There was snow on Coniston Old Man this morning and it has been a glorious sunny day but very cold, they keep saying snow is on the way.
Tonight is Phil & Dorothy's last night trading in the Tower Bank, we will pop up later to witness the end of an era and have a couple of drinks. It is going to seem strange when they move, they have been good neighbours and friends,I am sure we will keep in touch they are not moving far away.

A bright cold morning with clear blue skies, still no ferry!
Two couples due in later then we might get a walk. I will have to catch up on some bill paying this morning.

A quiet sort of day in the village after the events of yesterday, the rain arrived but thankfully no snow.
Just the one room free and with no ferry on (yes ferry out action once more) not much chance of picking anybody up.
A late tea tonight because we had to go out and got back later than usual, it has just got later because our friend Lorna has just rang and it is never a quick chat.

A sunny calm morning, a lot better than forecast.
The big clearance sale is on next door, quite a few vehicles about.
This is picture of my god-daughter Ellie,it has turned out dark, not sure why.



This is a couple of regular Tower Bank guests Squat and Margaret,who where here for the party on Saturday,we have known them for a number of years and often have a beer with them when they are up.They stayed with us this weekend.

We had a great night out last night at the Tower Bank Arms, it was a really good party and everyone enjoyed themselves, Phillip & Dorothy did the village proud with great beer with a fantastic buffet.




This is Phil and his son Andrew, Andrew has been a great help to his parents during the last 18 years at the Tower.




The locals presented Phil & Dorothy with a lovely print of the village.


Today was a bit of an event for Sawrey, Steve the off duty chef landed back to the Tower this afternoon in a taxi, shall we say a bit tipsy, he then had a coming together with the car park, Norrie and myself assisted him into the Tower yard, a ambulance was called because Steve had sustained a bad cut on the forehead,it turned out that an ambulance was unavailable and because it was a head injury they scrambled the air ambulance.




Debbie and Laura were sent with sheets to assist the helicopter to land, just about the whole village was out by this time.





A conventional ambulance turned up eventually and Steve was able to walk to it and then was taken to hospital, hopefully to make a speedy recovery.

It all happens in Sawrey.

Everybody arrived before 2pm so we headed up to Moss Eccles for a quick walk.We never saw anybody till we were on the way back and met this professional looking group of cyclists.





I watched the rugby this evening and saw the Scots get a well deserved win against England, not my game but I like the big games.
Matthew has been in touch on MSN but we missed him, anyway they are both safe and seem to be having some amazing adventures,ie 6 hours on the roof of a train down the mountains.

We are just about to get ready for the big party at the Tower Bank Arms,pictures tomorrow.

A busy breakfast this morning with a full dining room,the sun is shining but it is still very cold.
Two couples arrive today and they are both going to the party at the Tower tonight.
A regular guest from Liverpool Mr Ian G.kindly gave me a CD this morning with a selection of pictures I might like to use.

The post box is a Victorian one and is down by the ferry.



This taken at the entrance to the footpath to Far Sawrey.

A bitterly cold day again with sporadic snow showers.
A full house tonight, Pete & Lynn a couple of the New Year gang are here with an invite to Phillip & Dorothy's retirement party tomorrow night.







We managed a quick walk this afternoon and went down the dub through the woods and out by the church, the wind over the fields was cruel.
We called in at the Sawrey Stores and introduced ourselves, Maureen and her daughter Annie are really nice and are keen to make the shop a roaring success, we wish them the best of luck.

There is an advert in the Westmorland Gazzette this morning

Tower Bank Arms Near Sawrey.
Sale of pub fittings
Bar, Dining Room, Kitchen, Bedding, Etc
Everything must go
Monday, 27th February
10am- 6pm
For further details
Tel 015394 36334

A grey damp gloomy day, we have been in all day as guests arrive, Helen has been busy on the sewing machine.
I had a stroll around the village and took these pictures.







The last people arrived just before 9pm, tomorrow we fill up, a few guests coming for the Phil & Dorothy retirement bash at the Tower Bank on Saturday night, it should be a good night.
Phillip was on Border TV tonight with his new brew "Phils last orders" a couple of locals Alan and Richard featured in the news item.
Had an e-mail from Matthew this morning, he and Sarah are on their way to Cuenca in time for Carnival.
Helen rang her Mum in Spain this morning Denis had gone out for a haircut, he quite likes the old fashioned barbers in Spain.

A cold day again with a lot of snow on the tops, the odd snow flurry in the village.
I had a couple of jobs to do in Kendal and when we got back called in at the Tower Bank for my newspaper, Phillip has a special one off brew on called "Phils last orders" which has been brewed especially for him, to celebrate his impending retirement,the Barngates brewery at the Drunken Duck are responsible. I felt it only polite to sample a pint, and so I did, delicious.
We had an email this morning from Simon on the village hall committee, and in it was these pictures and a few lines explaining the reason for the renovation of the trough.

The blog is always happy to include any news items and pictures,just click on the email link in the side bar



The restoration of the Horse Trough at Near Sawrey has finally been completed by members of the village hall committee. Here we have Roland fixing the plaque in memory of Brian and Phyllis who lived locally and were tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a few years ago.

