The Lion Stores has been trading in North Street Bristol since 1972. I wanted to experience working in a shop ‘that sells everything’ and this shop is definitely in that criteria.
Derek is the owner of the shop and everyday when he arrives he displays some of the goods for sale out on the pavement. The Lion Stores is crammed full of stock, and as soon as the doors were open several customers arrived asking for specific items.
I spent a while in the window with the lion. Neither of us were for sale.
Before working at the counter I had a look round to familarise myself with the stock. As well as selling locks Derek helps people with lock problems.
Lots of decorating supplies…
Dylon dye. I will buy some of this as some point as I wish to make myself a tie dye top sometime.
These brushes are apparently for cleaning wood burner pipes.
I really like the red watering cans!
Sometimes it is necessary to climb a stepladder to find things
There was lots more in the shop but I was eager to get behind the counter
I had a great time assisting Derek. It is a good shop; Derek is friendly and helpful and if you only need a few screws you can just buy a few, not 100s as in large DIY stores.
Many thanks to Derek for letting me spend time in his shop while being photographed by my human. I had a wonderful morning.
We recently had the opportunity to do a photoshoot in Puxton Park sunflower field.
It was a very hot day and all the sunflowers were facing the sun.
We posed with our human Karen on an old tractor.
It is rather special to wander around sunflower field. The big yellow flowers give off happy feel good vibes.
Growler got quite engrossed watching a bee on one of the flowers.
There was an excellent view from a wooden bridge.
After several attempts at us all sitting up on the fence together (I kept falling off) Karen finally managed to take this lovely photograph.
Another bee, they seem to like sunflowers.
We loved the sunflowers so much we bought 3 blooms to take home with us…
The sunflower field at Puxton Park is a seasonal occurance and is only open for as long as the sunflowers are in bloom. There is lots of play equipment and activities for children which looked like lots of fun.
There is something rather wonderful about a field of lavender, and fortunately we didn’t have to travel far from Bristol to find one!
The lavender was in full bloom when we arrived. We had to be very careful not to lose Growler who is very short these days.
Growler is also rather slow walking, we had to go back for him when he stopped for a while to study some bees (and have a rest).
Growler being old and wise had remembered to bring his hat.
We decided to let Growler lead the way to reduce the chances of us losing him.
All three of us rested our legs for a little while in the lavender garden. (Growler’s knitted hat was making his head feel a bit hot so he took it off for a while)
The main big field of lavender is situated behind a lovely dry stone wall.
We wandered around the big field enjoying the aroma, feeling calm and peaceful.
At Somerset lavender there is a shop and cafe inside a big barn, plus lots of varieties of lavender for sale. We bought a couple of lavender plants and a reed diffuser for our bathroom, made using Somerset lavender.
I also spotted an interesting cookbook ‘Cooking with lavender’ which I put into the shopping basket.
We enjoyed some lavender cake and cold drinks from the cafe.
The lavender is only at its best for a few weeks, but if you are in the area in late June or July it is definitely worth calling in
It was raining when we arrived at our accommodation at Hele Bay, Ilfracombe, but this wasn’t a problem with the big umbrella keeping us dry. Bobbie the Build-a-Bear joined me for this trip.
We stayed at Beach Cove Coastal Retreat in a beach lodge overlooking the bay. The lodge was very cosy with everything we needed for a few days self-catering.
As soon as the rain stopped we put on appropriate clothing and went to explore the beach, which was just a few steps away from the lodge.
Hele Bay has lots of rock pools to explore; we spotted a crab walking sideways across the bottom of one.
The next morning I got up early and made porridge for breakfast. Porridge is a very healthy breakfast and is good for humans and bears.
There wasn’t a full size table and chairs in the lodge, but instead a coffee table with a top that lifted up to make a table, which was a tad too high to reach from the sofa, so we sat on cushions.
The rain had gone away so we were able to relax on our terrace while waiting for the humans to get ready to go out on an adventure.
We walked along the coastpath to Watermouth, enjoying the spring flowers and sunshine.
Once back at Hele Cove we relaxed in the shade on the beach.
The humans cooked spaghetti bolognese for our supper, with rocket brought from home from the allotment
The next morning there was lots of activity on the beach. Volunteers were learning how to rescue beached whales & dolphins. The whale looked very realistic, it was filled with water to make it the same sort if weight as a small whale.
