Threlkeld Mining Museum

 

It's been a while since the last blog post, mainly due to the poor weather, but we have managed to make one excursion: to the Threkeld Mining Museum (I take you to all the best places). Unfortunately, despite the website saying it was open, it wasn't. Still, if you're up for a little tramping around in the cold Cumbrian drizzle, here it is.

“More like a machinery mausoleum than a mining museum,” Ishbel observed, as we tried to avoid the suspiciously grey puddles. A raven forlornly cronked his agreement overhead. Even so, there was a certain contrapuntal beauty between the gaudy, angular leviathans, and the muted natural colours, and contours, of the landscape.

There were, however, signs of spring arriving. Amongst the leafless trees, the willows were in full bud, and in one of the cleaner ditches, the pool frogs had spawned.

And, joy of joys, the first adult insects of the year have emerged. A pair of water crickets. These are in the family Veliidae (the riffle bugs) and are closely related to the Gerridae (water striders). The differences are mainly internal and must have been discovered in the 20^th century as my 1896 Cassell's Natural History doesn't mention them.

Meanwhile, there are strange goings-on, going on across the river from the Old Cornmill (where I live). Fearing a new housing estate, I made enquiries. But no, it is an archaeological dig. I am lucky enough to live on the outskirts of the old Roman settlement of Derventio and history, being a relatively new interest of mine, is literally on my doorstep. I'll let you know what they dig up.

Talking of things historical, my little on-line shop is still growing nicely with just short of a hundred items on the shelves at any one time. Come in and have a browse. Steve's Vintage Collectables.

Last time, I mentioned that my new novel, The MONOM (The Magic of Nature of Magic) is now available as a paperback and an ebook. I suppose it would have helped if I'd included the link! Here it is. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Steve-Daniels/author/B081Z8FNK5

(And as the insects are now beginning to appear, it's a good time to get a copy of The Quick Guide To Creepy-Crawlies which you'll find on the same page). 

All the best,

Steve

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Elvis Road Tour 2023

 

“Spanner!” said Ishbel, looking me in the eye.

A bit rude, I thought, wondering what I'd done to deserve this verbal abuse.

“For the gas bottle,” she explained.

We were loading the last items onto the campervan, now named Elvis for its propensity to shake, rattle and occasionally roll. March 1^st, the beginning of meteorological Spring and we were heading down into the fells for a two night stay at Skelwith Fold.

We stopped off at Thirlmere to take Mattie for a walk. It was bitterly cold, but the daffodils were out, so it must be Spring – and we must be mad.

Lowering clouds and a light rain accompanied us as we headed south past Grasmere and Rydal Water, until we finally lumbered through Ambleside, and turned up towards Langdale. I'd picked up some Hairy Bittercress, which is a common wayside herb of late winter/early spring and is very similar in flavour to rocket (they are in the same family, Brassicaceae). Ideal for egg and cress sandwiches.

The 130 acre site seemed bigger than some housing estates than I've lived on, but, as it was the first day of the season it was mercifully quiet. Excellent facilities, which we had more or less to ourselves, but I don't think I'd like to be there in the height of the season.

After a good night's sleep, in which we didn't die of hypothermia, we ambled the two and a half miles into Ambleside the following morning. Beautiful views over Loughrigg, and a pleasant lunch in the Royal Oak rounded off the morning. On the way in we noticed some curious plants by the roadside. These turned out to be Giant Butterbur, a south east Asian plant that turned up in Britain in 1897 and has been spreading ever since. It's edible but has to be pre-treated to remove it's bitterness.

A grey squirrel also graced us with his presence. I don't often see greys in Cumbria, as the red seems to be more common (from personal observations). In most of the country the non-native grey outcompetes the native red, but up here, the reds seem to be holding their own.

Going back to the Hairy Bittercress. Having made your egg and cress sandwich, how do you cut it? Square or diagonal? Up north, the square cut is more generally used (the diagonal cut being something that only us poncey southerners do). However, there is a reason for the diagonal cut – they fit better on a sandwich plate. Sandwich plates, like this 1930s example from Copeland Spode, have a vertical and horizontal ridge, to keep the quarters of the sandwich separate. As I've said before, they knew how to do things in style back then.

And finally... back in 2011, I started wrting a novel. Twelve years later and all 633 pages of it is now on the shelves. Amazon have it priced at £2.99 for the Kindle edition and £14.99 for the paperback, and you can read the first few pages here. However, I have 50, signed and numered, author copies (45 now, as I've sold the first 5) which you can buy for just £10 plus postage. If you'd like a copy, drop me an email (stevedanielscumbria@gmail.com ), let me know to whom you would like the book dedicated, and where you would like me to post it to. I'll work out the postage and arrange the payment details.

