ok I know I am not on holidays but the idea came up while we were on holiday.
I enviously looked at frannie and jims vegetable producing efforts on a suburban block and an allotment and l live on 10 acres
I can do that i thought yet again- i had thought it last time when i was there 2 years ago and nothing happened
Ian expressed doubt about it happening this time but we booked the boys for xmas to create me a veggie patch.
I got impatient and ian wasnt here to stop me - so i started to plan
Veggie growing books were bought and read
A circular patch seemed the go and most books said that you need about 12x4m square to feed a family of four for a year. I looked at the site that ian and i had picked and measured a circle of 5m radius. you can do the maths but it should more than easily feed ian and me and possibly the large number of rabbits floating around the garden at present
I havent allowed for the kangeroos.
I measured out with pink paint and dug the first hole then the second - after about 30 minutes i decided this was a waste of time . the dirt was too compacted and very little was happening.
what to do - i googled our local hire place to see if they had any cultivators- they did but they seemed a little heavy for me and for those that know me - we all know that once i have decided i want to do something i want to do it now not later.
So i googled bunnings and cultivator - they had a baby electric cultivator - it looked just the thing - our soil at present is fairly moist after a wet september and we are blessed with lovely potato growing soil
So I headed off to bunnings and the local nursery and veg was bought and a baby electric cultivator
I cultivated most of saturday afternoon and did 2 quarters of the patch and planter potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages
i headed out sunday morning and found myself some froggie gumboots and no frannie you cant have them - they are cute
and then today i went back for more cultivating and now have planted pumpkins strawberries lettuces broccholi and i still have a final quarter left for my peas beans and sweetcorn and carrots which i have ordered from diggers
So fingers crossed - hopefully we will get the tank water connected soon as the weather is predicted to be dry for the next week
I will let you know if anything gets produced!!
the pictures and i are argueing at present will do them when i am at the flat where the internet is about 10 times as fast!!
evening view
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
well that was interesting!!
we were due to be picked up at about 5pm by the limo to take us to manchester airport - at about 3pm ian had a call from the limo service and we were told that we had been transferred to an emirates flight as the etihad flight was running about 6 hours late - a confirmatory phone call to etihad added to the confusion as they knew nothing about it !
we continued to wait for the limo and at 5pm it arrived and scott informed us that yes we were flying emirates and all would be organised at the airport - we drove across the peak district in lovely sunny weather
at the airport after an initial confusion we booked our luggage to dubai - i know we wanted to go to abu dhabi but we were assured that a limo would be there to take us to abu dhabi. a
after going through security and xray at manchester airport - my boarding pass completely and uterly disappeared - never to be seen again - i was reassured that having already gone through security meant that they would board me but it caused a little delay as they had to re print me another boarding pass to the annoyance of the boarding lady
as once we reached dubai etihads organisation was excellent as we were efficiently driven to our hotel by an emirates driver - the beach rotana - minor delays while the driver conferred with the local taxi drivers as he didnt know abu dhabi and didnt seem to have a gps
the hotel was comfortable and had an executive lounge which ian had organised so that we could eat and drink during the day as it was ramadan
we had a quick snooze and then ventured out on our sand dune and bbq safari - we were picked up by lafitte who drove his 4 wheel drive with 3 south africans - we seemed to have a real enjoyment of riding through the sand dunes at good speed and we at times flew over the crests of the dunes - our ride was interupted by a good bogging - it took the guys about 45 min to dig us out - the 2 females sensibly supervised as it was still in the high 30s and sun set hadnt yet occurred so we couldnt drink - finally the car was freed and we set off for a bbq dinner - camel steaks and sausages were tried
and a camel ride was experienced.
then next day we had organised a 4 hour tour of abu dhabi - we had our own driver and guide and we were taken around the mosque - unlike the uk we were able to take pictures but i had to dress all in black to go in
we visited the cultural centre the fish market and the date market then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest
a post prandial walk after tea showed us that the temps hadnt fallen much and that it was still very humid
at about 1am ian decided to log on to etihad to organise our seating for the flights back to melbourne that evening
i awoke to ian "argueine/ discussing " with the operator as we somehow had been cancelled off the flight and we were told that we should already be in melbourne as they had booked us through with emirates - no we said we were still in abu dhabi - they had driven us there and we would like to get home - finally it was decided that it would be easier to fix things in the am when the etihad office next to the hotel would be open
we were up bright and early - ie 9am and headed down to the office - the lady was pleasant but not overly helpful and also implied that we should already be in melbourne as they had arranged - no we said we had paid for and had enjoyed our break in abu dhabi and going straight through had never been discussed with us. she finally suggested that she email her supervisor and see what she could do - we headed back for breakfast and awaited our phone call
i was beginnning to think that we were going to be stranded in abu dhabi in the heat and in ramadan when she rang back to tell us we could pick up the tickets - no apologies etc - perhaps i expect too much
we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the business entrance of the airport where porters picked up our cases and took us through customs and security- way to go!!!
a quick visit to the camel stall - new camels bought and off we took
cant complain about the etihad flights - wonderful - food good slept ok
had to get a taxi at the melbourne end as the limo had been cancelled when the flight was cancelled and it was too late to re book but we didnt care - we were home - safe and sound after a lovely holiday
we continued to wait for the limo and at 5pm it arrived and scott informed us that yes we were flying emirates and all would be organised at the airport - we drove across the peak district in lovely sunny weather
at the airport after an initial confusion we booked our luggage to dubai - i know we wanted to go to abu dhabi but we were assured that a limo would be there to take us to abu dhabi. a
after going through security and xray at manchester airport - my boarding pass completely and uterly disappeared - never to be seen again - i was reassured that having already gone through security meant that they would board me but it caused a little delay as they had to re print me another boarding pass to the annoyance of the boarding lady
as once we reached dubai etihads organisation was excellent as we were efficiently driven to our hotel by an emirates driver - the beach rotana - minor delays while the driver conferred with the local taxi drivers as he didnt know abu dhabi and didnt seem to have a gps
the hotel was comfortable and had an executive lounge which ian had organised so that we could eat and drink during the day as it was ramadan
we had a quick snooze and then ventured out on our sand dune and bbq safari - we were picked up by lafitte who drove his 4 wheel drive with 3 south africans - we seemed to have a real enjoyment of riding through the sand dunes at good speed and we at times flew over the crests of the dunes - our ride was interupted by a good bogging - it took the guys about 45 min to dig us out - the 2 females sensibly supervised as it was still in the high 30s and sun set hadnt yet occurred so we couldnt drink - finally the car was freed and we set off for a bbq dinner - camel steaks and sausages were tried
and a camel ride was experienced.
then next day we had organised a 4 hour tour of abu dhabi - we had our own driver and guide and we were taken around the mosque - unlike the uk we were able to take pictures but i had to dress all in black to go in
we visited the cultural centre the fish market and the date market then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest
a post prandial walk after tea showed us that the temps hadnt fallen much and that it was still very humid
at about 1am ian decided to log on to etihad to organise our seating for the flights back to melbourne that evening
i awoke to ian "argueine/ discussing " with the operator as we somehow had been cancelled off the flight and we were told that we should already be in melbourne as they had booked us through with emirates - no we said we were still in abu dhabi - they had driven us there and we would like to get home - finally it was decided that it would be easier to fix things in the am when the etihad office next to the hotel would be open
we were up bright and early - ie 9am and headed down to the office - the lady was pleasant but not overly helpful and also implied that we should already be in melbourne as they had arranged - no we said we had paid for and had enjoyed our break in abu dhabi and going straight through had never been discussed with us. she finally suggested that she email her supervisor and see what she could do - we headed back for breakfast and awaited our phone call
i was beginnning to think that we were going to be stranded in abu dhabi in the heat and in ramadan when she rang back to tell us we could pick up the tickets - no apologies etc - perhaps i expect too much
we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the business entrance of the airport where porters picked up our cases and took us through customs and security- way to go!!!
