John Muir - my perspective

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...” 
― John Muir

He said:
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.

- The Yosemite (1912)

I have just been into the wild places ,I have travelled through the forests, crossed the seas , seen 

the lochs and the glens , and sat facing the Atlantic Ocean in the windy rain, with my back to shelter and my front covered. I have smelled the seaweed, heard the Oystercatchers and Corncrakes and watched the breakers for hours with no one else in sight , though my companion husband beside me, so not alone. Reading John Muirs writings of the wilderness, he was mostly alone, sometimes with nothing but bread and stick. I've seen Ray Mears (on TV)in the wilderness too, and have a lot of respect for wild campers and those learning and honing survival skills . 

John Muir and his fellow stargazers and foodplanthunters all chose to seek the wilderness-thats the first BUT.

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.
John Muir

Take your smartphone with you and you might never need to follow a map. The Rescue services are constantly warning those going off for a wild adventure to tell where you are going, use or at least take a map , wear bright clothing etc. Harm can befall you. Second BUT .

“In drying plants, botanists often dry themselves. Dry words and dry facts will not fire hearts.” 
― John Muir

I agree with you here John Muir. BUT On my plantlife Course I have to compare plants and investigate flower structures with a hand lens. Comparing the Scurvy Grasses has been difficult. I still cannot say that the one I found on Iona is the Danish one Cochlearia danica or the Sea one , and nothing compares with the living specimens except as to suffice for taxonomic classification. I have to wait until Im home to follow the Flora through .That itself could be seen as a fruitless investigation  . Yet whilst the Scurvy grass used to be salted down to stave off Scurvy on long voyages , nowadays botanists are being employed big time, as always in the pharmaceutical trade to find drugs to cure diseases, no longer Alchemy and Herbalism. So it does matter that classification is exact. 

Did John Muir ever have a headache and chew on willow as the native americans did?

So John Muir. I enjoyed visiting your birthplace in Dunbar, and finding out all about you, the father of the National Parks of USA. A famous Scot now that you've been recognised properly in  Scotland.

I'm back in the land time forgot now OKA Filey North Yorkshire. We got back from the wild places last night. I went straight off to the allotment as decency allowed to take stock and see if my seeds were up , to pick some Chard and to sit awhile. It is not a wild place, but has a remoteness about it . Even when Eddie and John and Mr  H and Bob are digging on adjacent plots we can keep to oneselves. The otherness comes from the sounds of birds and thats all. Sure, the train goes past every 2 hours, and mowers and strimmers sometimes resonate across the plots , nevertheless I can be occupied enjoying watching the Horsetails grow and wishing they were Asparagus  for hours on end in my very own wilderness. 

Missing the Plot

The Organic garden here at the St Columba Hotel has 2 young full time gardeners. I watch them every day from our dual aspect . They are out there every day battling the horsetails just as I do . We have eaten homegrown Asparagus, rhubarb and salad. I see the neat potato rows and many fleece covered mini tunnel rows of spinach and beetroot (I think) and herbs and beans and peas. They know their stuff , have notebooks full of plans and the grass is neatly patched. I dont know how they manage the rabbits and wild geese .

It took me a while to work out what the nets were on the grass beneath our window. This is Iona after all where spirituality often involves the alternative , big time. So I imagined the networks were the latest expression of Prayer or a 'joining in with the earth', until I realised that sometimes one can look and find the New Age in everything when its not actually there. They are covering  the patches of new grass seeding.

Our friend living on Iona Rev  Joyce Watson wrote a very useful book on the New Age Movement 20 yrs ago and its still available online. When we were re-homing my mothers books , I came across a copy , much annotated as mother does with everything. It made a useful re-read. 

The last time Colin and I went to a service in Iona Abbey was about 12 years ago. We vowed we would never go again as we didn't like some of the liturgy used, and didnt trust the theology behind it. We thought it very New Age. We  were schooled by Colin Urquart and Kingdom Faith Ministries in the 80s and 90s, and read so much about Soap manufacturers and triangles and the evils of certain Martial Arts and New Age philosophies that we  have remained confused christians until the teaching that came with New Wine in the 2000s and this present decade. The Grove book has as Colin Urquart would say 'not lost its anointing', though he usually referred to Old Hymns.

