Lauren's Lair: Here be dragons...

[Stottie Girl]

It's all good. I had to convert it to a .doc file so SMF would accept it.

This is Whisper's Silent Hill short story. It is in Russian so you'll likely need a translator. I use Deepl 🔗 [Link: deepl.com/en/translator/]. It seems to be rather good.

She is an amazing writer.

Cheers lauren. I'll have a play about with the translator later. Looking forward to it.

[KathyLauren]

We often get the remanants of your hurricanes.

Fair enough.  In that case, watch out for this one when it gets there!

[Dances With Trees]

I'll have a play about with the translator later.

I'm in the same boat, Sarah!

[Sephirah]

I had to get out today. I am going stir crazy. Unfortunately I chose an obnoxiously sunny and warm day but I took my phone with me in an attempt to get some (very poor) images of... stuff. Just to take my mind off things. The lanes are largely okay. Not like a rally stage or anything, apart from when it rains hard. There is a little bit of a nicer area but the water company have decided to close off the road leading to it (and do nothing). Maybe next time.

I apologise for these, it was kind of painful to remove my sunglasses to see the phone screen clearly, and I wasn't quite sure where to hold it (even high above my head on a couple of occasions), so it was a rather hit and hope job.

Anyway, this is a little bit of my corner of the world:

I saw a grey squirrel in this tree, but by the time I got the lens on it, it had scarpered. Still it looked nice, I thought...



The rest is just general stuff...



This is for Anni...



Pretty flowers...



A lot of blossom around these days...



Your typical leafy country lane (well more in summer)...



I cropped this one to get rid of the number plate. This pub could be out of a soap opera, haha. Way more upmarket than it used to be...



This is a place I like to come to just watch the world, when I can...



Kinda mundane I know. And I ended up with a headache anyway haha. I always do on sunny days but yeah.

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

@Sephirah
Dear Lauren:
Thank you so very much for showing all of us your part of the world and
where you live and where you spend your time.

In all the years that we have been on this site together the pictures that you
just posted are the most thorough view that I have seen where you live.

I have shared and posted so many photos of my frozen land, mountains,
fishing and wildlife that there is not much more for anyone to see, however
I will be posting additional pictures as the Spring season finally arrives.

I think that it is very interesting for all of our members to see and read
about all of our lives.  We are widely spread out around the world so it is
nice for learning about each other.

Thank You for sharing.
HUGS, Danielle [Northern Star Girl]

[Sephirah]

I am heavily biased, Danielle, and I would give my high teeth to live in such a wonderfully majestic place that you do. I think it's mostly the climate. That and the mountains maybe. There's nothing like that where I live. And you have to go pretty far to see even a moderately interesting hill. I would take the cold any day.

Thank you, though. <3 I will try to take more stuff when I can but I really don't have the talent some of our image sorcerers/sorceresses do. Or the technical know-how, haha. My phone is far smarter than I am.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Those are beautiful pics, Lauren!

I actually love the mundane stone wall, but that's just me.

Wait... is that a Tardis?

🤣

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

Those are beautiful pics, Lauren!

I actually love the mundane stone wall, but that's just me.

Wait... is that a Tardis?

🤣

@Lori Dee
FYI

     https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/tardis/ 🔗

HUGS, Danielle

[Lori Dee ✅]

@Lori Dee
FYI

     https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/tardis/ 🔗

HUGS, Danielle

Ah, I see.

They are color-coded.

🤣

[Stottie Girl]

I had to get out today. I am going stir crazy. Unfortunately I chose an obnoxiously sunny and warm day but I took my phone with me in an attempt to get some (very poor) images of... stuff. Just to take my mind off things. The lanes are largely okay. Not like a rally stage or anything, apart from when it rains hard. There is a little bit of a nicer area but the water company have decided to close off the road leading to it (and do nothing). Maybe next time.

I apologise for these, it was kind of painful to remove my sunglasses to see the phone screen clearly, and I wasn't quite sure where to hold it (even high above my head on a couple of occasions), so it was a rather hit and hope job.

Anyway, this is a little bit of my corner of the world:

I saw a grey squirrel in this tree, but by the time I got the lens on it, it had scarpered. Still it looked nice, I thought...



The rest is just general stuff...



This is for Anni...



Pretty flowers...



A lot of blossom around these days...



Your typical leafy country lane (well more in summer)...



