Guess what I have just been doing?
YES. Archery lesson!
Of course, now I know that in this picture I was doing it all wrong. Haha. But I don’t mind! Learning supports and corrects the fruits of my PASSION, and passion is nothing to apologise for. Unless it is a passion for awful crimes maybe?
I shot three arrows, and next week I will shoot more. Birthdays are delicious! Just delicious.
Do you know where this picture, that one above, was taken? You most likely don’t, but I will tell you. So don’t worry! It was taken in Hathersage, not a half-mile away from..
Yeah! Bonus: Beloved does a Gilbert of the White Hand impression.
Timely reference, and also funny.
Yeah, we went to visit an old friend. Doesn’t it make your heart clasp?
And doesn’t it make you say “Woah, gee whiz, that guy was tall?”
It did me.
Hathersage is in the Peak District, just, which is where the gent and I spent the week before my birthday. We got a lot done, both proactively re: plans and stories and history, and.. uselessly.. re: terrible, terrible 90s B-movies. It was a good, good time. Having a place of our own for a little was a balm. This is evidenced in the schmoopiest couples-photo we are likely to take.
Hrrrmmm.
ANYWAY. The church in question – of course! – is beautiful, and covered in carvings you could puzzle over for hours.
We had a compass with us, so we could find “due east” of the graveyard. I know you will be interested too, reader! So I took pictures for you. Imagine a great, tall, long haired blond (he’s always blond) man striding away over those hills, staff in hand. That’s what we did. It was good.
Gorgeous. There was even a bunny.
Just in case you don’t believe that Hathersage is picturesque:
That last one is just me, OK, but it’s dreamy. And that’s just the built-up areas! You wanna see the country? OF COURSE YOU DO.
You see that cloud? That rained on us. England, just as it should be.
Gnomes!
Troubles!
Sheep!
Nature. Of course.
Vampires!
Action!
Suavity,
Ninjas.
And what is a “fashion blogger” (hurrhurr well I try!) without detail shots? Nothing.
Told you I had a lot of show & tell.
ME: coat: San Francisco Leather Factory via Cow vintage Sheffield (gift from sister), tights: we love colours, boots: Dr Martens, dress: 60s vintage from etsy, jumper: Jaeger, cloak: 60s Police raincloak via Oxfam vintage. HIM: all untraceable?!
Ooo, sounds pefect! Archery lessons = awesome. So jealous! And how cool you went to Little John’s grave!! The whole trip sounds like so much fun.
It was!!
And yeahh, I am superkeen about the archery!
It looks like you had a genuinely awesome birthday, which makes me feel less bad about not having known about it to wish you a good ‘un!
Your pictures are always so funny, but the “VAMPIRE” and “Ninja” ones just about made my day!
Were you any good at archery? I did it on a school trip once, and, predictably, it was not my forté. I’m not sure what is… but archery certainly isn’t!
(:
Belated birthday wishes and lotsa love xxx
The vampire one was a little bit embarrassing because two sensible grown-up types came by just as I was making the ridiculous face. But, I did it anyway!
Most of the lesson was posture and form, but I got to shoot three arrows before it got dark. The first one went under the target (I didn’t really follow the explanation of aiming; it sounded like we weren’t supposed to aim at all), the second one went in the top, and the third went in the MIDDLE. YEUH!
The last time I did any archery was in year nine (on your classic “adventure week”?) and we got basically no explanation of how to hold the bow, how to draw, how much oomph to put into it, anything. Just “try and hit the bullseye!!” So I sucked and it was annoying and disheartening. But actual purposeful teaching from a proper hobbyist/instructor really made a difference; it felt much better and I actually knew a little of what I was meant to be doing. Dweeby as it sounds, it felt right.
Thankya!