Sunday 29 November 2009: Last Day in Iceland

We awoke to thick snow this morning and a windy, cold blizzard outside. We took the free hotel shuttle bus into Reykjavik at 09.30 after another hearty breakfast and it was still dark as we ventured out into the snowy deserted streets of the city. Well if I lived here and it was this dark and cold on a Sunday morning I would still be in bed too!
We walked up towards the Lutheran Church (Hallegrimskirkja Church), which sits on higher ground in the middle of the old town and has a bell tower that is the highest point in the city. The Christmas lights were still on in the streets and everywhere looked so pretty (see photo). The Church is modern and quite plain inside but still really beautiful. It was built during the last century and in 1992 a church organ with 5275 pipes and 72 stops was inaugurated. It is a magnificent organ and we were lucky enough to be there when the organist (Hordur Askelsson) was practicing for the service later that morning. The tone was so rich and crisp; we couldn’t help but sit and listen for a while.
Then we paid a small fee and took the elevator up into the bell tower where we had unrivalled views out across the city. It was bitterly cold up there but the views were well worth the pain! After leaving the church we went in search of a hot coffee to warm us and we stopped at Café Paris in the centre of town. Before leaving to head back to the hotel and the airport we walked to The National Museum of Iceland to find out a little about the island’s history. A very modern, well planned out museum, we only had an hour to spend there so we were grateful that it wasn’t too big! The one thing I learnt from the visit was that Iceland is an ancient, peace loving community that has slowly and diplomatically won it’s independence from the rule of Denmark without any major skirmishes. It has been a hard existence making a living in the barren, remote lands here but they have endured and won. It is certainly a very welcoming and accommodating place to visit and I feel sure we will be back at some stage –maybe in the summer next time.

Saturday 28 November 2009: Day Two in Iceland

We awoke to another snowy (dark) morning in Reykjavik. Today we had a full day’s excursion planned called “The Golden Circle” tour, which took us to 4 key places on the tourist route. The first was a power plant! Usually a power plant would not be a tourist attraction but here in Iceland the hot water and heating system are powered by the earth’s natural resources as the country lies across 2 tectonic plates and can therefore use bore holes to access the extreme heat from the earths core. Well that’s enough of the science!
We drove for another hour to reach our next stop, which was the awesome natural spectacle of the Gull Foss waterfall. The terrain here is very barren, there are few houses, very few trees (because of the weak soil structure and strong winds) and no wildlife to speak of either although that is probably due to the fact it is winter-time, there is hardly any daylight and it is cold. It is so quiet.
After Gull Foss we had a short drive over to see “Geysir”, in fact THE Geysir that gave all the others around the world their name. There was ice on the ground and yet around us there were bubbling, boiling pools of water and the biggest of these was GEYSIR. Every 5 minutes Geysir blew gallons of boiling hot steam and water about 50 feet into the air –he was magnificent! For lunch we went to a restaurant across the road from Geysir that was offering a “eat as much as want” buffet. The food was excellent. I ate Cauliflower soup for the first time, which impressed Saboohi, and we had an array of raw fish, meats, breads, sweets etc. Etc it was all delicious.
Our final stop as we drove back towards Reykjavik was called Pingvellir . This is a historic site, which has been the cradle of civilisation in Iceland since about 900 A.D. It is the place where tribes would meet to discuss and agree the laws of the land – believed to be the site of the world’s first Parliament. It is also a place where the 2 tectonic plates meet and movement over the years has left gorges carved into the landscape. It is dramatic, stark, motionless and beautiful.
Another memorable day!

Friday 27 November 2009: Weekend Trip to Iceland

Our first day in Iceland and we awoke at 9.00 a.m. to a light dusting of snow and no sunlight! We arrived early this morning (2.00 am) having taken the 20.35 flight on Icelandair from Heathrow, so we didn’t get much sleep. We didn’t want to waste anytime however during this short break. We had no idea when the sun was going to put in an appearance and we had heard that Iceland can have as few as 4 hours of daylight per day in the Winter. Over a hearty breakfast we guessed what time the sun would show its face, while outside the snow started to fall harder and harder.
We caught a coach to The Blue Lagoon at 10.30 which thankfully coincided with the arrival of a lazy looking sun! The Blue Lagoon is a naturally heated geothermal spa that sits in the middle of a rugged, barren and black volcanic landscape just to the east of Reykjavik. We planned to spend the day relaxing in the hot therapeutic waters of the lagoon. It was a good decision. Surely there is nowhere else on earth quite like The Blue Lagoon? The temperature today was -3 degrees and yet out we went in our bathing costumes and (thankfully) bathrobes to swim in the waters. Once in the pale blue milky waters we were beautifully warm. The water originates from 6500 ft below the ground where the temperature is 240 degrees centigrade but thankfully the salty seawater is only about 37 degrees by the time it arrives in the Lagoon.
Around the large natural lagoon there are steam rooms, saunas and a waterfall that provides invigorating massages to those that are brave enough to stand underneath it. Naturally we tried them all out. Also around the lagoon there are tubs of white silica mud that we freely applied to our faces and skin throughout our stay. I was worried that we would find it hard to spend 6 hours here but the time flew by and once in the water we didn’t want to get out.
At 16.00, as the exhausted Icelandic sun was ready to turn in for the night after a hard 6 hours shift, we commenced a one hour massage in the outdoor spa. We floated on a blue bed in the salty warm waters with a blanket over us to keep us warm while a male masseur pummelled, prodded and stretched my tense and painful muscles. But I knew that there would be no gain without a little pain and I certainly felt wonderful afterwards. It presented such a mixture of different sensations, the warmth of the waters, the chill of the wind, the icy tingling of the snow falling on our faces and the pain and ecstasy of the massage itself.
This evening we caught the Hotel shuttle bus into Reykjavik city centre and had a very nice super in a cafe/restaurant called Solon. There are Christmas lights everywhere in town and at night it looks particularly beautiful. The architecture here in Iceland is very simple, boxy and modern. They use a lot of concrete, wood and corrugated iron it seems. In the town centre tonight it was nice to see some older wooden buildings that had much more character and gave the area a real “quaint” feel. A great first day.

1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

On the Sunday (6/9/09) we decided to give the beach a miss as the wind had really picked up and swimming in the sea had become quite rough, especially for dad. So we drove along the coast to San Remo and Bordighera. Just outside Bordighera we stopped at a lovely seafront restaurant for lunch. It was sunny, warm and beautiful and after lunch Saboohi seized the opportunity to have a quick swim in the sea. The following day was Dad's 83rd Birthday and our last full day at Laigueglia. We spent the day on the beach and thankfully the sea had calmed down so that dad could have a final swim. Unfortunately Dad had no presents to open, only cards from the 3 of us but after supper in the restaurant the entire Garassino family came in with a fantastic Birthday cake singing "Happy Birthday" (see group photo).Despite having already had 2 sweets Dad managed to devour a slice of the delicious gateaux and even had a little bubbly too! Well it was his birthday!

It has been lovely seeing the family again, relaxing in familiar surroundings and reflecting on past memories and absent friends. We bought a lovely potted alpine plant to lay on the grave of Nicola (Antonietta's brother who died in the 90's) and Nonna Delia (Franco's mother who died in 2002) in the cemetery and we smiled at memories of Jack Totney who was a friend and work colleague of dad's and the reason why we came to Laigueglia in the first place. They are forever in our thoughts and our hearts.

