Blog in 'ell

Caravan Club Centenary 14th June @ Sandringham - A judge's view

2007-06-15T10:04:00.000Z

Where better to spend the 100th birthday of the Caravan Club than with the friends we made over the winter. We had such an amazing welcome last time that we thought that is the place for us on June 14th.

Not great weather on the day, but a great turn out. Thanks to Sharon and John, those pesky wardens again, we ended up, by threat of no Chinese food or worse the threat of jogging ;-), doing the judging for the imaginative best-dressed hat competition. Mart was head judge (since he IS the oldest!) and me as Assistant Judge, it was a good laugh and was nice to have an icebreaker to chat to some of the other caravanners on the site. Chatted to people who have been caravanning for years and got some helpful advice, some very nice people on these sites……. Think some are scared by the fact two men are in the same van with one fixed bed! Yep, us puffs have managed to break into the caravan fraternity. There is no escape, denial is futile! Everything kicked off at 2PM when an extremely impressive buffet was laid out, a hell of a lot of work and blooming nice too. Quite a few people turned up straight away and it wasn’t long before sandwiches and quiche were being scoffed in their droves. Managing to balance a combined plate for us two and two drinks was a task in itself but we had a more vital role to fulfil (well got to build up our part!)

Lord Thingy from Thingy Hall (I AM still drunk but it will come back to me!) came to introduce himself as the new president of the club and was warmly welcomed into the fold.

More people turned up in more adventurous hats including a VW camper van sewn to a hat, lavender and foilage from the estate and the eventual winner and runner up. The winner was made up of very cleverly folded pieces of paper into cones and other shapes. The runner up, was a triumph of ingenuity, with lots of foilage and no hat but was a good 6” high collage of greenery. After the presentation people started to disperse…. Well once the food had almost gone.

A lovely day and a nice gesture for us two loonies to do the judging. ;-)

Think I had too much red wine last nite, me eyes are still crossed!

We love the South!

2007-06-15T09:37:00.000Z

I love the South of England! Where else in Britain would you find such diverse people?

While staying near Denham, Bucks we saw.....

A FULL BRAND NEW loaf of bread been fed to ducks - bloody waste!
A house for rent at £15,000 per calendar month, yep £15,000 !
and a PURPLE, yep PURPLE Rover 100 with a big bore exhaust - well it tickled me!

Love it

Orbs and funny goings on.....

2007-05-30T15:17:00.000Z

(Belvoir Castle 2007)

Just a quickie while the net connection is behaving itself.....

While we were at Top Lodge caravan site about 4 weeks ago we went to the amazing home of the Earl of Rutland, Belvoir Castle. Where you can pay for a permit to take photos inside, nice change. When i was sorting through some of the photos I noticed two had light anomolies on them..... will try and upload them here....

Also another amazing trip was to the English Heritage site, Grimes Graves, near Thetford, Norfolk. It is a Neolithic flint mine where you can actually descend a 35 foot ladder to see what it was like down in the galleries... amazing. Loved the experience but while I was down there, I couldn't help but feel I was been watched ( I thought it might have been CCTV). when I sorted the photos out, taken with a different camera to the Belvoir Castle ones I found orbs on those photos too.

Supernatural or not? Who knows but the atmosphere at both places where the pics were taken definitely felt unusual......

Blog in ell.... its been another two months!

2007-05-30T15:06:00.000Z

...this year is just flying by and the net connections aint improving! Hope to get to an Internet Cafe or library soon to upload the 200 new photos for the Flickr gallery and also update this blog with a bit more stuff.

At Peterborough Caravan Club site again for 2 days after a superb 3 weeks on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, thanks to Sharon and John (the 2 nicest people we have met on our travels) for an extremely warm welcome and pleasant stay on the best maintained site we have encountered. :-) We will be back so be warned lol.

Off to Hertfordshire this week, tomorrow in fact, and then to Oxfordshire, slowly making our way down to the South coast for the summer.

Am still deciding what to do with all the witterings I've written and the millions of photos since we started on the road last September 06.... any ideas, apart from rude ones!, welcomed :-)

More soon......

Long time no blog.

2007-03-25T19:10:00.000Z

Cannot believe that its almost 2 months since I updated the Blog. So here goes....

Whats happened since February...

We have been to two more caravan sites, in Denham Bucks and Peterborough - both sites we visited in the last 6 months but worth a revisit.

Found lots of new places to visit, going to upload a list to the webspace I have with the Open University. Oh yeah have successfully passed my first two courses :-) Great news.

Been to Cromer lighthouse again and had an amazing week wandering around the coastline. Saw some amazing sunsets, rises and waves. The RNLI Museum @ Cromer, which opened in 2006, by Ronnie Corbett, is a worthwhile place to visit, amazing stuff.

Had a lovely wander round London (Number 1 London, Buck Palace, real touristy stuff) met with a friend from working at Penrith library which was superb :-)

The last week:

Best place we found was today at Fotheringhay. The village where Mary Stuart was beheaded in the Great Hall of the castle. Amazing. Quite amazing as we have been to Dundrennan Abbey (where she spent her last night on Scottish soil), Workington (where she landed after a four hour boat trip from Dundrennan), Peterborough Cathedral (where she was initially buried opposite the grave of Catherine of Aragon). Its so nice to put the history into these different places and connect them all up. So much history in Britain. Its great this year out :-) More soon and in English hopefully, I wont rush the next entry....

Caravan Site Number 13... and beyond

2007-02-03T19:36:00.000Z

Site 13 - Broadway, Worcestershire
Site 14 - Wyatts Covert, Denham Bucks
Site 15 - Ferry Meadows, Peterborough
Site 16 - Hargill House, Scotch Corner, Yorks
Site 17 - Beechwood Grange, York
Site 18 - Clumber Park, Notts
Site 19 - Top Lodge, Lincs
Site 20 - Sandringham Estate, Norfolk
Site 21 - Ferry Meadows, Peterborough.... again! only 2 nites
Site 23 - Ashridge Farm, Herts
Site 24 - Wyatts Covert, Denham, Bucks ... I know, its becoming an obsession
Site 25 - Sandringham Estate, Norfolk - 100th Anniversary week
Site 26 -

Fast food heaven!

2007-01-29T17:06:00.001Z

A superb place to find a snack, or big meal, is Peveril Stores on How Lane in Castleton. Very friendly staff and superb food, well worth a visit if you are in the Peak District. We had sausage and bacon hot sandwiches and were very impressed with the amount we got :-) Brilliant place. Would recommend very highly.

Castleton Visits...

2007-01-29T17:06:00.000Z

Above: Mam Tor (Mother Mountain) high above Castleton Village, Derbyshire

We’ve been here 1 week at Losehill, or Lowshill as its pronounced locally (Lows means burial mound or hill in Derbyshire). We have visited some amazing places in-between snow storms. Ladybower dam, where the Dambusters trained and the subsequent film was made; Wynatts pass and Mam Tor high above Castleton village, Castleton village itself with the imposing view of Peveril Castle and its lovely CoE Church dedicated to St Edmund. 1 week to go so more exploring to do…

Favourite places visted in 2006

2007-01-19T19:19:00.000Z

Favourite castle : Kenilworth Castle, Kenilworth, Warwickshire (Oct 29th 2006) EH
For its links with Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley

Favourite hall, house or garden : Witley Court and Gardens, Witley, Worcestershire (Nov 3rd 2006)
For its atmosphere and interesting history

Favourite abbey/priory : Malmesbury Abbey, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (Oct 23rd 2006)
For its architecture, displays and tomb of Ethelred

Favourite cathedral : Peterborough Cathedral, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire (Dec 13th 2006)
For the tomb of Catherine of Aragon, first resting place of Mary Queen of Scots

Favourite roman site : Piercebridge Roman Fort, Piercebridge, Darlington, Cleveland (Sept 16th 2006) EH
For its amazing design and location

Favourite church : Haverton Hill, site of St John’s Church, Middlesbrough, Cleveland (Sept 21st 2006)For its history, location, and the fact its gone

Favourite lighthouse : Souter Lighthouse, South Shields, Co Durham (Sept 10th 2006)
For it’s tour guides and the view from the lightroom

