Preston Guild 2012 photo scrapbook

My Preston Guild Photo 

Scrapbook

I have been out taking photos today for my Preston Guild 2012 scrapbook so i thought i would share some with you here. It all started with a trip to see the Methodist Church Art collection at St Peters Art Center - only it finished yesterday! - some of the leaflets had the wrong date... All photos taken 19/7/2012

This was one of  just two artworks i was able to see from the Methodist Church Art Collection at St Peters Art Center at  UCLAN . This is a collection of Christian Art second only to that of the Vatican It is entitled "The Crossover the City by Michael Edmonds, 1962, and is a polyester,brass and mosaic relief panel. I also saw the Dalit Madonna, an oil painting by Jyoti Sahi and i found this work particularly moving. Just wish i  had seen the whole collection.

I went online later to view the collection which was great

The rest were already packed up ready to go to London

Saw this on the outside wall of the church

A train in flowers on the University roundabout complete with carriage below!

And next to it - well - a flower in flowers! 

Even the bins have caught Preston Guild Fever. This photo was taken from the bottom of Friargate looking towards the town centre

A lovely lively scene of the market square ready for the Guild. There are some new flag posts but not sure if for the Guild or if permanent - look good though !

I  still felt in the mood for some culture so i decided to take a look inside Preston Minster - the Parish church of Preston - at the top of Church Street - the door was open!

A nice lady from the church explained a lot of the artifacts to me - Thank you!

A fab hand painted mural

An embroidered chair back featuring the Preston lamb

Fabulous patchwork and embroidered panel

The present church building was designed/built by E.H.Shellard between 1853-1855 to replace previous buildings withe the earliest record of a church on the site going back to 1094 and St Wilfrid - an ancient Christian site. In 2003 the church was renamed Minster Church of St John to mark the granting of City status to Preston.

Another of the handmade panels

Walking home i noticed the fence had gone from a small wild flower meadow planted at the botton of North Road. Some really pretty flowers and some new trees. I think this is part of the Guild Wheel walkway/cycleway

Finally. on the Blackpool Road/Garstang Road corner of Moor Park

Lovely food on very little money!

This week i have had to be very inventive with the food i have to stretch it out till the end of the week. It has been fun and hard too.

Great new snack! I bought a punnet of plums in a town center market stall type shop for £1 and a large punnet of strawberries from a local store for 50p as they were on their sell by date. Looked fine to me.
I had a crust of lovely brown bread so i stewed plums,strawberries and sugar and served warm on the bread. Absolutely delicious. Lots left for later. Around 50p.
I also have been making rice pudding. I bought a 500g bag of rice pudding from Marks and Spencer for £1.19 and cooked 25g with half a pint of milk to make a meal size snack. i threw in a couple of cardamon pods when cooking to add a lovely scent and taste - removed just before serving. I added 20g sugar and a little fat -10g- just before serving. Approx 20p. I don't like the skin on rice pudding and found leaving a lid on while cooking prevented this.

Last night i had chicken drumsticks 65p for 6 on sell by date and vine grown tomatoes 5 large for 42p on sell by date plus new potatoes 25p for bag. All in one pan in the oven with some olive oil,salt and pepper. My portion cost around 60p.
I feel i eat better when i have less money as i have to draw on cooking skills learnt at school and really plan to make the very best of what i have.
Tomorrow i am planning to soak and cook a bag of dried butter beans. I am going to casserole with some fresh tomatoes and new potatoes and whatever meat eg sausages i can buy on offer tomorrow. I might even try it with tuna.

And an interesting fact I read recently - just half a carrot is one portion of the 5 fruit and veg a day we are advised to eat in the UK!

Thanks Rachel Ashwell your Shabby Chic is fab !

My hydrangea petiolaris just now

To commerorate King George V and Queen Mary Silver Jubilee June 12th 1911

For people like me living on a budget eBay,charity shops and car boot sales offer a lifeline. There are so many advantages to buying vintage just one of those to buy the things you need at a cost more proportionate to  income. Car boot sales etc offer a chance for time spent rummaging to reap real rewards as a huge range of goods spanning many years are all there for the finding.
I find i can experiment with clothes more without making very costly errors - and clothes that really do not suit just get recycled. i have found that favorite items tend to get more compliments from friends and family and that is the best marker for whether a garment is really working for me. i only find out when i wear things!

