So, my Mum's Saturday newspaper had a section in it today titled" So How Many Boxes Do You Tick?"
The 30 telltale signs that you're really getting old !
Depressingly I had to read it, and sadly I ticked many more of the boxes than I thought I would have done, I think I was old in my teens!
For those of you that are interested in knowing whether you're getting old or not, here's the list...
Knock yourselves out !
1) Falling asleep in front of the TV (always done that)
2) Feeling Stiff (this question for Women Only, I don't need to know about men's stiff bits)
3) Groaning when you bend down (no sexual innuendos please)
4) Losing your hair (this is of course only for those who had hair to begin with)
5) Hating noisy pubs ( what noise? since they banned smoking all the pubs are empty)
6) Thinking Teachers/Policemen/doctors look really young (duh, aren't they all 12 anyway?)
7) Getting More Hairy - ears, face, eyebrows, nose etc... (ewuuuuu)
8) Struggling to use Technology (does this include the TV)
9) Forgetting Names (um?)
10) Not knowing any songs in the top 10 (what's that?)
11) Choosing clothes and shoes for comfort rather than style (Don't remember when I started doing that)
12) Driving Slowly (sadly, as Danni would quickly tell you, I'm absolutely guilty here)
13) Developing a fondness for Sherry (no comment)
14) Complaining More (have you read my blog?)
15) Joining the Women's Institute (actually I was an active member when I was 27 :o( hmmm)
16) Misplacing glasses/bag/car keys (now that's just silly, everyone does that)
17) Thinking work colleagues are getting younger (HA, I'm OK here I don't have any)
18) Listening to The Archers (what, never!)
19) Moving from Radio 1 to Radio 2 (did that aeons ago, hate Radio 1)
20) Taking a Mid Afternoon Nap (would if I had the time, guess that's a yes then)
21) Joining The National Trust (I'm all for that)
22) Becoming a Parish Councillor (absolutely not I've met way too many of those !)
23) Complaining about The Rubbish on TV These Days ( pretty much, anything other than Ramsey or chopped you can keep)
24) Ears Growing bigger (is that a symptom? my ears are so small a little growing wouldn't hurt, but it hasn't happened yet!)
25) Preferring a Sunday Walk to a lie-in (never really had much opportunity to lie in, so honestly wouldn't know)
26) Being Shocked by Racy Music Videos (shocked in a good way or bad?)
27) Going On a No Children Cruise (Now this is just silly, let me think, trapped in a closed environment at sea, surrounded by thousands of people AND CHILDREN... UM, NO THANKS)
28) Taking a Keen Interest in The Garden (serious answer here, I've always loved the garden)
29) Enjoying Being Asked for Proof of Age (well that's just sad)
30) Knowing your Alcohol Limit (and this is just silly LOL)
So How many did you tick?
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Twittering in Bristol
While I was checking my e mail tonight I read one from someone asking whether it really was me in the photograph on my Twitter account! Naturally I said yes, why wouldn't it be me? Then I went on to read out to Mum that Paul (my brother) was at the Bristol Suspension Bridge, "why is he there?" she asked, I said I didn't know but people often post where they are. "Why" was her response, "I have no idea" I said feeling rather stupid. "Well" she said "in that case you better post that I'm in the kitchen doing dishes"
I love my Mum's humor, she always makes me laugh.
I love my Mum's humor, she always makes me laugh.
Kruger Park Safari
So, while in South Africa recently I ticked off another "to do" wish on my bucket list, and did something I have always dreamed about, I went on safari.
I absolutely love animals, in truth I prefer them to most people. I've never been much of a fan of zoo's, but I realize that for many it's the only opportunity to actually see these fabulous creatures alive. Many zoo's do a great deal for the conservation of endangered spices, so I'm not knocking them, I just hate seeing animals in cages. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a caged animal, you will never see anything so sad, it breaks my heart.
Anyway moving on... During our week long stay at Marloth Park, my sister-in-law Ruth and her husband Gary, took Bob and I to the Kruger Park. Our day started at 4:30am, there were 7 of us all together staying at the lodge, so getting everyone ready and out of the door on time was quite a task, but we arrived at the Crocodile Bridge Gate of the Kruger National Park at exactly 6am as they were opening.
The Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers 7,332 sq miles and extends 220 miles from north to south, and 40 miles from east to west. The Kruger is home to some of the most colorful birds I've ever seen, this Lilac Crested Roller is so common you see them everywhere.
Our first animal sighting and within only a couple of minutes from the gate, was of a White Rhino
As we continued our drive through the park we managed to see all of the big 5, Elephant, Rhino. Leopard, Buffalo, and lion.
We were really fortunate to spot a leopard in a tree with a kill, and a couple of lion's with a kill, it looked like a baby zebra, which typically it made me cry. They were a good distance away, and even though I was using a great zoom lense, sadly I couldn't get any good shots through the long grass.
We didn't see any cheetahs, they're quite elusive, and you have to be very, very lucky to spot one. In over 30 years of visiting the park Ruth has only seen cheetahs twice. As you drive around the park it's easy to find exciting sightings as there will be a group of cars all stopped watching. We took mainly the less traveled dirt roads through the park, so we didn't see many other cars, and were able to get some great photo opportunities. Baby elephants and baby giraffes that were so adorable were among my favorite sightings.
July, although cold turned out to be a great time to go, there were absolutely no mosquitoes, a huge relief as malaria is quite prevalent still in South Africa.
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| Leopard |
I absolutely love animals, in truth I prefer them to most people. I've never been much of a fan of zoo's, but I realize that for many it's the only opportunity to actually see these fabulous creatures alive. Many zoo's do a great deal for the conservation of endangered spices, so I'm not knocking them, I just hate seeing animals in cages. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a caged animal, you will never see anything so sad, it breaks my heart.
 |
| Male Impala |
Anyway moving on... During our week long stay at Marloth Park, my sister-in-law Ruth and her husband Gary, took Bob and I to the Kruger Park. Our day started at 4:30am, there were 7 of us all together staying at the lodge, so getting everyone ready and out of the door on time was quite a task, but we arrived at the Crocodile Bridge Gate of the Kruger National Park at exactly 6am as they were opening.
 |
| Lilac Crested Roller |
The Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers 7,332 sq miles and extends 220 miles from north to south, and 40 miles from east to west. The Kruger is home to some of the most colorful birds I've ever seen, this Lilac Crested Roller is so common you see them everywhere.
Our first animal sighting and within only a couple of minutes from the gate, was of a White Rhino
 |
| White Rhino |
As we continued our drive through the park we managed to see all of the big 5, Elephant, Rhino. Leopard, Buffalo, and lion.
We were really fortunate to spot a leopard in a tree with a kill, and a couple of lion's with a kill, it looked like a baby zebra, which typically it made me cry. They were a good distance away, and even though I was using a great zoom lense, sadly I couldn't get any good shots through the long grass.
We didn't see any cheetahs, they're quite elusive, and you have to be very, very lucky to spot one. In over 30 years of visiting the park Ruth has only seen cheetahs twice. As you drive around the park it's easy to find exciting sightings as there will be a group of cars all stopped watching. We took mainly the less traveled dirt roads through the park, so we didn't see many other cars, and were able to get some great photo opportunities. Baby elephants and baby giraffes that were so adorable were among my favorite sightings.
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| So sweet it made me quite tearful |
July, although cold turned out to be a great time to go, there were absolutely no mosquitoes, a huge relief as malaria is quite prevalent still in South Africa.
A safari has been on my wish list for years, and having finally done it, I wasn't disappointed, it's a vacation I can highly recommend, possibly my best vacation ever. I really hope I get to go back and do it again one day.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Africa in my Back Yard
Monday 4th July
This morning we left Johannesburg with Ruth, Gary and Elsie (Gary's Mum) and drove out of the city on our way to Marloth Park, which is adjacent to the famous Kruger Park, and separated only by the Crocodile river. The drive down took 6 hours, mainly because we stopped to do a grocery shop and then wait for Jan and Brendan, friends of Ruth and Gary who were joining us for the week.
Having finished our shopping we were then faced with the monumental task of getting all the shopping bags into the car. We had 2 cart loads, OH dear! We were in Ruth's Land Rover so there was a very large area at the back big enough, one would think. However, there was precious little room left as we had all managed to completely fill the space with our cases and other relative crap for the coming week. We managed to fill the back up to the roof.
