Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged babies, my daughter is pregnant, my first grandchild, nature, pregnancy, The miracle of life on June 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Our little Peanut nearly has the muscle control to make a fist by now, but look how tiny the hands are!!!! 👶🏻❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ It’s simply breathtaking to realise that a human being can be so incredibly tiny. Oh my gosh. It’s extraordinary, the miracle of nature
Posted in Camino 2017, gratitude, memories of days gone by, tagged blogging about my life, blogging about my travels, Camino 2017, camino connections, Camino de Santiago, Camino de Santiago Porto to Santiago, camino portuguese coastal route, following the way of st james, walking the camino on June 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I had such a wonderful afternoon. Met up with a young woman who I connected with on instagram via her Camino posts and mine, about 2 years ago.
Since then we’ve enjoyed each others posts, both Camino and other life stories. She’s been to Broadstairs a few times but I’m usually away so we never managed to meet up. But finally, my dates at home were conducive for her to visit the area and so we planned to meet today.
It was so gratifying to be able to talk to someone who has also walked the Camino, someone who understands the impact it has on your life, and ‘gets’ more than just the basics.
Although her journey was 6 weeks and mine only 11 days, we found so much in common with our experiences; mentally, emotionally and physical. We spoke solidly for over 3 hours.
We agreed that on the whole, unless you’re sharing Camino experiences with someone who has actually walked a Camino, most people’s eyes glaze over after 10 minutes or so. Which is not a criticism, but rather an acknowledgement that they don’t ‘get’ what you’re talking about.
Her experience of the Camino was vastly different to mine; she was 21 when she walked 6 years ago, and I was 62 when I walked last year. Her distance was 790 kms whereas mine was 240kms. Yet, despite the differences there was so much we could share about packing, what we actually needed by way of clothes vs what we thought we’d need, about injury and how we dealt with them, and how we related to other walkers.
After listening to her experiences it confirmed for me what I suspected….the French route is completely different to the Portuguese route. Not just in geography, but in the set up and the way in which pilgrims connect. There seems to be more opportunity to form deeper relationships.
It was a relief to be able to talk to someone who understood what I meant by the ‘essence’ of the Camino.
Posted in around the UK, gratitude, photography, Travel, tagged daffodils, nature, rapeseed fields, spring flowers, Travel, tulips on May 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The 2 seasons I love the most are spring and autumn. The vibrant colours at each end of the spectrum vibrate with their own special energy.
The colour of Spring is yellow;
Fabulous daffodils
Daffodils in Limpsfield
Gorgeous tulips
Tulips at Titsey Place
And beautiful rapeseed fields
Yellow rapeseed fields in Surrey
What a joy it is to see this fabulous sunshiney colour spread far and wide in wild abandon.
How can you not feel happy when you see these glorious flowers.
Hello spring
Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, gratitude, It's my life, Travel, tagged biggin hill heritage hangar, flight in a spitfire, flying in a spitfire, travel bloggers, travel writing, wordpress, ww2 spitfire on May 2, 2018| 2 Comments »
After a few months of excitement and anticipation, on the 26th April, just a few days after my birthday, I finally experienced a flight in a Spitfire.
just before the victory roll, which was absolutely amazing
My wonderful daughter had booked me on a full-on Spitfire flight for my birthday. What an extraordinary experience.
coming back down to earth…my wonderful daughter
From the time we arrived till we left a few hours later, the on-site staff were welcoming, cheerful, helpful and informative…clearly love what they do.
Don, the pilot, was absolutely terrific and made my flight so special; from the time I climbed on board till I disembarked, totally exhilarated, he ensured that my flight was interesting and informed – talking me through the take off process, pointing out landmarks and executing that ‘freaking amazing’ Victory Roll. We saw so many amazing sights from the air; flying from Biggin Hill across Kent to Folkestone, then along the coast past Dover – a fantastic view of Dover Castle, Deal – another castle, Sandwich, Ramsgate, Broadstairs (I could see our house from the air 🙂 ), Margate and finally Whitstable, where we turned back inland.
The coastline is stunningly beautiful and I thrilled at the views. I could even see Calais in the distance!!!
We flew over Leeds Castle which looks as amazing from the air as on the ground, past Canterbury; the cathedral standing out like a beacon, and as we approached the Medway I could see Rochester Cathedral and Castle in the distance. One thing that did surprise me was how close the River Thames is to the River Medway!!! In the far distance I could distinctly see Canary Wharf and the City of London! amazing.
Don the pilot and me
The whole flight was absolutely thrilling and if there were a 100 star rating, I would give it 100 stars. Don, the pilot, made the flight so special by pointing out landmarks….I felt safe and comfortable throughout the whole flight. I loved the victory roll and wish I had asked if we could do it again!!! LOL I was so trepidatious beforehand but oh my word….it was so much fun.
safe landing
After I reluctantly landed, and came back down to earth again, we were treated to a tour of the hangars – it was absolutely thrilling to see so many of these beautiful craft at close quarters, as well as many others.
hello! we’ve landed
This truly was a unique experience, something I will never forget. The in-flight videos that were provided as part of the package were a fantastic bonus and so far we’ve watched them a number of times LOL It certainly brought back all the thrill of the flight for me. I’ve made a short compilation of photos and videos. Needless to say…I did cry LOL… it was either that or scream from sheer exhilaration.
