Easter fun, fun, fun

The grandchildren came to stay with us at the start of the Easter holidays which was a lovely treat so we took them to Jake's, just walking distance from us.  It was absolutely fantastic.  Right from the off we felt at ease and were happy to let them engage in all the wonderful activities on offer.  Of course, being able to be outside at this time of year was an extra special bonus as the weekend's weather was truly a springtime heatwave.  With brilliant sunshine on Sunday temperatures climbed to 25 C - a record for April 9.  Even more impressive, it was the UK's highest temperature recorded this early in the year.

This has helped make a memorable spring - flowers blooming, trees breaking into leaf and heaps of blossom sparkling in the sunshine.  As Shakespeare put it in Sonnet 98:  "When proud-pied April dress'd in all his trim/Hath put a spirit of youth in everything".  Even sat in the garden with the sun umbrella up and had a bar-be-que.

The weekend's hot spell was only brief, though.  Monday came down with a bump.  Temperatures returned to something more typical of April.  As an old saying warns, "Till April's dead, change not a thread", meaning, don't pack away your warm clothes quite yet.  It makes good sense because April is a transition month between winter and summer, often making for some wild swings in weather. 

Apart from the unusually mild weather so far this month, another striking feature is how dry it has been.  There has hardly been a drop of rain and the ground is drying out fast in the warm sunshine.  And with the trees unfolding their new leave, they will soon start drawing up huge amounts of water from the ground, drying out the soil even more.

With the ground so dry though we decided it was ideal for a picnic, so packed the blanket and the grandchildren and headed to Mottsifont.  They really enjoyed the informative Easter egg hunt - just the right size for little legs - and also the Easter activities in the Stables.

                                                   Jamie loved building the bug hotel.

Whilst looking at the Pet Cemetary in the grounds Grandad spotted the "real" Easter bunny.  We then wandered by the Test river looking for and seeing the Trout.  Great excitement when seen.  Really enjoyed our first picnic of the year and as children are allowed free run on the well kept lawns they had such fun.  Can't beat rolling down hills.

On Good Friday Emmie invited me to watch Beauty and the Beast with her.  After admiring her beautiful Easter decorations we headed off  to the cinema.

I really enjoyed it.  Ian McKellen's take on Cogsworth is a treat and Emma Thompson is the singing teapot you never knew you wanted and whilst Ewan McGregor's French accent may stretch things a little as Lumiere, he's hard to resist.  Gaston and LeFou are an excellent double act.  Emma Watson is a fine Belle and Dan Steven's Beast has the scary edges knocked off early BUT the Wolves are much meaner, uglier and hungrier.  They are SUPER TERRIFYING this time.  Maybe, it's the way Disney brought them to life, but regardless, they seem vicious and ruthless.  They also pop up multiple times; they terrorise Maurice before they try to attack Belle.  There's also a nasty ringleader who has a scar and a backstory that we never get.  Oh well, thank goodness Emmie was holding my hand.  I loved the Disney original but this film also worked for me.  A full on, lavish, theatrical musical, a tale as old as time. Thank you for inviting me Emmie.   And after all this excitement we headed to Branksome Beach for a glass of wine and fish and chips followed by a lovely walk along the coast.

On Saturday the whole family headed to Kingston Lacy (except poor Alun who unfortunately had to work) for another Easter egg hunt. The grounds are full of great places to explore, climb and play. A great day out for everyone.  Lots of exercise and fresh air with a chocolate rabbit to end the day - gets no better than that.  We then wandered through the beautiful grounds, vistas and gardens which whilst immaculate are also very family friendly and relaxed.  Stopped at a great picnic spot too.

                                                    Learning to tell the time.

                                                 How many does it take to hug a tree = 10

Caroline invited us over for the perfect Easter lunch on Sunday.  Easter is the festival that puts lamb and fresh greens on the table which Caroline cooked beautifully.  Followed by a delicious frozen berry yogurt for dessert. Yummy. So lucky to have a daughter who is such a good cook.  The apprentice is now the Master.

