October ~ Round Up. 🍁

Time for an October Round-Up of my life lately. I have been enjoying Autumn colours, reading about a psychopath serial killer, eating left overs and finding funky fungi !

Reading.

Presently still reading books at a crawl, though I am enjoying ‘ How to kill your family’ by Bella Mackie. Frustratingly thrown into jail, for a murder she didn’t commit, Grace Bernard is busy writing her memoirs ( whenever her nosy cell-mate isn’t watching), for though she might be innocent of that particular murder, Grace has actually done away with…her entire family. Yes Grace might be a cold hearted killer, but she does have her reasons. A dark but amusing read, so far.

Emma Mackey is brilliant as Emily Bronte in ‘ Emily’.

Watching.

The Empress is a glorious romp through Austrian Royalty history, specifically the beginnings of the reign of Empress Elisabeth. A reluctant Royal , her new hubby The Emperor Franz Joseph had previously been engaged to Elisabeth’s sister. The usually independent Elisabeth or ‘ Sisi ‘ finds life at court full of frosty traditions, plots and intrigue. On Netflix. Subtitles.

I also enjoyed watching medieval coming of age comedy Catherine Called Birdy, which can be found on Amazon Prime. 14 year Lady Catherine ( Birdy to her friends ) is of marriageable age, and with a charming gambler for a father, her families only hope of remaining solvent, is for young Birdy to marry. Determined to thwart all her suitors, the mischievous heiress has other ideas.

My favourite watch this month was on the Big Screen. A friend and I went to see Emily, the new biopic of the life of reclusive writer Emily Bronte. Notoriously private, little is known about Emily in comparison to her siblings, much of what we do know about Emily’s thoughts and feelings are through Charlotte, some of which is probably sensored. This film is a reimagining of Emily’s life, as if she herself experienced some of the darker, some of the more passionate moments , that she wrote about in Wuthering Heights. And whose to say, really, that she didn’t……. A heart wrenching , clever, passionate and sometimes humorous picture about an unconventional and inspirational writer.

Eating.

A friend told us about the Too Good To Go Ap, which lets you know about food that shops and cafes are selling off cheap. For a fixed price you get a carrier bag full of goodies that are nearing their sell by date, known as a Magic Bag. The surprise is you don’t really know what the bag will contain, I was certainly surprised by the amount of stuff in this one from our local garage shop, Londis. For £5 we got 2 Sandwiches ,a loaf of bread, broccoli, bag of salad, Mr Kipling cakes, Manchester tarts, cooked chicken pieces, 2 chicken fillets and some butter. Participating places near me include Spa, Morrisons, Subway and Starbucks. Some independent businesses are signing up too. Have you used the ap before? I suspect I’m a bit late to the party. 😀

Too Good To Go?

Creating. A pumpkin flower arrangement! My friend Fi and I made these at a class in Whalley. Mines the more messy one on the left. Basically you need to hollow out a pumpkin ( happily already done for us), put in some cellophane and a wet piece of water absorbing oasis. Stick flowers, cones etc into the oasis to create an arrangement. And Voila!

Pumpkins.

Robin Hood’s Bay. A place to explore tumbling narrow streets and look for fossilized Monkey Puzzle Tree bark ( Jet) on the beach.

Holidaying. As it is Half Term Holidays we managed to get away to the Yorkshire Coast for a couple of days. Fortunately we have another caravan in the family, Wils brother and his wife own a static on a site half way between Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay. Both are such atmospheric places to visit, especially at this time of year. Anyway we made the most of our location, walking along the cliffs to Robin Hood’s Bay oneday and catching the bus into Whitby on the other.

Whitby. October sees Whitby come alive with spooky goings on and a Goth festival. The Abbey walls are illuminated and you might just see a few corpse brides amongst the gravestones.

Finding Fungi. 🍄

A day trip to Bolton Abbey and a woodland walk showcased a few fungi finds. Not quite sure if my IDs are correct, but here goes….

Funnel Fungi.

