TRAFALGAR DAY and WW2

 

Today is the 217th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar where Admiral Lord Nelson was killed. Wouldn't it be nice if, after all this time, we could have a National Trafalgar Day? Highly unlikely in the present climate, we might upset the French!! We already have a Waterloo Station, after all... Photo from Wikipedia site.

 

And on Tuesday, 23rd October, it's the anniversary of the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein when the British and her Allies finally gained a victory in North Africa, beating Rommel's Afrika Corps.
In less than two years Rommel would be dead, forced to commit suicide after being implicated in the July 1944 plot against Hitler. Montgomery's plan in September 1944 was to drive forward and take Arnhem, reinforcing the Airborne troops dropped near the town. Unfortunately things went wrong and it was a disaster...Photo from site Watch Documentary.

 

 

CATCHING UP

There are all kinds of things I need to catch up - but will I?

Yesterday I went with a friend, Brenda, to a Homemade in Haddenham craft fair where we had two stalls; I had my blankets, quilts and Tiny Teds for sale and Brenda was selling for Art Group Members and for Age Concern, too. You can just see the legs of her table on the right hand side.
The hall has horrid bright yellow walls, ugh! But Brenda had asked for us to be against a wall so that we could use the little tacks in the rail running across this end of the hall to hang pictures from - or from which to hang pictures...I hadn't remembered that the sheet to cover the plastic table didn't reach the floor - just look at all the tat! And my coat hanging on the back of the chair. Dear me! However, I wore my coat all day after this first rush to get everything ready because the Exit door was open and it was quite chilly despite the numbers of people who came through during the day. Brenda sold very well - her items are always competitively priced - and

I sold all my knitted 6" Tiny Teds, a couple of Mug Mats and the Long-Hexie quilt hanging on a dowel against the wall. These Teds are some I made in 2010 so not ones which I took for sale yesterday.  It's very tiring! Still, we both had a successful day.

Here's one satisfied customer- his Dad gave permission for me to take this photo.

My angiogram went OK, though I do need another stent at some time but at present I'm on yet more medication. I'll be rattling soon with all the bits and pieces I take! Parking isn't so bad now I have my Blue Badge except that non blue Badge people do park in the spaces, too, I've discovered.

An early morning visitor on a misty, moisty morning last week. A couple of jays have been coming to take nuts from the peanut feeder about breakfast time. The bird will swallow 8 or more nuts then fly away. I don't know if it's regurgitating them somewhere. I wonder of anyone knows? It always flies in the same direction, for what that's worth.

I met this young man at an Exhibition which the Local History Group put on in the Village Hall last Saturday. I first met Eddie some months ago after he'd put a letter in the local paper grumbling about various aspects of Stone's Past Life which he felt were lacking mention so I got in touch with him through the Editor. Since then we've been swapping photos and memories though mine don't go as far back as Eddie's since he's Stone born and bred. His Dad looked after the sandpits which were once at the bottom of the gardens in my lane, now filled in, naturally. The frst time I met him he said he hadn't got anything to talk about regarding his childhood during the war then a few weeks later emailed 14 pages of just that. I think he's begun Part 2 after coming for a cuppa last week. He's not able to drive at the moment so his 'chauffeur' - his son - brought him along.

I've begun to get rid of the pond. Stuart came last week after work when the light was beginning to go to catch the goldfish, decant them into fish removal bags and take them to his pond at the stables where I HOPE they'll be safe, though once things are out of your control - that's it! After a couple of tries there's one left... I can't catch it, it's too canny to be caught by me.

The pond has about 1 1/2" of water in it and goodness knows how many inches of silt...the plants have all gone so I hope the heron doesn't get him as all the fencing has gone as well.

This is all that remains of the pond. It has about 1' or more less water in it,(below) the 'shallow end' where the blackbirds used to bathe is empty except for a puddle of water and an upturned water plant basket.

The tangle of roots belongs to a lump of yellow pond irises pulled out in one go - now to shift them off the grass. Gillian won't be coming for many more weeks now the weather is changing... I'll probably have to use my little axe to chop it into pieces. Just waiting for Harry, my 'heavy-duty gardener' to pop in so that I can ask his advice on what to do about the pond - as in where do I get soil to fill it in with, what to do about a piece of garden where plants aren't too happy (grass it? If so, when, seed or turves and what about the badger scratching it to pieces and making a piece of path wider for safety when I'm walking down it...not a lot then!

