We must be in the eye of the storm because the wind has died down and the rain is no longer thundering against the french windows. Dad is in Nobles Hospital having a cataract removed. Anne and I have been for a swim and we are shortly to depart for Tynwald Mills whereupon we shall indulge in a cawfee. There might even be a sale bargain or two up for grabs.
Storm is the norm here in the Isle of Man. When visitors mention that it took them half an hour to walk a hundred yards down the street into the teeth of a gale the Manx raise half an eyebrow and mention that they hadn’t noticed the weather was particularly bad.
If you want to buy flowers they sell them at Tynwald Mills. And cheese, which we had for lunch.
Winter in Peel is not for the faint hearted. Wrap up warm, fasten all zips and hold onto hats. Battle around the castle. Seek shelter in the Creek. Scallops and bacon in white wine and garlic. Okells Ale. A warming bottle of red. Home to watch the snooker.
Excuse the noise of the wind in this video – it was wild out there.
If you ever find yourself in the Marco Polo Lounge at Marco Polo Airport (Marco Polo would have been impressed) just watch you don’t slip on the carpet. They have polished floors covered with very nice rugs. Look very nice and designed to reinforce the Darwin theory whereby those not destined to pass on their genes slip and do themselves and injury.
Rest assured that not only have I already successfully passed on my genes but was also able to draw on balance and recovery skills inherited from my own parents to stay upright and conscious.
A miserable wet day in Venezia is a good choice to leave. We are bound for the Isle of Man somewhere guaranteed to be even more miserable and wet than Venice but somewhere I am able to call home.There are only two other people in this part of the lounge, plus an unattended Louis Vuitton bag. I got the attendant to remove the bag. Better safe than sorry.
Whether it is a genuine LV I know and care not. There are two schools of thought regarding this bag. Either it is genuine and the person who owns it is so rich that forgetting their very expensive carry on luggage means nothing to them. Alternatively it isn’t genuine and some poseur has just carelessly forgotten it. You may also make up your own alternative scenario. I care not.
Some bloke has now returned with the bag. There was an announcement, in Italian. I think it’s a fake. He is a normal looking guy.
This is going to be quite a long day. We are at the airport ages before we need to because I thought it was a 11.30am flight whereas it is actually 12.30. At least we have the comfort of the lounge in which to sit and relax.
When we get to Gatwick we have a 4 hour layover. This is made worse by the fact that we won’t be able to check in our luggage with Easyjet until 2 hours before the flight. So 2 hours of the 4 will involve hanging around the desert that is the check in area. Urgharoonie (that’s for the Davies kids).
Whoever said international travel is glamorous. Not moi.
Sat in the bar of L’O waiting for attention from the bartender. Cool tunes pummel my shoulders. Head is clear but state short-lived once cask broached. Russian woman in long white fur orders taxi for morning and removes two noisy kids. They have first class train tickets. Fire dances. Shadows.
Se avete mai avuto l’occasione, e queste opportunità non appendere lì penzoloni in attesa di essere spennati, accettare l’offerta di un tour privato intorno al negozio fabbrica di vetro Vecchia Murano a Venezia. E ‘proprio dietro la Basilica di San Marco.
Un signore di nome Maurizio Ballarin noi adottato nel negozio e ci ha portato dietro le quinte. Siamo stati trattati per un bicchiere privato soffia dimostrazione e un tour delle camere non è aperto al pubblico. E ‘stato come una grotta di Aladino. Il vetro era davvero incredibile, tanto che ero preoccupato solo camminando per le stanze. Il valore di quello che era in offerta era inestimabile. Ogni pezzo fantastico era valore di migliaia di euro e c’erano centinaia di oggetti in mostra.
Non c’erano “nessuna fotografia” segni ovunque. I display portato il tat in mostra nelle vetrine dei negozi delle strade sottostanti in prospettiva reale. Purtroppo avremmo solo potuto permettersi il “occhio” e dopo aver visto quello che si potrebbe davvero fare con l’arte non c’era modo avremmo visto il nostro modo di comprare niente di meno che il meglio.
