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Icelandic geysers and an ancient rift!

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, Travel, tagged Þingvellir Nature reserve, blogging about my travels, chasing the northern lights in iceland, gullfoss waterfall in iceland, northern lights in iceland, strokkur geyser in iceland, travelling in iceland, visiting for 3 days in iceland, winter travel in iceland on January 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Listen, if you want to be blown away by sheer, unadulterated extraordinary amazingness then this is a tour you HAVE to do!! Þingvellir Nature Reserve was fantastic. (pronounced Thingvellir) The unadulterated wild beauty, sheer vastness and wildness of the landscapes amaze and delight. Everything was covered with a new fall of snow, bright, blindingly white gorgeous snow. Everything was fantastic.

pure beautiful white snow

And so to the place where east meets west; the North Atlantic and Eurasian continental plate. Whoaaaa. If we had thought it was windy before, we were in for a real surprise at this place!! Fair blew us off our feet it did! People were being blow over, hats were sent flying through the air and if you took off your gloves to take photos, you made damn sure you held onto them tightly till they were safely in your pocket.

The North Atlantic and Eurasian continental plates…primeval beauty

It was fantastic. Exhilerating. Awesome. Visceral. Extraordinary. Primeval! Have you ever looked into the bowels of the earth, into an abyss that is millions of years old, at rocks that have been flung up from the middle of the earth by the powerful forces of nature, black and menacing and totally fascinating. I was enthralled. The North Atlantic and Eurasian continental plates stretch hundreds of miles across the planet, ever moving, ever shifting and shaping the land and the seas – slowly year on year, it inches further and further apart, the gap widening but not gaping; it’s filled with a constant upsurge of lava and rock that creates new landscapes just as amazing as the current. <insert : Iceland is the world’s 18th largest island, and Europe’s second largest island after Great Britain. It’s the site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge>

: The road between two continental plates – North American (L) and Eurasian (R)

: prehistoric awesomeness

: incredible landscape

Walking through the gap was beyond incredible. It looked so menacing and yet so majestic, aeons of history; we are but a nano-second of existence in comparison to these rocks. After a fairly short time to explore we set off again and travelled along the road that took us from one continental plate to another. OMG!!!! Never in my wildest dreams. Beyond description.

these little houses are built on the rock and earth gap that separate the two plates!!! courtesy of StopandThinkPhotography – copyright @justcemanthe on instagram

And then what to my mind was the most amazing of all….I can’t even begin to explain how thrilling it is to stand and watch a geyser exploding in a rage of heated water from deep within the bowels of the earth!! Thrilling, exhilerating, amazing, mesmerising….I could go on and on.

Strokkur Geyser – wow!!!!

I stood for the whole 45 minutes we were stopped in this area just watching that geyser rising and falling, teasing you as it rises into a dome of awesome blueness, then dropping again into a steaming hole, bubbling up and disappearing, bubbling up a little closer to the edge and gone again and then suddenly with a whoosh that leaves you gasping it explodes dozens of feet up into the air; a raging mass of boiling water, so hot it would kill you within seconds. Awesome!!! I was entranced. Only coz Cémanthe phoned me did I not get left behind….LOL I could seriously have stayed all afternoon. At least I would have been warm 😉

: Strokkur – incredible geyser in Iceland – do you think it was cold?

: CJ at Strokkur Geyser

: Strokkur Geyser exploding

: the pathway leading to the geyser – the water on the left is scalding

insert : <Iceland has many geysers, including Geysir, from which the English word is derived, and the famous Strokkur, which erupts every 5–10 minutes. After a phase of inactivity, Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in 2000. Geysir has since grown quieter and does not erupt often>

Then we visited the Gullfoss Waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland…..I don’t even know how to describe this majestic, magnificent sight.

what a landscape….how do you describe something so amazing

It doesn’t flow over the cliff and into the bottomless gorge; it roars, thrashing and flinging it’s way over the edge and into the abyss. A tumultuous mass of turquoise blue water, channelled into one narrow race, the rest of the vast falls frozen over. And it was C.O.L.D!!!!

me and CJ at Gullfoss Waterfall…wow!!!

Freezingly, mind-numbingly, bone-crackingly cold. As you can imagine we stayed for as long as we didn’t freeze to the spot and then ran as fast as possible over frozen ground back to the warmth of the bus.

: Gullfoss waterfall….ice and more ice

: just extraordinary – Gullfoss waterfall

Three days of the most amazing adventures. We went out late at night to track the northern lights, rushing from one place to another, freezing our asses off for 15 minutes and then racing back to the warmth of the restaurant, a mug of hot chocolate, hands over the heater…defrost and back out again for another ‘freeze your extremities why don’t you’ escapade in an endeavour to see the northern lights.

me dressed for chasing the northern lights in the middle of the night…in Iceland 🙂

Cémanthe and I managed to find a hollowed out nook amongst the rocks where we huddled together shivering and laughing, our noses frozen, our eyes drained of fluids by the raging winds that managed to shuck down any opening it could find as our buttocks froze on the hard icy ground. I have NEVER, EVER, NEVER known such cold in my life!! Even on the coldest, snowy day in the UK, it doesn’t get as cold as that!!! Indescribable.

you won’t find the aroura there!!! it was as cold as it looks

So did we get to see the northern lights…..well yes we did!! Only we didn’t know we had till we saw the photos Cémanthe very cleverly managed to take.

the northern lights, courtesy of StopAndThinkPhotography copyright @justcemanthe on instagram

They looked for all the world like a grey shifting cloud….and no-one; namely the bloody guides, thought to tell us that that was the auroura!! I mean hello!!!! I have yet to discover if everyone sees a white shifting cloud or if it was just us. No-one got all excited, so I’m guessing it wasn’t just us that were unknowingly looking at the northern lights without realising. As we were about to leave, suddenly everyone did get all excited and we all piled off the bus and raced over to a narrow gorge and there in the distance were…a cloud of grey shifting clouds….the aroura apparently!!!

finally, the real deal…only seen once on camera …photo courtesy of StopAndThinkPhotography copyright @justcemanthe on instagram

Sorry of I sound underwhelmed, but they were NOTHING at all like you see on the brochures, or the pamphlets, or in the zillions of photos we have seen, taken by ‘other’ people. It was only when Cémanthe looked at the images on the camera did we realise that yes, those were the lights. Where were the blues, and greens, and pinks we were expecting to see? I am going to have to go back or go elsewhere…..like Norway!!

Leifur Eiríksson c. 970 – c. 1020 a Norse explorer.

Leifur Eiríksson c. 970 – c. 1020

a Norse explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland), nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

episode 3 to follow tomorrow 🙂 #3DaysinIceland

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66 degrees North!!

