The word is a very exciting place

 Cornwall is one of those places where time seems to stop. It's probably one of the most laid back places in the UK, which I think is why so many people go there for their holidays. Including us! We made an early morning visit to Mevagissey, one of Cornwall's most famous fishing towns. It was gloriously quiet, and we felt like we had the place to ourselves! And to be fair, we pretty much did!

Falmouth is a bustling town, either in summer or in the relative cold of spring, and with a wide variety of things to do. There's plenty of little shops, in particular a good choice of book shops, as well as a selection of cafe's, deli's, artisan tat shops and much more. We had decided to do St Mawes first, so we found a parking spot, and walked down to the ferries, past this chimney, so called The Kings Pipe. It was used to burn tobacco that had been smuggled in but seized by the authorities as it meant they avoided paying taxes, and it was burnt as a warning to anyone else thinking of trying to smuggle goods into the country.

 After a slightly disappointing visit to Trerice, we decided to find ourselves some Cornish Industrial Heritage, and wow, did we manage to find it! We started at Wheal Busy, one of Cornwall's many mines & industrial centres.  They are scattered across the landscape, and you're normally closer to one than you realise! 

 The day started well with a visit to Hawksfield Artisan Village. There's a deli there, couple of clothes & artisan shops, but the highlight was visiting Strong Adolfo's. I had an iced tea and a Mexican Brioche burger, and it was phenomenal. It was so tasty, not at all greasy, and was thoroughly enjoyable, particularly with the great views and friendly service we received there. It was very busy, but well worth the short wait we had. You can check out their menus & associated merch (James treated himself to a tote bag)  @strongadolfos.com . I promise you, there is no regrets eating here!

 We started off our first full day with a visit to the very pleasant town of Boscastle. If you're a similar age to me, and went to school in the UK, you'll remember the name of Boscastle and memories of the terrifying flood, that we learnt about in geography lessons, will come flooding back (excuse the pun). Heavy rains in August 2004 flooded the village, which sits in a steep sided valley. The amount of rain was extraordinary, and made worse by the so called brown willy effect (I assure you, that's no joke). The river became a raging torrent, washing cars out to sea, demolishing buildings & houses, and over 150 people were airlifted to safety. How no one died in the event is perhaps the most incredible thing, the emergency services were mobilised quickly and evacuated everyone. 

Spring was rolling in, and that meant a week off at the start of March. Me & James always try to take our holidays roughly the same time each year, with two weeks in October, ten days in late February/early March and a week in June. It makes it easier to plan, and means we've always got something to look forward to!  We decided to this time head down to Devon & Cornwall, places we've always enjoyed going in the summer, but this time in the spring to see what else we could find. Now, I'll just get my mandatory complaining about how long it takes to get anywhere out the way and then I won't mention it again.  It took forever to drive there. And I mean that, it felt like weeks had passed before we arrived. Perhaps I'm just not a very patient traveller. That's probably more to do with it. The four and a half hours (complete with snack & stretch break) were an eternity, but then we arrived in Bude. That meant the holiday had really begun! 

Hi everyone! I was blown away that a few days ago I hit 70,000 views, and today I've seen that we've surpassed that and hit 75,000! All I can say is wow, I never thought this many people would ever visit and read my blog, so many thanks to you all!  The final week of February was altogether a less stressful time, thankfully! James had a couple of further check ups & was busy making appointments for further assessments. He was also being proactive and set about trying to make changes to his lifestyle to lose some weight and get himself into a better position health wise. Other news was that Russian Journalist & activist Alexei Navalny had been mysteriously poisoned. He was one of the loudest voices of criticism of Putin and his political empire, and for that face Alexei paid with the ultimate price. He'd already been poisoned once and managed to recover, but this time he was re-arrested, and put in another high security camp hidden away from the world, I think we all...

Hi everyone! Just a quick note from me to say thank you. I saw yesterday that the blog has now surpassed 70,000 views, and I am amazed by that figure! Thankyou all so much for continuing to visit the blog and read about my life!  February continued to be a busy month, and I made sure to try and have a quiet day off, where I spent most of the day at home with Husky, relaxing in bed, in front of the TV and snacking. Sometimes a day like that is good for the soul, you've just got to take it easy for a bit.

