Mrs Tiggywinkle is alive and well!

While out feeding the birds this morning, in the rain but life goes on, I noticed something stuck under the barbecue and on closer inspection found it to be a hedgehog.
I am a Peter Rabbit fan so any hedgehog becomes Mrs Tiggywinkle ....

We managed to extract her and get her up to the safety of the top of the garden, we used a bucket and, as she soon as she walked onto the soil, she rolled ..... so now we have a 'lump' up the top of the garden .....


On closer inspection, she might be rolled into a ball but she is watching us ....








.... watching us very closely ........

down at base of bottle

After a few minutes she unrolled and quickly disappeared into the 'undergrowth' of the bushes.

well hidden under the bush.

She stayed a few seconds trying to get through the Deutschia but found it was impossible so had to back out a little ways and get through the other side ....



Last seen Mrs Tiggywinkle was waddling along the wall at the back heading towards the dry area in the corner.
Extra mealworms for you tonight Mrs  ............  the shock of seeing a bright pink headed human lady takes some getting over!!!

Technology costs

Technology is a wonderful thing and I am sure that Humanity does profit from using it ..... but not in this house!!!

We have had an interesting fortnight and, at this moment in time, we are without some of the Technological Equipment we have became used to round here.

As you may, or may not , know we changed our ISP as ability to use the internet was pretty poor.  We searched around our local area and found that BT had the best signal and, although we didn't have Infinity in our area, we decided to go for it.  The signal was intermittent and, much to our dismay, when the Broadband signal goes  - so does the TV!  We complained and were told that it was because we were not on Infinity, which had miraculously appeared in our area.  We paid the extra and were welcomed on board - no students using modern technology in sight.

So we suffer intermittent 'no signal' - usually during the last five minutes of the programme!!

Last week PJ's phone started to play up so it is now in the 'hospital' and he is using one of those 'olde' phones that are JUST A PHONE - remember them?!  lol

On Monday evening I tried to access the data on my external hard drive which, I didn't check first, had become slightly unconnected from my laptop.  oops!  
Or should that be OOPS!
I have managed to download a program to retrieve my lost data but it is taking so long - then my laptop overheats and switches off.  So I start again .....
Modern technology!  
I feel that my whole life is on that little box,  I am trying not to think of all the IMPORTANT spreadsheets, documents, photos etc, and that I just HAVE to get as much as the data saved onto my NEW external hard drive. 
Today I am asking myself what I did before all this Modern Technology arrived .....  I am still alive and everything is as it should be ...... just that little black box is not working ..... shall I die because of it? 
 No! 
I shall just have to sit in the garden and stitch ..... 
......when I worked that is how I dreamed of Retirement ...
.... that was before Modern Technology!!!

A sad time down South - twice - second day

We would be motoring some today so we were up early and on our way - an hour later we managed to get out of Milton Keynes, all the roads look the same!!!
PJ had spoken with his younger sister and we had decided to visit the last resting place of his birth Mother.
We found the woods and started looking for the area we needed to be in.
The woods look as though they are many years old, PJ used to ride his bike round about this area when he was younger.
It was an amazing space, lots of shapes and colours and birds singing.
It was also pretty obvious that in the springtime there are hundreds of bluebells flowering.  

PJ contacted L so that she could direct us to the right spot, so we followed the path to the fence ...........



I found it very significant that PJ stood where his Mother's ashes had been strewn while talking to his sister on the phone - a meeting of sorts for the three of them at last .....




We then travelled on to the home where Mother spent the last years of her life.
It was a beautiful house set in its own grounds.  I haven't visited such a grand place, set back from the road, for years ... I think Miss Davies house back in the fifties was about the same ......

We went in to ask if there was a possibility of seeing any paperwork, or photos or suchlike, but the staff gave us the bad news that the Home had been sold to a new company, the papers would be lost.  They gave us permission to take some photos so round the building we walked then climbed back into the car and drove away....

We met up with Rover 3 for lunch, in our favourite Chinese takeaway of course!
After completing a small amount of shopping, we said our goodbyes and tootled off home.