Favourite memorial or landmark : Windsor Great Park, Windsor, Berkshire (Nov 17th 2006)
For its history and amazing location

Favourite museum : Eden Camp Malton North Yorkshire (Oct 3rd 2006)
For its atmosphere, layout and overall interesting subject

Favourite community, village : Turville, Buckinghamshire (Vicar of Dibley and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Location) (Aug 25th 2006)
For its chocolate box appearance, friendly locals and the fact it was used in Vicar of Dibley

Favourite industrial visit : George Stephenson’s Birthplace, Wylam, Northumberland (Sept 28th 2006) NT
For its amazing location, superb tour guide and inspiring

Favourite pier : Dover Prince of Wales Pier, Kent (May 11th 2006)
For its views of Dover, for its location and for the atmosphere

Caravan Site Number 12 - Losehill, Derbyshire

2007-01-17T18:00:00.000Z

Just arrived at the next site. Internet aint working very well and the TV reception aint brill so Mart is not chuffed lol. Nice site, lovely town, Castleton, and lots to explore. Hope to see some friends this weekend and visit the Bookstore near Buxton again - bargain books! :-) Lots of amazing views :-)

Caravan Site Number 11 - Boroughbridge, Yorkshire

2007-01-11T08:14:00.000Z

Above: Boroughbridge Caravan and Camping Club site looking towards the A1M

Blooming heck! We were supposed to be at a site near York from yesterday (10th) but got a phone call to say that the site was on flood alert. Instead of wading to the caravan we decided to try another site but at this time of year there aren't too many open. We found the site at Boroughbridge and what a site it is. Great staff, lovely pitches with own water and aerial - hey these luxuries are a must when you caravan! One small disadvantage is the additional water they have, as the River Ure has burst its banks and most of the caravan site is under quite a few feet of water. Thankfully, we are over the other side with a flood barrier between us. Only the high winds to contend with but it hasn't been too bad... apart from one scary moment at 3AM when the caravan shook rather a lot but it's all good fun... or am I just sick? hmmmm

Flickr online photo gallery updates

2006-12-31T11:30:00.000Z

Going to update the Flickr photo gallery today with photos from September - December 2006

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyshield/

Been to so many amazing places in 2006. 25 counties covered and hundreds of places visited. Going to do a sad but informative blog for our fav places. More travels in 2007

Happy New Year 2007!

2006-12-31T11:27:00.000Z

Happy New Year 2007. Hope you had a superb Christmas and an even better 2007.
xx

You Tube and Barrow in Furness

2006-12-31T11:24:00.000Z

Life in Barrow in Furness... and here is the proof....

You Tube Comfyft

Look out for the Vicky Pollard lookalike playing with fruit and the ill timed karaoke attempt from a transvestite!

Thanks to Trev and Fi for the links.

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-23T22:22:00.000Z

Incase I don't get to the laptop again this week, have an amazing Christmas and a happy 2007. xx

Caravan Site number 10 - Knaresborough, Yorkshire

2006-12-14T18:43:00.002Z

We have made it! Our 10th caravan site in 2006. It will be our last until January, we are visiting family for Christmas which will be great. What an adventure it's been... must type up some of the highlights.... Knaresborough site is superb, like the other Caravan Club sites, nice staff and a nice place for a week visit before Christmas really starts.

Peterborough Cathedral Visit - 13th Dec

2006-12-14T18:43:00.001Z

Weve been in Peterborough for the last week and have to say what a superb city it is. Great shops, friendly people and lovely small villages around which really add character to the area. We will be back!

The Cathedral is superb, one of the nicest we have visited this year. It was made even more interesting for the grave of Henry VIIIs 1st wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the fact that it was the initial burial place of Mary, Queen of Scots, before she was moved to Westminster Abbey. The display reminded me that Mary once landed at Workington, Cumbria (where I was born) before been taken to Carlisle Castle... and a board even mentions this.

A superb visit to a very interesting piece of British history. Worth a visit.

Christmas films watched 2006:

2006-12-14T18:43:00.000Z

I LOVE Christmas films and these are some of my favourites with a sad rating out of 5!

1 = Naff, 5 - Unmissable

Title, star rating and date watched - God, how sad is this lol ;-)

Holiday Inn (1942) - ***** (8th Dec)
Carry on Christmas 1969 - *** (10th Dec)
Carry on Christmas 1972 - *** (11th Dec)
Scrooge - Alistair Sim version - ***** (12th Dec)
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) - ***** (13th Dec)

Will update as we approach my favourite time of year, No not Easter!

OK so i forgot to update it but we did watch more...... still aint watched my all time fav though - 'It's a wonderful life'.

Caravan site number 9 - Ferry Meadows, Peterborough

2006-12-09T16:01:00.001Z

After three superb weeks in the lovely county of Buckinghamshire we set off from Denham to Peterborough. The journey got off to a scary start after a downpour of torrential rain and hailstones, around the same time as the tornado was about to hit London. We managed to get through that unscathed, got onto the M25 and got onto the A1M with no problems other than lots of spray from the roads. The A1/A1M journey was superb, in bright sunshine and a warm winter morning. It only took us 2 hours to get the 100 miles from Denham to Ferry Meadows caravan site - our 10th so far! - The site is as usual amazing and the member of staff we saw when we got here was very helpful and friendly.

What a week!!!

2006-12-09T16:01:00.000Z

What a week! Not only did we have the car searched by Surrey Police but I had a phone call to say someone had been ringing a credit firm using my details. There are some evil sods around. Why do they always pick on the innocent?! Fingers crossed my newest mobile phone upgrade won’t be a waste of space… we shall see.

Carry on film locations....

2006-12-03T15:46:00.000Z

Carry on….

Staying in the Denham area we just had to check out some of the many film locations used for the Carry on films. We drove passed the impressive front gates of Pinewood Studios, drove up the street used in Carry on Camping, cabby, sergeant at Pinewood Green; the church used in Carry on don’t lose your head at Denham and the road used in Carry on cabby where Jim Dale was trying to hail a taxi. We also saw the Helping Hands agency in Windsor’s Sheet Street and the hotel opposite Windsor Castle used in Carry on Loving. Not forgetting the Long Walk in the Great Park used in Carry on Henry. Just want to see Maidenhead Town Hall now, used in the hospital carry on’s. Amazing to see these places for real after watching the films and being a fan for so many years. J This year off work just gets better and better.

Windsor Great Park visit 25th Nov 2006

2006-11-30T15:50:00.000Z

(Bit late this blog but better late than never!)

Windsor Great Park in a thunder storm is very atmospheric, in a monsoon and thunder storm it is even more exciting!
We went for a short walk this morning as it was sunny down here in Denham, we ended up in the Great Park at Windsor…. again. A short while we arrived the heavens opened and we had a shower or two, nothing too exciting or worrying. But soon after the fourth or fifth shower the sky changed completely, the winds started and then the rain came. Boy, did it rain! We had the umbrella but that didn’t stop it soaking our legs and backs. Our heads escaped for a time,… but once the lightning started it seemed rather foolish to be walking round with a metal umbrella in the middle of a wooded area. One almighty clash of thunder and then the rain eased slightly as we, along with every other soaked walker, made a dash for cover in the car, soaking the seats and unable to see through the windscreen we waited a while. An adventurous morning’s walk!

Updates....

2006-11-30T15:48:00.000Z

or lack of.... just got the allowance again for the Internet while we are in the caravan. Went over spectacularly last month , Ouch! So am going to be good this time... although when we move sites and visit somewhere amazing I''ll be updating the blog...

Caravan Site Number 8 - Wyatts Covert, Denham Green, Bucks

2006-11-17T18:17:00.000Z

Another fortnight of travel and another new caravan site. This one is great, like all Caravan Club sites it is immaculate and has superb staff.
We sorted our pitch and have settled in quickly.. We are here for a fortnight and plan on some trips into London.

Chipping Campden, Worcestershire

2006-11-14T17:09:00.000Z

Chipping Campden in Worcestershire is a truly amazing village. Just see this link for a history of the place. Almost all original Cotswold stone buildings with an inspiring history. One of the buildings that caught our eye from the road was the Landmark Trust cottage which was once a building belonging to Campden House which was destroyed in fire in 1645, only 20+ years after it was built. The gatehouse remains next to St James church. Well worth a visit.

