Celebrating the 70's - A chronicle of time and temperature

  Saturday 30 March 2024 – Easter Saturday An early start today as we head off to Doolin to catch the ferry to the Aran Islands. Everything working well; car - no problems; weather cold. No, very cold. The ferry departs on time and is very comfortable below decks. There are three islands in the Aran group. Little, middle and big island, named respectively Heer, Maan and More. We get off at the big island where there are four of pubs and some shops. There are a few ways of seeing the island. It’s 15 kms long, so Flashy did not suggest we walk it. The horse and cart option looked good but probably a bit cold. So, we decided on Pat Hernon’s Celtic Tours. A nice heated 19-seater with full commentary in a nice Irish accent to be sure. Around the top of the Island in three hours for €25 ea. The first stop is for coffee and a slice of fudge by the open fire in a little cafe. There was a group of Canadian women and a family from somewhere, standing around in the café, scratching their he

  Friday 29 March 2004 – Good Friday We awoke to a beautiful, sunny day with blue skies but still 7C. The morning drive into Kinvarra was far better and seemed so much wider, that yesterday evening. The local farmers’ market was on, the whole 12 stalls! Still, we did buy some vegetables for cash. Better by a little bit, was the local supermarket for some extra veg, charcuterie, whole fresh chicken and Irish soda bread. Linnanes pub and seafood restaurant, not far from us, is the booked venue for tonight’s dinner. It’s packed with Irish people. Strange that! Foregoing a Guinness, for a Californian Chardonnay (more on Irish and Brit wine lists later) Lady P had a spectacular seafood chowder and a fish cake and Flashy a very disappointing ‘special’ line caught mackerel (now, that’s an English mackerel, not our Spanish Mackerel, so a bit like a bait fish) and hummous and sundried tomato and dried out spuds.  I think chef was pissed or having carnal relationships with the middle eastern

  Thursday 28 March 2024 On the road to Gatwick for our flight to Dublin. An incident free drive in good weather, sees us at Gatwick in one hour and through security in another hour, to sit down to a coffee and a sparkling rose. A couple of bottles of gin at duty free, after discussing how many we could bring into Ireland (we chose two) and a short one hour flight to Dublin. I’m sure you all know how officious and totally humourless customs and immigration officers are. On a ‘prick’ scale of one to ten, US officers are both the worst and most scary. Definitely a 10. Some Poms are not far behind but the Irish? “Hello there. What brings you to beautiful Dublin, then? Ah, sampling the Guinness, eh? Four weeks, you say. That’ll be grand. Enjoy your stay” Got to be a big 1 on the scale. Not to be outdone, the lass at Europcar is likewise friendly, giving us tips on how to avoid parking fees and where to see the cliffs etc. “So, you’d be wanting the extra driver? That’s €375,” “Er, no,

  Tuesday 26 March 2004 Another quiet morning in our little village of Kildown, Kent and after some home made, hot cross buns for breakfast we drove the short distance to Rye, on the river Rother and not far from the coast of the English Channel. After a walk around looking at the castle and some old guns, Lady P spies a cute Anglican church (St Mary’s) and we poked our heads in for a look (that’s two churches so far this trip). Well, blow me down, just down the road was the Catholic church of St Anthony de Padua. As many of you know, St Anthony is the favourite saint of my mother and is credited with many miraculous events involving lost causes, so in we went for another look inside a church. Hard these days to light a candle when no one has cash. Then I noticed a card reader off to the side with a little note, saying that the church gladly accepts cashless donations by way of a card reader. Lunch at the Standard Inn pub in the high Street (built in the 1300’s - that makes it

  Monday 25 March 2024 We drove into the little village of Cranbrook for some basic supplies this morning and found an amazing kitchen shop where we purchased a bread baking tin and some dough paddles as a gift for Emma Louise. Someone has given her a sourdough starter and Lady P is going to giver her a lesson and make some bread. Topped up the tyre which, incidentally was not flat. And the warning light went off. So, we will continue to nurse it along. A bit chilly today at 9C this morning and 11C at noon but no rain. We are now alone in the house with Truffles the cockapoo dog (well, she’s a girl dog) a beautiful little dog. Johnny and Emma Louise have gone to London for two nights and we are again house sitting. Lady P has taken Truffles for a long walk and Flashy has been busy at the AGA, preparing a Tuna Mornay for dinner. Now, those stove aficionados will appreciate what an AGA is and the best thing is, that it runs on oil and runs all year round. As a result, in the winter

