The Book Trail (and some films!)

I have been going on a bit of a connected journey with my reading and film viewing of late. It all started back last year when I read The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell, which connected my knowledge of the Duchess of Devonshire (now dowager) with Nancy Mitford. (They are sisters.)
Obviously they own Chatsworth House. One of their ancestors is Georgiana Cavendish, who is played by Keira Knightley in the film 'The Duchess', so I watched that earlier in the year, and loved it. I didn't have to go hunting for it, Missis lent it to me, that's been part of the fun and surprise, that so many of these things have just landed in my lap.
Then I watched 'Becoming Jane' with Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, which was excellent, especially as James McAvoy was in it.
This was followed by a viewing of 'Pride and Prejudice' with Keira Knightley (again!) as Elizabeth Bennet, but the other connection is that some scenes are filmed at Chatsworth (the circle goes round and round) I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but felt that Matthew Macfadyan as Darcy wasn't a patch on Colin Firth in the BBC version. I thought Donald Sutherland was dreadful as Mr Bennett (what was all that pathetic 'laughing behind your hand' about?) but Judi Dench was brilliant, and so was Tom Hollander as Mr Collins. He plays Cutler Beckett in 'Pirates of the Carribbean', and if you can't stand him in that (the character, I mean) this will truly make you squirm, his portrayal is brilliant.
Then for my birthday in March I visited Hardwick Hall. And the connection? Bess of Hardwick was married to Sir William Cavendish, who owned Chatsworth. On the way out I saw a book called 'The Other Queen' by Philippa Gregory (writer of 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and one of my favourite authors) but decided not to buy it as we are rapidly running out of book space in the tiny cottage. Then, to my surprise, I found it in the library at the weekend and grabbed it quick. It is about Mary Queen of Scots, but more importantly to me, it features Bess of Hardwick, by then married to her fourth husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury. I have only read a few chapters but can hardly put it down.
I am so thrilled at the link between all of these things, and how one has flowed straight from the other. My next book on order from the library is set in Roman times, though, so that should change things a bit.




I am still busy card-making, so I thought I'd show you my latest efforts:



This is the first card I made from my new Jayne Netley Mayhew CDRom. I hope it's obvious from example why I don't need to worry about not having anything to make a 'Mancard' with any more, as there are hundreds of beautiful designs on the CD. Each topper comes with matching backing papers, and I had the gold card in my stash, and just got on with it. This one is for my son David whose birthday it is tomorrow.

I so enjoyed making that one, I decided to make another one. I've printed the picture of the leopard onto photographic paper, and the print quality is incredibly good. I could easily get carried away making these.

On Saturday I bought a guillotine, as I want to cut neater straight lines, and also bought a craft mat and craft knife, as I got stuck on one project as I didn't have the correct tools for the job, so I will get those finished and show you as soon as I can. I also need to make a Thankyou card for Jolly Farmer for letting me use his manege for nearly a year. I need to take him a pressie as well, so I'd better get cracking.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Bakewell By Bus

When I went to the doctor's last week I noticed a poster on the noticeboard advertising bus trips. They go to Bakewell, Derby and Meadowhall (a huge shopping mall in Sheffield) and there was one to Bakewell today, so I decided to book a place.

We had to meet at the village hall. I was quite early and stood there for ages, absolutely freezing to death and totally alone. I couldn't believe I was going to be the only one going.

Finally the bus arrived at 10 am and loads of people appeared and climbed aboard! Where had they all been hiding?! A very nice lady sat next to me and we chatted away, all the usual about where we live and why. Then she did the ultimate - she invited me to join the WI! I desperately tried to keep a straight face. The trouble is, it's on a Thursday evening, and in the summer I'd rather be riding, but in the winter it might be quite appealing.

We drove through the beautiful countryside to Chatsworth. There are hundreds of acres of grassland for the sheep to go at, but for some reason the grass on the edge of the road is the nicest bit of all, and we crawled along, ushering Mrs Sheep and her twins back onto the grass so we could keep on driving.

We arrived in Bakewell at eleven and the bus would come back at 2pm to pick us up, so we fanned out, women on a mission. I've never been to Bakewell before and wasn't sure how big it was, so thought I'd better take a good look around so I could find the bus stop again and not be lost and keep everybody waiting. The market was in full swing, so I decided to go there first, and had a good look round, then off to the shops.

The shops are definitely geared towards tourists, but it was lovely to stroll round (and go into shops to warm up!) I very nearly succumbed to a tea cosy with chickens on it, but resisted. There were some lovely ones in the market, too. I must explain all about my search for a tea cosy, but it'll have to wait for another post.

I decided it was time to find somewhere to have lunch, but there are loads of cafes to choose from. There are lots of secret alleyways with more shops and cafes, like this one.