The scenery on the drive was stunning, although due to recent drought everything was dry and brown, but the mountain ranges all around us as we drove were still lovely.
We arrived at our lodge around 4pm and were met in the yard by a family or Warthogs.
Strange creatures, Warthogs have really huge heads, and the smallest feet you could imagine. They seemed quite tame, although they were a little skittish and when startled amazed us with their speed and agility. I didn't want to get too close those little horns looked quite deadly.
Gary, Bob and Brendon unpacked the car while Ruth, Jan and I attempted to unload and store all our shopping in the small kitchen, which was not really big enough for 3 people at one time. With Jan and Ruth bustling around talking about the meals they were planning for the week I quickly realized this was one kitchen where I would not reign supreme, so rather than get all bent out of shape about it I decided that I would have to forego my culinary passion for a few days, and just let them get on with it.
These magnificent, little creatures are about the size of my hand, I was really excited, and felt blessed to be able to see them so close. Watching the bush babies proved to be the best possible evenings entertainment. I'm really hoping they come back tomorrow night :o)
This morning we left Johannesburg with Ruth, Gary and Elsie (Gary's Mum) and drove out of the city on our way to Marloth Park, which is adjacent to the famous Kruger Park, and separated only by the Crocodile river. The drive down took 6 hours, mainly because we stopped to do a grocery shop and then wait for Jan and Brendan, friends of Ruth and Gary who were joining us for the week.
Having finished our shopping we were then faced with the monumental task of getting all the shopping bags into the car. We had 2 cart loads, OH dear! We were in Ruth's Land Rover so there was a very large area at the back big enough, one would think. However, there was precious little room left as we had all managed to completely fill the space with our cases and other relative crap for the coming week. We managed to fill the back up to the roof.
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| Bob and Gary attempting to get all our stuff into the back of the truck |
The scenery on the drive was stunning, although due to recent drought everything was dry and brown, but the mountain ranges all around us as we drove were still lovely.
We arrived at our lodge around 4pm and were met in the yard by a family or Warthogs.
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| Our home away from home, the lodge in Marloth Park |
Gary, Bob and Brendon unpacked the car while Ruth, Jan and I attempted to unload and store all our shopping in the small kitchen, which was not really big enough for 3 people at one time. With Jan and Ruth bustling around talking about the meals they were planning for the week I quickly realized this was one kitchen where I would not reign supreme, so rather than get all bent out of shape about it I decided that I would have to forego my culinary passion for a few days, and just let them get on with it.
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| The Lodge kitchen |
The first night at the lodge Brendon built a fire outside, and we all sat around after dinner with our drinks. It was a cold night, but the warmth from the roaring fire kept us all warm.
There was a large bricked area in the front yard specifically for building fires and a grill rack to cook on.
Possibly one of the most exciting things for me at the lodge were the bush babies, that arrived after dark as soon as the fire was lit, they jumped from tree to tree grabbing the little bits of fruit we put out for them, one even took the fruit directly out of Bob's hand. The bush babies truly are just the most adorable little creatures I have ever laid eyes on. The distance they can jump is astounding, these tiny little creatures are prodigious jumpers, leaping more than 20 feet... They made our first night at the lodge very special.
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| African Bush Baby |
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| So adorable |
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Wedding
Saturday 2nd July
The day my lovely niece Jenny marries her long time love Keith. The ceremony was held at Matiki, which is 45 minutes outside of the city of Johannesburg in the countryside. Matiki is a complex set up totally for weddings, with a lovely little chapel, magnificent manicured grounds with lakes, ponds, bridges and flower borders, a large separate building for the reception, a collection of cottages for the guests, and the bride and groom cottage. The ceremony was lovely, and like all brides, Jenny glowed and looked absolutely beautiful.
The sky was clear blue and the sun was shining, but the wind was blowing and it was cold, I shivered for Jenny in her strapless gown, fortunately she had a (fake) fur stole to keep her warm.
