Saturday 16 April 2011

Chance outing to Allendale Mill.

This morning we all accompanied Rowan to his final football league fixture of the season, away at Allendale on the edge of the North Pennines. Having visited the same ground previously back in early November I went dressed for the cold. Lee watched the match and Robyn and I took our Greyhounds Jodie and Peter for a stroll. Just around the bend from the sports field we came upon the interesting Allendale Mill. A converted haulage yard, now housing art and craft workshops, Allendale Brewery and the Allendale Bakery, which luckily for us has a delightful cafe selling its freshly baked goods and nice strong coffee.


Seating Outside Allendale Bakery and Cafe
 We enjoyed a warm croissant with coffee and hot chocolate. I also bought some baguettes for lunch which were still lovely and warm from the oven. We were served by an ex-pupil of mine from Haydon Bridge High School. 



Freshly Baked Bread From The Allendale Bakery....Still Warm.
 

Me And The Dogs Chilling At Allendale Bakery


That smells nice!
 After our refreshments we were delighted to chance upon a very sweet little craft shop called Make. Which was stuffed full of locally made goodies and had a nice workshop area upstairs, where a wide variety of classes are held. The very kind owner, Katie has a sign in her window declaring..."all dogs welcome, I like dogs", which is quite refreshing and we were all made to feel very welcome. I bought some beautiful handmade soap and some beeswax candles which were made not too far away in Alston.

So all in all Robyn and I had a lovely time and managed to miss the whole of the football match. Now that's what I call a result!

Allendale Lambs

Sunday 3 April 2011

Crash And Burn At The Cluny

Well, sometimes in life we take a run and jump and fall flat on our faces...today I did just that. I took a last minute stall at the Cluny craft market in Ouseburn, near Newcastle Quayside. Having only two days to prepare ultimately saved me a lot of panic and regret as I only sold one small item today. The venue was unusually quiet and very few people came to look at the stalls, which were situated in rather dark and dingy conditions.
However, I met some very friendly fellow crafters and enjoyed Robyns company. She did a grand job helping me set out the stall.


There is always something to be  learnt from these situations. My next market stall will be Wylam summer fair in June, hope that is more fruitful.