Eventually I plumped for a place just called 'The Cafe Upstairs' and had a lovely coffee and a ciabatta loaf with hot brie and cranberry sauce, which was gorgeous. Fully refreshed, I dived once more into the fray.

I found a beautiful craft shop selling cross stitch, tapestry and knitting things, and asked about what I needed to back my bookmark, but they didn't have anything I could use, which was disappointing. They had some beautiful cross stitch kits, though. Maybe next time.

So all in all, to my surprise, I came back empty handed, but I really enjoyed it. We stopped off at the Chatsworth Farm Shop on the way home, and I bought two huge pasties, some onion chutney and a bottle of homemade lemonade to make up for it!

I walked back up the steep hill from the village as I had to be home in time to meet the boys off the school bus. As I approached the farm I could see something moving around near the white gate. As I got closer I realised it was Lindy! He must have jumped over the dry stone wall again and gone for a wander. I came in, dropped everything off and grabbed a headcollar and leadrope and went to catch him. He was quite happy to be caught and wandered back up to his friends in the field, silly horse.

And to end, I'm sorry to say, on a sad note. When Mr O got home we fed the horses and went to put the chickens away. Mr O went into the coop to look for eggs, and to his dismay, found Dorothy, the pale grey maran, dead on the floor. What on earth has happened? There was no blood or feathers, so we are wondering if George has crushed her or suffocated her or something. It's the only thing we can think of. Can a cockerel do that to a chicken? Poor old girl. So sad. I will miss her, and of course, it's made me worry about the others. I wonder if he should be separated from the chickens at night? Any advice?

At Last... A Manege!

Finally, it's finished, but I wanted to show you the extent of the transformation process, as only a few weeks ago, the ground looked like this:


Basically it was just a muddy, wet, wasteland, and looked pretty awful from the road.

The diggers came in and took all the top soil off. Lots of it has been bucketed over to what will be a garden for us.





It's a pretty big area, as you can see.

Next the clay was revealed underneath. All the drainage pipes were put in.

Then the black membrane was put down, and covered up with a deep layer of stone. I don't think any weeds will be poking their pretty little heads up through this lot. The surface was still sloped at this stage. You can see the beginnings of the post and rail fencing.

Then the white membrane was put down, and covered with sand. The kick-boards are on. At this stage the guys should have arrived with the rotovator to churn in all the fibre, but there was quite a delay, even allowing for the Bank Holiday, which was very frustrating.

Eventually the fibre turned up, and didn't look as I'd expected at all. At our old yard the fibre was like orange wire wool, which is why I worried it would just blow straight off the school surface on a windy day, but this was grey and had little bits of rubber in it.

Then the final touch, the rubber put on the top. This is to stop the sand getting frost on it and being too hard to ride on in the winter. It is 20m x 40m by the way.

Now all I want to do is go and (play) ride on it, but we have to wait one more day to let it settle in (a little note which I think is silly really, but there we are). I am so excited, I can't begin to tell you. We're going to have some fun on this, aren't we? Poor Barnaby hasn't got a clue what he's in for (come to that, neither has Zak!)

Have a good weekend everyone.

Mrs O.

The Road Less Traveled By

Such busy days. I have had to go to the doctor, which meant another walk down the steep hill into the village. It was actually easier without Tessa dragging me down there.
The doctor was very nice. We have lived here for eighteen months and never visited the surgery. It just goes to show what country living can do for you. The doctor said, "Oh, you are at the house with the new manege!" There are no secrets in the country.
On the way back I spotted the footpath Mr O had suggested as a short-cut home. It was a steep climb to even get on it, then a series of steps that seemed to go on forever to a blue sky at the top. I stood and considered, and decided to take the road less traveled by, just out of curiosity. I climbed up the stone stile, then onto the stone steps, set roughly into the hillside. Fortunately there was a handrail to cling onto. I stepped slowly and painstakingly upwards. I came out onto the narrow lane at Hill Top, to my surprise. We ride along here all the time, so I knew where I was. I crossed the narrow lane, into the fields, and to my delight found it was downhill all the way home. I traversed the first field, through the lush green grass, then a second similar field, and then I realised what lay up ahead - a field full of cows with their calves.
Now, I'm not afraid of cows as a rule, having been brought up where there were loads at my grandparents, but knowing what horses can be like, and knowing these ladies had their young with them, I was cautious. All went well for several yards. I just had to keep going in a straight line to the next wall, where there is a narrow gap for walkers to fit through (though some people's podgy dogs have a bit of a struggle - mention no names!)
The cows were asleep at first, but my presence soon aroused their curiosity, and they got up, and sashayed casually but determindly towards the gap in the wall in order to block my exit. I eyed the barbed wire fence to my left, which I felt confident I could oer'leap, should the occasion require it. I kept my course and the bovines kept their watery eyes on me as I made it to the exit. You've never seen a human being move so fast as I did while leaping through the gap; I'd have made Usain Bolt envious. I was home and dry.
It was quite interesting to come upon our farm from that direction. It looked quite different. I could see the horses and the manege and the back of the barn, and it all looked very nice. I must take some photos soon.
After that it was action stations as some men came to lay the fibre on the sand in the manege, and the guys came to put the roller shutter door on the barn, and the delivery men appeared from Pop's Attic to deliver this:




