24th June 2012

24th June 2012.

Dear All,

We had an enjoyable week in Cheddar despite the last couple of days being on the damp side. Kate, Mary-Ann, Amélie and I all arrived at Wellington Farm at the head of the Gorge on Saturday afternoon. The farmer Miles (not Giles) was very friendly and seemed to have plenty of time to chat. It was a small all grass farm which specialised in raising calves which are moved on after weaning. In addition, they had 11 alpacas, 3 goats, a pony several Guinea pigs and rabbits plus 2 dogs and a cat – all of which met with Amélie’s approval.


Three Generations

Calves and nearly walking

On Sunday the churches in Cheddar had a combined service and fun day for Father’s Day at a school including free coffee and cakes, burgers, games, bouncy castles, bubble machine and a service where the main speaker was Bob Grace a guru from the music industry who relaunched David Bowie and published or promoted many legendary performers.
Esther arrived Sunday lunchtime having been practicing for singing at the Albert Hall the previous day. We did a Mendips walk from Burrington in the afternoon.
On Monday we visited Wells which had been decorated with 60 painted swans for the Jubilee then on to Glasonbury where we climbed the Tor. We visited a wetland bird centre on the way back and were advised that the “hot topic” was the first ever nest of Greater Egrets in this country. We walked some distance to see lots of “twitchers” but the nest was not visible or any birds but we did see a bittern – which was a first for me.

Wells swan

Wells cathedral

We tried the beach on Tuesday driving through Burnham-on-Sea to Brean. The sea was very distant but the sand was pretty exciting for Amélie while Kate and I walked to the end of Brean Down. Andy arrived in the evening.

Glasonbury Tor

Brean beach

On Wednesday Kate and I walked round the Cheddar Gorge circular which included a couple of steep climbs and took over 4 hours but the views were spectacular. The others spent the day at Weston-Super-Mare where there was more sand to sample.
Andy had to return to work on Thursday and the weather deteriorated from then onwards. We drove to Watchet and walked round the harbour and inspected the museum.

Cheddar Gorge

Alpaca herd

Friday was not much better so we stayed in Cheddar. We resisted the caves as the current fee for caves, bus trip, circular walk and museum is £18.50. We did visit a Cheddar cheese factory for an interesting demonstration of how the cheese is made.

Love

Mike & Kate

10th June 2012

10th June 2012.

Dear All,

How was the Jubilee for you? It was rather cold and damp here and if not low key – moderate key at best. There was a children’s sports day on Saturday, a joint service on Sunday and a tea party on the Green on Tuesday followed by lighting the beacon and singing of “patriotic songs”. Not quite up to London standards but warmer watching on TV than waving at a flotilla of boats for 4 hours!


Damp tea party

Entertainment



Loyal singing!

The Beacon

We managed a swim on Wednesday and our first chapel cricket match between showers in the evening, beating St Neots Methodists at Waresley.
My feet however were so sore afterwards that I missed the Thursday walk – perhaps someone is trying to tell me something? Kate went to the walk beginning at Cavendish and taking in Clare.
Cricket pitch preparation has been a bit fraught with the weather and our heavy roller being broken but the county under 14s played London under 14s here on Wednesday and there is a county under 10s! on the square today.
We plan to go down to Godalming tonight as Mary-Ann has to have a minor op. tomorrow. On Wednesday we are invited to Joy Larkcom’s latest book launch at the Garden Museum, Lambeth and then we are off to the Mendips for a family holiday on Saturday.

Love

Mike & Kate

3rd June 2012

3rd June 2012.

Dear All,

Our Polish trip was very enjoyable and worked out quite well. Kate and I caught the boat train to Parkeston on Sunday evening and met Kate’s sister Sue and husband John (aka Bill) on the Stenna Hollandia for a night crossing to The Hook of Holland. They were driving son James car to allow him to bring his bride and wedding presents back to the UK. The boat was very impressive, 2 years old and huge, the crossing was calm and we were on the road by 8.30 am next morning. We managed 380 miles the first day stopping near Magdeburg and crossed the Polish border by mid day on Tuesday.
We explored Poznan, Kilisz and Lodz before reaching the wedding venue at Kilice where we stayed for 4 days. After the wedding we spent 2 nights in Krakov before flying back last Wednesday.
Poznan has on old market square much like Krakov, Kilisz is a small town on the “Amber route” from the Baltic and Lodz an industrial city with the longest (5km) street in Poland.


Poznan

Kilisz

Lodz

Bride and parents

At Kilice we stayed in the hotel Lesny Dwor in woods a walking distance from the city centre. As everywhere else in Poland there has been enthusiastic spending of EU money on roads and building projects resulting in tremendous progress since we were last there 10 years ago.

Kilice Cathedral

Joanna & James
Esther, Mary-Ann and Ben flew out on Friday evening together with about 40 others and were met by a coach at Krakov airport. The wedding took place in the Catholic Cathedral with no English translation and the reception was at our hotel. There were several huge pluses compared with UK equivalents: unobtrusive photos, no speeches, live music, Polish traditional ceremonies and multiple food and drink courses. The menu listed the first course at 6 pm and the last at 2 am (we were missing). The music stopped at 3 am. The next day there was a buffet lunch and a disco!



Glamorous Guests

The brides family were very friendly and the bride (Joanna) delightful.

Kosciuszki Mound

Krakov

On the way to Krakov we stopped at some stalagmite caves and hill top fort. We stayed in a hotel near the Debricki Bridge and the first evening we climbed the Kosciuszki mound. We were joined by James and Joanna next day and revisited several of the places we saw last time and some extras including the newly opened museum at Schindler’s factory.
The weather was hot throughout the trip as it seems to have been at home. The garden had become a jungle while we were away and has taken a couple of days to reclaim it.

Love

Mike & Kate