The end of the year and some thoughts on 2015

I must thank my friend Mykle for reminding me that I had forgotten to post of my adventures for some time now hopefully rectified, I have been catching up whilst visting my son and his family in Southern Ireland,  more of that later.
Unlike last year there have been no huge trips rather a number of short ones in the British Isles,  seeing pkaces I had often promised myself to visit over the years but never got round to, having Jane as a travelling companion has definitely made a difference with some as with Brian and Andy on others.
My health has been a bit of a seesaw this year for no terrible reasons rather the time taken to get issues resolved. For example I started with severe breathlessness and was worried about the cause, so eventually it was diagnosed as asthma and I now take inhalers for it. The problems I started having last year with ingrowing toe nails I am hoping will soon be resolved now they have operated to remove part of the nail. Unfortunately the problems with my hearing seem to of got worse despite new aids a couple of months ago and at present no improvement is in sight. This makes it had now to listen to music which has always been a pleasure,  also to be able to hear people clearly other than in a quiet room with no background noise, I now start to understand the life those born with this must cope with every day, not sure though if its worse to of lost the ability,  I sm hoping with more knowledge to explore solutions in the new year.
Sadly there were health issues for my elderly neighbours this year,  he due to ill health has now moved back to the area he grew up in and his wife who has some degree of dementia is coping on her own not really sure what happened or when, although somehow she is still managing with some help from her family, the lady who lived below me has moved out so it will be interesting to meet her replacement in due course.
The nicest piece of news was to find out my grand daughter was to become a mum at the end of this year making me a great grand father, not sure how I feel about this,
Well will close for now and do another update soon

Christmas 2015 in Milton Keynes

This year Jane and I were invited to her daughters to spend the period with them, she was uncertain whether I would be happy with this, but I quickly explained that being in the company of 2 young children who believed in Santa was just up my street
We drove down and a trip thst should of taken 3 hours took nearly 5 there was that much traffic going away I presume for the period,  we were made welcome by the family and it seems that my full Christian name was to be used whilst there by the children,  so often I would hear " Jeffrey  " from the children who were lovely and seemed to take to me.
Janes daughter and sil were very busy on Christmas eve sorting out orders for turkeys they had bred over the last 12 months, think there were something like 50 to be delivered or collected,  another issue it seems was that because they had been so wrll cared for people were getting birds that weighed more than they had paid for or ordered, so more negotiation and sorting out.
They had their own 2 pet cockerals that were quite inquisitive about all the coming and going so were in the habit of looking through the living room window, I do wonder if they realised how fortunate they were as with the 2 pet turkeys also enjoying the break.
Normally I would not of mentioned the problem I was having but with Christmas lunch fast approaching it was quite important to me in that I was suffering acute constipation so unsure how to cope, particularly with all the effort the family had gone through.  I ended up going to the chemist and by the lunch the problem had reduced. I suppose this is a good time to mention that the new hearing aids I had fitted a couple of months ago were not up to the task so in normal conversation I struggle but 2 very excited children made it very hard for me to follow the chat.
On Christmas day morning I went to the toilet about 4am to be greeted by the little boy who was aware that Santa had been and left presents for him, fortunately I was able to return to bed with the promise that I would come down later to see whay had been left for him.
So thats what happened,  its so nice when every gift is so special and the children struggled to open the wrappings, but then which for them to play with.
I enjoyed the time I was down there and appreciated the effort everyone went to to include me, we went to visit Janes aunty and uncle whilst there which was another change
Janes sil and grand daughter got dressed up to ride with the hunt on the bank holiday, now for me I did not and do not want to get into the rights and wrongs of this, but it was nice to see all the different colours of horses and riders, whilst they were gathering so I enjoyed the chance to take photos of the grand child who suddenly was no longer the little tomboy but a confident horse rider and at ease, also it was the first time I saw the sil dressed and riding a horse. I obviously misunderstood how they would set off because instead of them heading cross country they went down the main street resulting in me missing what would been some really good photos.
The trip was soon over so back home very slowly,  again over 5 hours, I think it was just sheer numbers of cars on the road, on our return all the essential tasks like washing of clothes, also I had not left the heating up so as the temperature had dropped a lot at home, it took a long time to warm the flat.  We had seen on the news about the floods in our area but luckily neither Jane nor my home were affected, so the end of Christmas for another year.

Our trip to Liverpool The cavern, Mersey Ferry and the Snowflake Trail 17 December 2015

Last year Jane went with friends to Liverpool and mentioned how good the Christmas lights were there compared to those in Manchester,  so we decide to go there this year and see them properly.
We decided to travel there by train and stayed at the Adelphi Hotel a former grand hotel not quite run down, but first at the station a chace to be photographed with the statue of Ken Dodd the well known Liverpool comedian.
It was a shame at the hotel because it was possible to see how beautiful it must of been in the past, our room was spacious,  but poorly lit with old out dated furniture, but a huge bath with plenty of hot water.
We had learnt of the Snowflake Trail through the Internet and we enjoyed the many set pieces and lights in the centre.  Our first stop was the Cavern, famous a place the Beatles had first played all those years ago when first starting out, it was not actually true as this place had replaced the original. We had to climb down a series of steps to the basement where loud music was being played but with no connection with the Beatles, there were few people there on the day so we only stayed a few minutes, before continuing on our journey down to the pier and the Mersey ferry. We had timed it well as one was due to depart in a few minutes, it was 5pm and not very busy, but still played the classic music Ferry Cross The Mersey that Jane sang along to, we travelled over then stayed on for the return, Liverpool looked quite beautiful at night. We them went along Albert dock which was deserted as it was early evening but nicely lit up, then a meal and return to the hotel
The following day we set off again to look at more of the lights and explore the shops,before returning to the ferry for their excursion along the Mersey, ido have to say the commentary was the clearest I have ever heard, but soon the hour was up and we docked again. Just by the ferry there were larger than life statues of the Famous Four Beatles so another photo opportunity,  we did some more shopping and looked at more of the lights before it was time to return to the station and catch our train home

Trip to Milton Keynes and Southampton 20 September 2015

The 20th was the anniversary of Jane and my first date here, so we decided to return again but this time to stay over in the hope Jane would not lose her way in the woods this time, we stayed at Willen Lake which is a nice setting
All went well and this time we had the chance to enjoy walking through the woods and round the lake just relaxing
We then continued to the caravan park at Southampton that Jane had stayed at in previous years. Trying to find it using sat nav was not a solution but finally we got there. It was on the banks of the Solent and the caravan we were staying in was well equipped in a good location. We spent the next 5 days there wandering round the area and along the beach, due to being out of season it was peaceful and quiet with many of the caravans privately owned,  buy it was well away from public transport so not very helpful if you did not have transport,  we had taken plenty of food plus there was a restaurant on site
On the way back we met up with my granddaughter and and her boyfriend whilst taking a break on the way home at a hotel near Stoke for a meal and catch up, then back home again

Homeward bound 21 August 2015

Again did not sleep well, had done most of my packing the previous evening so only last items to put in case, and remembered to put case out ay 8am, had a shower dressed then off to breakfast with the others.

Afterwards rested for a while before boarding the coach, one of the things I looked goward to was that the driver was a female therefore hopefully a pleasant helpful person, sadly this never seemed the case throughout the trips, this morning was no exception, this is not to say she was not a god driver or other skills to do with the job but there was no wasted conversation at any time and her body language did not give an impression to make conversation at any time.

Back to the trip home, it was a warm humid day, the coach was a little to warm for me but nobody else seemed bothered,  we were informed we were having a stop at the National Arboretum on the way to Stretton. I had never heard of this before but as much as I understand,  it is a place to remember the people who were in the forces and died in the wars or in active service since. So there were a whole range of different styles of monument depending on the particular service, there were even tributes to the police and railway workers. In the time we had I was unable to fully explore the site, there were many people there on the same day as us and they provided a range of methods for people to get round the site from electric scooters to a slow moving train.

Soon it was time to depart again for our next stop, at one of the service areas, but I fell asleep for a time,  when we got there, a bonus for me was that it had a Subway so I was able to indulge myself in one of their filled rolls and a coffee then back on the coach to Stretton,  unfortunately it being a Friday afternoon the traffic was slow moving so I am taking the opportunity to write the blog up as the scenery is quite boring.

Well if I was bored before things could only get worse, firstly the coffee machines in the shop had not been topped up, so we had to wait for that, next we found there were problems with one coach being delayed so for reasons I do not quite understand unless the people on that were spread from all over the country, none of the other coaches were loading up until it arrived. It seemed by further announcements at least some were but definitely not ours, sob sob.

