Advent stories

 It's that time of the year again when Loren hosts  annual tradition of writers sharing small, spooky Advent stories at  https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/  .  Bearing in mind that spooky is definitely not my genre and with just 100 words to play with, here is mine.

“This must be heaven” thought John. Faces were peering down on him and could just about make out an angel, a nun and, surely not, with a fluffy white beard, Father Christmas! Confused, John attempted to sit up but the nun placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“You’re in safe hands now,” said the angel soothingly.

John began to relax until Father Christmas whipped out a stethoscope saying “Luckily for you we had just left the hospital on our way to a party when we found you on the road. It’s hell out there on the black ice.”  

Go to the blog to read more ..... if you dare!

Festive greetings

Fireworks in the Park

 Although there won't be fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night in our local parks (funding cuts and health and safety issues), there were indeed fireworks in the two parks we visited this week.

Roundhay Park

Golden Acre Park

Seascapes and Sandscapes

On a recent visit to Burton Constable Hall, we enjoyed an exhibition of photographs by Steve Morantz, who is part of East Riding Artists.  The exhibition is called At the Edge and we particularly enjoyed the atmospheric works which depict seascapes, sandscapes and scenes of Hornsea, where Steve lives, and the wider East Yorkshire Coast. What’s more, we could name every location!

The exhibition runs until 8^th December 2024

Burton Constable Hall

 The Orangerie

 We have visited the house many times which has some fascinating artefacts

Lancashire Coast (for a change)

This break took us over the Pennines to the West Coast.  Our first stop was Clitheroe, a market town in the Ribble Valley.

We then drove to the Victorian seaside town of St Anne’s-on-Sea where we had booked in to the Offshore Inn, a dog friendly, frontline hotel.

We walked along the promenade, battling against a strong wind, and walked along the pier. You could feel the structure swaying and the soft sand, which the sea doesn’t reach, was blown across the beach in an unusual formation which resembled waves.

That evening we drove along to the better known, adjacent town of Blackpool to view the notorious Illuminations. We have seen the display before but this time we had the road to ourselves. Perhaps because, these days, there are Light Nights in many towns and it is not unusual to see sophisticated lighting displays in gardens, but we weren’t overly impressed.

The next morning we drove in the other direction to Lytham to visit Fairhaven Lake, a 

scenic location offering many activities such as boating, children’s play areas and tennis as well as gardens and other wildlife. The park is on the seafront, where the Irish Sea meets the River Ribble.

This is a full size replica model of a Spitfire bought by people of the area, unfortunately shot down over the English Channel 

Now used as a boatyard, this was the original clubhouse of the Fairhaven Golf Club

We continued to Lytham Hall where we had lunch in the charming tea room. This fine Georgian house is a Grade 1 listed building and was once the ancestral home of the Clifton Family, spanning over four centuries.

There is a garden centre and a stall selling interesting antiques such as postcards, coins and other artefacts. We bought a Victorian perfume bottle with a silver top to add to our bottle collection. We strolled in the woodlands and formal gardens.

The centre of Lytham is lined with mostly independent shops and cafes and leads down to the beach.

 Lytham centre

 Formerly the Assembly Rooms, this is now the library

On our final day we walked to Ashton Gardens, an attractive 10 acre park in the centre of St Anne's. It has a grade II listed War Memorial, a Pavilion tea room, a play area and water features.  

Like its neighbour Lytham, St Anne’s centre is full of small shops and eateries. It was a pleasure just to walk about and view the beautiful architecture.

Over the bridge from Yorkshire to Lincolnshire

 

Leaving East Yorkshire via the iconic Humber Bridge, we visited Barton upon Humber in Lincolnshire, situated on the opposite bank of the Humber estuary.

Here we found Waters’ Edge Country Park and Visitor Centre built on a former packed with wildlife and nature. There is a huge 110 acres of nature reserve to explore with lots of trails, ponds and quiet seating areas.

Walls constructed from tiles found on the site

The Visitors Centre

The site on which Waters’ Edge stands was quarried for brick and tile clay until 1955. Other earlier uses of the land include rope making, malt kilns and fertiliser production from animal waste which led to the site being one of the most polluted sites in Europe. When the fertiliser shut down in 1988, the site was polluted with acids, potash, ammonia and heavy metals contaminating the ground and water. When you see the abundant wildlife, you would never have guessed its history.

The Visitor Centre with its gift shop and café also houses an art gallery where you can see work from local artists.

On the return journey, we stopped at the pub on the Yorkshire side of the bridge where we could see the area just visited.