Take That!

I've always loved a boy band - ever since The Osmonds, but I'd never been a huge fan of Take That.  I think Robbie Williams put me off them at the start.  But my blog lurker pal Nic is a huge fan (she still dreams of running off with Mr Barlow), so when she asked me if I fancied going to see them on their latest tour I said yes.

So on Monday night, we battled through the driving rain and wind to Sheffield Arena.  All I can say is WOW!! What a show!!  It was spectacular. One of my friends likened it to the opening of the Olympic games in 2012!

 It was so colourful and action packed.  The music was fabulous and we danced all night.

 They had huge shodow puppets which I loved.

 I hadn't realised they were all such showmen.

 We are lucky in Sheffield that we have so much live music happening all of the time.  Venues range from the very small to very large.  Arena's are not my favourite place to hear live music, but in this instance, they filled up the space and it was perfect.

I'm now a big fan and I will  go and see them live again.

Did you know.....

... that the Belsfield Hotel in Bowness on Windermere has been given a much needed makeover by Laura Ashley and is now a little piece of heaven on earth?   We noticed this as we walked by on Sunday afternoon.  I couldn't resist, I had to go and have a nosey around! 

 The hotel sits slap bang on lake Windermere - an absolutely perfect location.

 The whole hotel is furnished with Laura Ashley furniture, light fittings fabrics etc.

 Of course it has gone straight on my "list".  Hubby is not only alarmed at how much a stay might cost, but also how much decorating we will have to do when I come home full of inspiration!  I have to confess to having a Laura Ashley obsession since the late 1970's.

 The hotel staff were very good about letting us have a good look around.

 My sister even got them to show us one of the rooms.

 They have done a marvellous job with this hotel that had seen better days before the refurb.

 If you are in the area, call in.  The do coffee and cakes on the lawn or in the Brasserie.  The view is highly recommended.

Climb every mountain - part 2

I had been looking forward to our walking groups trip to walk England's  highest mountain with a little dread.  You know I love a canal walk and I'm not keen on hills.  However the day dawned and off we drove to Cumbria to walk up to the top of Scafell Pike - England's highest mountain..  

 We were exceptionally lucky with the weather.  The thing with these mountain walks is that you often can't see the top, they are a little hidden around bends and other hills.  Scafell was like that - I couldn't see the top until we were almost there.

 The area of west Cumbria is stunning.  Geographically spectacular and it takes your breath away at every twist and turn.

 I've stood looking up at these hills before but never ever imagined I would one day be stood on top of them!

 The climb up was steepish and fairly arduous  but we stopped often to take in the breathtaking scenery.

 Hubby even managed to find several heart shaped rocks along the way!

 My photo's do not capture how absolutely stunning the views are - you'll have to walk up there yourselves!

 It lifted our spirits when we got to a point where we glimpsed the sea.

 I can't tell you how beautiful it was.

 We were doing really well until we got almost to the top, and then who ever had made the mountain had obviously thought they would make the final bit tougher!  A boulder field slowed us down as we crossed it slowly, trying not to twist an ankle!  And the very final bit involves a hazardous downhill bit before a very steep and scrambley uphill bit.  Not nice - and if it hadn't been for hubby's encouragement, I would have wimped out and waited at the bottom for the rest to come back down.

 But eventually, with much pushing and shoving - I was on top of the mountain!!!!!  HURRAY!!! Look how pathetic I look - I can barely raise a smile!

 I can't tell you how proud I was of us all.  I did announce my retirement from mountain climbing immediately at the top - but I seem to remember saying that after climbing mount Snowdon last September.

 After a brief bask in glory, the leaders decided that we would not go back the way we came (because of the boulder field).  So they studied the map and decided we would descend down the " corridor path" which looked a tad shorter but a lot steeper.

 It was treacherous! So rocky and very close to the edge of some fairly steep drops.  I began to realise that this might not be a great idea as we hadn't seen another soul on the path.  We did hit one very hairy sheer rock face where there was no real obvious way to continue on.  We were just about to despair, when from nowhere a very young man with long golden hair and a golden orange top appeared and cheerfully asked if we needed any help.  He took our walking poles and safely helped us all individually over the rock face.  My sister declared he was an angel and he shall be forever known to us as Angel Gabriel!  Once in a place of safety he bid us farewell an sprinted off like some super human being!

The walk took a lot longer than we thought.

We made our way back to the youth hostel in Borrowdale where we had booked ourselves in for the evening.  I've never stayed in a youth hostel before, but it was great and once in the bar, we recovered from our extreme fatigue.  I keep telling the walking group that I am going to write a sit com about them all - the night in the Youth Hostel certainly gave me plenty of material for an episode!!!  I wonder who could play Angel Gabriel?

St Michael's Mount

We had a very foggy day in St Ives, and we know from experience that if you travel just 6 miles to the opposite coast, you can often find a completely different day.  And so we found ourselves at St Michael's Mount in Marazion.

 It is always mystical and magical and never fails to impress - no matter how many times we have visited (and we've lost count now).

 The island is joined to the mainland by a causeway that can be walked at low tide.

 But we had to cross by boat as the tide was in when we arrived.

 The house is full of history and has so much to see as you wander around.

 But the most spectacular thing about the Mount (in my opinion) is the spectacular garden around the back  - facing out to sea.

 Because this sits in the gulf stream, so many exotic and tropical plants grow clinging to this granite rock.

 We loved our trip across to Marazion - the fog had still not lifted when we got back to St Ives.

And the National Trust cafe's on the Island are great too!