Well, April was exciting, wasn’t it?

Then the trip to the Isle of Man which crossed over into May.

The rest of May involved little of interest, except a visit with Rachel to see Halifax Players do ‘The Ghost Train’. We weren’t impressed. They were using Nicholas Ridley’s ‘update’ of his father’s script – all the 1920’s etiquette, terms of endearment etc. were missing. If I do it next year, it will be better! (There seems to be no hope of doing it this year, but a possibility of working with Honley Players early next year; negotiations are ongoing.)

There was a bit of excitement in June, involving a one-night stopover in London. I’m not free to tell you all about it yet. Keep ’em guessing, eh, SKT?

Well, those are my initials, of course, and they used to appear on the number plate of my driving school cars – A6 SKT. We tansferred the plate to the little red car, known as Sally, who followed Harry (the motorhome) around for several years, but we let it go when we sold the little car. Rachel and family decided to mark that ‘milestone’ birthday back in April by arranging a new ‘SKT’ plate for me:

So we come to July. Last year, a plan to see the Mikron theatre company, who travel around on a narrow boat based in Marsden, fell through, but the family from ‘down south’ visited anyway. However, this year the family were busy elsewhere, but Chris and I went to see Mikron perform ‘Operation Beach Hut’ in the courtyard of the Lawrence Batley Theatre. Wow! What a talented foursome! All playing several parts and playing several instruments as well! The theme was a bit of a curious coincidence, since we had been to Honley a fortnight earlier to see ‘Sandcastles’, which also features beach huts!

Well, it’s ten years since Carol died, and July 9th was the day in 2015 when, helped by Philip, Judi, Rachel – and nearly 2-year-old Shannon – I spread her ashes on the water of Grasmere: (warning! one picture in this little gallery is not for the squeamish!)

So Grasmere was calling, of course! So were other places, including Keswick where the Theatre by the Lake were doing ‘Noises Off’. The Theatre by the Lake was the venue of my last G & S performance before the move to France. It was The Gondoliers with Keswick Amateur Operatic Society (KAOS!?) There’s a clip from it on You Tube – the famous ‘Gavotte’ sequence – search Keswick Gondoliers if you’re interested. That was in 2010.

Sunday July 6th 2025: A rather slow pack up, but not really a problem. Not until a disturbing incident on the motorway; a nasty crunching noise from under the car, bits of black … something … bouncing along the carriageway behind the car. Pulled onto the hard shoulder and called 999. Advised to drive on to the next services (c.10 miles) and have a good look round the car. Saw no damage, nor noticed anything missing. Drove on – maybe more later.

Heading for Keswick, I stayed on the M6 to J40 at Penrith, rather than drive through the Lake District, in view of the late departure. I’d booked 2 nights’ B & B at a hotel quite close to the theatre – this turned out to be a good choice since I’ve never before been able to walk to the theatre from where I’ve been staying. Very pleasant reception, and willingness to put a couple of little ice packs from my coolbag into the freezer – without charge.

My room was at the back of the building, on the second floor:

Of the two dormer windows, mine was the one on the right, and it had an excellent view of Skiddaw (England’s fourth highest mountain): (T80 SKT is on the carpark hiding behind that little yellow ‘Smartie’!)-

And this is me looking at it! –

But later that afternoon – the day of arrival –

The mountain had disappeared! However, before the cloud closed in, I’d caught this view from the front of the hotel:

Bin up there, bin up there, bin up there …. How may can you recognise and name?

The increasingly persistent Cumbrian ‘drizzle’, and knowing how difficult and expensive parking in Keswick can be, I drove out of town and up the A66 to Threlkeld for an evening meal at the Horse and Farrier. There was another reason for going to Threlkeld – more later ….

Monday 7th July: This was a great day! I drove round Derwentwater, via Grange and Portinscale, then south on the A 591 past Thirlmere and over Dunmail Raise to Grasmere. After a bit of shopping at the Co-op, the pharmacy, and the nearby gallerie, I thought I might try Grasmere Gather which, sadly, has replaced the garden centre, but it looked from the outside as if the café / restaurant wasn’t open, and I didn’t want to pay for what used to be a free carpark, so I cruised around a bit and ended up having lunch at the Swan. How many times have I driven, ridden in a bus, or walked past this place in the last 65 or so years but never gone in before?!

