Swansea - Steps to the beach from The Grape & Olive

Dentist confusion, after two attempts into the dentist, I actually get in on the day I am supposed to go for my appointment! So three trips, one appointment and to be honest my third and final entrance into the dentist was the worse, I almost decided to go back out again!

But, I didn't and of course, I survived!  I came home wobbly, and tired, and my face hurt... I went to bed too early and then had an extra time in bed... all giving me back ache, neck ache and a headache! It also looked like I should have expected CSI on the scene any minute, or at the very least a warning tape around the bed!  This because of the amount of blood on my pillow when I looked back down!

My jaw hurts still, and I have a mouthful of stitches looking like they are holding a bunch of my upper front teeth in place... maybe they are!  Well, I guess they are if they fell out, the stitches I mean!

It feels like I have something caught in my teeth and my tongue keeps on investigating the threads then remembering and leaving well alone!

Yesterday I drank a couple of Franco's bottles of high calorie drinks with lots of added milk to each one, for breakfast I put my porridge, fruit and milk into the juicer and once completely thinned out I popped into the microwave to warm, then added cold milk to cool!

The doctor told me cold only for a few days to drink or eat... No heavy lifting or carrying! Also to eat a yogurt or two a day, probably to combat the damn antibiotics I have to take for another seven days!  I did have a yogurt yesterday afternoon, the only thing I ate yesterday after the dentist... a bit off putting seeing the bloodied spoon after each mouthful! LOL... Great eh!!

I have had two yogurts for lunch! and a repeat of my breakfast again just now, with a handful of almonds... you know... to make it a little more substantial!!

Tomorrow I am going with friends down to the coast and the best fish and chip shop there!  I am going to eat the fish carefully... and share the chips!!

And to close, on my teeth that is, I think I still have another two visits to complete this treatment, and it wasn't as bad as I imagined, of course... I was scared, the doctor put me at ease, after the numbing injections I could feel pressure occasionally, pain? the tiniest and for only a moment, once or twice... and although my fear of the dentist has not gone.. and I will not be turning up two days early again, I can say I am not as scared as I was.

I went to La Trocha this morning with a friend, had a good wander about, I managed to find a couple of things to buy and I managed to walk away!

Today is a lovely day, cooler to start, nice to walk the Pipster, just walked her again, about 4pm... Its been a lovely weather day... Last day of August...

... Which leads me to twenty years ago and today we lost Princess Diana, I cannot believe it was 20 years ago, the memory like yesterday... waking up to a normal Sunday morning... then hearing the news... thinking it wasn't what we were all hearing... Going out for lunch with family... who somehow had completely missed the news that morning...

Monday mom Tony and I got the train to London, bought flowers and took them to Kensington Palace to lay in honour of Diana...

Also then my step-dad died twenty years ago... he had only passed away a couple of weeks before.

Well, I am going to make myself a coffee.... cold!



I nearly got to send this without... I nearly didn't say... but you know me, if the thought is in my head it needs to come out...

The other day I was dusting, and as I dusted one of the many photograpsh I have of Franco here on the wall... I was up close to reach up to him... and I told him... Yours isn't a face I thought I would only ever be dusting...

View from Ibis Swansea

Tried to Blog from our trip on my phone, didn't work, although the above photograph was there, that was it! I couldn't adjust back to left-hand margin, so abandoned Blog!

Last Saturday, we left here, home and flew to Nottingham, to stay with Barry and family... We went to town for lunch...

Franco has been avoiding a lot of different foods this past year, things he thought, read about... that would cause him more tummy problems, so he is now eating lots of everything he has avoided for a year!  Barry's choice of a pie restaurant was definitely right up Francos street!  Great restaurant, very atmospheric!  Franco loves the trams, he loves Nottingham, me too, even my phone knows it!  Sending me random articles about whats on, for instance an Alice in Wonderland café opened this week, and a place you can go to smash the hell out of stuff if you have anger issues... you know, I really do have some anger issues right now, and I really wish there was somewhere like that here!!!  We went back to Barrys and relaxed with the babe!  She grows so much in between visits!  Her hair is so curly!!! We were shattered too, been up since middle-of-the-night-o'clock, poor Baz had to have an early night, seeing as we were sleeping in the living room... and England was blooming freezing!!! lol...

