Musical Village

The wellies were donned en masse this weekend, but despite the rain and gales that descended upon the village, the first ever international music festival took place here, and was carried off very well. I of course, spent alot of my time chasing after my two year old daughter, rather than actually watching anything at all, but she did some dancing too, and there was a music creche set up for kids, which she really enjoyed.

The pub was packed out, and not just for the Uilean pipes! It was a very cosy place to escape the rain. Nevertheless, this is England and a little rain can't stop people from having a good time. My son probably enjoyed the chocolate fountain the best, as well as running amok with his friends and buying up every sweet he could get his hands on. Yesterday the pub hosted a bbq for those that helped out with organising and cleaning up, etc. after the festival, which we (well, hubby did) did, so that was great, with lots of veggie options too.

Misty Cold Morning

Its nearly the solstice and surely getting darker, making me feel like staying in bed. The past week has been terrible for my husband in terms of getting any work done with the frost..not good working with stone when its freezing cold.

I know its not as cold though as the weather right now in Chicago and other parts of the midwest. Here in pennine England we've had frost, but no snow or biting wind chill factors, at least not where I'm at. Still the frosty slate roofs make it look more like Christmas.

We've got our Christmas/solstice selection of books out this week and have been reading Elsa Beskow's Peter and Lotta's Christmas and also a book about the Winter Solstice. But my son has discovered the Tao Te Ching and is fascinated with it. Not that he understands it, though some of it he does, he's more interested in the 'truth' that my husband told him it was about. My son was really upset by seeing something on the news about global warming.. we didn't get to turn off the tv in time, and they were using this image of the earth on fire throughout the report, and that really disturbed my son. So the line in the Tao Te Ching "Heaven and earth last forever. Why do heaven and earth last forever? They are unborn. So ever living" has given him real comfort.

NHS says No..

Yesterday my son wasn't too sure about eating his raisin bran. He said it smelled, well, like raisin bran. He had to examine the box and then after I poured the milk on, he decided it smelled ok to eat. I am starting to relax more around his sometimes quirky tendencies and sensitivities to things like smell, and this has made life more peaceful for all of us. Since we suspect he might have Aspergers and/or ADHD these sensitivities now have a context in which to make sense.

We have been waiting for a referral from the NHS (National Health Service) after our GP asked for it on our behalf, and a letter back came stating that we have to go through the school educational psychologist first before any referral to a specialist can be made. This despite the fact that the school suggested we see our doctor for a referral! But my son's teacher has been very helpful (I'm sure she's exasperated as well!) and has made an appointment for us to see said educational psychologist later this week. This is my first foray into specialist care in the UK, and I'm still navigating the school system!

The NHS so far has been a mixed bag for me, where I have had the blessing of two free births, and excellent midwifery care, but also seen one of my husband's friends die due to misdiagnosis of melanoma. My husband has also experienced the 'brush off' from his GP after complaints of aches and things that won't go away. Its the budgeting thing, the need to spend as little money as possible to keep the NHS going. This sometimes results in lack of proper care and attention, whereas in America, it can go the opposite route, you can spend unnecessary amounts of money to no real effect.

The tide is high..

Its the new moon today, and I am still feeling rather tense and generally stressed, although last night I had a bit of an epiphany and will be working hard to change my patterns. I felt very relieved to read what the Astrologer had to say about today's new moon as well:

The New Moon in Scorpio invites us to bring conscious change into our lives. If you’re like most of us, some painful issues may have come up in the last day or two

It would seem that this new moon is particularly powerful as evidenced by the tidal surge that's happening in the north sea and flooding parts of the east coast of England. The surge was expected to hit this morning starting from the north Humberside right down to Kent, and Great Yarmouth has already been flooded. Residents of Norfolk have been evacuated with police going door to door to warn people, while some surfers have gone out to ride the waves. The height of the surge happens around once every 20 years or so, so this is indeed a momentous week.

The Best and Worst of Britain

I admit, I have been watching alot of channel 4 lately.. their programming can be quite interesting, or can be of the car crash variety. Last night it was the best of Location, Location, Location focusing on the top 20 best and worst places to live in Britain. The list was compiled based on statistics gathered for general health of the area, income/economy, school performance, quality of life (culture, restaurants, shops), environment (both green areas and carbon emissions), crime/drugs/binge drinking, and housing prices. I think that was all of it, or at least those are the major factors most of us seem to consider when moving.

I have probably been to more places in Scotland than in England, and I find this type of info informative for a foreigner of sorts! Surrey seems to be the place to live in England, as six towns in the county figured in the top ten, but its also the most expensive. Many of the worst places were middle or northern England unfortunately. Some of the top areas had downsides like high carbon emissions from all the expensive suvs, or lack of very much entertainment. Our area didn't rate either way, with the exception of Manchester (25 miles away tho') which was in the top worst due to its crime rate, with gun crime in particular.