Fly Agaric.

Trembling Crust.

Bonnets.

Shaggy Mane Ink Caps.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the rest of October. Let me know if you are watching any spooky films or dressing up for Halloween 🎃 in the comments. X

Bronte Connections ~ Cowan Bridge.

In recent days I have written about a village with a movie connection and two villages visited by vampires. This next one has an association with members of perhaps England’s most famous literary family ‘ the Brontes’ .

I have passed through Cowan Bridge numerous times as it sits on the busy A65 in between Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale, our usual route up to the Lake District. In days gone by it would have been much quieter, the continuous traffic noise definitely distances the imagination away from the 1820s , when siblings Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily attended The Clergy Daughter’s School in the village.

We had decided to stop off for lunch on the way home from Cumbria on a busy bank holiday Monday. I must admit I suggested Cowan Bridge because I thought it may be easier to get lunch there than its more touristy neighbors. I have also always been curious about where on earth the Bronte school is……

It turned out the Tea Room was busy inside, but there was space outside next to the noisy road with the traffic whooshing by. 😅 We just decided on coffee and prepackaged sandwiches and ate them in the pretty seating area.

Afterwards we pottered about the village in totally the wrong direction. Eventually a kind local pointed us toward the original bridge that Cowan Bridge takes its name from. After crossing it we came to a row of old stone cottages. These are what remain of The Clergy Daughter’s School.

An inscription on the end cottage wall reads :

Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte & Emily Bronte

Lived here as pupils of the Clergy Daughter’s School 18-24 – 25.

The school was moved to Casterton 1833.

Patrick Bronte was a clergyman living in Haworth with six young children. His wife Maria had sadly died a couple of years earlier. Sending four of their offspring to a respected boarding school for clergy children would no doubt have seemed the right thing for this busy man of the cloth to do.

Unfortunately the harsh environment at the school would contribute to the untimely deaths of the two eldest girls. Poor quality food, cold damp conditions and cruel unjust punishments were the norm. Maria, then Elizabeth were sent home suffering from consumption , both would die within weeks of one another. Patrick sent for Charlotte and Emily and they never returned to Cowan Bridge.

A still from the 1944 film version of Jane Eyre.

For Charlotte , her experiences at the Clergy Daughter’s School were to be drawn upon for her novel Jane Eyre. In the book young Jane is sent to Lowood School where she makes a new friend, Helen Burns. Helens and Jane’s life there mirrors that of her and her sisters harrowing time at Cowan Bridge.

Today one of the remaining cottages is available as an attractive Holiday Let , so fans of the Brontes’ can experience a little part of Bronte history. A short walk and you are away from the road noise and out into beautiful rolling countryside.

I am glad the buildings stand as a reminder of how harsh life could be back then, and also as a celebration of what the Bronte family would eventually achieve.

Have you visited any places where the Brontes’ lived, worked or played? 📖

Ice Cold In Haworth.

Here I am snug as a bug in a rug. The radiators are piping hot , I have numerous throws to wrap round myself and two fur babies to snuggle up with. Bliss !

Friday night though was spent ( mostly shivering!) In a little B&B in the Yorkshire town of Haworth. I won’t say it was our accomodations fault. I couldn’t properly get warm anywhere at all. I think Yorkshire folk must be alot hardier than us Lancashire lot. The heating was on everywhere but didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I layered myself up and was tempted to keep my coat and hat on….even in bed. I have turned into a right softy!

Bronte Parsonage Museum.

Wil and I ( minus the pets) stopped over in Haworth as we were attending a talk in nearby Keighley by the Arctic adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. It certainly seemed touch and go whether the event would take place. But of course ‘ the world’s greatest living explorer’ was easily up to the challenge of travelling from Exmoor to bleakest Yorkshire, whatever the conditions. 🙂

Despite my whinging, we did have a lovely time. The snow gave the cobbled streets of Haworth a wintery charm. The town is of course, famed for being the home of an extraordinary literary family, the Bronte’s. Writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne lived in the parsonage with their father the Reverend Bronte and brother Branwell. We had the Bronte Parsonage Museum all to ourselves on Saturday morning. Photography is no longer prohibited inside the museum,so I took a few pictures and imagined the Bronte siblings sitting at the dining room table, scribbling away. How frozen must their fingers have felt in the perishing south pennine winters.

