Around the UK in 70 Days

May 18, 2011May 18, 2011 / Dee / Leave a comment

The journey starts here........

So, we have all had the chance to apply for tickets to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and are now waiting and watching our bank accounts to see if we have been lucky and hit this particular ‘jackpot’.

I’m really not sure what I think of this ‘lottery’ for tickets and paying almost a year in advance – great marketing ploy by the way Lord Coe, but I am really interested to know if the man interviewed on radio yesterday gets all the tickets he has applied for. He has applied for practically every final, plus the opening and closing ceremonies on the basis that he won’t get everything he has asked for. Stranger things have happened….. hope he has a few thousand pounds spare.

If you have not been lucky enough to get any tickets, but would still like to savour the ‘Olympic Experience’ , how about following the progress of the Olympic Torch? It will be arriving at Land’s End on 19 May 2012 and will travel 8,000 miles round various towns, cities and islands of the UK before entering the Olympic Arena in London 70 days later, on Friday 27 July 2012.

The organisers are now on the look out for 8,000 ‘inspirational torch bearers, who between them will bring the torch to within a one-hour journey for 95% of the population of the UK. So that ‘s something else you can put your name down for, if you feel that way inclined.

To keep up to date with all the news on this journey round the UK visit the BBC’s website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Wedding vows lost in translation?

October 28, 2010October 28, 2010 / Dee / 2 Comments

Should you decide that you want your wedding, or the renewal of wedding vows, to take place somewhere more exotic than the local church or registry office, the sun kissed, palm-fringed, beautiful beaches of the Maldives must score highly under the heading of paradise on earth.

But, if this is something you are planning or know someone who is, then a word of caution – make sure you know what you are saying “I Do” to!

The news of the couple who thought they were being blessed but instead were sorely abused by a ranting celebrant, came to light after a video of the renewal of their vows was posted on You Tube; ironically as a joke by an employee of the hotel where the even took place, who obviously never gave a thought to the seriousness of the consequences of his actions.

Sight of the video has caused outrage among the government and hoteliers of the Maldives, reliant as they are on the currency generated by the tourist trade. Apologies have been made to the couple involved, together with an offer of compensation. Quite right too.

Perhaps, when we go abroad to marry or renew our vows, we should take the relevant translation with us, just to be on the safe side.

A long weekend at Updown Cottage

September 28, 2010September 28, 2010 / Dee / 2 Comments

We had talked with friends for ages about going away on a long weekend break for my husband’s birthday; first it was going to be in a log cabin in the Lake District, then we discussed a weekend in Cornwall – always a favourite, then a weekend in Paris became The One, but as the weeks went by nothing was arranged. Then I saw Updown Cottage and was hooked. I made an executive decision, the cottage was available, so I booked it!

Almost at the top of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, with absolutely superb views from practically every window, we all fell in love with it straight away. The fact that we had seen it loads of times, but never knew where it was, only added to the enjoyment. OK I’ll explain

Do you remember the Hovis ad on TV in the 70’s? If you do, you probably thought, like me, that the little baker’s boy was pushing his bicycle up a steep hill in Yorkshire, when in fact he was struggling to the top of Gold Hill with his basket full of bread.

The cottage has been beautifully renovated, with all available space utilised so well that you have everything you need, including a baby grand piano! The kitchen has all you need to cook to your hearts’ content, but if you don’t feel like cooking, you can order a meal and a chef will come to you! Wonderful idea.

Shaftesbury, an ancient hill town and the “Shaston” of Thomas Hardy’s novels, is just at the top of the hill. There’s lots to do and see in the surrounding area, just don’t forget your camera as the views are stunning. I lost count of the “oohs” and ahhs”.

Jane and Simon, the owners, make sure you have a warm welcome, not least with a basket of goodies from Turnbull’s delicatessen to tempt you. Turnbull’s is only a short walk away, make sure you pay them a visit as they also have a cafe selling their own cakes and pastries, the apple cake is to die for!!