Obviously I couldn't leave it standing there, cold and naked. Pretty soon he looked like this:





but I'm sure it will evolve. I have christened it Dai Jones (it is a welsh dresser, after all!) I am more than happy with it.


I went out to ride yesterday, but when I got to the field, this is the scene that met my eyes:



I didn't have the heart to get him up, and tiptoed away. Maybe later...


I am working on a cross-stitch bookmark, which is for the Bookmark Exchange on facebook. Unfortunately I can't show you until after I've finished it and sent it, as the recipient has been known to linger here. All I can say is, I am thoroughly enjoying the design I've chosen and will make one for myself as soon as it's finished.
I've also made some cupcakes, and am pleased to say I haven't lost my touch, considering I haven't made any for ages. The icing was a bit runny, though, but I had great fun using my piping bag for the first time. I need to buy some things to decorate them with and have another go next week.
TTFN
Mrs O.

If The Cap Fits...

I don't think anyone who knows me can call me vain. I think mirrors are God's way of keeping a check on that - one brief look in the mirror in the morning and all is well. Linger a while and I start to notice the grey hair and the lines! I've never been keen on make-up especially as I've nearly always worn glasses, which makes mascara superfluous, and perfume is pointless when you spend all day with horses (it can attract unwanted attention!) but my one weakspot is my hair. Again, please don't think I spend hours crimping and primping, I just want to wash my hair, dry it and get on with my life. As many of you know, I've had long hair for the past six years, but had a mental abberation when we moved here and had it cut short. What was I thinking? You know sometimes in life you find the perfect thing for you? For example, now that I've discovered the beauty and practicality of leather sofas, I'd never have any other kind. My hair was like that. Long hair worked well for me. I could wash it, dry it, put it up in a ponytail and forget about it all day. Working with horses requires that you either have very long hair so you can put it up, or very short hair so it doesn't cover your face when it's windy, or when you've got a horse's hoof in your hand and you're bending over, trying to get the mud out of it. If you look, you will find that horsey women have hair that is definitely one or the other. If a horsewoman has midlength hair, she also has a groom. (Ditto painted nails).
So I cut my hair short thinking it would be practical, as in quick to blow dry, which it was, but when I came home with my newly coiffed style and Mr O said I looked like my mother, I knew I'd made a mistake. I grew it into a bob. The bob is a mystery to me.

Other women have their hair bobbed and they look chic, feminine and vaguely french. I have a bob and I look like Percy in Blackadder, or like Jimbo Jones in the Simpsons.
So you can imagine my feelings this weekend, when finally, at long last, I can scrape my hair back and put an elastic band round it. I cannot describe the joy in 'being me' again. The baseball cap is on (the other equestrian must-have) and I am deeply happy. I may have the tiniest ponytail in England, but it's a start. Things can only get better.

I would just like to state for the record, that I've had a truly wonderful weekend. Bank Holidays are difficult, aren't they? You make plans, but you know the weather is going to be bad, because this is England. It's the ideal weekend to go bowling or to the cinema, but no! We english plan picnics and trips to the zoo and the seaside (You can tell I don't live on the coast any more, otherwise I'd have said, 'beach', not 'seaside.') because we are bold and optimistic and mad.
But Mr O and I decided to do a ride to a place called Ogston Reservoir yesterday, because we keep looking on the map and finding loads of bridleways that go out that way. We drove round on Saturday night and realised it was 'do-able'. Yes, everyone else had either gone to the pub or clubbing, or even the flicks, but we were driving round in a car trying to see if we could ride a ten mile route hardly touching a road. And if I hadn't been doing that? I'd have been at home, cleaning my tack, obviously. It's a heck of a commitment, owning a horse.
So we set out at about 9.30 and rode and rode and rode, and it was... fabulous! Ogston Reservoir isn't vast (Ladybower must be much bigger?) but the sun was gleaming off the water which flashed past between the trees, as we flashed past, trying not to race each other and getting the giggles. We turned down a lane and came to what is, really like a secret part of Ashover. There were little cottages dotted about on the hillsides, with beautiful gardens, some with chickens and the odd dog running about, but everywhere a different shade of green. We went down a winding track, and splashed through a river, and shot up the track on the other side. I've never been there before, but Mr O has done it a few times now. The way he's described it made it sound quite scary, but I really enjoyed it and can't wait to go again. I would say it was about ten miles there and back again, but the horses weren't tired at all, and neither was I, which is deeply satisfying.
And then to confess that I spent the best part of the afternoon in front of the television watching the coverage of Badminton (Horse Trials). I just want to thank the BBC, as I don't think I've seen this much coverage in some years. It really was gripping, right to the very end. We'd seen Paul Tapner ride Inonothing on the Sunday, and I'd remarked at the time that his horse was very honest and genuine, especially when Paul rode quite badly through the water. That horse knew exactly what he had to do and jumped everything in fine style. Ninety-nine percent of horses would have ducked out, but Inonothing was amazing, and what a turn of speed. It comes as no surprise to me that he won (although I was secretly rooting for Mary King) and I cheered my head off at the end.
Add to this that Mr O cooked the dinner, and you can see that it's been a pretty excellent Bank Holiday weekend all round - and guess what? There's another one at the end of the month!