Cobbled Streets.

Howarth Railway Station.

St Michael & All Angels Church. All the Brontes apart from Anne are buried in the Bronte family crypt, beneath the church.

Old fashioned sweet shop.

A nice coffee shop with a great selection of cakes. 🙂

Peppermint tea and a ginger bun in Villette. The café is named after one of Charlotte’s novels.

Icicles.

Inside the parsonage. The Dining Room. The sisters would have wrote here at the dining table.

Mr Bronte’s study. Emily and Anne both played the piano.

The kitchen.

The children’s tiny playroom.

Landing window.

Inside Branwell Brontes bedroom. Branwell was a troubled soul and failed to live up to the high expectations his family had of him.

A small bed embroidered with words by and about the Bronte sisters. Visitors are invited to make and unmake the tiny bed ( using the white gloves provided), to reveal the prose written in the bed clothes..

A snowy pathway.

Inside The Cabinet of Curiosities on Main Street. The shop was an apothecary even back in the days of the Bronte’s.

Book I bought from the gift shop in the Bronte Parsonage Museum.

We ended our visit to Haworth with a winter warming lunch in The Hawthorn on Main Street, whilst browsing our purchases. I bought ‘The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Reef ( Can’t wait to start it! ) and Wil had purchased a signed copy of Ranulph Fiennes appropriately titled ‘Cold’, the evening before.

Which is your favourite Bronte sister novel?

Twenty Things To Do This Autumn. :)

Autumn Leaves. Image via Pinterest.

 

I thought I would get in the mood for Autumn, and the best way for me to do that, is to make a list of course! Enjoy. 🙂

 

 

1. Go for a woodland walk and admire the changing colours.

2. Refill your hanging baskets with Autumn favourites such as pansies, cyclamen and Ivy.

3. Fill your home with the scents of Autumn. Add cinnamon sticks,orange rind,whole cloves and bay leaves to water and simmer on the stove.

4. Go Blackberry picking and make a lovely crumble.

5. Autumn is the perfect time to get cosy on an Autumn Glamping Break. How about staying in a colourful Shepherd’s Hut  in the Lakes, a luxurious Safari Tent in the Trough of Bowland or a beautiful Showman’s Wagon in Cornwall.

Poetry. Image joana-duarte-23198-tumblr.com

6. Curl up with some Autumnal Poetry , such as Emily Bronte’s Fall, Leaves Fall.

7. Dust off the Slow Cooker and make some simple hearty stews.

8. Grab the girls and head out to the movies to see Bridget Jones Baby or A street Cat Named Bob. 🙂

9. Bring Nature indoors and decorate your Mantel Piece with leaves and fruits.

Autumn Fireplace Display by Rosalilium blog.

10. Rent a good gothic movie. How about Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak or Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.

11. Jump in a big pile of leaves. 🙂

12. Fill a vase with colourful orange and gold blooms such as dahlias, crysanthemums and chinese lanterns.

Toasty.Image ~ The Londoner.

13. Grab cosy blankets, a camping stove, and toast marshmallows with friends.

14. Learn to crochet. I really need to do this!

15. Join in the fun at your local Apple Pressing Day.

16. Explore your local town on a spooky Ghost Walk.

17. Look out for an Autumn Themed Afternoon Tea to try out, or create your own..

18. Collect sloes and make boozy Sloe Gin.

Afternoon Tea. Image via Pinterest.

19. Practice your Apple Bobbin skills. 🙂

20. Get your mitts around a warming Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

What would you add to the list? X

Fall, leaves, fall

Today ( October 2nd) is National poetry day in the UK. As Autumn is taking hold , what better way to celebrate than with pictures of the seasons changing colours and a poem by Emily Bronte.

