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Friday, September 08, 2006
Summer Holidays 2006
The six and a half weeks summer holiday were thoroughly enjoyable. It began with three day trips to Weymouth in the first ten days, twice by coach and once by train. We were lucky to have really hot weather on all these trips, so much so that I even went in the sea on one occasion! Our first trip longer than a day was 5 days in London at the end of July arriving on Friday early evening where we met up with Aquiles and his brother Nano at Elephant and Castle. Nano lives in Switzerland and was visiting London for the first time. I met him when I went to Switzerland in February.
I cooked that first evening, a chicken and chilli Thai speciality soup that Aquiles loves and which I often make for Colin too. Later on they went out to a disco but we were too tired and stayed back, listening to some great andean CDs until bedtime. The trouble is that being used to getting up at 5 each day I start to flag around 9.30 or 10 and am never able to stay awake long enough to go to discos. They always stay out all night which is way beyond me.
We had an enjoyable day on Saturday, mostly in the local vicinity in the morning, then later we went to Oxford Street as I wanted to look at what was on offer in the Monsoon sale (my favorite shop but a bit expensive so I only browse in there when they have a half price sale!). I bought a lovely pink embroidered top in there after trying on several things and later in the Covent garden branch a couple of great skirts. After we had had enough in Oxford Street we went to Covent Garden next, both of us hoping to find an andean band playing which often happens, but not that day unfortunately. A rhythm and blues singer was replaced by a Chinese musician which although a bit similar to andean instrumental music I find it a bit boring and repetitive after a while. You don’t get that magic mix of fantastic string and percussion instruments like you do with andean music.
We went back to the flat around 5 and got ready for the evening and managed to find our way by bus to Holborn and nearby Conway Hall where the Peruvian event 'Contigo Peru' was taking place. Even though we got there early we struggled to find a table at first but eventually joined one where others were seated – nice people, an Indian man and his Mexican girlfriend and her/their daughter. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable with various troupes of dancers representing the different regions of Peru.
The band were Kantaro from Edinburgh, and it was great to see Eloy, the charango player once more. We enjoyed the music of Kantaro the most out of all the evening entertainment. There was also a band called Manas Negras but their music was more Afro Criolla style which is okay but doesn't cut it for me the same way the music from the high Andes does. There was a great selection of Peruvian food on offer and it was hard to choose what to have but we both enjoyed the chicken dish Aji de Gallina which we eventually decided on.
Both bands played twice and the entertainment lasted until just after midnight. Aquiles and his brother arrived late (to avoid paying to get in!!!) – they were off to dance the night away again at another disco and we declined as I had already struggled to stay awake at times during the evening! We had luckily made our way to Holborn by bus earlier so could find our way back easily, the tube stations being closed by then.
It was really funny because at 6 the next morning they arrived back and were still in party mode. I found myself being dragged out of bed and to really blaring loud Andean music ended up dancing in my pajamas!!! They had got Lola up from downstairs as well and we were all dancing. The funniest was when they dragged the cover off my friend Ann and she was sat there in her drawers!!! The look on her face was priceless and we all collapsed laughing! About quarter past seven I managed to sidle off for a quick shower and get ready so that we could leave on time as we had to get to Victoria to catch the 9.22 train. By the time we left at 8.30 they were slowing down and ready to sleep and we said we would see them about 12.30 that night.
We had a fantastic day out in East Grinstead with our Peruvian friends Jorge and Vivi and their son Pedro. It was about an hour by train and Jorge met us at the station and took us back to the house. They have got on so well in the few years since I first met Jorge. Back then he was studying in London and working as well to put himself through the course, only having time to sleep 3 hours a day because he worked at night and studied by day. He was here on his own at first and then later sent for his wife and finally 2 years ago his son Pedro came too. They love it here in England and have progressed from living in one furnished room to renting a two bedroom house with their own furniture. He has passed his driving test here too. He is a nutritionist and is going to give me the info that will help me to lose weight. I said if he can do that successfully I will promote him far and wide!!!!
We went to Ashdown Forest llama park first. We didn't actually go in on this occasion as we had other things we wanted to do but will go there on a future visit. It's not a place one would want to go just for an hour. They had a fantastic shop there and I ended up buying yet another poncho (even though I have 4 already) because I fell in love with a navy blue one with a llama design down each side.