To Commemorate King Edward V111 Crowned 12th May 1937

I love buying items for the home too that are really individual and especially love vintage curtains. Lovely vintage heavy lined curtains can be found very reasonably - they look fab and insulate windows. I carry my window sizes with me as well as a tape measure especially when looking for a specific size.
Then i found Rachel Ashwells Shabby Chic.I love her Shabby Chic concept and have three books of hers that have been given to me for birthdays. Her ideas are so original yet so achievable and adaptable. She runs a great blog which is full of photos and ideas - all for free - just Google her name. She uses a  palette of white and pale blue,green and pink. Everything has a soft faded look and she uses items in different ways. So inspiring whatever your budget.

To celebrate the wedding of HRH,Charles,Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer 29th July 1981

Rachel lives in America but was born in England. She has been celebrating the recent Royal events and often uses Royal Memorabilia in her designs. I have started collecting vintage Royal Commemorative mugs and yes she is right the artwork on them is fab-crowns and unicorns - gold pinks and blues. Now i treasure something in the past i have dismissed.

To commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11 June 2nd 1953

I am finding thanks to Rachel that i am now looking at things in a different way and now value items for their signs of wear or fading and look at items in terms of how i can use them rather than what were they originally designed for. Thanks Rachel!

Cherry trees from cherry stones ?

This week i got two punnets of fresh cherries for50p each as they were short dated. Finished one punnet today and wondered if it is possible to grow a cherry tree from a stone. To check i have planted some outside in a seed tray. i will keep you posted or can you tell me - will they grow?

The stones were planted on Friday.Went to work Saturday and a colleague laughed when i said i had been eating cherries saying "you didnt swallow a stone did you because they grow in your stomach" - i have never heard that before!

But just now i looked out of the kitchen window and saw shoots about 4cm long. Surely they could not have sprouted already. Went outside and yes about 5 strong thick shoots! They will need replanting very soon.
So my friend was right a stone could well sprout inside you in such a short time! I am going to do some research on cherry shoots.

Local History Cadley Fulwood photos

First here is a picture of Fulwood bridge on Blackbull Lane. This spans the Savick Brook.

Next is a photo of the bus shelter on Blackbull Lane. This was refurbished a few years ago to its original condition.

Finally a picture of Cadley Bridge. Again over Savick Brook but this time on Garstang Road

More photos to follow!
please also see my post on Atherton Road Fulwood

10p tinned peaches and Silver Spoon cookbook 25p

Today got four tins of own brand peach slices in grape juice from concentrate 411g/drained weight 242g for 10p a can down from 38p a can. Apparently 7 slices = 1 of the recommended 5 a day - but i do not know how many slices in the can - i guess at least 10. So over 2 days 2 portions of fruit, 5p a portion.Sounds good value.

Decide to study the label in more depth. Firstly made in Greece from Greek peaches and grape juice.
Half a can will give me 85cal or 4% of calories needed - 9% of carbohydrate energy but no energy from fat (less than 1%). But that 9% carbohydrate = 22% of my days sugar. 3% of days protein and 7% of days fiber.

So what do i conclude from all this info? I think it means as a source of carbohydrate as sugars, it is a healthy one but to eat 5 fruit and veg a day the others need to be quite low in sugar. Which fruit and veg would give me fats - apart from the obvious avocado?
Plenty of food for thought as well as food to eat at a really good price! Think the supermarket are having a clear out so may have another look tomorrow.
ps bbe sept 2012 - plenty of time.

Also got two cookery books for 50p at a charity shop. One is called The Silver Spoon and is a brill Italian cookbook and one is a Gordon Ramsay Healthy Appetites cookbook - both look great.
Will report back when I have made an Italian dish from the Silver Spoon cookbook using the tinned peaches!

Local History Cadley Fulwood Lancashire - Atherton Road

Do you remember Atherton Road in Fulwood Preston Lancashire? Atherton Road ran from Blackbull Lane to Eastgate. It was built by John Atherton - who came from a well known Preston family. If you do I would love to read your comments and see any photos you may have.
In 1959 Atherton Road was renamed as part of Regent Drive and new house numbers were issued. Regent Drive as it appears now opens onto both Blackbull Lane and Garstang Rd.

please also see my listing on Cadley local history