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Camino 2016; My Way

Posted in Camino 2016, family and relationships, It's my life, tagged baby boomers travel, Camino de Santiago, have passport will travel, health and travel, travelling on July 8, 2016| 4 Comments »

When there’s something you’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and suddenly you make the decision to do it and it’s nerve-wracking…..which is weird really but there it is – I’ve finally put a date to my Camino.

It’s been a dream of mine to do ‘The Camino’ for a very long time. I’m not sure when exactly I first became aware of The Camino, that, is lost in the mists of time. But some years ago my father planned to do The Camino on his bike and suddenly I was like….Oh okay….then during some visit or other to the UK he and I discussed the possibility of doing it together but due to the fact that he wanted to cycle the route but I wanted to walk…unfortunately we never did get that off the ground.

My Dad and I in 2011, the last photo ever taken of us together

Although he did do it again last year with one of my younger sisters, albeit not very successfully apparently as by then he was in the early stages of dementia and not only lost his passport but was terribly slow and struggled along. But since he was in his mid-80’s by then, he could be forgiven for struggling. And of course he has since passed away (not connected to the Camino).

Doing the Camino was one of the ‘things’ on my ‘list of things to do’ once I got my British Passport 🙂 and like the sorting out of my possessions in South Africa the time has now come. And so project #Camino2016 has begun!

I immediately started doing some research on routes and best time of the year to travel etc etc. What I discovered is that there are numerous routes besides ‘The Way’!!! I finally decided on the Portuguese Coastal Route starting from Porto. Besides the fact that it is relatively flat in comparison to The Frances route which is 790kms and traverses mountain ranges, I have always wanted to go to Portugal so this was a great way to combine the two. I would love to go to Lisbon of course, but since it’s a lot further and I don’t have unlimited time, I settled on Porto as my launching point. However, on the plus side Porto looks amazing, so I’m really excited about starting there.

I’m planning on spending 3 days in Porto to explore then on the fourth day I shall head over to the Cathedral and start my 285km Camino journey from there.

I joined a group on Facebook; exclusively for women, the group allows women who have already walked the Camino, no matter which route, to offer advice and encouragement to those planning their journey. It allows us to ask for help or information and allows women who are already walking to post photos and tips and hints on what to wear, where to stay, what to expect en-route, what to look out for (like insane gropers), where to eat and also just some of the most stunning and amazing photos. It’s certainly made me impatient to start!!! LOL I’ve also starting studying photos on Instagram. Ohmygosh! Some of the places are just stunning.

Next was suitable gear…..I had bought my jacket while I was in South Africa as well as pants with zips and lots of lovely pockets (I love pants with pockets). I also bought a thermal top and leggings, socks, shoes, gloves and other bits and bobs. So thrilling to start getting my gear together. camino 2016.05.24 camino(4) Once I got back to the UK, I started doing more research on what to take and what to leave…keeping in mind the recommended weight of 10% of body weight…..I’m trying really hard to NOT lose any weight so I can take more with me!!! Hahaha.

I got online and ordered a whole lot of goodies from Mountain Warehouse, a parcel I received with much excitement and couldn’t wait to get it all on and start wearing it in. I’ve also bought stuff that I will clearly not get to use (go figure) and some that after trying it out I have found to be unsuitable. 2016.05.31 (1) So it goes I guess. But slowly I’m whittling it down to what I will or won’t take. Veterans of the Camino recommend weighing EVERYTHING and note it down…apparently after carrying the backpack for a couple of days for up to 8 hours a day, the pack gets heavier and heavier. Hmmm. camino (2)

I also got online and started to plan my route. As I say the Portuguese coastal route appeals to me the most…there’s also an inland route, but the thought of walking alongside the seas (well ocean actually) for 5 days appeals greatly. So I zoomed in on the maps and listed the towns along the way; potential places to stay and noted the distance between each. I don’t want to walk my feet off, so I’m limiting my distance to 28kms on any one day.

I also noted places that have lots of historical buildings and churches and things to see. I can’t go to Portugal for 2 weeks and NOT explore….that would be sacrilege. And so after many, many hours online I have identified the best places to explore where I’ll stay for two nights, and which towns I can just sleep over and leave the next day.

Working out the various stages has been fun too…I worked out the distances with great care since as I say I didn’t want to walk more than 28kms on any one day…some places just don’t play fair…33kms!! So it’s been a real challenge to plan each stage. I’ve also learned so much I never knew about Portugal…I may just end up not coming back to the UK LOL. Portugal sounds absolutely fantastic. The towns have so much history and having looked at photos of some church interiors, I can tell already that I’m going to be taking a LOT of photos.

At the midway point of my journey, I’ll leave Portugal from Valenca, cross into Spain and walk the final stages from Tui to Santiago de Camino…oh my word, when I write that it gives me a thrill…of anticipation and a healthy dose of fear. I love walking and that will be a real pleasure, I love being on my own so that’s something I’m looking forward to and exploring is right up my alley….it’s looking to be a really amazing journey. The section from Tui to Santiago is the most important stage, I’ll do this over 5 days via Vigo and at just over 100kms it will qualify me for my Compostela….the certificate you receive from the Cathedral in Santiago for completing the route as a pilgrim. In order to ‘prove’ you’ve done the required 100km’s you get stamps in your Pilgrims Passport along the way from all sorts of places, churches, alburgues, restaurants and other such places…not always easy to identify but apparently once you say you’re a ‘pilgrim’ the locals are mostly very happy to help. I am planning on learning some Portuguese and Spanish so that I can communicate.

My sister is loaning me her Spanish phrase book so I guess it’s time to start learning a new language.

Bring on the Camino!!!! camino 2016.05.24 camino(3)

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Sorting my ‘stuff’ in South Africa

Posted in family and relationships, It's my life, Travel, tagged british citizenship, its my life, relocating to the uk, travel to south africa on July 1, 2016| 1 Comment »

The last time I visited South Africa was in 2011. After I left I said that that would be my last visit….uhmmm, nope!!

In February of this year I finally got my British Citizenship and realised that I needed to sort out my South African ‘stuff’ – my worldly possessions, most of which had been in storage for the past 15 years. I hadn’t wanted to make a decision to move everything to the UK in the event I didn’t get my citizenship and have to move it all back to SA.

So now that I had it (my citizenship), I planned a trip.

Just a couple of days after our Paris trip I boarded a plane to France (go figure) en-route to SA. We flew via Charles de Gaulle. By the time we left it was dark and by my absolute luck I had a seat with a view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower…it looked magical. Soon after taking off we were asked to close our portholes so after that I didn’t get to see much else.

Paris by night – the Eiffel Tower

The plane was really empty and I had a row of 3 seats to myself and managed, by dint of wriggling and strategically places cushions and blankets, to get a good night’s sleep….well as good as what you can get on a noisy plane. I had a seat on the left hand side of the plane as I was hoping to see the sunrise in the morning…..hah!!! I hadn’t bargained on the extraordinary brightness of the sun at that height…I opened my porthole a sliver and promptly shut it again…nearly blinded! Of course the sun had risen while I was sleeping, so I had missed the best of it.

Flying in over north of South Africa I was dismayed to see just how dry and brown the landscape was – I have become so spoiled by England’s green fields. I was also surprised to see how empty the Johannesburg International airport (aka Oliver Tambo Airport) was…the last time I visited it was packed to the brim.

…how dry it all looks

I spent the first few days in Honeydew, staying with a friend who has a caravan parked within a caravan park….quiet and peaceful, the serenity belied the reality. Beyond the iron gates and electrified fence are the sprawling mass of a township; a place of unrest and discontent, with frequent riots and tyre burning…..the burn marks clearly visible on the tar of what is a national highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria…two major cities.

Waking up in this park that borders on a nature reserve was a treat. As someone who treasures quiet mornings, I would make myself a cup of tea and wander down to the fence to watch the animals and birds at the waterholes. The sunsets in the evenings are stunning; colours in the Highveld are like no other…it’s an African thing – something I suspect has to do with the air.

I had planned to see one of my younger sisters whilst there; Joanne, my Mother’s 3^rd daughter, 10 years younger than me. She is currently being cared for by a charity in Soweto. After a dangerous descent into the underworld of drugs, she was, 3 years back, made a ward of the state and sent to an institution for detox and care. After they said she had to be moved on my sisters looked around and finally found this charity where she is currently staying and where I visited. Essentially although to all appearances she looks well, her brain has been irreparably damaged and she is unable to care for herself.t broke my heart to see the situation she has put herself in……I refuse to accept blame and will not allow anyone to say my sisters or I should care for her….she deliberately took the drugs to spite us against all pleading and arguments to not go down that road….and much as it breaks my heart to see where she has ended up, it is better than in an alleyway somewhere, and she is actually very happy and well cared for. The lady who runs the charity takes very good care of her albeit with very strict rules and if she breaks any of them she is denied her small freedoms…like being allowed to go to the store on her own. We simply don’t command the same respect and my sister, although very friendly to people, can be and has been very, very abusive towards her sisters, and my Mother when she was alive. Anyway, that’s another story altogether, so moving on.

It was lovely to see her and I’m glad I made the journey despite my misgivings. I was most grateful to my lovely niece Tracey who has kept in touch with Joanne and visits on a regular basis, also being my go-between for birthdays and Christmas…being Postie for cards and presents. It was so lovely to see them too, the kids are growing up so quickly!!

Then it was off to Cape Town….flying over the country from north to south I was dismayed to see how dry and brown it all is. Many droughts have plagued the country and when you have idiots in Government who say that the previous Government failed because they built the dams too big, which means they take longer to fill up….you can only wonder. Although of course droughts are a common issue in Africa, still it was saddening to see how much it has deteriorated in the last decades. Made me long for the green fields of England.

I was absolutely delighted to have a fantastic view of Table Mountain coming into land and if there is one thing I do miss about SA, that would be it…..the sight of Table Mountain….it really is quite extraordinary…as well as which the difference from before and after the mountain ranges is quite remarkable.

Table Mountain – Cape Town

The Cape is green…on the whole, very green in comparison to further north. I was also astounded at how the ‘squatter’ camps in Cape Town had grown and how many houses had replaced the shacks, as well as which in a very innovative move which I think is just excellent, were that each house has a solar panel for generating hot water!! Makes absolute sense. Oh and satellite dishes galore!!

How wonderful it was to see my sisters at the airport…..I had only been expecting to see my friend Cheryll with whom I was to stay for the weekend and my younger sister Caroline and her hubby, but suddenly out of nowhere two of my other sisters Valerie and Sue appeared!!! We had a great time catching up. Of course Sue is now also working as a Carer in the UK but due to our work schedules we seldom see each other. You can imagine the noise at that table LOL…all of us talking 19 to the dozen….

Then it was time to go and my sister and her hubby kindly drove me through to Cheryll’s place where I spent the next two days…..sunshine every day! I had forgotten what it’s like to wake up to sunshine every day! Mind you, just the week before I arrived the Cape had experienced some terrible storms that took trees down and lifted roofs off! I had packed my bags accordingly and as it turned out I had no need at all for the warmer clothes I packed! IMAG3550

From there it was over to Somerset West to a place I had booked via AirBnB…a first for me and I was hopeful it would be okay…..after all I had already paid for it all. The place turned out to be lovely and very well appointed, but unfortunately I had a falling out with the host due to her nosiness and sly comments about my being vegetarian. But it was comfortable and safe and at least the hire car was safe and not too far from the storage unit in Strand which is where I had my possessions – the reason I was in SA in the first place…..time to sort out my boxes and keep, sell or pack…for shipment to the UK.

I had always said that as soon as I got my British Citizenship I would head over to SA and sort it all out. It had been in storage for 15 years already and costing me a small fortune.

Thankfully my sister and brother-in-law were with me when we first opened the storage room….I took one look at all the boxes piled high and would have just shut the door and left again LOL…… But disaster was averted, and we decided to start sorting stuff out right there and then…first thing down was my mattress….now bearing in mind it had been in storage for 15 years….there was not a mark, or moth or mouse poop anywhere to be seen…..well done to my sister for all the safeguards she had thrown willy nilly over it all hahahaha. It worked! In fact it worked so well I decided right there and then to send the mattress to the UK!!! It’s one of the best I have ever had.

my marvellous mattress…can’t wait to sleep on it again

And so began the next step of my journey…..what to keep, what to throw away and what to sell/donate. Oh lordy……it was really hard. I had over 40 boxes to sort through and although I hadn’t seen or needed or used any of it for the last 15 years….it was very hard to make the decision to get rid of things like my precious books. But the reality is that we don’t have anywhere to put them here in the UK and I am damned if I am putting anything into storage here!!! Besides which, storage in the UK is more than double the cost than in SA.

I had a fair idea of what i wanted to keep and what not…clothes in particular, although there was a fair number of favoured items that I wanted to bring over…. Kitchen implements and the dinner service et al were easy….time to go. Over the years we have accumulated more than enough and frankly I didn’t want to end up with loads of things again.

My sister had had the brainwave of hiring an extra unit across from mine so I could have space to move and sort. It really made the job so much easier….whatever I wanted to keep I just took across to the other side where I had boxes taped up and numbered, ready to absorb the things I wanted to ship to the UK.

a household reduced to a few boxes

all my possessions…

Finally, after 7 long days, lots of bending, sorting into keep, throw, sell, donate with packing and unpacking, as well as walking back and forth between units – utter exhaustion, braving heat and an unexpected south-westerly wind that ensured I took more SA beach sand back to the UK than I had ever intended…I narrowed it down from 43 boxes to 26!!! Hahahaha. But I can tell you, it was really difficult to part with some of the stuff….as the last day wore on, more and more little bits got ‘squeezed’ into various boxes…stuff I suddenly felt unable to part with. I’ll probably end up donating it to charity once I get it here!!

But after all that, the most difficult items to part with were my books. It nearly broke me to force myself to leave behind all the Encyclopaedias and nature books I had collected over the years. The novels were easy…I had read them all anyway and could easily buy them from charity shops in the UK if I so desired to read them again….but my encyclopaedias…..really hard. My sister promised to donate them to a library which assuaged my emotions…but then promptly started giving them away to people she knew.