Although it had been sad reasons for going down south, on the whole we had enjoyed ourselves.  It was good to meet up with friends and good to find a bit more to the jigsaw of PJ's natural family,

A sad time down South - twice - first day

We had occasion to go to the funeral of Rover 1's Mother.  We did not expect to meet again so soon and definitely not for Betty's funeral.

wide view of town

PJ and I booked a room in Milton Keynes .... the town for the future built in the 60s.  
I was excited to visit this town because, for my sins, I remember this town being built and all the hoohaa that went on in the media.  
Upon arrival it was like stepping backwards in time or was that the future ..... weird.  
All the boulevards are straight, really straight .... and wide, really wide.  

typical 'street'

And the car parks were huge, really huge.   
Nothing like England at all.
We found the hotel quite easily using the GPS on the phone, really boring roads all the same ish.....

our room in the middle of this block

We booked in and then went to find our room ...... there were five houses and we had a room in one of them ....

Not the best but if you were stopping overnight, or just down for a concert - great!  It was one room in the house and, when we went exploring in the morning, we found two showers (one on the top floor and one on the ground floor) and a well fitted kitchen.  I suppose if you are down for a week's work then it is ideal, you could cook your own meal and even sit outside, several of you from the same company would be even better!!!
We carried on to the funeral after booking in, meeting up at the cemetery.
   
The wake was held at The Three Trees in Bletchley, the mourners filling this sitting area and out into the grassed area.  The sun shone and we recalled memories, with the help of a video loop inside, the family members met and parted, and the Rovers piled into cars and went to .... 

... the The Three Locks  - yeah! again!

The sun was still shining so we all sat round the table and talked and laughed .... and talked and laughed ..... then it became a bit cooler so we moved inside and shared a couple of bowls of chips - PJ likes chips!!!!

At the end of the night we all separated and went back to our various hotels, happy thoughts ....

Paris 6 - Thoughts from Paris and ephemera

I think this has been one of the most wonderful visits to this City.  Not just because of the company or weather, we just had time to enjoy ourselves.   We weren't going over the same places, maybe Tuileries, but it was all so different in the sunshine.  
I have not lost my love for this place at all.  I definitely want to come back and walk the whole length of the Viaduct des Plantes, take a trip on the canal - which I didn't even know existed.
After unpacking my case, I sorted out all the paperwork I had brought home with me.  
Among the leaflets and receipts was a really good map.  
I had two free Paris magazines with money off vouchers at the back.

I didn't realise I had bought so many postcards!  

Some I purchased from a stall by the cafe on the first day. 

I bought all these for a couple of euros in a shop by Tuileries. They were of the same quality as the others but as we were in a tourist area and shops were vying for trade .... the price dropped.

There were lots of leaflets, I really must try to stop doing this - it's just that they are free and some are really interesting - receipts, luggage labels - unused, Metro tickets, lovely free treasure!



I also picked up this magazine from one of the Estate Agents - there are some areas in Paris which are not too expensive but on the whole - 
e x p e n s i v e!!!



Expect to see some of this appearing on my ATCs and cards real soon!

Paris 6 - Travelling Home

Time to say goodbye to Paris .... for the time being!!

As we leave the station I could not help but notice how the Grafitti Artists abound along the tracks - I think every railway line in the world suffers, or enjoys, this form of artwork.  
Paris has lots of places where these artists take over.  One whole abandoned building has been given over to them for years and real artistry could be seen there.  
Unfortunately the Authorities felt the need to demolish the building, which was also a tourist site, so who knows where the artists will turn up again.


On the outskirts of Paris there are large estates built back in the fifties when the city was trying to recover from the war.






The northern part of France we travel through is very flat, compared to the south, and the vista stretches for miles


On the train, we sat opposite a young Father and his two daughters.  So well behaved and very artistic.  They spent the whole journey - all three of them - reading magazines and drawing.  After they left the train - one of the daughters stacking their papers and magazines in a neat pile on the table - I lifted the pile of paperwork.  
Ephemera don't you see??!!!

If you look closely at the 'Anous Paris' magazine, the figures have been 'embellished', there was another copy of the magazine in the pile that was as good as new. Wonderful!


The girls had been reading comics - did you know Donald Duck et al could speak French so fluently?!?!??




So back in London we found our bus stop and travelled round to Victoria Coach station.  The driver was amazing.... the traffic a nightmare - twas the 'rushhour'....  some of the questions he was asked so stupid ....  and he kept his good humour the whole time.  What a lovely man.  A credit to London Transport.
All too soon we were on the coach travelling back to good old Brum ......

Stop press - we are going back in November!!!  yeah!!!!  to La Defense area .....

