Val and Peter Ball are …….

While visiting Martin and Donna in Keighley, today we head to Skipton Castle, which is owned by an Italian family, apparently, and has been for quite some time. There is a full day planned, doing various things, and as I haven’t been to Skipton before, I’m looking forward to it.

We moved on into the castle at about 10:30. Donna had bought tickets, which was very kind of her, and we immediately saw a group of people who were re-enacting various things.

We arrived in Skipton a little early, so we parked and found a coffee shop that was in the sun, much to Val’s approval.

So we’ve now entered the castle and are touring inside. It’s an amazing building. There are rooms for fighting. There’s weaving going on, and I’m now walking into the grand hall.

We’ve been treated to a mediaeval play. There’s a dragon involved and all sorts of people from other countries. Ultimately, Saint George killed the dragon, as you’d expect.

Today one prime minister  (Kier Starmer) left from the job and another stepped into the role (Andy Burnham)

After we’d been home for about an hour. We decided to go and look at plum trees in the wild and blackberries that are literally within a mile of our front door.

I managed to slink away and found a bench to sit on while Val picked blackberries. There aren’t many, so there wasn’t a point in both of us doing it. I expect I’ll have to make up for it in a week or so when bullises, plums, and blackberries are in abundance.

This morning Val and I had decided to go back to Gorleston and the beach, but after some thought we decided that we’d do a longer walk. We parked at Bothorp, which is just down the road from where we live, and walked across country to Eaton Park cafe, where the sun is shining brightly. There’s hardly a cloud in the sky, and we’re just awaiting a coffee.

So far, our walk has been 2.8 miles. Google said it was 2.7, but I guess we took a slightly different route. We were thinking, as we walked past the Sainsbury Centre in the University of East Anglia, which is a brilliant, brilliant museum, that it would be a great place to take Susan and Steve if and when they come in September or October. We’ll have to wait and see if Susan likes the idea.

By the way, this is dictated using Wispr Flow, which is an app you can get on Mac, iPhone, Android phones, etc. It’s brilliant. It’s much better than using Google typing, but if you do spot some grammatical error or bad spelling, it’s not my fault.

And the picture of me leaning on something is actually a public bike maintenance point, which I’ve never seen before, but it’s got every tool that a cyclist could need. I’m actually leaning on the bit where you hang your bike while you work on it. There’s a pump around the other side. There’s every screwdriver, allen key, and multi tool that you might need while you’re out if you’ve got a problem with your bike.

And you can see in the picture it’s really busy in this park. This is where Park Run runs on Saturday mornings in Norwich, but we’re thinking maybe it’s a good place to come and have a picnic.

Heading back now. Val has pointed out this is a bit like ziggurats. I had to ask what a ziggurat was or is.

We’re back home, a total of 5.9 miles.

I’m currently reading a book called Fibre Fuelled by a guy called Dr. Will Bulsiewicz. He’s from the States and he’s highly admired. It’s well worth a read.

https://amzn.eu/d/07lUZEC7

The calendars turned and the seasons went by,

Carrying years like a wind through the sky.

Yet time has a way of refusing to part

With the sound of your name at the core of my heart.

​Hannah, I wonder where life has you now,

What quiet resolves you have kept in a vow,

What laughter has found you, what roads you have walked,

The stories untold and the hours un-talked.

​The house holds old shadows of moments once bright,

A child running through in the afternoon light.

And though the wide silence grew heavy and long,

The love of a parent stayed steady and strong.

​It waits like an anchor beneath a calm sea,

Unshaken by distance, patient and free.

No matter the years or the rivers between,

You are never forgotten, never unseen.

​If this finds you standing where new journeys start,

Know you hold a forever-kept place in my heart.

The door isn’t locked, and the light isn’t dim;

Whenever you look back, I’m waiting within.

​Would you like to adjust the tone to reflect something more specific between you two, such as a particular memory, or keep it gentle and open like this?

Today we continue July with temperatures in the 30s. I spend the day doing domestic jobs.

Here are the jobs I did:
– washing my car
– making ice cream
– washing bed sheets
– attending the garden
– going shopping for essentials

We have nearly run out of water in our water butts and are having to revert to mains water. We bought another water butt on Sunday, giving us another 200 l and four water butts in all.

May and June have been and gone. We came back from Italy, and I had a small injury which prevented me from walking very much, as when I fell in Montecatina I injured a nerve on my left leg, and it was giving me quite a lot of pain.

We’re into July now, and the problem with my leg has more or less gone away. Occasionally I’m still getting a little bit of pain or nerve-like pins and needles.

The weather in June was very, very different and hot, and we’ve been very pleased to use our air conditioning.

Using air conditioning, of course, uses more power, and we’ve had our solar panels cleaned at a cost of £180. This included all the windows, doors, fascias and soffits.

I have completed an application to work at Eastern College during the August break, doing reception work meeting students and their parents. Whether I get the position, I don’t as yet know, but I expect to hear in the next couple of weeks. The position actually starts on the 17th of August, my 75th birthday.