Friday 9th March 

We arrived safely back home in Southampton early in the morning after our fantastic 65 night South American Circumnavigation. The weather was chilly but not as bad as we had expected. We were quietly pleased that we had missed the worst of the winter and that the “beast from the east” was long gone and we could enjoy the warmth of an English spring………so much for that !!!

The “mini beast from the east” struck a week later. We had just been getting acclimatised to the slightly colder temperatures and then this happened…..a lot lot colder!!

I know it was not as bad as what had been around in previous weeks but it was a big shock for us!

I do like the snow especially when you don’t have to travel too far, it is always very picturesque, and somehow tranquil as the ambient sound is muffled by the snowflakes.

Mind you, we are looking out from a centrally heated house.  I’m not sure the animals like it as much, as I didn’t see any birds having a bath that day!

Dad was a little concerned that our 75 year old paper boy might struggle in these conditions, so he sent Jane and I out for the Sunday papers which was very invigorating to say the least!

After all that fresh air a full English breakfast was the order of the day!

A good thing about being back home is having time to catch up with friends and relatives.  We went over to see my Uncle Keith and Auntie Gay who live in Winterslow near Salisbury, and this was one of the snow drifts that we had to navigate on the way.  It was great to see them again for afternoon tea, and lovely to sample the home-made chocolate sponge cake (not that i’m always thinking of food)!

The next day I took Jane and Dad on a mini cruise, this time to the Isle of Wight to see my  Auntie Joyce and Uncle Alex!  The weather was a bit warmer and we had a walk from their house in Sandown to the beach, where we had a lovely lunch at the new Bandstand restaurant.

Friday 23rd March

We have travelled far and wide this last year or so, and still Cornwall  remains one of our most favourite places in the world. So it was great to catch up with Dave and Sally-Anne for the weekend.

I was not so sure on the colour scheme of Dave’s new car, but he said that he wanted something to blend in with the scenery and nothing too flashy………..

Tintagel is always a “must” for us when we visit Cornwall……..

I love the rugged coastline and the waves crashing over the rocks

Although on this occasion the sea was very benign and not as dramatic as I was hoping for!

On our trip to Padstow for a Cornish pasty and a look around the shops Dave points out where he bought the card which gave us the name for our adventure.

Wadebridge has now got a cocktail bar and it seemed rude not to try it whilst we were in the area!

The sun was shining on Sunday morning so we made the most of this glorious day and went for a long walk around the beaches at Rock.  All too soon our weekend was over and it was time to head home, but look out Cornwall we will be back before long!

Thanks Dave and Sally-Anne for a great weekend!