In my last post I hoped that snow or fog wouldn't affect our journey and thankfully we had neither. Lots of heavy frost though.
The day of the funeral was cold and dry and the sun came out to shine through the windows of the chapel at the crematorium. Snow had been forecast for later the next day so we decided to go straight home after breakfast.
The golden stag was outside the East Midlands Designer Outlet which was on the opposite side of the road to our hotel. We had a wander around the shops just as it was getting dark before going back to the hotel for an evening meal.
On Saturday morning we stopped in Cromford for a short walk around the village rather than down by the Mill and canal. It was so cold.
Above and below Cromford Mill Pond.
We were headed for a favourite book shop. I've written posts about it a few times over the years. Hard to take in that I'll have been blogging for twenty years in March of this year. Where has all that time gone?
Inside it felt warm and we were greeted with a friendly welcome.
I treated myself to a book I'd wanted for ages, I found a new copy but the member of staff who greeted us heard our conversation and came to say that she had a second hand copy of the same book which was much reduced and that the previous owner seemed hardly to have looked at it. She thought it would find a good home with me. How kind and thoughtful.
It is a Persephone publication Long Live Great Bardfield: the Autobiography of Tirzah Garwood. Tirzah Garwood was a wood engraver and artist and a member of the Great Bardfield group of artists. She was also the wife of the noted painter, wood engraver and book illustrator Eric Ravilious who is one of my favourite artists. The other favourites are Gwen John and Dame Laura Knight.
The bad weather closed in just a few hours after we got home and we woke up to a white dusting of snow all over the garden.
We are now at home for a few days and without an oven as, for some reason, it stopped working on New Year's Day. We have a separate hob and a microwave so that will keep us going until the electrician comes on Wednesday evening. He seems confident that it can be mended.
Belated best wishes to you all for the New Year.
