we're getting ready for Christmas and the New Year now..the decorations are up...we are off tomorrow to Lincoln to see our son, Donnie, his wife Mags and our grandson,Andy, who has just reached 18 years old,..we are spending Christmas with our daughter, Suzie and her husband, Mark....and are spending New Years Eve in our local pub, the Bluebell..hoping to meet loads of our local friends...
as we aren't sending many cards this year, we'd like to wish all our friends a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2014..we hope you get everything you wish for...

Now for part 2.. we had 11 days rest after coming back from Scotland… then we were picked up by Brenda on the 27^th August , off to Norwich airport and headed south to Malta… we landed there just after 11pm and were transferred to the Qawara Palace hotel in the north-eastern corner of the island.. we had a lot to cram in to our week in Malta..it is a very historic island and there’s lots to see and do… we spent our days doing this and our evenings relaxing either at the hotel entertainment or just round the corner at Murphy’s Irish bar… they had some good acts and they also served Kilkenny…we had an evening trip around, finishing in Valletta watching a 5D film of the history of the island.. excellent stuff.. next day we went on the ordinary bus into Valletta and wandered about looking at the St John Co-cathedral and seeing the firing of the noon cannon at the Saluting Battery… we went to the Mosta Dome, where, in 1942, a bomb came through the roof of the Dome, where 300 people were taking shelter, and it didn’t explode…they took this to be a miracle.. we visited St Julian’s, Mdina, Bugiba and other places, we went on a trip to see the Blue Grotto and the Sunday market , then we had a very tiring, whole day trip to Gozo, the island to the north of Malta…we were shattered… it was well up in the 40 degrees… we enjoyed our holiday in Malta very much and came home on the 3^rd of September.. we had a day of rest on the Wednesday and I was back to work on Thursday when the schools went back…

Schools broke up on July 24^th… that gave us the weekend to get tidied up and packed.. then we were off…we spent a couple of days with Donnie, Mags and Andy, in Lincoln… had an hour with Les and Carol in their new house before heading north on the 1^st August to Jedburgh, in the Scottish borders….we had a night in the Glenbank Hotel, excellent.. met up with my cousin, Maggie, and her husband, Ian…had a good evenings ‘blether’.. catching up with the old days, etc.. before heading up to Aberdeen, via Edinburgh, and Dundee, to spend a lovely, long weekend with my brother James and his wife Pat,….we had Saturday lunch with a nice couple, Eddie and Yvonne, who we met on our cruise on the Island Escape, a few years ago.. we had kept in touch… we took a run out to the Woodend Bar, in Stoneywood, Aberdeen, to visit Liz’s cousin, Gail… James took us out to try the new Jamie Oliver Italian restaurant in Aberdeen.. we had a great night with James, Pat and our neice, Sonya, and Mark with their girls…then on the Tuesday, we headed off to Inverness, to spend a lovely couple of nights getting to visit the city… we met up with an old school pal, George Maclean, who had played in the band at our wedding 48 years ago, and had done very well for himself and now owns the Castle Tavern in Castle Street… we then visited Gail’s mum, Joyce, on the Black Isle, spending a couple of hours catching up again.. before heading away up north to Wick, where we spent another excellent weekend, staying with my brother Sandy, and his wife Irene, trying to catch up with all our old friends and acquaintances in the Francis Street Club, the Queens’ Hotel and various other places of interest… we then went off to Lyth, to spend a night where we stayed with my sister Margaret and her partner Don.. excellent, as well, at least til the band turned up and things got a bit hazy after that…then we were off up to Tongue, in Sutherland-shire, to spend a day with our old mate, Alan, who has retired up there… we had a good day there, with Alan taking us for a run about and out for a meal in the Ben Loyal Hotel… we then headed back home on the scenic route through the north Highlands before breaking our journey in Auchterarder in Perthshire… we stayed in the Allendale Hotel before heading south to spend a night with Donnie and Mags and got back home in North Walsham on the 16^th August…. We put about 2500 miles on the clock… so not too bad… (second half to follow later)

28th June 2013

here we are in June...the summer has been here in dribs and drabs...we're getting ready for the summer hols in 3 weeks...we're off up to Scotland for a couple of weeks.. visiting Jedburgh, then Aberdeen before a coupl of nights in Inverness, then off up to Wick for a week before visiting our old mate, Alan Smith, in Tongue..then down the road again...before setting off at the end of August to Malta for a week..we've never been there..so that's something to look forward to...

16th March 2013

here we are.. in the middle of March, no darts games..we've been knocked out the cups...it's pouring rain...nothing much on the telly, till the footie starts...we're on school holidays a week on Wednesday,  27th..then off for nearly 3 weeks until 15th April..we didn't seem to get so many holidays when I was at school... but we're heading to the Med on the 1st of April, for a week on the Island Escape...just for a relaxing time, all inclusive...they made us an offer we couldn't refuse...we've been to the places on the itinery, so we don't have to do any excursions, unless we feel like it...Palma, Ajaccio, Civitivitchi, Toulon and Barcelona before heading back to Palma...we like the Island Escape...very friendly bunch of people, you don't have to lift a hand, they can't do enough for you..excellent...Liz is standing, to represent Mundesley, in the County Council elections at the beginning of May..so that'll be something to look forward to...we're not too confident, but you never know...

January 9th 2013

that's the Christmas and New Year festivities over for another year..we went to Lincoln to our son's family..had a nice quiet time, went out for a couple of meals but didn't go to the pub...they took us on run to Meadowhall, near Sheffield, on the Wednesday after Christmas...very hectic in there..one of the biggest shopping malls in Europe...we stayed in for the New Year celebrations..very quiet, no first-footing down here...and we came home on the 2nd of January and things are back to normal now..back to work...Liz is down with the flu..and she's had her flu jab...