A Catchup on 2009

It seems such a long time since I did the last blog, unfortunately this has been the combination of poor health lack of motivation and not very much interesting that I feel would appeal to the readers going on in my life.

Despite this I thought as we are now in a New Year of 2010 the least I could do was give you an update on my life, so here goes.

You may remember earlier this year I was having investigations of my spine and subsequently there were issues of whether I had angina, the good or bad news is that at present the sciatic pain has diminished and therefore the surgeon feels he will put off a back operation, this unfortunately will not stop the pain from the prolapsed disc so I will just have to put up with it, after an angiogram they have now decided to have a blocked main left artery which needs a stent in the not too distant future so we'll wait until I see a heart specialist about this.

As a result I am now on various sorts of medication, which seemed to have slowed me down greatly and I feel I have little energy at present to carry out a normal life, this is quite ironic because I retired in April to try to give me a better quality of life so that I could do some of the tasks I had been putting off but also because it it was considered my health would improve, so I applied for the new sickness benefit ESA unfortunately their doctor was of the opinion that I was fit for work despite various evidence I presented from my GP and other professionals,

I did appeal and even went to my MP, but there adjudication officer still felt despite the fact I had been considered not fit for full-time work since 1996 that miraculously I could suddenly carry out a full time job, in February I am due to go to tribunal in the hope that I can convince the panel that at the age of 62 with a range of conditions that affect my ability to get out of the house never mind work that common sense will prevail.

Sorry I have been rumbling on a lot about my health so on to happier things, most recently I went over to Ireland to see my son and his family and spent Christmas with them, the rest of the time I spent with my friend Debbie and her family and totally overindulged myself before coming back home to the present six to 12 inches of snow we seem to have

It's odd really because I had all sorts of ideas of things I wanted to achieve in this last year, such as doing a course at night school on digital imaging but because of the issues around my benefits felt it best to leave until this was resolved, I had thought of doing some travelling but again because of the issues to do with the angina thought best wait until that has been resolved,

I still go on to saga but find unfortunately that my back starts to ache quite quickly so it does not give me the pleasure in the way it used to having said that only yesterday I spent two hours doing my first Sainsbury's online shopping to relieve the effort of going round the supermarket then having to carry my groceries home, this is quite handy at the moment if it works because my car is snowed in.

Well I'm hoping to get back into the habit of doing blogs again so please look out for my next one in the not too distant future.

a Trip To Llandudno & A Search for Emmerdale Viaduct

Hi Folks, sorry its been so long since I last posted a blog, but how odd the more time we have the more we fill it with other things we cant remember about later, plus I seem to of really slowed down in the last few months, with various health problems.

Maybe that’s a good start, I have now been diagnosed with angina & am off for an angiogram in a couple of weeks time to find out what is causing the problem, hopefully it will be nothing invasive, they have already told me that I will be on tablets for the rest of my life, hope they have got it wrong

My other problem with my back seems to be changing to, its funny because I have been the one who origionally wanted the operation, but the thought of the restriction on my life for some time after does not appeal, having said that if the long term will be better it will all be worth it, they are going to review me after heart is sorted out so it seems soon will sorted out & maybe better again

Well back to the adventures first I must tell you of my trip to Llandudno at August bank holiday with Brian & our new mascot Pierre, you may remember him from our earlier trip to Blackpool, but, on with the story, the weather was okay so we spent time taking photos of Pierre in a variety of settings, one being on the beach, I had an idea of getting one of him exploring peoples sandcastles, found a really good one, but was a very large young man with a child, for some reason, did not feel he would take well to me asking for photos.

Instead found a less menacing person & on the understanding that we only wanted his sandcastle & not his daughter on the photo, plus that it would feature on my blog, as well as being used to fundraise for a charity I think made his day, I suppose we could of made our own but then we would have had to buy our own buckets & spades & we had photos to take.

Well that evening we decided we would aim to take some stunning photos of sunset from the Great Orme, (not sure think would be classed as large hill rather than mountain) so sought suitable locations, eventually decide higher was better so set off just before dusk in the car, unfortunately I had misjudged the time so by the time we had driven up , guess what the sun was gone for the evening, despite that we then took photos of the clouns & horizon just in case, but the got really windy & cold so eventually even us intrepid photographers gave it up

The next day off inland to Betsy Cowyd an area of narural beauty, well it would be but for us and all the other people who had come here to escape the crowds, we had a pleasant walk along the bank of the river looking for some sort of different photo to take as a souvenir of our trip, well that’s the right word because that’s exactly what Brian did, well what a fool I was here was a unique opportunity to get a photo, but being the kind caring person I am I got my priorities right & instead went to rescue his umbrella that had blown onto the bank of the river, whilst he managed to get up only losing a little dignity & no real harm, but in my efforts I nearly fell in the river instead.

For the rest of the trip we were more careful & sadly there were no real photographic opportunities for either of us, having said that it was a pleasant break from normal life if only for a brief time

Our Trip Seeking Emmerdale Viaduct

My next adventure was much more exciting when I went searching for the Emmerdale viaduct with another friend to take photos of it, we knew the location so was this not going to be the easiest experience ever, well no because we could not find the path marked on the map & when we established where we were realised we should have had the map of the next section.