In altre notizie dopo 5 ore di martellamento in pietra di Venezia strade asfaltate e attraversando innumerevoli canali siamo tornati nella nostra camera per un periodo di riposo La galleria d’arte dell’Accademia era davvero la pena di visitare -. Basta fare in modo di evitare la visita guidata da un sapere tutto americano guida turistica. Ha ottenuto il mio stoppino e abbiamo dovuto passare a un’altra stanza. Almeno ci ha insegnato che siamo stati felici con un po ‘di informazioni su un dipinto piuttosto che un’analisi approfondita del significato di ogni pennellata. Stasera è pub crawl e pizza tempo, per domani si parte per l’Isola di Man.
For those of you ungifted in the language of the Venetian Lagoon I offer a translation:
If you ever get the chance, and these opportunities don’t hang there dangling waiting to be plucked, accept the offer of a private tour around the Vecchia Murano glass factory shop in Venice. It’s just behind the Basilica of St Mark.
A gentleman named Maurizio Ballarin adopted us in the shop and took us behind the scenes. We were treated to a private glass blowing demonstration and a tour of rooms not open to the public. It was like an Aladdin’s cave. The glass was truly awesome, so much so that I was worried just walking around the rooms. The value of what was on offer was inestimable. Each fantastic piece was worth thousands of Euros and there were hundreds of items on show.
There were “no photography” signs everywhere. The displays brought the tat on show in the shop windows of the streets below into real perspective. Unfortunately we would only have been able to afford the “tat” and having seen what you could really do with the art there was no way we would have seen our way to buying anything less than the best.
In other news after 5 hours of pounding Venice’s stone paved thoroughfares and traversing countless canals we are back in our room for a rest. The Accademia art gallery was really worth a visit – just make sure you avoid the guided tour by a know it all American tour guide. She got on my wick and we had to move on to another room. At least it taught us that we were happy with a little bit of information about a painting rather than an in depth analysis of the meaning of each brush stroke.
Tonight is pub crawl and pizza time, for tomorrow we depart for the Isle of Man.
This morning’s watchword is Wellingtons. Wellies are really what are needed to walk around Venice. Half the streets are flooded in the early morning and people have to walk around on elevated boards set in the middle of the streets. By 13.30 ish the waters had subsided and we could actually walk on St Marks Square
Things that struck me:
There were lots of people in the Louis Vuitton shop. The one at the hotel in Bucharest only had two guards and two members of staff.
The Doge’s Palace was stunning and very much worth a visit. It and the whole area around St Marks Square just oozed wealth and power. You really got a sense of Venice as a world power during its heyday. I could imagine being surrounded by Venetians in period dress making political decisions, talking to ambassadors and doing business deals.
Although it was a miserably damp day and although Venice would probably look much nicer in the sun we were able to visit the Bell Tower and Doge’s Palace without having to queue. You could imagine long waits at the height of the season and it looked as if the place was pretty busy as it was.
The narrow streets with buildings so close that at times you could almost reach out and touch the one opposite made me think of what London might have been before the Great Fire. The buildings here are all stone built unlike the wooden construction of 17th Century London.
Our hotel, the L’Orologio, is in a really convenient spot right next to the fish and vegetable markets and near to the Rialto Bridge. Famous as it is, the Rialto is I’m afraid not much of an attraction in its current boarded over state. The hotel is less than one year old and has a great combination of Italian design whilst also being very comfortable.
We had a pleasant breakfast at around 09.15 and then “hit Venice”. At 11.30 we stopped for a cuppa. Anne had cappuccino and I had a very luxurious chocolate with a brandy. It seemed the right thing to do, so miserable was the weather. Tomorrow is forecast to be nicer, sunny even.
Back at the hotel for a chill at 2.30 ish and then out again, in the drizzle, looking for some action. There was none. Most people with any sense were indoors. We wandered looking for a bar to sit in. There is nothing along the lines of a pub. They have what look like sandwich shops with small shelves where people stand and sip at espressos or some pink Venetian plonk.
As we were aimlessly wandering looking for a haven I stopped still in my tracks and a local woman behind me bumped into me and muttered something. I guess they have to put up with the tourists but they (we) do bring a lot of cash into the city.
