The word is a very exciting place

 September brought warm autumn vibes, and with it a return to more peaceful days out as the children were all back at school. Thank god, I'm so glad I don't have kids, and I won't ever have them! I love the kids of my family & friends, but I value peace & quiet too! But something that I did love as a kid, that I think all kids should visit, is HMS Victory. She is situated at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and we went there many a time when we were kids, and always thought it was fascinating. And I thought as I'm not working, why not return for a look around? I went with my friends Phil & Dan, and we had an excellent time there. The ship is currently undergoing a major conservation effort, which is likely to continue until 2032. This meant that when I arrived, much the deck was covered over a frame and the planks were being restored or replaced. Nothing like having personalised buckets for the king!

As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a novice with my pictures, and that's just the ones you see! You don't see how many I take that are skew-whiff, blurry or with fingers over the lens. But I do try my best to take a good picture. And where better to visit, than the place where one of the world's first photographs was taken, Lacock Abbey. The ornate & welcoming entrance gate 

 The glorious August weather was interrupted by a humongous deluge which seemed to come out of nowhere, soaking me to the bone. And after twenty minutes of monsoon style rain, it was over and the sun was back again, like nothing had happened! 

I think I was starting to get used to not working, but I seemed to be busier than I did while I was working full time! All the little thing's I'd been wanting to do, I could! Here's me making my own chicken stock, boiling up the carcass with the veggies from a roast we had the day before. It was absolutely delicious, although it was a very labour intensive process. But once it was done it was brilliant for not just gravy, but made an incredible ramen & soup broth that made you want more and more of it! I did plan to freeze some of it for another time, but it seemed to all get used within 24 hours of me making it!

 August was a strange month, without having to be at work, I felt like the passage of time was off. I was able to do anything and everything that I wanted to, but in terms of having a routine, it was non-existent! In some way's it was quite nice, in other ways, it was confusing and at times I had no idea what day it was or what I was supposed to be doing! It was however, a great time to catch up on things that I never normally had much time to do while working. I finally got round to building some lego I had brought during the Lunar New Year, this one is of a money tree, it was fiddly and took a while but I was impressed with how nice it looked. I've added it to the shelf with the other models. Lego is fun, this was the right size for me, but James a couple of years ago got me a one of the Great pyramid at Giza, and it took hours to do, and was so fiddly & complex I think it caused me more stress than it did enjoyment! 

I arrived in Sheffield early, and dropped my bag off at the hotel as it was too early for check in. I wasn't planning on doing much, so I just had a little wander about & explore by foot. I kind of fancied a day of just doing nothing, and sometimes you need to listen to yourself and have a day doing nothing! The beautiful clock tower in the city centre

I only had the one full day in Newcastle, which was a bit of a shame. It was quite an interesting place, and with lots to do there. But I'd booked cheap train tickets home, and there's no reason why I couldn't return in the future. Maybe by then people here would have an accent easier to understand! There was this gorgeous tree standing right in the centre of the hotel, and I think it was lit up at night which must have been beautiful to see! 

 Today I was feeling better, there was less pain in my ankle, and the swelling had reduced down to a minimal level. I think the ice and afternoon of rest had done me the world of good! Maybe the Romans gods were looking down on me fondly and wanted to see me finish the walk.  I caught the metro back to the Newcastle Central station, and from there walked back down to the riverside. There was a market on, and although nothing took my fancy, I did treat myself to some churros. You know, to give me some energy for the final stage of walking!