The month started with a photo in the local paper (Cumberland and Westmorland Herald) and another on their annual calendar.

A couple of our neighbours joined us for a Sunday evening roast beef dinner.

We went to the leisure centre in Appleby, Annabel in the swimming pool and me in the gym. I now have a proper programme for the gym, so I can use the correct machines for fitness and, hopefully, to protect my ankle.

Chair yoga in the village hall lead by our friend, Sue. In the cooling down session, she reminded me to get off my chair and lie on my mat rather than dropping to sleep and falling off the chair. Meanwhile, Annabel was at Acorn Bank working in the gardens, clearing fallen apples. There was a bumper crop this year, and we placed a couple of containers full of apples for villagers to help themselves.

Once again, I walked with the nearby Culgaith Rambler group for a short walk passing this inquisitive horse.

We visited Penrith to choose some tiles for our new kitchen. The kitchen is being updated in the new year. Rather than living in chaos and dust, we will be moving out for the duration into a nearby cottage in the new year. Tom came over to help with some jobs, and we went to the pub for lunch.

We went for a walk at Lowther, and a chat with Tom, Tara and the children as well as Tara’s family. I had quite a long chat with Carla, which was a bit of a first. Back in Bolton, at Tom and Tara’s, April’s cat (name?) disgraced itself by peeing continuously all the way from their living room, through the kitchen, into the conservatory and out into the garden. April is sensitive and had a close relationship with the cat; unfortunately, it died later in the month. But she now has another cat.

We went to watch a film in Penrith with the U3A Cinema group.  Back at home, we had our fortnightly fish and chip supper – excellent. Later on, I seemed to have had an allergic reaction to something I’d eaten that day. I won’t go into detail, but it wasn’t pleasant. (Annabel wasn’t affected.) I gradually improved and eventually went to bed feeling much better.

The next day, our Cheshire friends – Steve and Karen – stayed with us for a few days. I knew Steve from Portsmouth Polytechnic back in the late sixties/early seventies. We had a good, long chat, and had a meal at the local pub.

We took them to Shap Wells to observe the squirrels. Initially, we walked but didn’t see any squirrels but, all of a sudden, there were numerous rodents attracted by nuts (the small brown things – not us!). So far, we have always managed to watch squirrels there. Back home, we tried to explain to our guests how lucky we were to be part of our community. We know a lot of people now, and I know more in the area as a result of walking with different groups and visiting places with the photography group.

At lunch time, we went to the Hub in Appleby, after which Steve and Karen went back to Warrington.  Looking for a holiday next year, we booked a cottage with a hot tub at Aberaeron on the west coast of Wales.

Another outing for the Photography group trip to Buttermere. Although rather cold, the sun shone most of the time, and there was no wind. A highlight of the day was this delightful, somewhat isolated church.

Our neighbours on the Village Green, David and Simon, joined us for coffee. We’d not seen Simon for a while as his house has been seriously renovated. We went for a walk to Acorn Bank and back with Tom and Tara. They told us that Cooper cooked a three-course dinner for them all. What an amazing fellow! That evening, Annabel and I ate one of Janet’s meals – the village caterer. We have an arrangement with her, whereby we let her store some possessions in our garage, and we get some of her delicious food.

Winter is on its way, and we started to move our garden furniture into the garage. I’ve refrained from including a photo of our swing chair. It was decidedly cold, even though the sun was out. The garden was full of leaves, so I’ve started to bag them ready for the refuse collectors. I originally referred to them as ‘dustbin men’ but thought the better of it.

I went to the doctor’s surgery because my lips and jowls were swollen and decidedly uncomfortable. I now have yet another medicine added to my monthly prescription. Apparently, it’s extremely difficult to work out the cause. I’ve also refrained from including a photo of my swollen face.

We always look forward to the coffee morning in the village hall, which occurs every two weeks except during the summer holiday time. We managed to sell a substantial number of calendars this year. They did not include as many village scenes because there is a limited number of subjects. Nevertheless, we raised even more money for a dementia charity than last year because, for reasons I don’t fully understand, we were not charged for quite a large number, possibly because the money would go to charity. Over £500!

went out with the Ramblers on a short walk of about 5-6 miles. Richard and Sue from Penrith gave me a lift. I tend to stay at the back of a walk, so I can take photos without keeping other walkers waiting for me. We were lucky with the weather conditions – snow on the ground, blue sky but no wind.

