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| this one is from my Mum's club : The Holmcroft Phoenix |
Friday, 5 December 2014
Collegiate Church of Saint Mary.... Christmas Tree Festival
Each year the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary holds a Christmas Tree Festival.... this year there were 71 Christmas Trees decorated from local businesses, retailers, voluntary groups and local council's. This is a sample of them.
First couple of days...
Since arriving home I have been really struggling with jet lag!!! Been crashing early between 6 and 7pm each night and waking around 2am, then 4am.... Really annoying!!!
I've been into town with Dad running errands. I even got him into the shops!!! A first for Dad! I had to sort out my mobile phone with Vodafone, who surprisingly were extremely helpful. Dad also showed me where he plays bowls in the summer. The greens are closed now for winter. He plays indoor bowls at another venue, along with dominos, and snooker. More active than I am!!!
Mum and I walked over Coton Clanford lanes yesterday for an hour, it was a really lovely day weather wise, cool but crisp. We came across these Water Buffalo down the road... the local farmer has a hundred plus of them!! I think they had just been milked or about to be milked. They use the milk for Mozzarella cheese. Inquisitive animals.
Later in the day I went and played badminton with Mum at her local club. It was a great hour, lots of fun, great doubles games and lots and lots of laughs!!! Mum even beat me twice!! That same evening I joined the badminton crowd for their Christmas get-together at the local Chinese restaurant, The Golden Orient. One of the ladies were celebrating a birthday too, hence the balloons on our table. It was really enjoyable meeting and getting to know my Mum's friends. So now when I next speak to Mum and she talks about everyone I will know exactly who she is talking about! Hope to play badminton again with them all next week too.
I've been into town with Dad running errands. I even got him into the shops!!! A first for Dad! I had to sort out my mobile phone with Vodafone, who surprisingly were extremely helpful. Dad also showed me where he plays bowls in the summer. The greens are closed now for winter. He plays indoor bowls at another venue, along with dominos, and snooker. More active than I am!!!
Mum and I walked over Coton Clanford lanes yesterday for an hour, it was a really lovely day weather wise, cool but crisp. We came across these Water Buffalo down the road... the local farmer has a hundred plus of them!! I think they had just been milked or about to be milked. They use the milk for Mozzarella cheese. Inquisitive animals.
This is a beautiful three-storey, half-timbered Tudor mansion called Clanford Hall, belongs to one of our local farmers. The building, dated 1684, is listed Grade II* and is a good example of 17th century vernacular architecture of the area. It is timber framed with a tiled roof and brick stacks, with two storeys and an attic, and four-storeyed on the East. It is restored in brick and colour-washed, with wood finials to gables and ornamental timbering at front and restored timbering at rear. There are casements and wood mullioned windows with modern leaded lights. The house has exposed ceiling beams.
Later in the day I went and played badminton with Mum at her local club. It was a great hour, lots of fun, great doubles games and lots and lots of laughs!!! Mum even beat me twice!! That same evening I joined the badminton crowd for their Christmas get-together at the local Chinese restaurant, The Golden Orient. One of the ladies were celebrating a birthday too, hence the balloons on our table. It was really enjoyable meeting and getting to know my Mum's friends. So now when I next speak to Mum and she talks about everyone I will know exactly who she is talking about! Hope to play badminton again with them all next week too.
Nice to be home
I left Wellington, for the UK, on 1 December 2014, at 4.20pm.... My hubby and I went to the airport together, which was really nice, except Dave unfortunately wasn't travelling with me this time, as he couldn't get the extra time off work, though he is joining me in two weeks time! Dave had to fly to Auckland for work and I flew to Sydney! I must admit it was really hard saying goodbye! Though it will be really exciting meeting him off his flight in two weeks time in Manchester. It will be like the movie... "Love Actually"... !!! They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder!
My flight out of Wellington was delayed approximately twenty minutes, not exactly sure why, we weren't advised!! Once in the air I started to relax a little. The three hour, forty minute flight to Sydney went relatively quickly. I arrived in Sydney with time to mooch around the duty free, but didn't buy anything as I was advised its best to buy it in Bangkok on the way through!
I boarded the flight in Sydney on time. We were heading down the runway, all was going well, until we were then advised we had to return to the terminal!!! Apparently there was a drunk passenger on board that was causing issues, and due to safety of others they had to return and offload him!!! The crew had to find his luggage and then re-check everyone else's luggage on board!!! How they even let him board if he was really drunk is beyond me!!!
The flight to Bangkok was nine hours, ten minutes, I was in an aisle seat in the middle four seats, quite a good position as only one person next to me had to pass me. My neighbour was a young female university student, learning physiotherapy from Cronulla, great chick. She was visiting her brother in Rome who is a professional football player. Even though we were late leaving Sydney, the pilot made up time and got us to Bangkok on time. I was expecting to have an hour between our connection to Dubai but we only had approximately thirty minutes. We were allowed to get off the plane but I decided not to get off in the end, as I couldn't be bothered taking my bags with me, but wished I had in the end, as all the cleaners came on board and cleaned up the empty seats, it was a bit chaotic!! Would have been nice to have a walk and stretch my legs and possibly buy duty free. My neighbour chose to get off in the end, but on her return she said there wasn't anything open to buy duty free, so I didn't feel too bad in the end in not getting off.
The flight to Dubai was a further six hours forty minutes. The arrival in to Dubai was on time, but the turnaround for the next connection was extremely tight, I thought we had over an hour and half, but in fact it was only twenty minutes!!! Thankfully when we disembarked the flight their were ground staff waiting for us to escort us to our next connection to Manchester!!
The Dubai to Manchester flight was another eight hours. By this time I was feeling quite tired, but started to feel really excited as I was getting closer to being home and knew that Mum and Dad were waiting for me at Manchester airport. On this flight I had a window seat, a spare seat next to me, then my neighbour. This time it was a young guy who had just finished working in Dubai as a deep sea diver on the oil rigs, he was on his way home to Inverness in Scotland.
Movies watched throughout my flights...
"The Hundred-Foot Journey" (2014) with Helen Mirren.... The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery. A lighthearted, enchanting movie, a must to watch.
"The November Man" (2014) with Pierce Brosnan... An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect. Spy thriller, entertaining.
"Grand Piano" (2013) with Elija Wood .... Moments before his comeback performance, a concert pianist who suffers from stage fright discovers a note written on his music sheet. Not that brilliant!
"The Other Women" (2014) with Cameron Diaz... After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been betraying. And when yet another love affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot revenge on the three-timing S.O.B. Hugely entertaining!
"One Chance"... The true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night who became a phenomenon after being chosen for -- and ultimately winning -- Britain's Got Talent (2007). A great storyline.
Overall travelling time 27 hours... a bloody long way in one go!!! I did manage to get about seven hours sleep on and off!
Here's Mum & I very excited to see each other, Dad's taking the pic!!
From Manchester to home is a further one hour drive or just under. I must say it was nice getting home. Mum and I went for a brisk walk around the back lane before it got dark so I could get some fresh air and stretch my legs out after sitting and travelling from one side of the world to the other!!!
I hit the sack at 6.30pm that night as I was totally shattered!!!
My flight out of Wellington was delayed approximately twenty minutes, not exactly sure why, we weren't advised!! Once in the air I started to relax a little. The three hour, forty minute flight to Sydney went relatively quickly. I arrived in Sydney with time to mooch around the duty free, but didn't buy anything as I was advised its best to buy it in Bangkok on the way through!
I boarded the flight in Sydney on time. We were heading down the runway, all was going well, until we were then advised we had to return to the terminal!!! Apparently there was a drunk passenger on board that was causing issues, and due to safety of others they had to return and offload him!!! The crew had to find his luggage and then re-check everyone else's luggage on board!!! How they even let him board if he was really drunk is beyond me!!!
The flight to Bangkok was nine hours, ten minutes, I was in an aisle seat in the middle four seats, quite a good position as only one person next to me had to pass me. My neighbour was a young female university student, learning physiotherapy from Cronulla, great chick. She was visiting her brother in Rome who is a professional football player. Even though we were late leaving Sydney, the pilot made up time and got us to Bangkok on time. I was expecting to have an hour between our connection to Dubai but we only had approximately thirty minutes. We were allowed to get off the plane but I decided not to get off in the end, as I couldn't be bothered taking my bags with me, but wished I had in the end, as all the cleaners came on board and cleaned up the empty seats, it was a bit chaotic!! Would have been nice to have a walk and stretch my legs and possibly buy duty free. My neighbour chose to get off in the end, but on her return she said there wasn't anything open to buy duty free, so I didn't feel too bad in the end in not getting off.
The flight to Dubai was a further six hours forty minutes. The arrival in to Dubai was on time, but the turnaround for the next connection was extremely tight, I thought we had over an hour and half, but in fact it was only twenty minutes!!! Thankfully when we disembarked the flight their were ground staff waiting for us to escort us to our next connection to Manchester!!