All the best,

Steve

Sandwich plates from Steve's Vintage Collectables.

Campsite: Skelwith Fold

Pub lunch: Royal Oak

Beetles and Butterflies; spiders and scorpions; woodlice and worms. How do you tell them all apart? To say nothing of crane flies, dragonflies, bee flies and yet more butterflies. Are they all flies? If not, why call them so? If you're fascinated but confused by the beautiful world of the very small, then this is the book for you. 82 pages of information on all aspects of the world of minibeasts, with over 100 photographs and illustrations, this book will help you track down and identify any arthropod, in its adult or juvenile state, anywhere in the world. See all of my books at author.to/SteveDaniels

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Beyond Crete

 

For sixteen years, I lived a somewhat idyllic life on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, and many of you know me from The Crete Nature Blog. I returned to the UK in 2020, settling in Cockermouth in Cumbria, where my life has changed, almost beyond recognition. It is now, I am glad to say, just as idyllic (albeit somehat damper) and new adventures await.

As well as having a host of new wildlife to observe, new plants to pluck from the hedgerows and cook in Steve's Wild Kitchen, I have also developed an interest in human history and begun to collect various curios to adorn my new 'bachelor pad' set in The Old Cornmill, on the banks of the River Derwent. These, I live with for a while and then sell on through my little online antiques shop, SVCwithEtsy. It makes a little beer money, but it's mainly for the joy of finding out the history behind the object.

I have also acquired a new life partner in Ishbel, who shares my love of nature and objects from a byegone age, which is presumably what she sees in me. Apart from me, she has also recently invested in a turn of the century campervan. It is in this, along with Mattie the hyperpup, that we intend to explore this beautiful country. So, join us, if you will, as we explore the countryside, take in a few antiques fairs along the way, sample as much local produce as we can, and generally appreciate Cumbria, Westmorland and beyond.

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PS You may have noticed, in the second picture, a set of volumes held between two industrial book ends. This is my first full length novel, The MONOM, which is now available as a paperback and ebook on Amazon. This is the fifth book I've written since leaving Crete, and you can see them all on my author page.

All the best,

Steve

SVCwithEtsy.

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China Ducks and Wooden Cats

 

Once again, it has been great weather for ducks. The Derwent, I am pleased to say, has been behaving itself, the goosanders are back for the winter, the mallards are doing whatever it is that mallards do, and Sally and Harry, the herons, pop by from time to time. Harry Jnr. (AKA Connick) is all grown up and moved on to pastures new.

In the meantime, Ive been spending a fair bit of time at auction houses buying stock for my on-line antiques shop, Steve's Vintage Collectables. Even there, I can't seem to get away from wildlife. Very often, I buy a box of mixed ceramics, if there's something interesting in there. One I bought recently also included this foreign made duck teapot. Not worth auctioning at Christie's, but I think he's absolutely lovely.

At other times, I spot something, tucked away at the back of the room, that just tickles my fancy. Such as this ridiculous one metre tall, hand crafted, wooden cat. He looks marvellous, peering out from behind the foliage, next to the fireplace, at The Old Corn Mill. I suupose that I'll have to sell the cat and the duck eventually, but I think I'll hang on to them for a while.

Meanwhile, as I write books, I thought I'd diversify into the antiquarian book market. I've a box of inter-war children's books to look through, which I picked up yeaterday, in Carlisle. I was also lucky enough to get a very rare, London & Melbourne 1936 edition of Mrs Beeton's Household Management, that turned out to be worth a lot more than I (or the auctioneers) realised. And on the subject of books, I have almost finished proofreading my first novel, The MONOM, (an anacronym for The Magic of Nature of Magic). I hope to get it published before Christmas, so if you get any Amazon vouchers in your Christmas stocking...

We're off to the central lakes at the weekend, to pick up a charity consignment for the homeless, so I'll take my camera, and let you know what's happening on the wet wildlife front, here in soggy Cumbria.

All the best,

Steve

P.S. In common with the rest of the world, I'm running a sale at the moment, in conjunction with Etsy's Cyber Week, so if you're interested in investing in antiques (a better bet than banks and building societies at the moment), or just looking for some Christmas gift ideas, come in and have a browse... Steve's Vintage Collectables.

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Steve Daniels Cumbria