2010 a review of the Year gone by
Beginning of the year saw me and Annie still at work. We had decided to quit work & travel .Firstly I applied for an British Pension having worked in the UK for almost 20 yrs.This posed NO problem & payments commenced on my 65 th birthday. Next we spent a lot of time looking around motor home sales yard and eventually selected one from Jayco.Annie also put her Post Office on the market which should have been a straight forward transaction but the potential buyer is what can only be described as a Pratt !! dragged the sale on for months after the due date. I retired eventually in April & after letting our house thru an agency (not recommended !!!) we began our Australian tour in July.Apart from the crash (Thank you Insurance firm) we have had the best time ever,meeting some fabulous grey nomads on the way round. Currently we are holidaying in England and have met up with family n friends Special thanks to Annies brother Mark who has done so much for us while the bus is being repaired in Adelaide.To my brother Brian ,Treesha,Jenine,Michael, Annies other brother Paul,Sally a HUGE thanks to you all Happy New Year to you all and those I haven’t mentioned HAPPY NEW YEAR & stay tuned for more 2011 adventures
Merry Xmas to you all where ever you may be
After a very stressful trip from London to Blackpool !! we travelled a day earlier due to heavy snow storms across the country Driving back via Bus was eventful to say the least !! it took 12 hrs and the trip was always in danger of being cancelled any time any place ! Fortunately the drivers were courageous enough to get to our destination London was exciting & vibrant ! Not enough time to explore BUT for any one going to London ? buy an OYSTER card for the easiest & best travel free hassles in the world The famous London TUBE !! Now we are safely housed at my Brothers house I say ROLL on Xmas and the parties !! MERRY XMAS TO ALL ……
THIS BLOG will RETURN AFTER THE FESTIVITIES
London the last days before we return to Blackpool
today we visited Ripleys believe it or not. Very strange oddities abound ie 2 headed sheep,people pulling tractors with eyelids,that sort of stuff !!!! I was particularly interested in grave yard oddities When i was a wrought iron welder a lot of years ago I made railings to go around the tombstones in the Blackpool showing of Ripleys.The evening ended by a visit to the Billy Elliot show.it was brilliant!! the kids were marvellous.scenery terrific & the music ( written by (Elton) was just perfect !! another brill day with just 1 more to go before we return to Blackpool for the festive season thats IF the snow lets up and we dont get snowbound !!!
More London Fun
London !!! here we are at last
Today was a full one,starting with an early breakfast Using our OYSTER cards (brilliant way of gettin around London via Bus & Tube (cost around £30 ($60) each for unlimited travel for 7 days just flash your card entering & leaving bues or tubes Great hassle free travel THEN we went on the London Eye & what a treat !! The views over Big Ben & up & down the Thames was magnificent The capsules we travelled in were warm & very comfortable A 4D short movie was shown before the trip (snow/mist/rain sprayed over us and we felt the weather was inside the building !!! Brilliant treat. We met up with my son later had a beer and a sumptious meal in Soho (reasonably priced) and went to see The Jersey Boys Show (life & times of Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons) it was Fantastic and well worth seeing Ahh the tunes took me back to the 60 s !! I actually saw them LIVE at the Blackpool Opera House a lot of years ago !! Tomorrow will be as good and we have planned trips to places of interest Stay tuned !!!
From Blackpool to Newbury to London
we set of to Newbury from Blackpool to visit Annies brother Paul & his wife Sally PLUS Kimberley & Russell (children) and after getting issued with 14 rail tickets to get us to our destination we set off to Newbury using 4 different trains and the station change times worked perfectly !!! we stayed the weekend and had agreat time Visiting the stately home of Winston Churchill ..Blenheim Palace ( couldn’t believe how much mud in the car park) we had a lovely time & walked for bloody miles !! But the hightlight for Annie was the Balloon flight ! the weather for the day was perfect !! I stayed on the ground in order to take lots of pictures Annie was excited by what she saw from 2000 feet !! Sally kindly took us to the tube station at Chiswick WE have settled into our Hotel named Surtees in downtown Victoria My son Michael came over (it was great meeting up with him again ) we had a beer in a Blackpool Supporters Club !! (unbelievable !!) followed by a restaurant meal ..Michael carried on to meet his friends and we retreated back to our hotel knackered ready for BIG adventures tomorrow !!
Aladdin at the Grand Theatre Blackpool
What a fabulous night !! Tears streaming down my face & shouting… he s behind you !! Booing at the baddies !! Telling Aladdin (always a girl ) NOT to swap the old lamp for new !! The kids were worse than me !! hehe . Took me back to my innocent (yeah right ) childhood of Working mens club Xmas parties followed by trips to the Pantomime (Sad things & Times have changed so drastically) NO pics unfortunately (not allowed in the theatre) However here is a wee bit of plagiarism Aladdin is a classic Arabian fantasy jam-packed with music and dance, fun and laughter, bravery and love, a magic lamp, a wicked uncle, an incredible genie and, of course, the dream that Aladdin will marry his very own beautiful princess.
Poor street urchin Aladdin is recruited by Abanazar the evil sorcerer who pretends to be his long lost uncle and asks him to retrieve a mysterious oil lamp. Will Aladdin see through the evil sorcerer’s disguise? Will the beautiful princess Jasmine find true love? And what’s all the fuss about a dusty old lamp?
Fly with us on a magic carpet ride to Arabia in this fantastic family adventure! It’s a wish come true this Christmas! BRILLIANY STUFF ( my very own words !!)
Our visit to Nephew Brians pub in Preston
Annie started the day by being brave & headed off into town on her own Three hours later she rang to say she was lost !! fortunately I knew the area!! In the Evening we visited my nephews pub in Preston (around 17 miles away) and quite a few of my very extensive family turned up !! I of course was in my Australian shirt hoping for all kinds of abuse fro the Pomms (English) after the 2nd test Sadly NO takers !! Annie wasn’t feeling too well BUT still had a lovely evening trying to take in what a large family she has inherited !! Tonight we start Xmas by going to a traditional English Pantomime at Blackpool’s oldest theatre The Grand Photos re NOT allowed inside BUT I will attempt to do a bit of review
Blackpool & the Big Freeze
Life here is still great Altho I have visited a couple of my old haunts (pubs n Clubs ) where once upon a time I knew everybody,sadly I didn’t see ONE familiar face.Ann is still mesmerized by the deep frost & snow flurries.Its been lovely catching up with family & friends we have been very busy hence the slowness-on my blogs ! Winter wonderland for us is terrific BUT the locals are not impressed with our enthusiasm !! Come Friday all being well we are off to Newbury for the weekend followed by a week in London. Hopefuly lots of photos will be forth coming
Todays Blog is dedicated to a great family friend who has passed on
Terry was part of my childhood memories,his family and mine were the biggest in our steet I can still hear his yodelling call to his mates so they would come out “and play” to the days we went to the local theatre to support him in his Skiffle Group Contests RIP
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 