Home Away From Home....

England's Guest House, Yate - one of several B & Bs I've frequented

Just thought I would see whether I might be able to post just one picture and - lo and behold! - I was successful!! Now the thing will be to try to re-post the pictures that Irefused to be posted for the last few days so......... stay tuned!

Where ARE Those Pictures???

I think we're all asking the same question - that is, if we're not asking what the following error means: 'Memcache value is null for FormRestoration'. Anyway, the bottom line is that, as of the last few days, there is some kind of problem with posting pictures. I have read several messages, on a blogger forum, and everyone is equally frustrated with what's happening, but no-one has yet come up with a solution! All this to let you know that there is definitely a problem, but there is nothing that I know to do to fix the problem... Any one out there, reading this, have any suggestions??

Once a Teacher...Times Four!

On a beautiful, sunny, Tuesday morning, four former teachers converged on Basingstoke, Hampshire. They travelled, by train, from Camberwell (London) Gillingham (Dorset) and Witley (Surrey). This quartet of pedagogues had served their time at Portsmouth College of Education in the 1960s and had come together to have fun, to reminisce .... and to have more fun! As the fearless four were taking a stroll together, amongst the trees adorned in their fall colours, what should they come upon, but some outdoor exercise equipment.... In no time at all, they were trying out the various pieces of equipment, deciding which body parts would benefit most from each exercise!
,,

Maggie, Jane, Brenda

After our stroll in the park, plus an exploration of Basingstoke itself, we were ready for ' quelquechose a manger'. ..and thanks to Brenda's gourmet card for 'Cafe Rouge', we were able to dine for half price!
Bravo, Brenda - et merci beaucoup!!

Jane, Maggie, Brenda

Bon appetit, tout le monde!!


After our day out together in Basingstoke, Brenda and Maggie headed off in the direction of Waterloo and Jane and I returned to Gillingham (Dorset). The next day she drove me to nearby Shaftesbury. In spite of showers both before and after, the sun shone for a quick look at picturesque Gold Hill, with its cobbled street and quaint cottages, as well as the panoramic view of the countryside beyond.

Gold Hill

Countryside beyond..

Malcolm and Jane

Many thanks for a most enjoyable stay at Pike House!

A Day - or Two - at the Seaside...

Last Thursday saw me on my way down to the seaside town of Sidmouth, Devon. I had been invited by Ffiona, a friend from Caversham Primary School days. In fact, her mother, Maretta, taught me when the family first moved to the area, when I was 7 years-old! Ffiona and I used to go to Brownies together, at Highmoor Hall, and have remained in touch, to a greater or lesser degree, ever since....

Somewhat cloudy for our walk around Sidmouth - but no rain.

How about this for biking terrain??

Ffiona - with the Sidmouth sands and cliffs in the background.

'Eglantine', Ffiona's 1820s 'Holiday Home'.

Many thanks for a very pleasant interlude, Ffiona. It was fun sitting there , wracking our brains to try to remember names of our former classmate and teachers from so long ago - and we'll dfinitely make sure that another 25 years doesn't go by before we get together again!!

On Friday morning, Ffiona drove me to nearby Budleigh Salterton, a lovely Devon seaside town I had visited several times in the late '60s, when Cousin Mags' husband, Alan managed the Barclay's Bank on the High Street, across from 'The Feathers'.

Entering Budleigh Salterton, via the one-lane, cross-country road from Sidmouth.

Apparently there was a beaver at work in Budleigh Salterton - a Canadian connection??

Barclay's Bank, High Street, Budleigh Salterton - with spacious, two-storey flat above, where Mags and Alan lived for a while...

..and 'The Feathers' opposite (undergoing a bit of a facelift?)

Methinks Totty's has been around for awhile!

Looking forward to my visit with you, next weekend, in Callington, Cornwall, Mags and Alan!

Cambridge and Ely

Last weekend, I enjoyed a lovely visit to Cambridge and nearby Ely. When I stepped off the train I was met by my dear friend, Ruth, from schooldays at The Abbey, then we rode on the bus into Cambridge town centre, where we enjoyed coffee with Ruth's sister, Chris. From there we went on to meet Ruth's daughter, Briony, who has just begun a course in Cambridge. It was lovely to see both Chris and Briony again!

Saturday was the Apple Festival in Ely and it was a beautiful day for wandering around, enjoying the sights and tasting apples in various forms. With Vancouver Island, and specifically Sidney-by-the-Sea, having several times been the gathering place of town criers for their world championships, I was of course keen to chat with Ely's town crier, to see whether, perchance, she had been one of those town criers who had travelled to our fair town of Sidney-by-the-Sea...
Here I am, with Avril Hayter-Smith, Official Town Crier to the City of Ely - who offered to let me hold her bell for the picture!

Here are several of the musicians.....

..who could be heard playing their ancient instruments.

Ely's 'Eel Pie'!

Ruth and Bern and I enjoyed several delicious meals together, during the course of the weekend.
Here Bern is about to 'attack' a generous serving of Eton Mess!!

Ruth and Bern
Many thanks to you both for yet another memorable and enjoyable visit! You have certainly retired to a beautiful spot...

Alpine Views Around Haute Nendaz and Elsewhere...

Pedalling Beside Lake Geneva (Lac Leman)

We had our sights set on le Chateau de Chillon, made famous by Lord Byron when he wrote his poem'The Prisoner of Chillon'.

We rented bikes at la Gare de Montreux, then we were on our way - but with several stops for photo ops!

Here we are at le Chateau de Chillon!

An imposing sight from all angles...

Pedalling in the other direction from Montreux, still beside the lake, but heading towards Vevey, first we encountered this fork...

..and then Charlie Chaplin!

SIXTY Pounds??!! (Pounds Sterling, that is...)