So where was the worst place to live? Middlesbrough. High rates of obesity and poor health combined with high crime and low income made it finish above Hull, which was first last year. Middlesbrough is the first place in the UK to have talking CCTV installed!

And the best? Edinburgh -Scotland. I felt a sense of pride or at least pleasure when that came up! I feel much the same affection and 'home' feelings about it as I do Chicago. Having lived there and my son being born there, I still feel connected. And sometimes really want to move back! Of course it can be cold and grey, but as noted on the show, its beautiful with its Georgian New Town, the castle on the hill, Arthurs seat, and all the restaurants, shops and museums. Its also very cosmopolitan, so an american ex-pat fits in nicely.

Milling around..

Over the weekend we took our mooney heads out for a walk at the local nature spot, Hardcastle Crags. What's a mooney head???
Our word, or perhaps someone else out there uses it too.. it is a crabby/cranky/grouchy/tired/sluggish/unmotivated feeling in your head/body around the time of the new moon and/or full moon, hence 'you have a moon head on'..

The best cure for it is either to a) go back to bed, b) go off somewhere on your own-not really an option when you have kids or c) go out for a walk in nature. So we went to the Crags and for a two mile walk up to Gibson Mill. The mill was a new venture for us and even though we endured some whining along the way, it was a good walk and a perfect day for it.

Hardcastle Crags is known as Britains 'little switzerland' which I only just learned today... it is a beautiful wooded valley which is owned by the National Trust. Gibson Mill was built in 1800 for the textile industry which ended in 1890. Since then it has been among other fascinating things, a roller skating rink (in the middle of the woods!!!), a dance hall and a tea room. It then lay derelict for years, and now has become the National Trust's flagship environmental showcase as a model of self-sustainability. It has been renovated and has no mains electricity, water or sewer. There are water powered turbines which generate electricity, photo-voltaic solar panels which also convert sunlight into electricity, and solar hot water panels. They also use local wood as part of the forest managment for some heating. Despite all the educational opportunities, my son did enjoy it.. and especially looked forward to the food in the cafe (naturally)! There was also a supply of bird watching books, tree-identification books, and other National Trust info laying around that provided an interesting read while enjoying coffee and biscuits.

Village Mayor Making

Last week was rather quiet on the writing front, as the kids went back to school, I somehow have gotten sucked into selling on Ebay (yet another addiction!), and my DD fell (threw herself off) from a chair and sliced her forehead, leaving me a nervous wreck for the next few days.





The weekend was slightly more interesting with drinks flowing in the afternoon and the village closed to traffic and filled with people. It was the annual 'mayor making' festivities in which a new village mayor was selected for the upcoming year. The outgoing mayor ---he's the goodfellas looking guy on the right, and the new mayor celebrated by dressing in the traditional garb, including a large medallion around the neck.
Apparently this is a tradition dating back to the 1800's where the village declared its undying independence from the neighboring 'big' town of Halifax. It is mostly a cermony done in jest, an excuse to have a big party, including duck races, games for the kids and food. The mayor does have some duties however, including representing the village interests when dealing with the local council, and securing things like more playground equipment and funding for the village.

Art attack..

The local fairs were skipped this weekend, in favour of a more artful outing. We wanted to take our friends from Chicago to Yorkshire Sculpture Park while they were here, but instead found ourselves in more north Yorkshire. So this weekend we headed to Wakefield, south of Leeds and got some culture!


The main motivation was to see the Andy Goldsworthy exhibitions, including the summer snowballs which the kiddies really enjoyed (no kicking it -that's art!!) I like Andy's work as it is so organic and earth based. Yorkshire Sculpture Park is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is an international gallery for modern and contemporary sculpture. The walk around the fabulous 500 acre Bretton Estate with over 40 sculptures throughout was a wonderful way to spend a sunny day and with many sculptures being 'interactive' for kids (i.e. they could climb on them, in them), it meant all of us could appreciate the art.

We will need to go back again as I know we didn't see everything (that's the thing with kids... its their time schedule).. Some of the best sculptures were created by nature herself including this several hundred year old yew tree, not for climbing.

Whirlwind weekend

With Nikki and Kathie arriving from Chicago on Friday, we've had a whirlwind weekend of sightseeing, mainly because of our fancy 7-seater rental car. Since we could only rent it for Sat.& Sun. we took in some of the most scenic areas of Yorkshire.


