More TV

After the last post I remembered other  TV progs I had enjoyed  ~ isn't it always the way?  And no doubt after posting this I shall remember more . . . 

Firstly, Wild Bill:  Rob Lowe is cast as an American sent to take up a position as a Police chief in Boston, Lincolnshire.  We used to live in South Lincs and not too far from Boston so I started to look at it just for the nostalgia factor really.  Our seven years there were quite tough at times and we weren't always that happy but that was hardly Lincolnshire's fault (ha!) and the area itself was wonderful ~ huge skies and fields devoted to agriculture ~ and we were quite near to the Wash.  I doubt I would have bothered had it been set else where but, in fact, it was well worth the watch. Little violence (good!) and always an intriguing storyline with a twist at the end.  The main character (Lowe) is called William Hixon (he's not wild at all! ~ the title made me smile although I suppose it was quite contrived!) and the back-story was interesting enough to be entertaining without distracting from the main investigation each week.  I hope it returns for a second series.   

Secondly, A Very British Scandal:  this was the story of Jeremy Thorpe, Liberal MP for North Devon in the sixties and seventies ~ and the scandal and poor old Norman Scott.  I have to say that Hugh Grant as Thorpe was superb ~ I've almost always liked his films and I liked this ~ but this was really impressive acting.   I can well remember the news coverage at the time but had forgotten much of the detail.  It was a hugely popular series ~ and well deserved.

Kim mentioned Dickensian in a comment.  I loved it!!  I'm always trying to push classics in my book club: and actually had my way in 2012 when, because it was Dickens' bicentenary,  we read a Dickens novel  (we had a choice of three and could read any ~ or all!).  Most of the club were not happy but . . . did enjoy Dickensian!   We all thought it was very clever.  


I've just posted five books in the 'recently read' section:
Labyrinth ~ ok but not as good as I had anticipated 
The Skylarks' War ~ a children's book that I enjoyed but I'm not sure what age of child it was aimed atThe first 15 lives of Harry August ~ a book for book club which I had read before and enjoyed but not so much this time ~ not sure why
Educated ~ a good read but oh dear! what a life!
Unleaving ~ written by someone I know so it was a bit 'niche'.   I liked it  ~ make a great film

Cl and Rpie were here for a few hours yesterday and we had lunch together.  We picked flowers from the garden and did some flower pressing.  Lord!  I haven't done that in years.  I can't remember what else we did but the time passed very quickly.  

After they had left and I'd tidied up I looked at the 6 0'clock news ~ none of it good ~ the country is going to the dogs.  Why do we say that, by the way?  such a strange expression when almost 60% of households in the UK with a pet have a dog, we obviously like dogs.  In the end the news was so awful (one particularly dreadful item) that I turned off so I didn't have to think about it.  Do we become more appalled by cruelty as we grow older?   Are we more sensitive?   For me it may just be cowardice ~ shameful but probably true.  A friend was recently a jury member ~ I have never been called for service and thank goodness.  Juries must need nerves of steel to listen in on some cases.  

Today:  painted another coat on the garden bench, caught up on emails and sorting photos.  I have some fabulous old albums ~many from the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s of people who are completely unknown to me ~ but amazing photos!  I have all our own, all my parents (although O was a 'declutterer', G managed to squirrel away heaps) and many from our aunt and uncle from Mansfield.  I kept taking photos of photos on my phone and sending on to family members.  

Tomorrow: trip to supermarket, podiatrist. 

Back soon

Po xx   

P.S.  I don't know why but, although I type every word in 'Large' size, once posted, some paragraphs are 'normal, some are 'small' and some are 'smallest' which is so tiny I can't read it.  I have tried for almost an hour to correct it to no avail.  So I'm posting for the last time and hoping for the best . . .

At home . . .

. . . and what I have been doing here . . . 

Many schools go back tomorrow or at some point next week.  So summer is ending and autumn is certainly on the horizon.  Stella, Kezia and Rpie came this afternoon and we sat in the garden under the pine tree shade and we could really feel a touch of chill in the air.  

