Back to the Future

Alun and Gemma have sold their home.

It's theirs!!!

First impressions - it is massive and there is a massive amount of work to do but it is going to be an amazing home.

This Edwardian three-storey house had been divided into three flats and, after exchange but before completion, Alun and Nigel set to work knocking down walls and removing two kitchens as required by the mortgage company in order to turn it into one dwelling.  I admire Alun for his tenacity, it was not an easy purchase - I think I would have fallen at the first hurdle.

As you can see they have ripped a lot out already.  The first time I visited I wasn't quite prepared for the devastation Emmie had warned me about.  "Why can't Mummy and Daddy buy a nice warm, modern house".  The holes gaped like a wound.  A magnificent old lady on the outside but some surgery needed on the inside.

They even have an Avocado Bath.

Or did have!!!!

So the house is now in a state of disrepair but it has strong architectural features, lovely stained glass windows, high ceilings and a beautiful staircase.  They have already pulled the boarding off the bannisters revealing the original balustrade.  Amazing.

It will be a labour of love.

However, the downstairs is habitable but at present the décor is stuck in a "seventies time warp".  There is, however, huge potential if you can see past the unsightly outdated décor.

Nothing ignites home improvement fever quite like a new home.  Making a house a home.
I look forward to the transformation.  It's just great they want to do up a beautiful house.  It will be such an achievement.  Wish I was still young enough to do it.

Their new home is a slice of heaven, a glimpse of beauty, a mark of elegance, a sigh so pretty.  A warm feeling, a vibrant hue, a cosy ambience, a dream come true BUT there's going to be a lot of work.  It will be worth it in the end though.  I LOVE your new house!  Love, love, love it and I know Gemma will have the urge to get everything decorated and "DONE" right away.  RESIST.

It takes time to "get to know" a house, ask Mike and Caroline - who after a year are still only just about to start on their renovations.  Moving from a home that's "done" to a house that's "in progress" is an adjustment.  So Alun and Gemma take your time.  Time will also give you the opportunity to remove the compounding stress of moving coupled with renovations.  Plus, buying a house is expensive!!

I know you have grand plans for your likely abode for many decades to come and the compulsion to perfect a home the minute you take up residence is a natural extension of our desire to nest and create a safe haven.  But, don't lose sight of what you need in your home versus what you want.  And let time elapse to give yourself the money to perform the renovations you'll enjoy.

I look forward to the parties, gatherings and family events, your new home is set to create - priceless moments.  Hugs, smiles, laughs and giggles, the company of friends and loved ones will make your happiness double.

Wishing you all the best in turning your new house into a home.  An exciting new beginning, new neighbourhood, new friends and new surroundings to explore.  Congratulations.

Our Annual Pilgrimage to the Mountains

When are you too old to ski?

The right answer is "not yet".
It may mean earlier nights but the slopes are still great fun.
I would suggest that skiers over 60 can be divided into two tribes - those who see themselves as "older skiers" and those who are simply in denial about their age.  You can tell "older skiers" because skiing provides them with unlimited opportunities to complain.  Their feet hurt (blame the boots), they have bad knees, they cannot see anything (blame the goggles), the lift queues are too long, there is too much/not enough/the wrong snow.

Those in denial, on the other hand, see that skiing provides them with almost unlimited opportunities to spend money.  They have new boots (so their feet will not hurt), new skis (to save the knees), new goggles and sunglasses (to look cool), a new ski outfit (to pretend they look as young as the yummy mummies in the lift queues), new snow boots (just in case it snows in the village).

I started skiing at the age of 11 and I'm now well above 60.  My first boots had laces; my skis had screw-in edges and ski straps; my poles had leather strap baskets.  A lot has changed since then - thankfully.

Our skiing abilities range from middling (ladies) to superb (men).

Don't give up skiing because you can't go so fast anymore.  I ski for the ambience.  The mountain air.  To step out of a cable car and see the view.  To be part of the excited throng as they tighten up their boots at the top.  To feel the movement as you take your first turn.

The Dolomites may not be the highest mountains in Europe, but they are among the most spectacular: massive 3,000m limestone towers thrust up into the blue Italian sky.  On a clear day, you can see as far as the Adriatic from the summit of the Marmolada which the boys did on the second day in glorious sunshine.

The Dolomites are also historic, these jagged towering Dolomite peaks were reefs underwater 250,000 million years ago.  Now they soar 2,000-3,000 meters above sea level.  The Dolomites were named an official UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2009.  The history of skiing in the Dolomites spans over a century, including the first man to ski the Sellaronda in 1912, and the first race from the summit of Marmolada in 1935, the first Italian Winter Olympics in Cortina in 1956, to the joining of the individual ski areas in 1974 to create the Dolomiti Super Ski region all on one interchangeable lift ticket.  The name Dolomite comes from the 1789 discovery of geologist Dolomieu, who declared the special dolomite rock.

Selva sits at the head of the Val Gardena Valley, arguably the best gateway to the Sella Ronda circuit.  It's a town surrounded by beautiful limestone peaks and seriously good skiing.  To say the area is beautiful is an understatement.  You are completely surrounded by limestone eroded from its full height into craggy peaks, cliffs and monoliths tinged pink at both dawn and dusk.

