July 2019 Archives

Bowes Castle was built along the Roman road in County Durham in the north part of the Yorkshire Dales and in the same space as an older Roman fort. The castle was originally a timber structure, which was replaced in the 1170s. The design of the castle is unusual in England as it is a hall-keep design three stories high. The building of the castle also included a building of the village of Bowes and church, which was also unusual. 

The castle was attacked by the Scottish and then became a ruin after the Civil War, and it remained in this condition with little interest in it from the local area. The castle is owned by English Heritage but free to visit during daylight hours. It's located close to the road so easy to visit.

The castle's keep/hall can be entered, but there's not much to see inside. There is a staircase that can be climbed that goes to the second level, which is now just a viewing platform of the site. Overall, the castle ground floor appears to be divided into two rooms, but they appear quite small.

Bowes Castle in County Durham is located a few miles from Barnard Castle, Brough Castle and Pendragon Castle.

On my last day in the Yorkshire Dales at the end of June, I visited White Scar Caves. A couple of days prior, I had visited Ingleborough Caves, which is located not far away but is not quite as large as the 6km-long White Scar Caves, which is the longest show cave in Britain. It's certainly the longest show cave that I have been to (and remember, not including a couple of caves in the states that I visited as a child). 

White Scar Caves was first explored in 1923, but it has continued to be explored over the years. The most recent exploration uncovered a very large chamber nicknamed "The Battlefield" because it contains many stones that have fallen from the ceiling thousands of years ago. It also includes another unique feature - patterns of mud that had dried, appearing almost like a mosaic; this mud is protected.

The cave includes many interesting features from waterfalls to rock formations (stalagmites and stalagtites), and rocks in unusual shapes and patterns. Many of these have names, such as the "Devil's Tongue", which is included in one of the photographs below. 

Some of the cave was difficult to navigate with a couple of areas that required extended bending over to avoid hitting the rocks above. This was quite difficult as it was for quite awhile. There are other points where the rocks on both sides of the path create a "squeeze", but this wasn't problematic. 

A long flight of stairs in the cave leads to a great chamber, "the battlefield". I believe that there were 90 stairs. While passing through the stairs, the group were shown fossils of ancient sea creatures as the land that makes up Britain was once in the equator hundreds of thousands of years ago. 

Below is the "Devil's Tongue".

Below is the mud pattern.

Overall, this was a great show cave to visit, and you certainly do get your money's worth with a tour that takes between 60 and 80 minutes. However, there are a couple of areas with extended bending down and walking, and this wasn't particularly easy. So, this probably isn't the cave for you if you're very tall or have a hurt back/legs, are elderly, or are a bit out of shape. Visiting caves is one of the attractions that shorter people certainly have the advantage of.

The ruins of Egglestone Abbey are located a couple of miles from Barnard Castle, which I visited just before visiting the abbey. The abbey dates from the 12th century from the mid to later 1100s. The founders of the abbey were known as Premonstratensians, who wore white outfits and became known as 'white canons'. Like other monastaries in England, they worked the land and were in charge of trade and business in the area. However, this was one of the smaller abbeys, and it struggled to make ends meet.

Like many abbeys and monastaries, they evolved over time, so the ruins at Egglestone Abbey are of the latest building.

This abbey was not a wealthy one, and it struggled with maintaining the minimum twelve canons. The location was also not a good one as it was invaded by the Scottish and English army.

Like all the monastaries, they were dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540, and this one became a private home but was then abandoned in the mid-1800s. Some of the stone from the buildings was used to pave a nearby park, but the abbey is a listed building today and open to the public for free.

One of the interesting finds here is a drainage system built under some of the foundations, and this was a sewage system that is unique. Parts of it can be seen at the ruins at the back, and it is a dry channel today.

Only a part of the abbey can be climed to reveal part of a small room on top. There is also a room underneath that can be seen with vaulted ceiling and fireplace and what appears to be a larder (a door to a tiny room with the remains of what appears to be shelving).

It's really not that large of an abbey, and you can see where some of the walls used to be.

If you are planning to visit Egglestone Abbey, do so before or after a visit to Barnard Castle.

Last Sunday was the annual Uxbridge Auto Show held at the Uxbridge Showgrounds. I had never been to this event, so I went to see what it was about. Mainly, it is an auto show with classic and modern sports cars. However, there was live music, some food and drink options, live band, a few rides, motorcycle stunts, a few vendors selling car-related items and toys, and a Lancaster fly-past. The event lasted most of the day. There were so many nice cars to see, but I've only included a small selection here.

The Uxbridge Auto Show is an annual event that always takes place in mid-late July.

Barnard Castle, located in County Durham in northern England, is the name of the market town and the castle that it was named after. The town is known for its large museum dedicated to the deocrative arts and its castle, which dates to the late 1000s and early 1100s. A knight named Baliol built the castle and lived in it, and his nephew Barnard inherited it and finished building it, and that is where it got its name. The castle is now in a ruined state but is well worth a visit because much of it can be walked around, and it has nice views over the river Tees below.

The castle is located in the town of Barnard Castle, which has an attractive market building and other old medieval buildings. The history of the area is that the appointed Norman bishop was murdered, leading to chaos in the area, so the area was divided up into more manageable districts to bring in order. The castle itself was important in protecting Elizabeth I from northern earls.

The castle was handed down to Richard III who used it as his favourite residence. Many years later, the castle was sold by the crown along with Raby Castle, and the new owners used Raby Castle as the primary residence. As a result, Barnard Castle fell into ruin, and stones from it were used to make improvements to Raby Castle.

