Home alone.

It's been a lovely day for taking the car to the garage, and walking back home because it was going to be an all day job. I wandered into Winterton while they were assessing the job to be done. It could have been simple to repair or it could take a long time. I went to the Post Office, and took a few photo's while waiting for the phone call with the verdict. 

The information board next to the Co op. 

Oh dear, the raised flower bed looks a bit sad. Can someone come along with the secateurs and chop off all the dead bits. 

This is a private house near the Co op. The ornate front porch could do with a lick of paint. 

For a small town it's well signposted. 

Drop off and pick up point for mail and small parcels, next to the Co op. 

Let's see how this works. OK, need an app, haven't got one. 😝

Oh look, there's another one. At the front of a workshop. 

I walked through a small park. Here's an instruction board on how to use the Outdoor Gym. 

And the rules. Must have rules. 

Then I got a phone call telling me that it was going to be an all day job, or could go on until tomorrow. The slave cylinder on the clutch has an oil leak so basically everything has to come out. Then came the stinger, it is going to cost a lot of money. Oh well, I won't be changing my car just yet. It is taxed for six months, which gives me time to build up my bank account for when I find the right car. 

So I set off walking back home. Only three and a bit miles and I stayed on tarmac because the field paths are muddy at the moment. I remembered finding some bee hives that I discovered a couple of years ago. They are hidden behind a hedge next to a haulage yard. Yes they are still there. This is the post about the same walk back from the garage in January 2023.  

There are a lot of them, about 50 altogether. I could see bees going in and out. They looked pretty active. They make the honey that I buy from the Farm Shop. 

Coming into the next village I came across what looked like a police bike with a policeman standing close to it. He had a zapper thingy. Just up the road is a 30mph speed limit and quite often people don't bother to slow down. It's a straight road with houses both sides and I think people must get a bit fed up of drivers speeding through. There is a warning sign which flashes what speed people are doing. 

I was curious so asked lots of questions. He is a retired police officer who now works part time on this job. I had a fascinating conversation with Kevin. He lives in Beverley, the other side of the Bridge. It was amazing that we had a lot to talk about. I told him about my driving qualifications. The advanced tests I have taken. My motorcycle advanced training. How many times I have been caught speeding, (3 in 52 years of driving), and I used to go out with a chap from Beverley who worked for the Vehicle Investigation Bureau attached to the police. He went out to accidents to inspect the vehicles involved. When I mentioned his name, yes, Kevin knows him. Amazing. What a nice fella he was. 

It is now 6.30pm and the garage hasn't rung me, so I assume they haven't finished the job and I will get a call tomorrow. It does seem strange to have an empty driveway with no car. I dread the day when I stop driving. I shall be totally lost. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

A quickie post

Good morning. Four pics from a walk to the park yesterday. The deer were a good distance off, a bit of zoom to help matters. 

I think we are coming towards the end of bird slaughtering season. A few lone pheasants can be seen wandering about, looking for their lost mates.  

The night time will soon be here. 

I think this tree must be very old. It looks like it has suffered a lot of wind damage over the years.  

Breakfast this morning. Slice of seeded bread, a banana, and a large dollop of raspberry yogurt. 

I've got a video uploading which will be ready later today. I will go and play outside, the sun is shining. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip. ilona

A lake and village walk

Good evening. The weather has not been very good today, dull, overcast and drizzly. Yesterday was much better. I had a drive out to the Isle of Axholme. Not really an island. It has seven lakes and is surrounded by the River Trent, River Ouse, River Don, and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. I parked at Ealand, just off the A18. On the other side of the road is the entrance to 7 Lakes Country Park. It's a massive site with hundreds of static caravans, a restaurant, and club house. Take a look at their web site here. Seven Lakes Country Park is set in beautiful woodland, surrounded by quality fishing lakes and tranquil waterside path ways, we offer the perfect setting for truly enjoying a different way of life.

I followed the path alongside the lake, to Crowle. 

I stopped to have a chat with a couple who were walking their two little dogs. 

I picked up the road at the other end of the park, walked past the school which was busy with the buses coming out. The White Hart is the oldest inn, so it says on the wall. 

I stepped inside the greengrocers shop and had a chat with the lady serving in there. What a fabulous display of fresh produce. 

In the Market Square a family butchers shop can be found. 

And next door is the Market Hall. The library is housed here. I stepped inside to chat with the lady in charge. It was toasty warm in there. A pop up Post Office has a counter inside which is open twice a week. 

