Winter was never going to be the best time to start living in a caravan. . .

When we first thought about travelling to, and taking our time in places in Europe and the UK, we had expected our house in Derby to take time to sell, and we would start the adventure in the Spring of 2014. But luck shone on us and the house sold in weeks not months – effectively giving us little choice but be "homeless" sooner than expected. Little did we know that we would experience so many windy nights in just one month.
It's three in the morning, and outside the wind is blowing and driving in the rain. Nothing like 2 weeks ago when there were gusts of 50/60 miles per hour, or the beginning of last week when they reached 80. You can tell the difference lying in bed in a caravan! But whatever the wind speed it is usually a good time to have a cup of tea. But we took the awning down before the 80 mph storm, cancelling a planned lunch with Gail's cousin to get thoroughly soaked instead. With yesterday such a lovely day, we finally took the awning out of the car where we had stuffed it 6 days ago, and dried everything off. It will probably stay folded up now until we get to warmer places.
Nonetheless the adventure has started. We have experienced bad weather, and I am contemplating writing to the caravan manufacturer to share our wind tunnel experiences. I also remember the first weekend in March we collected the caravan, and were cut off for a few days in Leicestershire with heavy snow. We have the right caravan – warm & dry – too warm according to Gail. This site is well drained, so we haven't had that side of the bad weather to contend with fortunately. This site is in a nice location just a mile from the Solent, and the River Hamble, and of course close enough for us to pop in to see Amelia, Kate & Paul, at least every other day, sometimes several days in a row. On balance, to enjoy that, it is so worth putting up with a bit of noisy wind and rain. To share Amelia's first Christmas and birthday by being so near has made it the best Christmas in a long time. Maybe that is the subject of another blog post. . .
We are moving on to the New Forest at the end of the week – mainly because Adrian & Mary are coming down for a weekend in their motor home the weekend after. But also it's a cheaper site! From there we have a Eurotunnel crossing booked on January 14, and our first site in France booked in Beauvais, north of Paris. After a few days there, further south towards Orleans, but nothing definite or booked yet. There has been quite a lot to plan in addition to the bookings. Recovery insurance; travel insurance; book the car in for service; should I get the MOT done before we go . . . etc. Just found out yesterday that in Spain we will need warning signs on the back of the caravan as we are over 12 metres, so they are on order. Already knew we have to get 2 breathalyser kits for France, but with French wine so convenient will two be enough?
Maybe that wind is dying down a little – so back to bed. No work today!

We went to the Top of the World’s Tallest Building!

Actually not quite!

My 60^th birthday in 2013 was celebrated by a number of events, and to all those who arranged, organised, participated, contributed, or shared, I really thank you.   

                                                                    

As a final celebration, Gail thought it would be a good idea while we were in Dubai to go to the Top of the World’s Tallest Building – the Burj Khalifa. Now many will think this was a wonderful idea, and so it was, but as I have a fear of heights, hardly my best idea of a celebration. 

It’s an illogical fear because I have not always had the fear, and there are some places I have been where I am actually OK, and put me in a window seat on a plane at 37,000 feet looking down, and I am as happy as can be. But for a milestone birthday celebration going up a tall building, hot air balloon, parachuting, and bungee jumping are not on my list!

But Gail thought it was a good idea, so I went ahead and paid the forty quid, and booked us a 4 p.m. “AT THE TOP, BURJ KHALIFA EXPERIENCE” on the last full day of our holiday in Dubai, December 1, 2013. A few days before we went my brother-in-law Ian said in passing that you don’t actually go to the top, but about two thirds of the way up. Now he was trying to calm my fears I know, but that’s still pretty high! But instead of that reaction I actually started to feel a little disappointed. It was enough to put on a brave face to go up an 828 metre building, but I need that same brave face in a building with just 23 floors!

Anyway, the fateful day arrived, and off we go to Dubai Mall – malls in Dubai are where most things happen. And at 4 p.m. our tour starts, and to be fair I recommend the whole experience to anyone. Very well organised, with very little waiting around. Confirmation of not going to the top is provided by someone pointing out the observation deck you are heading for – not at the top! As might be expected there is airport style security, and a short queue for one of the lifts which holds 8 people a time. The lift is an incredible experience in itself. Very fast – 10 metres a second – and very smooth, with a fast moving display of how many floors you are passing. And then the lift doors open out onto a superb view of Dubai. 

You walk around the observation deck, with one section roofless, with 20 foot high glass walls.
That section strangely enough was my favourite as it had a rail around the glass – again totally illogical. 

As we moved to the next section there was no rail, just floor to ceiling glass walls, and I started to feel uncomfortable.

But overall the views were spectacular and not to be missed, and I am really glad I experienced it.

Because it was late in the day, the shadows of the buildings, including the Burj Khalifa, could be seen on the ground, and in the distance the shape of the Jumeirah Palm could be made out.

But having bit the bullet to go up, it would have been good to really go closer to the top and not just to the 124 floor at just over the half-way point of 452 metres.

The building has 163 floors plus 46 maintenance floors so 200 metres of the total 828 metres is not open to the public. But there are 19 floors where those with the big money can go and get a higher view than those that pay to visit the observation deck. There is also the world’s highest nightclub on floor 144, but again I don’t expect to ever be invited there.

Since December 2011, it can no longer claim to have the highest outdoor public observation deck in the world’s buildings. This honour goes to The Canton Tower in China, the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world, with an outdoor public observation deck at 488 metres.

But don’t tell Gail!

A Post At Last!

Apologies to Rich, and anyone else who may have been looking for updates to this blog! We really did expect to have more time on our hands. It can only really be good that the first two months of retirement have kept us so occupied.

Can't believe we have just one more full day in Vietnam, and apart from 4 flights and a few days stopover in Dubai, the Asia holiday is almost over. We will soon be back to reality and wondering where we put those warm clothes.

It has been a great holiday. Not a lot of relaxation although having said that I am onto my 4th book... (Reading not writing.)
It is the start of the rainy season in South East Asia, and we arrived just after some really wet weather with severe flooding. But the last week has seen some showers and sunshine. Sunday has seen blue skies all day and we took the opportunity to have a day on the beach. It was a beach bordered with Palm trees, and soft golden sand. We found somewhere quiet to have lunch beside the beach. It was perfect.

Although the sea was very rough, and strong rip currents, I had a quick jump around in the surf. A bit like I remember as a teenager at Gwithian beach but with palm trees and warm water.

More to come - that's a promise.

The Mekong River With Mike and Gail Brown

Wednesday November 13, 2013
It's over a year since we were in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Saigon) but a few things have prompted me to write a blog post about a specific part of that memorable holiday last year. When travelling, we are able to get some UK TV when we have a good WiFi connection, and we managed to watch the series "The Mekong River With Sue Perkins". It's a massive river even just the bit flowing through Vietnam. Sue Perkins had a much, much bigger journey than we could ever hope to experience, with her trip ending in China! Our own experience was a day trip to a small island within the Mekong Delta. I suppose it was advertised in our hotel as a "typical" day tour – early start; several hours in a bus; see a traditional village; typical Vietnamese lunch; river market; etc. etc.! And it was an excellent day – after a bad start.

I said a few things prompted me to write this, and not just a baking competition presenter.

I consider most of our immediate family to have been fortunate in not experiencing the real horror of war, certainly as civilians on the potential receiving end of enemy bombs, although mum lived in Dundee as a girl, which was a target as an industrial city and port. Dad as a boy lived in Kent and dogfights and German bombers and rockets flying over the county were never associated with danger and death, but as something to look at as a youngster. But the direct effects of war did impact the family with one of mum's brothers never recovering from shell shock. Gail's dad was directly involved as a young man being with the RAF in Northern Italy at the end of the Second World War. That was the only time he travelled out of the UK.

But being grateful for no first hand experience of war, doesn't stop me from being reminded of the effects of war on places we have travelled through in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Croatia, Bosnia. . . As one example, when we visited Dubrovnik, it was to be reminded that the city was under siege – not that long ago - with buildings bombarded by land, sea and air. It was one thing to see photographs of a beautiful city with buildings on fire, including the Hilton hotel just outside the old city walls, which has been restored to look similar to those dark times; but the photos and names of hundreds of people who died during that period was a bit of a shock.

But back to Vietnam. As I wrote earlier it was an excellent day – after a bad start. We were on the bus at 8 and at the next hotel stop, no sooner had the bus started off when this guy turned round to us and starting chatting. Very quickly in the conversation we found out he was in his 70's and well travelled, and had lived in the Midlands, before returning to his "home" country on the request of his wife.
He asked if we had visited the War Museum. Before I could tell him I had, but Gail hadn't, and it was probably as well because it was very depressing with horrific images – it was over 3 floors and I had enough after floor 2. Not only for the depressing images, but the strong anti-American propaganda messages. Anyway the guy in the seat in front had decided he was going to let us know that he not only agreed with the museum's messages, but also let us know generally what he thought of Bush, Cameron, Imperialist aggression and on and on and on. No idea what Bush and Cameron had to do with Vietnam. I really couldn't believe what I was hearing, but with a nudge in the ribs from Gail who could clearly sense I was about to snap, I decided to look out of the window . . .