  Sunday 24 March 2024 Our last day at Chapel House today. Lady P has gone off walking via Denbies Winery et al and has come back with some craft bread and hot cross buns. Heading off in the Polestar 2 EV for Kent. A nice drive in the very green countryside for one hour. Just before we arrive guess what? The warning light comes on saying “low tyre pressure!” You’re bloody kidding! Not two cars in a row. We are definitely not calling the AA or driving to Gatwick. Johnny gets out his compressor and we check the offending tyre. Perfect. Must be a computer glitch. Plug in the beast to the power point to top up the battery (we’re at 61%) and the system check on the flight deck says that there are now no warnings, but don’t drive with the plug in the charger. Don’t you just love modern cars? Johnny and Enna Louise have this new pizza oven. A gas or wood (the brand is ooni) fired little beauty. Gets to 500+c with flames out the top. Cooks our pizzas in 2 minutes. After a couple of gins

  Saturday 23 March 2024 Woke this morning to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue sky. Those big juicy doves are back on the lawn, the little squirrels are dashing about but the pheasant is hiding in the scrub. We are off to the Kings Arms pub in Dorking today to catch up with John Riordan, the son of Mary and Patrick. Mary was the Irish Daily for the Ogilvys when Lady P nannied. Irish Daily is the quaint term for a lady cleaner with Irish ancestry, who comes to the house each day to clean. We caught up with Mary and hubby Patrick in Kilburn, some 20 years ago. They have both died since then but the connection is maintained through their son John (55 yrs young) Here's a funny story which I may or may not tell over lunch. The last visit to Patrick and Mary was for dinner at their place in Kilburn and Flashy had not met either before. Patrick had a strong Irish brogue and drove earth moving equipment for a living and Mary was making those take home meals pioneered by Sainsburys

  Friday 22 March 2024 Our time at Chapel House is soon coming to an end after 43 days here, so it’s a bit of cleaning and tidying up before we head to Kent o Sunday for a few days before Ireland. Our intention on our Seniors’ Gap Year, was to get half the time in free accommodation. This required Lady P to spend many hours researching (she loves it, though) to use our Home Exchange points and to House Sit. The latter usually involves looking after pets. You would not believe the menagerie that some people have and expect a stranger to look after. How about 3 cats, 4 dogs, 6 lizards and a chook? Generally, we look for an old sleepy cat or dog that doesn’t need much attention. Cats particularly don’t need walking and shit where they are supposed to. Anyway, having a look at the spreadsheet, I have discovered, that of the 91 days we will have been in Europe/UK (Jan, Feb and Mar), we have had 70 free days of accommodation (77%) and the average we have paid for the 21 days in hotels

  Thursday 21 March 2024 A stay at home day today, working on paperwork and planning Ireland. We managed to plug the Polestar into the house electrical circuit last night and all the lights that were meant to go green did and no other light fitting or appliance caught fire or blew up. The car told us that it would reach 90% (the recommended top up) by 0300 this morning. Flashy was wide awake at 0700 and raced down to check. Yep, all charged and everything shipshape. We had two video calls from friends in Cairns this morning, which was nice. They were drinking McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon and an Argentinean Malbec and nibbling on pizza, us still in our jimjams and slippers sipping on a coffee. A far cry from the old days when you could use Telstra international roaming to make mobile calls, provided you took a second mortgage on the house first. Or the old, old days when you wrote an aerogram occasionally and posted it home. Some got there before you returned. Spring has arri

  Wednesday 20 March 2024 Off to Reigate this morning to collect a script for Flashy from the doctor – the wife of the real estate agent who agreed to do it, even though she is a cardiac surgeon at the hospital. Unbelievably stuffed system here but we’ll do whatever it takes to get the drugs!! (blood pressure). Then off to see Julia Humbles for lunch. Haven’t seen her since 1990 in Mornington, when she worked for me at the Council, eventually taking over my job when I left, but we met up at “the Royal Standard Pub”, near High Wycombe and in fits and starts (remember, we’re old) we remembered the dinners, Poms v Aussies cricket matches at the Briars on New Year's Day and some of the funny times in those days. So many of our friends are dead, dying or not well, that it makes it so important to ‘do it while you can.’ Interesting how the conversations change over the years from kids, parties and who’s bonking who, to back pain, stiff joints and our latest operations.   A great da

