Five on Friday

Hello everyone! It's Friday again so I'm joining Amy's Five on Friday link-up.  Thank you Amy

for hosting. I'm sharing some of the sights I've seen this week and activities that have kept my husband and I busy recently.

1. the Autumn scene

There are signs of Autumn everywhere now, although many of the leaves on the trees are still green. The grapes on the vines in the front garden will be left for the birds as they are too small and there are not enough to do anything with them.  There seem to be lots of other berries this year - is this a sign of a hard winter to come? I love the coppery shade of the ferns as they change colour and I've seen those everlasting flowers in a neighbour's garden that dry out and can be used in an indoor flower display - something to put on my seed list.

2. gardening

We're still gathering tomatoes from the plants in the covered yard.  There are also sweet peppers ripening which we prefer to roast or preserve in olive oil. My husband continues to grow plants from seed and has started another lot of French beans.

3. crocheting

Since re-learning how to crochet I've been making blankets over the last few months except for when I had to take a break in June and July.  The first blanket I made was the red, mauve and purple one followed by the one at the top of the collage.  I'm half way through the one at the bottom on the right hand side.

4. a visit to a museum

Weston Park Museum is located in the same area as the hospital where I go every day for my treatment and this week my husband has dropped be off at the hospital and then I've done other things before taking the bus or tram home. Yesterday I went into the museum to see what new exhibitions were being installed. The latest is  'Sheffield's Story: prehistory until the present day'.

Thomas Bateman and his son Thomas Joseph Banks (1828-1896) oil on canvas 1860

Victorian archaeologist Thomas Bateman (1821-1861) excavated hundreds of barrows and other sites in the Peak District.  His extensive collection was sold to the museum by his son in 1893. Many of the objects on display are from Bateman's collection The Anglo-Saxon glass bowl from the painting is on display in the gallery.

The exhibition displays are currently being installed with further information labels - a good reason to return for a further browse around the galleries.

5. out and about in Sheffield city centre

Another afternoon I walked into the city centre in search of more elephants. They've gone now to be auctioned off, but I shall be sharing more of what I found! I hope you don't get bored with what I share, but I think they are beautiful works of art and it's very interesting to see how many of them have been treated to create special surfaces to give a shiny look to represent steel (Steel City's famous product) or painted in imaginative designs. I particularly liked the one decorated to depict rock climbers scaling the hills in the nearby Peak District National Park and the one with safari and jungle scenes - a lion on one side, a toucan on the other with a snake trunk and tail.  

 The Town Hall area and the Peace Gardens

Tomorrow I'm going to one of the annual Sheffield Literary Festival (Off the Shelf) events at the Town Hall - the Readers' Day - where there'll be talks by several authors that are new to me. There's usually a book swap in the Winter Garden.

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Flower Wednesday

The flowers in our garden may be limited to a few varieties as we move into October, but what blooms remain provide welcome splashes of colour and they look particularly lovely when the sun is shining.  On days such as today when there are only sunny interludes they surely brighten up the garden scene.  My husband cuts some carnations,daisies (feverfew) or roses to be arranged in the white glass or posy vases. Linking with Flower Wednesday hosted by Riitta at Floral Passions. 

Worsbrough Flour Mill and Reservoir

Sometime ago we went to Worsbrough to visit a working flour mill which is located next to Worsbrough Reservoir.  We toured the mill and then had a walk some way around the reservoir, or at least the younger members of the family walked further than I did that day.  Looking back I'm pleased that I'm much fitter now and can do more walking. Nevertheless, it was a good afternoon.

There are guided tours of the mill by 'the miller' and lots of fun things for children to do such as the learning trail about Worsbrough and mill with clues to solve along the way. There's also a café with tables and benches so that visitors can sit outside in good weather and also a small shop where bags of flour, preserves, other related food and souvenirs can be purchased.  It's well worth a visit.

The oldest part of the mill dates back to 1625, probably when Thomas Edmunds, the heir to Worsbrough Estate arranged for it to be built.

Visitors that look around the mill are actually standing in the extension that was built in 1840, the 'New Mill'.  At this time millstones could be either driven by the waterwheel or a newly installed James Watt steam engine.

Some interesting families lived and worked in the mill over the centuries. William and Ann Shaw were millers during a time of prosperity for the mill. During this time engineers and navvies were cutting a canal and constructing the reservoir outside. The valley and fields disappeared as

they filled up with water and came within yards of the mill. William died in 1806, while Ann lived on till 1819.

The fireplace with initials and dates carved into the stone including William Shaw's.

Reg Steel

The Steel family came to Worsbrough in the 1920s because their mill in Sheffield has been demolished to make way for another reservoir.  They were a big family and the mill was extended by them to give them more room.  When the head of the family, George, died his brother, Reg, took over and other brothers ran a threshing business in the yard. Reg had developed a hearing loss during WWI and  was probably troubled by the noise of the machinery in the mill so wore a balaclava which got caked white with flour when he was working.

The mill pond behind the mill is where the water runs off.

The mill pond then runs into another water outlet and pond below as well as into the reservoir.

Across the other side of the reservoir is a bird hide and a place for leisure fishing.

the bird hide

 I could see in the distance on the hills above the reservoir a large country house.  I'm not sure which one it is although I looked on a map. Something to research more fully and perhaps visit in the future? (Later I found out that this was Wentworth Castle).