It doesn't matter whether I agreed with the guy or not, we were on holiday and not looking for in depth debate or argument. Nor were we ignoring that there had been a terrible war in Vietnam. I was never that sure what the war was about, but it was a lot more than American aggression, as I have read up since. Without detailing the entire Wikipedia article, it's really quite a complicated series of historical events, with France losing control of their colony to the German allies during the Second World War. At the end of the war, the French and also the British had enough to do rebuilding their own countries, to be involved with Vietnam, and it was agreed by the Allies that China would control Vietnam as part of Indo-China. This was before the Chinese revolution resulting in a Communist regime which threatened the entire Asian sub-continent. And less than a decade after the Second World War the Allies get involved in the Korean War. The threat of communism overrunning Asia sparked the involvement of the Americans in Vietnam.

And the young guide on our Mekong delta tour did not choose to ignore the Vietnam War, pointing out that the Viet Cong had used the Mekong Delta to hide in, with the Americans struggling to search them out. He also kindly pointed out that another tour took you to the tunnels where the Vietcong also hid out under the noses of the Americans. In reply to a question to someone on the bus, he said that young Vietnamese are looking to rebuild a strong Vietnam, looking to the future rather than the past.

It was a great and interesting day trip, but with a real taste of the poor river way of life. We actually sat with the "Anti-Imperialism" guy at lunch, who turned out to be good company in chatting about everyday things. The three of us were the oldest on the trip, so it eventually turned out well to have someone older to speak to. We had a reasonable set lunch of typical Vietnamese food, but the guy on his own also ordered a whole fish which he kindly shared with the 5 of us on the table. Looking at the menu I spotted that squirrel was on the menu. Everyone thought that couldn't be right and I was making fun of the Vietnamese food – but nothing was lost in translation as the eating place had kindly put a photo next to the description . . .

All part of the experience!

 

Birthday Lunch at Darleys

What a great birthday! Had lunch with Gail at Darleys in Darley Abbey. 
When we first came to Derby it was in better economic times, and with a brand new company office and headquarters, company visitors from other countries were happy to hold meetings there. 
This meant there were many opportunities for socialising and I was lucky to be invited by senior colleagues and suppliers to some nice dinners at some good Derby restaurants. This included Darleys. 


When I booked a table here for this birthday lunch it was in good summer weather, and I thought it was an opportunity to enjoy a drink on the terrace, overlooking the weir on the River Derwent.
Of course, the weather has changed over the past week or so, and we did not expect the one day of superb weather that we enjoyed on Tuesday. 

We had a drink in glorious, warm sunshine before our meal, on a table inside overlooking the river, and then we had another 30/40 minutes in the sun drinking coffee. 
Late September and outside with no coat!

Lunch was excellent. Three courses – well it was my birthday! 

Then we had a stroll across the Toll Bridge, and towards Darley Park. I probably knew once, but never had any time to take it in, that this area is part of the Derwent Valley Mills site – which in 2001 was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. There are over 1000 sites listed by Unesco of which just 28 are in Great Britain, including Stonehenge, The Tower of London, and The Giant’s Causeway.

The Derwent Valley Mills site extends 15 miles from just South of Matlock Bath, along the valley 

of the River Derwent, through Cromford, Belper, Milford, East of Duffield, to the South side of Darley Park, with Darley Abbey just 2 kms from Derby City Centre. The village is a Conservation area.
In the 19^th century, the Derwent Valley saw the arrival of the factory system, with buildings erected to house the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. Industrial production arrived in a big way to a rural environment. At the same time, housing and other facilities for those employed by the factory owners saw the development of the first industrial towns and villages. Cromford is such a typical example.

Many of the buildings at Darley Abbey are remnants of a thriving industrial village, 
and in the 1770’s there was a paper mill, a corn mill, two flint mills (for porcelain production) and a leather mill, all powered by water from the Derwent.

But even if you have no interest in heritage, Darley Abbey is a very pretty spot for a visit, and so close to Derby City Centre.

Lunch and Stroll at Fradley Junction

Although officially employed, this is the first day of not working for the rest of my life. Nice lunch at "The Mucky Duck" at Fradley Junction. Nice steak and ale pie, washed down with a pint of Holdens - Black Country brewed!

And then a short stroll with Gail, Kate, Paul & Amelia. And of course Lottie who so wanted to get in that canal. 

Of course this is also the last day of my 50's. Tomorrow a new decade. . .

Of course this is also the last day of my 50's. Tomorrow a new decade. . .

Laptop and phone handed back so I guess retirement has unofficially started.
Officially I retire on September 24 at 60 but I have taken a few days holiday.
Don't think I will be missed for those days. . .

Two pints of Abbot at lunch time with the team, and a snooze on the sofa.
Retirement should be good.

Days Not Weeks...

Well, it is now just 5 working days until work starts to be a thing of the past.
Everything I promised to do at work is done. My inbox is virtually empty.
To be honest any new emails will be forwarded...

Got a new sat nav today. The one fitted in the car was hopeless! Even getting me to the shop where I bought it took me 1.7 miles adrift.

So have sat nav will travel.