Category: October 2013

Cueva De Los Verdes an underground adventure – First published 19 October 2013

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While we lazed by the pool on our second day in Lanzarote we consulted  our Lanzarote guide book. Two places jumped out at us, Jameos del Agua and Cueva de Los Verdes, both of which were very close to each other. The problem being they weren’t all that close to us. According to our map both were around twelve miles away, walking distance, just, but not in the Lanzarote heat and not with the huge possibility of getting lost. Continue reading Cueva De Los Verdes an underground adventure – First published 19 October 2013

a little walk along the beach – first published 18 October 2013

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Part of being on holiday is relaxing and the second day of our 2013 Lanzarote adventure was a chill out day. After breakfast we wandered round the pool looking for some sun beds that hadn’t already been nabbed by the early morning towel brigade. It was going to be a lazy day. Continue reading a little walk along the beach – first published 18 October 2013

César Manrique’s amazing house – first published 17 October 2013

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One of the things that had drawn me to Lanzarote of all the Canary Islands was Arrecife born artist César Manrique. For many years I’d admired his work and been fascinated by the influence he’d had on the island of Lanzarote. It was he who lobbied to ensure development and tourism did not spoil his beautiful homeland and, because of him, there are no high rise hotels on the island. Our first visit of the holiday would be to his home at at Tahíche, Teguise, which was also the scene of his death in a car accident in 1992. Continue reading César Manrique’s amazing house – first published 17 October 2013

Goodbye England hello Costa Teguise – First published 16 October 2013

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Early in 2013, in a spirit of optimism, Commando had booked a holiday in the Canary Islands, a place neither of us had visited. Now the time had come my world was crashing around my ears at home, with my job crawling slowly to an end and the future looking very shaky. A holiday was the last thing I thought I needed but probably exactly the right thing to stop me falling into a deep dark pit of depression. Continue reading Goodbye England hello Costa Teguise – First published 16 October 2013

Goodbye rhinos – first published 14 October 2013

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Walking in the park one October lunchtime in 2013 it struck me that the city looked very bare without the rhinos brightening up the place. We’d come to know them all during their short stay and they felt like old friends. Now they were gone we missed them. Alice and I both agreed it was sad to see them go. Of course I haven’t quite finished telling you about them yet. After our visit to Sea City Museum there was one more surprise in store for us. Continue reading Goodbye rhinos – first published 14 October 2013

The cat burglar part two – first published 13 October 2013

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When I woke in the night for a second night running to hear someone in the house I was fairly confident I knew who the culprit was. In fact I was more than fairly confident because I could hear meowing. This time I wasn’t alone but Commando was either asleep or doing a pretty good job of pretending to be so it was down to me to sort it out. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Fluffy was actually our cat! Continue reading The cat burglar part two – first published 13 October 2013

A cat burglar and a rhino reprise – first published 12 October 2013

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When I heard someone moving about the house in the middle of the night in October 2013 it was one of two things. Either the cat burglar was back, or there was a real burglar in the house. Of course CJ could have suddenly developed insomnia. Whatever it was I couldn’t just go back to sleep and, as Commando was at work, I had to get up and find out… Continue reading A cat burglar and a rhino reprise – first published 12 October 2013

worry and windmills – first published 10 October 2013

I’d love to take credit for this beautiful photo of turbine construction taken by William Hall
I’d love to take credit for this beautiful photo of turbine construction taken by William Hall

Something almost everyone does is worry too much. We all have those wake in the night moments where something goes round and round in our head and seems like the worst problem in the world. Night time worries are the worst of the lot because everything seems very bleak in the wee small hours. Usually, by morning, when we wake bleary eyed, perspective is regained and we wonder why we blew it all out of proportion. Back in October 2013 my big, wake in the night worry was about my job and how I was going to get another one. Continue reading worry and windmills – first published 10 October 2013

Beach huts and fat squirrels – first published 6 October 2013

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On an autumn morning that was turning out far hotter than advertised I walked along Boscombe beach front worrying about Commando. He was running his first marathon. So far the Boscombe beach huts had been disappointing but, just before Boscombe pier, they became slightly more colourful and behind them some fetching metal screens festoned with seagulls made up for any shortfall. Continue reading Beach huts and fat squirrels – first published 6 October 2013

the first ever Bournemouth marathon – first published 6 October 2013

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After six months of training, the day of the first ever Bournemouth Marathon had finally arrived. It was also Commando’s first ever marathon and it began very early. When I got up, at six, it was still dark. As I ate my granola and drank my morning smoothie the sun came up slowly outside the gym window. All the while Commando was calmly stuffing himself with carbs. He said he wasn’t nervous but there was a slight frisson in the air, maybe it was excitement. Continue reading the first ever Bournemouth marathon – first published 6 October 2013