Something I forgot to mention.....

For all you Christmas fans out there, whilst in previously said prominent shop in London, I came "stumbled" upon the Christmas section!!! Yes! Believe it or not, they open their Christmas section in the middle of August. So I have bought my first Christmas decoration for the year of 2008!!!!

This week SW and I visited a place called Pendon, near Abingdon. There is a fabulous miniature railway and village setup in the village. We spent a couple of hours chatting and looking at the display. The scale is 4mm in 1 foot - so to say its tiny an understatement.

An Army Air Museum was also on the unwritten agenda. Very interesting. Amongst the various military paraphernalia was a little display that a gentleman called H.E Hervey had done between WW1 and WW2 while living in Australia. The pictures are of seeds, dried ferns and grasses. This would be similar to doing stump work with nature I guess.

Then we headed off the Lymington and got way laid to the Isle of Wight!! Yes!!! Me on ANOTHER ferry - who would of thought??? Still haven't changed my mind about cruising though.

On the way to Lymington we had to pass through the New Forrest and Beaulieu Estate and came across a mother and her baby....sooooo cute! Was almost able to pat the baby donkey, but chose not to so as not to spook it. The horses and donkeys roam free in this area and there are plenty of them (horses that is - we only saw these two donkeys) and they have right of way around the place.

Have found a new calling, job-wise....Wing Walking :) After going to the Bournemouth Airshow and watching the spectacular flying and displays, we were entertained by the girls doing Wing Walking on the biplanes....only thing is that they might need a Hercules for me to do it as I have taking a liking for Tunnocks Tea Cakes.....yummmmmm....might end up the size of a bus by the time we finish our holiday here!!! Saw the last flying Spitfire from WW2 with a Lancaster bomber in a Battle of Britain Flypast, also some helicopters doing a display and a jet zooming around. SW spotted one of the funniest things we have seen while here on holiday. In the photo below you will see a little boat with a red flag on it...the other boats with people on board were watching the Airshow and this little fellow was going boat to boat selling ice-creams!!! We were in stitches!!!

This picture is the view we have from our new house :)) And the second is of the back of our new abode! No honestly!!! We have been staying with some fabulous friends and have been here for several days, that we feel like part of the furniture now.


Sadly tomorrow we must leave Karen and Keith and move on to the next port of call...Hastings.

Another week down the track....

We sadly had to leave our friends in Scotland, Ernie and Flo and had to head off down to Wales. Stayed at an amazing place called Woodlands Hall in Ruthvin. After booking in the hotel manager told us the room was haunted...wooohoo!!! Next morning we awoke to knocking coming from the little wardrobe, but couldn't find anyone in there :( We then headed down to Llwyn-y-groes to see Quilty Gals future son-in-laws family. Had a great time meeting the family. Hubby now has a new nickname after spending time with the family. While sitting there in the afternoon, a baby squirrel was spotted in the drive way. So the Squirrel Whisperer (who will now be known as SW) took himself outside and took a pic. He later was able to stroke said creature and pick it up - have video to prove it!! And believe it or not I can actually say the name of where Quilty Gals daughter is going to live!!! How about that???? hehehehe And yes, I have been to Calico Kates quilt shop in Lampeter - fab!! Then after a day or two it was off to the south of Wales to visit with some friends. Had a great time catching up there. Friends sister is Bat Lady of south Wales :)) Would apply for a job doing that if I lived here. Anyway, had a wonderful time there, then it was time to set off once again so we went Captain Jack hunting in Cardiff. Alas, they were filming Torchwood in the area (saw the site trailers and spoke to the security guard but no Captain Jack :( ) The pic below is of the SW on the spot where the team enter into the underground world of Torchwood. Dr Who was also on the days itinerary - not very exciting, sorry to say. Then once again, we had to head off for our next stop. We arrived at our friends in Eastleigh. This is a picture of Karen receiving her surprise miniature house.Since being here, we have managed to have a bit of a relaxing time. A trip up to London was of course on the cards. The Victoria and Albert Museum was the main item on the list, so not being savvy with how things work in London, we got to the main museum, only to find that what we really wanted was out at Bethnal Green! So back on the bus and out we headed. This is the V&A Museum of Childhood Memories. Well worth the visit. I had wanted to see the 13 dollhouses that are there. One of which is Queen Marys House as pictured below. The houses go back in time some 400 years, which is amazing to see. The silver ship is in the V&A Museum and of course if made of silver and is a few hundred years old. The notice said it was believed to be some sort of liquid pourer. The workmanship is second to none. The picture below is cut paperwork dating back to 1707!!! It is about 14" square and is fabulous. There was just so much to see and photograph that I could fill up this blog with hundreds of pics, but that would just bore you to pieces. The last pic for this post is SW standing in a very prominent store in London next to one of the latest TVs - had to take a photo as it was a very large TV and the price was astronomical £27,000.00!!!!! Well, folks that's about it for now. SW is off at a motor/air show, so I have had a nice time blogging :)) So till later.....