I cropped this one to get rid of the number plate. This pub could be out of a soap opera, haha. Way more upmarket than it used to be...



This is a place I like to come to just watch the world, when I can...



Kinda mundane I know. And I ended up with a headache anyway haha. I always do on sunny days but yeah.

Thank you so much for sharing these Lauren. That view goes on for miles, no wonder you like to spend time there!

You live in such a beautiful village. I could just imagine strolling down those lanes. The pub does look proper posh though! Not sure they would let rif raf like me in with my mucky boots lol!

Has your village re-purposed the phone booth? I've seen everything from an honesty box shop to book rental to defibrillator point.

Thank you for letting us see your world honey, it's as beautiful as you are.

[Stottie Girl]

Those are beautiful pics, Lauren!

I actually love the mundane stone wall, but that's just me.

Wait... is that a Tardis?

🤣

Not a Tardis but a Red telephone box. They really make the quitinsential village scene don't they. Pretty much all of them are disconnected now though. Most villages still find a use for them rather than loose them.

The Tardis was a Police Call box but they vanished from our streets long before I was born I think.

[Sephirah]

Thank you so much for sharing these Lauren. That view goes on for miles, no wonder you like to spend time there!

You live in such a beautiful village. I could just imagine strolling down those lanes. The pub does look proper posh though! Not sure they would let rif raf like me in with my mucky boots lol!

Has your village re-purposed the phone booth? I've seen everything from an honesty box shop to book rental to defibrillator point.

Thank you for letting us see your world honey, it's as beautiful as you are.

You are a sweetheart, Sarah. There is some other stuff but the roads are still closed. I need to show you that foghorn donkey.

That place wouldn't let me in, either. It's very much for the upper crust these days. It used to have people frequent with muddy wellies. But then back then, my village had like five pubs. That is one of two left. And the most exclusive one. They know the location is a big deal. You have to be Hyacinth Bucket to go there.

There is another phone box nearby, haha. When I can show you, I will. Neither of them have phones in them anymore. That one is just empty, but the other one has been used as a very tiny library, yes. It also has way more flowers around it.

[Sephirah]

It's not just you, Lori. The walls are something that you don't really see too much. They are kind of a thing that is passed on generationally. And something you really only see up north. I am kind of blessed that I have a lot of stuff around me. Doing that kind of thing is more and more of a lost art these days. There are a few buildings I need to grab for you, also. There's an 11th century church nearby, relatively.

I don't like going out most of the time. But I will admit, I do kind of have a lot of pretty stuff around.

[Sephirah]

Not a Tardis but a Red telephone box. They really make the quitinsential village scene don't they. Pretty much all of them are disconnected now though. Most villages still find a use for them rather than loose them.

The Tardis was a Police Call box but they vanished from our streets long before I was born I think.

Yeah they were kind of specific blue boxes that people used to phone the cops. That got kind of integrated into the red phone boxes back in probably the 60s or 70s. Sadly, there aren't many... if any red phone boxes around these days. It's a quintessentially British thing. But they got phased out long ago with smart phones. The cost of operating them was too prohibitive.

They are such a part of British culture though, that some places keep them around. Like the red buses.

[Stottie Girl]

You are a sweetheart, Sarah. There is some other stuff but the roads are still closed. I need to show you that foghorn donkey.

That place wouldn't let me in, either. It's very much for the upper crust these days. It used to have people frequent with muddy wellies. But then back then, my village had like five pubs. That is one of two left. And the most exclusive one. They know the location is a big deal. You have to be Hyacinth Bucket to go there.

There is another phone box nearby, haha. When I can show you, I will. Neither of them have phones in them anymore. That one is just empty, but the other one has been used as a very tiny library, yes. It also has way more flowers around it.

Two phone boxes? Bloody show off!

Yeah I've seen them used as tiny libraries. It's quite sweet really.

Yeah, show me your ass Lauren 😜 Ha ha! I'm running out of ass jokes now!

Not sure our American chums will get the Hyacinth Bucket reference but I totally get ya!

It really is a lovely spot though. Helps that the sun is shining of course!

[Stottie Girl]

Yeah they were kind of specific blue boxes that people used to phone the cops. That got kind of integrated into the red phone boxes back in probably the 60s or 70s. Sadly, there aren't many... if any red phone boxes around these days. It's a quintessentially British thing. But they got phased out long ago with smart phones. The cost of operating them was too prohibitive.

