A Tale of Two Cities …. Derby

Two weeks ago, our group of three decided to go to Derby for the day…….

Here we are on the Red Arrow bus. We're getting a bit better at the selfie thing!

It only took 2 takes!

And no, I don't think there's any danger of being labelled narcissistic! We were just being goofy and, please note, no cleavage or pouting to be seen!

Derby is a city in the East Midlands region of England and is situated on the River Derwent. It's considered to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

Today it's renowned for Rolls-Royce, Toyota manufacturing, train manufacturing and is, of course, the home of Royal Crown Derby which has been producing porcelain since the 1750's. 

The Guildhall is at the town centre.

Lots of interesting building and stores!

Lots of yummy cakes and pastries at Patisserie Valerie but we were very good and resisted!

Which was just as well as look what I found in one of my favourite stores:

I saw this coat in the Zara store in Warszawa, fell in love, but resisted!

Today in Derby it was on sale at 50% off!

Now if that wasn't divine intervention, I don't know what is! So it came home with me!

On the way home, I saw these narcissi from the bus and had to get off and admire them!

They're just outside the old Central Library building in Nottingham

I love narcissi. The day was warm and the scent was intoxicating. I'm sure the students that were coming out from class thought I was nuts, kneeling down  and sniffing flowers!!

I guess the word narcissism came from these flowers….. not fair to these lovelies!

Later on that week……..

We returned here: the Rock Cemetery

We really wanted to go down and see St. Ann's Valley and, after our last visit, felt there was safety in numbers!

So, the three of us went together!!

A view of the pauper's graves 

A tribute to a serviceman killed in the Great War

I am constantly amazed by the uniqueness and beauty of this place.

I'm also getting MUCH better at taking photos!

Now, I have a confession to make. We planned to meet at the cemetery gates - I was the first to arrive.

And guess what was across the road? I couldn't resist looking:

A vintage store full of old treasures

The Frockshop

Vintage 50's dresses, hand made by the owner who was busy cutting out pattern pieces inside

Love, love, love them

The Twisted Playground - no, it wasn't a sex shop! Although that would be a good name, especially

with this little number in the window:

No who would buy that?? NOT me …but it did make me smile!

Tomorrow I fly back to Canada, sob, sob….

This is what I'm leaving behind:

Spring is GLORIOUS in England, when it finally comes!

And yes, I do intend to continue my blog from Canada. That way my friends from THAT side of the pond can see what I'm up to!

Thank you EVERYONE, family and friends, who were so supportive in the last 6 months and beyond!

Talk soon

Zoe

A Tale of Two Cities!

I thought I'd give you all a break from Nottingham (for now, that is!) and explore some towns that are nearby and have their own distinct charm.

First, I visited Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, a 30 min. bus ride from Nottingham:

Two of my favourite foods!

The glorious Pork Pie

and Stilton cheese! 

Have you ever tried Broccoli and Stilton soup?

Both foods now have Protected Geographical Indication status which means that, by law, no one can produce these foods and call them Melton Mowbray pies or Stilton cheese. The law protects the reputation of regional foods, promotes rural and agricultural activity, helps producers get a premium price for their authentic products and eliminates unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products which may be of poorer quality or of different flavour. This system is similar to the appellation systems used throughout the world.

The pie- making developed as a result of the cheese- making! One of the by-products in cheese-making is whey and pigs LOVE whey! I guess that led to their demise of ending up in a pork pie!

I guess I should set the record straight! NO, I wasn't here to sample the culinary delights, honest! I was here to visit a much-loved and old-time family friend. The last time I had visited Genia, a year ago, she was temporarily in a Nursing Home, following a series of strokes which left her progressively weaker. Her home was being adapted with various aids to daily living that would enable her to live at home. And we all know, that home is THE best place to be, whether young or old, after all:

"Home is where the heart is"

The change in Genia was incredible! She had the old twinkle back in her eye, a smile and looked totally transformed from the shrunken and sad -looking person of a year ago!

