family and relationships | Not Just a Granny

Archive for the ‘family and relationships’ Category

I’ve been away too long!

Posted in family and relationships, me and Peanut, Uncategorized, tagged a place to stay, being a granny, blogging, blogging about my life, families and relationships, family and relationships on May 30, 2023| 4 Comments »

Time is such a weird construct! It feels like yesterday I posted my previous blog, but it’s been
absolutely months!!! It doesn’t feel that long, and yet so much has happened in the past 9
months that I can hardly comprehend it.
Starting with current events; my daughter’s father passed away on Saturday 20th and although he and
I have not been in a relationship for over 43 years, his death has raised all sorts of emotions. My
daughter is absolutely exhausted with crying and feels bereft at his loss. There are so many
emotions it’s difficult to untangle them all. Sadness because she hasn’t had a very long or close
relationship with him since they first met in 1995. Sadness because he lived in South Africa and
for the last 20 years she has lived in the UK with only the occassional trip back to SA to visit.
Sadness because he will now miss all his grandson’s life events…like first day at school.
Frustration and a bit of anger because he chose to not have treatment when cancer was
diagnosed. Although she obviously respected his decision, it was frustrating because he chose
some quackery treatment instead of treatment that could have given him many more years….or
maybe not. And there is the sliding door. We just don’t know. The grief of losing a parent, even if
they’re not close. The sudden realisation that one of her parents has died…it’s the next level.
Grandparents die and then parents. That raises all manner of fears.

We had a replica Spanish Galleon visit our little harbour recently. It is just magnificent and I was
really sad to see it go. We boarded for a visit and loved exploring. My grandson was full of
questions about everything and took it all in.

Just over 3 weeks ago I camped out on The Mall for my first ever coronation. Not that I am a
supporter of Charlie and his ex-mistress, but I am a fan of the British pomp and pageantry that
they do so well. Oh my gosh, those bands and the horses. Amazing. And the coach was fabulous.
I’ll do a blog on this fab fab event at a later stage.

I have two additional ‘grandson’s in the form of new kittens that my daughter and family have
adopted!! They are just so cute! One is ginger and the other pitch black. They are so cuddly and
my human grandson just loves them to bits.

I have just come through what has to be the most unbearable winter I have ever experienced. I
moved into a new flat last year in April and had the pleasure of enjoying summer and my
garden….although that didn’t last too well in the summer heat last year and much of it was obliterated in
the heat. The only saving grace I had is that I work away as a live-in Carer for 2 weeks of every
month…somehow that helped me to cope… by God it was cold. I spent most days in bed with
the electric blanket on just to get warm! Some days it was so cold that I could see my breath
even though I was in bed with the electric blanket on! I would not have coped if not for the
government handout for those awful 6 months. My flat is semi-basement and has little to no
insulation.

My daughter and I were in the papers…not national news, but a small article about having a
‘cheap as chips’ (my expression, not the reporters!) funeral plan. I had recently (last year)
decided that when I die I do not want a fancy smancy funeral that costs thousands of £s.

But wanted the cheapest possible exit. So to that end I did some research and discovered the
cheapest plan; what they refer to as a direct plan, and coincidentally a reporter was looking for
people who had decided on that route to interview. So I contacted her and we got our/my story
into the papers. Frankly I’d much rather my daughter got as much of my money as what I have
left, than it goes to a funeral home for what? flowers and a fancy coffin, hymns etc etc…no they
can have a private memorial service/get together/knees up Mother Brown type affair afterwards
if they wish. But no funeral. I can’t imagine anything worse!

The Queen died last year in September. It threw me into a massive spiral of grief. I attended her
lying in state to say my good byes and attended her funeral. The Queue as it became known was
incredible. The spirit of goodwill was impressive and made the hours of standing bearable.
Entering the Great Hall and seeing her coffin on the dias was almost overwhelming; the
atmosphere was reverent and respectful. Camping out on The Mall for the funeral was just
extraordinary, and when her coffin came past you could have heard a pin drop it was so hushed.

I’ve semi-retired myself now LOL and try to not work more than 2 weeks of each month but it
does require quite a lot of sacrifice…. like no long distance walks or spontaneous trips away. But
the upside is that I get to spend a lot more time with my grandson, and when I’m home, I have
him for the day on Monday and Thursday. I take him to his activities, and once a month, I take him
for horse-riding lessons. He loves them…and is so very confident on the horse, it’s an absolute
delight to see.

I’ve finally started writing my memoirs. This in itself has raised all manner of emotions that I’m
grappling with. I think it’s going to be a fairly long-term project, but after the death of my
daughter’s father, I feel the need to hurry it up. So to that end I’ve been writing away like mad, and the last few days I’ve been compiling a list of all my favourite songs from when I was about 9 years old, till more recently.

I’ve travelled to some amazing places in the last year for work and added to my growing list of
Domesday Book places visited. I’ll have to write a few blogs about these places for sure. Some of
them are so beautiful. I also had the joy of working in Richmond for 2 weeks. Although the job
itself was quite challenging, being able to take a long walk through Kew Gardens and along the
banks of the Thames from Kew to Rochmond was blissful. I used to love walking that route when
my daughter and I lived in Richmond….many years ago.