1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

We have been spending our days in the usual manner, breakfast at 9 and then a short walk down to the beach for a full day of relaxing, swimming, reading and snoozing! We have divided our time between Bagni Antonio and Bagni Roma as we are able to see Antonietta, Manuella and Danilo on the Antonio but the Roma has so many lovely memories as it was always the preferred beach for us and many of our friends in the 80's. Antonietta spends every holiday period down in her beloved Laigueglia now -she's always keen to escape Milan where she has been based since she married Danilo 17 years ago. She was bequethed a studio appartment right on the beach front, when her aunt died and she has made very good use of it since! On the Friday evening (4/9/09) Danilo, Manuella and Antonietta invited Saboohi and I to a country festival out at a village in the hills above Albenga, called Casanove Lerrone. The festival is called the SAGRA and it is a chance for friends and locals of the region to come together, eat good food (prepared in large outdoor BBQ areas)and dance to a live band. There are raffles and games too which makes for a lovely family atmosphere. (see photo of Manuela, Dani and Toni at the SAGRA).

1 September to 8 September 2009: Laigueglia, Italy

Having spent many wonderful holidays in Laigueglia during the 70's and 80's, Saboohi and I and Mum and Dad set off for a week of peace, sunshine and reminiscing in this beautiful little jewel of a village on the Liguria coast. We stayed at the same hotel (Tre Ciuffi), now run by the youngest daughter of the Garassino family, Marilina and her husband Mario Martini. The hotel hasn't changed since we first came here in 1976 and we love it for that. We flew to Genoa and then picked up a rental car to drive to Tre Ciuffi. Boy was it hot! It was the humidity that really struck us as soon as we got off the plane. They have been having temperatures in the 40's this Summer but we are hoping it won't be that hot for the duration of our stay.

25 July 2009: Hardwick Hall

We visited the beautiful home of Bess of Hardwick today. Bess, or the Countess of Shrewsbury as she was in the later part of her life, lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and through a series of well connected marriages and a good business sense she rose to be one of the most powerful women of her time, second only to the Queen. She built Chatsworth House first and then went on to build this splendid and for the time, quite contemporary Hall that was fit to entertain royalty. Her old ancestral home is just a ruin now (run by English Heritage) as many of the materials were taken to build the new Hall, and it sits alongside the magnificant "new" building. The views are spectacular and we had a wonderful day exploring the two buildings and finding out about Bess' extraordinary life.

23 July 2009: Walking at Ladybower Reservoir

We decided to go for a circular walk today in the Peak District National Park. The weather was fine if overcast but ideal for walking. Our walk took us up through a forest to start and then up onto the Derwent Moors to Whinestone Peak. The views from the top were absolutely beautiful (see photo) and we could see for miles around. We walked along the peak to a natural feature called the wheelstones and then we came down the hillside back to the rim of the reservoir. The reservoir itself dates back to the 1940’s and prior to this it was the floor of the valley with a river called Millbrook running through it. Where the Derwent river and Millbrook met there was a village called Derwent. Unfortunately the village had to be sacrificed for the sake of the reservoir and in the mid 40’s after the war, the dam was completed and the valley flooded. There is a photo of the church spire sticking out of the middle of the reservoir in 1947, the last part of the village to become totally submerged. On our way back to the car, along the banks of the reservoir, we met a man fishing who told us that his wife had been the last person to be christened at the church before it was closed and flooded! After our walk we drove around the area, calling first at Ashford on the Water (one of the prettiest Peak Villages) and then Bakewell, home of the Bakewell Tart. We were impressed with Bakewell, it was pretty, well cared for, had a nice river running through it, lovely architecture and a fantastic little Italian cafe where we had our supper! The end of a lovely day.

22 July 2009: Harewood House

Saboohi arrived today on the 10.21 at Leeds Station (yippee). Rather than stay in the city we decided to visit Harewood House. The house is magnificent and set in acres and acres of private estate and gardens. When the Queen’s aunt Princess Mary married the Earl of Harewood this grand house became her principle home and there are lots of personal belongings and memories of her around the house. The famous furniture maker Thomas Chippendale, worked at Harewood House for many years and so most of the furniture found here has been made by him. The house is also full to the brim of famous artwork and Turner spent a year at Harewood when he was still a young artist, painting various views of the house for the Earl. Apparently he was paid just £10 per painting! Bargain. The furnishings are lavish and beautifully restored and kept throughout the house and Saboohi felt that it was one of the most beautiful Stately Homes she had visited as regards the presentation of the rooms. It had a very large “Below Stairs” exhibition too with all the kitchens, food preparation rooms, butler’s, steward’s and housekeeper’s rooms accessible and showing what life used to be like for someone “in service”. It was all very interesting.

21 July 2009: Meeting with Celia

It was a grey and wet day today. It was an ideal day for finding a nice cosy pub and catching up with old friends, which is exactly what I did. My friend Celia Garnett lives in a small village near here called Upperthong. I know Celia from my time at Carshalton College she used to visit and work with our Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy teams. I didn’t she lived around here until I was looking at the local map just before I came away and saw the unforgettable name of Upperthong starring back at me! When I picked Celia up for lunch I realised that I had passed her house on Sunday when I was on my Holmfirth circular walk. The views from her lovely little cottage are stunning, across the fields, down over the valley and across to the hills beyond. We went to a gastropub called The Butchers Arms in Helmsley for lunch and spent a few hours catching up on news and putting the world of FE to rights. A perfect way to spend a wet afternoon

20 July 2009: Palaces in the Peaks

I was up early this morning, the sun was shining and the birds were singing and I was wide awake by 6 a.m. A visit to Chatsworth House was order of the day and possibly Hardwick House. Both are located an hour away from here, in the Peak District National Park but with the roof down and the sun shining, the journey was a pleasure from start to finish. I called in at Hardwick Hall first (National Trust House) only to find that it is closed on Mondays so I headed over to Chatsworth House instead. I don’t think Chatsworth ever closes; it is a huge, impressive and palatial house, with extensive gardens and grounds which means big business for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, who’s family own and run the place. The house is magnificent and has been the backdrop to many period films. The Duchess and Pride and Prejudice were both filmed here and there were plenty of photos of Kiera Knightly around the place as a reminder. It really is stunningly beautiful though and teeming with valuable furniture, pictures and ornaments. A place to admire but not somewhere you could live! I could have spent all day there as there are several circular walks throughout the grounds but I wanted to see more of the Peak District. So next I headed into Bakewell with the intention of purchasing a delicious Bakewell Tart. Unfortunately hundreds of other tourists had the same idea and the place was packed (turned out it was also Market Day).
So I drove through Bakewell and as I emerged the other side I came across another Stately Home called Haddon Hall, home of Lord Edward Manners. When I paid for my entrance ticket I told the man in the kiosk that I had just been to Chatsworth House and he responded with “oh you will find this quite different here, it’s more historic”. I thought that an odd thing to say as Chatsworth had a long and distinguished history over the past 400 years but then I realised that Haddon Hall (see photo) is over 800 years old! It feels and looks its age too as country houses in medieval times were very simple and functional. It looks like a romantic castle from the outside and inside it feels like it hasn’t been changed for centuries. Door frames are on a slant, leaded windows are buckling, the beams are potted and scarred and the floors uneven. I loved it! In the ancient church there are tiny bats nesting in the rafters, we couldn’t see them but we could hear them chatting and calling to each other. In one of the bedchambers there were several signatures written on the plastered walls of royal visitors (Charles and Anne dated 1979 and Mary and George dated 1933).
It was about 3.30 p.m. when I left Haddon Hall so I drove over to my last stop for the day at a village called Eyam. Eyam became famous in 1665 when it experienced an outbreak of plague in the village. London had lost over 100,000 people because of the plague and unfortunately one of the villagers, ordered some cloth from a merchant in London and when it arrived it was damp. So the cloth was placed near a fire to dry out and as the cloth dried some dormant fleas in the cloth came to life. They were carrying The Plague. Between September 1665 and the Summer of 1666 over a third of the village died (about 260 people) from the Plague and the village had to be cut off from the rest of the country in order to try and contain it. Complete families were wiped out. Today “the plague houses” as they are now known all have plaques on them saying who lived and died there but in the grave yard there is only one person buried there as most had to be buried in the family’s own gardens to try and prevent the spread of the disease. Such a sad story.