Better To Have Loved and Lost

For some time now I have had it in my mind to buy a welsh dresser, and have glanced in various shops, just casually looking. I had one years ago, and gave it to Daughter 1. Why? Why? I've regretted it ever since (no disrespect to Daughter 1!) There is a limited amount of space in this teeny tiny cottage, and I particularly want a pine dresser for a kitchen, not a dresser for a dining room, with any kind of glass doors.

So imagine my joy when we found the perfect dresser this morning in a shop in Chesterfield. The only drawback was that it was quite wide, but it was lovely. The price was right, too. I stroked it affectionately and assured it that it would soon be mine. We decided to do the sensible thing and go home and measure the space in the kitchen to make sure it would fit. Sure enough, there would be the perfect amount of space without having to complicate things by moving the fridge. Mr O rang up to say we were on our way to pay for the dresser, and what did the shop owner say? "Oh, I'm sorry, I've just sold it." D'oh!

I sat down, struck dumb, and let the waves of disappointment wash over me. It had been love at first sight - what was I to do? To assuage his guilt ("I knew it would fit!") Mr O offered to take me into Clay Cross to check out the shops there. I thought it was a bit pointless, but decided to humour him and go along for the ride, it wouldn't do any harm.

We went into a couple of shops, but there was nothing crying out to be bought. Then suddenly, in Pop's Attic (where we bought our table and chairs) there it was, the dresser of my dreams. It didn't have a price (always a bad sign) so I went to the desk to ask. Let's just say it was a third of the one we'd seen in the morning! I think I may have said, "We'll take it!" before the words were properly out of her mouth into the public domain. I nearly went to sit on it. I was prepared to sleep next to it until it's delivery day (Tuesday). I can't wait until it comes to grace our tiny home. As soon as it's here, you'll be the first to know.

The other success is that I have bought my outfit for Daughter 2's wedding in July. We saw it last week. If I tell you it was in the Co-Op you'll think I'm a bit barking, but our Co-Op is a big department store like Debenhams. Basically it's an off-white silk, sleeveless dress, that falls to just below the knee. It has big blue spots on it. I also bought a matching dark blue jacket, and what I suppose is a cross between a fascinator and a hat. I just hope it doesn't look like a saucer on the side of my head, but I can live with that. It's a beautiful outfit, something one could wear to Ascot. All I need now is some blue strappy shoes to go with it. I will take a photo of me in it when I've got some shoes, so it'll look a little disappointing that it's me in it but at least you'll see what the dress looks like. Honestly, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, you know, in the shopping scene. And I can seriously say that the shop assistant did in fact have obscene amounts of sucking up to do, especially when she accidentally pressed the wrong button on the till and brought the total to six thousand, four hundred and thirty-two pounds! I did mention that she might want to check that and it turned out she'd typed in the item code and not the price, thank goodness. It was worth it to see the look on Mr O's face, though.

I bought this a little while ago from a very sweet gift shop in Chesterfield. It actually says, 'Bless Our Home with love and laughter.' It's the sort of shop where you want to buy one of everything, and it's not expensive, either. Expect to see regular additions from now on, especially after the welsh dresser has made itself at home.

This is going on my wardrobe door. I saw it today and couldn't resist it. To be honest, there isn't much room in the tiny cottage to have many ornaments, but I've realised I've got lots of places where I can hang things up, and this is perfect. I love the colour and the buttons.

And finally, I've been meaning to show you this since my birthday, as Missis bought it for me as a present. It holds six eggs at the bottom, and you unlock a catch across its back and it opens out, to hold the two eggs shown. It's metal, and it fascinates me as an object. This may have pride of place on the dresser, I haven't decided yet.

Well I'm off to throw some ingredients in the breadmaker.

Blessings, everyone!