It's been quite a slow year in some ways for Peter Hulbert but achieved such a lot over such a short period of time. It's November time now and the weather has changed so quickly from Indian summer to early frost and winter very quickly and the prediction is for snow in the next few days and I would not be surprised if it were true. The frost is not such a problem in God's Own Country but the snow can play havoc with travel etc.
The winter in Yorkshire can be as bad or as good as anywhere in the UK but the one bonus we have over every part of the UK is our ability to laugh at the situation and simply carry on despite the set backs or excitement created by any amount of snow dropped from the heavens as if the paint the world white. As some of you know, my passion is photography and our friend to the left is a red deer to which was slightly faked in as much as he was not so wild. Quite close to where I live is a venison farm and he saw me through the bushes and we played hide and seek for about 15 minutes until I captured him in the light with the frost on the ground and whilst it was not totally wild, I can assure you it could run the length of a field in a matter of seconds and he might not be wild but he sure wasn't happy either.
I was delighted to visit the venison farm as it gave me a few hours of splendor to which can be a photographers dream all cute short to a few magic moments of which could take many hours if not days if spent chasing and stalking.
For those who have tried to capture a picture of the family pooch or a bird on the feeding table, patience is truly something you cannot have enough of in photography and the picture to the right was taken at the same farm but came right out of the blue when these two young stags were showing off who was boss in this field for the ladies and whilst I was fortunate to capture the moment, the magic of seeing it was something very special indeed and with the backdrop of frost on the ground helped to make it even more special, if not a little fortunate.
I want to pay tribute to our fallen hero's to whom without their sacrifice, I would not be here today and in memory of their commitment and sacrifice, we wear a "Red Poppy" in respect of these fallen hero's to which the money raised is collected by the "Royal British Legion" charity and used to help support those families who's loss was so great. Our moment of remembrance always takes place on at 11.00 am on the 11th day of the 11th Month when the whole country unites in 2 minutes silence and on the Sunday following the 11th, the whole country has it's own moment of remembrance at the various war memorials around the country.
I want to pay tribute to our fallen hero's to whom without their sacrifice, I would not be here today and in memory of their commitment and sacrifice, we wear a "Red Poppy" in respect of these fallen hero's to which the money raised is collected by the "Royal British Legion" charity and used to help support those families who's loss was so great. Our moment of remembrance always takes place on at 11.00 am on the 11th day of the 11th Month when the whole country unites in 2 minutes silence and on the Sunday following the 11th, the whole country has it's own moment of remembrance at the various war memorials around the country.
There is little I wish to say on this matter as memories are a personal one and I have mine and I assume that you will have yours but what I will say is respect is something we should all show no matter what your point of view is. War is a terrible thing, it is a cruel and heartless occasion to which there are only ever looser's and no real winners in my opinion. A moments silence is the least that can be asked.
Today 4/12/2017 was such a beautiful day for photography with a bright blue sky and orange ball providing natural light but sadly, all I had with me was my phone but no camera and as such I took a few snaps but nothing of true value.
Today 4/12/2017 was such a beautiful day for photography with a bright blue sky and orange ball providing natural light but sadly, all I had with me was my phone but no camera and as such I took a few snaps but nothing of true value.
I always revert to the river when I have run out of ideas in which to take pictures and today was no exception as we just had a bit rain over the weekend and the river would be flowing quite well as it displays the white water over one of the many weirs on my local river. This particular section of river is often patrolled and guarded by a local heron whom I have seen many times on this section of river but today was a little too cold, even for him as I was unable to find any sign of him today. The river does have a secret to which are privileged to know about and as a known fly fisherman I am pleased to know about but for now, we will keep this a secret in the vein hope that nature continues to provide more of this special event which signals a constantly improving river for so many reasons.