[I am having terrible trouble spelling!  Not the greatest at the best of times, but the simplest words seem to be eluding me, thank goodness for spell check!] 

Sunday morning we went to Asda, bought a few bits and had a coffee there with the family... and home, a bit of lunch and suddenly the time had gone, far too quickly, it was a wave and we were off, followed by our cases! We had to collect the car from the airport, no car-hire on a Sunday, that in my fast paced booking of everything the other day that I could find..We got the tram from nearby, tickets which included tram and sky coach... but got to the end of the tram line and found that there were no coaches to the airport, because the airport was closed!  Yes, yes, I know we should have known this, but surely with todays technology no tickets should have been able to be purchased!!!  We had to get a taxi to collect the car, which cost twenty pounds!  So close from there, and yet... so far!

At the car rental place it turned out I should have had a visa to rent the car! Er, no a visa debit only!  So we were charged an extra thirty pounds a day on top of original costs, the guy did call the 'agency' I booked the car with, so I could ask for a fully comp. payment to be paid back to me!  After all, that is what we were now paying an extra thirty a day for!!!  The man on the phone asked me, as per the norm after he had very pleasantly repaid our money "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"   Yes!!! I told him, yes, how about changing the system when you book on line that you cannot use a visa debit to book, if you can't use a visa debit to take the car!  He said he had heard that before!!  Well, than fix it!!!!!

By the by.... I would not have booked a car through an agency, if I had known it was an agency!!!  More transparency there please!  As in, name of booking company and the words 'This is an agency, and not the actual car rental company peeps!'

So it was a bit later we left than we thought it would be, it was dark, and it was the M1 so busy busy busy.. and an hour or more later by the time we got started down to Tonys.... But we got there okay, although the maps took us to the road adjacent to Tonys, there was a fence preventing us actually going into his road!! So we had to turn about and go the other way!!! Oh Google maps!!! Que pasa!!

We relaxed once we got to Tonys, we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, six of us... took a while to get a table, no bookings, and disorganised chaos all round! But a good evening...  

Tony got us to use his Oculus! OMG, what an amazing experience, Franco loved it, he said afterwards that he wasn't going to have a go, he thought I was being dramatic, as usual[!!!] but he did, and he realised I was just reacting normally! as did he!!  Bless him, holding his feet up out of the water! I'll let you check out the link to Oculus here....  

I have spoken to people who may have used the cardboard, or even plastic VR units... #sorrynotsorry they may be okay, but once you have used the real thing, there is no comparison, there are no black edges, there are in fact no edges, its real, its all around you and it is completely amazing, and I am so glad Franco got to have a go using it!  

It is a whole new reality, lol... reality, I think if I had this I would just live in it, although it would be easy to forget the outside world and not even eat or drink! Sounds like a movie...

So, enough about the Oculus!!

Early enough next morning we were off again!  Headed down to Wales, we went via Aylesbury to visit a friend then on with the maps again!  We headed off after a brief and unsettling visit to the Tesco there! Whats with the posh nosh!  What happened to the 'normal' coffee and food counter to get a good filling breakfast etc?  All gone, all changed...

The maps took us off towards Oxford and I suspected the route I have taken before down to the M4 Swindon direction, I think it took of us at the normal place, we were on a dual carriageway, headed in the right direction... then it said to take slip road, I did, I wasn't happy, but took it anyway, and as soon as we did I said to Franco, this isn't right!  We were on a side street, by side street I mean country road, and before long we were in the sticks!! We even went through a toll road!!! Toll road??? Bizarre with a capitol B!!! There was a guy in a small box taking money from both directions, price for car? 5p... yes you read that correctly 5p! WTF!!!

Sorry I am swearing a great deal these days and you what? I really don't give a dam!

So we carried on, well what else really could we do?  and by the by we ended up along a road which seemed vaguely familiar... and time passed by I knew we were headed towards Cheltenham instead... now this is also a route I have taken to/from Ayeslbury from Wales, but never one which included a trip towards Swindon too!