I put a lot of the household items up for sale, the many unwanted toys my daughter had accumulated, clothes, ornaments and such like, but after all I ended up donating 70% of my unwanted items to a charity in the Strand area. I felt really happy with that as the woman who runs the charity is taking in unwanted and abandoned children from the surrounding area and was desperate for all sorts of necessities. The delight on the children’s faces when they got the toys was amazing. So the stuff all went to a good home.

Then it was time to say goodbye. The final bits and pieces had been loaded and taken away, and to my utter joy my sister took the fabulous rosewood dressing-table that I had acquired some years ago (29 to be exact! – where do the years go?). It was in a right sorry state and desperately needed a good clean, some fixing up and a lick or three or four of polish….a lot of tlc. I would dearly have loved to bring it over to the UK, but I have absolutely nowhere to put it and it certainly won’t fit into my motorhome!! LOL

Next step was the removal company to collect all the boxes and ship them over to the UK. (fyi I had a really good experience using Biddulphs). In all it feels really weird….essentially I have now, except for family ties, cut my ties to South Africa…the land of my birth. And even more weirdly, I can no longer stay there in excess of 90 days without permission….that was the most odd of all the discoveries I made. Cést la vie.

Now it wasn’t all work and no play….I spent the following Sunday and Monday with my younger sister Valerie in Fish Hoek and finally got to meet my little nephew Luca…who is just the cutest little boy. Initially he was very shy but within a few minutes we were best friends and the three of us had a fantastic day on the beach, splashing in the waves….well Val and Luca did…I watched from the sidelines and filmed the fun!

Then we met up with my youngest sister Deidre (Luca’s mummy), and her hubby and my niece Maya….what a charming and delightful little girl she is. I had not yet met either of the kiddies and my heart melted. They are just adorable. We spent the next day with them too and had a most enjoyable time.

The following weekend, and after we had shut the doors of the storage unit I spent the weekend with another of my sisters; Caroline and her hubby Ewart at their home in Wynberg. What a pleasure to wake up to the amazing view of Table Mountain each day. We went up Lions Head in the evening to watch the sunset which it seems is a ‘National Occupation’ judging by the number of people.

sunset at Lions Head, Cape Town

Friday was mostly a wasted day with fiddle-faddling in their garage sorting boxes etc, but a highlight of the weekend was a ride on my brother-in-law’s motorbike….I rode pillion of course but oh my word, I hadn’t been on a bike in over 30 years!! Superb! When i got off the bike I said forget the motorhome….I’m buying a motorbike!!! LOL

Saturday was also a bit adhoc with none of the plans adhered to, but we did meet up with a friend of theirs and went to see a show which was just astounding and very very emotional for me. The story really captured my imagination and suddenly I found my South African identity again and it threw me completely. I had over the last 15 years lost any joy in the country and any affiliation with or towards the country, so this sudden emotional connection left me feeling quite bereft…I cried on my sister’s shoulder afterwards.

We went for drinks afterwards and I had the most enormous Bailey’s Milkshake you could imagine…..I felt much better after that!!! LOL

Sunday we took an early ride up Table Mountain in the cable car. Oh my gosh the views….I had completely forgotten how stunning Cape Town is from that vantage.

a trip up Table Mountain South Africa

a trip up Table Mountain South Africa – looking towards Hout Bay

a trip up Table Mountain South Africa – me and the outlaw

a trip up Table Mountain South Africa – me and the kid sister

a trip up Table Mountain South Africa

We spent a couple of hours walking around the top of the mountain before heading back down and meeting my two younger sisters and the kiddies at Kirstenbosch Gardens for a picnic. So much fun. It was lovely to relax in the sun and chat and play…and eat 😉

So there we were…..4 sisters together. If my other two sisters Sue and Joanne had been there it would have been the first time in decades we had all been together. We all came from different parental relationships which has been really difficult and quite tricky over the years, with all of us together happening probably never. In fact I simply cannot recall any occasion where we were all together without exception. How sad is that! My brother too lives in another country with his family. Maybe one day it would be amazing to get everyone together….sisters and brother along with nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-niece….all in one place. How marvellous.

Meanwhile my time in South Africa was drawing to a close. After our picnic in Kirstenbosch Gardens we decamped briefly to Deidre’s house for a couple of hours and then suddenly it was time to go. I felt so sad saying goodbye. It’s unlikely I will see them again for some years…it’s quite expensive travelling to SA and it’s also now become really expensive in the country. In years gone by you could get good value for your Rand, but not anymore.

Next morning is was up early and off to the airport. I said goodbye to my little sister with pain in my heart and my brother-in-law kindly drove me to the airport.

leaving the Cape – looking towards Gordon’s Bay

Back to Johannesburg, overnight at my friend in Honeydew and then goodbye South Africa. As we flew out of Cape Town I had one last glimpse of the mountain and flying over the cape plains I felt an unexpected tug at my heart….unexpectedly I was sorry to be leaving….I guess that means this trip is not my last after all!

a final South African sunset from Johannesburg Airport

A very long night later, with little sleep on the flight we landed at Charles de Gualle and in no time at all I was in-flight to the UK. I had asked for a window seat, but unfortunately none were available. Just before we started making our descent into London I took a walk along the passage and noticed that 6 rows at the back were empty!!! I asked the Attendant if I could sit there and oh my gosh the pilot could not have given me a better view of London as we came in to land even if I had asked 🙂

beautiful London from the air

After what turned out to be an amazing trip to South Africa I was home.

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Paris for Lunch

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged fun things to do on a weekend, la fourmi ailée, landmarks in paris, Paris for Lunch, top things to see in paris, travel by Eurostar, travel to europe on May 29, 2016| 1 Comment »

Yes!! We went to Paris for Lunch! How marvellously indulgent is that. Having a British Passport really opens up the world.

When I first arrived in the UK back in 2001, I was on a South African passport with the accompanying ancestral visa. Having this was, in my ‘book’, just the ultimate! It meant I could live and work in the UK, it also meant I could apply for visas to visit Europe and the USA…I really thought that was the ultimate.

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But as the years went by, I realised more and more what a real gem the ‘little red book’ is, the places I could go……instead of having to apply months in advance, spending a fortune and having to take off a lot of time (sometimes losing out on work due to visa appointments), the time got nearer to my making the decision to become a British Citizen (although that was a given anyway…I really wanted to be a citizen of the UK from when I first arrived), and apply for my British passport…..and now I have it. 🙂

caravan

I have a list of ‘things I want to do’ when I get my passport, and one of them was to just book a ticket on the Eurostar and visit Paris for the day. Thanks to my ‘wish angel’; aka my daughter, as part of the celebration of becoming a BC and getting that little red book, she, along with two of my sisters arranged a day trip to Paris for lunch!!!

Wowww, amazing!!! What an extraordinary feeling it was to be able to just get on the train and go….no visas, no limits! I didn’t really appreciate the freedom having a British passport would give me.

We set off really early in the morning of the 24^th April, the day after my birthday and headed for Ashford where we were due to meet the Eurostar.

