We have just had a really lovely week with visiting friends from down south... the weather mostly held and the southern softies managed to cope with a bracing walk on the beach at Hartlepool.
The next day a visit to the big city of Newcastle - I haven't been actually into the toon since pre covid but even this time, due to unforeseen actions we were running late and only had time for the The Biscuit Factory - very lovely art works, jewellery and other interesting items on display and for sale- and then an educational evening at Cosmology Night held in Ernests Bar in Ouseburn.
It was an interesting evening - Dr Fred gave an excellent well received talk about the James Webb Telescope and Dr Dave gave a fairly - to me at least- in comprehensible talk about science of the Terminator.... to be fair the audience enjoyed it but I wasn't even aware that there was more than one terminator film although I suppose hasta la vista is a bit of a giveaway... anyway most of it went straight over my head but was defo appreciated by the crowd! it was a good evening - fun people, interesting talks, good food - these nights were always very popular before life went on hold and they are set to return monthly - check out Ernests website https://weareernest.com/
So we managed fresh air, shopping, education and on Thursday we managed a bit more culture... we went to look at the Threads of Creation - an exhibition of amazing 'wall-hangings' by Jacqui Parkinson currently on display in Ripon Cathedral. They were absolutely fantastic. A friend from our star weekend had mentioned them to me knowing I liked that kind of thing and had shown me a photograph of the hanging depicting the universe - the photo did not do the work justice.
The twelve hangings tell the story of the Creation as described in the Bible. You don't need to hold any religious beliefs to appreciate the workmanship, talent and beauty of this spectacular textile art. the work is mostly applique done both on a machine and by hand. It looks like there are some hand painted and embellished areas overlaid - its detailed and exquisite.
Each picture was incredibly well thought out and the details were just amazing- they were colourful and vibrant - telling the story really succinctly in a very splendid way - they are only there for another week or so but so well worth a visit.
The cathedral itself is a very lovely building and Ripon has many nice cafes and shops so its a very pleasant afternoon out.
We aimed for a quiet weekend - and so it was - with a final decision made on paint for the hallway - watch this space - and a pint in Caps Off - a local micro brewery, followed by a very good discovery of an eatery serving delicious home smoked meats and sides- 'the Smokehouse Railway Street' and a fab firework display over the town.
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