Angus at Play in West Wales

Hi Folks, Angus here

Not to be outdone I have been on my travels to West Wales. It was to be Lesotho in South Africa but Monica and Caroline couldn’t get their act together. Hey Ho!

Anyway, as I hadn’t ever been to West Wales it was great to be able to explore with Monica and Terry, Chris, Claire and John. Here I am with Claire and John.

Like Seamus last year we went on a trek from Porthgain to Abereiddy. This is the beach in Abereiddy and just around the corner is the Blue Lagoon.

This was a bit of a dull day but it certainly brightened up for the rest of the week. Bright sunshine interspersed with a few short showers – a great opportunity to catch sight of rainbows!

We walked quite a bit of the coastal path during the week. From Newgale beach to Solva, Solva to St Davids, St Davids to St Justinians – miles and miles of wonderful views AND…. we saw seals at play.

I am not sure why I got dumped in the undergrowth here – possibly to show you the view of Solva Harbour ?

This is a great picture taken one afternoon when we were walking from Solva to St Davids.

Strange how most walks finished at the pub, for a well earned coca cola. There were some great decorations in readiness for Halloween.

I must say I did get to see a lot . However, one day I got left behind whilst the rest (Claire, John and Chris) went Zorbing? For those of you not familiar with the term (like me) it is where you get strapped into a large plastic ball and thrust head over heels down a hill, for fun? Very weird! This is Claire and John being strapped in to the ball.

Now, apparently, Claire said that she would be so paralysed with fear that she wouldn’t be able to scream. Not true as one of the guys fixing a gate as the giant ball went by said that he had never heard such a racket!

Here is Claire waiting for John to emerge after their trip down the hill.

Things calmed down as the week progressed. One day Claire and Monica took me to Cardigan for a look round. I wasn’t too impressed with Claire’s positioning of me on these railings. I felt very dizzy!

Not a very memorable place Cardigan. The highlight of the trip was this enormous cardigan that was on display in a gallery cafe. Very impressive. We reckoned that the Stitch and Bitch group could knit one for Caroline’s school.

Well, all things must come to an end. A wonderful, varied week by all accounts. I can certainly recommend it. Perhaps Llewellyn will get a visit one day?

This is a final shot of me sitting in the cottage with the knitting. Claire was learning how to knit – I won’t hold my breath for a new scarf!

Bye for now, Angus

Seamus goes off on a jolly!

Hi folks,

Your very own Seamus, reporting in once more. I have been very lucky, as I have had a trip abroad with my staff.

We went to Northern Portugal and flew from- wait for it-Exeter, that wonderus hub of the universe!

We were amazingly lucky with the weather, which was like here but even better – blue skies and high temperatures every day. The locals said that it was unusual and they seemed to have had a similar Summer to us – a bad August but a fantastic Autumn.

There are some beautiful old towns in Northern Portugal and we visited a few of them.

Here I am deciding where to go in Porto. We walked all over the centre, down to the river forlunch, overlooking the Port Lodges on the other side and had nice short river trip too.

Here I am browsing through the local papers at one of the street kiosks. The owner was most amused at me having my photo taken.

This statue is of a Portuguese King who vanished at sea. The legend says he will return sometime!

Our hotel overlooked the sea, but the undertow was a bit too strong forme! We saw some postcards of the beach in Summer – the sand is covered with miles and miles of rentable cabins, like curtained dressing rooms! It must be awful in the holidays with so many people about-aaargh! Me on the balcony in the evening….

Well, can’t hang around gossiping, must get on. Bye for Now, Seamus xxxx

Llewellyn has been on the run!

Hi folks, Llewellyn here.

In September I joined Suzanne on the a 5k run to raise funds for Ty Hafan. Well, actually, I stayed on the sidelines but I cheered her on to the finish!

Suzanne sends her thanks to all those who sponsored her. She managed to finish in just over 28 minutes, so was pretty pleased about that. You never know, it might inspire her to run further next time? The days are getting colder now though so we’ll see how it goes..!

 

 

Angus’ Adventure in Greece

Hello again folks. Angus here.

Seamus has let me steal the limelight again with details of my latest adventure, which was a trip to Greece with Terry and Monica.  To be precise we went to Halki, a tiny little island of Rhodes.

It has very small population and no cars, so it is very quiet. But, it does have guaranteed sunshine and an extremely warm climate. A bit too warm at times, I have to say. My knitted suit didn’t help!

The whole community lives around this little harbour which is very busy during the day with fishing boats going in and out and yachts coming in to berth for the night. They berthed on the jetty just outside our villa. It was great fun watching them manoeuver in and out.

The Greek army also thundered in on their gun boats one day to see their mates on the army base but we weren’t allowed to photograph them!

Most days came and went relaxing on the terrace of the villa just watching the world go by. But, one day Terry took me off in his rucksack at the crack of dawn to walk up the hills. Here I am hiding in his rucksack. It’s a bit dark….

We set off early as the sun was rising because that is the coolest part of the day. By 8.00am it was roasting! I really must remember to pack lighter gear for next time!

I think Terry was trying to be helpful here – making sure I got a good view. It was bit uncomfortable though.

The walk was certainly worth the effort – there were some incredible views from the top.

This is a view looking down on Halki town. Monica was down there somewhere, lazing on her sunbed!

Here we are enjoying a well-earned rest before making our way back down.

And here we are at the bottom enjoying a well-earned drink and tasty snack!

The waiter was very friendly.

Ah well, after that adventure it was back to lazing about on the terrace watching the world go by. The most amazing thing I saw from there was the ferry that came in from Athens. I know I have been on a cruise liner which was big, but I have never seen such an enormous boat come into such a little harbour – crazy and a bit scary but amazing how it could do a three-point turn in such a small space. Perhaps I might get a ride in it one day?

Well, there we are, a quick snapshot of my time in Greece. I bet Seamus will want to go there next time – perhaps we could both go and then I could show him the sights?

Hope you enjoyed my adventure as much as I did. Bye for now

Angus xxxxx

Men and Fences!

Hello there, this is Angus

I thought I would share a little activity that I came across whilst I was kicking my heels waiting to go on holiday.

Last week I came across Terry and Clive erecting a fence. Well, I say Terry and Clive but it seemed to me to be Clive who was doing all the work whilst Terry took it easy!

I soon sorted things out though when I appointed myself as supervisor.

Not sure where Clive got the hat or where he tethered his horse?

Not sure why they are watering a wooden fence post either? How strange… do they grow if you water them?

Ah well, all very interesting and it passed the time of day. Must get off now and start to think about packing my bags for my next holiday. I am off to Halki, a little island off Rhodes, with Terry and Monica. They tell me it is very quiet, not much to do except read books, sunbathe and swim in the sea. That should be fun?!?!

I am sure I will get a few action shots to share with you all when I return

Bye for now, Angus

At Long Last – A Holiday for Seamus!

Hi folks, Seamus here. At long last I have had a holiday – that Angus was getting about a bit too much so it is about time for my liking! 

I have just returned from West Wales. This time with my good friend Deedi. Even though I am a boy, I was allowed to accompany her on a girls’ annual caravan holiday in St David’s, near Solva.

And this time, I was sitting up front with the pilot!

I did enjoy the scenery on the way down, especially the traditional stop to take in the view over Newgale Beach. It was blowing a gale and there were lots of surfers about.

Deedi packed enough food for a long siege and clothing to cover every eventuality from swimsuit to wellies, coat and even a hot water bottle!  I must get her to enlarge my wardrobe too – I don’t even have a change of clothing, never mind a raincoat.

Anyway, we soon got settled in to our lovely caravan, which as you can see has a fantastic view over Whitesands Bay.

Deedi arrived with good intentions to study her Spanish, paint and do her ‘project’ Hah! As if?

Still, she did take me around the area to show me Solva again. Monica took me there on my very first holiday, so It was lovely to visit it again. I met a whole load of new friends in Window on Wales, a great shop to browse in.

After our browse, we decided to visit Middle Mill to have a coffee break and a look at what they had to offer. Nice coffee and cake but Deedi had to negotiate a space on the sofa with the Mill’s cat. I was having a bad time with the wind when my time came to star in the photo! That’s me disappearing! The Mill is in the background.

Here I am upright again, for a moment!

On Wednesday, Deedi’s friend Pam Hendicott arrived but she didn’t have a friend for me!! However she is going to make me a pal as she is a good knitter, so that is exciting.

On the Wednesday there was a market and we bought some lovely plants. The we had lunch at The Bench with scrumptious ice creams.

After that the weather started to deteriorate and we had to watch Wimbledon rather than enjoy the great outdoors.