Therefore we first wandered through fields then through someones private drive in our quest only to be told we were on the wrong side of the river & the best way was to take shoes & socks off & roll up trousers & wade across the river, now this is to someone who struggles to balance on a nice flat surface, plus I had my camera to consider, so after directions we set off again,

Now we found a sort of map, but it seemed very odd the route, but it couldent be that far could it, oh yes it could, it was through woods & kindly someone had but boards & handrails for people like me, but quickly the pain set in, & the only thing keeping me going was the sensational photo I was going to get soon, but I got more & more tired the further we walked & my feet were aching in the boots.

Well we eventually got to a point where there was a wire fence & the rain started, seeking shelter there was some sort of brick structure that we could shelter under, hey hang on a minute, it was it was a viaduct, it must be the viaduct, well what was the problem, well it was sounded by trees & there was nowhere to get a good photo of it, just then a nice family came a along & we asked about a quicker easier way back to the car, they gave instructions which included climbing some stairs up to the fields which we did, all I wanted to do now was get back to the car & collapse as soon as possible, cutting a long story short we ended up lost & met up with the family again who suggested we should return to the woods as It was the quickest way back.

Well we did this & the aches & pains as well as breathlessness all got worse the further we went but at least we were on our way back, many of the wood areas had chicken wire on for some reason, it seemed rather odd to me until, when distracted my right foot slipped forward on one that had no wire on (now I know why it was there to stop people slipping) I fell backwards banging my head & spine on the boards, my companion who had been leading turned round at the noise & wondered where I had disappeared to, I eventually I managed to get up but ached all over, at that time I even hoped I had done something to myself which would of meant the emergency helicopter would of come & just lifted me away, unfortunately I was able to stand & walk, but in great pain.

Well you can imagine what the trip back was like from then, my feet were already aching, as was my head & lower back & every step hurt me, why is it always a longer distance when you are exhausted than when feeling happy, I hated every step I took, I suppose I could of asked my companion to put me out of my misery but don’t think he had a gun to do it, sob sob, its all right for you reading this in a nice warm room, for me I just kept thinking what am I doing here, how stupid to of even attempted it given my health & had it made my spine any worse.

Well eventually we got back to the car park & the map, it was no consolation to be told that maybe we should of carried on to the other end of the track by car & walked along the disused railway line, I just wished I had the energy to have a tantrum, oh forgot to say we had not eaten from early morning so was starving as well

We cleaned me up & went to a pub for a meal & the young waitress was lovely when I told her the story even offering me an ice pack to ease the pain, being a martyr I refused, must say was best steak & ale pie have ever had, on the way home slept most of the way, & when got back straight in the bath, well not quite true had to wait for it 20 minutes whilst it filled sob sob

Well the next day went & Googled the viaduct, guess what readers I think it was the wrong one, (stamps feet very hard on the ground in tantrum) so it was all in vain

The pain got worse in lower back so went to see GP, mine not available so saw young locum, who looked young enough to be my grand daughter, she had that sort of disbelieving expression until she saw how badly I was bruised, but said nothing broken just bruising & to take pain killers, it was three weeks before I seemed to get over worst, spent much of my time in bed in the meantime feeling sorry for self

Well will close now until the next great adventure, hopefully will not be so painful

An Update On Jeffrey & Debbies Friendship 2009

Jeffrey & Debbies Latest Adventures

I am hoping that if you are reading this that you read the original story all that time ago,(can you believe its 12 months) about how we first got together, if not go & have a read on my blog either on Sagazone or Blogger.

Well one of the things that brought Debbie & I together was the idea of a lovely trip to Paris where we would travel to the top of the Eiffel Tower & hold hands & maybe kiss (just like in the films) whilst looking out across the city (hopefully this time unlike in our fantasy Brenny would not be there to break the atmosphere & spoil the occasion) so when the chance of a trip there came up on Eurostar how could we not go & on top of that it was going to be Bastille Day with parades & fireworks, oops hang on a minute Debbie DOES NOT DO FIREWORKS umm well maybe we can go anyway & just have a lovely trip instead.

So we searched the internet & found trains to take us to London, a stay in a nice hotel there & managed to book the trip to Paris in a nice little hotel travelling in the posh part of the train.

We arranged to meet in London at St Pancras which in itself was quite romantic, then off to the hotel, where we were offered an upgrade to a better hotel that Tony Blair had stayed in only the last week, but it was to far for a train the next morning, so we stayed at our hotel.

Off on an open top tour of London seeing the sights (photos to follow) together, we could not believe all of the traffic there was on the roads but saw famous places like Trafalgar Square, The London Eye, but for some reason, not Tower Bridge or Buckingham Palace (maybe we will call back another time for them), holding hands & chatting to each other.

The next morning we were up early & off to the station, onto Eurostar which was the true start of our big adventure, with breakfast served at our seats, then swiftly on to Paris & our hotel after another adventure trying to find our way to the hotel on the Metro, it was a nice little place with pleasant staff.