February is a strange month, in the fact it is both the shortest month, and it feels like the shortest month. Once you're a week into february you're almost at the end, whereas when you're a week into January you know there's still another nine weeks to go. Work was busy, and I had grown in confidence up to this points, and I was really starting to enjoy my job. However, it seemed it was not a sentiment that was shared. Our training group started with twelve people, and already we had lost four of them, that was a little startling! 

Byland Abbey is one of those places where time feels like it stands still when you are visiting. It's a feeling made stronger by the fact we were the only ones there aside from an older couple with a dog. Me and James stood at the entrance just gazing at this dramatic ruin. I don't even think dramatic is the right word. Whitby Abbey is dramatic, Netley Abbey is homely, Fountains Abbey is impressive, Reveaux Abbey is glorious. But Byland Abbey? There's no one word that can describe it. The ruins are not the largest, nor most glorious of any ruined abbey, but there is something about Byland, that sets it apart from most other abbies I've visited.

 We were up early and headed up to Spofforth Castle, which is located just outside of Harrogate. Harrogate always strikes me as somewhere incredibly posh, even just saying Harrogate makes me feel posh! But enough about that, we were here to see Spofforth Castle, which I had read about in a book several years ago, and thought we should pay it a visit as it's on the way to Byland Abbey.

 Before I'd started at 111, we had planned a weekend away up North as a post christmas treat. I booked the time off, and managed to create a 4 day weekend. There's no point trying to drive up north just for two days, it's a very long drive from Southampton!  We had planned to break up the journey into smaller, more manageable pieces. The backache I'd been experiencing intermittently the last couple of months had becoming more frequent, and I found I was becoming more and more stiff when I wasn't moving about. So we got up early, and about halfway we got out at a services so I could stretch and move about for a bit. We then headed into Birmingham to see James's parents. They were both well and keeping busy with things, and we spent the afternoon with them. My attempts to get their cat Pebbles to like me were all in vain, as she refused to come near me, but she did allow James to stroke her twice before also dashing off. That's better than nothing right?

 We had our first day out of 2024 at the end of January, I'd not felt like doing much up to that point, and with a saturday off at the end, we decided to head out and see something new. We planned a day out, visiting both Basildon Park & Grey's Court. And we were very lucky, the weather was perfect for the day!

The first half of January was a very tough month. I spent a lot of time thinking about the loss of Grandad, and on the 5th of January he was cremated. He hadn't wanted any kind of funeral or event, he just wanted it to be quiet and low key, and that really summed him up. In some ways, not having a funeral was actually better than having one. It meant we could all process, grieve and reflect at our own time & pace, which for me was the best way forward. I had spent a lot of time self reflecting and thinking about him, but also on how to move forward. As cruel as it is, but neither time nor the world stop because you lose someone. It continues regardless of whether you are following or not. So I had to make some peace with myself, and move forward. But Grandad wasn't going to be forgotten, he was going to move forwards with me. I often have conversations with him in my head about what I'm doing or things that have happened, and that's how I keep his memory alive.

December is the month of stress, that's the only way I can describe it. It's frantic, busy & expensive. There's a never ending list of things to be done or to do, and if I'm honest? I hate it. Work was going well, the training was good, and then at the start of December, I started to take my first calls under supervised practice, with a member of the coaching team or an experienced call handler sitting next to me as I began my first patient assessments over the phone. I won't lie, it was incredibly stressful, and at one point I thought to myself, I can't do this, this is too much. But everyone was so supportive and kind to me, it made a whole world of difference.

 Bonjour & welcome back to my review of JESC 2023. In part one I reacted to all the songs, and in this post I will be reviewing the rest of the show, including giving my take on the results. I will also be sharing my votes too, will I be able to change the winner? Probably not. Will I be able to change the last place? More likely! But here we go, let's continue with the show!

 Bonsoir & welcome to the 2023 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. We have returned to France, courtesy of Lissandro's win last year in Yerevan, although this time we are the in the French Riviera and in Nice. As they say, a little sunshine goes a long way! This is Frances second time hosting, you'll remember they hosted in Paris in 2021. This edition see 16 Participants, we have Germany returning, and Estonia making a debut this year, while Serbia & Kazakhstan are sitting this one out. I was surprised by both, Serbia is one of my favourites countries in JESC, whereas Kazakhstan has had a run of impressive results. Perhaps it's just a break for a year, hopefully they will both return. But, 16 nations are going to be hoping they take home the JESC trophy tonight, and I will also be adding my scores to the leaderboard, so watch out and see if winner might change! But with all that in mind, let's begin the show!  