5 minutes to go…..Paris for Lunch by Eurostar

To say that I had butterflies of excitement would be an understatement. I hadn’t ventured to Europe, or Paris for nearly 8 years…it just got tooooo expensive for the necessary visas, and after the trauma of getting a visa for our trip to Iceland I had decided I wasn’t planning any further trips until I had my British passport….but finally we were on our way!!!

Paris for Lunch by Eurostar…and a bit of a selfie there 😉

Bubbling with excitement and barely able to keep my feet on the ground, we finally reached Ashford then whoosh, the Eurostar whizzed into the station and without further ado we were on our way! me and train I could scarcely contain myself. My grin almost reached my ears. It was really awesome to be able to share this trip with my daughter and we chatted and planned and took dozens of photos…and we hadn’t even left the UK yet!!! LOL me and cj

Suddenly, like Alice, we were hurtling at speed through a tunnel and under the sea…or was that Nemo?

I still marvel at the engineering feat of the Eurotunnel. How extraordinary to be able to travel beneath the sea in a train…..okayyyy so it goes through a tunnel, but you know what I mean!

Before we had drawn breath we were in France…..although if you had woken up after a sleep you’d think you were in England….the landscape is exactly the same. The modern accoutrements of roads and telephone wires, houses and bridges etc are of course somewhat different, plus they drive on the wrong side of the road on the continent, but other than that….the landscape is just the same. I recall in 2008 seeing the rapeseed fields in England and after popping out the tunnel on the other side, seeing exactly the same fields in France. It’s weird.

The excitement built the nearer we got to Paris and then we were there, on the outskirts and none too soon we drew to a stop at Gare du Nord. The last time I had been there was in 2008 and of course prior to that, the most marvellous trip my daughter and I made in 2005 for my 50^th.

Heading straight for the Metro we planned our journey through the maze and soon we were in the centre of Paris and a short walk from Notre Dame.

the maze of the Paris Metro system – remarkably easy to use

Wow, that building is just awesome. I love that it stands on its own little island in the middle of the Seine; il de la cité….quite appropriate.

Paris for lunch

We didn’t go in but set off to find the restaurant that my daughter had in mind for lunch. It was a place she had visited previously on a day trip, and felt it would fit the bill. We tramped about, along the West Bank, down lanes and across bridges but the restaurant was nowhere to be found!!! Eventually she got onto google and located the place…right where we had initially been!!! LOL. By then I was beginning to despair and time was flying by. As usual, channelling my inner tourist, I was really keen to see as much as possible, but as she reminded me, the purpose of the trip was to have ‘Lunch in Paris’…

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The restaurant, la fourmi ailée, was an absolute delight. The interior is quirky, and very very French (naturellement)… 20160424_131621 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16

We made our way to a table at the rear of the restaurant and I spent the next few minutes simply gawking and admiring…..the place is a delight. Two of my favourite features were the painted ceiling and the books from floor to ceiling. We selected our meal and placed our order with the delightful waiter…oh that French accent….it’s amazing how the French accent combined with the language can turn a simple phrase like ‘clean up your mess and wash the dishes’ sound like music to your ears…unless you understand what’s being said of course LOL

I do love it. And yes I think I do love Paris in the springtime. I’m so lucky to have my birthday in spring in the northern hemisphere….in South Africa I was an autumn baby (which explains why autumn is my favourite season), but of the joys of seeing the trees smothered in glorious clouds of pink cherry blossom, the parks alive with hundreds of spring flowers; a rainbow of colours…. IMAG3174 - 2016.04.24 Paris for lunch

Although the weather was overcast and a bit wet, after lunch we set off to see ‘as much as possible’. I really wanted to walk along the West Bank of the Seine to Pont Alexandre III.

Pont Alexandre III

So after a second visit to Notre Dame we set off, but instead of sticking to the riverbank we did a sort of zig-zag and strolled along cobbled streets that meander here and there, leading to tiny squares, secret parks and hidden churches, enjoying the marvellous French architecture, patisseries, charming little shops and quirky lanes that lead you further and further into the depths of the city.

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I adore how in Paris all the cafes have chairs on the sidewalks….they look so chic! IMAG3163 - 2016.04.24 Paris for lunch

It fascinates me that some of the houses and buildings still have the pockmarks from exploding shells and bullets during WW2 occupation. 20160424_144156 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16 - Copy The architecture is wonderful, in many places so old and deteriorating, so bad you wonder how it stays up, but that all lends to the charm. We discovered amazing street art, secret symbols and charming murals.

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We managed to flash past some of Paris’s most well-known landmarks and saw a few in the distance.

We killed two birds with one stone….from a roundabout on the Champs-Élysées 20160424_160116 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16 we could see the Arc de Triomphe,

Arc de Triomphe

from Pont des Invalides we managed to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance,

the Eiffel Tower in the distance

while at Notre Dame we saw the amazing statue of Charlemagne,

Charlemagne

were just a stones-throw from Fontaine Saint Michel,

the famous ‘Metropolitain’ sign IMAG3173 - 2016.04.24 Paris for lunch and the infamous ‘love-locks’ bridge.

One of the things I find most fascinating about Paris are the plane trees…they are so beautifully sculpted like soldiers in a row. IMAG3189 - 2016.04.24 Paris for lunch

All too soon we had to make our way back to the station.

…is it really that late already???

On our way back to Gard de Nord we stopped for a quick look at the ‘Wall of Love’; now a landmark in its own right, this love-themed 40 square metres (430 sq ft) wall in the Jehan Rictus garden square in Montmartre, Paris, France. The wall, created in 2000 by calligraphist Fédéric Baron and mural artist Claire Kito, is composed of 612 tiles of enamelled lava, on which the phrase “I love you” is featured 311 times in 250 languages.

The ‘Wall of Love’ in Montmartre

We also bought and devoured one of the most delicious Nutella crepes I have ever had, and viewed the fabulous Sacre Coure in Montmartre….one of my favourite areas of Paris.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur

Along the way we walked past the Grand Palais

Grand Palais

passed through the 4th, 5th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^{th, 10th}and 18^th Arrondisement and stumbled across a protest march near Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt 20160424_154701 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16

Then suddenly we were back at the station….6 hours in Paris had whizzed by and it was time to board the Eurostar for London….tired but elated!!

We had just been to ‘Paris for Lunch’.

19 ; 01 à Londres s’il vous plaît

Paris both repels and fascinates me. I find some of the buildings to be quite ‘cold’ although the wrought-iron balconies are charming.

I find the wrought-iron balconies on the buildings rather charming

The parks are wonderful and of course the famous landmarks are wonderful to see up close….or not so close 😉

20160424_142142 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16

Although I seldom visit a place more than once and try to see everything I can on any one visit, I suspect that there is so much more to Paris than meets the eye. I shall look forward to another such visit….it would be sacrilege not to! 😉

Bonjour and au revoir Paris…..till next time

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Have passport; will travel

Posted in around the UK, Camino 2016, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged british passport, buen camino, Caminho Portugués, Camino de Santiago, have passport will travel, santiago de compostela, the way, walk the portuguese camino, walking the camino on May 25, 2016| 4 Comments »

Just a few months ago I became a British Citizen. In fact today is the 3rd monthaversary of my citizenship ceremony.

at my citizenship ceremony in Maidstone

I have a list of ‘things to do once I have my passport’ and one of those is the Camino. I wasn’t really sure which section I wanted to do but since I have always wanted to visit Portugal, when I discovered that one of the routes is from Porto I decided to make that the route I would take.