I’ve now completed 26 Conqueror Challenges and am slowly working my way through another 3.
It’s been more of a challenge lately due to my flat….having a place to call home has been so
amazing that I can hardly tear myself away, and my walking has fallen by the wayside.

Talking of home; I’ve taught my grandson how to make pancakes LOL and now whenever he
spends the day at my place, we have to make pancakes. He is so proud of himself for
remembering all the equipment and all the ingredients. It’s such fun!

So yeah, life has been both eventful and normal. The years are flying by and I’m 2 years closer to
70 than I was last year. Going forward, I had been planning on walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino
for a 2nd time in September with one of my younger sisters.

But…it seems that she may not be able to do it after all….even though we’ve been planning it for the last 2 years. So we shall have
to wait and see.
If however we do not walk it, I’m going to do the South Downs Way instead. My grandson starts
school this year (dear God, he’s far too young) and life is going to change quite a lot when he is
on a Monday to Friday schedule. I’m definitely going to keep his school breaks for planning trips
and adventures and have already diarised the whole school year’s trips into my diary.

I have a new computer now and hopefully once I get all my photos sorted (over 5,500 still on my
phone LOL) I’ll start blogging in earnest again.
Sorry I’ve been away so long, I truly do not know where the days go! and some days I think my
father was right….time goes quicker the older you get. Is it maybe something to do with our
mortality? We are racing towards the end of our time on this planet, and as the years go by, you
start to realise that actually….the sands of time are running out.

So hi 👋 ☺️ I’ll see you again soon 🤞🤞🤞

Read Full Post »

My Child Did Exist

Posted in family and relationships, Health, news from around the world, tagged death of a child, miscarriage, stillbirth, support on August 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

I’ve seen so many posts recently on Instagram and Facebook of posts sharing the loss of a child, whether it’s pre-birth, still-birth (born sleeping) or from SIDS and various accidents or illness (an alarming number to cancer).

Each and every one is heart-breaking 🥺😢💔 and I can’t imagine the pain of that loss.

And yet, so often, folks are uncomfortable with listening to or hearing about that loss. They try to change the subject or say things like “oh you can try again ” as if you’ve bought a chicken from Tesco and it’s off…thrown in the trash. That’s such a horrible thing to say “you can try for another one”.

Just listen…loss is loss, no natter at what stage or age, and especially when it’s a baby or child.
It’s not something you ‘get over’. It’s a pain and trauma parents carry for the rest of their lives.

I know of a wee lassie, born sleeping in February; Maisie. I think about her often and about her Mama who is struggling so bravely. She shared her story on Facebook and its had the most incredible response, with people writing Maisie’s name in the sand at the beach and on mountain tops, right around the world.
A small thing, but of great comfort to her mother. Support from around the world acknowledging that her little girl existed.

It’s also been a real eye-opener, quite shocking really, at how the medical profession, more often than not, are totally cold and uncaring and even brutal in how they manage miscarriage and death of tiny babies.
Some of the stories have reduced me to tears in their stark brutality…at the death of the parents hopes, and dreams. The forever “what ifs”.
This is such a beautiful quote I’d like to share.
I hope folks, especially mothers, can keep this in mind and just listen
It’s important.

Read Full Post »

Visiting Ireland

Posted in Castles of UK and Ireland, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged Eddie Rockets, family and relationships, Glendalough, Howth Castle, travel to ireland, walks in Ireland on November 23, 2021| 6 Comments »

Last month a few of us converged on Dublin, Ireland for my sister’s 50th birthday. She and her hubby flew over from South Africa and my daughter, son-in-law, grandson and I flew over from the UK.

I love Ireland and enjoy visiting as often as possible…this was my 9th visit.

We had supper the first night at Eddie Rockets; the same place where I made the momentous decision to NOT return to South Africa, but to stay in Ireland for another 2 months till my visa expired, then fly across to the UK to obtain the necessary information to apply for my ancestral visa. (And here I am, 20 years later – my 20 year anniversary coincided with my sister’s birthday, so a meal at Eddie Rockets was a must!)

We had a few days of exploring and reminiscing and visited a couple of lovely places; Glendalough being one

In the distance you can see the Round Tower in the Monastic City complex.

The lakes, formed by glaciers, in the Glendalough Valley are located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Besides the lakes and wonderful walks, including The Wicklow Way, there’s the world famous Monastic Site with Round Tower and chapel where St Kevin reputedly spent some time.

Glendalough is home to one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the “Monastic City”. Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries. Despite attacks by Vikings over the years, Glendalough thrived as one of Ireland’s great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning until the Normans destroyed the monastery in 1214 A.D. and the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin were united. For more information here’s the link https://visitwicklow.ie/listing/glendalough-monastic-city/

A screen shot of the complex off Google maps

Being back at Glendalogh has inspired me to walk around the lakes, and then head over to walk the Ring of Kerry. I’ve already walked the virtual route via the Conqueror challenges and now I’d love to walk it in real time.

On our way back to Dublin we drove over to the east Coast and stopped off at Bray for a stroll along the Promenade and beach, then dinner.