Who doesn't love a good weekend in London? I feel like going to London is a tonic for the soul, especially in the winter time, when it's dark earlier and you can really appreciate how well London is lit up. We got a cheap deal on the train up via  @thetrainline.com  & a cashback offer on James's credit card, and we headed up Friday afternoon after work. We then came into Waterloo, onto the Northern line to Kings Cross, then came out, and our hotel was just opposite the station. Can't get a better location than that! We checked in, dropped our bags off, and went out to explore! That's what I love about London, it might be huge, but it's quick getting across it. It's faster than trying to get from one side of Southampton to another! Perhaps we could do with a metro system?

November was a very hectic month it felt like. We seemed to do a lot, and I seemed to catch a cold right at the start of it, which meant a couple of days of doing not much at all. But once that passed, I had a week before I started my new job at NHS 111, and so there was time to do a few bits and bobs! Here I am making leek & potato soup in my Bulgarian stewing pot. I first put salt, pepper & melted butter over some cut leeks, onion & garlic, and baked it in the over for half an hour to let things caramelise & cook down. Once I was happy with it, I added the small chopped potatoes, cream & vegetable stock, put the lid back on and put it back into the oven to cook through. I'd seen a TikTok of this way of cooking soup, and while I wasn't completely sure it would work at the start, once it had been in the oven for around an hour, I pulled it out and was delighted by the creaminess and beautiful flavour of it. It actually worked really well, I was rather impres...

 Halloween, the greatest time of the year. For me anyway. I love it, it's a time for fun, dressing up and spending time with friends & family. It's also is not a stressful time, christmas and easter are both stressful times, it's mega busy, you spend any time not working rushing round doing things or sleeping. With Halloween, it's easy and at your own pace. What more could you want? James couldn't decide what to be for Halloween. I was going to be a lumberjack, I had the shirt, the chainsaw and the hard hat ready, James could have been a ghost as you see here, except he struggled to see through the sheet. And Halloween eve morning, he still hadn't decided, and we had a brainstorming session with husky at breakfast, trying to come up with an idea.

I arrived home from Matlock, tried to get a good night's sleep, before my interview the next day. I had applied to work in an NHS call centre for 111, and I was feeling very nervous about it. What if I wasn't good enough, what if the fact I had no qualifications would stop them from hiring me. What if I made a fool of myself and they laughed at me? Weirdly, this was one of the best interviews I had ever had, and I felt my nerves instantly dissipate once I was introduced to the two team leaders who were interviewing. They both made me feel so calm and collected, and we actually had a laugh together during the interview! It's proof that if you're made to feel welcomed and supported in the interview, then your skills & personality will show through.

 I know I say it every time, but where has the time gone? How can it be my final day already? I was coming home a day early as I had a job interview (more about that at the end) so I needed to be back in Southampton, whereas James & Rob were going to stay the final night. But I needed to be getting back to work, it's amazing how fast your money drains away when you're not working! Our final day consisted of a visit to Crich, the National Tramway Museum, and this was a real joy to visit. Even if you're not a tram enthusiast, there was plenty here to keep you entertained.             

 It seemed like a horrendous journey from Skegness to Matlock, but I think that was just the fact that it we doubled back on ourselves passing Lincoln, which we had driven the day before. We couldn't check in until 4pm, so we headed past Matlock and headed over to Peak Village, for a little bit of shopping therapy. I mean why not!  Before we even got in, we had already caused a scene in the car park. We pulled up, and James spotted there was a couple of ducks sat in the middle of the car park, just chilling out. Being the good samaritans we are, we pulled up nearby, got out and brought the bag of birdseed over with us.

 Today, we visited Lincoln, one of the most important and impressive Medieval cities in the UK. So impressive in fact, that the spire of the cathedral was the tallest man made building in the world for over 200 years. That gives you an indication as to how large & wealthy the town was. All through Lincoln there is charming buildings and details, and once we eventually managed to find a parking space, we were able to start exploring. We started at the bottom of the High Street, and headed up towards the cathedral. The Stonebow, which leads into the pedestrianised part of the high street. It's home to the council, and originally formed one of the gates to the city.

