Northumbria

Following our current policy of escaping evry month or so for a short break we have just returned from a delightful three nights away on the Northumberland coast.

                                                         Church of St.Ebba in Beadnell

                                                                  Seahouses harbour

It is a place we have visited before and somewhere that we find enchanting.  The break enabled my lovely wife to escape from cooking and also enabled us to get to know better our V40 which is proving to be a very lively turbocharged 1500cc beauty.

Must admit that the navigation system has had us flummoxed on occasion...not a 'luxury' we have experienced in any of our previous cars when we have used a simple map to travel across chunks of the UK and Europe.

                                                               The Farne Islands

                                                         The Longstone Lighthouse

                                                 The Shannon Class lifeboat at Seahouses

We stayed at an hotel in Beadnell and travelled from there each day to various places along the coast including Seahouses,  Bamburgh,  and Craster.

                       The church at Bamburgh,  Grace Darling's family grave and memorial

As members of the RNLI it was a pleasure to visit the staion at Seahouses and also the Grace Darling museum in Bamburgh.

                                                                    Bamburgh Castle

                                                                 Beadnell harbour

                                                       Ancient lime kilns at Beadnell

Hopefully the pictures have told the story.

A new member of the family!

 The Easter holidays saw us return to my beloved Norfolk with most of our family.

                                                                 Ours is the red one.

We drove down to Norfolk in our new acquisition,  a  2019 Volvo V40 T3 'Inscription',  a bit of a wrench from our V70 that has served us well over the years and of course the Morgan.  However, it is a complete change in the sense that it is automatic, petrol, smaller than the V70 and only marginally less luxurious.  It brought us to our destination in fine style.

                                                 A substantial garden...to say the least!

Fabulous weather and a wonderful house in a magical location signalled that it would be enjoyed by all.  However, I have to admit that my health at present leaves a little to be desired and rather restricts any physical activities...an example being that the family would take a delightful walk to the pub and my wife and I would have to drive!!

                                                                    'Death and Glory'

Belaugh,  between Coltishall and Wroxham is the home of 'Death and Glory' the boat that featured in the wonderful Arthur Ransome tale 'Coot Club'.  It is stored at the boatyard there and was an absolute must see for my youngest grandson.

                                                             Apprentice Captains!!

We hired a day cruiser from a yard in Wroxham and had a lovely day cruising a chunk of the North Broads,  sadly, due to my incapacity, the cruiser I had booked for a couple of days later had to be cancelled....oh the joys of old age!

The Bure Valley Railway beckoned,  a delightful narrow guage line from Wroxham to Aylsham.

                                            View up river from the bottom of our garden

The house was fabulous,  close to my ideal I suppose and I am now researching the possibility of 'Crowd Funding' to raise sufficient funds for an offer!!!!

                                                  View downstream from our garden.

On our return I looked through some old photos that I have taken over the years while holidaying in Norfolk and sure enough. I found what I was looking for.........this photo of me steering a cruiser called 'Maid of the Mist' towards Belaugh with our rental property, 'High Meadow' to the right of the church.

The photo was taken in 1964....58 years ago!!!!!!

Beautifully,  very little has changed.

The Building of 'Resolute'

 I started this build in November,  so it has kept me very occupied for almost four months following the sad departure of the Morgan.  The photos tell the story.

                                                                        Early days

Through tear filled eyes I resolutely continued almost daily until today when I could finally add some finishing touches to the model.

These were in the form of some figurines that I have made and are I have to admit a rather ugly crew who would not be welcomed on any cruise ship!!!

           The finished model,  'Resolute' ,  an ocean going tug,  flying the red ensign of course!

Actually all that remains is to load the ship with ballast to get her sitting properly on her waterline and this was ordered yesterday.

                                                    One of the ugly crew at the bow!

One of the potential problems lies in the fact that 1.  It will be very heavy and 2.  I am finding it increasingly more difficult to bend without falling over!!  I will have to construct some sort of sling,  rather like a dry dock from which to launch her.

                                               Two more of them with one in command!!

Needless to say,  after a successful launch in the bath yesterday,  the maiden voyage will appear on my blog in due course but will only take place when the weather is somewhat warmer!

 

Chuckers returns!

 It is now sometime that we have been separated from the Morgan and to be frank there have been times when we have missed 'Nellie'.  This loss will be amplified in the Spring when it's time for our first picnics in the fells and surrounding area.  However,  we still drive our lovely 2009 Volvo V70,  in immaculate condition and I'm sure this will be a worthy substitute although perhaps not quite as exhilarating!

                                                                      My blog in print

As you will notice I have now committed my blog to print,  all 895 pages of it in three volumes and even if I say it myself it does make a very delightful 'coffee table book'.  Hopefully my two children will appreciate and care for it when I leave this vale of tears!!

I now have a new project to keep me sane during these dark,  Covid infested days of a UK winter,  a large radio contolled model of a sea-going tug,  at over 3 feet it is the largest model I have built to date and will require further joinery,  in the form of a shelf,  for display when finished.

                                                              The skeleton of the ship

                                                                    Planking underway.

Planking complete.

                                               Deck base fitted and engine installed.

There will be further photos of the build to come but in the meantime I would like to wish all my readers worldwide and of course all members of the MSCC (of which we are still members) a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful Healthy New Year.

Farewell to our Morgan!

What a traumatic day as we waved goodbye to 'Nellie' as she sat on Richard Thorne's transporter before the long journey to the Reading area.

                                     Helen stands forlornly by the side of her beloved 'Nellie'

Our last drive in the Morgan was to Silverdale,  north on the M6 and off at Carnforth to what is a lovely area with a very interesting coastline.

It was a little disappointing in the sense that the area was very crowded with families,  the bulk of which I'm sure,  spending their holidays in the UK due to Covid and the narrow roads were extremely busy with one of the main routes closed.

Grange over Sands in the hazy distance across Morecambe Bay and the River Kent estuary

Anyway we had a very pleasant picnic on the shore and of course enjoyed the drive in the Morgan although the potholes as usual were troublesome.

                                                                Just a wee snack!

The decision to say goodbye after 13 years had been slowly building during this summer as we realised that we weren't using the car as much usual and it was, due to our advancing years,  getting more difficult to get in and out of it! 

                           A family taking a risk amongst the 'quicksand' and the incoming tide.

 Time now for someone else to experience the satisfaction and joy of owning one!

                                                     A rather empty garage!!!!!

A big thank you to all the followers of my blog and I hope that you have all enjoyed reading about our adventures in possibly one of the only remaining true sports cars.

                                                                   A final wave