A series of pleasing springtime surprises
(featuring Life at Wrightington Towers and In Nature - plus two shiny new courses)
Robert has ventured into T’Other Place (aka: Lancashire).
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
I repeat: Robert has ventured into T’Other Place.
The magnitude (and geography) of his bravery is illustrated here, courtesy of:
The Gough Map (detail), c. 1360 or c.1390 X 1410
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Gough Gen. Top. 16
Image here via: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Gough_Kaart_%28hoge_resolutie%29.jpg
Those of you who have been with us for a while may have noticed that by Easter, Robert is usually champing at the bit to get out into as much spring sunshine as he can.
This year was no different, and I’m happy to report that the weather has been rather kind, so he’s been practically gambolling as he’s (sometimes solo, sometimes with Duffy) revelled in the glory that is York in spring.
As many of you will know, I’m less enamoured of being out and about in Nature, so I was very happy to take advantage of our having fewer courses scheduled to snaffle some extra shifts marrying lovely people courtesy of my ‘extra’ job at the Register Office. This allowed me to contemplate cooking up a surprise birthday present for Robert, in the form of a few days away.
To cut a long story short, I’ll sum it up thus:
Robert: I'd love to wake up to a sea view. I’ve not had that since I was on childhood holidays with mum and dad [repeat, frequently, over the years]
Me [on a giddy 11th-hour whim]: <secretly books sea-side cottage>
Nature [a few days later]: High tide up to yer garden gate do you, guv’nor?
I confess that I was a little concerned at booking what is just our second break away together since before Lockdown without sounding him out on various aspects. I tried to find somewhere which ticked all the boxes (sea view, comfy-looking sofa for general curling up upon, available, dog-friendly, promising-looking kitchen, within budget) in Yorkshire - for reasons obvious to anyone who’s met Robert for more than five minutes - but kept wistfully returning to my “wild card” rental, which I’d kept on a frequently-revisited open tab for a long time, despite the fact that it was…
…Across. The. Pennines.
But what if he’d become unwilling to venture into Not-Yorkshire since we were able to travel more frequently? A Robert is, after all, infamously set in his ways… What if he’d become unable to visit The Other Place??
Notwithstanding my qualms, I finally bit the bullet, and was relieved to find that the cottage was indeed still available. And within but a few emails with the lovely lady who owns the cottage, it became apparent that it was clearly Meant to Be! It transpired that she and I have some almost ridiculously similar and coincidental experiences. And even more coincidentally, she’s friends with someone with whom Robert worked quite a bit back in the day. What are the odds? We’ve just finished our course on Pagan Rome. I should know when the gods are telling me that something is right, non?!
So all I had to do now was complete my booking, and then somehow contain my excitement and keep my mouth shut, so that I could faux-casually reveal it to him on his birthday.
…Reader, I managed it!
Duffy’s water wings, bucket, and spade out of shot
I’m happy to report that he was indeed delighted, even unto being willing to venture to the other side of the country (once I’d assured him he didn’t have to do it via the M62).
And so it came to pass that just a few days later, the three of us were merrily trundling along to Silverdale - a delightful (and delightfully peaceful) village near the Lancashire/Cumbria border.*
* [Yes - it is that Silverdale (as in: The Silverdale Hoard). But no - we didn’t go looking for more Viking bling. Maybe next time.]
I’m equally happy to report that our temporary home was even better than I’d hoped it would be (voila, lest you should be in the market for something along these lines).
It was almost unbelievably relaxing, and we quickly got into the rhythm of the Morecambe Bay tides, enjoying the gorgeous skies, fresh air, and silence - broken only by the sea and well-behaved birdlife. I even managed to get in a trip to one of the best pilgrimage sites of the North West for foodies (aka: a Booths emporium).
Robert enjoyed going for scrambles along the shore, making the living room deliciously cosy of an evening, and chowing down on the meals I’d made. I enjoyed curling up on the sofa, reading some fiction, watching the vista change almost by the minute, and prepping said meals; and Duffy enjoyed her first (as far as we know) seashore scramble, hunkering down by the fire, and cadging as much of the food as she could get away with. (Who knew that a dog could convey “But we’re on holiday!” so effectively? Not me, until last week, that’s for sure.)
And so… suitably refreshed, here we are, ready to get cracking with our new term!
But before we do, we have what we hope will be two pleasing springtime surprises for you, in the form of new Short & Sweet courses, thus completing next term’s programme.
First up, by popular demand (for several years now, but especially during The Map of Britain, with which we closed our 2025 adventures)…
And finally, another subject around the edges of which Robert’s long been flirting. Truth to tell, he’s shied away from it partially because the resonances with current events might be seen as too uncomfortable! But who knows? Exploring this may even help us to make some sense of things currently ongoing! Either way, we both feel that the time has now come for him to dive right into…
So here we are - along with a full term’s worth of courses. We hope to see you soon!
If you haven’t yet got round to booking for next term but would like to, fear not - there’s still time!
To see all courses now available, click here.
PS For anyone who knows me, this will come as a shock, so do please sit down before reading further…
Even I ventured out Into Nature. No really. This is even more surprising than Robert being happy about the prospect of leaving God’s Own County - to the extent that he was moved to make photographic evidence, knowing that my mother, ex-spouse, and spawn wouldn’t believe him otherwise…