 The day after my virtual interview, we continued with our holiday and along with Rob, headed north east. Being a southerner, it's always a frightening prospect heading north! You never know what sort of accent they will have and what they will call a bread roll the further north you go in England. We stayed on a caravan/lodge park just outside of Skegness. It felt like it took forever to get to, I'm sure we have driven to York faster than that! But we stayed in a nice lodge in the Addlethorpe Country Park, which was situated on a golf course. Aside from the paper thin mattresses, it was very comfortable and gave us enough space for the three of us to spend some alone time if we wanted to. There was also fantastic views across the golf course and of the sunsets in the evenings (in between the clouds!). If a lodge (or glorified caravan) is your thing, have a look at their website  hoseasons.co.uk/addlethorpe-country-park

 My last full day on the island was a busy but enjoyable one, and it started with a lovely walk along the beach at Shanklin. Again, it was very quiet with very few people there, so having the beach to ourselves was a lovely experience!

 I woke up to an email about a video call interview for a job with the NHS in a couple of days time, but I would need a laptop for it. I then planned to come home from the island a few hours earlier than James and Rob to do the interview. That was a good start, I'd applied for quite a few jobs, but hadn't heard anything much yet from anyone! After a hearty full English breakfast we prepared where we were staying, we headed over to Compton Bay for a walk along the beach. It was cooler today, and rather blustery, as you can tell by some of the clouds & waves!

 Autumn was well and truly here, and James had booked two weeks off. (I had also originally, but as I wasnt working anymore, I could go away for as long as I liked!) I had been applying for jobs, I'd been having a good scour about. Would I go back into retail, or would I do something else?I'd applied for a few retail jobs, a couple of admin/call centre jobs, and a couple with the local council. So many applications I couldn't remember where I'd sent them for and where I hadn't. I'd be keeping a close eye on my emails for any responses while we were away! The view of the other ferry & the Southampton skyline. We caught the ferry across to the island, Me, James and Rob, who also lives with us and was coming along for the holiday. We had the car with us so we could explore the island more easily. Living in Southampton means it's super easy to cross over to the Island, just a shame it's so expensive to do so. There's frequent ferries, and it only tak...

If you're not from the South Coast, then you might be confused by the regard we have for Hovercrafts. Well some of us anyway. For some, the Hovercraft was not only a feat of engineering, but were famous for their speed, design & ease of use. And where better to appreciate and see them than at the Hovercraft Museum, in Lee-On-Solent. What makes it really special, is that it's the only Hovercraft Museum in the world. And it's right on our doorstep! Here you can see some of the smaller craft on display

 September brought warm autumn vibes, and with it a return to more peaceful days out as the children were all back at school. Thank god, I'm so glad I don't have kids, and I won't ever have them! I love the kids of my family & friends, but I value peace & quiet too! But something that I did love as a kid, that I think all kids should visit, is HMS Victory. She is situated at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and we went there many a time when we were kids, and always thought it was fascinating. And I thought as I'm not working, why not return for a look around? I went with my friends Phil & Dan, and we had an excellent time there. The ship is currently undergoing a major conservation effort, which is likely to continue until 2032. This meant that when I arrived, much the deck was covered over a frame and the planks were being restored or replaced. Nothing like having personalised buckets for the king!

As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a novice with my pictures, and that's just the ones you see! You don't see how many I take that are skew-whiff, blurry or with fingers over the lens. But I do try my best to take a good picture. And where better to visit, than the place where one of the world's first photographs was taken, Lacock Abbey. The ornate & welcoming entrance gate 

 The glorious August weather was interrupted by a humongous deluge which seemed to come out of nowhere, soaking me to the bone. And after twenty minutes of monsoon style rain, it was over and the sun was back again, like nothing had happened! 

I think I was starting to get used to not working, but I seemed to be busier than I did while I was working full time! All the little thing's I'd been wanting to do, I could! Here's me making my own chicken stock, boiling up the carcass with the veggies from a roast we had the day before. It was absolutely delicious, although it was a very labour intensive process. But once it was done it was brilliant for not just gravy, but made an incredible ramen & soup broth that made you want more and more of it! I did plan to freeze some of it for another time, but it seemed to all get used within 24 hours of me making it!

