Tuesday 25th November - I Forgot, Making a Start and Free Ride

I nearly forgot; today is a blog day!  What I did forget was, to add a thank you to the end of my last blog, for all the help I received with the Poppy Appeal.  So, thank you to Derek, Martin & Peter for assisting with counting the donations, to the Methodist Church for once again letting us use the church for the count, to Overstrand Post Office for facilitating the banking of the donations, to St Martins Church for donating the collection from the Remembrance Day service, to Gordon Partridge for flying the Poppy Flag on Armistice Day, to both Belfry and Sidestrand schools who raised significant amounts, to the locations in the village who displayed trays of poppies etc. and to everyone who donated or purchased a wreath.  I don’t think I’ve missed anyone but if I have, apologies and be assured your contribution to the appeal was greatly appreciated.

With the conclusion of the Poppy Appeal, my Statement of Account submitted and stock returned, it’s now time to give Christmas some thought.  What better way to start than with advance food preparations.  For me, this meant making mincemeat, using Delia Smiths recipe which I find less sweet than those produced commercially.  I followed this with our Christmas card list and a few notes to follow.

This afternoon, we went to the mobile library – see the Village Calendar page for dates and stop off points in the village.  As well as returning and taking out books, I collected one which I ordered when the van visited in October.  This is titled Free Ride and written by Noraly Schoenmaker which covers some of the authors bike rides through various parts of the globe.  Peter discovered her Youtube channel, Itchy Boots, a few months ago and from then on, we have followed her twice weekly vlogs.  Currently she has published seven hundred and sixty-seven vlogs and has over three million subscribers.  Far too many vlogs to realistically start from the beginning and watch them all.  However, having read about Zanskar and its peoples, in The Frozen River by James Crowden, I was drawn to her journey through this spectacular and dramatic area.  I was not disappointed, Noraly literally had me sat on the edge of my chair, as I watched her riding her motor bike along daunting and potentially perilous dirt tracks.  Noraly has taken us to and through places we have never visited and are not likely to.  I hope Noraly’s book proves to be as enthralling as her vlogs.

Today’s photo shows the early morning sun, highlighting the broken path where the Overstrand Hotel, once stood.