I can’t quite make up my mind whether to walk it all in one go, or rather break it up into 2 stages. So in September of this year I plan to walk the Camino from Porto to Santiago or maybe just the first stage. It will all depend on how I feel at the time LOL

I have completed part of Chaucer’s route to Canterbury and in order to practice for the Camino I am going to continue the journey and complete it before I leave for Porto (hopefully; time being an issue).

My passion is London and the history of the city, and I have explored and visited many of the areas where Chaucer lived and worked,

a wooden structure depicts the Algate house Chaucer lived in

and on one of my recent work assignments I discovered part of the ‘pilgrims way’ and immediately set out to walk the section nearest to where I was working.

The Pilgrim’s Way – Winchester to Canterbury

I am a 61 year-old single parent of a most wonderful daughter aged 35+. Born in South Africa, I crossed the seas in October 2001 to visit my sister and her hubby who were living in Ireland at the time. I loved Ireland and after deciding that London was where I wanted to live, I returned to SA poste-haste to obtain my ancestral visa (my grandfather had the good sense to be born in Wandsworth) and never looked back…..after living and working in the UK for the past 15 years I recently obtained my British Citizenship and relevant passport and hope to put it to good use.

Since getting my passport on 30 March I’ve been from Dover to Calais, specifically so that I could see the White Cliffs of Dover.

My daughter and I went to Paris on 24 April for lunch (courtesy of her and my sisters Sue & Caroline – thanks guys, it was amazing)

Paris for lunch

20160424_160157 - Paris for lunch 24.04.16

My next trip is to Brussels in July to spend a few days with my friend Valy,

and of course I’ve been to South Africa, but since I used both my passports, it only semi counts as a trip post UK passport 😉

The Cape

Gauteng

It has been my dream for some years now to walk the Camino as well as spending a few days to explore Santiago. My father (deceased 2015) has cycled the Camino a few times, the last being in 2015 a few months before he died at the age of 85…although he didn’t complete the route due to deteriorating health. One of my younger sisters was with him at the time and they managed to fit in a visit to my brother and family in Hungary…..I’m going to visit them in Budapest for a few days before my #Camino2016. kevin & timi and family

I have lived in the UK for 15 years now and have travelled extensively both in the UK and in Europe and 3 times to the USA. Prior to my departure in 2001 I travelled extensively in South Africa, and during the 6 months I lived in Ireland between October 2001 and March 2002 we travelled all over the island and then some….I’ve been to just about every county.

I plan to buy a motor-home in 2021 and start travelling the length and breadth of the UK with occasional trips to the Continent. It’s so easy it would be a shame not to.

heading for the sun and surf…suitcase following close behind

I look forward to meeting fellow pilgrims in September.

Here is an extract from the site http://santiago-compostela.net/

Walking the Camino

Walking the Camino is not difficult – most of the stages are fairly flat on good paths. The main difficulty is that few of us have walked continuously for 10, 20 or 30 days. You learn more about your feet than you would ever have thought possible!

Origins of the pilgrimage

The history of the Camino de Santiago goes back at the beginning of the 9th century (year 814) moment of the discovery of the tomb of the evangelical apostle of the Iberian Peninsula. Since this discovery, Santiago de Compostela becomes a peregrination point of the entire European continent.

The Way was defined then by the net of Roman routes that joined the neuralgic points of the Peninsula. The impressive human flow that from very soon went towards Galicia made quickly appear lots of hospitals, churches, monasteries, abbeys and towns around the route. During the 14th century the pilgrimage began to decay, fact brought by the wars, the epidemics and the natural catastrophes.

The recovery of the route begins at the end of the 19th century, but it is during the last quarter of the 20th century when the authentic contemporary resurge of the peregrination takes place. There is no doubt that the social, tourist, cultural or sport components have had a great importance in the “jacobea” revitalization but we cannot forget that the route has gained its prestige thanks to its spiritual value.

Buen Camino 🙂

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St George, Shakespeare and Me!

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged not just a granny, St Georges Day, things to see and do in london, William Shakespeare on April 23, 2016| 1 Comment »

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on” – Shakespeare

Today is my birthday and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my Mother; Marjorie Joy and my Father; John Derrek Alan for having me, although I’m sure unplanned, on such an auspicious day. If I hadn’t been born on the 23rd I wouldn’t have a story to tell about St George, Shakespeare and Me 😉

My Dad and Me, the last photo of us together

Me, my Mother and my little sister Sue

Discovering that I was born on St George’s Day and William Shakespeare’s birth & death day has been an endless source of interesting discoveries. During my London walkabouts and UK travel adventures I have come across reference to them both….inciting many photos to be taken. st georges day (3)

On my many, many London walkabouts I have taken thousands of photos of the city and of course anything I find on Shakespeare and St George. Here are some images I have discovered along the way and some of me at various events in London; Trooping the Colour in 2010, the Green Man event in 2013, the Tudor Pull in 2014, at the Feast of St George in 2014 at Trafalgar Square, up The Shard with my daughter Cémanthe in 2014, and pretending I’m a Queen at Hampton Court Palace in 2015, just some of the fun things I have done in London.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

me on the Trinity Tide for the Green man event in January

and our helicopter flight over London on my birthday in 2015. London Helicopter

The traditionally accepted date of Saint George’s death in 303 AD, April 23rd, is it seems an auspicious day….for not only is it recognised as St Georges Day (the patron saint of England) but it is also William Shakespeare’s birth and death day, and my birthday… 😉
Since 23 April 1616 was the date of death and possibly anniversary of birth of the English playwright William Shakespeare (according to the Julian calendar), UNESCO declared this day the International Day of the Book. IMAG4762

Celebrated by many other countries around the world, in fact St George is even mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great. England is not the only country to embrace our lad St George, many other countries celebrate St George’s Day too, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia as well as which a great number of cities including Genoa in Italy, Beirut in Lebanon, Qormi and Victoria in Malta, Moscow in Russia, Ljubljana in Slovenia and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, amongst many others it’s also celebrated in the old Crown of Aragon in Spain — Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, and Majorca. So we do indeed have much in common with many other parts of the world.

6th floor of New Change

Liberty Store in London

St George and the Dragon

at St Magnus the Martyr Church

at St Lawrence Jewry Church

As for William himself, born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the date of his birth, although unknown, is universally accepted as 23rd April, he was baptised on 26 April 1564 during what became known as the Elizabethan era – 1558-1603.

statue at Leicester Square

a bust at Guildhall Art Gallery

Shakepear’s Globe Theatre

Sundial with a Shakesperean quote at Westminster

The George Inn at Southwark –

London has paid homage to both men and you can find many statues, busts, stained glass windows and paintings featuring them both.