a quick visit to the camel stall - new camels bought and off we took
cant complain about the etihad flights - wonderful - food good slept ok
had to get a taxi at the melbourne end as the limo had been cancelled when the flight was cancelled and it was too late to re book but we didnt care - we were home - safe and sound after a lovely holiday
last days in the uk
We returned to chesterfield uneventfully - the train was smooth and rapid - if we booked at least 48 hours prior to travel we saved about 250 pounds - how odd it was much more expensive to pay on the day !!
frannie found us at chesterfield and we went to the pub close to the spire then headed off to organise simons banking before heading home to do the washing and venture up to the allotment for another broadbean picking
that night we headed off to a thai restaurant with paul and carol at a local pub - its amazing what the local pubs have converted into - the food was wonderful but the chilli caused me a wakeful night - think it was worth it
wednesday saw us in rain and venturing to the nettle for lunch - it had been cut off from its electricity as some one was cutting trees locally and decided it was safer to stop electricity to the local village - luckily the nettle cooks with gas
that night we went and visited gill and peter with claire and alex. we had a nice home cooked meal- ian was good and offered to drive so the builder was able to drink - i was lucky and uninsured for the whole trip so was unable to offer my services to the driving roster meaning that i was able to indulge whenever we went out feasting
our last day - said goodbye to jim at about 7 am and started to pack - ian is coming back in about 3 weeks
we weighed in at about 38 and 35kg - its amazing the amount of junk and camels we have picked up and this is prior to getting to abu dhabi
lunchtime was devoted to visiting freyja in sheffield for a final lunch - she has found a nice italian sandwich cafe about 10 mins walk from her place ian enjoyed his cofffee and frannie avoided eating hazelnuts which she thought were chickpeas but ian recognised as nuts!
then back home to wait the arrival of the limo
frannie found us at chesterfield and we went to the pub close to the spire then headed off to organise simons banking before heading home to do the washing and venture up to the allotment for another broadbean picking
that night we headed off to a thai restaurant with paul and carol at a local pub - its amazing what the local pubs have converted into - the food was wonderful but the chilli caused me a wakeful night - think it was worth it
wednesday saw us in rain and venturing to the nettle for lunch - it had been cut off from its electricity as some one was cutting trees locally and decided it was safer to stop electricity to the local village - luckily the nettle cooks with gas
that night we went and visited gill and peter with claire and alex. we had a nice home cooked meal- ian was good and offered to drive so the builder was able to drink - i was lucky and uninsured for the whole trip so was unable to offer my services to the driving roster meaning that i was able to indulge whenever we went out feasting
our last day - said goodbye to jim at about 7 am and started to pack - ian is coming back in about 3 weeks
we weighed in at about 38 and 35kg - its amazing the amount of junk and camels we have picked up and this is prior to getting to abu dhabi
lunchtime was devoted to visiting freyja in sheffield for a final lunch - she has found a nice italian sandwich cafe about 10 mins walk from her place ian enjoyed his cofffee and frannie avoided eating hazelnuts which she thought were chickpeas but ian recognised as nuts!
then back home to wait the arrival of the limo
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
london
London was fun
we ventured out in the morning to look for the place where ian had his business meeting.
down great portland st long regent street and what did i find - hamleys!! dont go in said ian - why not said i - so in we went - but then ian spent much more than i did - look at the size of the bag!!
and i had to buy a camel didnt i ??
we wentured further and into picadilly street and found ians meeting place and headed back along the other side of regent st - and there was the mac store asking us to come in - this time it was my credit card which came out burning
ian headed off to his meeting and i wandered the streets of london happened upon some one ironing on top of a pillar in trafalgar square - no idea of why but there you are
found the thames and big ben -
found carnaby st - not overly impressed and then found ian again
he had had a wonderful afternoon potentially organising future work - but not yet quite ready to move to london so just as well it can be mainly done from melbourne but he will probably head back here in october after his canadian conference
we located amanda - zoys girlfriend and headed off to the open air performance of hello dolly - the weather gods smiled upon us as it was a lovely night with no rain - no photos tho as not allowed
we had a meal in the park beforehand - poached salmon with salad and a nice bottle of sav blanc
said goodbye to amanda and headed back to the hotel for a night coffee for ian and port for us both
up not bright and early the next morning for the train trip back to chesterfield from st pancras- still dont understand why booking the train at least 24 hours prior to travel saved us about £200 cost us only £50 for both of us quite reasonable for the distance
lunch in chesterfield and banking for simon in the afternoon then off for a thai meal with paul and carol- was very nice but my body didnt appreciate the chilli overnight
the weather is damp today so its a lazy day- about to head off to the nettle for lunch and their wonderful chips then out again tonight to gill and peters place for tea
lunch in sheffied tomorrow with freyja and then we fly out - it has been wonderful month - weddings, family get togethers, travel, exploration and food and potential work opportunities for ian
back in 2 years for me prob 6 weeks for ian - will have to get that british passport so that they will keep letting ian in
we ventured out in the morning to look for the place where ian had his business meeting.
down great portland st long regent street and what did i find - hamleys!! dont go in said ian - why not said i - so in we went - but then ian spent much more than i did - look at the size of the bag!!
and i had to buy a camel didnt i ??
we wentured further and into picadilly street and found ians meeting place and headed back along the other side of regent st - and there was the mac store asking us to come in - this time it was my credit card which came out burning
ian headed off to his meeting and i wandered the streets of london happened upon some one ironing on top of a pillar in trafalgar square - no idea of why but there you are
found the thames and big ben -
found carnaby st - not overly impressed and then found ian again
he had had a wonderful afternoon potentially organising future work - but not yet quite ready to move to london so just as well it can be mainly done from melbourne but he will probably head back here in october after his canadian conference
we located amanda - zoys girlfriend and headed off to the open air performance of hello dolly - the weather gods smiled upon us as it was a lovely night with no rain - no photos tho as not allowed
we had a meal in the park beforehand - poached salmon with salad and a nice bottle of sav blanc
said goodbye to amanda and headed back to the hotel for a night coffee for ian and port for us both
up not bright and early the next morning for the train trip back to chesterfield from st pancras- still dont understand why booking the train at least 24 hours prior to travel saved us about £200 cost us only £50 for both of us quite reasonable for the distance
lunch in chesterfield and banking for simon in the afternoon then off for a thai meal with paul and carol- was very nice but my body didnt appreciate the chilli overnight
the weather is damp today so its a lazy day- about to head off to the nettle for lunch and their wonderful chips then out again tonight to gill and peters place for tea
lunch in sheffied tomorrow with freyja and then we fly out - it has been wonderful month - weddings, family get togethers, travel, exploration and food and potential work opportunities for ian
back in 2 years for me prob 6 weeks for ian - will have to get that british passport so that they will keep letting ian in
Monday, August 24, 2009
salisbury
friday found another 10000 steps for my feet - walked in and out of cambridge again this time had breakfast in a pub - pictures to be posted later
at lunchtime we bundled ourselves into the car and headed to the swan at stoford - a very nice pub accommodation stop over has a lovely beer garden next to a river with swans and ducks - had a restaurant tea before heading off to bed
on saturday we picked up gwen the builders mother and headed to lymington for a view of the sea a walk and yet another meal - we were yet again blessed with good weather and found icecream on our walk new forest icecream - ian had wild ginger wonderful
we dropped gwen off and then headed to matt and jeanettes place for a bbq tea somewhere i managed to acquire another 10000 steps all good when we are eating and drinking lots
back to the swan for the night and then another full english cooked breakfast yesterday morning
.