If like us, you have never visited Dorset before, start with Shaftesbury and a stay at Updown Cottage, you won’t regret it

Views of Gold Hill and Blackmore Vale (Updown Cottage is the one with the shutters)

Now you can watch the Hovis ad again – http://youtu.be/CFLBvLxLJMI

A Bank Holiday in Wales

August 19, 2010August 19, 2010 / Dee / Leave a comment

As there seem to be lots of people “stay-cationing” this year ( that’s holidaying at home to you and me), I thought I’d tell you about a great festival taking place on the Bank Holiday weekend in Bangor, North Wales -“”Gwyl Y Faenol Festival 2010”.

Westlife will start things off on Friday 27 August with a concert at 8pm, followed on Saturday by an Opera Gala night with Bryn Terfel and Rolando Villazon. Bryn Terfel actually started the festival and it will be great to see him back this year.

Tan y Ddraig switches to Sunday night when there will be a great combination of top Welsh bands playing together with acts like Masters in France, Pete Lawrie and the BRIT award nominated band The Feeling. Shed Seven, Athete and The Roads are also on the bill.

On Bank Holiday Monday,New Zealander Hayley Westenra and Rhydian appear in a lunchtime session then later, there is the Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary Concert at 1.00pm, in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund

Closing the Festival will be Al Murray, the “Pub Landlord” with his own special brew of jokes and stories. He will be joined by Ed Byrne and Lloyd Langford with other names to be added to the bill soon.

A first for this year, will be Boulevard Bwrd Bryn; a wonderful food market showcasing local produce, together with a brilliant display of art and craft, all the work of local talented artists, Waitrose are sponsoring a demonstration kitchen, so there will be something for everyone.

Tickets are on sale now and you can see more by visiting the Festival website

Ballooning over Bath

August 14, 2010August 18, 2010 / Dee / 3 Comments

I admit it, I love to visit Bath! It is a beautiful Georgian city, with buildings of mellow stone with wide windows; home to the Roman baths, Sally Lunn buns and Jane Austen heroines and, though I have walked around most of it, I have never ever seen it from the air! So, for a recent “significant” birthday, this was where I set off on my birthday balloon flight with Virgin.

We arrived mid afternoon and while my husband watched, I joined my fellow balloonists as we went through the safety procedures and completed our forms. Next, we helped lay out the balloon on the ground, marvelling at the size of it, then, when all was ready, I clambered into the basket and assumed my crouching position as instructed, so that when the basket was righted, I would be sitting nicely in my place.

Eventually when the balloon was inflated and we had the final all clear from air traffic control at nearby Bristol airport, with a few controlled blasts on the burners, we slowly lifted skyward. Up, up until we were level with the tops of the trees in the park; then up again till we caught the breeze and started to drift ever so slowlyover the city.

Looking down was a strange experience. There was no noise, no whoosh of air, but then we were hardly moving and I suddenly remembered there were no engines either! The pilot was superb, handing out champagne once we were high enough for him to be free to do so, pointing out the sights below, The Circus, the famous Royal Crescent etc etc. He told us of other flights and how he worked out where to land. He told us about the recovery team that were following below us and lots of other anecdotes.

The time passed slowly as we drifted on, I looked down as a startled deer broke cover and ran across an open meadow to the safety of the trees on the far side. I watched horses running round a field, kicking and arching their backs as they frolicked about; I saw people washing their cars who waved to us as we went by, some running in for their cameras to capture the moment. Then, as the sun started to disappear, the pilot starting looking for a landing spot. We found that it was a bit of a hit and miss affair, as you never know where the wind will take you and the pilot had to have permission from the owner to land in their field.

Finally, after lots of calls between the pilot and ground support, he found a suitable place to land. I looked down and saw a group of people gathered round a bonfire in a field behind a farm building, having a BBQ. They waved to us very excitedly and motioned for the pilot to land.

He found a spot and put the balloon down as though he were placing a cup on a saucer. Perfect. The basket stayed upright as we landed, was dragged for a few feet across the long grass, before coming to a complete stop. When we were allowed, we all clambered out, chatting away about what we had seen and how we felt and what an amzing experience it had been. As my husband had been quite clever and followed behind the support team, meandering through the country lanes following the balloon, I didn’t have to make the journey back to the start point with the others, I could just get in the car and head home. Which is what I did, clutching my flight certificate. It was a brilliant experience, one that I would recommend to anyone, even people like me who don’t like heights!

Getting the balloon ready

Royal Crescent

Looking down on The Circus

Up a bit higher......