BIRTHDAY

 It was my Birthday on Thursday. During the morning, much to my surprise, my eldest granddaughter arrived with her husband and 2 year old son, carrying a cake for me. I just never have birthday cakes. This was made to resemble a patchwork quilt, all made in 4 colours of fondant icing impressed with patterns to indicate that it was a patchwork quilt, not just a quilt or bedcovering. Round the edges are buttons, which Alex, Diana's son, was intrigued by. I don't own a tin that would take a cake this large so I've kept the cake carrier for the time being.

Here's the pattern of the 'material' used on the quilt.



 

 

An old school friend, the only one I keep in touch with, sent me this nice gift of flowers. 'I think someone's sent you an orchid,' said the postman...We've known each other since the 1940s when we were both at Grammar School and Yvonne would just scramble into Assembly by the skin of her teeth!  I phoned her later to say Thanks and spent almost 1 1/2 hours chatting, which we just don't do! It's only recently we've been emailing rather than sending snail mail letters.

 

In the evening Stuart, Helen, James and Sarah took me to a local Chinese restaurant which we have all used before. It's practical for me as, being a vegetarian, there aren't many places round Aylesbury which do a choice of items for 'us'. The table was covered with dishes yet there was nothing left for a 'doggy bag' as I think we all had Hollow Legs!

 

 Sarah had asked a friend (17 years old!) to make me a Birthday Cake and Knitting was chosen as the theme. I haven't even started that one yet and I understand it's chocolate inside...

 

The family had also given me this pair of lovely turquoise/jade/kingfisher shoes, which are exactly the same style as the red ones I bought earlier this year. Sarah had recently asked whether the red ones were comfortable and, as I said Yes, they decided to buy the 'other' colour which is still available for a week or two. Sarah still works in Oxford Schuh shop once a week so knows what's still in stock. She worked in the Southampton branch for 3 years when she was at Uni and is now back with the Oxford shop for a day while she works in an office...
A friend I taught with is now a guide at Waddesdon Manor and gave me an A4 book with gardening topics on the cover so I can end this year with a new book, ready to begin next year. I'm getting rid of the pond as I can longer look after it properly, that'll be the main item in my new Gardening Diary.
Some of the plants have already gone - Diana's husband fought with a water lily and managed to get it out of the pond, cotton grass went, too and some water mint which had grown roots into the mud. The fish will be fun to catch....
I enjoyed my Birthday as I also had emails from blogger friends wishing me Happy Birthday.

What a lovely lot you are!!!!!

LAST OF THE SUMMER?

It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday so I thought that, as I've finished the Holiday blog, I'd get back to what I usually blog about - in this case, the garden.

The catmint is still flowering well, crammed between a cornus and a bracken which help to hold it upright.

 

Kathleen Wheeler clematis is still flowering, resting on the stalks of Jacob's Ladder for stability. I know just how it feels!

How out of season is this? Almost October and yet there are a couple of buds on the delphinium...

 Everlasting sweetpeas, which I tried to make ex-everlasting many years ago but since they're in among the stems of a New Dawn rose that's why they survive.

 A fuchsia magellenica bought for me many years ago by a now-deceased friend which has been quite late is starting this year but is now going well. The green 'stalks' on the r. hand side are the cut down remains of fennel, as far as I could reach at the time.

 This hydrangea is really a white one but is gradually turning pink. It's grown so much this year! In the spring there are daffs poking through the first new growth.

A sad specimen of foxglove, the last in the garden this year, but I hope there will be plenty of them next year.

 Leycesteria formosa with the hanging 'earrings' of flowers which turn into berries which blackbirds like to eat. William Leycester was the Chief Justice in Bengal during the early 19th century, according to my A-Z of Plant Names.

 Some water mint, also coming to its end. Literally, as I am going to dismantle the pond. Since I now have an electric fence round the edges which is 3' tall to stop the cat next door 'fishing', it also means I can't get to the water level to clear out weed, pick out dead leaves or try and scrape up as much duckweed as I can, so - it'll have to go. I'm just waiting for Stuart to get a home sorted out for the goldfish and I'll try to get them caught, bagged up and transported the half mile or so to the stables and their new home. Then I can try to get the plants out, start scooping out the water and catching what's left of the fish, probably all the black ones which are so difficult to see! I should say 'we' rather than 'I' as I shall rely on Gillian to help.

 How silly is this? Poppies in bud! These are usually out in June. Below is one already in flower though today, as it's raining, it probably won't be much good by the morning.

