This post goes way over the usual seven photos for Sunday Sevens… mainly thanks to my epic journey back from Manchester to Gibraltar last Sunday. So here goes…
Last Sunday in eight photos…
I ended my flying visit home to visit my parents with a walk on Sunday morning. It was just around the streets by their home, the streets where I grew up. Up this path is a pond where numerous adventures were had while I was growing up, from exploring and hide and seek to pond-dipping (or fishing as we called it then) for frog spawn to bring home in a jam jar. I can’t imagine letting my boys wander off over the road to a pond and telling them to be back in time for tea…. times have changed, and not necessarily for the better.
I’m so glad I got the chance to see some snowdrops while I was over. I love them. Also making an appearance were other spring flowers which were enjoying the unseasonably mild weather. These lovely dwarf iris were poking through last autumn’s leaves.
Then it was time to say goodbye and head to the airport once more… bye bye Manchester, until next time!
I know it’s a cliché but these clouds really did look like cotton wool from above…
I’m not altogether in my comfort zone while flying. I’m quite happy cruising along but I’m not over happy with take off and landing. I took my crochet into the cabin with me. I had heard it was allowed, but I had also heard about a knitter who had her needles taken off her. I took one of my least favourite hooks just in case it was taken away.
Nobody batted an eye lid, so I was fine. I continued with the quintuple trebles of my Spun Gold shawl to take my mind off the descent in to Malaga… yes Malaga. Stormy weather in Gibraltar meant that two of the three previous Monarch flights to Gibraltar had been diverted to the Spanish airport because they couldn’t land in the strong winds. Our pilot didn’t even attempt to land in Gibraltar as the air traffic control tower there told him the winds were beyond safe limits. It was going to be a very long trip home…
As chance would have it I bumped into an old friend at the Malaga baggage reclaim. She told me her husband was driving up to Malaga to collect her rather than wait for her to get onto one of the coaches laid on by the airline to ferry the stranded passengers back to the Rock. I was offered a lift back and I didn’t need to think twice about the offer. The lift must have saved me at least an hour travelling time.
Please excuse the grainy image, but I wanted to show you the flags on the Gibraltarian side of the border with Spain as I arrived in Gibraltar late on Sunday night. I was nearly blown off my feet as I crossed into Gib, I am so glad the pilot didn’t attempt to land as it would have been a very bumpy ride! My return journey took 8 hours door to door, a considerable time longer than usual but at least I got back safely and I’m extremely grateful for that!
A murky Monday
Monday morning was decidedly murky, the winds from the day before had dropped quite a bit but it was rather gloomy looking. Can you spot the mahoosive super yacht in the background? It’s called ‘Yacht A’ and cost a reported £83 million pounds. It was ginormous, the highest mast is 100 metres tall. It was arrested by the Gibraltar Police because of a debt and we were able to enjoy seeing it moored out in the Bay for a few days.
Dressmaking success
Apologies for the uninspiring picture, but it’s a plain black dress I’m making so can’t really jazz that up. What I can say is that on Tuesday I more than made up from my catastrophic boo boo at last week’s class by cutting out fresh pieces for the back of my dress and I completed all 4 of my princess-line seams. So my front and back pieces are ready for a zip and lining. Then there’s the small matter of sleeves….. hmmm not looking forward to that part.
A blustery day for the Med Steps
I climbed the Med Steps on Wednesday with one of my Med Steps 5 pals. It was another blustery day as you can see from the sea. We did wonder whether we would get blown off the side of the Rock but fortunately it was really sheltered on the Med Steps.
Saharan Dust
Why oh why did I leave my washing out on Wednesday night? The Saharan dust came back, with a vengeance. Still at least I hadn’t washed the car!
Watercolour class
Our watercolour teacher is still encouraging us to explore our inner abstract. I have to admit that I am having mixed results with this… I did like the rainbow splodgey effect of the bottom painting. It reminds me of tie-dyed T shirts.
More Med Steps
Friday morning was much nicer weather wise, it was less grey and you could just about feel the warmth of the sunshine peaking through the clouds above. I set off on a solo trip up the Med Steps and took my time seeing as I was on my own. It was lovely to enjoy my beautiful surroundings, it felt very spring like up there.