Walter Scott the poet visited this area and set one of his poems at Barnard Castle, and Charles Dickens was also inspired by the town and included it in his novels.

Although I parked in the centre of the town, I wasn't sure if I could access the castle from the town so walked down the street and then back up the hill by the river, where a pathway walks along the castle's old walls.

Once inside the castle, I began to explore the old walls and rooms. Above is Brackenbury Tower, thought to be named after a lieutenant at the castle during Richard III's time. The tower was built in the 12th century. The room that is still intact contains very thick walls and was used as a storeroom and residence.

The great ditch (pictured above) was improved and dug deeper as a better defense and also a shortcut to the river below.

The views over the old bridge and over the Tees river were impressive from the top of the castle. The bridge used to mark the boundary between two counties, so illegal marriages would happen in the centre of the bridge.

Mortham Tower (pictured above) was a look-out tower and was the tallest structure.

There is only a small section of castle that can be climbed or entered, and that is the circular tower. The circular tower was known as the round tower, and it included the private residence of the lords of Barnard Castle. In this area is a faint carving of a stone boar, associated with Richard III.

The window below looks out to the bakehouse, which was a separate building away from the others in case of fire. The remains of a simple oven and a cistern lined with stone can be seen. The small bank here where the bakehouse was built was all that remains of the first and original earthwork defenses before the stone castle was constructed.

This includes a well room at the bottom of the tower.

That marks the end of the tour of Barnard Castle, and the town and castle is certainly worth a visit. I would have enjoyed spending a little longer here, but time was limited.

Wray Castle is a modern castle located in England's Lake District (in Cumbria in the northwest of the country). The castle was built in 1840 by a retired surgeon and his wife using her family's wealth. The couple did not have any children, so it was given to a nephew who rented it out to families for a few months but then struggled with the upkeep. Afterwards, the castle was given to the National Trust in 1929 and only recently (in 2011) opened to the public because it had been leased out to other companies to use as training centres or research and laboratory in the past. The castle is located above Lake Windermere and has stunning views, though a lot of it has become overgrown.

The castle grounds still show the remains of what was a beautiful garden, and during a tour, we were told that the National Trust were doing work on the grounds. The family who owned the place loved nature and trees and would plant a tree each year with friends, so several of the trees are rare here and not native to this part of the world. For example, there are a couple of young redwood trees here. The wood needs to be thinned out and the newer trees removed in order to bring the place back to its original design and restore the beautiful lakeside views, which are primarily hidden.

The front of the castle looks to the hills on the other side of the lake. The family bought all of this land, which was also being farmed, when they bought the land to build the castle in the early 1800s.

Wray Castle also has another claim to fame in that author/artist Beatrix Potter (who wrote "The Tales of Peter Rabbit") stayed in the castle when she was 16 as her family had rented it for a few months. She was from the area. It is here that she met and befriended the caretaker of the castle Hardwicke Rawnsley, who was also interested in wildlife. They left properties and land to the National Trust and were amongst the first to do so.

Wray Castle is a modern castle, and its architecture and design is inspired to appear as an older medieval castle used as a fortress. It was designed with arrow slit windows and the battlements. The Dawsons wanted it to appear as if it had always been there. The grounds also used to include 'ruins' to add to this ideal of an old and romantic castle, but the National Trust removed them after they were falling apart.

Many of the trees planted by the Dawsons and their friends, when they had friends stay with them, are still growing on the grounds. 

The rooms of the castle actually do not have much inside as the furniture and furnishings have been removed. So, there is actually nothing to really see in the castle. The entrance is worth a visit with the grand hallway, and the staircase is also worth a visit. A couple of the rooms and the toilets are also worth a visit to admire the layout.

I loved this beautiful large room right inside the door and the other one at the back, with a beautiful bay window.

Although Wray Castle is newly opened to the public and has quite a bit of work to improve the gardens, it is worth a visit. I think that once the trees are thinned out and the garden finished, it will look nicer. I also hope that they do furnish the rooms; the ground floor and some of the rooms on the top would be great to showcase a museum of the other uses that the building had or to show the rooms furnished as they would have been in the 1800s.

Good evening, readers. Today marks fifty years since the moon landing that happened on July 20, 1969. I thought that I would post a photograph that I took with my simple point-and-shoot camera last summer when the moon was a reddish hue and seemed larger in the sky. I was impressed because I can make out some of the craters and the texture on the surface of the moon. The project to put a man on the moon and the engineer the whole process took years to do. 

I'm not sure if people will ever explore space further due to the challenges this feat poses and the high costs involved to do it. Regardless of this, I think much more effort should be put on protecting the environment and counter-acting the damage that has currently been done to the Earth. I would like to see big corporations and the government doing more about this. I do try to limit my energy consumption and be frugal about wastage/use of resources, and I am planning to get solar panels in the next few months.

The moon landing did bring about much creativity in the 1960s. Space-inspired science fiction was dreamt about in the 1950s, and it took off further in the 1960s. Several songs, books, films, and television programmes were inspired by space and the moon landing. I think the creativity that came out of it makes it worthwhile.

Every July through October, several sculptures are placed inside Regent's Park in London so that the public can view them for free ahead of the Frieze Art Festival that takes place in October. This free event in Regent's Park during the summer months is called Frieze Sculpture, and the corner of Regent's Park closest to Great Portland Street becomes host to a collection of fascinating sculptures. I have seen the sculptures for the past three years now, and it's always a fun afternoon out combined with relaxing in the park. The sculptures always go on display at the beginning of July to beginning of October.

