So off we went a-fossil-hunting! Ever since I was 12 years old and went on a field trip with the school to Lyme Regis in Dorset, I have wanted to return. And finally my lovely friend made it possible by booking us a weekend away. We had a great tour with a guide called Richard, a professor of geology who was very entertaining and knowledgeable, including about Lyme Regis‘s most famous fossil hunter, Mary Anning.
She featured in the famous Kate Winslet film called Ammonite, evidence of which can still be observed in various places around the town including this film set shop – which still has the board up. It was closed when we were there sadly!
We went down onto the beach, here’s a little timelapse (see it here) of the walk along Lyme Regis beach looking at the landscape and some of the incredible strata in the cliff edges, which the sea is gradually wearing away. They have reinforced it and hopefully it will last 60 years. But don’t go buying a house at the top any time soon!
Richard showed us where and how to look for little fossils. They are being uncovered all the time with every new tide. And look what I found! I’ve put my little fingernail in for scale – look at the tiny little ammonite! Bless!
Richard explained using a massive stone and a piece of other stone as a chalkboard, what the original creatures were like. Fascinating! (See a clip here).
We also had some lovely afternoon teas and meals. I really like Lyme Regis and hope we come back again someday. After all, there are a couple of museums and I barely spent an hour in the Main One! It’s always fascinated me about the timeline of history though. As explained on an exhibit and in this video 🙂
Plus, it made me want to come home and watch the film Ammonite ft Kate Winslet & Saoirse Ronan – after all a couple of the costumes from the film are also in the actual museum and they have such tiny waists! Lots of books have also been written or set there, as I discovered in a whole section about authors and their inspiration including the guy who set a scene from ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ on the cob, though protective wall enclosing the ships and boats in years gone by – and now. And the author Tracy Chevalier, who wrote ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, also wrote other books set in and around Lyme Regis like ‘Remarkable Creatures’. Definitely on my list!
The B&B we stayed in is called Charnwood Guesthouse and was absolutely delightful. Plus we went for some lovely dinners and also to the cinema one night (see below). I came back to a very busy schedule as you can imagine after having been away for quite a while. Good job I’m not going away again soon… Oh I forgot, I might be 🙂
SNIPPETS
Tea for Two
Just had to go and have a lovely cheese scone and a cup of tea on our final day. I’m so glad Jill decided to treat me for my birthday! Now I just need to find somewhere I can put all of those little fossils! Any suggestions?
Stonehenge Art
Obviously the whole area is steeped in history and one of the most famous is of course Stonehenge. There was some lovely artwork on display online this week and this one caught my eye. I loved doing archaeology A-level years ago, and Stonehenge is one of my topics. In fact there is a medieval history group meeting this Saturday if I make it – if I do I will let you know next week!
Phoebe’s a Biker Chick!
Meanwhile in Wales, similarly dramatic skies and clouds, and Lauren sent me this lovely picture of her nearly 4 year old daughter Phoebe, who has just learned to cycle using stabilisers. Next stop the mountains! Jasper is also now pushing himself along by getting on his knees and then flopping on his belly and then getting on his knees again, he looks like he’s doing the worm! Kaleb my son’s boy, is walking really well, and active ‘like you wouldn’t believe,’ Brad says. I hope to see him and his lovely big sister Blake who can tell me how she’s getting on at her new school, on Saturday.
Watch – ‘Ticket to Paradise’ with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. You can tell from the title that this is a very predictable kind of film and I did enjoy seeing George Clooney on the big screen, Julia Roberts in particular although she wore some very weird jumpsuit things, and the ensemble around them including a very talented girl playing their daughter. Lovely scenery, and interesting premise, career girl goes on holiday before starting lawyer studies and ends up falling in love and staying there, divorced parents urgently fly down to try to intervene and… well you can kind of guess the rest. I found myself very disappointed in the standard of the script. There were so many moments it could’ve been much much better, and whilst it was an enjoyable, harmless romp, and I’m glad I saw it, I wouldn’t see it again.
