A Yorkshire Visit

This weekend we've been visiting relatives near Malton, North Yorkshire for a long weekend.  It was good for all of us to get out of  London and breathe in some country air.  We have a busy week next week with two lots of visitors passing through and then a break with family members in Norfolk to pack for the following week.  When we get back, I've got to finish cleaning the house in readiness, get the dog stripped at the groomers, pick up and pay for Little Bird's new school uniform. as well as continue to fit in as much exercise as time and visits allow.

For now I'm enjoying the time away.  Our hosts are incredibly hospitable as always and are taking great care of us, we're catching up with news and the kids are having fun and playing together, so we're having a very relaxing time.  The dog seems to be loving it too, playing ball games and walking in the fields.

 

Today, whilst OH took himself off on a cycle ride to Bridlington, I left Little Bird playing with her cousins and I took myself off to the nearby East Yorkshire Market town of Driffield to get a few bits and pieces that we needed (i.e. dog food - I forgot to pack it).  It's a lovely traditional small Yorkshire town with lots of lovely independent shops and a farmer's market.  Today, there was also a Makers Market, with lots of craft stalls selling all manner of things, so I was able to mooch around looking at all the stalls and the goods on sale.  I didn't actually buy anything from the market itself, but I did come across a stall selling painted furniture and chalk paints.

I've been looking for some reasonably priced chalk paint for a while and the gentleman on the stall, who also owned a shop in Driffield, had recently begun selling pots of the chalk paint he uses on the furniture he sells.  I popped along to his shop and purchased a 750ml pot of a greyish chalk paint for £12, which is quite a bit less than it would cost me to buy some from Annie Sloan and pay for postage on top, so I was very happy.

My intention is to paint an old 1930's wardrobe I have on my upstairs landing, which I use as a linen cupboard.  I started to sand it a few years ago, but gave up as it was such hard work and so messy, but the beauty of the chalk paint is that you don't need to bother with all that prep, so I'm looking forward to transforming it when I get home and find some spare time.

Whilst in Driffield I couldn't resist visiting the great Yorkshire institution of the Boyes store, which sells hardware/fabrics/haberdashery/clothes/toiletries/cookware, etc.  I managed to buy a few small Christmas presents for Little Bird, at very reasonable prices, plus a few other things that I'd been looking for for a while.

I stumbled across an auction whilst I was in Driffield, of Victorian and General items.  It was well under way when I stumbled in, but I couldn't resist popping my head in and taking a look.  They hold them every other week there, so I bagged myself a list of future auctions and next time I'm in the area, I'm going to try to pop along and see if there is anything interesting in the sale.  I love attending household auctions.  I used to go along with my mum many years ago, but haven't found a good local auction house since moving to London, so haven't really bothered at all.

My last treat before heading back to our hosts' house was to treat myself to a good old Yorkshire delicacy, the Yorkshire Curd Tart.  As I didn't have any power in my battery or phone to take a picture, here's a picture I found on the BBC good food website. 

On the way back to our hosts house I came across the Tribfest, which was taking place a few miles away in Sledmere.  It's apparently the world's largest Tribute Band music festival.  It looked to be very busy with hundreds of cars parked up in the surrounding fields and more people arriving constantly.  I checked out the festival on their website when I got back.  I think I'm probably a bit out of touch with how much it costs to go to a music festival, but it seemed a little pricey.  Here's the link though if anyone is interested.  www.tribfest.co uk

Anyway, I had a great morning out and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this lovely town.