Back in Iona Abbey years later we were very at home. The welcome and housekeeping arrangements were excellent , the Communion Service held no liturgical surprises, and whilst I thought the visiting preacher  was not to my taste, I got some Apples of Gold from what she said.  I think I am beginning to grow up , and have a more rounded view of the ways of doing God.  AS long as I keep reading the Manufacturers Instructions and spend quality time with my Father the Gardener. (As CU once wrote*).

*My Father is the gardener  . 1982 Hodder . by Colin Urquart

Dual aspect rain

We love our room . it has 2 picture windows looking over the sound of Iona to the East and the garden and distant Jura across and being Mull on a fair day. We did go out this morning , walked up to see the Fallen Christ sculpture and then a tour of all the galleries and shops on the island . That took 30 minutes. We did see some lovely things,  island crafted jewellery , hand woven scarves, and watercolours for the holidaymaker-just like Filey really. 

I have enjoyed being indoors today as I have been able to get on with my Plant Identification Course. That has taken me until 3.45pm. Its still raining , not the gentle drips but the soak u thro windy kind. So we have retired to our dual aspect room  where I can use the wifi as no laptops are allowed in the (sun )Lounge. The fire is alight in the small sitting room where the bloggers and skypers and Americans and Norwegians all sit contacting home or trying to organize tours to Loch Ness from Iona in 1 day starting from tomorrow.

Imogen and I have worked out that facebook messaging is the best, and that can be done on the phone from the breakfast table without anyone caring a dam. 

Colin turned to me a while ago and said living in this hotel would be good, just taking meals and lounging around and having walks when the weather is kind. So I guess all my worries about him having a good time in the middle of nowhere with dual aspect rain are unfounded.

Just bragging about Corncrakes

I woke up this morning feeling rather Job -like.

Yes! we had managed the  journey here without incident. The two days of travelling were fun, trains and boats and no planes . The empty train from Glasgow to Oban was amazing . I could move from seat to seat and look at all the views. The windows were clean for the first time I have ever done the West Highland route. The complimentary postcards were a help too, as I could immediately do one to Mother without going in a shop.

Job-like because I have the BBC WEATHER APP on my phone, and when I finally managed to get the wifi working I nearly cried when I saw the weather was set for pouring rain and high wind for the next 4 days. Here I post a link to my Devotional that just happened to be for the day . Here it is in a sentence

Job had to put up with it because he knew God was sovereign.

So we had breakfast and the weather was lovely . A walk whilst the weather held then .

The slow mile or so to the Machair would do. Spouse could manage that I thought. He suggested the Marble Quarry but on the first day I thought that might be pushing it for him. We barely managed Port Ban and back because the wind was so very strong and Colin just can't do head wind since his heart attack. The light was beautiful and so were the colours. C declared it was lovely. My mind was now in overdrive. What if C had another heart attack ,where I cant even get a signal for the phone, what if this really was even more like Job. When he sat down on a bank I started praying hard, get us back , get us back (had he got his nitrate spray). On again and so to the seat just below the Catholic House of Prayer. Nearly back , nearly back.

Heres the end of the story

In the flag just by the seat,  Deo Gratias indeed . 12 inches from our feet- Crex Crex the Corncrake

in on the plot

Two small boys in Reighton Nursery of the Botanical kind can actually have quite a good time if a visit to the 'cafe ' is factored in. I say 'cafe' but actually it is a small decked area in the middle of a green house down the houseplant end with a few tables and chairs and a vending machine. The boys loved it,  worked out all the options for the money available and enjoyed every mouthful and sip. A blackbird was the entertainment , resident no doubt amongst the verdage . Then on to the seeds. I gave them a sort of free rein.
Reuben chose Carrots and Zak, Sweetcorn . Colin and Zak have planted the Sweetcorn in modules ready for transplanting later . Plastic potlets are sitting in the corner of the yard waiting for warmth. Reuben and I ,with Cleo did serious business on the allotment. Reuben dug his metre square, removed the stones and strung 2 string marker lines across his tiny piece of England. He made the drills, sowed the seeds , covered them and watered them and now he is waiting too for warmth. Bernard my allotment partner will water them  whilst we are away. I am praying for gentle rain every evening as my Asparagus bed breathes a sigh of relief that its only in its second year and the pigeons are hopefully thwarted by the bird scarers . I am on my way to Iona , but thinking of what I'm leaving behind for 12 days and expecting miracles of the Growing Kind.

