RNLI Memorial

Hi Diane, thanks for coming to follow my blog:)

Last month, the RNLI opened a new memorial to lifeboatmen lost in service. We visited it this morning and admired the modern steel depiction of a boat and drowning man. The names of all those who lost their lives, are inscribed around the base. I took a photo of the section showing someone who lives on in family recollections.

Christchurch

We went shopping this morning. That sounds a trifle dull, but not when it included a walk around the ancient town of Christchurch. We went past the Priory which has the reputation of being the longest parish church in England. The present building was started in 1094.

The photos show the Priory, Norman House ruins, Mill (mentioned in the 1085 Domesday Book) and other old buildings.

Ladybirds

Today I gathered the last of the runner beans from the garden, then sat in the sun. Lots of insects were buzzing around and they started landing on the warm brick wall of our house. They were harlequin ladybirds and I think they were looking for a cosy spot to hibernate. These ladybirds are not native to the UK and are a threat to our native species, but they are attractive none-the-less. I took these photos of their varied forms earlier this year.

1066 and all that!

Hi Roberta, Lisa and Antoinette. Thanks for coming to my blog.

We went to Sussex for the weekend and visited the town of Battle. 1066 is the one date which all English children seem to remember. Prince William of Normandy came across the Channel to defeat King Harold II to claim the English crown as his own. Soon after, he built an Abbey on top of Senlac Hill where the battle had been fought. We walked around the fields with hand-held audio recordings and learnt exactly what happened where. The abbey itself was very atmospheric.

Designing Course

Countdown is now in full swing for the start of a new designing course starting at  Hummie's World
I jumped at the chance to sign up when I read that the course would be taken at a slow pace.

SNL55

This month I was keen to get my SNL (designing forum at DSP) contribution done early and was quite pleased with the result, but not pleased with the way I displayed it on the kit page. It was meant to be along the lines of  TEEN GIRL GRUNGE but it ended up tidier than I first intended- hence the name: "Neatest Grunge in Town".

Car Boot Sale

Two followers to my blog already! Thanks Fulltime RVer and Auddymay.
X  <- that marks the spot where I would put one of those little yellow smiley things if only I knew how to do it!
This morning I should have been at church. 99 Sunday mornings out of 100 I would have been; but today I helped at a car boot sale in aid of our local soup kitchen. Usually the cupboards are well stocked after the harvest offerings, but this year, people have given smaller packets of food and less of the more expensive protein items, but oh so much pasta. We made a reasonable sum of money, but seemed to take more stuff home than we started with.

Gardening

A cloudless, warm autumn day made the garden the place to be. There are still a few runner beans and tomatoes coming. I pruned out the old raspberry canes and cut back plants which had finished flowering. A gentian is is full bloom and I took some photos of it. It is kept in a pot so that it can enjoy the acid soil it needs.

Grunged Nature

I make kits for SNL members at http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/
We choose colours each month and a subject or style, and  upload our kits for the use of other members.
This is the one I did for September:

9th October 2009

I have never before felt the need to create a blog. Now, though, I'm about to start a course which will use blogs as a means of communication, so here I am doing what I never thought I would do.