"Tudor Ball" by Lars Fisk

This orb has been decorated as a timber-framed Tudor-style house, complete with a thatched roof and a window with geraniums. The shape of the form constrasts to the stark lines of the timber-framed architecture style.

"My Melody" by Tom Sachs

This large-sized cartoon "My Melody" is made to represent the Japanese character from Sanrio (makers of 'Hello Kitty') as a large toy. It is made of bronze and painted white to appear like a large toy, crafted manually and with deliberate imperfections to look more realistic. 

"Mnemonic Vehicle 2" by Vic Muniz

This sculpture depicts a 1973 model of a Jaguar E-type Matchbox toy car. I've taken a photograph of the inside of the car and the outside, complete with 'plastic' and simplified steering wheel, tires/tyres, and rubbed-off paint to mimic a much-loved toy car.

"Usagi Kannon II" by Leika Ikemura

This is a bronze sculpture with a blend between a rabbit and human figure (or a human with rabbit ears and paws). The face of the figure evokes a sense of sadness, and the interior of the sculpture through the figure's dress can be crawled into (for children at least) and acts as a temple.

"Superhero Cog Woman" by LR Vandy

This giant steel cog is a symbol representing women, who are the cogs and motion of society and the drivers of industry. The artist found that a cog is the best representation of a woman. The cog sculpture appears to have a feminine shape and form, and it represents a figure of a woman.

"Receiver" by Huma Bhabha

This figure has been constructed from carved cork and then cast with bronze. The medium and method of production is important to this piece. The artist appreciates the transformation of objects into abstract figures.

"Celloswarm" by Bill Woodrow

This sculpture shows a group of bees who have swarmed on a musical instrument, the cello. The bees appear to form a shape based on motion, transforming the original purpose of the cello and creating an object with a different purpose and sense of movement.

"The Hatchling" by Joanna Rajkowska

This giant egg is inspired by a blackbird's egg. The sculpture is also meant to emit the sounds of eggs hatching or cracking, though I don't think I heard anything on my visit so I am not sure if it is working. 

"Cloud Study" by Charlie Godet Thomas

These two sculptures are weather vanes that twist and turn with the wind. On top of the weather vanes are designs of clouds with raindop symbols underneath. The clouds have writing on them, which can be glimpsed as they turn with the sky or trees behind them. "A little rain never hurt anybody" and "my luck's changed" are written on the clouds. The typography of the text also mimics the cloud shape.

"On Hold #9" by Peter Buggenhout

This sculpture appears to be trash or a mix of colourful plastic balloons merged together in between construction steel, coming out at different angles. This seems to take on its own shape and appears almost unstable.

"Autonomous Morris" by Zak Ové

This is a totem mask evoking ancient art from different cultures. The sculpture is created from the bonnets/hoods of vintage vehicles; I am guessing that they are from the Morris car, judging by the title, (or at least some of them are). The metal is different colours, adding to the sculpture.

"Strange Temporalities" by Ghazaleh Avarzamani 

This sculpture is a segmented section of a child's slide. It encourages the viewer to think about playtime as a method of thinking with education.

"A Stranger Holding Two Wings" by Tai-Jung Um

The title of this sculpture pretty much gives it away. It is a simple sculpture with a steel black structure appearing like a simplified figure holding two pieces of silver metal.

"When I Sleep" by Tracey Emin

This large bronze structure shows a feminine figure curled up in a withdrawn position. The thick and dark metal is in contrast to the vulernability shown in the pose.

"Cord" by Jodie Carey

This metal pole has a rope-like structure that stands upright. The pieces petruding from the rope look like rust.

"ONE through ZERO" by Robert Indiana

The sculptor often creates large-scale numbers and letters, favoruing them as a representation and  symbol that parallels to life and emotion. These large brown numbers (which start at one and end at zero) loop in a circle. It is meant to represent the circle of life, ending at death, which is the zero.

"Untitled" by Ma Desheng

The sculptures that Ma Desheng creates represent tradition Chinese sculpture and paintings. This series of stone sculptures is meant to represent the relationship between people and the government, which is a balancing act.

"Laura Asia's Dream" by Juame Plensa

This dream-like face has been created from bronze but appears as if it is carved out of stone with representation on the other side as if it has broken from stone. The artist creates these portrait sculptures. The sculpture itself looks as if it almost isn't there as it shifts depending on the angle viewed from and almost appears like a vision or dream.

"Composition" by Barry Flanagan

This sculpture shows three elephants holding up a dancing hare. The artist often creates artwork that defies gravity and shows a sense of balance, and the hare features often in the work.

"Bridges (We are melting)" by Ivan Argote

Bridges are used by the artist as a means to connect with others. These three bridges have words inscribed onto them and can be interacted with by the viewer.

"Alexander" by Bettina Pousttchi

The artist has used everyday street bollards to create a sculpture showing dimension and form. 

"Solar Disc III" by Emily Young

The artist has created a circluar sculpture using onyx stone. The circle is a basic nature element and represents the moon, sun, and Earth. The patterns in the natural stone create interest.

"American Images" by Lucy Skaer

These three limestone boulders were mined from Litograph City in Iowa, USA. They show the city's short-lived success as a limestone quarry. This limestone was used to create printing plates to print litographs/maps.