Worcestershire visits...

2006-11-11T21:01:00.000Z

Witley Court and Gardens, Witley, Worcestershire (Nov 3rd 2006)
Tintern Abbey, Tintern, Gwent, Wales (Nov 7th 2006)
Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, Gloucestershire (Nov 9th 2006)
Chepstow Castle, Chepstow, Gwent, Wales (Nov 9th 2006)
Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire (Nov 10th 2006)

One of the most impressive English Heritage sites we have ever seen was Witley Court not too far from Worcester. The ruin of a the massive stately home is being well looked after. It was partly destroyed by fire in 1937 and fell into ruin after. The shell is still standing and provides an insight into the original Jacobean house that stood on the site and was expanded by successive owners. The grounds with the impressive fountains and gardens under restoration made for a superb afternoon in the autumn sun.

In contrast, Tintern Abbey was freezing cold and in fog! However, it was one of my favourite abbeys from pictures but is even more impressive in real life. The walls of the abbey church are amazingly intact including the night stairs. The cloister and outer buildings although not complete show enough for you to see how large the complex was. Very interesting place… which seemed fitting to have the photos taken in sepia!

Two cathedrals we visited this week would really bring out the Royalist in anyone. Gloucester Cathedral has what must be the most impressive vaulted cloister in England. Along with Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, the cloister was used in the first two Harry Potter films. Inside the abbey lay the remains and tomb of Edward II, King of England from 1307 - 1327. Which leads me onto the superb cathedral in Worcester which has more than its fair share of famous tombs. In the nave is the tomb of King John, King of England from 1199 - 1216, he who was responsible for signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede. Also in the cathedral are tombs to Prince Arthur, the brother of Henry VIII who died at Ludlow during his honeymoon to none other than Catherine of Aragon. He was only 16 when he died and never made it to sovereign of England, although his brother did… and married his one time sister in law. Elgar’s memorial on the West wall is just below the window dedicated to him.

To bring this blog round to its natural conclusion another tomb in the cathedral at Worcester is the tomb in the Lady Chapel of the 1st Earl of Dudley who owned… Witley Court.

Open Uni Courses

2006-11-10T18:41:00.000Z

Really chuffed got my 2 first exam results from the OU

Robotics course = 90%
Internet course = 82%

:-)

Another night on Broadway...

2006-11-05T18:13:00.000Z

Broadway in November...

2006-11-04T17:34:00.000Z

What a superb sunny Autumn day it has been. Took this photo on the mobile phone while we were doing our weekly wash!

Caravan Site Number 7 - Broadway, Worcestershire

2006-11-02T20:30:00.000Z

Site Number 7 in 7 weeks... this is the first Caravan Club site we are staying for 2 weeks. And so far its a good choice. One of the toilet blocks has been created from the goods yards of the now defunct GWR line, which is out of bounds but you can still see the railway bridge over the road just outside of the park. We have a lovely pitch on the edge of the site with lots of lovely sunshine :-) Hope it lasts but its bloody cold tonight, thank heavens for the great heating system in the van... more soon....

Shakespeare and Robert Dudley

2006-11-01T18:40:00.000Z

Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire (Oct 30th 2006)
Lord Leycester’s Hospital, Warwick, Warwickshire (Nov 1st 2006)
Warwick St Mary’s Church, Warwick, Warwickshire (Nov 1st 2006)

So many fascinating places and with such great historic links. Stratford is a lovely place full stop but seeing where Shakespeare was born was superb, It just makes all those boring school lessons come to life. Its inspired me to read some of his work.

After going to Kenilworth at the weekend and reigniting my interest in Elizabethan England, we had to go to see Robert Dudley’s grave in St Mary’s Warwick, and it was worth the visit. What a memorial to him and his third wife Lettice. It was quite a moment seeing where he was buried. Then to see the tomb of his 3 year old child really made it an interesting tour of the church.
The crypt with ducking stool and the Greville tombs are two more highlights.

Also in Warwick is the Lord Leycester Hospital, established in 1571 by Robert Dudley and now lived in by ex servicemen. it’s an amazing complex of tudor buildings with a chapel in the Westgate of the town, a great hall, museum and garden area. Interesting to see Warwick from a different angle and to work out where the great fire of 1694 started, in a bakers again! A fascinating day.

An entry in the visitor's book at the church was for Robert Dudley from the USA, the GGGGGGG Grandson of Lord Leicester....... hmmmm

Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire

2006-10-29T17:58:00.000Z

Kenilworth Castle - wow! that is worth a visit, never mind the expensive Warwick Castle, try Robert Dudley's Medieval gatehouse and castle with its extension built for Queen Elizabeth I. It is an amazing place. You can get to the top of the range buildings above the kitchens and Great Hall with views across the Midlands. The gardens are being excavated and replaced with a traditional Elizabethan garden. A definite must to visit for any castle fan. Worth the entrance fee of £6.00 per adult, but free to English Heritage members ;-)

Warwick Castle

2006-10-28T19:01:00.000Z

After a lovely 2 days with our good friends Fi and Trevor, we went for a visit to the medieval castle in the centre of Warwick. Not a ba castle to visit, not worth the entrance fee of £15.00. Windsor Castle costs about the same and is much more value for money. The only consellation was that the castle is complete but seems to lack any real atmosphere. Seen so many interesting castles, this one was a REAL let down but we had to visit....

Caravan Site Number 6 - Warwick Racecourse

2006-10-28T18:40:00.000Z

Bloody hell! What a journey. We set off from Cirencester with a quick pack up of the caravan stuff and headed North to Warwick. We got stuck by a police check, then by a Horse fair at Moreton in Marsh, got abuse from 2 oldies on the edge of Warwick for no reason other than we were driving a caravan and THEN when we got onto the park which has a gate to open/close and got abuse for no knowing whether some old bat could park there while she went to the castle!!!

Oxfordshire and Wiltshire visits

2006-10-28T18:34:00.000Z

Lodge Park Grandstand, Sherbourne Estate, Oxfordshire (Oct 20th 2006) NT
Malmesbury Abbey, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (Oct 23rd 2006)
Lacock Abbey and Village, Lacock, Wiltshire (Oct 23rd 2006) NT

The highlight of the week has to be the abbey at Malmesbury in Wiltshire It has so much history and is in a perfect hill top position over the town and River Avon. The abbey church is now within the remains of the abbey nave and side chapels. The abbey tower, East and West end fell a few centuries ago but a £3million regeneration plan is underway. The architect is Ptolemy Dean, who worked on the BBC Series Restoration. One of the tombs belongs to one of the Kings of England, Athelstan. Once the work is done we will definitely be back for another visit to this amazing building.

Lodge Park, a National Trust property on the Sherborne Estate just off the A40, was built as a grandstand for deer coursing. A fascinating building with a superb history and so interesting.

Lacock Abbey, we finally made it, was well worth a visit. The abbey, grounds and village were given to the National Trust in the 1940’s. If you saw the first two Harry Potter films, you would recognise the cloisters of Lacock Abbey. It was built as a Nunnery but converted into a house after the dissolution. One of the famous residents was W H Fox Talbot, a pioneer of photography. Superb place to wander around which is still lived in.

Caravan Site Number 5 - Cirencester Park, Glou

2006-10-22T12:29:00.000Z

Week 6 on the road and we have made it to Gloucestershire. Petrol down here varies quite a bit but managed to get some for 85.9p per litre... in Wiltshire when we visited Lacock Abbey.... well almost, we gave up cos of the rain and intend to go back tomorrow if its a bit brighter.

The Caravan park here is another lovely one, maintained to perfection. A nice new toilet block is available and we have yet to venture into the park itself... one day this week before we depart for Warwick....

Must get on and do my Open Uni course, have just submitted one assignment, have one more to do for the week after next. Good fun this study lark, need to work out what subject Im doing next :-))...

Windsor Great Park, Berkshire

2006-10-18T19:28:00.000Z

One of our special places is the Great Park on the crown estate. Mart used to play here as a kid and we always make a point of visiting at least once a year. Each time we visit we find a new path to discover and we are never disappointed. Today we were lucky enough to see some of the beautiful estate deer being called by an impressive stag.

Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire Visits

2006-10-18T19:26:00.000Z

Burford Church, Burford, Oxfordshire (Oct 13^th 2006)
Uffington White Horse, Uffington, Oxfordshire (Oct 13^th 2006)
Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire (Oct 14^th 2006)
Broadway Tower, Oxfordshire (Oct 14^th 2006)
Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire (Oct 18^th 2006)

Burford is an amazing town in South Oxfordshire. Among the tudor buildings and shops is the Church of St John the Baptist. Apart from the 12^th century original features there are some amazing extras but the most interesting is the inscription for the murder of one John Pryor Gent whose body was found hidden in Burford Priory garden in 1697.

Uffington has a very interesting National Trust maintained white horse and hill fort. We arrived just as the sun was starting to come through, the views across the Oxfordshire countryside were breathtaking and well worth the trek. The horse isn’t too easy to see in full but you get the idea of how impressive it must from the sky.

Hailes Abbey was once the alleged home of a vasal containing the blood of Christ , making it one of the most visited religious sites in the area for pilgrims. The only remains of the abbey church are the chapel foundations behind the high altar and one section of the South wall into the Cloister. The remains of the West Range were built into a manor house for the Tracy family. Well worth a visit especially to see the abbey and the local church with interesting decoration including a very large representation of St Christopher, patron saint of travellers on the North Wall.

Broadway Tower is an 18^th cent folly which includes a William Morris room and also has spectacular views over 13 counties… unfortunately the day we went it was too foggy to see very far but worth a visit even to see the beautiful building.

Dorchester Abbey Church on the Thames is well worth a look if you enjoy churches as this is a superb, cavernous example of a typical abbey church. It has a really special atmosphere, not sure why but as soon as you walk in you know you are somewhere with a really fascinating history… more on this one soon.

Perfect Chippy - Vote Number 2 . Oxfordshire

2006-10-16T17:37:00.000Z

Not so much a chippy but Burford Breakfast Bar in the layby just off the A40 and on the A361 towards Lechlade. What a meal we had from there! We had a doner kebab…and it has to be the best doner kebab in the South of England (the best in the North been in Acklam, Middlesbrough, more on that one sometime).
The guy who served us was so damn quick it was amazing, then we had a feast on a massive amount of meat, pitta bread and garlic sauce. It was fantastic and well worth the £3.50 each. He does all kinds of breakfast stuff from sausage and bacon rolls to full breakfasts. Well worth a stop off. Just take the junction from the A40 towards the Cotswold Wildlife Park and you will see the van in the layby on the right…

Lechlade on Thames - Christmas Shop

2006-10-14T16:46:00.000Z

I have found my new favourite shop - The Christmas Shop in Lechlade.
It has a really good variety of goodies and some really hard to find stuff in the UK. Well worth a few wanders around. Also found one in Burford, we are going to investigate that one next....

Caravan Site Number 4 - Burford, Oxfordshire

2006-10-12T19:30:00.000Z

So after 4 and weeks on the road, and after a very muddy week in Derbyshire - but VERY enjoytable one, we headed South West towards Oxfordshire and the very picturesque town of Burford. The caravan site, Caravan Club, is as always superb. The staff are friendly and the site clean, tidy and very well maintained. We managed to get a hardstanding pitch, for the uninitiated a caravan park with places with gravel rather than grass, which will help us to keep the same clothes on for longer than an hour and a half!!! Its clean!
Found some great literature about local places to go and haunt, including a Christmas Shop :-))) More soon...

Derbyshire visits....

2006-10-12T19:27:00.000Z

Elvaston Castle and Country Park, Derbyshire (Oct 7th 2006)
Kedleston Hall, Derby, Derbyshire (Oct 9th 2006)
Calke Abbey, Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire (Oct 9th 2006)

The morning after we arrived at the camp site we expected the same weather as the few days before, rain. Thankfully, the weather changed and the sun split the autumn trees.
We left the caravan site and wandered into the neighbouring parkland owned by Derbyshire County Council. A real surprise was the castle and the ornate gardens. The castle, which is only open for special events, is on the site of an earlier Tudor house (one wall still shows Tudor windows and even states it was built in 1633) This wall has been incorporated into the newer 19th century castle lived in by the Stanhope family. The grounds surrounding the castle has a lake, ornate gardens with topiary, a Pavilion and Golden gates allegedly from the Palace of Versailles. A lovely country park which is well used by the locals and visitors.

Kedleston Hall just on the outskirts of Derby is a neo classical house for the Curzon family, rebuilt by the 1st Lord Scarsdale, Nathaniel Curzon and designed by Robert Adams. The stunning saloon based on the Pantheon in Rome and the entrance hall with beautiful marble pillars are two of the fascinating parts of this estate. An interesting point for me was the marriage of the 4th Baron Scarsdale, the Revd Alfred, to Blanche Pocklington Senhouse from Netherhall, Maryport, Cumberland in 1856. When we arrived at the hall the weather was less than welcoming but while we were inside the hall the autumn sun shone again. Kedleston village was moved by the 1st Lord Scarsdale as it was in the way of the road he wanted to build, the village is now a little further from the hall than it once was.

We left Derby and headed for Calke Abbey to see another National Trust property at Ticknall. Like Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire, the property was inhabited in its last days as a home by one person and a few staff who didn’t live in the house. Charles Jenney died in 1981 and lived in the cavernous house on his own. He used a microwave, cooker and sink in the old butlers pantry and slept in a small bedroom on the opposite side of the property. The kitchens had not been used since the 1920’s and many of the features are still in place, including a tunnel connecting the house to the vast stable complex and brew house.
Quite a number of the rooms were closed up during or around the second world war and only reopened when the property was transferred to the trust in 1985 by Charles’ brother Henry.

Bookstore, Brierlow Bar

2006-10-08T18:09:00.000Z

What an amazing shop! It has some superb titles at very reasonable prices. Well worth a visit if you are near Buxton.

Bookstore Derbyshire Website

Caravan Site Number 3 - Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire

2006-10-06T18:09:00.000Z

Our third site has been the most eventful so far! We started off this morning from York and discovered that one of the wing mirrors straps were missing. After a bit of a hunt we managed to buy some new ones, thanks to Barrons, York. We made our way to Derbyshire and got stuck in an hour long tailback, then we get to the site, thankfully in sunshine, and got set up on the rather soggy site before rain started…. Whether the caravan will move off without help is another matter… but tomorrow, weather permitting, we will explore Elvaston Castle Country Park…

Schmap.com - Superb travel guides

2006-10-06T18:05:00.000Z

The Schmap website provides comprehensive travel guides for many major towns/cities in many countries around the world. You download the Schmap player, and then you are free to download the interactive maps with links to many attractions.

Check out the Southampton guide, you will find some of my photos.

The Perfect Chippy - Vote number 1..

2006-10-03T17:20:00.000Z

The Perfect Chippy...

As we travel around the UK over the next year, one of my most important aims is to give publicity to chippies that deserve it....and get even fatter in the process ;-)

Our recommended chippy of the week is:

The Boat House Cafe
South Landing, Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire

A superb meal of haddock, chips, mushy peas with free tartare sauce and a round of bread also. And even better a smile and very friendly service. The lady of duty was superb. Well worth a visit for the views across to the North Sea as well as the fantastic food.

BLOG 101 - Breakaway....

2006-10-03T17:18:00.000Z

Breakaway, a fresh start., the lyrics of this song really mark a turning point in my life. In February 2006, I was signed off work with stress and depression, something I had never suffered from until we had a very stressful few years (both my parents died, family events, to name just a few). In March 2006 we decided to go on the holiday we had planned to Cromer Lighthouse in Norfolk. On the way back my mood worsened and I felt really uneasy about returning home to Kendal. As we approached junction 36 of the M6 this song came on the iPod. The lyrics below really sum up my feelings and moods at the time and gave me some hope of a fresh start. It took months and months of discussion making and organising but we got there. We are now both much happier, both looking forward to the future, and we have left Kendal and a rather unhappy couple of years behind. The future is looking so much brighter already but as the lyrics say “ I won’t forget the ones that I love”, and that’s so true..