There are more pistes than you could possibly cover in a month let along a week.  If you're a decent skier getting all the way to Lagazuoi and the Hidden Valley is well worth the effort.  The boys on Friday were treated to some 'holy-moly-that's incredible' views followed by a gloriously long red run through sheer cliffs and frozen waterfalls to the waiting horse and cart at the bottom to drag them back to the main ski area.

A quick but important point.  Over 90% of the pistes are covered by artificial snow cannons.  That means that even when the snow is scarce, the pistes will be perfect and you'll be able to ski pretty much the entire 433 km.  This doesn't cover off-piste and this is the one downfall to the area, off-piste isn't great and even banned in many parts.  But you won't miss it.

The boys join the Ski Safari every day but Pauline and I join a ski class and meet a new group of pals - younger than us, of course.  A week of lessons in a small group helps focus the mind on improving skills.  However, the first morning of lessons usually fills us with horror.  There's that awful moment when you have to ski with everyone watching.  The tension makes me hunch my shoulders up to my ears, and instead of feeling like a carefree powderhound, my mind races and I become almost rigid.  Still with the carrot- skiing perfection - dangling in front of me, I'm ready to embrace every word  this week.

By the time we've analysed every part of a turn and focused on adjusting our balance when initiating and finishing a turn, I'm acutely aware that I have a weaker turn direction.  The problem is that I'm blocking the turn by not turning my hip.  As soon as I start doing that, my turns even out and the rhythm flows.  But then, as I struggle to remember everything I've been told, the flow goes again - a classic case of over thinking.  So, to help me stop focusing on mechanical skills and become more intuitive I just follow the red jacket.  Immediately, the slope seems irrelevant, whether it's steep or a perfect cruiser because I am focused on following.  As I follow Rudi, short quick turns are not a problem, and long tilting carving turns come naturally.  I am in the Zone.

So now the key is doing this on my own.  I find myself thinking "It's time for lunch with Rosie".
Obviously, the downhill bit is the most important part of any skiing holiday but pretty close behind in the ladies' book is lunching.  There are few greater pleasures than kicking back for a long and tasty lunch after a hard morning of skiing, safe in the knowledge that you've definitely earned it with all that pre-lunch activity.  Fortifying the inner skier against the cold is an essential part of any day in the mountains and nobody does it better than the Italians.  From high noon onwards, enticing scents of homemade pasta and pizza cooked on primitive wood-fired stoves waft across the piste, cutting short the skiing day in the kindest possible way.

We always enjoy lunch at Pizzeria L Ciamin.  Bit of a walk from our hotel but amazing ambiance, great food and friendly staff.

After lunch we wander from shop to shop.  The woodcarvings are beautiful.  They date from the 17th century when poor farmers began to spend their winter evenings fashioning sculptures from wood.  By 1820 there were 300 carvers in the area, and in the last 19th century the valley became the home of a woodcarving school.  But mostly the skills of the craft are passed from father to son.

Unfortunately, midweek I had a subconjunctival  haemorrhage in my left eye and had to visit the local Doctor and then the hospital at Bolzano, a 110 Euros taxi ride away, but everyone was so kind and the next day I was skiing again with Pauline but we did take it easy especially as it was snowing and the conditions were difficult.

Happy, tired and ready for a coffee and hot chocolate at Baita Ciampac.  A quiet spot tucked away next to the cross-country ski area in Vallunga and next to a chair lift that connects into the Selva ski area.  A good spot for a quiet drink in the sun with a small outside seating area.  Also popular with those who have chosen to take a walk up the beautiful Vallunga as Rosie sometimes does.
Beautiful wood carvings too.

So no excuses for not skiing and yes I did buy a new ski outfit and new snow boots this season!!!!

Though I love languishing on a beach in hot weather, there's something special about the season and indulging in some fresh mountain air (and the odd Hugo).  Cheers!!!

Another fantastic week in Selva staying at the Hotel Continental with wonderful friends.

and a dessert table...…..

Half term fun

We did a couple of workshops at the Science Zone in Bournemouth with the grandchildren over half term and the subjects were fun and informative.  The Professors were excellent with the children.  They learnt about why things glow in the dark and also why things fizz and bubble when a special science material called dry ice involved.  One experiment included making their own fluorescent slime (Yuck!) and all while wearing white coats to look like real scientists.  There were also dinosaurs, sensory pads and lights to play with too.

Another adventure was doing a Murder, Mystery Treasure Trail Hunt around Burley Village of Witches.  Double, double, toil and trouble.  The village of Burley in the New Forest is in shock at the loss of Mistress Swish, Head of Broomstick Flying at Ravensfoot School for Witches.  But Mistress Swish predicted her passing and left sneaky Clues around the village to help bring the guilty party to justice.  The Trail was fun to do although we did get stuck on a couple of clues.  Some clever and cunning questions!

We just had to stop for a Burley Licious Ice Cream - February!!!!  Soooo hot.

