Christmas at the Old Byre in Derbyshire 2013.

Saturday 21^st December 6am. Alarm ringing. Time to get up, it is holiday time. Hmm, it is cold, dark, pouring with rain & blowing a gale as it has been most of the night. Shall we stay in bed? Noooo get up.

Soon the car is packed to the rafters with Christmas pud, wine, beer and PRESENTS!! We leave around 7.15  destination Derbyshire. Once it got light & the further north we got the better the weather. Soon we arrived at the Old Byre, actually sooner than we thought & the owner had not left the key in the designated place. I was in desperate need of the loo and I mean desperate. Luckily Ian managed to wake the poor woman from her bed, well it was 9.30. Soon we were in the house, I immediately visited the downstairs loo… and relax. Perhaps too much info for you, but it is my diary after all.

Anne & Joyce were only a few minutes behind us and soon we were unloading cars & filling the house with all manner of Christmas cheer and trash. A quick and uneventful trip to Sainsbury’s to top up supplies. (Anne & Ian had to be stopped from purchasing additional items as usual)  Back to the house, unpack, open champagne & Christmas cards, eat choclit and relax.

Sunday we had a visit to Chatsworth House as they had it decorated in the style of the Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe. It was excellent, bit pricy but well worth it. We made the effort to go there early and by judging the queues of traffic for a few miles out of the estate when we left, we made the right decision.

 We then went to Eyam, a Village that suffered the plague in 1665. Eyam isolated itself to prevent the disease from spreading, much of the population died during that time. We were told it is quite safe to live there as long as you do not dig in the plague burial sites! Right ok then. Seriously lovely village and very interesting place to visit. Managed a hot chocolate & very nice sandwich in the local café. Checked for signs of plague later none visible so far.

Monday. Kept awake most of the night by wind & rain lashing & howling against the velux  windows in our room. We venture into Bakewell to pick up our goose from the butchers, oh and 2 pork pies that were so fresh they were still hot. Good job Anne & Mr. F Did not know that or else they might have been devoured on the short trip back home.

The Winnings are going to visit us today. We were supposed to meet up in Bakewell but the weather is so bad they are coming to the house. Ian lights the fire. We are in the kitchen preparing the food. I can smell the fire. More prep, smell gets stronger, well it is windy out there. Smell now very strong I mention it at about the same time 5 smoke alarms go off. DON’T PANIC.

The living room is filled with smoke, we run around opening doors, windows anything that will open is opened.  We manage to put out the fire (Log burning stove so no open flames) Ian suffered a slight singeing of the thumb. The Winnings arrive to a cold a quite smelly house. However it was really lovely to see them and spend a couple of hours together, I think they eventually warmed up.

Christmas Eve we attempt to light the fire again thinking it must have been the wind blowing the smoke back in, same thing happens so we have to get the owner to come & have a look, He is quiet calm about his beautiful house filled with acrid smoke and in a few minutes has the fire blazing away. Cold chimney syndrome we are told (Air block) which means it wont draw and blows all the smoke out. Soon Ian, he & I are chatting away about Rugby and peace reigns again.

Christmas day.

Still no signs of plague.

Soon Santa arrives and we spend the day opening our lovely presents, drinking champagne, excellent wines and eating a wonderful goose for our Christmas dinner.

Guess what Santa brought Anne

Ho Ho Ho

Not much else to report, no eventful burnings down or other calamities, Just a nice relaxing time. We did not manage to complete the very hard WASGIJ before we had to depart although we gave it a good try. Ian & I had to leave on the Friday morning as yet again work calls me in. By 9.30 I was sitting at my desk, while Ian ran around and unpacked at home.

I am sure Anne & Joyce missed us after we had left but they seemed to have a very good time in Bakewell on Saturday morning just the 2 of them. The text “We are in Bakewell having a coffee and enjoying the shops” did not go down too well with me as I picked it up from the office. (yes Saturday) Jealous? Me? Most definitely.

Might now have signs of plague or is it just melancholy or over indulgence?

Now I have almost forgotten to mention Mr. Rudolph words cannot express the fun that he brought to us. I hope that the video clip work on here.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Memo to self - remember to Google for incubation period of plague!

Pre Fire, fire

Ian doing the usual

Some Sadness

A lot has happened since my last diary. Sadly Marg passed away in November, so it was with a heavy heart we went up to Newcastle in early December for her funeral. It was a freezing cold day with ice upon the ground but bright & sunny.  Which I think she would have been quite pleased with, as she hated the rain & bad weather. Many things occurred after she was taken ill in Early November and I think I have yet to realise the finality of the situation.

Looking on the Bright Side. A long Weekend in Suffolk

We drove from Newcastle to Suffolk early on the Saturday morning as we had a 6-hour drive ahead of us. We actually did it in 4.5 hours arriving in Aldeburgh just after 11.30.

Now this was the week of the tidal surges down the east coast of the UK and the first thing that greeted me on the doormat of Corner Cottage was an evacuation notice. Do not fret, the danger had passed and we were soon ensconced on our cosy cottage.

Mr. & Mrs Scott were also party to this weekend. It is our pre Christmas, Christmas! Tradition that has run for oohh 1 year (2 Christmases) and long may it continue. However the Scotts had not arrived as early as us. So we unpacked the car, had a sandwich and then went walkabout down the busy high street.

Back to the house but no sign of Jon & Sarah, no phone signal either Hmm. Suddenly we spied their car down the road now where could they be????

A glance across the road & we believed that we had the answer. The White Hart a traditional Suffolk pub and yes Adnams on tap, the Scotts ensconced inside. Jon was particularly happy and on his 2^nd pint.

Much chat, drinking, laughing was had. Newcastle beat Man Utd 1. 0 at Old Trafford an event that had not happened for 42 years or something! Mr. F was very happy, so we had another drink.

Back to Corner cottage, unpacked Sarah & Jon’s car, some nibbles & tea! Later we feasted on Aldeburgh Fish & chips and more tea! Well Sarah & I had a glass of wine. Watched Strictly, admired the dresses and Jon gave the girls points for jiggling as they ran up the stairs. Three of us went to bed early, lovely fresh clean linen and snuggly duvets we sort of slept ok a bit warm under those duvets.

Up to a bright & breezy Sunday morning. First stop after prising Mr. Scott from his bed (Felling slightly jaded) was Southwold. We did the pier; the sea was very brown still stirring from the surge. Luckily the fountain clock was at the wrong time so it managed to perform for Jon and Sarah. However a lot of the beach huts had been washed away.

We had hot chocolates and lattes and visited the Adnams shop. Beer, Pudding wine, lemoncello and beer chutney were purchased. Back to Aldeburgh.  Jon had a bit of a rest while Sarah, Ian & I went for a walk towards Thorpeness. It was really lovely. On the way back we sorted out a restaurant for dinner that night. Stopped off for a beverage in that pub um err its called the Crown, no the ship. Actually called the Cross keys, lovely Smokey real fire, Adnams & wine perfect.

Dinner that night was in the Lighthouse restaurant; Fresh Cod on Creamed Leeks, Flounder with Ratatouille and Sea bass were some of the choices. Followed by Boozy Banana pancakes that Ian really enjoyed. I might have had a taste.

Monday we went to Minsmere. Well Jon drove us there & then went on a secret mission to goodness knows where, he won’t tell us! We had a good walk, not many birds about but the devastation from the tidal surge was really evident.

Monday night saw us visit the renowned Crown at Westleton (Will & Kate fame). First impression excellent! Really old Country pub/hotel/restaurant, Classy Christmas deckers, Christmas trees, open fires and lovely ambiance.

Service ok but slow at times but very nice people. Food was good but rather on the chilly side. I think that we were expecting the wow factor.  As I said the food was good but too much acclaim can be a bad thing. Our expectations were sky high & unfortunately they were not met. We were supposed to get a taxi there but no such luck. Jon drew the short straw. Well he offered & we did not argue, but felt guilty. (So that made it OK !!)

