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Took the plunge (but not literally!) and bought myself a paddleboard. 😎 The Bluefin sale said "end-of-season", but I'm presuming it's only end of season for southerners!! 🤣 A 4km excursion on the North Tyne, and I've pretty much got my balance back... it's been a couple of years.
From a swim in the North Tyne yesterday evening. I placed the lens of my GoPro just into the water. 😎
(Edited: because I was irritated that I'd used the word "evening" twice in the same sentence!)
Found this while randomly scrolling through my phone backup. 😅 Religion looks like it might be more fun in the mosh pit!!
#Humour #Video
About to watch "28 Years Later"... so maybe it's lucky that I've just been updating my Holy Island crossing calculator. You never know when these things might come in handy! 🧟🤣
https://mootparadox.com/webapp/pilgrim/
It does specifically say "social media's walled gardens" I suppose. 🙄
From a swim at Darden Lough yesterday. The water was feeling pretty nice, although starting to feel a little chilly after 10 minutes. 🥶
#WildSwimming #Swimming #Northumberland
Finally returning to some (slow!) trail running. I wanted something short and easy, it's been 12 months, but also fun enough to perhaps rekindle my interest. So I set out along some fire roads in Fourlaws Forest, beside Great Wanney crags. A very pleasant afternoon. 😎
#Northumberland #TrailRunning
Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island. Although, having just listened to the LJ Ross "Holy Island" audiobook, I now realise how dangerous this place really is! 😂
#Photography #Northumberland #Castle #HolyIsland #Lindisfarne
St Cuthbert's Cave. This was from a walk back in May. We began at Belford and walked to Holy Island, using my walk/tide calculator ( https://mootparadox.com/webapp/pilgrim/ ) perfect timing and a lovely day out. (Pre-booked taxi back to Belford to complete the route.)
#Photography #StCuthbert #Northumberland
Invisible bench? 😉 Spotted in woodland, not far from Gilsland. The county boundary follows the River Irthing, so this is probably in #Cumbria - and I forgot to bring my passport! 😂
#Photography #Woodland
St Oswald's, Heavensfield. Nice tranquil spot for a cuppa on the way home from an evening swim at Chollerford. The water's very warm at the moment. 😎👌
#Northumberland #WildSwimming
Pancakes alfresco... it just feels like that sort of a day!! 😋🥞
#Pancakes #DropScones #Alfresco
"Knotty, but nice!" 🤣 New wall-art delivered this afternoon, although one of the canvases was damaged... they're sending a replacement, but that could take another ten days. There's a carrick bend forming a loop on a bamboo pole, a sheet bend - tied here on a doubled line, a cross-processed image of a patterned facecloth, and a slightly more abstract angle on a collection of crown and thistle knots.
#Photography #WallArt #Rope #Knots
For context, I've been wanting to do something about my living room wall for a while, but my dining room and hallway (and even the cloakroom!!) are already full of climbing photos, so this time I want another "gallery" style wall, but leaning a little more abstract. 🤔
Experimenting with some new canvas designs... this uses a Japanese facecloth as a backdrop. I do hope it depicts fish in a rippling pond, otherwise this wall-art could become a talking point for all the wrong reasons! 🤣
#Photography #WallArt #Rope
Nice weather for... indoor climbing! 🙄 Impressive venue though, and comes with pizzas. The barrel was busy, and there was really only one 6B that seemed within my pay-grade, so I ended up in the order: stepped, constant, barrel, and needed to rest on that final route. 😂
#Climbing #Sunderland
Final climb from Bowden Doors yesterday - around 7pm and still hot in a t-shirt! This is "Black and Tan", a 2-star Severe on Main Wall... nice. 👌
#Climbing #TradClimbing #Northumberland
East of Corbridge, on the path to Riding Mill. I had to turn back soon after this photo, as the trail was all broken up and it had become a pain to navigate between brambles. The signage I eventually found (behind a wall and facing the wrong direction!) says the path is closed due to river bank erosion - so there!! 🤣
#Corbridge #Northumberland #Hiking #Tyne
Finally got around to finishing up the ends of this anti-fly door screen for my home office. With hindsight, I left the gaps slightly too wide, although the movement seems to help. 🤔 The end braid is a "crown and thistle" knot, and I left the coloured whipping twine in place for the visual aesthetic. Satisfyingly fiddly! 🤣
#Rope #Knots
Obviously not today!! 🤣 This was Wednesday at Simonside #Northumberland and before the heatwave. #Climbing #TradClimbing #RockClimbing
Came across this parked car, near Corbridge. Might need a little air in it's tyres, but otherwise looking ok! 😂 Possibly an Austin 10... but I'm certainly no expert on cars.
Blimey!! 🤣 Hopefully I haven't bitten off more than I can chew here! Chopin's "Waltz in A Minor", reputed to be very accessible, and I can read it ok if I skip the ornamentations... but can't be doing that, obviously! Looks like an amazing beginner-intermediate piece, but this may take some time. 🤔
Obviously I'm not a concert pianist, but this is such a fun tune to play! 😎 It's the first of the Gnossiennes by Erik Satie, composed around 1890.
His sheet music notations range from whimsical to surreal! 🤣 I'm still figuring out how to play "inquisitively" vs "introspectively", and "from the tip of the thought" vs "on the tongue"...
A dandelion on the way back from a swim at Crammel Linn Waterfall in Gilsland, last Sunday. Fabulous spot, and nice trails from the old spa hotel. Does it count as a 'bloom'... 😂
Close up of The Sill roof from earlier in the week. It's with my 40mm f2.5 wide open... tried a few angles, but I think this is probably my favourite.
"Boundary Corner" is a 3*** classic at Great Wanney. I think you can safely say it's a high-value V-Diff, so I just hope the photo captures some of the burly awkwardness of the thing!! 🤣 I backed off it a couple of years ago, but with a decent sized cam (a no. 5 DMM Dragon) to protect the crux, it's actually not too bad. Amazing line and a nice belay tucked in behind that wedged boulder. #Climbing #TradClimbing #Northumberland
First climb of 2025... perfect conditions at Great Wanney. And it's not often you get to say that!! 😂 My previous nemesis, "Boundary Corner", has finally been conquered! 💪😎 #Climbing #TradClimbing #Northumberland
Take one Frescobol set, one picnic table, a spare tree stake, and you have... Ta-bol Tennis! Not affected by the UK wind either, so it's actually much better for the garden. (Patent Pending!) 🤣
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