Just Humans Being...

We're quite excited, as on Sunday we're heading north for a few days to visit our folks... Not only will it be great to see everyone, but it's just nice to get away & staying in a hotel always feels like a holiday to us! Hugo's coming with us again, which is lovely & although we have things to sort for Bebe - we'll also be taking her out for a day to meet up with relatives in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell . A town renowned for it's puddings & it's Pride & Prejudice connection! We've had a busy couple of days & tomorrow will be yet another one, so tonight we're going to chill out, eat chocolate & watch  Fantastic Mr Fox  & try to have an early night... See you soon! Kay & Sime xx

Well, we did it... We drove 300 miles to say goodbye to my Great Uncle Bill! The place was packed with probably many characters from Stoke's underworld! We can't be sure, but we've always believed that Bill was probably the Tony Soprano of the town he lived in... He had a bit of a secret life, that he never shared with the family & there were certainly lots of guys in big black overcoats there today, though I didn't see any shades - so perhaps I'm wrong! Our idea of arriving slightly late & just sitting at the back - didn't work out in the end, as my Mum & Husband turned up at the same time as us, the funeral had been delayed & so we were ushered along with my Brother & Mum to follow Bill's coffin & then into the family seats at the front! There was no change in my Mum's behaviour towards us, no joy in seeing her only Grandson - didn't even look at Hugo, let alone speak to him. How can a Grandmother be that way? Especially a

We're staying in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is just a mile or so from Stoke & yesterday morning - we decided to have our walk & visit the town centre (where we haven't been for over 9 years). On leaving the hotel, we saw that a building across the road was on fire...  So we went to investigate. The whole area was cordoned off - with lots of fire fighters & police in attendance. Nobody knew how it started, but it was in the store room above a shop & it had been blazing for around 5 hours when we got there... And what was supposed to be a quick walk & bite to eat, turned into a few hours chatting with locals... Because like Stoke, the folks are really open & love to talk - there was the Police Officer who told us all about her holidays in Cornwall, the elderly woman who told us all about her cat, Herbie, her Husband, Leonard, how she loves her food, the best places to eat & what she was eating for breakfast - when she spotted the "acrid sm

We both felt weary when the alarm sounded at 7am, but thought that a quick walk would bring us round and it did just that.  The sun was shining and it felt good to have some warmth on our faces after all of the biting cold we've endured since our return from France. The hedgerows are waking up from their winter slumber and the first crisp nettles are now evident. For those of you unfamiliar with the stinging nettle, it is a miraculous plant. Imported into Britain by the Romans (what did they ever do for us?), as a medicinal crop, this prolific weed is not only nutritious, but it's sting has been proven to be beneficial to those suffering from the debilitating effects of arthritis.Now is the time we gather nettles and add them to our home brewed beer. We have been brewing ale for many years and love to experiment with different edible hedgerow plants. Nettles add a wonderful earthy flavour to beer and are full of minerals such as magnesium and potassium. For a truly rustic

We started out on our journey from Cornwall early in the morning, it usually takes us about 6 hours to get up to Stoke-on-Trent, where our folks live. There is one main road which cuts through Bodmin Moor & Devon before joining the motorway to head north. Unfortunately, there was black ice up near the Jamaica Inn, which had caused several accidents that morning, so the police closed both carriageways... We decided to detour & take the small lanes through the moorland villages & so our journey out of Cornwall doubled in time, as we met with more treacherous icy conditions. Although it was a bit hairy at times, it was a beautiful morning & at least we got to see sights like this - If you can't make it out, it's a natural tree root feature that has been decorated with white wellington boots! Several hours later, we were nearing our destination & got our first glimpse of snow on the fields by the motorway, just outside of Birmingham.  The delightful view from