhome (read 6 books so far). I gave Peter Robinson another go as the March cosy reading season began, got through about 5 of those, yes I quite liked them , but totally unsatisfying as none of the places are true to a map. They are hybrid . I shall only read when there is a famine of who dun its.

I've also been on holiday with Susan Calman on Channel 5. I could watch her all day . She is so clever and funny . Yesterday she too went to Lewis and Harris , so now I've been to see Harris Tweed made , and saved money by not buying any as I would have done on realtime holiday,  and then put the material in my sewing box for 40 years like the piece I found with the trade mark ,still waiting to be made into a skirt .

Just incase you are wondering about my fantasy holidays , Yes! I've been all round Middle Earth too  with Journeys Of Frodo , The Atlas of Lord of the Rings , and I would  quite like Rivendell for a quiet few days . 

   

 

Moving our books

Since we decided to downsize to the small family cottage in Old Filey ,Colin and and I have been sorting our books. We did the first sort in November, and removed all the novels that we knew we could easily get out of Filey Library if we wanted to re-read them. So the first 5 boxes went to charity shops .  Next came the first editions, my Lindsey Davis's, my Donna Leon's and Leo Walmsley's,  we gave those to my Cheshire Sister  as well as all the very old Family books with inscriptions that would only mean something to us. That sorted another couple of boxes. Since Christmas, as the next phase of serious thought began ,we have removed all the books from the cottage, this time about 100 large biographies, and books about London. Years of considered Holiday reading for the discerning guest, left quietly ;also detective novels, Margaret Drabble's hints of Filey novels and light classics that would only take a week to read, HE Bates to Jane Austen, and the quirky books Colin thought visitors might enjoy : Perfume, The Necropolis Railway, The day they kidnapped Queen Victoria, and A history of Madame Tussauds. My offerings were always  less esoteric 'Fossils of the Yorkshire Coast' and Roget's Thesaurus (for restful  Crosswords).

The First charity shop had to turn us away with yesterday's offerings. They simply couldn't cope with any more of our books! Colin didnt really want to push the Sholley (my aged parent left it with us) too far around Filey incase folk thought he had joined the Geriatrica. But the upside of this is that we both realise just how good a Sholley is. I shall use one as soon as I need one , but wear sunglasses. My children already avoid being seen with me in the street as they are embarrassed by my wicker basket on wheels.

Back to the mighty tomes.
Today , we did the second sort of the Kiaora Library. I am simply amazed that I managed to put ' Silver marks of the world' and all four novels of Graham Taylor's novels into a Charity Shop box. More still that daughter no 1 who is moving into our house says she will keep all my books from school on Literacy , Numeracy and all points History, Geography, pond life and Science.
 Just 16 shelves to go now. 3 of Poetry, and 2 of Christianity, 2 Classics,and 5 Plants and Animals, 4 of Pevsners , Maps and  all our Pelicans and Black Penguins. We can't stop now, we feel ruthless, and liberated, most of the time. The sooner Sue Ryder and St Catherine take possession of our offerings the more likely we are to carry on being sensible with the rest.
 Anyone want 12 boxes of my fathers 35mm slides of our garden in Sutton on Hull and our holidays from 1958 until 67 ?
H/T to Simon Lewin at All things considered for this

Things to do, places to go..

The Security light outside the back door, below our window ,has been going on and off relentlessly in the gale  and so I have been up for hours. We have never really worked out what triggers it, frogs , rats, branches or lurkers. I am however enjoying watching the dawn and having a catch up. I have already wiped round the kitchen (sort of) and put a load in the washing machine and looked thro all the Tweets to the Parish Twitter, @FileyParish and my own @margaretkiaora.

I have not been on the PC much  since getting my new toy. Since #cnmac I have just about assimilated the stuff I learned. I have therefore put the Parish on Facebook following the advice from famous blogging Bishop. Consequently I spend time looking at Facebook and Twitter on my new Smartphone, which it certainly is, all sync-ed and clever, I keep the Parish Website as up to date as I can, and have really neglected my first love .  The honeymoon with the new toy is over now, as I heard Parish Secretary say of hers -They're quite addictive aren't they?

I am back to being me with words now, the touchpad keyboard is fantastic on my toy, but it is not solid and homely like this one, I am not able to sit and drink tea next to me , putting it up and down on my Echium Mat from the Chelsea Physic Garden , or leave the words and come back to them when I've fed the cat , answered the phone or powdered my nose. This feels right. I can say more . 

So the news is this-daughter is buying our house when  she sells hers , and we are moving to our cottage  round the corner, hopefully by April. Spouse has promised to carry on being a Fileygardener here, as the cottage has only a yard. I am getting rid of EVERYTHING to good homes. 

For the last few weeks I have been making almost daily trips to the great Charity Shops of Filey with all my clutter,and hundreds of novels. All the paperbacks have gone. Not the well loved favourites of course, and out of print Arthur Upfields. Anne Tyler has gone, Carol Shields has gone, Agatha Christie has gone along with Georgette Heyer and PD James. My first Editions are going round the family. Leo Walmsley went first. Donna Leon is about to move from Venice, via Filey  to Sutton on Hull.  My First Day Covers have gone to the Christian Bookshop , who sells them, and my Victorian Doll to the Salvation Army Shop. 

Furniture anybody? Will find placements for all I am sure.  It is so FREEING. So If anyone wants my grandmothers Edwardian  Dressing Table it will be free to a good home in the Spring. I must have somewhere to keep the national collection of Bridget Jones' p's till then .

Clues

I have read detective stories all my  novel life. I started  with  Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, and seamlessly into Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer and all points past Arthur Upfield to Henning Mankell and Donna Leon.

Marian my brass cleaning partner at St Os also is an avid reader and has given me a list of authors to try, including Alan Rustage and Mark Billingham and Veronica Healey. I will try them all. I don't like too much blood and gore or sex, so only just cope with Wallender, so Peter Robinson is out for me and Stieg Larsson will never be even tried . Filey Library has a huge section of  Crime novels. 

Ive just finished  The Help by Kathryn Stockett, not a crime novel, but so very good I shan't be able to read anything other than  a bit of light Crime for a few days until I have processed all its themes and implications. My sister says it is soon a film, so am glad to have read it first. Does the Cover picture tell you what the book is about, does it give any clues?

And what about these my faithful reader? Have you known me long enough to know what these are? Where are they going and what part do they play in my exciting life?