After The Rain

I spotted a plane flying in another plane's slipstream this morning and took this picture with my phone's camera...

Unfortunately, the planes don't show up too well. The lead plane is at the top of the picture with the second one about halfway down where the vapour trails seem to thicken. However, my reason for posting this wasn't really the planes but more to show that blue sky is still available in this country!

Seems a long time since we've seen it after the rain...

Recognition At Last!

Oh yeah...

Akelamalu over at Everything and Nothing has given us this award. It should be for blogging prowess but is really for taxi services to holidaymakers. We've not been given nearly enough awards yet (a piffling one...) so if you're reading this and want to reward us with an award (huh?!) just drop us a line, we're happy to accept almost anything.

Gordon Brown, if you're reading this an M.B.E. apiece wouldn't go amiss...

The Road To Hell...

A simple trip from Rochdale to Glastonbury. Motorway all the way. It couldn't be simpler. Could it?

Things had started to go wrong in the week and maybe we should've seen this as an omen. I was playing with the eldest of the monsters who at that time had a penchant for keys of any kind. He didn't want to do anything with them other than hold them. On this one particular night though he was playing with my car keys and he decided that he wanted to put them in the bin. Now, this wouldn't have been too bad because our landlord (who himself is worthy of a post) at the time didn't normally bother emptying the bins...ever! On this occasion he was unusually efficient and took about six weeks rubbish to the tip in one fell swoop...goodbye car keys!!

So that was that...no keys at all to my car which as well as being locked was thouroughly immobilised! It was later to cost me around £200 to get a replacement key but right now we had more pressing problems...how to transport ourselves around...

Luckily, Fi's brother-in-law had a spare vehicle which he kindly lent us for our road trip. Grateful as we were at the time using that vehicle was a decision we were going to regret!

It was a lovely May morning with the sun shining brightly in the sky and a gentle cooling breeze fanning us as we set off. We had arranged to meet a friend of ours who lived in Glastonbury on Saturday afternoon and have a wee wander round, head to our guest house for a shower and change of clothes and then head out for something to eat. A refreshing nights sleep followed by the journey back up the various motorways and home in time for Sunday lunch. Even the best laid plans...

We jumped, well clambered, into the vehicle we had borrowed (there's a theme here) and set off, full steam ahead! Unfortunately that's just what happened. We had made good time on the M6 and were just heading up to junction 15 (Newcastle-under-Lyme) when steam started pouring out from under the bonnet. A few frantic phone calls and we were in luck - the vehicle had Green Flag breakdown cover! Fi, being marvellous as she is, managed to limp the vehicle the ½ mile or so up to the next exit and we pulled into the carpark of the Holiday Inn.

Ok, says we. The car's buggered, we have to wait for the rescue man and we've not even completed a third of our journey. Plan of action...? We're at a hotel, let's just stay here the night, wait for the car to be fixed and head back home tomorrow, save Glastonbury for another time. Simple enough in theory but slap me with a fish slice if we hadn't chosen the busiest weekend in the hotel's history to try to get a room. They couldn't even offer us a stable to sleep in!!

All was not lost though. It was possible that there was only a minor malfunction with the vehicle that could be fixed in a matter of minutes. So we sat and waited for the breakdown man to turn up and enjoyed a cold beer.

Presently, our mechanic in shining armour turned up and proceeded to pour copious amounts of water into the radiator. "This won't be a problem" he assured us, "I'll just take the thermostat off and as long as you keep it topped up with water it'll get you there and back no problem". Fantastic, thinks we, we're gonna be on our way pretty soon with hardly any delay. Then came the slight flaw in the mechanic's otherwise flawless plan - the thermostat had already been removed hence it overheating in the first place...the jalopy couldn't be moved. We were well and truly buggered.

We thought the simplest idea would be to rent a car to take us the rest of the way - all we had to do was work out where from and how to get there. Luckily for us the receptionist at the hotel was more than willing to drive us into the centre of town and right at the door of a car rental place (anything for ten minutes out of work!). Another stroke of luck in that Fi had all the document we needed to hire the car in her bag. A few forms signed and we were back on our jolly way.

The rest of that day's trip was largely uneventful (apart from two sandwiches and two coffees costing the best part of fourteen quid in one of the service stations...the staff uniform should be a mask and a stripey jumper) and we arrived safe and sound at about 5.00pm. There was just time to meet Scooby Sue for a drink before we made our way to the guest house to get ourselves washed and dolled up. Scooby Sue had already let the owner know that we were running late so it was all gravy.