This wraps it up for Frieze Sculpture in Regent's Park for 2019. For previous years, see my posts below:

Frieze Sculpture 2018
Frieze Art Fair 2017

Piel Castle is located in northwest England on Piel Island just off the coast of the Furness Peninsula. Its alternate name was called Fowdray Castle (Fowdray Island). Earlier this day, I visited Furness Abbey, which founded the building of this castle in the early 1300s. The castle was built to protect Furness Abbey and its trade routes from Scotland raiders. The castle was built in phases with a large keep and an inner and outer bailey; these were built to add more defense. It was also used for smuggling goods.

The castle fell into ruin shortly before the destruction of the monastaries in the early 1500s. It then changed hands a few times. In the early 1800s, the walls of the castle fell into the sea due to the erosion of the land around it. Poet William Wordsworth wrote the poem "Peele Castle" inspired by it during a visit.

Later that century, the castle went under renovation work to prevent further erosion, and after World War I, the castle was gifted to the community. It was opened as a tourist destination in the 1970s.

The castle is made from the stones appearing on the beach mixed with red stone, similar to the stone used in Furness Abbey. There is a rumour that a tunnel exists between the abbey and the castle, but this does not exist, although there may have been tunnels around the abbey.

To get to Piel Island, visitors must wait for a small boat that ferries between the island and the mainland on the other side of the island at Furness Peninsula. The drive out to the Peninsula has sea views with decaying ships beached in the mud. 

At the end of the road is a lifeboat station and a jetty down to the boat. There is an information board just above this that explains the ferry times. Generally, the ferry runs from 11:00 in the morning every day and probaly finishes at 4:00, and this runs between Easter and October, but some of the information online isn't correct so there are phone numbers to ring on the information panel. 

The boat ride only takes about ten minutes to get to the island where there is a similar jetty up to the pub and a pathway to the castle ruins. Navigating on a narrow pathway between bushes and tall grass, visitors can see the ruins of the castle keep and some walls.

The castle cannot be entered as it is blocked and in a very ruined state, but there is a doorway that can be walked through to access the inner/outer bailey and see good views over the sea.

The mowed grass appears to follow one of the older walls.

On the far edge of the castle, I heard noises of seals. These seals were beached on another part of the land further out.

When finished, I walked back past the ruins of the castle on the narrow pathway following the edge of the sea.

Piel Island only has the castle ruins, a row containing three or four terraced houses, and a pub "The Ship Inn" with beautiful views overlooking the sea. Food and drinks can be ordered here, and I had some chips and a drink to cool me down on the hot day. While sitting here, I saw dolphins jumping around a small boat, water skiis, sailboats, and a couple of wind-surfers. 

Lastly, Piel Castle has its own King. The "King of Piel" is the landlord of the pub and who is crowned the king of the island. This tradition comes from Lambert Simnel, who pretended to take over the throne of England. There is a large oak chair in the pub, and anyone can be knighted here with the cost to buy everyone a round of drinks; any knight ship-wrecked here may demand a room and food for the night. The crown and other items for the "King of Piel" are located in a room of the pub behind the cabinet, and there is another large cabinet of curiousities relating to the island and sea life in this room.

I recommend a visit to this interesting castle and island as it was a real treat and a great start to the day exploring the castle and having a bite to eat and a drink at the pub with the amazing views in the sunshine.

Over the spring, I used up several beauty, skin-care, and hair-care products as I am slowly making my way through the products and sample products. In this post, I review the 'empties' (the products) so that I can look back on them and decide if I would like to re-purchase any of them in the future and decide what worked for me and what did not. Read below to see what I have used up and how I got along with it.

Clinique 'Take the Day Off' Makeup Remover: Going back ten years ago, I used to use Clinique products and their three-in-one skin care. I also bought their make-up remover. A few years ago, I discovered that their products were hard on my skin, and I had several break-outs after using their three-in-one formula. I had this make-up remover to use, and I finally got through it. The product was oily and not the friendliest on my eye area as it stung. Would I buy it again? Definitely not.

Bath & Body Works Fragrance Mist in 'Champagne Apple & Honey': One of the autumn fragrances from one of my favourite bath and body companies, this is a refreshing sweet apple scent. It also added a gold shimmer to skin. Would I buy it again? Yes, I enjoyed the scent. 

Juicy Bottle Mask in 'shea butter': This mask contains shea butter to help moisturise skin, and it comes in a cute package shaped like a bottle. There was also more than enough product. Would I buy it again? The product was ok, but I would not buy it again.

Skin Milk Bomb Mask in 'chocolate': This mask comes in a cute milk carton package and smells like chocolate milk; it actually contains milk product, which helps to moisturise skin. Would I buy it again? The scent brought me back to my childhood school days, and it did make skin feel softer, but I would not buy it again.

Hair Vitamins by Hairflick: These were edible vegan chews that promised to help hair and nails grow quicker. I did not see any additional growth using them, but it is probably difficult to see on a sample size. My hair and nails grow quickly anyway. Would I buy it again? No, it did not appeal to me.

Grow Gorgeous hair and scalp mask: A thick tub of hair mask lasted me three uses, and it did soften and moisturise my hair. It was a deep treatment. Would I buy it again? I would consider it, but I use alternative and cheaper products that do a decent job.

DKNY 'Be Delicious': One of my favourite scents of perfume, this is the less formal scent of the different apple fragrances. I enjoy the scent, but unfortunately, it isn't a long-lasting perfume. Would I buy it again? Unfortunately, the perfume isn't as long-lasting as I'd like. I may buy it again.

Baker7 (BK7) Candy Lip Tint in 'red orange': This red-orange lip stain comes from Japan beauty company Baker7 and is shaped like a lollipop. Would I buy it again? No, I found the colour too dark and a little bit uneven. It's a cute product, but it's not for me.