This is also Blog number one hundred and one! Here’s to many more about our travels.

Kelly Clarkson - "Breakaway"
"Trying hard to reach out But when I tried to speak out Felt like no one could hear me Wanted to belong here But something felt so wrong here So I prayed I could breakaway [chorus] I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change And breakaway Out of the darkness and into the sun But I won't forget all the ones that I love I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change And breakaway"

Caravan Site Number 2 - Beechwood Grange, York

2006-10-02T19:20:00.000Z

We are slowly making our way South, after a week near Scotch Corner at Hargill House, and we are now staying for the next 5 nights just on the northern outskirts of York at a very nice site, Beechwood Grange. Its quite a remote site but has the hum of traffic on the A64 to Scarborough. The entrance to the site is along a scenic road with fields and horses on each side, a large willow tree split’s the lovely farmhouse from the site entrance. And the best bit… a chippy van comes three times a week :-)

70 miles in the caravan driven so far… next stop - Derbyshire.

More North East attractions

2006-09-29T15:59:00.000Z

Cherryburn, Birthplace of Thomas Bewick, Northumberland (Sept 28th 2006) NT
George Stephenson’s Birthplace, Wylam, Northumberland (Sept 28th 2006) NT
Gibside Chapel and estate, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear (Sept 28th 2006) NT
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham (Sept 29th 2006)

Over the last 2 days we have visited some really emotional places.
Cherryburn deep in the Norhumberland countryside above the River Tyne was home and birthplace of the famous naturalist and engraver Thomas Bewick. The house he was born in is superbly maintained as is the later addition built by his brother. What a view the cottage has, you can see why he walked the 17 miles from Newcastle to get home

Then we visited George Stephenson’s birthplace which was a truly amazing experience, Our guide Margaret really knew her stuff and her enthusiasm was just what you need to get you enthralled. The house, which at the time of his birth in 1781 was 4 tenements, is now a white washed cottage but at the time of his birth 26 people lived in the 4 roomed house (4 families in 4 rooms). George lived with his mother, father, brothers and sisters, 6 people all in one room with only one outside toilet for all 26 people! Its an amazing start to a life and you can only admire how he progressed from an illiterate teenager into father of the railways and further. It is also haunted by an active ghost, named Mabel after George’s mother.

Our next trip was to Gibside in Tyne and Wear, it was the home of John Bowes and his family. The Queen Mother visited Gibsite (being a member of the Bowes Lyons family) the last time being in 1969. The chapel has been lovingly restored with the help of the National Trust and looks spectacular. The Long Walk takes you to the ruins of the Orangery and Gibside Hall - a once majestic looking home now a ruinous shell in a dangerous position of decay, a crying shame. The estate has some walks including one to the Octagonal pond and the Banqueting House (which is a landmark trust holiday cottage J ) it’s a National Trust property well worth a full day exploring.

After the link with John Bowe’s and his wife, Josephine, we decided to spend a morning in Bowes Museum. A purpose built museum open since 1892 and still a major attraction. The building is very French in design and the interior, under renovation, houses some amazing artefacts and paintings. One local exhibit which is hidden beneath the dramatic marble staircase is the stuffed double headed calf, born near High Force and used as part of a freak show. The most famous exhibit has to be the automoton Sliver Swanwhich is now operated twice a day for the public. A museum well worth a visit

British history and our visits...

2006-09-27T19:39:00.000Z

Just discovered this superb website…
British History Online
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/

Below are some of the superb places visited in the last few days:-

Piercebridge Roman Bridge, Yorkshire (Sept 24th 2006)
Richmond Castle, Yorkshire (Sept 25th 2006)
Fountains estate (Sept 26th 2006)
Escomb Saxon Church, County Durham (Sept 27th 2006)

The Roman bridge remains at Piercebridge are well worth a look, if only to see how the River Tees has altered its path over the centuries. The remains of the roman structure are a good 25 feet away from the current river, probably more with my sense of distance!
Richmond is a lovely town to explore with some beautiful buildings; not least the fine Holy Trinity Church in the market place and the spectacular remains of the castle. I visited Richmond Castle in 2001 but this time I was with Mart who had never been. The views from the keep are stunning and look over the Georgian town. We had a lucky day weather wise for late September and the castle looked even more stunning in the sunshine.
The Fountains estate near Ripon is always worth a second, third or more look, there is just so much to see. The abbey itself is a spectacular ruin with its well known landmark tower, the viewpoint near Anne Boleyn’s statue (headless by design or by deterioration?), St Mary’s church and also the wonderful deer park. We saw a stunning young stag..
Another amazing find was the Saxon church in the village of Escomb, County Durham. The church has to be one of the most well preserved Saxon churches in England. It has some lovely features; the small windows, the stone carvings on the outer walls, the sun dials, the freeze on the archway from the nave to the alter. Interesting to read about the history surrounding the North Door of a church and the superstitions related to it, one being that the North Door ensured the devil would leave a baby when christened. Many churches have bricked up this entrance but Escomb’s is still as it was.

Caravan Site Number 1 - Hargill House

2006-09-23T17:24:00.000Z

Hargill House, near Richmond/Scotch Corner - a superb location for our first caravan excursion. The staff are very friendly and helpful, the site is immaculate and the facilities even better than we had imagined. An amazing first camp site from the Caravan Club. So many more to try... but here, to the left, is proof that we made it. It didn't take long from Teesside but it was a nice start. Ive booked us some sites up until the end of October, need to book in advance Im noticing. We spent the first night watching Carry on Camping!!! Hmmm. We got set up with water, heating and a loo in working order within 20 minutes.. not bad for the first time. We have some travels sorted for the coming week. More to come...

St John's, Haverton Hill, Cleveland

2006-09-21T12:29:00.000Z

Another interesting find. Haverton Hill, near Middlesbrough once had a 19th century church in its own grounds, with a lychgate and cemetery. The church was demolished in the 1970's (?) but the cemetery and the lychgate, minus gates, still remain. We found out that the church was declared redundant on the 22nd October 1975. (www.cofe.anglican.org)

When you go under the lychgate (or Corpse entrance) you can walk the path upto the point where the church door once stood. All that remains of the building are some low level corner stones to the East of the path.
The graves have suffered from subsidence and there are a number of unmarked plots. Right behind the grounds is the current recycling/community tip for the area.

A rather remote place for memorials but a nice reminder of a lost community.

The Friary, Old Hartlepool

2006-09-20T16:39:00.000Z

We went to Hartlepool, an old haunt of Mart's, and saw the rather lonely looking remains of what turns out to be a manor house built in 1605 on the site of a dissolved Franciscan Friary. Until the 1980's it was surrounded by St Hilda's Hospital. At least it is listed so cannot be knocked down... but it would be very nice to see the site renovated and made more of a tourist attraction.

The Queen (2006)

2006-09-19T20:53:00.000Z

The Queen (2006)

I really enjoyed this film but didn’t expect it to revolve around 1997 and Diana so much. Its always tricky when you are dealing with such high profile people (The Queen and PM) and someone so adored by the public who is now dead (Diana) to really see what happened. I felt that the film centred on the relationship between the Queen and Tony Blair, the PM. It forces both to re-evaluate their ideals (One to move forward and accept change, and the other to accept that tradition is just as important) It was amusing in places and the cast were superb, Helen Mirren is never a let down. Michael Sheen as the PM was very convincing. Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother was so much like the Spitting Image character it was scary! But she was a very entertaining member of the cast.
Overall a superb film which went over far too quickly.

Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Blyth

2006-09-15T19:57:00.000Z

Tynemouth priory and castle
St Mary’s lighthouse.Whitley Bay
Blyth docks “Spirit of the Staithes”

Tynemouth Priory and castle is an interesting place to visit, not least for the complete Percy Chantry within the ruins of the priory. We found a grave for a Robert Shield - don’t think it’s a direct relation but you never know. There is a plaque showing the location of the last lighthouse on the priory land. This was replaced by the lighthouse on St Mary’s Island at Whtley Bay. Which was finally commissioned in August 1898. From the grounds of the priory you can walk across the battery with superb views of the North Sea. A really atmospheric place to walk around, we were lucky to have a very sunny day and made the most of the weather.

