Lazy holiday in Jamaica

Last year we went to Jamaica for our 10th Wedding Anniversary, but got hit by Hurricane Sandy. Luckily they gave us a free holiday,  so we took it. Here's a blog about what we did. Which was very little :-)

Wednesday

Get up 5am for taxi. Accident on M1so lots of queues. Cab driver goes off piste and we have to use my phone as sat nav to get to Gatwick after 5 hours.

After check in priority pass gets us into lounge for coffee and breakfast.   Nice.

As we board we notice staff are checking everything manually. Told on plane that power cut affected part of terminal, all systems are down. Flood in server room?

On tarmac for 3 hours, watch staff manually checking every bag. Watched a whole film before take off.

Good flight. Watched Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp and Alan Partridge.  After landing, straight to Sandals arrivals lounge for first Red Stripe of holiday. Yay! 100 min bus journey to resort. Arrive too late to meet butlers, (yes, we have butlers).

Up to room. Towel art on bed

Unpack. Order room service. Burgers, chips, beer. At 6 am UK time. Does wonders for resetting clock.

Thursday

Up latish. Phone butler on mobile phone left in room. Collect us in golf buggy to take to breakfast. This was view from our table

Then beach, swim. Rum punch. 

Jerk chicken, rice and peas, beer for lunch, in sun. Unlike last year. 

Afternoon in pool bar sampling cocktails. Dirty banana, White Russian. Pink lady. To name but 3. Forget rest.

Back to room for nap!  Buggy to dinner. Kelly's Dockside. On pier, in ocean, beautiful, mixed starter then Surf and turf.

Walk up to bar. Couple of drinks. I fall asleep. Narcolepsy or jet lag?

Friday

Up late, again. Buffet breakfast. To pool. Very hot. Spend morning relaxing on floats, drinking champagne. 

Back to villa. 

Lunch of club sandwich, salad, fries, brought by our wonderful butler  Damian and Oshane together with bottle of Jack Daniels because it was about the only drink not in our room and we'd said we liked it!

Afternoon by our private pool

 trying to watch my son Dans play which was being streamed from Drama Studio. Wifi not really up to it, but managed to hear the sound from most of it.  

Various cocktails, all home made.

In evening went to beach club for beach party. Given a coconut filled with rum as we got there

Good food,  had steak and lobster. 

Entertainment began with a fire eater, then two pirates, called "One Pair" because they each had one leg, but a different one, so they only had to buy one pair of shoes....  Got more cringeworthy after that - drunk Americans in a dance competition.  Lots of twerking. So, up to bar for drink. Awesome fiddle player entertained us there.

Back over road to Polo bar. Very bad piano player. Not our night for entertainment.  Back to room to find towel turtle on bed. Which was nice.

Saturday

Up late again. Butler took us to buffet breakfast. Here he is coming to get us

Getting used to starting day with Bucks Fizz, or Mimosa as they call it here. Back to room, read reviews of Dans play. All good. Watched a video review. Also good. Walked down through lush gardens and took bus to Rivera side. Short walk to pool. Hot. More lounging. More cocktails. 

Lunch by pool of fresh cooked pizza. Very good.

Then more reading, more lounging, more cocktails. Back to room for well earned rest after a busy day.

Over to seaside for dinner in Reef Terrace. Fantastic Caribbean restaurant overlooking sea. Great moon. Lots of jerk chicken, coconut shrimp and tamarind beef.

Over to pool bar for more cocktails, including a red yellow and green Bob Marley. Looked good, but was too sweet. Think its the only one I've had that I've not liked.

Spent an hour chatting to other tourists and barmen.

Then up to amphitheatre for steel band, but had to sit though some games first, men vs women, although it was quite funny. 

Steel band were amazing, not sure how they play and dance at same time. So energetic.

Even Michael Jackson turned up. Didn't get video, but he was great and moonwalked sideways. Better than MJ,

Back to our bar for nightcap and listened to some good piano playing.

Sunday

Buffet again, this time had a freshly cooked omelette.

Watched 3 huge birds circling, looked like buzzards. No-one seemed to now what they were. Described to us as John Crows, but they weren't crows, and vultures. Think they were definitely buzzards.

Sat by our pool for a while, then down to main one. Decisions, decision, pool or beach. And if pool, which one? Several to choose from, and all in amazing surroundings.

Main pool for most of day. A few cocktails, lunch in buffet, and read most of new Bridget Jones book.

Cocktails and more reading in villa, then dinner in China Doll which is the Chinese restaurant, in Jamaica, with a French chef. Drinks in bar with couple from Kent. Discussed tricky subject of tipping butlers!

Monday

Same old...

Breakfast, pool, lunch, reading, swimming, cocktails.

Got pictures of Johncrows which we can now definitely say are Turkey vultures

Dinner in a Kimonos for tappenyaki. Excellent food, but not as much showmanship as you'd get from a Japanese tappenyaki

Drink in pool bar, and then to auditorium to watch Jamaican drummers and dancers. Good show. 

Back, nightcap, bed. So tired again. Wondering if its the anti-histamines I'm taking to calm the insect bites I picked up when we first got here. Maybe need to cut down on them.

Tuesday

Breakfast, beach. Sea. Rum punch.

Lunch in Kelly's looking at the ocean. 

Bit of a walk along beach, looking at fish, sea urchins.

More beach.

Pool for cocktails

Back for rest

Dinner in Valentines which is Italian.

Reggae night in auditorium. Excellent singer. 

Pianist in Polo bar, good player but can't sing! Remember him from last year.

Wednesday

Breakfast, then to Riveria pool

More reading.

Pizza for lunch.

Thunder, rain, lightening whilst we eat lunch under an umbrella. Soon clears up. 

More cocktails. The barman tells me it "tastes like chicken" as he hands it to me. I'm glad to say it didn't.

Dinner in Neptunes which is  on beach. Really good fish stew.

Back for amazing chocolate buffet - so much chocolate in one place. Even had chocolate cocktails.

Thursday

Pool. Reading. Cocktails Swimming. 

So many wasps (or bees) round the pool bar it was getting a bit dangerous to go too close. 

Lunch in buffet

More pool

Packing

Dinner in Manor, a Caribbean restaurant. Managed to eat in a different place every night, and all excellent.

Said goodbye to Damian as he wouldn't be on duty tomorrow.

Friday

Finished packing, had breakfast and checked out by 11

Had great tour of grounds from Oshane - he used to be a gardner and knew all the plants, and took us to some places on the report we hadn't seen before. We saw mango trees, avocado trees, and amazing flowers.

Then spent some time by pool, followed by lunch in the grill. 

Back to pool and Oshane brought us a cocktail and a dish of coconut shrimp which was delicious. 

And that was it. Bus to airport, and hour in lounge, and we were off. And our flight was 90 minutes shorter because we had a storm behind us giving us a bit of help!

Fabulous holiday. And as you can see, it was hectic!

Taking a hawk for a walk

For my birthday last January Stu bought me a days falconry experience - and for various reasons I've just got round to using it. I've flown birds a couple of times and loved it, but only for an hour or so and only with other people, so to do it for a whole day, and on my own with lots of birds and a falconer was fantastic.

We went to SMJ Falconry which is near Haworth. It was a terrible day, mist, wind and drizzle, but I'd already had to cancel one because of bad weather, so we set off regardless. The scenery was spectacular - those of you who know the area will know how rugged it is, and some lovely, "northern" villages with dark stone house and dark satanic mills lurking in the mist.

Luckily the weather cleared up a bit in the morning, and I had a great introduction to the birds, from a tiny hawk, who was lovely,

to some amazing owls,

and falcons

They were all fascinating. I didn't realise how many different types of owl there were - I think she had over 50 there.

Then I got my chance at flying them. The owls and hawks will fly to your glove, the falcons tend to be flown by them chasing a lure which is spun by the falconer. It was a great experience. Here's a kestrel landing on my glove.

And one of the barn owls

Of course, they don't fly to you for the fun of it - they want the food you have in your glove. We had day old chicks, or bits of them. Only when they've flown to you a few time are they rewarded with a whole one or two - and owls can swallow them in one go.

But the best bit of the day was taking a hawk for a walk. Really. Bit like taking a dog, but it flew. Or walked sometimes. We had a harris hawk called Toby. Here he is:

I let him off the glove and went for a walk along footpaths and across fields, and he came with us. Sometimes he flew up over the valley, trying to catch the thermals, then he would come back to us and land on a fence or rock. Sometimes he walked with us. Of course, he did get fed when he came back, but it was a great experience.

One of the kestrels took a liking to Stuart's shoulder:

and one landed on my head.

 Totally my fault as I turned away as he was flying towards me, and he had to land somewhere. My head just happened to be the highest point.

It was a great day - I got to handle and fly loads of birds, and learnt so much about them. I would certainly recommend it if you are interested in these magnificent birds of prey.

Girls weekend away

For the last 16 years or so we've had a "girls weekend away". Began life as an "allmenarebastards" weekend, but we've progressed. Normally we go in November, but because of various prior commitments, this year we were much earlier. some pros - lots more light at the end of the day, and cons - didn't feel quite as close to Christmas for our festive meal.  But, a great time was had by all!