  Tuesday 19 March 2024 At last a quiet day of administration, paying bills, arguing with electricians in Cairns and sorting the pruning of Lady P’s precious lime tree at the Esplanade. Flashy has just made a batch of date and currant scones and you know they are best straight out of the oven. Raspberry jam too. Delicious. The calendar is starting to fill up now, with people making travel decisions for the rest of the year. Jenny is out here in UK and Europe from mid May until the end of June and we hope to catch up somewhere. Russell and Jacqui are in Béziers, south of France and we will stay with them for three nights at the end of May. Anne Pleash is in Menton and Paris in July. Lady P is going to the opening ceremony of the Olympics for four nights in July. Flashy’d rather cut his left arm off, so will find a suitable, cultural event somewhere to amuse himself. We are still planning our joint 70 th birthdays (really Lady P’s, as Flashy was spoilt at Frantzen Restaurant in

  Monday 18 March 2024 After all the excitement of the weekend, we planned a relaxing day at Chapel House today and after a late breakfast, we decide to go into Dorking, as Lady P is desperate for coffee and we need a few essentials. Prior to departure however, we notice that the rear tyre is a little flat. It’s been sitting for four days, so could it be a puncture? A leaky valve maybe? Anyway, we decide to head into Dorking and see what happens. Once parked at Waitrose, we decide to not leave it but to go the closest service station and pump it up, then see what happens. Afterall, we plan about an hour’s drive tomorrow, so prior preparation and all that. All good so far. Once home, after a few hours, we decide to call Hertz. This results in them dispatching the AA to check. Yes, a very small piece of plastic has pierced the tyre, resulting in a slow deflation. The sensible thing to do is to take it into the tyre place in Dorking and have it fixed. But no, Hertz have instructed

  Thursday 14 to Monday 18 March 2024 Thursday Up early for a brief walk down to our local train station, Westhumble Box Hill, to catch the train to London. Unlike the UK's totally stuffed health system, the public transport system usually works beautifully, and so, we arrive at Clapham Junction in an hour, in a clean and comfortable carriage. An easy walk to our Air BnB to drop off bags and, in nice weather, we walk through Battersea Park across Albert Bridge to Kings Road, Chelsea to visit our old favourite café, the Bluebird for breakfast and to the Worlds End Distillery , a once proud pub serving Flashy pints by the open fire on his way home to Fulham some 30 years ago. A little tired now, the pub that is, only opening three days a week. Wanting to have a look at the food hall at Harrods, in the hope of getting pigeon, pheasant or hare, we walk to Fulham Rd and catch a bus to that paragon of gastronomy. It’s smaller than Flashy remembers. But that’s true of most things

  Wednesday 13 March 2024 A very quiet day today with a bit of cleaning and washing, laying about in the tracksuit and reading General Sir Peter de la Billiere’s “Storm Command.”  (Op Desert Storm).   Lady P is booking the flight from Dublin to Bordeaux at the end of April and we are looking at options for our trip to London tomorrow and Friday that involves food, wine and culture. We will be travelling by train and taking only small back packs, so we might be off the air, blog wise, until we return on Sunday. However, I will take lots of food photos. We just finished a video call to a lovely retired couple in Switzerland and have been accepted for a house sit in July with a lovely, big 10 year old, dog in a big house with pool in Lausanne The dog is a bitza. But Labrador sort of head, short hair and sad eyes. Flashy made a chicken and cauliflower curry for dinner, using up some of the contents of the fridge. It was delicious. Consumed so fast that there are no food photos! But

  Tuesday 12 March 2024 Another day of light rain so we are planning a short trip to somewhere for a pub lunch. There are certain criteria though. Distance, parking, open fire, local beer, nice menu. Lady P is on to it.   I shall keep you informed. OK we decided on The Parrot, about half an hour away towards Horsham outside a little village called Shady Green. It was a beautiful old pub with timber tables and leather chairs and a really good menu. Their wine list was also excellent. Despite it being a quiet Tuesday and in the middle of the country, there were a few in for lunch. Missing was the open fire. About 6 fireplaces, all not set. Perhaps 11C is not cold enough for these Poms. However, the food was spectacular. Certainly, not pub grub. Flashy’s fillet steak sandwich was perfectly cooked and seasoned and with a delicious tarragon mayonnaise and crispy fries. Lady P had a salmon and smoked haddock fish cake with chorizo and chick peas, with a poached egg and saffron aioli. W