A sporty Queen and determined General

Apparently Mary, Queen of Scots was a wizard Billiards player, now that was never mentioned in History lessons at school!

Makes you wonder what other interesting facts they omitted to mention, although let's face it with three marriages and a murder during her lift it's not as if she had a boring life :)

I wonder if she managed to play a game or two whilst she was staying (imprisoned?) at this hotel that we came across in Buxton?

History doesn't relate whether Oliver Cromwell was a Billiards player or not, although given that he has a reputation for banning all forms of enjoyment whilst he was Lord Protector, I am guessing that it probably wasn't high on his list of favourite pastimes :)

On our recent visit to Ireland we visited the Hook Lighthouse, which is the "oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world" the original structure having been in place for 800 years. Now you might be wondering what that has got to do with Oliver Cromwell, whose name incidentally is still mud in Ireland?

Well according to the locals the phrase "by hook or by crook" relates to Cromwell's attempts to take the Irish county of Waterford by Hook, where the lighthouse stands on the Wexford side of the Estuary or by Crook, a village on the opposite side in Waterford. There is evidence that the phrase pre-dates Cromwell, but it is a good story and I have never known an Irish person allow the facts to get in the way of a good story :) Maybe that is just true of my husband's family, but I doubt it!

So that's the random history and geography lesson for this week!

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Taking the water

A couple of weeks ago we spent a weekend in Derbyshire. I had never visited this part of the UK, so it has been on my list of places to see for a long time. Despite a rather dismal weather forecast for the weekend, our stay in Buxton did not disappoint.

Since Roman Times, visitors have been coming to take the waters at Buxton and modern-day visitors can still do the same.

This is St Ann's well, where the famous Buxton water still runs freely, indeed a local filled several bottles from the well just after I had taken this photo. Naturally, bottled Buxton water is also available at a price, although, surprisingly (to us anyway) the bottled water in the hotel was from further north in Harrogate!

The Crescent where the wealthy Georgians and Edwardians "took the waters" is currently under renovation but the Opera House and Pavilion are in great shape.

The Pavilion was hosting an Antiques Fair whilst we were there, so we popped in for a browse and popped back out again fairly quickly, having seen the prices! Silver tankards at £18,000 were just not on our shopping list that day :)

Despite the weather forecast the Pavilion Gardens were wreathed in sunshine for our visit and looked at their best.

Even this fellow, who is described as "big and rather ugly" in the guide book, was looking good!

But not as good as these little cuties :)

Mother Duck had her work cut out with this brood!


I had hoped to visit Hardwick Hall on this trip, as I had read that Bess of Hardwick, who had the Hall built in the 1500's was a fantastic needlewoman and there were samples of her work in the Hall, but alas the House was closed on the only day we could get there. Still, that means we will have to take another trip to Derbyshire, so I am not complaining :)

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