Quality time with Nanna and Grandad

It's the school holidays so it's time for grandparenting duties.

We visited the splendid ruins of Corfe Castle with Chloe.  A castle has stood here from 979AD until William the Conqueror built it in stone.  The scene of intrigue, betrayal and ruination during the English Civil War.

The walk to the castle entrance was pleasant with interesting facts along the way, and perfectly manageable for little legs.  There is also a lovely wooden play trail area which we walked along on the way out.

It's not as steep as it looks to climb to the top and Chloe scaled the whole thing in a state of excitement.  There are fantastic views at the top and it's fun to watch the steam trains going past.

There's a little quiz for children to do on the way round, at the moment, and Chloe received a National Trust Corfe Castle wristband for completing it.

You do need to keep a close eye on children, as there are multiple drops, slopes and gaps where they may take a tumble but Chloe was very well behaved and we enjoyed a picnic with fabulous views of the quaint village.

There are also interactive activities to help describe how life was many years ago and clothes for the children and Nannas to dress up in.

The sheer scale of the explosives that the Roundhead troops must have used in 1646 to level this massive castle is impressive...enormous battlements lie on their sides...to have survived siege and then be the victim of treachery changed the face of Corfe...although perhaps not so many fine stone houses in the village if the castle had been saved!!!!!  The Bankes family were friendly with King Charles and it is fortunate that they were allowed to survive and live in such beautiful places, such as Kingston Lacy, thereafter.

After three and a half centuries of ownership by the Bankes family, the castle was given to the National Trust.

A must for Famous Five fans and history lovers.

The following day we visited another National Trust gem.  Mottisfont.

A lovely place for children to run around and have fun on the grass.

There is a Beatrix Potter trail on until mid September.  This is a wonderful trail extending out on neighbouring fields with lots (29) of clues, activities and little fairy doors for the children to open.

As the weather was so lovely we enjoyed a relaxing picnic and then we had the perfect excuse to try the National Trust produced ice cream in the Stables (delicious by the way).

Don't miss the trout holding their position in the stream.  I have never seen so many fish holding their place in the current.  Chloe learnt you had to be quiet and stand and stare, especially in the shadows, and she got very excited when she spotted the fish, some quite large.

An idyllic sunny, happy family day.

Friday was yet another fabulously sunny day so we packed another picnic and headed to Adventure Wonderland.  Chloe and Jamie love it here and we love it because we can use our Tesco vouchers to get in.

We were met on arrival by Alice and White Rabbit.

There is also a very large and complicated hedge maze (be prepared to get lost, on a previous visit it took an hour for Nanna to get out!!!) but Grandad, as always, knew what to do.

The Maze is the third largest maze in the U.K.  Within the beech hedges, made up of 5,200 bushes, there are over 1.75 miles of paths to keep you guessing and exploring.

They had a great day, getting wet at the end on the battle boats.  They would have got a lot wetter but Grandad sensibly went to the car and got his coat which he used to shield them.  Perhaps a good idea to take swimmers and a towel next time.

This retirement lark is quite tiring........

And now Nanna is another year older!!!

Capt. Grandad Retired - Not Tired!

He's flown his last flight, He's grounded for now.

It's time to relax.

After 44 years with British Airways Phil has retired as a Boeing 747-400 Captain with over 25,000 hours of airline flying time.

Phil learned to fly at the College of Air Training in Hamble, Hampshire (where we met) and he began his career at B.E.A. flying Trident aircraft on 1st August, 1972.

  He has also flown 737s (including a stint in Germany for Lufthansa).

and Tristars.  Phil is actually landing this Tristar. He was also a First Officer on the "Jumbo".

He became a Captain on 757s and 767s in 1995  before moving to the older Boeing Jumbo 747-100 and 200 'classics'.  He has finished his flying career on the 747-400s (you can tell a 747-400 by the winglets).  New aircraft (777s, 787 Dreamliner and A380 super jumbo) are now replacing the Jumbo's routes, which was one of the reasons Phil retired 10 months before his 65th birthday, but the 747 "Jumbo" will continue to have a special place in the hearts of those who have flown it.  Long may they fly.

Each month Phil submitted his preferences for where and when he would like to fly.  Sometimes he got what he wanted.  Some of his favourite trips on the Jumbo have been:-

Cape Town for the food, scenery, wine and visiting Table Mountain.

Hong Kong to ride the Star Ferry.

San Francisco to cycle over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausilito.

Sydney for the harbour with it's beautiful Opera House and Bridge.

Singapore to buy orchids for me!!!!!!

Bangkok for the Temples, shopping and his favourite group, the Big Boy Band.

He has been lucky enough to see in a year what many travellers would be lucky to see in a lifetime.
But after a few visits he would just look at Table Mountain, and the Star Ferry was simply the scenic way to cross to Kowloon but who would forget the landings into Kai Tak Runway 13.

 And the Golden Gate Bridge - well, the jet lag is bad from America.
But he still enjoyed the gastronomical attractions.
No-one would fly 8 or 12 hours across the world merely to sample restaurants.  Yet when flying is your work, and you've been pretty much everywhere more times than you can remember, a favourite restaurant is as good a reason as any to bid for one route over another.  He will certainly miss Cape Town (as I will too) for the Chocolate Block wine, the best calamari in the world at the Chapman's Peak Hotel, the wonderful meals and view at Clos Malverne in Stellenbosch, not to mention the Whales in Hermanus in September.

However, now he is retiring from the cockpit I am sure it will be the famous bridges, mountains, scenery and ferry rides that he will remember most.

Phil's last flight was a three day trip to Nairobi.  It's customary to take along a family member for a retirement flight so Phil was accompanied by Caroline (I had previously been with Phil on his last Cape Town.  Unfortunately, Alun missed out on his trip to San Diego because Dad had a bad cold).

Caroline looked proud and excited as she left with Dad on his final voyage.

Celebrations in Nairobi included;-

A safari where they saw 3 lions, 4 rhinos, buffalo, giraffes, zebra, crocs, hippos, lots of different antelope, vultures and a small cat.  The view from the bedroom window was Nairobi National Park.  Followed by a steak lunch with a few fries and relaxing by the pool with African reggae.  Plenty of foot tapping.

Before he left he told me that, of course, he wanted to enjoy the trip, and hopefully, make it memorable for the crew and Caroline, but in the back of his mind, there's a dramatic voice saying "Don't screw up your accident-free career on the final flight!"

The final route home.

There was no water salute for Phil on his return to Heathrow.  Apparently, they don't do this anymore for retiring pilots, but the whole crew presented him with a signed card, a safari hat, some Kenyan coffee and a bottle of Amarula (yes, I can still make Dom Pedros).

Speedbird G BNLN (It was the same aeroplane both going and returning) has landed.

And look what an absolutely fabulous retirement cake Gemma made.

What will Phil do in his retirement?

I guess it will be back to Hamble, where it all began, for his second love - sailing - and he still gets to be called Skipper and the boat is called Speedbird!

Final word:  Always remember wives and mothers never get to retire and the trouble with retirement is that you will never get a day off.

WELCOME ABOARD!