19 July 2009: Walking in Holmfirth

I arrived at my charming little cottage at about 5 p.m. yesterday evening. Pellcot is a small C17 cottage with a small lounge, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor and a good sized bedroom upstairs with lots of beams and a ceiling that stretches into the rafters. The views from every room are beautiful as the house sits in a hilltop village (wooldale) looking down over a valley. Today was my first full day so I thought I would try out one the circular walks in my Peak District Walks book! Holmfirth is just a short distance from here, it is the home of "Last of the Summer Wine" and it is the start for one of my walks. It is very hilly around here so the walk was undulating throughout and gave me a good workout! The weather was fine to start but by the time I reached 2 thirds through the walk the clouds gathered and it bucketed down with rain. So I was back in the cottage by 15.00 pm, wet but but invigorated. There is a very "thoughtful" shop just a few yards from the cottage where I have been able to buy everything I need. So I dried off, grabbed my Sunday paper and settled down for a quiet, relaxing afternoon.

24th May 2009: Fiona and David’s Wedding

What a beautiful weekend. The sun was shining and there was not a breath of wind as we awoke in Middlethorpe Hall. The Hall is a National Trust House that has been turned into a 5 star hotel and it is situated in the luscious, green rolling countryside just outside York. The house is surrounded by beautiful parkland and has a lawned area to the rear and a walled garden that has been designed on the same lines as those at the Palace of Villandry on the Loire River in France.
Fiona and David decided to keep the wedding party down to just 60 people, made up of close family members and old friends. As the weather was so beautiful the reception was set up out in the gardens and we all felt very home in these grand surroundings. The wedding ceremony took place at midday in a converted barn that was attached to the main hotel buildings. As Fiona lost her Father a couple of years ago the duty of giving her away fell to her Brother Julian. The service was very emotional with David’s daughter Kelly and Fiona’s Sister Edwina reading poems, one about friendship and one about marriage. We later found out that Kelly had written her poem herself –clever girl. David’s sons were the ring bearers. Fiona was happy, in love and focused throughout the ceremony, whilst David was the one who was shaky with emotion. It was lovely to witness.
Drinks and canopes were taken on the lawns while the endless photographs were posed and taken with the magnificent backdrop of the Hall. A buffet lunch was served in the gardens and it was really delicious. We wiled away the afternoon, eating, drinking and being merry. We played croquet (badly) and tried not to get too upset when Lizzie’s husband Niall decided to cheat! We were sitting in the gardens until 7 ish by which time we were all a little burnt from the sunshine and a little tired from the fresh air and the drinking. Saboohi and I retired to our room in the old stable block at about 7 pm and didn’t re emerge until the morning. It was the perfect day.

4 May 2009: Bridge over the River Kwai and The Tiger Temple

Today was the unexpected highlight of our trip. We were not leaving for the airport until mid evening so we decided to take a full day’s excursion up to the Kwai River to see where the famous Bridge over the River Kwai was built and to walk through the War Graves Cemetery where about 7000 British POWs were buried, after suffering at the hands of the Japanese Military. It was a very moving morning. At the Jeath Museum (name was made up from the letters of the nationalities of service personnel involved in the River Kwai railway construction – Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland) we saw the awful conditions that our brave soldiers had to endure and some of the evil and mindless punishments that were handed out by the Japanese. I am surprised anyone survived it.
We had lunch at a floating restaurant on the River Kwai. To get there we took a fast jet boat up the river, which was exhilarating! Then this afternoon we visited the much awaited Tiger Temple. The temple is run by Buddhist Monks and over the years it has become a place of sanctuary for many injured wild animals. Tigers are still hunted and killed in Thailand and if the dead Tiger has any cubs they will be killed too by the hunters. In the past however, local people have managed to rescue Tiger cubs and bring them to the Temple for the protection. As a result there are now approximately 20 or more Tigers living in harmony with the Monks and their voluntary helpers, within the sanctuary. Although still wild animals they are used to being with humans and therefore they will allow visitors to stroke them (on their backs) and even be photographed with them with their heads on your lap!
Fortunately for us one of the Tigers had 5 cubs 6 weeks before our visit and just 3 days ago the Monks had decided to start a Cub Experience for visitors. For an extra charge of 1000 Baht (about £20) visitors can spend time feeding and playing with the cubs. We jumped at the chance of holding baby Tigers and so after the main group had moved down to the Canyon we went off to see the babies. There were just 5 visitors in the compound (one tiger each) and we had a truly magical experience bottle feeding the cubs, cuddling them and in Saboohi’s case, letting them nibble our toes (ouch!). We were with them for 45 minutes and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

3 May 2009: The Palaces of Bangkok

We awoke to a very hot and humid morning in Bangkok. At 8.00 a.m. the national anthem was played through tannoys situated around the outside of the hotel and by the sound of it this was a ritual carried out all across the city. It was repeated again at about 5.00pm. This morning we went out on a half day city tour and spent time in the magnificent palaces of the old kings of Thailand. Thailand was ruled by a monarchy until 1932 and their wealth can still be seen today in the bejewelled towers and buildings that adorn the Grand Palace and other temples in the city. We visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (a solid emerald statue that was hidden for many years in a block of concrete) and Wat Po where there is a huge reclining Buddha (about 20 ft high and 60 ft in length). There is a constant clinking sound of coins being dropped into metal dishes as people move in line and send out prayers as they drop a coin into each dish. Saboohi and purchased 80 coins each (only 20 baht – about 50p) and joined the line of pilgrims.
This afternoon we were so overwhelmed by the humidity that we stayed by the Hotel Pool and relaxed. Tonight however we took the bus into town and went to a very nice restaurant called The Mango Tree (it was recommended to us by our guide Jenny). We tried to sit outside to eat but eventually had to give in and move into the air conditioned interior. We caught a taxi home and had a good nights sleep.

2 May 2009: Leaving Sydney

We had the morning free today to do a little last minute sightseeing in this beautiful city before leaving for Bangkok. As it was a Saturday we walked down to The Rocks for the Saturday market and to find Maureen and Donna’s friend – Ronnie – who has her own stall there. Ronnie is a graphic designer by trade and produces her own art work which she sells on her stall. I particularly liked her ink block prints and so I purchased one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, a fitting reminder of our stay in this fabulous city.
Our flight to Bangkok was about 8 hours and we landed in time to go to bed! We were so exhausted as our body clock time was about 5 in the morning and I hadn’t slept at all on the flight. It was probably the worst flight that Saboohi had experienced too as she suffered from motion sickness for most of the journey and was very ill.