back into the car so that we could pop into salisbury for a wander.frannie and i found new pedometers which hang from your neck will try them out and compare to my trouser one, off to the builders ex wife barbs new place in warminster for lunch
frannie and jim diverted their trip home via ealing to drop us off at the end of the tube so that we could travel to our hotel the roads behaved themselves and we made good time
another cute hotel wandered around found a local sainsbury to get breakfast stuff as isnt included ate at a nice italian restaurant - had a salad couldnt face anymore carbohydrates
frannie got home and marlo was out and about playing didnt come home til quite late and was surprised to see frannie and jim waiting for time - i'm not surprised as they have only been home about 2 nights in the past 2 weeks think he will forgive them so long as they feed him extra food
up this morning for a period of exploring london and then tonight our open air performance of hello dolly in regents park weather forecast is for drizzle this arvo but hopefully clear tonight - we are taking amanda - austin friends zoys girlfriend - she is living in the uk for a gap year, should be fun and is only a very short walk from our hotel room
back up to chesterfield by train tomorrow for a couple of nights then off to abu dhabi - our UK journey is coming to an end have had a wonderful time - had ians usual good uk weather, seen lots of places, caught up with cousins and second cousins and an aunt and uncle, met new relatives of jim - all good fun. will be back again in 2 years
at lunchtime we bundled ourselves into the car and headed to the swan at stoford - a very nice pub accommodation stop over has a lovely beer garden next to a river with swans and ducks - had a restaurant tea before heading off to bed
on saturday we picked up gwen the builders mother and headed to lymington for a view of the sea a walk and yet another meal - we were yet again blessed with good weather and found icecream on our walk new forest icecream - ian had wild ginger wonderful
we dropped gwen off and then headed to matt and jeanettes place for a bbq tea somewhere i managed to acquire another 10000 steps all good when we are eating and drinking lots
back to the swan for the night and then another full english cooked breakfast yesterday morning
.
back into the car so that we could pop into salisbury for a wander.frannie and i found new pedometers which hang from your neck will try them out and compare to my trouser one, off to the builders ex wife barbs new place in warminster for lunch
frannie and jim diverted their trip home via ealing to drop us off at the end of the tube so that we could travel to our hotel the roads behaved themselves and we made good time
another cute hotel wandered around found a local sainsbury to get breakfast stuff as isnt included ate at a nice italian restaurant - had a salad couldnt face anymore carbohydrates
frannie got home and marlo was out and about playing didnt come home til quite late and was surprised to see frannie and jim waiting for time - i'm not surprised as they have only been home about 2 nights in the past 2 weeks think he will forgive them so long as they feed him extra food
up this morning for a period of exploring london and then tonight our open air performance of hello dolly in regents park weather forecast is for drizzle this arvo but hopefully clear tonight - we are taking amanda - austin friends zoys girlfriend - she is living in the uk for a gap year, should be fun and is only a very short walk from our hotel room
back up to chesterfield by train tomorrow for a couple of nights then off to abu dhabi - our UK journey is coming to an end have had a wonderful time - had ians usual good uk weather, seen lots of places, caught up with cousins and second cousins and an aunt and uncle, met new relatives of jim - all good fun. will be back again in 2 years
Friday, August 21, 2009
more cambridge
My feet and i did over 30000 steps yesterday - my record!!!
we walked into town for breakfast/brunch my breakfast pizza shared with frannie then walked back home- 10000 steps
we walked back into town to do some touristy shopping in the arvo - another 10000 steps-didnt manage to find socks which i usually take home for my tai chi group but frannie did at heathrow ! - can now stop looking. collected pubs on the walk home for lindsey to visit the loos - seemed a little stupid to use the loo then fill up again at the pub so that i needed to find the loo again but tabitha said i couldnt use the pub loo without having a drink - so i did.
final 10000 steps was going to the italian restaurant for tea - we felt we had to have a meal to remember il gambero which burnt down on lygon st last night - ant and i used to eat there fairly regularly when he first moved down to melbourne. vale il gambero
had a nice meal excellent staff and service food good but the wine not to our taste only minor problem was that the outside lights were working so we ate in the failing light.
my feet are recovering in bed at present - will need to take me back into cambridge again this morning before we head off to salisbury - think i will wear my asics not my sandals for todays wanderings
we walked into town for breakfast/brunch my breakfast pizza shared with frannie then walked back home- 10000 steps
we walked back into town to do some touristy shopping in the arvo - another 10000 steps-didnt manage to find socks which i usually take home for my tai chi group but frannie did at heathrow ! - can now stop looking. collected pubs on the walk home for lindsey to visit the loos - seemed a little stupid to use the loo then fill up again at the pub so that i needed to find the loo again but tabitha said i couldnt use the pub loo without having a drink - so i did.
final 10000 steps was going to the italian restaurant for tea - we felt we had to have a meal to remember il gambero which burnt down on lygon st last night - ant and i used to eat there fairly regularly when he first moved down to melbourne. vale il gambero
had a nice meal excellent staff and service food good but the wine not to our taste only minor problem was that the outside lights were working so we ate in the failing light.
my feet are recovering in bed at present - will need to take me back into cambridge again this morning before we head off to salisbury - think i will wear my asics not my sandals for todays wanderings
Thursday, August 20, 2009
freyjas birthday and cambridge
And sunday was a day of rest. we pottered around the house and gardens and ventured out to chatsworth farm shop and then frannie and i went for a walk in the wet lands - a peaceful day. and then frannie made the biggests and bestest yorkshire pudding we all had ever seen for tea - was magnificent!!
Monday was freyjas birthday and we were off to york to celebrate - we needed the two cars - we picked up freyja from her place in sheffield. we found parking in york - headed off to the cafe el piano for a vegetarian tapas meal. and then off to the dungeons via a shop which had a camel bracelet - what fun
the dungeon was fun but not too spooky. off to the nettle for tea
austin packed his bag as he is leaving from cambridge which we head off to on monday.
A packing of the car occurred. the vixen isnt particularly big and austin has lots of luggage and we needed to put ian and my bag and also frannie and jims bag in the boot and then put 5 of us in the car to launch our expedition to cambridge.
we made good time with the only interuption being a tractor pulling a long trailer for about 10 miles on a narrow windy road. there were lots of irritated drivers and passengers by the time it finally pulled off.
off to the pub for tea - by the river - a most relaxing spot.
walking is the order of the day while in cambridge and it takes about 30 mins to get into town.
yesterday austin had decided that he wanted to build a bear so we walked into town and found the build a bear shop - oscar bearington the 3rd was created and birth certificate delivered. he is heading back to kaori in japan with austin.
we then went and had lunch with peter and joan in their local pub. they seem fit and healthy - peter especially so - kept up with all of ians work doings which i find difficult to deal with as he has so many at present. spent the afternoon showing photos before heading back to gareth and tabithas for a steak and veg tea cooked by
ian.
this morning we walked into town again and had breakfast pizza. unusual concept - bacon and eggs tomato and cheese. austin managed to eat spag bog for his breakfast.
he has been bundled into the vixen with frannie and jim and is currently heading to heathrow for his flight back to japan - ian gareth and i are letting our feet recover before walking back into town - am getting my 10000 steps easily at present. hoping to go punting tomorrow morning before we leave for salisbury to catch up with the builders mother. ian has organised himself and me to go to london on sunday to see an outdoor performance of hello dolly in regents park on monday night - the forecast at present is for no rain but this changes daily so fingers crossed!!
Monday was freyjas birthday and we were off to york to celebrate - we needed the two cars - we picked up freyja from her place in sheffield. we found parking in york - headed off to the cafe el piano for a vegetarian tapas meal. and then off to the dungeons via a shop which had a camel bracelet - what fun
the dungeon was fun but not too spooky. off to the nettle for tea
austin packed his bag as he is leaving from cambridge which we head off to on monday.
