Darwin Gardens and pick and mix dog biscuits.

 Darwin gardens at Millennium Green, Ilkley. We went here today after walking Monza dog.
I still have a very iritating disease which I have now dosed with an antiflu cold headache everything in a bottle with a measuring cup. It has stopped my nose running at least.

Father was supposed to come over today...so instead of waiting for him to phone and then not set off for three quarters of an hour we nipped off to Ilkley.

It is now Thursday and I have to wait for him to get around to us. First he takes his wife to work and supermarket on the way. Instead of coming straight over to us...which is on the way back home....he goes back to his house...sits in his chair and falls asleep....then upon waking he calls to say he is on the way. It is not unknown for him to take an hour.....
When he eventually arrives he "only has time for a quickly" as he has loads to do at home. If pushed he will tell you that he has the washing up from last night to do so.... he has to hurry.

irritating?!! oh yes. Ten years of this I have done......It is also about now Boxing day arrangements are made. ....He and his wife  usually come over to us. refuse everything I have prepared as "they have loads left at home" . Neither of them drink or eat anything.....we sit looking at each other for a couple hours. I try conversation. There is nothing...and I really do mean nothing that I have to say that they are interested in. So I tried a film one year.....so father droned on all through it about how he got his wallet stolen (this is a common theme)........This year I am not working and Lee and I are going somewhere with Monza......I am hoping that I really do not have to tell them no.....I will.
 Last year it was easy Wife was going to her friend and staying the night leaving father on his own at home. She does not like coming over and I do'nt like her .....so problem solved. hopefully that is how it will be made easy this year. I do not want to be rude and tell then no... it really is no fun what so ever.......At this great age of 56 and possibly on borrowed time anyway I am not putting up with people who do not like me and can not be bothered.....that is across the board too.......
Two years ago I was dumped by a friend of over twenty years...all the way back to the civil service days!!!!...she said I had lied about my cancer. Did not stop her from lending me money though......I take it that she does not want it back...she has not given me a new address and emails go un answered. People are very weird.
The few people I now have as friends are dwindling rapidly........become a hermit I will and live with all my dolls and become a mad old bag......
I have!? oh yes. So I have.!!!!

 Sure enough...not long after we got there father phoned....it would be about 11.30....I said we would be back in an hour,,,,,,,but that was too late. Every time we wait in for him he gets around to saying he is coming at about 11.30. it can then take another hour for him to get on a fifteen minute car journey. This is doubly annoying if I just wait for him.
So Darwin Gardens it is .....


Standing stones and mazes........

 built for the Millenium. That was such a big deal at the time. We don't even remember what we did now do we? well I was living in Widcombe. Bath and we had a street party.....Husband and I drank two bottles of Champagne...Moet too!! and so we were blasted, which I am guessing is why it does not stand out. The whole street oposite us was closed down to traffic and people not resident or who had not paid for a ticket. Each persons garage served as a pub or restaurant. everyone had something different. I do remember the DJ's tent....

 Any way in Ilkley these gardens were built.......

this stone has a hole on the centre for ....for? er looking at the other stone.

millenium gardens.....here is Lee.....
These gardens were built as community gardens so we just parked up and helped ourselves. Darwin stayed at the big house just next to here...so this is why they are called Darwin gardens. There are a very lot of houses that are huge up this way...though I think this one was a hotel and is now a community college.

millennium maze which incorporates 1000 flag stones...one for each year of the millennium. the design of the stone is based on the swastika stone up on ilkley moor...this I tried to visit in an earlier blog early this summer. there were sheep on the moor and I had Monza with me. Not a great combination!!
So here I am looking at something similar... I get the jist.....

It is very beautiful and quiet......

I think this walk goes back to the centre of Ilkley.

Fabulous light. I always love this time of year. I do not especially like Christmas...but I love the time of year away from the hub of excess and commercialism.

This is a mosaic "living waters" which relates to the local tradition of healing waters in the spa town. White wells can be seen up on the moor not to far away...there is a sacred spring there. This sculpture uses pebbles gathered from the River Wharfe. I forget that Ilkley is a posh spa town.....So was Bath that I so loved too.

The human sundial......this sun dial requires a human...lee in this case....to act as a "gnomon". I have just informed him of this......
the theme of the gardens is the flow of time. and the sun dial is an element of this.there are two foot prints marked...this is where to stand. the hours are marked in roman numerals. no allowance is made for the time of year...so accuracy in this digital world is not happening.
the stone in the centre comes from an old water mill. on this stone is...

TIME WAS- TIME IS-TIME IS YET TO BE. NOW TAKE YOUR STAND UPON ETERNITY.


Prince 1999!!!!

Don't worry, I won't hurt you
I only want you to have some fun}

I was dreamin' when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin', could've sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple, there were people runnin' everywhere
Tryin' to run from the destruction, you know I didn't even care

Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's nineteen ninety-nine

I was dreamin' when I wrote this, so sue me if I go too fast
But life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last
War is all around us, my mind says prepare to fight
So if I gotta die I'm gonna listen to my body tonight

Yeah hey, they say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's nineteen ninety-nine
Yeah, yeah, hey

People, let me tell you somethin'

Party like it's 1999? we did. well I hope so any way.

after this we went int Ilkley and the charity shops.......betty's window for this season!!!

the charity shops yealded nothing. though I did have the idea of buying all old soft toys for monza and put squeeks into them......we went to Boyes haberdashery to buy some squeeks....They do not stock them.....so I ordered them from Ebay. This is all good as I have a bag of toys bought in Otley for 20p each.....new squeeks!!!!!!
We also looked in the dog shop called Barkers......

Amongst other things.....in fact a whole shop full of doggy treats are "pick and mix" for dogs........

Their window is very cute. and yes I will be getting Monza some pick and mix biscuits to put in his stocking.
Christmas is upon us. Leeds has the Christmas lights switched on to night. ...Monza is waiting for his walk and father is coming so I need to get on with it all......