Sunday 16 November 2008

Elliott is one year old today and Grandad enjoys the new toys too!

Nina has excelled again with birthday cup cakes!

C'mon Mummy, faster, there's a lot of cake to get through there!

Er, sorry Daddy, I ate all the cakes - perhaps you'd like a candle!

Birthday Girl

Sunday 12th October 2008

Sunday 12th October was our Ruby Wedding Anniversary and this photo is captured from the camcorder film: the delicious cakes that Ellie's mum made for the party our children held for us in our garden (boy, did those weeds fly out in the previous week!) There were a few worries when we woke up to thick fog but the sun broke through by lunchtime and ended up being so warm that GOW had to sneak indoors and put her sandals on! They worked so hard for the party so thank you so much B and D and R and N.

A pair of gorgeous guests - Ellie's cousins, Daniella and Isabella (not necessarily in that order!), aged exactly 1 year and 1 day with mum Julie on left and Auntie Rachel on right.

And another star guest - Auntie Nellie aged 87, meeting her great great nieces above for the first time!

Tuesday 7th October 2008

Lovely sunshine after very heavy rain the day before: the new trees in West Park have already changed to autumn colours whilst the old Rookery behind is still thinking about it. These cows just love something different going on!

Oo-er! The sky changed in the evening to spooky red and black!

Sunday 5th October 2008

As a rest from painting the kitchen doors with Greene & Co's Slaked Lime (which is eggshell white) I thought I'd change the colour of the blog from the default greenish dots. Elaine has Minima, Nina Thisaway Green, the Paramedic the default dots. However, many templates alter the layout of the Red Arrow photos - and for goodness sake, how long did they take to sort out (the photos with text on the preview never look quite the same as on the published blog)?

So I've gone for Thisaway Blue - GOM has yawned and approved - but it may change - could be the new version of the Mood Ring!

25th September 2008

Saturday 13th September 2008

Just how cute are Ellie's Night Thief pyjamas?!

13th September 2008

Saturday 30th August 2008

Summer arrived on Saturday 30th August, the third day of the Bournemouth Air Festival and we were lucky enough to have chosen that day to go! It was glorious, there was a lovely holiday atmosphere and the planes were brilliant - from the Typhoon Eurofighter to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. There are about 40 videos of the festival on http://uk.youtube.com - I didn't quite catch the Typhoon on camera!!

The Vulcan didn't make it after all but it's something to look forward to next August!

There were hundreds of boats as well, moored across the bay to watch the show.

A very cheerful Gazelle helicopter display pilot - Major Iain Johnston of the Blue Eagles display team based at Middle Wallop.

The Red Arrows opened Saturday's show and were able to do their full display. And yes, we clapped!!

These are The Blades - all ex Red Arrow pilots flying Extra 300s. They say they are "the world’s only globally accredited aerobatic airline" (http://www.2excelaviation.com/). What a good idea for a firm's outing - that is if you haven't seen their aerobatics - seriously scary!! Now sponsored by Barclays so are now blue - careful, that's my money up there!! Watch them on http://uk.youtube.com.

De Havilland Sea Vixen: she used to be red as she was sponsored by Red Bull but has now gone back to her naval grey. Lives at Bournemouth Airport and is quite noisy.

If anyone can explain what is happening here we'd really like to know! Whilst everyone else was looking skywards the large group suddenly appeared on the foreshore: they each had a typed sheet of paper and we think one of them was sitting on the sand in the middle of the circle. All smartly dressed and totally uninterested in what was going on around and above them! Yet again they disappeared whilst we were looking upwards again.

This final one is a Douglas DC6 which I have to include because it flew over our garden both coming in on the Friday and going home on the Sunday of the airshow.

Grandad and Ellie chilling on the sofa

23 August 2008

Granny's spooning in spaghetti with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Phew - Ellie seems to approve!

Not bad Granny - for someone a bit out of practice! Spot the tooth.

3rd August 2008

Ellie aged 8 1/2 months - back from her holiday in Sweden, so grown and full of fun!

Holiday week 19 - 26th July 2008

I've done these holiday photos the wrong way round so this is actually the last photo under this title - page down to Springhead Mill and it makes more sense!

So Mike really likes - the one in front!

You can guess the one I prefer!

Poole Quay and the Sunseekers are out in force.

A picnic on Portland Bill, handy flat area to set up your chairs, the lighthouse with sea beyond, loos in sight, tea room across the car park and the car to hand. Oh the joys of retirement!

This couple come regularly over from Yeovil for the day, finding it more peaceful than Weymouth in full holiday swing.