As the clouds rolled in from the South we made a move to St Mary’s Island and a visit to the well known landmark of the lighthouse. You gain access to the Trinity House lighthouse, now owned by the local council, by a tidal causeway. It has an amazing view from bottom to top with the stairs spiralling around the edge of the tower, with only the ground and the towers light room floor in between. It is also home to one of the light towers of the East Goodwin sands light boats from Kent. A lovely place to visit on a nice day but it would be even more atmospheric when the North Sea is at its worst.

Before we headed back to Teesside, we paid a visit to Blyth and discovered the ‘Spirit of the Staithes’ sculpture. It stands on the banks where the coal used to be loaded/unloaded. The whole area is fitted with decking and makes an nice place to wander around and think about the history of the place.

Upleatham Church, St Andrew

2006-09-14T20:43:00.000Z

On the Saltburn to Guisborough road is the smallest church in England, St Andrew’s, just to the east of the village of Upleatham. Although it now has the honour of the title of smallest church, it was once a much larger building.

Built in 1684, it was a centre of worship for almost 200 years. The newest burial we found in the graveyard was in 1990 but the church has been in decay since 1836 when a new parish church was built nearer the village. It is also the resting place of the Archdeacon of Cleveland and vicar of the parish, William Palin who died in 1967.

There were a large number of burials of young adults in the 1870’s.

Saltburn by the Sea pier

2006-09-14T20:40:00.000Z

Like all piers in the UK, Saltburn has had a turbulent history. The present one has been inplace since 1978 when the 681 feet pier was opened to the public. A far cry from the 1875 pier of 1280 feet. After many years of being battered by the North Sea, the pier was saved from demolition in 1975 when the Save the Pier campaign was successful. By 1996 the pier was yet again in danger of collapse and was saved by local fund raising. In 2003 the friends of the pier donated some new benches.

Overlooking the pier is the Victorian town of Saltburn which can be reached by a water powered cliff railway, very similar to the one at Lynmouth in Devon.

A fresh walk can be assured with the relentless North Sea.

Ferrybridge, Yorkshire

2006-09-13T10:12:00.000Z

Not one of the most obvious places to go for a visit but if you can find a spot under the old A1 (not the new A1M) you will find a lot to do with the social history of the area.
Under the busy flyover of the now defunct A1 road lies a 19th century road bridge, the Great North Road bridge, which once took all traffic across the Aire and Calder navigation canal. The bridge was built by a Pontefract builder, Bernard Hartley, in 1804 and was designed by the architect, John Carr of York, in 1797. It is a typical early 19th century deign but has the peculiar addition, from what looks like the 70’s, of a large grey square of concrete in the middle section, slightly obscuring the plaque in honour of the Pontefract builder. Inside are some very rusty looking pumps, I think, but not sure what they were exactly used for….

On one side of the bridge is the toll house, now used as offices, stands majestically protecting the entrance to the bridge and on the other side is towered over by the cooling towers of Ferrybridge power station. Between the power station and the toll bridge is a railway track, yet another form of transport.

Coming back toward the Aire and Calder navigation canal you walk under the concrete ‘pylons’ holding up the massive A1. These giants are an amazing feat with just the smallest of concrete sections touching the ground in a V shape. When we visited the area in 2004 the bridge was still the main route from North to South, it now has a trickle of vehicles crossing over this great beast of engineering rather than a deafening roar of traffic. The most noise came from the small A road going through Ferrybridge and past the Golden Lion pub which lies just under the concrete giants and beside the canal. Next to the pub is the lock keepers cottage which looks as though it is now a private home.

This is an amazingly small compact area of England but holds a link to all the major forms of transport over the last 3 centuries. Well worth a look if you can find it.

Car rally, a castle and a lighthouse

2006-09-10T19:08:00.000Z

OK, so we STILL haven’t moved off the drive BUT Monday 11th Sept we are going to get the electrics hooked up to the van so we can try out the fridge and heater, its been a tad cold on the night with no heating but it’s worth it… honestly.
We need to get one or two more bits and pieces for the van then we are REALLY ready for the off.

We spent today at one of our favourite English Heritage properties in Northumberland; Belsay hall, castle and gardens. It’s an amazing place, still owned by the Middleton family but under the custodianship of EH. We found out that EH aren't allowed to refurnish the building due to a contract clause. The once spectacular drawing room and library now stand empty apart from fireplaces and oak bookshelves. Some more rooms have been opened up which is great, but the servants wing and rooms are still to be renovated after many years of what looks like wet rot. Very few ceilings or floors are left in this part of the spectacular Greek style house but you can see from floor to roof and the layers inbetween. Seeing a fireplace projecting from the wall with no floor looks amazing. We always have to pay a visit to the Quarry Garden and castle. Both are very atmospheric and add to the charm of the estate. One family lived in the castle, then extended it to a manor house, and then built the spectacular Belsay Hall, the quarry garden providing much of the stone work for the extension and the new building
We also went to Belsay today for the vintage car rally….. hmmm, it was OK but not too many exhibits and too many of one make of car.. But very nice all the same.

We expected to be at Belsay for the whole day…. But we stayed til midday and then made our way to a National Trust house, Wallington also in Northumberland. The exterior is much or a muchness, but the interior is beautiful. The staircase is something else, one central staircase breaking off into two onto a balcony, which had another pyramid like set of steps up to a curiosities cupboard, probably bigger than most living rooms in modern houses. Inside were many unusual artefacts including a replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
A central hall has wooden owls in flight on each of the pillars and depictions of major events in the history of Northumbria in arched alcoves, including Grace Darling, the death of Bede and the Danes invasion of the county.
Some of the principal rooms have a design similar to that of Wedgewood. A lovely place which also has the unusual feature of 4 Griffin’s heads in front of the house.

After a brief break we decided to make our way to the coast and to Souter Lighthouse near South Shields. The car park is on the site of the old colliery. We went into the lighthouse and were made to feel very welcome, luckily were in time for a guided tour of the actual tower. The lighthouse was the first to be powered by electric in the UK. One prominent feature of the engine room was the fog horn cylinders used to produce enough pressure to allow the horn to be heard for almost 15 miles away.
The coastline of cliffs around the area is spectacular, Marsden Rock and the Marsden Grotto Restaurant dominate this bay. The restaurant is reached by a lift.

A lovely day in the bright sun.

Indian Summer? Perfect for the caravan

2006-09-09T13:46:00.000Z

Well, we still haven't made it off Mart's sisters drive yet but the caravan is proving to be everything and more than we expected of it. It is just so comfortable and homely, its unbelievable just how luxurious these things are now... compared to my last caravan holiday in 1983!

We have found our first site though, not too far away but worth a stay to get used to the procedures for setting up for a camp site. We are going to book it next week so more on that one soon.

The weather has been very kind these last few days and we had an amazing sunset (see pic for proof!)
Oh yeah, and I got my coursework for the first part of the Open Uni degree I'd like to do. They sound really interesting. The internet and how it affects our lives and how robots are used in society and the ethics surrounding man and machine. Cant wait to get started :-)

Our new home :-)

2006-08-31T08:30:00.000Z

Our new home is here... safe and sound. We picked the caravan up on Tuesday morning - its taken me two days to calm down LOL.

Barrons of Darlington were superb and we now have an amazing Bailey Ranger 460/4 touring caravan. It is so well fitted out and was well worth the money.

The first drive was rather stressful but managed it all the same so will just take time and patience to get there.... no dents yet so remember these pics before it does ;-)

Its still on Marts sisters drive for the next week or so until we decide which site we are going to start on. We packed it up yesterday (fitting a 2 bedroom house into a 4 berth caravan was quite tricky... getting the 32" widescreen TV would have been good fun) so its now ready for the open road and doing 20MPH on EVERY road for the first six months...

More pics of the van here....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyshield

I've also had my acceptance from the Open Uni to start a degree in October so things are on the up after a really naff year. :-) More soon.

One week to go....

2006-08-22T15:24:00.000Z

with just one week to go until we take delivery of our very first touring caravan we are both really excited about the prospect of a year away from the stresses and strains of house ownership and the joyful delight of the 9 - 5.

