Exotic Food.

Hi Everyone,

This has been a good week for us as we’ve had more progress on getting things together for Chyandour,and,since our last blog,we’ve spent a bit more time in Mansfield and also been to my home town of Nottingham.Last Wednesday we went into town so we could have a look around the local museum,a lot of it was devoted to the Olympics,but there were bits and pieces about the local industry and local coal mining.There was some reference to Clipstone Colliery with its unusual headstocks,which were the tallest in Europe.I do like browsing through pictures past and present of the local area so it is possible to see the changes that have happened.From the museum we walked down into Mansfield to the Market and there I saw a delicacy from my past.As a kid I remember going into Nottingham on a Saturday to the covered market,the Victoria Market,if I remember correctly,where  we always had a tub of hot Mushy Peas with Mint Sauce and pepper,delicious.There was a stall on Mansfield Market selling Mushy Peas and another of my favourites,Mussels.This was the first time I’d had them both together,awesome.Lisa was happy with a Hot Dog,she can’t handle exotic food.Also,in one of the shops we saw our first Christmas Tree with some Christmas Cards on display,the tree actually had lights on.We have heard that Christmas has arrived in Perth too,I love it,but not in August.

On Thursday we went into Nottingham for the day.We drove to the Park and Ride and then went into town on a tram,right into the centre next to the Town Hall.The area in front of here was the old Market Square which has been turned into a beach for the school holidays,with rides,stalls and of course,sand,called the Nottingham Riviera.Nottingham has changed a lot since I was last there,no trams then,or a Riviera,and some of the places I could remember were no longer the same.No Victoria Market for one,but it was nice to go back though,just for a while anyway.We had a good walk round,saw the statue of Robin Hood below the Castle and then into Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem for lunch.The “Trip” is a must see for anyone visiting Nottingham,carved into the Sandstone below the castle,it is said that it formed part of the castle as a brewhouse before becoming an inn in 1189.From here we walked over to the Nottingham Canal and the old Fellows,Morton and Clayton warehouse which is now a pub and a restaurant.We watched a narrowboat going up the Castle Lock and wished it were us and then from there it was over to the Broadmarsh Centre,and the City of Caves.We hadn’t heard of this so we were curious to see what it was all about.Apparently,when building the centre,a large number of old,and not so old,caves had been found in the sandstone below the houses that were demolished to make way for the centre.The conducted tour round these caves was good,it was interesting to see the uses that the caves had been put to over the years.

We’ve had an interesting time over the last week or so trying to get a particular washing machine and now,it seems,we have been successful,fingers crossed.If the emails we have been getting are anything to go by we should be the proud owners on Friday.John will then be able to build it into Chyandour over the next few weeks and Lisa wont have to go down to the river and beat our clothes on the rocks.We went down to see Chyandour yesterday,Monday,as usual,but as it’s a Bank Holiday the yard was closed,John and Mick having a well deserved long weekend.We had the afternoon with Jan and Dai on their boat and got a glimpse at some of the progress on Chyandour through her windows.She looks good and there will be some good pic’s on our next blog.

Today,Tuesday,we had a day out in Matlock Bath at the Heights of Abraham,and a great time was had by all.It’s a lovely place for kids and adults with a Cable Car,play areas and conducted tours of the old Lead Mines,plus panoramic views of parts of the Peak District.

Ok,picture time.

 

The Nottingham Riviera above and to the right,Robin Hood’s statue.He still has his arrow,which I seem to recall,used to be pinched on a regular basis.

 

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and then a narrowboat going up the Castle Lock on the River Trent,lucky devils.

 

A kitchen from one of the less salubrious properties that were demolished to make way for the Broadmarsh Centre and Lisa in the cellar of a former pub carved out of the sandstone.

 

The Cable Cars at the Heights of Abraham with a view down on to the canoe slalom,on the River Derwent,from the cable cars.

  

The Heights of Abraham were opened by the Victorians in 1780 and,being somewhat patriotic,they named it after a famous battle that took place in Canada in 1759.Here we have a couple of views of the surrounding Peak District.

That’s all for this week,we will be going to see Chyandour on Thursday and then off up to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal on Friday so next weeks blog will have a much more boaty theme.Take Care.