Catching up!

:-)

Some catch up pictures...

Holywell

                                                                       

Perran

                                                                   

A Hedgehog - Cornish ice-cream, clotted cream... hazlenuts... 

                     

Carvoza Rd

                                                                   

Carvoza Rd

                                                                     

 Bridgie on her roof terrace -  central Manchester beyond 

                                                       

A place for parties I think...

                                                             

  Sunrise at Caswell

                                                             

Sunrise from the flat

                                                           

I had a few days in Cornwall when it was blowing a gale and the sea was magnificent :-)
The house in Carvoza road looked squashed and cramped... not so much the old one.. but the new one... odd to see it so changed!

This was followed by a visit to Manchester and Bridgie's lovely flat... she loves the city and  her roof terrace is amazing... I see lots of fun there. I doubt if it is visible in the pic but there was snow on the Pennines that day..

And then down to the flat at Caswell for a final few days before all the business of the golfing year!
 It was wonderful.      Each morning I sat in the flat doorway wrapped in a sleeping bag watching the sun rise...

:-)

...more..

...the first full day we spent with Phil we joined him at his football match. He helped manage the team and they are very skillful -

                                      Phil overseeing the match!
 - it was an amazing match but we didn't bring any luck unfortunately - a 3-2 loss! After the match we met up with his mates at the park, and then went for a pork galbi. This is a traditional Korean way of eating and it was so sociable. We were all (about 14 of us) sat around two big tables with a hot cooking plate in the middle

there are many side dishes and an abundance of meat. There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere and despite our jetlag, it was a lovely experience.

Some of Phil's footy mates, Alec on the left is travelling S America with Phil.

 We found that a routine soon emerged. We slept late each morning getting up about 11am, and then staying up till late at night, with me going to bed about 1.30 and Bridgie following about 4am! Once we were up, one of us would go and visit the local bakery "Paris Baguette" and buy a croissant or similar, and then we would set off exploring.

Gun mandu

There were several places we enjoyed eating, and this particular place was a real favourite where we were made very welcome. Gun mandu was delicious and if all else failed we would revert to this tasty bite!

This became one of our favourite watering holes.

One of our earliest days was spent in Suwon walking the fortress walls. Nick, one of Phil's good mates, offered to take us there on the bus which was brilliant and gave us confidence to get about on our own afterwards.

The Hwaseong Fortress Wall

...more soon :-)

Haven't got used to the new Blogger layout and tools so bear with me - I've added a jump break by mistake! Sorry! 

Korea - a taster!

Well... here you are.. first some pictures from the flight which was amazing - flying over the Himalayas. I was fascinated that on the screen in front of me I could see a map of where we were;
views forwards and down... and then I would go wandering from our seat and peek views through the little porthole windows at the back. Bridgie was in the window seat and in fairness, there was limit to the number of times I could lean across to look out!
The flight went via Abu Dhabi, which made it a little long, but it all went smoothly and Phil was there to meet us at the airport. Despite it being very late at night the place was alive and vibrant, with neon light everywhere. After a longish taxi ride we put our stuff down in the hotel and went out to meet Phil's friends in a local bar.
View from hotel window.
It was brilliant to see Phil and meet his friends and feel so welcome.
Here is an assortment of pics including an evening view over Yeongtong where we were staying, a wonderful cake-shop, and Phil and Bridgie chilling with all his mates in the park. It was the place to go after their football matches and many a happy hour was spent sitting chatting here.
More soon I hope ...

Christmas

Hello!

Such a long time since I wrote and I haven't written about Korea or Slovenia... I will but thought you'd like this little update.

Phil arrived safely back in UK on Friday afternoon, he will be home for 3 weeks and is then off travelling in S America, probably about 6 months then home for a bit and a possible return to Korea.

In fact, Friday 17th was such a lovely day - Bridgie and Tim have both had temporary jobs..
... first Tim heard he has got a job with Hy-pro a sports franchising company in Dunsatble. He has a few weeks trial and then if all goes well it will be permanent.

Within 15 minutes Bridgie received a phonecall from the CEO of a company (in Manchester) who she had contacted and had had an interview with the previous week... and they offered her a job too!