We went on another open top tour but now of Paris, it was so beautiful & clean & so, so romantic, seeing places such as the Arche De Triumphe & The Opera, then guess what we actually saw the EIFFEL TOWER, it looked so big, then off for some food & a rest before venturing out again to go up the tower.

Well when we got there lots of parts of the area had been cordoned off for the parade the following day & fireworks, but we decided we would queue & go to the top on the thirds level as we had agreed, well what a long wait & so many people with the same idea, eventually we got to the front of the queue but the 3^rd level was closed, so we went to the 2^nd instead, the views were beautiful (sorry had forgotten to say how lovely & warm with the sun shining it had been during our stay) we looked out (checked no Brenny) held hands & kissed it was MAGIC, we looked on all the sides of the tower, then later finally got to the third level, it was so high up there we could see for miles, guess what we kissed again & held each other so close much better than a fantasy, whilst there we had an ice cream to celebrate (isn’t it funny how normal things are so special at these times), then back down.

Being greedy we went back that evening to see it all lit up, the wait was really worth it all, in particular when the flash lights came on & it seemed to shimmer in the dark (good excuse for more holding hands & kissing)

The next day it was Bastille Day so we went to see the parade, unfortunately we got there very early at the wrong end of the avenue, but it was a lovely day & we enjoyed watching the parade together, afterwards we went for a wander then a rest before the evenings fireworks.

As usual we got there early & found a seat about 8pm, then waited & chatted watching the other people as they gathered, we noticed a young man who seemed anxious waiting for someone to arrive, he was on his mobile pacing up & down for over 2 hours, we hope she eventually turned up & was worth all his distress & patience, it got darker & the crowds were getting thicker now, (what a lovely loving person Debbie must be that she was prepared to put up with this & the fireworks to make me happy) finally they started I held here close so she would not be frightened, they really were spectacular against the tower itself, & went on for some time, unfortunately for Debbie accompanied by loud bangs.

Eventually they finished & the crowds started to disperse, I have never seen so many people in one place at a time, it was almost frightening as sadly they pushed & shoved each other, eventually we managed to move on happily talking about the event, but we held each other close and should I mention held hands & kissed each other. Then off to an exotic place for a drink(well it was where the locals seemed to go, McDonalds) after back to the hotel

This morning we were tired & also knew the adventure was ending, but we still had the trip back, home, I think after how lovely a time we had had it was more than a little sad for us both, even more when we had to part back in London, but hang on we have already spoken to each other & are meeting with a Saga group this weekend, so maybe we can hold hands, kiss maybe plan our next adventure together

We hope you have enjoyed the read & as said by Disney “Wishes Really Can Come True” if we want & make the effort together enough

Our Families Trip to Disney Orlando

The plans for this holiday started over 12 months ago when I decided I wanted to have a special holiday with my family that we would always remember, so I went over to Ireland to chat to them about this, initially they wanted to go to Australia and do the sites, after a lot of discussion it was agreed that it would be too much with the time that we had available, in the end Disney in Orlando was where we chose.

The next thing to sort out was when did we go, well, what with the girls exams, my son's exams in relation to his apprenticeship as well as his training, the time to make all the necessary arrangements, finally it was agreed early June would be a good time for us all. The family then felt it would be a good idea to invite my friend Anne, who the girls treated as their big sister, so I contacted her and she was quite agreeable, in fact she was quite looking forward to it.

Well, it should now have been all plain sailing, particularly because Debbie and her family had been there many times, has had other friends, so with that wealth of knowledge all we had to do was book it, not quite, we looked at packages, we explored doing independently, we talked about staying at Disney, then what about staying in a house, where did we want to visit, were there other things we should be doing when we went on the trip.

What I decided to do, was to have a read of various books, so when on holiday last year I went through the unofficial guide to Disney from cover to cover, then started to realise the enormity of the task, so at Christmas when I went to visit the family I spent some time trying to sort out which was the best way to do it so we got the most pleasure, that didn't work out quite as I hoped, because how can five people with different agendas agree without a lot of debate.

The next obstacle was that Anne started to have health problems, that needed investigating, which slowed down the whole process, at the time I thought we would have a swift resolution and then get on with the task, so started to look out different types of packages and in the end it seemed the best thing to do, was to rent a house, hire a car, make at Ace Travel flying there, and the purchase of the Disney tickets and any others we required over the Internet, sadly despite all the time we spent, the whole thing became more and more complicated.

Sadly after a period of time we realised that Anne would be unable to come with us, but this did not leave us that much time to sort out all the arrangements, in the end I went to Sue at Ace Travel 2 who I had used in the past to book holidays, she spent a lot of time and effort and finally came up with a package that met all of our needs, that is flights, car hire, accommodation, with a suggestion that we book the Disney tickets and buy any others as and when we required them, at a price that was within my budget.




I forgot to say because my family were not seasoned travellers, I felt it better that we all travel from the same starting point and Dublin seemed to be the best place, so I arranged for a flight from home to Dublin on the way out and the reverse coming back, also because we had left it so late we had a flight change at Gatwick going out and returning, which would obviously make it a much longer journey.

There was all sorts of discussion was all sorts of discussion over the telephone about the arrangements and eventually we had the Visas, passports, vouchers for the accommodation, car and Disney tickets so we were now ready for our trip.

Well I set off to the airport, and the first problem was my baggage was overweight with Ryanair, so that cost £30 before even started, the flight to Dublin was okay and I met with family staying with them overnight, then the next morning at 3.30am we set off to the airport, on arrival we checked in, sadly most places were closed so we just sat round until it was time to board the plane, the trip to Gatwick was uneventful, I had asked for help because of my walking problems when I reached Gatwick, which was provided, the only problem was that it split the group, we should have met at the monorail but unfortunately this did not occur.

It then took approximately an hour to find out where the family had got to and meet up again, this was because they had gone a different route and travelled through security with my boarding card so I was stuck on the wrong side of the barrier, fortunately due to a kind member of staff eventually we met up again and boarded the plane, sadly due to an unpleasant man sat in front of me who reclined his seat with no consideration of me, causing me acute pain in my spine, when I tried to explain all he wanted to do was to have a fight, I decided the best thing to do was to move seat with the help of one of the stewards which solved the matter.

8/6/2009 The flight otherwise was uneventful and eventually we reached Orlando, I forgot to say previously that at the last minute the tour company had changed car hire companies from Alamo to Hertz, unfortunately Hertz did not have an office at the airport so we had to catch a bus to their depot then wait some considerable time before finally being sorted out, well nearly, because when the documentation was finished, I expected some kind person to show us the various controls on the vehicle, this only happened because I found a nice kind person who understood all the electrical controls, my son volunteered to drive, we managed to work out how to use the satellite navigation so off we went to the house.

Helpfully the owners had given the code we needed to get into the estate and then the house, I forgot to say that the MPV was a marvellous vehicle with air conditioning throughout maintaining 75 degrees when it was 95 outside, plus we later discovered even the seats were air conditioned (what bliss) so we were worried how warm the house would be, we opened the door and inside it was beautiful plus air-conditioned throughout, we went round the house exploring and deciding which rooms each of us would have, we discovered the outside pool and whirlpool, before we settled we decided to go to the local supermarket Wal-Mart for some shopping guided by the satellite navigation. What a surprise there were lots of food that we used over here, I was very brave & bought some Grits thinking they were a form of porridge. Again the heat was tremendous outside, at the supermarket we stocked up on food and returned exhausted and had a relaxing evening at the house,

When had recovered later went to Animal Kingdom to get the tickets, went to motor tax office & obtained disabled badge for car, which was best buy of the holiday at $15, then off to Subway & had a 12 inch one, (what a lot of decisions to make council a sandwich), then back to the pool, what bliss after all the travelling

9/6/2009 It was Vickis birthday today, so after breakfast and opening her birthday cards we went to Magic Kingdom to celebrate, first thing we found was it was a 20 mile trip, then at the toll booth we had no change and it was unmanned (still waiting to see if get charged) then on to Disney, first we had to pay for the car park, luckily because of the disabled badge we were able to go to the front, then a short walk to either the monorail or ferry, we decided the most exciting was the ferry so quickly boarded, whilst on the boat fireworks went off in the distance and we finally saw Cinderellas Castle.

At long last we were there, sadly not quite so, first we had to go through a baggage check, then we went to get a special badge for Vickis birthday and found out that she was entitled to a special card giving her $65 to spend on Disney products, we went through the barrier and into main square, then finally we hit Main Street where we could see the Palace in the distance, but where are all these people come from LOL, so now the adventure began.


Hang on a minute, what about my scooter, I had to sort that out at $45 per day, but so comfortable & no walking at all

The girls wanted to go on certain rides that were far too hair raising for the rest of us, more sedately we went to the nice air-conditioned shows that were very enjoyable, the next ride the girls wanted to go on broke down for over an hour, so we stood about in the sun waiting for them, it must have been over 90°, eventually the ride worked, the party split up for some time and we had various adventures in the course of the day, oh sorry I forgot to say about the parades, these occurred at regular intervals and were truly amazing with the dancing and singing as well as the marvellous floats, it really was magic & staff often would wish Vicki a happy birthday.

Later we went to Crystal Palace for a meal & met Winnie The Poo, Tigger Eyehoe & Piglet who were happy to have photos taken with the girls, then somehow we got split up again, but saw the illuminated procession, followed by the fireworks over the castle, truly a magic experience, then off home but hang on I have never seen so many people in one place at the same time, I could not believe how Disney managed to deal with us all, even on the monorail that we used to get back to the car, what a relief to have air conditioning

Forgot to say in the parks food & drink was dear, but there were plenty of drinking fountains & we had water bottles that we replenished to avoid dehydration.

10/6/2009 A more relaxing day at the house, spent time in the pool, playing pool & air hockey, later went to Lawlers, tool warehouse, Paul was the happiest I had seen him so far, with all these amazing tools (each to their own)

11/6/2009 Today went to Animal Kingdom, went on safari, saw all sorts of shows, sadly I had by now found they were a good place for me to fall asleep for a while in the scooter seat however good the show was, staff were very good with people with disabilities, later saw more parades, then in the evening another parade & the fireworks (not quite as good as others) then exhausted back to house to relax.