Excellent.  We had such a lovely Easter relaxing with the family, good food and fun.  Thank you.

 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there.

One problem that often arises on Mother's Day is  which Mum, do you spend the day with?

So Gemma came up with the perfect plan - spend the day with both Mums and their families.

It was a beautiful sunny day for an outdoor gathering, creating a casual and laid-back atmosphere and all the children really enjoyed playing outside in the sunshine.

The meal itself was obsessively good - rack of lamb - and when it comes to cooking Gemma never skimps on dessert.  The cheesecake was AMAZING.  Needless to say the bubbles flowed and the small touches with the Décor showed the effort and thought that Gemma had put into the day.
Mums just want to feel appreciated and loved by the people they love the most.

Thank you Alun and Gemma for the best gift of all - a day of fun and relaxation with all the family.

Thank you also for the gorgeous flowers and chocolates.  Much appreciated.

Wine and Food Tasting Experience

For a Christmas treat I was given a Wine and Food Tasting Experience at Denbies Wine Estate in the Surrey hills.  An old agricultural farm nestled in a valley of 250 acres in the Surrey hills and a short distance from the famous Box Hill.  It's a beautiful setting and the tour was very good, informative and enjoyable with a knowledgeable and friendly guide.

The tour started in the cinema where we learnt about the geology and history of the estate.  We then walked through the working winery where we could see the equipment used in today's wine production.  They were disgorging the sparkling wine whilst we were there.

The journey ended in the Denbie wine cellar where we were guided through a tasting of Denbies wine, paired with carefully selected local produce designed to enhance both the food and wine experience.

The tasting was three of their standard wines:-

Flint Valley - very dry and served with salmon.

Rose Hill - very pleasant and served with chicken

Surrey Gold - a little sweet and served with lemon tart or cheese and gooseberry chutney.

All very enjoyable and the nibbles with the wine were "nibbles" but they had paired them well with each of the wines.  It was interesting to see what the UK can produce in terms of wine.  Unfortunately, for Phil the UK is too cold for Merlot!!

It's great to see the wine trade thriving in the Surrey Hills and I would love to return and sample the sparkling wines with perhaps a walk around the vines when they have the grapes on.

A great place for lunch afterwards is The King William IV pub in Mickleham RH5 6EL.  This quirky old pub is tucked away up a narrow hill off the Leatherhead to Dorking road and it's quite easy to miss the turning, but it is certainly worth finding.  Park outside the Frascatis restaurant and walk 25 yards up Byttom Hill.  This old alehouse was built for Lord Beaverbrook's estate staff.  Phil enjoyed the beer from the Hogs Back Brewery and the food was delicious too.

"Surrey's best kept secret".

This is your Captain speaking

Congrats.

Well done.

You did it!

For many professional pilots, the ultimate job is to be an airline Captain.

Alun has risen to the rank of Captain after passing the airline's command course.

He loves being a commercial pilot with Thomson and we are so proud he has now achieved his ambition of becoming a Captain.  Alun has loved aviation since he was a boy. "It's just in the blood".

Don't, however, think for a moment that the path to the Captain's seat is an easy one.
Alun followed his own training route to an A.T.P.L., enjoying time in Fort Lauderdale.
On the way, he also gained a Flying Instructor's Rating and a passion for "flying with a purpose and teaching others" - hence the training he does now.

Let's Celebrate!

Excellent.

So Proud.

Wishing You All The Very Best!

CONGRATULATIONS.  

Steep learning curve.

Selva in Italy is one of the few destinations where we pray for sun.  Snowfalls would interfere with our scenery gazing without bringing any real benefit because their snow-making is down to a fine art.  If ever there was a region whose snow reliability should not be judged by it's snow depth figures alone, it is the Dolomites.  This is an area you come to cruise round a seemingly unlimited supply of perfectly groomed runs, surrounded by some of the most magnificent scenery on the planet.