They are such a part of British culture though, that some places keep them around. Like the red buses.

Ha! I always thought they were for bobby's on the beat to run too if they needed to call for backup. I had no idea they were for public use. Thicko Sarah strikes again!

There are lots of red boxes dotted around Northumberland in the sticks. It would be a shame to see them go.

[Sephirah]

Two phone boxes? Bloody show off!

Yeah I've seen them used as tiny libraries. It's quite sweet really.

Yeah, show me your ass Lauren 😜 Ha ha! I'm running out of ass jokes now!

Not sure our American chums will get the Hyacinth Bucket reference but I totally get ya!

It really is a lovely spot though. Helps that the sun is shining of course!

Haha, this is why I love you, Sarah. It's always nice to talk to someone without having to explain things. You and Charlotte... It's nice to have some home field solidarity. <3

No they won't get the reference, but that's okay. Hyacinth Bucket was a character in a British sit-com, called "Keeping Up Appearances." She was someone who cared to an obsessive amount what the rest of the world thought of her. She literally pronounced her last name as "Bouquet." Kind of like Stephen Colbert, from The Late Show, pronounces it "Col-bear". Even though it clearly isn't. I mean I am sure it is in his own head. Whatever makes you feel good.

Take some snaps of the last vestiges of English heritage, when you can, Sarah. I would love to see. <3

It really doesn't help that the sun is shining. I hate the sun. We have a hate/hate relationship. I would literally prefer out to be out and about at night, in a blizzard. Partly why I envy Danielle so much. I have a degree of photosensitivity, likely from being in a dark tube underwater, staring at computer screen. I don't like the sun, and the sun doesn't like me. Put me in a place where it's dark for more of the year than it's light. Or where the temperature needs to be given an achievement award for getting above freezing... I am your girl.

I would honestly trade. Not even kidding. I envy her so much. I mean she is gorgeous and is a gift to the world but I envy her locale. Anyone who wants spring flowers and stuff... you're welcome to it.

[Stottie Girl]

Haha, this is why I love you, Sarah. It's always nice to talk to someone without having to explain things. You and Charlotte... It's nice to have some home field solidarity. <3

No they won't get the reference, but that's okay. Hyacinth Bucket was a character in a British sit-com, called "Keeping Up Appearances." She was someone who cared to an obsessive amount what the rest of the world thought of her. She literally pronounced her last name as "Bouquet." Kind of like Stephen Colbert, from The Late Show, pronounces it "Col-bear". Even though it clearly isn't. I mean I am sure it is in his own head. Whatever makes you feel good.

Take some snaps of the last vestiges of English heritage, when you can, Sarah. I would love to see. <3

It really doesn't help that the sun is shining. I hate the sun. We have a hate/hate relationship. I would literally prefer out to be out and about at night, in a blizzard. Partly why I envy Danielle so much. I have a degree of photosensitivity, likely from being in a dark tube underwater, staring at computer screen. I don't like the sun, and the sun doesn't like me. Put me in a place where it's dark for more of the year than it's light. Or where the temperature needs to be given an achievement award for getting above freezing... I am your girl.

I would honestly trade. Not even kidding. I envy her so much. I mean she is gorgeous and is a gift to the world but I envy her locale. Anyone who wants spring flowers and stuff... you're welcome to it.

I have popped my first installment on my blog Lauren. Warkworth Castle, Home of Harry Hotspur the famous Knight from Shakespeare's Henry IV.

Yeah Danielles a lucky girl. I would love to be up there in Alaska. I'm scared of the dark though. Would you hold my hand lol! Come to think of it, I'm scared of bears too! Maybe it's not for me after all!

[Pema]

It's gorgeous, Lauren! Thank you.

[Sephirah]

I have popped my first installment on my blog Lauren. Warkworth Castle, Home of Harry Hotspur the famous Knight from Shakespeare's Henry IV.

Yeah Danielles a lucky girl. I would love to be up there in Alaska. I'm scared of the dark though. Would you hold my hand lol! Come to think of it, I'm scared of bears too! Maybe it's not for me after all!

I would always hold your hand, Sarah. Whatever you're scared of. You are too gentle and beautiful of a person to ever feel alone. That is why I am here, honey. Fear is most frightening when you don't have someone to tell you it's okay.

That's not a question you need to ask.

Bears are kind of awesome. They are a literal house of unpredicability.