Norton Priory

CJ and I visited Norton Priory.  Only the 12 century Undercroft survives from the original priory.  However the bases of the walls and ruins have been excavated. 

The Priory was built in 1134 for a community of Augustinian Canons who lived and worshipped here for over 400 years.  In 1536 the Abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII when life at Norton changed for ever.  The estate was sold to the Brooke family in 1545 and Norton Hall became a family home.  Thirteen generations of the Brooke family lived here from 1545 to 1921 when the family left and the mansion house was demolished.

The ruins with the rescued Undercroft in the background (the window in the roof is to enable an overview of the ruins.)

Sorry about the chairs Adrian!

This was the entrance with a cycle path in front.  I couldn't resist the novel warning sign.

Signs don't come like this very often.  Brilliant!

What Happened?

Yesterday was a fabulous day:  full sun all day.  There was a very brisk force 4 or 5 wind too which was great for keeping the midges away.  I think that I shall go away more often because I had three days of idyllic garden weather when I returned from New Zealand.  Anyway I spent the whole day in the garden (with a couple of quick coffee stop visits to friends) either gardening (which is what one would expect) or digging a trench so that I can find the waste outfall from the house (which is not perhaps what one would expect).

I spent a little time later in the evening with a book soaking up the sun in the conservatory.  The evenings here at the moment are long - sunset is after 2230 - and as there was not a cloud in the sky it was still reasonably light when I eventually went to bed at 0200 this morning.

I expected to be tired and stiff when I woke this morning because I've not indulged in that sort of physical labour for a while.  I was surprised to find that I was neither tired nor stiff.  I must exercise more often!

What did surprise me though was that in those few hours the sun had disappeared and the clouds and rain were back and the midsummer temperature is a stately 13℃.  And the mid night mid winter temperature in Napier?  12℃.  Mark commented on my Hebridean in New Zealand blog that I would have to take a decision about where my permanent home was going to be.  Just at this moment, if I had a choice, it might be a no-contest decision.

My Own Bed and A Pod of Porpoises

Written last night before I fell asleep!

I love being away and staying with friends and family.  Which is exactly what I've been doing since the start of the month.  I also like my own home and friends are always welcome to come and share it with me.  So today I wended my way home from Glasgow and I am writing this at 1am in my own bed.

The journey was pretty awful: the construction of a new length of motorway between Glasgow and Stirling completely fooled me and the sat nav and I couldn't find my way onto it.  Eventually I got onto the Stirling carriageway by following the Glasgow sign (Glasgow being in the opposite direction) and trusting to instinct.  To make everything worse it rained or poured from Glasgow to within a few miles of Ullapool and the end of my Mainland journey where I catch the ferry.  However that wasn't the worst thing.  The average speed of many drivers - and the A9 road from Glasgow to Inverness is not a fast road at the best of times - was often no more than 30 to 40 mph.  That can increase a journey time by at least 25%.  It's a good job I started out early otherwise I may well have missed the ferry.

When I was a small boy my Dad told me always to take my camera with me.  For 60 years I've been obeying that advice and rarely is my camera far from me.  Now with the advent of the 5Mp camera in my cellphone I sometimes don't have the camera slung over my shoulder or have the compact camera in my pocket.  The cellphone camera is almost as good as my Canon compact.

However when a pod of porpoises shows itself racing alongside the boat across the Minch I need my long lens and my 'proper' camera.  Today I left the camera in the car - inaccessible in the boat's car deck.  So it was today that a pod of porpoises showed themselves and it was today I didn't have my proper camera with me.

Thankful Thursday

It's the end of the day.  I hadn't even realised that it was Thursday until I read/listened to Jaz's vlog.   In fact I wouldn't have read Jaz's blog nor, indeed, anyone else's blog if I hadn't read Mark's comment on Facebook that Jaz had done a vlog and I was curious to see what one was.  So now I know.  

Jaz I am overawed by your courage in doing the vlog and I'm wondering if I will be able to muster the courage to do the same.   And Jaz, it was wonderful to see you looking so beautiful, happy and well.  Long may it continue.

The last seven days has been very mixed in many ways:  what I've done and where I've been;  what I've read and what I've seen;  what I've experienced and how I've reacted.  In short it's been a fairly typical week in many ways.

One of the things that I have done a few times during those seven days is complain.  I complained because I was cold and wet in the croquet tournament at the weekend and had to wait so long between games when I was cold and wet.  I complained because of the weather during the week and because I was cold.  I've complained about a few things.  OK some of these complaints were not so much complaints as general grumps.

Then I was made aware of just how much some of my friends really have to complain about.  Then I read Fiona's Blog about the ongoing problems caused by the earthquakes in Christchurch.  Then I heard from a friend whose daughter ...... and another friend who's father is in hospital ...........  I could go on but I won't.

This evening when I saw Jaz I realised just how much courage and fortitude she has.  When I read Fiona's blog I realised how much courage and fortitude she and so many in Christchurch have. And how little they complain compared with how much about which they have to complain.

So tonight I am thankful for those around me who make me realise just how fortunate I am,  give me a true reality check and make me stop and take stock.

Thanks guys.