Pouring it all out

My favourite all time view

Sometimes I come away from Beverley after a good visit to my Mother in Lindum House feeling upbeat and thankful . 

She is very well cared for with kindness . The House has a positive atmosphere, the Carers , although run off their feet with too much to do, are dedicated and positive. Yesterday we managed to persuade Mother to take a turn around the garden in her wheelchair. Whoever did the planting did a good job. I am a Gardener  and appreciate the variety of shrubs and perennials , bulbs and small trees around the Cross Shaped house. I wanted to pull out some of the weeds, and maybe can  be of some help when I am fully in the routine of visiting. Imogen and I took Zak with us yesterday. He engaged with his great grandmother and she with him. 

We had our picnic lunch in the Children's Playground conveniently 2 mins from Lindum. Its right on the boundary of Beverley so the views are across fields to trees  or a glimpse of the Minster from the Public footpath around the estate. Zak did the Zip wire and munched his lunch . Imogen and I had a sit down and a chat about trampolines and weeds and GGrandma. 

Note to health care professionals here: For 10 years I have been making purees and Beef Tea for my Mother. I have taken her Adrians (my Filey Butcher) cottage pies . M is the expert on Baxters soup, scrambled egg and bread and milk  and (horror of all) Tripe. Wherever she has gone in the last years -Iona, Harwood Dale or the months with her children during the Beverley Flood of 07 the diet of my aged parent has been her constant topic, and her reason for not taking meals with any one else in Abbeyfield or anyone else. My sisters and I knew she was afraid of choking or a 'DO' with her throat condition, we occasionally caught her out with unspeakably hard to chew things in her fridge, we have been surprised as she wolfed down sausage rolls and chips. Yesterday I left her as a beautifully set tray of Lunch arrived for her to her room. Beef Pie,and  3 types of veg (of the sort she doesn't usually eat-inc courgettes and red cabbage). I returned to her room 40 mins later from the Park to find everything had gone except the soft potato. I realise that diet can be a bargaining tool and a raison d'être. I realise too that for the Frail Aged it can be the Highlight of the day and a real pleasure. Mother is always saying how lovely the food is at Lindum , and how she mustnt be late for lunch . Institutionalised or not I am really thankful .

I didnt have to drive yesterday as Imogen took her car. She obligingly suggested we took my usual route home across the Wolds using the Kilham to Rudston. The Blackthorn was at it hockney best, and when I got home I had to go through the pictures again.

I  am looking forward to taking my  Grandsons to Hull soon to see the mosaics from the Roman Villa . Its remains were discovered just west of Rudston. The Romans always knew a good place for a Villa. They would have seen the same views that Hockney and I see now, with more trees of course, especially Ash Trees. 

This morning the cauliflowers were only 50p each in Angela's . Colin found a great recipe for Roman Cauliflower (with anchovies , chillies and rosemary ) in todays paper. Lindsey Bareham assures her readers everyone will be converted to cauliflower when they've tried this one .(Note to self. Colins uncle lived in Rome for many years and when we visited we were always encouraged to bring cauliflowers ).

It hit me very hard just then , I must ring Mother up and ask if she wants me to bring her a cheap cauliflower, then it dawned on me

•  she hasn't got a phone
•  she wouldn't hear it if she had
•  she might not know who I was
• she doesn't cook and has no kitchen

Filey has done Prayer Spaces in Schools

Cant take pics -just feet then!

I used to think that we were well behind the times in Filey. 

