That Darn Cat!

I was a bit dismayed when I got up this morning and looked out of the kitchen window and saw the state of one of the feeders. This is due to cats lying in wait under a bush nearby in the hope of a tasty meal. I fixed the garden pot saucer onto the base of the feeder to catch most of the seed instead of it being dispersed over the garden, this has worked well in the past but unfortunately the local cats are making the most of the cover.

I've being spending a lot of time in the garden lately preparing beds and general tidying up. I've arrange for a chap to come and give me price for new fences and a bit of landscaping, hopefully I can post the results in the near future.

This area is in for some major improvement

This is the area that Stuart Cartner helped me tidy up and gave me the inspiration to start gardening again.

After a shower and a bit housekeeping I put some entries into the E & L database for an hour then spent the rest of the morning setting out the plants I bought yesterday at Whitesykes Garden Centre. I bought these as space fillers for this summer. My idea is refill the spaces with perennials under the guidance of Mrs Tootlepedal.

 Silver Dust

 Red Salvia

Petunia

Elephants Ear providing a bit colour and ground cover

In the afternoon I popped through to Carlisle to get some odds and ends and some lunch. It was quite a pleasant afternoon with a light but warmish wind as I sat in the centre watching the world go by. I bumped to ex colleague Debbie who was on her lunch break and she brought me up to date as to what was going on at the college, she also informed me that the Support Staff were planning a night out in mid June which I will look forward to. 

I received a phone call from Neil last night asking if it was OK to come through with the boys in a couple of weeks time. I'm quite excited about this as it is their first visit since my birthday last June and I'm looking forward to showing them all the changes that are in progress.

A Place of Welcome.

I returned last night from a wonderful day out at Chester with the Carlisle College staff association. My colleagues for the day were Ian and Aileen Garner and Alison Webster. The three hour journey was smooth and comfortable, we were issued with a quiz to keep our minds alert during the journey. We arrived at Chester at the predicted time of 10:50am. As Ian,Aileen and I had never visited Chester before we decided to walk around the city wall stopping of at various points of interest. You get an elevated view from the wall keeping you away from the crowded streets below.

Starting of at Eastgate we we proceeded in a clockwise direction visiting and viewing interesting places and people along the way.

Terraced streets like this were very much a common sight in the not so distant past but due to redevelopment they have diminished considerably. 

As is the rear

People Chester Racecourse was busy getting ready for race day 

The Grandstand looking very grand 

This is not a good example but the canal at this point was cut through solid rock.

Not everyone has a Rhinoceros on their veranda


Continuing on I was attracted by the reflections of my colleagues on the windows of a very modern building that was adjacent to the city wall 

Ian


Alison & Aileen

  We stopped off to explore Chester Cathedral which was a real treat. 

We were greeted by wall of welcome in various languages as we entered the cathedral which I thought spoke for the whole city. Which is I found a place of welcome.

  
This is for the beneifit of Mrs Tootlepedal 

These vaulted ceilings are a true work of architectural genius

Probably the highlight of my day was listening to this orchestra practice whilst we were in the cathedral. I'm not into classical music in a big way but listening to them, I could be converted.

After our walk round the wall we were ready for something to eat so we thought it would be a good idea to find somewhere by the riverside. After looking at several places and finding them very busy due to race day we did manage to get an excellent meal in the Boathouse by the river dee, if you are ever in Chester I recommend it for beer, food and especially the staff. 

After lunch we took a leisurely walk by the riverside enjoying the atmosphere.

My colleagues Aileen, Ian and Alison

We decide to return to the racecourse, which you could view the whole circuit from the elevated road side. Things had hotted up since we passed by earlier and a good party atmosphere was under way.

 

Every thing's well under control

"they're off"

"approaching the bend"

the final straight 

The finish!

It  was now time to head back to where we were to be picked  up. On  the way I had to admire some of the  old and new architecture.

The journey home was like the journey there; smooth and comfortable.