Yes, that's what I was told it would cost, when I presented to be weighed, at the Post Office, what I thought was just a small box of 'stuff' to mail back to Canada!! I had decided that I need to lighten my baggage load, but certainly not at that price! I have since sifted through the items in the box and a local charity shop ended up receiving more than half of the 'stuff'... I'm still debating what to do with the rest... Just over 4lb could go for just over 14 pounds sterling, but even that is pretty steep! More anon...

Apologies..

Pam and Peter

(It seems your picture somehow evaporated into thin air, before I could post it.... Sorry!)

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

This past week was a real trip down Memory Lane, as I visited with a number of friends of decidedly long-standing!
My trip started in Reading, where I attended The Abbey School, more than fifty years ago!! I stayed overnight with the Pages - Janey (Beeston) and Mike. Janey not only attended The Abbey, where we overlapped for a number of years, but she spent many more years there, on staff. Mike attended Reading School, where he was in the same year as my brother, Jim.


Janey and Mike


My next overnighter was at the home of Pam (Smith) and Peter Hemment, in Guildford. A few years ago, Pam and Peter came to BC, so were able to visit me in Sidney-by-the-Sea, at that time.
Pam also attended The Abbey, but I knew her before those days. She lived quite near me, on Upper Warren Avenue, and for some time we were part of the same Brownie pack, meeting in Highmoor Hall each week. I remembered that, for a while, I was in the 'Imp' six -" ...quick and quiet as any shrimps"!

Also living in Guildford are Roger and Venetia Howes. Roger attended Reading School, as well, and his sisters, Jackie and Penny , attended The Abbey. Over the years, all members of the families Howes and Wilkie became great friends, often getting together on weekends. Rog and I were remembering some of the punting trips us 'youngsters' enjoyed together and how the punt was often so loaded that we were in danger of being soaked by the wash from any motorboat that didn't slow down sufficiently when passing us...



Roger and Venetia


A relatively short train ride from Guildford brought me to Waterloo Station, in London, where I was scheduled to meet Maggie (Boys) Fletcher under the clock! Everything went according to plan and my next overnighter was spent at the home of Maggie and Philip, in Camberwell. Maggie and Philip visited me, while they were on a trip to BC, in 2003. Maggie's and my years at Portsmouth College of Education (then known as Portsmouth Training College) overlapped, so it was time for me to change gears, from schoolfriends to college friends, to try to recall some of those names eluding us!

Maggie and Philip

It was SO good to be able to spend time with so many 'old' friends, all in such a short space of time...
A HUGE bouquet of thanks to you all, for opening your hearts and homes to me, during my extended travels!

Time to Move On.....

...from Bournemouth.

I have to admit that I'm taking a little poetic licence today, as this shot of the sun rising over the rooftops of Bournemouth was in fact taken at the end of last week! Anyway, you get the idea....

It is now several hours since sunrise and I'm just about to make my way to the train station to start my cross-country journey to Reading, via Southampton and Basingstoke. My seaside sojourn has sped by! I have been able to get together with a number of friends, as well as have the opportunity to explore the area by foot, bike, bus, train and car! I have been blessed with dry weather, some hot sunshine, blustery winds and mild temperatures, so that has been amazing for early October...

I shall be staying tonight with friends in Reading (where I went to school) then tomorrow night in Guildford, on to London and Ely, then criss-cross the country to Cornwall - I think - before returning to Chipping Sodbury. No date set for my return to Canada.

Hope all you Canadians out there had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend; we have SO much for which to be thankful, haven't we? Must say, I missed that turkey dinner - now I'll have to wait until Christmas...or perhaps, American Thanksgiving??! Thanks for all the Thanksgiving greetings, and for those who sent news of your doings, plus comments on mine - I think there is some way comments can be made on the blog page itself, so shall have to look into that....

Biking, Busing - but No Time for the Steam Train!

Another blustery day, but thanks to the trusty 'Townie', I made it from one end of the promenade to the other - and back again ! - in a couple of hours... Although the way looks clear in the picture (note Bournemouth Pier in the background) riding was made decidedly hazardous in places. Quantities of sand had been blown up on to the promenade, forming 'drifts' of varying sizes.... I was glad that a helmet came with the bike, but thankfully I wasn't thrown from my 'steed', even when negotiating some quite significant drifts!





(Still don't have the hang of how to move these pictures around and place them exactly where I'd like them to be. It seems that sometimes 'drag and drop' works, whereas other times it doesn't, so you'll just have to take things as they come!)

When I arrived at the Sandbanks end of the promenade, the kitesurfers were once again out in full - even more of them today it
being Saturday...

After my somewhat energetic couple of hours, battling a pretty strong headwind for half the time, I was ready to sit and let someone else do the work. A ride to Swanage on the open-top bus seemed just the thing, but given the windiness of the day, I was glad that the top deck of the bus had the front part closed in! Our route took us along the cliff-top, above where I had pedalled earlier, bringing me once again to Sandbanks.

Here the bus drove on to the chain ferry, which took us across from Poole Bay.......



.......to Studland Bay.





The bus, with its passengers still aboard, continued on its merry way, through narrow lanes and open heathland....


.....to Swanage....




..where there was just time to nip onto the station platform, where 'Thomas, the Tank Engine'
was all steamed up and ready to take an eager group of steam enthusiasts on a nostalgic ride.
No time for me to join that group, as within moments, I was on another bus, en route for Poole and Bournemouth....




.....via Corfe Castle, plus other picturesque places along the way. All in all, a day well spent!

(A note of thanks to those who have commented and/or sent e-mails. I really appreciate receiving them and hearing all your news, but do apologize for not having replied to them yet. that is definitely on my 'to do' list!)