The lady in the veg shop recommended a look at the church. I've just checked the blog and see that I was last in Crowle in March 2012. Here is the link if you want to check that out. I tried the door but it was locked, then just as I was about to walk away it suddenly opened. A lady was working inside. She said I could come in and she put the lights on for me. She was getting the place set up for an afternoon tea event coming up. As you can see from the church clock it is just coming up to 4pm. 

I wanted to make a quick video before I went back to the car, so I started recording at the church, and walked back to the Market Place. 

As I came through the gate at the lake I thought I would take the path around the other side, around the edge of the caravans. I could see the Reception area over there, so I thought it would be easy to follow it round keeping the water on my left. 

Oh dear, it wasn't that easy. I thought there might be an outer perimeter path, but I couldn't find it, and ended up somewhere in the middle of the massive caravan park completely lost. There was nobody about to ask which way to go. Until I turned round and saw a set of headlights behind me. Oh, thank goodness. It was a security man doing his rounds, checking everything was ok. He said no one is allowed to walk around after a certain time. I said I am lost. He said, jump in and I will give you a lift to the entrance. That's a relief. Trying to find your way through hundreds of caravans is more difficult than finding the right path through a wood. 

Here is the video. It's not perfect because I try and avoid pointing the camera at people. The muffs have done a good job of keeping the wind noise down. 

My verdict of Crowle. I wasn't impressed the first time I went in 2012, but the bit I saw today I thought it was really nice. Only two empty shops. It has a community feel about it. The people I spoke to said everyone is friendly. I noticed it is free parking, no machines to grab your money. Worth getting off the M180 to break up your journey on the way to Grimsby or Cleethorpes. 

Now I must get something to eat. I still have some mushrooms left so it will be a stir fry with noodles, and anything else I have thrown in. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Ugly fly tipping again.

The sun has been shining but it is still freezing cold. After checking around the internet this morning I made a run for it. Boots on, extra layers, skirt over the top of my trousers, and the walking pole might be needed, it could be a bit slippy. It's the first time this year for this local walk. The usually boggy footpaths were rock hard with ice. Blue skies and fresh crisp air were perfect. 

This entrance to a field has been plagued with fly tipping in the past. The farmer dumped this big bale of hay to block it. It worked for a while, but the fly tippers are back. Some people are disgusting. I don't know what is or was in those containers, but the bags contain the wrappings from Christmas presents. There is a tv screen and what looks like bits of a computer. It's a quiet road with some traffic in the daytime. They must come at night, pull up, and chuck it all out of a van or a pickup. 

I made a slight detour towards the end of the walk and went to the park to feed the ducks. Amazingly someone recognised me and said hello. The ladies face seemed familiar but I couldn't remember where I met her before. I still can't remember after she told me, but she remembered a lot about me. She mentioned the summer house so it must have been quite a while ago. I built that almost ten years ago. 

I might have visitors tomorrow. That will be nice. I must do some housework in the morning. 

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Walking back home

Well it's a Friday night, my favourite guy isn't due, and I am all alone. That's a song if you didn't know it. 👩  Today I got the bus into town, and walked back. I called in at the Arts centre to say hello to Nicky. She said she would come and visit me sometime over the Christmas break, but she didn't make it. It turns out that she caught that nasty virus bug thing that was going around. Sounds like the same one that my Auntie caught, which put a stop to my planned visit there. 

I took this quick snap of the church tower, looking out through the window. Tried to get it square within the window frame. The angle is not quite right. I was only going to say a quick hello, but the chat lasted a bit longer than I anticipated. I ended the walk back in the dark again. 

Passing the pond. The locals call it the Blue Lagoon. There is a path all the way around it, and some benches to sit down. I sit on the last bench for ten minutes because from there on there is nowhere else to sit until I get back to the village. The bench is quite high up so I am looking down on the pond. The sun going down created the reflection of the building in the water. 

I ate my snack and looked for something else to take a picture of. Once again looking down at the water, you can see the ripples, and the reflection of the clouds. 

This one is a trick photograph because I have rotated it, now it is upside down. It is not the sky, it's the pond. The speck in the water is a duck. 

The duck came closer so I quickly snapped it before it disappeared into the grasses. 

Still sat on the bench I zoomed in on the grasses. 

This one picked out the ripples on the water. I couldn't see what was causing them. 

I've got three days of cat sitting now, so I won't be going very far from home. Now need to push this keyboard aside because Mayze wants a cuddle. 

Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

A nice walk, but no sun.

Hardly any wind today. Quite a pleasant walk, it's a pity it was so overcast though. No sun at all. I shall keep on taking my vitamin D supplements. 

I scoured the woods as I walked along the track close by, looking for the odd deer or two. Oh, there's one. The white bum is the giveaway. It spotted me as I got the camera out of my pocket, very slowly. Please stay there, don't move. I set the zoom in motion. Gotcha. A second one came into view and I hoped I could get the two together on the same photo. Sadly they moved on and I lost them as they disappeared further up the bank. 

It's been a couple of weeks since I have been along here. This field is almost bare of it's crop now. Nineteen pallets of good quality turf, ready for loading on a 40 tonne truck. I would like to see how they scrape it all up with the machine, leaving the land so smooth and flat. And stacking it so neatly on the pallets. The soil is very sandy around here. Ideal conditions for turf growing. I wonder if a lorry will come and pick this up tomorrow, or if the job will have to wait until the end of the week. Years ago they used to have to rope and sheet this load. Nowadays they use a curtain sider. Drivers have got it dead easy now. 

Time to get a bite to eat. Now what shall I have. Check the fridge first to see what jumps out at me. Make it up as I go along. 

I hope all your Christmas plans are coming together and you will be ready for the big day. Please don't feel sorry for this pensioner spending Christmas Day alone, because that's how I like it. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

What I did today.

No real rain today, except that mizzly drizzly stuff, so I went to town on the 11.30am bus. The Bus Station is next to the Arts Centre so I called in there for a quick chat with Nicky. Treated myself to a Magnum Ice Cream. 

I walked the same route back home as when I found the glass blocks. Didn't find any more. I have been trying to scrape the paint off them but it's stuck fast. I need to get some Nitramors paint stripper. Is that how you spell it. 

Another fly tip I came across. A quick peek in the bags tells me they are full of mainly clothing, some household linen, and kids toys. Shocking to throw them all away when they could have gone to a charity shop. 

Tonight, at 5pm, I went to the park. They have installed some coloured Christmassy lights. I drove there because I had already walked five miles. I took photo's and made a video. I will post them tomorrow. 

Now I am going to relax with Mayze cat and a glass of sherry. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Trolley dolly

Hello. My legs are like jelly tonight. I got the 1.09pm bus to town, and walked back. I came a different route from last time, just for a change of scenery. I got off the bus at Sainsbury's and walked down Doncaster Road towards Berkeley Circle. Oh my, what a scruffy road, dropped litter everywhere. I walked through this park, and found an abandoned shopping trolley. I walked past it then changed my mind. I can make a detour to B & M Stores, and take it back. Some lazy person shouldn't have taken it that far away from the store. Come with me trolley, I will see you safely home. 

Out of the park and onto the road. I bet people wondered what I was doing.  

I came across another B & M trolley, a much bigger one. Someone had pushed it down a bank and into a ditch. I tried to pull it out but wasn't successful, it was too heavy. I will tell someone at the shop about it, maybe they can send a man to haul it out. 

Now getting closer to the Retail Park, which is next to the Football Ground, I found another trolley on the edge of a housing estate. Oh dear, this one looks like it is dead. 

Oh no, now there is another one. Tesco is across the road. Well I am not taking this one back, they can come and get their own. 

This is getting ridiculous. More trolleys on the housing estate next to the Retail Park. Two from Aldi, which is next to Tesco. Another one from B & M. 

I don't believe it. A Tesco and an M & S trolley next to the playground. There's no way I can move all these.  

At last, I delivered my lost trolley to the front door of the store. I went inside, through the exit door and was told off by a cashier on the till.  You can't come in that door. I said, I don't want to come in. I just want to tell you that some of your trolleys have been abandoned on the housing estate up the road. Perhaps you could send a staff member to collect them. She wasn't interested. 

I don't know why I bothered. I was just trying to help. They must waste loads of money replacing trolleys that have been lost or stolen. I'm thinking of starting a business. Collect all the lost trolleys, take them back to where they belong, and ask the store manager for £5 for every one I return. 

The Christmas decorations are coming down from the loft. This garden looks a bit full. 

With making that extra detour to take the trolley back, I was running out of time. The last half a mile was along a track next to a wood, up a steep hill, and it was getting dark. Spooky. Just made it, good job that I know that route. I've just checked the distance on Bikehike.co.uk. Eight miles, no wonder my legs are wobbly tonight. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona