Assault on Etna.

Our second day was spent in Sicily, the week before we arrived the Etna had erupted, nothing major, just enough to chuck out a load of ash and a few fireworks, but by the time we got there it had gone back to sleep. We took a trip from the ship as Etna was around an hour away from the port. On the way there we saw the locals sweeping up piles of black ash and putting it in black plastic bags, according to our guide the ash is removed by the local council.

Once we got towards the top we hit the snow, the guide told us that Etna is a very active Volcano, but it is also very well monitored so there is time for people to get out of the way if necessary. He also told us that there are in excess of 100 separate craters. We visited a set of craters called the Sylvester Craters, they last erupted in 1990-1992. The landscape was very bare with no plants, it takes around 50 years before the plants are able to start growing again.

Tom and I walked up the crater with the intention of walking around the rim and down the other side. Unfortunately it was bitterly cold and very very windy. So windy that the guide thought it would be too dangerous to walk the rim, so we were only able to go half way around. In the photo above we are standing in front of a 'lava bomb' These huge rocks are thrown out of the live craters during an eruption and can do a huge amount of damage. 

Beth walked down into the crater and took this photo of us up on the rim.

Beth is in the middle of the crater above.

It was a fantastic trip loads of information and a close up of a volcano, if we had been able to stay longer we could have gone closer to the top, I was happy with a great day trip!!

Beth took a fantastic shot a nicely framed picture of the volcano showing the black of the last eruption and some wispy white smoke, framed by the clouds and the land!

Its hard to believe that we have been back nearly a week, Carl has returned from Florida and the kitchen is buried in washing again!!

Pompeii.

The first day we arrived in Naples having sailed along the Italian coast by the great volcano Vesuvius. We arrived in bright sunshine and real live warmth!!! (something I haven't experienced since last year!!)

We took a trip to Pompeii, a place that has always interested me. I was a bit worried as all the guides say that its quite hard going on the walking front, so when we booked we decided that we would go it alone if it became too much, well as it turned out I managed to keep up well and the guide was brilliant. Its a fantastic place to look around.

Vesuvius, from the ship on the way into Naples.

On the way into the main site, its hard to believe that all of this is 2000 years old and still standing!

The guide gave us lots of information about the town of Pompeii, The decorative town square, houses, stables and a brothel all formed part of the tour!

This photo has Vesuvius in the background, all those years ago the people must have had no idea what was going on, Vesuvius had not erupted in living history so when it went they had little clue what was coming. For two days the eruption buried the town to a depth of 12 to 14 feet in volcanic ash. On the third day the volcano really blew and the town above the ash line was vapourised by the pyroclastic flow. The town remained buried until 1748  when it was discovered again by a Spanish engineer. The site is huge and is still not fully excavated. 

Pompeii is most famous for the casts of the bodies of the inhabitants who lost their lives, it is strange looking at these relics it makes the ruins so real.

Outside we took a walk around the local market stalls and had a fresh lemon juice slush!

We also tasted some local Limoncello, which was lovely, after doing a lot of local market research, we bought a bottle of cream limoncello, its lush!!!

It was a very nice first day on our cruise and I am so glad that I made the effort to walk around and see everything in the ancient town. 

Our Cruise has been and gone.......

We have just returned from a lovely trip on the brand new MSC Preziosa, a ship so huge its hard to describe just how big it is. The picture above was taken on the day that we arrived in Genoa and were boarding the ship. The ship was about to embark on its second cruise, I decided not to book the maiden cruise, just in case!!!

We flew from Gatwick to Nice in France. We did make a bit of an error because we had a flight at 7am on Easter Sunday morning, we had to be at the airport two hours before that and we had not realised that the clocks went forward that night, so we were very short on sleep!! We stayed at a Premier Inn and the next morning drove to the long stay airport at the South Terminal (the long stay at the North Terminal where we were flying from didn't open until the 1st of April) Once we were there we had to get a shuttle bus to the terminal and then a shuttle train to the correct terminal, we thought we had allowed enough time, but in the end we hadn't and it was a huge rush resulting in us going without anything to eat!!

