In transit

Today has been major excitement tinged with sadness. I am excited about visiting an amazing new country, but so sad at leaving the UK at my favourite time of year.

Yesterday I took Jack the whippet for a long walk and savoured the autumn colours and smells. We walked down the little country lane opposite the marina:

I felt so guilty that I would be abandoning him for a month, we have become very attached and although he adores his owner, he does enjoy popping in to see P and I several times a day and he loves his walks!

I looked at the sunset over the boats for the last time in a while:

I cooked a lovely meal for P and me and for A on the next door boat. A is a bit of a dark horse and among his many talents is his ability to make fantastic fireworks, so he treated me, T and P to a surprise going away display in the car park:

This morning I spent some time wandering around just soaking up the place that I am going to miss so much:

I then spent a couple of hours trying to get within the required weight for hand luggage. I have to take quite a lot of paper work in my cabin bag so that I can still function on the work front if my main luggage goes astray. This leaves very little left for personal items. In the end I had to jettison most of my personal stuff, ending up with just my toothbrush, face cleansing wipes and my kindle. I felt a bit like I was on desert island discs having to choose just one or two items I couldn't do without! Considering that I leave tomorrow morning and don't arrive at my final destination until late Tuesday night I think it is going to be quite hard going!

The upside is that both my lovely sons have made sure that they will be in touch while I am away. Son number 2 has added me to his skype account and son number 1 has let me become a 'friend' of his on facebook - an honour indeed!! This is with the proviso that I am not to leave any embarrassing messages on his 'wall' or he will de-friend me instantly!

I have to say that I am amazed at the technology we have these days with skype, mobile phones, facebook and all the different ways of communicating that we have. I am showing my age now, but when I was at primary school, we had a small round piece of wood to which we attached a metal nib and in order to write we dipped this in ink which was in an inkwell on our desks!! If we were anywhere other than home and needed to contact anyone, we had to go to a red 'phone box and go through a complicated process of pushing buttons A and B to get through. Letters took several days to arrive! In my lifetime I have seen such amazing changes!! My boys take it all for granted but it never ceases to engender a sense of wonderment in me!

Lots of friends of mine have also added me on skype so that I can keep in touch. That makes me feel great! I remember 35 years ago when I travelled to go to Germany to study as a post grad.  I felt really frightened and alone. I had to get the ferry over from Harwich and travel by train through Holland to Detmold. This took the best part of two days and my German wasn't good in those days. It just wasn't possible to contact anyone in the UK apart from by letter which took over a week. It was a lonely and scary time - how much easier it all is now!

I am now at the airport hotel. I'm not sure when I will be able to blog again, but I am back in the UK on 5th December so watch this space!

Al :)

Autumn Colours

We woke up this morning to this magnificent view:

After a hearty 'full english' breakfast we set out  for a walk along the side of the lake. we found the red squirrels in the woods:

We watched them feeding for ages and got quite close until they spotted us and legged it!

The scenery around the lake was georgous:

and the autumn colours spectacular:

We only walked for about 10 miles and that was on the level, but my legs were still aching a bit when we got back to the hotel, so after a nice sandwich P stayed in the bar to survey the scenery and I went and had another bath in the jacuzzi!

Afterwards I dozed in the massive king size bed and just enjoyed the space and luxury. Our bed on the boat is 3/4 size and that really isn't big enough for two grown adults! Some people fill the entire cabin with the bed which means there is plenty of room for a comfortable kip, but it's not a good scenario when you are out on the water. When cruising you need quick access through the boat in case there is a problem at the front end. It is always possible to walk along the gunnels on the outside, but it is not a quick way of getting from one end to the other and of course it isn't always safe.

The answer is to build an extension to the bed in winter when no one goes out sailing. You then slot a purpose made mattress in and you have a decent sized bed. This is yet another thing which is on the back burner after our solar panels, double glazing etc.! So for this winter we will continue to be fighting for space, (I usually win by the way!!)

We had a lovely meal in the restaurant tonight and we were the only people in the hotel apart from one other couple. Partly we think this is because it is miles from anywhere. The nearest town is 10 miles away and it really is in the middle of nowhere. I suppose we are quite unusual in that we love the solitude.

As Henry Thoreau says:

I was suddenly sensible of such sweet and beneficient society in nature, in the very pattering drops and in every sound and sight around my house, an infinite and unaccountable friendliness all at once like an atmosphere sustaining me, as made the fancied advantages of human neighbourhood insignificant and I have never thought of them since

From 'Walden, or a life in the woods'

And on that note - good night

Al



A break before the hard work

Today we made our way to our most favourite place in the world - Haweswater. A remote lake (actually reservoir) in the Lake District. This is where we do most of our walking (apart from in Wales and Scotland). We have climbed every route possible and know it like the back of our hands.

We booked a mid week mini break at the Haweswater hotel a few months ago using www.laterooms.com and got a cracking deal. It is just perfect that it has coincided with the few days before I go to India. In all of our many years of marriage we haven't been apart for more than a couple of weeks so four weeks is going to be difficult. We are relishing our time together over these next two days.

The hotel is magnificant and P said tonight that he felt quite decadent. He is a welsh valley boy, whose dad worked in the steel works and he was raised with financial hardship as the norm. I, too had a horrible childhood, but I don't feel any such reservations about our life now. We have made decisions (and brave ones) which have changed our lives. We haven't won the lottery or come across money by chance, we have worked hard for every penny and I am going to enjoy that!!

The first thing I did was check out the bathroom.... not only was there a bath but it was a jacuzzi bath!

And it had a telly - look at those bubbles!!!

I do so love my baths - after 30 minutes in this one all the coal dust and dirt from chopping wood etc. had gone from my hands. I have to take radical measures when on the boat to deal with the results of the physical lifestyle. Every Sunday before work on a Monday morning I usually have to plunge my hands into neat bleach to clean them. That might sound radical, but in my job I just cannot afford to have dirty hands at work, no matter how 'clean' the dirt. I have tried swarfega and all sorts of other more gentle hand cleaners but they don't get my hands snowy white. It was such a joy to come out of that bath squeaky clean!!

Tomorrow we hope to have a walk, but daren't go up high into the mountains in case I slip and injure myself. A lot of money has been spent on my air fare to India and a lot of planning has gone into sending me there - I can't let them down. A couple of years ago I was booked to work in the south for three weeks. A couple of weeks before that I was attacked, kicked and trampled by a herd of cows while out walking in a remote area of Scotland. I had to be airlifted to hospital with broken ribs and a collapsed lung and ended up not being able to fulfil that work commitment. I can't afford to make the same mistake again!

The view of the lake from the bedroom window is georgous:

Buying the boat has freed us up to do this sort of thing and long may it continue!!

Al :0