Cumbria

Poem: I come from …

May 24, 2017 By Ellen Leave a Comment

I come from the north, From grey harling, drizzled crags and scree. Dandelion and burdock. Engage low gear now. Bacon for breakfast. Breaking in your boots. Passing places and bloody tourists. The library’s parquet gleam. Peewits and feral cats. Toasted arse against the Aga. Wellies and broken veins. Creosote on the fence. Shirt […]

Brougham Castle not on the hill but worth a visit nonetheless

April 3, 2017 By Ellen Leave a Comment

Have you noticed how Ed Sheeran is playing in every single public space across the land? I’ve no idea how he’s done it, but he turns up in more places than Lego bricks. He was even playing on the Bull in the Archers the other day. His Castle On The Hill is brilliant – […]

What’s on my mind this week (the really not very exciting version)

February 11, 2017 By Ellen 2 Comments

Have you ever had so much to write about that you didn’t know where to start? And as a result didn’t start at all? That’s me this week. Not, of course, that any of it is very exciting. Nothing in the realm of ‘you’ll never believe this’ or even ‘wow’, just ordinary stuff, only lots […]

Winter Droving, Penrith 2016

November 14, 2016 By Ellen Leave a Comment

Here’s what we were doing this weekend in Cumbria.

Things I’ve learned from my first festival camping trip

August 20, 2016 By Ellen Leave a Comment

I’ve never seen Star Wars either – not properly all the way through. But years after most people have gone through the rite of passage of a pilgrimage to Glastonbury or wallowed in the mud of T in the Park, I made it to my first festival – Kendal Calling 2016. Here’s what I learned: […]