Our weekend started in nearby Haworth, home of the Bronte family and the Bronte Parsonage museum. Unfortunately, it just rained and rained, but in-between, we walked (Alot!)..

Knaresborough, home of Mother Shiptons cave and petrifying well was the next stop.. and I'll have to give more details about this later on. The last stop was York and on a late, rainy, Sunday afternoon, we really did just walk.. but we also had something to eat in the oldest pub in York, climbed the roman wall, and popped in to the Minster as well.

I think we are all just resting and recovering today --well all except dear husband who was the chauffeur for the weekend and is now working hard!!

Halifax on Sea??

As there was a break from the torrential rain that has been pounding this island, we ventured into Halifax for this 'Halifax on Sea' event, where it was advertised as a beach in the middle of Piece Hall.

I suppose our expectations were a bit high, as what it really seemed like was a couple of big sand boxes, rather than a beach. Chicago with its miles of sandy beaches has spoiled us in a way.. my niece here in England can't believe that Lake Michigan is really not a sea.. anyway, I digress..

One has to enjoy the sun while we can still call it summer, and with the kids now out of school for six weeks, the buses and everything else was pretty much packed to gills.

We did enjoy a bit of a peaceful walk along the canal, and as you can see, the water wasn't too high, as we seem to have been lucky to escape flooding in our little section of the country.
wipe out....

Rain Rain Go Away...

What else could I write about? Its been raining for what seems like months, but probably steadily for the past two weeks, as evidenced by the severe flooding in parts of the country.. the worst of it just to the south of us in Yorkshire. We have not been flooded here, as we are halfway up the valley, and the water just runs past and down, but there's been a few standing puddles-mini lakes down on the main road, and Hebden Bridge also had the flood sirens going at one point, but the new flood defences have held thus far.

I heard on the radio yesterday that supposedly we have had our summer in April, where we had about a week or so of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, and now we will have rain for the rest of the summer. But then I also heard a prediction that the heat will come full blast in August. I don't miss the sweltering heat and humidity of Chicago, but I really can't stand all this rain... its better than winter rain, don't get me wrong, but its downright depressing day after day after day. Alright for some though.. photo courtesy of halifaxcourier.co.uk.

Photo Friday

Last seen in West Yorkshire...

and who said that Brits don't want to be like Americans??!!

Markets in Halifax

I was perusing the second hand
outdoor market
yesterday in Halifax, which is held inside the large courtyard
of the Piece Hall. I have to say it seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Piece Hall, so named because when it opened in 1779, was used as a place for handloom weavers to sell their pieces of cloth. Now it is a two storey complex with a variety of unusual shops and cafes.

I went looking for cushions and covers for my 'new' sofa, but there was nothing. The Todmorden second hand market [at the opposite end of the valley] is much, much better and I shall have to make my way there later next week.

However, Halifax has a new slighlty upscale covered mall, which is not quite finished yet. It looks very promising from the outside which is why I decided to check it out, and yet it seemed rather empty inside.. perhaps its just not close enough to completion (was scheduled be done in early June). There was a variety of cafes, a couple of shoe stores, a barber shop, and an art gallery, with many more spaces waiting to be occupied. The covered part seems a bit pointless (except as expensive rain cover I suppose) as most of the shops/cafes consist of being indoors. Perhaps some outdoor seating and stalls will be added later on.

I wasn't feeling very upscale myself, struggling with the push-chair manoevering between the lunchtime working crowd, and nearly every shop seemed to have one to three steps up to get in (also not very wheelchair friendly). I decided on a mozarella, tomato and pesto sandwich with a mocha at Deli*cious Cafe. I tried to get in as gracefully as possible, with said pushchair (not encouraging), but the prices were reasonable and the mocha was really good. I will be happy when the little one no longer requires her little limo as getting around will be a whole lot easier.. but then there's the grabby hands..

[more] Handmade in England

Continuing on from last week, I realised there were a few more local companies that I love, which I missed out mentioning. Akamuti [little tree from the African Bemba language] is a four year old, Wales based, family-run company that makes gorgeous organic products for skin, hair, and babies. They also sell herbs and source organic and fairly traded ingredients. This Murmuru Butter is something I have not seen anywhere before, and is Brazilian tree butter for damaged hair.

Pai Organic has a small line (moisturizers, eye cream, & lipcream) of pure handmade products created by Sarah Brown, a New Zealand transplant. Pai is the Maori word for goodness, and the products are good enough to eat!

Lush skincare and cosmetics is an old favourite from my Edinburgh days, lured in by the overwhelmingly sweet scent emanating from the Princes Street shop. I haven't used any for a long time, but the Angels with Bare Faces was really good and simple. The range has expanded dramatically and is more 'perfumey' than the other products I've mentioned. They do a lovely vegan line, and all products are animal friendly. Products with fun names like Karma Bubble Ball, Waving not Drowning, and the prices are cheap!