As you can see it was cold enough for a fire! We were able to watch Wimbledon and read and chill out. It was really cool. The rain did not stop us from enjoying ourselves.

All in all, in spite of the weather not being as brilliant as the previous 2 years, we had a great time and I can’t wait for our next visit. There were so many things we didn’t do, but there is always next year.

Bye for now, Seamus xxxxx

Angus Cruising on the High Seas!

Angus has recently returned from a cruise with Jackie and Clive. He has had a super time by all accounts and has shared some of the highlights below.

Hi there, Angus here,

I had a great time on my cruise and hope that I get the chance to go again one day.

Here I am very excited as I leave Southampton , well, it’s either excitement or mal de mare?

We had a good trip down to meet the ship although Clive nearly got left behind in Cardiff. If it hadn’t been for Jackie running down the aisle of the coach shouting that her husband was missing, he would have faced a long walk I can tell you.

This is the life, a few little drinkies on deck and I need a sleep. Boy am I glad that Jackie brought my own bed.

This was my first breakfast on board, and in the cabin. Afterwards Clive took me on deck to see where the lifebelts were in case he fell overboard. I think he was being a bit hopeful that I might be able to throw one of these over the side to save him?

After three days at sea we have arrived in Palma and I am feeling hot. Jackie has treated me to a tour of the city, by coach. Clive has opted for a bike tour ….. much too energetic for me.

Our next stop is here in Catania, Sicily, home of the Mafia!!! Jackie hid me in her bag while walking around town just in case I was kidnapped and held to ransom. I wonder how much my friend Martin would have paid for my release? Clive mentioned ‘all’ of it, but I am sure I heard another word before ‘all’ …. must have been my imagination.

I came out for some air here in Bellini park…. unfortunately I thought Jackie had said Panini and my tummy was rumbling so I leapt out of the bag ignoring any danger. We were disappointed that the local volcano (Etna) was not in view because of the mist. Oh well, perhaps we might see it on the way back home.

Here I am in the resort of Fiskardo on the island of Cephalonia in Greece, which is a really lovely place. We have just been on a tour of the mountains and coast and seen some fantastic views.

See what I mean?

Next stop is the the historic and beautiful town of Dubrovnik. We have just walked the walls and I am taking a well earned breather by the harbour.

I was too small to go on a gondola in Venice, they did not have a lifejacket in my size, so I had to be content with aerial views. This is a lovely city, and I really enjoyed the trip on the canal by water taxi.

This was quite amazing. This Croatian island and town is called Korcula reputedly the birth place of Marco Polo, like me… a great explorer.

While in his house Jackie was taking my photograph when another traveller appeared from a ladies rucksack. He was also an explorer and his name was ’Blue’, living in a car showroom near Heathrow Airport.

We had a very interesting chat about places we had visited. I think he was a little jealous of me and my trip to Australia to watch the Ashes, and had never been to West Wales or Scotland … not much of an explorer I thought to myself.

I knew I should have worn my sunhat, this woollen one is much too hot for the Med. I had to find some shade and this bush was convenient. Although I expected Clive to put me by the base, not half way up with a branch sticking up my ….er … jumper.

I got left behind when Clive and Jackie went ashore to Cadiz. This is Jackie’s new hat and I thought she would not go ashore without it, so I sat on it and waited, and waited but she had left me on board by myself. Being a brave elf I decided to explore the ship on my own, and found out that it was really, really big.

This was in the main Atrium (whatever that means) – it was really high with shops everywhere.

Apparently, this was Clive’s favourite bar, where he would drink a LEMONADE? each evening before dinner

As it was very quiet I sneaked outside and found the pool and was about to leap into the water when ………………………………………..

The ELF and SAFETY committee found me and escorted me back to my cabin!

So I had a little nap whilst waiting for Jackie and Clive to come back on board. And as tonight was going to be the last formal evening I wanted to make sure I was fully awake.

Jackie made me a black jacket and bow tie so that I wouldn’t let the side down. And what a sight Clive and I were – Jackie was so proud!

My only problem was everyone in the dining room kept on forgetting my name. Even though Clive introduced me as Angus, people would insist on calling me Walter!! and then asking for a drink?

It was great night and a great trip and I can’t wait until my next one, wherever it may be.

It’s time Seamus got off his backside and got on his travels – though I have heard a whisper that he might have been going on his travels to West Wales again. So, watch this space!

TTFN, Angus xxxxx