Castlerigg Stone Circle

 To commune with the older world, today we hiked 4 miles all told from Keswick town to the prehistoric Castlerigg Stone circle, a site that's 4500 years old!

Like Stonehenge, it's likely to be the oldest man-made place we've ever been to (we've been before. I've been three times at least, the first as a secondary schoolboy on a religious retreat nearby, where I read passages of the Tao Te Ching to the other school kids. I thought I was Kwai Chang Caine! Ha ha!

Words can't really describe this remote place, high up on a grassy plateau encircled by mountains - perhaps primitive. Mystical. Neolithic. Sacred even? - so here are a few shots I took en route and in situ, which hopefully do it some justice.

 Have you been readers? Have you been to somewhere ancient? 

A period photo of when motorists first visited the site!

My 59p gorilla wanted to see what all the fuss was about too! 

Ducks in a Storm

Venturing out after being hunkered down all day, we went shopping for bread and milk. I was amazed to see the Space Shuttle still being used on cereal boxes. Here's one on this week's shreddies.

Is it still relevant to kids?

Braving hefty late-afternoon gusts of Storm Eowyn we met this cute buffeted duck sheltering behind our legs near the Derwent Water shore. Aw! Do you like ducks?

Keswick's ring of peaks was even moodier in the stormy dusk tonight.

The Lakeshore's ducks walked toward the warm glow of the houses to roost beside the park.

This igloo dining table caught my eye.

After being blasted by Eowyn we sought solace and pizza in Pockets bar and bistro.

Walking home we nipped into the North West's premier supermarket chain, Booths.

Kendal Mint Cake was aplenty. Do you know it? 

Aether Ransomes Swallows and Amazons was on offer, a famous Lakeland kids adventure. Do you know it? 

And as we left this beautiful travel poster reminded us of our hiking destination tomorrow, Castlerigg Stone Circle. Have you been?

Kickin' Back in Keswick

 Taking advantage of being retirees, the Missus has brought me to Keswick in the Lake District, a town we stayed in often when we were younger.

Keswick, a small town amongst mountains, has an older world cinema, rare these days and graced with a glorious red brick and terra cotta facade.

The town boasts many vintage, charity and antique shops. In one I saw some fine old

 annuals including yet another Joe 90!

See anything you had here?

My personal fave, Lion annual 1969. What a book!

In Oxfam were these unusual annuals.

And a fuel ration book.

This Olympics sticker book was a fave of mine in 1972.

The local toyshop was fabulously well-stocked.

Rack Toys galore including this space set.

A lone Thunderbirds Are Go figure.

A Kenner retro-fied Captain America.

Lots of space vehicles.

Tons of kits. This is about a quarter.

And modern GI Joe/ Action Man style 12 inch Peacekeepers soldiers, which looked really good quality stuff.

I also bagged an ape for 59p for my new Planet of the Apes project! 

See anything here you like readers?