The day my lovely niece Jenny marries her long time love Keith. The ceremony was held at Matiki, which is 45 minutes outside of the city of Johannesburg in the countryside. Matiki is a complex set up totally for weddings, with a lovely little chapel, magnificent manicured grounds with lakes, ponds, bridges and flower borders, a large separate building for the reception, a collection of cottages for the guests, and the bride and groom cottage. The ceremony was lovely, and like all brides, Jenny glowed and looked absolutely beautiful.
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| The little chapel at Matiki |
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| The chapel is much larger inside than the outside would have you believe |
The sky was clear blue and the sun was shining, but the wind was blowing and it was cold, I shivered for Jenny in her strapless gown, fortunately she had a (fake) fur stole to keep her warm.
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| Keith & Jenny |
Wings or Cash
Truly if this goes on I'm either going to have to grow a pair of wings and learn to fly, or make a few hundred million dollars in cash and buy a private jet. Sadly neither of those options are actually viable, so my future airline travel will possibly continue to be just one nightmarish experience after another.
I now have yet another airline to add to my growing list of "WHO NOT TO FLY WITH", Iberia Airlines. Our flight to South Africa with them, well what can I say, not the best experience! This is remember only my opinion, to which I'm entitled, but to say I wasn't impressed is probably the understatement of the year.
Following a very long, and uncomfortable overnight flight, we were met at Johannesburg airport by my sister-in-law Ruth, where we proceeded to tour the airport looking for the Iberia Airlines customer service office, as we had a few issues we wanted to take up with them. Luckily for them, their office was closed until the following Thursday... This did not please Bob, but there was nothing else we could do, and I was very grateful that at least our luggage had all arrived unscathed.
The drive to Ruth's house was only 40 minutes, which gave us both a chance to take in all the sights. The weather was sunny but quite cold. July is their winter, and Ruth had warned us to bring warm clothes, but I already knew that we hadn't brought enough with us. South Africa can't be that cold, I had told myself when I was packing for the trip. WRONG, South African winters are very cold. The middle of the day it warms up quite nicely to around 65 - 70 degrees, but the evenings and early mornings are very, very cold.
I was shocked to see the amount of security around the houses, high brick walls topped with electric fences and rolled razor (barbed) wire (like you see around prison's). Homes here have either tall heavy metal electric entrance gates, or are within a manned, armed, gated sub-division. The crime rate here is very high, so everything has to be locked, alarmed, and guarded. All the homes have heavy metal bars on all the windows and doors. Security is a big business here. The homes themselves were lovely, with either barrel tiled or thatched roofs, and the style is quite Mediterranean. The Tuscan style house is very popular here, and if is wasn't for all the security everywhere it would be quite lovely.
Ruth's house was really beautiful, once through the electric gate you find yourself in a beautifully manicured large front yard with palms and lovely flowering borders, hundreds of magnificent colorful birds fight for supremacy over the many bird tables and feeders throughout the garden, I couldn't wait to get my camera out and start taking photographs.
The house itself is beautiful, light and sunny and tiled throughout, with only the bedrooms carpeted (and wonderful underfloor heating), most of the house has an open plan design with a large interior courtyard that's accessed off a large room housing the indoor swimming pool and jaccuzzi, the courtyard has a built in barbeque and bar area and sunny open space for sunbathing. A little path leads to a cottage, a spill over for extra guests. The bedrooms are housed in a separate wing of the house that's accessed through a heavy iron gate which is closed and locked at night.
The amount of security around and within this house should make one feel quite safe, I think it's better protected than most banks, but one has to wonder how safe you are when you leave the house. From everything Ruth tells me Johannesburg sounds like a dangerous place, which is such a shame because it's really quite beautiful...
I now have yet another airline to add to my growing list of "WHO NOT TO FLY WITH", Iberia Airlines. Our flight to South Africa with them, well what can I say, not the best experience! This is remember only my opinion, to which I'm entitled, but to say I wasn't impressed is probably the understatement of the year.
Following a very long, and uncomfortable overnight flight, we were met at Johannesburg airport by my sister-in-law Ruth, where we proceeded to tour the airport looking for the Iberia Airlines customer service office, as we had a few issues we wanted to take up with them. Luckily for them, their office was closed until the following Thursday... This did not please Bob, but there was nothing else we could do, and I was very grateful that at least our luggage had all arrived unscathed.