So we were almost walking on air!
Bridgie is now flat hunting; Tim will stay here for a bit longer; they both start at the beginning of January - can't think of a better Christmas present for them!

keith and I are fine, Meriel came down on Sunday so we now have a house full!

All for the moment...

Travels

We have had some wild weather recently... one day cool and wet, the next hot and windy.. weird combinations, seems totally unsettled! Golf has been demanding but good fun and quite successful. We have won the league - unofficial at the moment - also, we won a team competition in another tournament... the shield was enormous! This was a county competition which began in 1927 so we are very happy!

Bridgie and I are getting excited, we will be setting off for our visit to see Phil soon :-) Just getting things organised ready for packing. Will be lovely to see him, meet his friends and see where he's been living this past year. Will take pictures and will blog on return...

Bridgie's blog

Thought you might like to welcome Bridgie to the blogosphere :-)

http://bridgets-corner.blogspot.com

:-)

Blackberries

Not quite sure what's happened to the seasons this year... plums dropping off the tree... autumn fruiting raspberries are well and truly fruiting - and I saw folk picking blackberries a week ago!

Meriel's coming to stay this week - I'll try and get some pics taken to share with you :-) Then I must get the camera charged for Korea!

It's good to have Tim and Bridgie working - they both have temporary jobs and are now looking for permanent positions.

Keith has had a couple of adventures on his bike, he cycled up to Lincolnshire - visiting Skegness and Lincoln and villages en route. He described his evenings after a long bike ride as 'lying in his B&B room watching tv...' just like The Cornish Walker after a day's exertions! He also took his bike down to Brighton and then biked along the coast to Hastings and round - had a good time :-)

Tim and I have put the completion of the coast path on the back burner at the moment. Tim has had a couple of lovely trips over the summer and may be going back to Europe for more exploring. My (and Bridgie's) trip to see Phil is followed by a week in Slovenia with a lady from the golf club and that will take us to mid October... so we're both happy to leave the walk for the time being.

Bridgie's Graduation

:-) :-) :-)

Friday 15th July saw us setting off early to Manchester for Bridgie's Graduation... I thought you'd like a few pics :-)

Needless to say she looked gorgeous... our only disappointment was that Meriel wasn't able to join us as she was cruising the Norway coast..

Still... we entered into the spirit of it!

How embarrassing can parents be?!

Tim and Bridgie both have temporary jobs at the moment, Tim with a Highways Agency doing admin work, and Bridgie with Unilever - an office role as well. Both are glad to be in employment!

Bridgie and I are going out to see Phil in mid September for two weeks... we're really looking forward to that - Keith will be back in Addis then...

Christmastime 2010

What is Meriel laughing at?


Hello again! Thought you might enjoy some Christmastime snaps :-)
The weather has stayed below freezing for days on end... we have the bottles of coke and lemonade etc stood outside the back door... when we come to pour them they are wonderful iced drinks!

We had some lovely news on the 23rd when Louise and Chris had a baby boy, Harry. That makes Meriel a Great Grandma!

Tim did his usual expert job under the tree and we all enjoyed some lovely presents - what was Fav GG smiling at?

In the afternoon we were able to chat to Phil on Skype and he opened his parcel...
I hasten to add... it wasn't just toothpaste! Skype has been great and it was lovely to catch up with him. He had been out with his mates and had had a really good time.

Bridgie has been doing lots of uni work but we managed to force her to join in some card games and watch some tv :-) Sevens and Hearts seem to be the favourite card games... and Meriel is a dab hand at both!

You can see how our house is still frosted up,

but it's lovely and warm inside.

We have burnt all our stored logs but it has been worth it. Keith has been on several walks out up on to the ridge or around to Stevington and as long as you are wrapped up warm and can keep your feet, it is glorious. He's also been totting for logs in the coppice across the road and has amassed a good haul - they need some sawing and drying out but should see us through the New Year.

On one of my walks out in the snow I couldn't resist doing this... on the golf course... in the middle of the second fairway! Needless to say... there was noone about!