The guest house was lovely. In fact, it wasn't really a guest house but a private house with the downstairs area converted into a self contained flat. When we ventured upstairs for our breakfast on Sunday morning the view from the window was amazing, looking out over rolling countryside. Anyway, we did what we had to do and went for a lovely meal with Scooby Sue and her daughter...and a grand night was had by all!

After breakfast on Sunday we went for a brief stroll around the town (brief because there's bugger all there) and a coffee with Scooby Sue and then it was time to be on our way home. Now, the observant ones among you may remember that we were in a hire car which had to be delivered back to Newcastle-under-Lyme. A plan was hatched where we would search for a national car rental company, hire another car, drop the first hire car off and then drop the second hire car off closer to home. Simplicity in itself. Much searching was done and let me tell you now, the likes of National and Hertz don't venture into the potteries and who can blame them??!

So, foiled yet again our only option was to drive back to Rochdale, borrow yet another car and then wing it all the way back to Newcastle-under-Lyme to drop the courtesy car off before driving back again. We set off from Glastonbury at 11.00am and finally finished our journey at 8.00pm.

Next time we're getting the train!

A mind is a terrible thing...

Fi says I should blog. Personally I think she should stop telling me what to do when she can't even control her faculties enough to keep hold of a poxy set of car keys...

Anyhooo, here I am. I've recently been taking much supplements, such as glucosamine, vitamins, fish oil stuff and ginkgo bilbao (which are not related to Rocky, seeing as his name is Balboa, and he's not real). The latter are taken the world over for their brain boosting properties which is something I've felt like I've needed recently!! To be honest, I can't say I noticed much difference at first but I can certainly say that I seem to have become a bit sharper mentally.

I've also been occasionally taking gotu kola but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this just makes me loopy. Last night I was laughing my socks off at a combination of this and this, much to Fi's bemusement! To me Cosmo, Dibs and Foggy seemed like the ideal sitcom...and I suppose you're probably just as bemusedright now as Fi was back then....

I don't think the ginkgo is working...

The Car Key Adventure...

Hi there everybody, it is me, Fi, I told you that I wouldn't get to blog very much, my time is taken up with looking after Nate and the rest of it working.. Sometimes I even get to sleep but not much and certainly not nearly enough!!

I just have to tell you about how clumsy and baby-brained I have become since getting pregnant and giving birth to Nate..

I managed to finish work early on Tuesday, I usually work 8am to 9pm 3 days a week but managed to get away early to take one of the hounds to the vets..
I got back home, safe and sound but 'D' had called to see his mum & dad with Nate and was not yet back. Seeing as how good I am, I decided to take the aforementioned hounds out for a nice walk whilst waiting for 'D' to get home... I put the dog leads on 2 of the hounds but had left the other 2 dog leads in the car so I needed to go and get them....
Now then, the car I am using at the minute does not belong to me, it belongs to 'D's father who has kindly lent it to me for a while...
So, I picked up the car keys and left the house to go round the side to retrieve the leads and then, PLOP! the car keys are down the drain, right down the gully, in all the horrible rain water that we have been having... Oh no!! thinks I and calls 'D' to ask what to do, he has no idea really what could be done at that time in the evening.. I was advised to ring the council in the morning...

Now here is the good part, the following morning I ring the council at 9.10am, I spoke to a lovely lady who's name was Lorraine, after the expected jocularity at the stupidness of my actions, she said she would ring me back in 5 minutes, she took my number and indeed, she did call me back. She said, hello, Fiona, its Lorraine, there will be somebody with you in 10 minutes, I have asked them to divert to you.. Thanks, I said and off she went off the phone. I had to gallop upstairs and get dressed, by the time I came back downstairs a huge gully cleaner was parked at the front of the house.. Out pops 2 men, both enjoying the hilarity of the situation, we've come about some keys love, they say to me... I point them in the direction of the gully and they quick as a flash whip the top off and fish down in it with some big claw-like graspers that I am reliably informed are called gully scoops. Then, a few fishes later up comes the keys, full of dark black goo, they take them to the van and clean them up for me and hand them over.... Phew, i think and thank them in an embarrassed way and off they go. By 9.30 am I have the elusive keys back, now that is pretty good going, Lancashire County Council can be proud of themselves...

