Preparing for an Adventure of a Lifetime

Hello everyone.

This week has been generally quieter, and we have finished a few small jobs around the house and garden - nothing too big, just things that needed attention. We still found time to go out for coffee on a couple of days. 

Most of this week has been spent planning, buying, and preparing for our holiday. However, by Friday, I had itchy feet to get out and about, and we visited Coughton Court in Alcester.

The forecast was for rain, but we went anyway. This time, the forecast was correct, and as we arrived, there was a very heavy shower. We sat in the car and waited for it to pass over. When we were able, we made straight for the house to stay dry.

Coughton Court is a large country house dating from the Tudor period. The gatehouse dates back to the mid-1530s and is the oldest part of the building. I really liked the turrets and windows and was pleased to be able to climb the winding staircase to view the surroundings from the rooftop.

The Coughton estate dates back to 1409, when the Throckmorton family owned the land and built the property. It remains their family home to this day.

Coughton Court also holds a place in history for two attempted assassination plots. The first plot was to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in 1583, and the second was to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Although the Gunpowder Plot was the more infamous of the two, the Throckmorton family were only indirectly involved when some of the conspirators rode to Coughton after their plan had been thwarted.

During this time, the Throckmorton family was firmly Catholic; however, since the country was mainly Protestant, openly supporting Catholic priests was dangerous. Instead, the family built a a hidden priest hole so that any Catholic priest could hide if an search party arrived unexpectedly. We were able to see this.

The National Trust currently manages the house, but from next year, the current Throckmorton family will take over this role.

By the time we came back outside, the rain had stopped, the sun had come out, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon strolling around the gardens. 

And so to the adventure.

Hubby and I will be off travelling very soon on a holiday we have been planning and looking forward to for a long time. It was impossible until retirement, but now we have the opportunity to enjoy ourselves and make some good memories together. 

We will be visiting Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Vancouver, Canada.

I will be back in November when I will come visiting all my blogging friends and tell you all about our time away. D will still be around to keep an eye on things, and who knows, she may put up a blog post herself.

 

Until then, enjoy the rest of this month and step into Autumn or Spring if you live on the other side of the globe from this small corner.

See you all soon.

B x

Week One

Hello and welcome to you all. Thank you for taking the time to visit here. 

Firstly, a huge thank you to all of you for the good wishes and encouragement we received on my husband's retirement last week. You are all kind and thoughtful people, and we were quite overwhelmed.

And so the reality of retirement has now begun!

I realise that there will be lots of mundane and routine jobs still to do, but we can share them a bit more now. The cleaning, washing and cooking still need to be done, but there will also be lots of projects, travel and other things to enjoy. The best thing is that we can do all this, but at our own pace and in the way that suits us best.

This week we visited Bakewell in the Derbyshire Dales. It has been about two years since our last visit but we enjoyed it just as much as last time. The weather forecast was to expect some rain. However, it remained dry while we were there and we didn't need coats all day. A lesson learned, 'to sometimes just go out anyway.'

We arrived at lunchtime and indulged in Bakewell's famous sweet treats: the Bakewell Tart and the Bakewell Pudding. Three places claim to have the original recipe: 'The Bakewell Tart Shop and Coffee House', 'The Bakewell Pudding Shop' and 'Bloomers of Bakewell'. We went to the 'Bakewell Tart Shop', which sold Bakewell tarts, Including Iced Bakewell tarts, moist Bakewell tarts, and the traditional Bakewell pudding. 

Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Pudding

I think my favourite was the pudding.

According to legend, the Bakewell pudding came about from a happy accident when a nineteenth-century cook at the now-demolished White Horse Inn misinterpreted the requirements for a dessert, and thus created the first pudding. The Bakewell tart was a later creation, featuring a shortcrust pastry base and a filling of jam and frangipane, topped with almonds. There is also a more commercial variation, with icing and a cherry on top, made by a company that claims to make 'exceedingly good cakes'. 

We enjoyed looking in shops in town and a stroll along the River Wye. The ducks, swans and geese were happily enjoying being fed by visitors. One man was hand-feeding a goose! I value my fingertips too much for that type of close encounter.

We also walked up the hill to visit the parish church of All Saints. The current building is about 180 years old, having replaced the original Medieval church. In the church yard, we found these two Saxon cross bases, a reminder of the long history associated with the church. 

Inside, there are some beautiful stained glass windows like this one.

We had a lovely few hours in Bakewell and I would certainly go back again and enjoy more Bakewell pudding, of course.

Back at home, hubby has enjoyed working on a new jigsaw. One of his birthday presents this year was this carry jigsaw puzzle case. It means that we can easily clear the table for meals or other crafting activities. We tried it out and it works perfectly. 

He completed this puzzle in just a few hours. It had 500 pieces, and the scene is Scarborough. He may need to move on to 1000 pieces next time. I managed to fit in a few pieces myself as well.

We have also been trying out various coffee/tea places that also have sweet treats and catching up with friends. The weather has been mostly good, and this first week of retirement has gone well.

I hope your week has gone well wherever you are, you are in good health and that you have enjoyed a little sunshine in your life.

B 

A Fresh Start

Hello friends.

Another week has sped by, but it has been one of changes and new starts in our family. Yesterday (Friday) was my hubby's last day at work before retiring. Now, one chapter of life is closing, and a new, fresh start is dawning for him and for us both. We have many plans and ideas, some of which will work out, while others may not. However, it is the journey and the possibilities we can now enjoy together that matter. 

It is very hard to keep anything secret from my hubby, so planning any surprise to celebrate this special day was always going to be difficult. Somehow, between my son, daughter and me, we managed it. We found a lovely small Italian restaurant called Ruso, not far from where we live and booked a table. Hubby knew nothing about it until about half an hour before our son picked us up. Wonderful! 

We had a lovely evening together and a celebration that was perfect for hubby. 

Back at home, I have been working on reviving and giving a fresh start to my house plants. Many of you know that I love my outdoor garden spaces, but somehow my green fingers evade me indoors. I am terrible with house plants. However, I have taken things in hand and revived a few of them, promising to take better care of them in the future. All dead and yellow leaves have been removed, and most have been repotted and watered. The Christmas cactus has already grown many new leaves, and the spider plants are much happier. The Sansevieria is also happier in its new home. I can't remember what the purple-leaved plant is *, but that too has started putting out pretty lilac flowers. The leaves close up like arrows in the evening.

* I think this plant is an Oxalis triangularis 'Mijke' from the information I have now found.

Finally, two orchids that were feeling very sorry for themselves have been repotted and are already perking up. 

How will this first week of retirement go? I have no idea, but that is part of the journey.

I hope you all have a lovely week, whatever the weather and plans may be. 

See you all soon.

B x 

Holidays

Hello everyone. How are you all? It's great to be back after our cruise holiday. 

We had a fantastic holiday and had lots of fun memories of our time away. D and I hope you enjoy some of the highlights of our adventures.

It was an early start for us at Birmingham airport, but also the fastest check-in ever. From being dropped off by hubby at departures to getting to the airport lounge took 15 minutes; baggage drop, security and passport control were a breeze. It is always an anxious time waiting for your luggage to arrive at the destination, so we were glad to see ours had made the journey safely. Long day, early night. Goodnight zzz.

Our first full day was spent at sea, and as D and I are seasoned sea travellers now, we spent the day exploring on board the ship. D had a pampering session booked and came back with pretty nails on her hands and feet.

Later on, we dressed up for dinner, enjoyed cocktails, and headed to the show lounge for a fantastic evening of music, song, and dance from the show team. It was brilliant and we thoroughly enjoyed our relaxed day at sea. 

We were also fortunate to enjoy this wonderful sunset up on deck. What a day!

It was hot, hot, hot when we visited Pisa in Italy the following day. It reached about 39 degrees Celsius on that day. However, with D doing all the planning, we came, we saw, and we conquered. (Veni, vidi, vici, in Latin)

Our first stop was at the tower to take a picture, and although it is possible to climb to the top, it was far too hot on the day we were there. Next, we had a quick zoom around for souvenirs to buy later and then headed for a lovely restaurant just off the main square. We enjoyed a few drinks and sampled the delights of some pizza and ice cream. So good.

The tower leans because the foundations were inadequate when it was built. It had already started to sink and lean into the soft ground while it was being constructed. Early attempts to correct the tilting building failed, but now, with modern technology, engineers have been able to stabilise it and prevent further leaning.

Close to the famous tower also stands the Baptistery of St John, another beautiful building dating from the eleventh century.

And this is Pisa's Cathedral. All three of these buildings were incredible to see in all their splendour. Lots of intricate details, fine marble, and other precious materials were used in their construction. Pisa is well worth a visit, but maybe not on such a hot day.

The next port of call was Genoa, Italy. We decided to stay on board ship on that day. We have been to this city before so here are some pictures from a previous trip.

A view over the city

Palazzo San Giorgio

The Cathedral San Lorenzo

Doge's Palace 

Piazza De Ferrari, its splashing fountain surrounded by grand buildings.

Next was a day in Calvi, Corsica. This was a tender to shore as the ship is unable to lay anchor close enough to shore. It was a short, smooth crossing, and neither D nor I got seasick. Corsica is beautiful, with clear blue skies and sea, sandy beaches and majestic mountain ranges. We enjoyed a coach trip around the island.

It was so hot even the cow needed to paddle its hooves in the water.

When we docked in Toulon, France, we had a couple of hours visiting two seaside villages/towns: Sandury du Mer and Bandol. It was another very hot day, and we escaped to a delightful outdoor restaurant looking out onto the beaches.

Once back on the ship, we also caught a glimpse of the Red Arrows passing overhead for the VJ celebrations. That was an extra surprise treat.

Our final stop off was Barcelona, Spain, a city we have visited several times in the past. It is a vibrant city with plenty of things to enjoy. We found the best way to get around and see the sights in a short amount of time was on the 'Hop on Hop Off' buses. One of the most famous sites to visit is the Sagrada Familia, designed originally by Gaudí and is still under construction! Many years ago, we also visited FC Barcelona's grounds and the museum. None of us are huge football fans, but it was an impressive tour. 

And so it was time to pack up cases and make for the airport to return home: a wonderful summer holiday and lots of good memories. 

The final holiday sunset from the plane windows.

Then it was back to reality.

This last week has also been a busy one, as it has been August birthday week for my hubby and both my children—lots of celebrations and cake. There is also a retirement before the end of the month for hubby. Things are a-changin'. With all the whirlwind of celebrations, maybe I need another holiday!

Whatever your plans are for the week, I hope it works out perfectly. Take care.

B x