Met at the station for a coffee, and then set off to Alnmouth on the train - First Class obviously- and had a great communal picnic.  G and T, wine, sandwiches, indian snacks, prawns, chicken - you name it, we ate it on the train.

Taxi to meet us at the other end, and off to our lovely house - huge, lots of rooms, including a games room and conservatory. We'd thought ahead and Sainsbury's delivered the shopping. After unpacking we went for a walk along the river and to the beach. The tide was in and it was misty - very atmospheric. Found a little ferry hut, and lots of boats.

Walked along the beach and then cut up through the town and back along the river where we saw a heron.

Then it was back to house, knitting, snacks, the odd drink followed by dinner of sausage and mash.  After dinner a couple of us ventured out to the local pub which was supposedly haunted.

Saturday was a good big cooked breakfast and off on the bus to Alnwick.  Spent several hours in the Alnwick garden which was very impressive. Water features, formal gardens

and a poison garden which you had to be accompanied into.

 Can't think why...

also saw an amazing shaggy inkcap in the grass

and some real doves in the Dovecote

Then a couple of us went to the castle  - where the first two episodes of Harry Potter were filmed.

Lovely place, but the funniest part was a dark walk through called Dragon Quest which scared both of us to bits and made us scream.

Lovely lunch in a pub, a walk round the shops and back on the bus.

After watching as much of Strictly Come Dancing as we could get away with we walked up the village to an Italian restauarant were we had a lovely meal.

Sunday was another cooked breakfast, and a walk along the beach. The sun was shining, the tide was out, there was sand, rock pools, crabs, and unfortunately and very big dead seal.

Cut inland and walked along the river

to Lesbury for lunch in the Coach Inn,

and then back to Alnmouth by the river where we saw the heron again.

Spent the afternoon cosied up as a group knitting, drinking whisky mac and watching videos we found in the cottage - Peter Kay live and Love Actually!

Sunday night was Christmas dinner  - told you it was early :-)   Chicken and all the trimmings, including Christmas pudding set alight with brandy. And of course we made our traditional soup with all of the left overs. And I mean all.

Monday morning was a light breakfast and a walk to the river estuary, back along the beach

and a coffee.

Some shopping in the village, and lunch of soup before the taxi back to the station for a 2 o'clock train.  we managed to decant all the drink we had left over into plastic bottles, so the journey back was quite fun.

Fab weekend as always - great place, and great company with great girfriends!!

Nature's Bounty

Last camping weekend of the season - back to Laneham where we went last year and got flooded! Got there nice and early, tent went up very easily, and we were soon sitting with friends with a cucumber g and t.

I love my tent, but this might be the last time we pitch it - I'd quite like a new one for next season...
In the evening we walked by the River Trent

into the village and the pub for fish and chip might. unfortunately they'd run out of fish and chips :-(

Still, a good night was had, and we were up bright and early for our famous communal breakfast, and a walk to the next village to get the bus to Retford (my home town).  After a coffee we joined the canal towpath for our usual walk - the Chesterfield Canal is lovely.

The sun was shining, and we soon made it to my favourite-named lock

where some took the opportunity to strip a nearby bush of sloes

Others played with the lock!

There was a goit by the lock which was full of trout. We carried on, past many fishermen, swans, ducks, moorhens, coots, and past the wild hops in the hedgerow, just past a pub called The Hop Pole.

 We also saw this

which we later discovered to be a rose bedeguar gall, or a Robin's pincushion gall, on a rose hip. Fascinating.

Eventually we reached another pub, The Gate, where we had a lovely lunch.  A walk back to town

Some shopping for the meal later, and the bus back. We stopped for a drink at the local brewery, and managed to pick up bramley apples, eating apples, plums and eggs from honesty stalls outside peoples houses in the village. Back at the campsite we picked a bag of lovely blackberries, and made a blackberry and apple crumble for tea. Yum!
As we thought it might be too cold for a BBQ (we were wrong), we had a chilli, rice, garlic bread, jacket potatoes, and pudding. Lots of music, and some wine and beer to wash it down with.

Then we walked to the pub and met my family for a drink - a lovely evening, and followed by a nightcap or two in our friends van.

Lazy Sunday morning, another communal breakfast, including a lot of fried bacon

and I managed to pick a carrier bag of wild damsons from a tree on the riverbank. Eventually got the tent down, and drove home, where I began the task of turning our wild pickings into sloe gin and damson vodka. A great end to the camping season.