Victoria Secret lip gloss in 'pink lemonade': This pink high-shine gloss is in a bright pink shade and tastes just like pink lemonade. Would I buy it again? The glosses from Victoria Secret are extremely sticky and tend to stick to my hair. Because of this, I'd be less keen to buy a high sticky gloss.

ThisWorks deep sleep pillow spray: This pillow spray smells of lavender, which helps to calm and promote sleep. Would I buy it again? I would love it if this worked, but the scent does not linger long. I would not buy it.

Benefit 'It's Potent!' eye cream: This eye cream helps keep under-eyes moisturised and activate the area under the eye to hide bags. Would I buy it again? This is probably one of the better eye creams, and I would purchase it if I needed it.

Boots sheet face mask 'charcoal and willow bark': This face mask uses charcoal to help remove skin impurities and help clear pores. Would I buy it again? Yes, this was a good product and seemed to clear my skin.

7th Heaven Charcoal Mud mask: This mud mask purifies skin and prevents blemishes. Would I buy it again? Yes, I enjoyed this product. 

Bath & Body Works Hand Soap in 'Pumpkin Cupcake': This hand soap is one of the autumn offerings of the fragrance, and I finished it up at the start of spring. It does smell like a pumpkin cupcake. Would I buy it again? I enjoy these hand soaps, but this was not my favourite scent, so I'd look for another scent. 

Bath & Body Works Shower Gel in 'Frosted Coconut Snowball': This shower gel is one of the winter scents, and it is a sweet smell. Would I buy it again? Yes, but I am not too bothered about this scent.

The Organic Pharmacy Marigold and Comfrey Hand and Nail Cream: This is a hand and nail cream with a gorgeous scent that applies thinly and soaks into skin to moisturise it. Would I buy it again? I enjoyed the product and the scent, so it would be one that I'd buy again if I needed to. 

The Body Shop body lotion in 'cassis rose': This body lotion smells like rose. The lotion is not too thick and mainly absorbs into the skin with a heavy rose scent. Would I buy it again? This is one that I may buy again, but I have other products to use up and it's not my most favourite.

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow (primer): This foundation primer helps create a glow to skin to give a flawless look. The primer is slightly pigmented with shimmer. Would I buy it again? I probably would not purchase it at this stage, but the product is ok.

Dating from the 1100s, Furness Abbey was once the second most powerful abbey and monastary in England (second to Fountains Abbey, which I visited a few years ago: Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden). The abbey was powerful in this remote area of Cumbria, south of the Lake District on a small bit of land. Its monks controlled the Isle of Man as well as build Piel Castle for trade and protection; the monks were powerful land and mine owners and often found themselves in the struggle between the English and Scottish problems. In the mid-1500s, the abbey and monastary was destroyed by Henry VIII because he grew angry at the Catholics for not allowing him to annul his marriage to Spanish Catherine of Aragon.

Furness Abbey was founded by monks from the Savigniac Order. Around twenty years later or so, the layout of the buildings and the abbey was changed to meet the style and needs of the Cisterian monks. They opted for a more plain style whereas the Savigniac Order had rich decorations and a different layout of the abbey.

A few years ago while completing repair works on the abbey ruins, the grave of an abbot was uncovered. The man had a gold staff, ring, and other items buried with him. These items, stone caskets, and stone decoration uncovered on the site showed the craftsmanship of the medieval workers. The most important people were buried within the church and then closer to the church.

The abbey here was in use for 20 generations, so this meant that people were buried and the site evolved. 

Unfortunately, the abbey was constructed using local red sandstone and grey limestone, which is soft, so many of the carvings have been weathered away. Also, the abbey itself was sinking and cracking due to the way it was built and the materials used, so it was pinned in the 1920s and then work was carried out more recently to save it from completely collapsing.

In modern times, the abbey is rumoured to be haunted. It was also the site for mystery plays until the late 1980s when it became difficult to recruit the number of people needed to host the plays. A mystery play is a play telling a Bible-related story, and they were held over several nights. Today, the site is open to visitors for a small fee.

This is actually a really impressive abbey, although out-of-the-way and less busy than other abbeys such as Fountains Abbey. I recommend a visit if in the area.

A recent visit to Manchester meant that I was able to see some new works from Manchester-based (but French born) street artist AKSE. AKSE rarely paints in London, so going to his stomping grounds in Manchester meant that I could check out his latest realistic portrait murals. The first one was painted on Hilton Street in the Northern Quarter and features character Arya Stark from "Game of Thrones" (played by Maisie Williams). On the side of the structure is a sword.

The second mural is located at the previous Roundhouse venue in Manchester in the Northern Quarter. (A quick tip: look up and you will see a Space Invader here too!) This mural is of Liam Gallagher, and it is the newest of the two pieces. There were also a couple of other murals, but they have been destroyed now.

The Arya Stark mural had been painted over a couple of times or tagged slightly, so it has been re-painted and touched up because it has been a few weeks now and I've only just been able to check it out.

The third and most recent mural appeared a couple of days after I left Manchester, but one of my friends was still visiting the city and managed to take a photograph of it for me. It shows Millie Bobbie Brown in "Eleven". 

There were other murals, but one of those was painted then destroyed by knocking the wall down.

Additional work by AKSE on this blog can be seen below:

AKSE Street Art Mural of Prince
Manchester Street Art
Akse 19 Paints Tyrion Lannister from "Game of Thrones"
Street Art: Akse, Vhils, Bailon, Sliks, Grud, Drypnz, and Vinz

Wensleydale Cheese is a company based in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales and uses the milk from the cattle raised on the Dales, which has a particular taste (due to the cattle grazing in this area). The company have a large shop, restaurant, cafe, and museum on their factory site so that cheese-lovers can visit. I've never actually tasted Wensleydale cheese before this visit, but I had heard of it because it was one of the cheeses that cheese-loving Wallace mentions in the stop-animation "Wallace and Gromit". 

Wensleydale started to produce cheese in 1897 from small farmhouses. In these days, the cheese was a summer product because the cattle were in-calf in the winter and spring and any milk produced was used to make butter. In the 1930s, cheese was mainly sold for Christmas as a delicacy item, and times were hard on the creamery and forced a closure. Kit Calvert was a local business man who saved the cheese by showing it at agriculture shows and improving packaging so that it could be transported further and last longer.

During war years, the creamery could not make the cheese as it is a watery cheese and prone to mould, so the government enforced that it cease production. In 1992, the factory faced additional problems and had to close due to EU regulations which meant that the machinery must be updated, so management decided to close; this devestated the small community. Luckily, the determined workers were able to buy the factory back and continue production six months later. A visitor centre was opened as the first of its kind in England, and the rest is history.

Cheese-making in the Yorkshire Dales actually goes back a lot further than Wensleydale. The area was introduced to cheese-making by the French Cistercian monks that lived in the abbeys in the area. They taught the location population how to create cheese.

Wensleydale export roughly 10% of their cheese worldwide with the USA being its second largest buyer; the cranberries and Wensleydale is the best-selling, and I assume that this is mainly sold in time for Thanksgiving and the festive season (when the majority of people probably consume cheese).

The museum contains several old bits of equipment for cheese-making and milking cattle, and visitors can watch a demonstration on how the cheese is made and the process of cheese-making. Afterwards, visitors can go through the museum and then watch a small section of the factory where the workers are creating the cheese.

There is also plenty of information to read throughout the room, including a small area dedicated to Wallace and Gromit and sure to be a hit with children. A small Wallace and Gromit scene has been created with Sean the Sheep and a rocket with some information about the cheese.

After the museum, people can go into the shop which also houses the restaurant, cafe, and a cheese-tasting room. This room contains many flavours of cheese, including several Wensleydale offerings with sheep milk, normal and blended cheese (with cranberries, ginger, pineapple, or other ingredients). There were also other cheeses, such as cheddar, to try. Also, the Wensleydale cheeses are made for vegetarians. Milk is produced, but the only non-vegetarian cheese is the Kit Calvert cheese (named after the businessman who saved the company in the 1930s), which is a traditional cheese. (One of the ingredients of cheese is a made of cow stomach used in the cheese-making process to help solidify the cheese. The other Wensleydale cheeses actually use a vegetarian alternative.)

Also important to note is that the company now sell the whey (by-product of cheese-making) to a biofuel company for research and biofuel. In the past, it was difficult to get rid of and sometimes fed to pigs but still difficult to get rid of and pigs only needed it in moderation.

I had a light lunch of a cheese toastie. 

And before I left, I had mint chocolate chip ice cream as this is sold in the shop. Of course, I did leave with a couple of cheeses.

The Yorkshire Dales has two show caves: White Scar Caves (which I will cover in a later post) and Ingleborough Caves. In this post, I cover Ingleborough Caves, located on the southwestern corner of the Yorkshire Dales. In addition to the caves, Ingleborough is also known for its walking trails and waterfalls. Ingleborough Caves is a good cave to visit for dog walkers and people who struggle with mobility. Dogs are welcome, and the last tour to come out of the cave before I went in was a group of people with special needs in wheelchairs and with limited mobility. 

For the average abled-body person, a direct trail has been created for easy access to the caves. This trail has a toll on it for all walkers using it, and it can be paid at the start of the trail or when you arrive to purchase your ticket at the cave entrance. The trail is not as interesting as it bypasses the waterfalls and other features, but it allows the most direct access to the cave. The start of the trail is up-hill with inclines, but the way back is very smooth and down-hill. Before the toll trail, visitors will see one of the impressive waterfalls. I want to come back here some time to walk the waterfall trails, but I did not do so this time because of limited time.

Nearing the end of the trail, a small brook with pasture and rocky hills runs along one side with a pasture on the other. It is very open on this bit of the trail, but the other part of the trail was through forest.

After arriving and paying for tickets, visitors put on helmets to protect their heads from the hard rocks in the cave. There were a couple of areas in the cave that were low and required stooping to access the next part of the cave system to see the fossils of ancient sea creatures on the cave walls.

One of the rock formations is known as the "beehive" because the minerals from the water dripped down over time to form the odd shape; it was formed in this manner as the water line was here, preventing it from growing more.

Other rocks have been created from the flow and dripping of the water in the cave system.

Pools of water create reflections to gaze at the rock formations growing on the ceiling of the cave.

This cave system also connects to other areas of the Yorkshire Dales, including the Gaping Gill, one of the deepest holes in Britain and the highest waterfall. Aparently, the size of the chamber is as large as York Minster. It is accessible through lowering into the hole or by diving through the cave system at Inglebrook Caves.

Unlike the other show cave in the area, Ingleborough Cave does not often flood because the stream is on a lower level, so the cave itself is an overfill. There are small puddles and a stream following part of the cave walkway. Overall, it is a good cave to visit and highly accessible. It has a couple low areas that require stooping, but it is more accessible that White Scar, which has several tight areas, stooping areas, and stairs, although White Scar is a much longer tour and visitors see more of the cave.

