Wassand Hall Bird Hide

We had an amazing afternoon at Wassand Hall at Hornsea, courtesy of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.  We made our way through the charming walled garden to the conservatory where we met the owners of the historic Hall and had refreshments.

 

A 20 - 30 minute country walk through woodland, which was formerly under water before Hornsea Mere receded, brought us to the newly built, spacious bird hide.  We experienced a rich variety of wildlife on our way to the hide, which is situated on a tranquil part of the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire inaccessible by boat.   

We were lucky enough to spot such birdlife as scaups, goldeneyes, buzzards, marsh harriers transferring food from male to female on the wing and we heard woodpeckers and blackcaps.  Not being a serious twitcher, I would not have known about these birds had it not been for the experts we had with us.

 

 

Then, back to the conservatory for afternoon tea.  Brilliant!  Definitely one for the memory bank.

 

Out and About

It has been a busy but enjoyable fortnight for me.  All good; good company, good food and good weather.  Here are a few of the things I've been getting up to.

Off to Haworth where I had the privilege of judging this lovely village for Yorkshire in Bloom

 Bronte Parsonage

Next day to Manchester Airport to collect family from Sweden.

Parcevall Hall to see the daffodils

 

Danby Castle, North Yorkshire for my nephew’s wedding

Big family gathering for Passover Seder

Back to Manchester Airport returning via the moors rather than the M62 with stunning views.

Off to the East Yorkshire coast:  15 people and 2 dogs catering with Passover food

 

 

Returning via:

 The Yorkshire Wolds



 the Augustinian Priory at Kirkham



Soon I will be back to routine but with a full bank of memories.

 

 

Another first for me

 

 

I'm over the moon to be awarded third in class in a flower show as it is the first time I have ever entered one.  My grandson was unimpressed when he asked what the prize was and I showed him my certificate!

 Some of the others who didn't win

A first for me

 

It may be no big deal to my writer friends, but this was my first appearance at a literary festival; the Headingley LitFest http://www.headingleylitfest.org.uk/


I was part of the Leeds Writers Read, represented by three local writing groups, and the theme for the festival was Survival. I had been nervous all day although I had plenty of experience of standing up in front of a whole school without batting an eyelid.  I really appreciated the support of my friends who  were in the audience.  The first writer read his excellent, emotive story about an asylum seeker beautifully and I wanted to go home.  I reasoned that, as my piece was non-fiction, it couldn't be easily compared.

My piece was entitled "The survival of the Yiddish language" and the audience seemed interested, laughed at the right places and some approached me later with positive comments.

Would I do it again?  Well, I'm a sucker for a challenge!