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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 🤞🤞🤞

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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

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The joy of being home

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, gratitude, me and Peanut, tagged family and relationships, first grandchild, grandson, Granny and Jamie's adventures on May 9, 2021| 2 Comments »

I love travelling and I mostly enjoy my job; especially if the client is nice and we get along well together for the period of mu booking. I’m very lucky that my job as a Carer takes me all over the UK, although mostly in England now that I have my beloved grandson to spend time with. But I always enjoy coming home and it is a joy to be have my time to myself and to take my BooBee on outings; either to the park or the beach, or on a train trip.

Today was one such day…it was bliss to be able to just get up when it suited me and so I made the most of it and stayed in bed till 11am, drinking tea and faffing around on social media, and of course keeping a beady eye on my dogecoins!! When to buy? Or sell? That is the eternal question LOL Sometimes I get it right, others not so much!!

When I eventually roused myself from my cosy nest, I logged straight onto my computer to continue writing about my recent Thames Path walk….well I didn’t quite get that far LOL Instead I spent the rest of the day updating my budget spreadsheets, planning my future walks along the SSW, the ECP, further stages of WTP….and calculating the relevant costing. Oh and planning a trip to Malta for a week in November (depending on and further lockdown and covid-19 issues).

At about 5pm I walked over to the family for tea and hot-cross buns and then the 4 of us walked over to the park as requested by the BooBee. He decided he wanted to ride on my shoulders, and so for a short way we jogged along. It’s a good thing I can still carry him on my shoulders and it’s good fun…he loves it.

travels with Granny — Riding on ‘Anny’s shoulders – isn’t his hair glorious!!

He had loads of fun at the park. First we stopped to look at the cherry blossom tree which was abundantly covered in blossoms, much of which was already carpeting the ground.

Anny & Mamie inspecting the cherry blossom tree

He is still so tiny. I often forget that he’s only just gone two, because he is so intelligent with extraordinary levels of comprehension and understanding, that he always seems so much older to me.

Then we meandered over to the climbing frames where ‘Anny (me) reverted to her childhood and decided to walk along the chains….and that ended as well as what you would expect LOL

Anny really should know better LOL

Then we went over to the swings where he made friends with another little boy, climbed the rock-wall, had a few slides…I showed him how to go down on his tummy. He really is up for anything, and is so trusting that we won’t let him come to harm. He got all sad when the little boy left and lay down on the ground to indicate his dismay…

at the park — so sad his little friend left 😦

Time for a quick family selfie

A storm was brewing on the horizon with big black clouds building, so before it started to rain we left for home….and decided to order in so Mummy didn’t have to cook. There was a marvellous thunderstorm with the accompanying thunder and lightening and so I played him some AC DC ‘Thunderstruck’….seemed like a good idea LOL and I gave him a headbanging demonstration. Not my finest hour….he looked on in amazement…poor kid; growing up with a loon for a Granny. He did however enjoy the AC DC – clever kid!!

Now I’m home, preparing for a trip to Deal tomorrow for my 2nd vaccine jab and I’m taking the BooBee with me to make it an outing for the day, then he and I can take a stroll along the English Coast Path and he can make that the start of his #travelswithGranny although we have had quite a few adventures already…

as a footnote, in case you are unaware: SSW = Saxon Shore Way. ECP = English Coast Path and of course WTP = Walking the Thames Path….but you may have guessed that.

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Shrove Tuesday and a 2 year old baker

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged being a grandmother, family traditions, Granny and Jamie's adventures, making pancakes with a two year old, pancake day, shrove Tuesday on February 18, 2021| 6 Comments »

It all started sooo well….

I decided it would be a good idea to make pancakes with the Boobee for Shrove Tuesday. I had an image in my mind, you know…like a gentle, calm Granny and grandson bonding…like you see in the movies – except I didn’t bank on the 2 year old having his own ideas about baking.

It started so well… ☺❤💙 I collected all the equipment, and gathered up the ingredients….the 2 year old getting quite excited about the prospect of ‘pancakes’ although he had absolutely noooo idea what they are, he just loved the sound of it all. 😁😁

Behind the scenes his parents were snickering, their hands covering their mouths as they tried to contain their amusement…they knew what was coming. 🙄🙄🙄

We settled down at the table and I measured out the flour, explaining what I was doing, but before I could blink my eyes…it descended very quickly into chaos, with handsful of flour on the and table flying everywhere!!! I desperately tried to keep control of the situation, to no avail.

So far so good, I just added extra flour…

Suddenly, and with no warning, he 8swooped in with his hand and lifted a gloop of batter and started painting the table 😱😱🤣🤣🤣🤣

I was laughing so much…intially with shock and then with bemusement. It was just hilarious. The carpet will have to be washed…I eventually recovered what was left of the first batch and hurriedly decamped to the kitchen. Meanwhile the parents cleaned up the chaos and popped him in the bath – I needed a bath!! 😁😁

With the chaos reigned in (safely in the bath 🥴🥴) I prepared a 2nd batter mix and started making the first batch of a very unique blend of pancakes…a la Boobee!! 🤭🤭🤭 They were perfect…😊

Mummy had cut up some banana and strawberries, melted white chocolate and made up some sugar and cinnamon, as well as some yummy dairy free ice-cream.

He loved the pancakes and made short work of them with nutella, strawberries and bananas, and ice-cream. Of course he was quite hyper afterwards, what with all the sugar in the chocolate…good luck to the parents, I can go home 🤪🤪🤪

You just never know what you’re going to get with a 2 year-old, but I can say for sure, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.

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Hair envy

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged being a grandmother, grandson, red hair on February 17, 2021| 5 Comments »

Just look at this child’s hair!! 💙💙💙 he was as bald as an egg when born, but we could see the haze of red coming through.

2 years later and it’s a strawberry blonde mop of curls and absolutely beautiful.

He’s developing into the cutest, funniest, most energetic ball of delight. He gets ever so excited when I visit. He’s learning to talk and the words flow like lava atm, but some sounds still defeat him…he calls me ‘Anny instead of Granny, and I love it.

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Happy Birthday Boobee

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, tagged being a granny, family and relationships, grandson on January 19, 2021| 1 Comment »

Two years ago today, at exactly 12:46 this precious little cherub came into our lives, and in an instant my baby became a Mummy, and I became a Granny. 🥰🥰🥰

Its been an amazing journey ever since – he lights up my life, bringing so much love, joy and laughter. From a tiny wee scrap, he’s now a super hero who builds snowmen and keeps me fit on the beach.

A photoshoot on the beach by createdwithlightphotography

Wishing my beautiful, funny, crazy, adventurous, smart and joyful grandson a very happy 2nd birthday, you are most precious to me 🎂🎁🎊🎉2️⃣

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Hello and….1 day to go and goodbye 2020

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, england coast path, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, me and Peanut, photography, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, walks around the UK, tagged 101 walks, conqueror virtual challenges, Covid 19, English coastal path, family and relationships, for the love of walking, grandson, new year 2021, walk1000miles on December 30, 2020| 3 Comments »

Well, would you just look at that!! Just over 24 hours to go (UK time) and we say goodbye to 2020. I can hardly believe it.

Not that the new year, 2021 is going to start off very well at all with now 8 in 10 people in the UK going into tier 4 and virtual lockdown. Although 2020 didn’t do too well at all, 2021 is not going to get off to a very good start.

To say I’m peeved at our useless government would be an understatement because tomorrow brings the double whammy of the final twist of the Brexit knife and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to really give this year a bad name. And do I believe our feckless PM when he spouts out his nonsense about having got a good deal?? No. I do not.

Meanwhile I, like millions of others, am trying desperately to keep my head and not fall into the pit of despair at the way life seems to be spiralling out of control. To that end I’m not watching the news nor reading the papers and still off Facebook. I am however spending quality time with my family and walking….walking and walking. I’m also grateful to still have work.

Although I only started in April, having the Conqueror virtual challenges has been a bit of a life saver really because keeping up with my targets gets me out, and the walking, which I love, keeps me sane.

I’m nearly at the end of the 2020 challenge and yesterday I completed the Mt. Fuji challenge after a fantastic walk from Margate to Herne Bay 22.18 kms. Although it was bloody freezing, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and was not only surprised at how quickly I walked the distance, but also at how easy it was.

I’ve long wanted to walk from Broadstairs to Reculver after visiting the Roman site a few years ago, so it was absolutely thrilling to finally make the journey, albeit only from Margate. Except for one very short section, there is a promenade/footpath and the sea the whole way. The final section to Herne Bay was a breeze…literally and figuratively. I nearly froze 😂😂😂 it was so darn cold – at one stage I was sucking my thumb just to get some warmth back into it.

Fortunately the cafeteria at Reculver was open so I stopped for 15 minutes to rest my feet and warm up with a hot chocolate and a yummy caramel fudge brownie…delicious.