Yes the UK at present is breaking winter temperature records.  Parts of Britain are hotter than holiday destinations such as Ibiza.  Temperatures of over 20 C have been reported, breaking a record that had stood since 1998.  The usual average for this time of year is between 7C and 9C (48F).  It is likely to be one of the warmest Februaries since records began in 1878.

Patio doors open in Milford!!!!!!

The treadmill has started Phil has already cut the grass.

Snowdrops at Welford Park

Welford Park nr. Newbury (RG20 8HU) is in a beautiful area of the country and the gounds are open during February for a magnificent display of snow drops dating back many hundreds of years.  The garden and house is a family estate and they only open in February for the snowdrops and during this time raise many thousands of pounds for local charities.  And, of course, it is the home of the Great British Bakeoff.

Before our visit we stopped for lunch at the Queens Arms nearby.  A wiggly country road led us to the heart of racing country - just five minutes off the M4.  The food was tasty and there were groups of jolly lunchers and barbour-wearing owners of gun dogs.  But you don't have to be mad about horses to enjoy a lovely lunch here.

We were fortunate to visit Welford Park on a very fine February day.  There can be few finer sights in winter than the snowdrops of Welford Park, especially those in the beech woods.  But there is more to enjoy at this delightful park than the snowdrops: there is a fine planting of cornus with its glowing red bark, and a large area of aconites, which were also in full bloom.  The river Lambourn, a lovely chalk stream,  flows through the park alongside the beech woods.

If you are a horticulturalist you'll want to know that the snowdrops at Welford are primarily Galanthus Nivalis.  They carpet the ground in a 5 acre beech wood.  Dotted amongst the beech trees are rare species like Lady Elphinstone and Lord Monstictus.

Snowdrops are traditionally considered a symbol of purity and cleansing.  They were often planted by medieval monks, which might explain why many of the major monastic sites in Britain are blessed with magnificent displays of snowdrops.   The Welford snowdrops were probably planted by the monks of Abingdon and used to decorate their church for Candlemas.  The monks also used snowdrops to create a medicinal salve, used to combat headache.

Pre 1536 on the land of Welford Park, stood a monastery which was in the care of the monks of Abingdon until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536.  This was the order of King Henry VIII, who then kept it as his own deer hunting lodge.  Then he granted it to one of his courtiers, Sir Thomas Parry in 1546.  James Puxley and his family now live here.

So what's all the fuss about?  Well take a look at these photographs:-

Millions and millions of flowers carpet the wild beech woods.

The river divides the grounds into two halves: a wild, wooded area on one side and a more formal layout close to the house on the other.  The wild bit is where most of the snowdrops are, great carpets of them pushing through the dead leaves of a beech wood.

From the west side of the house you can walk out into the more formal part of the landscape, past a superb stand of tall lime trees, with mops of mistletoe silhouetted in their top branches.  Rugs of yellow aconites swamp out the grass beneath the trees.  From the end of this walk you get the best view of the house and the church behind, with its odd, round tower.

A wonderful day out.

Snowmaggdon

While the thought of snowball fights and snowmen brings joy to children around the country, snow isn't so much fun for commuters who are at the mercy of the icy conditions.  In the UK, just a light dusting is often enough to close schools, bring trains to a standstill and cause traffic jams galore.

And on Friday, 1st February the M3 was brought 'to a standstill' by snow and jack-knifed lorries.

Alun was travelling home from Gatwick to Bournemouth and as he neared our home he took the executive decision to call us and ask if he could stay the night.  So glad he did because if he had continued he probably would have been one of the drivers on the M3 who faced a night of travel misery after the snow caused chaos.  The carriageways between Winchester services and Hook were closed in both directions with lorries jack-knifing and police working until the early hours of the morning to clear stuck cars.

It was so lovely to see him, although Emmie was upset Daddy wasn't coming home and that we had snow and she didn't.  We lit the fire, poured him a beer, cooked a curry and then watched the Rugby. Wales won.  What more could Phil want?  And with the patio light on we could watch as  big beefy snowflakes came tumbling down like large white butterflies.

The next morning he was able to continue his journey but not before meeting Alistair who was on a flying visit to his parents.

Not as bad as Chicago though shivering in a deadly cold snap know as a polar vortex.  With wind chills dipping to about -30.  The polar Vortex is a circulation of cold air in the Arctic Circle about 7 to 10 miles above ground in the stratosphere.  The vortex's strong circulation usually keeps it up above the North Pole, but when it weakens little pieces of energy break off and split, and send artic air south.

 But modern winters are nothing in comparison to those of the so-called "little ice-age" which lasted from 1350 until 1850.  These arctic winters resulted in the River Thames becoming frozen solid for months on end.  The worst UK winter on record was dubbed the "Great Frost" ,way back in 1683-84.  The Thames was covered in 11 inches of thick ice resulting in the famous Frost Fair - a festival held on the frozen river involving ice-skating, gambling and bear-baiting.  The winter of 1739-40 is one of the worst on record with a severe frost, which saw temperatures plummet to -9C, starting on Christmas Day and lasting until February 17th.  AND NO CENTRAL HEATING!!!!!!!

So we mustn't grumble.  Keep warm and stay safe.