Sunday Sevens has been rather a long one this week, I do hope you didn’t nod off in the middle! Thank you for stopping by and thanks for sticking with it to the end!!
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins.
Busy week! I thin k you had the best of the weather last weekend – it’s been dismal sine here all week. How lucky to bump into a friend to give you a lift. I’ve knitted on planes plenty of times and never had a nay trouble. I always take small circulars though, so they look inoffensive.
Ahh, it was circulars which I heard were confiscated (or at least the sharp bits were – they were cut off by the stewardess!!). It has been rather busy. I hoping for a quiet one next week 😉.
Ouch! That’s harsh! I’d have had air rage if I’d seen circulars treated that way.
Hmm, not very friendly was it?
You’d think they could have just confiscated them for the duration of the flight. Knitting needles are on the permitted list of all the airlines I’ve looked at, so she wasn’t breaking any rules. And, although air rage was an exaggeration, I would be very cross if someone chopped up my circulars. I’m sure I’d be less cross if they threw them away without damaging them – cutting seems unnecessarily provocative. Although I assume it allowed your friend to keep what she had already knitted?
Yes, they let her keep the central part, I believe it was quite a complicated pattern so taking the whole circular away would’ve been cruel…
Well I guess that’s forgivable then, but still the airlines need to makes a rule not to allow them so people know where they stand. A friend of mine had scissors that were supposedly allowed confiscated at security and said they were put in a container full of similar pairs of scissors.
Clarity on the issue and a blanket policy across all airlines would help I think…
I don’t know how you find the time to do everything!
I’m not very good at sitting still doing nothing Christine. Although perhaps I should turn my attention to housework and then indeed have more space for craft! 😉
Love the flower pics in both countries.Do snowdrops grow in Gibraltar? That Saharan dust looks annoying.x
Hi Shazza, I haven’t seen any snowdrops over here. There were some beautiful wild narcissi growing on the Upper Rock a month or so ago, that’s really the closest thing we get to the traditional British spring flowers. The dust is annoying… I still have to wash the car – been putting that off but the kids have obliged by cleaning the lower portions with their coats as they get in and out 😝 x
Loving the dress!! Don’t worry sleeves aren’t as scary as you think! Xx
Thanks Kate… we’ll see about that 😳xxx
Hello! Where a outs in Manchester, that shot of your childhood haunts looks familiar… Lovely to see you’re still keeping up the painting and sewing 🙂
Hi Teresa, lovely to hear from you, I missed seeing your posts. I’m from the Flixton/Urmston area- not a million miles from your neck of the woods I know. I have to keep up the painting and sewing it’s what keeps me sane! Although much like you referenced in your latest post I am a happy crafter, I lose my Creative mojo when I’m out of sorts. Thankfully I’m committed to my two lessons each week and that forces me to create something even at times when I wouldn’t feel like doing it left to my own devices and that helps a lot! Welcome back to blogland x
Funny! I taught at Flixton Girls’ School for many a year, very very close to you then 🙂 x
Goodness me – small world! 😊x
Stunning pictures as always. I like your ineer abstract, look like feathers to me.
Thanks so much Cathy. I have turned one of the feathery ones into a bird. I’ll share it once I’ve finished 😊
Finding your ‘inner abstract’ is designed to get you to loosen up, I assume – could be exciting to see what you discover inside yourself! What a yucky end to your trip, still, better safe than sorry, eh? Glad sewing progress is going well.
Thanks Sheila, it wasn’t the best return journey but I have done it with children before and believe me that’s not easy. Especially when you don’t have enough edible supplies to tide you over on the extra road trip. It could’ve been so much worse!!
As for the abstract, yes our teacher jokes that she’s turning us into loose women slopping the paint all over the place. For one other student and I, it kind of goes against the grain as we tend to do more neat and detailed work, so it’s hard trying to let go. Some of the results are really worth it though 😊
My sister teaches art and she says that ‘letting go’ is the thing that new students find the hardest. Always worth it in the end, though, as it works every time apparently.
Your sister is so right!!