A packing of the car occurred. the vixen isnt particularly big and austin has lots of luggage and we needed to put ian and my bag and also frannie and jims bag in the boot and then put 5 of us in the car to launch our expedition to cambridge.
we made good time with the only interuption being a tractor pulling a long trailer for about 10 miles on a narrow windy road. there were lots of irritated drivers and passengers by the time it finally pulled off.
off to the pub for tea - by the river - a most relaxing spot.
walking is the order of the day while in cambridge and it takes about 30 mins to get into town.
yesterday austin had decided that he wanted to build a bear so we walked into town and found the build a bear shop - oscar bearington the 3rd was created and birth certificate delivered. he is heading back to kaori in japan with austin.
we then went and had lunch with peter and joan in their local pub. they seem fit and healthy - peter especially so - kept up with all of ians work doings which i find difficult to deal with as he has so many at present. spent the afternoon showing photos before heading back to gareth and tabithas for a steak and veg tea cooked by
ian.
this morning we walked into town again and had breakfast pizza. unusual concept - bacon and eggs tomato and cheese. austin managed to eat spag bog for his breakfast.
he has been bundled into the vixen with frannie and jim and is currently heading to heathrow for his flight back to japan - ian gareth and i are letting our feet recover before walking back into town - am getting my 10000 steps easily at present. hoping to go punting tomorrow morning before we leave for salisbury to catch up with the builders mother. ian has organised himself and me to go to london on sunday to see an outdoor performance of hello dolly in regents park on monday night - the forecast at present is for no rain but this changes daily so fingers crossed!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
edwinstowe and sherwood forrest
And today I went to Edwinstowe and sherwood forest.
And where do you want to go asked frannie - l had looked on the map coming home yesterday and noted that sherwood forest seemed reasonably close - so i said sherwood forest - easy done said frannie - is about 30 mins aways and we could also go and visit the village of edwinstowe where tony spent a couple of years billeted as a 7 yo during the war.
I think that edwinstowe may have changed a little since the early 1940s but we found a nice pub and had steak pies for lindsey and the builder and lamb mince pie for frannie - not bad they were.
We then headed off to sherwood forest to investigate robin hood and his merry men. The weather improved and there were lots of people and dogs wandering around the forest. It was green and lush - unlike the aussie victorian bush at present even tho it is the middle of winter.
The major oak
We found the major oak in the middle of the forest and then wandered back to the car. we stopped off at a castle on the way home but it had shut early as it was saturday - as you do in the middle of the tourist season - may try and head back there in our last week
Tonight frannie is doing lamb chops and home fresh veggie- we have red wine for ian to reward him for driving the offsprouts to a games theme park - even tho he seems to have thrashed them in the bowling - he attributes this to moderate red wine consumption at lunch and old age.
nothing planned so far for tomorrow - a day of rest will be good.
And where do you want to go asked frannie - l had looked on the map coming home yesterday and noted that sherwood forest seemed reasonably close - so i said sherwood forest - easy done said frannie - is about 30 mins aways and we could also go and visit the village of edwinstowe where tony spent a couple of years billeted as a 7 yo during the war.
I think that edwinstowe may have changed a little since the early 1940s but we found a nice pub and had steak pies for lindsey and the builder and lamb mince pie for frannie - not bad they were.
We then headed off to sherwood forest to investigate robin hood and his merry men. The weather improved and there were lots of people and dogs wandering around the forest. It was green and lush - unlike the aussie victorian bush at present even tho it is the middle of winter.
The major oak
We found the major oak in the middle of the forest and then wandered back to the car. we stopped off at a castle on the way home but it had shut early as it was saturday - as you do in the middle of the tourist season - may try and head back there in our last week
Tonight frannie is doing lamb chops and home fresh veggie- we have red wine for ian to reward him for driving the offsprouts to a games theme park - even tho he seems to have thrashed them in the bowling - he attributes this to moderate red wine consumption at lunch and old age.
nothing planned so far for tomorrow - a day of rest will be good.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
county durham
Okay and where were we when last spoke- oh yes about to start day 3 of feasting.
The cousins all arrived in dribs and drabs. We had lots to eat and drink.Frannie had yet again turned on good weather and we were able to stay in the garden. we had masses of roast meat and home grown veg and gravy, a huge rice pudding and 3 large frogs in the pond - one being made with vegetarian jelly! I am not sure how 22 adults all claim not to have eaten the 40 odd freddo frogs when not a one remained by the end of the day and i am sure that pennys 2 small children werent the culprits!!
click on the photo tony and you can see everyone easily! see if you can identify all of them
After the festivities we cleaned and polished and tidied the house as we were off to county durham the next day for the week.
We loaded ourselves into the two cars oscar and the vixen with our loyal gps machines jenny and katie and set off for derwent grange farm out of consett county durham - and dont the gpses make life easy for driving!
We arrived late afternoon and were soon established in the renovated cow shed. It amply accommodated the 8 of us with room for a few small children as well. The farm used to do dairy cows and now did sheep and guests. It still has roaming chooks with a couple of cocks which like to wake up early and make sure that everyone else is up early as well!
frannie jim ian and i woke early the next morning and went out exploring- we headed off to bishops auckland where i had found an hours walk for us - and we discovered a roman bath house and fort - what fun bernard and sleepy hippo went with us to do the exploring.
the fort was cute but up a hill - why do they persist in putting interesting things up the top of hills in the uk??
We wandered around the hills and fields of bishops auckland - getting totally lost in the process until eventually some locals directed us in the right direction and then frannie decided that her iphones gps would also help locate us!
nice cold chocolates coffees and teacakes in a courtyard cafe and then we headed back to the farm to find the younger ones to launch an expedition to durham and the cathedral and castle.
Durham cathedral has a tower , a 325 step tower, the builder ian gareth and i decided to climb said tower - all 325 steps of it.It waas a sunny day when we set off but by the time we reached the top - it was raining - how did that happen??
we came back down the 325 steps to find tabitha had found a castle tour which was about to start so we headed over to the castle.
It is now used as a university hall of residence - not a bad place to live!
The parking meters were about to expire so we bundled ourselves back into the 2 cars and headed back to the farm for tea.
The next day Wednesday i think, we launched an expedition to hadrians wall - first we went to housestead fort and wandered up yet another very steep hill to look at the roman ruins with lots of other brave brits.
We had packed a picnic and so then went to explore vindolanda which had a museum as well and better ruins - if ruins can be better.
Once we had decided we had found enough roman soldiers we once again put ourselves back into the cars and headed back to the farmhouse to organise ourselves for a local pub meal.
It was newly taken over and the 8 of us wandering in caused a bit of a stir in the kitchen who werent yet used to feeding larger groups. the food however wasnt bad.
the Thursday morning ian jim frannie and i left the young ones in bed while we went for a walk - Stanhope this time - we discovered a 250million year fossil tree in the local churchyard - well thats not true we didnt discover it - it had been discovered in a quarry locally and moved piece by piece to the churchyard.
We went for our walk and walked along the stanhope burn where bernard and eventually frank lyon went bungy jumping - i am sure that this will be blogged on bernards blog when he recovers from the shock - he did twitter it and seemed quite excited by it all.
We organised lunch and headed back to the farmhouse. Frannie jim and I continued our walking program, at St Johns Chapel that afternoon while ian stayed back at the farm to organise lamb shanks for tea.
We got up early friday morning to pack and tidy and headed off to Richmond to explore ,however the traffic jam at the outskirts was shocking so we abandoned that and went to ripon to look at the cathedral. We missed the cathedral as the cafe meal although good tasting took ages and ages to appear and the builder got forgotten so it took even longer.
the M1 and the A1 both decided to delay our journey with long queues of traffic so we didnt finally get home til late in the afternoon.