I used to think that no one but me did Twitter, that no one had heard of proper coffee, that one couldn't buy Tahini Paste or Preserved lemons here and that only the retired of Selby and Bradford moved  here.

I was wrong of course, except for the Preserved lemons. The retired of all over the known world come here, not just from the West Riding. If that is true for those who are the retired in  the order of Melchizedek , but still priests for ever, it is also true for those retired from the Teaching Profession , for 6 of them were at Filey Junior School for the day on Friday. 

Our Space!

It was a privilege to take a Prayer Spaces in Schools workshop into our local school when the organization and preparation by Sarah Prentice (SU intern) was so good, the material from the Prayer Spaces movement perfectly fit for purpose. Of course I applaud Pam Roberts for her care of the volunteers, with kettle, waste bin, space for us to sit for breaks and her unflappable nature.

In the days when I was BRIDTEACHER, when I started this blog, I knew how to interact with Year 6, how to remember to drink plenty of water, to talk quietly to children and to listen and to be unshockable. Its 7 years since I retired , BUT I was very nervous to go back into school, especially to an unfamiliar school. I hardly slept on Thursday night. 

For the school day the classes came in to the hall for their 25 mins to browse the 'spaces'. Sarah gave a 2min welcoming intro to each group and an explanation including all the PC phrases for the children who did not have any faith.She was not demeaning, and smiled a lot. A 19yr old teaching us a thing or two.

There were 10 Prayer Spaces, each with a different activity. write your Prayer here" space was well used every time. I know as I had to change the paper over so each class got a clean sheet. 

 I was amazed at the Questions the children wrote on the "ask God a Question Space", and surprized that some children had had no teaching on Prayer at all and did not even know what it was. Spouse manned the Light a candle Space, where children were encouraged to pray a prayer in their head just for God to hear. Many of us were humbled by the delight and engagement of the cohorts with  the different activities. Sugar dissolving away in a cup of tea to explain our sins given to God were gone Might not have been scientifically accurate but the point was simply made. 

I thought the exciting one like the Plasma Ball would  have been the most popular, but I was wrong. Children did not look for novelty or the visual. All learning styles came into play. How I remember all the courses on VAK (Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic (VAK learning styles ) that were buzzing around 10 years ago. Nothing new under the sun in my book .

Sarah Prentice and the Assistant Head at Filey Junior School Mr Grice

Thanks Filey School ! You gave me a great day 

ADULTS and CHILDREN ! 

A quiet Lull for the Graeae

 Zak is spending the day with us. He has a temperature and feels sick. I have set up a space for him, a bowl, some pencil and  paper games, and have covered the furniture. He is very happy as he is snuggled with the hudl too. We are rationing his time on Minecraft. Here I offer all a sample. My small boys build their own animations on this miracle of online lego with action and gamelike procedures. They have been building it using their programming app Raspberry Pi.

Here I appeal to all the unitiated to LEARN THE WORDS Raspberry pi. Small children all over the UK are using it to learn computer programming. We sure have come a long way from Floor Turtles and LOGO. I have one . Its the most basic of computers where you programme it yourself to do what you want. Mine is set up to run  BBC iplayer and ITVplayer. It looks like a small box with lights and doing stuff. Just know the words! Thats all I do. MY grandchildren have already told me that all I know about computers I have got from their Dad. Cheeky boys indeed!

I'm so glad its pouring with rain here, as we can't go out anyway as we look after Zak. Colin has just played Scrabble with him. I'm supposed to be doing e mails about my aged Mother to Healthcare Professionals, Social Services  and her hairdresser. However the quiet LULL of having Zak is a godsend. 

I am becoming BORING as much of my thinking life seems to be taken up with thoughts of AGED PARENT. My sisters both say the same. In some ways it would be easy if there was just one of us, like all the months I did for Aunty Jean in 2012 but I of  course, have splendid and long suffering but not showing it husband ,to help and support me, to talk things over with . We three sisters have to share together. Sometimes I feel we are like the Graeae with one eye between us. Our phones are hot, our minds on autopilot, and our brains feel on stop. We all have different priorities for our AGED ONE. WE all live in not the rhubarb triangle but the Mother One, Cheshire, Sutton and Filey. WE are as different from each others as sisters can be. 