The big day arrived and the taxi picked us up at 7am to catch the 07.30 from Lincoln Central to Venice. Of course trains don’t go to Venice from Lincoln but it was a step on the journey:
Home – Lincoln Central – London Kings Cross – London Bridge (by Northern Line) – Gatwick – Venice Marco Polo airport – water taxi – Hotel L’Orologio
We bumped into Andy and Suddy Davidson in Gatwick which was a nice surprise. They were off to Faro for the weekend. We had a coffee with them in the business lounge. Lunch on the plane included a couple of chamagnes and a nice Chilean red (fair play).
Venice was all it was billed to be. If you ever go don’t mess about with public transport from the airport. The private water taxi ride was totally terrific. It took us to the hotel’s own mooring. Effortless. The only way to arrive. Later we went for a stroll to the (boarded over and largely “under construction”) and saw people hauling cases through the streets looking for their hotel. Don’t bother love. Water taxi it.
Dinner was a 40 minute water bus (Vedetti – E7.50 ew) away at Corte Sconta. Google told us it would be quicker to walk but we didn’t want to risk it in the dark on our first night in town. The restaurant was down a small alley (everywhere is a small alley). I bought a local TIM data sim – E30 for 5GB PAYG. LTE. Great experience out of the box. It has already been very handy. It’s mostly goingto be used for maps, translate and perhaps for downloading visitors guides.
Dinner was great – look out for a trip advisor review. Everything was great. Our room looks out over the Grand Canal – lots to see, lots going on. We are just next to the Venice fish market. Look out for pics from Saturday.
My final observation for today is that you really can see that the sea level has risen, or the city has sunk. The water is lapping over pavements that should obviously be higher. Let’s hope they have a handle on the sitch. Featured pic is of two gondolas fwiw.
Off to the pool again this morning (see first vid below). It was chucking it down and the traffic was terrible. You wonder why the traffic is worse when it is raining. I don’t see many people walking to work when it isn’t raining so where do they come from? I guess they might be parents saving little Johnny from getting wet at the bus stop.
The pool temperature was back to normal this morning. Yesterday it was far too warm. Something had gone wrong somewhere. You could almost make a cup of tea using it.
Back at the ranch we are getting ready to head off to Venezia tomorrow. Check-in completed, gadget chargers & adapters packed etc etc. Exciting. It is particularly exciting this time because Anne is coming and she is noticeable excited 🙂 We are doing everything comfort – 1st class train to London, business class tickets on BA, nice hotel (L’Orologio) with deluxe rooms facing the Grand Canal. Why not eh?
I dropped Tom off at Newark Northgate this morning and Joe has just arrived back from Charlotte’s in Cumbria. The house is approaching normality. When we get back from our holiday Joe will have gone and Hannah will only have another day at home before she shoots off back to Durham.
Last night we killed the fatted calf for Tom’s farewell meal. Tonight we wring the neck of a four breasted chicken for effectively Joe’s last supper. We like to party:)
Today’s been one for doing some admin. I hadn’t planned it that way but that’s how it largely turned out. Some of the admin involved booking travel. The odd flight, a couple of water taxis for our forthcoming Venice trip. I also booked Tom and I onto the Coast to Coast trip.
The coast to coast is going to need some serious training but we have 4 months in which to get into shape. I still haven’t found a pair of boots. We spent two hours today in GoOutdoors. Tom found the right pair for him but my feet, being seriously mismatched. I’m going to have to drive up to Richmond in Yorkshire to get some custom fitted ones. It’s worth getting it right.
We will be arriving in St Bees for the first night’s stay on Saturday 30th April and ending up at Robin Hood’s Bay on Thursday 12th. Presumably a couple of stone lighter.
None of this admin was boring stuff. No bank stuff or anything like that so it’s not been too bad. I also bought a large plastic box in which to store our various wetsuits. Anne told me to get the biggest I could find, so I did. When she say it the size came as a bit of a surprise but hey…
At the Coop I picked up some Euros so now we are all pretty much ready to go. Oh and a “sachet” of peppercorn sauce at Hannah’s request to accompany our steaks tonight. We are killing the fatted calf as Tom is heading back to the bright lights of the City and Radio One tomorrow.
Didn’t get any of the Anne’s Vans stuff done today but what can you do eh?