It also took us past a Little Chef Franco and I stopped at on our way home from Tony and Kates wedding, a Little Chef we vowed we would never stop at again, ever!  Until last Monday, when we did, because we really needed a break, unbelievable!  and it hadn't changed, it still smelt like an old B&B [sorry B&B'ers], it still looked like something from a nightmare!  people in there who like us must have taken a wrong road, people who really just wanted to pay and go as quick as possible... and never come back again!

We skirted through Cheltenham too!  Even that delight wasn't to be missed, and then we were on the M5, really? yes really! What a journey, we think we did almost a hundred miles more than we needed to... Then it was down to the M4 at last, a £6.60 at the toll booth... another toll!! and into Welsh Wales...

We got into the Ibis in Swansea okay from there, all good, room okay, hotel great actually, the reception was a very pleasant!

Looked recently done up!  We arrived, check in, went up to our room and about ten minutes later one of Francos friends arrived and we were down in the reception with him, within a couple of hours we had about 35 friends there!  About thirty from Amazon, friends Franco made while working there, a really good group of friends, and also another friend of ours we have known for years, one of my 'angels without wings' and a group of girls I used to work with, so good to see everyone...

Tuesday Franco and I went over to his brothers, the four of us went out to lunch in Swansea, a favourite restaurant of ours down one of the little arcades there...

Franco also wanted to see another mate of his who works in Swansea market...  We got back to the hotel, had about an hour to chill and then it was back down into the reception and about 20 friends of Francos came from Amazon, some the same at the night before, some new ones, and four different friends of mine! A neighbour who we used to live next door to, and two girls from somewhere else I worked!

Another good evening, and again Franco talked and laughed and told his stories, made his mates sad and happy, and sad all over again... Franco is a bit of a legend around Swansea and Neath... Everyone knows him, everyone loves him, everyone has the best memories of Franco, the guys are so overwhelmed by Francos pragmatic and realistic stance...

We did visit McDonalds a couple of times, well, it was next door to the Ibis!

View from Ibis Swansea

Wednesday we visited Francos mom, this was the saddest for us, heartbreaking...

On our way beforehand we had breakfast from Gregs! We used to have a coffee and a caramel toffee choux pastry thingy, probably once a week when we were both off work, so we had to do the same on our visit over, we think the pastry has shrunk since last year? Could be wrong, could be we are remembering it differently, but either way, it tasted lovely, tasted just the same, we ate in the car as we always do...

... and relaxed a little while in the afternoon before heading out early for dinner with friends... we had to travel a bit, first choice was packed, and forty minute wait, Wednesday... but maybe it was Christmas celebrations already... The second place was crowded, and we grabbed almost the last table, sat and ate and talked, about nothing... because its easier isn't it...

We all had a drink, coffee or hot chocolate, back in the hotel on our return was a good evening with Francos best mate... then we said our goodbyes' and headed off to our room to pack.

We were up early, earlier than we would have, Francos watch has been on 'home time' since we had arrived, so instead of up at 4am we were both up and dressed and ready to go by 4am!!! We checked out, and got on the road, it always feels like your escaping somewhere leaving early, or is that just me?

We had to drop the rental car off at a hotel near Cardiff airport, the rentals office was not open, no surprise there really, but the hotel staff were so nice, guys told us where to drop the key, and even took us to the airport!  5* for them! 0* for car rental company!

We were in the airport, carry-on bags only, went straight through, and boarded on time, more or less, walking through the plane, Franco and I were sat next to each other this time, the web site caught me and I fell... but its cheap with Vueling, so no probs!  Just remembered the trip over!!!

Boarded in Malaga, we were not next to each other, same row, Franco on the aisle, me in the middle further over, as I approached I said to the man in the aisle seat that 'I need to sit in the middle please' he said "at least your slim!"  What!!! Bloody idiot!  Then the woman to my left was in a chatty mood, which was okay, but the man did not like it one bit, he was swearing and talking to himself about us talking!  He went on and on, and he was a pig!!!  I had to share some of my seat with some of him! his leg couldn't make it under the seat in front of him it had to spread itself into my foot well!!  And it was impossible for me to even get close to the arm rest!  it was covered by him and more of him!!! OMG!!  He was so rude and nasty and stuff!!!

So! Back home, got our car, picked up the Pipster and we were home!  oh and it was raining! and it has rained and rained and rained, apparently not this much rain since the 1980's, today its floods everywhere! Cartáma, Marbella, Málaga.... people stranded in cars, on roofs [of houses!], cars floating about... nightmare!

We are lucky really I guess, we only have a paddling pool in the small back patio, due in the main to the new skylight, we had to fit it in the rain, it didn't have time for the sealer to go off... so we have water by the bucket load, down the walls, I had to take off the wall cupboard there, I don't want it to rot, we picked it up years ago and did a makeover on it, long before anyone else was doing to chalk paint thing!  Also all the things on it were getting soaked! Water coming in the kitchen the cave... the only its not coming in is in the toilet down there! Ironically that was the only place it used to come in!

So we are lucky, I have heard of a lot worse for some of our friends here... and we got to go out earlier for a walk to the top of the high street and back, when it left off pouring that is... some of the streets are looking rough!  Lots of brickwork paving we have has lifted, where the sand has washed away, some of the manhole covers have lifted too! Franco is tired though, and I worried it was too far, but he is stubborn.

Okay this is enough now, I feel like I have been writing for years, just today...

Oh got the tree up yesterday, do not remotely feel like having a Christmas tree...

Its just our tree from the last few years, think we got it at B&Q our first Christmas in Wales, its a pop-up tree, all the baubles and lights are on it from when it comes out of the box, its on a stick which just pops together and there it is!  We have a few special things hanging from it, four individual things I have bought the last four years, including this one, a bell from Mijas pueblo last week.

Also just a few other bits about the house, but nothing much, I don't do the big Christmas dangling thing... less is more for me, just special things, with special memories... like a Christmas tree that used to sing and shake from every year on my desk at reception for Mercedes...

Yesterday I took this, today we couldn't even see this far!

TTFN

Marian

Lots of E&OE because I'm not re-reading this, sorry amigos.

The Duffryn Arms Neath W Glamorgan

This pub has become 'the local' to me and my buddy Lynne...

They have been very patient with our English voices, loud giggles and ever excited conversations...

We had a wonderful lunch in there this Tuesday, great food, wine, friendly staff, and felt just like any normal celebration...

...most of the time...

A good five hours in all...  No, a great faboulous five hours!

And now, the end is here, we reach the final curtain... My friends... Lol sorry, I keep bursting into song, with incorrect or missed placed lyrics...

And yesterday, last shopping trip to Swansea, with neighbour, I bought something, she bought some things, and had our coffees and tiasted tea cakes in Kadamas, my favirute kitch restaurant in Swansea!

My last day at work today, Franco's yesterday, butterflies dancing in my stomach and the leaving 'n missing struggle goes on... But, its our leaving do in town tomorrow evening, Swansea city watch out lol, clothes prepared, invited sent, get the music ready, and to drink? Something non alcoholic for me please, done my drinking for the year already this week, two big glasses and I was 'enough already!!!'

TTFN
Marian

E&EO on phone!

Well so much for Blogging while I am away... that didn't happen now did it!?! Somehow I don't seem to have much time, which is well, how its supposed to be, considering I am working away...

I managed a bit of fb and email time first thing and last thing at night, and maybe the odd few minutes during the day, but only when everything else is done, and I am not jumping up like I have sat on a needle to do just one more thing!

The photos randomly of two very old service buses... in Berkhamsted the other Sunday, I thought people were out on a jolly, but turned out the rail service was out of action and people were having to use the bus service they put it on instead!  So that could be why people didn't wave back, or look very pleased at being waved at!!

Been a tough couple of weeks, but time flies by and I am really enjoying  the challenges every day brings, different every day!  The journey back yesterday was a nightmare on the M4, made worse by drivers with no lights on!?! What is that all about?  Heavy rain, splash back, fog and almost zero visibility at times... its almost mesmerizing like driving through snow or thick fog hours upon hours, journey took a bit longer than it should and the services were packed out!  It felt like everyone on the M4 came off it just when I did, and then back on I had to pass all those same people I had before! lol

Once over the bridge into Wales the weather improved a little but the speed limit wen down to 50! That didn't slow the journey down for most people because not many people took any notice of it!  Even on passing a completely mangled Fiat 500, and the accompanying police cars and vans... after a tail back and 2nd gear speed for half an hour prior to reaching the scene of the accident... 'they' put their right foot peddle to the metal and drove past the speed limit without a second thought it seemed!