The one in front

Virgin Balloon Flights Visit Bath

Packing my bags and missing The Election!

May 1, 2010 / Dee / 1 Comment

We are leaving shortly to go on holiday and, as usual, it has fallen to me to make sure everything we will need for the next 10 days is securely stowed in the two very large bags we are taking with us. That they have seen better days, is not in question, that they will be replaced any time soon with something new and modern is a question I ask every time I drag them out to start packing. The OH thinks that spending a lot of cash on things you use three or four times a year, if you are lucky, is the eighth deadly sin! This trip he is even more tight lipped about the whole holiday.

I have folded shirts and tops, pressed trousers and skirts, gathered up all the toiletries I can find, spent an absolute age deciding which shoes to take, before chucking in a pair of black strappy sandals for evening wear, a pair of trainers in case we go mad and decided to go hill walking, two pairs of flip-flops, just couldn’t make up my mind which were more comfortable and, of course I couldn’t forget the pink mules because, well……………just, because!

The main issue though, bubbling away just under the surface, has nothing to do with packing for the holiday. We will miss THE ELECTION and my OH is very miffed. I on the otherhand am quite pleased that I will be away. I am happy to forgo five nights of political debate by the often rude and self opinionated interviewers, grilling some politician to within inches of doom, whilst seeming to think that is what is required by the viewers, while listening to the OH shouting his comments back at them and getting more and more frustrated into the bargain.

So, while he is hoping for Sky in our room so he won’t have to miss much, I am hoping for another kind of sky – a blue one with a large yellow sun in it, a seat on a shady terrace with a nice cool drink and a good book. Cheers!

Down the Nile in style!

March 27, 2010March 27, 2010 / Dee / Leave a comment

For years we talked of taking a trip to Egypt – it’s been on the list for ages, you know the “let’s write down all the places that we want to visit and see how many we get to” list. It had to include a trip down the Nile though, to fulfill all those childhood tales of pharohs and pyramids, of desert and mystery!

After reading lots of brochures, talking to friends who had done similar trips and hearing their tales of things that had gone wrong, we decided to push the boat out (no pun intended) and we booked a holiday with Cox and Kings. We flew to Cairo and had two nights at the Mena House Oberoi hotel in Giza, I was told that I would be able to see the pyramids from there and was disappointed when we arrived to find I couldn’t see anything. “Wait till morning ma’am” said Mohammed our guide,” you’ll see pyramid”. As you will see from the photos, he was right and then some!

The Mena House is a fabulous hotel, standing in 40 acres of beautifully tended gardens, in the shadow of the great pyramids. I was proudly told by the duty manager that the hotel had entertained countless heads of state and many, many film stars and, looking around me, I could quite believe him. I had hoped that we would have a room in the old part of the hotel, but our garden wing room was just lovely. The staff were kind, courteous and very friendly and were delighted when they saw how pleased we were with everything.

We had a trip to the pyramids and learnt again all the things about them that we thought we already knew; the Museum in Cairo was unbelieveable. They have more artefacts stored in cupboards, cellars, spare rooms and under benches than they have officially on display. I have never seen so many ancient, beautiful treasures anywhere before. There is no air conditioning, or if there is it wasn’t working the day we visited and because of all the hundreds of people milling around, the place gets very, very hot. Then on the The Citadel. Standing on top of a limestone crag, looking out over the city of Cairo, the building takes your breath away. It was a governor’s pavillion many centuries ago, built to take adavantage of the cooling breezes that wafted round the hilltop; then Saladdin fortified it to prevent attacks by the Crusaders. Today, it houses many museums and is home to the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The views from the walls are quite spectacular.

Leaving Cairo behind, we flew to Luxor to join our boat the Oberoi Zahra . We were told that we would cruise the Nile in luxury and we did! The cabins were amazing and so was the freshly prepared food. There is a spa on board and a swimming pool on the top deck. There are just 25 cabins and 2 suites all with panoramic views of the Nile, the service was outstanding. An Egyptologist travelled with us and he led the daily excursions to the Temples of Luxor, Karnak, Dendara, and the Valley of the Kings. For seven wonderful days, we cruised from Luxor to Aswan, before flying back to Cairo for one night and then home. It is one of the best holidays I have ever had, that I would go again tomorrow says it all I think.