The instructors were quite happy for us to take photos (we always ask) and we later made a donation to Marine Life Rescue.
More rocket from the allotment for lunch; cheese & rocket baguettes.
The weather was rather windy so we spent an afternoon in the beach lodge playing snap. Bobbie won!
On our last evening at Hele Bay we watched a beautiful sunset.
The following morning when it was time to go home we waited in the bear carrier on the terrace while the humans packed up the car.
The weekend away in the beach lodge was very enjoyable indeed. A good place to stay to explore the area around Ilfracombe.
I slept in my teeshirt in order to dress quickly as the alarm was set at 4am!
It was very peaceful walking to central Bristol just before sunrise with the only sounds being birds tweeting.
Bristol Harbourside was deserted, not many humans get up to celebrate the dawn of May Day in Bristol.
Nearly there…
The lights on the top of Cabot Tower were still flashing.
Kittiwake Morris were just starting to perform and the sun was rising behind them. The purpose of the Brandon Hill gathering is to dance in the sun on May Day.
A video clip of me dancing with Kittiwake Morris behind me.
The horse ftom Rag Morris came to say ‘Hello’.
This is Pigsty Morris, whoose baldricks are a bit like mine but they wear black trousers. I am dressed in the style of Oxford University Morris as I occasionally do mascot duties with them.
The sun appeared as Heaps Morris were dancing, an all women side with ‘H’ on their backs.
This chappy is a wild boar who belongs to Pigsty Morris.
By 6am I was feeling rather hungry. The cinnamon bun packed by my human went down very well indeed.
Then I just went to sleep…
It was a lovely experience watching the Morris dancers on the beautiful Brandon Hill during sunrise. Well worth a visit if you like early mornings.
Some previous blogs about my Morris dancing with Oxford Morris:
The air raid shelters in Stockport are open to the public so as we were staying overnight in Stockport we decided to have a look around.
The Chestergate shelter opened in 1939 after just over a year of digging out the sandstone rock.
After opening there were ‘open’ days for the public to have a look round and see the tunnels in order for them to know where they would have to shelter should Stockport become a bombing target.
The tunnels are 7 feet high and 7 feet wide, and about 40 feet underground. ARP (Air Raid Protection) Wardens had their own space.
Humans sheltering would sit on the benchs either side of the tunnel with two people standing in the middle between them, so it was quite crowded.
There were flushing toilets with compartments separated by curtains.
These toilets were for the air raid shelter staff, which included the wardens, nurses and canteen staff.
People would travel from miles around to use the shelters as they felt they were stronger and better equipped than other shelters, some spending all night in them, giving the tunnels the nickname ‘The Chestergate Hotel’. Originally the shelters housed about 4000 people, due to the demand was later extended with more tunnels to accommodate 6500 people.
The tunnels are nearly a mile in length, but not all open to the public. They had electric lighting but that was taken out when the war ended and re-used elsewhere.
The ARP had an area to store their tools, which would have been behind a door like this!
There are five underground shelter systems in Stockport but they do not link together. Each shelter was intended to serve people in the immediate area, but as stated above, people from further afield such as Manchester used to travel to spend the nights in the shelters. Stockport did get bombed in 1940 and later in 1944 but wasn’t a main target like Manchester.
There are narrow tunnels accessing the bigger tunnels.
A canteen serving basic food was situated in one area.
There were many bunk beds, 1575 in total.
Basic medical care was available in the first aid post.
I felt a little that I could have ended up going round and round and never emerging as there are so many tunnels!
This is a replica of the sort of air raid shelter people may have had in their gardens. They were called ‘Andersen’ shelters and were made of corrugated iron and were usually partially below ground. My human remembers her mother talking about a ‘Morrison’ shelter, which was used indoors and the shelter could be used as a table when not in use; she remembers her mum mentioning having to hide under the table when the air raid siren sounded.
There are lots of old signs displayed around the shelters, including this one urging people to not waste the rubber by wearing wellies unnecessarily.
After an hour or so exploring we emerged back out into the sunshine.
I do recommend visiting these shelters if you are in the Stockport area, they could be combined with the hat museum for a day out and both are very interesting.
The weather damp and a bit gloomy when we arrived in Bibury, a picturesque village in the Cotswolds where the humans had booked a cottage for a couple of nights.
We arrived too early to check into our accommodation, so the humans parked the car and we walked into Bibury.