We had a wonderful week. Ian and the kids are going to a games park today near leeds - as you do and so jim frannie and i will play locally and perhaps go and explore sherwood forest.
having a wonderful time - will talk soon
The cousins all arrived in dribs and drabs. We had lots to eat and drink.Frannie had yet again turned on good weather and we were able to stay in the garden. we had masses of roast meat and home grown veg and gravy, a huge rice pudding and 3 large frogs in the pond - one being made with vegetarian jelly! I am not sure how 22 adults all claim not to have eaten the 40 odd freddo frogs when not a one remained by the end of the day and i am sure that pennys 2 small children werent the culprits!!
click on the photo tony and you can see everyone easily! see if you can identify all of them
After the festivities we cleaned and polished and tidied the house as we were off to county durham the next day for the week.
We loaded ourselves into the two cars oscar and the vixen with our loyal gps machines jenny and katie and set off for derwent grange farm out of consett county durham - and dont the gpses make life easy for driving!
We arrived late afternoon and were soon established in the renovated cow shed. It amply accommodated the 8 of us with room for a few small children as well. The farm used to do dairy cows and now did sheep and guests. It still has roaming chooks with a couple of cocks which like to wake up early and make sure that everyone else is up early as well!
frannie jim ian and i woke early the next morning and went out exploring- we headed off to bishops auckland where i had found an hours walk for us - and we discovered a roman bath house and fort - what fun bernard and sleepy hippo went with us to do the exploring.
the fort was cute but up a hill - why do they persist in putting interesting things up the top of hills in the uk??
We wandered around the hills and fields of bishops auckland - getting totally lost in the process until eventually some locals directed us in the right direction and then frannie decided that her iphones gps would also help locate us!
nice cold chocolates coffees and teacakes in a courtyard cafe and then we headed back to the farm to find the younger ones to launch an expedition to durham and the cathedral and castle.
Durham cathedral has a tower , a 325 step tower, the builder ian gareth and i decided to climb said tower - all 325 steps of it.It waas a sunny day when we set off but by the time we reached the top - it was raining - how did that happen??
we came back down the 325 steps to find tabitha had found a castle tour which was about to start so we headed over to the castle.
It is now used as a university hall of residence - not a bad place to live!
The parking meters were about to expire so we bundled ourselves back into the 2 cars and headed back to the farm for tea.
The next day Wednesday i think, we launched an expedition to hadrians wall - first we went to housestead fort and wandered up yet another very steep hill to look at the roman ruins with lots of other brave brits.
We had packed a picnic and so then went to explore vindolanda which had a museum as well and better ruins - if ruins can be better.
Once we had decided we had found enough roman soldiers we once again put ourselves back into the cars and headed back to the farmhouse to organise ourselves for a local pub meal.
It was newly taken over and the 8 of us wandering in caused a bit of a stir in the kitchen who werent yet used to feeding larger groups. the food however wasnt bad.
the Thursday morning ian jim frannie and i left the young ones in bed while we went for a walk - Stanhope this time - we discovered a 250million year fossil tree in the local churchyard - well thats not true we didnt discover it - it had been discovered in a quarry locally and moved piece by piece to the churchyard.
We went for our walk and walked along the stanhope burn where bernard and eventually frank lyon went bungy jumping - i am sure that this will be blogged on bernards blog when he recovers from the shock - he did twitter it and seemed quite excited by it all.
We organised lunch and headed back to the farmhouse. Frannie jim and I continued our walking program, at St Johns Chapel that afternoon while ian stayed back at the farm to organise lamb shanks for tea.
We got up early friday morning to pack and tidy and headed off to Richmond to explore ,however the traffic jam at the outskirts was shocking so we abandoned that and went to ripon to look at the cathedral. We missed the cathedral as the cafe meal although good tasting took ages and ages to appear and the builder got forgotten so it took even longer.
the M1 and the A1 both decided to delay our journey with long queues of traffic so we didnt finally get home til late in the afternoon.
We had a wonderful week. Ian and the kids are going to a games park today near leeds - as you do and so jim frannie and i will play locally and perhaps go and explore sherwood forest.
having a wonderful time - will talk soon
Sunday, August 9, 2009
the wedding
And on Friday we all went to a wedding.
up bright and early dressed and ready to go picnic to pack - frannie up earlier to produce ian and austin headed off in a taxi to the nettle pub to pick up the bright red e type jag which he had organised for jim and frannie to get to the wedding in
We organised ourselves to leave just before midday to head to bakewell ian myself austin tabitha and gareth got into our car and freyja jim and frannie piled into the jag
some where along the line my travel phone abandoned me a nice local picked it up and hopefully i will get it back tonight after his weekend away - fingers crossed
the bakewell traffic was busy as usual and we finally found a park and also jims family who had travelled from down south
frannie was starting to panic as she had lost us and was calling the travel phone and was getting no answer but freyja was dispatched to locate us and we all eventually found the registry office paul and carol were also waiting for us
the ceremony was short and lovely evie - jims 2 yo g daughter fell off a chair and so slightly delayed the start with her crying but all was good for the actual event
hopefully once we have worked out the new video camera we will put the video onto facebook -
we picnicked in the park for the reception it was a wonderfully sunny day after a week of drizzle we were very lucky
after a few hours of partying we went home to organise ourselves for a night out at the local pub - the 3 horse shoes
a lovely meal was had and unlike a week ago when ian jim frannie and i went -the weather was lovely and the views were fantastic
eventually we all fell into bed
we woke yesterday to organise for the friends garden party - about 30 were coming the weather once again behaved itself
we had sandwiches - vegemite fairy bread cheese cress - yes people do eat cress sandwhiches chocalate and also cherry cake - homemade by frannie and lots to drink
people came and people went but gill and her husband peter came they stayed for the evening barbque once again we went to bed late and full
we wake today in anticapation of the family roast lunch another 30 or so coming - i am doing my rice pudding and hopefully a frog in the pond - large version
the weather is behaving itself as we intend to eat in the garden
hopefully will get lots of photos of the extended family
up and ready off we go for day 3 of feasting!!
up bright and early dressed and ready to go picnic to pack - frannie up earlier to produce ian and austin headed off in a taxi to the nettle pub to pick up the bright red e type jag which he had organised for jim and frannie to get to the wedding in
We organised ourselves to leave just before midday to head to bakewell ian myself austin tabitha and gareth got into our car and freyja jim and frannie piled into the jag
some where along the line my travel phone abandoned me a nice local picked it up and hopefully i will get it back tonight after his weekend away - fingers crossed
the bakewell traffic was busy as usual and we finally found a park and also jims family who had travelled from down south
frannie was starting to panic as she had lost us and was calling the travel phone and was getting no answer but freyja was dispatched to locate us and we all eventually found the registry office paul and carol were also waiting for us
the ceremony was short and lovely evie - jims 2 yo g daughter fell off a chair and so slightly delayed the start with her crying but all was good for the actual event
hopefully once we have worked out the new video camera we will put the video onto facebook -
we picnicked in the park for the reception it was a wonderfully sunny day after a week of drizzle we were very lucky
after a few hours of partying we went home to organise ourselves for a night out at the local pub - the 3 horse shoes
a lovely meal was had and unlike a week ago when ian jim frannie and i went -the weather was lovely and the views were fantastic
eventually we all fell into bed
we woke yesterday to organise for the friends garden party - about 30 were coming the weather once again behaved itself
we had sandwiches - vegemite fairy bread cheese cress - yes people do eat cress sandwhiches chocalate and also cherry cake - homemade by frannie and lots to drink
people came and people went but gill and her husband peter came they stayed for the evening barbque once again we went to bed late and full
we wake today in anticapation of the family roast lunch another 30 or so coming - i am doing my rice pudding and hopefully a frog in the pond - large version
the weather is behaving itself as we intend to eat in the garden
hopefully will get lots of photos of the extended family
up and ready off we go for day 3 of feasting!!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
cornwall
Moving Freyja wasnt as simple as it seemed. the person moving out of her share house had failed to do so and then person moving out of her room into the moving out persons room , consequently also didnt move so freyja couldnt move into her room - all very complicated but the upshot was that frannie and i found ourselves heading to sheffield to move freyja when we didnt have to. We did have to find austin to bring him back to tupton and go to waitrose so we continued our journey.
