Friday 16 October 2015

Busy? Busy? What an understatement!



Repacking our gear in an effort to be able to get it all in the car!

Lovely evening with Alex and Rob, Alex had conveniently forgotten to remind Rob that there were 5 cats in this house as he is not a fan! She however is, big time, so happy Alex. Great to catch up, and we were really pleased they could fit us in before they go off climbing in Kalymnos this weekend. 








Little Charley cat hiding in our bag, hoping we won't notice!
Sunday we spent rationalising and compressing our packing which made us feel much better as we now think we might have some chance of fitting it in, sadly though, the big green bag that Charley decided to pack herself into the smallest corner of is the one we are not taking. She did try and convince us that she is a French cat, and would like to see her first home again, and that she is a Norwegian Forest cat and would like to spend some real time in the snow. All we have to do now is convince Judith and Richard to let us borrow her…….!


The bag is full, those two pillows and bed linen are not going to go in as well...
Well, maybe they are! Hope it doesn't spring open on the way!
Monday we went off to the orthopaedic hospital to find out the prognosis on my Achilles tendon, the bad news is there is nothing really to be done, but the good news is that at about 6 months it should turn a corner, which it has done, and that skiing or walking on it will do it no harm. I did try on a ski boot and strode up and down the street, in the rain, outside Mum’s and have to report that it didn’t seem to hurt, so hopefully it will all be ok. 




With Abi and Jackie in Moseley Park
This was followed by going to Abi’s for a cuddle with Sooty who seemed very pleased to see us and lunch out with Abi. She then took us to the park in Moseley which we’ve never been to as it is a private park, it’s not that she has a key but if you go to the travel agent and give them a deposit they will lend you a key. It was lovely to see and to hear Abi reminisce about her Saturdays spent there as a child while Mum was shopping in Moseley.


And this is the photo she wouldn't want me to publish, but if she will make a silly face as I take the photo what does she expect?

Tuesday and we waited for Simon and Diane ( their blog of their travels: http://simonanddianertwadventure.blogspot.co.uk/) to arrive, slightly concerned as we hadn’t actually spent long with them on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam, but we have all read each others blogs and have communicated relatively regularly by email. 
With Simon and Diane at Symonds Yat
Once they had arrived and Diane had changed from her ‘corporate’ clothes she was wearing for the interview she had in London we decided we needn’t have worried, the wine, conversation and time flowed with a vengeance! They had taken a year off, half of which they spent in South America, which is why we wanted to pick their brains as it is definitely on the cards for us. 



Simon, Jackie and Diane on Yat Rock,Symonds Yat
Here's our blog entry of our meeting with them on Cat Ba island in Vietnam: http://brianandjackiecross.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/cat-ba-island-continued.html 

And here's their entry of the same canoe trip at Cat Ba:  http://simonanddianertwadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/day-53-10112014.html
 
On a wire bridge over the River Wye
It was great being able to talk about New Zealand and Oz as we had been to many of the same places, sometimes because they had been reading our blog, and Cambodia and Laos as we had been reading their blog! Sadly for them they now have to go back to work so are looking for jobs. They’ve been back a month and are still travelling round catching up with friends and family while feeling a little adrift as their house is still let out!


As we've all travelled through SE Asia we have seen many groups of young mainly Chinese people posing for photos using these finger signs, so they just had to do it!
The lovely scenery at Symonds Yat
We thought we’d take them to Symonds Yat for a walk as neither of them are familiar with the area which was great, though Brian and Simon between them seemed to take us on a fairly random route! Fortunately Diane made the executive decision that got us heading back in the right direction and all was well! We finally made it to the Inn at Redmarley in the evening, we have been meaning to go in all the nine weeks or so we’ve been here so we were glad not to be disappointed. 



Outside the old Town Gate at Chepstow
Thursday we went to Chepstow for a look round the town before showing them Wintours Leap. Although it was a bright day the weather has really gone chilly so we hadn’t fancied climbing but we did scramble down and up the easy way down. Last night again the wine flowed along with the conversation, so I don’t envy them their drive to Ipswich! We do have a lot in common and really look forward to catching up with them skiing, climbing in Spain or back in their house in Edinburgh.
In the old streets of Chepstow
 
Simon, Diane and Jackie
 
Descending 'Easy Way Down' at Wintours Leap (sorry about the finger in the corner!)
 
Fred bear comes for some morning fuss
 
Even shy Lottie cat came out into the sunshine
 
But she wasn't that keen on being picked up!
 
Oh, and by the way, we finished the 3D jigsaw puzzle of the Taj Mahal with 2 pieces left over. Only trouble is, we don't want to take it apart now! We'll probably leave it until Richard and Judith come home on Wednesday of next week

2 comments:

Monty Dog said...

Glad you found time to fit us it too! I forgot to ask to see the 3D puzzle. See you next Friday x

Unknown said...

Thanks for a great few days - wonderful hosts and fab company. Hopefully any concerns about us have now gone!!!! Look forward to catching up again soon.

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