First UK Blog of 2016

We touched down on the evening of Wednesday 24^th February. The departure from Singapore has been delayed for about 1 hour, due to a tropical rain storm. This made us late in arriving at Heathrow. We left the airport on a shuttle which met us minutes after leaving ‘Arrivals’. We had been delayed in arrivals due to the non-appearance of our luggage. It turned out that we had been standing at the wrong carousel.

The cold of this country met us as we disembarked at our Hotel. The lobby is on the ground floor, pretty much exposed to the elements, but once in the lift we were soon in our comfortable room and asleep. The alarm was awake much later than we were and so we had time to go down to breakfast, which was a full buffet which even had ‘Linda McCartney’ sausages. I also had the proper ones with meat in.

It was a sunny morning when we left the hotel and sat, still tired, in the expectation of a coach that would whisk us back home. The announcer called us to the gate. Here we found a very indignant coach driver who was refusing to put so many cases on his coach. It turned out that, just in the same way as we had departed Nottingham three months earlier, we were once more faced with a coach that had broken down. After getting through the gate our surly driver looked at my case and said, ‘I’m not putting those on with handles up’. As I put down the handles I said that I would gladly oblige if I was asked politely. Eventually the coach station staff persuaded him to drive. He sat in his seat, but another passenger said, ‘Get on with it then’. This resulted in another walk out. Eventually we were off; going through Hemel Hempstead, making three stops in Luton before arriving at Milton Keynes. As the outward journey so on this. Off we got, but this time I refused to leave the barrier until the coach came. Last time we nearly missed the bus because we were told to go into the coach station.

With more pleasantness the next driver took us directly to Nottingham. Having got off the bus (not disembarked) and feeling tired. Instead of taking the bus that would drop us off nearer home we got on the i4. Unbelievably the hour delay was going to help us. At the next stop our next door neighbour, Francis, got on. He was carrying a portfolio case and it turned out that he had been a week early for a meeting and was on his way home. He said that his car was parked near the Savoy cinema and that if we got off there he would pick us up. Hurriedly he repacked his car, got our luggage in and soon we were in. Thanks to Joni the house was warm and there was food.

The next few days were spent in painfully getting over jet lag and stocking up with food.

While we were in New Zealand our friend Paul had told me about a local railway model show. We did not get to church, but Paul and I got to the show while our wives wandered around the garden centre.

The refurbishment of the study got underway. One week the furniture was ripped out and taken off to the skip. Then the carpet and underlay came up and the work of applying white emulsion and white gloss went on until finally it was time to order the carpet. The computer desk had already been ordered and stored in the garage.

During this time we had got back to dancing. I did one of my once in three weeks spell onstage. 

Joe and Julia announced their engagement.

The weather continued to be cold and our UK trips out waited until 16^th March. By this time the rain had not happened for over a week. Via McArthur Glen we headed for Hardwick Hall. It was a cold, but sunny day. The coffee stop proved pricey and this led to the purchase of a flask. The intention is to take our own drinks from now on. The hall gardens were pretty bare except for the bright colour of the crocuses and the hellebores. Snowdrops were being grown in compost hanging from the trees and a collection of deck chairs graced the lawn. There were no takers for the seating.

Across from the entrance to the gardens is the start of a walk. Once around the corner the vista opens up and 5 lakes in steps down the hill could be seen. From the top we could see what appeared to be ants dashing around. The phenomenon turned out to be members of an orienteering club going about their business.

Another project I have been engaged in was jigsaw puzzle. Paul had given up on it, but I had to try. The last part turned out to be impossible. The puzzle is now in recycling.

This week the outing was strange. Once more we had to go up to MacArthur Glenn to return our purchase of the previous week. We then had to head back south again has we had a lunch appointment. First we arrived at the woods around Beauvale Priory. It was a winter time walk with little sign of spring life. 

In need of a toilet we set off for the IKEA retail park. Irene was not best pleased with public toilets on offer. In the car we used our flasks before setting off for the Erewash trail. To be honest we were just killing time. Finally, we set off for Kimberley.

Before we left for New Zealand the ladies of the post-natal yoga group had given us a voucher for Tea-For-Two at the ‘Mad Hatters’ café in Kimberly. The tea shop was on a narrow street off the main street. Most likely it would have been a ‘Greasy Spoon’, but the owner had turned it into Mad Hatter themed tea room. The pictures tell the rest.

