Christmas Post 2009 - Part 1

Not a blog for an unbelievably long time. Snow at Christmas is a good time to restart. But, it is perhaps it is the first time that I have picked up my camera in ages.

We have found ourselves to be a snow-less oasis until two days ago. Then we did get some snow, but not enough to brag about. It still lies on the ground today, but the chances of more of the white stuff in this region is extremely small. The sky is blue and the computer tells me that it is one deg C out there. I managed a wellington walk around the park, but there really was so little snow to be photogenic.

Here are the few photos that I did take.

Views from the Study - The sky went red

Snow Falling on the Recreation Ground

The House (The light are on, but do not show up.)

Proof that it is Christmas. The tree is up and snow is falling.

Tell Zoe that we sometimes have snow at Chrsitmas because we are much nearer to Lapland than you are in Australia.

Time to Blog

I haven't blogged for some time. Is it life in general or has Facebook taken over? I haven't had time nor opportunity for photography lately and I like to include a photo with my blog. In fact photography has been one activity that has taken my time. On the 20th September I did a wedding photo shoot and have given a lot of time to producing the album proofs, uploading to Google, preparing a DVD slide show and a Mypublisher photo book.

Last week was partly taken up with Joni leaving for Uni. Surprisingly we were able to take his stuff in one car load. He drove one way. He is now off my insurance. The two events are not linked.

His accommodation at Keele is in a flat with rooms for eight students. There are four on the lower floor. Kitchen and bathrooms are at the middle level and Joni is in room at the top. He should be comfortable for his third year.

This is Joni beneath his window

For the passed couple of weeks my phone charger was on the blink and gave out on Wednesday so I went of in search of a new charger. (I have to be clear about this as I recall that my second headteacher compained that his car head gasket was blowing and he was off to get a new one. He returned with a new car.)

Along the high street I went. No "They don't sell the charger for your phone." "How about a new mobile?" The phone I chose had £10 of credit and Virgin Media gave me £10 of calls. So, free phone. How cool is that?

We plan to visit Joe in York on Sunday.

Back to the Oaks

I suppose that we have been from Australia for a little over 3 weeks. There has been so much to do to have time to blog and this weekend has produced the first photographs of our time back.

We visited nan a week ago and she is well; having moved back into her newly decorated room.

We have met with Jan and Lawrence a few times.

We visited are elderly friend Joy who went into a nursing home about the time that we left. She just about recognised us but kept thanking us for coming and saying that she was going now. There is nowhere for her to go. She keeps wanting to go home.

This weekend we had Iona and Izzie to stay for three nights while Tim and Isla had a break in the Lake District. The girls were very good and kept themselves occupied when we were busy. They spent time on the allotment picking carrots and clearing up the soil.

On Friday morning we went to buy models and accessories at the railway shop in Long Eaton. They spent hours carefully building the cardboard models and enjoyed working on the layout.

Iona and her model shops

Izzie and her terraced houses

On Saturday afternoon the Stapleford Carnival was on the recreation ground opposite. There was a pretty poor cowboy re-enactment. Both of them did the cycling to light up a low energy bulb. Iona enjoyed holding an owl. It was pretty cold and we came off quite early.

In the evening we played board games (Cluedo and Sunken Treasure).

Tim and Isla collected them quite early on Sunday morning but not before they had gone up to the allotment to collect more beans and rhubarb.

I think that we all had an enjoyable time.

Nottingham University

This morning mum and I decided to set off for Nottingham University- Highfield Park. The idea was a brisk walk, so I took just the camera and a spare battery. It was warm, dry but overcast.
It was easy to park near the theatre area and off we set. A small group was busy doing art along the lake side. At the place they sat was a colourful collection of boats.


We walked all around the lake and rediscovered the walled garden. Then on the way round the back of the university buildings was a cheeky squirrel.


When we got back to the theatre we debated having a cup of coffee. Thirst beat finance. At the counter was a young lady with a baby in a pram. She recognised us and then we recognised her as being one of the delegates at our Saturday house church conference. We settled down to coffee and a chat. She, Anna, has a strange way of meeting people in cafes. She told us how she met up with the leader of the conference. She told us that she felt led to go to a cafe in Sherwood. She went up to talk to man she had never met. It was Pete. Pete too had been led to go to the same cafe in Sherwood; in fact he had earlier left the cafe moved his car, but felt that he had to go back in. Coincidence?