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, Travel, tagged 3 days in iceland, Þingvellir Nature reserve, northern lights in iceland, touring iceland, travel to iceland, visiting reykjavik on January 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Exactly a year ago yesterday Cémanthe and I landed in Iceland!!! 🙂 In fact at precisely this time last year we were haring around in the dark trying to spot the Northern Lights!!

you won’t find the aroura there!!!

flag of Iceland

prelogue (is there such a thing?)…this article was started on the 14th January 2014….but I never got round to finishing it…..so here it is…..
It all started a few months before in 2013….seems longer somehow, when CJ phoned and suggested we plan a trip to Iceland!!! Would I like to go to Iceland to see the northern lights and go whale-watching?….uhmmm…hell yes!!! Iceland has been on my dream list for years!! and before I go any further, may I say OMG!!! Wow, what a country!!!

Although I initially uhmmed and ahhhed, dying to say yes but eventually said no (finances), but after much discussion (and I really was very keen to go) she persuaded me to be sensible and so we set the wheels in motion. Unfortunately visas and red-tape and money got in the way and had to be shifted, causing more than just a little bit of stress… Now what should be a simple process of booking the flights, hotels, excursions etc and just going….is not that simple on a South African passport. I have to apply for a visa every time I leave the UK to visit another country…..and that is a ruddy mission… So I won’t go into all the boring details…suffice it to say it was stressful in the extreme and we almost quit along the way…it’s also very expensive and bureaucratic!! Imagine!! But we persevered and survived and traveled to what is now my 2nd favourite country in the world….sorry Ireland and Italy…I still love you….but….have you been to Iceland?

fresh snowfall….stunning vistas

#3DaysInIceland.

The first thing I can say about the country…is that it is well named!! 🙂 It is icy! However, we can forgive that, as it was after all, the middle (almost) of winter!

do ya think it may have been cold?

Other than that….I can’t think of sufficient descriptive words to describe just how amazing the country is…but let me try…amazing, delightful, wonderous, awesome, spectacular, magnificent, incredible, beautiful, surprising, freezing, pretty damn exciting, welcoming, exquisite, extreme, visceral, wild, steamy, stunning, quirky, fantastic……you get the idea!!! I was totally bowled over and if it wasn’t for the fact that I adore London, I would move to Iceland 🙂 Iceland is beyond extraordinary. It is the quirkiest, coldest, most visceral, wild and now the most northerly place I have ever visited.

Hah!!! Wish you were here!! well actually, I was on my way to Iceland 🙂

So on the late afternoon of the 8th January, leaving from Victoria Bus Station, we made our way to Travelodge at Gatwick and checked into our room….cozy cozy….It was basic but awesome…the excitement was mounting and being so close to the airport was well amazing.

and we’re on our way!!!! 3 Days in Iceland

CJ to her credit had decided to check us into a hotel near the airport for the night since our flight left really early the next day, and it was better than trying to not only get up at sparrow-fart, but also to negotiate the travails of the London transport system and subsequent railway journey on the day…wayyyyyy too stressful. All sorts of things could go wrong and more often than not, do….especially when you HAVE to be somewhere at a certain time…like an airport where no plane waits for no wo/man!!…no cry!!

the New Media Angel being social 😉

I love to be surprised and astounded when I visit a country and Iceland did both…in buckets full. My first sight of the island was out the window (yes hooray we had a window seat); my heart thrilled at the sight. It is one of my dreams/goals to visit 100 islands and now I was just about to land onto the next! whoo hoo!! By the time we did land I already had about 20 photos mostly of the clouds and the ocean and the sun shining onto the wing of the plane…we left really early in the morning and raced the sunrise…getting there just ahead of the sun getting to its zenith for 66 degrees north in winter! Not very high I can tell you!

racing the sunrise…….

What a fabulous 3 days we had….

Day 1 we were up really early after spending a night of almost sleepless excitement!! We arrived with plenty of time to spare after a really easy hop to the airport by cab…better than walking in the rain…yup, it was raining; to be expected really as how it was winter and this is the UK…..which you wouldn’t think this year (2015) it’s been so unseasonably warm. But back to 2014….and then onto the plane for #3DaysInIceland. To our delight we had a window seat! I love the window seat! The plane, if I recall, took off on time and we were on our way whoo hooo!!

2014.01.09 UK 🙂 okay!!!

Lots of photos of the sunrise, clouds and the UK disappearing beneath us, then a hop, skip and bumpy ride across the top of Scotland.

Scotland!!!!

The flight was quick, soon enough we were flying over that tiny little island in the vast blue ocean as we craned our necks to get the best view ever and whoaaaaa…. suddenly we could see land!!!!….Iceland was beneath us. We peered out the window with much excitement pointing out volcanoes and glaciers and lots and lots of snow-covered mountains.

wow!!!! Iceland

OMG just writing about it now….albeit a year later I am almost in tears just remembering how thrilling it was to see Iceland for the first time. I was also <bizarrely> hoping to see the volcano exploding. Yeah, I know…go figure right!! But it didn’t and we landed safely into what has to be the most mind-blowing travel experience ever!!!

Iceland!!!!!

Once off the plane and through customs without any hassle (whew!) we left the customs area and tried to find our way out the airport…. oh my gosh, how do they pronounce those words. First of all I don’t read Icelandic <a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse > and after much miming and gesticulating I ended up in a queue while CJ went to the loo. So while I was standing in the queue some woman kept asking me if I wanted a baggage label…uhhmm no I just got off the plane for goodness sake, why do I need a baggage ticket to leave the airport?! All the time I’m thinking “weird considering we only had hand-luggage!” …hmmmm, LOL and hahahaha, as it turns out it was the queue to get BACK onto a plane; going where? Who the heck knows.

I challenge you to pronounce those words….the Icelandic ones!!!

Fortunately Cémanthe came back from the loo before I boarded (LOL) and rescued me with much hilarity!! Then it was negotiating a foreign language again to figure out where to go for our bus to Reykjavik. (btw, never ever when taking a coach to your hotel in a foreign country, decide to wait till you get to the hotel before you go for a pee!!! – If you need to go….go before you leave the airport!!) LOL…enough said on that subject!!
Do you know, that after a whole year, I still can’t quite believe that I have been to Iceland!!! Extraordinary!!