Herne Bay is a fascinating place with so much history, not all of it good. But they do have some fantastic fish and chips shops….😁😁 I have to give a shout out to Gary of EKS Office Equipment in Herne Bay for not only agreeing to charge my phone (for free) but also allowed me to sit in a corner of the showroom to eat my chips while I waited. It was very much appreciated.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, despite the cold, the saddest sight was the vast amount of plastic pollution that quite literally lined the whole 22kms….I could have filled 50 black bags and still not cleared it all. Its terribly painful to see all that pollution.

So as the year comes to an end, I have one final day of walking to do to finish my 2020 km challenge. Its been a most satisfying pastime and I must thank my daughter for introducing me to the Conqueror Virtual Challenges….thanks to that I have improved my fitness levels, walked extensively in areas I would likely have not except for wanting to meet the challenge of the challenges 😉 and I’ve inadvertently accumulated way more medals than I had planned. Its been a fairly expensive hobby, but so much fun.

I’ve started on the Alps to Ocean, NZ challenge and hopefully tomorrow I’ll complete another decent distance as my final walk for 2020.

Other than that, I have finally found a suitable place to rent. Went to look at a room last night….and as Goldilocks said “it’s just right ” and I’m saying “It’ll do Pooh” 😃😃 It’s not a huge room, but it’s on the top floor, its spacious, it has cupboards, and a bed, and a skylight for summer nights, and a desk for my books and computer and MOST importantly, the landlord said Jamie can visit. So HOORAH!!! after 18months I’ll have a place to go ‘home’ to. I’m feeling quite emotional. It means I can get my clothes out of storage, and my books and Jamie’s toys and my amazing South African mattress. I can brighten it up with my own bed linen and pictures and bits and bobs.

Today we had a photoshoot done. The fab photographer of @createdwithlightphotography on Instagram did the shoot for me with my gorgeous grandson. We had lots of fun and then had hot chocolate to warm up, because of course it was freezing on the beach. ☃️☃️☃️☃️

Tomorrow, weather depending I’ll walk from Ramsgate to Margate one last time before I tackle the next section of my own challenge….to walk the whole of the English coast within next 5 years.

Cheers folks, thanks for reading along with me. In case I don’t get to write a post tomorrow, although I probably will, I wish you all a VERY safe, healthy and wonderful New Year.

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Granny’s Joy

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, tagged being a granny, love, my grandson on December 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

There is nothing more precious to me than hearing my grandson from behind the door saying “G’anny” when I ring the doorbell and then seeing that beautiful little face lit up with a smile. And a cuddle follows close behind ☺☺💙

He is my absolute joy….

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2 years ago today

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, memories of days gone by, tagged being a granny, heritage clothes, knitting for babies, knitting for my grandson, knitting for newborns on December 7, 2020| 14 Comments »

I finished knitting this little matinee jacket for my soon to be born grandson 💙☺

6 weeks before he was born I completed the jacket. This little item was one of many little cardigans and jackets I knitted for his layette. I love knitting and it was such a joy to prepare these little items for him.

When my daughter was a baby, I knitted a full set of dress, jacket and bootees in green, using the same pattern. Continuity. I’ve still got the set in storage.

And continuing with the same pattern, I knitted a blanket for my daughter. It was meant to have been knitted while she was in labour, but as it turned out, the birth went very differently to what we anticipated and I participated in his birth right from the first contractions till he took his first breath.

And so the blanket took a tad longer than expected….like 18 months longer. But eventually it was done

It’s now being used for when he goes out in his pram

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Carving Pumpkins

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged British traditions, halloween, pumpkin carving on November 1, 2020| 2 Comments »

Sounds like the name of a band….😁

If I remember correctly, I think there is a band with a similar name….Smashing Pumpkins?? Which sounds just as much fun, albeit a lot messier than carving pumpkins 🎃

Its amazing how many British traditions we have been introduced to since living here for the last 19 years.

Although we came late to the tradition and have only carved a pumpkin once before, now that my grandson is older we’ve introduced him to the tradition and the fun of carving a pumpkin for Halloween.

Growing up in the UK, I’m pretty certain that this won’t be the last time we carve a pumpkin, and it will become a new family tradition.

My daughter bought the pumpkins a few days ago and yesterday we sat in the garden, thankfully it wasn’t raining, and carved our pumpkins.

Daddy of course honoured the boobee with his name and I went for the more traditional scary face, and for good measure and keeping it contemporary, I also carved out the word Covid…🤪🤪 Its current news, so I had to.

We left them outside to start drying out, a hopeless endeavour since the weather is so grim, but they were sufficiently dried by evening. Daddy sourced some candles and lights off, candles in and we had our ‘scary’ Halloween.