The spring has sprung in Canberra

We love travelling but after three months away from home it's lovely to come home. WE got home friday after very easy flights and checkins - in spite of all the problems at Heathrow we got through without any problems although Phil's lip balm was confiscated by security - what they thought an 80 year old man could do to endanger a 747 in flight I really can't imagine but I'm sure they had our best interests at heart. Canberra is in the grip of an early spring - having said that it was -5 deg overnight but the last couple of days have had cloudless blus skies at around 16 deg and the blossoms look stunning - heaps of wattle blooming everywhere.


On the way home we had 2 nights is Hong Kong and really enjoyed it. Back in May we had a ghastly 2 days there - it scarcely stopped raining the whole time and the pollution and mist were so thick that we never saw The Peak once.

May 2006

Last week couldn't have been more different - the monsoon ended about a week ago and the skies were clear and bright. We went up to the Peak one day and took the circular walk around the top - just delightful.

August 2006








But now we are home and catching up with family and friends as well as tidying the garden ready to plant spring crops. Should be lots of fun.

Andy in India and Bhutan

It didn't take Andy long to get into the swing of things and tie a fairly mean turban. His sister is getting married in a couple of weeks and maybe he'll try to outshine the mother-of-the-bride in headgear.

He brought home some wonderful fabrics and I've been busy making a dress from one of them for Christy to wear to a wedding on September 3.























Andy was fascinated by the people of Bhutan - they are very gentle and friendly. We wonder where the tartan patterns come from - was there scottish influence at some point? All the school uniforms are tartan as well as many of the skirts worn by adults.











Quite a few nights on the treks were spent under canvas. Fortunately they had a good back up team who erected all the tents. It still meant some challenging experiences especially since 2 of their group were wheelchair bound.









No visit to India would be complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal. Andy was disappointed that there was no water in the pool - he couldn't get any of those reflection photos.


It was a wonderful experience for all those who took part - the young people and their leaders. Andy has been asked to accompany their next trip in 2 years time to Namibia - he said 'Yes' without hesitation.

Leaving on Monday - we hope!!

Hopefully Heathrow will be back to normal by Monday night when we are scheduled to fly out. Everything is so tranquil here at Seaford that it's hard to get your mind around the chaos at Gatwick ( 50 kms away) and Heathrow ( 80kms away) over the last few days.

Today is Christy and Andy's 11th wedding anniversary - Happy Anniversary to you both. Their plans for this morning are up in the air - Christy's shift which should have ended at 10pm last night didn't finish till about 2am this morning so she might think that a lie in is preferrable to almost anything else.

Still at Seaford

This is the view from our bedroom window this morning - the sun is shining, the sea is calm and the ferry is on its way from Newhaven just along the bay to Dieppe in France. We took the trip across last summer to visit some friends in Normandy but the sea couldn't have been more different - it was blowing a gale and very rough and I was VERY ill. After church yesterday, Christy and Phil went for a swim while I got lunch ready. I noticed thatthe water temp at the lifesavers hut showed 16deg - a bit nippy!!




Phil wanted to prove that he can take photos too. On Saturday we walked a section of the Ouse Valley Way which begins in Seaford and goes along the river bank for 42 miles. We just did about 8 miles but will do another couple of sections this week.

For the past couple of weeks there have been shoals of mackeral coming into our bay each morning and evening and the local fishermen have been having a field day. They have a trace with about 6 hooks on it and some red feathers instead of bait. Every time they cast out they haul in 4 to 6 fish. This chap came down for about 10 minutes on Saturday and then left with a full bucket. Even Keith Knox would enjoy this sort of fishing - no smelly bait and success on every cast.

Seaford was a hive of activity on Sunday afternoon. The local brass band marched past on its way to the Martello ( a fortification from the days of Napoleon just 200 metres along the bay) where there was a market. We had a look around there then headed off for the recreation ground for a game of Boules. Olive was giving Phil a bit of coaching - she looked quite frail but was quite a shrewd boules player - I was hopeless - too much speed and not enough accuracy. Also at the Rec Ground was the regional finals of Stoolball - a game we have never ever heard of - there were 4 games going on simultaneously- all the players were women, mostly in their 30s and 40s - its a cross between cricket and softball - quite strange.

Then it was time for Christy to go to Heathrow to pick up Andy - he has been in Northern India and Bhutan for the last month with a group of 24 diadvantaged or disabled young people - many of them have significant physical and emotional problems including 2 who are wheel chair bound - their website is at www.jolttrust.org.uk. We have only spoken to him briefly twice and he seems to have had a wonderful time inspite of a few tummy bugs. Christy has had me making clothes while I've been here - she's wearing one of the dresses to meet Andy.