11th December 2017
I was over at my favorite coffee shop over the last week where I discovered on display and very beautiful motorcycle to which the Man in the shop said was used in the film "The Great Escape" but after doing a little research, I discovered that he was wrong but I didn't want to disappoint his dreams and as such, I kept it to myself. However, no matter what, it is a very well restored vehicle and looked very nice in the cloths store as a promotion item.
Along side of the motorcycle was this mad beast to which I understand was/is an original bicycle and is known in the UK as the "Penny Farthing" and was used frequently by the Victorians to get around the streets in towns and cities in the UK. All I can say is they were a little crazy but very skillful in mounting and dis-mounting these mad vehicles.. I thought it was a truly lovely display of vintage vehicles at "Sanderson's" where the quality of range is slightly above the rest and it shows. The staff are always so nice and friendly and it's a pleasure to visit this wonderful store.
19th December 2017
Today was such a beautiful day and I could not miss the opportunity to stretch the legs and take a walk in the winter frosty but super fresh air and as such I headed out to the hills and valleys.
It was certainly a beautiful and serine place to be and the silence was kind of creepy in a calm sort of way. The sun behind me was creating a stunning affect on the lake and providing the calm waters with a mirror like finish and whilst the only figure to be found here today was Peter Hulbert, you won't hear any complaints from me as the sense of freedom and calm was worth the effort. I sat for a while and watched some truly committed fly fishermen on the lake as they battled the cold to cast a fly on the open and very still waters and whilst I enjoy the pleasure of fly fishing myself, i can't say I had any envy for them today due to the cold. However, maybe that says more about me than it did about them as they were true troopers and the cold didn't give them an excuse unlike myself. I salute you all whoever you were.
The lake has a charm all of it's own but when it's seen on such a calm day which I can guarantee is a rare event, it truly inspires the artist from within as the colours and light are of a very special and unusual emphasis of nature at it's best and the stunning creation of the reflective finish of the lake just adds to the spectacular affect and creation. The walk around the whole of the lake can take several hours and whilst the temptation to attempt it today was in my heart, my brain interjected and brought logic to the table and shouted "NO" in no uncertain terms. As such, I opted for the short version of about 90 minuets around the far side and back across both bridges and along the A57 Snake Pass and eventually returning to the car park, which on a cold winters day was just about enough to take in today. Maybe when the Springtime comes, I will extend the walk to the full 5 hours version. The picture below is the grassy area to which forms the structure to
The reservoir wall and it's quite unusual to see one covered in grass, it gives the appearance of a Swiss ski resort on the training slopes but in reality, we are a long way from Switzerland and although there is snow on the hills in the background, there certainly isn't enough to ski on today. It does beg the question of how do they keep this grass so well trimmed and looked after as it's a long way to the bottom and every time I visit, I notice that they have a striped lawn that is the envy of many a good gardener and I have no idea how they achieve this magical affect.
11th December 2017
I was over at my favorite coffee shop over the last week where I discovered on display and very beautiful motorcycle to which the Man in the shop said was used in the film "The Great Escape" but after doing a little research, I discovered that he was wrong but I didn't want to disappoint his dreams and as such, I kept it to myself. However, no matter what, it is a very well restored vehicle and looked very nice in the cloths store as a promotion item.
19th December 2017
Today was such a beautiful day and I could not miss the opportunity to stretch the legs and take a walk in the winter frosty but super fresh air and as such I headed out to the hills and valleys.
19th December 2017
I finally uploaded the rest of the pictures from my day out yesterday around the lake and I will provide you with a few words of description to guide you through the walk. Below is what at first glance appears to be a giant plug hole and in many respects, that's what it basically is, except that this is an overflow regulator in which stops the reservoir from becoming over full in times when heavy rain etc comes. It's a very simple and basic answer to a complicated problem and woks very well indeed.
Below is one of the inspection and look out towers of which there is one at each side of the lake, I have no real idea of what they are for but as I have seen similar ones on the TV, I presume they allow engineers to go inside the structure in order to maintain and repair any problems. All I can say in respect of that is "rather them than me" as it does not look inviting in any way.
24th December 2017
Today is a little solemn in some ways as I sit here alone and spending my 5th Christmas in a row alone as I chose to sacrifice my Christmas in Lew of providing someone else with the gift of life to which has it's own rewards in many ways. Sometimes, life is not about wrapping paper of tinsel but living with ones own conscience and in the knowing that right is right and wrong is always wrong and when all it takes is money to provide the gift of safety and life for someone, it goes without saying in the world of Peter Hulbert that it must be done and without remorse.
When I look back over 2017 at how many people we all lost from our lives, it brings a tear to my eye and provides a gap that cannot be filled and is a empty space that quite simply cannot be replaced by others. The world of Performing Art's such as acting, music & dance has lost so much talent and one can only hope that are doing there thing in a better place today and making Heaven an exciting place to appear. I myself am looking forward to a positive 2018 with many proposals on the table of which I am not ready to share with you right now but suffice to say when the time is right, I will be glad to provide you all with the joys of success.
For now, all that is left to say to you all is that I wish you all a very happy, safe and exciting Christmas and I hope to see you all back here in the new year.
"God Bless You All"
29th December 2017
It's a little bit like the calm before the storm today for the world of Peter Hulbert as the New Year is close but not quite here yet. Overnight and today in the North of England we had a kindly reminder that winter is not on it's way our but only just arrived and snow fell in an abundance and the result was many accidents on the roads and chaos all around. As if this was not bad enough, we now have rain in the late afternoon with sever frost and drop in temperature later which all helps to add to the excitement and madness of driving in these conditions. Many people will be out shopping today buying in for the "New Year's Eve" parties and I suspect there will be many a sore head on Tuesday morning with the sound of silence do drown out the noise of the morning after the night before affects.
I would like to leave this post with a simple note of wishing you all a Very Happy New Year and with the prayer that I hope we all learned something from 2017 to take forward with us to 2018 that is a positive thought towards others and if we have educated ourselves in any way, carry that forward to share with others and hopefully we will strive to build a better world for us all to live, share and prosper together. I want to share one thought with you before I go that makes this coming year special. The following all have 1 thing in common in 2018:
1st January.
2nd February
3rd March
4th April
5th May
6th June
7th July
8th August
9th September
10th October
11th November
12th December
Did you need a clue........OK, they are all Sunday which is weird.....!!
We still have a few days left and as it's the season of good will, we are accepting friend requests again to genuine followers on our Facebook account for those who enjoy the world of social media and daily chat, as well as the short but simple world of Twitter which is updated many times per day with news and anything that may be of gossip value or otherwise of interest to someone.
31st December 2017
Not long now for the final countdown to the end of 2017 and start of a whole new year. Some of the world has already started to celebrate and my dear friends in New Zealand & Australia are already over the line and into 2018 ahead of me. I am on the phone with my future wife and we have less than 10 minuets to their New Year and I wish them all a very Happy & Safe New Year to come. I always link up with them for their new year and later, they link back up with me for mine. For Peter Hulbert and his world, I only wish everyone to enjoy everyday like it was their last and be happy. I hope the world accepts that war is an admission of failure and love is a better solution to problems. Try Giving Peace a chance, it works...!!
My year ahead is filled with plans and positive activity and as expected, lots to share but only when the times is right to do so. For today, I have a glass of whiskey ready for midnight and I expect to drink it down and wish the world a happy new year all over again.
For those who will be heading off to parties and celebrations around the world, I don't want to be seen as the bearer of doom and gloom and spoil sport but we all have occasions when we overdo the booze and alcohol and New Year is a prime example. All I want to say is remember how you felt last year and said those e mortal words "Never Again" ......well, again comes around every year and this one is no exception, so if you don't want to suffer tomorrow, don't over indulge tonight or you might live to regret it.
I will end this blog today and start a new one tomorrow of which I will give regular updates and information about the crazy world of Peter Hulbert and his antics.
