NEW

I bit the bullet, after watching the Barack Obama Inauguration on my aunt's giant flat screen TV, and swapped this.........For this......That also required the installation of a new aerial attached to the chimney of my Grade II listed Georgian cottage. The rest of the street already have aerials strapped to their chimneys so I'm sure it will go unnoticed. I celebrated by going into town to replenish my purse. The cost of the aerial and installation had emptied it. I happened to saunter past Clark's shoe shop which was having a sale. Last summer I yearned for these shoes but talked myself out of buying them with the rationalisation that 45 GBP was a lot to pay for a pair of purple patent pumps. There's not much in my wardrobe that they will go with. In fact there is only one frock and it still has its price tag on it. But today they were 13.21 GBP and they fitted, so home they came. They and the frock will get an outing in a couple of months time when I holiday in warmer climes.They will not be worn for treading paths such as this one. An ancient right of way in Teesdale where feet and hooves have worn down the path. Many hundreds of years ago it would have been level with the base of the wall. The fields on both sides are high enough for sheep to peer over the walls. Some small signs of spring have been seen. Yesterday there was new growth on the rhododendrons we passed on the Great Aycliffe Way and velvety buds on small willows growing in sheltered spots. The sun shone and it rained a bit, but better than last weekend when we got caught in a snow storm on top of the fell near Eggleston, just a few minutes after wandering down this path in the sun. The old Norwegian adage about "no such thing as bad weather...only bad clothes" was so true. We just put up our hoods and blessed our waterproofs.

Cheers Gillian