Cats and dogs, but no rain

After such a lovely start to the week weather-wise it was a whole lot cooler today. I had to go out late in the morning and would have like tot have had my jacket on. The wind is still rather chilly. I chose to walk around the back way to my destination and was very pleased to see Mrs or was it Mr Great Crested Grebe with two babies. They had been sitting for such a long time I was beginning to wonder if their eggs wre viable. As I watched one of the babies paddles over to a parent and climbed up on its back. Nothing like hitching a ride when you are tired.

One of my granddaughters was on Facebook this morning and  wrote about how their cat and dog were feeling the cold.Well it is winter over there on the other side of the world. She described how the cat wanted to climb onto her computer keyboard.

It so reminded me of a cat I had many years ago. A very special one called after the cat in the story ‘The Incredible Journey’ and he was like his namesake  seal-point. Even though he had a name to em he was baby.

He joined out household as a very tiny, and probably too young to leave his mother , kitten. I think t was that that made him so amenable. The mate we bought for him later was a good 12 weeks old and was such a snooty critter.

Anyway, baby, joined our doberman/ lab cross puppy  and they were such fun to watch play. Puppy would chase kitten across the lounge. Kitten easily escaped up onto to lounge chair feeling much more superior. They were cute as youngsters and would sleep together.

Later though as a grown cat, baby became the dominant one. I remember watching him walk into the lounge where our now adult dog was asleep in the sun. baby gently began washing the top of the dogs head, working his way over to her ear, when he suddenly sank his teeth into the delicate flesh. Ever after that if dog was  basking in the sun from the lounge window and cat came into the room dog would get up and go and lay down somewhere else.

Trains and movies

Yesterday I cheated a bit and used a story that I had written a while ago instead of some new writing. My son sent me via drop box some very funny TV clips that we started to watch after tea. Before I knew it, it was 2200 and that is our usual bedtime. The Man did the dishes while I found the story to post.

It was wonderful living next door to a movie theatre and we got to see films that we might otherwise not. I became a fan of the dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Musical were a real treat, Oklahoma, West Side Story, that only a few years ago I discovered was a new twist on the Romeo and Juliet story.

There were war films too. Guns of Navarone, Bridge over The River Quai, 633 Squadron, Sink the Bismarck, and many more. I think there must have been kids movies in there too though I don’t recall more than a handful. National Velvet with a very young Liz Taylor. And The Wizard of OZ. which I though that was a very scary movie.

The Man Remembers going to see Hitchcock’s The Birds and being freaked out by it. Not good when the walk home was probably along a crowded seagull beach and during the day, the starlings would have been gathering in huge numbers. Scary for a kid.

 There was a problem getting in to work today. Usually we catch the 0658 from Crystal Palace. This morning we get to the station and...Hello... the platform announcement said. That our train had been cancelled due to overrunning engineering works. That's a first. We've lived out here for 15 months and never had a problem getting in before. So what’s the alternative? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Along came the 0714 to London Bridge. And we got a seat too. From there we went our separate ways, me to Canary Wharf via the underground Jubilee line and The Man to the Northern to get him a few stops nearer to his work.

I tell you we are delighted with the public transport system here in London. People gripe and grumble about it, but in reality it works.

THE WISH LIST

When you were a kid, did you ever have a wish list? I did.

I wished we could move house.

I wished we could live in a two storey house.

And, I wished we could live in a shop.

Then, when I was about nine or ten Mum and Dad started to look at working for themselves in some sort of shop. One that I especially liked was a dairy in Wellington’s Newtown, it was almost next to the Zoo. I imagined myself listening to the nightly roar of lions and exotic animals while I was tucked up safe and warm in my bed.  We moved instead to a large cafe type shop, it was a big tearooms right next door to a picture theatre and immediately across the road from another. That was better than living next door to the Zoo any day.

We’d moved house, wish number one, lived upstairs, wish number two and best of all Lived in a shop, wish number three. I was in heaven.

