It’s a wrap! April is over and here’s what I’ve got up to….
READING. Again I have turned into a real slow coach on the reading front. I downloaded Amanda Marks memoir of her time driving around Africa in a truck for an adventure holiday company. Tiny Amanda worked in finance and after a mugging by a gang of school kids, she decides things have got to change! I am dipping in and out of this book and enjoying finding out about Amanda’s travels and whether she does indeed, find her inner lion 🦁.
WATCHING. Lots! Here are some shows I’ve enjoyed watching in April.
Derry Girls ~ Ongoing on Channel 4 and All 4. Hilarious comedy about five teens attending a Catholic school for girls during the troubles in nineties Northern Ireland. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hacks ~ Amazon Prime. An old pro Comedienne and a disgraced young comedy writer team up in this clever slow burner comedy drama. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe. ITV Hub. The bizarre true story of a man who faked his own death to claim the insurance money, whilst continuing to live in the house next door. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Killing Eve ~ BBC I Player. It’s officially finished! The serial killing shenanigans of Villianelle take a backseat as the characters get their emotive…. and explosive endings. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Anatomy Of A Scandal ~ Netflix. Timely courtroom drama about a seemingly happily married politician put on trial for scandalous behaviour. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Life After Life ~ BBC I Player. Be prepared with your hankies if you watch this incredibly emotional war time drama. Ursula, a girl with an incredible sense of deja vu navigates the pitfalls of her life, again and again and again. Don’t think I will ever be able to look at silently falling snowflakes in the same way. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What have you been watching recently? Any recommendations?
EATING. Finally went out for a meal to a popular little bistro in Clitheroe, and my, the food was delicious! See above.
FILMING. Ok I have not actually been filming anything, but Clitheroe was taken over by a film crew for two weeks in April. Along with London and Athens, Clitheroe is one of the locations for new Rom Com Greatest Days ! The movie is about a group of Take That Fans navigating their lives, through the nineties until now. To a Take That Soundtrack. The town was rife with rumours that Gary, Mark and co would actually make an appearance. They will no doubt show up on location in Athens 😉 instead.
So what’s it like when your home town becomes a film set? At first I sought out the action, accidentally on purpose walking Hugo where I thought the filming might be taking place. But soon I couldn’t avoid it. Bursts of Never Forget and Could it Be Magic greeted us wherever we went. Oneday I popped to the market, only to find that nothing was for sale, the stalls had been paid to open as film props. Wil was surprised when a new hardware shop appeared , then disappeared a couple of days later. I bet all the Nineties shop signage did confuse a few people. 😀
Greatest Days will be out in 2023 !
WALKS & Wainwrights. A favourite walk of mine that I did in April was a circuit of Derwent Water near Keswick with my sister & family. I also huffed up a couple of hills. Dodd Fell above ( see exciting exploring collage) and my favourately named fell Binsey, which really should become the moniker of my next pet. What a cute name. 😘
ENJOYING. Spring Blossom ~ My local town is adundant with beautiful blossom at the moment. Gorgeous! Which is your favourite ?
Discovering New To Us Places ~ Alston is only 20 minutes drive from the caravan ,but we haven’t spent as much time there as another nearby town, Penrith. We’ve been trying to remedy that recently! Surrounded by wild moorland, Alston is known as the highest Market town in England.With cobbles and a market cross, I love this description I found online via Sally’s Cottages Guide To Alston ~ Alston is Steep, Unique and chock-full of charm ! Here’s my mini guide to my own personal favourite bits of Alston so far…….
Alston Wholefoods ~ Ethical Grocers and Delicatessen, famous for their large stock of cheeses.
Mellow Yellow ~ Aladdins Cave of clothes, accessories and gifts.
Hi Pennine Outdoor Shop ~ Outdoor clothing, equipment, maps and giftware.
Once Upon A Time ~ Eclectic Second hand book shop situated in The Alston Emporium.
Saddlers Bakery Bistro ~ Contemporary cafe and craft bakery.
Turks Head Pub ~ Cosy traditional drinkers pub with open fires, Real Ales and dog friendly.
The High Plaice ~ Popular Fish & Chips.
South Tynedale Railway ~ Charming Narrow Gauge Railway to nearby Slaggyford. Run by friendly volunteers. Lovely newly renovated cafe on the platform too.
Thanks for dropping by. 😘
sunshine and celandines 
What a fabulous April! Thanks for sharing – I really enjoyed reading it all and after a disastrous attempt at Catbells last year I’m very tempted by Binsey!
Catbells is on my list but it does look very steep and also very popular. Nothing worse than having little children and 90 year olds passing you with ease! X
It was the rock scrambles that defeated me. Just too steep! Wansfell from Troutbeck is very doable and amazing views over to Morecambe Bay. X
Thanks for the recommendation 🙂 X
I like your header photo, it’s very pretty.
I watched The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe and really enjoyed it but couldn’t understand how the police didn’t find that door in the wardrobe when they searched the house – they mustn’t have done a very thorough job! I watched the follow-up programme but was a bit disappointed as it didn’t really add anything to the series.
My home town has become a very popular place for filming locations, especially round the town centre. The cast of Peaky Blinders were here not long ago and only last week some of Happy Valley was being filmed over three days – I actually saw Sarah Lancashire on one of the days.
I’ve recently read a murder/mystery/thriller – not my usual read but it’s set on Anglesey and the murders are identical to the murders committed by Wales’ real-life serial killer in the mid 1990s. I liked it as all the places mentioned are actual places I’m very familiar with so it brought the story to life for me.
I like the photo of Herdy on the rock, he looks really cute 🙂
Thanks Eunice! I know what you mean about the adjoining door in the Canoe drama, why on earth wasn’t it discovered?? Love Sarah Lancashire and Peaky Blinders is a very cool show. It’s always interesting to read a book with locations in that are familiar. 🙂 X
It will be interesting to see how the pop-up/pop-back-down hardware shop fits into a film about Take That 😀. We have a bar in Wigan, The Old Courts, which is occasionally used as a film location. Its name changes for a few days then it’s back to The Old Courts. A couple of years ago, Sean Bean caused a bit of a stir amongst some of the ladies in the town. Apparently, he was very charming.
Yeh me too, about the shop. It was amazing how quickly everything disappeared after the filming. Some things looked like an improved, even if it was supposed to be the 1990s! Sean Bean hey, I do love his accent. 🙂
I’m hoping to watch The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe on catch up this week, so thank you for the recommendation. And I will now be adding Alston to my ever increasing list of places I need to visit 🙂 X
Alston is quiet with a few hidden gems. We did a little walk along the railway but hoping to get the train over to Slaggyford and maybe hop on and off. Love the countryside round there. 🙂
I just started Anatomy and it’s good, I wonder if the PM is based on our Boris ? 😉 Was the drive to Alston across the Pennines picturesque? I’d like to see Alston when I have an opportunity, and maybe continue to Hexham.
Haha , might be based on Boris. The drive is over Moorland and it’s Hadrian’s Wall country. I quite like it. The drive over Hartside is very popular with motorists. I haven’t been to Hexham yet, it has been voted the happiest place to live in England!
I love the cherry blossom photos, and I will definitely be checking out the book and show recommendations!
Thank you. 🙂
It becomes a bit of a pain being a film location after a while. Road closures and catering wagons blocking everywhere. And I never get to see the important people. Jon Hamm was in town a couple of months ago, lots of spottings on social media, but sadly none by me 😟.
I would love to see Jon Hamm! Soz you didn’t spot him…..
Me too!
Enjoyed your wrap up and as for favourite blossom……love them all. I’ve also visited Alston a couple of times as that is where some of my ancestors were born and love it’s steep cobbled street. Enjoy Spring and your warmer weather. Take care and hugs.
I love Alstons cobbles. Thanks Susan! X
What a great month you have had, I enjoyed reading this post. I am intrigued by the programme about the the thief, the wife and the canoe now that I have read your post and the comments. I might see if I can watch it on catch up. Sounds intriguing!
I love Alston, I used to drive there every week to take the children to a forest school we attended there it is charming little town and the drive over Hartside is wonderful too.
I lived near Whitby when they were filming Heartbeat in the area, they used Whitby and a nearby village of Goathland. They often closed the roads which made it difficult for us to get about on some days but it was fun to watch the filming when you could see what was going on.
I hope May is filled with lovely things too.
I think you can watch Canoe on catch up, it’s an interesting story that’s for sure!
Alston is lovely. Hoping to go back soon and try the South Tynedale Railway to Slaggyford, with hop on off walking back.
Whitby and over that way, such a beautiful corner of England. I used to watch Heartbeat and have visited Goathland. X
Looks like you had a great April month.
Alston is on my list of town to visit with Corbridge.
Ahh I hadn’t heard of Corbridge, just googled and looks nice.