Anyhow, this is not the first adventure I have had, in fact 'D' and I had a great one a couple of years ago on the way to see a friend who was living in Glastonbury, but I will leave that for another time, I will also tell you about a short but life changing weekend 'D' and me had in Hebden Bridge
I hope you keep visiting us and we shall post more regularly when we get time..
Bye for now...

Out in the country...

I've mentioned before how lucky we are to live so close to the countryside. In an attempt to lose a little weight and trim up my already svelt figure (!) I have taken to going for a half hour walk at lunchtime.

I have a choice of walking through the backstreets of the wonderful town in which I work or heading the other way to have a quick wander over an old quarry which has now been filled with muck and rubble. Despite its proximity to a couple of busy roads it's so peaceful there with wild fruit growing in abundance and the sound of grasshoppers filling the air.

There's a little lane at the back of the quarry and it was from this lane that I took the pictures below...

This week I did also go shooting things. A few of us went clay pigeon shooting to Cloudside where my boss is a member. I wouldn't have been able to hit a cow's arse with a banjo but it was still fun none the less. I now ache like you wouldn't believe and have a big bruise on my right shoulder...maybe my technique needs a little work!

I should be off now. I have an early night ahead of me as I am heading out at around 2.00am to collect akelamalu from the airport. I'm sure you will read her tales soon!

Be safe...

A Viscount..? But I am a Prince...

Isn’t it odd how a little nudge to the senses can transport you to times and places past?

I have just eaten a mint KitKat, and jolly nice it was too. From the first bite I was transported back to the dining hall of my old primary school, though only in my minds eye...don’t be rushing out buying mint KitKats thinking that they have the power of teleportation!

What prompted this jolt of the memory? It was the taste. Back in the days when my Mum would make me a packed lunch – and I’m sure if I asked her now she’d still make me one – there was always a little bit of something to go with my cold toast and jam (yummm!) & flask of Vimto and that normally took the shape of a biscuit. The biscuit I remember the most was the mint Viscount a wonderful creation round in shape with biscuit and mint stuff covered in milk chocolate. My Dad and brother always seemed to go for the orange Viscount but I preferred the mint.

Anyway, there I was, sat at my office desk in body but talking childish nonsense with my very earliest friends in spirit.

I do post some rubbish...

Up at the res...

Hello all!

We've been transferring some pictures fom our old pc to the laptop. This little exercise has given me the opportunity to post a few pictures taken up at a little reservoir close to our house.

Clowbridge reservoir is located at Dunnockshaw between Rawtenstall and Burnley and there is truly some beautiful countryside there. It's so goodto be ableto travel acoupleofmiles outof the town and beconfronted by sights such as these.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Fancy a quickie...?

Hello friends...

The pressures of work and two pre-school delinquents have lead to a complete standstill in the corner of the blogoshpere inhabited by D & F but we thought this link may interest you after our previous post detailing the wonder that is the singing ringing tree...

Be safe...

More Tales From Bulgaria

Hello Friends...

We must apologise for not posting any tales of wit and wisdom for a few days but we've been otherwise engaged. In other words we've found a good deal on alcohol from one of the local purveyors and have been befuggled.

Anyway, this post is not exactly a tale from Bulgaria but rather a few photographs taken in the historic town of Old Nessebar. We took a walk one day, as you do, just to see where the road lead to and got almost to Old Nessebar. We later discovered that we had turned back literally yards before getting to what is a beautiful little town. A day or so later we climed into a taxi and headed off...

To get to the town you have to go down a causeway with views of the harbour on one side and what I think is Sunny Beach on the other (though I am willing to be corrected if anyone knows different!). The streets of the town are very narrow and therefore only pedestrian access is allowed, hence the large bank of taxis congregating outside the town walls!

Above can be seen the fortifications at the entrance to the town. These are thought to originate from around the 4th - 6th Century although their foundations probably date from around the 5th Century B.C.

Entrance to the town is just off to the right of this picture where the archeological museum is located. We didn't go in there as we were in need of food. And it was shut.

There are so many fabulous building in this old town and information can be found on them on this wonderful little site. A lot of these buildings are former churches that have now been turned into museums or art galleries. Have a look below:-

Then there's the shops, a lot of which look Tudor in origin...

And finally, the signs...this one found on the pavement directing the traveller wearied by the midday heat...

Have fun and be safe!