A Saturday Ramble

Last Saturday Jo dropped me off on her way to work and I had a walk in the bright crisp sunshine up Landican lane. There wasn’t a single vehicle using the lane and there was a real country feel to the walk despite the background hum of traffic from the motorway.

I used my bus pass at the end of the lane and got the bus to Irby to photograph Irby Hall. Then I hopped on another bus and went to Heswall for a coffee and a toasted teacake in Linghams, the bookshop. Next to the Woodlands cafe in Stornoway this is probably my favourite cafe for ‘feeling at home’ atmosphere. while in Heswall I got a cardigan from one of the charity shops. I discovered a hole in the elbow of my favourite cardigan the other day so was really pleased to be able to replace it so quickly and at the very affordable price of £3.49p.

The beautiful Jessica Ennis began her international athletics season well a couple of days after her 24th birthday by winning the Aviva 60m indoor hurdles in a British record time and ahead of World Champion Lolo Jones. For a multi-eventer to win a single event against such class opposition really bodes well. She then went on to do a personal best at the high jump. I am really looking forward to seeing her in the London 2010 Olympics and hope against hope that she keeps injury-free.

My quote of this week goes to Martin Edwards in his book “The Coffin Trail”:-
“Thoreau opted out of corporate America a century and a half ago and made his home in a log cabin in the backwoods of Massachusetts.”
“A role model, then?”
“Not exactly. He only stuck it for a couple of years.”
“And after that?”
“Back to the city. The simple life wasn’t quite as simple as he hoped.”
“What happened?”
“He tried to cook a fish for supper and ended up burning down three hundred acres of woodland. Some people called him the Sage of Walden. To the locals, he was the fool who set fire to the forest.”

Liverpool FC started the week by beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at Anfield. an important win when Tottenham Hotspurs (our current rivals for fourth place in the Premiership) could only manage a draw.Today Liverpool play Everton, their rivals from across the other side of Stanley Park.  I shall be glued to the television - let no one interrupt please.

Remember the Nursery Rhyme:-
The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

Well he didn’t sit in a barn – he came and ate at our bird table – and on Sunday the Fieldfare was back again after a sprinkling of snow on Saturday night. During the morning we had Wren, Dunnock, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Fieldfare, Robin, Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove and Goldfinch. It’s lovely to see so many birds around even if it is a sign of the hardship they are suffering.

The Snowdrops are out and the days are getting noticeably longer. I love it when these first signs of the new year come along.

The World’s first ever live broadcast of a sports event in 3D took place on Sunday. Nine pubs across the country showed the Arsenal v Manchester United soccer match. You had to wear special spectacles to see the effect but it was, allegedly, ‘stunning’. Unfortunately Manchester United won which must have put a dampener on most people’s view of the game.

Bluestalking led me to a great website for anyone who enjoys reading and likes lists –
http://librarybooklists.org/index.html
I’m hooked and have been back to it a couple of times. Already I’ve identified a couple of authors to hunt down in the library when next I visit.

Now, with apologies to non-sports fans,  I'm off to find a comfy chair for the football match.....