At the end of last year, Whipped opened a small dessert cafe on 160 Drury Lane not far from Covent Garden, and it is one of London's newest dessert cafes. The cafe started as a popular supper club in Kennsington where the host Alice Churchill would make desserts, creating a special "whipped cheesecake" dessert. Out of this, she noticed that ice cream venues were popular in London so took her cheesecake specials to the heart of the London. Soft serve cheesecake and other cheesecake desserts are on offer as well as cookies. So, this one is a must for cheesecake fans and also non-cheesecake fans (like myself, as I actually cannot stand cheesecake)!

Recently, Whipped celebrated Pride month with a few rainbow-coloured items, such as their cookies with a dollop of rainbow cream on top and soft serve ice cream with rainbow marshmallow topping. They all look too good to eat.

And because they look so pretty....I love rainbows...

You can find Whipped next to "School of Rock" on 160 Drury Lane. They are open from 10:00ish each day.

Enjoy!

Saturday was London's annual Pride parade where many go out to the streets in central London and celebrate and raise awareness for gender fluidity/identity/sexuality/etc. This is an important event because people who identify with some of these groups have had to suffer a lot due to society, and I know quite a few people who have been impacted and have had their lives made difficult due to this. In many countries, it's illegal and punishable by death; some religions also do not support it. Many innocent people become alienated as a result of their own identity, so this event is about embracing it and fighting back. The event brings everyone together to showcase individuality and love but also to protest wrongs. Attraction to the same gender or wishing to identify or not identify with gender is also still not widely tolerated in the countries where it is deemed 'acceptable'. In fact, the amount of the population identifying to these groups are unknown because some have refused to accept it. However, I have read that anywhere between 1 in 10 or 1 in 16 people identify as belonging to one of these groups. The numbers could increase with wider acceptance. Whether it is 1 in 10 or 16, that is quite a lot of people, and no one should suffer based on their identity preferences nor who they are attracted to.

The London Pride parade is something that I've always wanted to watch, but it was something that I had not gotten around to doing so until this year because I'd always had something planned on the same weekend; normally this was a Fourth of July BBQ. I watched the parade from Regent Street at the Piccadilly Circus end. London Pride had a real festival atmosphere with rainbow flags and colours everywhere. A lot of the shops and businesses had also decorated for Pride, and several of these companies also had a spot in the parade. (I do hope these companies are doing their part for Pride and not trying to capitalise off of it.)

I cannot say anything more other than I saw smiles everywhere, and everyone seemed to be having a fun time. With that in mind, I will post my best photographs of the parade.

The Red Arrows did a fly-past.

After the parade, I checked out the Infinity Chamber at Covent Garden, which was decorated for Pride. (See my original post about it here: Selfie Time at Covent Garden's Infinity Chamber.)

Also, quite a few restaurants had their own specials for Pride, such as DumDum Doughnuts in Covent Garden. (I originally covered DumDum donuts when they had one small shop in BoxPark Shoreditch here: DumDum Doughnuts (Shoreditch, London).) Their special doughnut included a vanilla rainbow glaze covered with Skittles candy.

Another company in Covent Garden (Whipped) had cookies and whipped ice cream with rainbow colours.

No Make No Life is a monthly subscription box that sends beauty and skincare products from Japan and Korea. The subscription box contains six or seven make-up and beauty-related items, but we received an extra item this month. The box also comes with a small magazine that contains information on the items, tips, horoscopes, and more. This is my sixth and final No Make No Life beauty box. This month's theme for the box is the "Summer Essentials" box. The products in this box have been put together with summer in mind. Read below to see what I received in this month's No Make No Life box.

Prreti Pure White Milk Cream: This is a skin cream that promises to help repair a tired and dry complexion. It comes in a cute little box shaped like a milk carton, reminiscent of the little milk cartons that we would get in school.

Etude House Bling Bling Eye Stick in 'Rose Star': This is a shimmery and long-lasting eye shadow that is perfect for putting in your handbag and using when you are out and about this summer. I think that different colours were available to subscribers, and I received a red-pink one called "Rose Star".

The Saem Yum Yum Lip Syrup in 'peach': This cute bottle is shaped like a miniature sauce or syrup bottle, and a variety of colours/flavours were available to subscribers (peach, cherry, or strawberry). I received the orange-pink colour, which is peach. I'm more than happy with that as I love peach and don't like too red/pink of shades of lip colour. This lip gloss is highly-glossy and can be carried in your handbag when you're out this summer.

Kocostar Foot Moisture Pack: This is a foot moisturiser pack that helps to moisturise feet. This product is included for use on a lazy day at home and can be worn with sandals as the product claims that it does not leak. Normally, foot care isn't something included in subscription boxes, so I am looking forward to trying this one out.

Sakura Blotting Paper and Bandage Set: This is a paper floral sleeve that contains blotting paper. This blotting paper helps to remove excess oil from skin during those hot and humid summer days. The blotting paper contains a sakura (cherry blossom) design.

Choosy Air in Beauty Gummy (in peach): This package contains beauty gummies that help to beautify lips. They contain collagen and calcium for helping to get plumper lips.

Frill Makeup Pouch: This month's box comes with a make-up pouch. It is a muted pink colour with a frilly fabric at the opening. I've got quite a few make-up pouches, but I suppose one more won't hurt.

Hatomugi UV Milky Gel: This is a UV protection gel that is a moisturiser that doubles as a sun cream. It is perfect for long sunny days.

