It's all happening

Festivals and happenings abounding in Sheffield this weekend.  Friday night saw us at Eat at Nichols for fabulous cake and an intimate candlelit reading of Rimbaud's Illuminations as part of In The City

Up early on Saturday to meet at Bank Street Arts for the final Expedition - this time following in the footsteps of Kate Marsden as she crossed Siberia on horseback

www.stephenchase.wordpress.com

and we reached our desolate Siberian destination in a dark, damp Darnall tunnel

Brilliant expedition and hoping to get to Stephen's performance next week.   And if you want to see the previous Humboldt expedition click here.

Back to town by bus for a quick but delicious pea and spinach soup in the cosy Crucible Cafe then into the Winter Gardens to have my say about the proposed Sheffield City Centre Masterplan.  Lots of great ideas here and more 'joining up' of the city and use of the rivers. You can make your own comments on the link I've just given.

Next a final dash down to Persistence Works for the Jewellery day at the Galvanize Festival and a welcome flat white from the coffee cart and some ace Sheffield graffiti nearby:

Sadly no time to take the 2p bus to Pete McKee's Joy of Sheffield day in the Blue Shed, Attercliffe as planned, as had to get home and ready for . . .

our Saturady night finale - the Sheffield Chamber Orchestra's concert in the magnificent Art Deco hall at High Storrs school, where we heard Benjamin Britten's setting of Rimbaud's Illuminations to music.  And to tick off yet another festival, this was part of Sheffield's year-long Britten centenary tribute, A Boy was Born.

Nice to see so many faces from the old Tapton days and Molly Cockburn's magnificent performance of Tchaikovskys' Violin Concerto.

And that was only 24 hours in this City of Sheffield - we still have Sunday's exploits to come!!  Read on if you dare.

Knead by numbers

My first ever bread attempt, if you don't count the bread rolls at school eons ago

Ahhh, a yummy taste of Mull here in deepest Yorkshire
 

sunny afternoon

a fabulous hike to Wharncliffe Crags yesterday in the sun

 

how many kinds

May Day in our overgrown garden

When the rain came

Well no - no snow but just to draw your attention to a change in our weather fortunes yesterday. BUT this did not deter the Six from adventuring over coastal hill and dale in horizontal rain for 6.2KM in search of the lost village of Shiaba and the medieval remains of Kilvickeon church and graveyard.

Obviously too wild and windy to take the iPad so no pics til next week, but it was amazing and poignant wandering around the ruins of Shiaba, long abandoned in the Clearances, up on that stunning hillside overlooking Coll and Tiree.

And today, the rain still beating down, we had a brilliant indoorsy day at the fascinating Historical Museum of Ross of Mull in Bunessan followed by a mega tasty lunch at the legendary Bunessan Bakehouse with freshly baked bread, Mull cheddar and great coffee.

Then onwards and upwards to the weavers at Ardalanish right on the edge of the sea.

And our final night to be completed with a fish and chip supper at said Bakehouse! Table booked, ready to go!!!

and if you'd like to read my fuller diary with more photos, written when back at home, please click here to start

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Twilight tales

8:43pm . . . Just caught me at the end of another perfect day, after writing my postcards on this little table outside our cottage in the evening sun.
Yesterday we drove and ferried over to Ulva for a tasty lunch at the Boathouse, followed by a fabulous walk around the tip of the island to the basalt columns on the shore.
Today more coastal walking on Erraid and Camas, interspersed by coffee and cake at the little croft at Kintra.

Sun shining and wind dropped considerably, although not enough for the boat to venture to the Treshnish Isles.

Seen mountain hares and golden eagles today and hardly any humans!!

and if you want to read more about our next day on Mull then please click here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

and counting

Black tailed godwit
Blackbird
Buzzard
Chaffinch
Curlew
Dunlin
Eider duck
Golden eagle
Golden plover
Gooseander
Great northern diver
Hen harrier, female
Hen harrier, male
Heron
Herring gull
Highland cattle
Hooded crow
Lapwing
Linnet
Meadow Pippit
Otter
Oyster catcher
Pied wagtail
Red deer
Redshank
Robin
Rock pippit
Red breasted marganzer
Raven
Sandpiper
Seal
Shag
Sheldrake
Siskin
Starling
Stonechat
Turnstone
Wheatear
White-tailed eagle
White wagtail
Willow warbler
Wimbrel

but no partridge in a pear tree!!! 

Seriously though, this was our tick list after Bryan's amazing Wild About Mull tour yesterday.

No pics from me as didn't have the iPad with me, but will follow up with some when home.

Suffice to say, incredible 9 hours in the beautiful sunny, windy Ross of Mull with great company and take a look at Bryan's blog if you want to see his amazing pics from our day out.

and if you want to read about our next day on Mull - please click here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad