In The Pink

I am taking a few moments out to enjoy one of my favourite films on TV, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, staring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. I have been a big fan of James Stewart since I was little and you can't not love Grace Kelly, she is so beautiful, natural and charming. Anyway, I would not say I was a huge Hitchcock fan; I have seen several of his movies and have my favourites, but there is something about Rear Window. For those of you who have not seen it it is about a foreign correspondent journalist (James Stewart) who as the result of a broken leg is forced to stay at home and spends his time looking out of his living room window and observing the residents of the opposite block of flats. Through their living room windows we get a glimpse of their lives, their loves and their traumas. There is the beautiful young blond who has many gentlemen callers, the lonely middle aged woman who fantasises about the perfect date, the old lady with a dog which she lowers

Sorry but it is! Hey at least I did not say the actual word! I am feeling so ******massy its untrue! It is cold here today, cold but fresh and sunny and I have started doing my you know what shopping! Also, me and Mr Dancin have a cottage booked in Scotland for you know when which is very exciting and we cannot wait for December to arrive! Ok, I will stop now but I just had to get that out!

I got a visit from a blogger yesterday, Honfleur Then and Now , on my recent post about my historical readings, My Latest King , which has lead me off on a trail this morning to Falaise, Normandy and the birth place and home of William the Conqueror, Chateau Guillaume le Conquerant . One thing I have found since I have been history hooked is that you pick up a small thread of information to find out one thing and before you know it you are travelling along a wide web spanning time in all directions and hours have past! Anyway, I recommend a visit to Honfleur Then and Now  to find out more about Williams origins and will leave you with this image, courtesy of  Chateau Guillaume le Conquerant , which shows how the fortress would have looked in Williams time.

Last month we had our summer holiday planned for Wales and got the tent and camping kit out for our trip. Unfortunately on arrival in Wales one of the pups became unwell and we had to return home. (She is fine now, just an old lady.) So we put our efforts into planning events for our 'staycation' so that we still felt the benefits of a good break and didn't get caught up in home chores and I have to say I think we did a very good job of it! The following photos summarise the holiday and most of our activities. St Beuno's Church, Clynnog Fawr The pups enjoying a play on a beach between Beaumaris and Puffin Island on Anglesey.  Battle re-enactment at Rockingham Castle , Vikings vs Saxons, as performed by the Vikings of Middle England Rockingham Castle Gardens Biplane Flyby at Rockingham Mr Dancin at Rockingham The National Memorial

At the beginning of this year I became interested in the Kings of England and started off by reading about Edward I (AKA Longshanks) as I have a particular interest in medieval history. During the year I have moved forward reading about: Edward II (son of Edward I), Roger Mortimer (1st Earl of March), who along with Isabella of France, wife of Edward II, forced the abdication of Edward II, and Edward III (son of Edward II). I then went backwards to read about William the Conqueror, his succeeding sons, William II and Henry I, and the period known as The Anarchy which covers King Stephen (nephew of Henry I) and leads to the coronation of Henry II (grandson of Henry I). It has been a fascinating time for me and I have found that I have little patience for fiction and an insatiable thirst for more historical knowledge! It does make for complicated reading and I find it hard to retain as much detail as I would like, which has lead me to ask Mr Dancin if I can start drawing a huge, ro