Monday 20 February 2012

Feeling poorly and a trip to Derbyshire

Been very poorly the last couple of days. It came on very suddenly, hacking cough and difficult to breathe. Also no energy so poor Phil has been feeding my bunnies at night. I can manage it in the morning, but by night time I'm exhausted. I have been taking lemon juice, glycerine, honey, garlic and cayenne pepper in hot water which helps a lot. I usually use fresh chopped ginger as well, but have run out. I fnd it frustrating to be unable to do anything as I have so much to do, sewing machines to finish restoring. other stuff to put on eBay and a lot of new fleeces to clean.

We went up to Derbyshire on Tuesday to try out our Peugeot 607. You need to go for some time at over 40 miles per hour to clean out the Diesel Particulate Filter. We went to Carsington Water briefly, but as it was 4pm by the time we got there, we decided not to stop as they charge £2.50 for parking whatever time of day it is.

On the way to Carsington, we found a rare breed centre (Riddings Park Farm) and went to have a look. It was closed for the Winter, but they kindly showed us round. They have lots of pigs, Gloucester Old Spots, Large Blacks and Tamworths. They had several litters of piglets, from 3 weeks old. The sheep they had were Castlemilk Moorits, Hebridean, Shetland, Portland, Soay and Boreray. They had fleeces going spare so I got some for a donation to Charity. I didn't have much cash left as we stopped for lunch in a cafe in Wirksworth, called the Country Kitchen, The food was lovely, and the vegetables not over cooked. We will be going back there again. Anyway, I digress, I had only £10 left, so gave them that, and when we go back, I will give them some more. I have Castlemilk Moorit, Boreray, Portland, Caramel Shetland a lovely dark Hebridean.

Phil was disappointed as we didn't have enough cash to buy him some sausages. They make their own, lots of different flavours, their own bacon as well, and they have a butcher come in to do the meat. They do lots of different markets locally. They also have cows (Dexters) and goats, both Angora and Bagot which are very rare(these roam free during th day as they are impossible to contain). The chickens scratching around were nearly all crosses, they keep the pure breeds in their pens during the Winter. They also have accomodation, B & B, a cottage and yurts with woodburning stoves.


All in all, it was a lovely day out, and we particularly enjoyed it because it has been a long time since we went out just for a day. The new car is very comfortable for long journeys and the fuel consumption is good. It should be ideal for trips to Devon.