So this is a welcome brief lull . Its sandwiched amongst the most difficult months of my life as a daughter.

WE had to talk to Mother on Friday about how she couldn't go home. We had to talk to mother about could she remain in the Beverley Care/nursing Home. We had to talk to each other about the redispersing our mothers possessions. It all went well ! DG. We had to talk to each other about finances, podiatrics, diabetes, commodes and deed boxes. We have found all the short stories our father wrote in the 50s  never finding a publisher . We have found pictures of our mother in her WAF uniform, an cards sent to her on her 90th birthday.

Our mother is not dead, so we need to ask her all the right questions now, and make sure we carry out her wishes as much as we are able to. Yesterday was the first time in 2 months she asked for her handbag. What progress! Do we keep the Church Times coming to her, do we buy her lots more clothes now that she has lost so much weight? 

The upside of all this is that there are many people working in Care Homes and Nursing homes who are truly good at it, devoted, kind and professional in all they do. I didnt really know this so well. Aunty  Jean was bedridden the whole time and made no effort to co-operate with anyone , and was cared for well for the few weeks in Whitgift House. We sit outside Mothers bright room and as the door is shut know that she is being attended to . The Carers do not know we are outside waiting. We hear the gentle and loving way she is spoken to , we are grateful . We will tell them , having passed the eye between us, we have all seen the same thing .

A trip to town

At long last there is semblance of order as one enters the Capital from the comfort of the Flying Scotsman. It certainly looks better now the hoardings have been removed ,and all the misleading signs telling one to go this way .

I love walking into the Euston Road, re-acclimatizing myself with its sense of the Tower of Babel and Hull Fair mixed with a football crowd.

The new Concourse at Kings Cross

I walked to Gower Street to get the 14 bus direct to Putney and the familiar  home ground from my barefoot and beads days, when Laura Ashley and Biba were fresh and new and just a tube ride from home. I rarely take the tube these days, when my Old Lady Bus pass lets me ride around London enjoying all the latest fashions and trends from the top of the bus. The latest trend is SCOOTERS, Toddlers , infants, schoolchildren and their parents travel on the bus with them , get off and ride them.

Tribes of Israel encamped at Mount Sinai by Alan Sorrell 

I have long treasured my RSV with Alan Sorrell illustrations. It's dropping to bits now , but I love the reconstructions of Biblical Places. I have other books illustrated by him too, from my days of teaching Prehistory. The exhibition of Sorrell's Art at the quirky Sir John Soane Museum  was a real didactic pleasure. Those who love woodcuts, Eric Ravilous and the work of Mark Heald would have loved the draughtsman's skill in the work of Alan Sorrell. I've got the book now so can make my lovely visit last and last.

I had forgotten too just how interesting was Rumpole of the Bailey land. 

I enjoyed brunch with the boys at the Fleet River Bakery  then walked with them to be shown Persephone Books in Lamb's Conduit Street, yet another feast , and subject of a blog post  penned by my son in law . I don't know whether I dare tell him that Persephone books features too in the Middle Class Handbook. 

Before tripping back to Putney with the Bus Pass I said farewell to the boys and went in the back door of the British Museum to have a quick look at the Starr Carr exhibits, then exit through the glorious front door. (NB Vikings Exhibition coming up v soon). 

Oh there's nothing so good as a bit of Bloomsbury for me .

Good to be back

Well I've  stopped doing new posts on the Filey Parish http://fileyparish.blogspot.co.uk. I am only re-posting the most popular posted items from the last 6 years  .I am updating the diary of course , but just waiting until Hazel  takes over as webmistress for Filey Parish with a smart newlook website. I can get back to being me . Here I am not having to answer to anyone but God and my discerning husband ,and thus can say what I like about Filey Parish and Filey  without the loyalty that defines a job for an organisation.
 I am hanging on by a thread to the C of E .  @ABCJustin came just in time for me and I will stick it out a little longer with a leader I trust.
You all know that for 2 years now I have been made into an expert  of sorts on Geriatrica, Gall stones and grumbling . I am making a real effort now to recapture the rest of my life.

