|
Do you know that old saying 'Don't make a mountain out of a molehill'? Well, I do believe that we could be witnessing the start of a mountain range on our bottom lawn, courtesy of the resident mole clan, resembling that of the Swiss Alps or even The Himalayas! I decided not to mention our ongoing mole problem in this month's newsletter, but as it occupies the first hour of my every day removing the piles of earth, it's difficult to ignore! I'm surprised the local council haven't been around, asking if we've sought planning permission for the start of our very own Mount Everest. The flexible exhaust pipe attachment leading from the tractor engine to the mole tunnels, with the intention to smoke them out, proved a failure, the sprung traps only caught my fingers, and we're not allowed to buy the deadly poison that we wanted to get! We now await a cold arctic permafrost this Winter which should finally put an end to their burrowing!
The original idea was to run across country and through Wales in the Aston, but having already caught the low front aerofoils on an entrance to a car park, and remembering the stony beach car parks at Abersoch, we opted instead to go for the diesel economy of the Merc! Having to avoid the M6 because of roadworks, the journey took more than five hours and we could have flown quicker to the real St. Tropez, where the weather would have been no doubt better! Still, it was a bit of a trip down memory lane, and the place felt like it had stood still in time, being exactly as it was all those 30 years ago when I packed up my tent, got in my Mini, and took off down there to work as barman in The White House hotel for the Summer. With a shortage of good hotels, we took our chance in booking in at the same White House hotel, rather quirky in décor (every shade of green in the lounge) , and The Fawlty Towers of the North, but with the promise of an interesting evening meal. The restaurant was authentic Thai cuisine, the Mancunian owner having a Thai wife, who seemed to have moved her extended family in to run the kitchen. Well it all took us back to our time in Bangkok, right down to the purple curtains and walls, but we must say the food was really good! When it comes to dining out, if Dennis is happy, everyone's happy, and vice versa, and he thoroughly enjoyed every course! So there we were, watching the tide come in as the tractors ran up and down the beach towing in the boats and trailers as we tucked in to all this exotic Far Eastern food. The beaches around the Lleyn peninsular are extensive and we walked the cliffs and coastline, saying 'Willow would like it here' or 'Willow would love it on the beach' or 'Willow would want to swim in the sea'. What's all this 'Willow' business? Well Willow is the main Monday night attraction at the local pub when her owner brings her out to be fussed and spoilt by everyone. She's a lovely dog, a cross Sheep dog and Retriever, with the most beautiful temperament and always more than ready to eat all the fillet steak and chicken that we bring her! I've just had a thought: maybe Willow likes to catch moles!! She entered the 'Best Dog' category at the Flower Show but as she was awarded only Second Prize we decided the judge must be a bit daft. However, the rest of the show was all very pleasant, staged on a nearby field, with side stalls, attractions, and glorious weather. We stayed cool in the refreshments tent drinking tea and sampling home made cakes. Classic to modern cars were on display, including military vehicles, the brass band was playing, a pig roasting on the spit, and beer tent fully attended, all in all a super traditional country scene, as illustrated with the following photos.
The airspace above us here at home always seems pretty lively, either with RAF fighter jets seeing how low they can go, helicopters coming and going (more recently on to the back lawn) and on the quieter Summer evenings, the odd hot air balloon gently drifting by, the occasional sound of their burners breaking the calm of the evening. With two passing us directly overhead recently, I managed to get a couple of good photos of them.