Paris 5 - on to C&A

After making our magic purchases in the market, we met up with Rover 1A and we all walked to the Metro to take us into Paris central.  Rover 1A left us there and we caught the metro to Opera, to save us changing lines, so we had to walk back to Boulevard Housemann.
If you want to shop in Paris - here are all the shops you need right up to the Champs Elysee.
But I am going to C&A!!

I love this shop - did I tell you this?!?!  lol  By the way - the Golden Arch stands for Metro not McDs.
We browsed the counters, I bought a coat and a top (New York written over it!) while PJ bought a bag - more a small messenger bag, just large enough for passports and tickets but small enough to wear under a coat.
We wandered out and then turned down a side street, stopping for a coffee and slice of Tarte au Poire.


We walked on to the Tuileries, it was a sunny day and people were strolling through the gardens, practising music, sitting on benches reading......



 ..... we managed to find an empty bench in the shade opposite a small allotment type garden.





This sign, situated not far from a carousel, made us laugh - we were a long way from Castiglione!  A small village in Italy where a friend lives.




The Horse Chestnut trees were all in flower and formed long lines along the central paths.




Crossing over at one point I noticed that there was a clear view to the Arc de Triomphe - note the street pedlars selling cheap souvenirs, we didn't buy anything .... not my style!


The traffic was quite busy but it's funny how you don't mind when you are in Paris .....



The back of the Louvre was visible some way down the road but we managed to get across to the bridge.  We spent some time watching the street pedlars on the bridge selling rather large and heavy locks to gullible tourists.  No wonder the City councillors are worried about the weight of the locks breaking up the bridges!  Although the Gendarmes arrived in pairs, the pedlars were soooo quick in packing away, that they were not caught.  Another super view of Paris, this view shows the Louvre so far away!!!
We walked along towards the Metro, stopping on the way for a coffee and cake of course!  We caught the Metro back to Ledru-Rollin and walked round to Le Charolais where we met up with Rover 1A.
We decided to have a chinese meal so Rover 1A showed us to her local .... It was a very good meal and we had lots of laughs, then wandered back to our hotel.
Now I could try on my coat .......
It's red ..... surprised?
I am facing a mirror when PJ took this photo from the bed ...... want to see the rest of the room?

Behind me the bathroom .....


...... and the bed ......

Paris 4- Travelling back to the Hotel

After we left Notre Dame we carried on walking along the side of the Seine but this time we walked along the road side, sheltering under the trees until we reached La Samaritaine.
 It was still closed, and may be closed for ever even though there was hopes of opening as a Hotel so that all the Art Deco fittings could be kept.

I was getting tired by now so we found a cafe and settled down with a Croque Madame and a Coffee, or a glass of wine.  We sat there for some time, even managed to eat a Apple Crumble!
We carried on walking along the Rue de Rivoli, knowing that it would eventually finish at the Bastille.


Along the way we passed a building with some humongous statues outside .... we stopped for a better look but what they were supposed to represent I do not know.


A lady to the left and a man to the right, not very happy looking but very biiiig!!
Amazing!



We trudged on, stopping at another little cafe for a coffee and then, when we had walked some distance, window shopping and people watching, we saw this building.....



Magnificent!

C'est La Hotel de Ville.  
What a superb building and when you read about its history ....


The decoration is as good as Notre Dame ....

so beautiful ....

we spent some time just looking at it ...

Such beauty ....

We continued to walk, seeing such wonderful sights, how I love Paris!  The old buildings mingle with the new buildings, and as we walk along, loving the atmosphere, amid the rush hour, people just passing by on their way home and here we were, just strolling and we saw but they didn't.  I suppose if you live with something it becomes invisible.
When we reached the Bastille we strolled around just on our own - a group of teens were gathered together and  ..... trying out some spring loaded 'shoes'.
We stood and watched them for a while .... last time we were here there were skateboarders - grown ups -  roller bladers - grown ups.  We even saw some men with those little scooters!

Ah! Paris!

Eventually we arrived back at Le Viaduct des Arts - this time at Boulevard level.
As we walked along, I remembered that M had told me of an embroidery shop along here so I dawdled a bit...... there it was .... Le Bonheur des Dames.

Stepping inside I was transported into beauty....

I wandered around trying to find something to buy .....

.... then I found some scissors!

yes! yes!  I know I have lots of them but a girl can't have too many pairs of scissors

...... no, I can't!

..... and they are red!!

We walked back to the square and met up with M who took us to her local Chinese restaurant where we stayed most of the evening ......