Well here we are a week down the track....

The past few days or so have been quite busy over here. Took a short trip to the Newcastle Quay Markets. This is held just near the Newcastle Bridge (I know it looks a bit like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but we wont get involved with that debate :) )

Have managed to catch up with some friends and relatives in my home town. Met a cousin that I haven't met before and his wife, which was nice. Being trying to sort out a bit of family history too while we were visiting, got some bits and pieces which have been good. Need to go back and chat some more at the end of the trip. Headed off for Bonnie Scotland - there was a piper at the border (don't think he had anything on under the kilt, cos the wind blew up but I looked away!!!) Was freezing at this point - only 11oC in the car!! Along the way we stopped at Edinburgh Castle, too many tourists there....but managed to get a pic of Madonna. Was walking behind her up near the Royal Mile - she is soooo little!! After the castle we headed north towards Falkirk to have a look at the 'wheel', got there too late to see it operate. But was interesting to see the real thing after having viewed it on the net.
Our next stop was Culzean (said Cullaine) Castle. Fabulous day spent viewing the finery and gardens there. Might buy it if I can find a spare couple million dollars when I get home. The thistle was just one of many beautiful flowers in the Walled Garden. Saw my first Robin for the season too, but he flew off before I had time to take his pic.

We then set off to stay with our friends Flo and Ernie in Stranraer. Super Dave made Flo a miniature house - here is the picture of the year. She couldn't believe her eyes as you can see.

We have been all around the Stranraer area while here, up to the Galloway Forrest (more rain) and around the township. Believe it or not folks (for those that know me will not believe it) I have even been over to Ireland on a ferry!!!!! Here is the picture to prove it....even came back First Class...cant say that it has changed my mind about sea travel tho.

Not much stitching is getting done, only a bit of cross stitch now and then. Have decided that I quite like the old Gin and Tonic now (friends over here introduced me to them) so less stitching might get done!! LOL

Nearly dinner time so best sign off for now - don't hold your breath for the next installment, cos I don't know when it will be....

The day finally came....

but before I start my trip posting, I thought I would share this pic with you all, my cat Rose slowly falling asleep sitting up in a 'new' box that she could get into. She was obviously comfortable!!

Anyway onto the trip.... What a long journey it is to the other side of the world!! Other than having our seats changed, my food being eaten by someone else (you would think if you hadn't ordered special food and it arrived with a sticker on, you would know it wasn't for you??? Apparently not!!!) and our security luggage tags missing off the suitcases, it was a fairly uneventful trip! 5 hours in Melbourne Airport is rather boring tho, Super Dave and I decided a nibble of food at Nandos would go down ok, hmmm...wont be eating there again in a hurry.

Super Dave in Melbourne Airport.
Watched a couple of good movies between Melbourne and Dubai - 'The Bucket List' - cried almost all the way thru that one, then watched 'The Other Boleyn Girl', both excellent entertainment. Did a bit of cross stitch on board, even had one of the hosties interested!!! Me in Dubai Airport, our plane (don't you love the view? tis 6.30am and the smog is thick) Super Dave in Dubai Airport. We felt like we had been in airports for a full week by this time. Coming in for landing over the North East of England. Finally got to our destination of Newcastle and was greeted by our family, it was great to see them again. Haven't done too much since being here - got a bit of a dicky neck and head, but it is slowly getting better. Probably not having sleep for 48 hours would make one dicky headed!!!

This little budgie is a newish addition to the family we are staying with. His name is Springer and is hilarious. He is well versed - 'cuppa tea and cheese?', 'ya bugga', 'sing a song', 'are ya coming' are amongst some of the things he says. Keeping us well amused!!

So anyway, will try to keep updates happening. To all my family, friends and bloggers reading this - see you all soon. XX