We had a lovely picnic here and even remembered all the camping stove equipment this time to make a cuppa. That's a first.

To Weymouth (look at that sky - we did have some summer!) and a giant sandcastle, built for a hotel chain on a promotional basis by the Weymouth Sandman, Mark Anderson (see 9th July 2007). Inside is a family sized room with sand beds where you could stay for £10 a night and lie and gaze at the stars. We didn't - Mike hates sand.

And - getting brave now - this is the view towards home (click on the photo to get more detail - Madonna's house is about a mile from Wingreen but couldn't see if she was in!).

205 spiral stairs down - and did the thighs ache the next day!

So - 205 spiral steps later ....

One of my bright ideas that suddenly gives me a fright - this is Alfred's Tower (www.alfredstower.info) on the Stourhead Estate.

Yes I wanted to look at the famous views but hadn't quite realised it would have to be climbed to actually see the views as, despite it being on a high hill, it's surrounded by trees!

Stourhead in Wiltshire. We loved to come here 30 years ago in the spring for the azaleas and rhododendrons. Just as lovely in the summer and so peaceful despite the car park being filled to overflowing (on a Monday too!).

Originally owned by the Hoare family of Hoare's Bank, London and given to the National Trust in 1946 by Sir Henry, 6th Bt Stourton, because there was no direct heir, his only son having died in 1916 in World War I. The son Harry saw this place for the last time in July that year whilst on leave before going to Palestine where he was fatally wounded. I hope it looked as lovely as this.

Time for a few summery photos! This is Springhead Mill, Fontmell Magna, open under the National Gardens Scheme. It is a Trust so has volunteer gardeners - wonder if they would wend our way and weed ours too!

Very good teas (raspberry and cream gateau with cream) and inexpensive plants for sale (yes we did!).

20 July 2008

Ellie and Nina have been in Sweden for Elin's hen party and wedding to Bjorn and have been staying too here at Mormor's.

Richard has now joined them for a holiday so here he is as "Official Wheelbarrow Pusher".

14 June 2008

Ellie aged 7 months gets Grandad to help with her new trick: fingers over mouth and she makes the "wow wow" sound - look out, the Red Indians are coming!

Now you try it Grandad!

A country path running parallel to the M23: a dog fox crossed in front of us ....

But how often do you meet a male pink rabbit with a puncture?!

24/25 May 2008

The second Emmposium: the family tree has grown so much and Emm and Emms families descended on Bratton, North Wiltshire to view the tree. Our branch begins at John Emme of Sutton Veny died 1581. We have finally completed it up to date from Harry Benjamin born 1863 (who was the last ancestor on the Emmposium 2006 tree) as far down as Isabella, Daniella, Elliott and Florence all born 2007: that is the extra piece on the table for Adele to take away and record.

The Emm and Emms families: Left and centre.

The righthand side!

A damp Sunday morning in the churchyard of the Congregational church, Broadchalke where there are several family graves. Thankfully this was not the torrential downpour forecast and spirits were still high, helped by roast lunch and chats in the Queen's Head afterwards.

Not an Emm or Emms (as far as we know), just a peaceful pastoral scene in Broadchalke as we strolled down the road to the CofE church.

9th May 2008

No sooner had we got home from the Natural History Museum where we viewed Mary Anning of Lyme Regis's ichthyosaur collection (too dark to photo) than Brigit told us that there had been a massive landslip where Mary had searched for fossils (and we did with the children when they were younger) so we had to go and gawp.

The worst landslip for 100 years in the national press but 26 years in the Bridport & Lyme News!

The slip is to the right of the buildings.

This is as close as we are going to get to the slip - I don't fancy the rest on my head. The tide is in so the blocked beach is not visible but the landslip is most of the bottom area of cliff on the photo. There's a tree hanging upside down to the left. There was an old Victorian landfill site at the top which eventually closed in 1972 so rather than any particularly good fossils, there is more likely to be rusty fridges and canisters!

The whole cliff is now very unstable and the experts expect much much more to come down - which doesn't stop the fossilers who make their way from Charmouth Beach .... so watch this blog!

Looking across the harbour at the restored Langmoor Gardens - in true Lyme style, they had decided to slip onto the buildings below and were closed while costly extensive shoring up went on.

So much more peaceful than March (see my posting then)! This is the first time we have been able to picnic in the gardens for some years. Mike said that it would be just our luck that the place where we sat was the spot they hadn't quite stabilised! However we lived to tell the tale. Oh what fun to live dangerously!!