Fatal Crossing

Now the European athletics is finished we have been watching this Danish murder mystery.  It’s a brooding Scandi series showing beautiful Danish landscape and an investigative journalist with a wonderful wardrobe of chunky knitwear and heavy duty scarves.  It makes me want to knit more of both, I’ve already been looking at yarn and have a jumper pattern in mind. Watch this space. 

The film is in the Danish language with subtitles which usually I don’t like as they require concentration so there is no knitting while I view.  However it’s been worth it, we’ve both enjoyed the episodes so far. 

Oddly we were watching last week and for some reason MrFF decided to turn the volume up.  We both laughed when he realised what he’d done, he said he was brushing up on his Danish and it would soon be as good as his (almost non existent) Italian.  Thats about right. 

Another year another summit

You may recall that in August last year, his birthday month, MrFF took himself off to Wales to climb Mount Snowdon.  He stayed overnight at a youth hostel and came home with an awful cold, at least his hike was successful.

This year he decided to tackle Scafell Pike, the highest point in England, not so far away in The Lake District.  This time he booked himself into a decent hotel to enjoy after the climb so he left home at 6 am. I had a message at 9 am that he’d arrived safely and was just starting the walk.  I heard nothing all day, I expected a photo from the top or at least confirmation he’d made it, silence until around 7 pm when he messaged that he was back at the hotel and rushing for dinner.

It had been a hard day and he’d had to beg a lift from some other walkers back to his hotel as he couldn’t face another 1.5 miles of road walking after all the rocks and boulders.  However well rested next morning he could face a full English breakfast and spent a relaxing day in the Lakes, I got photos of both.

I think he found the walk quite a challenge, he’s been trying to conceal a slight limp since, so I am wondering if next year as he approaches 79 he plans to climb Ben Nevis.  The logistics of getting to the Scottish highlands and another day of stress for me might be too much, I’ll be almost 79 too.

Yorkshire Day

01 August is Yorkshire Day when those of us fortunate to be born and/or living in God’s own country celebrate everything that makes us who we are  

It also memorises the beginning on 1 August 1833 of the Slavery Abolition Act.  William Wilberforce, member of parliament for Yorkshire, had been instrumental in campaigning for emancipation, alongside other prominent Yorkshire abolitionists including Wilson Armistead and Richard Oastler.

In Ilkley, where we love to mark this event, this year we went so far as to make a weekend of it with The Grove where we have the bandstand and Betty’s tea rooms completely closed to traffic Saturday and Sunday.  There was food and drink, live music, family events, market stalls, Yorkshire flags everywhere.  Of course Yorkshire has a registered flag with the white rose of York and Ilkley has its own lady town cryer, we do things properly.

Thousands of visitors packed the streets in a friendly happy atmosphere.

The first three photos are from the internet, the last one my own