Eventually a coach arrived in our bay and it was the same driver as on the feeder coach out do this did not bode well. Andy noticed that against Shearings own policy he had lit up a cigarette on the coach, I did consider mentioning at the information desk but then realised it would most probably delay the coach. we waited and waited but it was gone 6pm before we finally started to load although Andys wheelchair was still waiting, we joined the queue but the driver had disappeared,  a woman complained because I stopped her boarding, she was quite rude and seemed to have no insight into the issues Andy faced. I eventually found the driver sat on a seat in the boarding area having yet another cigarette, I mentioned to him about the wheelchair to make sure it was not left behind, I also asked if he could give us some idea of what time we would reach Bury, he seemed to have no idea, which filled me with confidence I dont think. We did chat about the smoking and the feeling is that we should report this when home as its a problem for anyone with breathing issues, but even worse that if a customer was found doing it, it could affect their holiday.

We rang Colin the taxi driver to inform of the delay and and what was best to do, him it was agreed we would speak again when we were nearer home. Well it is now 6 45pm and we are still on our way home and have yet to reach at least Bolton. It does seem ironic that in the relatively short distance we have travelled we could of flown to Spain or similar or been home again. What an unfortunate end to what has been a pleasant few days away, plus it is pouring down with rain now.

Warwick castle 20 August 2015

Today we had a trip to Warwick Castle,weather started out damp but warm although it brightened up quite quickly. Was brief journey to the castle, luckily the cost of entrance was included because otherwise it would of been at least £24 even with concessions.

We had an member of staff escort us round and explain the background to the castle he was pleasant and easy to listen, it was odd how we acquired other people on the tour which I did not mind, apart from the children who were disruptive and pushed to the front, access was a problem for Andy and other wheelchair users unfortunately but I suppose not easy with a place 1000 years old,

I was surprised that the castle was fairly modern, compared to many others,  afterwards we wandered round the grounds taking photos of it and the surroundings, it was quite busy but I suppose it was a good but expensive place for a family day out.

Later we gathered for the jousting which was well presented before finally going for a well deserved cup of tea, for most of the trip we were accompanied by Arthur our new member, we wandered round the gardens and visited the conservatory, then a short drive back.

In the evening it was a pleasant meal apart from the very spicy soup, then all went off to pack or watch TV then get some sleep before our trip home tomorrow.

Broadway here we come 19 August 2015

Well today we are off to Broadway,  great lots of lights and shows and music, sadly no it was to a quaint little old village for the morning. Trip was uneventful, village was pleasant place as one thinks, a main street with a green and beautiful old buildings and views across the countryside, again a gid example of how buildings used to be built with consideration to their appearance and durability, but for us an ideal photo opportunity again.

Chico also came along with us for the trip so we acquired a number of photos of him also, which will appear on Facebook, someone mentioned to me why do I still take him out as the fundraising is now finished and maybe he is a distraction from my more serious photography, I am tempted to ask on his profile or mine what people think, any comments on here also welcome, my own thoughts are that it adds a little humour to my trips out and can also be an icebreaker,  the expression on some people's faces gives the impression there must be something wrong with me, but this is countered by the opposite when a wide smile comes to some others. Is it a good sign that he still recieves comments from people on the posts on Facebook and no criticism in that sense, for those that wonder yes I do know that in reality he is a stuffed toy, but the conversation and fun so far makes me feel I should continue until maybe one day he runs his course.

Well back to the trip we met up with our new friend Arthur for a drink then back on the coach to the hotel and a rest before we met for a drink in the afternoon, sadly it was raining so my thoughts of visiting the grounds across the way were cancelled, I returned to the room to remove the dressing on toe and have a lovely soak in the bath and catch up with stuff on the internet.Whilst on there I looked at Booking.com and reviews for here, it was interesting what contrasting views there are of the same place.

Then off for a pleasant evening meal then a chat before returning to the room, Andy had mentioned concern about our trip the following day to Warwick Castle and accessibility so checked on internet and it seems that there are obviously some parts that he will struggle with, at the time it was built they obviously did not consider disabled access as an issue lol, only problem I can see will be if it is raining on the day. Finally spent some time reading and listening to music before going to sleep, the fact I am typing on here at 5.48am is am indication that I am struggling to sleep, so shortly will try to settle down again.

