Some dolls, a dog and a car called The Fonz: stained glass and Shirley Temple..

We went into a couple of junk shops on the way to Boyes department store and then straight to the church and manor house. In Boyes I bought more air brush paint ...as I have some wrecked dolls and a canvas with ideas for a project this afternoon.....

Ilkley. My fave church . This day we arrived at the church to find a warden at the door to greet us. I always just open the clanking creaking door and kind of help myself to what is behind it. We were greeted once by the vicar who asked me if I was local and how I was....usually there is no one here....just the creaky old door to alert our presence. The warden handed me a guide containing snippets of history and prayer contemplation recommendations. Well it is a church and that is what I should be here for I suppose!

Quite often I bring a doll from my collection along to photograph. Just as well I did not have them in my hand..... this day!!!. I have photographed and blogged and looked up about this church many times. Really I just popped in ...just because. So I settled on photographs of the stained glass ..

I looked at the book I had been given at the door. All saints Ilkley. A journey- 1400 years of history. Oh goody.... then at the bottom it says "finding a connection with God". Well I guess there is always a catch to these things. This is why I avoid churches who have coffee mornings. Even more so if it is "free"......

The book is great. I love it. It states that for well over a thousand years Christians have met , worshipped and prayed on this site. Throughout this time the buildings have altered, but the message remained the same. Christianity came here with the Romans by the way. We were all Celts before this. and I guess we worshipped on this site too. The Romans were canny like that.....borrowing already existing feasts and holy places and relating them to their God......
So I went through the creaking door, which by the way is probably from the 13th century, at which the book says I am to leave any baggage of stress, troubles, and hurts at this door. That is good advice I think.
So inwards we went towards the Middleton effigy of a knight in a side chapel. I always head in here ....I have written a whole blog about Sir Adam de Myddleton. He was one of William the Conquerors more naughty Barons in his day and did plenty shenanigans under guise of a knight......

The altar and crucifix window. The focal point central to the church visit.....It is an Elizabethan altar in front of this window which dates from 1862 and is Flemish glass.

There are many things to look at in this window.....and we have Mary, wearing blue, Apostle John wearing green, two criminals which were crucified along with Jesus(I do wonder what was their crime?). On lookers of soldiers, priests, and a game of dice going on, they are playing to win the clothes of Jesus. The horses and banners are a depiction of the power of Rome.

Ilkley had a lot of Roman connections and a settlement here. Romans were quite canny about this as well...Ilkley has a spa of healing water.

I walked around the church as is my custom and ended my visit back at the creaking door.
We went to the Old manor house just across the back. I knew it was closed but like to go and see if the white cat that lives here is about.
It was only now that I got out my monster high dolls and took a few photos with the very old building as a background.....

The Norman church tower.....

And here they all are outside the Manor house.....

We checked out a few more junk shops and then headed back to the Fonz car and Monza dog.

Past the theatre.....Look at this...The 1970s are back. Rod stewart? oh yes I remember this! Atlantic crossing and all that?

The Osmonds? yep. did all that.(Osmonds concert? in London? now that was a very long time ago) had all this on my wall at school and Elton John. I remember Elton John when he had his first lot of hair and he married a woman...and I remember Michael Jackson when he was still black. yep the 1970's there was a time!!!!

Showaddywaddy!!!! that funny dance! where we all got feet tangled up? yep.....

I was mumbling all this to Lee, who was greatly puzzled by my comments as He did not start musical consciousness until Bon Jovi entered the stage in the early 1980s. So all of this is before his time and he has no clue as to what I speak.

I love these arts and craft Victorian buildings in Ilkley.....
Saturday 22nd 0f September 2018. (wow! another Autumn)
I am up at 4am as ever. The wind and rain seem to have calmed down. I have not got dressed in anticipation of going out....I likely will in a minute though it is still too early to see what this dawn will bring as far as light and colours go.
I have been on Ebay. I just won an auction for a Shirley Temple look alike doll. I was ....note the was...feeling quite guilty about this as I now have to tell Lee. Technically speaking we can not afford for me to keep buying stuff like dolls ...that I do not need! As I now have to pay for Monza dog's medication for arthritis in his back legs and we now pay for prescriptions for Lee too as I no longer get tax credits....So yes I technically I have been very naughty.
So sod it. Here she is......lovely isn't she?

She is 27 inches tall...Quite a big doll then......so when this one arrives in the post I am not really going to be able to hide this am I? Oh well, I have pressed the button now to pay and she is on the way to Yeadon.
So more tea then......Lee very likely will not be up for another two hours so I can word my confession when he makes more tea at dawn.

It is now 7.19 and I have been out to meet the most sensational dawn that I have seen lately. I have just read Lee this blog, so that sorts that one out. Easy wasn't it?