Our first stop may well be very close by and I mean VERY close by.... until we gain confidence in driving with the van attached. Then the country is our oyster.

The Bailey caravan we are getting has only just been issued, so we have been really lucky to be able to find a fixed bed van which our car can pull... it all comes down to these ratios of weight, noseweight and pulling power... who thought buying a caravan could be so exhausting!

Photos will appear next week but until then we have a trip down Sarf for Marts birthday and hopefully a visit to Frogmore house near Windsor Castle. Today we managed a quick visit to the Darlington Railway Museum. Fascinating place and well worth a fiver entry for 2 adults.... who are the adults?!?!? Nice to see the worlds first steam powered railway and Stephenson's No 1 Locomotion. What a piece of history... also nice to see the 'Blue Peter' as well.

A New Start :-)

2006-08-15T19:52:00.001Z

11th August 2006 - a real red letter day in the last year.

We completed the sale of our house in Kendal on the 11th and have now moved in with family until we get the caravan sorted. WATCH OUT around the 29th August - Pick up day!!! Then we will be off around the UK for a tour to find our next home. In 1997 I bought a house because of work, this time it will be the other way round. We will find where we want to live and work from that point.

Until then we intend to spend some time for ourselves wandering round the UK. One friend just mentioned do we have a name for the caravan.... not yet Sandra, but if anyone has any good ideas what two homeless hobos should call there caravan please let me know @
gary.shield@hotmail.co.uk

It's great having a fresh start - just got the house sale money today so its a definite move ahead. First stop? hmmm, jury out on that one.

Flickr Photo Gallery....

2006-07-09T16:30:00.000Z

New Photo Gallery online at... http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyshield/

Online Community

2006-07-09T14:40:00.000Z

I've tried a few online communities and found www.tribe.net and www.myspace.com to be the ones I prefer.... will see how they go.

Cats...

2006-07-07T20:45:00.000Z

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/

Castles in the UK - 100 visited so far....

2006-07-05T17:27:00.000Z

In May 2006 we visited our 100th castle, Deal Castle in Kent - one of King Henry VIII's fortifications. Deal has an amazing castle, seafront and pier and was well worthy of such a landmark visit for us.

BUT our favourite castle in the UK, so far, has to be the impressive, romantic and atmospheric ruins of Tintagel Castle on the North coast of Cornwall. Forgetting about any mythical links with King Arthur and Merlin's Cave, it leaves you with just an amazing feeling. Walking over the wooden steps across to the island ruins and discovering the chapel ruins, the storage tunnel across the island and the view out to the blue Atlantic make this one of the best castles to visit.

Urban Exploration

2006-06-25T12:01:00.000Z

Mechanised - recently updated - superb website
http://www.mechanised.org.uk

Underground Kent
http://www.undergroundkent.co.uk/

Fascinating website covering Workhouses in the UK
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/index.html

Forgotten Places
http://www.forgotten-places.com/

Some superb websites for Urban Exploration

So True :-)

2006-06-24T11:44:00.000Z

PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a trailer on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Tizer with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
The school football team had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Lands End 16th March 2003

2006-06-01T12:52:00.000Z

Mart and I at the famous Land's End sign on my 30th birthday in 2003.

Weblinks

2006-06-01T08:29:00.000Z

Weblinks from old website.... some useful stuff here :-)

Search Engines
Google
UKDirectory
MSN Search
Yahoo
UK250

News/Local News
BBC News
Google News
Cumberland News
Whitehaven News
West Cumberland Times and Star
This is the Lake District
This is Lancashire
North West Evening Mail
Slashdot News for Nerds
MSNBC News (US)

Science and Technology
BBC Technology
Kevin Warwick (I. Cyborg)
Department of Cybernetics (Uni of Reading)
Cybernetics Society
Hanson Robotics
Cyberhand
Cyborg Overview
Cyborg Citizen
Project Bionics
UK Cybernetics Club
Human Augmentation - Weblog

C-Leg Special
Kevin Pannell - C-Leg
First Bionic Soldier
Michael McNaughton - C-Leg
Rebuilt - Human Body Shop
Walter Reed
John's Blog o Rama - Includes technology news
Cyberbonic - Weblog
iRobot now
Futurewire - Weblog
The Future
The Future and Cyborgs
Female Android developed - July 2005
Philip K Dick Android
We can rebuild you - News item Dec 05
Nuts and Bolts of the Cyborg - 2001

BBC Click Online TV Programme
Space.com
Ghost in the Shell 2 DVD
iPOD
Everything iPOD

History
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
English Heritage
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Website updates

2006-05-28T09:12:00.000Z

The website www.garyshield.com is no longer online. This Blog now replaces it and will be easier to maintain while we don't have a PC :-)

http://caravanhobos.blogspot.com/

All will become clear about the name lol ;-)

Eurovision Song Contest - Happy Birthday!

2006-05-24T17:59:00.000Z

It's officially the 50th anniversary today (24th May) of the Eurovision Song Contest.

50 years ago this evening 7 countries competed in the first event in Lugano Switzerland.
it was won by Lys Assia with the song 'Refrain' singing for Switzerland.

Lordi does it!

2006-05-22T10:28:00.000Z

Finland have finally won the 51st Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens, Greece.
After 45 years, the Scandinavians have beaten 36 countries to win the award.

What's different about this win is everything! It's a hard rock monster group, Lordi, singing the superb 'Hard Rock Hallelujah'. They also managed to gain the most points of any winner in the history of the contest with 292 points.

Roll on Finland 2007 and the 52nd Eurovision.

Lordi's Eurovision website

Lordi's official site

Norfolk trip 2006

2006-03-19T11:00:00.000Z

Cromer is a lovely place. We spent a week in the amazing Link Cottage (the lower section behind our car and to the left of the tower!).

The Link bedroom was down a small flight of stairs and through a very trendy etched glass door (with a pic of a lighthouse of course).

I've taken almost 900 photos and will put some online at:

http://garyshield.myphotoalbum.com/

I also need to add the places we visited to the Visits in the UK pages - so much to do ;-)

Dance track wins Eurovision vote (BBC News)

2006-03-04T23:03:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4774670.stm

Interview for BBC News with DJ Daz

4th March 2006

Eurovision 2006 - Making your mind up WINNER

2006-03-04T20:37:00.000Z

Well done Daz!

After some mediocre performances by other artists, Daz shone as the best of the bunch for Eurovision 2006 and the UK. If they use the same performance in Athens, it won't matter what result we get, it will be entertaining.

Keep up to date with Daz and ESC 06 at:

http://www.dazsampson.co.uk/

V - the second generation (2007)

2006-03-03T20:22:00.000Z

At last! The second generation of the breakthrough sci-fi mini series from the 1980's will be realeased in 2007.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366112/

Details of the new mini series are at the URL above.

Can't wait to see it :-)

Eurovision 2006 and before

2006-03-01T19:56:00.000Z

You can find MP3 files of many National Final entries for Eurovision at:-

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/nationalfinalmp3/

and

http://www.hoteyes.net/

You can find more MP3's/videos/news at:-

http://oikotimes.com/

I'm having a Eurovision moment at present! ;-)

Eurovision Winner 1983 - Corinne Hermes

2006-02-25T16:03:00.000Z

WOW! Just found the official website for the 1983 Eurovision winner for Luxembourg. Her new album sounds amazing!

http://www.corinnehermes.com/

Go to the site and click on Discography - then click a track.... superb stuff

'Si la vie est cadeaux' was one of my favourite ESC winners but I never dreamt her most recent material was so good...

Eurovision 2006 - MYMU 06

2006-02-24T17:53:00.000Z

A week to go til the UK final for Eurovision, the third annual Making your Mind Up contest.

The full list of entries:

All About You - City Chix - No official website
Beautiful Thing - Antony Costa - http://www.antonycostaofficial.com/
Hand On My Heart - Four Story - http://www.fourstory.net/
Play Your Game - Goran Kay - No official website
Whisper To Me - Kym Marsh - http://www.safemanagement.co.uk/kymmarsh.htm
Teenage Life - Daz Sampson - http://www.dazsampson.co.uk/

Goran Kay is my top choice but I do have a thing about Daz Sampson ;-)

Heres to the 51st Eurovision.

