I hope that this finds you all well and happy.  It has been a lovely few days here weatherwise with above normal temps. We really have been so lucky this past winter it has been the mildest for a number of years. The only complaint is from water boards as there has been so little rain that it is feared that come summer they will be forced to bring in water restrictions, I think wessex water who provide our water has said that our area is not one that is in a critical situation but one can never tell.

Last week Mary and I seemed to be making good use of each and every day. Mondays as always we have Pam my friend over and then we all go to guild our speaker last week was explaining all about submerines ! not somthing I thought would be very interesting but it turned out to be better than I expected...Tuesday as we did not have bible study ( it being school mid term holiday and our minster tries to have the holiday with her son)  we went to a place called Radstock. I had read that the museum there was having a display of over 200 patchwork quilts..normally it is about a 40 min drive to Radstock...however we hit road works and it took us over an hour to get  there....never mind...lets get parked I said ,and we can have coffee before we start in the cafe, ( I had read up all about the museum!!) we got to the door and I pushed..no response..Mary had a go...same... now sensible people would have checked the opening time !! as you know by now I can occasionally LOL be not very sensible....the place did not open till 2.30pm we were there banging on the doors at mid day !! Now I do not really know Radstock very well at all so did not know where we could go so decided just to continue on the road that we had parked in hopeing to perhaps find somewhere....after about 1/2 mile Mary remarked that the road was getting a bit rough..I said ..no worries it's a back road...and drove on...another 1/2 mile on...and we came to a dead end !!! it certainly was not the best trip ever !!!  but we plan to go again hopefully one day this coming week...in the afternoon this time LOL............  Thurs. found us up bright and early as we were going into Bath to see a recording of one of our fav. TV shows called "Flog It" people bring their antiques etc to be valued and if interestng will be filmed for the show...Peter took a day of work to take Mary and me...as we had to be there real early Mitch my BIL said if we parked by the house he would take us down town in his car as there was very little parking around the Assembley Rooms in Bath...This all went smoothly and we had a lovely few hours. I had taken a few limited edition paper weights to be valued but as they are comparativly new they were not of much value ! the autograph of Princess Diana that she signed in our visitors book when she visited Mum and I would have been more valuable if it had been on a page on it's own  (when we asked her to sign we said it would be in the visitors book amongs others) it might bring £30 if I had wanted to sell...which I didn't.  Peter took some old 78 records only one was of any value and that was an Elvis one which might get £70. !! but as we hadn't gone to really have valuations it was just nice to watch how the programme was made...another enjoyable day...

Sunday I had a day of rest  so to speak and did not go to church !  We had arranged to go to Bristol.  Mary Peter and I to see the of Wildlife of the Year Photographic exhibition.  I won't drive in Bristol so Peter was the volounteer !!!  we met Beth and Max there and we all agreed that it was a great exhibition there were about 100 pictures taken by all sorts of people down to ages 10 !!  Afterwards Beth and Max took us out to a very nice pub for lunch....another lovely day..

This past week Mary and I were at the theatre in Bath again, this week to see the play The Kings Speech..The production was a coup for Bath as it is one of only 5 places before it goes on to take London West End by storm. after that it heads for Broadway... It is certainly one of the top must see plays of the year. I hope that perhaps you have seen the film and but please if you ever get the chance to see the stage version do go . It is wonderful and there was a standing ovation at the end...

Just before I came on here tonight I was looking at an article on the web site of the National Trust they were descibing some names of places for a walk and they struck me as so funny I thought that I should share them with you to give you a laugh as well....... so get your walking boots on and we can stroll through

Scrubby Bottoms  in Wales,   Booby's Bay in Cornwall,  Windy Gap in Surrey, Slappers Rock in Cornwall, Kiss me Arse Steps again in Cornwall.  Scratch Arse Ware in dorset,  Cock up Bridge in Cambridge   Pisser Clough in Yorkshire and our last one will take us over to the Isle of Wight where we stroll along

The Nostrals  !!!!

