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Tuesday 13 May 2014

R stands for my fascination for Rivers.

Whilst we were on holiday in Northumberland in the borderlands between England and Scotland we encountered this majestic sight of the River Tweed, ambling it's way around the borderlands of Scotland and England.
We were on our way into Coldstream  the home town of the famous  Coldstream  Guards.
 These are the soldiers, when not on active duty, serve in the Household Cavalry protecting our Monarch at the various Palaces, whenever The Queen is in residence.
Apart from their magnificent battle history , they are also renown for  wearing the famous ceremonial Bearskin as their headwear as well as their splendid scarlet jackets.
I am such a Royalist, my heart really swells with pride whenever I see them on parade.
As we were strolling along the riverside, there were rather a lot of ripples in the water,
 Then, suddenly, the most fluorescent  display of salmon leaping appeared, it was as if they were forming little Rainbows, as they weaved their way up stream, to their spawning ground,
We watched in fascination as the a fisherman cast his line to hook a salmon.
, Apparently, it is quite easy to catch them at this part of the River because they become quite tired after such a long swim from the sea.
We were so enraptured by this resplendent display that we stood in awe, just revering  the moment.  
A lady, walking her dog, stopped to watch and said she had be walking her dog daily for ten years, yet had never witnessed the sight of Salmon leaping in that part of the River
.
As we walked over, one of the many River Tweed  bridges, from the English side into  Coldstream
 on the Scottish side, it was noticable that the dialect changed considerably, from a lovely 'Geordie lilt into a light Scottish refrain.

Perhaps my  fascination for Rivers stems from the fact that I have spent a lifetime living on either side of The River Mersey.
 It must be an inherent thing, my great grandfather was as Sea Captain in the Merchant Navy,
 my maternal grandfather was a Coppersmith and worked on some of the finest ships ever built on Merseyside........
There lies another tale which would take too long to write but I will when the  right 
letter of the alphabet appears on ABCWednesday, 

My sincere thanks to the rapturous Denise for devising ABCW and to the radiant Rodger for being such a realistic  Adminstrator .  

30 comments:

  1. I can hardly wait to return to Britain where we can have a Reunion and also to return to Scotland and visit more of the area around Glasgow where my grandfather was born. I, too, have lived my life on either side of a river - the mighty Fraser, discovered by Simon Fraser.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  2. A great piece about the R or Rivers:)

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  3. a wonderful post replete with R words.

    frankly my dear

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  4. I do enjoy walking along a river or taking a boat ride down one. Very pretty site for sure.
    Ann

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  5. Thank you for this wonderful description ofr one of my favourite places in the world. It must have been a spectacular sight to watch salmon jumping on their way to higher grounds.When studying English I learnt all the various Guards: the Scottish, Welsh, Irish and two English Guards. I must confess that I forgot all about it.
    Well thanks again!
    Wil, ABCW Team.

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  6. Hi Leslie, I too can't wait to have a reunion and maybe we cake take a ride across the river on one of our famous Ferryboats. Glasgow is a good place to visit, literally on it's doorstop is the most picturesque Loch Lomond and so many more places to see and stay.
    I know you live on the side of the Fraser River as I've enjoyed so many of your wonderful pictures of round and about where you live.
    It would be lovely to meet your heart's desire too, dear Lorne.
    Hope your poor ankle is repairing,
    Love Di..xxx

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  8. Hi JSTJ thanks for dropping by and also for your comments, I've just visited your blog and thoroughly enjoyed looking at some of your art work and photographs, quite stunning!

    Best wishes,
    Di.

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  9. Hello Anne,
    I would love to take a trip in a small boat down a river and stop at a different place each evening.
    There are so many rivers and canals in the UK but husband is not fussy on the idea!
    Good to hear from you again,
    best wishes,
    Di.

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  10. Photo Cache:
    Thanks for dropping by and also your kind comments.

    Best wishes,
    Di.

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  11. Reader Wil,
    So good to hear from you again and thank you for your kind comments.
    It was a wonderful sight to see the salmon leaping. The picture we took was with my blackberry mobile phone so didn't quite capture them. I was quite pleased with the view of the river though!
    We were hoping to visit the Coldstream Guard Museum but sadly it was closed.
    Best wishes,
    Di.x

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  12. I enjoy rivers, too, and you captured a lot of R's here. I'm looking forward to being in England this July...

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  13. Rivers are so cool. Like blood vessels of a country.
    ROG, ABCW

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  14. Ellen B: thanks for visiting my blog.
    Yes I did seem to turn out a few 'R's, it wasn't difficult as it is an often used consonant in the English Language,
    I struggled a bit with the letter 'Q', it was quite a challenge!
    Have a good trip to our wonderful Country in July,
    Best wishes,
    Di.

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  15. Hello Roger,
    that's a fine analogy of 'rivers being the arteries of a country'
    well said,

    Di,x

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  16. I've lived in a city with rivers most of my life: Binghamton (Susquehanna and Chenango), Albany (Hudson).
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  17. I do love a riverside walk, this one looks the business. I saw salmon making their way up a salmon ladder in Scotland. Well when I say making their way, they were actually taking a breather in one of the pools

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  18. Hi Trubes! Thanks for your comment. Good you looked up the relationship between Tasmanian Devil and Quoll.
    I don't know if there is an animal called Quall. That is new to me.Quite interesting, isn't it?!

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  19. I love rivers too. Great post and photograph. Carver, ABCW-Team

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  20. Never mind! For me the English language is full of surprises! And I love learning new words!
    Hugs,
    Wil

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  21. Hi Joy, it is a relaxing thing to do, walking alongside a river.

    Di,x

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  22. Hi Carver,
    thanks for your kind comments,
    means a lot to me.

    Di.x

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  23. Reader Wil.
    Your English is very good, hope you picked up about my 'typo' re the Quoll ?

    Di x

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  24. Hi Trubes, another very interesting post. I was in London two weeks ago and had lunch in a super restaurant next to the canal , all the barges were going past all decorated as it was the Blessing of the Waters weekend. I wouldn't mind a day or two on a boat or barge , but no longer. I am with your hubby on this . Can't imagine having to do all the Locks , take care xx

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  25. Hello Anne,
    Good to hear from you again.
    I'm still not giving up on a canal holiday, there are some routes that have a lock master at each lock to help the novices. Ian is more concerned about me getting on and of the barge, I think?
    The Canal du Midi sing very loud songs to me... Never mind, a girl can always dream!
    love,
    Di.xx

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  26. I didn't know there was a place called Coldstream!
    It must have been wonderful to see the salmon.

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  27. Liz, it was wonderful to see the salmon leaping, so graceful, could have been set to music!
    I did know about Coldstream, the very reason for visiting was to go to the Museum, which, sadly, was closed!
    Nevermind, we did get to see the salmon and a fly fisherman reel one in...
    He was just too far away to take a photo with my Blackberry.

    love Di..
    xxx

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  28. It sounds like you visited the Tweed on a perfect unique day, how wonderful :-)

    As you know I feel at home in the borders country as do all folks who live in that unique place whichever side of the arbitrary line they live in ;-)

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  29. Hello Cherie, I thought of you as I posted this thanks to your interesting accounts of your travels, we've had some wonderful holidays there.
    The Coach House still seems to have the same web site just a change of name of proprietor.
    Love Di.xx





















    Borders, than

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  30. I sent you an email some time ago about the Coach House and what happened. I am not sure if you got it?

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I usually like to reply to your comments but for some reason when i do post a reply it just diappears, any advice would be most welcome,Thanks Di x

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