Frannie did a nice roast lamb and i managed a rice pudding for tea.
Monday morning saw ian and i packed again for our trip down to cornwall. Frannie had lent us the vixon and insurance was paid up - the weather was reasonable and so we headed off down a variety of motorways.
The weather deteriorated as we travelled south and by the time we arrived at Bodmin where we were staying with and ex work collegue of ians we were in mist. We travelled across the bodmin moors in mist- could imagine being a smuggler.
We had a nice meal with the Littles and then they drove us around bodmin showing us the old gaol and assylum. Scary places.
Off we set the next morning. we found headed to port isaac to look at where doc martin is filmed and then headed to tintagel to go king arthur hunting. english seaside seems to be set on very steep hills! tintagel was again in mist and we got a little damp but it made the adventure even more appealing.
port isaac
Tintagel
We rewarded our walking and climbing with cornish icecream and headed off to padstow to investigate rick steins fish and chips which we had been recommended. Padstow is also on the side of steep hill which took away the guilt of very nice fish and chips.
We found ourselves a padstow camel.
we had booked accommodation at the fowey - pronounced foe hotel. Stewart greeted us and led us into the hotel. Limited parking is available and we had missed out but stewart on hearing we had come all the way from oz found us a spot - otherwise you have to park in the local pay and display.
fowey hotel
more wandering and more food and a good night was had.
off to the lost gardens of heligan the next morning and cornwall also found some sunshine. the gardens were wonderful and we spent a little more time than we had anticipated. we left late and headed back to new tupton via the motorways once again. an accident on the m5 delayed us and so jenny the sat nav took us exploring while we tried to find an alternative route home.
Yesterday was a pottering day organizing food for the wedding feast and saturday party.
the sat nav makes life so much easier to navigate foreign parts. Ian and i explored chesterfield and ian found himself a wedding shirt. but no freddo frogs for the frog in the ponds for the saturday party could be found. fancy living in a country with no chocolate frogs.i cooked shepherds pie for tea - and we awaited the arrival of tabitha and gareth from cambridge. Their bus decided to break down so we didnt eat til about 9pm - we were all very hungry. freyja and austin had arrived at a slightly more civilized hour earlier in the evening.
well today is why we are all here. the wedding. it is drizzling at present but the forcast is slightly better for the time of the wedding.
will put in photos later when i have downloaded them
good luck frannie and jim
Frannie did a nice roast lamb and i managed a rice pudding for tea.
Monday morning saw ian and i packed again for our trip down to cornwall. Frannie had lent us the vixon and insurance was paid up - the weather was reasonable and so we headed off down a variety of motorways.
The weather deteriorated as we travelled south and by the time we arrived at Bodmin where we were staying with and ex work collegue of ians we were in mist. We travelled across the bodmin moors in mist- could imagine being a smuggler.
We had a nice meal with the Littles and then they drove us around bodmin showing us the old gaol and assylum. Scary places.
Off we set the next morning. we found headed to port isaac to look at where doc martin is filmed and then headed to tintagel to go king arthur hunting. english seaside seems to be set on very steep hills! tintagel was again in mist and we got a little damp but it made the adventure even more appealing.
port isaac
Tintagel
We rewarded our walking and climbing with cornish icecream and headed off to padstow to investigate rick steins fish and chips which we had been recommended. Padstow is also on the side of steep hill which took away the guilt of very nice fish and chips.
We found ourselves a padstow camel.
we had booked accommodation at the fowey - pronounced foe hotel. Stewart greeted us and led us into the hotel. Limited parking is available and we had missed out but stewart on hearing we had come all the way from oz found us a spot - otherwise you have to park in the local pay and display.
fowey hotel
more wandering and more food and a good night was had.
off to the lost gardens of heligan the next morning and cornwall also found some sunshine. the gardens were wonderful and we spent a little more time than we had anticipated. we left late and headed back to new tupton via the motorways once again. an accident on the m5 delayed us and so jenny the sat nav took us exploring while we tried to find an alternative route home.
Yesterday was a pottering day organizing food for the wedding feast and saturday party.
the sat nav makes life so much easier to navigate foreign parts. Ian and i explored chesterfield and ian found himself a wedding shirt. but no freddo frogs for the frog in the ponds for the saturday party could be found. fancy living in a country with no chocolate frogs.i cooked shepherds pie for tea - and we awaited the arrival of tabitha and gareth from cambridge. Their bus decided to break down so we didnt eat til about 9pm - we were all very hungry. freyja and austin had arrived at a slightly more civilized hour earlier in the evening.
well today is why we are all here. the wedding. it is drizzling at present but the forcast is slightly better for the time of the wedding.
will put in photos later when i have downloaded them
good luck frannie and jim
Saturday, August 1, 2009
0ff on our trip
We left melbourne after being picked up by an Etihad organised limo - got to the airport in plenty of time. wandered up to the qantas lounge and had a drink and supper before boarding.
The flight to abu dhabi was 14 hours long - uneventful - the food was excellent and i managed to get some sleep - this was very unusual for me as i dont usually sleep on planes at all - business class does help.
got into abu dhabi about 30 mins early. had a shower and found ourselves a video camera to buy so that we can record the wedding. oh and some duty free vodka and gin for frannie and jim.
Landed at manchester - also about 30 mins early after another 7 hour uneventful flight.
I love manchester airport - customs relaxed and no having to get your bags checked for food stuffs and wood - out of the airport in about 30 mins.
caught up with fiona -ias niece and gave her her wedding shoes and diamond that we had been asked to bring over and then found our next limo.
headed through the peak district and arrived at new tupton slightly before frannie and jim - found the well hidden key and let ourselves in to be greeted my marlo.
yesterday was spend wandering around the shops of chesterfield getting supplies and then we went to the nettle for lunch - wonderful chips!
frannie had a work collegue around for tea last night we dined on a slow cooked sausage casserole with freshly picked broad beans and pea new potatoes and carrots - all wonderfully sweet have been blacked banned from the allotment - i eat too many of the broad beans and peas when picking them
we had a meal at the three horseshoes to check out the wedding night feast venue - misty and haunting but nice food
off exploring today - just pottering then helping freyja move tomorrow to a shared house
then off to cornwall for a couple of days on monday - hopefully the weather will improve a little although it managed not to rain yesterday until the evening - has been a very wet summer so far apparently
The flight to abu dhabi was 14 hours long - uneventful - the food was excellent and i managed to get some sleep - this was very unusual for me as i dont usually sleep on planes at all - business class does help.
got into abu dhabi about 30 mins early. had a shower and found ourselves a video camera to buy so that we can record the wedding. oh and some duty free vodka and gin for frannie and jim.
Landed at manchester - also about 30 mins early after another 7 hour uneventful flight.