                                         An example of their amazing piste management.

This season has, on the face of it, been a disappointing one for the Dolomites and a cursory glance at snow depths before our arrival did little to raise expectations.  However, big snowfalls do happen and it was snowing when we arrived and what followed when the sun came out was scintillating days of piste skiing.

                                           View at breakfast on our first morning.

                                           And the view from our balcony on the next morning.

A skiing holiday needs good skiing, superb surroundings and the comfort and convenience of a first class hotel at a reasonable price.  It's all there in Selva, a vast 1200 km of piste of which we never tire and the best mountain scenery anywhere on the continent.  So we return again and again to the Hotel Continental - there is every comfort and assistance you could want plus many you didn't know you wanted.  Housekeeping is flawless, there must be hospitals less clean.  I could go on.  In short 5 star without all the pretentiousness (or pool) but there is a lovely hot tub in the spa.  The ski room is spacious, not a converted basement, but purpose designed so you never find yourself struggling for bench space or boot drier space.  It is not quite ski in ski out, you do have to carry your skis across the road (5 metres).  And the main Dantecepies gondola is next door.

One small downside is the half mile uphill walk from the centre, but hey do you want to be near the shops or near the skiing?   Thank you once again family Linder for another enjoyable stay.

                              One of the desserts waiting for you after a hard day's skiing.

The village enjoys a fabulous setting under the impressive walls of Sassolungo, immediately above the slopes of Ciampinoi and the Gruppo del Sella - a fortress-like massif 6 km across that lies at the hub of the Sella Ronda circuit (described in an earlier blog).  There are knock-out views as you descend from Dantercepies, for example, and from Alpe di Siusi.

                              You can just see Selva in the valley from the top of Dantercepies.

                                                              Piste and Quiet

Despite years of experience I still feel like a beginner when we arrive at the resort every season.  So I join ski school with Pauline whilst the black piste junkies go off on their ski safaris organised by the Hotel.

                                                   Phil leaving at 8.30 a.m.

                                                     The Marmolada ski area.

My skiing ability has for years been the subject of slope-side discussions with my family:-

You need to attack the slope.
Be more aggressive.
Ski harder.
They can't fault my style though!! - or so I thought.

I suppose I have hit the intermediate plateau now I am an old age pensioner!!!!  I am the type of skier  who gets just as much satisfaction from sitting in a mountain-top hut (and there are some beautiful ones in Italy) drinking hot chocolate as conquering a mogul run.  As long as I can get down a slope without making a complete hash of it and ski some nice reds and the odd black I am happy.

This year I did my usual 'test run' when the instructor, Cristine, dropped the bombshell.  "You skied three, maybe four times before?" she asked.  I was gutted.   "Er, no actually.  It's probably my 50th time" I said trying to laugh it off.  My first ski holiday was in 1964!!!!

By the end of the first day, I was skiing much better, and Cristina was all praise.

The main thing Cristina did was give me confidence.  When she assessed my ability on the first day she didn't sigh and criticize my every move, she went over things I have probably been told 100 times before.  ESPECIALLY LEAN FORWARD.  Hopefully, this year they will have sunk in (maybe).  I started to edge my skis more, I moved my body more and I planted my pole with a graceful rhythm.
"You need to train your ankles and knees to bend into the slope so it becomes second nature" she said.

I went down run after run, with no poles, hands on hips, just pushing the side of my knees into the slope.  After a few goes I had got the hang of it and was doing some serious edging.  Then it was lean forward more, stretch up at the beginning of the turn and then bring your shoulder over your ski, without swinging the shoulder, but in a controlled fashion.  It really worked - my thighs no longer ached because I was not leaning back and I was able to go from the top to the bottom of a long run without stopping because the stretching of the legs on the turn releases the leg muscles.

Following Cristina I became the queen of speed. Thank you Cristina for some excellent instruction. Hopefully, next year I will remember all your fabulous tips.

                              And the sun sets on another fabulous skiing holiday in the Dolomites.