A lovely day

I had an appointment at the Arvon writing retreat centre at Lumb Bank. This beautiful 18th century mill owners house used to belong to Ted Hughes and it's sits on the side of a steep valley near Heptonstall. They run writing courses all year round and people come to stay from all over the world to be tutored by all sorts of esteemed writers. They are having a bit of a spring clean at the moment and it was a hive of activity with decorators and plumbers in and out of all the rooms. Liz Flanagan, one of the new directors asked me to come and look at the rooms with view to me making them some new lampshades. I put some lamps up there last year but never got round to making the pendant shades. There are a lot of rooms and a lot of bare bulbs so I'll enjoy getting stuck into that!

On the way home I bumped into a friend who has her stables nearby. She let me ride back home on one of her horses! So I rode 'Sultan' which was lovely! This sort of thing doesn't happen often to me. I haven't ridden for years so it was a real treat! Her young daughter is a natural and rode 'Chere' bareback with her golden curls flowing and her colourful floaty skirt. What a picture! I love it when a day unfolds into something unexpected!