The fire is lit and a particularly fine guacamole has been prepared by my good self so I now have a few minutes to sit down before the chili con carne is dished up. The chili too is particularly fine. I cooked it yesterday and the flavours will have had a chance to develop nicely in the fridge.
We are back to three of us for dinner tonight. Tom is taking Hannah out for her Christmas present night out. They have a table booked at Lewis, Nige and Terry’s Lincoln Taphouse and Kitchen. Joe is being fed at Charlotte’s in the Lake district, presumably.
Today has been a getting things done day. After my usual swim I settled in front of the laptop and began the Anne’s Vans marketing campaign. Initially this has meant getting campervan Betty registered with Camperbug and then getting the Anne’s Vans Facebook page up. The website isn’t ready yet but we have a logo.
The logo has had a few hiccups. Firstly we left the apostrophe out of Anne’s Vans. It was Annes Vans. No good. Then it arrived with an apostrophe but upon reflection the apostrophe looked like a comma. Digging into this it looks like it’s an error in the font but Nick the developer is onto it.
I’ve taken a break from it for now but am planning to spend all day tomorrow and probably Thursday on the case. Friday we go to Venice.
In other news my new FatFace top came today. Got it for thirty quid in the sale. It’s an Irish themed job with the flag on the back. I’m wearing it now:)
get spare key cut for Citroen
Clear out loft
Arial for TV in mancave
fix deckchairs
put xmas decs away
student load form
sort out Anne’s iPhone
mug cull
Set the compass South this morning for Grantham. Boundary Mills to be precise, just off the A1. Boundary Mills is the home of discounted branded products hereabouts. It tends to pitch at a certain age group which I happen to sit in.
I was accompanied by kids 2 and 4 and had no preconceived idea of what I might buy if anything. There was nothing there that grabbed my attention (gripped me by the lapels, looked me in the eye and said “buy me you stupid &^%$£ so and so, I’m a great bargain”).
Having systematically worked the menswear section more than once I slowly drifted towards the cafe when I came across a box of socks. £5 for 3 pairs of Pringles. I’ll ‘ave a bit of that I thought and before I knew it had four bundles in my hand. Including a pair of bamboo socks! I’ve had my sights on bamboo socks this Christmas but none were forthcoming in the stocking, so to speak.
The next minute along came Hannah with, believe it or not, some bamboo socks. She led me to a sock section that had a wider choice of bamboo product than I’d ever seen before in my life – not difficult seeing as I’d never actually seen any before. I fetched a basket with wheels and a long handle and the kids and I proceeded to fill it with socks. They were all discounted and there was a further 10% to be taken off at the till. Woohoo.
I did suspect that I’d gone over the top somewhat but I’d been talking about a sock refresh and here was the perfect opportunity, bamboo and all!
Back home we emptied the carrier bag onto a bed and counted 45 pairs in all. They weren’t all for me obvs but a suitably large chunk of them were.
The featured image in this post is of said socks and the video is one I did at the Friendly Farmer where we stopped en route home. I had a chicken and bacon salad which was ok.
This morning we set off for Anderby Creek. Not been there before and it took the sat nav to get us there but we eventually arrived at the little car park where the others were waiting for us to go for a walk along the beach. The weather was not particularly favourable but the rain promised to hold off just for our walk.
Anderby Creek is primarily a caravan park with a caff/pub and a row of windswept houses facing the sea. There is nothing else there other than miles and miles of beach heading beyond Skegness in the South and Mablethorpe in the North. This feels almost like a travel guide!
We walked for half an hour in a Northerly direction, turned around and walked back, into the teeth of a gale it must be said. Probably perfectly normal weather for Anderby Creek. Coops, Pieman and his son Fin stripped off and went for a very short dip. I didn’t.
Back at the car park we picked up our picnics and huddled in a shelter on the path from the beach. We were comfy enough. If you have the right gear everything is ok.
Arriving back in Lincoln we stopped by the Carlton Centre to buy some essentials: a phone holder for the car, some plastic storage units for the Hornby trains rolling stock, a Boots cold remedy for my sore froat (so that Anne can get a decent night sleep without being woken up by my coughing) and some groceries from Lidl.
