April 2009
1 post
Thursday 23rd April 2009 - Vancouver
We are in Vancouver for a brief visit to Laurie and Sylvia and the grandchildren. Just two weeks is a little short in most ways but it seemed that a short stay might fit in best since L & S have only just arrived and are still sorting out their new life here. They seem happy and adjusting and now have a permanent apartment organised which they are partially moved into. It is on the 29th floor...
March 2009
1 post
19th March - getting to Frankfurt
We are returning from our winter month’s escape to the sun and fun in El Yaque. This visit has been the first that I qualified as a kitesurfer and that has made it even more fun. Ally and I have kited together for literally hours and my skill level has been noticeably increasing along with all that added enjoyment. A quantitative measure has been my average speed which started out at 15.4...
January 2009
3 posts
Monday 26th January - El Yaque
The nights are hot Hot and so dark when the power is out Like last night. No fans, no air conditioners, No glimmer from the landing security lights. At three in the morning there is no sound But the call of an unidentifiable animal or bird. Then just before first light the birds awake They call with soft songs, short and abrupt More join as the day dawns further It has to be the tropics With such...
Sunday January 11th - en route to Margarita
The sun has just risen on a very, very cold morning. We are just crossing the coastline somewhere in Sussex and looking down we have travelled over heavily frosted fields and can clearly see dustings of snow. The sky is red - shepherd’s warning … We are off the Margarita to escape the recent spell of sub-zero weather and to lap up sunshine and heat. It is a luxury to be able to do...
December 2008
1 post
December 12th - Reading to London
Such a long time since I’ve written here, since I usually use the old-fashioned method of writing in my notebook journal - on real paper. I’m on my way to London to meet up with Dodie for a pre-wedding ice-breaking coffee. We haven’t met since early 2003 and the idea is to clear the way for a happy and uneventful time at Katie’s wedding party. 5 years is a long time and...
September 2008
6 posts
Over the Atlantic
I guess we are around 38,000 ft and we are heading west towards the New World. This will be a faster journey than the Mayflower or Jacques Cartier’s sailings and in rather more comfort. When we get to Quebec at the end of our visit they will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. 400 years once seemed like a long, long time. But as I get older then those years seem...
September 9th - Reading
I have just cycled from Oxford to Reading having picked up my shiny new Koga. It is definitely lovely and I hope to have many happy miles on it - and not have it stolen ever!
A week with Michael
Well, we are getting towards the end of our week when Michael has been staying with us, and it has been lovely, hopefully for everyone. He has been happy and content almost all of the time, and he is such a joy of a child.
He has had a lot of fun (as we have) riding on the tag-a-long bike, which has been a surprising success. We weren’t sure how well he would do - or whether even he...
Coffee in Newbury
This is well-timed break in Costa Coffee in Newbury. I have cycled here for the fun of doing it, and also to buy some Cheerios for Michael’s breakfast tomorrow morning. It is just over 25 kms to cycle here, with quite a lot of it along the canal towpath.
The coffee stop is well-timed since looking out I can see raindrops falling. It has been just a little sunny though not too warm. I...
August 2008
19 posts
A day in London
I dropped Ally off at Heathrow this morning - an early stat to fly to Mallorca. She is staying the night and then returning tomorrow with Michael - we are both very excited, and hope that he has a good time - most important. And that he goes home and is happy again there. Even more important of course.
I then drove into Central London and parked, and changed to using the bike - and it...
Aching after the snowboarding
We celebrated my birthday (last November - how time flies when…) at Tamworth in the Snowdome, with a day learning to snowboard. Whenever we visited Laurie and Sylvia and went there we thought it looked great fun, and so we finally managed it.
And was it hard - YES! We were both physically wrecked after the first 1 1/2 hours in the morning, dripping with perspiration and bruised and...
Decorating done, time in Swanage ...
Now that we have finished the decorating (and it does look good) we have been able to have some time off in Swanage for good behaviour. We went down over the Bank Holiday weekend and had reasonable weather, and there were even people enjoying the beach and the sea.
We did a little tidying of the garden and continue to be happy that the plants that Hicky gave us are still growing strongly and...
Finished the decorating
Hey - we’re done! It was a bit of hard work, and some late evenings, some early morning muscle-aches, and some tricky moments of wallpaper cutting - but now the job is done. We are pleased with the outcome and next week the carpet-layer comes to finish the renovation, and then we will move back in.
And this Bank Holiday weekend we are going down to Swanage for a rest and some...
A better day already
Today is a better day and things feel better all round. The sun is out and we will be cycling soon. We have been decorating this morning and have finished the painting now. Wow - that ceiling was a large area, but it looks good now and we are looking forward to getting most of the paper hung tomorrow. We have chosen some plain paper to paint, and also some paper for one wall which has poppies...
Another day of rain ...
How bad is this weather? Well - awful! So, we have been taking the opportunity to continue our decorating efforts and now have started painting - so much better than the boring preparation.
We have found an apartment to rent in November in Can Pastilla which will be nice since we will be near to where the kitesurfing is, and also be able to easily cycle into Palma to see Laurie and Sylvia and...
On my bike
We got out on the bikes today. It was threatening to rain on us all the way round, but we did our local circuit in 1:03 - 13 miles or so. It was nice to have some air and exercise….
She is so unrealistic ...
We were happily talking this morning when our quietness was interrupted by the phone. Without revealing too much, it was a request for £3000 from Ally to bail someone out. This is not the first time, and I was almost irrationally annoyed - it being nothing to do with me directly. It was mostly getting to me since we had discussed with the party in trouble about her credit card bill, and how she...
“You can’t make people be what you want them to be”
– Al Stewart - Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres, Bed Sitter Images
Sunshine in the morning
We awoke to the sunshine fo such a long time. It makes such a difference to the start of the day and fills me with good energy to do those things that are otherwise totally uninspiring - tidying and finding the floor in various parts of the house. And maybe a bike ride later - whoopee!
Time to do some decorating ...
Since we are back home for a few days, and the weather is so changeable, we have decided to redecorate our bedroom. It was attacked by the builders only 2 years ago, and does need some replacement work on the wall paper and some painting. The hardest part (as ever) is summoning up the energy to tidy the room in the first place and then remove the furniture in preparation. Its a tough life...
We are home
How come it just keeps on raining - we need to go out on the bikes to buy some food … There is a gap in the clouds every now and then, then a deluge. Tiresome.
