So Long Rod

Rod McKuen a prodigious talent. Loved his poetry and his music.

First came across Rod when he did the title song to one of my favourite films - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - http://youtu.be/4khTSHUfRwM - then discovered the poetry.

Glad he came by this way.

Strictly Glasgow

The trip north was picturesque - from the window of a heated train!

                                               

Despite dire warnings of disruption the worst seemed to be north of Carlisle. The Lakes and Shap, usually the first to go under, only had a powdering of snow.

Jean's garden was also looking seasonal:

It was the second half of Sis's Chrissie pressie. A big Strictly Come Dancing fan we'd booked seats for the live show in Glasgow. Held at Glasgow Hydro Arena, it's like a giant space ship that just landed on an industrial estate in Glasgow - 

and its just as big inside with layers of seats ascending into the stratosphere!

It was packed to the gunnals, but a dazzle of lighting and special effects:

This shows head judge, Craig R-H was well on form with caustic comments, low scores and an amazing song and dance routine at the end - well talented! Hosted by Zoe Ball. Frankie had to pull out for pregnancy reasons and last seasons winner Caroline, after a show stealing performance in the first half, had to pull out due to injury. But non of this distracted from Simon Webbe with Kristina Rihanoff's Argentine Tango only upstaged by Thom Evans slinging off his shirt and bursting into a rousing chorus of "Flower of Scotland" (having played rugby for Scotland) this was enough to secure him the days win :)

The comedy being provided by Scott Mills with Joanne Clifton reprising the roles of The Adams Family and the Lobster. Craig was moved to comment "Scott, you dance a lot like Judy Murry, the advantage Judy Murry has is she is not here!" (followers of the show will get this :)

Leaving the stadium was an experience in itself. 13,000 people attempting to leave at the same time. The endless queue for taxis back into town was dwarfed by the queue for the underground. Thought we would be engulfed in a stationary crowd for hours but to be fair the queue was well marshalled and kept moving at a reasonable pace. Got back to Central Station with 8 mins to spare to catch the Carlisle train.

Clearwell Christmas

Another first for Sis was a trip to Clearwell Caves and a walk through their magical tunnels and caverns with theirchristmas display - one of Marion's favourites. Created in one of the Forest of Dean's Freeminer mines this annual event is good old fashioned low tech fun for kids of all ages.

We were a bit late for Santa so Sis had to sit in for him:

Christmas Party

Had chrissie in Gloucester with Sis this year, first festive at home for some time.

Part of Sis's pressie was a chrissie doing triptych involving a trip to the Metrop:

Kew had some spectacular light shows (that pics don't really do justice to) including a projection on the main house fronted by a synchronised illuminated fountain show, a live fire show complete with marshmallow toasting pits and illumination of the whole of the rear of the Palm House with a synchronised firestorm show to classical music.

From red hot to ice cold. The amazing Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and the equally amazing Ice Kingdom.

What are they looking at?

.. those daft beggars up there!!

And to round it off a trip to one of my all time favourite musicals (Jean's first time) - Les Mis did not disappoint!

Fuerta Birthday

First time to this amazing Canary Isle and probably not the last. It must be one of the most laid-back, tolerant, temperate and friendly places around. Off the Moroccan coast it is roughly 60 miles from the Sahara as the crow flies and would have a similar topography were it not for a prevailing breeze, which occasionally develops into a strong wind, that helps maintain a fairly constant 20c (70c F) - the breeze is quite warm and makes walking/sun bathing etc pleasant.
















The environs alternate between volcanic moonscapes and desert like sands -

Las Dunas

but, oh the beaches, miles upon miles of white and gold sands sloping gently into deep aqua marine and azure seas:

Must put in a word for our hotel, Surfing Colours, in Corralejo. Wonderful large rooms, with basic self catering facilities if required, firm beds, equipped balcony, two pools, loadsa sun loungers and, yes, surfers - the Island is a surfers paradise with the breeze and reefs providing great surfing waves. The staff were magic too.

 

but not all surfers are safe :)

Corralejo is the northern most town on the Island with a fine harbour and regular ferries to Los Lobos, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria. There are many eateries, and many have good veggie options :) A couple deserve mention. The amazing lady at Cordon Blue on the sea front does the best veggie breakfasts around. The pizza man at Da Luca is a master of his art and a wonderful fella to boot.

 

 

The volcanic Island of Los Lobos lies just off the northern tip of Fuerta, a 15 min boat ride away. Once a base for pirates the whole island is now a nature reserve. A walk round the Island takes about an hour or two, with a break half way round at the lighthouse and a welcome dip in the sheltered bay at the end of the hike.

vegetation seems to be able to grow almost anywhere !

After a visit to a trip organiser, who was a bit unsure of what day of the week it was, we decided to organise our own tour of the Island. It was a good call. The local buses are somewhat akin to luxury coaches, have v friendly drivers and meander through the Island heartland to a lot of the places of interest (and at a fraction of the price :) The capital, Puerto del Rosario, since 1860 is worth passing through and acts as a bus hub.

From here we meandered down to Betancuria, via Castillas del Angel and Antigua, within the Parque Natural. It was the Islands capital  until 1834. It was thought it's inland position would protect it from Barbary pirates, but Jack Sparrow struck virtually destroying the town and taking its 600 inhabitants captive. Nowadays Betancuria is one of the prettiest villages on the island;

If you do find yourself there, skip the tourist eateries in the centre and pop down the hill to Bodegan Don Carmelo, run by the Silvero family for 400 years - a great little find:

To the north, and on the coast, lies El Cotillo. At its southern end is the Fortaleza del Toston built to deter British and Arab pirates. Overlooking the small harbour it is also where a number of eateries are to be found,

to the north are more beautiful sandy beaches:

Love the way, on most harbour sides, the chrissie decs are made from collages of sea paraphernalia: