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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

Sea Air ~ Robin Hoods Bay.

So continuing my exploration of the Yorkshire Coast.  Robin Hoods Bay is five miles south of Whitby. Houses tumble down the cliffs and the sound of Sea Gulls  punchuate the peace on a Wednesday afternoon in November. We decide on a brisk walk on the beach, a wander round the village and a strong black coffee in a tiny tea room called Tea, Toast and Post.

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This picturesque  fishing village  was once the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire Coast. In the Eighteenth Century the Bay’s women folk were apparently known to have thrown  scorching water over excise men from their bedroom windows in the narrow cobbled alleyways. Visitors today are more likely to be donning walking boots than catching smugglers. The ‘Cleveland Way’ and the ‘Coast to Coast’ pass through the village.

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It is not clear about why the settlement is called ‘Robin Hood’s Bay’ as there is no evidence to suggest that Robin and his band of merry men ever resided here. More likely the name came from local legends. An ancient forest sprite was also called Robin hood , so maybe the name does derive from forest folklore.

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We enjoy walking on the beach. Hugo finds a friend!  The coastline here is full of wildlife. It is a wee bit to cold to linger round the rock pools ( should have worn my new winter coat!) or hunt for fossils. We need to return someday and scour the sand for fossilized monkey puzzle tree….or Whitby Jet to you and me.

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Thank goodness for this cute little cafe , Tea, Toast and Post which proves a great little place for a snack. Like its name suggests, hot and cold drinks,toasties and a host of pillar box paraphernalia. Hugo is even given a couple of  biscuits by the friendly owner.

Thanks for joining me on my whistle stop tour of the Yorkshire coast.

What is your favorite seaside destination?