This is a first . I am scribing this post on the train going to London. A first because I'm using my supermarket Tablet. I cannot find the way to highlight the text and justify it. Please excuse the alignment, its not what I like or learned to do on the courses on Text Processing I struggled through 12 years ago .Now I have become a Grumpy Old Woman. I look at other peoples websites,posts and paper articles and want to edit them ,update them ,make them look more attractive. So giving you this less than perfect post in the visual sense  is made bearable by my having to explain  its faults  to you be cause of my insecurity.

I'm alone in my travels today ,and just using prebooked tickets  when the circumstances  for the journey have altered. Beloved will celebrate my 2 day absence by cooking just what he likes. The poor man has had a diet of no fat since May and is probably craving pastry and buttered toast. I notice that a Fray Bentos pie in a tin has moved forward on the pantry shelf. I've just had an East Coast Mainline complimentary Jacket Potato with chilli ,welcome ,delicious and with out the butter was fine .
Tomorrow I am going to an exhibition of one of my all time ,long time,favourite artists - Alan Sorrell. I'll tell you what I think tomorrow.

http://www.soane.org/exhibitions/alan_sorrell

best  i can do  for PIC till I get the hang of this tablet 

Enjoying a bad time

Daydreamer  once told me not to blog during insomnia, but its nearly true morning. The first car doors have slammed outside as neighbours go to work, and wheelie bins have been clattered out to the street for the last hour as the recyclers of Filey forward plan the next week.

Ive not given up this work of love formerly called Bridteacher, but have been doing Fileydaughter for the last 8 weeks or so . 

Daily trips to the Hull Royal Infirmary to see aged parent, and now to Castle Hill hospital Beverley to see most aged and failing parent have actually had much joy in them.

Three weeks ago eldest daughter and I took my mother to see her Plastic Surgeon  . He duly signed her off and we celebrated with  a trip to the nearby Waitrose at Willerby. She loved it and the bowl of chips in the cafe. Her poignant remark as she trolleyed past the vegetable aisle with its pristine boxes of green things she had never seen before was 

"well I dont need this aisle, I'm not doing any cooking now" 

True , but it was the first admission of progression to the idea of ready meals, and all guilt of bringing them to her flat and suggesting she tried this one looks nice and you like chicken casserole and a dumpling don't you ,Mummy! were dispelled  in an affirmation of good practice and common sense.

The children are p****d off with me for sharing all my concern about Mother on Facebook, and tagging them . They are embarrassed that I have had to share my daily trips on the train to Hull with them , their friends and my friends. I am sorry children. I normally blog , but have not had the time , and my smartphone is great but too small for  my thumbs and not fast enough for the data.  

Use it

 Everyone through the automatic doors triggers a counter in Filey Library. NYCC can then tell just how many people are using the facility. I do not want Filey (6500pop) Library to close. I do not know how nearby Hunmanby (3100pop) manages without theirs now . So I am urging everyone to use their local Public Library and Information Centre, your feet make the stats. Filey Library and I C is responsible for all I do online. For in 2000 I was helped by librarian  Chris Robinson to do the BBC WEBWISE course on How to e mail , that got me started. Our local library runs my Reading Group, and  is a place of real calm even when really busy. Its where one goes for 

• Bus Timetables
• Maps
• Which online
• Books
• use of the Printer
• Computer courses
• a coffee after the Doctors or Tescos
• local information 

I just cant imagine not having access to my local library so I am going to make sure I trip the censor as often as possible.

Beverley has some something which needs using too . Visiting aged parent on Friday , and walking from the Station to M and S for her Small Farmhouse White I found pounds of Cooking Apples that had just fallen from a tree in an open space. Thank you !Beverley!