 August was a strange month, without having to be at work, I felt like the passage of time was off. I was able to do anything and everything that I wanted to, but in terms of having a routine, it was non-existent! In some way's it was quite nice, in other ways, it was confusing and at times I had no idea what day it was or what I was supposed to be doing! It was however, a great time to catch up on things that I never normally had much time to do while working. I finally got round to building some lego I had brought during the Lunar New Year, this one is of a money tree, it was fiddly and took a while but I was impressed with how nice it looked. I've added it to the shelf with the other models. Lego is fun, this was the right size for me, but James a couple of years ago got me a one of the Great pyramid at Giza, and it took hours to do, and was so fiddly & complex I think it caused me more stress than it did enjoyment! 

I arrived in Sheffield early, and dropped my bag off at the hotel as it was too early for check in. I wasn't planning on doing much, so I just had a little wander about & explore by foot. I kind of fancied a day of just doing nothing, and sometimes you need to listen to yourself and have a day doing nothing! The beautiful clock tower in the city centre

I only had the one full day in Newcastle, which was a bit of a shame. It was quite an interesting place, and with lots to do there. But I'd booked cheap train tickets home, and there's no reason why I couldn't return in the future. Maybe by then people here would have an accent easier to understand! There was this gorgeous tree standing right in the centre of the hotel, and I think it was lit up at night which must have been beautiful to see! 

 Today I was feeling better, there was less pain in my ankle, and the swelling had reduced down to a minimal level. I think the ice and afternoon of rest had done me the world of good! Maybe the Romans gods were looking down on me fondly and wanted to see me finish the walk.  I caught the metro back to the Newcastle Central station, and from there walked back down to the riverside. There was a market on, and although nothing took my fancy, I did treat myself to some churros. You know, to give me some energy for the final stage of walking!

I woke in the morning, still with a painful ankle, and seriously thought about catching the train from Wylam to Newcastle and skipping the rest of the trail. I eventually came to the decision that I would try to walk as much as I could, but seeing as I was so close to Newcastle, then I could easily jump on a bus or train if it all got too much. The first part of the trail I didn't really pay much attention to, which I now regret. I was just trying to get some distance in before things got too uncomfortable, so I didn't appreciate the fact that I was walking along the Wylam Waggonway. Called the "father of the railways" because really he was, George Stephenson grew up in the little white stone cottage, and was inspired from a young age to become and inventor & engineer. Inspired by the slow moving carts that trundled past the cottage, the idea of a steam railway was born. One of his engines the aptly named Locomotion travelled at 15mph while pulling a passenger tra...

 If any of the days walking was going to break me, then it would be this one. It was the longest section I had planned, purely because I couldn't seem to get accommodation on the trail for some reason. So there was an approximately 20 mile walk between Chollerford and where I was staying in Wylam. I'd tried to rest my swollen ankle as much as possible yesterday afternoon and overnight. It was still a little swollen, and the pain was minimal which was a positive sign. I literally followed the road back over the Chollerford Bridge and up to Brunton Turret (26B) which is nestled in a quiet field with a rather large & high piece of wall, one of the tallest parts on the trail.

 Today I'd planned to have a slightly easier day, and make sure I spent a bit of time resting my tired body. I knew I was a bit unfit & somewhat overweight, but I didn't think I'd be struggling this much! The rain was back as well, I'd watched it trickle down the windows in the breakfast room. Luckily I had my waterproof jacket. I don't know what I would have done without it on this trip! Here you can see the haze of drizzle that was wafting over the hills. The sheep weren't bothered though! Nothing ever seems to bother sheep, they just chill in the fields all day. Imagine what it would be like to have a life without stress, only green grass and the occasional walker in your field. Anyway, I was headed for Chester's fort, another one of the large forts along Hadrian's Wall built to keep the Picts out of this side of the wall.

 Luckily, the rain seemed to have stopped by morning, which I was rather glad to see! I think I'd had enough rain by this point, although it is rather inevitable considering I am in Northern England!  Time for a good breakfast at the hostel, gotta get my energy levels up for the day!

