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News
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Help for Syrian Families
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- 17 February 2020
At the Sticks
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Spring sunshine, puzzled dogs and nettle roots maintain "social" distancing
- Information
- 26 March 2020
Out & about
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Staying in is the new Out and About
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- 30 April 2020
Seeds&Weeds
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Constructing our poly tunnel has kept us busy
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- 26 April 2020
Travel Diary
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First taste of Damascus
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- 17 February 2020
Genealogy
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Victorian skeletons in the closet
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- 30 March 2020
Spotlight
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Constructing our poly tunnel has kept us busy
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- 26 April 2020
April has been a busy month in our garden. Much of our time has been taken up constructing a new poly tunnel but not at the expense of planting bulbs, sowing seeds and preparing the vegetable beds.
Recent features
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Spring sunshine, puzzled dogs and nettle roots maintain "social" distancing
After a cold, wet, windy and bleak winter which saw floods in many... -
"Catastrophe"
Each February since I retired and began to pursue the good life my... -
First taste of Damascus
Monday 29th November 1993, 11:00am to 1:00pm We pile off the bus in... -
I didn't think of the pain it would have caused
Over the last month, while the dismal weather limited activities in... -
Uprooting from the Spot
From the point that Theresa May resigned, through the Tory Party... -
Our giant wasps nest - what's inside?
Late last year I needed to climb in to the attic to retrieve a...
More Sticks Stuff
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Staying in is the new Out and About
Now that staying in is the new out and about a trip to Manchester airport to collect the (former) Student was a great adventure and her quarantine... -
Victorian skeletons in the closet
My 4x great grandparents both remarried while the other was still alive. She first, him later but only he was prosecuted for bigamy. I wonder why. -
Branches, brambles and stones
An small area of trees we planted many years ago was in need of some attention before it was swamped with brambles -
Help for Syrian Families
I was in Syria in 1993. It was a long time ago but it helps to remind me that victims of wars are ordinary people like you and me. And as fellow...
Old Favourites
Travel Diaries
Transcription of travel diaries made during the last 36 years starting with India and Nepal 1981 and including USA 1983, Syria 1993, South America 2000 and South Africa 2014 together with photographs. This is a work in progress as the diaries are transcribed, so check for updates.
History of Ladymoor Gate
Tracing the history of the house from early 1800s to the present day using historical documents and idenitying people who lived here before us
Maps for local Walks
Selection of our walking routes on the edge of the Staffordshire Moorlands. All accessible from convenient public car parks
Genealogy
20 years of family history research available in our webtrees database (over 800 surnames and nearly 5000 individuals) plus a collection of birth, marriage and death certificates.
The Good Life
Seeds & Weeds
We weren't gardeners, we don't even listen to Gardeners' Question Time very often, but we have a large garden with plenty of potential and since retirement at the end of 2017 we have become amateur gardners. We favour the wild, natural look and like the birds, butterflies, frogs and other small animals but we want it to be looked after and we have recently revived and extended our vegetable patch. Ths Seeds and Weeds section is dedicated to reluctant gardeners in constant fight against the weeds - solidarity among the nettled and scratched - the caterpillars, slugs, snails and multitudes of insects, and those with the romantic idea of growing most of their own food.
From the plots
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Branches, brambles and stones
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- 04 March 2020
An small area of trees we planted many years ago was in need of some attention before it was...
From the Diary
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Pulling out brambles, what better way to relax?
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- 14 March 2020
While the seeds sown earlier are growing nicely its time to tackle the brambles which have... -
February storms
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- 24 February 2020
We survived the February storms barely scathed but we have done enough to save the sapling trees...
Other stuff
Route to the Soul
Began as a romantic mixture of emotion and practical tips from two young students discovering themselves and life as they recounted their adventures away from home. Now the blog is maintained by the Student who studies and works part time on-line while she and her boyfriend continue their travels to explore the world. Her blog focuses on healthy lifestyles, wellbeing and politics affecting the state of the planet & the lives of its inhabitants.
Rooted to the Spot
Magazine style section with articles about life at the Sticks on a theme inspired by Brexit.
DizzyMissLizzie
General, occassional blogs about the small (or sometimes major) incidents happening, usually outside the safe zone of the Sticks, that left an impression. Often but not always political. Uses Beatles song titles to set the themes.
I used to think when I'm sixty-four the world would be a better place, now I'm not so sure.
Don't Let Me Down! Altogether Now.