My Alternative Pilgrimage day 10

Not exactly a wall of separation day, in the sense that the real thing is quite upsetting, and unforgetable. Today  I was reminded briefly of the aparteid wall which separates the West bank from Israel. Rather, a wall keeping the Palestinians behind a vast managed ghetto like fence, manned every so often by armed soldiers. I willnever forget when our tourist coach was held up for an hour , our Palestinian Christian guide kept for hours, as we tried to get into Bethlehem.

Today I found a different separation barrier as my A to Z made it seem easy to get from King Street, Hammersmith down Weltje Road.There was no way we could get across the Great North Road , as a huge barrier ran across it.

I had planned a stroll down to the river , a bite to eat at the oldest pub in Hammersmith, and watching sunset on the Thames. We walked slowly back to King Street , and had supper at a Polish restaurant.  I had Gherkin Soup  and Colin had Spinach stuffed pancakes with a dill sauce  and salad followed by a pastry of Poppy seeds , honey and cinnamon, and we both had the best coffee weve had for ages. 

Our tour group will be on their way home to Heathrow now. I am sitting on the bed  here listening to all the planes flying in, and have prayed for a safe journey home for all and I am pondering on how to get easily to the river bank .

My Alternative Pilgrimage Day 9

I am hoist on my own petard.

For the last 25 years when my children reached the age of choice, I have  served food for a variety of dietary requirements.

• I have cooked vegetarian , avoiding all traces of animal fat, and every hint of cow heel in the jellies
• I did dairy free for some years , soya milk, soya everything including icecream, sunflower oil and proficiency in label reading
• Gluten free was my next triumph,  I was trained that even oats contained the stuff, and that most of the pasta was awful, but spelt was ok
• I am presently doing  Sugar Free for diabetic spouse and am finding this the hardest as the poor man has been forbidden many fruits that have been staple for him , like grapes

My food producing for the masses has always had a Margaret Protocol: We all eat the same food. 

So now I am at the crossroads of my culinary adventures, my dining out and my reputation as a non fussy visitor.

On part 2 of our progresses North to South, and South to North, I have got us Ist class tickets on East Coast Mainline , cashing in on my Rewards Points. The food is all complimentary. I cant even eat the sandwiches. I am having a Cup a Soup , brought from home, and 3 Jamaican Water (0fat)biscuits. I have joined those I have railed against ,behind my hand ,for years. 

Simply Not true

My Alternative Pilgrimage day 8

Today is the day I am not going to be eaten by the Lake Galilee midges. I have packed for our return trip down south. 

The 3 packs of insect repellent wipes, 2 tubes of extra strength Jungle formula Mosquito cream , and my antihistamine cream are consigned to the history of the loft storage, along with the box of bunting from 2012, and 20 reels of florist tape and wires from the days when brides did not have hand tied bouquets.

Burgess Hill Premier Inn  via St Pancras is first stop, then 3 days in the Hammersmith one. I am looking forward to getting to know this Polish Suburb of Greater London, and the place where William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites hung out and designed gothic nostalgia and revelled in Medieval Revival . I am going to lead spouse past and maybe into an historic pub, The Dove, and and stroll along the river path. The River Cafe is already fully booked, so we will do Polish, already a favourite cuisine from 40 years of going to Daquise. I will have to be careful as I nurse my fat intake , but Polish food  is gentle on the digestion.(IMO).

King Street Hammersmith

And My day today, my pilgrimage to the Surgery for the result of my scan. I prayed that anything and everything wrong would show up, I had already spotted the gallstone on the Screen 10days ago. Nothing more thank God. So I will manage it and say goodbye to chips.

My Alternative pilgrimage days 6 and 7

Incognito days waiting for a diagnosis are bittersweet. I had the joy of a morning alone in  the kitchen yesterday and I mean it. The Archers omnibus(radio4)  and Private Passions (radio 3) are perfect for a morning cooking Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and Bramble Crumble . The mornings pleasure was not as It would have been 6 months ago as there was no Desert Island Discs seamlessly completing the time. I did not miss going to church , as Songs of Praise was really good. 

And so today.

