CAVALRY STOPPED

This week, before I go away, I have been playing the much underestimated Jona Lewie.  Not much on YouTube either, apart of course from the unexpected Christmas song, Stop the Cavalry (which isn't included here!).  But here are three for you to share:

With a mad Zydeco band in ‘Laughing Tonight’

And then the Beatlesque ‘I Think I’ll Get My Haircut’

And finally of course, the Ikea theme song, ‘You Will Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties’

See you in a couple of weeks.

A BIT OFF

I seem to have played bridge almost every day this week.  Has made it difficult to get out into the garden and do some work (I haven't been very upset about not getting out there though and I don't think the jobs will go away, so I can do them later).

Yesterday though we also went to a talk about Japanese gardens.  It was a little disappointing.  He hadn't been to many interesting gardens (he didn't even cover the main gardens of Japan) and didn't have anything much to say about them anyway. 

The trouble with visiting places like Japan is that you end end up being side-tracked and fascinated by irrelevant things.  So we had a 10 minute explanation about the bullet train (with pics) and how lovely it was to travel on it, followed by another 10 min section about the ferry to Miyajima, with pics of that too!  Then some pics of meals and shop windows, several pics of Mount Fuji, umpteen pics of a temple gate ('this is a very famous gate and I expect you've all seen pics of it before'.  'Yes!!  So why are you showing us more??').  He even gave us a guided tour of the temples at Nikko.

One lady complained that the talk was all statistics.  Actually it sounded a bit like a Japan Travel Bureau guided tour for foreigners (they don't like you to leave without seeing all the 'sights' whatever you're supposed to be there for, and they always tell you about areas and heights, etc, so maybe that's what he was given and that's where he got his speech from).  So I don't know any more about the whys and wherefores of Japanese gardens.  But I can tell you that they are nice.

Tomorrow we are off to Teignmouth again for the annual Jazz Festival.  I'll no doubt have some pics and videos for you when I return.  Til then, be good.

OFF

So I've managed an almost daily account of my doings.  Now you will probably hear nothing for a while.  Time we had a holiday I think, so we're off again tomorrow morning for a a few days.

I've just heard this for the first time, so I'll leave it with you while I'm away.  Isn't it great!

PLAYING AWAY

According to the most reliable weather forecasts, it's going to be hot and sunny for a while.  So, it's time I had a holiday. 

We'll be touring for the next week or so.  I guess we'll be looking for beaches and pubs with terraces.  But we'll also have to find some pubs with Sky, so that I can put my nerves on the rack yet again with the tennis.  Oh, the punishment I subject myself to!  But have a nice time in my absence.  Of course, I might look in, now that I have one of those clunky mobile telephones with a screen, and provided the pub has not only Sky, but also Wi-Fi.

Toodle pip!

HOME AND AWAY

So, you see - I'm back.  One day I'll get round to telling you about my last trip.  For some reason or other I couldn't post from overseas, otherwise I'd have posted daily.

Tomorrow though I'm off to the Isle of Wight for a couple of days, during which I'll scatter my Dad's ashes somewhere (he's apparently been in a relative's garage for some years . . .).

She Who Complains About My Wanderings is going away herself next week, so that should give me a bit of time to catch up.  Although I expect there'll be a list - mow the lawn, put your socks away, redecorate the dining room, build a gazebo on the south lawn, etc.

Anyway, hope you're all well.

GIRNE FOR A WALK

Yesterday, Jeffers, Countrybhoy and I walked another leg of the Sussex Border Path.  I have no time to tell you more now, but it was a glorious day, if at times gloriously cold.  Here we are admiring the view.  And why not?  Yesterday, the sun shone and the views were extensive (if still a little autumnal).

Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, I am off to N Cyprus (a long way from the banks and their problems) to take a walking party through the lovely Kyrenian Mountains.  I'll see you again in 2 weeks.

Now I have to go and clean yesterday's mud off my boots and plan my routes.  Oh, and pack . . .

AWAY FROM IT ALL

We're off for a few days.  That's what I need - a holiday.  In UK though.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE ON MY SPOTLESS MIND

I thought I would warm myself up with some shots of Feurteventura.  Think of them as cups of  cortado.

Here is where I usually enjoyed my morning cortado.

 

There are four requirements for a January holiday - sun, sun, sun, and coffee.  Here I could enjoy them all.  Fuerteventura is known as the 'Island of Eternal Spring',with an average temperature of 23 degrees (although it did plummet to 15 degrees once, someone seemed to remember) and a rainfall of about a coffee-cupful a year.  It is the second largest of the Canary Islands, taking almost a whole day to drive from one end to the other and back, visiting every town and village (and taking a break for lunch) (and of course coffee). This cafe is on the marina quay at Puerto de Fuste, a Barcelo dominated resort with a great (imported) beach.  It is in the old lighthouse

 

and also serves fresh grilled fish in the evening.   This is the beach

You get a sense from this picture, both how deserted it was in January, but also how deserted permanently the island is outside of the resorts.  Can you see the mountains?On a couple of days, we walked into the next village.  This is the road.

 

And here's the main road heading north.

 

About an hour's drive out of Puerto de Fuste, you come to these sand dunes.  I assume all this sand has come over from Morocco.

 

And the interior of the island looks like this.

There are actually farms in there.  Here's one

The walk out of town north is very nicely paved, with a cycle track and even street lights.  There's still nothing there, but I was impressed to see that there was probably a vision with this infrastructure already provided.  The main industry on the island of course is now tourism.

 

There are a couple of little villages in the interior which are attractive to see.  This is Betancuria.

 

And this is the old fishing village of Corallejo.

  And nowhere was there any snow!

NOT MISS SNOW

OK, so coming home this morning wasn't the best timing.  After a week, where the only matter requiring serious effort was deciding which open air cafe to sit in for a coffee/beer (if you exclude the apparently allied problems of which top goes with which sandals and 'does my bum look big in these?'), we then come back to the one week when the entire country is paralysed by snow.

I had sort of expected to arrive here just as the neighbours were beginning to emerge, like hibernating bears, scratching themselves and lumbering off to Tescos for fresh supplies of honey.  All I can say is that they had at least cleared the snow from our road, so that, when we eventually reached home, I could roll straight into my drive (they hadn't cleared my drive, but they had allowed me to gain enough momentum to plough my way in).  Actually, I was able to reverse back out again this morning when we went down to Tescos to restock with sausages, shortbread biscuits, honey, etc.  We'll be OK now if we get cut off in fresh snow falls.

But here's the sight that greeted us at Fuerteventura airport when we checked in at 6pm:

 

Yes, we were headed to London.  Not taking the flight to Liverpool, which was leaving on time; not to Dublin (or Hanover for that matter) which were boarding, nor to Manchester, which left only a little delayed.  So a bit of a wait.  In fact, it became quite exciting.  Fuerteventura airport closes down at 11pm and our flight hadn't actually left UK, four hours away, by 7pm.  At 8, we were told that the flight had taken off and that, if it could arrive and leave before 12, we would be away.  So a nail-biting few hours (which I spent rather pleasantly in the bar - why should I fret about being unable to leave this balmy island paradise?).

Anyway, the plane landed at 11.15 to the combined cheers of the assembled observers, rather like the way passengers onboard Aeroflot flights cheer when the pilot manages to land safely (the next flight was due out at 7am, so only our fellow passengers were sitting there) and we began boarding immediately.  And, with a bit of a fudge of ICAO cleaning requirements (and not much of a stopover for the crew), we taxied out at 11.55, fully loaded, and took off without delay.

It was similarly an easy journey at this end (if a few hours later than we intended) with main roads cleared of snow and not so many other cars around at 4 in the morning.  And here we are -  bronzed and poorly camouflaged against the snow drifts, feeling the 25 degree difference in temperature, but health and morale improved after the break, and enjoying the reversion to wholesome, filling stews and root veg soups.  Yes, on balance, it's good to be back.

And not only that, as we hunker down in front of a roaring fire, wondering whether we should be feeling guilty about not going out - the Africa Cup of Nations tournament has just started . . .

HOT PURSUIT

I've had enough of this weather.  When it's not raining, it's cold.  It's even cold sometimes when it is raining.  I did catch sight of the sun today, but I don't think it saw me.  My skin is pallid and waxy looking; my blood is the consistency of readimix Polyfilla (and it may set anytime).  I am still coughing (two months now).  My trench foot is playing up and I fear I am contracting rickets.  I was born to live in temperate zones, not the Tundra.  I am fed up with wearing waterproof clothing and fleeces.  And I haven't even unpacked my short sleeve shirts from last year's winter storage yet.  I NEED SUN!

So, courtesy of LastMinute.com, I am off tomorrow to the Canary Islands.  We are staying this time in Fuerteventura, which I don't know and which may be overdeveloped and awful, but it's January, kids are at school, and the island is known as the 'Island of Eternal Spring', which sounds nice.  The hotel has a pool, there's a beach nearby, the cafe's open, there's a national park and a mountain to climb, . . . what else do I need?

I gather that the weather is likely to turn even worse here next week and it might even snow.  I'm so sorry to hear that, all you who have to stay at home, and I feel really guilty that the temperature in Fuerteventura will be 25 degrees higher than that in the UK; if I could do anything about it, I would.  Honest.  I'll be back in touch if when I return.

¡ES UN AÑO NUEVO!

Yes, I've started to use my teach yourself Spanish daily calendar.  ¡Hola 2013!

What else am I going to do this year?  Well, first I'm going to decorate the spare bedroom.  Usually we work our way through the house, repairing, decorating, refurbishing.  And then, when everything is new and spick and span, we sell at a vast profit.  That's the plan anyway.  Hasn't exactly happened ever yet.  But this time we have been more relaxed with our refurbishing, partly because we are planning to stay here a little longer than we usually stay in a house and partly because the house is already worth less on the market than it was when we bought it.  Ah, well.  But we have gradually decorated our way through the house anyway and have now reached the spare bedroom.

Just after Christmas we went to Homebase and found a whole pile of paints, paper, plaster, etc on special offer.  So not sad, then, spending the holiday at the sales!

The spare bedroom then looking like a designer room in a model home, we will fly off somewhere to find some winter sun.  What is sun?  You may well  ask!  We did see a bit of sun today actually - maybe the first time for longer than I can remember - but it was decidedly chilly, far too cold to walk up and down the High Street in my vest anyway.  I think we'll also have to make sure we go somewhere where I can practise my Spanish.  Buenas noches amigos.

BLESSING IN TEGUISE

Anyone been to Lanzarote and got any advice?  I was thinking of going there to escape the winter.  Good idea?

SNOW FUN

Here we go with another series of blogs with titles punning on the word 'snow'.  Actually, I hope we aren't going to have that; not because of the writing you understand, but because I don't want all the misery of all that white stuff again.

I had to go up to London yesterday.  We have had a house guest for the last 2 weeks and I offered to travel with her up to London and get her and her suitcase onto a taxi.  One of the sad features of travel in this country is that there is hardly any provision on trains or in stations for travellers with suitcases.  If you arrive at a mainline station in London and want to pop into the toilet, how do you get your suitcase down all the stairs that lead to the inevitably subterranean, and misnamed, conveniences?  And what do you do with your suitcase while you use the facilities?  And, even before that, where do you put your suitcase on the train?  If you are going to an airport, you inevitably have to travel on the train when it is packed to the gunnels with commuters.  I once went to Heathrow on the train.  Lovely to have an underground train that speeds you to the airport, but by the time I had stood on trains and lugged my suitcase around for a couple of hours, I had had enough.  Next time taxi! I promised myself.

Anyway, yesterday, first thing in the morning, it decided to snow.  Fearing problems on the road, we arranged for a taxi to collect us and take us to the station.  Fearing problems on the railways, we set off at 10.15, instead of 12.15.

The roads were fine.  Actually the journey to London was OK; we caught the 10.15 train from Haslemere which arrived at the station at 10.45 and reached London before 12.00.  Not too late, although perhaps I should have been suspicious at that stage that things would only get worse.  But it had actually stopped snowing by 09.30 and it hadn't laid anyway, the roads were clear and dry.  Unfortunately, it had obviously been the wrong sort of snow.

We had a coffee at Waterloo to warm ourselves up and I put my friend onto a taxi, with suitcase, at about 12.30.  I then took advantage of being in the Big City by going to Oxford Street and doing some Christmas shopping.  I wanted to find something appropriate for She Who Enjoys Aerobics.  Eventually, in Lillywhites, I found just the thing - they were selling off sports socks at half price.

Anyway, that's a digression.  Having finished all my Christmas shopping for this year, I got back to Waterloo at 1.30 to take the train back home, only to discover that there were no trains on the indicator board stopping at Haslemere.  There was no explanation for this.  There were two of my usual trains departing within the next hour, but both missed out my station.  I went to the information desk and asked their advice.  They rather helpfully suggested I didn't go to Haslemere.  There are trains to Woking and Guildford,  I pointed out.  'Might I be able to board a train from there to Haslemere?'  'No idea', was the sympathetic response.

I know we ask this every year, but how does this happen?  And given that the smallest and shortest-lived dusting of snow imaginable can totally knock out the entire rail network of Britain (well, Haslemere anyway), why can they not be prepared and able to rectify the problem?  And maybe more to the point - why doesn't the information desk know anything or have any advice? 

I bought myself a sandwich and stood there for half an hour watching trains going everywhere but Haslemere.  Eventually, I decided to take the train to Guildford.  At the worst, She Who Will Receive a Rather Fetching Pair of Socks for Christmas could come and pick me up.  Then, just as I was entering the platform, Haslemere appeared on the list of stations at which the Guildford train intended to stop.  I jumped on exultantly.  But an hour later, at Guildford, the conductor (or driver, not the lady who speaks the names of the stations anyway - she was still saying 'the next station is Haslemere') announced that the train wouldn't after all stop at Haslemere.  Again, no idea why not.

As I got off the train, a station employee (guard?) was waving everyone onto the train on the next platform - 'all stations to Portsmouth.  Hurry!'  So I boarded that.  'This train stops at Southsea', assured the lady over the tannoy.  'Actually it goes to Portsmouth Harbour,' contradicted the conductor (or driver).  I quite thought the female announcer was going to start arguing a la Airplane! 'Oh no it's not; it's going to Southsea!'. 

But it did stop at Haslemere.  So it took an hour to go to London, but it took 3 hours to return home.  And still I don't really know why.

Ah well, in 2 weeks time the days will start to get longer and it'll be spring soon after.