DERELICT SUNDAY

When we woke up this morning, the sun was shining so we decided to go down to breakfast early so that we could go out for a walk before leaving the Donnington Valley Hotel - we were actually the first ones in the breakfast room and were told that most people had a lie-in on a Sunday morning!

With a good breakfast inside us, we went off to look at the sculpture, "At First Light" again but after musing and mulling it over, we still couldn’t quite see the ethereal female enveloping the male figure - see yesterday’s Blip - so decided to wander on and have another look on our way back.  Suffice to say we have left the hotel without coming to any conclusions about it - so maybe we need to go back sometime!

We had a good drive back along the A4 rather than the motorway - because we were in no rush to get home - and had a very nice cup of coffee in the “Honesty Coffee Shop” in Barrs Yard just on the outskirts of Hungerford.  As well as this lovely little café, this interesting salvage yard includes a florist, an art gallery, a wine shop and an upmarket clothes shop, or fashion boutique as they are more commonly known, as well as the sales yard - but all we did today was window shopping although I did get one or two ideas for other Derelict Sundays!  

When we had driven along the A4 towards Donnington on Friday, we had noticed a long and derelict wall, which we had earmarked for today’s challenge.  Mr. HCB kindly stopped there today for me to take some photographs, but then just along the road, we saw this derelict house or perhaps it was originally a garage, so I decided that this would be a better subject for today’s challenge and as Mr. HCB said, we can always go back to the wall.

We then drove along the A4 towards Marlborough, but for some reason our Satnag took us through Little Bedwyn instead of continuing to Froxfield.  Just as we left the village, the heavens opened and as Mr. HCB could hardly see to drive, we stopped for a while next to the Kennet & Avon Canal - although it was at least quarter of an hour before the rain abated.  After the recent rain, the water in the canal is very high and when we stopped a while later at the Millrace near Stitchcombe, the water was pouring out from the sluice gates, so we stopped to take more photographs.  We then continued our journey home, and stopped in Marlborough at The Food Gallery for more coffee and a slice of toast - we would have had a pub lunch, but after our wonderful breakfast, neither of us was that hungry.

All in all - apart from Friday night - we have had a lovely weekend.  The golfers must be pleased because they have now had three days of sunshine - I’m sure that my golfing Blip friend, Shirleyray, and her husband, Tony, would love it here.  

As we paid our bill, the receptionist was very surprised when we told her we hadn’t been out in the car, but had just walked around the golf course and the grounds but we have been more than happy to be out in the fresh air and just enjoying being together.  We have seen lots of different birds, including many red kites, kestrels, blackbirds and robins, beautiful daffodils, snowdrops and trees - and the weather has been beautiful for most of the time - the bonus was that all this was only a short drive away from home.

Another bonus was that as we came back and stopped near The Ridgeway, we saw another beautiful rainbow, almost in the the same place as last week - see extra.

“It is an absolute human certainty 
     that no one can know his own beauty 
          or perceive a sense of his own worth 
until it has been reflected back to him 
     in the mirror of another loving, 
          caring human being.” 
John Joseph Powell : The Secret of Staying in Love

P.S.  Thank you for all your kind comments for yesterday's Blip - I will be back to commenting soon and appreciate your concern.  M xx