When the boat went out...

With this favourite old Sunderland lustre mug as a constant reminder in the kitchen....I have always wanted to take a boat trip off the Northumberland coast and visit the Farne Islands.

A group of Islands not only famous for the puffins and grey seals, but also the heroine Grace Darling and her father who rescued the survivors of the Forfarshire Steamer in September 1838 after it ran aground in a violent storm.
You can read more about her here

They lived in the Longstone Lighthouse pictured above.....on one of the furthest islands from shore.

 So, it was on a glorious day last week that we took the Golden Gate boat complete with lots of four legged friends....dogs being welcome to take the trip out and explore the rocky island, which I thought was a great idea.

As we approached the island, camouflaged, fat grey seals posed on the rocks for the cameras.

 Having landed we walked towards the freshly painted lighthouse...

Took the steep ladder steps to the top,

To admire the view and listen to the history of the huge light.

Then back in the boat, hugging the islands rocky outcrops,

Where the seabirds nest ...

 Then back to Seahouses harbour...in a race with another boat Glad Tidings ...who take trips to Inner Farne and Staple Island.

A fabulous and informative two hour trip for the bargain price of £10 per person....most definitely one to do again next year, earlier in the season, to see the puffins who have now flown back to Scandinavia for the winter.

Final factoid from the Skipper in his Northumbrian twang,

"Puffins only lay one big egg a year....they dig two burrows...one for a bedroom the other for a toilet."

Well there you go...

birdingblog.com

He didn't say they look like woolly pom poms when they are babies though...

Julie x

Introducing....

OSCAR.....( Monsieur Oscar de la Renta )

 My daughter's new kitten....who arrived a few weeks ago and is now firmly ensconced in her Paris apartment.

Initially she took delivery of an assured girlie kitten called Delilah....until a visit to the vets revealled otherwise...
"C'est un garcon mademoiselle!"

So, Delillah is now most definitely Oscar....and he is going to be a big boy ( the size of those paws really should have rung alarm bells )

Stripey on the top and spotty underneath....

Impossibly cute.....and impossibly naughty too.

  Naughty or not, she loves him and every evening after work he follows her downstairs to the courtyard to stretch his legs....

And have a game of hide and seek in the plants.

Mmm....looks like I am going to have to go back to Paris very soon to meet him....he is so darned cute!

Julie x

Shadows and texture....

Playing with shadows in the afternoon light....a wire mannequin torso on the windowsill is captured on the bedroom wall,

The finished Grandfather clock that came literally flat packed from a barn in Northumberland...the fretwork in pieces and the carcass too.
Assembled by my own skilled hands (really, truly and so pleased with myself even with a head injury! )....and painted in Annie Sloan "Versaille"
The clock face has been pushed behind the door temporarily and still needs fine tweeking to sit correctly.

Sorry to all you old wood lovers, but this really did need painting.

By contrast, this doesn't...

Loving the knarly texture on this ancient old yew tree in a Northumbrian village...

So ancient....it needs support from huge metal bands...

At some point in time, someone has even pushed a piece of old rubber between the bands and tree to protect it.

More information about these Ancient yews can be found here...a long but interesting article which may have some bearing on the sword/arrow head sharpening marks on the sides of the Church walls....

Even the doorway didn't escape...

Remnants of a turbulent past perhaps and the thought that to sharpen ones weapons on a holy building would give the owner some divine protection?
Nowadays it would be classed as vandalism...

Julie x

PS  Thank you for all the kind wishes for my broken head...stitches come out on Friday... longer recovery because of a mis diagnosis first time round!

 C'est la vie...enjoy your week x