After our visit there we went back to the house, made up some ham and cheese rolls to take with us and Jorge drove us to Hove where we stayed on the beach a couple of hours. It was very windy and the sea quite rough otherwise we might have had some fun in their inflatable boat. I was happy just to relax in the warm sunshine though. Then we drove on to Brighton and after driving around for a bit found a good parking space and we walked down and went on the pier for a couple of hours which was also fun. Then the drive back (and during all the driving we enjoyed loud Andean music because Jorge had a connection lead that enabled the music in my iPod to go through his car speakers). Then whilst Ann and I watched a programme about Peru on television they got busy and soon we were tucking into Lomo Saltado made with pork, a really delicious Peruvian dish. They had even bought Cusquena beers to go with it (now available in Sainsburys - if you haven't already tried it, taste one sometime! It's a lovely premium beer and stands up well to all the others available nowadays). Then Jorge drove us to the station and we got the last train back and arrived in Victoria at ten to twelve and back to the flat about half an hour later. It was a fantastically enjoyable day and before leaving I invited them to come for the weekend on bank holiday and to ensure they arrived Friday night so that we could all go to Weymouth on the Saturday.
We spent the morning locally with Nano as we were waiting for Toti to finish work and then we all caught a bus to Brick Lane which is the best place to get an authentic Bangladeshi curry. Yummy! When we got there we found a new restaurant had opened and the owners enticed us to try them out by offering a really good three course lunch with full size portions and Indian beer for only £9 per person. Afterwards we walked for about an hour trying to find a cinema showing Indian films, because Nano wanted to see one, but unfortunately we got lost and could not find it. Later back at the flat Aquiles cooked for us and it was another really pleasant evening until Aquiles and Nano went out clubbing again later on. Ann and I spent Tuesday locally again followed by another trip to both Oxford Street and Covent Garden. Our bus home was in the evening and we got back to Bath about 10.30 pm.
After a nice quiet day following my return from London we were off again, this time to Cornwall. Fortunately just before the London trip I had purchased another car to replace my Toyota Celica (it was destroyed by a mini van which crashed into it whilst parked in Bath). I needed a car to drive to Cornwall so was glad the insurance pay-out came in time to replace the car before our trip. I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Coupe which is nearly as sporty looking as the Celica. It’s two years younger than the Celica, has low mileage and is metallic British racing green which is a great colour. I had a new cam belt put on the car as soon as I bought it which was very reasonable at £139 and means the engine is good for another 72000 miles. I didn’t even take the car for a test drive before purchasing it but bought it just on sight alone. My Mum thought I was mad at the time but I could just tell that the bloke selling was genuine so went with my instincts.
We had a great time in Cornwall - it was a bloody long drive to get there though - 150 miles (240 km) which is way too long a drive for me. Normally anywhere more distant than 50 miles I prefer to take the train. That long drive will be repeated at the end of September too, even further than 150 miles, as we have a 3 night hotel break booked near Newquay then. We set off early on the Thursday morning as it was quite a long way before we could even join the motorway. We finally joined it near Bridgwater and before that stopped for coffee and cakes as our first rest break before the monotony of the motorway travel. We planned to make our next rest break at Exeter and spend a couple of hours exploring the town but when we came off the motorway it was straight into a long traffic queue! Luckily we had time to change lanes before the roundabout and find our way onto the next part of our journey instead. This is where I realised Cornwall was further than I thought as it was about 65 more miles to travel and I had thought at Exeter we would be nearly there!!!! Luckily the roads were fast ones and we made good progress. Towards the end of our journey we were looking for a nice place to stop and enjoy the picnic lunch we had brought with us, but twice when I exited the dual carriageway, I made an error and ended back up on the same road again. The second time I took a wrong turn and we had to travel about five miles before I could safely return and head back. We therefore decided to continue on to Camelford and have lunch when we finally arrived.
No one was more relieved than me when we finally reached Camelford. From there it was a short further journey to Juliot’s Well and as we were too early to check in, we had lunch in the car park enjoying the warm sunshine. We then drove into Camelford, parked the car and explored this little town, went food shopping and returned to Juliot’s Well at 3 pm where we were able to check into our caravan where we would be staying the next four nights. It was very comfortable and well appointed. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and settling in and I cooked for us in the evening and Mum and I shared a bottle of wine. I opted to be the cook each evening - choosing a Thai recipe that first evening, Peruvian, Italian and Indian on the following evenings.