We flew with British Airways, which was a first for all of us, they were just older versions of Easy Jets newer planes, although the leg room was very good!

On arrival in Nice we were directed to our third shuttle vehicle of the day for a two hour drive to Genoa to meet the ship. We were on board by two in the afternoon and settling into our cabin.

Once we had unpacked we went up on deck to try and find our way around, it wasn't very easy, previously I had been able to sort the front from the back, but this beast was  different, we had to learn where things were in an effort to get to the front or the back!! So by the end of the week we had established that our cabin was towards the front along with the theatre and that the restaurant and buffet were at the back along with the lounge with the entertainment in the evening.

The ship is 330 yards long, which is long ! I felt like I was walking to Panshanger shops every time we wanted to have a meal!! I expect the exercise helped in the long run because for the first time ever I came back from holiday having lost 1/2 lb!!!

The view from the top deck was fantastic, I felt like I was standing on the top of a block of flats!! The photo above is of the town of Genoa.

There were a load of different swimming pools, including a covered one and this infinity pool on the top deck, the was a water park and the longest water slide on a ship!! Beth and I braved the jacuzzi which was on deck on a day where it was blowing a gale and raining, we were on our own!!!

The holiday was dominated by Volcano's, Vesuvius and Etna, more about them in the next post!!!

Getting ready for Easter

Who would have thought it was nearly Easter, we still have a good covering of snow and not much prospect of any warmer weather anytime soon. On the plus side it is the start of a lovely long weekend, I just hope the weather starts to improve. This time last year we were about to visit the beautiful tulip fields just outside Amsterdam, a really lovely trip this year I will have to settle for a beautiful vase of tulips, they are lovely flowers!!

I spent a very happy evening making some Easter Cards, quite often coming home from work I don't feel like doing anything, so it was great to get out all my gluing and sticking and making some cards, once you get set up its as easy to make ten as it is to make one. I forget just how relaxing it is and I am quite pleased with these which should be with family and friends by now!!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter Break. 

White Out!!!!!

Who would have thought that waking up in the third week in March that you would be greeted by a good covering of snow. All the poor flowers are weighed down with the white stuff.

Its getting beyond a joke, snow is nice for Christmas but any other time it is not welcome.

Mum has had a bit of a mixed week, she has finally got her 'boots' . They are medical books built at the hospital, they are huge clumpy things which are surprisingly light. The idea is that they straighten her feet which will enable her to walk properly. At the moment she walks with her feet at right angles to where they should actually be which must be very uncomfortable plus it makes it very likely that she will trip over. So these boots have a huge job to do.

Today was the first day that I have seen her in action, she seems to spend most of her time sitting in her armchair and not doing anything. She took around six steps and then headed back to her chair. I hope they do the trick, but I suspect that might be a tough job for them to achieve!!!

We have told her that if she makes an effort to get herself mobile we will look at seeing if we can take them on a cruise, but she would need to be steady enough to let us do that. Earlier this week she misjudged the  distance to the bed and ended up on the floor at 3am. Dad had to call an ambulance to check her out and get her back up, the crew were very good and got her back into bed, she really must pay attention to what she is doing she can't afford to have a bad fall again. 

14 Years ago......

My little sister Val, passed away. I can not believe that it has been that long, most of the time it seems like yesterday they rest of the time it seems like forever ago. 

So much has changed since she left us. Beth was only a two year old baby, so doesn't really remember her. Now Val's daughter Emily is a mother herself with a two year old son. Val would have been a Nanny, something that I am certain she would have absolutely loved!! 

I have been looking back on some of the old photos taken when we were children living in Bedmond. It was the time when children wore matching clothes,in the top photo we were both wearing mushroom and brown coloured crimplene suits, I can remember them so clearly. three quarter length sleeves and pleated skirts!!