The Dales Nearly 25th

Today I did a photo shoot of my friends, Bob and Julie Dale. They will be having their 25th Wedding Anniversary on 25th July while we are away. I thought it might be nice to present them with a framed portrait. So this morning the photo bit was done.
This is the picture that they chose.

They are a lovely couple

Newforms

Yesteday was an interesting one.
We visited nan as usual at MK. She continues to be well. The High Clere home is a mess. The decorators are in and seem to everywhere. There we bits of border stripped off in various parts of nan's room, but not others. Apparently nan went to sleep one afternoon and woke to find that the workmen had been in and gone.
After our visit we then drove back to Nottingham and to a meeting of Newforms church groups. There were people from near Inverness and Glastonbury. It was interesting to hear what is going on around the country.
The evening was our usual - play a game of 'Up Words' - I won - followed by chocolate and a drink - my one beer of the week.
Today we are getting ready to go to our group meeting in Ilkeston. I will be doing portrait pictures to celebrate our friends' silver wedding anniversary.

Marking Over

At last the marking for 2009 is complete. Not so profitable this year and over earlier.
Life can get back to normal.
Last Sunday was a very enjoyable visit to Tim and Isla's; mainly to celebrate Nan's 89th birthday.I think that Nan enjoyed the occasion and was quite thrilled with the candles on Isla's beautifully made cake.
It was good to spend some time with Margaret and Arthur. We don't see enough of Irene's family.
Iona and Izzie were on their best behaviour and played their instruments well.
I was overwhelmed by the very generous gift that my children had bought me. The SAT nav will come in useful when we recommence our excursions around the country. It might even get to Australia. It is something that I have always loved to have, but never would have justified buying. Many thanks all.
We hope Izzie enjoys her birthday later in the week.

The Sites of Nottingham

On late Wednesday and Thursday afternoons I was commissioned by my neighbour, Francis, to take photographs of various places of interest in Nottingham. On Saturday he is leading a 'Friends International' seminar. Francis takes groups of foreign students around Nottingham on a guided tour to introduce them to English culture.

On Wednesday he dragged/led me though the city, starting at the castle and ending at the Unison offices. Last night we drove first to the Jesse Boot bust and ended at Trent Bridge. This we did in rush hour, in the rain.

What Francis failed to tell me at the start that he was going to bring in 'Rent-a-Crowd'. This consisted of dragging in a number of bemused folk of foreign nationality. I was amazed by how readily people chose to cooperate and the stories they had.

Here a just two examples.

One of the guys in the picture thought that he was standing by a statue of Lord Nelson. It is, in fact, a statue of General William Booth outside his birthplace in Sneinton. Francis is in purple.


In the background to the right of this picture is Trent Bridge cricket ground. I was supposed to be photographing the sign for the Brian Cluff stand on the right. However, I succeeded in photographing this very happy bunch whose team had just beaten India in the 'Twenty Twenty'. They were on the way home to various parts of the country.

Aunty Mary is 90

This has been a busy week and although I thoroughly intended to blog earlier many tasks prevented it.

The news of the week is that Aunty Mary is 90 years old. She is very fit both physically and mentally and has certainly kept her good looks.


The party was at cousin Andrea's house on a lovely summer day. I enjoyed the befores, but was called away to 'Tea and Talk' at Leicester House before I could tuck in to the very tempting looking goodies to follow.

Anne, Sid and George were able to be there, but I was particularly pleased to meet my cousin John and his wife Norma. John was almost a brother and a close cousin and it is sad to think of how long ago it was since I met them. They are retired and well. John looks very much like my last memory of Uncle Gilbert.

My thanks go to Rita and Andrea for making the day so special. I hope that we will have more opportunities to get together.