12/6/2009 Had easy morning then off to find shopping outlets,( never found that day), but found Downtown Disney & all the famous shops there so spent time exploring them

13/6/2009 Went to Epcot today, much more spacious & my favourite was Expedition Earth, which if you go you must visit at least once, saw variety of shows, but was to big to visit all, by now we had learnt to pace ourselves & went back to house for a break for a few hours, in the evening there were more fireworks (I thought the most beautiful of those I saw) went for meal at real diner, could not believe the size of the portions & drinks.

14/6/2009 We were all tired out today, so spent easy day at the house watching TV or in the pool, tried to master Li Lo with no success played in the pool & did some sun bathing, felt we all needed this break to restore energy from all the heat & activity

15/6/2009 Today went to MGM Studios, on reflection think for me was most interesting, with the movie backlots, with copies of famous streets, such as that in San Francisco, the back lot tour with exploding sets & hair raising car chases as well as the shows.

16/6/2009 Today party split some wanted to rest & the others to go to Space Kennedy, hang on someone had forgotten to mention it was 75 mile trip each way, umm, I enjoyed the trip but was totally exhausted due to no scooter, again fell asleep in show, others felt would of liked to spend much more time there, on the way back saw real alligator at side of the road, luckily was only small young one LOL

17/6/2009 Today was a totally different experience, at long last we went to the shopping malls, the one we visited had 160 shops, we visited most, sadly I could not see anything I wanted, LOL, also had a look at tool/ DIY places, , but no photography shops at all, nor book or electronic ones for me to enjoy myself in, the air con in them was great but so hot outside, I had my first real beef burger in one of the food places. Later we returned to the house & spent the rest of the day playing in the pool.

18/6/2009 Today it was Seaworld we visited, the highlight was seeing the Shamu show, with him & the others, showing off with their trainers, it was one of the highlights of the whole holiday for me, but why did so many off the audience want to get soaked by the waves created, girls found ride they really liked but then the rain started, so they were unable to go on, we waited for a while but no luck so, off to another shopping mall & more shopping, Son found pair of steel toe capped boots which he bought ( hope they fit) then later returned & saw more & grand daughters went on one of the scariest rides I have ever seen in my life. Finally we stayed to watch the fireworks, which were totally spectacular.

19/6/2009 Today was my birthday, previously we had agreed that we would have a relaxing day followed by a meal out followed by a visit to Magic Kingdom for the evening lights & fireworks, well that what happened and truly was lovely to be with the family in a relaxed setting, went for nice meal out finished with carrot cake but unfortunately nobody else likes it so was forced to eat it all on my own LOL.

20/6/2009 Today it was sad we decided to sort the house out ready for leaving the following day, then spent some time in the pool again, later back to Epcot yet again for the evening celebrations.

21/6/2009 Today left for home, had to leave car, think son would of taken it home if he could, went through security & all those other things at the airport, flight was overnight, sadly D.I.L had similar problem to me with person reclining the seat causing her problems, at London, no problems this time, but all exhausted. Final leg of trip for family to Dublin, everyone went off to sleep for hours, sadly I couldent until night time.

22/6/2009 Last little section for me to travel back home, was uneventful, then had to sort out washing & shopping, catch up on correspondence, it seems almost a dream had happened for the last two weeks.

Well what are the things I remember

The intense heat, the parades, the crowds, the fireworks, to much fast food, Shamu, the fun with the family, the pool, the size of the parks, the expressions on grandchildren’s faces when they met the characters at Crystal Palace, so, so many more things it would take pages to write in detail, but above all a fantastic holiday with my family, hopefully that none of us will ever forget.

I hope you have enjoyed the read & that maybe if you have not been will consider going & becoming a child if only for a short time, with experiances you will never forget

Another interesting trip to Blackpool

As it was approaching the May bank holiday it seemed a good idea to have another photography trip, after a lot of debate with Brian, it was finally decided that we would be very adventurous and have a trip to Blackpool for a change, which we would use as a base to travel to other more interesting points to indulge our hobby of photography.

We managed to find hotel that did not cost too much, that was on the seafront, in anticipation of all the exciting opportunities to take photographs, I bought a new lens to my camera, but then just before leaving, the car I recently bought decided to develop a fault which involved the engine management light coming on, £49 later I discovered it was an oxygen sensor would be a further £214 to correct but was safe to use the car whilst on holiday and have fixed when I returned.

We set off using and used the new sat nav to find our way to the Hotel, it must have been very clever because it took us to the back door of the hotel where there was plenty of parking, it seems the hotel was full for the weekend, the Hotel was enormous with great big long corridors that must have been very stylish at some time in the past but now quite dated, we booked in okay, and went our separate rooms, Brian had a front room overlooking the beach whilst mine had a marvelous view of the corrugated roof at the back of the hotel, but at least it was clean and it had an it had an enormous bath with a really good flow of water.