Today is also the first birthday I’m celebrating as a fully-fledged British Citizen. 🙂

Keep Calm, I am now a British Citizen

on the day of my Citizenship ceremony

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Traveling in style and luxury for Mother’s Day

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Travel, tagged belmond british pullman, bucket list travel, mothers day, train journeys united kingdom on March 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Combine plush carpets, soft lighting, deep comfortable chairs, velvet curtains, fine china, cucumber sandwiches, scones with strawberry jam, lashings of clotted cream and pots of tea served by waiters in smart suits, with a train journey and what do you get?…….Belmond British Pullman, sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, for Mother’s Day!!

Just two days before Mother’s Day (after much secrecy and veiled hints) my daughter gave me a posh white, gold trimmed envelope. With impatient fingers and excited eagerness I pulled it open to reveal tickets for Afternoon Tea on Belmond British Pullman Orient Express for Mother’s Day!! Whoop whoop! IMAG1890 - mothers day 2016 One of my dream journeys, I had previously, with my daughter, watched the Orient Express roll into Broadstairs Station on a couple of occasions – to the wide-eyed envy of the seaside town’s residents.

A whoosh of smoke and a flurry of brakes squealing on the tracks, this marvellous beast pulled into the station and disgorged it’s passengers onto the platform some months ago. With shrieks of delight and screams of laughter the ladies in exotic attire and gentleman in suits spilled from the carriages to the sounds of the welcoming oom pah pah Big Brass Band – okay only three brasses 😉 and the shouts of the stewards.

Accompanied by glasses of champagne they quaffed fresh oysters and chatted nineteen to the dozen as the music played loudly, cameras flashed and stewards kept a watchful eye on their wayward charges.

Then to the shrill piercing scream of the Guards whistle the passengers of the Orient Express headed back to their chosen carriages, soon to be swallowed up and off they went with a chuff chuff chuff of the engine, black smoke puffing skywards as the residents of Broadstairs cheered and waved…..

And now it was our turn! After seeing that lot at Broadstairs I was ever so keen to add that to my bucket list and cross it off as soon as possible LOL.

IMAG1894 - mothers day 2016 My daughter who is a genius at planning surprises and arranging things she knows I’d like to do, bought tickets for a trip on this elegant train from Victoria Station to Paddock Wood.

IMAG1879 - mothers day 2016

We set off real early on the HS1 to Kings Cross and with a quick trip on the tube to Victoria Station we were there well early! In fact there were only 2 other couples there that early. 🙂

That soon changed and at 2pm on the dot the Pullman offices opened and with excitement mounting we traipsed along the red carpet to the check in desk! BY now there were a whole lot more people, and there was a real buzz of excitement. IMAG1885 - mothers day 2016 Outside, a band made up of 3 delightful ladies, entertained the waiting guests with tunes from the 40’s. Soon we were all swinging along to familiar tunes! How splendid.

In no time at all we were invited to board and excitedly made our way to our designated carriage; Cygnus. IMAG1912 - mothers day 2016

Ohmygosh!!! What a marvellous experience. The interior of the carriages are beautifully decorated with plush read velvet curtains swept back with a gold loop, each table set with fine china and a single rose in an elegant glass vase accommodated 2 guests apiece. The exquisitely embroidered high-back armchairs invited us to lean back, relax and chill out! LOL Frankly, I loved that chair and I can quite see why folks with posh houses like them so much….very inviting, they enfold you within a cocoon of comfort.

On the dot of 2.45pm we felt the train ever so gently start moving…..hoorah we were on our way.
No sooner had we pulled out of Victoria Station than our dedicated waiters were on hand with pots of tea, and delicate freshly made quiches, sandwiches and delicacies that melt on the tongue. The scones and jam with cream were delicious, closely followed by sweet delights. We ate and ate and ate and drank copious cups of tea, all the while relaxing, chatting desultorily and viewing the passing scenery. Sublime!

We soon reached the end of the track where we waited a short while for the engine to move forward and then we were off again on our return journey to London Victoria, arriving way too soon for my liking. IMAG1954 - mothers day 2016

Although the weather outside was frightful, we were snug and warm in our cosy carriage, IMAG1926 - mothers day 2016

gently swaying along the tracks, the sounds of laughter and conversation just a few feet away but totally unobstrusive. It turns out our carriage has a famous history….she was part of the Winston Churchill’s funeral train in 1965 as well as used in the special Festival of Britain in 1951. I bought myself a British Pullman mug…a souvenir to be used in the future when I travel around the United Kingdom in my motor-home. 🙂

In all a fantastic way to spend Mother’s Day and I can highly recommend it as a treat.

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I am a British Citizen

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, It's my life, tagged archbishops palace maidstone, british citizenship, not just a granny, palaces of england, travel in the UK on February 29, 2016| 6 Comments »

Yes! It’s done. I am now a fully-fledged British Citizen. Last week Thursday I met up with my daughter at Ashford International and from there we made out way to Maidstone and the Archbishop’s Palace….wow, I had no idea the venue was so amazing! and the history. I was like a tourist going from room to room and photographing everything….almost, but not quite forgetting the reason we were there. IMAG1660 - maidstone

We arrived about 4 hours before the time of the ceremony so had a bit of an explore first and then looked for somewhere to eat….we found the superb D’Lishious – a new Milkshake & Dessert Parlour in the historic Corn Exchange.

By then we were fairly famished so decided to go for something substantial. Well, what can I say…..D’Lishious really lived up to it’s name. My daughter ordered a pancake with nutella and strawberries with ice-cream and cream while I ordered a waffle with banana, nutella, bits of toffee with ice-cream and cream. The portions were truly substantial and absolutely delicious, freshly made and more than met our expectations.

After satiating our bellies we headed back into the town centre and from there to the palace. Along the way we passed the fabulous Maidstone Carriage Museum…located in the 14th century palace stables. Although it was closed; it’s seasonal, I for one am going back when it’s open. The building itself is amazing and of course we took loads of photos. IMAG1652 - maidstone

The Archbishop’s Palace was just across the road, so that’s where we headed. The palace is a stunning building with a fantastic history dating back to the 7th & 8th century, thankfully saved from demolition in 1887, it is now a Grade I listed building. IMAG1662 - maidstone Needless to say we had to explore the area, so since we still had about an hour and a half before the ceremony we walked along the riverside of the palace and onto a nearby footbridge for a better view…oh my gosh it’s gorgeous. IMAG1680 - maidstone And what a location!! We stopped briefly at the College of All Saint’s founded in 1395 by Archbishop Courtenay and admired the nearby Church of All Saints; chock a block with history.

IMAG1693 - maidstone

Finally it was time for us to register our presence and so we entered the building. I literally bounced up the steps with excitement and met at the top by one of the staff my name was ticked off the list and a red carnation pinned to my lapel. The reason for the carnation is to easily identify the soon to be new citizens from their guests.

Then it was into the Solar Room ….wow, the history. The Solar – The 14th century Great Chamber of the Archbishop’s Palace, the main timbers dating from 1325 making this the oldest part of the original palace still standing. Much of the rafters have been repaired or replaced.

IMAG1705 - maidstone

We settled down as much as possible and were greeted by various members of staff and moderators. A lovely lady by the name of Amanda spent a few minutes with us explaining the process and procedures and then suddenly it was time for our rehearsal and off we went. The room where the ceremony was held was lined with chairs, new citizens one side and guests the other.

