It seems like an eternity since I have done a blog - I put this down to being very busy over the Christmas/New Year period plus having a severe case of jet lag and 'seasonally affective disorder' (SAD) since I have been back !
The jet lag is pretty simple - you feel like shit for about 5 days,! SAD is a lot different......I had just got back from 2 months in Oz where the weather had been fantastic but then came back to the UK where the weather has been absolutely awful. I didn't think it would bother me but after 8 days of continuous rain it got rather hard to take! I love everything about the UK, but the weather really can get you down. It didn't rain at all yesterday though - what a difference that made ... everybody was out and about!
We always have thought that one day we will return to Oz to live - I think it will be the crap weather that will ultimately make that decision for us!
OK, so now we have over a week to catch up.......
I got back from Oz on Christmas eve and Christmas day saw us driving down to Kent to spend a few days with El's family.
We took this pic driving down the M1 - the sun was out very briefly but beyond it was the blackest sky I have ever seen! Even though it was very wet and rainy it was a good drive down - with very little traffic about.
Christmas day was at El's sister's house, it was a really lovely traditional Christmas day spent with family and friends.
Yummy Food ...
The jet lag is pretty simple - you feel like shit for about 5 days,! SAD is a lot different......I had just got back from 2 months in Oz where the weather had been fantastic but then came back to the UK where the weather has been absolutely awful. I didn't think it would bother me but after 8 days of continuous rain it got rather hard to take! I love everything about the UK, but the weather really can get you down. It didn't rain at all yesterday though - what a difference that made ... everybody was out and about!
We always have thought that one day we will return to Oz to live - I think it will be the crap weather that will ultimately make that decision for us!
OK, so now we have over a week to catch up.......
I got back from Oz on Christmas eve and Christmas day saw us driving down to Kent to spend a few days with El's family.
We took this pic driving down the M1 - the sun was out very briefly but beyond it was the blackest sky I have ever seen! Even though it was very wet and rainy it was a good drive down - with very little traffic about.
Christmas day was at El's sister's house, it was a really lovely traditional Christmas day spent with family and friends.
Yummy Food ...
Elaine's 2 nieces - Josie-Beth and Leyna ...
Elaine's bro in law Paul, El, Paul's friend Clive and Bill, Leyna's partner ...
El's great nieces, Connie and Evie. These two little girls would have to be the most well behaved little people I have ever met, they are absolutely delightful ...
The boys playing pass the pigs. Paul reckons that once he threw a 'double leaning jowler'! Bollocks I say!
On boxing day we headed out to a local village ...
Morris dancers outside of the local pub....fantastic!
There was even a rather strange snapping horse! It was attacking all and sundry ...
Josie, El's sister Julie, El and Julie's husband Paul ...
Later on we took the dogs and girls for a walk ...
Next stop on the Christmas trip was a stopover at Milton Keynes where we caught up with most of my family. I forgot to take any pics, which was a bit slack, but we had a good time down the pub even though the heating had failed!
Next day it was back to the boat, the cattery delivered the cats back to us - so the family was complete again.
We also had a visit from El's old flatmate from Oz and Saudi - she is now living in London and married to Ken ...
On Sunday we headed up to Macc to have a post Christmas, Christmas dinner with El's dad, Burt and her brother, Trev. We had a lovely time there and stayed overnight, leaving the cats 'home alone'!
We are nearly up to date.....yesterday we went to the flicks in Stoke to see Skyfall, which is a really good film.
We went to the Toby pub before the flicks - we spotted Maffi moored up outside, for some strange reason the boat is upside down!
We went back to the Toby pub today because I lost my much-loved and well-travelled scarf....it wasn't there but Maffi was so we had a good chat! We paid a visit to the retail park at Festival Park in Stoke while we were there (it is absolutely massive and quite hard-going after the peace and quiet of Stone!)
We also took the doggies to the vet today for their annual vaccinations ... at a fraction of the the price it used to cost back in Oz! (Apart from the usual, they have traded in their heartworm vaccinations here for leptospirosis (Weil's syndrome) vaccinations - there is always something !!)
On the boat front I have been fiddling with the fresh water pump, checking and adjusting the pressure, also bled air out of one of the radiators, filled her with fuel (she used 186 litres of diesel over the past 10 weeks all on heating) plus changed over a gas bottle. I am also going to fit new throttle and shift cables before we head off cruising again. I will also fix up a very small oil leak from the gearbox plus service the engine, we also have to get her blacked sometime soon, but we will wait till there is no chance of ice before we go there.
Other plans are....going to Cornwall for a week in February plus we are planning a little jaunt over to Europe, not sure where yet......
So that's it ! We are up to date, I must now try to blog more often, it is just too hard playing catch up.
Happy New Year to our thousands of readers, may you all have a good un!
No comments:
Post a Comment