Finally we found the right bus and clambered on board and off we went and even though it was still early in the day, it was already getting dark…the days are like about 3 hours long!!! What a landscape!! Oh my word. It’s wild, visceral, primeval…it grabs you by the guts and shakes you right out of any complacency whatsoever. I have never seen such landscapes before….towering mountains covered with brilliantly white snow, vast plains covered with brilliantly white snow, rivers frozen over, treacherously icy roads <I could barely look out the front window watching the driver>….shivers up the spine!!

views from the tour bus

We stopped off at a number of hotels to drop passengers off and finally reached our own. When we did finally arrive at our hotel, it was to discover under-floor heating, comfy beds and lovely hot water straight from the underground thermal springs! Loverly juberley. Climbing off the bus you are immediately frozen to the spot!!! Jeezuz, I have never known such cold. Grabbing our bags we ran helter-skelter into the warm, welcoming embrace of a heated hotel. Whew!!

: quirky architecture in Reykjavik

: just loved the colourful architecture, I guess with long winter months you need a bit of colour

: quirky, quirky houses

Our room was comfortable albeit very basic, but it was WARM!!! and luxury of luxuries it had underfloor heating. Marvellous. I had died and gone to heaven!
But, first things first….With no time to rest, we dropped off our bags, we donned as much clothing as we could reasonably get on, wrapped up warm with leggings, thick socks, stocking, trousers, vests, tops, jumpers, scarves, jackets, the new faux-fur lined gloves and hats I bought at Christmas time and headed straight out to explore. Reykjavik is fantastic!!! Quirky houses, old architecture, fantastical sculptures, stunning modern architecture and a fabulous cathedral that sits atop the hill dominating the skyline…..demanding that you look “here I am!!!”

Hallgrímskirkja church is Reykjavík’s main landmark

Did you know that the sidewalks in Iceland have under’floor’ heating? I kid you not. They are heated. How fab is that! Of course the heat is provided free by mother nature and all the Icelanders do is pipe it off and utilise it all. Perhaps we should arrange to have a volcano under our island then we can give the finger to the energy suppliers that overcharge so heavily. Insert <With the widespread availability of geo-thermal power, and the harnessing of many rivers and waterfalls for hydroelectricity, most residents have access to inexpensive hot water, heating and electricity>. hmmmm.

eerie green lights of the poly-tunnels

….with much looking back over our shoulders to note landmarks for getting back to the hotel! We walked along icy streets and once again my poor brain had to cope with looking out for traffic coming at me from the wrong side of the road…I cannot understand why it is that people feel the need to drive on the right side of the road….that just seems wrong somehow 😉

: simple hey!!!

: …..okayyy then!!! good thing there are arrows 😉

Iceland….wow! what a stunningly beautiful country. Breathtaking in the extreme; never mind that we had scant breath for it to take due to the biting cold that snaked it’s way into everything and into our bones. Sæbraut, the sea in the centre of Reykjavík was just stunning….. just exquisite. I can’t explain to you how absolutely extraordinary the landscape really is. By now the sun was beginning to set and the snow-covered mountains were tinged with pink and lilac and creamy yellow…..never in my life have I seen such beauty….words do not pay adequate homage.

indescribable colours, Sæbraut, the sea in the centre of Reykjavík

We slipped and slid along the promenade, along icy roads to the edge of the bay making our way gingerly to town, or as best we could anyway. The snow-laden landscape leading down to the sea; delicious shades of blue, pink, lilac vie for attention….I have never seen so many shades of blue – frozen to the bone we stood and stared.

heading out to explore mid-afternoon

Quite frankly I can’t imagine anywhere more beautiful – the colours, the snow-covered buildings….for someone who loves snow, I was in paradise…pure and simple. We took hundreds of photos. The snow was almost knee deep in some places and treacherously slippery but we staggered along looking for all the world like two drunks fresh from the pub!!! I would so have loved to explore further afield but trying to stay upright on that ice was exhausting and we only made it as far as the opera house which was, thanks to the underground heated pipes, blessedly free from ice.

: The Opera House – stunning building

: the stunning Opera House in Reykjavik

What a sensible idea. From there we staggered into ‘town’ and took a stroll along the main street that runs through Reyjavik. Finally we made out way into the centre of Reykjavik, which although not very large and could fit into London’s left pocket, is charming!

: we just loved the quirky architecture – main street of Reykjavik

: looks a little like Santa’s workshop 🙂

: I really loved the architecture…so colourful and amazing

A delight of quirky stores stocking some of the most bizarre items you could imagine. There was a huge polar bear (stuffed of course) stood outside one of the stores.

: Mama bear and Papa bear 🙂

: hello!!! Unbelieveable

: polar bear on the loose.

The clothing is marvellous….I would so have loved to buy some but it would have been just to warm for our climate <bizarre I know, but it is real cold-weather clothing>.

how colourful is that!!

Oh my gosh, the shops are a delight with goodies to buy, some of which challenge the imagination….I have never seen such amazing things in my life. Then went for supper at ……wait for it……and Italian restaurant. I know right? WTF…we’re in Iceland and we go for Italian LOL….but…let me tell you, I did not know what the menus said since they’re mostly written in Icelandic, I couldn’t understand the accent and I wasn’t prepared to order something that turned out to be roast polar bear, or stewed seal, or pickled porpoise….no way hosé I wasn’t eating local this time around, so stuck with what I know….boring right…typical bloody tourist LOL!! (yeah, okay, I know….eat local!!) but we were in sore need of something hot and frankly it was less scary to order Italian than trying to figure out what the Icelandic menu was offering.

the Italian Restaurant

Bellies full we went shopping for breakfast goodies and stuff to eat during the days ahead. Loved their little supermarkets and milk is milk and bread is easily identifiable, as are vegetables <not that we had many of those>, and cheese is cheese no matter what country you’re in. It’s good fun shopping in foreign supermarkets, they are so completely different to the UK (or SA), and yet quite similar. The brand names are not anything at all that we are familiar with so trying to decided what to buy is quite a challenge…..but chocolates, crisps and sweets look the same in any language 😉 Although we did buy fruit too!!

Then it was back to the hotel for an earlyish night…we were way too excited to sleep immediately. And we still had a midnight excursion to go on…..yes we were heading out to see the Northern lights!!!

the closest we got to ‘northern lights’ 😉

Cémanthe had booked us on an excursion the next day to the totally unpronouncable – Þingvellir Nature reserve; <insert : a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland>, then the Gullfoss waterfalls and the North American and Eurasian rift. OMG!!!!! Seriously!!!

incredible landscape

day two to follow……

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highlights of 2014

Posted in family and relationships, Holidays, It's my life, Travel, tagged 3 days in iceland, iceland in winter, travel to iceland on January 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Another of my 2014 highlights was going to Iceland for 3 days with my daughter. In fact it was exactly 1 year ago today that we landed in this most incredible place. What an experience. I cannot even begin to tell you how extraordinary that country is…….blog to follow….eventually. 🙂

Cémanthe at the geysers

But what I can say for now is that it was one of the most fascinating and amazing places on the planet.

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highlights of 2014

Posted in family and relationships, It's my life, tagged brothers and sisters, family relationships, meet up in london on January 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

One the highlights of my 2014 year was seeing my brother again after quite some time 🙂

We had a really lovely evening together and I felt that a lot of barriers that had been put up came down (mostly from my side). Our family has such a lot of baggage from a really topsy-turvy childhood and so often resentments and misunderstandings have stood in the way of what could/should be a loving relationship.

It’s amazing to me how things that happened in our childhood can have such long-term effects…even right into adulthood…..I’m grateful that I have had the opportunity to get to know my brother better. I shudder to think this may never have happened. His lovely wife, my sister-in-law had a lot to do with the fences initially being brought down and the relationship to start being rebuilt. She is truly the best sister-in-law a person could ever hope for.

my younger brother & me 🙂

He was over in London for a couple of days in September last year and we met up one night when I too was in London and had an altogether lovely evening just talking and walking and talking. This photo was a #selfie 😉 taken on the Southbank near the Oxo Tower and Gabriel’s Wharf.

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getting back on the horse…..

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Holidays, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, Travel, tagged 3 days in london, broadstairs in kent, canterbury in kent, new year fireworks in london, travel in the UK on January 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Hello dear lovely people.

weobley, herefordshire, black and white villages of the uk, historical villages of the uk

not the horse I am on…but you get the picture 😉

Just dropping by to let you know that after much deliberation, soul-searching and missing London desperately….I have reactivated 3 Days in London…I’m back….In mind and spirit if not body 😉

another of my favourite quotes

That’s still difficult and although I do manage the odd day/s here and there, largely I am working and because I now have to travel all the way to Broadstairs between jobs, and since it is criminally expensive to travel by train to London for a day…I can’t spend as much time in the city as I would like. But, there we go. Broadstairs is gorgeous and I am loving the fresh sea air and walks on the beach with my chica, (who I might add is looking so much happier and healthier and less stressed since she has moved there….3 months already can you believe!!!),

beautiful sunset on the beach at Broadstairs….that is Cémanthe in the distance

and the extraordinary sunrises I get to see; they’re something else (altho that won’t last for long coz the days are getting longer and the sun is rising earlier and soon it will arise before I am prepared to!!! LOL). Hence the reason winter is one of my favourite seasons…..it’s the only time of the year I get to watch a sunrise. 7/8am is way more reasonable than 4am!!!

sunrise in Viking Bay, Broadstairs

So, here’s the thing, I have started up/continued with 3 Days in London. Partly inspired by the 3DIL App…after ignoring it for 3 months and not updating it or anything, the downloads increased by nearly 2,000 to in excess of 4,500 downloads….. so, as you can imagine, when I saw that, I was like WOW…okay so I can’t let these people down and since the ‘business’ is not yet viable to sell, I have decided to activate things again and just get on with it. You may have noticed a lot more activity lately on the twitter profile and I have opened a new instagram account for 3daysinlondon as well as which I am back on my facebook page….I am however going to try and avoid the 2014 burn-out due to my obsession with the city.

one of my favourite views, upstream from Tower Bridge

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” — Samuel Johnson

I spent a lot of the latter part of 2014 deliberating and after an intense coaching session on the 3rd January, with my wonderful daughter (who is a qualified coach), I am now moving forward with more deliberation and focus. I also discovered that I have in fact achieved my life’s goal….”to have a roof over my head while I travel”. Only it isn’t quite in the form/way that I meant when I said it……as in “I would like to have a camper-van and travel to different parts of the country for/at my leisure”, the goal has manifested itself in my job…wherein I get to travel to different parts of the country and I always have a roof over my head while working!!! Go figure! LOL so back to the drawing board on that and I shall have to advise the universe of exactly what it is that I want/would like (it doesn’t do to be demanding….I’ll ask nicely).

a mobile home = a roof over my head while I travel

So after the coaching session, I’ve now given myself 5 years in which to build 3 Days in London up into a viable business and that’s where my focus will be….besides working, of which I will be doing a lot in the next year or so. I turn 60 this year and the sudden realisation that I am nearing retirement age (urgh! how did that happen so quickly) gave me a kick up the proverbial *** to start saving…which means I have to work more …blergh!!! That means I don’t get to as many events as I would like or spend anywhere near as much time in the city as I would love….but you can’t have it all…..so for now I have made my peace with life as it is and just making the most of wherever I am.

wish you were here….

I’ve also had to give up my membership of the Historic Royal Palaces and Kew Gardens, which is terribly sad, but seems no point paying for something that I am not going to be able to visit for the foreseeable future…..I shall save the money instead.

beautiful Hampton Court Palace

In other news, I have been growing my hair now for the last two years and it is now unbelievably… down to my waist!! The intention is to donate it to charity for wigs for people who have lost theirs during cancer treatment. I’ll be setting up a justgiving link to go with the donation as you wouldn’t believe it but women who have lost their hair only get a synthetic wig from the NHS which I suppose is reasonable as they are expensive….did you know that a real hair wig costs anything between £200 – £2,000….which is extraordinary. So the plan is to have it cut while I am in London in Feb, as it is now driving me nuts and gets hooked on everything. And don’t even talk to me about washing it….lordy what a mission that is.

Besides that, we went to Canterbury 🙂 Yayyyy!!! Entered via the West Gate (or was it North?) and finally I have visited one of the cities in the UK that I was so desperate to see. It turned out to be so very different to what I was expecting and ever so fascinating with seriously old houses. I will write on that shortly.

The Moat Tearooms on the right….a 15th century house

I also managed to get up to London for the 2015 New Year fireworks and although I didn’t have my usual front row seat due to himself Boris J introducing a fee #booBoris and me being the stubborn person I am refusing to pay for something that was free before and quite frankly in my humble opinion as a Londoner (well not officially right now…but still….) I should be able to go for free…..I did however, get a spot on Horse Guards and although I couldn’t see what was happening in the lower regions of the London Eye, I get to see the wonderful display above. My gosh, they certainly are a sight to see. More on that later.

fabulous spectacle – New Year in London

So in the world of Cindy, all is well. I’m back in Essex with a client I visited last year…..and more on that later too 😉 or else this will end up a book instead of a blog.

from Essex (work) to Kent (home)

See y’all 🙂

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From Richmond to Broadstairs

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, It's my life, Travel, tagged london to broadstairs, memories are made of this, places of the uk, towns of the uk, travel in the UK, Twickenham on January 2, 2015| 5 Comments »

I guess it had to happen someday…moving away from London.

when a man is tired of London……

Yes, we’ve moved….okay technically we moved nearly 3 months ago, but what with one thing and another I haven’t had time to sit down a write about it. So after living in the area; 4 years for her and 3 years for me, my daughter decided to move from Richmond to Broadstairs….

Broadstairs – a seaside town in Kent

Here’s the thing. My daughter wanted to have a change of scenery, to get away from the noise and hustle and bustle, pollution and grime of the big city…or as they called it in the ‘olden days’ – the ‘big smoke’. We may not have much smoke by way of coal and wood fires these days, but the emmissions from cars, trucks and vans more than makes up for that!! It always gives me a start when returning from a trip overseas to fly in over London and see the levels of pollution…..urgh, we live in that! So I was totally sympathetic to her wanting to get out of it. She had been longing to move to the countryside/seaside for ever such a long time, to escape to peace and quiet, but I suspect she held off so long because of me…knowing how much I loved London and because we really were, despite the freezing cold house in winter and noisy upstairs tennants, very happy in our little house in Richmond. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end and so the decision was made.

Richmond Riverside

After many weekends away and trips to various seaside towns, some that made her go ooooo and others that generated a blergh…….a trip to Broadstairs yielded a delightful little house in a quiet street in a quaint seaside town….and her heart was stolen….she was sold …so to speak. I got a whatsapp message with images of the house and a ‘should I go for it’….yes, of course you should…..if it’s what you want then for sure go for it. And so she did, put the offer in and a few days or so later I got another whatsapp image…..’I got it!!!’ I was thrilled for her and devastated for me…although I think that’s probably quite a strong word as I had more or less by then, due to previous circumstances mentioned, decided to quit London and the business of London and move away. So this was actually ideal timing.

Viking Bay – Broadstairs

We had a final breakfast at our favourite café in St Margarets; La Creperie Bretonne

our favourite breakfast place in St Margarets

Boxes were obtained, sorting began and soon our possessions were being whittled down and packed into what one hoped would be a few boxes…hah!!! Never underestimate the volume of stuff one collects over the years. However, I did a massive purge and all the personal development tapes, dvd’s, videos and boxes of books that I very foolishly wasted my money on in 2007/2008 took a hike….in other words, I destroyed the lot!!! Yes, I spent hours ripping up tapes, tearing books into shreds and destroying cds and dvds. I know this seems like a wilful act of destruction, but my feelings about this invasive industry still run very high. I am still smarting at the pervasive and underhand tactics they use to get you to sign up to their very expensive courses and I’m still paying the price; emotionally, mentally and financially. They sell you on the idea that by doing their course, your life will change….well it did, but not for the better…..especially financially. (and yes, I have written the book!) LOL But I digress….

: cd’s from the supposed Success University

: dvd’s etc that I wasted my money on 😦

So finally after much packing and dumping and selling and heart-wrenching decisions, we were packed up and ready to go…..and at the beginning of October (yes, I know, it’s taken that long) the van (please note the word ‘van’) arrived to collect all our boxes and things to begin the long trek to Broadstairs. It’s 80 miles…..and a very long 80 miles too may I add. We’re now closer to Belgium and France than we are to London!!! Go figure!! hahaha.

beneath the clouds is Belgium – sunset in Viking Bay

Anyway, getting back to the ‘van’, my lovely daughter had moved any number of times in her life, but never a major move besides one some years ago that we would rather consign to the annuls of history along with the jerk who was her husband at the time, and she had acquired quite a lot of furniture and household stuff in the four years we lived at Richmond. So when she got a ‘man-with-a-van’ and his wife in to give her an estimate of volume and cost, both she and they totally underestimated the amount of stuff there was…..and lo and behold the van, when it arrived on moving day, was too small. However, I am very good at puzzles, and did make a really good effort to squeeze everything in, I heaved and moved and shoved and jiggled and juggled boxes and furniture, and managed, much to the amazement of the van man and his sidekick, to get so much stuff in to the van that they were well impressed. In fact I quite simply put them to shame. I did in the process end up with a body covered in bruises and bloodied arms and shins. I looked like I had been to war! They should have paid me for doing their job. Hah!! But unfortunately she had to quickly scout around and order another van to collate and take with her the rest of the stuff left over. We ended up with a truck that cost as much again as the first quote and was that big it could have easily managed the whole bleeding lot. But, since much was already packed in the van and they had a few days ago given her the option to cancel, we felt we had to just go with what we had…and I wasn’t of a mind to unpack the bloody van again.

So everything in and away we went, barring some of my stuff……I hung onto the house as long as I could and since we had paid rent up to a certain date, I was determined to do as much in London as I could before I had to go. Crikey, it’s a long way….not to Tipperary but to Broadstairs. We finally made it and then there was unpacking to do. Firstly, I got stuck in and offloaded the van in double quick time, they really should have paid me….and very foolishly I didn’t get them to take the boxes upstairs, but had them pile the darn things in the dining area. Urgh!!! Stupid. Then they tried to get the bed bases up the stairs…..hmmmmm, yes, well….bearing in mind it was an old house, the people were not only thinner but shorter in ‘those’ days and as it turned out the damn staircase was too narrow and turned at too sharp an angle to allow us to get the bases past the first few steps. Bleeding heck…now what? So the mattress went up and (please don’t tell the landlord) but we took the bannister off the wall the next day and tried again…still to no avail, and to this day they are still stacked in the dining area…..but the boxes…..yes the boxes. Hmmm.

Now you might ask, where was my daughter while all this was happening…..well she, poor baby, had just come out of surgery after having a heart monitor stuck into her breastbone and was incapacitated. So Mama, did her thing….I’ve also had years of practice after having moved house on an average of about once every 6 months before she was born and 14 times in the 21 years after that, I had plenty of experience.

Once the vans were unpacked we set out to explore and have a very welcome cup of tea. Broadstairs is an absolute delight.

colourful beach huts in Broadstairs

Quirky shops, narrow roads, a rumbunctious pub, all sorts of fantastical items that have washed up onto the beach over the years, fantastic views, long stretches of secluded beaches, unobstructed views of the sunrise over the sea, a history that goes as far back as the Vikings and probably further, hence the name Viking Bay, a chapel that dates from the early 1600’s, little tea shops and home to the Charles Dickens Museum and Bleak House!!! Yes, yer man Charles Dickens used to summer in Broadstairs. Some of his books were written there and of course ‘Bleak House’….sitting for all the world bold as brass on the clifftop.

Bleak House, Broadstairs

Marvelous. Once I had my girl settled in as much as could be, I headed back to London for my great London walkabout and my goodbye London excursions. Sadly I didn’t get to do or even see everything I wanted but I did a heck of a lot.

my luggage – from St Margarets to Broadstairs

Once I finally cut the strings that bound me to London I hopped on a train with 2 large, very large suitcases, (one suitcase handle broke before I had gone 10 feet along the pavement to the station) and a reusable bag of groceries…..and made my sorry way to Broadstairs.

First to Clapham Junction, then to Broadstairs and a cab to the house. Not at all sure how I did that journey, but it seems I must have managed because I did eventually get to my destination. Mind you the staff on South West Trains were ever so helpful and the Train Conductor helped me on and off with all my bags, bless him.

And so to Broadstairs.

Viking Bay – Broadstairs

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Goodbye Dixie my love, may you rest in peace…..

Posted in family and relationships, tagged angels on earth, dancing, death, Dixie, family, heaven on September 15, 2014| 4 Comments »

It was a very sad day, the day I learned that the woman I liked to call my ‘mother-in-law’ had passed away.

September 3rd to be exact she finally slipped away after a short illness and a battle well fought; she was a remarkably strong woman in both spirit and body and despite being on death’s door with pneumonia she rallied round and went home….albeit not for long and just on 2 weeks ago at the regal age of 93 she gave up the good fight and left this world for another realm.

Dixie was her nickname, her real name was Alexandra Ethelwhyne, and a sweeter, lovelier, funnier, quirky, more cheeky, naughty, kind and delightful person you would go far to find. I met Dixie very briefly…once in 1979 when I was dating my daughter’s father. For one reason and another, of which I shall not go into detail I didn’t get to see her again till 1995 when at the age of 15 my daughter said that she would like to meet her own father…..the son of Dixie.

When we did meet again, I found her to be everything I could have wanted in a mother-in-law and although technically she wasn’t, she and I both delighted in that I referred to her as that and she called me her daughter-in-law. She was also a friend and a confidant and in the few times we met and spent time together we always had a good laugh and a chuckle exchanging tales and stories of the past.

Sadly those times became less frequent once I left South Africa and came to live in the UK, but we kept in touch via old-fashioned letters for as long as she could still write and phone calls for as long as she could still hear me…..16,000 km’s is a long way away when you are going deaf and let’s face it mobile phones are not really conducive to a good conversation. I did take to sending ‘postcards from London’ but I fear that not all of them got through and they could only contain scant information anyway. I recall how she always said how much she would like to go to London and we plotted and planned for her to come visit but in reality we both knew that was a dream unlikely to be fulfilled as she was very frail and it’s unlikely at her age that she would have enjoyed the trip. But she loved that we, my daughter and I lived here and when we visited South Africa she relished my stories of London and the things we, my daughter and I got up to.

Dixie was an incorrigible flirt, she adored dancing and would use any excuse to get up and dance the night away. She laughed frequently, smiled a lot and loved nothing more than a good gossip. Whenever we stayed with her and her partner, the wonderful Alan who sadly passed away about 3 years ago, we would always sit around and drink copious cups of tea and chatter away like two little brown hens… or is that white hens?

She had the most twinkly blue eyes that sparkled with mischief and it was really sad to watch the sparkle slip away as she slipped further and further into the confusing and often frightening world of dementia. But for all that, she never lost her bright sunny nature, and you would always see her sitting with a smile ready for a wee chat or mischief, and even though we knew she didn’t really, she always said yes, she remembered who we were.

I will always remember Dixie as being one of God’s angels on earth and I know for sure that if there is a heaven, then for sure she is up there dancing and keeping them entertained with her wonderful stories, her delightful, sweet smiles and laughter……they will all find it hard to resist her cheeky flirtations.

Dixie

Goodbye darling Dixie, I know with absolute certainty that you will be dearly missed here on earth and the wonderful legacy of your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will carry a little of you with them in their hearts and genes! 😉 You know what I mean!

Rest well sweet lady, we will always remember you with fondness and deepest love.

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THE TRUTH OF ‘I LOVE YOU’ by Dr John Demartini

Posted in family and relationships, Interesting articles, Personal Development, tagged Dr John Demartini, Personal Development, saying I love you on February 15, 2013| 6 Comments »

A few years ago I had the great good fortune of listening to Dr Demartini speak at an event. At the time I had some personal issues that I wanted to sort out, issues that I felt were holding me back in many ways. I was so impressed by what he had to say that I signed up for the ‘Breakthrough Experience’, a 3 day course that he runs. It was one of the hardest weekends of my life but also one of the most life-changing weekends. This was during a period of time where I had a brain-storm (not to be confused with brain-wave…which is usually the precursor to something sensible) and signed up to just about every Personal Development course that was being held in London at that time (2007-2008), 9 months of madness that cost me a ruddy fortune. Subsequent to that period of lunacy, I was left with a serious amount of debt and over a period of time….a healthy respect of Personal Development avoidance.

However, subsequent to that and because this particular course did in fact produce a positive outcome, Dr Demartini’s course was/is the only one I would ever recommend. I signed up to his newsletters and follow his page on facebook. I enjoy reading the information he sends and usually get some real learning out of it. I received this in the mail a few days ago and thought I would share it with you as it is really profound….I hope he doesn’t mind 🙂 ( and in case he reads this (as if) no Dr D I am not putting you on a pedestal….I just really appreciate what you teach! 🙂 )

So here goes:

” The three words ‘I LOVE YOU’ can be for some the most challenging words to say and yet also the most commonly appreciated words for people to hear.

Many people hold back on sharing their love and appreciation for others because of a fear of rejection.
I often ask my clients what they would do if they were told they only had 24 hours to live. In all, if not most cases, they say they would make sure they used their last hours to say ‘Thank you, I love you’ to all of the people they feel contributed towards their lives.

At the core of every human being, we all just want to be loved and appreciated for who we are. So letting someone know that you love them is one of the most precious gifts you can give.

Whether Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day or Children’s Day, when it comes to those you love, find a way to share your appreciation and the truth of your heart.

When asked the best way to overcome the fear of saying ‘I love you’, I suggest the following:

Write down 25 benefits to you of your sharing the words ‘I love you’ with the person you wish to share your heart with, and then also write down 25 drawbacks to you of not sharing the words ‘I love you’ with them.
Whenever we see more benefits than drawbacks in an outcome, we take action.
Write down all the things you fear may occur if you say ‘I love you’ and then take each item you listed and ask how it will benefit you if it occurs. Every situation has a balance of support and challenge and no matter what happens you will always experience both sides.
Write down 25 benefits to the person hearing you say you love them and 25 drawbacks for that person if you do not tell them. When you perceive more benefits to them of hearing the truth of your heart you will feel inspired to tell them you love them.
In our daily relationships we swing back and forth between like and dislike, attract and repel, yet are these not the two arms walking hand in hand as one in a balanced gait – truthfully called love.