Television:
About two years ago I bought a new TV and, although I had never been a keen watcher in the past, this TV is so much better than the previous one, the colours are so bright and clear that I have become quite a fan!

Recently I have been glued to Poldark.  Love Cornwall!  But, having read all but the twelfth and final volume, was rather disappointed in this fifth series.  Not that it isn't good ~ it is ~ but it follows a completely different plot line and with characters who never appeared in the books!  According to the BBC, this is the final series but (without giving anything away) the last scene left me thinking 'what happens now?'  So maybe it will be back . . .   
Near the end there was a wonderful tiny little exchange that mystified me just a bit ~ it was Ross talking to the Justice ~ and then the cast list came up . . . and all was clear ~ and it made me smile!  Watch it and see . . . 

The Handmaid's Tale has continued ~ series three.  I was gripped for the first series but it has tailed off somewhat ~ and I think there are just too many episodes per series for us Brits.   But I do like it and want to watch to the end. 

There were 13 episodes for Bleak House too but only half an hour each so it didn't drag quite so much.  Made in 2005 (I think) and I watched it on BBC i-player.   I've read it at least twice and seen other productions so knew the story. But enjoyable all the same.  

Other, more contemporary series have included Deep Water ~ good at the time although I can't now think what it was about.  And another one (forget name) which imagined a Britain 15 years from now and how we get there.  Disconcerting!

Documentaries have included: Serengeti (a year in the life of various animals who live there), The Day Mountbatten Died (Odilon took me to Mullaghmore when I visited her last December), The Queen's Lost Family (about the Queen's father and his brothers and sister ~ very interesting as I knew little of them other than George VI  and the Duke of Windsor of course), A Black and White Killing (fearful!) and various history programmes whose names I can't remember but were fascinating at the time.  

Tonight I shall look at Sanditon ~ first episode last week and . . . Jane Austen say no more!!  And if i can cope with more TV in one evening it will be Peaky Blinders ~ although I may just watch it another day on i-player.   

Jobs:
In what must have been the hottest week of the summer I decided I could procrastinate no longer and my garden fences must be painted.   It took quite a while; some days it rained, some days I had planned other things and some days it was just so hot that I could only work for a short while before needing a rest in the shade.  But eventually it was done.  And jolly relieved I was too!  

 Also shows my new table ~ which I had to get just to accommodate the growing number of Pips and Pies!  Need more chairs!

And today I decided to paint the old metal London Transport seat at the other end of the garden.  Just one coat so far but it took just the blink of an eye.  It took far longer to set up the jet washer to clean it! I would have painted another coat but Stella, Kezia and Rpie came by and I was only too happy to sit and drink coffee instead hahaha.

I can feel the getting-hungry rumbles so I'm off for 'eats' and I'll be back another day with Book News.

Po xx  

Why???

. . . is Life so busy?  Back in the day ~ when I started this blog ~ I would come home from work and somehow or other find the time to write ~ and read other blogs. 

And now I have retired and I don't seem able to organise my time ~ it just seems to flitter a w  a   y . . . .

But this must stop!

On the other hand, I read more, watch more TV (good stuff needless to say 😃) and spend more time researching for the groups I go to.  But still . . .    I miss the blogosphere!

I went to Berlin back in June ~ just for three days ~ and really I should share the few photos I took.  So here is one as a sort of 'promise' to myself and anyone else who may still be looking in.  And I will try really really hard to get back in the blogging mindset ~  it was just so nice to be a part of it.

Brandenburg Gate ~ looking from the East to the West.

Back soon . . . . really!!

Po x 

A Traveller in Time

I write now in the hastiest haste I have been in for some while as I know that the next few days will really be Too Busy to Blog.

After yesterday's post about the Moondial I felt I really had to add a note about this equally good (and to my mind even better) children's TV series.  

It stars the lovely Sophie Thompson, sister of Emma, and was made in the 1970s.  It is based on a book by Alison Uttley of Little Grey Rabbit fame and centres on the Babbington plot ~ a failed attempt to free Mary Queen of Scots.  I like it because it relates real historical events albeit not quite as they were played out.  

And just before I go ~ and in a similar vein ~ a recent read our whole book club enjoyed was 'How to Stop Time' by Matt Haig.  Not exactly a time travel book but . . . . well you'll have to read it. Highly recommended by Me

Back soon

Po xx

half-term hols

The school half term break was great.  Lots of people called by ~ friends and family and I managed to see all of both families ~ yay! ~ despite Kezia and Jago being both deep into G.C.S.E revision.  Some for a couple of hours and coffee and cake, some for longer with games in the garden and some over-nighters with meals, hot choc and bedtime stories. 


All three of the Pips stayed one night and, after dropping Dpip off with Frankie and collecting Cl, we headed off to Belton House.  This lovely National Trust was where the children's 'Moondial' series was filmed back in 1988 and also where we joined the NT in the first place.   

It's a really good adaptation of the book by Helen Cresswell.  We were all hooked when our girls were small and I recently bought it on DVD so that we could look at it before we visited.  The Pips all loved it and so did I ~ it's a time travel book.  


We took a picnic, had a good walk around the grounds ~ with L spotting all the relevant locations ~ and then took a tour of the house (although the action takes place mainly in the grounds).  When we went first all those years ago (at Stella's insistence as she loved the story so much) you could actually touch the moondial ~ which is the gateway to the past ~ as shown in the DVD cover but now it is all roped off.   Here are some photos of our day:

The house and the walk

Moondial ~ Eros and Cronos








 





Cl, Kpip and L larking about

Vista!






Then it was the long drive home with the girls chatting away, dinner, Cl collected by Stella and bedtime for the Girly Pips.

Last week has been busy busy busy.  

Back soon

Po x

Sunday

I spend half my life being grumpy.  Yesterday was a case in point. 

I sped off to The Range quite early to buy bedding compost for the new plants but had forgotten that I would need £1 for a trolley (yeah yeah ~ my own fault).  The queues were ridiculously long too so I postponed the planting idea until today. 

My temper was not improved at the EU election Count in the afternoon. We zoomed through counting and were finished by 6.00 and then had to wait until 8.00 before we were able to leave. Lord!  I was so cross.  (also my own fault as I knew we had to be in line with the other countries but hadn't taken that into account)  In all honesty it wasn't really too bad though as I had nice chats with Da and Li who were also there and the table I was on was a jolly one so we had a good laugh while waiting for the clock.  

Home and looked at 'Britain's Most Historic Towns' documentary (Bristol yesterday) and 'Years and Years' which was good although a little disturbing.  


Today . . . .

. . . was actually GOOD!

An came round for coffee and so we could both do the online flight check-in for our trip to Berlin and to book our car parking.  I always have a good laugh with An.  She and I have completely different views about so many things but fortunately it never gets in the way of our friendship.  

Then I did manage to get some compost at the nursery as well as two lupins.  I really like lupins!  Then a quick lunch in the garden and a couple of hours planting and generally tidying up.  I have taken photos but will post later when the flowers have grown and will make more of a show.   

Hopefully I will get some knitting done this evening ~ I am lagging behind on a jumper which should have been for Rpie but he is growing at such a rate that it will have to be for his little sister now.  Heigh ho . . .

Back soon

Po x

Sunny Saturday

Photos
Started well this morning with a trip to Enfield to collect Dpip's photos ~ will show when I get my one up on the wall alongside Kezia, Jago, Cl and L.  I have a studio shoot for each grandchild when they are nine (although Dpip only just got in at the end of April and will be 10 on Monday!).  


New Hope

Went to the New Hope's Charity Garden Day.  The girls and I had been before yonks ago ~ when Frankie was still in a buggy!  New Hope is a Homeless Charity based in Watford and has been in existence for about 30 years although the garden event predates it.  I met Da there who had come with her daughter and two of the grandchildren and visiting family.  The local community choir were singing and there was lots to see: chickens (competing with the choir), gardens, plants and accessories to buy and tea and cakes to enjoy.  I missed out on the poetry readings as I wanted to get back home because Stella, Rpie and Npie were coming round.  Photo is of my plant haul for planting up tomorrow.


Coffee in the Shade

Stella came round with Rpie and Npie and we sat in the garden under the shade of the pine tree.  Rpie had milk and biscuits, played on the climbing frame and the swing and generally larked around with the little car and the football.  Npie was happy with anything to hand!

Stella and I had a couple of mugs of strong coffee and discussed the election, the state of the country, exams, the school system, Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King' and going to Paris.  

For some reason Rpie is obsessed with the idea of seeing the Eiffel Tower.  He was delighted to bring round and show me a rather large model of the tower which his uncle B had given him.  No-one seems to know where this yen to visit the tower has come from but the family are hoping to go on a day trip and I have wheedled an invite.  Yay!  I have never been to Paris.   

And then they went home, I tidied up a bit, listened to a podcast and read a bit of a very funny book called 'More Anguished English.  

Back soon

Po xx

Board games

Do you like board games?  And which ones do you play? 

Women's Group was a Ja's house on Wednesday evening.  I really enjoy the evenings when we are at Ja's as she always asks a question and it's interesting to hear everyone's answers.   And the board games were on the agenda this time.  

Lots of people named ones from our childhood: like 'snakes and ladders' and 'ludo' which were ones that our family played ~ although generally we played cards: rummy, Newmarket and sevens mainly.  But when I was ten and we had an afternoon of games at school to celebrate the end of the autumn term, someone brought in Monopoly ~ and I was hooked!

Later on (when we were adults) we used to hold Trivial Pursuit evenings with friends which was great fun ~ we laughed a lot and the wine flowed and altogether we had some very funny evenings indeed.  

There was one Christmas when 'The Game of Life' was all the go and one of the girls (they were both teenagers at this point) received it as a present.  It happened that that year Boogy's parents came for Christmas Day and we played one game.  One!!!

I almost lost the will to live!  It lasted about five hours ~ and it seemed like fifty five!  And I don't think we ever played it again.     

Stella and Rich introduced me to Carcassone which is another good one although I think I liked the very charming illustrations and playing pieces almost as much as I enjoyed the games.  

Another favourite ~ which I play with Stella, Rich, Kezia, J and Cl ~ is Codenames.  You play this in two teams, one against the other and I think it is my fave for the time being.  It's easier to play than to explain ~ not that it's complicated! ~ it's just that you need to see it!

And finally . . . the Exit Game.  Which is brilliant!  I tried to explain this game to friends but wasn't up to the job and made it sound very dull.  Which really it isn't!!  

So I won't even try to explain and I won't post an image because there are a variety of different scenarios (ha!).  I played with Stella, Kezia and Cl on Christmas Day and just loved it.  If you like puzzles and playing with a team then I think you would like this one.  

The EU Election 

I spent 16 hours yesterday at the polling station for the EU election.  I don't think anyone was very happy about having to hold this election it as we should by rights have left the EU by now and not need any MEPs.  The little team of three (including me) is very nice and despite everything (fairly low turnout) the day passed relatively quickly.  

Then back at the Town Hall this morning for verification of votes (just over two hours so not bad).  And back again on Sunday for the Count.  

The nice thing about the Town Hall stints is seeing people I used to work with and having a bit of a catch up.  And coffee with Da when it was all over was good too.  

Back soon

Po xx

Grandchildren . . .

Kim made me smile by asking if the grandchildren are in college yet.  Well not quite ~ although the three oldest are now taller than I am.  

Here is the bookcase in my sitting room with (from left to right:

The 3 Older Pies
J (now 14), C (now 13), Ke (now 16)

then:
The Pips
Dpip (10 next Monday), L (12), Kipip (now 7)

followed by:
Rpie  (now 3)

and finally:
Npie (born last September so almost 8 months)



I should ask the older ones if they would mind me using their 'real' names ~ they are unusual but not  (well apart from Ki) invented!  and much nicer than with the suffixes tagged on.  

That's all for now.

Back soon

Po x

Catching up ~ hahaha

I'm laughing because ~ probably! ~ more posts than any other are titled 'Catching up' or are at least the main thrust of that day's writing.

'Catching up' this time means (mainly) catching up on reading other blogs I like but also 'stuff' around the home and other activities ~ mostly enjoyable but some are very time consuming too.  

Last week was RIDICULOUS and the forthcoming one will be little better.  You would be forgiven for thinking that retirees have more time but in fact I am finding that the reverse is true.  Today I am:

• doing a little research on Tennyson and finding something to read from 'Idylls' for Tuesday's poetry goup
• preparing for a short (really short but nonetheless needs preparing!) talk at a study group on Wednesday
• writing another short piece for a newsletter (deadline Wednesday)
• reading up on what I need to do as a poll clerk on EU election day on Thursday ~ done it before so that's not too bad
• finishing a stitching project for an upcoming birthday
• sorting papers (aaarghh!)
• house work (aaarghh aaarghh!!)

Tomorrow I will probably be at the museum for a couple of hours (not sure yet ~ depends on other factors)

Dpip stayed last night (after the Cup Final ~ poor old Watford hammered 6 - 0) and we went to early mass this morning.  After that I was supposed to be helping at the Canal Festival but several gremlins made their way into the works and that had to be abandoned.  And I came home.

So why am I writing my first blog post for aeons and aeons?  Procrastination Pure and Simple.  

Best wishes to anyone who hasn't given up on this poor neglected blog.  

Back soon (crossed fingers)

Po x

Kong Harald and the Northern Lights ~ Part Two

Hmm!

Well I said I would be back 'soon' but Life got in the way ~ some good and some pretty awful. 

The rest of the Lapland trip was AMAZING too.  We travelled to the North Cape which was totally thrilling ~ vast areas of snow and beautiful views of sea, snow and mountains.  The North Cape is the northernmost part of mainland Europe ~ and it felt like it ~ although there really were heaps of other people also trolling about in the snow. 

On the way back south we called in at Tromso where we went to a Midnight Concert at the Cathedral.  Wonderful!!  It was a bizarre sort of experience though ~ the music was beautiful with a singer, a cellist and a violinist (I think!  hard to remember now) who did quite literally present their concert at midnight.  But ships call in every day ~ lots of them ~ so there were far more passengers at the concert than just from the Kong Harold ~ and it was strange to think that these musicians tun up every night, play for an hour or so and then go home.  I wonder if they ever think of having just an ordinary 9 to 5 job?  Which is rather  prosaic view I suppose.

Then further south again and a snow-mobile trip.  I'm glad I got to actually drive it as it was very exciting speeding over the frozen lake.  Very cold too but oh! I wouldn't have missed it for the world.  It is more difficult than it would at first appear but we had quite detailed instructions from our Sami guide before we togged up in suits,boots, gloves, hat etc so that we all looked like versions of the Michelin man.  When we arrived back the guide took us into a Sami hut, gave us hot drinks and caake, related tales  of Sami life and sang a song.   I have recently watched a documentary on herding reindeer in Finmark which was fascinating and I'm so pleased to have experienced the cold and the arctic vistas at first hand.  I feel very privileged!

Our last call was at Trondheim where I took the trip to the Cathedral ~ splendid!  and on our last night we had the most stupendous blizzard and there was talk of the Beast from the East which had apparently arrived in England and would we actually manage to get home!  We did!  although the journey home was not one I would wish to repeat.  

I do have photos which maybe I will post next time I am here. 

I have not visited the blogosphere in ages ~ not since the last time I posted in fact so I have a lot of catching up to do.   Life has been so busy that it has been hard enough just finding time to read emails so I apologise for not visiting my fave blogs in aeons.  Hopefully 2019 will return to some semblance of peace and tranquility. 

Back soon (hopefully!)

Po x

Lapland UK ~ A digression

A slight detour today so that I can answer Kim's question about meeting with the Sami people who live in the far north Arctic regions.  

This would have been possible but I had chosen the Dog Sledding excursion on that day.  There were so many available exciting trips to be made that really it was difficult to choose.  I think I would have gone on every one if only I had that time-travel thing Hermione Grainger had!   I did, however, have a warm-up drink in a traditional Sami tent after the snow-mobile trip.  But more of that in another post.

I have, in fact, been privileged to meet a Sami family and  reindeer in their fabulous tent at Lapland UK back in the winter of 2009.   I went with Stella & Rich and Frankie & Alex and all their families at that point (Dpip was a baby).  

Lapland UK    (here is the link: www.lapland.co.uk) 
was at that point located in the south of England and you would be invited by Santa himself!  It was a marvellous afternoon in which the children (and us ~ we enjoyed it almost as much as the Pies and Pips!) met the elves, made cookies, did some toymaking (a hobby-horse head), heard stories, had a super meal in a really lovely, cosy dining room, went ice-skating on the frozen pond (Lpip who was only two and three-quarters had help!), met a Sami family and their reindeer (four I seem to remember) all ensconced in their warm and windproof tent and finally got to trudge through the snowy forest to Santa's home where he welcomed us all in, asked after the children's friends (!!) and gave them gifts.  

The children enjoyed it tremendously and were thoroughly taken in ~ apart from Kpie who at six and a half noticed that the snow was 'a bit fake' (it was finely shredded paper!).  

All in all we thought it was a great trip even if it isn't exactly Lapland!  But a great deal cheaper (and warmer) and quicker journey time and was something that the children still remember with affection.  I would love to go again with Kpip and Rpie; and feel sorry that Dpip, who was six months old then, has missed out ~ he certainly wouldn't be fooled now!  It is considerably more expensive now than it was then, however. 

But we did get to meet genuine Sami people and their reindeer in a genuine Sami tent.    

Back soon with more Tales of the Northern Lights

Po x 

Kong Harald and the Northern Lights ~ Part One

I would suppose that there is something very strange about a woman who has been to Norway and seen the Northern Lights within the last two months and yet who chooses to write instead about the incompetence of the gas people . . . 

I didn't take this photo but I've had it for a while as my Facebook profile pic

So . . . my wonderful holiday aboard the MS Kong Harald cruising north (and then south) through islands off the coast of Norway . . .

My friend A and I took the 12 day 'we will give you a free trip if you don't see the Northern Lights' package although In fact we did see them on the first day out of Bergen.  Passengers were alerted over the tannoy and there was a huge rush back to cabins to tog up with warm clothes and then get up on deck!  I have to say that on that first sighting we were rather disappointed ('NO' from the crowd ~ I have been listening to Nillson's 'The Point'!) as we could see very little due to cloud cover and what we could see was somewhat static.  The colour, too, was a sort of dirty grey-green quite unlike the photos one sees.  Although I have to say that the chap standing next to me aimed his camera at them and they were certainly such as one would expect.   So I think the colours are enhanced through a lens.  

After three quarters of an hour on deck in the freezing cold we went back inside feeling a little bit cheated.  However . . . things got a whole lot better after that!!  We saw the lights several times and although they weren't as bright as the photos they were truly beautiful.  We never saw the emerald greens and reds but the paler greens and pinks whirled and swirled for us.  One time A and I were sitting right in the bows on the 'bar' deck and really did have a grandstand view but I think I preferred standing outside breathing in the freezing air, just watching the sky and then tingling as I came back into the warmth. 

Seeing the Northern Lights was not the only reason for the trip, however.  I prefer cold climes to warm and had always wanted to see Scandinavia and on this trip I certainly saw some great scenes.  Sailing between the islands and through the fjords was a delight and we went on a few 'expeditions' too: 

The Old Town Bridge in Trondheim

We called in at Trondheim which is a beautiful city where A and I roamed around while the ship was docked. This is the Old Bridge (known as the 'Portal of Happiness') in Trondheim.

Stunning, beautifully painted buildings by the river in Trondheim.

The houses all over Norway were painted in a range of muted colourways.  I loved seeing them clustered on the shores as we sailed past ~ like children's little toy villages.

Bed (reconstruction) in the Viking Museum

We signed up for a Viking Feast which was good fun and very tasty.  As part of the entertainment, one of the Viking women played on an instrument rather like a recorder but with a higher register; I was amazed at how similar the tune was to Scottish folk songs as played by the band Capercaille ~ you can hear the Scandinavian influence!  It was exciting being out under the clear Arctic night skies ~ no pollution such as we have here in Hertfordshire! ~ and crunching over the packed snow. 

More items in the Museum

After the feast we were able to take a look in the small museum.  The photo above is of a massive bed: about 7 feet across and made of stout timbers and the one to the side is of furs, masks and household implements.  

Husky (semi-detached!) Homes

This  photo was taken where I went on a Husky Sled.  The little houses are for the dogs who live two-by-two and side-by-side.  Beautiful dogs who then run twelve to a team.  I LOVED it!  It was totally thrilling to be zipping across the snow wrapped in furs and pulled by the team. Despite my snood, hood, mittens and all the rest of my gear I don't think I have ever been so cold and I thought my fingers were going to drop off.  I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Husky Puppy (bred at the centre)

After the ride we went into a small hut where we had hot coffee and the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever had.  We all sat round tables and I was with a group of Japanese people.  They spoke no English and I spoke no Japanese but we seemed to have lots to laugh about. One of the drivers brought some of the puppies in to see us.  My photo doesn't really do justice to this little one; she was very sweet.  

Wood burning  stove and counter for hot drinks and chocolate cake

The hut was toasty warm and quite delightfully rustic.  And smelled like Heaven!

A 'Santa' exterior 

As we left it was beginning to get dark.  It really looked far prettier than this but my camera skills are not great.  







I am ending here as I think this post is quite long enough ~ and I haven't even reached the North Cape yet!

Back soon with Part Two

Po x

Gas

Early this year I, and all my neighbours, received notification that a country-wide update of all gas piping will take place.  We were warned that gas to the road would be turned off all day and that on the same day access to our homes at 8.00 a.m. would be needed in order to turn gas off at the meter and later, and more importantly, to reconnect.  Fortunately for us, however, we would be granted five days notice in order that we could make 'arrangements'.   

Time dragged on and it was almost time for my hols ~ when I would be away for 12 days with no-one in for either the 8.00 a.m. access or the switch back on when the work was completed.   When I called the office, they confirmed that the time frame for the work included my holiday period. I alerted the daughters who would be kindly feeding Tully in my absence so they could at least tell me if and when the work would be done and be present if possible.   

Well I returned from the Fjords and the Northern Lights ~ and there had been no work and no advice that it was imminent.  Which was just as well since England suffered a particularly cold, snowy February.   

On Sunday I went away for three days staying with friends in Devon.  Lo! and Behold! on returning home through wind and rain late afternoon on Wednesday I found a card in the mail pile (obviously posted through the door) letting me know that work would start at 8.00 a.m. that day.   No heat and no hot water!  Which is bad enough but what about the five days notice?  The card hadn't arrived by 9.00 a.m. on Sunday when I left!  Needless to say I had not even asked Frankie, who had been on Tully Duty, to look out for it.  

The most irritating things: 

i)  all companies these days seem to have 'partners' and there seems to be little or no communication and one gets passed from pillar to post with minimal result.  I made two calls on Wednesday night and five during the day on Thursday in which the person on the phone promised that I would be called back with a time for re-connection ~ which never happened.  And it was always the 'other company's' fault.  It was such a shambles that in the end I took the 'complaint' option rather than the 'enquiries' and that seemed to do the trick.  And the fitter chappie was a speedy, neat worker and even put back the things he had to move from the meter cupboard.
ii) everyone I spoke to kept saying 'you didn't give them access'.  I couldn't give them access because I didn't have the promised five days notice!!!
GRRRRHH

The road is a mess!  It and our driveways been dug up and will need to be re-tarmacked, there is mud everywhere and temporary fencing is preventing access to some drives so that parking is even more restrictive.   It's all rather unpleasant.  The photo (I nearly didn't post it because it is so horrid) of my drive and part of the road shows how ugly it is with the mud and all those yellow boards covering the holes but, of course, it will be cleared up ~ eventually . . .

P.S.  One the bright side: my home and I are toasty warm . . . and I shouldn't be such a moany old biddy.