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.
You were just down the road from us at Cromford and we visited the shopping outlet last Wednesday as granddaughter had Christmas money burning a hole in her pocket. Granny bought nothing, she bought a jacket and nail polish and Grandad bought lunch. Hugs Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Gill. It looks as if we were close to each other over those few days, we were at the shopping outlet on Friday. I just bought some face cream from the body shop that had been out of stock for a while. Glad your granddaughter got what she wanted with her Christmas money:)
DeleteSo pleased you made it there and back safely before the snow! Cromford looks delightful and the book shop rather good :) Sorry to hear about the oven and I do hope it can be fixed. Wishing you a Happy New Year too and an early happy anniversary for your wonderful blog :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline. I was so glad that the snow stayed away for those few days. It is a wonderful book shop - nice cafe too hidden behind the book shelves. I hope we can get the oven fixed, it's not that old about four or five years. Thank you for your kind words re my blog:)
DeleteI'm glad you managed your trip despite all the bad weather and managed to find a bargain in the bookshop especially as it was the perfect book for you. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you CK. I was glad that we didn't have to travel in the type of weather that we have this week. It was an unexpected bonus to find the book, I'm going to enjoy dipping into it over the next few weeks alongside the library books I have left to get though:)
DeleteI’m glad you got back safely before the weather closed in. Love the sound of that bookshop. Sadly we only have chains over here. B x
ReplyDeleteThank you B. It is a lovely bookshop in a lovely village. Chains here too since the local family run book shop and stationers closed. Although, having said that, there is a new bookshop recently opened up in the city centre which I haven't visited yet:)
DeleteI'm glad that your journey was straight forward and that you got home before the weather turned. Cromford looks very picturesque and the bookshop is delightful. It reminds me of one I visited in Wigtown, several years ago now.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your oven. You must be relieved to have an alternative, as salads are not very warming at this time of year :)
Thank you Jules. I think I've read a book by the owner of a bookshop in Wigtown. Cromford is a lovely place to visit, lots of things to do there with Cromford Mills and the canal walks as well as the village centre. We are making warming soup and things we can cook on the hob. I love salad but not in this weather:)
DeleteIt looks like a nice village, and I know I would get lost in that bookshop. It looks so inviting.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you made it home before the bad weather. I do hope the stove was easily fixed.
Thank you Granny Sue, the village is lovely, on a steep hill and full of tall houses built for the workers at the mills. The bookshop is cosy and inviting. It was good to get home before the weather turned:)
DeleteI'm glad your trip went without incident and you were even able to explore the town a little. Bookshops are a weakness of mine - how kind of the woman to offer the second hand book you wanted.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lorrie, it was great to have the warm shopping centre close by the hotel to wander around. We stopped at the bookshop on the way home, it is a favourite place to visit, the lady in the bookshop was lovely and very helpful and interesting too:)
DeleteGlad the weather held out while you were away and that you got back safely before the snow arrived. That was a very kind lady at the bookshop. Enjoy your new book.
ReplyDeleteI hope that by now your oven has been fixed and cooking has returned to normal. Have a good week.
Thank you Beverley. It was very thoughtful of the lady at the bookshop. Oven has been temporarily fixed whilst we wait for a new part, cooking mostly back to normal:)
DeleteGlad you had good weather for traveling, it can surely make such a difference. Nice pictures, but it does indeed look cold. You had a good explore, and golden stag is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandy, I was glad about the better weather, if it had been the week after we would probably not have gone. The stag looked amazing in the evening light:)
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