Those of you who have followed me for an length of time will recognise this photo. It used to signal that we were back home, the road sign that Alan mowed around once a month to keep the roadside verge neat and tidy that was just outside our front gate ... and actually knocked down once with his tractor and had to fix ... shhh.) As you can see our old 'Egg and Vegetable Sales' box is still in position at the bottom of the driveway.
We had dropped our things off at the flat near Llandudno and decided on some lunch at one of our old favourite places, the Tu Hwnt I'r Bont tearooms with a dog walk around the park first and a check to see in the conkers were ready for gathering in.
A couple of ladies placing their order in the same place we were sat but many, many years before us.
As you can see the house still looks exactly the same.
We headed back towards the coast pointing out differences to each other all along the route, it's nice to look back ... but I would never go back long term. For me having the flat for a year or so will be a nice way to say goodbye to Wales properly and for us to continue looking forwards.
It was a good weekend, but we decided to come back a day early and get a head start on the week. Alan needed to catch up on bits and bobs of work and I had decided overnight that my rationing will start tomorrow. Just like that, not much notice for myself, sort of like how it was for the people of 1940 when rationing started with regular news reports and instructions ... and the issuing of ration books ready for 8th January.
Time for some reading, but before I do I am going to make a coffee and settle down to watch Housewife, 49. Not a bad way to spend a cool and wet Sunday evening and get me in a rationing mindset ... it will definintely be porridge for breakfast. 😀
The new blog is now visible for everyone and the first post ... a round up of a weeks rations ... should be appearing in the morning. It was nice to go away for a night, but it's nice to be home.
Sue xx
Best wishes with your rationing, Sue. I like Nella Last’s books. Like many housewives she was worrying constantly about food, and served a soup or a salad course, daintily served to made the meal more enjoyable and filling, and she had something prepared for the next day, to get ahead.
ReplyDeleteWe are collecting two pullets on Wednesday for some fresh eggs over winter when the two hens from last August will be having a moult and a rest. I shall preserve two dozen eggs in case of shortages, enough for a Bara brith a week. I add a grated carrot to save a bit of dried fruit and sugar, and it doesn’t use any of the fat ration. I am foraging blackberries and keeping an eye on the apples for any windfalls.
The books are brilliant aren't they, lots of lovely detail. You really have to treat the film as a bit of a separate entity, it has the spirit of the book in some ways but is not completely accurate. I always enjoy watching it though.
DeleteOh I miss having chickens, if war was declared for real the first thing I would buy would be four hens. Your Bara Brith sounds lovely, and yes I need to do a bit of blackberry foraging myself to go with the rhubarb and apple from the garden.
Looking forward to reading your new rationing blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you, it's up and running ... and I see you have already called by. Nice to see you there. xx
DeleteOhhh, I can hardly wait to check out the rationing blog.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbour sold her house beside us last summer and the new owners really do not look after it at all. I suppose having two rather large dogs does not help.
God bless.
God bless.
It's always a little bit sad to see something that you lovingly looked after let go a bit isn't it. But each to their own I guess.
DeleteI remember the first photo well, gorgeous views:) Really looking forward to your new blog. I said to DH last night I'd love to try some of the meals. I do have Marguerite Patten's book "We'll eat again" but have never cooked anything from this book:(
ReplyDeleteI do miss the views we had from the hillside and my chickens, but not all the work. It's a really good book isn't it, and the recipes work out so well, go on give one a go. :-)
DeleteI will search out the new rationing blog - how exciting.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of your old place - people are so different, aren't we. xx
It's on the sidebar here for easy access for everyone, just under the Revolver globe.
DeleteIt would be a boring world if we were all the same ... but Alan has just said, 'they could at least have trimmed the verge'. Haha :-)
Going back is such a tricky thing. I hope using the flat to say your 'slow goodbye' to Wales brings lots of lovely weekends.
ReplyDeleteDid you enjoy watching Housewife 49 again?
A slow goodbye sounds just perfect, time to get it all out of our system and do a few of the 'touristy' things that we never got around to.
DeleteI loved watching it again, it must have been the fourth time, but it was still interesting as we used to live in Barrow in Furness. At one time in the old tenement flats that she walked home in the dark through right near the beginning of the film.
I wonder if the 'new' owners of Isfryn think that the council have forgotten to trim the verges and hedges?
ReplyDelete"Oh . . . are WE responsible for doing that???"
I made the mistake of returning to a former much-loved home in Leicester to find that the factory down the road had expanded greatly by demolishing 'our' home and building a huge extension on the land. So sad and sickening.
Haha, well the hedges are inside the fence line and they know they were planted by us as told to by the planning permission for the polytunnels. The verge on the other hand ... they are most likely just hoping the council will tag onto the once yearly cutting that takes place. Alan just liked it neat so he maintained it himself.
DeleteOh gosh, that must have been so upsetting. :-(
My first thought when I saw the photo was how unkempt the hedges and borders looked. I live in a town but weed and sweep the pavement in front of our wall. People think I am deranged but it’s how I like our property to look. Catriona
ReplyDeleteWe have always thought is nice to look after our houses, land and any nearby areas that we look out onto, it's just common-sense isn't it. Especially when we were in Wales, as Isfryn is in a AONB and just outside the National Park.
