Reflections from a cruise…
I’m writing this as I sit on my cabin balcony gazing out at the open ocean. Rosemary and I are in the middle of 25 days of unaccustomed ease and luxury as we celebrate her retirement some 20 months ago. We have cruised around Iceland and Norway and will soon be exploring Amsterdam and Belgium before docking in Southhampton when a second cruise will take us all the way around the United Kingdom. It’s been glorious. I can’t remember the last time our most pressing decision was which of the dozen plus dining options we will make use of tonight, or how many of the desserts we’ll attempt to...
Read MoreA Walk in the Woods…
This week Rosemary and I managed a short escape down Margaret River way, in part to celebrate my 66th birthday. Most of the family joined us and we were amply accommodated in a cavernous home that could have coped with a party twice our size. The weather was great in a wintery way – cold and sometimes misty, but nothing to stop us carrying out our plans, one of which was to walk the Chimney Trail in Wooditjup National park – a walk suitable for both 5 and 65 year olds (we did it the day before my birthday, when I was younger). A few things struck me from our walk in the woods....
Read MoreBecause we all need six weeks off…
A good friend was chatting about his recent visit to the dentist. As his mouth was trapped in a permanently open gape the dentist was doing all the talking, and was running through the woes of the world. He kept going for a long time and then concluded, “with all that has been going on, I think everyone needs six weeks off.” It’s a rather appealing idea that… the whole world taking six weeks off. It made me reflect on a recent walk Rosemary and I had been taking on the shared cyclist-pedestrian footpath. It was a sunny day and keeping to the left as we were supposed...
Read MoreThe noisy table…
Deciding a visit to the UK would not be complete without a meal at the local pub, last night Rosemary and I took advantage of the two for one pricing of the mixed grill, and prepared for a new experience. Downstairs was super busy so we retreated to an upstairs corner. Only four tables were occupied – one with four older people, another with a middle aged couple, a single person at yet another, and then the two of us made up the fourth. We thought it would be ideal – not too noisy, a place for a pleasant conversation debriefing on our day of exploring Lincoln Castle and its...
Read MoreAbout a holiday…
I recently returned from a wonderful family holiday in Japan. The selection of Japan was based largely on its amazing ski fields (a really important factor for my oldest son Nic) and that it would be culturally enriching while still being a country where you can get by with English – albeit that the occasional misunderstanding occurs. So what are my reflections from this time? First, holidays really matter, and it’s worth scrimping and saving a little during the year to ensure that you can have one. They also need to be long enough. I had two weeks of leave before we left, and it...
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