I visited Kingston Lacey (located in Dorset, England) with friends last month. While there, I purchased National Trust membership, so you will be seeing more posts of National Trust properties in the coming months on this blog. Kingston Lacy is a mansion set in beautiful grounds and gardens with nature trails. The property has much history, and you can ask the volunteers for information as you're visiting. So, I came to learn that this house and nearby Corfe Castle (see my post about it from my visit last year: An Afternoon at Corfe Castle (Dorset, England)) were owned by the same family (Bankes), and they lived at Corfe Castle until it was destroyed in the Civil War. They were loyal to the crown, so their castle was destroyed, and this new home was built in the mid-1600s.

In 1982, the death of the owner in the Bankes family, prompted it and Corfe Castle to be sold to National Trust. By this time, the house was in a poor condition as it cost a lot to keep such a large house, and the remaining family did not wish to be burdened with it. Much of the items currently in the house were brought back from Asia and Africa by William John Bankes, who was an explorer and who had a taste for art. He also had a political office, and his downfall was that he was homosexual in a time when this was illegal, so he had to flee the country. There's so much more history about this place.

This is the main entrance to the house today. The entrance used to be on the other side, but the owners at the time wanted to make a grand staircase and entrance for a massive ball. So, the entrance was changed.

The below room is the Audit Room and contains what was modern technology for the day, which the owner was very keen to have and use as radio and television were coming into use. The small television can be seen next to the chair.

The gardens off the main staircase look beautifully-designed.

There is a library room.

There is also a room dedicated to the women who lived and occupied their time here.

This is the great hall or banquet room, which leads to another beautiful room.

This is one of the bedrooms. The bed was commissioned by William John Bankes to an Italian craftsman. Bankes died before the bed was completed, leaving the artist out of pocket until one of the ancestors finally paid for the work. Behind the room is a bath room.

Another bedroom is a more feminine bedroom.

And here is the third bedroom.

On the top (third) floor, the children had use of the house and had bedrooms designed like circus tents. Apparently this came from Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, who believed her husband wanted to mimic the campaign tents. It came into fashion then but was not in fashion for long, and this is one of the only surviving examples. Both of the childrens' rooms are designed like a mock circus tent.

On the ground floor, we saw some of the servant quarters, including the service bells. You can ring these, but they are no longer connected to the rest of the house.

Also downstairs and near this room is a dedication of Egyptian artefacts that William John Bankes brought back. These include a wide variety of objects, but the largest objects are in the grounds. Obelisks and a stone sarcophagus are located in the grounds.

On the other end of the trail through the grounds, we stopped to have cake and a drink.

The grounds nearest the castle were the best-kept with beautiful flowers and gardens.

Keep checking back for future visits of gardens, castles, and houses.

I was in the Peak District on Sunday with friends, and while we were there, we saw some of the small villages celebrating their well dressings. I've read about the well dressings before, but the only time that I'd been to explore the Peak District was in January with full snow. All of the small villages and towns have their own well dressings, which bring the community together through crafts, decorations, and other events. So, what is a well dressing? A well dressing is a decoration of the town's well by compacting clay into a frame and then adding seeds, leaves, tiles, mosses, and petals onto the clay to add a design.

The well dressings have been a community event in the Peak District for hundreds of years (or longer). The original source or reason of having them is not known, but I personally think that they started as an offering to the water source pre-dating Christianity. People used to leave offerings at the site of springs or water sources as offerings to the gods, and gold and other precious items can sometimes be found near or in water/wells. The Christians would have taken this event, as they did others, to help their religion gain followers, so they believe in celebrating the water and giving thanks to it via these well dressings.

The other story is that some of the villages in the area gave thanks to the water for helping them through the Black Plague which destroyed the population of other villages in the area. While well dressings were conducted prior to the Black Death, this allowed a special significance to the event. So, I am pretty confident that well dressing started as a way of giving thanks to the gods of water since we have examples of offerings left at or near water sources. However, we will never know for sure.

We visited the well dressing in Hope, which was a religious scene of the Christianity's Jesus turning water into wine. The scene depicts Jesus with jugs of red wine with a grape design on the frame.

In addition to the well dressings, which can take the community hours to create, some of the villages had bunting strung from the buildings and scarecrows.

We did not have time to see any of the other well dressings, but we saw this one in Hope (a village near Castleton) near the church. Some of the villages have more than one and have ones at the schools that children have put together.

Last year, several new pieces of knitted and crocheted artwork popped up on London's streets. Each of them had their own little positive message, such as "do it!", "stop worrying", and "don't hesitate", and each one has been lovingly created by artist 8Arms2Hug (Swenja Norhausen) and features a colourful octopus. The artist is a lover of the ocean and part of a no hate group in London, and she recently had a show "beware of the kraken" featuring her work. These little octopuses brought a smile to my face with their positive energy and encouragement.

The artwork is known as "love bomb" and has become popular over the world. 8arms2hug is a "fibre artist", and the artwork she creates with the octopuses are miniature knitted aquariums. Based between London and Cologne, visitors will probably find several examples of her work in both cities.

This movement of "love bombing" is similar to the take on yarn-bombing, where artists knit street furniture, statues, and other items in public to make it more colourful. It goes to show that street art can be any medium; it isn't limited to just paint, and I've covered tiles, plastic toys, plaster, string, and yarn on this blog previously.

I noticed a few new ones earlier this year as well, but many of them do not have the background and are just knitted octopuses with the positive messages to viewers. I've photographed many of them, but let me know if you have seen any that I don't have on this post.