Another C-Leg user...

2006-02-24T11:47:00.000Z

After reading about Kevin Pannell and his rehabilitation to learn to use his new 'bionic' legs I found this news article from 2003 about another military serviceman, Michael McNaughton, and his life adjustment to using an artifical electronic limb.

http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5195

Another amazing man.

For more information:

http://www.usaircombat.com/McNaughton.htm

Eurovision 2006.... Belgium and Sweden

2006-02-21T18:45:00.000Z

She's done it! Kate Ryan will represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.

http://www.kateryan.be/

The Superb song is 'Je t'adore' and will surely win ESC outright. Even if it doesn't it will be a huge international hit... apart from the fact it won't be released in the UK - no surprise there then!

Another hopeful for ESC 2006 is one of my all time favourite ESC Singers, Carola from Sweden.
http://www.carolainternational.com/
She won in 1991 and came 3rd in 1983 - lets hope she makes it to a third appearance.... :-)

Eurovision 2006 update...

2006-02-19T15:36:00.000Z

Tonight is the Belgian final - fingers crossed for Kate Ryan to win with 'Je t'adore' that will win Eurovision..... I hate to eat my words but it will beat the amazing Ich Troje for Poland... talk about fickle!

The lyrics to the Icelandic entry are quite... worrying!

"Congratulations Iceland
For me being born here!
I'm Sylvia Night,
shining in da light!
Eurovision nation, I'm going for yougonna rule this stuff
Demand a whole bunch of points"

Oh dear!

Most entries online at:
http://www.andysesc.net/Multimedia.html

2006-02-18T18:11:00.000Z

Making your mind up 2006

The glorious UK final selection is now available... as are the MP3's of each track.

Official UK Site
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/eurovision/2006/mymu/

MP3 site
http://www.hoteyes.net/download.php

Kym Marsh and Anthony Costa in the lineup - both with superb songs... Don't know if any would win Eurovision but we shall see in May :-)

C-Leg and Bionic limbs

2006-02-18T17:06:00.000Z

Just been reading about a very courageous American guy called Kevin Pannell

Below is the a weblink to his story. It talks about his injuries during war and also his recovery and subsequent use of the C-Leg and other 'bionic' prosthetics.

What an amazing guy.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/medicine/1303041.html?page=1&c=y

Cybernetics

2006-02-12T19:26:00.000Z

Try this amazing film clip!

Have updated the website to include some more technology website links and weblogs - found lots of amazing sites over the last few months but these are some of the best and most informative.

Try Technology from the main website menu.
Still need to merge the other weblinks onto the new page... sometime soon!

43.....dot com

2006-02-11T19:51:00.000Z

Good websites:
Try:
http://www.43people.com/
and
http://www.43things.com/

Eurovision 2006

2006-02-06T17:32:00.000Z

With over 5 entries chosen so far I managed to find a superb fan ESC website with studio MP3's on it. Take a visit to:

http://www.andysesc.net/

Superb website with lots of info and even better the MP3's of the selected entries - watch out for Estonia, Norway... and of course Poland :-)

World's Smallest Website - what do you think of it?

2006-02-05T17:46:00.000Z

Smallest website in the world?

http://guimp.com/

Take a look, what do you make of it? A sure fire way to get hits?

80's Pop Music

2006-02-05T17:34:00.000Z

Just rediscovered a superb MSN Group devoted to one of my favourite 80's bands, Bucks Fizz.
http://groups.msn.com/BucksFizzGoldenDays
also their official website at:
http://www.bucksfizzofficial.co.uk/
Steve Jacks MSN Group is well worth a look for links about the band and the latest gossip.

Eurovision selections are coming along well, the only song anywhere near upto the standard of Ich Troje's 'Follow my heart' is Norway's entry - amazing song and singer... I'm still waiting to hear Vicky Leandros' German contender....

IT Crowd, Urban Exploration and Idea Stores?

2006-02-04T12:22:00.000Z

Channel 4's new comedy on Friday nights, the IT Crowd was very very funny... and so true to life... Can't wait to see next weeks installment
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/I/itcrowd/

Also this week.... Urban Exploration websites... over the last few years I've been interested in derelict buildings (I took masses of photos of a hotel in Morecambe being demolished!) but never realised just how many people explore these derelict, and in some cases, dangerous buildings. There are loads of sites dedicated to the subject. I've created a new page on the website to list some of the best - some truly amazing pictures on them.
www.garyshield.com - Menu and Derelict Buildings link

Did you see the programme about Libraries in Tower Hamlets on BBC 2? The Idea store has taken over from traditional libraries - sounds like a great idea. http://www.ideastore.co.uk/
Since I've worked in libraries for the last 15 years I've seen lots of good changes but this sounds like the best idea yet.

Oh yeah, I'm also a qualified first aider now.... OH GOD HELP EVERYONE!!!!

www.garyshield.com

2006-01-30T17:57:00.000Z

Take a look at the new version of my website.

www.garyshield.com

Where you will find the new look Photo Gallery :-)

"Follow my heart" - Ich Troje

2006-01-30T17:55:00.000Z

Weblog devoted to the band Ich Troje and their bid to win Eurovision Athens 2006

www.ichtroje.blogspot.com

Eurovision - Athens 2006

2006-01-29T16:58:00.000Z

Yep, its almost the time again when lovers of music cringe when the latest batch of Eurovision hopefuls is revealed. This years hopefuls may include quite a number of previous contestants/winners! One group already selected for Poland is the amazing band Ich Troje with the song 'Follow my heart' - WINNER!!!! Superb song, superb group - will take a lot to convince me otherwise.

http://www.itvp.pl/eurowizja2006/
Click this link to find MP3s of all the Polish contenders and the winner.

Good luck in Athens. Come on BBC get your finger out and choose some good songs for the UK final.....

Big Brother & www.garyshield.com

2006-01-28T10:01:00.000Z

Well after much deliberation and discussion... with myself! I've finally got round to another website redesign to make my photos the key feature... its gonna take some time to sort out but you can see the start at www.garyshield.com

The strip along the bottom will be a thumbnail tour through the complete set of photos.
Hopefully get some good photos today, its a glorious sunny day :-))

Well done Chantelle, the real star of Celeb Big Brother :-)

... after 22 days of 2006...

2006-01-23T13:44:00.000Z

...I've finally taken some photos! Shock Horror! They will appear soon on the photo gallery..

Still havent seen Brokeback Mountain.. hopefully this week.

Am working on updating the website to include more photos with the intention of selling them... watch this space.

Only 6 weeks til we have a holiday :-) cannot wait.

Apart from that not much to report on the Blog. Dont think I've had many thoughts ;-)

15 days in an no photos....

2006-01-15T20:13:00.000Z

... this is a record. 15 days into a New Year and there are NO new photos to report. We haven't really been anywhere so far this year, we have concentrated on staying in and watching DVDs. see the website for the list.
www.garyshield.com
Saying that, we've just arranged 2 holidays for 2006... Kent and Norfolk so lots of exciting visits and photos to look forward to.
Cannot wait for a week off.... although the new jobs are very interesting I'd love to spend more time at home with my Mart. :-)
Who knows what will happen this year.
Brokeback Mountain is finally on the pictures so we are going one night this week.

Brokeback Mountain and Poseidon 06

2006-01-05T18:49:00.000Z

Brokeback Mountain is released in the UK tomorrow (Fri 6/1/06) It looks superb, cannot wait to see it - prob next week sometime... maybe - There is a tribe.net group about the book and film
http://lamusclepower.tribe.net/

The film website has some brilliant info on it too:
http://www.brokebackmountainmovie.com

Another film in 2006 we cant wait to see is Poseidon (a remake of the 1972 classic the Posiedon Adventure)
The website with trailers is at:
http://poseidonmovie.warnerbros.com/synopsis.html

A good year for films :-))

New Year cometh...

2005-12-29T14:59:00.000Z

With just 2 days left of 2005, we ventured into the cold winter to our favourite haunt, Sunderland Point (details of the place on our website in the Lancashire section!)
www.garyshield.com

See Photo Right! What an atmospheric place at the best of times but with the seasonal weather adding to the atmosphere it was a superb couple of hours spent in the wilds of Lancashire.