And then there's Brighton-based Raw Gaia, which I mentioned previously with the raw cacao moisturiser, which has a wonderful subtle chocolate scent. It melts into your skin and then seems to disappear, leaving the skin very soft. Raw Gaia is unique from all the others mentioned in that they use only 100% organic, living and vegan ingredients such as cold-pressed butters and oils as well as high-grade essential oils. The products are 'raw' meaning they haven't been cooked/process in temperatures over 40°C. The moisturiser has MSM in it, which is a nutritional form of sulphur which is good for the skin.

English raves

Not that kind of rave. Rather, rave as in what's new, what's fabulous, what am I raving on about??

As a non-native, I like to explore and dig into the nooks and crannies of the country, to really savour the difference, if there is one, of living here. One of my favourite things is finding locally produced things, supporting small businesses (as I am an entrepreneur at heart) and finding a good bargain. I have to say that I have been a skincare junkie for a long time... don't know how it got started but there you have it. What I look for now though, is organic if possible, but primarily natural.. I need to know what the ingredients are and what they mean. And in my explorations, I've discovered a few new raves.
Trevarno Organic, based in Cornwall (oh how I wish we'd move down there..) is situated on the Trevarno Estate and gardens which dates back to 1246. The skincare portion includes all handmade, organically certified products, slightly more expensive than some, but still great value for a top quality product. My favourite is the revitalising facial oil made with jojoba oil and vanilla..yum.

Pure Nuff Stuff is a small woman-run business also based in Cornwall, in the picturesque sand swept region of Penzance. All the products produced are organic and very natural, not to mention well priced! I have been a fan of Neal's Yard Remedies for years, (another English staple) and while they are decently priced and natural, I am amazed at the quality of the new products out there, that are even cheaper (no I won't leave you neal's yard..). Why anyone would pay department store prices is beyond me.. with these small organic businesses, you get top quality, freshness, no animal testing and no funky long-winded preservatives. And if you know me, you know I've rambled on before about ditching the big multi-nationals, [which frankly overcharge for products that a good percentage of the time don't do what they say will do] in favour of supporting small business. You can also pay even less at times for a better product than you might do in your average Boots or supermarket.

This lip balm by Crazy Rumors, is not made in England, but is a new discovery on my part and just perfect for coffee lovers like myself. The creators are from New York, and also do lip balms for tea lovers too. I found this through OliveOrganic, an English family-run business that sources all manner of lovely organic and original products. All except Trevarno can ship internationally.. I believe Trevarno is working on shipping to the US in the near future.

Longridge Field Day

Summer is here and the fayre and fete season is in full swing. Despite feeling rather anti-social this past weekend, we went to Longridge Field Day (near Preston) anyway, and while melting in the heat, watched the opening parade.

Everybody loves a parade right? Thankfully it was a short one, mainly to see our little great cousin march. This was not him of course, but rather Men with hats, and noisy shoes.


And more traditional english (Morris) dancing, but can you spot what's wrong with this picture??

Photo Friday

[more from] a day on the beach

Although it was overcast (typical), our day at the beach was still nice and it was great to smell the sea air once again. I haven't been to the coast for over a year and this was my daughter's first experience of sand.



One of the iconic attractions of Lytham-St. Annes is the old windmill on the green. Although I enjoy where we live, the hills and the panoramic views that you get from the tops, there is something very alluring about the sea, and living near it. I love the wide open space, the feeling of sky melting into the land, and the never-ending horizon. Lytham-St.Anne's also has a quaint shopping district and a variety of wonderful architectural styles, including a fabulous byzantine white church [which was being refurbished at the time].

Lytham-St.Annes

Routine is settling back in now that the half-term school break is over, but the weekend was an unexpected surprise.

While visiting the grandparents in Preston, we drove out to Lytham-St.Annes, along the coast of the Irish Sea.

Lytham and St.Annes are two adjoining towns, very near to Blackpool, but more subdued, and in my opinion, more pleasant. On the waterfront we found the Victorian St.Anne's Pier, overlooking the sea.. the front portion has been converted into a games/rides area for kids, while you can walk out onto the open pier at the back. Unfortunately the old tea rooms on the pier are closed and have not been refurbished. Looking out from the main pier, you can see the remains of where the original pier once extended to-- prior to a fire that destroyed a good portion of it.

The promenade, while full of things for the kids to do, was not overwhelming and forgetting myself, I even enjoyed a bit of trampolining (but you won't be seeing a photo of that).