We visited St Stephen’s Green where my grandson did a fairly good imitation of a sculpture 😁😁 Just in the opposite direction!

We visited Christ Church Cathedral where my grandson wanted to try out all the chairs, and he and I stood on medieval tiles

Christ Church Cathedral, originally a Viking Church, is almost 1,000 years old. It was founded circa 1028, is Dublin’s oldest working structure, and is the spiritual heart of Dublin. It is also one of Ireland’s top visitor attractions and a place of pilgrimage through the centuries.

Then Marsh’s Library where they had a fantastic exhibition about elephants

Marsh’s Library was founded in the early 18th century by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713). Designed by Sir William Robinson (d. 1712) the Surveyor General of Ireland, it is one of the very few 18th century buildings left in Dublin that is still being used for its original purpose.

On my sister’s birthday we enjoyed a walk along the Grand Canal near Phoenix Park while visiting with their friends.

As with UK canals, you can see some beautiful canalboats either moored or in transit.

It’s a lovely way to travel and I invariably have canalboat lifestyle envy…

The Grand Canal stretches for 131km, with 43 locks, five of which are double locks, from Dublin to the River Shannon in County Offaly…would definitely be worth a walk. The Grand Canal (Irish: An Chanáil Mhór) is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west, via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin’s inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the Royal Canal. The last working cargo barge passed through the Grand Canal in 1960. Ref Wikipedia

We also visited Howth, and a brief visit to the castle ruins, then a walk along the coast. A stunning day, the route took us through magical forests and up some precipitous paths, the sun added a welcome warmth.

Since 1180 the St Lawrence family were the feudal lords of Howth. The original family castle, a timber structure, was sited on the edge of Howth village, on Tower Hill, overlooking Balscadden Bay. In some form, Howth Castle has stood on its present site for over 750 years. The great English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1911 restyled a 14th-century castle built here, overlooking Ireland’s Eye and the north Dublin coastline.

The estate previously included much of coastal northern Dublin, including the lands of Kilbarrack, Raheny and parts of Clontarf, but these were gradually sold off from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Ref Wikipedia

In all a wonderful visit and much swapping of stories. Its quite hard being so far away from the people you love and life invariably gets in the way of communication.

And then it was the final day and a last walk around Dublin

My little sister…50! Wow 💖💖 – I used to change her nappies ☺☺

Read Full Post »

Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, gratitude, It's my life, memories of days gone by, Travel, tagged celebrating significant birthdays, family and relationships, family fun, travel to ireland, visiting Ireland on September 23, 2021| 6 Comments »

Midway through my walk along Hadrian’s Wall I got a message from my brother-in-law to say that he was treating my sister to a trip to Ireland for her 50th birthday 🎂 🥳 Hoorah! And would I be able to join them? Would I just!!! ☺☺

This is a significant birthday and definitely needs to be celebrated in outstanding fashion.

It’s kind of a circle too; it will be 20 years since I flew to Ireland from South Africa to celebrate her 30th birthday …. a journey that changed the course of my life and ultimately my daughter’s life too.

Now they’re flying over from South Africa and I’m flying from the UK.

Isn’t it interesting, the many twists and turns of life, and how an action you take one day/month/year can have unexpected consequences.

I’m delighted and really excited to see them again – it’s been 5 years since I was last in SA, and with Covid-19 I had no plans to travel there for the foreseeable future…mostly because SA is still on the UK’s ‘red list’ and I would have had to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return at an extortionate cost in a hotel room.

But it seems that Ireland has less draconian and inwardlooking rules than the UK and you can visit as long as you’re vaccinated.

So it was with much excitement that I booked my flight to Ireland and on 7th October we will be meeting in Dublin, along with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson to celebrate my sister’s 50th and tag on the 20th anniversary 😀 of my new life in the northern hemisphere. Although 50 beats 20 any day 😁😁

It’s with much excitement that I’m counting the days. ☺ 🗓

Read Full Post »

Life lessons

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, Inspiration, It's my life, tagged life lessons on August 24, 2021| 2 Comments »

Not my copyright, but very good advice to follow as you journey through life

This was posted by a friend on Facebook, and it really spoke to me, especially #2 – so often in life decisions are made on “what will…….think” fill in the gap. It took me decades to get past worrying about what other people may or may not think. But now I’m in a good place and it’s freeing.

Read Full Post »

Time with my treasure

Posted in conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, It's my life, me and Peanut, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges 2021 on August 14, 2021| 2 Comments »

I took my precious BooBee on an action packed adventure today. He’s so much fun and an absolute joy to be with.

He had ice-cream on the beach, jumped and did head rolls on a trampoline, rode on a merry-go-round, went on a pirate swing boat, jumped on a bouncy castle and played a game of table tennis 🏓

We stopped for lunch and rested a bit. Afterwards we walked through the harbour and to the beach where we built a stone pile and paddled in the sea before covering him up with sand.

We then climbed the cliff path and stopped on the way to look for dinosaurs in the chalk and draw his and my name with chalk

From there we went to the funfair where he enjoyed a pirate stage show and a couple of rides on a bouncy slide.