One of the important things we had decided we wanted to do, was to visit the Bispham Chippy, which serves the best fish and chips I have ever tasted and Carrot cake that must be the best and largest portion in the world, so that was the next stop, which lived up to our usual expectations.

Now been very adventurous we decided we would venture out to Stanley Park that we had visited previously, armed with our cameras, when we got there, there were a number of the birds with their young ones, unfortunately despite having my new lens it still was not long enough to take a reasonable photograph of the herons and their young ones in the trees in the middle of the lake.

It has not been mentioned to me that actually there were three of us on this holiday, because Brian suddenly produced his friend the Gnome on a scooter out of his backpack, he went on to explain that this was to be the subject of a competition to fund raise for Shopmobility, so he was taking photographs of it to encourage interest in the competition.

This was the start of some interesting photographs to be taken by us both in some interesting places in Blackpool, what was quite interesting was the attitude of other people whilst we were taking photos, some people were highly amused, but others obviously have lost their sense of humour.

Because it had been a long day when we returned to the hotel, we went off to our respective bedrooms for the evening agreeing to meet the next morning for breakfast.

The next morning we went down to breakfast which was buffet style, with lots and lots of people dining, there was plenty of food and it was well cooked, so gave a good start to the day, for our latest adventure to exotic Blackpool front, where we spent most of the day taking more photos of the friendly gnome in a variety of settings, which really tested photography skills.

Now that you cannot guess where we ended up going to dinner, yes that's right off to Bispham Chippy again for a portion of fish and chips and carrot cake for me, I forgot to say that this bank holiday weekend, had been cold and windy and that it got worse and worse as the day went on, so why on earth did we decide to go out again in the evening to take it more photos, I think it must of been the cold had got to us, because down to the front we went again, but could not cope with the extreme wind and cold that evening so gave it up for the night and retired to the hotel in the hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

While sadly on our last day the wind howled and the rain came down so we realised this was a fitting time to return home before the weather got any worse, the photos of the gnome have come out well so obviously it was all worth the effort, but I'm still trying to work out, what happened to our adventures in the beautiful countryside in that area, maybe we'll try again another time without the gnome.

An Update on Life In 2009

Hello all you readers I must apologise for the fact I have put nothing on the Blog for some time, but a series of things have prevented this

Firstly I am still having difficulty with sitting for long periods at the computer due to back pain which I am still waiting to be resolved, also RSI in hand & arm are making tyuping painful, plus I have had problems with my voice recognition software which, I need to sort out soon.

I have been feeling tired out with all the effort getting to & from work as well as the fact that the work load has recently increased, but sadly or not I have made the decision to give up work in April and try to do some of the things I have been putting off which will be much easier when I have more energy

As those of you will know from my previous Blog, thanks to Saga I have been travelling about the country meeting people from their site, making new friends & enjoying a range of places & food

The big thing is that Debbie & I are still happily getting on together & are in regular touch, meeting often, which at times was difficult due to the problems using the train whilst engineering works were in progress, we still have not yet got to the Eiffel Tower but hope to get there soon

I have been involved in the latest fundraising concert for the Bury Shopmobility scheme which was really good with excellant performers but sadly a very small audience

Well will close for now & hope to post more often again in the future

An update on the last 12 Months in My Life

Some thoughts about the last 12 months in my life and about the 12 months

It has been a strange 12 months I achieved some positives but failed some of the other things I hoped to have done

I feel that Sagazone has definitely had an impact on my life in the last year, at this point in 2008, I was feeling lonely and isolated unsure about what lay ahead, also having problems with my health.

There were a number of things I hoped would happen, such as another trip to The Isle of Man, to see the things I had not managed to visit on my last trip, to travel to a number of viaducts and take photos of their stunning beauty, I also wanted to have more social contact with people rather than just stay at home all the time.

What in fact happened was initially I became more involved in the fantasy forums on Sagazone, I doesn't result started to meet new people at the gatherings, gaining friends as I went along, if you follow my blog you will of read mine & Debbie’s story which seems to of progressed very well and has brought me great happiness so far and a whole new range of happy experiences, the best which was the lovely thoughtful Christmas presents I received from her.

I have been to Spain twice this year once with my friend Brian for another of our photo expeditions & one on my own as detailed earlier, this last one reminded me of how lonely I felt on my own & texts were the big thing that kept me going at that time.

I have now also been to a number of meetings involving Saga and enjoyed meeting a whole range of lovely people at various places, who I would never normally of come across, also through Saga I have got chatting to a range of people on one of the forums, reading of their exploits on a daily basis & the ups & downs in their lives, in fact one of my dilemmas is how addictive it has become, even more so as people open up more and others join the group.


One of the things I have missed is being part of the Blogging community on Saga & reading the exploits of Honeycook Funky Farmer & others, as well as on here, also the strange pleasure of telling the tale of incidents in my life to an interested audience, maybe that should be one of my resolutions for next year to start up again.