I love manchester airport - customs relaxed and no having to get your bags checked for food stuffs and wood - out of the airport in about 30 mins.
caught up with fiona -ias niece and gave her her wedding shoes and diamond that we had been asked to bring over and then found our next limo.
headed through the peak district and arrived at new tupton slightly before frannie and jim - found the well hidden key and let ourselves in to be greeted my marlo.
yesterday was spend wandering around the shops of chesterfield getting supplies and then we went to the nettle for lunch - wonderful chips!
frannie had a work collegue around for tea last night we dined on a slow cooked sausage casserole with freshly picked broad beans and pea new potatoes and carrots - all wonderfully sweet have been blacked banned from the allotment - i eat too many of the broad beans and peas when picking them
we had a meal at the three horseshoes to check out the wedding night feast venue - misty and haunting but nice food
off exploring today - just pottering then helping freyja move tomorrow to a shared house
then off to cornwall for a couple of days on monday - hopefully the weather will improve a little although it managed not to rain yesterday until the evening - has been a very wet summer so far apparently
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
off to NZ with stella and tony
ok its not a good way to start with stella getting a cellulitis of her right ankle only 2 days prior to travelling to NZ , just over her scar from her previous fracture 3 years ago - where she still has a pin in place , ok antibiotics organised
27/02/09
we get up relatively early for most of us ( tony not included) and head off to the airport
we stock up with additional antibiotics for stella if the current ones arent working
off we fly to Christchurch
first minor problem is encountered when Lindsey leaves the duty free wine at customs and we dont discover this until after we have left customs
had to retrieve them from a special window
apparently set up for such events
this is most a unHyde like activity
We pick up the car and head down to Akaroa about 90 mins on the coast, a lovely french english village - the english arrived 2 days before the french and set up their flag - but they only knew about it because the french had told them thats where they were going and they got caught in a storm which the brits managed to avoid!
we had booked into a B and B - garthowen http://www.garthowen.co.nz
it was a good indication of the level of accommodation that we had managed to book the previous weekend.
we headed off to tea at Ma Maison - akaroa salmon , pork hocks and steak with a good amount of nice NZ booze
28/02/09
we had a full cooked breakfast the next day before heading off to the small shopping centre where stella discovers the only camels we found on the trip - they were duly purchased
we headed off on a boat trip for the arvo - to look at hector dolphins and seals.
the weather managed to behave during the trip but deteriorated later after we had had dinner - the worse storm in two years - ian and i slept through it!
As usual we had booked the accommodation at the last minute - mainly through our reliable wotif but hadnt realized that there 3 weddings the weekend we had chosen to visit this small hamlet of akaroa - garthowen only had one room available on the second night so they put up ian and me in their spare room - not usually rented out and it was well and truely sound proofed with no window and at the bottom and the back of the house - hence the reason for us not hearing the storm
01/03/09
The weather improved the next morning and we set off looking for the summit road - the views were wonderful - see picassa album but we almost lost tony in the wind
back to chrishchurch airport
this occasioned the next minor hiccup - ian had taken the garthowen bedroom key - so he put it in a post bag and posted it back
boarding the plane was interesting - invercargill is obviously considered a low risk destination , and for the second time in my life i boarded with no security check once on board they told us they would in due course do the safefy check and then proceeded to inform us that they may need to cancel the flight due to safety concerns regarding the wind - however the propellers started to turn - yes it was a smaller plane but not a baby plane and we proceded to go to the runway - but no safety procedures were went through - so we were flying off to invercargill into a high risk flight with no safety check !!!
the flight seemed to go over the sea rather than the usual inland route as per the airline book and it was very smooth
stella was met by a wheel chair and we went off to locate the car - a toyota diesel prado this time - fitted us in well with all our luggage although stella and tony managed to travel with only one case between them - ian and i could never do that!
invercargill decided to show us that it could rain in NZ
tea was at the local seafood restaurant - probably the only average meal we had for the entire trip
02/03/09
the next morning we set off for bluff - oyster season started yesterday and bluff is where they land from the boats - well we couldnt miss that could we
the seas were too rough for the boats to go out that day , so we feasted for morning tea on day old oysters - wonderful
today we lost trust in our GPs - a depressed melancholic woman we were heading back to invercargill from bluff when she detoured us onto a dirt road - only to put us back onto our main road after about 10 mins - with me abusing her and telling her that she was stupid - probably didnt help her depression but reminiscent of jim telling katie off in the uk
once back at invercargill we started off for te anau where we were staying that night
we chose the southern scenic route http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/default.asp
the rain managed to settle as we drove along and we pulled in at tuatapere - the sausage capital of the world for lunch at the pub - i chose the sausage pie
we stopped off at the borland nature walk for a wander leaving stella in the car looking after her ankle
te anau continued to supply us with sunshine and we pottered around the small souvenir shops
tea was at the hotel restaurant - venison for me on this occasion
03/03/09
We had booked an overnight cruise on the milford sound this evening but it was cancelled on short notice so we changed to the 3 hour cruise instead with a bbq lunch- was the right move milford has sunshine for 9 days per year and we got one of them
http://www.redboats.co.nz/milford-sound-cruises/869/Discover+Milford+Sound.aspx
the views were once again spectacular we were bathed in sunshine and managed to get stella onto the top deck so that she could enjoy all the views
we returned to te anau stopping along the way to look at views etc
dinner that night was from the local chinese food shop - not bad especially the sweat and sour fish
04/03/09
the next morning we set off for queenstown both ian and i like queenstown it has yet again wonderful views and a Mediterranean food market which ians drools over
we were temporarily diverted by the kingston flyer steam train before heading to queenstown it self
Tonys friend barry had recommended the road to glenorchy so we set off - found the pub for lunch - peas pie pud for tony and me
we will go back for walking another time too much to do and not enough time - met one couple who had spent 8 weeks in NZ and still hadnt had enough time to do all that they wanted to do
lovely steak for tea cooked by ian and use was also made of the washing machine and dryer
05/03/09
off to the lake for a steam boat trip for the morning - TSS Earnslaw http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/TSSEarnslaw_WP/
once again the good weather god was smiling down upon us - managed to get stella outside again to enjoy the views
tony and i managed to enjoy a beer as well
lunch at one of the wharf restaurants sitting out in the sun
arrowtown was on the agenda for the afternoon an icecream for stella and me coffees for tony and ian
akaroa salmon cooked by ian for tea
06/03/09
today was our longest trip - heading off to the glaciers via haast and today it showed us that it could rain in new zealand we saw water falls galore coming down from the mountains coming down next to the road and spraying over the road wonderful
we stopped at haast pub for lunch we had previously stayed there for the night - when we went with the kids and had a reasonable meal
we were advised that there may be a wait - we were prepared for that but not for the bus of 40 people who arrived about 15 mins later and then were served prior to us about an hour later we complained the next couple complained but little was done
finally stellas ploughmans arrived sans cheese- whats this i asked - a ploughmans i was told wheres the cheese i asked - "shit" was the response and the plate was removed to later come back with quite nice cheeses tony and i had another pie pud - not quite as nice as the glenorchy ones but not bad and ian had a wonderful seafood chowder
the torrential rain continued almost til we reached the fox glacier
we were able to drive up the road this time - last year it had been washed out with over 400mm of rain in one day!
glenfern view villas for the night and tea in a local cafe - served by an argentinian
traveller
07/03/09
thought we were in for rain again to day as we headed off to hokitika but it held off most of the day
the scenery changed to more farming rather than spectacular mountains
we went on a baby paddle boat at hokitika and found white herons for tony
Rimu lodge was tonights accommodation
http://www.rimulodge.co.nz/
came with the family dog - deesha liked to sit on peoples knees in the evening - to make them feel at home stella was especially favoured
tea at a restaurant overlooking the sea - seafood platters for ian and i - wonderful
ian decided to try and drive off with the key again - but was stopped by the owner who realised what he was trying to do - key was duely handed over
08/03/09
our last full day - we headed back to christchurch for the night through arthurs pass
stopped to watch the tranzscenic train - it hooted us as it went passed to say hello
stopped to look at waterfalls - were welcomed by 2 kea birds - one sitting on the car roof quite reluctant to get off even when we tried to drive off
the sunshine welcomed us on the other side of arthurs pass and we drove down to christchurch able to let stella and tony enjoy the views
we checked into huntley house wonderful accommodation to complete our trip - found on wotif again so about 60% of its usual price
ian did himself really well with the accommodation
we lunched in a cafe next to the avon river in the centre of christchurch and then went to explore the catherdral and shops
dinner was back at huntley house - steak with cheese to follow again washed down by NZ wines
09/03/09
up at 4am to get to the airport by 5am - stella had a wheel chair provided and full attention from the pacific blue airline staff couldnt fault them
a smooth flight back to melbourne where christian met us
think we all had a wonderful time
next time frannie and jim can come i think- ian and i want to go back again to explore some more
27/02/09
we get up relatively early for most of us ( tony not included) and head off to the airport
we stock up with additional antibiotics for stella if the current ones arent working
off we fly to Christchurch
first minor problem is encountered when Lindsey leaves the duty free wine at customs and we dont discover this until after we have left customs
had to retrieve them from a special window
apparently set up for such events
this is most a unHyde like activity
We pick up the car and head down to Akaroa about 90 mins on the coast, a lovely french english village - the english arrived 2 days before the french and set up their flag - but they only knew about it because the french had told them thats where they were going and they got caught in a storm which the brits managed to avoid!
