First Week Back

Easing back into work after my two-week break was smooth; because it's still the school holidays here in my part of Germany, many of my colleagues and clients are away right now, meaning there were a lot less emails to sift through and meetings to attend than at other times. It was still hot, though, and very dry apart from one glorious, brief spot of rain.

Monday (3rd of August) was too hot and humid to go for an after-work walk. I had a total of 140 emails in all my work-related inboxes; compare this with 288 emails after my summer holiday in 2024.

Another walk-less day followed on Tuesday (4th of August), equally hot and just as humid. I left the house only to pick up my prescription of eye drops at the pharmacy, ten minutes on foot from this keyboard. Work was very productive, but I developed a throbbing headache early afternoon and eventually took a paracetamol. Finally, some rain fell - it didn't last long and much of it evaporated on the sealed surfaces here in town, but it was a tiny bit of relief.

View from my kitchen at 6:04 that morning

Wednesday (5th of August) was a tad cooler at a max of 30C/86F, and it was pleasant in my north-facing office in Weilimdorf (no A/C in my part of the building). It was nice to see some of my colleagues again, while many others are on holiday right now.

After work, I walked to Benningen - it was warm and I sweated profusely once I arrived at the station there to take the train back to Ludwigsburg, but it IS high summer after all and perfectly OK to sweat as the natural physical reaction to heat. This very familiar walk is part of my "homecoming" routine, and I enjoyed it.

Not sure how well you can see it, but the birch trees to the left look very much like early autumn. Trees around here are really stressed because of the ongoing lack of rain.

Approaching Benningen

I was again at the office on Thursday (6th of August) and afterwards went to see my Mum; my sister was there, too, and we enjoyed one of Mum's delicious salads together.

Friday (7th of August) was the coolest day of that week at a high of 27C/80F! Over night, the temperature dropped to a chilly 15C/59F, making for a lovely fresh morning with all windows wide open and allowing for a much easier cleaning round.

My usual trains to Offenburg aren't running right now because of the holidays, but I still managed to arrive there at 8:00 pm, where my husband picked me up as usual and we enjoyed our start into the weekend together.

While waiting for my connecting train in Karlsruhe, I had a rather unusual encounter: An elderly lady walked up to me on the platform, asking whether the soon-to-be-arriving train was going to stop in Baden-Baden, which I confirmed. She thanked me and I thought, that was that. Nothing unusual about it.

But then she looked me intently in the face and said: "Now I want to do something good for you. What is your zodiac sign?" I was a little taken aback by this question and truthfully replied that I don't believe in zodiac signs, smiling politely. She said: "I am VERY clairvoyant, even if you don't believe in it!" Her manner wasn't unfriendly (neither was mine), but to my relief she moved on to the young woman standing next to me, also waiting for the train, and asked her for her star sign.

As they were both standing so close to me, I couldn't help overhear their conversation. After the young woman had told the clairvoyant her star sign, the elderly woman proceeded to say that she "should be very cautious tonight, as we have a full moon" - which was rubbish; on that night the moon was a waning crescent - the previous full moon was on the 29th of July, and the next is on the 28th of August.

I don't know how much the young woman participated in the conversation out of politeness or whether she actually believed any of it; the train arrived, and in the mad rush of a very crowded platform with passengers getting off and on the train I lost sight (and sound) of the two. For a split second I had been tempted to ask the elderly woman how come she didn't know where the train was going to stop if she was so "very clairvoyant", as she put it - but of course I did no such thing, since any discussion would have been useless.

When the train stopped in Baden-Baden (several stops before mine in Offenburg), I spotted the two getting off the train. Still on the platform, the clairvoyant was talking animatedly to the young woman, and I suspect the conversation had gone on non-stop for the last half hour or so. Just before the train moved on, the young woman hurried off the platform, and I lost sight of the clairvoyant.

We knew that Saturday and Sunday (8th and 9th of August) were going to reach 31 and 36C / 88 and 97F again, but the mornings were forecast to be much cooler than that, and so we decided to get up early and go hiking.

I'll show you these hikes in my next post.

First Weekend Back

The weekend after my return from Yorkshire (Saturday/Sunday, 1st and 2nd of August) my husband and I spent at my place in Ludwigsburg - understandably, I didn't feel like yet another train trip the day after I'd just arrived, and of course I wanted to do my washing and generally get ready for back to work on the Monday.