One of the loveliest things that happened this year apart from meeting Debbie was to actually meet my long distance friend Sofi briefly in Birmingham for a few short hours before she had to return home again

Regarding my health I have now been extensively checked for a number of things no thanks to the NHS but still do not have any firm answers about how to become pain free at present, I started treatment with Gail a physio & have nothing but thanks for how she has helped me with the physical health problems I have, but what a strange set of exercises I have had to do to assist me on the path

I have been unable to do some of the things I hoped for last year, such as trying to do something constructive in relation to the people in the town in Zambia I wanted to visit, or to go on a safari

I did not manage to get to Penang to meet Hamster my friend & his wife, I have to accept it was partly my fault but then he came over here working anyway, so maybe we will finally meet up again.

Nor did I go on my travels round the world as I hoped to do, not sure why really I suppose a combination of health & being to busy enjoying myself doing other things so the time passed for it to happen, plus I struggled in coming to terms with giving up work & managing .

One of the other things that I enjoyed were the meetings with Brian Andy & Stewart on our outings into the local shopping centre, discussing important things such as how scary the new Master was in Dr Who and similar important topics to long & boring for you the reader to have to put up with, but which provided a pleasant interlude in our lives

Well what about the new year, firstly, at present I am trying to organise a once in a lifetime trip to Disney for myself & the family in the summer, I thought it would be so easy, but the hardest is trying to plan for a party of six, and get my head round all that needs doing for it to happen.

I am off on a special holiday in March for a week with Debbie, which I hope will be all that we wish for

Possibly at some time Brian will get another passport & we could be off on our travels again to who knows where, surely not Scarborough & the dragons again

If I can plan it I would still like to visit the Isle of Man & finally get to those viaducts in various parts of Britain, its just setting the dates I feel that prevents it.

Forgot to say I made a resolution to lose weight this year, but people have been tempting & feeding me to much food so far, this year, but I really must make an effort from this week
I saw the consultant this week & he feels giving up work is the right thing to do, also that they will try to give me injections in spine in the hope that this time they will work, but if not maybe at long last the operation will be carried out but not before I have been on my special trips

As a result I have now spoken to my boss & committed myself to finishing work at the end of March or early April, which is a little bit scary but we will see

Finally giving up work at this point in life seems to make sense, because in reality I should of finished back in 2000, but have now done another 8 years which have taken their toll of my physical health & been quite stressful more & more as the type of work I have been doing has become more complex & stressful and possibly it is time for other younger people to take on the battles so that I can have some quality time for myself

Having said that I have a feeling I will continue with some sort of voluntary work in fact the next activity is the annual concert to try to resolve in the next few weeks, which I will give you an update on when hopefully it is a greater success than the approx £5 we made last year

Finally I hope you enjoyed the read & will continue, sorry forgot to say to those of you who have followed my Blogs I really will try to do better in this coming year

Hello Fellow Bloggers

Hello fellow Bloggers & readers, sorry I have not been about for such a long time but its been a very strange year 2008

I had such plans at the start of the year I was going to go up in a hot air balloon, go to the Isle of Man visiting friends, travel to Penang & Australia as well as lots of other things

Well I joined in the various forums on Saga both the serious as well as the fantasy & setting up & running them is quite hard work, I have just checked then found the tearoom has now reached nearly 8000 posts and the village pond is also doing well.

Also through Saga I started meeting a whole range of people in different parts of the country and actually met my friend Sofi the other week in Birmingham who had travelled a long long way to meet people from Saga, all of which has also taken up time,

I will not go into any detail about myself and Debbie other than we are still running the tearoom and are enjoying each others company in the real world

I have just returned from a fortnights holiday in Spain so feel it’s a good start to resume my Blogging & tell you a little of what went on, wait for the next blog to begin

My Trip to Torrablanca

My Latest Trip to Spain



Well I desperately wanted a break it has been one of these years, so I searched all over, including Saga Travel, but found the prices so expensive for a single person wanting two weeks holiday

Finally I went to the expert Zorro, who gave me the name of a couple of hotels in a resort that did not have lots of British people

I then went to see my favourite person Dawn at the travel agents & low and behold she got me the hotel at the right dates, decent flights and even better at a good price

Oh forgot to say that Dawn tried to save me money by not including meals & a different airport transfer by minibus, surely that would be much better with all the hanging about & chatty reps plus all those stops

Everything started well I bought a meal deal at Boots which I felt was better & healthier than the odd one the people had to pay for on the flight, there were no problems on the flight nor at baggage collection, so off to find my minibus

Well I had read the instructions but where was the man with my name on a card, well after a while I re read the instructions & in the end went to the other terminal, but couldent see anyone there, well cut a long story short eventually after 15 minutes we found each other the minibus was full of others, all going to strange places which meant it still seemed to take forever to get to the hotel, what was worse was I could of got the train & been there in 15 minutes with a 3 minute walk from the station

Check in at the hotel was easy & the room was okay, but the view was the roof of green felt & I was next to the domestics room, at least it would be quiet, oh & the air conditioning worked well

Downstairs for a walk round, but hang on a minute it was a Spanish Saga holiday there were hundreds of elderly Spanish people apparently shouting to each other wherever I went in the hotel, but I did not worry & off to the beach in the sun & it was virtually deserted apart from a few joggers

