Jack Meets Cordless Drill

Thanks go to Marj on the Marsh for sending this to me. Yes, yes Hallowe'en is over but isn't this amazing. Next Oct 31 I think I will be getting out my power tools! Credit goes to Kathryn Naylor for creating this.

Patterns in my Home

We are living in this lovely old somewhat rundown Regency building that was built in 1802 or so. Huge rooms, tons of architectural detail as you can see from these photos. My favourite is the fireplace with the children and the harp. Perhaps, it means something but I know not what. The ceilings are amazing too. Every morning I wake up to octagons and squares on the ceiling. And unlike She Who Knits better half I don't have to make any sense of them! Or is it hexagons he works with. Well, whatever. And I think those are roses in the corner.

Every flat has a different ceiling and flower which was dependant on who was originally living there. The original owners of our flat loved roses I guess. The flat next door has tulips. We also have an original coal burning fireplace. NOT good for the environment but I tell you it sure is the best way to warm up these big old rooms.

Also, this place has ghosts but we haven't told J-Rock! Mr. Freelander is familiar with this when he visited us many years ago in a flat below. He said he saw a man dressed in a big old coat and who looked like he was right out of Dickens! Mrs. Freelander was not convinced! But we knew better...

Arrr - They Be Big Cliffs matey...

We went to Seaford weekend before last and had a very nice time visiting friends. We had a good old walk on the downs near the Seven Sisters which you see in the photograph. We also got to see a Little Auk and a Guillemot in the Brighton Harbour the day before. The yellow is Gorse and was in full flower. Nice isn't it? We caught up on all our football as our friends have a son who is well into the sport and trivia. J-Rock was happy. We were happy to see Man United beaten by Celtic last night. Man United and Chelsea both have lots of money and buy up all the good players so there is good reason not to like them!

I'm gearing up for a 10 mile run on the 3 December. I had a great run today over hill and dale through the cabbages and bramble...

On a reading front. I need a book to read. I recently got The House of Mirth by Wharton out of the local library. Finished Clara Callan which was excellent and would recommend it. Also, have a book called Property on reserve which comes highly recommended as well.

Right. Gotta make dinner tonight. Veg Lasagne methinks. The Almonds are coming over to cut J-Rock's hair and I need something filling but also should really have a meat option. Any ideas homemakers?

Meet the Teacher Night

J-Rock has been blessed with a very nice teacher - (Dr. Ofluf would approve) - while he is here on his short stay in Thanet. So we went to meet his teacher on the prescribed night.

Things are done a little bit differently here. You schedule a time, Ok so we are used to that and then you go and meet the teacher in the gym. The teacher is sitting at a desk and the parents wait in chairs to go up and have their chat. You even get a ticket so you know when it is your turn! While you are waiting - 'cause it does get a bit backlogged - you can look at your child's workbooks and watch other parents having their interview. So you don't get to poke around the classroom, or nose around and see how your kid's artwork compares to other kids, or see where or by whom your kid sits etc. Which really is OK with me. Also, the headteacher (=Principal) is there as well and you can chat with her if you wish and, er, need to.

Also, the interviews for all the different years fall on different nights. So you eliminate the throngs of people descending on the school all on one day. Much less chaotic.

And J-Rock? Well, he is doing Ok considering he has previously only done French language instruction. The teaching targets are much more rigorous over here. And it shows. And they automatically put him into a special learning group. No waiting to fill in a bunch of forms, requesting it, and the waiting to actually get into the programme. All done proactively for you!

Open Practice - Toronto Maple Leafs!

Hey Hockey fans! For only $5.50 you get an Open Practice with the Leafs on November 19th. Doors open at 10 am. I think the same day as the Santa Claus Parade. For details go here...We would but can't!
All proceeds benefit the Leafs Fund.

Remembrance Day 2006

Saw this when we were in London. We remembered while driving along the coast road from Dover to Brighton on Saturday morning for 2 minutes.

Happy Birthday Sister-Special Auntie-Favourite Sister-in-Law!

Happy Birthday to You! The Birthday Girl has received all our personalized cards and is completely overwhelmed....Hope she has a good day. Enjoy the Birthday Berries! I think we will have to help her along in her celebrations across the miles by going down the road to the Bellevue!

Slot Machines and Autumn Scenes

We visited Herne Bay a few days ago and caught J-Rock in action on the penny pusher machines. Put a penny in and all (well some) of the pennies fall down and you are the winner.
He usually loses a pound then walks away!

There are so many nice colours in the autumn over here that it almost makes England comparable to autumn foliage in Canada! There are all sorts of berries and plants in full fruit. Above are rose hips and Old Man's Beard. We took these while on a walk in the Ealham Valley last weekend.

On the Moors Again

Some more pictures of being up north. Some of accommodation, others of scenery etc. The inside shots are of the YHA we visited while up there. Also, pictures of Flamborough head - the cliffs and all that. We almost stayed at Boggle Hole YHA but it was filled up. That's the one with the stream in the the woods. It is very close to Robin Hood Bay where you can see the little village on the hillside by the seaside. And of course lots of dry walls all over the joint. And steep hills. The steepest we did was 33 %. Yikes.

Yorkshire and Beyond!

Last week we went to The North as J-Rock was off on half-term from school. Since we weren’t really sure how long it was going to take to navigate North we had a somewhat open itinerary. We got as far as Thurlby which should sound familiar to loyal readers as we visited there in August. Our friendly hostess Susanne greeted us and we once again installed ourselves in the Thurlby Youth Hostel. We had our usual pint at the White Horse and din din was self-catered with a bottle of vin.

Set off the next day with the intent of getting across the river to Hull. But we just had to make a pitstop in Lincoln and take in the Lincoln Cathedral. It was enough just to walk around the building - we didn’t have enough time to go in, pay, look around etc. Her That Knits wrote to tell me that her family had a Lincoln Imp or some such as a door knocker. It turns out the Imp was a very mischievous creature and can still be seen in the cathedral. Wikipedia has a bit on it. If you want to buy the door knocker go here.! Got a photo of J-Rock at very nice Victorian Letter Box before we left.

So I digress. Sort of. On to Hull - well, Kingston-on-Hull bu going over the bridge that costs a lot in tolls - £2.70 compared to the Dartford Tunnel at £1 it's very dear - and further to the Spurn peninsula. By this time it was pouring out - or as the Brits would say “showery”. We got to the peninsula, had some nosh, played army men in the sand - (J-Rock has some army fatigues and thought he should do them justice) and moved on. We did get to see a Little Auk in a box that had run into a car. It was going to be OK said the Warden of the Spurn Bird Observatory.
We settled in Beverley for the night. Had a very nice pint of Landlord - DB had Black Sheep - J-Rock lemonade and crisps at the Oddfellows Arms.
A speciality of the area is Yorkshire Curd Tart. Very nice. We bought 6 and ate them all! The recipe for Yorkshire Curd tarts can be found here...

I like this sign. You see it everywhere all over England.