Posted in around the UK, gratitude, Travel, tagged daffodils, spring flowers, tulips on April 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Who can resist capturing the beauty of these delightful spring flowers
Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, Fun Stuff, gratitude, Historical, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, lifestyle, project 101, Travel, villages of the United Kingdom, walk 1000 miles 2018, walks around the UK, tagged chester, chirbury shropshire, christleton, ely, ely cathedral, exning, fordham, greens windmill, montgomery wales, not just a granny travels, nottingham, oliver cromwells house, project 101, quex park, soham, travel diaries, travel in the UK, travel writing, wicken on April 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I’ve often seen posts where people do a round up of the places they’ve been in any particular month or year, so I thought I’d do a first quarter round up of the places I’ve been since January 1st. I saw in the New Year in front of the telly at home with my daughter and future son-in-law LOL Although I used to love going into London to watch the New Year fireworks live, since they introduced the £10 admittance fee and having to queue for hours before getting in, I’ve decided….no more!
As part of the #walk1000 miles challenge for 2018, I’ve kept note of the km’s/miles covered on my various excursions, via mapmywalk. Some of the walks look like a drunken spider has been let loose! But what fun to look at the maps afterwards and see the places I walked through.
January 2018 – walked 41 miles
London’s New Year fireworks on the telly. Key to the Kingdom; Montgomery, Wales and Chirbury, Shropshire
February 2018 – walked 48 miles
Nottingham
March 2019 – walked 63 miles
Chester
a walk along the Chester Canal to Christleton, a Domesday Book Village
Quex Park and a tour of the towers
Fordham, Wicken, Soham
Ely
Exning; birthplace of St Etheldreda and home of Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni
Ely Cathedral
Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely
And there it is; my first quarter round up of places I’ve been in January, February and March of 2018, and 152 miles from 01/01/18-31/03/2018 – I’m slacking and need to get out more if I want to reach my 1000 mile target. I had thought I’d stretch myself this year and aim for 2018 miles (LOL – yeah right) but most of the jobs I’ve had so far haven’t been conducive to much time for walking. I haven’t kept track of every step I’ve taken, and only count #bootson walks where I specifically set off to ‘have a walk’. My pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury in August/September will add at least 133 miles to the total, but even so…..
I wonder what April, May and June will bring. I know that most of May will be spent at home, what with my daughter’s impending wedding and everything involved with that, as well as which I’ll be flying in a Spitfire from Biggin Hill for my birthday later on this month….watch this space 🙂 I wonder if I can add ‘flying’ to my miles hahaha. I’m also planning a walk from Broadstairs to Folkestone later this month and a trip ‘up noooth’ for 3 days which will add a substantial mileage as I explore the city, however I shall have to motivate myself to get out more inbetween times.
Posted in Fun Stuff, Health, Inspiration, tagged Becoming Vegan, fresh vegetables, how to be a vegan, vegan cook book, veganism on March 27, 2018| 2 Comments »
How pretty is this! 💗💗
I’ve been wanting to make the jump from vegetarian to vegan for quite some time now but due to laziness (food enjoyment) and convenience, as well as the complications of cooking 2 separate meals every day when I’m working, and all the issues many of my clients have just with me being vegetarian never mind vegan, I haven’t quite made the jump, although I have cut out a lot of processed food stuff and focussed on buying organic foods etc. On Tuesday the week before last, after arriving at my next assignment, I got horribly horribly ill during the night and spent virtually the whole of the next day in bed, virtually comotose and incapable of getting up, never mind actually working. Fortunately the situation on the day meant I could just stay in bed, but by the next day it was decided I should leave, which I did. Ironically it was the foil wrapped baked potato I had for lunch at the client that made me ill.
After getting so ill, I just couldn’t bear to eat anything with dairy or anything processed so I went out and bought myself a whole pile of fresh vegetables to make a thick soup.
This gave me the nudge that I needed to reassess my dietary habits. So, inspired by people on instagram with whom I’ve been connected for some time now, as well as the profiles @fieldsoffreedom and @minovalleyfarmsanctuary who’ve really opened my eyes (soul) to the reality of my contribution to the suffering of factory farmed animals and intensive dairy farming, I’ve finally crossed the rubicon. So, the vegan recipe magazine my beloved daughter gave me at Christmas, has now been dusted off ready to be examined,
and a huge pot of vegetable soup, which I absolutely love anyway, simmered on the stove (it smelt delicious). I know the journey is going to have its twists and turns, challenges (walking the Camino) and temptations (afternoon tea – which y’all know I love 🤨🤨🤨), but after all the above, linked to having just watched the documentary, Before the Flood, for me, it’s now become a must rather than a desire. Even if my little contribution goes unnoticed in the wider scheme of things, I want my legacy, even a tiny one, to be something that will make a difference for future generations. So I hereby declare that I am now on the path and starting the journey to becoming 100% vegan. 😀😀😀
I’m not sure where this journey will take me going forward, but I do hope that I can make the conversion easier by reminding myself of the reasons why I want to do this….especially when temptation knocks at my door. Wish me luck.
02/04/2018 Update. I was really heartened to read this article in the Guardian this morning. I guess this means that people can no longer poo poo veganism as a ‘trend’ for weirdos and hippy types. Not that I mind being classified as a weirdo if it means that I no longer subscribe to cruelty to animals (think intensive farming and slaughter houses) and by becoming vegan I can contribute to the reduction in climate change (albeit a very very tiny reduction from just me), and contribute towards the eventual health of the planet. Now if only more people would get on board, imagine the difference we could make; our legacy for future generations. Hope you enjoy the article.
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Its Your Time to Shine
Camino Society Ireland's online magazine
Healthy families grow with love and veggies
SISU: a Finnish concept for special strength and persistant determination-- an almost magical quality to be full of courage, tenacity, resolve, willpower and an indomitable spirit.
Because I am a traveller I can look down on the birds and up at the fishes. I collect moments and can venture back in time to lost worlds. I seize life and simultaneously escape it at will. Because I am a traveller I envy no man at home.
More than just another wiseass
Making sense of my Camino Francés
The student newspaper of Glen a. wilson high school
