Sweetbriar Dreams

So where shall we go on our journey today?

Saturday 31 May 2014

Singing Cockles and Mussels Alive Alive Oh

For those of you lovely people that have been reading my blog for a while, you will know I am not the biggest fan of Summer.  Give me Autumn and Winter any day, however the incessant rain and dreariness on days out and about has even made me a little down in the dumps.  The jousting from last Monday was marred a little with the dark clouds ever looming above our heads (however, on the positive side it did add to the atmosphere around the dark knight!).  So, with the promise of a DRY day and a happy Friday off, we all packed up the car and went for a drive to the seaside... Hunstanton (also lovingly known as Sunny Hunny).  The sun was a little shy to make an appearance but I couldn't resist and capture the bold colours against the bluey steel sky and sea.
Hunstanton took such an awful beating from the winter storms this year and this shows with the famous candy striped cliffs.
However, it was lovely to see that they had dusted themselves off and have made sure that the visitors to the town were not disappointed.  There were obvious signs to warn people not to be too close to the cliff edge and the prominent cracks in the rocks made this quite easy to understand.
But, the birds are still nesting, so all is safe for now.
The tide was going out so no waves going over the breakers.
And this boat was keeping dry today.
The clouds were dotted above us, sometimes clearing to show off this beautiful old seaside town.
And then, occasionally, the cloud bank would bubble up and cast dark shadows.
The eclectic mix of dress on the crowds of people made me smile.  Believe me, it was not warm when the sun went behind the clouds and the wind was quite chilly, but there were strapless dresses, shorts, winter coats, waterproofs - you name it, it was being worn (or not).
Can you spot her?... Mumsy?  The left of the above photo with her stripy crochet bag.  She is showing just how windy it was!  

But let's see what we can see...
With the wind blowing across the North Sea/The Wash, kite flying was a must and this little girl was giggling while her kite danced and swayed above her head.
There's nothing like a paddle in the sea, or even a little sit down, although a tad chilly.
And how about this commute to work?  The tyres on the bike certainly meant business!
I love taking shots like this one where I imagine what they are doing.  Is he building a moat? Is he looking for buried treasure?  I decided that he must be digging for some sort of shell fish, a chef perhaps catching something for the menu that evening.
Mr Teen was thrilled to bits to find this little treasure.  
Unfortunately there wasn't a pearl inside, but I loved the different layers and textures of this oyster shell.  Some layers took on the texture of snake skin and with the different creatures that were making their home within the layers, it was fascinating to look at.  A true treasure.
So that was the cockles oyster and now for the mussels...
Memories of last Monday's paella are filling my mind!  But then the droning noise of a heavy vehicle filled the air and Whizzy pulled up her bow to set off down the beach.  Both Whizzy and Wiley, The Wash Monsters are amphibian vehicles (I have put some details on these here).  Wiley was used as a landing craft for the troops during the Vietnam War.
As they paired up to take some people to see the seals, it was great to see them working so well after all these years, both on land...
 and at sea...
At our feet though was a the biggest surprise...
This little lady had decided to rest amongst the dry sea weed while all this was going around her.

But, it was time to hit the 2p machines in the arcades.  I took this picture shaking, sweating and extremely elated!
I had just spent a stupid amount of money in 2p's to inundate this machine to get a favourite of mine.  I had pleaded with the owner of the arcade to let me just buy it, but no, he smiled at me knowing I would spend far more in getting more 2p's.  Luckily another £2 later, I won it (if you can call it winning after spending too much!).  Here she is... Molly!
One day I will own the real thing but until then Molly is going to come along with Mumsy and me on any little trips out and about.  Stop giggling!

And so, it was time to head off home and leave the seaweed behind.
And Hubby, no you can't bring that the rock back home!
I hope the sun is shining for you, always remember to bring something warm and waterproof with you though.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Take care.


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Tuesday 27 May 2014

So, Where Shall We Go On Our Journey Today?... A Spot of Jousting at Burghley House

Did you notice?  I've been moving things around on here and changed my banner.  Nothing like a good refresh is there?  Now then, I haven't written a 'journey' post for a little while, so in good old British spirit,  me and Mumsy went totally unprepared for the rain and dreariness of a typical late spring day (well, make that me being unprepared!).  Where best to go than a place that would no doubt give so much enjoyment to wellies and wax jackets.  So, here we go, tea in hand? Rich tea biscuit in the other?  As I take you around the Food and Country Fayre at Burghley House in Stamford, imagine the sound of squelchy wellies in mud and the sounds of dogs barking and horses hooves.  Ready?  You are about to go through time.
It was a very dreary day which didn't show the house off to its best, but if you want to see it in the sun, my past posts are here and here.
The shows at Burghley are never a disappointment with so much to do.  It takes a whole day to see everything, and there are so many different things to see throughout the day, as well as many crafts to marvel at.
Usually we leave the craft option to the Sandringham Craft Fayres during the year so that we can just enjoy standing ringside to see the entertainment at Burghley.  The sheep herding...
... duck herding...
... classic cars and bikes...
... a beautiful Rolls Royce...
... steam both large and small...
... and food!  Oh my word, the food was delicious.  What made this so wonderful was that even though the event was huge, we only saw ONE burger van!  Just one and that was supplying gourmet burgers.  All other food stops were serving burritos, paella, chinese - the list goes on and on.  We went for the freshly prepared paella with perfectly cooked mussels.  And, to take away, some Beaver Pie!  Don't worry, no beavers were harmed in the making of these, it refers to the ale used!
All in the beautiful setting of Burghley House.
Now, me and Mumsy do love a re-enactment and after a lot of walking around, we came across a Living Heritage section with people re-enacting times gone by.
BUT, in the bigger ring, people were beginning to gather.  Are you sitting comfortably for the main event?
The booming voice, the red sleeves, yes this man wanted people to take notice of the display about to happen.

Magnificent horses and armour started to dash through the centre ring.
We just knew that this was going to be good.
Especially with the backdrop of Burghley House.  It transported us back in time.
But then, to break the calmness, we had the villan...
The Evil Knight!  His outfit befitting him and his horse looking menacing.  His helmet was placed on his head and he was ready.
It was time to joust!
His horsemanship was amazing, at one with his horse, it was mesmerising.
They all took it in turns to go charging towards each other.
But the Evil Knight was always the one to watch.
Their competitiveness continued as they showed how they could continue riding while trying to pick up a hat.
The Evil Knight unfortunately missed.
And fortunately, this ball of fire did not make contact with him.
You can probably tell, I am a sucker for the bad lad and what made me laugh was that they called him 'Bert' and his horse... 'bunty'!!

The shows continued with the horse boarding (my post from last year is here).
And colour filled every part of the grounds.
As for Coco? She received a present when I returned to use for the hot summer days (??!!), a new sun hat!  No, she ISN'T impressed!
 So, the boots are caked in crispy dry mud now and luckily I didn't slip in the muddy grounds (a first!).  Another happy trip out enjoyed immensely, even in the poor weather.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, no matter what the weather or the state of the ground.

Take care.



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This week I am sharing with:

Our World Tuesday
Also sharing on the 13/01/15 with Stephanie at Roses of Inspiration Party:
 
The Enchanting Rose

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