Bield, Stock Ghyll, Zeff's

5 Oct:

Saturday started with porridge. Lesley got set up with the computer and laptop in the living room for her 3 hour Zoom class on Poetry Film. It was good but tiring. Nic experimented with his glitchy hearing aids and read. After lunch Ann took us around to the newly empty Bield, having got permission from the owner Richard.

It was quite drab and felt heavy with damp and decay. Whoever buys it will have 100 thousand pounds of work to do to make it liveable as a Grade 1 property. Ann stayed there talking for ages, a rare chance for her to remember Josefina. L took some pics of the panorama of the Lakes painted by Delmar around one room, and J's sculptures. It is probably the last time we will see inside.

We drove to Ambleside and lucked out finding a parking place in a stuffed car park with cars circling like wolves. We found the walking poles Nic wanted in a Mountain Warehouse shop. Walked to Stock Ghyll, had tea & cake up there in new cafe terrace with a view across Ambleside and Waterhead to Old Man of Coniston, then back via Peggy Hill to see the Old Wash House where J used to live. It is now advertised on Airbnb for 125 quid a night, booked up for 18 months.

Then it was time for the film 'Lee' about Lee Miller. Brilliant and disturbing. And a veggie feast at Fellinis. And home to chat with Ann, The Ten, another episode of 2012 and finally bed. You can't say we don't pack the days :-).