On me 'olidays

[LAT]

My other cousin's son told us all about his trip to New Zealand, and regaled us with stories about how he walked for 9 hours to an active volcano crater IN FLIP FLOPS... etc. etc.

That sounds awfully like what my son did on his visit to NZ last year!

Sounds a great weekend though, glad you had fun!

[Bunnylump]

Thanks. It was brilliant fun. One of my cousins is a year younger than me, and she just laughs ALL the time. She is so funny, and we get on like a house on fire. She has a WICKED sense of humour. She makes me look totally tame.

[MBH]

LOL - that sounds like a cousin worth meeting does she like caravans on the East coast?

Sounds like you had a great time, and that cliff face looks fascinating.

[Bunnylump]

MBH you would love her. You wouldn't be able to get a word in sideways, but you would love her. And as you can see, the weather was much better the day after I sent you your virtual "postcard". (I sent MBH a picture of Old Harry in the distance through the fog on Friday. He sent me back a picture of the civic centre. He is the original inventor of the "reverse postcard!" )

I must say that the white cliffs were much less scary when I walked up there on my own on Friday. It was so foggy that I couldn't see any further than about 15 feet away. And of course that meant I couldn't see the hideous sheer drops into the sea, either!! I was quite horrified at where I'd walked when I could actually SEE it...

[LAT]

(I sent MBH a picture of Old Harry in the distance through the fog on Friday. He sent me back a picture of the civic centre. He is the original inventor of the "reverse postcard!" )

A bit more interesting than the one I sent you of me at work when you were all eating icecreams in the Cotswolds!

[Bunnylump]

It did make me laugh a lot though!!

[MBH]

you were all eating icecreams in the Cotswolds!

I got her back for you on Friday - I sent her a photo of MY 'coffee' 'ice-cream' break on the Sunderland coast Sometimes work works out - especially when you create your own schedule and route

[Bunnylump]

Yes, evil man. Although I wasn't at all tempted. I'd had a cooked breakfast (which I never do at home) and there was so much of it I felt quite queasy. I couldn't eat anything again until 8 30 pm!! I just don't know how people eat stuff like that normally!!

[eirian]

You wanted an up to date pic of Thomas, so here he is:


here's Wulfruna, Thomas & Scurra discussing a puzzle:



and here's Thomas telling Scurra how to do one:



here's the birthday boy(s):



oh, and Scurra doing his duty as an uncle:

[Bunnylump]

Those are SUCH cute photos. Even of Uncle Scurra (let him never again be referred to as the Evil Jester after that, we all have concrete evidence that he is actually a big softie!!)

[Bunnylump]

mad women in Wells.jpg (218.65 KiB) Viewed 2804 times

OK to counteract the really cute photo above, how about this one to terrify the carp out of anyone??

[Bunnylump]

I've just got back from a really fun weekend away. We went to Malmesbury with two of our friends, and stayed in a cleverly modernised, converted old mill. http://www.cottages4you.co.uk/cottages/ ... -mill-pjjk. If you're ever in need of a place to stay in the area I would recommend it - very comfortable and clean, with good facilities and a balcony overlooking the river. On Friday, we stopped at Westonbirt Arboretum. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt This is really worth a visit - and is particularly beautiful at this time of year in the maples section, with glorious reds and yellows on display. On Saturday, we started off with a walk from the house along the river, and past the Abbey Gardens to Malmesbury Abbey . We then went to the farmer's market which is held in the pretty square
to buy some artisan breads and lovely local cheeses. Later, we visited the Cotswold Water Park and had a walk round some of the lakes in the autumn sunshine.

That evening we went out to eat at the Smoking Dog (would recommend the food), and then stopped off on the way back at a rather unprepossessing looking pub called the Rose and Crown (the type of pub full of locals with a skittle alley in it). However, they had a really good live band on called the Hyperbolics, which we enjoyed.

Finally, today, we drove back through some of the pretty Cotswold villages, and stopped at Bourton on the Water (where we had a PB meet some time ago). We went into the bit we missed on the meet - the Dragonfly Maze http://www.thedragonflymaze.com/ which had a series of simple rebus clues which lead us into the centre, which was designed by Kit Williams. The clues lead you to be able to reveal the dragonfly. Actually, the structure in the centre was interesting in itself, cleverly designed with mirrors to maximise the effect.

On our way home we stopped at Great Tew, a pretty Cotswold village with thatched cottages, and had a walk and lunch in the Falkland Inn.

All in all a very enjoyable weekend.

[giraffe]

Off to the seaside for two days. Hopefully itwill be a bit warmer down there. ( And it's likely to be tropical in MIL's flat!)

[kathlyn]

Just back from me 'hols. Spent 10 day in Cyprus at an adult only hotel which was very comfortable and relaxing. Did the ruins, mosaics etc.

[Bunnylump]

Sounds wonderful, Kathlyn. Which ruins did you go to see?

[kathlyn]

Pafos mosaics, Tombs of the kings, Frankish baths etc etc.

We had hoped the weather would be warmer on our return especially after getting used to 26C, blue sky and sunshine for 10 days.

[Bunnylump]

Wow, I just googled the mosaics - they look fabulous. I've never been to Cyprus but have had many good reports. We're going to Italy for the first time this summer - I'll let you know!!

[kathlyn]

It was our first time in Cyprus. Had a car for a couple of days and the roads were very quiet. Pafos harbour area very commercialised and food over priced and not very well cooked but we did find a couple of excellent restaurants other than the hotel.

In Sept we're off on a cruise round Italy (small ship max 500 people). When you here about Noro virus etc on these ships I do wonder if we're doing the right thing.

[giraffe]

My next door neighbour swears by cruising, but it holds no appeal to me. A Ferry Dover to Calais is to much for me.

[Bunnylump]

My friend at work loves cruises - she's been on loads of them and finds them really relaxing. I must say I'm with Giraffe - a cross channel ferry freaks me out, but then I'm not good with being in any one place for any length of time - too much of a fidget!! However, I would be interested to hear how you get on, hope it's good!! And my, you are certainly taking this retirement thing seriously, aren't you?! Good on you!