Good Night Friends and remember always  to LOVE ONE ANOTHER....

Africa revisited...

I am glad that you enjoyed the trip to the Game reserve when we were in South Africa.   Mary and I do enjoy South Africa very much and another holiday we had was one when we stayed in Cape Town. This really is a lovely city which is dominated by the famous Table Mountain, take the cable car to the top,  where there are stunning 360degree views across Table Bay, the Cape Flats and back across the chain of mountains making up Table Mountain. We then descended and drove through city, the tour guide pointing sites of historical and architectural significance, including the oldest building in South Africa, built in 1666, the Castle of Good Hope. We then continue to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens which are famous for winning flower shows around the world. These gardens are especially lovely and they also had a very good place to eat....most important !!.... as usual there was a very tempting shop as well  !

Later we head down to Hout Bay for a boat trip to view Cape Fur seals on Duiker Island. The seals I must say are a rather smelly bunch !!  we had an opportunity to visit Robin Island where Nelson Mandela was help prisoner for so many years but we decided to give that a miss.

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a visit to the Cape of Good Hope Reserve down the Peninsula, which the famous navigator Drake said it was "the most beautiful Cape in whole circumference of the world", stopping at the Penguin colony in False Bay and also at Cape Point in the reserve, where we take a funicular ride to the Old Lighthouse, built in 1860. We return via the famous Chapman's Peak Drive,  which curves around the edge of the mountain carved out where granite and sandstone meet. This is a breathtaking experience of mountain and sea-scape's. There are many wild goats, sheep etc in the reserve as well as the baboons...they are a real pest if anyone gives them half a chance they are off with your handbag, wallet, whatever ...I did not stop long enough to be accosted by them !!!.

Another day a visit to the winelands area of Stellenbosch which is synonymous with South African wine industry, was on our "to do list"   Franschhoek and Paarl were the first two areas we stopped at for a wine taste then it was on to. Stellenbosch it houses the largest Uni. in the Cape being the second area to be established after Cape Town, back in 1679. It has saved most of its original architecture and we visit the Period House museum with antiques of each period and style of house dating from 1690 - 1850's. We stopped again for wine tastings as well in each town/village... It was a VERY MERRY trip !!! 

So there you have it two different views of South Africa...

We have had a good week here in Box. The snow came last weekend and although it kept us in over the weekend by Monday it had all gone and my pal Pam was able to get over for her usual weekly visit. and in the afternoon we had our Wesley Guild meeting and despite the cold we had a good many members turn up. This week we had an elderly couple come to give us an update on charity work that their daughter does on the small island of Dominica (not to be confused with the other Dominica the large island in the Caribbean)

with the help of some of our guild members and many more people they are able to send much needed things over there by ship. The gueest Banana boat company have been very good at transporting things for us for many years now..

Wednesday Mary and I went into Bath to the theatre we had vouchers and money gifts at Xmas and we used them to book a few shows. This week it was  The Calender Girls...perhaps my US friends might not know of the Calender Girls they were a group of ladies belonging to an organisation called The Woman's Institute who had to think up ways of raising money for charity,,,they came up with the ...for them...shocking idea of doing a nude calender. Of course it had to be all done with the utmost discretion...and despite a great deal of opposition they did it.  Having written that down it gives no real clue to the hilarious play that it was, the acting was wonderful I had tears running down my cheeks with laughter !!!  (The actual Calender Girls has been made into a film as well as the stage play if you ever get the chance to see it please do)

Now this morning we awoke to another fall of snow, again it is not lying to thickly indeed by this afternoon it has almost gone and certainly the roads are clear, our only fear now is if we get the hard frost forecast any wet on the roads will freeze so it will be icy in the morning.  We will wait and see...

So there we are friends another glance at what Mary and I get up to both here and abroad !!

Remember  to  LOVE ONE ANOTHER.