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A Sunday walk to Ramsgate

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Travel, tagged ramsgate, seaside towns of the uk, travel in the UK, vlogging, youtube vlogging on February 8, 2016| 1 Comment »

One of the advantages of living in Broadstairs is the accessibility to the sea. We also live within walking distance to Ramsgate.

the Broadstairs clock tower on the way to Ramsgate

My daughter and I often walk along the beach at low tide to Ramsgate Harbour, sometimes it takes a lot longer than others, depending on the day and the weather. If it’s a good day it takes at least an hour…it’s such a photogenic walk that we can’t help but stop to take photos.

Yesterday we woke to a day of blue skies and sunshine, albeit very windy so decided to make the most of us both being home on the same day and no rain, and walk to Ramsgate, where we planned to have toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches at one of her favourite cafes.

The tide was high so unfortunately we could only walk part of the way along the beach walk…which is a shame really as that’s part of the fun. There have been many storms alongside a raging sea, waves crashing against the side of the esplanade which was just thrilling. IMAG2153 - walk to ramsgate Finally at Dumpton Gap we climbed to the cliff-top and made the rest of our walk with a somewhat different view of the seas; a churned up brown expanse of raging waves. IMAG4912 - walk to ramsgate

Further along and just past the King George VI Memorial Park we walked back down the steps to the Marina Esplanade and so the harbour. It’s such a beautiful little harbour with plenty of quirky and lovely boats and lots of quirky little shops and restaurants along the esplanade. 2015.11.08 (37) - walk to ramsgate

Just before you reach the funfair and harbour you pass the entrance to the WW2 tunnels. I’ve yet to explore them fully but I have been into the museum which is just within the entrance. Besides the charming harbour, the WW2 tunnels IMAG4936 - walk to ramsgate and the quirky architecture, Ramsgate has many links to the royal family and Charles Dickens. Princess Victoria convalesced at Albion House in Ramsgate for 6 months while recovering from a serious bout of typhoid. 2015.11.08 (22) - walk to ramsgate 2015.11.08 (23) - walk to ramsgate Besides that Ramsgate Harbour has the unique distinction of being the only harbour in the United Kingdom awarded the right to call itself a Royal Harbour; bestowed by King George IV as a thank you for the hospitality shown by the people of Ramsgate when he used the harbour to depart and return with the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1821. IMAG4837 - walk to ramsgate

Ramsgate was a chief embarkation point both during the Napoleonic Wars and for the Dunkirk evacuation ‘Operation Dynamo’ in 1940, due to its proximity to mainland Europe. I was lucky enough to attend the Operation Dynamo 75th anniversary event of Little Ships that sailed across the English Channel to Dunkirk for the weekend.

We so enjoyed our sandwiches(although they’re not as good as mine 😉 ) at Rileys, a café my daughter frequents rather frequently…they do serve the most delicious hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. Afterwards we went for a bit of shopping and then caught the bus back to Broadstairs. I do so enjoy these excursions with my daughter. I spend so much time away from home, and of course I’ll be moving on soon as will she, her further south, me west (at least I think Rochester is west), so these times are really precious.

Royal Ramsgate Harbour – magical at night

I recorded a bit of our walk to give you a glimpse of Ramsgate. Excuse the wind….it’s been seriously windy the last few days as you’re probably aware and currently we are experiencing the fury of storm Imogen.

Here is the video.

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A visit to Dover Castle

Posted in around the UK, Castles of UK and Ireland, It's my life, Travel, tagged Dover Castle, English Heritage, exploring castles of england, history of england, not just a granny on February 6, 2016| 4 Comments »

After living in the UK for nigh on 15 years and Broadstairs for 18 months, I have finally visited Dover Castle. I acquired a membership card for English Heritage last year and making the most of the many venues I can visit. IMAG0753 - dover castle

I made a recording of the trip, however, due to it being an extremely windy day and especially right on the top of the hill, it was too windy to do much exterior recording, but I managed a little bit and also some of the interior…although for some reason I found myself whispering LOL. I’m really not sure why, but the interior just leant itself to talking quietly. Scroll down to see the video…. 20160206_143454 - dover castle

Dover Castle – the Great Tower at Dover Castle was
built to entertain Europe’s most powerful pilgrims on
their was to Thomas Becket’s shrine at Canterbury
Cathedral. 20160206_140417 - dover castle

The keep was built between 1181-1188 by Henry II.
The building of the great medieval stone castle atop
the White Cliffs started in the 1160’s. At the castle’s
heart stands the Great Tower, a place designed for
royal ceremony and a symbol of kingly power guarding
the gateway to the realm.

Dover Castle was garrisoned uninterruptedly until 1958.

English Heritage have done a fantastic job of restoring and recreating the Great Tower as it may have been in Henry’s day. The Great Hall and the bedroom are astounding. It must have been super cool to live there in medieval times, albeit very dark and cold.

Besides the great tower I also visited the ramparts, the medieval tunnels…amazing, the Princess of Wales Museum and the Saxon Church and Roman lighthouse.

Dover Castle is wayyyyyy bigger than I thought and it’s a brilliant place to explore. I am definitely going to visit again….hopefully on a less windy day. The views are astounding and the moat is awesome. 20160206_150632 - dover castle There is no way anyone would have been able to attack very easily. 20160206_151043 - dover castle

I superb day out. I can highly recommend a visit and do set aside at least 5-6 hours to explore the various tunnels and within the great tower. 20160206_150031 - dover castle

Dover Castle, the key to England for over mine centuries, this mighty fortress of Dover Castle displays at it’s core a dazzling evocation of a medieval royal palace. There are also secret wartime tunnels to explore.

I made a bit of a video of my visit…please excuse the whispering at some points LOL I’m really not sure why I felt the need to whisper, but the environment leant itself to speaking softly. There’s also quite a bit of wind noise…sorry 😉

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epic adventures in Iceland!!

Posted in Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, Travel, tagged blogging about my travels, touring in iceland, travel to iceland, visiting iceland for 3 days, visiting reykjavik, whale watching in iceland on January 12, 2015| 2 Comments »

We explored Reykjavik from top to bottom, we ate huge breakfasts at the hotel (much like we did in New York in 2003), enough to carry us through to supper time (Iceland, as you can imagine is somewhat expensive),

Icelandic money – I have no idea what the value of that was in £’s

we drank gallons of hot chocolate and saw some of the most amazing things ever. There was a lot more of the city to explore, but due to the very slippery sidewalks and the freezing cold, our explorations were somewhat curtailed.

fireman’s waterpump in Reykjavik

We travelled all over the island…although it seemed like it was, it really was only a tiny little corner of the island!

who watched who I wonder!!!?

We also went on a whale-watching expedition….frankly I think the brochures and tourist offices lie….the whales are much too sensible to be hanging about in the freezing waters off Iceland and had shucked off to the Bahamas for the winter…..we spent nearly the whole day on a boat,

: Michelin Man!!!

: sunset at the end of our whale-watching excursion

: how do you describe that colour of blue?

clad in a bright orange michelin man outfit that was unbelieveably difficult to get into and virtually impossible to get out of….talk of a corset…OMG!!!

Michelin woman!!! 🙂 Looks like a bear on her head 😉

you could barely breathe, but on the plus side, if you fell into the ocean, you would be warm and visible. For a while anyway. It was fabulous. I love being out at sea, the boat heaving and smashing into the waves, the wake a boiling mass of white fury streaming behind.

seagulls following in our wake….

Noisy squarking sea-gulls trailed the boat probably hoping for a tid-bit or two…we scanned the ocean in vain….every now an then a shout of excitement and everyone would rush to this end or that of the boat….alas 😦 “no whales today, they’ve up and gone away”.

the only whale we saw….

But, as a succour, we were treated to awesome vistas of ocean and mountains and vast plains covered in snow; here there and everywhere you looked was snow, snow and more snow.

We were treated to a ‘show-off’ exhibition by the coast-guard that raced around in their little speedboat, spinning over the wake of our boat, flinging up into the air as it crashed over the waves. I was so like…..flip!

the Coast-Guard showing off

Come on already!!! hahaha. So although we didn’t see any whales, we did see a most splendid ocean…blue, blue blue and then on the way back a most exquisite sunset. Extraordinary.

sunset…amazing colours

What an amazing 3 days, I loved every minute, even the cold. I loved the landscape, the snow, the colour of the water, the geysers <especially>, the rift in the continental plates, the waterfalls, the icelandic ponies <we saw some in the distance>, our nightly excursions to see the auroura, the traipsing around in the dark in waist deep snow, falling down holes LOL <I had just said to Cémanthe to be careful when my next step took me into a hole beneath the snow…we laughed so much!!!>, snow so powdery soft it feels like it doesn’t exist, the vast open vistas, the biting cold that chews are your nose and ears and fingers and toes….despite the layers of clothing, the quirky corrugated houses, the race to get indoors, the underfloor heating, the steaming hot showers that sting like hell at first and then ease frozen muscle and bones back to life, the slippery ground that sends you slip-sliding away, the fabulous sculptures <like Sun Voyager (Icelandic: Sólfar) a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason (1931 – 1989). Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun>,

Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun

the extraordinary poly-tunnels that shine like alien life-forms in the dark; an eerie green light that can be seen from miles away powered and heated by the geothermal energy beneath the surface of the ground, where they grow tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers, cut flowers and potted plants, even bananas and grapes are grown in this way—but not usually on a commercial scale,

eerie green lights of the poly-tunnels

and the sheer exhilaration of being in such an amazing place and the excitement of wondering if and when a volcano was likely to erupt!!! And the people, so friendly, welcoming and just lovely.

Iceland rocks…..no pun intended!! I’ve created a video for your enjoyment….there are way too many photos to include them all on one blog. 😉 You can watch it here http://youtu.be/QNHVlRwbtOY

All I can say is ……I can highly recommend you plan a trip to this fantastic island in the ocean. It’s amazing!!!!

whale-watching with Elding Tours at Hafnarfjörður

So a little about Iceland. It’s a Nordic island between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new oceanic crust. This part of the mid-ocean ridge is located above a mantle plume, causing Iceland to be subaerial (above the surface of the sea). The ridge marks the boundary between the Eurasian and North American Plates, and Iceland was created by rifting and accretion through volcanism along the ridge. Geologically the island includes parts of both continental plates.
The settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island.

Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson

It is also home toÞingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.

And then it was time to say goodbye to Iceland, but I can assure you that I will definitely be planning a 2nd trip, this time in summer

goodbye Iceland….I’ll be back 🙂

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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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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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We can’t let these creatures die out on our watch!!!

Posted in messages, news from around the world, Travel, tagged borneo jungles, http://www.savetheorangutan.org/, orangutans, saving the orangutan, saving the world, say no to palm oil, signing petitions, wildlife extinction on February 5, 2014| 4 Comments »

I am a member of http://www.avaaz.org/en/ and often sign their petitions, the ones that I feel most strongly about. I repost these on facebook (sadly with very little response, and apparently it annoys some people) but at least I try. I receive the avaaz emails (amongst others) on a regular basis and this one (see below in italics) popped into my inbox yesterday. I am appalled at the fact that we as humans, and supposedly the Guardians of the Planet are the ones that are destroying it. One of the most heart-breaking of these are the orangutans in countries like Borneo, whose habitat is being systematically destroyed by palm-oil plantations…….and all because we as consumers use the products that contain palm oil….it’s in so many of our food and cosmetic products, it’s frightening.

The result of this is that the habitat of the orangutan, and thousands of other creatures who call these jungles home and depend on them for their survival, are being destroyed…..hectares by the minute. 80% of the jungles in Borneo have already been destroyed!! This is horrendous. And this is our doing and we ARE responsible. Yes, it’s the large corporations that plant/buy the palm oil and manufacture the products that contain them, but we are the ones that buy the stuff!! We are responsible. If we stop buying products with palm oil, then the corporations will be forced to reconsider their strategy. Anyway, at least 70% of products on the shelves at the supermarket today is unnecessary to our survival. We just blindly buy, buy, buy…taken in by, and fools to clever marketing and advertising. If the large corporations used the billions they spend each year on advertising, on helping to save our wildlife, our planet would be a much better place. It’s our demands for more than spurs them on to make more and more products that we don’t need and fill their bank accounts with the profits they get from our blind consumerism. If they started destroying the ancient forests in Britain to plant palm oil there would be a huge outcry with people marching on parliament, waving placards and demonstrating against the destruction….and yet we have the audacity to condone and accept it being done in other countries (you condone it by buying the products, don’t try wriggle out of the responsibility).

I have pledged £24.00 enough to protect up to 1568 square meters (a very small portion of Borneo jungle) – if I had more I would contribute more. And I am not telling you this to pat myself on the back, but merely to make a point… Every penny/pound/dollar/whatever currency you have will help. Surely it’s not too much to ask….and if they don’t raise enough, then avaaz have pledged to not take the money from my account. I may not be able to save the world, but I can make a tiny contribution towards helping these magnificent creatures to survive and give them a chance. The £24 I have pledged is a weeks budget for food or 5x Costa Coffee & carrot cake…not a lot really. And if they don’t manage to raise sufficient funds then I will donate that £24.00 to the Orangutan sanctuary http://www.savetheorangutan.org/ with whom I have already been communicating to that effect.

I am hoping that by posting this blog, I can reach someone else who is willing to make a small contribution towards saving the small corridor of jungle that will make all the difference to the orangutan but very little difference to our pockets. Unless you are out of work or in severe debt…then you’re excused 😉 I have also taken a pledge to NOT buy food or products that contain palm oil…..there isn’t very much really, so I have taken to buying only fresh foods and prepare from scratch. Not only has this had an impact on my budget, but I have lost weight and feel a lot healthier….ironic innit!! As for my cosmetics and cleaning stuff, I now only buy organic products and use them sparingly. We can’t let these creatures die out on our watch!!!

The world’s orangutans are hanging on by a thread, with scientists warning we don’t have much time left before they’re extinct. Now there’s a brilliant plan that could save them, if we all chip in what we can.

There’s a crucial corridor connecting two essential orangutan habitats in the wetlands of Borneo that is on the brink of destruction. Saving this land could be the difference between life and death for countless orangutans, who need continuous swaths of forest and trees to survive. Conservation NGOs and local groups have fearlessly announced they will buy the land and protect it for good, but to do it they need enough money to beat out profit-hungry companies looking to move in and destroy it.

This is exactly the kind of moment the Avaaz community was made for — our unique, people-powered funding model could allow us to finance the crucial sanctuary quickly, and create a fund to defend other key pieces of land around the world. Pledge what you can, we’ll process the donations only if we raise enough to buy the land.

Body of the email: “Orangutans are some of our most intelligent, thoughtful relatives — their name means “person of the forest” in Malay. They spend 90% of their time roaming and climbing trees (the males can stretch their arms up to 7 feet!) — even sleeping high up in nests of leafy branches, and they use big leaves as umbrellas when it rains. So, as demand for palm oil skyrockets and companies rush to clear more and more land, their homes are literally falling like dominoes.

Allowing the world’s orangutans to die out would mean not only losing one of the planet’s most majestic creatures forever, but would also change the entire ecosystem of the rainforests they inhabit. As they roam the forest eating fruit, orangutans scatter the seeds far and wide, helping the entire forest stay healthy and robust.

In Borneo, where 80% of the orangutans’ habitat has already been destroyed, even a small area of land can make a massive difference as it can link together protected forests that have survived. That’s why this plan to save the orangutans is so powerful — by connecting a forest reserve with a wildlife sanctuary, we can get the most from every cent raised.”

Please could you make a pledge? even as little as £3.00 will make a difference.

And in case you don’t believe me or even avaaz, here is some more reading for you:

http://www.orangutan.org/orangutan-facts/why-is-the-orangutan-in-danger-2

http://worldwildlife.org/species/bornean-orangutan

It’s like the starfish on the beach, you may not be able to save them all, but it will make a difference to the one you throw back into the sea.

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living history #London2012 & the biggest sporting event in the world!!

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, things to do in London, Travel, tagged kew gardens olympic torch relay, london 2012 olympic games, olympic torch relay richmond on July 25, 2012| 8 Comments »

London 2012

#London2012 and I am here!!! Thrilled to be part of what is the cremé de la cremé of sporting events, one of the most amazing events in sports. I am living a part of history that for some folks (me included) is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We live history every single day, some impacts on us and much doesn’t….depending on where it happens and what happens and whether or not we are involved in some way.

My personal history was written the day the company I was working for back in South Africa went into liquidation…little did I know just how much that was going to change my life; the radical shift that was pending…and I didn’t even know. My only concern on the day was…”let me into the building I have work to do…don’t have time for this BS!!” (they did and I got on with my job 🙂 ), my next concern was whether or not I would get another job….those were the days of the new South Africa where to be Old/er, White, Man/Woman was not conducive to getting a job and then the worry about the mortgage popped into my head.

Then I had a stroke of genius….I would visit my sister in Ireland 🙂 What a great idea…. I didn’t have to ask for leave..I would be free to go on holiday for as long as I liked! So I booked my ticket and the rest is ‘history!’…..and here I am living in what is the greatest city in the world and just about to be part of one of the most momentous events of this year…and we have had quite a few! I bought/ordered tickets for my daughter and myself and thankfully we were awarded tickets for 2 events; one at the Olympic Stadium and one at Excel.

london 2012, olympic games london, oliver golding

Oliver Golding, just before they lit the flame for his section of the relay…up close and personal

The buildup was initially slow, but over the last few months the excitement has mounted and when the Olympic Flame landed in the UK on 28th May, we really got into the swing of things as it travelled around the country, drawing ever greater crowds to watch it go by! And yesterday it travelled through my home town!!! Hooray.

I was so excited the night before that I hardly slept!!! I went to bed at about 1.30am; the adrenaline racing through my body & my mind popping about all over the place. I finally fell asleep only to wake at 5am. Unable to go back to sleep, I got up, had a cup of tea and a biscuit then dressed and ready to go by 6:48. I kissed my daughter goodbye. She is usually out the door well before me (I don’t do mornings) and by 7:12am I was at Kew Gardens….no-one else was there. I thought for sure I had the wrong place. I quickly got onto twitter (via my brand new wonderful little mobile computer (aka a phone) and saw tweets about the traffic being interrupted and that they would be handing out maps and info at Kew Station…so I whizzed over got myself a much need cup of coffee and waited. They got there at just on 8am and map in hand I strode back up the road to the gates…..the Marshalls had just arrived and were amazed to see someone already there. LOL I was in the right place, at the right time…okay, well still a tad too early!

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay

Kew Gardens gates…..open at 9.30am 🙂

Then while I sat and waited an old gent joined me on the bench and we chatted awhile. I was too excited to sit still for long so made my excuses and off I went to hang around in front of the gates in the hope they may opened them sooner….they didn’t!

Finally they opened the gates……..and I was in. By then the crowd has grown as more and more folks arrived. My friend Peter joined me and we set off, taking photos along the way to find a good spot.

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay, anjula wilson

Anjula Wilson – at Kew Gardens after her stint carrying the Olympic Torch in the relay

Yesterday was seriously awesome…to see the Olympic Torch from such close proximity. No barriers, no policing, just UK citizens and visitors enjoying what is a momentous occasion. To see a flame that has travelled not only across our country but from another land, with a history that goes back aeons…this is a must see. Personally, despite all the hiccups, all the negativity and all the problems we have had…I think we should be proud to hosting this amazing event. #London2012 I am so grateful that I am here to experience it.

One of the advantages of being up that early was that I got to see the river with the morning sunrise. I have photgrpahed this particular scene hundreds of times, but this was the first time so early in the morning…..I guess I am going to ‘have to do mornings’ 🙂

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay, twickenham bridge

early morning at Twickenham Bridge

After the Torch had left, we meandered about exploring the gardens and having a look at the new David Nash exhibition and walking around the Treetop Walkway which is seriously cool. After an hour or so we headed over to Twickenham for tea and cupcakes, then strolled along the Thames pathway to Richmond and finally to the station at 5.45pm. What a brilliant day.

I have posted some photos of the Olympic torch and Kew Gardens on my facebook page.

Just found this new post with a brilliant photo of the Olympic Rings at Kew Gardens

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