Next day after breakfast we decided to drive and find a seaside resort for the day, Juliot’s Well being located inland. I prepared a picnic lunch for us all which we carried in a cool box along with some cold drinks. After about 20 miles driving we found a nice coastal resort at Widemouth Bay, coming across it by accident en route for another beach. It was another glorious sunny day and we stayed there all day until early evening, only leaving then as we were all getting hungry and looking forward to the evening meal. We drove back and I soon had the meal on the table and we spent a pleasant evening watching a couple of films on television. We were lucky that the television programmes each evening were good ones as none of us wanted to go out again after having been out all day. I rarely watch television at home but enjoyed doing so whilst in Cornwall.
On Saturday I phoned some friends living near Bodmin - Jennie and Ivie - and we arranged to meet in Wadebridge that morning. It was another hot day and we spent two or three hours in Wadebridge, first meeting Jennie and having coffee together, then walking around the town. Whilst browsing in a book shop I came across a fantastic book about the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl’s trip on the raft to Peru which hopefully one day I will find the time to read. After visiting the raft in a Norwegian museum last autumn, the tale of that adventure will make a very interesting read for me. After Wadebridge we headed for the beach again, this time to the one we were heading for on Friday, whose name I have forgotten for the moment. The only problem was we had to park quite far from the beach on a cliff headland and it was a long walk which wasn’t easy loaded as we were with chairs, cool box, and everything necessary for a comfortable few hours on the sand. Again we stayed on the beach until early evening and left Mum sitting on her chair near the road by the beach whilst we fetched the car, to save her the long walk back.
On Sunday we had lunch at a lovely pub restaurant in Camelford which was our one concession to eating out. Afterwards we drove to Bude, which has one of the best beaches in North Cornwall, and stayed there until nearly 6 in the evening. We were so lucky to have such nice weather every day, our beach visits being the most relaxing way for Mum to enjoy her holiday with us. I even went in the sea with her a couple of times that day. Then when we got back to the campsite we decided to have a swim in the outdoor heated pool which was lovely. Finally on Monday we left the campsite at 10 intending to drive about halfway homeward and then take a couple of hours break before continuing on home. This was because the weather wasn’t so good as the other days; otherwise we would probably have visited Tintagel which was only about 6 miles from Camelford. We continued all the way to Taunton, where we had a late picnic lunch and then visited the shops around the town. We finally got back to Bath about 5 pm and Colin was surprised to see me back that early, and relieved that I had survived both long drives without mishap.
The week after returning from Cornwall I spent a really relaxing time, enjoying the sunshine whenever it appeared, at the same time emptying my integral garage as it will be turned into an extra room soon. My friend Mark is going to do the conversion for me. My lovely new shed arrived which now houses the things I used to store in the garage. I am planning to buy a nice summer house in the spring as well, so that we have an extra room to relax in during the summer months. The Vermont summer house which is the one I want opens out completely with all the glass doors folding outward so will be a very welcome addition to the garden in time for next summer.
The weekend before the second London visit I went to Weymouth for the day with Ann and also my tenant Jackie - for a nice day on the beach although the temperature was only about 20. Then on Sunday went on a coach trip to the Severn valley with Colin and Mary, which included a steam train ride. We travelled from Bath to Kidderminster, and from there went on the steam train which lasted about an hour to Bridgnorth. This was the best part of the day and on arrival at Bridgnorth we had an hour and a half which was just long enough for a nice Sunday lunch in the nearest pub. Unfortunately no time to visit Bridgnorth itself. Then another coach journey to Budeleigh where we had two and a half hours to visit the town. Unfortunately being a Sunday most of the shops were closed so this visit was quite boring. I would have preferred more time at Bridgnorth where there might have been more to see. We found one shop open and walked for miles to pass the time, ending up with tea in a cafe before reboarding the coach.
Then another lovely leisurely week at home, made even better on the Friday by the arrival of an Andean band in town. When Ann phoned with the good news I dropped everything and headed straight there and spent the whole rest of the day with them. I was given a lovely welcome by the musicians who are all good friends - Carlos Saldana who I have known 6 years and Lolo from Edinburgh who I last saw when in Edinburgh with Layla in 2003 - who now lives in London, quite close to Aquiles. They had three CDs for sale - we bought two and were given the third as a gift. When we said our goodbyes in the early evening Lolo said he would try to catch up with us whilst we were in London. The photos which were taken during that lovely afternoon are what illustrates this story for the moment - later there will be a few more pictures of other events.
Then the last weekend of the holiday Ann and I went to London again, this time travelling from Bristol due to my having bought cheap bus tickets a couple of months before. This wasn’t so easy due to the road closure between Bath and Bristol but we left Bath in the early morning and had a couple of hours to spend in Bristol before getting the noon bus to London, so it wasn’t so bad on the outward journey. Arriving in London we spent the day browsing in favorite places as usual, arriving at the flat in the early evening. I cooked for us all that first evening, like I often do, and we stayed up watching various programmes on television as Aquiles usually lets me choose what to watch as he has satellite television. The following day we all got up late and Aquiles cooked brunch before we headed off to Kennington Park for the latin music festival taking place, our reason for visiting London again so soon. We had an enjoyable time at the festival, listening to various music and entertainment, browsing the latin stalls where I bought a super white top covered in embroidered Peruvian figures in shades of lilac and purple. Later in the afternoon we were invited to a birthday party by one of Toti’s friends and made our way to Brixton on the bus. We had already enjoyed a few cans of Jamaican red stripe beer at the festival and on arrival at Brixton bought 24 more bottles of beer plus 3 bottles of Chilean Merlot Rose wine to take to the party. On arrival we were made really welcome and given a meal, and later we were all dancing and having a fantastic time. It was lovely to see Helen, Toti’s sister again as well as her husband who had arrived from Bolivia a few weeks earlier plus other friends not seen for a while. Aquiles and I drank all the wine between us as no one else was drinking wine and by the time it was all gone I was feeling distinctly merry! I hardly remember the walk back to catch the bus later (or ending up on my backside on the bus, as Ann told me next day). Back at the flat we were delighted that Lolo had finally caught up with us which meant buying some more beers and we were dancing and playing loud Andean music for another few hours! I think I eventually fell into bed (our blow up airbed which Ann has to pump up each evening whenever we stay there as it has a slow puncture!). Luckily I had asked Ann to wake me up next morning and she did - but I was very reluctant to get out of bed as my head was pounding. I was still so tired that staying awake on the bus was almost impossible and Ann had to keep nudging me awake. We went down the Old Kent Road to a Peruvian shop in hopes of stocking up on Peruvian spices .... only to find when we got there that the shop only opens in the afternoons and we didn’t have time to wait for it to open as our bus was leaving at noon, or so we thought. When we finally reached Victoria we had something to eat to make us feel better, and I was really looking forward to sinking into my seat on the bus and finally being able to sleep uninterrupted on the journey home .... until I looked at our tickets and saw our departure was 1 pm, so another 90 minutes to wait instead of 30 so you can imagine my dismay. I scarcely remember the journey home at all, which is just as well really after five bus trips that morning, the journey to Bristol and then yet another bus from Bristol to Bath which went on a long detour due to the road closure. Then I couldn’t get hold of Colin by phone so yet another bus on arrival in Bath from bus station up to his home! As you can imagine that lot has put me off bus travel for a while so it might be a few weeks before we head towards London again and even then I will look into travelling by train instead. I’m thinking of booking another Eurostar trip to Brussells in December like last year so may leave the next London visit until then. Meanwhile at the end of September we have a 4-day break in Cornwall to look forward to, this time near Newquay, staying in a hotel instead of a caravan. I’m not looking forward to that long drive though!!!!
In my last week of the holiday I invited different friends or family round to lunch nearly every day, with the exception of the Bank holiday Monday when Colin and I spent the day in Bristol around the dockland area, which has changed so much in the 12 years since I moved from Bristol to Timsbury that I could hardly believe it. I plan to go back there soon to visit the Imax cinema which has a 4 storey 3-D screen. We had a lovely lunch and it was generally a pleasant relaxing day. On the way over we visited the shop where I had seen the Vermont summer house and Colin agreed it was a great buy. Since then we have seen Mark who has agreed to create the base for it and erect in when it is delivered in early spring. My shed took 6 weeks to arrive so I will probably order it in mid January in hopes of it being erected before my next Tunisian holiday on 28 March. All in all it was a great six and a half weeks and a lovely restful break before work began again in earnest on 4 September.
I cooked that first evening, a chicken and chilli Thai speciality soup that Aquiles loves and which I often make for Colin too. Later on they went out to a disco but we were too tired and stayed back, listening to some great andean CDs until bedtime. The trouble is that being used to getting up at 5 each day I start to flag around 9.30 or 10 and am never able to stay awake long enough to go to discos. They always stay out all night which is way beyond me.
We had an enjoyable day on Saturday, mostly in the local vicinity in the morning, then later we went to Oxford Street as I wanted to look at what was on offer in the Monsoon sale (my favorite shop but a bit expensive so I only browse in there when they have a half price sale!). I bought a lovely pink embroidered top in there after trying on several things and later in the Covent garden branch a couple of great skirts. After we had had enough in Oxford Street we went to Covent Garden next, both of us hoping to find an andean band playing which often happens, but not that day unfortunately. A rhythm and blues singer was replaced by a Chinese musician which although a bit similar to andean instrumental music I find it a bit boring and repetitive after a while. You don’t get that magic mix of fantastic string and percussion instruments like you do with andean music.
We went back to the flat around 5 and got ready for the evening and managed to find our way by bus to Holborn and nearby Conway Hall where the Peruvian event 'Contigo Peru' was taking place. Even though we got there early we struggled to find a table at first but eventually joined one where others were seated – nice people, an Indian man and his Mexican girlfriend and her/their daughter. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable with various troupes of dancers representing the different regions of Peru.
The band were Kantaro from Edinburgh, and it was great to see Eloy, the charango player once more. We enjoyed the music of Kantaro the most out of all the evening entertainment. There was also a band called Manas Negras but their music was more Afro Criolla style which is okay but doesn't cut it for me the same way the music from the high Andes does. There was a great selection of Peruvian food on offer and it was hard to choose what to have but we both enjoyed the chicken dish Aji de Gallina which we eventually decided on.
Both bands played twice and the entertainment lasted until just after midnight. Aquiles and his brother arrived late (to avoid paying to get in!!!) – they were off to dance the night away again at another disco and we declined as I had already struggled to stay awake at times during the evening! We had luckily made our way to Holborn by bus earlier so could find our way back easily, the tube stations being closed by then.
It was really funny because at 6 the next morning they arrived back and were still in party mode. I found myself being dragged out of bed and to really blaring loud Andean music ended up dancing in my pajamas!!! They had got Lola up from downstairs as well and we were all dancing. The funniest was when they dragged the cover off my friend Ann and she was sat there in her drawers!!! The look on her face was priceless and we all collapsed laughing! About quarter past seven I managed to sidle off for a quick shower and get ready so that we could leave on time as we had to get to Victoria to catch the 9.22 train. By the time we left at 8.30 they were slowing down and ready to sleep and we said we would see them about 12.30 that night.
We had a fantastic day out in East Grinstead with our Peruvian friends Jorge and Vivi and their son Pedro. It was about an hour by train and Jorge met us at the station and took us back to the house. They have got on so well in the few years since I first met Jorge. Back then he was studying in London and working as well to put himself through the course, only having time to sleep 3 hours a day because he worked at night and studied by day. He was here on his own at first and then later sent for his wife and finally 2 years ago his son Pedro came too. They love it here in England and have progressed from living in one furnished room to renting a two bedroom house with their own furniture. He has passed his driving test here too. He is a nutritionist and is going to give me the info that will help me to lose weight. I said if he can do that successfully I will promote him far and wide!!!!
We went to Ashdown Forest llama park first. We didn't actually go in on this occasion as we had other things we wanted to do but will go there on a future visit. It's not a place one would want to go just for an hour. They had a fantastic shop there and I ended up buying yet another poncho (even though I have 4 already) because I fell in love with a navy blue one with a llama design down each side.
After our visit there we went back to the house, made up some ham and cheese rolls to take with us and Jorge drove us to Hove where we stayed on the beach a couple of hours. It was very windy and the sea quite rough otherwise we might have had some fun in their inflatable boat. I was happy just to relax in the warm sunshine though. Then we drove on to Brighton and after driving around for a bit found a good parking space and we walked down and went on the pier for a couple of hours which was also fun. Then the drive back (and during all the driving we enjoyed loud Andean music because Jorge had a connection lead that enabled the music in my iPod to go through his car speakers). Then whilst Ann and I watched a programme about Peru on television they got busy and soon we were tucking into Lomo Saltado made with pork, a really delicious Peruvian dish. They had even bought Cusquena beers to go with it (now available in Sainsburys - if you haven't already tried it, taste one sometime! It's a lovely premium beer and stands up well to all the others available nowadays). Then Jorge drove us to the station and we got the last train back and arrived in Victoria at ten to twelve and back to the flat about half an hour later. It was a fantastically enjoyable day and before leaving I invited them to come for the weekend on bank holiday and to ensure they arrived Friday night so that we could all go to Weymouth on the Saturday.
We spent the morning locally with Nano as we were waiting for Toti to finish work and then we all caught a bus to Brick Lane which is the best place to get an authentic Bangladeshi curry. Yummy! When we got there we found a new restaurant had opened and the owners enticed us to try them out by offering a really good three course lunch with full size portions and Indian beer for only £9 per person. Afterwards we walked for about an hour trying to find a cinema showing Indian films, because Nano wanted to see one, but unfortunately we got lost and could not find it. Later back at the flat Aquiles cooked for us and it was another really pleasant evening until Aquiles and Nano went out clubbing again later on. Ann and I spent Tuesday locally again followed by another trip to both Oxford Street and Covent Garden. Our bus home was in the evening and we got back to Bath about 10.30 pm.
After a nice quiet day following my return from London we were off again, this time to Cornwall. Fortunately just before the London trip I had purchased another car to replace my Toyota Celica (it was destroyed by a mini van which crashed into it whilst parked in Bath). I needed a car to drive to Cornwall so was glad the insurance pay-out came in time to replace the car before our trip. I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Coupe which is nearly as sporty looking as the Celica. It’s two years younger than the Celica, has low mileage and is metallic British racing green which is a great colour. I had a new cam belt put on the car as soon as I bought it which was very reasonable at £139 and means the engine is good for another 72000 miles. I didn’t even take the car for a test drive before purchasing it but bought it just on sight alone. My Mum thought I was mad at the time but I could just tell that the bloke selling was genuine so went with my instincts.
We had a great time in Cornwall - it was a bloody long drive to get there though - 150 miles (240 km) which is way too long a drive for me. Normally anywhere more distant than 50 miles I prefer to take the train. That long drive will be repeated at the end of September too, even further than 150 miles, as we have a 3 night hotel break booked near Newquay then. We set off early on the Thursday morning as it was quite a long way before we could even join the motorway. We finally joined it near Bridgwater and before that stopped for coffee and cakes as our first rest break before the monotony of the motorway travel. We planned to make our next rest break at Exeter and spend a couple of hours exploring the town but when we came off the motorway it was straight into a long traffic queue! Luckily we had time to change lanes before the roundabout and find our way onto the next part of our journey instead. This is where I realised Cornwall was further than I thought as it was about 65 more miles to travel and I had thought at Exeter we would be nearly there!!!! Luckily the roads were fast ones and we made good progress. Towards the end of our journey we were looking for a nice place to stop and enjoy the picnic lunch we had brought with us, but twice when I exited the dual carriageway, I made an error and ended back up on the same road again. The second time I took a wrong turn and we had to travel about five miles before I could safely return and head back. We therefore decided to continue on to Camelford and have lunch when we finally arrived.
No one was more relieved than me when we finally reached Camelford. From there it was a short further journey to Juliot’s Well and as we were too early to check in, we had lunch in the car park enjoying the warm sunshine. We then drove into Camelford, parked the car and explored this little town, went food shopping and returned to Juliot’s Well at 3 pm where we were able to check into our caravan where we would be staying the next four nights. It was very comfortable and well appointed. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and settling in and I cooked for us in the evening and Mum and I shared a bottle of wine. I opted to be the cook each evening - choosing a Thai recipe that first evening, Peruvian, Italian and Indian on the following evenings.
Next day after breakfast we decided to drive and find a seaside resort for the day, Juliot’s Well being located inland. I prepared a picnic lunch for us all which we carried in a cool box along with some cold drinks. After about 20 miles driving we found a nice coastal resort at Widemouth Bay, coming across it by accident en route for another beach. It was another glorious sunny day and we stayed there all day until early evening, only leaving then as we were all getting hungry and looking forward to the evening meal. We drove back and I soon had the meal on the table and we spent a pleasant evening watching a couple of films on television. We were lucky that the television programmes each evening were good ones as none of us wanted to go out again after having been out all day. I rarely watch television at home but enjoyed doing so whilst in Cornwall.
On Saturday I phoned some friends living near Bodmin - Jennie and Ivie - and we arranged to meet in Wadebridge that morning. It was another hot day and we spent two or three hours in Wadebridge, first meeting Jennie and having coffee together, then walking around the town. Whilst browsing in a book shop I came across a fantastic book about the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl’s trip on the raft to Peru which hopefully one day I will find the time to read. After visiting the raft in a Norwegian museum last autumn, the tale of that adventure will make a very interesting read for me. After Wadebridge we headed for the beach again, this time to the one we were heading for on Friday, whose name I have forgotten for the moment. The only problem was we had to park quite far from the beach on a cliff headland and it was a long walk which wasn’t easy loaded as we were with chairs, cool box, and everything necessary for a comfortable few hours on the sand. Again we stayed on the beach until early evening and left Mum sitting on her chair near the road by the beach whilst we fetched the car, to save her the long walk back.
On Sunday we had lunch at a lovely pub restaurant in Camelford which was our one concession to eating out. Afterwards we drove to Bude, which has one of the best beaches in North Cornwall, and stayed there until nearly 6 in the evening. We were so lucky to have such nice weather every day, our beach visits being the most relaxing way for Mum to enjoy her holiday with us. I even went in the sea with her a couple of times that day. Then when we got back to the campsite we decided to have a swim in the outdoor heated pool which was lovely. Finally on Monday we left the campsite at 10 intending to drive about halfway homeward and then take a couple of hours break before continuing on home. This was because the weather wasn’t so good as the other days; otherwise we would probably have visited Tintagel which was only about 6 miles from Camelford. We continued all the way to Taunton, where we had a late picnic lunch and then visited the shops around the town. We finally got back to Bath about 5 pm and Colin was surprised to see me back that early, and relieved that I had survived both long drives without mishap.
The week after returning from Cornwall I spent a really relaxing time, enjoying the sunshine whenever it appeared, at the same time emptying my integral garage as it will be turned into an extra room soon. My friend Mark is going to do the conversion for me. My lovely new shed arrived which now houses the things I used to store in the garage. I am planning to buy a nice summer house in the spring as well, so that we have an extra room to relax in during the summer months. The Vermont summer house which is the one I want opens out completely with all the glass doors folding outward so will be a very welcome addition to the garden in time for next summer.
The weekend before the second London visit I went to Weymouth for the day with Ann and also my tenant Jackie - for a nice day on the beach although the temperature was only about 20. Then on Sunday went on a coach trip to the Severn valley with Colin and Mary, which included a steam train ride. We travelled from Bath to Kidderminster, and from there went on the steam train which lasted about an hour to Bridgnorth. This was the best part of the day and on arrival at Bridgnorth we had an hour and a half which was just long enough for a nice Sunday lunch in the nearest pub. Unfortunately no time to visit Bridgnorth itself. Then another coach journey to Budeleigh where we had two and a half hours to visit the town. Unfortunately being a Sunday most of the shops were closed so this visit was quite boring. I would have preferred more time at Bridgnorth where there might have been more to see. We found one shop open and walked for miles to pass the time, ending up with tea in a cafe before reboarding the coach.
Then another lovely leisurely week at home, made even better on the Friday by the arrival of an Andean band in town. When Ann phoned with the good news I dropped everything and headed straight there and spent the whole rest of the day with them. I was given a lovely welcome by the musicians who are all good friends - Carlos Saldana who I have known 6 years and Lolo from Edinburgh who I last saw when in Edinburgh with Layla in 2003 - who now lives in London, quite close to Aquiles. They had three CDs for sale - we bought two and were given the third as a gift. When we said our goodbyes in the early evening Lolo said he would try to catch up with us whilst we were in London. The photos which were taken during that lovely afternoon are what illustrates this story for the moment - later there will be a few more pictures of other events.
Then the last weekend of the holiday Ann and I went to London again, this time travelling from Bristol due to my having bought cheap bus tickets a couple of months before. This wasn’t so easy due to the road closure between Bath and Bristol but we left Bath in the early morning and had a couple of hours to spend in Bristol before getting the noon bus to London, so it wasn’t so bad on the outward journey. Arriving in London we spent the day browsing in favorite places as usual, arriving at the flat in the early evening. I cooked for us all that first evening, like I often do, and we stayed up watching various programmes on television as Aquiles usually lets me choose what to watch as he has satellite television. The following day we all got up late and Aquiles cooked brunch before we headed off to Kennington Park for the latin music festival taking place, our reason for visiting London again so soon. We had an enjoyable time at the festival, listening to various music and entertainment, browsing the latin stalls where I bought a super white top covered in embroidered Peruvian figures in shades of lilac and purple. Later in the afternoon we were invited to a birthday party by one of Toti’s friends and made our way to Brixton on the bus. We had already enjoyed a few cans of Jamaican red stripe beer at the festival and on arrival at Brixton bought 24 more bottles of beer plus 3 bottles of Chilean Merlot Rose wine to take to the party. On arrival we were made really welcome and given a meal, and later we were all dancing and having a fantastic time. It was lovely to see Helen, Toti’s sister again as well as her husband who had arrived from Bolivia a few weeks earlier plus other friends not seen for a while. Aquiles and I drank all the wine between us as no one else was drinking wine and by the time it was all gone I was feeling distinctly merry! I hardly remember the walk back to catch the bus later (or ending up on my backside on the bus, as Ann told me next day). Back at the flat we were delighted that Lolo had finally caught up with us which meant buying some more beers and we were dancing and playing loud Andean music for another few hours! I think I eventually fell into bed (our blow up airbed which Ann has to pump up each evening whenever we stay there as it has a slow puncture!). Luckily I had asked Ann to wake me up next morning and she did - but I was very reluctant to get out of bed as my head was pounding. I was still so tired that staying awake on the bus was almost impossible and Ann had to keep nudging me awake. We went down the Old Kent Road to a Peruvian shop in hopes of stocking up on Peruvian spices .... only to find when we got there that the shop only opens in the afternoons and we didn’t have time to wait for it to open as our bus was leaving at noon, or so we thought. When we finally reached Victoria we had something to eat to make us feel better, and I was really looking forward to sinking into my seat on the bus and finally being able to sleep uninterrupted on the journey home .... until I looked at our tickets and saw our departure was 1 pm, so another 90 minutes to wait instead of 30 so you can imagine my dismay. I scarcely remember the journey home at all, which is just as well really after five bus trips that morning, the journey to Bristol and then yet another bus from Bristol to Bath which went on a long detour due to the road closure. Then I couldn’t get hold of Colin by phone so yet another bus on arrival in Bath from bus station up to his home! As you can imagine that lot has put me off bus travel for a while so it might be a few weeks before we head towards London again and even then I will look into travelling by train instead. I’m thinking of booking another Eurostar trip to Brussells in December like last year so may leave the next London visit until then. Meanwhile at the end of September we have a 4-day break in Cornwall to look forward to, this time near Newquay, staying in a hotel instead of a caravan. I’m not looking forward to that long drive though!!!!
In my last week of the holiday I invited different friends or family round to lunch nearly every day, with the exception of the Bank holiday Monday when Colin and I spent the day in Bristol around the dockland area, which has changed so much in the 12 years since I moved from Bristol to Timsbury that I could hardly believe it. I plan to go back there soon to visit the Imax cinema which has a 4 storey 3-D screen. We had a lovely lunch and it was generally a pleasant relaxing day. On the way over we visited the shop where I had seen the Vermont summer house and Colin agreed it was a great buy. Since then we have seen Mark who has agreed to create the base for it and erect in when it is delivered in early spring. My shed took 6 weeks to arrive so I will probably order it in mid January in hopes of it being erected before my next Tunisian holiday on 28 March. All in all it was a great six and a half weeks and a lovely restful break before work began again in earnest on 4 September.
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