DeleteLovely photos of your former house and nearby area!
ReplyDeleteI wish you the very Best, Sue, with your new place and blog!
It was nice to see it again, even if it was only a glimpse as we drove by. Thank you. xx
DeleteGlad that you enjoyed your break. Perhaps the overgrown hedges are to calm traffic noise/encourage birds? We let our trimmed hedge in our top field grow up into trees - great for wildlife, but the other stretch we had cut and laid and kept "tidy". As for verges, I love them for the wild flowers throughout the year but when they get dry and unkempt, am quite happy to let the council mow them THEN. Upsetting when they cut down spring flowers esp. the war on the "Traffic Hazard" Cow Parsley. Sorry, when it's in a central reservation and within the metal crash barriers, I wish they would leave it. Sorry - gone off on one there!
ReplyDeleteWhere you had lunch is somewhere I have long wanted to visit, but doubt I ever will. Looking forward to your next challenge. Today I managed to come out of Tesco with just the TWO items I couldn't buy in Aldi. It's going to be a Live out of the Freezer week (or two).
Behind the hedge are the trees we planted and right in front of them the outdoor kitchen that the new owners built for food prep, so I don't know that they would be wanting to encourage too much wildlife to that area. We planted out Nut Wood so that the wildlife had an area that would always be unkempt (and we would have nuts) and of course there are over 2 acres of woodland full of wildflowers at the back of the paddock, so we always thought that having neat verges and areas near the house was for us.
DeleteIt's a lovely little tearooms and although the prices seem a little high at first glance, you get huge portions and everything is freshly made to order. Coming out of Tesco with just two things is a major achievement!!
I like how you will be waving a gradual goodbye to Wales. A far gentler way than having an abrupt ending to your happy years there.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading your new blog. Xx
It was a mixture of happy and sad years there, but saying a slow goodbye owning property there is a good way to do it.
Delete8 years after leaving, our smallholding is now a "right ol' mess" - Colin would have been sad at how it looks now - he thought they were going to look after it. Apparently they spend too much time at the pub! They don't even bother to welcome people to the campsite, just eventually get round to collecting money!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading the Rations blog - I think I would only last a week!
Oh gosh, they sound like the complete opposite campsite and smallholding owners to you. I bet there has been a lot of chunnering amongst guests that came back expecting it to be the same. You would both have been greatly missed. I hope I last a bit longer than a week. :-)
DeleteI've never gone back to anywhere that I've lived - it would upset me, seeing the changes and possible neglect! Love your new blog - will trying something along the same lines in the autumn. Fiona x
ReplyDeleteI've revisited most of the places that I or we have lived over the years ... except for a couple that have been knocked down. Good luck if you try rationing for yourself, will you blog about it?
DeleteI've never gone back to anywhere I have lived, but did return to my home town after many years in London. Good luck with the rationing and new blog, I'm looking forward to following your journey.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I have never done is returned to my home town, I couldn't live back in Manchester now after moving away over 38 years ago. I visit it a lot because of Mum and that is enough for me.
DeleteThank you. xx
Although I've moved around a fair bit I've lived in the same town all my life so passing my old houses is pretty much unavoidable - my parental home is visible from the bedroom window!
ReplyDeleteI like that you're saying a long goodbye to Wales. xxxx
That is really nice, it used to be the way for so many people that they were born, lived and died in the same small area. I actually think that it's lovely and very community building. When we lived in a village in Cumbria there were lots of the old folk that had never ventured out of the village and had no desire to.
DeleteLovely pix. It was nicer when you lived there. I love Nella Last and need to read her yet again. I don’t see the film as Nella but something featuring the late wonderful Victoria Wood.
ReplyDeleteIt hadn't actually changed that much. The shipyard still dominates the skyline and we lived in the tenement flats where she walked on that dark night, which were still exactly the same back in the eighties. We paid £6.70 rent per week in the little rent office which went up to £8.80 just before we left. They were damp little flats with no central heating and not much space.
DeleteSue, I know I'm not good with technology, but I couldn't see where to sign on to follow your new Challenge. Would you please show me which of the ones on your sidebar it is. I've had a very busy few days, so I'll enjoy looking at your videos once I can get some Me-Time. I love the photo of the four legged cadgers, of course Alan couldn't resist those beautiful eyes!
ReplyDeleteTo Follow this blog just click on the 'Follow' button under all the little pictures of people and above the revolving globe. To visit the new blog click on the picture UNDER the revolving globe and that link will take you straight there. If you want to Follow the new blog there is the same little block of 'Followers' that you will see on the sidebar, just click on Follow to join in.
DeleteIf you are viewing either blog on a phone you will need to scroll to the bottom of your screen and then click on 'View Web Version' to be able to see the sidebar and all the extras.
I hope that helps, I'm not that brilliant with technology myself!! :-)