If Joe Has No Idea - Neither Do I

Yesterday mum and I set off for Wales in an empty hired van. It was a mainly sunny day. The van was pretty much packed by tea time. One of Joe's friends had invited us to a meal and we joined a number of other students for excellent food and good conversation. After the meal I was Joe's friend's provisional licence driving supervisor. We collected some stuff for another of Joe's friend, delivered it and had a cup of tea and more conversation with another student friend. By then mum had cleaned the kitchen and was aiming to clean the house from the basement to the cellar by the time we left.

We got up to complete cleaning and packing tasks, mostly in the usual sort of Welsh weather. (Perhaps it is unfair to blame the Welsh; it is probably more to do with the geography of Wales.)

Before we left there it was inevitable that I should take photos. Here they are:

Joe across from his house with the uni in the background.

Joe outside his house.

Joe with four years worth of belongings on the van about to leave Lampeter

Bluebells at Dale

Today we went off to Dale Abbey woods to see bluebells. The day was bright and the sky blue. The wind was strong and cold. The ground was the driest that we have seen at Dale. It is always pleasant in the woods itself and its still a surprise when you walk out onto the open hill tops. I took a number of photographs. I am pleased with them and not worrying in the least about their sellability.

These are two of my shots. The first shows the light breaking through into the wood and on to the bluebells and the second shows the hill top divided horizontally into two shades of green.

Joni's Birthday and the £52,450.55 Meal

Yesterday mum and I set off to Stoke to celebrate Joni's 21st birthday a day early. We picked up Joni and Fionna from Bath Street and set off through Leek in the direction of Buxton. Once out of Leek you are in the spectacular countryside of the Peak District. We passed some amazing rock piles and then concluded that we had passed our destination. The road to Tittesworth Reservoir is poorly marked; as is the information that the visitors centre has a restuarant. It would have been good food for centre visitors, but we wanted something more birthday appropriate. So, back to the rocks or at least to 'Ye Olde Rock Inn'. It was a good pub meal in pleasant surroundings. But none of us thought that it was worth the £52,450.55 that the card machine billed us for.

We made a quick exit back to Bath Street, collected some of Joni's bits to bring home took him off to study at university. (Saturday!!!) On the way home collected compost at B and Q and home for our usual Saturday night.

Today we are selling plants, cards and framed photos at the Community Centre. We might make a little profit this time.

Then its off to St Helen's with Jan and Lawrence for the evening service.

Cluedo

Yesterday we made our usual trip to Milton Keynes, but the evening was different. We had invited Jan and Lawrence to a meal, to be followed by a game of Cluedo.

After the meal Jan, Lawrence and I did revisions to the wedding coffee table book.

Then we got down to business. I won the first game remarkably quickly. However, this allowed a second game to be played, giving Lawrence the opportunity to proclaim that he had won two out of three games. He did win decisively and I wondering how.

We had tea and a chat before they went home.

Today we are off to the Community Church Derby, were we will meet with our friend Sue Shuttleworth.

Visit to Sister

Yesterday we decided that we had better start the business of visiting our relatives. On a wet Monday afternoon Irene and I made the journey to Nuncargate. Anne and Sid were well and we had a good time. Anne and Sid busy themselves with making really excellent dolls houses.
We hope to visit soon and possibly go on a walk together somewhere in the Peak District.

'Conkers'

Just when we thought that Easter was over, we had a visit from the Norwood (MK) family. Tim, Isla and girls arrived on Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning they left for the Peak District intending to do a 4.5 mile walk which they succeeded at. On Friday evening Iona, Izzy, nan and I settled down for great game of Cluedo.

On Saturday we all went to Conkers. Conkers is an environmental activity centre near Ashby. Amongst the energy conservation things was the plasma ball. As you can see Iona let it go to her head.

Recently the subject of funnel web spiders has come up. I did not realise that we had them in the UK. I guess not the deadly poisonous sort.

Once out of the exhibition area we were confronted by a very jolly train, with loud jolly music (or rather jolly loud music) and a jolly driver.

It took us to a play ground area where we attempted and finally succeeded in getting coffee.

From here we did our wander into the southern part of the park and returned for lunch. There was amazement expressed at the fact that nan had bought a cheese board. But, it was a good lunch.

After lunch we went on into the northern part of the park.

First came the listening area, or rather the place to make a lot of noise.

