A Big Adventure

For the last two years my lovely daughter, Carrie, has been plotting, planning and saving to make her daughter’s 18th Birthday special and she very generously asked me to join in. When her son celebrated his 18th a few years ago her then husband organised the treat – a trip to stay with his parents for the weekend and his first legal pint in the pub his older half-brother drinks in. My daughter was not allowed to join them. As they are now separated she was free to do the celebration properly this time. Her ex’s idea of a good family holiday was camping at a Motorbike rally so the family had never been on holiday abroad. My grandson, S, had had a Girlfriend at one time who was Swedish so had flown there but G had never been on a plane.

So the idea was hatched to take her somewhere requiring a passport and by plane. It had to be a surprise but it became apparent that G would like to go to Paris. By chance she is due to go on a trip to Venice with College (She is studying Art) so the problem of getting her a passport without having to tell her why was solved. Her Birthday was last Thursday, I travelled to my Carrie’s on the Friday by train leaving the dogs and cats in Lindy’s care, and we set off for Gatwick very early on Saturday morning. Carrie’s new partner Chris very kindly got up equally early and came to pick us up and take us there by car. He drives a convertible which is not very comfy in the back so he even borrowed a bigger car to make the journey nicer!

I took the photo on the left and asked Chris to take one of the three of us – well he tried!

It is a very long time since either Carrie or I flew anywhere and the rules and systems have changed since then so we were all effectively rookies! But with good signage and helpful staff we managed OK and were on board the plane in plenty of time.

We even managed to navigate from the Airport to the station and into central Paris without mishap! Then walked to the Louvre. We hadn’t booked tickets to go in and seeing the queues G thought it would probably be too busy to see the artwork properly so were glad we hadn’t wasted our money. Instead we wandered round the outside admiring the architecture and people watching. G had borrowed a digital SLR camera from College and was happily taking photos. So many during the weekend that I think it will be weeks before they are edited and saved!

Then on towards the Eiffel tower stopping for lunch on the way. We decided to go right to the top but as we had already walked miles we took the lifts. It was very cold and windy and the queues were long but it was well worth it. Because it was a cold clear day, even though cloudy, the views were spectacular.

On the Sunday we debated trying to visit another ‘attraction’ but decided we needed a gentle day with a slow start. So we got up without any rush and wandered off in the general direction of the city centre and the Seine in search of a cafe. We found a lovely one and had breakfast. On one wall was a mural and G got out her new (Christmas present from Chris) notebook / sketchbook, a tin of watercolours and brush and began painting

Eventually we moved on, meandered around enjoying the city streets and parks making for Gard du Nord and the train. We managed to buy tickets from the machine that time! Chris was waiting for us in Arrivals at Gatwick to drive us home. Not a long ‘Holiday’ but some very special memories were made.

A Special Weekend

I don’t see my family very often. My daughter, C, lives in Basingstoke, my son, H, in Luton and both work full time so although we chat online every day visits are special. To have both here at the same time is even more so. The weekend before last they made it!

C and her partner Ch got here first. Ch managed to get 2 days off, Thursday and Friday, but C could only take one so the plan was for him to pick her up from work and drive over arriving late Thursday evening. As it happened she had been sent home on the Wednesday because she was vomiting and as she works in a Hospital was not allowed to go in on the Thursday. However by mid morning she was feeling a bit better so they set off and got to me by early evening.

H has been made redundant along with all but one of his team and had been given ‘Gardening Leave’ from the end of the Friday until his contract ends on the 31st. He has a new job beginning on November 1st. He had packed his Camper Van ready for a trip through Wales and up to Scotland, logged off at 5:30 pm Friday and was on the road by 6!

The weather forecast for Friday was showers so C, Ch and I opted for somewhere with things to do indoors and chose St David’s. Ch heard it was a city and was rather surprised to find a fabulous Cathedral plus the huge ruined Bishop’s Palace in a small village!

On the way home we stopped at Newgale for a walk along the pebbles to blow any remaining cobwebs away.

These are pictures from Google – I knew I couldn’t take such good ones myself!

H and N arrived about midnight but as they were sleeping in the van we didn’t see them until breakfast. N had asked if I would show her how to make a wreath of greenery or flowers. So she, C and I cut greenery and played in the workshop whilst H and Ch took my dogs for a walk in the fields I wrote about in this month’s Scrap Happy post.

Quite why I am pulling such strange faces I do not know!

We all had lunch and then H and N set off for North Wales. C, Ch and I went to Cenarth to admire the falls and walk along the new Boardwalk. It was always possible to walk along the river but the path was very rough and rocky. Now it is accessible to everyone including wheelchair users. Funded by a Welsh Government grant, the Council’s capital programme and a donation from Beulah Community Council, the project was built by local contractors and a team of volunteers. (again professional pictures!) It makes a lovely walk and reduces the number of pedestrians standing on the narrow road bridge to admire the river.

A visit to a neighbour on Sunday morning rounded off a lovely weekend.

Adventures

It has been a busy couple of weeks packed with adventures of various kinds.

