White Christmas in Church Lench

Cathryn was due to be working, as were Lorna & Scott, so we decided to have an early Christmas Lunch on Sunday 19 Dec.  In some respects, we were even luckier that we had planned because of the weather.  Jean, Lorna & Scott arrived on Friday night, which was just as well because 15in of snow fell in a matter of hours the following morning, essentially cutting off Church Lench to all but tractors and 4x4s with the right tyres.

Temperatures had been well below freezing for some days and on two nights it went down to -19C in the area, so the snow wasn't going anywhere, plus some further falls came later.  Cathryn declined to try and get to us on Saturday as road conditions were very uncertain, even though she has a 4x4, but did make it with Simon and the girls on Sunday.  We enjoyed a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings on Sunday and were pretty house-bound for a few days, but Cathryn & Co got home ok later that night even though it was pretty treacherous.
Anticipating further snow, already having delayed by a day, we decided to dig out the two cars on the drive and get mine out of the garage, so the visitors could return home and I could get to London to see Michael & Dan, plus Jean's other daughter Hannah, which all happened ok.
More snow did fall while I was away so I offered to pick up village friend  Sarah's son Andrew from Heathrow, joining her for Christmas from Singapore, on my way back home.  Conditions in CL had deteriorated again as the snow compacted and froze, so conditions were slippy to say the least.
On Christmas Day I did manage to get across the snow and ice to see Cathryn & Co before she went to work and enjoy a hearty cooked breakfast with them all, and also spent most of the 27th with them and Simon's parents and children as well.  Otherwise, it was an unusually quiet holiday period for me.  The snow has started to melt as the temperature has now risen, but there are still clumps of it about and dangerous patches on the road.  I should be able to clay shoot this coming Sunday and the golf course should be able to open next week as well, hopefully.
Enough of a White Christmas for a few years!

Dubai - The Sevens

We passed on the first of the 3 days of rugby, which was more about the local competitions than the main event, but did attend the 2 that covered the IRB Series rugby.

We saw some thrilling rugby, but had to contend with the temporary stadium, same as last time, with uncomfortable steps to sit on, plus it was crowded at times.  For such a prestigious event and with all the other building that is going on in Dubai, it is amazing that the stadium has not been completed and this is a deterrent for future visits to the event.

We did see some thrilling rugby and there was also a spectacular parachute entry by several jumpers, coming in very low through a corner and between stands, to land in the middle of the pitch in the dark.

Ireland weren't competing, so I was able to support England without a conscience.  Despite some lacklustre performance in the Pool matches, they went from strength to strength to knock out New Zealand in the Cup Semi Final, then beat Samoa in seconds beyond full time with a further converted try and win 29-21,  much  more satisfying and convincing than the 22-21 lead they had a full time!  (I note they were narrowly beaten by New Zealand 22-19 in South Africa a week later, so they are maintaining their form, which bodes well for the season).

Dubai

Cousin Mike & wife Karen, son Ben & wife Sharyn, Jean and I went to Dubai for the IRB Sevens, the first of the season.  This time, last having been for the World Cup in March '09, we stayed near Dubai Marina, at the stem of Palm Jumeirah, on the beach.  The hotel location was among the high rise is part of an outcrop extending down the beach, which is a mixture of office blocks and accommodation, part of the ever-expanding building work of Dubai.  Whether enough people come to occupy it all in time remains a mystery, but committed they are!  Jean had a paddle in the sea while we watched parachutists landing on an airstrip right in front of the hotel.

We took a bus tour and a trip down the Creek, enjoying a very pleasant temperatures and blue skies.  We didn't have a great amount of free time, but we did managed to catch up with Peter Moulson, who is in and out of Dubai on consultancy work for the government, to enjoy a few drinks and a Japanese meal in our hotel.  We viewed the ski slope of a large shopping mall nearby, and I was again convinced that I couldn't possibly shop in such a place with so much choice and no idea where I might find something I actually wanted because it's so vast.  But, some do!

Young Island

A funny (for us anyway) situation arose at the airport.  Jean and I were scheduled to leave for St Vincent for a couple of days, at about the same time as Lorna & Scott were to depart for St Lucia and their honeymoon.  After some confusion and an airplane technical problem, they found themselves on our plane, much to the chagrin of Scott especially, who couldn't believe that his mother-in-law was leaving with him on his honeymoon!  Their flight had been combined with ours, a diversion to St Vincent for them. As we disembarked at St Vincent, we were told to "stay on our island" by Scott.  We did!
Despite a debacle with our reservation and prepayment, now resolved, we enjoyed the resort of Young Island for a few days, just a couple of hundred metres from the shore of St Vincent and 10 min from the airport.  The outlook while dining al fresco, either in daylight or at night, was wonderful.

Our cottage looked out to St Vincent, Bequia & Mustique, each of which brightened or disappeared as the skies cleared or bands of rain moved through.  Rum punches featured from time to time, as they do, and the food and service were very good.  A significant amount of time was spent relaxing around our plunge pool and we even got time to start to read our books!

A small ferry boad shuttled guests, although there were very few of us, and staff back and forth to St Vincent.