It was (and is) still very hot and way too dry in my part of the world; such a contrast after the pleasant summer weather we'd had in England.

On the Saturday, O.K. arrived in time for a late-ish lunch of Tabouleh after which we walked into town for an espresso first and icecream later. We also visited a couple of shops for an errand or two and then walked on to the palace grounds for a stroll in the shade there.

After a rest at home and considering various options for dinner we ended up at "my" Irish pub at a table outdoors on the market square and had fish & chips, very nicely done to our "extra crisp, please" specification and helped along with refreshing well-chilled cider.

For the Sunday we had arranged to meet with my sister at my Mum's at 11:00 for a welcome-back breakfast. On the way there we stopped at a bakery and bought croissants for all of us. Afterwards, O.K. and I walked the short distance to the cemetery and then home, where we unsuccessfully attempted to rest a while during the hottest part of the afternoon. It was just too noisy in and around the house.

Eventually, I prepared a light meal for us, finished off with delicious icecream (which was anything but light) and when my husband left for the long drive home, I went on a walk for another hour to catch the sunset and enjoy the slightly cooler evening air.

I now felt ready to pick up work again the next morning.

Friday on Trains; Bits & Bobs

Friday (31 July) was spent mostly on trains. My sister-in-law picked us up at the cottage at around 7:30 in the morning and took us to the train station in Harrogate, where our train to London left on time at 8:33.

We arrived in London around 11:30 and had plenty of time to cross the road from King's Cross to St. Pancras and start the process of checking in and going through border control for the Eurostar, departing at 13:31. Everything went well, but we were disappointed to find once more that our seats didn't have a window; we could only look through a narrow gap between the backs of the seats in front of us instead of enjoying the view of first the English and then the French countryside on the 3 hours or so to Paris.

There, we had another 45 minutes or so to wait at Gare de l'Est for our train to Stuttgart, which was also on time. Border control between Strasbourg and Kehl (across the Rhine) made for a delay of ten or 15 minutes, but once in Stuttgart, we had several options and simply took the first local train going to Ludwigsburg.

Already on the way to Stuttgart it had started to rain, and we made that last part of the voyage home on foot from Ludwigsburg station in the rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. I shut the door to my flat from the inside at almost precisely 10:00 pm.

Phew!

It was wonderful to have that rain, but because of the thunderstorm and gusts of wind, I could not keep all windows open to let fresh air in. Still, while I was unpacking and getting ready for bed, some exchange of air was possible.

Returning from a holiday always feels a mixture of strange and familiar, I find. But I slept reasonably well back in my own bed.

- - -

Here are some bits and bobs that for one reason or other weren't included in my other posts, in no particular order:

Look at this bust of an unknown man. Doesn't he look extraordinarily lifelike and modern? This work of art was created in the 2nd century of our time. It is one among many in the Great Hall at Castle Howard.

Another one from Castle Howard: This large vase with fresh meadow flowers was...

...in the Ladies' toilets there! Attention to detail at its best, I'd say.

The view from my bedroom at Matchbox Cottage in Ripon, towards the town. That yellow expansion is actually the lawn in front of our row of cottages. I have never seen it as dry as this in all the years we've been coming here.

Looking in the other direction, behind that hedge is our private garden. We can hang our washing there and sit with friends, as we did this holiday a couple of times.

Click to enlarge and read the over-enthusiastic and emotional marketing babble on the back of the muesli box we got from Tesco's. I found it rather weird to describe a muesli in such language:

My bedroom upstairs at Matchbox Cottage, as it looks now with new curtains and fresh paint:

The front of our cottage. On this bench we had our afternoon coffee/tea almost every day. The window behind the bench is the front room, the upstairs one is my bedroom.

A view of the row of cottages; Matchbox Cottage is our end, then follows Boxtree Cottages with our landlord and -lady living in the middle part and one of the previous owners of the B&B living at the other end.

Kirkgate, Ripon, coming towards the Cathedral. Always a beautiful sight!

A sunflower my husband sent me from an evening walk around the village:

The view I had from my place at our dining table, where we had breakfast every morning and where I sat for blogging:

One last picture from Castle Howard. This bust of Dionysos is at the bottom of the staircase visitors reach first when entering the house. Look at his eyes! He must be thinking, "Not another load of tourists..." or something like that:

Thursday in Littlethorpe

Littlethorpe is a small village just outside Ripon, across the bypass. A., my sister-in-law, lives there with her husband, an elderly cat and occasionally her daughter's dog. I have blogged about Littlethorpe before (for instance, last year), but this year it was the first (and only) time we actually went there.