 A visit from my friend last night but I do wish it'd leave the grass alone. Not much point in tidying up the grass as it has been so dry the roots have no purchase in the ground. This is just outside the patio doors

 and this is my old compost heap, well scratched over. Doesn't look so bad in the photo but it makes walking a bit dangerous for me. I'll get the dustpan out and throw it all back again; it's also so dry.

But I feed the badger so can't grumble too much, the holes just make it so uneven on the grass that I'm scared of losing my balance.

 

Ho hum, Bernard!!! 

HOLIDAY, STILL, THE LAST BLOG.

I was prompted from Holland the other evening that I hadn't finished my holiday blog, so here goes. I'll try and make this the last one!
We all went to the bazaar at Beverwijk one Saturday.  It's an enormous site with several halls with all kinds of items. We'd gone to visit a specific area for some shopping for Teresa.

 This is the main walkway - all pedestrians - passing various stalls selling, well, all sorts of things, while they are making their way to another building.

 We had an errand to fulfil for Stuart then went to 'the Turkish Market'. The smell was very nice! These spices are sold loose and what lovely colours!It was the most brilliant area, colourwise.

Fruit galore...

I had no idea fresh dates look like this!

It's not only Milton Keynes which has concrete cows!! We saw these as we were leaving. Incidentally, as at Het Loo, we paid two entry fees, one for Jonathan, one for me - and Teresa goes free as she's a carer...ie pushing the wheelchair.

Another day the two of us went to Alkmaar to shop and have a look round. A very nice clean carpark just at the edge of the shopping area but I kept forgetting that you should stick to the sides of road, not walk along it as I often do here as the road can be in better condition than the pavements!  This was the only day we had rain and that wasn't for very long. One road had these typically Dutch houses - the building on the right has an interesting crest at the top.

The lions are 'bottoms up', not the usual stance for supporters but it seems that the architect or builder had a disagreement with the client and got his revenge by showing his annoyance, reversing the lions.

The ice cream outlets are amazing - 20 or so different flavours, choose one, two or three different flavours in the appropriate cornet. They do a roaring trade, too. We bought ours then it began to rain.

The rain was pinging into the canal and the people who had just boarded the canal trip boat (under the trees on the right) disembarked in a hurry. Teresa and I found an awning and waited under there.  When it slowed a litle we ventured on, then, as it began again, took refuge under the counterbalance of the bridge where we were joined by several more people. You can just about see the raindrops falling from the counterweight.

While we waited I took photos of the Waag, a very large, imposing building situated on a big cobbled square where the cheese market is held every Friday - it had been a Weigh House and previous to that was a chapel.

Here's the picture on the top of the building... 

I spotted this little girl in her Spanish dancer's dress with her Mum - a lovely fat plait!

Did some shopping and then had lunch in a restaurant Teresa had used before. The meals are e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s, much too for me; I had just about found the tagliatelli under all the vegetables and that was enough for me so 2/3rds of it was left. What a waste! There was a storm, with thunder and lightning, that evening and it rained heavily but we were indoors so it didn't matter.

The next day we all went to the island of Texel, the largest of the string of islands off the north coast, taking the ferry. By the time we'd  queued for the loo and gone up to the deck (in the lift) the ferry was docking at the island - a very long trip! The island has its own breed of sheep... as you can see from this colourful shopping bag bought on the ferry on the way back.

The black sheep is, I think, the shape of the island.

We'd asked a shopkeeper in Alkmaar, who was American, could she recommend a good patchwork/quilt shop. Yes, she said, there was one on Texel - but, disappointingly, it wasn't very good when we got there though perhaps for a very small town it was OK.

This is one of the shopping streets crossed at the top by another street with more shops. There are plenty of sheep toys, mascots and decorations hanging outside most of them. Quite a mix of small shops, including one craft shop selling wools, material (!), and all kinds of 'crafty' items. It was the

shop's Birthday and this cake was just inside the door. It says 'The White Angel shop 15 years' and all made with felt! Not the angel on the top though.

We went back to the car and made our way through typical Dutch countryside making for atiny town called Cocksdorp where we went to have lunch - in a Pancake Restaurant. It sells 75 varieties of pancakes, sweet, savoury or half and half. Pancakes are as big as (small) dustbin lids, about 15" across! Since I have a sweet tooth I ordered a cherry pancake, which was four blobs of cherry pie filling, which is the nearest I can describe it, plus a blob of vanilla ice cream in the centre and four squirts of 'cream'; Teresa and Jonathan both had savoury pancakes. Needless to say, I couldn't finish mine, nor could I take away the remains, much to my dismay...well, sort of! Sitting in the shade, lovely!

 Teresa and I had both seen a repeated BBC2 'Coast' programme a few weeks before and she was determined to find the Georgian War Cemetery which was mentioned in the programme. The cemetery holds the remains of  an estimated 470 Georgian soldiers who fought the Germans on the island in May 1945. They were POWs who had been forced to work for the Occupiers or die in a camp so many took this chance of life. Stalin had a strict policy against soldiers who he regarded as traitors - it was to the Gulag or death.

After our lunch the search began in earnest. We drove through the tiny market which was selling craft-y things and a few stalls with 'car boot items' and went to the dunes, the end of the road. In the distance we could see a monument so off we went, Teresa pushing the chair up a long slow slope. When we got there we found it was not the Georgian monument but one, I think ,to the project which had done work over many years on the coastline/dunes here. I have an idea this shape is part of the coastline but the plaque was in Dutch.



I did manage to walk up the wooden steps which led to the top of the dunes and had my only view of the sea when I was in Holland. The beaches are guarded by high grass-covered dunes which I couldn't manage but I'd been pushed most of the way up the slope. The beach was a very large expanse of mud and some vegetation - a huge bay with only a group of people on the shore.

A drunken skyline here, I was being buffeted by the wind which you don't feel on ground level.

We plodded on with our search; Teresa's like me in this respect, you keep going until you get there. So, back to the car and off again. We stopped to get a map from a large, pleasant tourist centre and by dint of driving back and forth - not because it was signposted - we eventually found the cemetery.

It was tucked away in a narrow lane, bordered by a hedge and almost invisible. The gates leading to the cemetery are quite low. As always in Holland with war graves, the cemetery is well tended and neat.

At the far end there is a memorial to the men who died on Texel while fighting the Germans; Georgia was part of the USSR at the time and the Hammer and Sickle are on this memorial, which can just be seen in the previous photo.

There are several of these plaques placed around the walls and appear to be commemorating soldiers buried nearby.

A rose bush has been planted for each man who lies here.

Several people were here when we arrived and as we left another couple turned up, who had found the cemetery just by accident, not because they had been searching for it.

This was my last trip out in Holland so the next day it was back to Schiphol and my Assisted Passenger status. I said Goodbye to Teresa and Jonathan and an hour later (but 10 minutes by the clock) I was back and Heathrow and being collected by Stuart.

Just a few more photos of things which took my notice as we were driving about North Holland -

I was sitting on a sofa with my feet up one day and saw this strange sight(and unheard of in the UK) of a Man from the Council who comes round every few months and pressure washes the rubbish bin and the food bin, all included in the price you pay for the collection service! Something our local councils might copy - I'm joking... Dustbins for a certain set of houses are put out on the appropriate day and the dustman's cart stops only once...what a good idea?

I noticed this huge plant as we were driving to - somewhere - and asked what it was - a recycling incinerator which burns the rubbish and provides electricity for the national grid.

We were passing through a small town called Heemskerk, where I'd stopped to use a Cashpoint, and Jonathan noticed these Commonwealth War Graves Commision headstones at the front of the local churchyard.

 The plaque telling about the graves which are on the right of the row, seven close together, was in Dutch so when I came home I typed it into a translation site and, apart from a few weird translations, says ' It was a cold dark night on the 16th December in the year 1943.



The overall darkening in the war years was required were the bombers that evening to be heard but not to see. The squadron of the 115th Squadron of the RAF had taken off from England with the aim of bombs over Germany to pay off. It was almost half past six (7.30) in the evening when the Heemskerk [Dungeons] were startled by a violent explosion.Outside saw a huge blaze of light.

Due to a technical fault was one of the new Lancasters caught fire.By the heat of the fire exploded the bomb in the plane so that the air exploded.Pieces fell into the aircraft over a wide area in the dunes down, near the Calvary, the seven-man crew was thrown out of the plane. None of them survived the crash. The bodies were found, could be identified. On 20 December 1943, the seven crew members buried in this memetery. On December 16 and May 4, this is commemorated and we allow for a       [?moment] to dwell on those who died for our freedom.'

It's an odd translation but I think you can get the gist of what happened that night. The 4th May is Dutch Remembrance Day and the 5th is celebrated as Liberation Day.

At last I've got to the end of my holiday and now it's back to normal (ish)...