True love is the synthesis and synchronicity of all complementary emotions – a balance between the attractive and repulsive emotional extremes. It is a pure energy that permeates our entire existence. When applied to a romantic or intimate relationship, true love emerges as you come to appreciate both the positive and negative, good and bad, happy and sad and ups and downs of a relationship. You realise that the purpose of a relationship is not only romance, joy, support and so-called happiness; it is also equally about learning, challenge, growth and personal evolution.

True love is our ultimate objective, whether we’re aware of it or not. We may think we’re looking for something else, something material and fleeting, but even the pursuit of transient goals just leads us back to the truth of love. The purpose of all relationships is to dissolve the barriers that keep us from recognising the love that already is and expressing the love we ultimately are.

Love and wisdom,
Dr John Demartini ”

As I said these are his words, and I have not added or subtracted anything from them, but I have sure gained a lot. Hope you have enjoyed it as much.

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Weobley revisited and the Hereford poop machine

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Historical, It's my life, tagged black and white villages of the UK, bollards of london, dragon and flagon pub tours london, hidden london, historical villages of the UK, history of london, street bollards, weobley on May 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

the Weobley poop machine

And that of course would be the dog!!! I have nicknamed him the Hereford poop machine and for good reason. I am not really partial to dogs, I can take them or leave them…preferrable the latter, but as it turns out this little dog has won a spot in my heart…albeit only a tiny spot! 🙂
When the agency initially phoned me about the job, I was keen until I heard about the dog….and then I had pause for thought. As it turned out of course I accepted and here I am. This is my 2nd stint at this particular position and so far I am enjoying it as much as I did the first time. When I arrived I received a raptuous welcome from the dog that really made me smile and feel kinda special….ahhh how sweet, he remembered me and was thrilled to see me. Ha! A few days later my illusions were shattered when a friend came to visit….she got as raptuous a welcome…..so it wasnt my scintillating personality then!!!
However, be that as it may, the dawg has taken quite a shine to me…probably coz I take him for frequent walks. He sits under my chair when I am working and at my feet when watching TV. Sweet! He has cottoned on to the routine for when we are about to go for a walk….of course I daren’t use the word ‘walk’ in his presence and usually say something like ‘ I’ll take himself out for a stroll’…hahahaha. So now when he sees me walk upstairs and come back down with my black jacket over my arm, he starts getting hyper and the tail goes mad….wagging so violently that his bottom end moves from side to side. I then sit down on the chair to change my shoes and put my trainers on and at that stage is when I start talking to him! Ok, so don’t raise your eyebrows like that….I have to build the anticipation of the walk ahead you know. I say things like ‘yes, you know we’re going for a walk don’t you?!’ or someother nonensical stuff like that and the little dog sits and watches me intently, cocking his head from side to side as I talk, his bright button eyes never leaving my face, just waiting for me to get up and then he is off like a rocket to the scullery bouncing around like a puppy despite his considerable 11years+. Then when I pick up the lead…omgosh! He goes ballistic and it’s all I can do to stop him jumping up into my arms. Hysterical. And thats where the poop machine comes into it, and that is the bit of my job I do not appreciate….being the pooper-scooper!!! blergh!! I have to take at least 3 bags along each time and wonder why he can’t just squat once and get it over with.
As we walk I have to wonder why it is that we walk 10 feet and he lifts his leg, walk another 10 feet and he lifts his leg, this goes on right through the whole walk. Lady dogs are far more polite and sensible and squat once and thats it! However, I do enjoy the walks, although it’s unclear who is taking whom for the walk…..I get a lot of brisk exercise as he rushes about, sniffing here, sniffing there and bolting along like we have a train to catch, and when we head for home it’s all I can do to keep on my feet!!

One of the walks we make is out the village past the village hall along what is known as a ‘country road’; 7ft high hedges, fields of crops or orchards on either side, birds flitting about overgrown grassy fields and twittering for all kingdom to hear, wild flowers scattered like bright jewels alongside the hedgerows and overall this, amazing peace and quiet. Have you ever stood and listened to the quiet? It’s palpable here. The contrast between here and home is very apparent in that here I see the occassional car, peak-hour traffic

peak-hour traffic

whereas at home the traffic flies past, a never-ending roar of about a thousand cars an hour. Here there isn’t even a stop street or yield sign, never mind a traffic light. Another route takes us along a narrow little lane with a small stream on one side and a field of crops on the other, the blue sky stretches to the horizon filled with fluffy white clouds that tower up like puffs of cotton wool, a field of sheep and the blissful peace.

fluffy white clouds in blue skies

I am totally in love with this little village. The first time I came I took hundreds of photos so it’s not like I missed anything, but I can tell you that I have been hard put to not take just as many photos again.

weobley herefordshire, black and white villages of the uk, historical villages of the uk, king charles I

The Throne, where King Charles I slept on 5th September 1645

The history of the village is just amazing, and the one house that used to be the Unicorn Inn, now known as ‘The Throne’, is where King Charles I slept 5th September 1645 on his way to London , where he eventually lost his head. The thought that King Charles I actually walked (okay probably rode his horse is more like it) in the same place where I was walking is just thrilling beyond words. I am dying to knock on the door of this rambling, ramshackle, ancient building, now called ‘The Throne’, and ask if I can have a look around. I can just imagine the rickety staircases, and low doors, and wooden beamed rooms filled with history. Imagine living in a house like that!!! I have had a chance to have a closer look at the construction of the houses too and it’s incredible to see the ancient wooden pegs knocked into the struts holding them to the main frame of the house.

weobley, black and white villages uk, historical villages of the uk, herefordshire

ancient architecture

The Manor House is the oldest remaining house in the village and predates Tudor! Imagine! So instead of taking loads of photos of the houses I have concentrated on photos of the fields and flowers and just a few repeats of the architecture…… 🙂

The Manor – probably built pre-Tudor

I also explored the remains of the castle (built in the early 1200’s by Walter de Lacy), walked along the top of the mound and walked through the remains of the moat.

the remains of the moat of the castle

So this 2nd stint in Weobley has been good, just the long days kill me. I don’t mind staying up till 11.30pm, in fact I seldom get to bed before 1am in London, but then I get to sleep till 9am the next day….here I only get to bed by 11.30pm and have to be up at 7am the next morning, in fact the sun comes up so early that by 6am I am usually awake. Also sitting around and being confined to the house most of the day is quite tiring. The routine is the same every day and the same thing happens at the same time with very little variation. The pace is very slow and for someone who is used to heading through the day at fullspeed…it’s amazing how tiring it is. But I do enjoy the peacefulness of the area and the lady is lovely. I am not sure though that I will be back since it takes such a long time to get here…6 hours travelling in all. We shall have to see.
One of the other things that I love is how friendly the villagers are, never in London would you walk past someone on the way to the store and have them say ‘good-morning’ as you walk by. It’s great. it’s been raining a lot in England lately and we had a deluge the first few days I was here and the flowers and leaves were hung with drops of water that look like diamonds.

diamond drops

Everything is so lush and beautiful. We have also had lots and lots of bluebells growing in the gardens which are all open plan so it’s been a treat to see them in clumps everywhere.