1 May 2009: The Bridge Walk and Opera House

What a glorious sunny day we had today, the only sunny day forecast this week and thankfully it came on the day we scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge was opened in 1932 and cost 20 million dollars (a debt which took 60 years for the city to pay off!). Today we walked up the arches to reach the top point on the bridge (134 metres above sea level). The 360 degree views of the harbour were fantastic and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We all wore protective overalls and were attached to wires that ran up and over the bridge, for added safety. When the bridge was being built though, the 1500 engineers had no harnesses at all and had over 2 million hot rivets to hammer into the great structure. Amazingly only 15 men lost their lives during the building of the bridge. The climb was a great experience and a good investment of 3.5 hours.
The second highlight of the day was a tour around the Sydney Opera House. Designed by a previously unknown Danish Architect, Jorn Utzon, the Opera House cost 104 million dollars to build when the original estimate was only 7 million. Inside it has 4 main auditoriums and many smaller workshops. We sat in the main auditorium which has a huge organ at the far end with over 1500 pipes. The most remarkable aspect of the Opera house for me is the way in which the magnificent 180 degree view of the harbour has been brought into the building by the use of giant sheets of glass. We saw it just as the sun was setting and it was truly beautiful. We both agreed that we would love to return to Sydney and see a concert here in the main auditorium.

30 April 2009: Sydney

Our first full day in Sydney and we started with the usual half day city tour with the rest of the group. It was a very wet morning and I was relieved to have my waterproof hiking jacket with me! We visited prime locations in the city including: the rocks, darling harbour, Bondi Beach and a place called Woolloomooloo. We also had a picture stop at Mrs Macquarie’s seat – she was the wife of the first non Navy Governor to be elected in the city (he took over from Captain Blyth of “Mutiny on the Bounty” fame. She was used to the high society of London and found the primitive life in the newly founded town of Sydney quite a shock to the system. She requested that a road be built from the Governor’s house out to a pretty lookout point further along the bay and there she had a seat made for her so that she could sit and read on her own and enjoy the view of the harbour. If she was here today she would now be looking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
This afternoon Saboohi and I did some shopping and then visited the Sydney Museum to trace the story of Sydney from the moment the first fleet arrived in the 1700’s. This evening we went to the IMAX cinema to see a 3d film called “Under the Sea”. Sydney has the largest IMAX screen in the world – we have seen a 3D film at the IMAX in Wimbledon but it was nothing like this one! It appeared as though you were actually diving in the sea with the fish and they swam right up to your face. One seal actually comes up and kisses you on the nose –I found myself reaching out to touch them it was so realistic.

29 April 2009: Koalas and Dugongs

Today we fly to Sydney on the penultimate stage of our journey. This morning however there was enough time after breakfast to visit the Cairns Tropical Forest Zoo which sits within a huge dome on the top of Cairns Casino. The purpose of our visit was to cuddle a Koala and have our photo taken. The Koala on photo duty today was called “Harvey” and boy was he cute. On our way back to the hotel we stopped to observe the hundreds of fruit bats that hang out in the trees around the town. They are huge animals with cute brown faces and the wing span of a large bird (maybe a crow?). They chatter a lot to each other and during the night they fly about and feed on the fruit. During the day they hang out together at the top of the fruit trees –amazing sight.
We arrived in Sydney mid afternoon and were booked into the Hotel (Wynyard Travelodge) by 5.00 pm. We decided to visit the Sydney Aquarium as it is open until 10.00 pm and we guessed that it would probably be quiet in the evening –we were right. This aquarium is one of the best in the world and it certainly lived up to expectations. Just 3 months ago they received two Dugongs (Pig and Wuru) who are relatives of the manatees and are collectively known as “Sea Cows” as, in the wild, they graze on sea grass at the bottom of the sea. They are large, gentle creatures that are most closely related to the elephant (surprisingly). We fell in love with them instantly and spent half an hour viewing them alone. Pig and Wuru are the only Dugongs on exhibit in Australia and they were both orphaned at birth and taken to SeaWorld in Brisbane to be hand reared. In the wild a large percentage of them live off the North Australia coast and one of the reasons given for making the Great Barrier Reef a World Heritage Site was the fact that it is home to 12,000 of these beautiful sea giants. We also saw our first Platypus along with a host of unusual fish and mammals that we had never seen before. There was a huge reconstruction of the coral reef too which you could view through floor to ceiling glass windows and which was accompanied by classical music. It was truly beautiful.

28 April 2009: Birthday at Cape Tribulation

I was awoken this morning at 5.30 (early, but not as early as Saboohi had planned –she was going to wake me up at midnight!!) with balloons, cards, presents, a big cake with lighted candles on it and champagne. Even though we are touring, far away from home Saboohi was not going to let the day go by without the usual celebrations! She had got the hotel management to source a cake for her (even though there are no cake shops here in Cairns!) and passed a card around the entire touring group (44 people) to get them to sign it. It was a lovely surprise.
My birthday present from Saboohi was a beautiful pearl necklace that she had purchased in Singapore, along with a fabulous body warmer that we had found at our resort at Ayres Rock (Outback Pioneer). I had cards from home to open too –what a journey they have had to get here!
We spent the day on a tour of Cape Tribulation which is unique for its beautiful beaches and for the fact that it marks the meeting of two world heritage sites; the Great Barrier Reef and the pristine tropical rainforests of Northern Queensland. We stopped at one of the beaches which was torture for Saboohi because the waters were blue and the sand white but we weren’t allowed to swim because there are salt water crocodiles in the sea! On the beach we saw an intricate maze of little holes with thousands of tiny balls of sand surrounding them. It covered a large area and we couldn’t make out what it was at first. After waiting and watching for a few minutes we saw the tiniest of little crabs emerge from the holes and when they sensed danger they curled up into a little ball and looked exactly like the balls of sand. We deduced from this observation that the little crabs were creating this elaborate structure as some sort of defence mechanism – truly ingenious!
The highlight of the day was a boat trip down the Daintree River to see the crocodiles. It reminded me of scenes from “The African Queen” as the rainforest bordered the edges of both sides of the river. Apparently the river was named by Captain James Cook after a friend of his back in England – the guide explained to us that the expeditions undertaken by explorers of that time would usually be funded by monarchs, wealthy business people, aristocrats and friends and in return they wanted newly discovered places to be named after them. So many places in this continent are named after British aristocrats who never actually came here.
Later in the day we visited the Daintree Discovery Centre where we took a boardwalk up through the rainforest and into the canopy so that we could view the forest from the very top. It was very beautiful. This rainforest is believed to be one of the oldest on the planet, hence its world heritage status. We arrived back at our hotel in Cairns at about 7.00 pm (Hotel Cairns) and then went out for some supper. A lovely day!

Monday 27 April 2009- Great Barrier Reef

A warm and humid morning in Cairns and again we were up early to catch our catamaran out to the Great Barrier Reef. We moored up at a small island which is the home to hundreds of nesting birds and a beautiful shallow coral reef. There is nothing else there, just a beach and hundreds of birds. We caught a little ferry to the island and then had a 30 minute “snorkelling” tour of the reef. The reef is fabulous with hundreds of different varieties of coral including many (very large and colourful) giant clams. We saw many different types of tropical fish too, including brightly coloured parrotfish and stingrays. Saboohi went out beyond the reef at one point, called the “drop off” in Finding Nemo, and came face to face with a shark (harmless but nevertheless scary!) and she touched a turtle! Lucky thing. The sun shone and the day was perfect for snorkelling. After lunch on the boat we returned to the island for more snorkelling before heading back to Cairns at about 15.30. Another wonderful day–how lucky we are.

Sunday 26 April 2009: Ariel view of Ayres Rock

This morning the group took a long drive around The Olgas, also situated in the Uluru National Park and just as impressive as Ayres Rock. In fact as they are made up of many mounds of rock (the Aborigines have a name for them that means “Many Heads”) they are more interesting that Ayres Rock.
Before leaving Ayres Rock Saboohi and I decided to sign up for a helicopter flight around both Uluru and its neighbour The Olgas. I wasn’t sure whether or not we would see anything extra by flying above the 2 structures but the views were wonderful. There were 2 things that made the flight worthwhile; firstly you can’t see the true scale of them when you view them from the ground but when you are up high they dominate the whole area with miles and miles of flat desert and then these 2 huge and magnificent stone structures shooting up high out of the ground; secondly is the colour of the surrounding terrain, so many different shades of green, red and terracotta –so beautiful.
Late this afternoon we took a flight from the local airport (which only has about 2 flights out a day!) to Cairns.

Saturday 25 April 2009: Journey to Ayres Rock

We had a five hour drive over to Ayres Rock this morning (recently renamed Uluru which was the original name given by the aboriginal people –before rich white people came and gave it their own name!), across the red, parched desert. The road was long and straight and we hardly saw any other traffic en route. We saw Ayres Rock well before we reached it as the terrain is flat and the rock towers above the ground for about 320 meters. It is known as an Insolberg as it has just a third showing above the ground and 2 thirds below. Thousands of years ago this terrain was a sea bed and the rock emerged as a result of the earth being forced up at a right angle. So the vertical seams of rock that make up Ayres Rock today were once horizontal sedimentary layers of the seabed. It is a stunning visual treat. We drove around the rock and walked along one of the gorges into the heart of the rock. The real highlight this evening though was to see the sunset over the rock. To celebrate the occasion we were given champagne and nibbles while we all stood and watched the transformation of the rock’s colour and appearance as the sun set behind us. This was one of the most magical events of this holiday and something we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Friday 24 April 2009: Day of Rest at Alice Springs

We had planned to take an early morning hot air balloon ride over the Central Australian desert today but unfortunately the wind was too strong and so the flight was cancelled. So instead we had a lie in (as we don’t get many of those on this holiday!) and spent the rest of the day by the pool. Our hotel is a recent addition to the Alice Springs landscape and has at its heart the town’s only casino. So it tends to attract a lot of local people as well as tourists. We had a play on the slot machines which only cost 2 cents a go and so for two dollars (£1) you can have 100 games! There were a lot of aborigine people on the slot machines I noticed –our guide explained how many aborigines have only come face to face with western culture in the last 50 years and therefore things such as gambling and drinking and drugs have become adopted vices for many.
Tonight we took a nocturnal tour at the Alice Springs Desert Park, to see some of Australia’s endangered species that are only active at night. There is a section of the park that is only visited at night and one of the special little marsupials that we saw tonight was the Mala. This is now extinct in the wild and the park only has 7 in captivity. Tonight we witnessed 2 of them mating!! The guides said that they had never seen this before and they were thrilled. We only had a few red lights to see our way around the park but we saw some beautiful little creatures including a Bilby (long snout, big ears and with a body totally out of proportion!) and several Burrowing and Brush Betons. It was a wonderful evening and only 4 of us on the tour – with 2 guides!

Thursday 24 April 2009: Fly to Alice Springs

We were up at the crack of dawn today to catch an 8.30 am flight to Alice Springs in the middle of Australia. We arrived to temperatures of 30 degrees plus which I found a nice change after the cooler temperatures in NZ and Melbourne. We arrived at 11.30 and went straight on a tour of the local area. Alice Springs was originally set up as a communication post to link the overground telegraph cables that were to run from Darwin to Sydney. Darwin was connected to Singapore already by an underwater cable and therefore this final link enabled Sydney to be connected through to London, thereby bringing the commonwealth closer together. It meant that London and Sydney could contact each other within 2 hours rather than a week! Today we saw the original telegraph station that formned the first settlement here. We also visited the Flying Doctors HQ and the School of the Air. The School of the Air provides education to children who live in the outback and can't access normal schools. They receive lessons every day on line and have personal tutors who are usually a parent or someone who is specially employed to give onsite help at home. We saw live lessons going on! It is a wonderful set up and clearly provides an invaluable service to those families that are cut off from other communities. A storm began to come by early evening so it will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

Wednesday 22 April 2009: Koalas and Penguins

After leaving the Kangaroos we went in search of Australia’s other famous marsupial the Koala. On Philip Island there is a Koala Conservation Centre where you can get up close and personal with these beautiful creatures. Unfortunately you can’t touch them as they are wild animals and are not as cuddly as they appear! Here however they do tolerate us being close and posing with them, within reason. Koala numbers were ravaged in the past as they have a number of predators, man included, and their numbers dropped to just 800 which resulted in them being listed as endangered. The conservation centre has re-established Koala numbers out in the wild and continues to do this today. As they are nocturnal most of them were sleeping up in the eucalyptus trees during our visit but some naturally inquisitive ones were awake and ready to pose with us!
We ended the evening with a much anticipated visit to the Philip Island Penguin Parade. Each night along the coast of Philip Island, hundreds of little penguins, the world’s smallest penguins, return to their nests to rest and preen themselves. They spend about 2 weeks out at sea feeding and then come home but the trek from the shoreline to their nests (which could be up to 1.5km away) is the most dangerous trip they make. So once the sun has gone down they start arriving on the beach and calling to each other so that they can form a group before they set off on their overland trek. We watched from the Penguin centre at Summerland Beach along with about 300-400 other tourists. The penguins were so tiny and cute (only 20cm high) and we followed groups of them on their trek up the beach. We were standing within a few inches of them at times, it was very special!

Wednesday 22 April 2009: Warrook Cattle Farm

For lunch we stopped at Warrook Cattle Farm where we had a truly wonderful 3 hour visit. Lunch was in the old ranch house which is now a museum as the owners have moved out to a new house that has been built elsewhere on the estate. It was originally built in 1904 to replace the previous farm house that burnt down. Each brick was made by hand on the estate and each room has 16 ft high ceilings and is furnished with Victorian furniture to show how it may have looked when it’s English owner first built it (The Grieves family). A hearty roast beef fare was provided for us before we went out on the farm to meet the animals and learn about the life of a working cattle ranch. We bottle fed baby calves first and then had a go at milking a very patient old cow called Daisy, who has retired from the commercial diary heard now. Milking was surprisingly easy to do! Next we went to see the sheep dogs rounding up the sheep and then watched Loretta shear a sheep in the barn. We then had a chance to use a cattle whip, the aim being to try and get it to snap/crack, which is the sound that actually gets the cattle to move. Unfortunately my whip was as quiet as a lamb – i won’t give up my day job.
To end the visit to Warrook we fed the Kangaroos and wallabies that are resident on the ranch. They appeared quite tame and human friendly and allowed us to get up close and feel their incredibly soft fur. We also saw our first wombat who, although mainly a nocturnal animal did come out to say hello. It was a truly memorable and enjoyable 3 hours.