Here she is with her daughter, Liz, her son Staszek, and me, of course! 

Liz lives out of town but visits every few weeks, catching a train and a bus each way, to visit with her Mum. Stan lives a few minutes away and visits on a daily basis to check in and, a second daughter, Malgosia, who also lives out of town, visits on a frequent basis.

In between, Genia is looked after by two Polish carers at a time, as she needs total care. This is Bozena and Ola whom I met, totally brilliant carers. Look how happy Genia looks. They say one of the measures of how well society functions is how we look after our elderly………. 

I'm a VERY firm believer that the elderly should live in their own homes for as long as possible. Hey, yes, it's a lot of work at times and can be mentally and physically exhausting and yes, can cost money, but don't we owe this to our elderly? They shouldn't be discarded like flotsam and jetsam into nursing homes. I know I'd rather be set adrift on an ice floe, as the Inuit did years ago, than end up in a nursing home!

I have very fond memories of growing up with this family. We would visit frequently; we were the city mice and they were the country mice and we all loved the change in scenery!

Thanks Genia, Staszek and Liz for all the lovely memories! We had a great visit!

On the walk back to the bus station we passed some neat buildings:

The Anne of Cleves pub, with another bit of history thrown in! This house was originally a priests house but was confiscated during the Reformation by Henry VIII and given as part of a settlement to another discarded wife!

I can't remember what this was but I liked the look of it!

This lovely building is now a pizza parlour!

And this lovely restored, and in use, cinema.

I was going to write about "the second city" but time has run out so it will have to wait!

Meanwhile I'll leave you with this thought:

Talk soon

Zoe

Down By The Riverside…..

Further stories from the great City of Nottingham ……

There is so much to see and do and just not enough time! So……. my friend Chris and I planned a girl's day out, in part to celebrate her birthday last month and also to visit some of our old haunts. Or, as the song goes…… "girls just want to have fun!"

We started off by visiting this place:

Pure Aesthetics Day Spa!

The plan was to have a make-up makeover session. No comments from the peanut gallery please!

We were each greeted with a glass of Prosecco by the lovely Nicki:

Guess how old she is? It made us feel pretty optimistic!

(she's 39!)

Nicky primped and preened us until we looked like this:

And made us look 39 too!

So we decided to parade our new "look" and headed down to the river!

The River Trent runs through Nottingham. In years gone by it was a major transportation route, superseded by the advent of the railway. It is still used for transportation to some extent. As kids growing up in Nottingham, this was one of our favourite Sunday picnic spots where we would often meet up with aunts, uncles and cousins. It's also the place where I developed my fear of water as I was dared to jump into one of the pools. I can still remember the sensation of going down, down!

The River Trent and Trent Bridge

You can walk for miles along the Embankment on either side. The mute swans are a permanent fixture

and were around even when I was a kid!

Nottinghamshire County Offices

The Memorial Gate to commemorate the Two World Wars

The Memorial Gardens (also the home of fairies!)

A personal memorial to a loved one

The Gardens from the other side of the river

I love this boat with it's solar panels and wind turbines and yes, someone does actually live here. I would have loved to look inside but no-one was home!

A very famous cricket club at Trent Bridge. I never did "get"the game (it's in the same class as golf!)

But I WAS a follower of Nottingham Forest Football Club which is also situated along the banks of the River Trent and did watch some "footie" matches here!

And I vaguely remember going to the Brittania Rowing Club or "The Brit" as we called it, for a pint.

(Chris insists we did!)

It's a good thing we didn't fall into the river on the way out!

And on the way to the bus stop, we crossed the most dreaded of all…. to Canadians…….

The Roundabout!

We passed Victoria Train Station, recently renovated and sand blasted to it's former glory.

And yes, that's a zebra crossing in the foreground!

This clock appealed to me with it's blacksmiths and anvil.

And then we headed to one of our favourite restaurants in town, where I saw this sign!

A lovely girl's day out. Happy Birthday Chris!

Talk soon

Zoe