Holiday

The Last Sunday Musings For September

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

It has felt like a long week, for no good reason. Perhaps because Monday was a Public Holiday for the Queen’s funeral, the days have been out of synch.

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Unusually, everything closed for the day on Monday. No shops opened, not even for reduced hours. So my usual supermarket shop had to be put off until Tuesday. That made Tuesday feel like Monday, and every day after that just felt in the wrong place. By Thursday, we were both convinced it was Friday, and I was wondering why the TV was showing programmes on the wrong day.

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For Ollie of course, nothing changed. As long as he got his routine in the right order, and his walks at the right time, he didn’t notice any changes. On Friday, I had to drive to the Vet to get his repeat prescription. I had added an extra, a steroid cream that helps heal a sore spot on his chest. It worked exceptionally well in July, but soon ran out. I wanted to have some more just in case, so asked for another tube. That increased the bill to a mammoth £91. I had to remind myself once again that he is always completely worth the expense.

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After the relentless 10-day TV coverage of all things Royal, the normal news returned and I finally found out what had been happening in places other than Balmoral, Windsor castle, Westminster Abbey, and in countries outside Britain. Naturally, Monday was written off, with 24-hour coverage of the funeral on all main TV channels. Once they got back to normal on Tuesday, all the schedules had to be ‘bumped up’ by one day.

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Out on the dog-walks, we caught up with some friends (and their dogs) we had missed for the week we were away in Lincolnshire. It was back to greeting familiar dogs for Ollie, and marking his territory with an intensity that had to be seen.

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a peaceful and happy Sunday.

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Sunday Musings After A Holiday

~ beetleypete ~ 64 Comments

It has felt like a long week since we got back. The intense coverage of the aftermath of the Queen’s death has worn me out, with the increasingly monotonous 24/7 repeats of film tributes about her life. Not being a Royalist, I can only hope all this will come to an end after Monday’s funeral.
Somehow, I suspect it will not.

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The old saying, “I need a holiday to get over my holiday” rings true. Despite a very enjoyable time, it doesn’t really feel as if we are refreshed and relaxed. The few days since we got back have seen us both quite tired, and not really in the mood to get on with anything. As for Ollie, he is still sleeping more than ever, and reluctant to rise from his bed in the mornings.

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There have been a couple of wet dog walks, as the exceptionally dry summer has been replaced by the arrival of a definite autumn. It has felt cold too. Dropping from record temperatures well above 30c to a daytime best of just 14C has been something of a shock. At least we no longer have to have a fan running to get to sleep at night.

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I have put the last of the holiday photos up on the blog, and started to write the remaining photo-prompt stories from photos received in 2020. By the end of the month, I should be ready to start the next fiction serial.

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Just to remind us that Covid-19 is still very much an issue, I received an invitation to book my annual booster innoculation. The first slot available was at the end of November.

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you have a peaceful and enjoyable Sunday.

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Holiday Snaps (2)

~ beetleypete ~ 49 Comments

The anniversary meal.

On the night of our wedding anniversary, we had booked a table at the Ice Bar, a restaurant across the street from the hotel where we were staying in a cabin in the gardens.

For our starter we both ordered the same thing, garlic mushrooms. They arrived nicely presented in a large ‘Martini’ bowl, so we thought an anniversary photo was appropriate.

It was interesting for me to see how much I had aged since the wedding day 13 years earlier. My eye-bags are now so large, I could use them as extra luggage! 🙂

(The mushrooms were delicious!)

Holiday Snaps (1)

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

Because we have been to the same place many times in the past few years, I didn’t take many photos last week. I only took one camera, the Fuji X-30 that I bought some years ago. I will be featuring some of the photos I took over the next few days.

(All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Ollie was in the cabin, and not happy about having his photo taken. So Julie streched out on a sofa and gave him a stroke to keep him still. This means the photo is not very sharp, and her hand is blurred.

The cabin we stayed in is in the garden of the only large hotel in the town. The beach and seafront are just the other side of the road. The beaches stretch for miles, and were mostly deserted. I spotted a couple walking their small dog, and took this to show the scale.

This man was well-prepared for sea-fishing from his chosen spot on the beach. He was the only fisherman there that day. The first photo shows him isolated on the beach, and the second is zoomed in for a closer look. He had to move soon after they were taken as the tide was coming in fast.

More to come from Lincolnshire tomorrow.

Back To Reality Musings

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

We returned from our holiday on Monday afternoon, and had things to do yesterday. So I have not been online from the 4th, until this morning.
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We were lucky with the weather, despite some overnight rain and an occasional heavy shower during the day, we managed to avoid getting wet and stayed in pleasant sunshine. Like most people do on holiday, I had too much to eat, and a lot more wine than I would have at home. Ollie had a wonderful time meeting new dogs, (including two Sharpeis) but he came home exhausted by the extra exercise of long walks along the seafront. He has been sleeping all the time since Monday, save for his walks across Beetley Meadows.

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It felt strange for me to not be blogging of course, but I am back today, starting from scratch. This means that I have replied to comments on my posts while I was away, but have not managed to tackle the hundreds of posts of bloggers I follow. By the weekend, I should be back to my normal routine.

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Thanks to everyone who read my older posts while I was gone. It was encouraging to discover I had regular views every day, even when not posting anything.

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Quite a lot happened while we were on holiday, including the death of the Queen, and Ukraine retaking ground in the ongoing war against Russia. But I watched little or no TV, as I had a porch to sit on, and watched the world go by outside instead. I make no comment about the death of Elizabeth II, and the media circus that has accompanied her passing. Everyone who reads this blog will know I am not a royalist, and have no interest in anything to do with the British royal family.

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After an enjoyable time breathing sea air, and travelling around a different part of England, I am actually looking forward to re-establishing my routine with Ollie. Julie has today off work, so it will be spent quietly, with a necessary supermarket shop and some catching up on domestic things.

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I hope you have all had an enjoyable week while we have been away, and I will catch up with all of your blogs soon.

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A Long Day

~ beetleypete ~ 56 Comments

Getting ready to go on holiday can be quite tiring. (At my age, anyway)

We were up early. Choosing clothes to take, making lists so we don’t forget things like chargers for phones, and Ollie’s requirements for a week away.

Ironing can be hot work on a 25C day, and we both did a lot of that.

Ollie had to be walked, and some bags were packed ready for Monday. One thing about taking the car on a holiday in England, you take too much stuff. Lots of weather considerations apply.

Will it rain? Do I need a coat for the evenings? I should take some shoes for wet weather, just in case. Before you know it, you have enough for three weeks, let alone one.

The whittling-down begins.

Three pairs of shoes should be enough, though I should chuck the wellies and umbrella in the car, in case of inclement weather. At least one ‘smart’ set of clothes is necessary, as we will be eating out for our wedding anniversary on the tenth. And how many toys should we take for Ollie? Two should be enough, but three will nail it.

Adding a couple of fleeces for sitting on the verandah after dark, and making sure I have enough boxer shorts for seven days, plus extras. And very soon, it is all coming together.

Bt 1pm, it feels more like 7pm, and we are both yawning. Then Ollie gets his chicken dinner, and he starts yawning too. Julie has a hair appointment for 5pm, to get a much needed holiday trim. I have already dealt with what hair I have left by clippering it off yesterday.

Oh, the toiletries? They have to wait until Monday morning, as we have to use them all before we leave on Monday.

It is now 6:30pm, and feels like midnight. Time to get dinner ready.

The Last Sunday Musings In August

~ beetleypete ~ 39 Comments

Feeling quite positive this week, so no moans for a change.

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After another burst of ‘big heat’, heavy storms broke the humidity and made life more pleasant, especially for Ollie.

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Despite not starting a new fiction serial on my blog, I have been enjoying finding old photos online and compiling them into nostalgia posts on my blog. And they seem to be popular with readers too.