Up the stairs to and turn right, into my bedroom and  my sister's Turn left at the top of the stairs, and there, past the bathroom, was the lounge, and through that was Mum and Dad’s bedroom. “You mustn’t make too much noise up there,  especially in the evening, or you’ll disturb the people watching the pictures.”  All our windows opened right out onto the red roofs of the other shops in the block.  My sister's big black cat was especially fond of coming in through the open bathroom window and everyday Mum would have to clean his red footprints out of the bath. That was until one night there was a splash and a howl from a very soggy moggy who fled back out the window, someone had forgotten to pull out the plug. Those red footprints never went through the bath again.

Before we moved, going to the ‘flicks’ was a night out, now it was something we could do almost whenever we wanted. Imagine going to the two o’clock kids matinee and the eight o’clock show all in one day.  I followed all the serials, booing at the villain and cheering when the hero won, well we always knew he would.

By day store was a tearooms. I thought it was enormous. There were lots of four seater tables with plenty of space between them, not squashed up together like today’s tearooms. You could buy sandwiches and cooked meals, cakes and pies. Mum made the pikelets and scones and Dad made early morning trips to the bakery for the cakes and pies. Dad had to get up very early every mornings to stoke up the huge coal fired oven that took up almost one wall in the big kitchen. I think it heated our hot water too. The oven stayed hot enough all night for  ‘firing’ the clay models that we made at school.

By night it served ice-creams and refreshments to the picture goers, who came in through the large double doors that opened directly into the foyer of the picture theatre. Along the wall opposite the double doors was a counter that ran the length of the shop, it housed the freezers and soda fountains, bottles of soft drink and the bags of sweets. At the very beginning of the counter near the door Dad built a low glass fronted display case. There, all arranged invitingly for small people to make their carefully considered selection were liquorice straps and jaffas, fizzy lollies and sherbet, snifters and aniseed balls. Across the end wall was another counter. This was the daytime business part of the shop. Here coffee wafted its inviting smell, and pretty cakes and sandwiches enticed from a glass fronted cabinet.  Shiny teapots and hot water jugs nestled side by side waiting to be filled with “Tea for two, please”

Weekends were clean up times, we helped to stack the chairs up on the tables so that Dad could wash and polish the floor.  Swinging the electric polisher from side to side looked easy, but I never had the strength to control it. No matter how many times I tried it would always lead me astray.  I was much better at filling the salt and pepper pots, even if it did make me sneeze.

Alast word about The Isle of Wight ,and some pictures...

Well here we are home again. What an easy weekend away that was. I think the hardest thing about it was which tour to book.

A package holiday is certainly the way to go. OK so it means sticking to the itinerary, but it definitely was hassle free and we certainly had good value for our money. Roll on the next one.

And has Forrest Gump would say that’s all I have to say about that.

Now here’s our pictures as promised of the Isle of wight

One last day on The isle of Wight

It seems summer has decided to linger at the Isle of Wight. The coach driver took us on the scenic route to Ryde,. There is a hovercraft service here to Plymouth on the mainland which is only a short ten minute ride away. No we didn’t have Instead we took a turn around the town and then along the pier. Oh dear no ice cream parlour out there. We got back to where we were to get back on the coach and discovered a car boot sale, Biter we only had a short 15 minutes to wander around. I bought a book  and a bit of old junky jewellery for one of the women The Man works with who likes to use it to make other jewellery with.
Then we drove on to Newport where this time we stopped for lunch. It was nice to wander through the park and sit in the shade to have our lunch, and watch the kids in the playground and a couple of well muscled lads having a kick about with a soccer ball..
Our next stop was at a cutesy little country town called Godshill. I’d read that there was a miniature  village here, and sure enough we saw the signs to it. It is indeed a replica of the town itself , complete with its very own miniature of itself. The town was peopled with clever miniature people doing what  towns people should be doing, everything from a couple of  newlyweds posing for their picture outside the church, to a scout troop camping out on the green. There was even a well endowed lady streaker at a football game. Everything was in miniature, even the trees had been clipped and shaped to look like small versions of themselves. It was a very worthwhile visit.
The driver had told us that even if we weren’t going to have  cream tea in the café we should at least go in and see the size of the monster cream scones and éclairs. They were enormous. The Man and I shared a huge plate of meringue, strawberries and cream. Yummy.
This is t last day and as we have done each of the other three days here after tea we went out to explore the town of Shackling, winding up with a stroll along the coastal path.
The Man and I feel as though we have had a really good break. Thanks Isle of Wight.

Sun sea and needles, but not for sewing...

Another lovely day in paradise, well that’s what it feels like. Beautiful sunny day and spending it with The Man, what more could I ask for. Breakfast was a t the sensible time of 0830 and with enough time to enjoy the full cooked one but no baked beans. Much as I love the yummy beans in red sauce the repercussions from them later in the day are not very sociable on a bus.
On the coach by 0930 our driver took us along the coastal road on the south side of the island through places like Venter and Blackgang. Our destination was The Isle of Wight Pearl shop. Boring, we thought, but there was a coffee shop and somewhere outside overlooking the sea while the rest of the coach passengers shopped. The views from up high were pretty good and despite the warning signs  not to get close to the edge we did manage to look down on, but not actually get down to what appeared to be a nice sandy beech. It wasn’t until we were just about to leave that we discovered a fossil shop there . Bother. We only had time for a quick look around, before scurrying back to the coach to  be last on. Probably a good thing that we had so little time as the prices on some of the pieces we did look out were not cheep. And given enough time I might have convinced myself to buy one.
Back on the bus, oops sorry, coach out next stop was Allum Bay, and the Needles., An absolute must see as far as the man and I were concerned. With just two hours to visit our priority was to get as close as possible. And we got closer than we had hoped. A ride down to the beach on a chair lift in what the audio guide on the coach described as white knuckle but we thought was very sedate and picturesque, took us right down to the stony beach where we were well in time to hop aboard the slow boat ride right out to The Needles. We were both absolutely delighted with ourselves for getting the timing exactly right.

http://www.theneedles.co.uk/


Back on the Coach.  And a meandering route inland took us to the famous yachting town of  Cowes, where we had a nice stroll along the waterfront and back. Taking time out of course to sample the local ice-cream.
Back at the hotel there was more than enough time before dinner to have refreshing drink and a stroll through the pretty town and back,. The evening are so light now that after dinner we walked out again to Shanklin Chine. A chine is a ravine and this one is beautifully landscaped around the waterfalls and planted in ferns. You’ll just have to wit till we get back to see the pictures

http://www.shanklinchine.co.uk/.

Over the water and far away...

What better way to start a nice leisurely way to stat a weekend away. than not having to get up too early. A 1030 pick up at a bus stop only a short train ride and then a walk. And a beautiful day too. Clear blue skies.
I'd booked the front seats in the coach OK it cost us an extra £10 per set, but worth it.
So where are we off to for the weekend? To the Isle oaf Wight.. we saw the add in our local paper before we went to Switzerland and booked it hen, The price was right too Less than $600 NZD, All the travel, three night accommodation, breakfast and tea and a tour is  better value than if we tried to do it independently. Besides it means the The Man can sit back and enjoy the scenery too.
So a fairly short run of about two hours to Southampton, we had about an hour before the ferry which meant we could have a nice walk along the pier. Across the water was a large cruise ship and moored in its shadow and dwarfed by it was a three masted sailing ship.
The ferry crossing was very smooth and so hot that we sat outside all the way. We were intrigued to see on the car deck an elevated platform full of cars, giving space for mores cars underneath, a very clever use of space.
Just over an hour later we were back on the bus and driving to the hotel. We had plenty of time before the evening meal to sort the cases and take a break for coffee. And would you believe it I have left the lead that connects the camera to the computer behind so you will have to wait for pictures of  the trip.
After tea The Man and I Had a lovely walk down to the beach, so nice to sea and hear the sea again.
With the tide out we did our usual fossick and what do you know The Man found an large fossil oyster shell. Excellent.
So now we are about to go down tot eh lounge and have a beer or two and listen to the live music entertainment

Hair and there...

