A bit of this and that.

I'm not sure why but over recent weeks I found it really difficult to post regularly even though I have things to tell you about. Anyway whatever the reason I thought I'd try and catch up a bit. Over the Easter period I had 2 weeks holiday and so John and I were able to do several walks. Mostly they were our usual around the common route with Scamp but on Easter Monday John, Lucy and I set off on the next stretch of the Capital Ring. To date we have walked as far as Hendon Park and for the next section we wanted to try and get to Finsbury Park which is about 8.7 miles. There was a break out point at 5 miles in case I got tired. Hendon Park was a good place to start from as there was a well placed coffee shop to get our caffeine fix and pick up some caramel shortbread in case we needed a sugar boost during the walk.

We started the walk in Hendon Park but quite quickly we were out onto the road and crossing the river Brent. Here we saw these two pepper pot gazebos on either side of the weir. They are a little ramshackle and have graffiti over them but made a pretty picture.

I think the ivy was holding the gazebos together.

For a 150 yards we walked along the A 406 North Circular Road which has the dubious honour of being the noisiest road in Britain. It certainly made it's presence heard even after we turned into Brent Park. The fun bit of the Capital Ring is that you discover lots of small parks and open spaces around London as you go. In this area there was wild garlic growing.

Here's a close up of the flowers. The smell of the garlic was quite strong but pleasant.

We followed Dollis Brook and Mutton Brook (which merge to form the River Brent) until we reached the Finchley Road at Henly's Corner. The unofficial local name for the large road junction here is 'The Naked Lady' because of the statue La Delivrance by Emile Guillaume which commemorates the alliance of British and French troops at the Battle of the Marne in 1914. I didn't get a photo so this is courtesy of Wikipedia. Go here for more information.



Further on at Lyttelton Playing Field we found ourselves a bench to enjoy our lunchtime sandwiches whilst watching the birds and squirrels on the grass. Once lunch was finished we carried on until we came to East Finchley Station. Above the station is a statue, The Archer, firing an arrow along the railway line towards Highgate.

At this point we could have caught the tube home but we were all feeling great so headed out for the next bit. Fairly soon we entered Highgate Wood. Highgate Wood, which was previously known as Gravel Pit Wood is a remnant of the Forest of Middlesex. There are lots of pieces of land like this that were acquired by the Corporation of London during the 19th century so they could be maintained forever for Londoners' recreation. The wood was beautiful and there were a lot of bluebells and some more wild garlic.

Within the wood there is a plaque which marks the spot where the Capital Ring was formally launched on 21st September 2005. It's looking a bit jaded now and in need of a makeover.

We left Highgate Wood via this gate.

I loved the animals and birds on the gate and would have taken several photos to get all the creatures depicted but John and Lucy had already crossed the road and entered Queen's Wood on the other side. This wood had a lot more ascents and descents than Highgate and some were quite steep. By the time we had walked through it my legs were feeling tired. Leaving Queen's Wood we climbed another steep path into Highgate Spinney and then onto Archway Road.

Here we turned off the road to join a former railway line which is now a gravel track known as The Parkland Walk. At one point the walk was destined to be turned into a motorway but was saved by local activists and is now a 2 mile long nature reserve. Along this route we met the 'Spriggan'. I've walked the route before but I really don't remember him so I'm not sure where he was hiding.

If you want to find out more about Spriggans who are from Cornish faery lore then click here  Fortunately this Spriggan didn't try to lead us the wrong way or try any other nasty tricks so we soon came to the end of the Parkland Walk and from here it was a short distance through Finsbury Park to the tube station and our journey back home. All in all a very enjoyable day out. We now need to plan the date for the next section

A while back I took part in Quazy Quilt Queens blog hop with Marian from Seams to be sew Those of us who took part had a chance to win some goodies and I received these 3 fabulous fat quarters.

I don't currently have a project in mind for them but I have a few ideas forming in my brain and I'm looking forward to using them.

I also received my latest Box of Delights through the post.

The box always comes with one or two pattern suggestions for using the fabric and this month one of the patterns is for a tote bag. I'm not sure I need another bag but I like this pattern and I like the fabric combination so I think I might make it. The box has the magnetic fastener and also the cotton webbing for the shoulder straps. I'll make my mind up a little later this evening.

I have another walk to tell you about and some sewing but I think I need a cup of tea so I'll save that for another day. On a final note I've been wearing my wig for work and out and about. It now feels part of me (and keeps my head warm). I was chatting with my work colleagues and they commented that it must be much easier to care for a wig than your own hair. Hmm little do they know. I have shampoo, conditioner, spray in conditioner and a wig brush that are all needed to keep it looking good and stopping the frizz that could so easily happen. From the maintenance point of view maybe I should have chosen a short style as it takes longer than it did to look after my own long hair before it fell out. Still I'm loving the colour and the curls so the maintenance is worth it. I thought I would be very upset when I lost my hair but it's just part of the process and it is surprising just how tenacious my hair is especially the hair at the back of my head. I haven't shaved it off as I'm interested to see how long it takes to lose it all or if I will before I finish the chemo. Then I'm interested  to find out how it will grow back...I'm hoping it won't be grey!

Lyndsey