Thursday, 31 October 2013

Sunday, 27 October 2013

My Helper

Cassie has been learning to felt a stone with me.
(Thanks Linda Sue for the idea and the tips)
Here she is, sitting on the still damp towel. 
She doesn't care. 
She wants to learn. 

 She really didn't see the difference between the toy tigers and herself. In fact she is better as she is a real one. And she loves the camera!

Lens right in her face. No problem! 

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Funfair













A funfair has appeared on the heath, so we went for a wander so I could take some pictures. It was early so not many people were there yet. The dodgems were busy and those people did appear to be having fun. I used to love going on the rides but now they just make me feel sick. Much more fun just to walk around and look. I nearly bought candy floss but then decided the probable instant toothache wasn't worth it. Ah fun, where did you go?!

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

One Last Calais Post!

One of the good things about blogging and, I suppose photo albums is that you can enjoy things for longer. But saving photos on here is easier than making a photo album. If one day they are all gone due to societal breakdown then I probably won't have time to worry about that as there will be other things to worry about instead so it is a win win situation! (I have just finished reading the Margaret Atwood MaddAddam trilogy which I absolutely loved and which really shows our current society for what it could very easily become (hence the thoughts of societal breakdown). I loved the way she did that but what I liked the most is her creation of the beautiful Crakers ( created beings who are largely human but without all the bad bits.) Anyway, back to Calais..
 On the path leading up to the lighthouse we could smell a beautiful honey scent. Only on the way back down the path did we realise it came from this little bed of white flowers.
 Humped fishing nets around the harbour. They were lovely shades of faded blue and green.
 'Oh, I'll just pop this in the bin' he said (in French of course), as he jauntily strolled down the road.
 Two little dogs on the deserted beach having so much fun. They ran up to us all happy as we walked past them. Their people were English.
 Andy on the beach.
 And me.
 Big boat. little boat.
 Mmmm smoked salmon!
 And moules frites. Mmmm!
 We sat in the window to the left of the middle diamond. It was lovely to look out on the windy grey sky and sea, people walking and boats passing.
 Catholic statues, horse and cat clocks, fairies and dream catchers. This shop caters for all tastes and spiritual leanings.
 The church where Charles de Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux in 1921. 
A green house with blue and red sign detail. Love how it looks but it would encourage gigantic spiders into the house!
The town square. The wet surface reflected the tower well. I am not sure if the tower is the remains of something else which is what it looks like.  In an effort to find out I just found this interesting blog post about a visit to Calais. Weirdly enough on my birthday in 2008! The building is a watchtower. It is very old and it survived the bombs-well done that building!

Monday, 21 October 2013

Calais Business Signs

Signs are interesting things. The choices people make for their business names, the lettering and colour choices and how some of the shop signs are definitely showing their age. 
 The No Comment CafĂ©. No Comment.
A gorgeous green graphic horse.
 Pearls from Eden.
 A chip shop with great diplomatic ambitions.
 'Le Sixties American Diner'-very swish!
 A paper shop that has been around for a while I think. Beautiful words, especially 'papeterie'.
 Look at this colour and style! Sixties at least I think, maybe even fifties.
 Geographically confused garages.
 Just lovely.
 A name relating to the port. Sensible and a good reminder of why you might be there.
 This is my favourite!

Sunday, 20 October 2013

Calais Details

We went to Calais for the day yesterday for my birthday. It was a flying visit-we were there for about four hours but we managed to cram in everything that we had planned. A walk to the beach, lunch and a little wine and cheese shopping. We also had time for some wandering around the town which gave me the chance to photograph lots of interesting details. Old Calais was mainly destroyed in the war, so most of the buildings date from after then. There are lots of informative signs around the place to tell you about historic Calais. The main square is being renovated, as are the grounds around the church. There was a demonstration taking place which the lady in the cheese and wine shop told us was related to the illegal immigrants in the area who are mainly trying to get to England. It was not to protest against them, rather to encourage everyone to get along.