Today been to the opticians and into Swansea, found a nice coat, going back for it soon! Just need that "time out" to decide on it!  Also needed some winter type shoes, not the fury sort, have a wonderful Uggs for cold weather, but some ankle boots sort of thing!  Walked through a tonne of shops, and decided on the cheapest pair, because they were the best!  Also wanted a handbag... don't tell Franco!  The one I am using now I bought in NY and with the cream linen I don't want it getting ruined by dirty weather! lol, if you know what I mean!  Saw a whole load of bags that were just perfect!  But did that "time out" on them, came home and resurrected an old one from five years ago! Which is now as was then, perfect!

Oh... I got bitten by a spider over night Sunday night or in the evening and I didn't notice, I have the worse horrible 'thing' on the back of my hand, it looked like a giant white spot surrounded by a red circle [infection I guess], and over the last few hours the white bit looks more like a giant white... well... thing is the only word for it! It looks revolting! lol

Our garden looks somewhat of a jungle again out there!! Brambles have taken over, the palm tree has dropped its long leaves, and the plants look... wild! Would be a good word!  But nice to come back and go blackberry picking in my own garden! Very very tasty!

TTFN
Marian

The plaque above, by the way, is in St Mary's Church Northchurch... it reads...

In grateful memory of
James Randall aged 85
For twenty years Sexton of this church
and Ann his wife, aged 78
This tablet is placed by their sons
Willaim, Henry, George.
"Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good."
1894

These are my ancestors....

Above the Gape and Olive in Swansea marina...

Tunnel nearby to here...

NYC as seen from the Island cruise...

Self explanatory above!

The massive Colgate clock over looking the Hudson River...

Franco and I, and Eric and Debbie... cool how my camera self made this little action movie! You have gotta love technology!

View from the Lighthouse on Fire Island....

Now to business again! Have you missed me peoples! I am so sorry... Been working, and working... and a little more working!  My first shift with the new company was twenty one days long, my hour a day off I combined and had seven of the fifteen hours off in one hit on each Sunday I was away... allowing me time to unwind and visit friends and family in the area, I have been pulled towards Berkhamsted each time so far... and now back in Neath I feel a stranger again!  Even in the supermarket on Tuesday I had to ask the poor woman three times what she was saying! Couldn't understand her strong accent!

I started a new job then! LISW, (that's live in support worker) lol.... and thats what I do now, its very much the same but different from my last job, can't go into details except to say I jump onto the M4 motorway and travel up to Slough and jump off again, I am then about 20 minutes from where I live for the two weeks I am working!  Its a nice area, in a nice town, and I feel I did okay in my first three weeks, one of shadowing, two of being the lead support... There is no down time, waking up there early and going to bed there immediately after night support come in, so Sunday time off is real good... And coming back this Monday, late afternoon I slept like a log and both yesterday and Tuesday had long day time naps!! Trying not to today though, don't want to sleep all the way through my time off!!

I lost a bit of weight during my first shift too, not much just a few pounds I think, which I will probably put back on in these few days!!  I am eating okay while away, but no grazing in between or evenings! I have left my work clothes there too, so will just bring back and forth with me my personal bits and pieces...

Coming back into the house Pippa went crazy happy to see me, my poor baby dog, Franco knows where I am but she didn't! So good to see her furry little doggy body jumping about yapping and nipping at me! lol The garden and grown with weeds and brambles, the flowers come and gone on some plants, blackberries out already and lovely orange flowers in the woods where I threw seeds last year!!! Cool I thought!  A butterfly tree cut down to nowt near the back yard... Franco wanted light, obviously the butterflies will have to find their flowers elsewhere this year then! Although before I went I noticed some flowers coming out on another tree I must have cut down for the last two years, not realizing it was a plant (Ooops sorry!!)  So we have some beautiful hydrangea flowers this year!

I opened my Birthday cards too!!! Thank you everyone!! Kind of feel I missed out on my Birthday this year... does it mean I am a year younger now then! lol... Okay, well worth the try I guess!

Purloining this poem... from Poetry Foundation Web site...

"Time does not bring relief: you all have lied"
By Edna St. Vincent Millay

Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year's bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go, - so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, "There is no memory of him here!"
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.

