Springtime for Grandmas

On Easter Sunday we ate the almost traditional lamb roast and the glorious mixture of lemon, orange, eggs and sugar that Mum had combined to make a fluffy pudding. Then we set off for a place I had tucked away in my memory as a suitable Nice Under Glass destination.

It was indeed, 'nice under glass' as Mum and Peggy tucked themselves into the Honda with walking sticks, tins, handbags, magazines and the small Easter gifts we had exchanged. The sun shone hard and we all remarked (several times) (per minute) how the weather had at also changed and the spring had definitely arrived. 

Our conversation alternated between how awful the weather had been in the recent past, evidenced by the lack of visible green buds on the trees and how mild it had been evidenced by the profusion of flowers. This type of conversation where they directly contradict themselves is not unusual: it is not the content of what they say that matters to them only merely that they are saying something. That something is acceptable so long as it had has a vague context to the immediate circumstances and that it is polite. Such is their way. Thus, a pleasant half hour passed while we negotiated the roads to avoid the A483 roadwork at Rough Hill at Chester and got into to the A51 towards Delamere.

Springtime at last!

I may (I hope gently) mock their delight at the wonderful spring sunshine, but I wonder if to them spring has a special significance? Winter with all its threats of ice, dropping temperatures and flu has passed and they have got through it without breaking a hip, getting a chest infection or ending up in hospital. It is well known that many elderly people meet their maker during the winter months and so spring with its herald of birdsong is perhaps reminder that they have triumphed again. 

Turning left past Delamere onto the A5152 to Frodsham took us through the forest road, busy and packed with picnickers and walkers. But the forest was for another day and instead we carried onto to reach The Lady Heyes Craft Centre .

This is a delightful venue packed with antique and curio shops, craft centre, and even a brewery, oh

Who knows what you might find
at Lady Heyes?

yes and and a campsite too...... The original Lady Heyes Farm dates back several hundred years. It is believed that in the 1800s it was used as a watering hole for the local gentry. No longer a working farm, it now comprises a complex of individual buildings providing over 15,000 sq. ft.to sell a whole range of products and services. The sewing centre also runs an intriguing array of craft classes.

We were not tempted by the beer at the brewery, inviting though it looked, and stuck to our tea provided by the café with chip shop attached (well, it is a campsite). We sat outside in the sunshine drinking a good pot of strong tea at £1.40 a cup. Just as good as beer to drink to the incoming new season. Cheers!




 

To Shop is To Do

I often ponder the difference between the ways that women and men view shopping. I have come to the conclusion that for women, ‘shop’ is a verb; we shop, we take time over the activity and we may or may not end up with something – whether we needed it or not. For most men I think that ‘shop’ is a noun. The shop is there to get what you want and then you buy it and go home.

For this reason, my husband never accompanies us on our Nice Under Glass trips if we are going anywhere near shops. It is no matter, men in shops flap around and get in the way like fish at the bottom of a wardrobe. But for the grannies and me, pottering around a good shop or two, is a pleasure. As autumn draws in and Christmas beckons shopping becomes a richer experience.

This of course is not just on Sundays. As Jo and Peggy get older shopping is one of their main reasons for getting out of the house and having a need for something - be it a loaf of bread or a pint of milk - is a good excuse. Mum sometimes tells me forlornly that she went to town, ‘but I didn’t really want anything’. Peggy often only goes to meet with her friend and not shop as she can’t carry things home.

But living through a World War means that the elderly have a loathing of wasting anything and are probably more careful shoppers than my generation. So it not often that we actually purchase anything on our Sunday afternoons. No, the shopping we do is all in the eye, but it is still shopping to my mind. What we do is what I think of as like extreme window shopping. We look, we ask, we feel we even try on… but we rarely buy. But it is none the less pleasurable for that.

There are days when only a bit of shopping will do. When we have spent a few of our Sunday afternoons doing worthy walks and cultural activities like a visit to the local National Trust or  lazily sitting in the car letting tarmac fly by beneath us viewing the beauty of the countryside, then a 'bit of a shop' is just what we need. It's also quite a good place to go if it’s raining.

We check our handbags for our bags for life and we're all set to go. If I've been organised I have told them in advance and the grannies are armed with their lists for the final visit to a supermarket (as food shopping is quite different).

Ready to shop:
Peggy & Mum at Eagles Meadow

A short easy drive along the A55 is Broughton Retail Park which has the somewhat perfect design of a large car park surrounded by shops. The Fontanella café in Tesco at Broughton holds the record for the cheapest cup of tea – just £1 – it’s in a pot too.There is also Eagles Meadow in Wrexham which has an M&S and many opportunities for a cup of tea, but the car park is very expensive.

So another afternoon comes to a close and we reflect on the things we have seen. We often pretend that we will buy a particular item 'next time', but the unspoken thought probably passes through all our minds.... shopping is just another very interesting walk.

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