My son came down to look at a cottage (read about it here https://goingbattyinwales.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/a-day-out/ ) and stayed on to work on his campervan. He wanted to build some big drawrers on heavy duty runners to slide under the bed and make the storage there more accessible. I helped and his Savannah cat supervised,

Next up was the culmination of a process which began last Autumn. In a newsletter, my bank, Triodos, asked if any customers were willing to share why they had chosen that bank for their savings. It would involve an interview and having some photos taken. They would reward me with vouchers to spend or a donation to charity. Since I was very clear why I had chosen to bank with them it sounded easy and something that would be fun to do. Because of my hearing the ‘interview’ consisted of a series of questions in an email to which I sent in answers. Their PR chap, Joe, then edited them into a piece which was emailed back to me for approval. I mentioned in the answers that I was treasurer at Dyfed Permnaculture Farm and Joe looked up their instagram feed (I had no idea we had one!) and asked if the photos could be taken there. The management committee were happy with that, he chose a photographer and we found a date that suited everybody. So I spent a day being photographed; digging out weeds, tickling sheep, carrying hay and then logs, admiring Phil’s garlic and just generally standing around. Tess, the photographer, also took some shots of the roundhouse and barn as a gift to the Trust for our own publicity. She was such a lovely young woman and I really enjoyed meeting her. A few days ago the photos came through – an awful lot of them and sent via a file sharing site I had never heard of. Another new experience! So for those of you who like to know what other bloggers look like here are 2 of the ones she took. I have no idea which ones Triodos will pick for their use.

Barley saturday ia an annual event in Cardigan, a show involving competitions for horses and vintage vehicles in the morning and they are then all paraded along the High Street in the afternoon, which involves closing the roads in the middle of the town. I have been to it a few times – it is quite a spectacle when the stallions are run to show off their paces! When I discovered that my friend Lindy had never even heard of it I decided to take her to this year’s event. You can read more about it here (https://www.cardigan-bay.com/whats-on/events/barley-saturday/ ). Because I knew that town would be very busy and all the car parks full I chose to start our outing in Cilgerran, a village 2 or 3 miles from Cardigan and walk to town through the Teifi Marshes Wildlife Reserve which includes part of the track of the now defunct Cardi Bach railway making a good, level, tarmaced path. Find out more including pictures here (https://www.welshwildlife.org/nature-reserves/teifi-marshes ). Just as the horses started to pass where we were waiting at the end of the old bridge into town a wedding car came over the bridge on its way to a reception in the Castle and had to wait quite a while until a pause between the horses and tractors allowed them through- the happy couple and their guests got a huge cheer from the assembled crowds!

Then I went to visit my daughter who lives in Basingstoke and since it was a Bank Holiday weekend and there is very little parking available near her I decided to go by train. I bought my ticket online and discovered it was an e-ticket to use on my phone! I was chicken and printed it out onto paper just in case! However it all worked fine and was much easier on my brain than driving. On the Monday she, her new partner and I went to London for the day, again by train. We had coffee in Covent Garden, explored China Town and had a delicious lunch there, then walked to Tower Bridge, over the river and back along the other bank to Waterloo for the train home. Both of them had pedometers on their phones – one said we walked 9.5 miles, the other that it was 10 miles! With stops for coffe, lunch and a glass of wine on the way back we all managed it with no ill effects. On the Wednesday evening my son was supposed to join us and take us out for a meal but the M3 was completely closed by an accident. He realised that if he came he would arrive just as we were all going to bed! So I took us out instead and my daughter suggested a restaurant recommended by some friends of hers – The Olive House (picture below right) and it was excellent – Turkish food, family run and packed out on a weekday night. A lovely end to my stay.

Because my daughter was working from home during the day I got a lot of knitting done and finished a pair of socks from Kate Davies’s book ‘Bluestockings’. I learned how to cast on at the toe, turn the heel in a new way and do stretchy cast off! It was also the first time I had done pattern stitches on a sock.

I have enjoyed it all immensly but I think I could do with a few days (weeks?) of being quiet now! However today the installation of my new woodstove is beginning, Ted has been to see his bees and Openreach are trying to fix the fault on Laura’s internet!

A Day Out

A friend sent me a photo of a property advertised in an Estate Agent’s window which she thought might appeal to my son. His home is a terraced house in Luton with noisy neighbours, on a busy street and with very few green spaces or views. His job is stressful and he loves spending time at my place where it is quiet and he is surrounded by trees, the sound of the stream and birdsong. For some time he has been looking for somewhere small near me; somewhere with no neighbours or road noise. It has proved elusive! The place Rachel had spotted was down a long track in the middle of nowhere – a renovation project which had halted when the owner died and certainly looked promising.

The agent’s details gave confusing information about where exactly it was but I thought I had located it on the map. I passed the information to my friend Lindy who, in her teens, used to be the retrieve driver for a group of hang-gliding mates and LOVES locating hard-to-find places. She came up with the same location but also found images on google maps and that it had failed to sell at a previous auction. So of course we had to go and have a look and a day out exploring the neighbourhood.

And we found it. Over the Easter weekend my son came and had an official viewing. It will be sold at auction in a few weeks time so now he just has to work out how much he can afford to bid.

Meanwhile having seen the place, Lindy and I drove on to find a Church we had seen marked on the map (or rather the churchyard as the church was locked).

It too was in the middle of nowhere and seemed to serve a huge parish judging by the gravestones. We had a picnic then a walk down a footpath to a bridge over the river.

And finally home by a rather circuitous route and another walk along the river at Cenarth on a newly constructed walkway which gives pushchair and wheelchair access.