TTFN
Marian

Clyne Gardens Swansea

This morning such a lovely day, came back after work, loaded Pippa into the car and off to Clyne Gardens we went! Not been there before, lovely place, well worth the trip and we will again, parked in the Lido car park, not cheap, although got an extra hour parking from what the machine said it would have been, and walked the wrong way for a short while, thought the path up from the Lido would go that way, it didn't seem to, so we retraced our steps and back to the Mumbles road and into the gardens the correct way it seemed!

These cut trees above look like something from a horror movies, looks some thing scary hunkering down under the leaves, waiting to pounce!

I think we walked around the gardens a little too quickly, I had an alternate reason to go there, something Barry has got me started on, not a game, but it does make you go to places you wouldn't normally go to, and hunt down interesting statues, places and all sorts of buildings...

This above is the Fairy Tower, there was a tree here with a face... I couldn't find it!!! I know I was within 20 meters of it, but just couldn't see it!!! Will go back to get a picture forsure!

This fallen tree got caught luckily by his neighbor!

I thought I could almost go live in this tree! Or at least camp out in it!

This is the Swansea Eagle!  Is it a Bonelli Eagle do you think!!!

Beautiful day today....

TTFN
Marian

I don't think this is too clear it reads....

David Smith
279 Pentregethin Road
Manselton
March 13th 1924

...beneath the name and address it say...

David Smith is my name Wales is my nation.  Glamorgan is my swelling place.  Christ is my salvation.  When I am dead and in my grave.  when all my bones are rotten look in this book you shall see my name when I am quite forgotten.

How very strange, and eerie, and sad too... the book was published between 1909 and 1914, its a first edition, but not sure which date this was published in!  I did check online, and the only David Smiths from that area in Swansea all died in the 1930's or 40's, so would be interesting to know the journey of this book... how many people have read these words he wrote I wonder!

Today began with ice on the windscreen, then blue skies to the post office and inside it too I am guessing, but when I came out it was Sleet, with a capital 'S'!!  I still continued onto Swansea a little bit of frozen water never stopped me in my tracks!  And once I was on the road it stopped and the sun was back out, the sky the most amazing blue, ice blue!  Parked in the city centre and walked through the shops, was such a beautiful day, I had my Costa Coffee, of course! And back out into the town centre, it was either bright blue skies or sleet!  I was almost back to the car when I caught a message on my Facebook and following instructions, returned into the town and to the Free Book Shop, Healthy Planet... It was closed, it was sleeting and I asked for shelter under an umbrella, me and another lady both!  The store opened and I waited for the exhibition to open upstairs, I wandered around the book shop and picked up three, for free, books, old ones, the one aforementioned and two others, and upstairs after quarter hour, it was a great exhibition, the rooms were being used to demonstrate thoughts on books.... the blood and taped area around a body, the pizza box left unattended to demonstrate a who-dunnit;... a wonderful piece of shadow expressionism showed the way small pieces can become brought to life by light; then my friends husbands piece was a mannequin seated holding a book, a pile of books at his feet, behind him a movie showing short film clips displayed upon the pages of a book, to show how when reading our minds eye sees the images the author is telling us in their writing... a ticking clock with random chimes accompanied the scene to further expand the sense of time moving quickly when we are lost in a good book....

When I left I felt very uplifted, what a great, and unexpected morning!  I carried my three books back to my car and drove back, through.... sleet and sunshine!

I had lots to do this afternoon on a book I am reformatting for Smashwords, but got lost in cooking dinner and cooking dinner for another day, and trying to find out who the heck was David Smith of 279 Pentregethin Road Manselton...

TTFN
Marian

Aberavon beach today after work... What a picture [lol, even saying so mayself!!!] That beautiful sun rays coming down through the cloud, the beach, the ship pulling out of the harbour, with a little tug boat pulling hard...

Above inside the beautiful little church St Marys, in Rhossili... beautiful place, so peaceful, the smell of the polish on the pews reminds me of when I was little and used to go to St Marys in Northchurch with my gran while she polished the pews and helped with the flowers...

Strange picture taken inside the Plantasia in Swansea last week, looking down from above into the little jungle hut!