I think the problem really is George Clooney’s funny films – where he’s trying to be funny – are just that – trying to be funny. If he was in a farce on the stage at a theatre, it would work. But it doesn’t really work on the big screen. I suppose there is just so many people around a big star, laughing at his every move, that he thinks he’s genuinely funny. I must say I much prefer it when he is much more understated and uptight in his characters and they happen to be funny, rather than this kind of manic character that emerges on the big screen in films like this. (One of my worst films of all time was Brother Where Art Thou)! He also reminds me a bit too much of someone I used to know! However it was good to see Julia‘s outstanding skills back on the big screen. Go and see if you love either of them, the chemistry is quite good. Or you fancy a holiday romance kind of movie with some slapstick thrown in. But overall it just did not really hang together well for me and gets a lower 7.75 out of 10 from me.
Blooper – Here’s a funny from Ali Keenan, more what she said rather than the picture which was also beautiful, just like one of my seascapes from Dorset. Ali is so funny! I’m going out again next Friday with her and a couple of pals for lunch. Fabulous!
Podcast – do go and find out more about my lovely colleague Anne Dawson in the latest one which is still available (here) on our website. New one out on Monday!
Vlog – here’s a little explanation as to what we got up to on the fossil hunting tour, whilst on Lyme Regis beach in the sunshine and the rain.
Or you can go to watch my latest Thursday Bantz on my Facebook page (video here) where you will see the explanation about each of the fossils pictured above.
Book of the Week – I would love to tell you about the next Ellie Griffiths story featuring Ruth Galloway the forensic archaeologist. I started ‘The Stone Circle’ but did not get very far yet. So the other book I want to let you know about is also waiting to be listened to on my audible app – ‘Remarkable Creatures’ by Tracy Chevalier, as mentioned above! It fictionalises what actually happened when Mary Anning found the fossils all those years ago in the early 1800s, and changed the way the world thought about the beginning of life. She faced prejudice in a man’s world, and a forbidden relationship also challenged her views on reality. Some of the reviews are really good, so I can’t wait to read it!
QVC TOP DEALS FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS
Friday – Best of clinique moisture surge five piece collection.
Saturday – The only Christmas tree today’s special value currently in the schedule, goes live tonight with me at 9 pm! The Santa’s best 116 function pre-lit gumdrop Auburn with remote. Choice of different finishes.
Sunday – already online (see it here) and selling fast to the big Molton Brown Christmas one! This time it’s an 11 piece, lots of little ones to give away as presents and a couple of gift boxes included. Don’t miss it!
Big deals to follow – please check back soon!
Big deals are available on air for usually a week, they may be longer online if stocks last. New ones every Sunday night! These ones mostly finish on Sunday:
- 729071 the Tili printed make up organiser medium vanity case
- 247364 the Elemis three-piece superfood heroes collection
- 723028, the mighty sight light and magnifying glasses from JML
- 195131, the Badgley Mishka shacket continues.
Now back to the today’s special values for the rest of the week –
Monday – Fabulous new deal from VAX
Tuesday – Gift time! A smart care Lux sonic toothbrush with 4 heads!
Wednesday – Moda in Pelle’s Cornelia Biker boot
Thursday – a rare Ben de Lisi, with a new jacquard coatigan
Friday – going on sale mid week, Percy and Reed 7 pc hair care collection to give your bonce lots of shine
Friday 9 pm – Dormeo come to Qvc with their octosmart mattress topper
Also look out for the amazing Ninja smart cooker range, air fryers are all the rage at the moment because they say so much Energy. We will be bringing you earlier in the week, Sundays deal which is the dual Zone air fryer with smart cook!
Next week – seeing my other two grandchildren, Blake and Kaleb, hopefully! Albeit briefly :-). A conference in Birmingham and a catch up with old friends.
And just to let you know apparently our blogs are going to be back on the QVC website at some stage soon!
Best wishes
Debs