One highlight was an intriguing church, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  After the walk we had coffee/tea and cake at the ‘Granny Dowbekins’ café at Pooley Bridge. Annabel was out in the evening at the village supper club – much chatting, drinking and eating. I have recently come to terms with the fact that I have a weak ankle, and there is a limit to how far I can walk. I’ve started to gradually increase the distance of the walks I join. My ankle aches somewhat, but it’s not painful.

Shopping in Appleby can be quite fun. Two ladies in the greengrocer’s offered to take me home with them, even though I threatened them with trekking pole! Things are getting better. My lips are no longer swollen but the inside of my mouth has some swollen parts – a bit uncomfortable, but not particularly painful. Annabel was with the ‘supper club’ in the village hall. I had a quiet evening on my own. Honest!

We watched a Z-cars movie in the village hall – a real nostalgia evening. I remember the music theme very well – the folk song Johnny Todd. The main stars were Brian Blessed, Stratford Johns, Colin Welland, Frank Windsor and James Ellis. We had supper afterwards – meat with chilli and a baked potato. We sat with a couple of people from another village. It was a good evening and a good example of community spirit with so many residents joining in. We live in a very good village.

There’s a lady in the village who is an expert jam maker. She keeps me supplied with my favourite blackcurrant jelly. Annabel has abandoned me! She disappeared on her broomstick to darkest Cheshire and met some of her friends. “Witch friends?”, you might ask. “The high decibel friends”, I reply. Reminder: don’t forget to cut this paragraph before I upload the November blog. P.S. I didn’t misspell “witch”.

While Annabel was away, Tom and Tara invited me to Sunday dinner at their house in nearby Bolton – an excellent beef joint and a delicious pudding. It was nice to chat with Cooper and April. Even Theo (canine) made me welcome. Tom drove me back home, as I can no longer drive at night. Back in Temple Sowerby he checked that I could get into the house before he returned home.

The next morning, a Sunday, Sam appeared on the doorstep. I was so pleased to see him. He had been visiting Harriett and Imogen, who are respectively at university and secondary school in the Netherlands. Sam suggested spending the day in Kendal. We had quite a few chats as we walked around the town. The children are obviously well settled in the Netherlands (city, and city). It will be interesting to see where they will go when they’ve finished their education.

Sam set off for Leconfield in Yorkshire as the property was now empty. He needed to do some work on the house before it finally went on the market. In the afternoon Annabel arrived home from Wales – a pleasure to see her back home again.

Phil the builder constructed a handrail up the steps in the garden. He will fit window frames in the porch. He’ll be coming back to fill in the porch, so we can enjoy sitting there when it’s cold and wet outsid.e In the afternoon, I went to the gym and had a good workout, designed to strengthen and support my ankle. I covered all the machines on my list.

In the morning, we visited the Penrith U3A annual get together. Each group had its own table, and visitors were coerced – sorry, persuaded – to join. I knew quite a few people who were there including the lady who walked with me. Not surprisingly, Annabel already knew half the people there. That evening we went with David to a tapas evening at the pub. I kept David entertained by making outrageous statements (not rude, nor sexist). All good fun.

It’s a busy month. I was out yet again in Keswick with the U3A photography group, including a few who’d joined yesterday. The forecast had been for cool but dry weather. I walked with Alan, the group leader, and we went in a different direction from the others. We came across an area where a whole lot of boats were stored for the winter. We were glad to get to the café – warm, dry, good food and good company. It wasn’t the best of days weather-wise but we both had a reasonable selection of photos.

Unusually, we went shopping on a Saturday, visiting the usual shops. Back home I discovered that none of my photos were published this week in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. I think I’ll make an official complaint. Just joking.

The A66 is in the process of being “dualled”, so that it will be a dual carriageway from the M6 at Penrith to the A1(M) at Scotch Corner. At the moment, there are a lot of hold-ups which seem to be happening more frequently.

And, finally, it snowed overnight but the sun came out later. We have a friendly robin in the garden. We visited Tom and Tara and the grandchildren. April’s cat died recently but she now has a new kitten.  As usual, we were particularly impressed with April’s drawings in her art book. I know we’re biased, but she definitely has a talent for drawing and painting.