Today I have been downloading everything from my computer into a safe place, because yesterday nothing was here, or so it seemed, the thought of losing all the books and nearly 9000 photos pushed me into action, and it was certainly about time I saved everything on here, so stupid not to have done so before, DropBox https://db.tt/B2ea9BAs Best place to keep everything! And you can open it anywhere!  Anyway... not working for them lol, so time to relax now...

TTFM
Marian

Randomness!

I feel I have been bad recently in posting my Blogs, and some of the very many photos I take all the time! Above is on a walkway, it covers an area of wetlands nearby, the path is a boardwalk, it is so broken, and the chicken wire is not enough to make me want to walk further along its route, Pippa was very hesitant on walking on the metal anyway, so we edged our way back to the start of the path which was non existent anyway,  and only ended up with muddy feet, I must have looked great wiping Pippas feet on the grass near the car!!

This is Swansea the other week, sure I posted this? They had added red dye into the fountain here in Swansea City centre, it looked very strange, therefore I had to look like a tourist while taking this picture, and feeling as such picked on a passing girl to engage in conversation with, "What's going on with the red dye" I questioned her!  She said they do it for special reasons, like St David's day, or other celebrations... but neither of us could work out what was so special about that particular day! [she was from my neck of the woods too!]

Above, if you look closely, a slow worm, towards the top right hand portion of this photo, it was about 18 inches long, Franco had uncovered it whilst mowing the lawn, lucky for the slow worm it survived to live another day!  Franco picked it up and we took him up to the forest further up the garden, once on the ground it found this crevice and quickly disappeared into the ground, cute little thing it was, so wiggly, just like a small snake!

This photo I took the other week when down towards Tenby, are you sure I haven't put these photos on already amigos?  Okay, will put the rest on tomorrow, but will check again first, this was taken whilst having a cup of coffee down near Saundersfoot Beach, look at those beautiful trees...

It is in the most unexpected of places

That we meet the most unexpected people!

MB

TTFN

Marian

Grape & Olive at the Maridian Tower, Swansea

This morning we had coffee in the Grape & Olive SA1, Swansea.  Got there at 11am just as it was opening...

Shame about the glare in these pics but I am sure you can make allowances for it! I am looking forward to coming here in the evening sometime soon, and seeing the darkness out there and the lights from the city...

The elevator moved slow, compared to some of the very much higher rises I have been in, but made the 28 floors, the restrooms are on the 27th floor by the way for newbies like us!  Then you can take the elevator back up or walk the short flight of stairs up to the 28th restaurant level, the coffee bar area was up a further flights of stairs, below.....

Very comfortable seating above in the café, and the restaurant below....

And below looking back up towards the Meridian Tower based at Swansea Marina...

Today I did not want to raise from my slumbers, but to stay in my dreams and live there....

TTFN

Marian

Forgotten Victims

How can one sit and weep
For a life now gone, passed by
How can one cope, with pain
If tears that once fell, are now dry
How can one look in the mirror
And not see the child I hide
How can one cope, with living
While the torment still grows inside
How can one look at the children
And not see me in them
How can I stop them becoming
Another forgotten victim
I bare these wounds of yesterday
They bleed deep in my mind
Their scars will be here tomorrow
Not for others to see, they are blind
The crime is now dead and long buried
My childhood, consumed, and now gone
The guilty roam free, unrepentant
No remorse, for what they'd done wrong
And I cannot live, or stay living
And a river of tears, I still cry
Just one more forgotten victim
I'll remain, til the day that i die.

Written by LJBush

Another work from Lorraine... she has one book out so far The Double Edged Sword ... another two in the pipeline...

Today we have been busy, hit all the Swansea retail parks, I was in a shopping frenzy, amazing how much money you can spend with your mind without even opening your wallet!!  Can't get over the amount of people always buying in these stores, and not always with their [in]flexible friends!  Lots of notes flying about! 

When we came back to the car, a note was on the windscreen and straight away I knew someone had hit the car... they had, knocked off the wing mirror, well door mirror, you know what I mean!! So great, phone number on the piece of paper, "sorry blah blah blah"... well good thing the mirror popped back where it should  have been with a bit of extra help from a screw driver.... because the phone number was a dud!  Not sure what sort of idiot thought went through the persons mind, should have just left nothing if the number wasn't going to work, maybe they just did it for effect, of others passing by to see.... and say... "ah, that's good, they have left their number...." hahahahaha!!  Well, what goes around comes around?  I noticed their forethought too with the slip of paper they used, it was a receipt but they removed they're card details etc, not sure how I could have traced them with it, but who knows.....