The photo directly above was taken in Ireland when we visited Dad's Aunty Ivy. I remember the room being so dark and she didn't want to switch lights on as it was the middle of the day! On my right wrist you can see a white bracelet, it was my favourite bracelet in the whole world. It never left her house with me, the clip that kept it together dropped out and we simply couldn't find it in the darkness, I was so upset to have lost it!!!

In this photo Val and I were in the front garden of our house in Henderson Place in Bedmond. We were in our new summer uniform all ready for the first day at school. I remember the lilac tree behind us, it smelt glorious when the sun was on it on a fine day. I have tried to recreate that by planting my own lilac tree in my own front garden, it smells lovely as well.

This was taken in the back garden in Bedmond, the thing I remember most about this photo was obviously us posing in our Brownie Uniforms.  (I was an elf and Val was a pixie!!) But for me it was shoes, they were red Clarke's sandals, I hated them, I thought them very old fashioned and  was far too old for them (in my head at least!!)

This was also taken in the back garden in Bedmond. (note the matching dresses which were bright yellow and attracted all the flies and bugs!!) I loved this swing set, I remember spending half of my life hanging upside down from the cross piece at the side !! I remember sitting on the seesaw on the right and going so high that the poles crashed off of the top of the frame. Happy days. 

Finally in this one we were at Butlins. We used to go every year and it was such a highlight to be going somewhere with free fair rides and bunk beds!!

Its funny the things you remember from years gone by!!!

Thinking of you Val.

xxxx

A Nice Surprise.

When the post arrived today I had a bit of a surprise!! What with all the interest this week in the new Pope and the Catholic Church it was a surprise to receive an invitation to attend Mass to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary (which is in June).

So we have been invited to Westminster Cathedral in May to attend Mass followed by a reception hosted by The Archbishop of Westminster The Most Reverend Vincent Nicols!!! We can't take anyone with us, so it'll be a day out for Tom and I. 

We have a few things on over the weekend, including a quiz night and a bit of cruise clothes shopping with Beth. I hope the rain stops before I hit the town !!

Have a lovely weekend.

Crocheting..

I have been busy with my crocheting, my blanket making is taking over my life. I am still a fair few squares off of finishing the black,white and grey one for Beth. I was inspired to get cracking again on Sunday evening while watching call the midwife. (which I love!!) It was quite a sad program, the last in the series. 

Part of the story line was about making knitted squares for a blanket, all through the program they knitted away making square after square. At the end they were all sewn together when magically the squares turned into crocheted squares!! It didn't ruin the show for me, but it did make me smile!!!!

I decided to do a square from the purples that Laura has requested for her blanket, just for a change.

In the flesh the pale purple looks more purple and less grey as it appears in the photo. Its nice to do something a bit different colour wise. Once these blankets are out of the way I will start learning some new techniques from my recently received books!!!

I was lucky to receive some lovely gifts and cards for Mothers day. 

I am strangely drawn to orange flowers of all sorts, these Gerberas are lovely!!

I can't wait until all the flowers in my pink basket come out. Laura bought me some Belgium chocolates I shared them and had a couple myself!!!!

We have returned to the depths of the winter with the temperature down to -4 tonight and there has been a fair amount of snow although we only have a flurry or two, Brrrr wrap up warm its cold out there. 

What is going on???

Its nearly mid March and today we have had snow and more is forecast for tonight, its supposed to be spring!! I have daffodils and crocus out in the garden and its Easter in around three weeks, the weather needs to get its act together and start to warm itself up!!

I have had a nice weekend, It was Bobbies Birthday yesterday so I went to collect Beth after the party and ended up staying for tea. Today It was Dads Birthday and Mothers Day, so we went visiting and all the children came to see me!!