A fantastic day all round and we (read me 👵🏻) covered 9 kms…most of which he was sitting on my shoulders. Entered my kms to the Conqueror Kruger Park challenge and boom 💥 another post card!! 👏👏👏

Having left Hluhluwe my first stop was the Manyoni Private Game Reserve. Privately owned and one of the largest reserves in Kwazulu-Natal, Manyoni was established in 2004 when 17 landowners dropped their fences and opened up their lands to create a protected area for wildlife. One of the main drivers was to create a release site for a founding group of black rhinos as part of the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP).

The project is a collaboration between Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Their aim is to transfer black rhinos from provincial and national parks where they are at capacity to privately and community owned sites where they can continue repopulating under protection. Black rhinos once roamed much of Africa and had a population of 100,000 as late as the 1960s. Over the next 25 years the population diminished by 97% leaving a mere 2450 rhinos that were under protection in small reserves putting them on the critically endangered list.

However, with the aid of BRREP and sites like Manyoni the population is slowly growing. Manyoni has also reintroduced endangered cheetahs and African wild dogs whilst also focusing on conserving the landscape and ecosystem.

The next location is the Zimanga Private Game Reserve. Originally known as Hlambanyathi Game Reserve, the game on site were nearly all wiped out due to neglect and poaching. All that was left was 7 zebras, 1 wildebeest and some impalas and warthogs. In 1998 Charl Senekal, a sugar cane farmer, purchased the estate the reserve was a part of. He rebuilt the game reserve, fenced it and expanded the land. Over a period of time he reintroduced animals that were historically present in the area. Today it has 80 species of mammals including giraffe, buffalo, rhino, elephant, waterbuck, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, nyala, hippo, cheetah and lions.

The final reserve in Kwazulu-Natal was the Pongola Game Reserve. This 31,000 hectares reserve is over a century old and the first proclaimed reserve in Africa. Within its reserve is the 15,000 hectare Lake Jozini (aka Pongolapoort Dam). Besides typical game species, the reserve also has four of the Big Five: elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard.

The lake primarily used for irrigation is fed by the Phongolo River which runs right through the Pongolo Reserve. Dammed in 1973, the lake is home to the pink-backed and great white pelicans, the Nile crocodiles and hippos. The dam also supports more than 350 bird species such as Pel’s fishing owl, the green and red Narina Trogon and the red-beaked, black and white Saddle-billed Stork.

The Space for Elephant Foundation are also working at the Pongola Reserve aiming to create a habitat for more than 1000 elephants and re-establish an old migration route. Baby twin elephants, Dingane and Shaka were born at Pongola in 2014. Twins are extremely rare, as little as 0.5% of elephant births worldwide, making these twins extremely special at Pongola.

I’ve now completed 94 kms of the Kruger Park challenge

Read Full Post »

Kicking up dust in the Kruger Park

Posted in conqueror challenges, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, memories of days gone by, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged blogging, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, family and relationships, in memory, long distance walking, memories of days gone by, travel writing, visiting Kruger National Park, walk1000miles on August 8, 2021| 3 Comments »

When I bought the Kruger National Park challenge in March I had it in mind to honour the memory of my brother Arnold, who should have been 66 years old today; 08/08/21. He died in his mid-20s nearly 40 years ago under very sad circumstances.

Kruger National Park virtual challenge – starter bib

So I figured I would hold it till 1 August before starting the challenge and try to walk 66 kms by his birthday. As well as which, I was born in South Africa and one of my most enduring childhood memories was a visit to the Kruger National Park when we were teenagers…probably about 13 or 14 at the time. My Dad, his 2nd wife, me (the eldest) my brother (6 months younger than me – adopted by my Dad when he remarried), my sister 3.5 years younger than me and my much younger brother who was a baby at the time.

As we drove along the very long narrow dusty road heading towards the gates of the camp, after a long day of driving, my little brother threw up all over my older brother…I was wearing a very fancy patterned two piece pant-suit; a mini-skirt length top and bell-bottoms at the time, blue with coloured squares (I think I wrote about this some time back under a different context)…anyway, my brother had on a bright orange shirt and khaki trousers, which now had vomit all over them. A quick stop at the side of the road and we progressed with everyone affected cleaned up and my brother wearing the pants of my suit and looking both sheepish and colourful.

I can’t recall the name of the camp, but I do remember that we had a fantastic view of a massive waterhole from the dining room. We had a fantastic time and managed to see a lot of game on our drives, as well as in the compound when the animals from outside the fence decided to join the animals inside the fence!!! But of all the exciting things we saw, that episode with the clothes and the eggs we had for breakfast are my best memories.

And so I kicked off on 1 August and got my first postcard

Once again, the amount of information they provide with each postcard is amazing, and so fascinating. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have

On the southeast coast of South Africa and bordered by Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique is the province of Kwazulu-Natal. Known for its beaches, mountainous region and large savannahs with big game, this province is also home to the Zulu nation. Kwazulu-Natal is made up of two separate provinces, KwaZulu and Natal, that merged in 1994. KwaZulu was a semi-independent area intended as a homeland for the Zulu people whose ancestors were part of the Zulu Kingdom.

The Zulu Kingdom was a monarchy from 1816-1897 which grew to prominence under the leadership of Shaka Zulu, the illegitimate son of Senzangakhona, the Chief of the Zulu clan. Senzangakhona had 14 sons, 4 of them ruled as kings. Although Shaka was the oldest, due to his illegitimacy he did not have any claim as successor to his father. When Senzangakhona died in 1816, his legitimate heir Sigujana took over but his rule was short-lived as Shaka had him assassinated and became king. He in turn was killed 12 years later by another brother, Dingane who 12 years later was overthrown by his brother Mpande, who ruled for the next 32 years. Mpande’s son, Cetshwayo, succeeded him in 1873 for the next five years.

Cetshwayo was the leader during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Fought over several bloody battles between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom, the war lasted less than six months. The first significant battle was at Isandlwana in January 1879 where 20,000 Zulu warriors attacked the British forces of less than 2,000 soldiers. Defeating the British, a contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force and proceeded towards Rorke’s Drift, which would become the second main battle on the same day. Having been pre-warned of the Zulu advances, the British were prepared for the assault. Vastly outnumbered with guns blazing, the British held their position. After 12 hours of fighting, the Zulu warriors retreated. Several more battles were fought over the coming months until the British moved into the royal village where they inflicted the final defeat. By August, Cetshwayo was captured, deposed and exiled. He was the last king of an independent Zulu nation. Today Cetshwayo’s descendant Goodwill Zwelithini is the 8th reigning monarch of the Zulu nation.

My journey begins in the town of Hluhluwe. Located in the north of Kwazulu-Natal between iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, this small town is known for its big game, national parks and production of 95% of South Africa’s pineapples. It has a population of less than 4,000 residents, yet it is considered a travel hub for Kwazulu-Natal.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is a major attraction for the big 5 game: elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard. Located southwest of Hluhluwe, the park is the oldest nature reserve in Africa consisting of 96,000 hectares. Established in 1895 as a park, the area was originally a royal hunting ground for the Zulu Kingdom. The reserve was setup to protect the endangered white rhinoceroses and now has the largest population in the world (approx. 1000). The park is also the only one in Kwazulu-Natal where all five big game animals can be found.

Located northeast to Hluhluwe is the 1,270sq mi (3,280km2) iSimangaliso Wetland Park. The park is rich in fauna and flora due to the “different ecosystems within the park, ranging from coral reefs and sandy beaches to subtropical dune forests, savannahs, and wetlands”. A wonderful array of animals co-habitate here both on land and in the ocean such as: elephant, leopard, rhino, buffalo, hippos, whales, dolphins, leatherback and loggerhead turtles and crocodiles. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

The park also contains the 140sq mi (350km2) estuarine Lake St Lucia. It was named in 1575 on the day of the feast of Saint Lucy. Nearly 2,200 plant species have been identified in the lake’s system such as the Sausage-tree, bearing sausage-like fruits 1-2ft long (30-60cm) and purplish-green flowers. It is also an ideal environment for mangrove trees, six different species have been recorded. Other delightful flora are the Prickly Tree Hibiscus with its yellow flowers, Maputaland Cycad with its red flowers, Impala-lily with its delicate pink flowers and the Cape honeysuckle.

And so, over a period of 7 days I managed to achieve my goal of walking 66kms; 1 for each year that he would have been…had he lived.

I miss my brother, and although we were not blood relatives I adored him and he me. We got up to a lot of mischief as children and one of the few photos I have of him is when there were just the 5 of us; my cousin Yvonne, me, my cousin Brian, my brother Arnold and my sister Susanne. My family expanded a lot after this photo was taken, what with remarriages and another 4 sisters and 1 brother.

family and relationships — me, my brother, my sister, and cousins

The rest of the challenge will be completed during my jaunt along the Northumberland Coast Path and Hadrian’s Wall, both of which are long enough to ‘possibly’ allow me to complete this challenge before I return home. Although I have to say that the temptation to buy a 2nd Hadrian’s Wall challenge and complete the virtual walk whilst walking the actual wall is VERY strong!! LOL… I’ll decide by the 09th of September before I start my actual walk…it will all depend on how many km’s I manage to complete before then since the Kruger challenge has to be finished by 30/09/21 because the organisers changed the medal and made the route shorter. But I want the original medal, so…onwards into the breech dear friends, onwards!

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for me, I’m kicking up dust in the Kruger National Park… 🙂

Here are some of the scenes from my 7 walks

walking the kruger national park — Day 1 Sunday 01.08.2021

Day 3 I ended up hip deep in a ditch sky-high with brambles…still not sure how I got out, there’s a long story behind the cows on day 4 and there’s one particular scene that I just love and photograph it every day when I walk that route. The houses in this area are stunning…and I get house envy when I see some of them, and I love that quote from Day 1.

The above scenes are round and about the farmlands of Faversham. They recently harvested one of the fields nearby, hence the tractor and the harvester.

Read Full Post »

A Jurassic Encounter

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, tagged being a granny, dinosaurs at Grovelands Park, jurassic encounter, soft play with a toddler on July 29, 2021| 2 Comments »

On Saturday my daughter, son-in-law and I took the BooBee (my grandson) for a Jurassic encouter with dinosaurs at Grovelands Park in Southgate. Albeit a long tiring journey by train and tube to get there it was a wonderful experience. In retrospect we figured it would have been easier and less tiring to travel up by car.

Despite the weather prognosis of thunder storms (that never happened), we packed for a day out and tickets in hand, off we went.

After a lengthy journey by train and tube we eventually arrived by which stage the BooBee had gone to sleep 💤😴 which was a good thing because then he was rested and happy to see the dinosaurs.

A long walk from the gates, as we neared the area we could hear fierce roars and screams emanating from the forest!! Finally we reached the dinosaur enclosure and set off on our adventure.

The dinosaurs 🦕 were really impressive and beautifully presented as with lifelike roars they swung their tails back and forth while moving their heads up and down…enormous teeth in massive jaws gaping ready to eat little people – no, not really, I’m just using artistic license to set the scene 😀😉

Mr T-Rex I presume!! Heading for the chip shop 🍟🍟

It was really cool to see them swinging their heads up and down as their jaws opened and closed, quite lifelike, although from what I could see, the majority of the kids were not phased as they climbed and clambered on the animals, my grandson amongst them, in as much as a tiddler can (of course he had an Anny to help 😉)

Who’s this tiddler climbing on my back??

He approached them all without fear and whacked and slapped their heads and faces about, copying all the misbehaving rug-rats around him 😂😂😂 while the 3 adults exhorted caution and ‘be gentle’, or ‘pat it carefully’ or ‘don’t bash it’ from the sidelines!! All of which mostly fell on deaf ears!! But to be fair, he did pat and stroke gently, and then went back to bashing and whacking and pushing and pulling. Kids eh!! 😂😂😂 the dinosaurs however, are tough, and survived the onslaught.

Regurgitating his last meal?? Meanwhile, under his belly the tiddler was jumping up and down, head bashing the belly 😂😂😂

Come with me said the tiddler to the dino

The route wound it’s way through the trees and it all looked very authentic and impressive.

Daddy stopped to have words with one fella and the last we saw he was running through the trees….the dinosaur, not Daddy, although he too did a substantial amount of running after the tiddler, who should just enrol for the Olympics as a sprinter…he’d be bring home 🥇🥇🥇🥇🏅 Jeez, the kid is fast, and switches back and forth faster than a blade runner!!

My growl is louder than your growl…no it isn’t, yes it is!!!

We did the whole family outing thing and bought chocolate covered donuts, a Teddy dinosaur and a balloon 🎈(which made it home safely without floating off to kill any birds or frighten horses). I am absolutely paranoid about balloons and their environmental impact, so we were ultra careful to not let it loose.

Mummy entertaining the tiddler with the help of Teddy dinosaur

Learning to be an archaeologist and digging up bones 😁

The same cannot be said about the tiddler, and Daddy and Anny had a fine old time taking turns chasing after him at the dinosaur enclosure and later at the diner by the station. His route included a foray into M&S much to the amusement of the guards and bemusement of the shoppers, and a quick (read very quick) race around the gondolas and shelves stacked with bottles of perfume and make up in Boots which didn’t endear us to the store – we were met with disapproving grunts and stares from the staff and shoppers alike as he ran round and round the shelves, and I pretended that I couldn’t catch him!! 😂😂😂

Yes, we’ve become one of those …you know, the ones that people (like me 😁) always raise their eyebrows at as they tut tut and comment on the bad behaviour 😆 of the child, while the adult tries desperately to catch the offending creature before they knock anything over….yip, I’m now in that category, and boy it was fun!!

My daughter tut tuts a lot when we’re out “Anny!! What are you teaching this child?” Me? 😇😇😇 nothing!!

After a scrumptious meal at a diner (a wetherspoons to my dismay – ugh) and much tiddler chasing, we hopped aboard the train with a minute to spare and headed for home. The tiddler kept us entertained along with a few of the passengers…so much so that 1 of them missed their stop altogether and had to alight at the next station in order to return to their station, and another who very nearly missed her stop and managed to gather her bags and all, and hop off just in time.

But oh my gosh, this child is ever so cute, and is so gorgeous and adorable that he just enchants people wherever he goes. He says ‘hi’ to anyone who even looks at him and even those who don’t, a ‘hi’ that invites a response from the lucky recipient. He’s curious (and nosy), funny and sweet and is a ball of energy…wanting to know what’s going on all around him. He licks the windows (ugh – we have to wipe them down before and after ) climbs over the seats (my fault), stands on the tables (also my fault), makes cute faces on command, asks millions of questions and jabbers away at the speed of light, the words falling off his tongue before the next one crowds it out… and is generally just adorable. His smile could light a dark moonless night – Yes, I’m besotted.