Quite an eventful sort of a day, first we had a visit from handy Andy the joiner who we had to call in when the staircase at Buckle Yeat looked in danger of collapse, after all they are nearly 300 years old and in the last 22 years have taken a lot of traffic,
Andy saved the day with a series of props and braces. A new staircase is required, but not immediately thanks to Andy.
Then the TV aerial firm arrived to improve the poor TV reception, not as successful as Andy, they say it is the transmitter at fault. Our region will be the first to switch off the analogue signal in 2008/2009.
Footy tonight and a poor effort by the reds, when will the forwards start to look like getting a goal or two, still a chance to progress though the second leg in a fortnight.
We have heard from Denis & Margaret in Spain and from Matthew & Sarah in Ecuador, all are well.

Another fantastic sunny day in the lakes, unlike the rainy south.
A quick trip to Hawkshead this morning to post a letter to South Africa.



This is one of the many nooks and cranny's around Hawkshead.





Over the lake to Bowness to stock up on new bedding and some new pillows then into Kendal for some shopping.
These pictures are taken from the ferry landing.
When we got back we had a walk down to Esthwaite Water and along the shoreline, it was bitterly cold but bracing.

A bit of good news for the village, Sawrey Stores, the village shop in Far Sawrey re-opened this week.

It was a frosty start to a stunning sunny day, we had a busy morning and all but 3 rooms left.





I took these two pictures on the way to work this morning.



We got finished at Buckle Yeat and then had a walk up to Moss Eccles and on the way up we came across these two easy chairs carved out of a couple of tree trunks.
We met Mike & Liz who owned the village shop a number of years ago, they keep the red squirrel feeder full of goodies.
Up at the edge of the tarn we found the remains of I think what was a swan, the swans at Moss Eccles never seem to have much luck.

A full house tonight at Buckle Yeat, 13 guests,I will have to be alert at breakfast and get my skates on.

We never managed a walk again today so will have to make the time tomorrow. Roger called in today and sorted out a couple of minor building repairs.
I watched the match of course at lunchtime and great news Liverpool won 1-0 and deserved to do so, spoilt only by a bad injury to Smudger Smith a Utd player.

Matthew has just been in touch on MSN Messenger, they have moved a little further south and are close to the Cotopaxi volcano, they are really pushing the boat out and have paid $8 for accommodation.

It has been quite a good day today with plenty of sunshine, hope it's the same for tomorrow.

A sunny start and then a few clouds gathered but by nightfall it has cleared out again and it feels like there may be a frost.
All guests have arrived,not that many tonight but we almost fill up tomorrow.
A busy day getting Buckle Yeat ready and warmed up for the incoming guests.







We were unable to take a walk today so I just had a stroll down home and took these pictures on the way.
We are off out to the Tower Bank Arms for a couple of drinks and catch up on what has been going on the past two weeks.

After a wild and windy night with a few heavy hail showers the day was quite pleasant,
we had to go to Kendal to stock up on provisions and on the way we stopped at Ambleside for the dreaded dental check up.
Matthew rang from Quito tonight, it was good to hear his voice even though the line kept breaking up. We also had a call from Denis & Margaret in Spain.
guests arrive tomorrow so back to the real world.



This is the Brathay just as it flows under the bridge on the way to Ambleside

A busy day sorting out all the mail that has mounted up over the last week and the phone was red hot with bookings, just what we want.
It was not a bad day weather wise and we managed to get a short walk round to the trout farm and bought some prawns for a pasta dish we had for our supper tonight.



This is the pool that is stocked with trout, I think it is for kids to catch their first fish but adults are often seen having a go.



The view from Ees Bridge



A lone boatman on a calm Esthwaite Water

Well back home after a couple of weeks in the sun, the weather was good for most of the time after a slow start. We ended up coming home a day later than planned due to an aircraft that was broken, we changed flights to the next day and enjoyed one more day in the sun.



These are a couple of shots from Spain, we did some really long walks and this was one to a high peak with a shrine on the top, the views were stunning.



As you can see we now have another blogger adding a few posts which is good, keep it up Matthew and Sarah.
Great late win for the Reds against the Gunners.

Hola from ecuador again! This is a photo from the equator a few Km´s north of Quito. We visited here with the teachers and students from the school. I received a certificate for balancing an egg on a nail at the equator - apparently its the easiest place to do it! (not sure which saddo found that out!) I think i´m standing in the southern hemisphere and Sarah in the northern.



We visited the Botanical Gardens in the city as well - Sarah took some really good photos of orchids etc.

This was taken from the top of the mountain near Quito (the city is in the photo!) Its 4100m above sea level. We went up on the cable car on our first day in Quito. Bad idea I think - we both felt the effects of altitude sickness!

Another day trip with the teachers took us to the market at Sangolquil. The animal section was the most interesting. Guinea Pigs, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, dogs and cats. Didn´t seem to matter what was in a cage with what!

I´ve put the link to our photos on the right so you can see them all! We´ll try to keep adding more as we go along. Adios Matthew & Sarah