I had a bit of time though to make some cards out of the scraps that had been left over from scrapping last summers holiday. They are all simple but I like them!! The first one is already on its way to a friend!!

I love pre-printed sentiments, I bought these from Alexandra Palace the last time I visited back in the Autumn.

I took some photos of all the pub signs when we were on holiday in Ireland last year. I decided the only way to scrap them was to crop them a bit, that was when the troubles started, I just couldn't get them to fit on two pages and there were too many for one page, in the end I spent ages fiddling around and in the end I did just one page!!!! Grrrrrr.

Ready for another new week. Hope everyone has a good week.

We Did It!!!!!

We have had a very busy week one way and another. My friend Sue has had an op and is now home again and when I heard from her, sore but making good progress. So get well soon Mrs Fuggle xxxx.

When I started to lose weight I made a list of things I wouldn't mind having a go at, on that list was scuba diving, so I was thrilled when Emma and Dan offered to take Beth and I for a taster session at the local pool.

We met at the pool on a very wet and cold Wednesday night. Dan had bought along all the equipment so we had a lesson before we got into the water.

Dan explained how the kit worked and all the safety features.I had not realised that it was so involved! But Dan was thorough and talked us through everything.

Then it was into the pool for a go.

We both wore t shirts over our costumes so that the harnesses we were going to be wearing would not hurt us. The cylinders were very heavy, although not as noticeable once I was in the water. 

Dan started by getting us to breath through the equipment and then once we had managed that we put out heads under water and took three breaths to see if we could cope with it.

After getting my flippers on (called fins by the professionals!!) Dan helped me with the cylinder and the carrier. 

Then I put on my mask and made sure it was a nice snug fit.

Then it was time to breathe under water!! We were both able to do that without any incident. I didn't find it a problem although we had been warned it might feel claustrophobic, we were fine.

After that we were off!!!!

To start with I tried to swim using my arms, when I should have been relying on the super power of my flippers, which actually work much better than trying to use your arms. 

We had been taught signals so that we could communicate with each other, Beth is signalling OK!!!

I hadn't realised that once under the water its a balancing act, between having some air in your suit and having weights in your pockets to keep you somewhere in the middle.

So for the first attempt, I was very pleased with myself and I really enjoyed it. I think I may well have another go and if that goes well, I might join the club!! The only thing I am not too keen on is diving in open water. The swimming pool feels safe and I don't fancy mixing it in yucky water!!!

I have a fair few other things on my to do list, I hope to be able to make a dent on them this year.

My thanks go to Emma and Dan for teaching us and taking the photos and videos.

A good weekend.

This weekend we have been living it up!!

On Friday night Tom and I went out with our friends Sue and John. We went to The Chieftain and had dinner and a few drinks. Because of their buy one get one free menu we had a great evening for the grand total of £16 per couple!! 

On Saturday night we went over to see Madeline, John, Tom and Grace. Its been ages since I have seen little Tom and it was good to see him again. Madeline and I had a bottle of port between us and even had to break into the emergency supply!! 

We had a Chinese and some lovely puddings.

Then we finished off with a game of Balderdash, we know how to live alright!!! It was a fab night. We have decided that we need to meet up with friends more often because when we do the years melt away and it feels like yesterday that we last got together!

At Madeline's we watched some fantastic old videos, John filmed us in 1992 when we were at Centre Parcs. It was so odd looking back and seeing ourselves and Laura as a 7 year old and Carl as a two year old. They were hilarious, I hope that John might be able to download them onto discs so we can watch them at home!!!

I have been asked what my 'Birthday' mirror looks like so I have finally got around to taking a photo;-

I am really pleased with it, it sits on my bedside table and is perfect.

I really love the place where we bought it, they have loads of 'stuff' some that you don't know you need!! 

Take a look at Fleetville Emporium, You won't be disappointed!!

So already its Sunday evening and I will have to pack my craft bits up and tidy away all the stuff until next weekend. Why do weekends go so fast??