It’s always nice when the clocks go forward and the evenings suddenly become lighter – it always seems like the day is so much longer which is, I guess, Ok if you feel you have plenty to do but probably not so great if you don’t!
On Monday (31st March), we spent a bit of time on the allotment. Pete goes down now most days but I tend to leave him to it – he enjoys pottering away down there for hours without worrying about me getting bored or wanting to come home, but every now and then, I go with him and help where I can… this time, my job was to sow carrots & spring onions. We were not going to spend too much time on the allotment this year but as the housing market has slowed right down (it’s been weeks since our last viewing of the house 🙁) we decided to start putting some quick growing veggies so, if we are here longer than expected due to house not selling, we will at least get something out of the allotment, and if we sell, whoever takes over our plot, will have a nice welcome gift! As I said, it gives Pete something to do too as he could easily spend all day down, forgetting to eat or drink!
I have decided, with my new found crocheting skills (🤣), to try my hand at making some cushion covers… having finished one side, I have to say I am hopeful this could prove to be my best project yet… we shall see! I find the act of crocheting very relaxing & restful though so, whatever the cushions turn out like, I will enjoy the process!
On Tuesday (1st April), I was due to give blood… unfortunately, this time it was a failed attempt… 🙁. I usually go to the donor centre in Bradford but, despite speaking to someone on the blood hotline (🤣) to check I could donate following my trip to India (you have to be careful if visiting areas of the world with different viruses such as malaria or Zika), and having it confirmed, I didn’t want to traipse to Bradford to be told I couldn’t donate… so, I booked at Keighley instead.
It was a beautiful day so I decided to walk the 2.5 miles downhill into town thinking I could always get the bus back if I didn’t fancy the 2.5 miles uphill on the way back… Having arrived in good time, me and a few other donors were told that there had been a mix up in the paperwork which meant that someone was having to go back to the Donor centre in Bradford to retrieve it which meant they had to cancel the first hour of the session, of which I was one of the cancellations… grrr! Best laid plans and all that… 😫
In spite of me having what some might think was a wasted walk into Keighley, it all turned out alright for a number of reasons…
- I met a bloke who was due to give his 75th donation… that’s 75 pints of blood! Although men can donate up to 4 times a year, that means he’s been donating, every year for almost 20 years – what an amazing thing to do… just think of all the lives that man has helped!
- The weather was beautiful and I saw a Red Kite flying over Highfield Lane as I walked back up the hill from town – an unusual occurrence but promising sign that we might see more of these in future, if we were to stay here that is… the last time I saw a Red Kite near to where we live was during COVID lockdown (so, 5 years ago at least) when I was jogging (them were the days when I had stronger knees! 🤣) up Tarn Lane just outside of Laycock.
- I also saw a Kestrel towards the end of the walk home – I have included the photos I took from my phone below although you might find the birds difficult to spot!
- I was able to give blood the following day… yeh, you guessed it, in Bradford! 🤣
Top – Lynne’s spot the bird competition (no prizes! 🤣)
Bottom – looking down the hill towards Laycock at the end of my 5-mile round trip into town to NOT give blood!
I know I’ve blogged about giving blood before, but wanted to add that the Blood website currently says that blood stocks are critically low… although not everyone can give blood, if you can but haven’t done so before, why not give it a go? It’s really easy to do and relatively painless – it only takes about 20 mins, and it’s a good thing to do for your fellow humans (I am sure we all know someone who has had to have an operation of some kind etc…) – for more information, you can use this link (https://my.blood.co.uk/your-account/sign-up/?intent=blood) or visit the website, http://www.blood.co.uk – Let’s save lives together! Wednesday (2nd April) was the day that I donated my 21st pint! I’ve got some way to go to catch up with that fella I met – I’d have to give 3 pints every year for the next 18 years to do that!
Blood Donor success at the Bradford Donor centre!
On Thursday (3rd April) we had a run out over the Lancashire border to take a walk up to the Singing Ringing Tree just outside Burnley. It was another beautiful, sunny day but blumming windy on top of the Lancashire hills…
Here’s some info from the net (pics are mine though!): “The Singing Ringing Tree is a unique musical sculpture which overlooks Burnley from its position high above the town on Crown Point, designed by
Tonkin Liu.
Constructed from pipes of galvanised steel stacked in layers, this Panopticon takes the form of a tree bending to the winds and harnesses the energy of those winds to produce a low, tuneful song”.
We didn’t hang about too long at the “tree” due to it blowing a gale(!) and despite the wind, it wasn’t that tuneful! In fact, after we moved to a car park further down the road and took the path towards Clowbridge Reservoir, the electricity pylons were making more of a tune than the tree had! 🤣 It was a nice stroll though in an area we have not visited before and reminded us that there are so many areas we have yet to visit!
On Saturday (05 April), I collected my new reactor light glasses from Skipton and also started my contact lens trial… all good so far which I am a bit surprised by! Thought I might find it a bit difficult putting the lenses in and getting them out again but I guess, it was never going to be that difficult if hundreds and thousands of people do it every day! I am now on day 2 with these (you have to build up to having them in all day!) and managed 6 hours today – they do take a bit of getting used to, especially as I have varifocal glasses, but I quite like not having to put my glasses on – even if I keep going to grab them only to remember that I’m not wearing them! I shall persevere!
Today, we’ve been down to the allotment and I’ve planted the onions out and some cabbage and green bean seeds in the shed… very nice! It looks like the good weather is going to hang around for another week yet so am planning on making the most of that… be perfect if the wind would drop a bit or, at least, warm up a bit!
Have a happy, positive week peeps!
All the gubbins… 
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