Hyacinthoides non-scripta (formerly Endymion non-scriptus or Scilla non-scripta) is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles

bluebells; Hyacinthoides non-scripta (formerly Endymion non-scriptus or Scilla non-scripta) is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles (ref wikipedia)

I was quite concerned I may miss them as I never did get to go to Kew last month, but I plan a trip for when I get back and before I whizz off again for the next job…thankfully that will be in zone 3 of London and only an hour or so from home. What that means is that I will have internet reception and hopefully get to do some work online, one of the things I have missed a lot in Weobley….zero internet reception and very little phone connection. I usually have to hang out the upstairs window to get reception.
So with just four days left till I head on home, I will continue to enjoy the quiet and the walks and the company. The lady, who is 94, used to play snooker when she was younger, is a great fan of the game and so we have been watching the snooker finals with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter amongst others…and I have become quite the addict myself!! hahaha. That said it’s a real bother that after the snooker is finished the TV goes off and except for Eggheads which we watch religiously every day, and I know know a lot of useless information…. So I have missed most of the programmes I usually enjoy and that is one of the things I shall make the most of when I get back home…. and as I write, that is only 4.5 days away. Hooray!!!! (that was then and of course as I write now….I am already home).

The train journey through the English countryside is a real treat, so beautiful and the yellow fields of rape seed plants stretch to the horizon,

rape seed fields

a wonderful contrast to the green fields dotted with sheep or horses. The rivers are full to the brim, thick brown water racing along, ignoring the corners and just swamping the banks as they go.

River Usk coming round the corner into Newport, Wales

Many of the fields are still under water but what can be seen is lush and green, in so many variations you could not imagine that one colour could have so many different shades. The rain has lifted now and the sky is a fabulous blue with puffs of white cloud piled high, marvellous.

fields swamped with water

and here I am back in London, and besides the level of noise, one of the first things I have noticed is that my headache is back! Well now? There’s a thing. I didnt have one headache whilst I was away and within 12 hours of being back in London I have a headache. Hmmm. Is it the pollution perhaps or the noise levels? Although I take Vogel’s ‘oat drops’ at night to help me sleep (they knock me out), I am sure the constant noise of traffic outside my window doesn’t help (we have a major thoroughfare about 10 yards from my window). I was also very aware of the pollution as we came back into the city perimeter, the sky looks brown and grey. Urgh! And again it was brought home quite forcefully the mad rush and calamitious nature of the city. People are so rude, pushing and shoving; the sheer level of aggression which you get so used to when here all the time that you eventually don’t notice it, and within 10 minutes of getting off the train I was feeling so aggro! Grrr.

And then to top it all, I waited 25 minutes for the bus (after a 4.5 hour journey, this is not what I wish to do with my time), and then a bus-ride that normally takes about 10 minutes took over 20 to get from the station to my stop. My god! I am going to write to Boris Johnson and suggest he gets the buses sorted. I can’t even begin to imagine how bloody awful it’s going to be with the Olympics. And now of course the drivers et al are threatening to strike unless they get and extra £500 for the period. Come on people, you have a job, just do it. I haven’t had an increase in salary for over three years now and they are bitching about having to drive extra people.

Anyhow, that’s enough of that….I will put #grumpygranny back in her box for now and save that particular rant for another blog. 🙂 🙂
Some great and fun news is that I went on my 5th and final Dragon and Flagon Pub Tour last night and whoooo hoooo I got my badge! I have now been inducted into the Order of the Dragon and am officially a Dragon! Harhar!

dragon and flagon pub tour, pub tours of london, history of london

me and Vic – our erstwhile pub-tour guide. I got my badge in front of The Monument

And what a fun night it was too. Vic is such a terrific tour guide. I got to see the first church that was re-built by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666, a narrow cobbled road that slopes downhill with a gutter that runs down the middle – designed to allow the effluent of the ancient city to run off into the river!! ewwwww!!!

Lovat Lane – where the old surface is barely the width of a plague cart’s wheelbase and the gutter still runs down the middle carrying effluent to the river

imagine how vile the air must have been, visited the site of the entrance to (oops cant remember now) from the “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askeban” movie, had a Bailey’s on ice in a pub closely associated with Lewis Carroll (he of Alice in Wonderland fame), visited my favourite pub of all time, saw the last of the ancient city bollards – made from the tube of a captured French cannon,

bollards of london, hidden london, street bollards, history of london

on the banks of the Thames this old bollard is made from an old cannon from a 18th century warship

we re-visited the site where Samuel Pepys stood as he watched London burning in 1666 and did a whole lot of ‘shard spotting’ (the building is looking brilliant now and it’s almost unbelievable how high it is).

The Shard, designed by the international architect, Renzo Piano

super cool. The evening ended off at a pub I had wanted to visit, have walked past a number of times and never gone in; awesome…..and then home (1.5hours journey time????), never let it be said that London is a small city….. and then a catch up with my delightful daughter whom I have not seen for 2 weeks and finally to bed at 1am.
I am home!

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high tide in Richmond

Posted in family and relationships, It's my life, tagged River Thames on April 13, 2012| 1 Comment »

I may have mentioned before (or not) that we live very near to the river Thames in Richmond. This is a constant source of enjoyment and pleasure to me and I try to plan a walk alongside or over the river at least once a day…if not more 🙂

Walking over the bridge was the highlight of my journey to work in the mornings and the view of the river as the train whizzed across the railway bridge near Gunnersbury was a constant source of amazement…..the view is wonderful. The river holds a fascination for me that I have never experienced before and I get a lot of enjoyment from it. There is nothing more enjoyable than a stroll along the banks past the Old Deer Park with my daughter. In fact I would say that most of my happiest memories are tied up in those walks.

Sunsets from the top of the bridge are breathtaking and misty days no less so. The changing of the seasons are easily visible along the banks and the view of the snow from the bridge painted a very pretty picture. There are a number of houseboats tied up along the banks near Twickenham Bridge and these are a real pleasure to look at.

Despite the fact that the scene remains the same everyday….yet every day is different. Just little things like a new boat tied up, or swans sailing by, a police craft patrolling, geese landing, river cruisers going by, the tide out or the tide in, sunny days and rainy days all create an ever changing pattern. I am always surprised when people tell me they never noticed…….how could you not! Some days the river is completely empty (well almost) and other days it is filled to overflowing!