Well mealtime came so down I went the place was full of those same people as in the lounge, with a small sprinkling of British, but none seemed anymore happy either, the food was self service & I quickly found a table & got the hang of the layout, what was interesting was it all tasted the same which continued through the holiday however attractive, sorry being unfair the sweets tasted different but not quite sure what LOL

Well I visited Fuengirola which was much as I remembered it & it was easy to reach by the train, I spent a number of occasions walking along the beach which was so peaceful & quiet apart from the noise of the waves, but sadly on my own

On the holiday I spent most of my time alone, apart from one nice little couple I met and a nice man I chatted to at the station one day, it seems the british now seem to stay within their own little groupings apart from the drinkers

I did some sun bathing again on my own but found due to back pain it was hard to lie on the beds for long, the one thing I did at these times was listen to my MP3 player & read the books I had brought

Well the bad news some days the sun shone but when it rained well the streets were flooded as you can see from the photo, for the last 3 days it never stopped, & the lounges were full of about 400 Spanish people again all chatting quite loud, but the Brits had disappeared yet again, so off to watch Bargain Hunt & other riveting programmes on the TV in the room mixed in with listening to music & reading

Now must say went to Malaga one day but got off at main station by mistake & went the wrong way, luckily eventually found the promenade & beach which was quite pleasant & different to the local ones, after a while I wandered back through the town & saw some of the traditional housing away from the tourist areas

Also went for a trip on the local bus to Ronda which was on a lovely day, I looked at all the touristy bits then found a lovely deserted area just off the beaten track with only the horse to keep me company which showed the valley & the town from a totally different view don’t you think

Whilst there was hungry so went into McDonalds, well it was a local one & I was served quickly, the food actually tasted better than some I had at the hotel I am sorry to say

Whilst on the holiday noticed this hill with a tower so found my way there & the view was fantastic so those of you that know me will understand that I then needed to come back at sunset to see if I could get any good photos there, I will post a few for you to see what you think

Because I was going up there at dusk I think the locals must of thought I was mad, I did worry because it was isolated that I could have been mugged or worse still have a fall then what would I do, but the photos I felt were worth the effort

Oh I forgot to mention, do you remember that I was next to the domestics room well 7.30 every morning on went the taps full for them so I was never going to oversleep was I but the they continued throughout the day until late afternoon & even worse they did my room last, well I suppose it could have been a load of drunks next to me LOL

Staying at the hotel was a young mum with 2 very young children, she looked worn out all the time, it wasent that the children were bad just boisterous, sadly nobody ever offered any help I did think of it but what would people think of some old bloke talking to her so sadly given the time we live in I dident, maybe I should start a forum on the subject on Saga

One day I saw the young mum on the beach playing with the children as I was walking along then she took some photos, when I reached her she was still taking the photos so I stopped & offered to take one of her & the children, she seemed very confused by the offer so I asked again, she was English, eventually she agreed to my doing it so I took the photos sadly that was the end, was it me feeling lonely, I felt she was so isolated but that my entering into conversation on my own would only cause embarrassment it seems such a shame I was not trying to chat her up just felt she could of done with a chat with an adult, but what do I know

On the last day it had been raining but guess what the sun came out as the minibus collected me, it was an uneventful trip back to the airport, the plane was an hour late but they had Mama Mia on for entertainment so that I enjoyed the flight, wanted to sing but thought better of it

In future have decided going on holiday on my own is not my thing, nobody to rub cream on back to chat to or hold hands this year hang on a minute don’t do those things with Brian hope there are no misunderstandings

I left the best to the last because it was Debbie that I realised I would of wanted to walk along the beach with & hold hands, whilst I was away she was in OZ but we used text each day & chatted on occasions I wonder what that says for the relationship

A Little Health Scare

I have been investigated for over 12 months for problems with my back & other skeletal problems, i am finding there are more & more things wrong, but we will see what the outcome is
Anyway back to the plot, the last consultant I saw very unusually sent me a copy of his letter explaining the findings & what happens next, no problem so far

Got to the bottom of the page & something caught my eye, Spinal Carsinosis it said, uumm said I, googled it, now no going off & trying it if you dont know what it is:) well it said it was I thought it meant, so thought this cant be true so googled again, well what to do now, uumm dont panic,

so the next day after not telling anyone, was i brave or stupid dont know, contacted consultants secretary said wanted to speak to him, but dident say why, he rang me later & we discussed the results then I said, now about these 2 little words at the bottom oh said he I was going to contact you about that, I really must apologise its a typing error it should of been an L not an R therefore calcinosis, not nice but infinitely better, we chatted about this & I was suitably relieved,

people say I should of complained screamed shouted & all sorts of other things, why did I not panic, I wish I knew, maybe its because I am a fatalist or maybe i am to daft, or maybe even I was in shock, but I think in reality knowing how the system works I had been seen by 2 consultants & my own GP so if it was so surely someone would of mentioned it before, what to make of it all relief was the best only problem is that others have told me off for not telling them of it, cant win sometimes can we