Good Friday morning was shopping for our family party and I continued work on the study. Then we went for a service on the town square followed by more hot cross buns than I could eat. It was the warmest and sunniest day since we returned home.

Today my study is complete and I am sitting down to write.

Happy Easter.

March Blog

March still continues cold.

The first day was Sunday and the highlight was a visit from Jan, Lawrence and Jennifer

On Wednesday we braved the cold to have a walk in Wollaton Park. There was some warmth in the sun on arrival but a bitter wind got up. There were next to no camellias in their house.

The next day we had a special visit of the mayor to our ‘Haven Eagles’ group.

I was able to give the car a good clean and polish and Saturday. And on Sunday we determinedly pressed on to complete the Picasso jigsaw.

 On Wednesday we took the Leicester House ladies to the Haven café and they thoroughly enjoyed it. When we got back workmen were on the roof. A small job of stopping birds entering the loft space to steal my insulation, replacing fascia and a damaged tile became a major job. But the whole roof is now as good as new (probably better) and the guttering runs well and does not leak.

The work was completed on the following day while we were walking around the gardens at Matlock Bath and visiting the lead mining museum. It was fascinating. The café turned out to be a lady at the reception desk putting on a kettle and (because of the danger of lead poisoning) having a ‘Twix Bar’ instead of cake.

 There was a big ‘Health Fayre’ event in the Community Centre which we attended with the ‘Eagles’ on Thursday afternoon.

Dr Doddy

 The sun shone on Wednesday. Although it was cold we decided that the walking season had begun. Going via Wilkos in Ilkeston we headed for the village of Hartington. It is a very pretty village with a duck pond. It was difficult to find a parking space. But we did and then found a café for our coffee and Bakewell tart. We did not have time to visit the cheese shop where Chiltern cheese originates. (After the walk we needed to be back to meet the people who were buying our freezer.)

The walk started at the car park next to the Hartington signal box. It was only a short walk alongside field were the first of the lambs were on show. At the end of the two miles we came to the Parsley Hay refreshment stop. As expected, it was closed. However, the picnic tables were available to sit and have food, before using the toilets before the walk back.

The sale of the freezer went well.

The whole country was excited about the partial eclipse on Friday. The midlands were about the only area to be completely cloud free and allow us to view the phenomena on my improvised screen.

There was a different type of excitement about Saturday. The morning was clear and we were able to continue painting the fences until the preservative ran out. It was at this point we remembered what it was that we should have collected at B and Q. But the real fun was to be had with Paul. We went to the Nottingham Model Railway Society’s annual exhibit. The car park was very full, but inside it was not overcrowded with more exhibits than I saw a previous year. Paul and I were particularly impressed by the mechanism to tilt a truck of coal into a hopper.

The day went on as we returned Paul home and Mary had prepared the four of a us a delicious three course meal.

Back home we over indulged ourselves with chocolate washed down with a glass of beer.

Our Sunday was the usual church service. The sun was bright and warm so we just had to set off to B and Q to buy the preservative and complete the fence.

Joni and Fiona came for a meal on Wednesday night and it was our opportunity to give them a engagement present as well as Fiona's birthday present.

The final walk of the month was to do a further stretch of the Tissington Trail. We arrived in Tissington just as the waitress from the café arrived. I asked her about parking and was told that nobody checks the spaces marked ‘Parking for Two Hours Only’. We followed her to the café for our usual coffee and cake. It was nice bur pricey.

The walk to the toilet at the start of the trail was quite short. We completed the three mile walk to the car park at Alsop in just over an hour. It was when we arrived there that I realised we should have driven from the toilet to this car park and walked the three miles back to the Tissington toilets. A lesson learned, but we did complete the six miles without much of a problem.

The main feature of this walk was the sound of sheep bleating and crows cawing. We spotted at least three rabbits ripped to pieces in a cutting. The foxes must have been busy. We were also impressed by the care that the authority has taken to provide a safe and pleasant walking route.

Today March is ending as it typically was; cold and wet, but with wind driven rain. Welcome to the UK Zoe and Ian.