We entered the room to applause from the guests and with a buzz of excitement took our seats, and so the ceremony began. IMAG1699 - maidstone In no time at all we had stood to declare our names and swear allegiance to Queen and Country. IMAG1700 - maidstone I felt totally bemused and as my daughter said, I looked a bit shell-shocked….I was in a state of disbelief. After all these years, finally I had applied and before I even had time to think about it, it was all done and dusted!! IMG-20160225-WA0026 I got my certificate, posed for photos with a representative of The Queen as well as a representative of Kent County Council and then we all, in good old British tradition, retired for tea and cake 🙂

So yes, I am now a bona fide British Citizen…..it’s been 4 days and I still wake up in the morning and go “omg I’m a British Citizen”. It feels quite surreal and although I don’t feel differently, my head is still trying to wrap itself around the fact that in the space of no time at all, I went from being a South African citizen to a British Citizen. IMAG1721 Who would have known when I bounced through Johannesburg International Airport on the 8th October 2001 for a 4 month holiday in Ireland, that I would less than 15 years later be the citizen of a different country…..but so it is. And I am thrilled beyond words. I am a British Citizen!!

a gift from my daughter when we got home that evening 🙂

More about the history of the Archbishop’s Palace.

Located on the River Medway, the site was given to Archbishop Langton in 1207 as a resting place for Archbishops on their way from London to Canterbury. work on the current building was ordered by Archbishop Ufford in 1348 and by the end of the 14th century it was expanded by Archbishop Courtenay, and again enlarged and improved by Archbishop Morton in 1486. Ultimately it was given to Henry VIII who granted the palace to Sir Thomas Wyatt. Subsequently forfeited to the Crown in 1554 following the rebellion led by his son Thomas Wyatt the younger against Mary I and then given to Sir John Astley by Elizabeth I.

The Archbishop’s Palace on the River Medway in Maidstone

It was subsequently bequeathed to various members of the Astley family and finally sold to the Marsham family who finally sold the palace. It has also been used as a Territorial Army medical school.

Here’s a link for the carriage museum in Maidstone if you would like to visit

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Bexhill-on-Sea & British Citizenship

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged bexhill on sea, british citizenship, not just a granny, travel in the UK on February 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Just a day before I left for my current assignment a letter was being processed by the home office that was to change the course of my life.
I arrived in Bexhill-on-Sea on Thursday last week,

mural at the station

a place I had not yet been to and discovered to my surprise, that after saying there wasn’t much to write home about, in fact Bexhill-on-Sea has links to the Battle of Waterloo and in fact in 1804 it was chosen as an infantry depot, as well as which it is the ‘Birthplace of British Motor Racing’, and it’s now the place where, to my utter joy and massive relief, I received the news contained in that letter from the home office….my application to be become a British Citizen had been approved. Hoooorayyy!! and I have no doubt… bexhill on sea
I literally screamed when my daughter sent me the news. My only disappointment is that I wasn’t at home when the news arrived, it would have been so much fun to share the moment and excitement with her, but I’m not complaining…the news came 4 months sooner than I had anticipated and that alone is a massive thrill.
So next week I shall be swearing my allegiance to Queen and Country…I can’t wait! Once I have my certificate to say I am a bona-vide British Citizen (I get it on the same day) then I’ll be able to apply for my little red book….my passport – to freedom!! IMG-20160213-WA0014 That aspect is so exciting I cannot even begin to express what it means, except to say that being able to just jump on a ferry and cross to France is beyond amazing. No more stress of having to book appointments and apply for a Schengen visa, to pay for a lawyer to give me a letter to say I am who I am (£85!!) for 25 minutes of his time…I should have an income like that!! And then to make another appointment to collect the visa and meanwhile unable to work or having to cut short an assignment in order to collect it. Being self-employed is great and I love the freedom of it, however it’s very difficult to organise things where you have no control over the schedules/dates made by officialdom.
But all of that will come to an end shortly and I will have to freedom to visit all those places I so very much want to go to. I know there are some countries where as a British Citizen you have to apply for a visa, however, I’m not planning on going there, so it’s a moot point.
Meanwhile, I’m really enjoying my stay in Bexhill. Although there really isn’t much to do, I’ve been able to slip out early in the mornings to watch the occasional sunrise or just enjoy it from the balcony, I’ve taken a few walks along the promenade and spent some time just gazing out to sea. PhotoGrid_1455559692555

My client is lovely, so very sweet and has an interesting history linked to travel so she regales me with stories of places she has been; Middle East and Africa in particular. In some places they were some of the first European’s to go there and that was in the 40’s & 50’s – not that long ago! They were in construction…in case you wondered 😉
I mentioned in my latest video (see below) that she has the beginnings of dementia and this of course is quite a challenge. Her short-term memory is non-existent and she has great difficulty retaining information heard even a minute before. I’ll tell her something and in her very next sentence she’ll say ‘wait a minute….’ And the information I have just given her is asked about in a slightly different way, or she’ll say ‘what about this or that’. There’s no point at all in saying ‘but I just told you’ or ‘don’t you remember’ or anything similar, because no, she doesn’t. Try picture a bucket with holes in the bottom…pour water in and it runs straight through…well that’s how words are for someone with dementia…they just seep straight through. You can of course remind her of things like an appointment or a visit or outing….but be prepared to remind her over and over again…yet she can remember with clarity her days as a nanny for a titled family….even down to the child’s age and the colour of the uniform she wore…nearly 65 years ago!! But 10 minutes ago….nope it’s gone. Dementia is such a disturbing disease, for all concerned. At least she’s enjoyed my meals!!! After the resounding ‘most unsatisfactory’ judgement by the previous lady I cared for, it’s been a welcome reprisal of my cooking skills. LOL. IMAG1117 To be fair I’d say at least 96% of my clients like my cooking…..but now and then we get someone who considers they have a discerning palate and find my meals unsatisfactory. Thank goodness this doesn’t bother me, I know I cook nice meals. 😉
Bexhill-on-Sea is a lovely seaside town, quite large…certainly larger than I thought it would be with lots of Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The promenade is one of the longest I’ve ever seen. PhotoGrid_1455472278047 The views out to sea are far and flat. Perfect for a sunrise and sunset. What does surprise me though is that they haven’t built any wind-farms out to sea!! It seems the perfect place really…no shipping to speak of and it doesn’t seem to be on a migratory route for birds.

amazing sunrises

To the left and up the coast is Dover and to the right and down the coast is Beachy Head…in fact many of my sunset photos features this distinctive outcrop……of course Beachy Head has quite a notorious history; sadly it’s a magnet for people who wish to commit suicide and many have been only too successful.