Back to the dinosaurs. I thought the exhibition was really good. The dinosaurs were so lifelike and we debated which ones would be likely to kill us if they were encountered on a deserted island, listened to blood-curdling roars, and generally admired the craftsmanship that goes into making these extraordinary animatronics. How lucky we are to live in an age where they can make these things. And may I ask “what is it with kids and dinosaurs these days?”. I don’t remember dinosaurs being so popular when I was a kid! Yeah sure we learned about them in school, but kids these days of a variety of ages are totally dino mad. Dinosaur toys, clothes, magazines, treats and sweet…why? BTW did you know that there were 700 species of dinosaur, and pterodactyls are a species of reptile and not a dinosaur. Interesting snippet of information via my son-in-law, and the information board. Amazingly, the tiddler was able to name each dinosaur as we encountered them. What’s that one BooBee? “It’s a …….” and he would rattle the name off, no problem. They all look the same to me and I can probably name about 3!!

Are you a lizard or a dinosaur? Or just a big bird!!

The only gripe I have about the whole affair is that the organisers could have had a few direction markers showing the way from the station. Along with us, there were at least 3 or 4 other groups of people trying to find the place via google maps, that kept directing us into the grounds of the Priory Hospital….you know….that Priory. Anyway, we eventually figured it out and all trooped along at pace to the gates.

I must also mention Grovelands Park. Wow, totally gorgeous. I never knew there was such a huge and stunning park out that way. It has everything really, a cafe / ice-cream stand at the entrance (most important), a playground, a massive lake with a huge variety of birds, woodlands, paths and huge swathes of grass for picnicking on. Absolutely lovely. If it wasn’t quite so far away, it’s the type of place I’d love to take the BooBee for a day out. Although we do have some fabulous places out our way, Grovelands Park was really amazing.

In all a wonderful family day out, I treasure these times especially because they don’t happen very often. I do get to spend time with the BooBee between work bookings, and take him to gymnastics and soft play, to the beach or the park and occasionally I get to babysit overnight and get a precious little ‘hi’ and a cuddle at 6am 🥰🥰💙

his ability at gymnastics has increased exponentially over the last 6 months and he is a tear-about

Come Anny….so Anny goes…where the kid goes, I follow….and am usually exhausted after 15 minutes of clambering through tiddler sized holes, along ropes and up obstacle courses, sliding along on my belly, or down bumpy slides…being careful not to knock myself out. But it’s so much fun and he loves it.

He’s a charm. I’m so enjoying being a granny.

The Jurassic Encounter was good fun and I am sure he loved it….

Read Full Post »

Almost like living in the Caribbean

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged #walk1000miles long distance walking, being a grandmother, seaside towns of England, walking the English coast on May 11, 2021| 2 Comments »

I’ll say it right up front…I live in a stunning part of the world. The town itself is a bit of a rats ass and some days I despair at the human race, but the seashore….now that’s another story.

I set off quite early this morning to join my family for tea and buns and spend a few minutes with my BooBee before he went to school. I’m not sure it was such a good idea coz then he didn’t want to go 😄😄😄

The other reason for such an early visit is that my daughter, who is a photographer and videographer had arranged for me to be ‘interviewed’. She’s working on a project to record the grandparents life stories for posterity and so that future generations can know who we were.

It’s such a good idea. My Mum died when she was 52, I was just on 29 years old at the time, the oldest of her 4 daughters, the youngest just 13. Although we spoke a lot and she told us stories about her life, now that I’m older I have so many questions, that will never be answered.

My daughter is keen for us to leave a record of our lives, and so today we started what will be the first of I guess 6 interviews…1 for each decade.

The questions she asked were simple, but good and some of them really generated a lot of emotion… occasionally surprising even me. It took just on 2 hours and then I walked to Broadstairs to get my vaccine card laminated and some photos printed.

It was a sublime day…blues skies, fluffy white clouds, sunny but with a stiff breeze and warm. I was overdressed for a long walk.

Ramsgate beach looking towards Broadstairs

The tide was still high when I left at just on 1pm, but receding. This meant I had to take the high road and walk across the clifftop to Broadstairs, but coming back I pushed the boundaries a little and walked along the beach to see how far I could get – I’m delighted to say that I managed to walk just about all the way back from Broadstairs to Ramsgate with just one tiny diversion to avoid some still high waves.

A new bench has been added on the cliffs near Dumpton Gap – a sad little memorial

The tide was receding, so I pushed through from Dumpton Gap

Looking back from the promenade at Ramsgate

A fishing boat returns to harbour trailing a swarm of seagulls

The walk was so beautiful and for all the world I could have been in the Caribbean. It took me just over 2 hours there and back and approximately 12kms.

I had a brief stop off at home for a cup of tea, and then I went to fetch my BooBee from the childminder and take him to the park. He rode the whole say up high on my shoulders, sat ever so still and chattered away about the day’s events.

Daddy met us at the park and took him home after some running about. I picked a few dandelions that had gone to seed and I showed him how to blow them so the ‘fairies’ could fly away. 🥰🥰🥰 what a joy.

Now I’m preparing for tomorrow’s walk from Faversham to Sittingbourne along the Saxon Shore Way. I can’t pin the distance down and the sites I read had different distances….9 miles or 17 miles…take your pick??? so I’m just going to go and see how far I get. I’ve checked for railway stations in case I need to cut my walk short, and I’m hoping the tide isn’t too high along The Swale, or if the tide is high, that the pathway isn’t affected. If it is, I could have a repeat of my last walk along The Swale, albeit a different reason.