Tuesday! Still off work but feeling a bit glum as “all good things coming to an end” We drag Jon down to the fish sheds and purchase Cod and Dover Sole, fresh as a daisy. Walk down to the Clam sculpture. Many photos later we reluctantly leave Aldeburgh and head for Orford. We have tried to get there a couple of times over the weekend but the road is closed due to the floods. (ha ha not us, or maybe…..).

A quick scoot about on a muddy harbour, lunch in the pub and all too soon we are headed home.

What a lovely, lovely time we had. And did you know that Newcastle beat Man Utd at Old Trafford. 1 nil. The first time in 42 years.

Well WE do!  Howay the lads!

Yo Ho Ho & a bottle of Rum or a Raspberry Woo Woo or two oo.

Arrrrr me hearty, shiver me timbers, pieces of eight etc etc. It is Saturday October 12^th and we are going to Portsmouth for the weekend with Sarah & Jon. There has been a fair amount of sea faring emailing mostly from Mr Scott but we soon got the arrangements sorted out. We are meeting at the Portsmouth Historical Dockyard and are going to see the Mary Rose exhibition, HMS Victory a boat trip and so much more, hence the sea faring jargon and emailing. Hence the excitement.

Mr F’s new car has arrived so I get to drive it whilst he reads up on all the new gadgets, sets the radio stations etc etc. Despite being slightly wary of driving the new pride and joy we are soon pulling into the car park just about the same time as Sarah & Jon. (More sea faring noises and welcome greetings).

After a noggin of Costa coffee and beating out the weevils from a lemon & poppy seed muffin (I jest) we are soon headed in the glorious Portsmouth sunshine for the Mary Rose. We have been told how good this is & we were not disappointed. The ship was underwater / silt for 425 years thus preserving many artefacts. There was a lot to see and do (games and quizzes) but not too much reading therefore speeding up the process. Normally it takes Ian twice as long to get around a museum as anyone else as he likes to read EVERYTHING. We had a site pass which meant we could see everything there, we got a great deal from Virgin experience days and it was £30 for 2 of us normal price £52. Plus the tickets are valid for as many visits as you like within the year. All four of us were blown away by the exhibition alone.

Being such a beautiful day we opted for the boat trip next. Up on the top deck in the lovely warm sunshine we had great views of the dockyard. A running commentary was provided by a very witty sailor person. It was very informative, funny and cleverly delivered making the trip even more enjoyable than just having the delight of being on a boat.

The sea air has given us an appetite and raging thirst, so we made our way to the local hostelry. This proved to be a very lucrative move. We got a sandwich (steak & onion for us non veggies), chips and a drink (Wine and beer) for £5 and it was good too. Suitably refreshed we head back to the dockyard and HMS Victory. 5 decks, 104 cannons, lots of cannon balls and some pretend horn blowing later we disembark.

By this time our feet are screaming for relief so it is off to the hotel we go. Just a holiday inn and despite me booking the wrong one J it was better than the intended version.

After a short rest (too short) we are heading back into town for drinks and dinner. Bar 38 is heaving with people out on the town, it is rather noisy for us oldies but that does not stop us from enjoying the 2-4-1 cocktails. Jon & Ian settle for Long Island Iced teas whilst Sarah & I dabble with a Little Miss Sunshine followed by a Raspberry Woo Woo. We all agree that we are happy that we are not young anymore and have to hang out in these places until all hours of the night. (A sure sign of getting old) Jamie’s Italian was dinner destination. The food was good (when we got it), it was such a shame that they had run out of several dishes and the service was very slow.

Soon we were back in the hotel and in our beds being tired from lots of walking & too much excitement.

Sunday morning dawned grey & gloomy. We were hoping the weather forecast to be wrong so we could go for a walk by the sea. Alas this was not to be, so we made do with a good cooked breakfast and some retail therapy.

All of us are planning to go back and do it again – it was a great weekend and a great time was had by all. Even if we were tired for 2 days afterwards, I blame the walking some blame the cocktails.