Paddy's Plums are ripening nicely :-) Hello Autumn.

"SEASON OF MISTS AND MELLOW FRUITFULNESS..." (Ode to Autumn - John Keats)







It's that time of the year again folks where my Victoria Plums (planted over my dearest Becky's grave three-years-ago) are as fulsome as a Serving Wench's proudest assets and ready for the plucking. I feel jam coming on, and crumble...yum!
Definitely more of a 'nip' in the air as Miss Autumm blows kisses on my cheeks and the warmth of summer drifts south again.
Oh, but Autumn is probably my favourite time of year for the colours, the sunsets, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the scavanging of animals in the woods in preparation, the deep crimson sunsets, the early morning mists as the sun warms the earth's blanket...
And of course, it's Autumn wear, for the woollen great coats start coming out and the cosey blankets and open fires...don't you just love Autumn :-)

Operation Twinwood Weekend..!

Just returned from the weekend at the annual vintage 40's and 50's festival at the former air force base of Twinwoods in Bedfordshire (UK). The last airfield that the famous musician and composer, Glenn Miller flew from on his way to Paris during WWII, and was never seen again. This used to be called the Glenn Miller Festival, but for some reason, it has changed its' name and is now trying to be more things to more people (guess it must be on commercial grounds). Anyway...there were lots of swing dance classes going on, music concerts for Rockabillies and forties folk, nice vintage cars, beer tents, museums, etc..
And of course there was MAGIC IN THE AIR thanks to that old Wizard called MERLIN. In this case MERLIN was the engine of a Spitfire fighter which dazzled the crowds as it painted pictures in the sky with its' flying. There was also the flypast of a Lancaster Bomber, thanks to the Battle of Britain Flight.
I did get rather cold and wet in my little tent (yes, Paddy went a tenting in a field, only to find that the tent became more like a cabin on the Titanic during its final moments!!).
But it was lovely meeting people I hadn't seen in ages, and also making new friends too :) Shame it's 300 miles away, and I'm feeling it now, but I'll be a long time dead, so you've got to bite the bullet and do these things :)
I did get a lovely compliment, which made me beam..."Paddy, if you are in a soggy one man tent, how on earth did you manage to come out looking so spiffing?" Well, between my book on Harry Houdini and these flexible limbs of mine, it's amazing what a man can turn his hand to in a one-man-tent!
Ohhhhhh, the first few pics are from my motoring down to Twinwoods via Grantchester meadows (by the river Camb, where you can go punting all the way into Cambridge and the backs of the famous colleges - how romantique!!). I had cream tea in the famous Orchard Tea Rooms by the river, and yes, it's in an Apple Orchard where you sit on old deck chairs, just as they did 80-years-ago. So that helped break the LONG trek to Twinwood :)
One last funny thing. I only attended the Sunday event for a few hours in the morning, due to the long drive back home. So I ditched the vintage gear in favour of more practial travelling kit for the car. It was as 'if' I was in disguise, as no-one recognised me in my black jacket and sunglasses, until I introduced myself!!

On The Orient Express...on a limited budget.

Currently in York in the UK having just been on a 1930s steam train which took me through the beautiful Yorkshire and Cumbrian countryside to the borders town of Carlisle yesterday .
Half expected a murder on board, but alas no. Cream teas were served in First Class as we chuffed our way up dale and through valleys and across magnificent viaducts. Names like Eden Valley and Wild Boar Fell slipped past on this hazy summer's day with heads out the windows and kids running to the fields to cheer us on.
So if you want to feel like Richard Hanney in 39 Steps or an extra in Brief Encounter, then pack your picnic hamper, don those vintage clothes and Fedora and book yourself a day of nostalgic travel back in time. It truely is a steam powered time machine (for a day!).