we had booked into a B and B - garthowen http://www.garthowen.co.nz
it was a good indication of the level of accommodation that we had managed to book the previous weekend.
we headed off to tea at Ma Maison - akaroa salmon , pork hocks and steak with a good amount of nice NZ booze
28/02/09
we had a full cooked breakfast the next day before heading off to the small shopping centre where stella discovers the only camels we found on the trip - they were duly purchased
we headed off on a boat trip for the arvo - to look at hector dolphins and seals.
the weather managed to behave during the trip but deteriorated later after we had had dinner - the worse storm in two years - ian and i slept through it!
As usual we had booked the accommodation at the last minute - mainly through our reliable wotif but hadnt realized that there 3 weddings the weekend we had chosen to visit this small hamlet of akaroa - garthowen only had one room available on the second night so they put up ian and me in their spare room - not usually rented out and it was well and truely sound proofed with no window and at the bottom and the back of the house - hence the reason for us not hearing the storm
01/03/09
The weather improved the next morning and we set off looking for the summit road - the views were wonderful - see picassa album but we almost lost tony in the wind
back to chrishchurch airport
this occasioned the next minor hiccup - ian had taken the garthowen bedroom key - so he put it in a post bag and posted it back
boarding the plane was interesting - invercargill is obviously considered a low risk destination , and for the second time in my life i boarded with no security check once on board they told us they would in due course do the safefy check and then proceeded to inform us that they may need to cancel the flight due to safety concerns regarding the wind - however the propellers started to turn - yes it was a smaller plane but not a baby plane and we proceded to go to the runway - but no safety procedures were went through - so we were flying off to invercargill into a high risk flight with no safety check !!!
the flight seemed to go over the sea rather than the usual inland route as per the airline book and it was very smooth
stella was met by a wheel chair and we went off to locate the car - a toyota diesel prado this time - fitted us in well with all our luggage although stella and tony managed to travel with only one case between them - ian and i could never do that!
invercargill decided to show us that it could rain in NZ
tea was at the local seafood restaurant - probably the only average meal we had for the entire trip
02/03/09
the next morning we set off for bluff - oyster season started yesterday and bluff is where they land from the boats - well we couldnt miss that could we
the seas were too rough for the boats to go out that day , so we feasted for morning tea on day old oysters - wonderful
today we lost trust in our GPs - a depressed melancholic woman we were heading back to invercargill from bluff when she detoured us onto a dirt road - only to put us back onto our main road after about 10 mins - with me abusing her and telling her that she was stupid - probably didnt help her depression but reminiscent of jim telling katie off in the uk
once back at invercargill we started off for te anau where we were staying that night
we chose the southern scenic route http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/default.asp
the rain managed to settle as we drove along and we pulled in at tuatapere - the sausage capital of the world for lunch at the pub - i chose the sausage pie
we stopped off at the borland nature walk for a wander leaving stella in the car looking after her ankle
te anau continued to supply us with sunshine and we pottered around the small souvenir shops
tea was at the hotel restaurant - venison for me on this occasion
03/03/09
We had booked an overnight cruise on the milford sound this evening but it was cancelled on short notice so we changed to the 3 hour cruise instead with a bbq lunch- was the right move milford has sunshine for 9 days per year and we got one of them
http://www.redboats.co.nz/milford-sound-cruises/869/Discover+Milford+Sound.aspx
the views were once again spectacular we were bathed in sunshine and managed to get stella onto the top deck so that she could enjoy all the views
we returned to te anau stopping along the way to look at views etc
dinner that night was from the local chinese food shop - not bad especially the sweat and sour fish
04/03/09
the next morning we set off for queenstown both ian and i like queenstown it has yet again wonderful views and a Mediterranean food market which ians drools over
we were temporarily diverted by the kingston flyer steam train before heading to queenstown it self
Tonys friend barry had recommended the road to glenorchy so we set off - found the pub for lunch - peas pie pud for tony and me
we will go back for walking another time too much to do and not enough time - met one couple who had spent 8 weeks in NZ and still hadnt had enough time to do all that they wanted to do
lovely steak for tea cooked by ian and use was also made of the washing machine and dryer
05/03/09
off to the lake for a steam boat trip for the morning - TSS Earnslaw http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/TSSEarnslaw_WP/
once again the good weather god was smiling down upon us - managed to get stella outside again to enjoy the views
tony and i managed to enjoy a beer as well
lunch at one of the wharf restaurants sitting out in the sun
arrowtown was on the agenda for the afternoon an icecream for stella and me coffees for tony and ian
akaroa salmon cooked by ian for tea
06/03/09
today was our longest trip - heading off to the glaciers via haast and today it showed us that it could rain in new zealand we saw water falls galore coming down from the mountains coming down next to the road and spraying over the road wonderful
we stopped at haast pub for lunch we had previously stayed there for the night - when we went with the kids and had a reasonable meal
we were advised that there may be a wait - we were prepared for that but not for the bus of 40 people who arrived about 15 mins later and then were served prior to us about an hour later we complained the next couple complained but little was done
finally stellas ploughmans arrived sans cheese- whats this i asked - a ploughmans i was told wheres the cheese i asked - "shit" was the response and the plate was removed to later come back with quite nice cheeses tony and i had another pie pud - not quite as nice as the glenorchy ones but not bad and ian had a wonderful seafood chowder
the torrential rain continued almost til we reached the fox glacier
we were able to drive up the road this time - last year it had been washed out with over 400mm of rain in one day!
glenfern view villas for the night and tea in a local cafe - served by an argentinian
traveller
07/03/09
thought we were in for rain again to day as we headed off to hokitika but it held off most of the day
the scenery changed to more farming rather than spectacular mountains
we went on a baby paddle boat at hokitika and found white herons for tony
Rimu lodge was tonights accommodation
http://www.rimulodge.co.nz/
came with the family dog - deesha liked to sit on peoples knees in the evening - to make them feel at home stella was especially favoured
tea at a restaurant overlooking the sea - seafood platters for ian and i - wonderful
ian decided to try and drive off with the key again - but was stopped by the owner who realised what he was trying to do - key was duely handed over
08/03/09
our last full day - we headed back to christchurch for the night through arthurs pass
stopped to watch the tranzscenic train - it hooted us as it went passed to say hello
stopped to look at waterfalls - were welcomed by 2 kea birds - one sitting on the car roof quite reluctant to get off even when we tried to drive off
the sunshine welcomed us on the other side of arthurs pass and we drove down to christchurch able to let stella and tony enjoy the views
we checked into huntley house wonderful accommodation to complete our trip - found on wotif again so about 60% of its usual price
ian did himself really well with the accommodation
we lunched in a cafe next to the avon river in the centre of christchurch and then went to explore the catherdral and shops
dinner was back at huntley house - steak with cheese to follow again washed down by NZ wines
09/03/09
up at 4am to get to the airport by 5am - stella had a wheel chair provided and full attention from the pacific blue airline staff couldnt fault them
a smooth flight back to melbourne where christian met us
think we all had a wonderful time
next time frannie and jim can come i think- ian and i want to go back again to explore some more
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