Last of the Summer Wine

There's something so endearing about that show, but it couldn't possibly be the same after Compo and Nora Batty left. Luckily, one of our village residents decided to honour them as part of the first ever Allendale Scarecrow Festival. No-one was really sure what to think when the idea for a scarecrow festival was announced, but it has taken the area by storm and now there are over 100 scarecrows around the village and in surrounding countryside. I wish that I could show all of them here, as there are some pretty amazing creations. More of them keep appearing every day too. It's certainly caught the imagination of the locals and is attracting many visitors too.

Grace and I had a great day today. We went with my friend Lisa and her little girl Gabrielle (who is a couple of months older than Grace) to Metro Centre for a girly shopping day. We bagged some Primark bargains and had a fab lunch in Debenhams (parents: I HIGHLY recommend their VIP lunch deal for kids on a weekend. Grace certainly enjoyed it, as you can see here). In fact we ended up being away about 7 hours in all. Amazing how women can while away the time in a shopping centre. Great practice for the toddlers too!! When we got back, after a quick tea, we went out with Hubby to a BBQ at our friends Elisa and Daniel's new place, which was lovely. Grace got to play with Gabrielle again and our hosts' little boy Sebastian who is also the same age and another member of Grace's gang of friends.

All in all a lovely day.

Shame about the football result though. Looks like it's the Championship for us next year :(


A year ago: Another great night out at friends Trudie and Jason's wedding party.