Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

At last. Today is the day all the drying stuff was removed from our house at home. After nearly two and a half months we are declared dry! Taking the bathroom tiles off and drilling about ten neat holes in the wall did the trick. When we get back from France in September the renovation work can start. They reckon it will take 4-5 weeks.

[Stanley]

Good luck with it Sue. Today the main event is seeing the eye surgeon this afternoon....

[Stanley]

Eyes are OK so the main thing is to get an eye test as soon as possible! Relief from double vision is in sight.....

[LizG]

No pun intended?

[Stanley]

I'm afraid it was intended Liz.....

[Stanley]

Whiling away the time until Thursday eye test and then waiting for a cure for my double vision. It's boring playing Solitaire so much, about all I can do in comfort.....
Mind you, looking on the bright side, all part of life's rich experience. At least I know what it's like to go blind and then come back! I have always enjoyed observing rather than just looking, it's even more of a delight now.

[Wendyf]

Taking boxes of stuff from Mum's to Silverwoods at Clitheroe to see if there is anything worth putting in the auction.

[Stanley]

You'll be an expert at house clearance eventually Wendy!
I think my cleaners come today......

[David Whipp]

At the moment... waiting to see if there's a good dawn photo op... (I doubt it; quite a bit of cloud banked up to the east).

Full on with the Beach again (after a refreshing holiday), and increasingly taken up with the minutiae of planning for the Heritage Weekend on 6th and 7th September (which follows on from the Beach in the Town Square Marque), which Peter Thompson and Ken Hartley have done most of the work on.

[Stanley]

Enjoying a clean house and whiling away time until I can see straight!

[Sue]

I shall be washing all the voile curtains in the house. The weather forecast is good so they should dry quickly. We are going to the local creperie for lunch and this afternoon I may finish a dress I am making or sit in the garden and knit the Aran sweater I am making for Eve. Not been too well this week, I have had a really bad throat and a touch of a cold.

Hope you get sorted soon Stanley, it's a real pain for someone like you who likes to read so much. My brother has double vision after his stroke but they say they can't do anything. I have suggested wearing a patch over one eye, he could alternate it perhaps to keep both eyes working. Good luck on you specs Stanley

[Bruff]

Packing!

Off on holiday for 3 weeks Friday. Off to France, Brittany. Taking the car. Coming back in a big loop, via Tours and Rouen. We wanted to spend some time in Normandy around the 'Landing Beaches' etc, but it was basically impossible to get any accommodation in the general area of the Battle for Normandy. This ended with the closure of the Falaise Gap 70 years ago 30 August - perhaps this explains it? Mind, I imagine it a place of commemoration and visit by many for most of this year.

Anyroads, we're looking forward to it. I do like France. We haven't taken a holiday there for over 10 years (been for a few breaks) - last time was in 2001 when the 'twin towers' were destroyed. We were in the Auvergne, back of beyond, where during WWII the Resistance were most active (most villages here have memorials to 'le maquis' dead). These days they often have Communist mayors (and play rugby league, which was banned by the Vichy Govt though rugby union was not). Sat in a tiny, unchanged-for-years bar in a tiny village reading the papers on 9/11 one day, we were approached by an old boy with a stick and one leg who informed us that 'that', the attack, was a wonderful thing and America had it coming. We were unsure what to make of this.

Richard Broughton

[Sue]

I hope the weather improves for you. It's been abnormally cool, hovering around 18-20 degrees for nearly two weeks and the forecast not much different. There is a cold wind even when it us sunny.We went to the Normandy beaches last week, it was very busy indeed. If you get a chance visit the Caen Memorial museum.. It is very moving.

[Stanley]

Sue, your brother's problem was most likely in the brain and I sympathise with him. Mine is simply mechanical misalignment in the eye due to the welding, should be curable with a prism in the lens.
Today's highlight will be a nice lady called Marie playing with my feet at the diabetes foot clinic. I got the U3A foot spa out last night and made sure they were absolutely spotless!

[David Whipp]

Tip Stanley; don't wear smelly sock round neck...

Today, am with rest of donkeys on beach...

[Marilyn]

I've been painting most of the day...a rather large canvas which will be going in our lounge room. Haven't done any painting for months due to packing and moving twice, so today was very enjoyable indeed.

[Sue]

I never thought of that Stanley although he has never implied such. Hope your eyes and feet are both very comfortable soon!

[Stanley]

My socks never smell David.... Foot nurse gave my feet and legs a 100% rating and said they were excellent considering the mileage. She also congratulated me on my toe nail cutting. Small things but very encouraging!

[David Whipp]

Stanley, they've got your number at the clinic!

Today, I'm mostly going to be concerned with cat care...

A story about a (possibly) homeless black cat that's living on Barlick Beach has gone viral; Radio Lancashire are running the story at breakfast time and it's probably in the Lancs Telegraph today (it's already on the Pendle Today site HERE.

After much toing and froing yesterday, it turns out that there are at least two cats (which are both very friendly and personable pusses) coming onto the beach. Last night, I took a call from a lady who has two further black cats that live nearby and come onto the square. So we may be confusing as many as four black cats!

One of these, which is kipping at the Tree House pet shop by day and beach marquee at night, doesn't appear to live anywhere else (but who can be certain?). We have a very good home offered for it if no pre-existing home turns up, but we'll have to watch out that a wrong cat isn't re-homed!

Here's a shifty character in a selfie with one of the cats (which we're pretty sure has a home)...



And here's another Town Square Beach Cat... (which may have a home nearby)...

[Marilyn]

Oh dear...we all know what cats like to do in kid's sandpits!
Make an interesting decoration for a sandcastle!

[David Whipp]

Not on Barlick Beach, Marilyn!

Every day when the beach closes, the tide flows over the sand and covers it with waves of polythene...



The sand is raked when we close as well and we can see if there's been any disturbance by animals (including people...) overnight.

We check the beach each morning before opening for any contamination.

The marquee enclosure ensures there isn't any crap from passing seagulls and night-time yobs can't lob the odd broken bottle into the sand...

So I'd wager our sand is better than 'Blue Flag' quality!

[Sue]

Spent the day half asleep nursing a summer cold.

[PanBiker]

I wont have opportunity to post this tomorrow so slightly in advance, tomorrow I will mainly be cycling the 170 miles from Morecambe to Bridlington. Charity fundraiser for Barnoldswick and Earby Bosom Friends. Thanks to those that have sponsored our group. Further details here:

BE Bosom Friends Fund Raising Events

[Wendyf]

Good luck Ian & Sally, take it steady and don't peak too soon!! The weather looks reasonable for the next couple of days. Hope you really enjoy it.

[PanBiker]

Thanks Wendy, Sally is one of our backup drivers and is vexing slightly about one of our refreshment stop off points in York on day two (Minster Yard). Two other backups so she can give it a miss and meet us further on if needs be. Off to bed now, bike loading for the trip to Morecambe at 8.30 tomorrow looking to set off from the coast at 10am, Malham end of first day after the climb over Settle highside, (3 mile freebie on the other side though).