We took an island tour with "Smokie" the taxi driver arranged by the hotel.  Smokie drives at no more than 30km/h, speaks at no more than 15 words/m, and seems to be known to everyone on the island.  He probably thinks he's rushing, but it was a fine pace for us to appreciate the various places we passed or visited.  First was the eastern coast, near where some of the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed and a new international airport is being built.  Dark sand beaches feature.
Next was the Mesopotamia Valley, although I still don't know why it is so named.  But, it includes Evesham!  It's a richly fertile valley with a lot of crop growing on the valley floor and hillsides, and is the island's bread basket.
Then it was on to overlook Kingstown, where we had briefly stopped in '08, and onwards to Fort Charlotte set high on the cliff overlooking Kingstown, Young Island and the Grenadines to the south.  We had an enthusiastic guide, although somewhat ill-informed as he told us that Roma was the capital of France.  We checked some barrels, from where he had gleaned this information, to discover it was actually St Romain carved into the top!  A rather bleak looking ladies' prison is tucked in one corner of the Fort and it reminded me of the similarly bleak looking main prison in the centre of Kingstown, neither of which would be appealing in any way whatsoever.
Last of all was the Botanical Gardens, where we wandered with our guide to see many plants, spices and flowers, all very interesting and pretty.  Also here was a cage of nearly extinct St Vincent parrots, several of whom welcomed food from Jean while I took pictures inside.

We had mostly good weather, but squalls of rain blew through from time to time, making interesting skies as well.  One particularly torrential downpour meant we had to close all the shutters to stop rain blowing into the cottage.
The rain became persistent as we left the resort, courtesy of Smokie for a consistently slow drive to the airport as we departed for Barbados, thankful that LIAT was on time.  Our flight had been changed to one with no contingency for the connecting flight to UK were it unduly late or cancelled.  Barbados was also being rained on as we waited for our connection back to Gatwick.
We saw more of St Vincent than on our previous visit, but concluded that there is now not a lot more to be seen.  Even Smokie had dismissed the rest of the island as 'more of the same'!

Barbados - The Wedding

It was a glorious day for the happy couple.  Taking place in the later afternoon with the sun beginning to drop took the edge off the heat of the day, but not the event.

The Reverend who conducted the service was a lovely sincere person and the setting was idyllic under an arch on the beach.  A few bathers stopped their enjoyment to watch, the register signing took place under cover near the pool, champagne was consumed to celebrate the union, and the cake was cut and enjoyed.  In the early evening, a sunset photo opportunity was taken before we adjourned to the hotel's Italian restaurant for great food and some more bubbly.
What a lovely day it was!

Barbados

A good excuse came up to return to the Caribbean - Lorna & Scott's wedding!  It was to be at Turtle Beach Resort, Dover, on the southwest coast near St Lawrence Gap.  The weather had been pretty awful for several weeks before we left and I had, at the risk of being seen as the doom-monger, been forecasting rain as is typical for the time of year and hurricane season.  However, despite some at the beginning and end, we had great days of sunshine with very little rain, and clear blue skies.

Jean, Lorna's big sister, Hannah, plus boyfriend Joe, and myself joined Lorna & Scott for the occasion, and we also took the opportunity to catch up with friends Brian & Josie while there.  Josie treated us all to a great dinner at their place, and we also discovered that daughter Katy's birthday was also to be on the 14th, Lorna & Scott's wedding day!
I remembered my way around enough to act as tour guide for a couple of island trips for the newcomers to sample some of what Barbados has to offer.  The weather was very kind throughout.

The boys managed a round at Barbados Golf Club, while the girls were pampered in the hotel spa.  Scott won the round by a decent margin and not too many balls were lost!  The crushed coral bunkers and rough took a little getting used to, made a bit worse by recent heavy rains.

Hannah and Joe joined Jean and myself for a tour of Sunbury Plantation House, dating from around 1660.  Although a lot of the contents have been replaced after it was gutted by a fire, it does give a flavour of life during the hey day of the sugar growing on the island.

We all savoured a night of unlimited cocktails and good food while watching the Bajan Roots & Rhythms Show at the Plantation Theatre in St Lawrence Gap.

The beach beckoned often and the waves were big at times when the unusual westerly breeze stiffened.

I also managed to share a few beers with my Bajan friend, Rawle, in between the back to back enjoyment, the first time I had seen him since our C&W Group Reunion there in 2008.

Harley Trip 2010 - 7

During the return trip, I had picked a small hotel in the tiny town of Eloise near the French/Swiss border, confident that its location at a dead end should at least ensure a good rest for the next day. Wrong! With windows wide open because of the heat, the town's night-time peace and quiet were shattered by an articulated car transporter getting stuck trying to turn around in the square opposite, most probably another victim of satnav. An accompanying truck was also boxed in and thoughtlessly kept his engine running throughout. It went on for ages with locals out of bed running around in their shorts and trying to be helpful - a cacophony of noisy diesel engines, reversing beepers, airbrakes and people shouting. It was finally extricated from the square and reversed out of the village so silence prevailed once more. So, the good rest for what turned out to be a long wet ride the following day was well shot!


The trip totalled 2,200 miles of mostly hot dry weather with a couple of days of high winds, heavy rain and some lightning, many tunnels including Mont Blanc. The European HOG Rally 2011 is in Biograd, Croatia, in May so will probably be a bit cooler, 1,400 miles away, hmm? And, the Sustenpass was missed out on this trip. Maybe both? The Harley's clean again, serviced, and ready to go.

Harley Trip 2010 - 6

Apart from attending the rally in Lugano, we rode up into the hills and around Lake Como, enjoying a 10deg drop in temperature while higher, negotiating more hairpins and contending with some rather narrow and rough road surfaces, perilous conditions for a rider to try to enjoy the view!


Mario, our hotel host, also organised a boat trip around Lake Como, taking along some bubbly and canapés to enrich the experience. We learned of the great and good who had visited the many spectacular lakeside villas, including Eisenhower and Churchill, as well as seeing holiday homes of the Heinz family, Richard Branson and others, all exquisitely manicured.

The thousands of bikes in Lugano, from all over Europe and beyond, covered the range of models, except that everyone personalises their bike to greater or lesser extent, so no two are ever the same. In addition, there were the radically customised bikes, based on Harleys and more often than not designed and built by custom shops for those with deep pockets, a potent mix of imagination, creative design, engineering, fabrication and airbrushed paintwork.