Thursday (30 July) was our last day in Ripon before leaving on Friday morning. Knowing we were going to spend the following day entirely either sitting on trains or waiting at some station or other, we wanted to give our legs a good opportunity to stretch and decided on a walk to Littlethorpe.

J., our landlady, joined us, which was very nice. Her broken wrist stops her from driving and doing some jobs she normally does around the house, but not from walking. The weather was fine as before, at a very pleasant 22C and a breeze.

It isn't all that far from the cottage on Coltsgate Hill to Littlethorpe. The shortest way is across Ripon's centre and down to the canal; along there, one can reach Littlethorpe via a bridge over the canal.

To our surprise, we found the small church open - a first! There were a few ladies on church business, but they were just finishing, and we were welcome to have a look around. That was done quickly, as the church really is small. Because the ladies were still there, I didn't take pictures of the inside. You can find out more about the church (and the village) on the official website.

Our friend Neill had told us about the potteries at one end of Littlethorpe; at one time in the past, there were several of them, each specialising on a different type of product: One would make roof tiles, another one drain pipes, the next crockery, and so on. The clay was taken conveniently from a local clay pit, originally allowing for the pottery industry to start in this small village. Nowadays, there is only one left.

My sister and J. had never been this way, but I knew it from years back when I still came to Ripon on my own, staying with my mother-in-law first and later at my sister-in-law's in Littlethorpe.

The aptly named Pottery Lane took us past some very nice houses (you could almost call some of them mansions) set in beautiful gardens. There were few people about and only the occasional car.

Before leaving Littlethorpe completely behind, we turned back. At the church, we took a different road than the way we had come up from the canal, and I was pleased to find the former School House still as charming as ever (it has also featured a few times on my blog - I'd love to live in a house like this!).

Across the bypass, we reached Ripon's centre in time for lunch, around three hours after we'd set off in the morning. All three of us love Indian food, and so Realitea was the obvious choice. The food was once again delicious.

A rest at home was in order after that, followed (as usual) by coffee and tea on the bench in front of the house. This time, we also had cake - freshly baked at Realitea's, and fantastic!

After that, we both felt the need for yet another walk; this time a shorter one along the river Skell within the boundaries of Ripon. 

It was my turn to make our evening meal, and I used up what still was in the fridge; we couldn't take dairy products or other perishable food with us on the trip tomorrow. I made a batch of mash out of the remaining Jersey spuds, a leafy salad with avocado and cubes of cheese, and heated a pack of small pasties we'd bought for convenience a few days earlier but hadn't gotten round to eating.

This was our good-bye meal, eaten while watching an old episode of Vera. The only thing left to do that evening was to pack; my packing was done in about half an hour, including figuring out how to fit the five paperbacks I bought into my suitcase as well as the Emma Bridgwater mugs I had been given as a wedding present.

Wednesday at Walled Garden

On Wednesday (29 July), Sue (our former landlady at the cottage and one of our dear friends in Ripon) took us to Ripon Walled Garden. We had known about it but never actually been there - it is outside the actual town; not far, but along a busy road and therefore not a place we'd enjoy walking to. By car, it is only a few minutes from our cottage.

Ripon Walled Garden is a community project to help people with learning difficulties, largely run by volunteers and depending on donations as well on what they make from selling their own produce, at the very nice gift shop and the café. Click here for their website.

The day was a mix of sun and fast moving clouds at a pleasant 22C. We arrived at the garden at lunch time, which had been our intention. The meal at the café was really nice; we enjoyed our food and the friendly service. After a look round the gift shop we ventured out into the garden.

A lot is on offer there for children, but adults can enjoy the garden and the path winding its way through the surrounding woodland, too. There is information about plants and animals, what to look out for during the year, and interactive areas where young (and less young) visitors can playfully learn about nature or participate in projects.

Back at the cottage, as usual we had a rest followed by coffee/tea on the bench in front of the house. Afterwards, we went to see Mary and say good-bye to her for another year before we were going to leave on Friday morning.

We didn't walk back the direct way but took a detour along the river.