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Ollie got his bath and claw trim, and feels sleek for the first time in a long while. The groomer said his skin was in good condition, so that made me happy.

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Next week, we will begin preparing for our holiday on Monday week. Sorting out clothes, making lists of things we must not forget to take in the car, and charging up electronic devices like cameras, tablet, and phones. Julie was tempted to look at the long-range weather forecast for where we are going, and it currently predicts one day of rain on the Tuesday. One out of seven won’t be that bad, if they got it right of course.

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Tomorrow is a public holiday in England, August Bank Holiday Monday. But it will just be ‘Monday’ for us, as going anywhere near the coast or to places open to the public will be sure to be jam-packed with visitors. As the shops are open until 4pm, I will probably do my usual supermarket ‘big shop’ for the week. Not very exciting, but then I have a holiday to anticipate!

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you have a peaceful Sunday.

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HAPPY EASTER!

~ beetleypete ~ 63 Comments

I would like to wish all my blogging friends a very Happy Easter. I hope you all have a peaceful time.

Although I am not religious, I respect those who are, and appreciate the spiritual comfort they get from their faith.

However you are celebrating the season, be safe and well.

An Unexpected Unfortunate Event

~ beetleypete ~ 81 Comments

On Sunday, I posted some musings, and I mentioned that we expected our first seasonal visitors, one of my stepsons and his girlfriend.

They were late arriving, something always of concern when a long drive is involved. Due to be here by 11am, it got to midday, and then the phone rang.

After turning off the main A47 road just four miles from our house, the car had been involved in an accident. It was undrivable, and three cars had been involved. Fortunately, nobody had been injured.

A recovery truck had been called, and I was able to go to where they were to collect them once the truck arrived to take the car away.
(The damage is so severe, it is unlikely to be repaired through the insurance)

But it was much more complicated than that, of course it was. They had only been intending to stay for lunch, drop off presents, collect theirs, and drive home again around 4pm. Now they had no car, public transport was not an option with no direct train route and a Sunday service, so they were stuck in Beetley, both due to go to work this morning.

Phone calls were made in abundance, but nobody could help by giving them a lift home, or lending them a car. I wasn’t about to make a 260-mile round trip in heavy traffic in the dark, and Julie’s bad back would never tolerate such a long car journey.

So they had to stop the night, miss work today, and I drove them back this morning. So, no serial post yesterday or today, and no sign of me around the blog. I am just back from a 6-hour journey, and looking forward to the dinner I am going to cook soon.

Julie’s son now has to try to buy a car tomorrow, using taxis to visit dealerships close to where he lives in Bedfordshire. On top of that, he is a self-employed tradesman, so lost a day’s pay today, and probably tomorrow too.

But there’s more!

They had booked up to spend Christmas in a hotel in the Cotswolds, hoping to make it special. If they don’t get a car tomorrow, they will be unable to travel to that area, as it is too far to go using public transport. On top of that, they will lose the £500 they paid, as it is too short notice to claim a refund.

As I dropped them off just after 1 pm, I was hesitant when wishing them a ‘Merry Christmas’

Ollie’s Holiday: The Porch

~ beetleypete ~ 75 Comments

In our house in Beetley, Ollie cannot see outside. If I open the back door to let him out, he only has the familiar surroundings of our garden to look at. So being able to sit outside for a large part of the day, and most of the evening until bedtime, that’s a real treat for our beloved dog.

Because I spent so much of our holiday sittng happily on that covered porch of our cabin, Ollie was happy to be out there with me. When I got up each morning, I would carry his bed and toys out onto the porch, and leave them there until we closed up to go to bed for the night.

(All photos are full-frame, and can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

At various times, Ollie would take himself off down the ramp and explore the hotel beer garden. I was lucky enough to have the camera handy when he was ‘patrolling the porch’.

We love the fact that we can take Ollie on holiday with us, and that it is just as much a holiday for him as for us.