Golden Hour

Entertaining Edith and Finley.

Or is that the other way round? Seems like they are entertaining us.

An hour with grandkids is never time lost...it lasts forever. 

Pendle Hill

Not the best of weather, but it was good to get outdoors and blow those cobwebs away last Monday.

Pendle Hill has its associations with witches as well as being a very spiritual place. George Fox (founder of the Quakers) climbed the hill in 1652 and had this to say...

As we traveled we came near a very great hill, called Pendle

Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it; which I did with difficulty, it was so very steep and high. When I was come to the top, I saw the sea bordering upon Lancashire.  From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered.  As I went down, I found a spring of water in the side of the hill, with which I refreshed myself, having eaten or drunk but little for several days before.*

At night we came to an inn, and declared truth to the man of

the house, and wrote a paper to the priests and professors,

declaring the day of the Lord, and that Christ was come to teach people Himself, by His power and Spirit in their hearts, and to bring people off from all the world's ways and teachers, to His own free teaching, who had bought them, and was the Saviour of all them that believed in Him.  The man of the house spread the paper abroad, and was mightily affected with the truth.  Here the Lord opened unto me, and let me see a great people in white raiment by a river side, coming to the Lord; and the place that I saw them in was about Wensleydale and Sedbergh.

* This spring is still called "George Fox's well."

Anyway, it's 2014 and it's our turn to climb it.

A good place to park...and start. I hope it isn't as steep as George says it is.

We don't see many of these around nowadays.

 Good morning!

A bridge too far...and we haven't really started the walk yet.

These ewes were very protective. What a racket.

 I love this photo of Bev's little hands.

Eileen on top of the world...or getting there.

She's loving those walking sticks.

Quite steep.

Final push?

Bev...in her own world and at her own pace. While we had our little rests, Bev would keep going.

Can't be much further.

At last!

Too misty for spectacular views up here, but well worth the climb.

Getting down is a bit trickier. It's not the same way back down and we aren't sure of the way.

This way, folks! The views would have been tremendous on a sunny day.

Yes, you go up even when you're coming down.

Well, there goes another Monday and a good day out.

Check out Pendle Hill on google...its worth reading about.

Mr. & Mr.

As insignificant as my quiet little one voice may be amidst the deafening clanging of bells throughout our great nation, same-sex marriage just doesn't make sense and I'm exercising my democratic right in saying so. Actually, I'm not being clear. It isn't only that it doesn't make sense, it's also wrong.
I may befriend you as I would hope you would befriend me, but I could never subscribe to this type of union.

Those bells may be ringing clear, but they aren't ringing true.

In Sunderland for the weekend.

We had one day to finish the job...Monday. The task was to cut down from twenty feet to six feet. These are the thinner bits before reaching the trunks.

This is the back garden gate, beyond which we disposed of all the branches.

About another 50' to go.

The top of the apple tree and the unusually clear sky.

It was a long hard day, but the sky was blue and the sun warm. It couldn't have been better conditions.

We stayed for breakfast on the Tuesday so that we could wish Anna-Belle a happy birthday, before driving back to Preston...in the rain.

An unusual sight on the journey back. Have you ever seen a boot tree?

What to do...

At a loose end. Tried watching Spurs (too painful)...such a waste of time anyway. I think I'll catch up with my French study seeing as we only have a month before we're back there. Yeah, why not? Or should I watch a DVD? No, be strong and do something productive.

I wonder what day it is?

We had a crazy hour with the Irish this evening in the lounge (standing room only). Live music, singing and a little bit of history and all things Irish. As usual, there was too much food.

Thinking of you, cousin Desmond.

Yes, and there was mention of the Six Nations Champions.

A rowdy but happy lot.

Update

So, what's been happening?

We went to Yorkshire to visit John and Hannah and see Harriet and Vivienne blessed. Sadly, I forgot my camera, but the memory burns bright. A stunning place, Yorkshire.

We also enjoyed another couple of trips to Southport for fresh air, food, bowling and browsing, as well as a walk down to the local park.

Oh, and there was an appearance at the Wonka Chorley Chocolate Factory last night...a fun activity at church for the youngsters (and lovers of chocolate). We finished the evening with a game of 10's with Grant and DeAne Bartschi (Bev won). Earlier, Grant and DeAne had invited us for tea...perfect timing as we were flagging after a hard day in the temple. A note about the temple...we'll have been here six months in April (after which we will return to France), and it's been the most rewarding experience of our lives to date. We'll miss it a great deal.

I've also been busy painting, blogging and generally chilling.

Gary at the bar collecting his meal ticket.

A really nice place. We loved the walled garden.

Approaching the main entrance (exit) at the end of our walk. The shadows attracted my attention. It's so nice to walk towards the sun enjoying a chat.

Pretty good, to put faces to names...makes me think more of the kind of people they were and the sacrifices they made.

Quite an impressive entrance.

Another grand entrance...Wonka Chorley Choc Factory.

A paradise for chocolate and sweets. The whole hall was filled with tasty delights and fun activity and not a penny spent.

And all thanks to Mr Wonka, in person.