View of the Cathedral from near the Water Rat, a popular pub/restaurant by the Skell

The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent relaxing at the cottage, and after our meal of boiled Jersey spuds with warm goats cheese and a salad, I walked the few minutes to the market square well in time for the Hornblower ceremony.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know everything about it; if you haven't, you can learn more in my first post about it in 2012 here and several more after that - simply type "Hornblower" in the search box at the top left corner of my blog.

Unlike our late friend George Pickles, who was the sole Hornblower for 12 years with a deputy stepping in only when he was on holiday, this duty is now shared by four people. I was of course hoping that it'd be either Alison or Wayne that evening, but it was a man I didn't know. He did alright but wasn't as charming and witty as George had been (but then who would be!) or in any other way remarkable. Still, I make it a point to witness the ceremony at least once during my annual stay in Ripon, and I am glad I went.

Tuesday With Friends

An old school friend of my late husband's and his wife, N. and F., came to see us on Tuesday (28 July). They live in Wath-upon-Dearne (South Yorkshire), where Steve was born. As a surprise guest, they brought along their 8-year-old grandson. R. was very well behaved, even though I imagine it must have been very boring for him to spend the day with four adults, two of which he had never met, and listen to them talking about boring things only adults can spend hours nattering on about.

They arrived at around 11:00 that morning, and since the weather was once more perfect at 25C and a sunny sky with some fluffy clouds, we sat with mugs of tea in the garden that comes with renting the cottage. R. had fun on the swing for a while and then retreated into the house where he was drawing on his kindle (modern kindles can do that - I didn't know!). He showed us his drawings later, and they were pretty good.

The five of us strolled across the market square and along Kirkgate to the Cathedral; a visit there has become something of a tradition when N. and F. visit us in Ripon. Young R. was quite impressed with the huge building and once again behaved perfectly.

Entering a couple of shops on the way, for lunch we ended up at the large upstairs table at Oliver's Pantry where the four of us (without grandson, but sometimes with a dog) had enjoyed meals before. 

After a last cup of tea/coffee back at our place, our friends started the drive back south. When R. sat already in the car, he came out once more, approaching my sister with outstretched arms and saying "Cuddles!", and of course he got a hug and kiss from both of us. He also asked very nicely whether he would be allowed to come again when his grandparents would visit, which we confirmed.

My sister and I then went to the Spa Gardens, where we had not yet been during this year's stay in Ripon. As everyhwere else, the lawns were brown and yellow, but there were still some flowers, and the band stand was nicely decorated. My sister treated me to an ice cream from the little café/kiosk at the top end of the gardens, which was very nice.

On our way back to the cottage, we picked up a few bits and bobs at Tesco's and got things ready for a couple of friends coming over for nibbles and drinks that evening. I have mentioned Sheila and Neill a few times on my blog before, for instance here, and you may or may not recall that we'd been to see them for a cold drink in the morning last Thursday.

The garden that belongs to "our" cottage has a nice sitting area with chairs and table, where we'd prepared the nibbles and drinks. J., our landlady, joined us after a while, which was very nice. Everybody got along so well, and conversation was flowing as freely as the well-chilled wine we served. It being such good weather, we remained sitting outside until about 10:00 pm, when our guests took their leave.

We'll see all of them next summer, we hope, and possibly some of them sooner than that.

Monday at Castle Howard - Part II

Logically, after the house we went out into the grounds of Castle Howard. They are vast, and we knew we were not going to cover every inch and walk every path, but we had two highlights in mind: The Temple of the Four Winds and the Walled Garden.

My 2015 post about the temple is here, and the one about the Walled Garden is here. How green it all was back then, not parched as it is this year!

The temple currently holds an art installation that I had read about before coming here, and just the fact that we were now able to go inside this beautiful and very special building was one of the reasons why I so wanted to visit Castle Howard this year. You can find out more about the artist and her installation here.

After we‘d spend some time there, contemplating and listening, we strolled across the grounds to the Walled Garden and had a good look around. 

Atlas Fountain

A very cool looking Neptune

Can you see why I took this picture?

Eventually, we were ready for some sustenance and decided on Cream Tea at the Courtyard Café, which in the past was the stable yard for Castle Howard. Our fresh scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam were delicious and went perfectly with the Earl Grey tea.

A. drove us back to Ripon on a different route than in the morning, so we saw even more beautiful countryside, picturesque villages and grand houses. It was early evening by the time we were back at the cottage, and after a quick spot of shopping at our nearby Tesco we spent the rest of the evening quietly reading and watching TV.