The drive to Ruth's house was only 40 minutes, which gave us both a chance to take in all the sights. The weather was sunny but quite cold. July is their winter, and Ruth had warned us to bring warm clothes, but I already knew that we hadn't brought enough with us. South Africa can't be that cold, I had told myself when I was packing for the trip. WRONG, South African winters are very cold. The middle of the day it warms up quite nicely to around 65 - 70 degrees, but the evenings and early mornings are very, very cold.
I was shocked to see the amount of security around the houses, high brick walls topped with electric fences and rolled razor (barbed) wire (like you see around prison's). Homes here have either tall heavy metal electric entrance gates, or are within a manned, armed, gated sub-division. The crime rate here is very high, so everything has to be locked, alarmed, and guarded. All the homes have heavy metal bars on all the windows and doors. Security is a big business here. The homes themselves were lovely, with either barrel tiled or thatched roofs, and the style is quite Mediterranean. The Tuscan style house is very popular here, and if is wasn't for all the security everywhere it would be quite lovely.
Ruth's house was really beautiful, once through the electric gate you find yourself in a beautifully manicured large front yard with palms and lovely flowering borders, hundreds of magnificent colorful birds fight for supremacy over the many bird tables and feeders throughout the garden, I couldn't wait to get my camera out and start taking photographs.
The house itself is beautiful, light and sunny and tiled throughout, with only the bedrooms carpeted (and wonderful underfloor heating), most of the house has an open plan design with a large interior courtyard that's accessed off a large room housing the indoor swimming pool and jaccuzzi, the courtyard has a built in barbeque and bar area and sunny open space for sunbathing. A little path leads to a cottage, a spill over for extra guests. The bedrooms are housed in a separate wing of the house that's accessed through a heavy iron gate which is closed and locked at night.
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| The Interior swimming pool |
Please Do it Better...
So, while back in the good old UK, I discovered something else that the British do better than Americans, “STRIKING” throwing a country into utter chaos, and making sure that the innocent, who have nothing to do with what the strikers are striking for, suffer the most.
This particular planned action was to protest public sector pension reforms. The British Prime Minister said that unless the workers accepted the changes the pension would go broke. However that statement failed miserably in deterring them from their planned action.
American workers I’ve noticed don’t strike when they don’t get what they want, but we Brits seem to do it frequently, disrupting industry, and bringing everything to a standstill.
The industrial action promoted by 4 unions was due to begin at Heathrow airport at 6pm on Wednesday June 29th, the day we were flying out of Heathrow at 6:50pm!!!
Immigration staff warned the public of “severe disruption” at Britain’s borders as they joined the public sector strike.
The action was planned to disrupt thousands of travelers, who have been advised by the unions to change their travel plans to a different day… Hello, these people are not really that stupid, they know all too well that travel plans have to be made weeks, sometime months in advance, hundreds of people trying to change their travel plans at the last minute would lead to utter chaos? In my experience most airlines can’t organize themselves to get out of their own way, let alone cope with all the flight changes the strike would bring about.
So, moving on... we headed up to the airport a few hours early, to get through check in and immigration and wait it out in the private airport lounge. The plan sounded great, we could get through before the strike started and just relax until our flight boarded, sadly the airport staff appeared to have no knowledge of the planned strike, and we were not allowed to check our bags earlier than 2 hours prior to our flight. So there we were with 4 heavy bags to lug around the airport for 4 hours, thank goodness for luggage carts, I had a flashback to the movie "Terminal" with Tom Hanks.
Eventually we checked in, excited that we had made it ahead of the strike action, and headed off to the private lounge, OH boy, I have to tell you Delta and American really could learn a thing or two from Europe about what private lounges are all about. The comfort and luxury of the quiet lounging areas, the well equipped wireless stations, a decent selection of hot and cold food, yes real food, and it's pretty good too, a FREE bar with no limit, quality wines, and great coffee...
It's been a while since I've visited a private lounge in Europe, I forgot how great they are, I've become quite complacent about the, one token for a drink, and sad dry biscuits one gets in American private airport lounges, not to mention the sour faced receptionists one often meets on the welcome desks. I know this sounds bitter, but really it's based on my experiences, if European airlines can do it this well, then so can American...
There you have it, I simply say it as I see it, but then that's just me :o)
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