The weather forecast is good…hoorah.

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow 🤪🤪

Oh, and I also started writing up another stage of my Thames Path walk…I’m getting there.

Read Full Post »

Granny and Jamie’s adventure to Deal

Posted in england coast path, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, seaside towns of Britain, Travel on May 10, 2021| 4 Comments »

I had to go for my 2nd covid-19 inoculation today, so to give the parentals a break, and especially Mummy who is beyond tired but needs to work on her business, I asked if I could take the Jam with me to Deal….so straight after his gymnastics class, Mummy rushed us to the station. We cut it awfully close to the time and had to run like crazy through the station, down in the lift, raced along the tunnel where Granny yelled at someone at the top of the stairs to tell them to hold the train….up in the lift, onto the platform and onto the train…..10:25:10 – the train was due to leave at 10:25 and they held it for us LOL Thankfully I had bought the ticket in the morning or we would never had made it.

And we were on our way to Deal. He was ever so excited and talked non-stop about the beach and the castle.

When we got there I went for my jab first and he came in with me and watched them stick the needle in while I gritted my teeth and tried not to flinch LOL…..actually it was pretty painless, just a small pinch. But he got a sticker afterwards and when we got home later, the first thing he did was tell Mummy and Daddy all about ‘Anny having an injection, and that he got a sticker. His memory of events is amazing.

After the jab we walked to the seafront and stopped off on the beach. I think he was surprised that it was all stones. I think he was expecting sand like we have at home. But he loves stones and proceeded to collect as many as he could. My fault of course because I’m always picking stuff up on the beach and taking it home…like sea-glass and bits of wood for our future projects.

granny and jamies adventure to Deal — half of Deal beach in the bottom of the pram

Once the bottom of the pram was suitably filled with stones, we walked to the castle, but unfortunately it was still closed. We were both disappointed. I guess we have to wait till May?

We stopped off for lunch which he enjoyed, and of course we had some seagulls hovering around, so he shouted “go away that one seagull”….and eventually it did….flew off and we never saw it again. 🙂

From there we took a stroll along the ECP towards Walmer. He ran along with wild abandon, and then got tired and insisted he wanted to ride on my shoulders. So there I was, pushing the pram with one hand and hanging onto his leg with the other. It was terribly windy and walking into the wind wasn’t much fun.

But then I spied a wooden boat on the beach so we went to have a look and that kept him occupied for a while. Of course he unpacked all the stones, which I then had to pack back again.

Afterwards I took some photos then we strolled some more but the wind was so fierce it was knocking him off his feet and I couldn’t keep up with him running helter skelter, the pram going off with the wind, and his bag taking wings and flying off. So I made an executive decision, popped him back in his pram and we headed back towards the pier.

He got really excited when he saw the sculpture of the fisherman and the ‘big fish’ Anny!!! so we stopped to have a look at that. He spotted some people sitting on a bench with Costa cups in their hands and immediately ran over to a free bench and said “hot chocolate Anny” – hahahaha branding works!! How could I refuse.

But first we had a run along the pier, but not on the level like normal people, oh no, he wanted to run along the benches that line the pier; so there I was, holding his hand with one hand and running while pushing the pram with the other, which he thought was hilarious. Oh boy, the wind was so strong I could barely cope, so once again…into the pram and we strolled into the town centre for the hot chocolate. He was pretty much ready to go home by then and kept saying “Mamie home….Mummy Daddy home” – which is his signal to go home.

So we did. Took the earlier train and thanks very much Jamie, he delivered a massive poop!! As we got to the station he said “Mamie poop!” Nice one!!! He hadn’t pooped for the last 2 days, and voila….he saved it for me! So there we were, on the train, changing his nappy. Thankfully he lay still or we could have had a disaster LOL And just as well the carriage was empty on our side….I’m not sure the other passengers would have coped hahahaha.

All too soon we were back in Ramsgate and on our way home. When we got there, Daddy had just got back from his driving lesson, and the Jam wanted to go to the park, so off we went.

He loves the park with all that lovely space to run around….swings, and the slide, the climbing frame, the climbing wall and the obstacle course. I taught him how to slide forwards…and smooossh face-plant LOL I refrained from walking along the chains this time LOL so he did the balancing and jumping and then home for bath and dinner. Thankfully Daddy carried him this time.

face-plant!!! LOL have to give him credit for picking up and carrying on…

I just got a whatsapp photo of him fast asleep….tired out after his big adventure.

Sunday I’m taking him to London to Spitalfields to see the bronze elephant sculptures; Herd of Hope – a family of 21 life-sized bronze elephants embarking on the journey of a lifetime as they migrate across London. Leading the herd is our matriarch, symbolic of the mother and family each of the infant elephants, in the care of the Sheldrick Trust, lost when they became orphaned. She represents our Keepers, our team and you, our wider family who help to give these elephants a second chance at life. Read more about the Sheldrick Trust and the Herd of Hope

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »