Ground breaking ceremony for the new hospital

 The groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital was this week.  The hospital will take 3 years to build and should be finished by September 2020.  Hope I can hang on long enough to see it!!!!  They have already started digging a huge hole for the foundations, but I'm sure it'll be much bigger before they are done.....

 Dr Pestello and others with shovels of dirt!!!!

They made a cake in the shape of the new hospital!!!!

and, while I was away.....

Ben always keeps in touch with me when I am gone anywhere, so I know I will have some contact with home.  The latest thing for teenagers is Snapchat, so we now have a "streak" of a few days going.....

The major thing I missed while I was gone was the total eclipse

Ben and Maggie had started the new school year the day before I left and it's always a bit of a dodgy time getting back into the routine.  Ben is going to SouthTech this year, so he has to leave the house just after 6am to get the bus.  I told Sam that mornings will be quiet without the usual early morning arguments!!!!  Ben sent me this picture of his SouthTech class.  School seems to be going well for both of them this year, so far, so good......

Ben took the opportunity to drive my car as much as he could while I was gone.  He took Maggie to the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park last Sunday

He also looked after my plants really well when I was gone (which was good, because I forgot all about them!!!!!)  My gloxinia even flowered again.....

And one of my streptocarpus finally flowered (Ferdy ate the last flower!!)

Staunton Harold and Chester

After our trip to Derbyshire, Marie and I went to Staunton Harold.  It was the second time we went there during my trip home.  We are big fans!!!  We had tea at the Ferrers center

It is a Georgian courtyard that has been re-purposed as a craft center

We walked around the Hall

We went in the church-first time I'd ever been in there!!

We went to Chester to see Rich and Jude for the weekend.  We went to see a Midsummer's Night Dream at the open air theater.  It was a very simple performance, but absolutely brilliant.  I think it must have been similar to the original performances-no scenery, few costumes and very bawdy!!!!

Couple of pics of Dad's garden taken the day before I left-perfect Summer day

Time to go home.....

Our trip to Derbyshire-Day 2

We did a quick walk around the Buxton shops with Tom and Rhian on Wednesday morning.  Found this whisky shop, but Dad resisted getting anything!!!

We ate lunch in a bookstore with a coffee shop-has there ever been a more perfect combination???!!!!

We drove to Matlock Bath and took a walk down by the river

Lily pond in the gardens....

Dad and Marie

Jubilee Bridge across the Derwent

The Kugel stone at Carsington Water

Beautiful evening over the reservoir

We stayed at a really nice hotel just outside Ashbourne, then had a quick jaunt around before driving home.

Just a random 14th Century building!!!!

After my 2 days in Derbyshire, my take-home message is that no-one really knows England until they have spent time exploring the villages.  There are so many old, interesting buildings and great churches that are not appreciated as much as they should be.  I think I am more interested because I just don't see them every day.  As mum always said, "there's no one more patriotic than those who leave their Country".  She was right.....

Our trip to Derbyshire-Day 1

There are many things in England that most visitors never see or appreciate.  Some things people see every day, but pay absolutely no attention to.  One of the things I have always loved in England are dry stone walls.  They are works of art.  They started long before the Middle Ages and there are miles and miles of them in Britain.  They were originally constructed from stones gathered from the fields and chosen so that they fit together perfectly.  They stayed in place by virtue of the foundation and skill of tight packing.  More recently, people tend to cement the top layer in place, which used to be unnecessary.  It is a dying art, but I hope they never disappear.

Marie, Dad and I went to Derbyshire for a couple of days and we saw miles of these walls.  Marie stopped at one point so I could get a picture of the wall.  I love the ferns growing out of this one

This wall is covered in moss-looks like something out of Lord of the Rings!!!!

 Marie and I had talked about taking Dad away for a couple f days while I was home and I left it up to Marie to choose where we would go.  She decided to book a couple of nights in Derbyshire.  We left on Tuesday morning and drove to Buxton.  We parked by Buxton Town Hall, a lovely old building

 We walked down to Buxton Baths, built in 1852

Marie at the Courthouse

Opera House

Pavilion by the park

 Britain in Bloom has really taken off, there are flowers everywhere you go....

Tom and I walked through the pavilion, it was lovely

Park in the middle of Buxton

 After we left Buxton, we stopped in Tideswell and visited the parish church with they call the "Cathedral of the peak".  It was a really amazing 14th Century church

Just in case you were in any doubt!!!!

The church pews had a lot of carvings that were beautiful.  Amazing they have lasted so long

And stained glass windows, of course!!

Just a random 14th Century bell, whose name is Gabriel

Early hearse!!!

We stopped by the Monsal Trail to get a picture of the viaduct built in 1863 to cross the river Wye (and there was an ice cream van of course!!)

We stayed in Bakewell overnight.  This lovely garden was next to our hotel

We had dinner at this pub, but we didn't choose it purely because of its flower display!!!

More flowers

We found something to buy down here...