It’s only going down the escalators that you see the tops of peoples heads. Hair’s an interesting thing don’t you think? Well I do. It grows out from the crown in a swirl or two swirls if like me you have a double crown, the bane of my hairdresser. Some grow it long, others like some of the Caribbean  or African girls clip it so short that  it looks as though they have none. On the right person it gives the wearer and elegant statuesque look. Curled or  not. The African girls have their curls straightened, making it look coarse. Conversely some curl their straight hair. Seems we are never satisfied with out looks.

I came home via Annerly and in front of me walking up the hill could have bee one of my best friends from PNG. Long tropical patterned skit, sandals and her red hair tied up in a pony tail.

On the bus up to Crystal palace were a couple of Littlies that I can only describe as pikininis. Dark children, their tight curly hair twisted into knots or braided with beads and ribbons, Looking just like the pikinins of story books.

I went for a walk at lunchtime today,another hot day, this time I had taken crop pants and a tee shirt to walk in, much more comfortable. There are some interesting and sights around the ares that I went through.

 

On the way back I used number one Cabot Square as my reference, but lost sigh of it after a while and tried following signposts back  and manged to get myself  lost. Spotting a sign pointing towards service areas at Cabot Square I followed it and came out through a fire exit door only a block from where I work. Phew, was only a few minutes late.

Above: The building with the point on top is Number one Cabot Square.

Right: what more could I ask for on a nice sunny day than a walk round  the areas surrounding Canary Wharf 

                                                                         

Alternative way home...

Goodness me it was very warm today again. Two days in row. Went for a walk at lunchtime. Probably wasn’t such a good idea wearing my black uniform. I think I will have to take a tee shirt and short trousers.

Not going to write much today ‘cos we got in quite late. The Man, bless his heart, came  to meet me at work . I was working on my own today so wasn’t scheduled to finish until 1730. I had had a busy afternoon so I decided that I would carry on and get a lot of my files out of the way before we headed home. By the time we got to the station the place was hugely crowded, more so that normal for a Thursday evening. We found out why when we took the escalator down to the first level of the station Enormous queue at the gates which meant that the platform ws overcrowded. Why? Well the jubilee line had major delays due o a power failure at another part of the line. Hmm a walk to the ferry, then across the river and a bus to Canada Water. Easy peeasy from there to get the overground out to Crystal palace. Tea courtesy of the local chippie and now we’ve settled down for an hour of telly. My favourite NCIS. So it’s goodnight from me and goodnight from him.

More on shyness...

What was I writing about…Ah that’s right, shyness.

It’s such a debilitating thing to suffer from. Inside yourself you really do want to participate, but on the outside you’re frozen, and with what? Fear… fear of failing, fear of whet others might think, and worst of all fear of being made a fool of. That#s something I still dislike intensely. I even dislike movies where characters are made to look foolish.  I wonder where that came from.

And wanting to fit in. I’ll show yo how bad it was. I mentioned before that I went to Wellington Girls College. My mum sewed really well and made my vee necked summer tunic, it was worn over a  white short sleeved blouse.Somehow I noticed that the vee on mine was a bit deeper than the bought uniforms my class mates wore. My solution to that was to wear  my vee necked cardigan buttoned up. Even in the summer. Looking back it seems a bit pathetic really.

Something must have clicked later in the year though. Topping off our uniform was a pillbox hat with hat band of a gold and black stripes just like our ties.Towards the end of my last term someone pinched my hat band and I refused point blank to buy another. Strange that I swung between being bolshy to begin shy. Depending I think on the circumstances.

Did  grow out of it, probably, did it impact on my life, mot definitely. But I suppose I wouldn't be who I am without those early challenges. Of course challenges continue, that's part of life, now though I’m more than willing to step out of my comfort zone.  OK so my face might get a bit red and my heart will beat faster, but hey you know what at eh end of it I’m still breathing,and very likely feeling better and better about myself.