We had a great day out last Saturday down at Goodwood by the south coast where the racetrack staged arguably the World's best revival show of classic cars. The display of vehicles from the 1920's to 1966 was stunning, with probably well in excess of £250 million worth of cars present, and all entered to compete in numerous races over the weekend. The pits and paddock was crammed with lines of pristine Ferrari's, Astons, Maserati's, Alfa Romeos, Mercedes, the whole atmosphere further complemented by the attire of all spectators, as it was obligatory to wear 1950's fashions to enter the paddocks. Hence for men, jackets, cravate, and hats were requested, whilst the ladies really went to town on their outfits. Aviation through the war years was also well represented with Spitfires putting on tremendous air displays, and guests encouraged to sport uniforms from the era. Our first time there, we were a little concerned over parking arrangements and driving down at the crack of dawn and so decided to do it in style and chartered a helicopter to pick us up from the back lawn at home and drop us in at Goodwood just in time for the first race at 10.00 a.m. The Indian Summer had just arrived and last Saturday morning was glorious as we waited for the helicopter to appear on the horizon. We had the 'fix' of the longitude and latitude from the sat/nav on the cars to give the pilot our location and he was hovering above us ready to land by 8.30. a.m. The helicopter was a 4 seater Robinson 44, with plenty of room, all round visibility, and a very welcoming air conditioning. With a clear horizon we headed due south enjoying following the landscape below. From the air we realised just how much open countryside there is in this part of the world, and spotted some fabulous country estates secretly tucked away amongst woodland. In less than an hour we were ready to drop in at Goodwood where Dennis's brother Don and wife Val were waiting to meet up with us.
We made our way to the paddocks just as the first race was getting underway, with the cars starting up in the pits. The fabulous red Alfa Romeo of our friend Julian was firing up and we watched him scream his way through the field, but as the photo above demonstrates, however good a driver one is, if the gear knob and stick breaks off in your hand whilst racing, one's race is normally prematurely over! However, Julian entered his Riley with guest driver and also drove his Bentley in a further afternoon race, finishing 1st and 4th respectively, amongst a World class field, with gear knobs remaining firmly attached to their boxes! We lunched in a marquee enjoying a light fish salad and wine, and toured the stalls surrounding the racetrack. By mid afternoon we were ready to take off home in the awaiting helicopter, retracing our route across the M4 and up over The Cotswolds. In no time at all we were hovering above 'Oakfield' where I got a couple of good shots of the house before landing. What a fantastic day it had been, and with the perfect weather making the trip so much more enjoyable we could easily see the advantages of hopping around the country by chopper. I was even home in time to give the lawns a trim, and didn't even mind the pilot pointing out two new mole hills!
Situated bang in the centre of England we couldn't be further from the sea, but we are well served by an intricate network of inland canals and waterways, and locally narrowboating is just about the only way to get afloat. Formally used to fast offshore cruising in our Sunseeker motor yachts, we couldn't sample a more extreme type of boating, but earlier this week we did just that, hiring a small narrowboat for the day to amble up the Oxford canal, taking in the slow pace of life and rural countryside in the September sun, handling the locks and swing bridges as we headed for our lunchtime rendezvous at a canalside pub and restaurant. We were joined for the day by our friend Pippa and her dog Chassy, our intended deckhand and dogsbody, but ending up as our Captain and Swimming instructor! With a single screw 30h.p. engine to manoeuvre the boat in the narrow channel, it couldn't have been a greater contrast from Dennis's 63 foot 25 ton 2,200 h.p. fast cruiser, complete with bow and stern thrusters! The first object of the day was to do an about turn as we were pointing south and wanted to proceed north. It wasn't like doing a three point turn in a car, or at least not for us! The strong side wind didn't help but Pippa did as she took the controls, pointing out her years of sailing experience down in Lymington where she was an instructor! We were soon underway, ready for the first hurdle, namely a low swing bridge. Dennis was prepared to tackle it and somehow limbo the boat under until we realised one of us should jump out and manually raise it first! Next up was the first lock but just before that Chassy spotted some ducks that seemed a threat so willingly launched herself in to the water to give chase! We pulled up to retrieve her and in all the excitement decided that the natural thing to do was to open a nice bottle of Veuve Cliquot pink champagne to sip as we considered entering the lock. It was all rather easy and enjoyable once we knew which ratchets to wind up and down, and which gates to bodily force open or close. First rule of narrowboating: don't tie up as the water falls away beneath you in the lock, and fortunately we didn't make that mistake! We also learnt that however hard you push, the gates won't open until the water is equal both sides.
