Hallowe'en

If I can get this posted in the next couple of hours it will still be Hallowe’en which will enable me to justifiably post this picture I happily stole from Marcheline…

If all witches were like this no wonder the other women in the villages wanted them burned at the stake!

Any way, Happy Hallowe’en but please don’t knock on my door – I’m busy blogging and watching a football match at the same time.  Chelsea are currently beating Manchester United 4-3 in the League Cup...  Added to which I don’t know where the kitten is and if I open the front door she may dart out.  She is confined to the house until she’s six months old and has had all her injections and been spayed. She’ll then be free to go out and pick up any flea-bitten moggy she wants.

 

Postcrossing is all about the luck of the draw.  The people you get cards from, the quality of the cards, the way in which they fit your interests, and, in no small measure, where they come from.  Today I got a card from someone I knew, a great postcrossing card from China in the shape of a letterbox with a picture of a Chinese letterbox on it, a card from the Czech Republic and a card from Saint Pierre et Miquelon which I didn’t even know existed until today!

Do you find it all a bit worrying this inter-relationship between the various computer systems?

And some good advice….

Legacy Sculpture

This sculpture by Mark DeGraffenried (2001) currently stands at the Pier Head, Liverpool and commemorates migration from Liverpool to the New World. It was given to the people of Liverpool by the Mormon Church as a tribute to the many families from all over Europe who embarked on a brave and pioneering voyage from Liverpool to start a new life in America. It is estimated that in total approximately nine million people emigrated through Liverpool to America.

(I mention that it ‘currently’ stands at the Pier Head because I believe it may eventually be destined for the nearby Museum of Liverpool.)

The sculpture is cast in bronze. The child stepping forward symbolises the migration to the unknown world.  Not visible in this shot is a child at the back who is playing with a crab, suggesting the port’s deep association with the sea.

BST ended overnight

Ivy

  This scratching post may be a revolting colour but it's good fun.

I’m having trouble with my Internet access at this moment.  It’s unusual nowadays and may be caused by the new kitten, Ivy.  I’m only assuming that because everything else is either the fault of her or the plumber. 

 Who me?  Rubbish,you couldn't get a more innocent soul!

Among her major achievements are managing to use the printer to create blank photocopies at 2 in the morning and switch the bedroom TV on an hour later…  Stroking my head, licking my eyelids and patting my shoulder with her paw all have their cute side but it’s hard to see it at four a.m..  The net curtains falling down was allegedly not her fault – Jo saw it happen and she wasn’t in the room – but I reckon the strain she had put on it on other occasions was probably a contributory factor.  Papers spread all over the study and the floor of the conservatory were undoubtedly her contribution to sorting our paperwork while eating the corner of a postcard was not helpful to my postcrossing.  

 I'm really a Black Bear in disguise.

The floor of the kitchen and hall being covered in cat litter gravel was not definitely her fault but Son-who-watches-films denies it was he who chewed through the bag.  It was quite amusing in its own way.  The bag kept getting lighter as I carried it but it took me six feet of travelling before I was bright enough to realise why and see my trousers and feet turn white like the floor.  Having abandoned the packet and my shoes and socks and gone upstairs to change my trousers I was bemused to find trails of gravel on the stairs as I walked back down.  It took me a minute to realise that I’d obviously had gravel in the trouser turn-ups as I went upstairs.   Ho, ho, very amusing…

 It's all lies - don't believe him!

However, I paid her back by taking her for her first injection and examination by the vet.  Cruel, aren’t I.

 Still enjoying the scratching post

 It's such tiring work keeping these humans entertained all the time.

As for the plumber I blame him for the flooded downstairs toilet (after he’d worked on the tap) whilst Partner-who-loves-tea generously blames the old plumbing.  We have one of those houses where the plastering was done by a plumber, the electrics by the plasterer and the plumbing by a drunken roofer.  But I'm still blaming the kitten for most things...

 You're posting me to Long Island - where's that??

The Albert Dock, Liverpool

The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood. As a result, it was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world.

 

 At the time of its construction the Albert Dock was considered a revolutionary docking system because ships were loaded and unloaded directly from/to the warehouses. Two years after it opened it was modified to feature the world's first hydraulic cranes.  Due to its open yet secure design, the Albert Dock became a popular store for valuable cargoes such as brandy, cotton, tea, silk, tobacco, ivory and sugar. However, despite the Albert Dock's advanced design, the rapid development of shipping technology meant that within 50 years, larger, more open docks were required, although it remained a valuable store for cargo.

 

The dock contains, of course, a 'yellow submarine'!

 

Water-based tours also include the unique Yellow Duckmarine sightseeing tour, which take visitors around many of Liverpool's leading landmarks - as well as some of the historic docks.

The old customs house.

The Anglican Cathedral as seen from the Dock.

Do not adjust your sets - this office block really is that odd shape.

On the left of this poicture can be seen the Liver (pronounced Lie-ver not Liver) Buildings with a Liver (also pronounced Lie-ver) Bird on top.

Someone is using a ladder up there - rather them than me.

In 1972 the dock was finally closed. Having lain derelict for nearly ten years, the redevelopment of the dock began in 1981, when the Merseyside Development Corporation was set up, with the Albert Dock being officially re-opened in 1988 as a tourist attraction.



Today the Albert Dock is a major tourist attraction in the city and the most visited multi-use attraction in the United Kingdom, outside of London. Entrance is free. It is a vital component of Liverpool's UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City and the docking complex and warehouses also comprise the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK.

I think this tug-boat used to be captained by a friend of ours - in which case I've been on it when it was out at work in the Mersey.

The Albert Dock boasts a unique blend of culture, cuisine and shopping.

This is where Partner-who-drinks-tea and I had lunch.  They can't make particularly good chips but the rest of our meals were good and the pancake with honey and almond was absolutely scrumptious.

Odds and beginnings

Sheer greed…

 

We found a super café in Glastonbury called The Blue Note.   

 The cakes were so inviting we each had two – but don’t tell anyone. We both had Emily’s delightful cheesecake (so light and with a touch if amoretto in it) and I also had a super flapjack with fruit and ginger in it. I must get some crystallised ginger and make that.  I haven’t made flapjack in years.

 Swans on the Exe

 

Home-made Envelopes

Postcrossing has led to all sorts of interesting things and this week it brought some lovely home-made envelopes from Kim in The Netherlands along with a delightful letter and a picture of a Netherlands postwoman from1957..   

Some Doors (and Gates) for Meike

Everywhere we went down in the South West and the West Midlands we found beautiful doors and a gate that Helen wants.

 

In a Witchcraft Shop – Glastonbury