Fall,leaves, fall; die,flowers,away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
Emily Bronte.

Still, I am quite enjoying our Indian Summer. Loving the oranges and pink flower hues in the castle park.

Do you know any Autumn poems?

Bronte’s, Black Cats and Vistorians in Haworth.

The Parsonage in Haworth was the home of the Bronte’s.

Today we spent a couple of hours walking round the cobbled streets of Haworth. I love visiting though its been a couple of years. On previous occasions it has usually been very bleak and windy up there but today the sun was shining. I actually managed to persuade the other half to take a tour of the parsonage with me. 🙂 The parsonage was of course the home of the Bronte family for many years. As children Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother Branwell lived, played, drew,wrote and wandered the moors here.

The Black Bull which Branwell Bronte often frequented.

Before the tour we had a wander round. There are some deliciously old’e world’y shops along the cobbled main street. Lotions and potions galore ( and beautiful vintage inspired tea dresses too ) in Rose & Co Apothecary and old fashioned toffees in Mrs Beightons Sweet Shop. 🙂 There are even a couple of vintage shops but unfortunately they were shut today. I pressed my nose to the glass with longing when I spied some beautiful teacups in the window of Kate’s Curiosities. sigh….

We also stopped for some lunch at Gascoigne’s Steam Brewing Company Cafe, Bar and Bistro. This is a micro brewery with its own bar and serves yummy grub too. I tried their speciality Pork Pie in mushy peas with mint sauce. Winter warming nosh !

The Bar in Gascoignes.

Pie and Peas.

Museum sign.

Before we went into the museum we had a little walk round the grave yard. The Bronte family themselves are all buried in the crypt ( except Anne who is buried in Scarbrough, where she died ) so there were no Bronte headstones. A rather large furry cat was prowling the cemetery and he was quite a character. Sorry i couldn’t resist taking photo’s. I decided to call him Heathcliffe !

It costs £7 to look round the Bronte museum in the Parsonage which I thought was well worth it as the ticket is actually valid for twelve months. You can reuse it within that time span as much as you like. Until 12th January there is actually a rather quirky exhibition on ( see photo above ) at the Museum. ‘Capturing The Brontes’ by Charlotte Cory is a fun and what she calls ‘Vistorian ‘ way of looking at the literary families lives in Haworth. Charlotte combines the use of vintage victorian calling cards and portraits of stuffed animals. Crazily kooky oil paintings of various ladies and gents superimposed with duck and fox heads are dotted round the various rooms and a giant stuffed giraffe graces the study. Apparently the Queen owns a Cory image of a Queen Corgi ! The exhibition continues at the Long and Ryle Gallery in London through February. Here is a very sneaky peek in Mr Brontes room. Feel a bit naughty as your not supposed to take photographs.

Getting away from the Vistoriana exhibition ,the museum is set out with lots of information about all the Bronte family and plenty of exhibits including a dress worn by Charlotte Bronte and water colours they painted and manuscripts they wrote. I loved reading about their pets. Emily’s beloved dog ‘Keeper’ pined for her years after her death.He was quite famous himself long before Greyfriar’s Bobby.

Here are a few more pictures taken in the grounds of the Parsonage. It was really such an honor to walk round the home of the authors of such masterpieces as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey. 🙂

The Parsonage through the hips.

Vistorians in the window.

Statues of the Bronte sisters.

The Church in Haworth.

Before we left Haworth I had a hankering for baked goods so we indulged in spicy apple cake at the Cobble and Clay tearooms. :0)

Cobbles and Clay Tearooms.

I see Cobbles. 🙂

Nom Nom !

There’s all sorts going on in Haworth on the weekends running up to Christmas I noticed including a Victorian Christmas market ( 16th & 17th Nov), Steampunk Weekend ( 23rd &24th Nov) and Victorian weekend ( 7th & 8th Dec ) and lots more. Makes me want to visit all over again. 🙂