Forgotten Lifetimes

Firstly, many thanks to all of you who commented so enthusiastically, rated so highly, and favourited yesterdays blip. I've been overwhelmed and touched by the response. I can't remember ever feeling quite so honoured! I think it means so much because I have so much respect for all of you, and your talent. I've been out all day, on the bike, and watching my son's cricket matches, so it was a delightful surprise to get back this evening and find out that I had reached the spotlight page. So, thanks again for helping to get me there. It's been so exciting. I feel like a little boy on Christmas morning who just got the present he had asked for from Santa. Final very special thanks to yearofhappy for her mention of my blip on her write-up last night, which I'm sure brought me a lot of visits. You're a star! Your blip was pretty special too.

For the very first time today I ended up with a blip at a pre-determined location. We passed this church on our club run on Thursday and it looked wonderfully photogenic. You'd never find it by chance, other than on a bike. It's almost invisible on the OS map, and it's tucked away on an extremely minor road in the middle of nowhere. St.Mary's Church at Stainburn dates from the 12th century and although no longer used is maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust. The graveyard is very overgrown in places, but the headstones are in good condition, if listing rather! They each hint at a story of a long forgotten lifetime, many quite tragic. This place has seen hard times. Quite sobering. It was a beautiful spot to meditate a while, and brought me down to earth from the giddy excitement of posting a popular blip.

I'm in the middle of a very hectic weekend so it may take me a while to get around to see what everybody else has been up to. Enjoy yourselves.