Been a glorious day here today, blue skies, sunshine, still burning now, but low, slowing setting over Swansea!  Was beautiful yesterday too, washing dried on the line etc, open doors and windows...

Now, hold onto your hats[!] well maybe eh!  I visited a hairdressers!!!! The second one in a matter of days!!! OMG!!!  I am going to get my hair colored properly... its all sorts of colors at the moment, I haven't used the same color, or brand for months, my hair grows so fast it needs doing every 3 or 4 weeks max!  So, I thought, get it done by a professional, especially as it has got into such a mess with colors!  Today they put three different color tests behind my ears to test for reaction... and are calling me back to see what happened to the samples I left behind!!! Yes, she cut my hair... of course you can see exactly where she took it from.... not, but I can still feel its loss..... I am not getting it cut, I shudder at the thought of those scissors coming anywhere near me.... its bad enough going into a hairdressers, no one has ever seen hair like mine!!!!  I think I should go to Italy and have my hair looked after, over there?  What do you think!!!

TTFN

Marian

I am still coughing well, should go to doctors tomorrow for my bp check, see how the weather is first me thinks, slept a bit better... Yesterday evening I suddenly felt about 10% better in one hit, not sure if adrenaline can do that!!! I got up off the sofa and got my foot caught in the computer cable, lap top was off, but I always [did] leave the cable out, under but behind my feet, well, I was getting up, and reaching for a pack of printer paper as I went, so you can guess, I fell, big time, I really fell, completely fell!  I hit the coffee table, with my back, hit the floor with the rest, predominately I hit and hurt my left knee, left hip and left elbow as I hit the fireplace with it! somehow I didn't smash my head on the fire, so you could call it a lucky fall! 

Anyway it was a shock, it hurt like hell and I cried, and Pippa came to lick my face clean, I couldn't get up on my own, so had to be pulled up, can't believe it, what a plonker eh!  So I am not allowed to have the cable under my feet any more and it is now, as I write behind me on the sofa!  A little bruising, but taking its time, and I find my bones must be harder than I have been worrying about, so going skiing later, or should that be bob-sleighing!

We heard about Cardiff last night, all snowed in, and most of the area of Wales where we live, but us?  Not a sign of it!  I got up a few times overnight to check out the window, but the street outside remained calm, snow and frost free!  The second time our local friendly fox was passing by trotting [do they trott!] up our street, with a jaunty look on his face!

Our car amazingly had a sprinkling of snow on its roof when we went out about 9am'ish, but that was it!  In Swansea this morning everyone was speaking about the snow in the surrounding villages, people couldn't get into the city centre.... and then we got back, and half an hour later, look at it!

We went from none, to a road that has turned into a bob-sleigh run! And downhill is where most of the vehicles are ending up!!! Blooming heck 2nd gear!!!! Do I have to spell it out!!! SECOND GEAR!!!!

The garden, is so pretty!!! Pippa loves it, she has been out about a dozen times since it started!!

The neighbourly fox was walking up the street as we drove in, and about an hour ago, a walker on the path suddenly froze as 'he' came out of a neighbours driveway, and over the path and made a run for it up the road!!  Shock! I am getting used to see his friendly face!

Okay now don't go crazy on me... there has been a gap of about an hour, Franco took Pippa out, harness, lead, the lot, well all bar wellington boots, on her!  They came back after a few minutes, the snow was okay, so I joined them and went for a wonderful walk, not slippery on the paths, watching cars, which on the otherhand, were all over the place, like a bunch of drunks after a good night out, and then left abandoned!  I seriously can't get over how much Pippa loves the snow, running through it, raising her nose and sniffing and barking into it!  She got out of breath and was panting through sheer joy of it!

Can't believe how much snow fell in such a short time, goes to show when I last saw it, I suppose it was three years ago really, when I was here, and saw snow nearly every day for over two months!!!  It's stopped now, but the sky still shows a promise of gifts yet to come...

Snow
Now
O'ribble
Weather

TTFN
Marian