Then we came to the sculpture trail where logs could be used to create things. Iona thought that she could be a sculpture.

Then came the forbidden adventure trail. Forbidden to under thirteens if you enter it at the starting point, rather than come across it in the middle as did most people. Iona showed amazing determination to go against the flow and climb up the down side. Well, there were no notices prohibiting her or saying which end to get on.

We finished up quietly feeding the ducks.

Then it was we driving north and Tim's crew driving south after a very enjoyable few days.

Easter Traditions

Easter Sunday would not be the same without the tradition of sharing the chocolate eggs on Easter morning and breaking the boiled eggs at tea time. Despite our church commitments we were able to achieve both.


After sharing in the tradition we had a good Easter meeting and lunch; courtesy of the Dales. It was good to be able to meet with all of our little church and also to meet. Bob (Robert) Dale's mum.

Easter Monday was a different day. We headed for South Wales, to a village west of Swansea called Cross Hands. Here was the location of our Travel Lodge motel, costing £9.00 a night. We were given a choice of rooms and elected to stay in the disabled room on the ground floor. These room are a little larger than the standard room. The area of the motel had the usual 'Little Chef' restuarant. But there was also an Aldi supermarket.

With the afternoon to spare we headed for the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. The central feature is the 'Great Glass House' holding displays of Mediteranean climate plants.

We were fortunate in being able to see a 'dog and ducks' display.

This mum's favourite flower.

We had noticed how heavy the bank holiday traffic was returning from Pembrookshire and we found a back road to Cross Hands. This revealed that the size of the village. It had a cinema and numerous shops. At one time it even had a Kwik Save.

On Tuesday morning we made our way to Lampeter. Joe had the house clear and was busy preparing food for his evening 23rd birthday banquet.

We decided to take him out to Aberystwyth for his birthday lunch. The town was incredibly busy, but we found out of town parking and walked back in. We came across a 'shop' serving Tai meals. It was pretentiously very unpretentious. My Tai meal consisted of four skewers of bits of burnt meat, a pot of pale brown paste and salted peanuts and a dozen chips. The trouble with being world travellers is that we know what a Tai meal is. Having had this repast we walked down to the peir, along the shore to the castle and back to the car.

Back in Lampeter candles were put on cake, lit, the song sung. Joe made time to serve up a great stir fry, then back to motel.

Having waited for Aldi to open for milk, had breakfast, packed we were on the road again. Empty dual carriageways through Welsh hills; shades of NZ.

We stopped to explore Raglan castle.

This is a classic Welsh castle. Onwards to a motorway break where '7 out of 10 people prefer Costa Coffee'. Don't ask what to - use your imagination.

Then home.

Cross and Bunny

On Good Friday the churches held the annual march of witness through Stapleford. Despite the rain it was enjoyed by Christians from different churches.


On Saturday we made our visit to nan. During the week her Easter bonnet had gained first prize. The prize was a bright yellow, singing Easter Bunny.

David the Gnome - Nan's Bonnet - Pois and Tomatoes

Not quite the end of things Kiwi.
First, David the Gnome having flown 24000 miles from New Zealand, has made his home in the windmill in the garden of 'The Oaks'. He looks to be an intellectual kind of gentleman and is happy in his sunny home.

On Monday Mum, Joni and I made a visit to Milton Keynes. The first stop was Nan. She seemed well and was looking forward to the Easter bonnet parade on Tuesday. We took her outside to look at the garden and spring things.

Joni won the Scrabble game, but Nan was a close second. Nan then put on her Easter bonnet creation.


From nan's we went to Tim's. We had changed from going to nan on our usual Saturday so that we could also visit our grand daughters and our son Tim. (Does this correct my Facebook error?)

Iona had just had her first skating lesson at X-scape and was still excited about it. Now must come the final Kiwi thing. We had bought the girls a pair of pois each. A poi is a ball on a cord, which is now used as part of a Maori dance presentation. Izzy particularly enjoyed swirling hers, and both settled down with mum to the task of transplanting the tomato seedlings that they had grown from seed. As Tim say, it was a good day.


Finally, I am considering editing my Google picture. Any thoughts.