Wednesday 22 April 2009: Parrots and Puffing Billy

This was one of our longest days but also, for me, the best day of the tour so far. As a consequence I have decided to split the day up so that I can post a few extra photos! Our day started early with a coach drive up into the Dandenongs mountain range and a stop at the Grants Picnic Reserve for a Devonshire cream tea. The real draw of Grants Reserve is not the cream tea but the extensive range of exotic birds and parrots that live in the forest there and will gladly come and feed directly from your hand. Our favourites were the Crimson Rosellas who were very colourful and gentle with us. The big white cockatoos can be a little vicious and I did collect a few scars to prove this! From there we drove down to Beaumont to board the Puffing Billy, Australia’s oldest steam train that is now run by enthusiastic volunteers through the rainforest of the Dandenong ranges. Fortunately the H&S Executive has not taken over here as it has in the UK so we were able to ride the train as they used to in the old days, sitting on the side of the carriage with our legs dangling out of the train! Great fun.

Tuesday 21 April 2009: Melbourne

A warm and sunny day in Melbourne! We started with the usual city tour in the morning which included a stop at Cook’s cottage. This cottage used to stand in Great Ayton in England and it was the home of the great explorer Captain James Cook who “officially” discovered Australia. The Cottage was shipped over to Australia in 1934 to commemorate the centenary celebrations in Melbourne. It was a small one up one down dwelling with a beautiful cottage garden (see photo).
This afternoon we visited the beach at St Kilda and Saboohi had her first swim in Australian waters. The sharks gave her a wide berth! This evening we managed to get some late tickets to see Billy Elliot at Her Majesty’s theatre. Neither of us has seen this show in London so it was a real treat. The performance was outstanding and the music and dancing were really first class. The young Billy Elliot was truly talented and an obvious star of the future. We will definitely be seeing it again when we get back to London.

Monday 20 April 2009

We awoke to a heavy down pour of rain this morning. The worst weather we have experienced so far. After breakfast the whole group congregated outside the hotel to watch Sean, a member of our group, do the base jump from the Sky tower. It looked very scary and we were all very proud of him. The rest of the day was taken up by waiting at the airport and flying to Melbourne later that day. Whilst at the airport I purchased a beautiful limited edition screen print by a local New Zealand artist. I am having it shipped back to the UK by courier so I don’t have to carry it around Oz. Can’t wait to see it framed and up on the wall at home.

Sunday 19 April 2009: Auckland

We started the day with a visit to Auckland museum where there was a special exhibition of Sir Edmond Hillary and the axe he used to climb up Mount Everest. His wife has donated the axe to the museum in memory of him as he died recently. There was a film showing an interview with Sir Edmund Hillary and he was talking about his climb to the top of Everest - interestingly he said that “I didn’t conquer Everest... I believe Everest just relented.”
After the museum we made our way to the suburbs of Auckland to visit Kelly Tarlson’s Penguin and Antarctic experience. This is a privately owned aquarium which relies on public donation. The most interesting thing about it is that it is the home of two breads of Penguins that can only live in Antarctic conditions, which have been recreated for them within the aquarium. We then had lunch at Mission Bay and met a handsome little Bichon called Adoodoo (his owners are Japanese)- he was a puppy and full of energy. This evening we ascended the sky tower which boasts the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere with 360 degree views of Auckland and its coastline – the views were stunning. The sky tower actually is part of the hotel where we have been staying ( Sky City Hotel).

Saturday 18 April 2009

An early start today and a drive up to Auckland this morning. We arrived in Auckland at midday and had a short tour around the city before booking into our Hotel at Sky City. Our hotel sits at the base of the famous Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, from which you can do a controlled bungy jump or walk around the rim of the tower's platform. Alternatively you can just eat in the rotating restaurant at the top. Saboohi and I went down to the harbour to catch a ferry across to Devonport Dockyard (yes they have a naval base here too called Devenport!). In Devonport we climbed to the top Mount Victoria and had a fantastic 360 degree view of the city and the coast line – it must the best view there is in Auckland. We then had fish and chips sitting by the sea and were surrounded by gulls. This is where Saboohi took a fabulous photograph of the gulls catching chips that we had thrown up for them -tourists eh? (see photo attached).

Friday 17 April 2009

Today started with a trip to Te Puia, a Maori culture attraction that is home to the arts and crafts of the Maori people and which encompasses a number of natural geysers, the 2 largest being Pohutu and the Prince of Wales both of which erupted whilst we were there. I purchased a beautiful piece of Maori art at Te Puia called Te Manaia (The Guardian Sprit). Maoris believe that every Maori has aguardian spirit whilst on earth which protects them from evil and the Te Manaia I purchased is a contemporary depiction of this spirit. It is to be my souvenir of my trip to New Zealand. This afternoon Saboohi and I met up with my dear friend Frances who recently emigrated to NZ and made the 5 hour drive over to Rotorua to see us. It was lovely to see how happy and settled she was in her new homeland and to catch up on all the news. As we will not be able to visit her hometown during this trip (New Plymouth) she brought us a beautiful illustrated book produced by a famous NZ photographer that portrays life in her home county. We spent a leisurely afternoon in the Bath House Museum in Rotorua and then this evening we attended a Maori Hangi at the hotel. This is a traditional Maori meal with dancing and singing. The funniest part of the evening was when the men of our group were invited onto the stage to perform a traditional Maori Haka –I haven’t laughed so much for a long while but they did a great job! It was a wonderful evening.

Thursday 16 April 2009: Rotorua

We had a long drive up to Rotorua today. Roturua sits within the crater of a volcano and therefore sits on top of a geothermal bed which provides natural hot spas and bubbling mud pools. We smelt the place before we could see it because of the strong sulphur vapours. En route to Rotorua we also stopped at Huka Falls which is a narrow canyon in the middle of a fast flowing river – the result of which is a magnificent torrent of water which creates a natural water fall. You wouldn’t survive if you fell into the river at this point, that’s for sure. When we reached our hotel (Sudima Lakeside Hotel) we booked a private spa (naturally heated of course) and I had a one hour stone massage –the best massage I have ever had. Saboohi opted for a foot pamper and stress release massage. We slept well that night.

Wednesday 15 April 2009: Wellington

Today was spent in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Rather than do the half day coach trip around the city we decided to take a coastal walk just outside the city, along the Red Rocks to Sinclair point where we found a seal colony. It was a lovely sunny day and it gave us a chance to do some much needed exercise. We caught the bus to Island Bay which was as far as public transport would take us and then walked about 2K to the Marine Reserve entrance. It took us a further 4k walk along the coast before we caught sight of the seals and we may not have seen them at all if we hadn’t spoken to other walkers en route that had seen them. They are well camouflaged on the rocks. Two of those walkers were called Alistair and Bronagh Crook and their Boxer Dog “Wendy”. I got talking to them and discovered that their Son Timothy works for Transport for London and is part of the Internal Audit Team there. I said I would contact him when I got back to work and Saboohi took some photos of us all together. They offered us a lift back into Wellington which we were very grateful for and they took us the scenic route along the coast. We finished the day with a cable car ride up to the top of the botanical gardens to admire the city view and then we walked back down through the beautiful gardens. Another special day.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Tuesday was a travelling day as we drove from Queenstown over to Christchurch to catch an evening flight to Wellington on the North Island. One interesting stop was at a monument to the Sheep Dog in Mackenzie County. It was erected by farmers in the area to recognise the invaluable services to sheep farming by the Collie. It is in the most beautiful lakeside setting

Easter Monday: Trip to Milford Sound

We had a long and wet day today. We set off from our Hotel at 7.00 a.m. for the 4 hour drive down to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is actually a fiord not a sound as it was carved out of the landscape millions of years ago by glaciers. It was discovered by a Welshman who was exploring the Tasman Sea looking for seals and ventured into this small inlet only to find a magnificent and beautiful “water world” within. He named the place Milford Sound after his home town of Milford Haven in South Wales. It was misty and wet today which meant we couldn’t see the tips of the mountains surrounding the water but instead we were rewarded with hundreds of waterfalls some of which the boat was able to sail right into. We had a 2 hr cruise around the sound, got very wet but enjoyed the magnificence of nature at its best. We saw seals and a solitary dolphin too. It was certainly worth the long trek down there.

