St Mary's Parish Church in Barnard Castle held a magical Christmas Tree Festival last weekend.
55 trees of every shape and size; decorated in ingenious ways by the town's businesses; organisations and schools, brought light to the shadowy interior of the building.
Mulled wine and warm mince pies added to the occasion.

A View from the Altar.

Knitting

I am not a great lover of knitted dolls or the knitted scenes that have suddenly become very popular. However I do admire the skill of the knitters and I can imagine the pleasure they must get from choosing wools from the vast array of colours and types that are available in the shops these days.

Last weekend the Darlington Stitch Bombers crept into the town centre in the middle of one night and decorated the High Row with their wonderful work. Intricately-made dolls were everywhere; colourful bunting flew high and even the bollards had brightly coloured covers to add to the atmosphere of Christmas in these cold December days. 

But before I’d had a chance to see it, vandals had destroyed the whole display – nothing but a bit of bunting and two tiny knitted mice remained to show the hours of work that must have gone into that display.

And yet in the little Victorian town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, the same type of knitting has decorated the pier for several years.  The work depicts local activities and even the Olympic Games and in contrast to Darlington, this attracts visitors, not vandals.

Olympic athletes with their gold medals.

It’s hard to imagine the senseless behaviour that led to the Darlington destruction.

Were they drunken louts or simply ordinary citizens with a grudge against knitting?

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month.

Once again the dead of the Great Wars have been honoured; first on Saturday evening with a ceremony in London’s Albert Hall where much of the emphasis was on children, with the Poppy Girls, a group of 5 charming little girls who sang together beautifully followed later by a young boy chorister and finally by a nine year old girl who spoke up in a loud and clear voice that could be heard all round the Hall while her 7 year old sister stood near by.

Armistice Day was celebrated at the Cenotaph in London yesterday; the Sunday closest to the 11th.November and it was remarkable that the Queen and Prince Philip were both well enough to lay wreaths followed by several other members of the Royal family and public dignitaries.

Now the government has decided that for every man who won the Victoria Cross, a golden paving stone will be laid outside his home, 100 years after it was awarded.

A wonderful and fitting tribute for all to see.

Children in the News

In a week when children have filled the news there has been both joy and sadness.

Joy when royal baby Prince George Alexander Louis was baptised  by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the historic Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace.  It was a quiet ceremony – photographs afterwards showed George to be remarkably like his father, Prince William and yet I caught a glimpse of the Queen’s determination in that small face.  He wore a christening gown of magnificent cream lace; a replica of one used by Queen Victoria and he was supported by seven godparents, carefully chosen to guide him through life.

The Queen and Prince Philip looked proudly on, as three male heirs to the throne ensure the continuity of the Royal Family and renewed popularity from the people.

In contrast the McCann family continue their six year search for Madeleine, with a photograph of her in a pink floppy sun hat that would melt the hardest of hearts.

The Portuguese police have re-opened the case while Scotland Yard also focuses on the abduction.

By co-incidence a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes was removed from a family of Greek gypsies and proved to belong to a Bulgarian family of a similar type.  Was she given away or was she sold?  Either way it is a sad start to her life and we can only imagine how mystified she must be feeling now.  No wonder her press photographs show her looking so forlorn.

Good luck to them all in the years to come.

Passing By.

A Harvest Moon Rises Above the Trees
in October

Welcome sightings from my windows.

October Again and a Magnificent Rainbow Lights the Sky

A Hot Air Balloon Sails Past in Spring

Dogs, Large and Small.

In a week when television has been full of programmes about animals and particularly about small dogs in designer clothes, I feel thankful that our family dog is a solid Shar Pei who would object strongly to being arrayed in special clothes, or any clothes at all.

Latest Shar Pei photograph.

One programme was beyond belief as an elderly couple organised a wedding for their two Norfolk terriers - lively little dogs who'd lived together happily for years. They were dressed as bride and groom with a bridesmaid and various doggy guests, all similarly attired and very well behaved. There was music and flowers and petals thrown over them and even a wedding service! I wonder if they will live together even more happily than before or if there'll be a doggy divorce some day.

Chaos.

Who would have thought that a dripping shower in the bathroom could cause such chaos in the kitchen?

There was no dramatic flood or really obvious damage to the ceiling; only a small bulge that I might have ignored except for a sugar basin that had mysteriously filled with water.  And it all went wrong from there.

What seemed like a small repair job snowballed into a major operation when the artexed kitchen ceiling was found to contain asbestos.  ASBESTOS? Wasn’t that something to do with factories and industry and chest problems? Certainly not with my nice little house in a pleasant cul-de-sac

Nevertheless a few days later a convoy of white vans arrived; men in space suits and helmets sealed off every kitchen door and cupboard with what looked like black lino;  two ceiling-high tents blocked the way into the hall.

In the middle of the operation the apprentice fell off the back of the van and for a few minutes it seemed as though an ambulance would be added to the chaos, however a bag of frozen peas and a pain killer worked wonders and the operation continued. A notice pinned to the front door ordered “All Waste Materials This Way."                         

and the back door had weird pipes leading outside.  However, the whole operation was completed before lunch-time and I was left with rafters and wires and a promise that a new ceiling would be put up next day.

But somebody forgot to arrange that and I had to wait till the end of the week.

As for the shower – it is half mended and no longer drips but six weeks on, I'm hoping the job will be finished soon!!