 Day five started with a pleasant walk, retracing part of the path I had walked yesterday coming to Haltwhistle. But this time, rather than continuing onwards at the bridge by the square chimney, I crossed it, and followed the path along Haltwhistle Burn, this water course with a green oasis surrounding it in the valley. It was gloriously calm and peaceful, with the sounds of running water and birds calling each other.

After a well earned rest at the shepherds hut, I set out on day four of walking Hadrian's Wall. I was excited for today, because it's where the path would start to take in some of the more dramatic views of the wall and the surrounding landscape. Here's the first field of the day, after passing through Greenhead on my was to Thirlwall Castle.

 Day three got off to a fantastic start, one of the owners at the fabulous Scotch Arms Mews in Brampton had very kindly given me a lift back to the trail and Newton, saving me an almost hours walk back to the path. I gave them a tenner to say thankyou, but they refused to take it. It seems the North is full of good folk! You'd be kidnapped if that happened down South! The rain had been heavy overnight, but was just a light drizzle now thankfully. Here you can see the little stone's for the path, coming up the hill, this part of the walk was going to include some higher hills! But I was prepared, and I was eager for this stretch, as there is plenty of Roman remains to be seen!

The second section of the walk had very little Roman remains, but it was perhaps the most lush green I'd ever seen, surrounded by fields and crops. I'd started a little further round the trail than I wanted to, because although I'd wanted to walk along the river bank a little further round to see the Roman stones they had dredged from the River Eden, it then meant I'd have to double back on myself and add another mile and a half on the walk today. I decided not to, for fear of pushing myself slightly too much!

After a stellar breakfast and an interesting chat with two American ladies who had just finished Hadrian's wall the day before, I set off back to the little hut on the waterfront where my journey would begin. It's hard to believe that a sleepy place like Bowness would have been a busy & bustling fort two thousand years ago, it feels almost very un Roman!

 The Western end of the Hadrian's Wall path is in Bowness-On-Solway, a little village on the Solway coast, a massive tidal estuary. It's the site of the Roman fort of Maia, possibly the second largest fort on the wall. It also joined the coastal defences that stretched further down the coast towards Maryport & Ravenglass, which would have defended the area from raiders attacking from Ireland, as well as any Celtic raiders from Scotland (Caledonia) trying to get around the wall by sea. Bowness-On-Solway is a quiet little place, but a quaint and beautiful place to start the walk. I caught the bus from Carlisle, which seemed to go through every hamlet, farm and fishing hut possible, and taking around an hour. The busses are not very frequent, you need to research ahead the times so you can arrange transport either to or from Carlisle. It's bus number 93, operated by Stagecoach, and you can find a link to the timetable here  Stagecoach Route 93

 Wetheral is a cute little village by the river and it's a perfect day trip from Carlisle. Trains run every hour from Carlisle station, and you're there within 10 minutes. What could be easier? It was a very grey day, with frequent showers of cold rain, quite amiss from the July weather I was hoping for, but there we go, you can't have everything can you! 

Carlisle is a sleepy town that sits on the Hadrian's Wall Path. Originally the city was a Roman Town called Luguvalium, which also operated as a supply point for Hadrian's Wall. The city had been on the border of England & Scotland for many years, and has seen it's fair share of fighting. Eager to learn a bit more about it, I headed to Carlisle Castle, a red stoned extensive castle surrounded by beautiful green lawns. 

 Blackpool is one of those place I fondly remember visiting as a child, the bright lights, the amusements, the theme park, the beach. I always remember it being a fun, exciting place, compared to when I've visited as an adult, and I'm reminded it's seedy, run down and a little forlorn looking. I started by catching an early train from Manchester Piccadilly to Blackpool North, it took around an hour and a half, before arriving into Blackpool around 7am. It was supposed to be hot today, so I purposely got their early to avoid the heat, as I wanted to walk the entire length of the seafront. Fun little tram themed seats! They weren't very comfortable though! 

 I walked a different way back to the city centre and back to hotel each day, just to see what different things I could see. The night before I came across this beautiful row of terraced houses. While this morning I went along Tib Street and noticed these ceramic parrots sat along the window ledge. I suppose it keeps the pigeons away!