The Dubai to Manchester flight was another eight hours. By this time I was feeling quite tired, but started to feel really excited as I was getting closer to being home and knew that Mum and Dad were waiting for me at Manchester airport. On this flight I had a window seat, a spare seat next to me, then my neighbour. This time it was a young guy who had just finished working in Dubai as a deep sea diver on the oil rigs, he was on his way home to Inverness in Scotland.
Movies watched throughout my flights...
"The Hundred-Foot Journey" (2014) with Helen Mirren.... The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery. A lighthearted, enchanting movie, a must to watch.
"The November Man" (2014) with Pierce Brosnan... An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect. Spy thriller, entertaining.
"Grand Piano" (2013) with Elija Wood .... Moments before his comeback performance, a concert pianist who suffers from stage fright discovers a note written on his music sheet. Not that brilliant!
"The Other Women" (2014) with Cameron Diaz... After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been betraying. And when yet another love affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot revenge on the three-timing S.O.B. Hugely entertaining!
"One Chance"... The true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night who became a phenomenon after being chosen for -- and ultimately winning -- Britain's Got Talent (2007). A great storyline.
Overall travelling time 27 hours... a bloody long way in one go!!! I did manage to get about seven hours sleep on and off!
Here's Mum & I very excited to see each other, Dad's taking the pic!!
From Manchester to home is a further one hour drive or just under. I must say it was nice getting home. Mum and I went for a brisk walk around the back lane before it got dark so I could get some fresh air and stretch my legs out after sitting and travelling from one side of the world to the other!!!
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| The Ford with the sun setting |
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| real holly!! |
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| A glimpse of Seighford Hall through the branches |
Sunday, 24 August 2014
So Excited...
I'm really really excited about going home for a Winters Christmas this year. I've not had one for over eight years!! Only three months to go :-))
Especially looking forward to spending lots of time with Mum and Dad, my big brother Kevin, his wife Sally and my niece, Maria, and nephew, Kristian. Catching up with my Aunty Janet and Uncle Mike, my Aunty Judy, my first cousin, Ken and his family and all my friends that I haven't seen for a ages!! I was last home in March 2013, so just under two years ago. Its a long time to be away from family, thank heaven for Skype!
I love the days and nights leading up to Christmas. Shopping in the high street, and malls, with all the Christmas lights and decorations. The Christmas Carols. The hustle and bustle of last minute shopping for presents and groceries. Pre-Christmas drinks with friends and family. The Mulled wine.... yum!!! Especially the Mulled wine!
There is nothing better than a cold, crisp, hopefully white Christmas with your family. The smell of the roast turkey cooking in the oven in the morning. I love the small crisp chipolatas wrapped in bacon too! Ohhh and Christmas pudding with brandy sauce or even clotted cream... my lips are salivating as I write!
Ahhh and that first sip of sherry when the neighbours pop around in the morning to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Unfortunately Dave doesn't have much leave available, what with starting his new job, and because I'm not working at present I thought it would be nice to spend more time with Mum and Dad and to catch up with friends. So I fly out on the 1 December 2014 and Dave joins me on the 21 December 2014.
On the way back to NZ were looking forward to exploring Bangkok, as neither of us have been there before. Thanks to our friends Pete and Cam, they have guided us where to stay and in particular what restaurants/bars to go to :-)) If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them.
Especially looking forward to spending lots of time with Mum and Dad, my big brother Kevin, his wife Sally and my niece, Maria, and nephew, Kristian. Catching up with my Aunty Janet and Uncle Mike, my Aunty Judy, my first cousin, Ken and his family and all my friends that I haven't seen for a ages!! I was last home in March 2013, so just under two years ago. Its a long time to be away from family, thank heaven for Skype!
I love the days and nights leading up to Christmas. Shopping in the high street, and malls, with all the Christmas lights and decorations. The Christmas Carols. The hustle and bustle of last minute shopping for presents and groceries. Pre-Christmas drinks with friends and family. The Mulled wine.... yum!!! Especially the Mulled wine!
There is nothing better than a cold, crisp, hopefully white Christmas with your family. The smell of the roast turkey cooking in the oven in the morning. I love the small crisp chipolatas wrapped in bacon too! Ohhh and Christmas pudding with brandy sauce or even clotted cream... my lips are salivating as I write!
Ahhh and that first sip of sherry when the neighbours pop around in the morning to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Unfortunately Dave doesn't have much leave available, what with starting his new job, and because I'm not working at present I thought it would be nice to spend more time with Mum and Dad and to catch up with friends. So I fly out on the 1 December 2014 and Dave joins me on the 21 December 2014.
On the way back to NZ were looking forward to exploring Bangkok, as neither of us have been there before. Thanks to our friends Pete and Cam, they have guided us where to stay and in particular what restaurants/bars to go to :-)) If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them.
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