Many humans visit Bibury to see Arlington Row, a row of 17th century weaver’s cottages situated next to a water meadow. Bibury gets very busy with tourists at weekends and during the main holiday season, but fortunately there weren’t too many there on a damp April morning.
We set off to do a 5 mile circular walk from the village and saw some lovely scenery. I did travel in the bear carrier for a few miles as my short legs get tired quite quickly trying to keep up with the humans with their long legs.
The walk ended at Arlington Row. These cottages were first built in the 14th Century as a monastic wool store before being converted into weaver’s cottages in 17th Century.
I walked on past the lovely old cottages towards the river Coln.
Here I am posing on the bridge with a shop and cafe behind me known as ‘Number Eleven’
Inside ‘Number Eleven’ I had a very delicious meal, sweet potato and paprika salad.
A craft fair was in progress in Bibury Village Hall. I enjoy a mooch around a craft fair especially if the creators of the products for sale are hosting their own stalls.
There were many beautifully crafted items inside. I bought a dried flower arrangement for my human and a rather lovely crocheted teddy bear caught my eye, so we bought, or should I say, ‘adopted’, the bear.
The crocheted bear didn’t have a name, just a label stating ‘Hand Made £15’. We decided to name him Bibury Bear, then he will always remind us of our trip to Bibury
Our holiday accommodation was up a hill and about a 15 minute walk from Bibury Village Hall. We stayed in a cottage situated at the end of a building that had once been a stable block.
I hung up my hat and coat and did my usual holiday home exploration, including trying out the bed.
Bibury Bear seemed very happy with the accomodation too…
The owner of the cottage had left us some chocolate croissants which didn’t take long to eat.
Prior to going to sleep we enjoyed looking through a book about Cotswold houses.
Our plans changed slightly the next day as my human had a migraine and needed to rest for a few hours. I went out for a wander around on my own.
The stable cottage is in the grounds of a large house with lovely gardens all around.
Sometimes we take ready meals with us on holiday breaks especially short breaks as we don’t like to spend all our time cooking! I tucked in to a rather tasty vegetable lasagne made by Charlie Bigham.
My human was feeling a bit better, which was as well as we had tickets booked for ‘An evening with Prue Leith’ in Cirencester. I was hoping to get a photo of me with Prue so I brushed my fur and put on my special batik shirt,
When we arrived at the venue there were lots of other people also waiting to see Prue, though without wishing to sound vain, I do think I was the best dressed individual in the auditorium.
There was a book stall at the event selling Prue’s books. I opted for ‘Bliss on Toast’. After queuing for a little while to see Prue she dedicated my book to me and we had a cuddle.
My human also bought ‘Being Old and Learning to Love’ it. I am looking forward to trying out the recipes in my book.
The following day before driving home (Bristol isn’t far from the Cotswolds) we visited Bourton on the Water, another place which gets very busy in the main holiday season.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to the model village, which was built in 1937 and is a 1/9 scale replica of the town as it was in 1937.
I felt very big inside the model village! The interesting thing is that there is a model village of the model village in the model village, and inside that even smaller model village of the model village….
Here I am leaving the model village inside the model village and outside of it!
Cotswold Motor museum was just up the road so we called in there too.
Lots of very old cars are crammed into the motor museum. There were lots of ‘do not touch’ signs but bears were allowed to sit in the tractor.
In an outside area I was delighted to find some bear sized bicycles. There were also helmets to borrow, so after putting one on my head I had a little pootle about.
Back inside the museum again I was pleased to find some bear sized cars, but with more warnings not to touch!
These little cars are all pedal cars made for children except the grey one, which was one of the first UK attempts at an electric vehicle (made in 1985). The Sinclair C5 didn’t go down very well with humans, it was very low on the ground, didn’t have a roof and could only travel 20 miles before needing to have the battery charged
Cotswold Motor Museum is very proud to be the home of a little car called Brum. Brum was the star of a children’s television show that was on tv from 1991 – 2002.
My human can remember watching Brum with her children, his headlights acted as his eyes!
No one is allowed to sit in the real Brum, but there is a replica model for bears and small humans to ‘drive’, which I very much enjoyed!
We had a lovely couple of days in the Cotswolds, with the highlight for me being finally meeting Prue Leith (followers of my Facebook page may recall that we tried to see her in Bath a few weeks earlier, but got the wrong day!)
