Calendar Girl!

This was the image I submitted to Congleton Museum calendar competition, after our day out on location with the U3A Photo group in June. The title is 'Caught in the rain' and it was

selected for the month of August in the calendar.

Proud competition winners posing for the Congleton Chronicle photographer.

Me with Dennis Murphy the Town Mayor with the display in the library.

Visit Congleton Museum at http://www.congletonmuseum.co.uk/

Iona holiday talk

Today I gave a talk on my trip to Iona in June of this year to my retired friends in Congleton U3A. It was very enjoyable to share the joys and tribulations of my holiday with the 'Wish you were here ' group. Graham who has returned temporarily to 'the nest' showed me how to put my images into a Powerpoint presentation. Then in the afternoon I played 'Mahjong', which is also part of the same organisation. We have a lot of laughs and all support each other in our '3rd Age'.

http://www.congletonu3a.org.uk/

Teggs Trail

The last time I walked this route was earlier this year in March. Then I soared with buzzards on the summit of Teggs Nose . This time I ascended with a lark - Vaughan Williams 'Lark Ascending' on my ipod!

At the top of the hill there is an attractive stone seat dedicated to a lady called Fiona McWilliams who was an air traffic controller and had died at the age of 34 years. There is an inscription from the poem 'High Flight' by a pilot in the 2nd World War.

'Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings'

Millstone grit was quarried here in the early 1900's and was used to pave the streets of nearby Macclesfield. There is a small heritage site with equipment.

The visitor centre is cosily all enclosed and includes some beautiful modern stained glass in the windows.

Rough cobbles of the Saddlers way was originally used by packhorses carrying salt from Middlewich area into Derbyshires. This was the descent back to the car park at the back of Teggs Nose Reservoir, accessed by Holehouse Lane in Langley. Although the walk was only 3 miles it seems longer with the initial 200m rise to the summit.

The Quinta House

Thoughts of The Quinta House Congleton have been circulating in my brain since yesterday's blog. I knew I had taken photos before it was demolished 5 years ago to make way for a new housing development. Now I will have to snoop around the house at Swettenham to see if it really is a copy. The Congleton version had an intriguing room in between the roof gables that could be seen from my bedroom window.

And who was the Rev. Banner? Was he a vicar at Swettenham church?

Swettenham Bridleway

Yesterday with a couple of friends in sunshine, I walked along the Swettenham Bridleway from Brereton Heath country park to The Swettenham Arms pub for refreshments, where we were greeted with crackling log fires. This is one of my favourite jaunts as the surface is always good whatever the weather and there are splendid views across the Dane Valley, where the river makes it's many meanders in the Cheshire countryside. In the image the horse riders are approaching the bridge over the river and this is the only crossing between Radnor and Holmes chapel about 5 -6 miles as the crow flies.

There is a good map showing the route plus an extra loop at

http://www.discovercheshire.co.uk/files/PDF/routepacks/dane_valley.pdf

We also visited The Quinta arboretum accessed behind the pub. As well as seeing the many unusual trees in autumnal glory we also spotted Sir Bernard Lovell pottering around his estate.

The history and arboreal details can be found at

www.swettenhamarms.co.uk/arboretum.php

I love taking photos of the reflections in the pool.

The arboretum takes it's name from the house built by a Rev Banner whose fiance had agreed to marry him on condition that he built a copy of her Congleton home named 'The Quinta' - the name derived from the Portugese for 'house'. This must have been the one on Sandbach Rd that was demolished a few years ago.

Sophia's Party

Last weekend was my youngest granddaughter Sophia's 3rd birthday. After bouncing energetically on the Leisure Centres' bouncy castle she had lots of puff for the candles on her cake. In fact she couldn't wait until we finished singing 'Happy Birthday' and they had to be relit again!

She made me laugh today when I was leaving her house saying "Grandma work?" . My reply was "Oh no - Grandma play!" I was off to my U3A group games session of Mahjong.