CMS Link Visit to St. Andrew’s Church, Tudhoe Grange, Spennymoor

My first CMS Link Visit of the new year, and off I went on a wild and windy Saturday morning over the A66 to Co. Durham, yippee! St. Andrew’s Church, Tudhoe Grange has been supporting me for many many years, starting when their former vicar, Neville was in action there ~ he’s now retired with his wife to Whitburn, on the coast just north of Sunderland.  So first stop was to see them to say hello and have the most delicious lunch ~ oh yes and a paddle in the freezing cold North Sea – with the dog! My departure from … Continue reading CMS Link Visit to St. Andrew’s Church, Tudhoe Grange, Spennymoor

Ribblehead Viaduct

It really it quite something ~ and quite a surprise – in the absolute middle of nowhere! Well, there we were on the beautiful Ingleton-Hawes road yesterday, in deepest North Yorkshire, and suddenly out of the bleakness of the moorland rose this magnificent viaduct, Ribblehead Viaduct.  Totally unexpected.  Hadn’t checked anything much about the road beforehand, and well, there it was.  FAMOUS and we didn’t even know it was there until we happened upon it.  It was built in the 1870’s as part of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, but over 100 of the workmen, their wives and children lost their lives  through … Continue reading Ribblehead Viaduct

My Thousand-Mile Christmas

Well, 1006 miles to be precise ~ 5 days round trip, down south and back again…. Christmas is often about family and mine are scattered.  Stayed with family in deepest Sussex and each morning over Christmas drove around the M23, London Orbital M25 and A3 to deepest Surrey, taking my mother to visit my father, and then in the afternoon drove all the way back again. 60 miles each way.  How I LOVE the M25!  Actually on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day it was just about empty.  Only us on it. In fact, we managed to avoid serious traffic jams … Continue reading My Thousand-Mile Christmas