As lunchtime approached it was full steam ahead to make 'The Western' arms at Aynho lock for lunch, only slightly delayed by one head on altercation with an oncoming boat ('Are you first timers on a day trip?' they called as we fended off!) followed by a 'running aground' as we got tangled up with an overhanging weeping willow tree. Lunch was nice and relaxing having dried off Chassy for the second time as she just couldn't resist another dip in the muddy water! The 'about turn' in preparation for our journey back went without incident until we realised we had something caught up in the propellor! After a call back to the charterers, we opened an inspection chamber by the drive shaft which revealed an item of clothing firmly wrapped around the blades. Fortunately no body part followed!
By mid afternoon we were operating like true professionals and even got the gas stove to work to brew a cup of coffee! (However, unused to operating his own toilets on 'Renegade Star' & 'Denizen', Dennis did have a little trouble flushing the portaloo contraption in the 'head'!) The final berthing back at Lower Heyford was perfect, and I won't say who did it, except that it wasn't Dennis or Pippa, and Chassy was otherwise occupied observing the wildlife. It's surprising how tiring this narrowboating is considering the walking pace speed of things. We reckoned on a good day we probably wouldn't cover much more than 20 miles, but if, (and it's a big if) the weather is good, and there's a liberal scattering of pubs along the way, it could be a great way to enjoy a holiday. Did I mention at the start the usual subject of cars? Oh well in that case I'll continue. Actually, the bad weather limited much of the use of the convertibles though we've made up for it recently giving the BMW and Mercedes SL good runs with the hoods down. As for the Aston, this week it's with the dealers having some upgrades done as an ongoing development programme as they continually improve the car. Whilst in, I needed to have the wooden part of the central dashboard replaced as the cover for the sat nav computer wasn't flush with the rest of the curved dashboard. Meanwhile, Stratstones brought to my attention an option they have recently designed, namely a carbon fibre central console that happens to match the black leather and brushed metal interior more suitably than the mat mahogany, so whilst in their garage, we have asked them to fit the carbon dash. We now eagerly await the car's return next Monday. Finally, the news, or lack of it until recently on my training for the dreaded half marathon in two weeks time in Newcastle. In a panic last week I bought some new trainers and embarked on an intensive programme, hitting the undulating country roads around here each day, and cumulating at the weekend with an ambitious 10 mile run down to 'The Fox' pub where I'd meet up with Dennis for lunch. Well it all went O.K. though my jogging pace isn't exactly going to set the record books on fire! However, aches and pains followed and I was hobbling around with what I diagnosed as 'terminal and chronic stress fracture of the body' finally locating in my right heel. A couple of day's rest sorted it though so I'm once again out running most afternoons.It is actually a nice way to take in the countryside and all the things you miss when in the car. One could argue that it's almost enjoyable, though I think that's being a little optimistic. This morning I finally got around to launching an on line sponsorship site regarding the Great North run, as it is a charity fund raising event, with entries only given to runners logged with an accepted charity. I am running with a team from 'Charles Church' whose chosen charity is 'Dreams Come True' which helps the lives of terminally ill children in the U.K.to be a little better by fulfilling a wish or perhaps helping to make their short lives more enjoyable by providing them with equipment to help them become more mobile. If anyone is interested to follow my site's progress, kicked off today with Dennis'contribution, you can find my page under www.justgiving.com/colin36000 In an e-mail to friends I commented that it's a little difficult approaching the usual circle of friends and family for sponsorship and I prefer just to ask many people for just a little help rather than exploiting people's generosity, and so instead of clutching my forms and waving them under the noses of everyone over the past 9 months, I'm going to have an intensive fortnight's money raising, suggesting that even just the cost of a pint of beer (anything up to £2.80 around here!) would be greatly appreciated. As for the £370 hotel accommodation I've already paid for up front in Gateshead, should I get sponsorship for that as well I wonder! You'll catch up on the run in the following newsletter so for now myself and Dennis will sign off and send our best wishes to everyone. Colin & Dennis. |