I have booked a play for Colins Birthday , at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith , when we are back on our royal progress of the Premier Inns. The play will be a surprise to us both . I dont know its name , only its starting time of 7.30pm. I have already clocked that the Lyric does food and wine, and for back up we may have his birthday lunch at the Polish restaurant across from our  Hammersmith hostelry. 

My Alternative Pilgrimage day 5

This is not a forward journey completely. Today I have been backward. I have just listened to' Lark Ascending ' played  by Nigel Kennedy at the last Night of the Proms. I had barely time to get over the sublime voice of the counter tenor in the wonderful Chichester Psalms  when on strolls Nigel Kennedy looking like a tramp. So I had to close my eyes to listen to the music. I was back in the 1950s and 60s walking every Sunday after lunch up East Carr Lane from our  house in Saltshouse Road ,Sutton on Hull to the Holderness Drain and back. We often stopped and listened to the lark ascending , real time , big time.

My Alternative Pilgrimage day 4

This has day has had some unexpected pleasures.

220  to Kings Cross from Hammersmith 8.30am

In the height of what I imagined was RUSH hour, our  bus to Kings Cross took 15mins less than  transport for London Journey Planner said. I could be the Margaret on the buses equivalent of all the trainspotters at Doncaster station. I update my collection of bus maps every year, I know all the symbols of the bus map, I know where all the termini are, and I always try to start a journey with a husband and a suitcase from one. The fact that we were so early for the 11:08 from Kings Cross to York was neither here nor there we had so much enjoyment from watching people from the mezzanine.

So unique are we that apart from the occasional identical twin sightings (and Scarborough is good for those), that time passes very quickly when used wisely by people watching.

Todays best Group Spot, and I make no apologies for this pic, they were asking to be noticed, was this group of men off for a pre wedding get together with their friend the bridegroom in the onesie. He looked so much more respectable and stupid than the bridegroom in a Mankini we saw in York last year.

My Alternative Pilgrimage Day 3

TODAY was to have been our free day in JERUSALEM .I had planned that we would go to the Burnt House. So Colin and I went to a house which had had a large fire instead;OR RATHER to its gardens.In the still sweltering heat of the metropolis we took the cool travel option,  the river Thames.(Richmond to Hampton Court)

I have been around the surrounds of Hampton Court Palace dozens of times. I have escorted elderly aunts, pushed prams,treated foreign visitors and in desperation tried to interest teenagers.I have been in springtime to see the daffs, walked dogs along the path from Kingston Bridge and prepared endless sessions for teaching the Tudors. I dont like the Tudors but its Colins favourite historical period, and he reads every book going, from Terry Deary to Hilary Mantel. Today he also wanted to see the restored William and Mary gardens.
All I can show you are some hot photos, of red flowers , desert flowers, and acres of boring formal gardens which had to be viewed but not enjoyed as the aesthetics of them would have been ruined if a seat had been placed near enough to view the vistas. The one seat I did find was so hot I could hardly stay there. The fountain looked cool but wasnt , and there was no way from straying from the gravel paths on to cooler grass borders. Not complaining really,I am glad that all the Italian and Spanish tourists felt at home.

Opuntia

Hampton Court, resored South Wing

I have been praying every day for David Cloake the vicar of St Phillip and St James Whitton, so said a special one today as we sailed past Strawberry Hill and into Teddington  Lock.

My Alternative Pilgrimage Day 2

Nothing about this photo gives a hint of how bittersweet was the afternoon. And it so reminds me of our visit to Masada .I dont like heat, I like sun, I like fresh British Summer sun in Yorkshire, with the bracing air. I have never been as hot or uncomfortable as we were by the Dead Sea on that Herodian Palace Fortress, until TODAY that is. 

The sun poured down relentlessly on us in the Middle Tier of Sam Wanamaker's Globe watching HenryVI. The groundlings were in the shade. I thanked God that I had remembered my hat, my fan, my complete cover up in Linen and 2 bottles of water. I was about to walk out when the interval came, and I stood in the air near a glassless window frame  and watched the scene below. Spouse appeared beside me with a glass of homemade lemonade, cost a fortune, worth every penny.