I also called in to Go Outdoors to check out the boot action and ask if a particular size Scarpa SL Activ boot could be transferred from their Thurrock branch – it seems to be the only store with my size in stock. The conclusion was that I would call back in the week or when I get back from the Isle of Man for a session with “Chris”, their ex army expert on walking boots. Impressed that I can get such consultancy from them.
At home I cut some cardboard up as dividers for the rolling stock and tidied the whole lot away in the loft. I also cooked a spag bol and prepared the meat for a chili con carne we are going to have later in the week. Now we are sat in front of the fire, except for Anne who is listening to the Archers in the kitchen (with the doors shut – it pains me even to hear the noise of the radio where the Archers is concerned).
In other news it’s been a great day’s cricket from the second test in South Africa with Stokes setting a new world record for the fastest scoring 250. Great eh?
The weather is typical of a British January. Miserable. I have a sore throat and a chesty cough (fyi). I’m not particularly looking for sympathy although none will knowingly be refused.
Today we have breakfast at the Vicarage. I’ll be ok. Just have to try and keep my coughs to myself. Before the Vicarage we had intended to go swimming but didn’t wake up until 8.10 which was too late to get up, make a cup of tea, get dressed and get to the pool before lane swimming ends at 8.55. So we just did the cup of tea bit. It probably didn’t make sense for me to go swimming anyway, manflu and all.
The plan was also to go for a walk this pm, following on from yesterday’s jaunt to the Bomber Command Memorial on the ridge above South Common. We will have to see how it goes weatherwise. If you have the right gear the weather doesn’t matter. The only issues are for the wearers of glasses ie me. See how it goes later.
Breakfast at the Vicarage is a bit of an issue if one is trying to lose weight. I know there will be healthy options but I am also assuming that there will be bacon on offer. My brain is programmed to automatically accept an offer of bacon. Even if there is no brown sauce and I’m not saying this will be the case. Surely?!
In other news England are in South Africa playing the second test. They walloped the home side in the first test and have now won the toss on a great batting wicket. On these occasions it is a pleasure to tune in. There have been occasions where things haven’t gone well where it has been difficult to listen. This, thus far, is not such an occasion.
We woke up this morning to a new year. I’m excited for the new year. I think it’s going to be a goodun. They by and large always are although the last couple of years have been tinged with sadness as first Anne’s dad Keith and then both our mums Eileen and Rene passed away.
That’s life though Jim and you just have to get on with it. This year will see the start of our new campervan hire business Anne’s Vans. The site is still in development but I will be spending time over the holidays populating rental sites and social media with details. Not today though. Today is being devoted to sloth and relaxation together with bit of a walk at some stage.
The walk is all about the new attitude to lifestyle. I’ve ditched a lot of work baggage and stress and am now creating the time to get fitter and lose weight. It’s not going to be a totally austere existence. We are off to Venice for the weekend next Friday followed by a few days in the Isle of Man. I also have LONAP commitments which are most rewarding and enjoyable and the nature of the internet industry being what it is will involve the consumption of much beer. It’s going to be about getting the balance of life right.
The walking is part of that and to provide some focus we have booked a week in Llanberis at Easter to go hill walking. I don’t know whether the summit of Snowdon will be accessible due to the weather but the intention is to build up fitness in the three months between now and then so that I can do it if the opportunity allows.
Llanberis is also a staging post on the road to doing the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk with Tom in May. This is a 190 mile 2 week hike stopping at B&Bs each night. I will definitely need to be fit for that and expect to be even fitter by the end of it.
All this comes with new kit purchasing opportunities. I need new walking boots. My old ones, Zamberlan, are very good but my left foot seems to have grown in recent years and I now need a new pair. Tom and I were in Blacks yesterday trying on a variety of boots and to my surprise I found that whilst my right foot was a size 8 my left was now 9 – 9 ½ !!??
They didn’t have the right size in the boot that I eventually chose so we left the shop empty handed (empty footed?) and I now need to figure out how to get hold of a pair of Scarpa SLs in size 45 without running the risks of buying online. These ain’t cheap boots. It may yet come down to the internet for purchasing.
So 2016 is going to be an interesting and fun year and I’m hoping to maintain daily updates here on philosopherontap, cos that’s a fun thing to do. The featured image is of one of my old Zamberlan boots. Ciao amigos