Our trip to Shakespeares place of birth18 August 2015

Had not slept well previous night partly due to pain in toe, found couple of chiropodists in Stratford so hoped whilst on trip there will be able to obtain treatment.
We had a full breakfast then on the coach for a short trip there. I was quite surprised at the size of the place I had always imagined a smal quaint village rather than a large modern town with some old buildings, I must say some of the well known stores and cafes had made effort to make their frontage appear mock tudor although very obviously very modern inside

First there was a free talk and walk round the Tudor Experiance in a building dated back to the 15 hundreds, it is amazing how this and some of the other buildings have managed to survive so long whilst more modern ones last a fraction of the time. The talk was very interesting but I found the settings a little tacky in the house.

After I left the other 2 and went looking for a chiropodist, got an appointment for later the afternoon, so went back to met up with friends and then took a series of photos round the town, including a few of Chico.

Whilst near the canal I noticed people were gathering for some reason, as I got nearer I saw it was because someones ball was in the canal and a young man had striped to his undies to retrieve it, kind and brave though it was it was also stupid, what if his head had hit the bottom or he could not get up the side again, plus the chance of picking up an infection from the water,  maybe a sign of my getting older and common sense prevailing

Later went for treatment seems is going to be an ongoing problem unless have operation so trip to Gp now planned on return, foot still painful, I had planned due to time of appointment to travel back on the bus, luckily as it was solved quickly by walking back quickly enough I managed to board the coach and then on return had a rest before the evening meal, also gave me chance to catch up with e mail etc, oh forgot to say I actually have purchased some postcards was going to send one to sister but had forgotten her address,  very embarrassing so may send on return home.

Evening meal pleasant, but again Andy and Brian returned to their room after. Chatted to Arthur for a while, could not settle so spent some time reading before going to sleep.

First day at stratford 17 August 2015

Did not sleep well as worried about oversleeping,  had set alarm which did not go off(  found out later had set for pm) luckily woke up at right time had breakfast finished packing so on time for taxi, which took us to coach point. On trip to Stretton where we were to travel on actual coach, driver said did not know the way Farnworth so assisted, but very surprised in these days of sat nav that he was struggling.
At Stretton had to sort out luggage labels,  place was very busy with not enough seating or staff to serve us quickly. Eventually boarded coach and travelled to destination, there were no stops on the way and we arrived at Charlecote Pheasant Hotel lunch time. We were greeted by assistant manager then off to our rooms. I forgot to say my left big toe was painful particularly when walking so not very good on a trip such as this, hopefully it will abate in time.

Hotel was modern rooms spacious and even better a bath as well as shower and free Wi Fi, Brian wanted to rest so Andy and I went exploring the area, there seemed to be nowhere locally to go to but there were buses to Stratford.  Noticed across the way in grounds of hall deer in  the distance.

After our walk went for a coffee, back at hotel, was surprised that there only was one member of staff serving behind the bar and for meals, so had to wait some time for the coffee to arrive, after this went to room for a rest.

Later met with friends and decided we would go into park to explore,Charlecote Hall, could not get through gate, there was a small notice asking people to go to shop before entering, did not understand until member of staff appeared on other side of road asking if we were members of National Trust if not we had to cross the road and pay to go in. The tone of the mans voice was not pleasant and it all seemed rather odd, why not have a prominent notice explaining the charges and process,  so we decided not to bother, but did have a look round their garden centre which had a pleasant selection of plants, again rather odd, a member of staff turned the sprinklers on which meant visitors had to try to avoid the spray from them whilst wandering round, sadly I got it wrong and had some water spray me, decided at the time not to complain but may take up in the future with National Trust.

Then back to the room watched tv until time to go for evening meal, when we first arrived had bren asked what time we wanted to dine so decided on 6 30, there seemed to be people sat about whilst others were in a queue,  got chatting to man in queue who was also confused about the process, eventually we were led to table but asked man if on his own if he would like to join us at our table which he did. Meal was pleasant and waitress service.  Afterwards Brian and Andy decided to retire for the evening, so spent a while chatting to man whose name is Arthur before going back to my room. The joys of the internet, spoke for a little while to Jane, was pleased to hear her daughter and grandchildren plus her pet dog had arrived safely for a visit,  then had a read before going to sleep.

A new adventure to Stratford on Avon 17 August 2015

Well here we go again this time off by coach for a few days in Stratford on Avon in the company of Brian and Andy,  oops not forgetting Chico. Its going to be a very early start and a few hours dtive including swapping coaches along the way.
First problem is my left big toe has suddenly decided to be painful, I have tried to ease it but we will have to see how it goes on.
Not sure if will be able to upload photos on here till we get back but hopefully we will capture Chicos adventures along the way