An evening constitutional

In our further UK travels this summer we went to my father-in-law’s house in the Cotswolds (which this is obviously not a picture of!) for a few days. We managed to time it just as it was the hottest week of the year, which felt very unfamiliar, as we’re normally there in autumn/winter. Staying in an old house with thick stone walls was PERFECT in that heat. After dinner on our first day there, we went out for a walk to stretch our legs and also because the temperature was finally more agreeable.

Mr Famapa and his friend C have known each other since they were about 4, which is a reeeeeaaaally long time, as we’re nearly a hundred years old now. Almost? Ok ok ok, nearly half a hundred.

Something funny happened as we were walking. Oomoo and R had a permanent cloud of flies above their heads for the whole walk, and we thought it must be down to them being sweaty from running about. Or just being smelly kids? Haha.

Best to get your dad to try and disperse them.

“Photo-op!”.

There is something so wonderful to see large expanses of fields and skies again, after having being cooped up in the city for so long.

One of my fondest memories from my childhood are the after dinner evening walks we’d go on as a family in the summers every now and again. There was something so special about being out a bit late, taking in things you’d miss if you were just parked on the sofa watching TV.

Our decision to go for a walk was a spur of the moment thing, and it turned out to be pretty special. We looked at this sunset in awe, I mean, wouldn’t you?!

So glad we made that decision as I will cherish this walk for long time. Maybe even for half a hundred years - if I’m lucky.

Around their house

Love this corner in our York friends’ front room. I look forward to a day when we stop being such hoarders in our household so we have LESS STUFF, but I’m not sure we’ll ever get there.

Rae having a snooze. Which she did a lot, just like a cat. This is why I think a greyhound would be such an easy transition for us if we were ever to get a dog.

O getting the giggles whilst trying to keep her arms warm whilst eating an apple.

The little dudes in da house, in gaming heaven, playing Bomberman (love that game!).

This poster makes me smile every time I see it. Oh, the irony of it all.

Hello Mr Famapa! Hello funky hallway!

S and O trying to find some prints for us in the studio. This family are seriously talented.

S set himself a challenge during lockdown to make monoprints of every painting in the National Gallery, which of course lockdown wasn't long enough for. But maybe he’ll have a chance to continue come autumn, when it’ll all most probably kick off again.

His daughter O had a go at another Da Vinci work, and I so wish I remember now what this technique was. I’m reading a Leonardo Da Vinci biography at the moment, so it’s so cool to see these versions, made by our friends.

A couple of versions of the Portrait of a Man by Jan Van Eyck. Especially love the one on the right.

Who’s this crazy lady?! I realised there were (as usual) no pictures of me from this trip, so I quickly took this when everyone else were out of the room.

Had such a great time with these guys and I really hope we get to hang out again soon.

It's great up North

OMG, that heat wave we’ve just had was quite something! Have you guys also had it? It was insane here. Luckily we were away during most of it in the Cotswolds (and yes, pics to come from that little trip away too!), but our house was like a sauna when we got back on Tuesday afternoon, and it was only yesterday, after Thursday night’s thunderstorm and heavy rain, that I felt fully functioning. Let me tell you as a lady of a certain age that heatwaves and hot flushes combined is no joke. Much respect to my menopausal sistas living in hotter climes!

Anyway anyway anyway. Still have some Yorkshire pics to share with you. On our second day there we went to Dalby Forest for a walk, and this section of the walk reminded me so much of our summer hikes in the Alps, but it was like someone had just photoshopped out the mountains. You can also mountain bike your way around, but it wasn’t possible to rent any bikes, because, you know, Covid.

Everyone loves a walk in the woods, whether you’re young or old, whether it be your local one or a new one. This Carl Jung quote I read at Swiss Miss the other day really resonated with me: “Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilisation take a walk in the woods, or a bath in the sea. Entering the unconscious, entering yourself through dreams, is touching nature from the inside, and this is the same thing, things are put right again.”

This brook looked so tempting to dip my feet in, but I didn’t.

In one section of the path we had to step carefully so we didn’t crush tiny little frogs to death.

Using tree roots to get up.

L waiting - and seeing what wearing a face mask upside down was like while he did.

On the way back to our friend’s house we took a detour so we could drive through the North York Moors. They didn’t disappoint. That vast expanse really felt planetary, if that makes sense. I also really loved the colours; the purple of the heather against the browns and greens looked amazing. All the colours below the sky in this picture would make such an opulent colour scheme for a room don’t you think?

My guys, framed.

I felt like I was in Andreas Gursky picture here.

And of course, lots of sheep.

And finally, on the way home, probably the best road sign I’ve ever seen. Shame I didn’t get a good pic of it.

Change of scenery

We were supposed to go to Amsterdam this summer for our summer holiday, but Covid 19 had other plans. So we drove up to Yorkshire last week to stay with our friends in the north for a few nights. Driving past Drax Power Station as we get close always is always eery but quite cool, but also scary because the environment.

The first thing we did after dropping off our bags was head to York and walk along the river Ouse.

We continued into Rowntree Park in the drizzle (aaaah, the joys of British summer holidays)…

… where we witnessed this surreal moment of a dog modelling on a bench. I wish I’d gotten closer (I guess this is what zoom lenses are for), but I’m sure the lady taking pictures would have seen me running closer and then the moment would be over.

The following day we drove up to Fraisthorpe Beach, and while we waited for our lunch we very much enjoyed this scene of a dad talking to his kids playing inside this bunker.

As I was packing my bag for this trip I took out my swimming costume, thinking there was no point in bringing it, but turns out there was. Never mind.

Our friends recently got their first dog, Rae (a greyhound rescue), and I fell for her big time. I walked with her on the lead the day before and I really felt her calm which made me feel calm, which probably in turn made her feel calmer, and then me calmer, and so on. I immediately started daydreaming about getting a greyhound, and was looking at rescue websites, but then realised that there’s no way I’d demote Buddy as king pet in the house, and so getting a dog might be something we’ll do in the future instead.

Did you know that the top speed of a greyhound is 72km/hr (45mph)?! We got to see Rae sprint up and down the beach and it was really impressive.

Time to hop back in the car and move on. And our friend S did not want his picture taken.

We drove 20 mins up the road to Flamborough Head. I’ve never seen chalky cliffs before and these didn't disappoint.

Ridiculously pretty.

Oomoo spotting seals swimming down below. A zoom lens would’ve been good here too :D

We made our way down to get a different view, and as I took this the tide was coming in fast, so a quick click and then a jump out of there.

One of my favourite feelings is to feel tiny in nature. It feels like a correction, like “Dear Human, you think you’re so important, well, check this out. Are you this big? Didn’t think so. Yours, Nature”.