The Crown At Hopton Kidderminster

... Friday, and I am going to be ready for it if it does. I have a huge chunk of admin blocked out so will have time on my side but fingers crossed it all goes well.

The weather has turned pretty horrid today with the first major winds - had to wear a beanie to the bus stop for the first time today as my hair was blowing madly and obstructed my visual field - and even then it was tied ...

... the moment.
Spent the day doing boring things - reading up on some CPD/Professional activities and sorting some files/photos on my computer. Made a cake to take to work - Guinness Chocolate Cake (A Nigella gem (she really is a domestic goddess if this is anything to go by - recipe available online for anyone interested)). Should have got out and about and see Brum for my last weekend here but got sidetracked and figured I ...

... I'll probably initially feel homesick when I arrive in strange surroundings, but hopefully that will soon pass.

I'm so excited ... new places, new people, the sun - a complete adventure - bring it on!

Back to reality for now, and back to organising storage, insurance, membership cancellations etc.

Ciao for now

xxx

... offer!!
First stop... Africa Well, not quite. We thought it would be a bit of a laugh to go to the West Midlands Drive Through Safari Park, about 45 minutes drive from here. The day was great fun and well laid out, meaning we got to get really close up to all the usual assortment of animals and even got to feed some girraffes, deer and some sort of giant bovine-esque creature. (I guess it would be called a Buffalo). I offered to feed the Lions ...

... 300 aircraft and soon mastered the array of films,games,and music in our personal console. The brilliant thing was being able to watch from cameras at the front and directly below the plane at our takeoff and flight over the ground. Being in an aisle seat this meant I did'nt have to lean over to try to peer out of the window.

The journey went smoothly with the staff giving us ...

After a great few days with Ian & Pauline we took off west through North Wales. Had Paulines ham cobs on the promonade at Rhyll overlooking a windswept beach but in glorious sunshine. Carried on around the north coast to Conway and then followed the river south to Ffestiniogg past the slate quarries and then to ...

Wow, how things change in a short space of time

Life has a habit of throwing you the odd curve ball but today we were hit with an absolute belter.

In February, Lidia had a small operation to clear up a benign growth. We had hoped that it was all in the past and that no more problems would occur. Whilst speaking to her doctor she mentioned that the operation site was still uncomfortable and the doctor advised scans to be sure.

Today we ...

See mates, work on Brian, 'sort things out'. Departure? Roughly 5 weeks we reckon.

We're back staying with our old neighbours, who are very very kindly putting us up on a week by week basis. 4 adults, 2 kids, 2 kittens...a full household!

I doubt we'll write anything else until we're a lot closer to leaving the country,that's the exciting bit after all!

... back to the people of her native island by making a
difference to underprivileged kids.

Those taking part in this fantastic trip help give these kids a brighter
start in life as they volunteer at the orphanages and/or schools that
Maureen supports. The schools need willing volunteers to pass on
specialist knowledge and skills which pupils would not normally receive
locally, meaning volunteers are able to ...

... up the coast back to Santander for the ferry home. The plan being that the weather will be nice down in the Algarve now, and as I work north the summer should get going and hopefully I'll get decent weather all the way... So, if I find any internet cafes I'll be stopping off to make some notes on what I've been up to. Maybe I'll put some pics up along the way too, who knows! Hope you enjoy it! Ad