I'm not sure what the Ladies of Pavenham would have made of me, but I loved it :-)

Now, what was it that Meriel was smiling at?
And finally a farewell from Phil..

Happy New Year

Christmas chill!

Happy Christmas!

I thought you might enjoy some recent pics...

we have had very cold weather with some wonderful frosts...

and then, yesterday afternoon, about 4 inches of snow fell in about an hour! Tim, Bridgie and Keith went out in the dark to go sledging and are out in it now!

Fav GG is decorating our tree... we've had real fires to cheer our room... it's been lovely.

Family and golf!

Hello again,

Keith's just returned from a good trip to Addis, next stop will be Kosova!
Bridgie returns to Manchester today, all packed up and ready but I thought you must see her latest acquisition...

Wonderful!

Tim's been doing an amazing job of tidying the garden, we've borrowed a shredder and it's fun to use and what a difference! No 'proper' job in prospect for him yet - travelling is appealing at the moment!

We hear from Phil fairly frequently, the teaching remains very hard but he's really enjoying the social life and looks very well - he's on Skype :-).

The garden has produced a bumper crop of rasps...

about this many every day for the last month! I've jammed, frozen ,eaten and given away so many :-) Sweetcorn and potatoes are yummy at the moment, and i'm planting up the leeks.

I've played lots of golf and enjoyed the Club Championships over the weekend. I was playing alongside Beth who is just 12! She plays beautifully and we played together both days (one round each day - different hole positions). She played beautifully the first day and was leading...got really anxious overnight and hadn't slept, so Sunday was much harder for her. We managed to keep her going even through a few tears and she won! She is a sweet soul, it was lovely to play with her and encourage her. Thought you'd like to see us with our prizes!

U Tim and I are walking again next month, Plymouth to Exmouth, so look out for more pics etc at the end of October.

The moor

Yay!! It's worked ;-) Here's the video of the moors :-)

(Well, it did work - now doesn't seem to... will leave it here in case.)

And here are a couple more Graduation photos!

Keith looks amazingly awake considering his long flight!

I spoke to U Tim yesterday, and we'll probably pick up the walk again in October :-)

Getting up todate

The Pied Piper near Pakenham Mill

I'm going to try and bring you up to date! Over the last 3 months we seem to have been very busy, no one big thing but lots of little ones. Keith's been away a lot, in Warsaw, Addis, Singapore etc! We have said cheerio to Phil as he headed off to S Korea to teach English as a foreign language;

After a party!

and welcomed Tim back home from uni, enjoying his graduation en route (Keith flying back specially from Singapore and then heading back the next day!)The ceremony was in sheffield, and Tim was able to get a an extra ticket for Meriel, so she was able to join us. We stayed in Sheffield overnight and Tim took us out to a Pub that specialised in pies 'The Wig and Pen', it was great and we enjoyed delicious pies - I'd love to visit it on a winter's day with snow on the ground and a howling wind. Meriel came home with us and stayed for a few days, Phil and Bridgie took her out to Olney one day, and we also visited Francie and Jonathan for the day; spotting crocodiles, a hippo

Crocs

and a huge spider

near Jonathan's tranquil mill! We also had a delicious lunch at The Butt and Oyster... we're about to tuck in to the puds! Bridgie's been home too, experiencing the joys of commuting to London for a two week work placement at Simon and Schuster alongside working as a volunteer in the Oxfam bookshop and The Salvation Army shop. I've been playing lots of golf with my handicap now 20 which I am delighted about, I've also enjoyed three trips to Yorkshire to see Meriel. We had lovely trips out to enjoy walks along the river by the Bishop's Palace in York,

where there were beautiful buttercup meadows.

Most recently, we have ventured up on to the North York Moors,

enjoying stunning views and swathes of beautiful heather. We drove along gorgeous moorland roads, spotting things in the distance which we went on to explore. This is Roseberry Topping - a brilliant name - asking to be walked up - but not for us that day. We enjoyed a pub lunch at its foot, Meriel particularly liked the flowers in the bath!

I've tried to upload a little film of the moors but it won't work, so here are a couple more pics... and my favourite...

Now you're up to date :-) Keith's home but away again to Addis soon.