"KEEP ON DANCING"

My 3 year old grand daughter made her first stage appearance on Saturday evening in a dance production at The Public Hall in Witham. Yes, the same Witham which is currently enjoying fame on X Factor. Whether she follows in the footsteps of Olly Murr remains to be seen.
I was a very proud grandmother watching her every step as she completed a faultless "Mickey Mouse Club March" and then later on in the first half "You've Got a Friend in Me". No photos I'm afraid - a sign of the times!
The teacher also appeared in various parts of the production and I can certainly say there was plenty of tap and tap and tap tap!
Whilst the art of dance is not quite my thing, my grand daughter certainly enjoyed herself and it's great that there are people out there who have the time, the patience and the willingness to teach.
A good evening, rounded off at home with a glass of red wine, watching X factor and cheering Olly on!

FEEDING THE DUCKS

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make your day.
After work this morning I had the pleasure of looking after my 3 yr old grand daughter while my daughter in law took her baby sister to her massage class.
What could we do to pass an hour or two?
"I want to feed the ducks, Granny" was the request. So I raided the freezer for bread and off we went along the canal edge to search for ducks.
Not visible straight away, we trudged along and she chatted quite happily.
Eventually we found some ducks taking in the sunshine on the opposite side of the canal, the bread enticed them over and she soon emptied the now defrosted bread into the water. The ducks had a good feed.
We finished our afternoon with some time in the playground. Swings, slides, roundabouts and climbing frames never go out of fashion.
She had a lovely time and so did I.

KNITTING & STITCHING SHOW

Yesterday I went to the Knitting and Stitching Exhibition at Alexander Palace. My cousin and friend invited me along and I really enjoyed it. I left my husband Michael at home to have a day working on his boat in the garage. This is an ongoing project of his which he had hoped to finish this summer but it is still work in progress.

The boat I pictured in the foyer of Alexander Palace was certainly a work of art, all knitted and seaworthy! When I got home, I showed him my photo and offered to give him a hand next weekend. I'm fairly confident with a ball of wool and some needles. He declined my offer!!

I did buy some wool while I was there yesterday. I have been inspired to have a go at knitting a pair of socks and also I'm going to attempt knitting some bracelets out of wire. Ideal Christmas presents, I thought. Mmmmm I'll have to see how they turn out first.

We finished our day with afternoon tea. Very nice it was too.

WALKS THIS WEEK.

I can't believe that a week has passed since I walked along the seawall from Heybridge Basin to Goldhanger. My brother-in-law having just retired at 65 wanted to walk from Hoe Mill to Goldhanger, so he set off along the Chelmer and Blackwater canal towpath towards Heybridge Basin on Friday afternoon. What a glorious day to pick to complete the walk, the sun was shining and by the time he reached the Basin the tide was coming in.

My husband and I met up with him there and set off for Goldhanger. Once we had passed the caravans at Mill Beach and the last of the moored boats, Osea Island was in clear view. There wasn't even a breeze and considering it was the last Friday in September we were surprised at just how warm the sun was. As we headed into Goldhanger creek and over the field towards St. Peter's church, we were ready to quench our thirst. Thankfully, The Chequers is right next door and that's where we were headed, meeting up with family for a well deserved meal and drink. We really enjoyed our walk on Friday so deciding we should make the most of the lovely weather on Saturday afternoon my husband and I drove over to Holland-on-Sea. We could see in the distance Clacton pier and were surprised to see the paddle steamer Waverley moored at the far end. By the time we had walked into Clacton and down to the end of the pier the boat was about to sail. We stood for quite a while watching the last of the passengers rushing to get on board. By the time we had got back to the car the boat was well on its way on its return journey. I do enjoy a morning walk, leaving home just before 7am. On Thursday I was lucky to meet up with my neighbour on the seawall, so we paced it out together. We walked just beyond Osea Rd as we hoped to see the owl that is nesting in that area. No joy with that but we did see a grey Heron and a handful of Brent Geese.

I really appreciate living here, I can walk for miles along the coastal path and along the canal towpath - not a road in sight. Wonderful!