Sunday 12 April 2009 (Easter Sunday)

We were up at 6 a.m. and after an early breakfast Saboohi and I paid a final visit to the Minnehaha Walk. The weather was damp and grey for most of the morning as we drove down to the coast, through the Haast region, stopping off at Thunder Creek Falls, Makarora (where we visited a fruit farm) and Lake Wanaka on the way. Just before we reached our destination for the next 2 nights, Queenstown, Saboohi and I along with 7 other members of the tour were dropped off at the Shotover River Canyon for our Jet Boat ride. This was a truly exhilarating ride, weaving our way, at speed, through the rocky canyon. The river was shallow and fast flowing and at times we felt as though the boat was going to slam into jagged rocks. It was well worth the $109 charge. Later this evening Saboohi fulfilled one of her lifetime wishes to complete a bungy jump! Queenstown is the birthplace of bungy jumping so it was fitting that her first jump should be here. We took the gondola ride up to the Sky Swing Deck overlooking the town. It was getting dark and although fully booked already Saboohi managed to get herself a jump for that evening. I don’t think Saboohi had fully appreciated just how scary this was going to be before she actually stood up there on the ledge waiting to jump. At one point she actually thought she would not be able to jump. It took all her courage to step over the edge but she did it! What a sense of achievement - she said that it was the scariest thing she had ever done and I can believe it!

Saturday 11 April 2009

We had a long drive today, across the Southern Alps of South Island. We drove through Arthur’s Pass and on to see both Franz Joseph Glacier and Fox Glacier. We had planned to take a helicopter ride up to both glaciers so that we could walk on them but the weather drew in and the flights were cancelled. Our hotel for the evening was the Glacier Country Hotel in Fox, a very small but busy little village nestled in the valley. The highlight of the day turned out to be a walk through the native bush near to the hotel, called the Minnehaha Walk. It was like walking through the forests of Narnia, with tall trees and palms, all covered in thick damp mosses and lichens. The forest was dense and a vivid shade of green throughout, it had streams and bridges and was truly magical. Interestingly, the Chronicles of Narnia were filmed here in New Zealand and we can see why. After supper at the hotel we returned to the bush to see the glow worms. It was beautiful.

Good Friday 10 April 2009: New Zealand

A beautiful but chilly morning in Christchurch. We went to bed at about 6.00 pm last night and slept through to 6.00 a.m. this morning – that’s Jet lag for you! The morning was spent on an organised city tour on the coach which included a trip to the Christchurch Museum. Highlights here included memorabilia from Captain Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. He embarked from Lytlelton Harbour and when he failed to return from his trip in 1912 the artefacts that were recovered from his final resting place were brought back to Christchurch. After lunch we visited the Art Gallery which had a special exhibition of paintings by a local artist, Rita Angus. She is long gone now but her work was really beautiful and unusual. We had never heard about her before. We then went for a walk through the Botanical Gardens, green and lush with a river running through it on which you can hire boats and canoes or go for a punt. It is Autumn here now and the foliage on the trees is changing colour; oranges, yellows, reds...really beautiful.

Wednesday 8 April 2009: Singapore

We were up early this morning so that we could we spend time at Singapore Zoo. It is one of the top 5 zoos in the world and it certainly deserves it’s international reputation. The Zoo is arranged as though you are walking through a rainforest with animals housed within areas or large enclosures which contain natural vegetation. There are no cages and no high rise fences. Some of the birds, lizards and even monkeys can roam quite freely amongst other inhabitants and visitors alike. We saw White Tigers, Proboscis Monkeys, Tigers, Giraffes, Hippos and Polar Bears and watched a fantastic “Elephants at work and play show” during which 4 Asian elephants illustrated their logging skills as well as their painting skills! We took public transport out to the Zoo, the MRT (their equivalent of the tube) was modern, fast and reliable and we were both amazed at how all the people here speak English and all the signs and information is in English too. It cost just £4 each to get to the Zoo and back even though it was a 2 hour round trip.
At 16.30 we were picked up from our hotel (Peninsula Excelsior) and taken to the airport for what was to be the longest leg of our journey. We flew from Singapore to Sydney, arriving at 5.00 the next morning and then after a 3 hour wait, flew on to Christchurch New Zealand. We arrived in New Zealand at 13.30 the next day local time.

Singapore -7 April 2009

Our first day in Singapore started with a half day tour of the city, taking in the National Orchid Garden, Thian Hock Temple, Little India and Merlion Park. The temperature is hot and humid at the moment even though we had a few showers throughout the day. The orchid garden was truly spectacular and as a special reminder of this beautiful place (the orchid is the national flower of Singapore) we bought a RISIS gold covered orchid (only available here in Singapore). There are hundreds of different hybrids here, many of which have been named after celebrities and VIPs. The pure white “Princess Diana” orchid was particularly stunning. This afternoon we went to the famous Raffles Hotel for afternoon tea and gorged ourselves on sandwiches, cakes and some more traditional Singaporean delicacies. A harpist entertained us throughout with popular tunes and songs from the musicals. Raffles Hotel also contains its own mall of specialist shops and in one of them- Elliott & Carmen- Saboohi purchased the most beautiful pearl necklace especially for my birthday. Once I had tried it on she insisted that I left the shop while she squeezed them down to the price that she felt was reasonable –poor things didn’t stand a chance. To finish the evening we sat in the outside bar in Raffles Hotel and enjoyed a very strong and tasty Singapore Sling. A great first day.

21 March 2009

A beautiful sunny spring day and to celebrate, my new car and I went for a "bonding session" and drove down to Brighton, Sussex. I had to get to know and understand her better (i.e. must put my foot on the brake to get her into drive, must have handbrake on to open up the roof etc) and by the end of the trip we had reached a good level of understanding!

15 March 2009: Mid life Crisis starts today!

I purchased a beautiful black Porsche Boxster today, complete with savannah leather interior and soft top. This is the first time in my life that I have had the spare cash to splash out on a fun car and boy am I going to enjoy it. I know what I'm doing next weekend!

14 March 2009: Reunion with old friends

Today Saboohi met my friends Dawn and Roger for the first time. We haven't been in touch for over 3 years now but we made contact again recently through facebook. I was surprised that they were still in the country as they had been hoping to emigrate to Canada (where Dawn is from) but their plans have been put on hold for now. Dawn's daughterJaime is settled now in Brighton and won't move back and her youngest Jess has been back to Canada but now wants to go to university in the UK. Dawn looks fab and has lost alot of weight and Roger is the same old Roger (thank goodness). We walked and ate our way around London, ending up at Patisserie Valerie in Covent Garden for a cake and coffee. A lovely day.