And this is Helm Crag (‘The Lion and the Lamb’) from outside the Swan:

It was very pleasant, with a warm welcome, and I enjoyed a nice piece of salmon. Then, of course, the lake beckoned. The first layby was full, but then – surprise, surprise – the one by Penny Rock Wood was empty!

It was definitely time to go ‘whiffling through the tulgey wood’, walking stick, not Vorpal Sword, in hand, and a folding chair over the shoulder! Mind you, not changing sandals for boots was a bit of a risk:

I might have got me feet wet!

At the lakeside, at that special ‘beach’, there was a brisk and chilly breeze, but I enjoyed 15 – 20 minutes nostalgia on the chair I had carried down. No passers by appeared who might have obliged by taking a pic or two for me, so I made do with selfies – though I’d left the selfie stick in the car!

Then, reminiscent of ten years ago, I had visitors:

But there was no little girl to feed them and get her feet wet!.

Moving on, I made for that old haunt, the garden centre in Ambleside, now under new management, where I made a few purchases and benefitted from some good ‘old fashioned’ service in the matter of help with carrying stuff to the car, also providing a convenient little crate, lined with polythene, so that the plants I’d bought might survive in the boot for a couple of days. They did, but at the time of writing they haven’t been planted out yet!

And this was the evening of ‘Noises Off’, performed with tremendous energy and skill. I always enjoy my visits to the Theatre By The Lake, with the possible exception of an occasion when they had converted to theatre in the round, which I don’t like. I belong to that old school which says ‘don’t turn your back to the audience without good reason’. In the round, actors have their back to half the audience all the time – I feel cheated as an audience member and thwarted as a performer!

Tuesday 8th July: Not quite such a good day, unfortunately. I was thwarted (that word again!) in my plan to drive down to Ullswater via Matterdale, by a poorly signed road closure. Turning off the A66 at Troutbeck, I would have expected to see ‘Road Closed Ahead’ signs and a suggested diversion, but no, by the time there was any signage, the only option was a turn in the road and double back! I ended up at Rheged (convenient!) and down to the lake via Dacre, which was probably a mistake – why not the main road past Dalemain? Sorry! Local references probably not very meaningful to those not familiar with the area, so maybe this helps:

There is no diversion possible off the Troutbeck – Matterdale road, but it can’t be closed at the junction with the A66 because access is needed to the caravan park (I’ve stayed there) and activity centre – but the ‘closed’ sign should, I think have been at that point, where turning would have been easier than the 5-point turn (or was it 7?) further along. I wasn’t the only one caught out by it!

But anyway, I drove alongside Ullswater (too green! – not enough lake visible!) and on up and over Kirkstone Pass – well done, little car! – down to Windermere and called at Lakeland (formerly Lakeland Plastics). Made only one purchase, then blundered again in my attempt to wriggle around to join the M6 north of Westmorland services! I ended up in Kendal! OK – let’s avoid any anxiety about fuel by filling up at Morrison’s (just like old times!) – BUT! Big surprise, petrol about 5p more expernsive than here! So I didn’t fill up, just put £10 worth in which, yes, meant no fret about getting home.

So then what? Over on the Appleby road to Tebay and went NORTH on M6, called at Westmorland Services (best services anywhere!), couldn’t find a rabbit at the farm shop, but bought two lamb forelegs (only place I’ve ever seen them) which provided tasty meals (slow cooked with red wine and rosemary) for a succession of visitors in the subsequent days. It’s a short hop up to Shap to change sides of the motorway and head for home. No problems en route, though there was an horrendous tailback for some reason on the westbound side of the M62 in the Saddleworth area. Glad I wasn’t going that way!

Well, that seems the appropriate place to close this post. After all, it is the end of this episode of ‘theatre and Grasmere’. But there’s a lot more to share with family and friends, not all of it happy … maybe I’ll save that for the email that alerts the reader to the availablity of the post. So I’ll close with a quirky little footnote:

Preparing to get en route each morning might include running off a small quantity of vin rosé into a miniature bottle to put in the cool bag with the ice packs, but hey! – don’t leave the box there! (Quoting Pooh-Bah: “I have known it done!”)

Santé!