Beachy Head in the distance

I managed to persuade my lady to go out for a walk today…this has been quite a challenge as she doesn’t like the cold. But it was such a lovely afternoon that I insisted we make the most of it…and no surprise, she enjoyed it. We walked along the promenade to the café and stopped there for a cup of coffee. The sun’s rays were delicious. We’ve had some brilliant conversations and she thinks I’m a lovely companion….this is quite important really as I do try to make sure that my client’s experience are good and one of my daily challenges is to make them laugh….silly jokes, quirky comments, compliments, daft observations…anything to raise a laugh. But like the cooking, some people just do not take to it….however that’s more about them than me.
Later this afternoon I went down to the seafront to take photos of the sunset – just spectacular.

a beautiful sunset

The day started out very grey and misty, but oh my word, what a splendid end. The beaches are mostly covered with pebbles, not my favourite type of beach, but it is ever so colourful and interesting and I always enjoy uncovering some of the more unusual of these and discovering those fossils hidden within. The tides are fascinating to watch, and as with the river in London; The Thames, I find watching the incoming and outgoing tides quite amazing to see. PhotoGrid_1455539834205 I saw a motor-home similar to the model I want to buy for myself in 4 years’ time… I quizzed the owner about how comfortable it is to live in for an extended period, how spacious it may be within, how easy to drive, packing space, sleeping space, if light on fuel? It seems to be good from his account. I’m thinking something a wee bit bigger would be good for me. I shall keep looking. Most importantly I have to be able to stand up in it and have space for my computer and a stereo!! Oh and my helicopter camera.
Well that’s it for this catch up….within the next 7 days I shall finally after 14.5 years be a bona-vide British Citizen….Long Live The Queen. Hip hip hooray!!

the Archbishop’s Palace where I shall swear allegiance to Queen & Country 🙂

Keep your eye on this blog….I am going places; why not come along with me 😉 IMG-20160213-WA0019

and in case you missed today’s video

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Home; Broadstairs

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, It's my life, tagged broadstairs, charles dickens, duke of wellington, seaside towns of the uk, waterloo 200 on February 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

So yesterday I spoke briefly about home, and of course that would currently be Broadstairs, a stunning seaside town in Kent and certainly one of the prettiest places I have ever lived. We moved here in October 2014 and although I wasn’t at first really that keen to move so far from London, as soon as I visited for the first time I just fell in love with this little town. IMAG2644 Going back to the 1500’s there is loads of history linked to Broadstairs – namely Charles Dickens who lived in Broadstairs a number of times and stayed at the Royal Albion Hotel, where my daughter and I frequently have tea and pastries when I come home after my last job, IMAG2027 as well as which, what is now known as Bleak House, IMAG5691 and the Duke of Wellington who apparently had barracks in the town for his soldiers during the war against Napoleon in Belgium. A few months ago in June of 2015 Broadstairs played a leading role in the Waterloo 200 commemorations. After the battle at Waterloo, once Napoleon’s standard had been captured, some of his troops sailed across the channel with the standard intent on reaching London. They were tossed about by tide and winds and landed on the beach in Viking Bay in Broadstairs. There was a reenactment in Broadstairs with the New Waterloo Despatch delivered by boat, reported to the Constable on duty and thence to London by coach…..very exciting it was.

Charles Dickens played a very big part in the history of Broadstairs and each year there is a Dickens week when the locals get togged out in Victorian gear and meander about town, if you didn’t know better, you’d think you had fallen down the rabbit hole. There’s a fair and walks and talks galore – good fun and last year I participated, albeit briefly by dressing up in a Victorian swimsuit (I didn’t go into the sea), and somehow I acquired a baby much to the amusement of my daughter. I had to give both the outfit and the baby back after play!! 😉 I would have been happy to keep both 🙂

2015.06.17 afternoon tea at Bleak House (2)

2015.06.17 afternoon tea at Bleak House (31)

2015.06.17 afternoon tea at Bleak House (5)

So continuing on my mission to ‘vlog’ today’s video is a combination video of places in Broadstairs linked to Dickens or named for one of his books. There are loads of places, roads and lanes all named for either places or characters from his books, but in order to keep the video short I have only touched on a few. Below is The Old Curiosity Shop where we often go for tea and cake…the carrot cake is delicious. There’s an old well in the shop that contains two skeletons at the bottom……visitors who didn’t pay their bill perhaps? 2015.05.26 (16)

I had to make a combined video from yesterday and today’s since I ran out of space on my tablet as I reached Bleak House.

So here it is; video blog #2 Home; Broadstairs

…rule #1 when recording….make sure you have enough space in the memory! Hah!

05.02.2016 – #3 finishing what I started

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vlogging…Getting started

Posted in family and relationships, It's my life on February 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hi all, long time no write 😉 I had planned on blogging regularly last year when I turned 60,

Me and Cémanthe on the helicopter ride for my 60th

but as you probably noticed…I haven’t. For the last 5 years I have been focussed on my business 3 Days in London and devoted all my spare time to that, so much else has fallen by the wayside. river thames

Life has been a bit topsy turvy of late and I feel like I’m at a bit of a cross-roads but not sure what direction to head in. Is it old-age? When I was younger I found it quite easy to just make a snap decision, even till more recently. But since reaching the grand ‘old-age’ of 60, I find my decision making is more studied and less impulsive….although I still do make snap decisions, these are usually based on things I had been thinking about anyway.

I’ve been all at sea about my life recently, and if you read my last post you’ll see that my dad passed away nearly 2 months ago at the age of 85….and whilst that seems really old, the fact is that I am just on 24 years away from that and suddenly 85 doesn’t seem that old. It feels awfully close, and that has set the fox amongst my chickens…there are still things I want to do, like owning a camper van/motor home, travelling around the UK, seeing my still to be born grandchildren, building my business, where to live, finding a job that really interests me – something connected to London and the River Thames would be ideal and building my investments etc etc. IMG_20150104_120439

I’ve been working as a Carer for the last 15 years with just two gaps when I worked in an office (two different businesses). But after 15 years of caring for elderly people, much as it has mostly been very rewarding, I find that by spending the majority of my life with people who are mostly infirm and quite frankly very close to death, it has changed my perception of life and is making me feel old before my time.

I’m not sure how to define that exactly but I can definitely tell that my life has ‘slowed’ a lot and I find this very uncomfortable.

I got home on Tuesday after 3 weeks away caring for two elderly ladies, one 84 and the other 94…I find that I am a lot more tired these days when I get home and it takes me a day or two to get my mojo back and drum up any energy. In the past, the first thing I would have done is to head into London to attend events, visit exhibitions and generally do as much as possible…however, these days I just can’t summon enough energy to do that.

my best nine on instagram for 2015; a mix of London and other

As a result of feeling so tired, on Wednesday morning I was sitting in a corner of the couch feeling a bit sorry for myself. Lacking the energy to even go for a walk, I started watching a programme “The Rise of the Super Vloggers” that I had seen advertised on tv. I, like many others of the older generation, poo pooed the idea of ‘inane’ videos that appear to serve no purpose, so initially gave the programme a miss. But on Wednesday, something made me click on and watch….and I was intrigued.

I mentioned it to my daughter when she got home later that day, so she watched it with me….and so the idea was born to start vlogging. This is not by any means a new idea, she has been nagging me for 3 or 4 years now to start vlogging, but since I don’t like to see myself in either photos or videos and don’t like the sound of my recorded voice, I resisted!

Till now…..so yes, at the ripe old age of 60+9.5 months, I have started vlogging. The first is of course total rubbish LOL but we all have to start somewhere!

This is it……

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think…be nice okay!!! 🙂