8 March 2009 - The Sha' Abbas Exhibition at The British Museum

For their Birthdays I bought Zora, Sam and Mumina tickets to see the latest Exhibition at The British Museum - The Remaking of Iran. It tells the story of Sha'Abbas who reigned in Iran in the late 1400's and is remembered for the way in which he opened up (and capitalised on) the trade routes between Iran and the West and East and positioned Iran as a major commercial trader in the world, with power and influence. Many of the artefacts on display have never been outside of Iran before and the exhibition was full of Iranians! Exhibits included priceless carpets, blue and white chinese pottery, silks and stunning paintings. We all had audio guides to help us to understand the history of each beautiful exhibit as well as valued input from Mumina, Saboohi and Zora too. It would be lovely to think that Saboohi could take me to Iran one day to see the beautiful city of Istafan with all its treasures...I would like that. We had lunch in a nearby restaurant "Denise's" and afternoon tea in a coffee shop just across from the museum's entrance. A lovely day.

7 March 2009 - Horse Riding in The New Forest

What a busy weekend! On Saturday Saboohi and I headed off down to the New Forest for a half day Western Style horse riding experience followed by a BBQ back at the Burley Villa Stables. The weather was surprising mild and dry and our horses were old hands at this trekking lark so it was a pleasant and enjoyable outing. My horse RIO was stubborn, lazy but reliable - a bit like her rider! She needed lots of encouragement to get her moving and they put me at the back of the ride so that she didn't hold everyone else up. By the time I got off her at the end of the trek I could hardly walk. Poor Saboohi and the rest of the riders stumbled around the courtyard too, suffering with stiff legs and knees, so I was in good company.

When we returned home that evening we picked up our friend Sandi Jenner and went to see the new film The Young Victoria at Sutton Empire. It tells the lesser known story of Princess Victoria before she became Queen and in the early stage of her reign. It was beautiful, romantic and inspiring and I loved it.

1 March 2009

We have been to see some great movies over the last few days; "Doubt" starring Meryl Streep which we saw at The Odean Leicester Square on Friday night and last night, after returning from a visit to Mum and Dad down in Bognor Regis, we went to see Clint Eastwood's latest film "Gran Torino". Both fabulous, moving and thought provoking films which Saboohi and I really enjoyed. Today however we used 2 complimentary tickets that I got from work, to go as see the "Who do you think you are? Live 2009" exhibition at Olympia in London. We sat in on 2 talks, one by Leslie Garratt who recounted her experiences on the show and her family story - which included a great grandfather who "accidently" poisoned his wife with carbolic acid! The whole story was very suspect but he got away with it! Leslie waqs very entertaining and told us many stories related to her family that hadn't be covered in the programme. We also sat in on a DNA workshop which explained how we are all descended from a single human being (or maybe 2) who would have lived in Africa millions of years ago. Also, the way our DNA is constructed means that we are most closely linked to our Great Grandparents (father's male line and Mother's female line). It was fascinating, if a little heavy at times for me. I purchased membership of "Findmypast.com" so that I can try and find out which member of my Grandmother Lydia's family went over to Australia. She told us about it just before she died but all we know is that it was her mother's sister. Let's see what I can find out.

24 February 2009

Our friend Louise Farrell from South Africa came round for Supper tonight and stayed overnight. Louise was one of our guides when we went on the Walking Women trip to South Africa last Summer and she has just arrived in London where she hopes to settle and work for awhile. It is not a good time to be job hunting in London as we entered a severe recession late last year and many people are being made redundant and the banks, whose outragious risk taking has got us into this economic mess, are relying on billions of pounds of tax payers money to keep them afloat. Louise specialises in Project Management in the finance sector so she may find it a struggle to find an opening initially. We had a great evening and hope to see much more of here now she is based over here.

22 February 2009

It was Mumina's birthday today and Saboohi hosted a lovely family party for her at our house in Sutton. All her children attended; Saboohi, Sabha, Saghi and Zora plus wives, husbands and partners, grandchildren and a few friends of the family. The Iranian cuisine was as delicious as ever and the air was filled with Farsi conversations and Iranian music. The picture shows Mumina (Pooran) with her grandchildren Chloe and Sophie.

The Queen's Visit: 20 February 2009

A very special day in the calendar today as The Queen and Prince Philip came to open the brand new offices where Saboohi works at Thames Valley University (Paragon House). Saboohi has been working flat out to prepare for the visit and make sure that her floor (11th) was finished and dressed for the occasion. She was directly involved in making sure that all the right people were invited to this special occassion (business people, dignitaries etc) and for designing the stand for her Future Skills department. It was one of those days where you work flat out and before you know it you are herded into a line and in a flash The Queen herself is standing in front of you, shaking your hand and asking you what you do at the University. She also asked her how long she had been at the University and if she was enjoying it. "you have quite a challenge" she said as she moved along the line. Saboohi was struck by how petite she was with strikingly blue eyes. Once she moved on Saboohi turned back to find Prince Philip standing directly in front of her. She had forgotten that he would be there! Prince Philip has been stood down from Royal Duties recently because of his bad back and this was his first trip out since then. The Palace officials warned the University that he may be a little "playful"! He asked Saboohi what she did at the University and if she taught there. "you are not a native are you?" he enquired in the true Prince Philip "disarming" fashion. "where are you from?". Saboohi explained that she was from Iran and that she had taught at the University in Tehran. "What did you study and teach?" asked The Prince. Saboohi answered that she had studied Engineering and taught the subject at the University there. "Oh, an intelligent one!" responded the Prince. Impressed, he moved onto his next target. Saboohi reflected on how much Prince Philip reminded her of my Dad, except the Prince was shorter.

It wasn't until after the visit that Saboohi could fully appreciate the magnitude of the occassion and the part she had played in it. It is a very rare opportunity to be able to spend time in The Queen's presence, to talk directly with her and to share small snippets of your life with her. A moment of history in your own lifetime and therefore a very, very special day.

18 February 2009 -Supper with an old friend

I met up with Helen Herrington after work today. She was in town doing some shopping and meeting up with her son on the South Bank. It was lovely to see her and catch up on news. We went for an Italian in a restuarant opposite The Duke of Yorks Theatre. She had planned to be on a cruise in the Caribbean now with her Sister but had to cancel at the last minute when her poor Sister broke her ankle. Instead she has now booked a flight to New York on Saturday and is going across "the pond" to spend a week with her daughter Caroline. She was interested to hear about our trip to New Zealand and Australia in April and suggested we visit a place called "Jim Thompson's House" when we have our 2 day stop over in Bankok. I will add that to our list.

Tuesday 17 February 2009

We were invited round to Sandra and Ingrid's for supper after work this evening. Sandra is at home for a few days after spending weeks up in Cheadle caring for her Mum Pat who recently suffered a stroke. She has to return to Cheadle on Thursday so it is only a brief stop over. We had a veritable feast (roast dinner) and took the opportunity to catch up on news. It looks as though she is going to spend most of her time up in Cheshire over the coming months until it becomes clearer what support Pat is going to need. It is clear that she is not going to walk again and will need dedicated care. Her spirits high though at the moment. God bless her.