Blogs from Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

"If you miss the present moment you miss your appointment with life " Thich Nhat Hanh . That was the thought for this morning . The sun was shining . It was a lovely Spring Day . Very unlike a February day . Global warming was causing a mini heatwave in some parts of the world . Our little part of the world was having temperatures up in the 18's . Unheard of this time of year . The spring flowers are being fooled by the warmer weather . It was though a good day to be out and about . The sort of day you think let's go out and do something . The biggest problem as always was where to go. The plan - a trip out in the car with no name to ... read more

A friend said that this time of year of year is melancholy and without a doubt that is true. The weather looks sad with the sky various shades of grey. The grass looks silvery with its early morning frost . The leafless trees just look bare. The dark nights and short days are always invited. The places to visit seem to go into hibernation. In the run up to Christmas all the local National Trust houses close to clean/stock take/conserve or get ready for Christmas opening. The staff and volunteers dig up trees from the estate , place them around the hall and decorate them in readiness for the Winter visitors . Christmas tree trails appear and disappear just as quickly once January arrives . I wondered how much of a job it is to put ... read more

Sion had been looking forward to going out today . It had been difficult to keep him happy when he was counting down the days hours until he met his best friend Woolly Mammoth . It had been a little difficult at this time of year to find somewhere that it is happy to accomodate a mammoth, a sheep and a dog and two humans. But The British Ironworks Centre came up trumps again as they allow dogs and we knew we could get a meal there quite easily . So plans were made . "Have you got me a woolly jumper, a woolly coat , my scarf and hat ?" Well I had to explain to Sion that once again sadly I had slipped up and not got round to getting him his winter clothing ... read more

Sion did not sleep well last night . Before turning in he had got ready for his trip to Blists Hill Victorian Town. He had helped me set up the sav nav for the journey and was looking forward to seeing his best friend Woolly Mammoth. I had been to Blists Hill a number of times . The first in the early 1980's when the site was in its infancy . I don't remember much about it apart from it being on a hillside site with many industrial brick buildings . Sion had been to Blists Hill a few years ago when Suzy the motorhome required some work to Kathrein the satellite dish . I am sure we were driven there by the guy who repaired the dish and he gave us two complimentary tickets "Have ... read more

I was a little early. You never can tell when you leave home just how long it will take to get to wherever it is you plan to visit. The sat nav gives you an idea as does putting the destination into an AA routemap . But none of those take into account traffic nor finding a spot to park. I had intended to park in the usual spot on the pay car park on Sherrymill Hill . However, as I drove into Whitchurch along the oddly named Chemistry I passed a free car park that I have never noticed before . How many times must I have driven past and yet never seen it ? It was hiding in clear sight . It seemed to be empty and used for visitors to the nearby childrens ... read more