#retirement villages newcastle

[catalinalakemacquarie]

Welcome to Catalina Lake Macquarie. Set among the idyllic surrounds of Lake Macquarie, it is more like a resort than a retirement village. Explore a simpler yet more enriched lifestyle for those over 55 who have a zest for life and are ready for their next big adventure. Visit https://catalinavillage.com.au/ to find out more.

[scotianostra]

July 5th 1847 saw the final run of the Edinburgh to London mail coach.

By the mid 19th century coaches had become outdated throughout most of the country with improved rail links, the Newcastle Berwick Railway opened throughout on the 1st July 1847 which caused the demise of the coach service. The last coach carrying the London mail arrived in Glasgow on 14th February 1848. The extension of the Caledonian Railway from Beattock to Glasgow came into operation the following day.

Horses have been used to carry messages from the very early days, when post boys would deliver messages by horse. In the 18th Century horse-drawn mail coaches were introduced, which cut mail delivery times by more than half.

The coaches also carried fee paying passengers, at first four inside, later more were allowed on board but had to sit up with the driver outside, the passengers sitting inside the mail coaches had to pay considerably more than those exposed to the elements on the outside.

The average speed of the coaches was usually 7-8 mph in summer and about 5 mph in winter, but with improvements to the quality of the roads, it had risen to 10 mph by Victorian times.

The coaches were privately operated and the coachmen earned much more in tips than in wages. They were fined if caught carrying goods on their own account. The only Post Office employee aboard the mail coach was the guard. He was heavily armed, carrying two pistols and a blunderbuss. He wore an official uniform of a black hat with a gold band and a scarlet coat with blue lapels and gold braid. He also had a timepiece, regulated in London to keep pace with the differences in local time, and recorded the coach’s arrival and departure times at each stage of the journey. The guard sounded a horn to warn other road users to keep out of the way and to signal to toll-keepers to let the coach through. As the coach travelled through towns or villages where it was not due to stop, the guard would throw out the bags of letters to the Letter Receiver or Postmaster. At the same time, the guard would snatch from him the outgoing bags of mail.

Mail Coaches continued in the north of Scotland until modernised rail connections were introduced, the last one was in Kingussie and ran until the beginning of World War One The horses didn't enjoy a happy retirement though, they were requisitioned by the Army and sent to the continent during the first world war, 8 million horses were killed during the conflict.

[pumpkinprincess22]

Ok so if you are on the MCDBB discord server you may be vaguely aware that I was on holiday the other week and decided to relate every place I visited to MCD / Aphverse somehow.

Here are those locations and explanations:

Alwnick Gardens and Castle

To me these form the Ro'Meave estate. I didn't go to the castle but saw it from outside. I did visit the gardens though which are home to the Poison Garden which may or may not have formed a large part of the reason I'm imagining this as part of the Ro'Meave estate because poison is very Ro'Meave.

Kielder Forest

This is the largest forest in England and was planted from scratch by hand around a century ago. This struck me as being similar to the Sacred Forest which was hand planted by Hyria and Irene. It is a national park and nature reserve which is something that the Sacred Forest might have evolved into by the time of MyStreet. I'm imagining Hyria retiring and surrendering protection of the forest to a conservation authority.

Cragside

Originally concieved as a modest fishing lodge the 19th century country house was extended in several phases and became the holiday home of Newcastle based engineer William Armstrong. He was later given the title of Baron Armstrong and became the first engineer to sit in the house of lords. The house was the first in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity and included a hydroelectric elevator, dishwasher and lights. William Armstrong was a bit of a 'mad scientist' type. This has the honour of being the only MyStreet location on the list as I see it as the Emerald Secret lodge. Perhaps owned by an ancestor of Chad's before being bought by the Lycans and Ro'Meaves?

Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne aka holy island is Phoenix Alliance island. It was once home to an Anglo Saxon Priory, which no longer remains but the ruins of the 12th century priory that got rebuilt on the ruins of the original can still be seen and look remarkably similar to the Phoenix Island ruins. It also has a Tudor fort turned 20th century holiday mansion and a small village. To top it off it is a tidal island accessible by causeway at low tide so you can drive to it when the tide is right giving easy(ish) access to the mainland.

[irishgolfadventure]

Ardglass the Magnificent

Today we said goodbye to Newcastle and The Briers and left for Ardglass Golf Club located on the coast about 30 miles north of Newcastle. Traveling in Ireland always takes longer than you anticipate because there are very few direct routes and straight highways. So we figure every 30 miles is at least a 45 minute trip or longer. Today was no exception!

Upon arriving in the small village of Ardglass, we quickly found the golf course. It was 56 degrees and winds blowing 10-15mph. But what a surprise this golf course was. First, a little background, I mentioned in previous posts about my new best friend, Tom Coyne, author of “A Golf Course Called Ireland”. In talking with Tom about our agenda he made a few recommendations. One of those recommendations was to ADD Ardglass Golf Club to our itinerary. Now I know why!

Ardglass GC is one of the most beautiful golf courses I have had the privilege of playing. The course starts out with five holes along a very high and jagged coast line. The first three holes all have forced carries over those jagged cliffs that hug the shoreline of the Irish Sea. Based upon the course distance you choose to play, some of those carries seem almost impossible. Of course for me, the two back tees were a no go for that reason. For my first tee ball of the day I sacrificed a brand new Titleist to the golf gods, drawing a well struck driver into whitewashed foam of the waves crashing on the rocks along the shoreline some 100 feet below. Would be one of three lost balls of the day.

One of the unique and spectacular features of AGC is that you have views of the surrounding sea from every hole on the golf course. The course, played from the proper tees, provides a challenging but fair test of golf besides being one of the most enjoyable walks you’ll ever take on a golf course. The course is not  nearly as penal as some of the more highly rated courses on this fine island! That’s why, Tom, you know my new best friend, listed this as his second favorite course in all of Ireland. When I come back to the Emerald Island again, AGC will be on my list to revisit!

One of the favorite things Kim and I like about playing with caddie’s and being paired with two other unknown golfers is getting to meet and know new people. As they say, everybody has a story, and today was no exception. We played with a retired music producer from LA, who bought a golf course near Wash DC, and his course manager. Got an invite to come to DC and try out his new club! And Simon, our caddie, was a retired army vet from the UK and now living in Ardglass.

One interesting side note, Ardglass’s Clubhouse is the oldest clubhouse in the world. Built in the 1405, its initial use was as a fortified warehouse for importers and exporters. It became the Ardglass Clubhouse in 1896.

Update on Stats

Score - 89/186

Yardage played - 6079/12,376

Lost Balls - 3/5

No. of Pars or Better - Pars 4/5

Steps - 13,845/28,234 

Miles Walked - 6.43/12.63

Green Fees - $130/$505

Caddie Fee - $60 plus tip/$120

 As I said yesterday, the pictures I am posting of today’s round really don’t capture how dramatic the views are or the huge elevation changes. And as a reminder on the pictures you can click the lower left area of the picture to get a description of what you are viewing.

After a two and a half hour drive, we arrived in Portrush. Where we are staying at the Elephant Rock Hotel for the next two nights as we anticipate playing Royal Portrush on Friday. Kim is taking a day off from golf tomorrow and I am teeing it at Portstewart. So far so good on the back holding up for which I’m very thankful! God is good! gb

[comfortableinthesilence]

Relaxed day with a lazy start and then a few hours spent with my grandad at the Carehome, catching up with him and talking about football, life and the memories! A bit of a tangent but…

It was recently his and my grandmas wedding anniversary and he was reminiscing about their love and how much he misses her since she passed. Reminiscing about their lives, how They met in school in their little village on outskirts of Newcastle and he knew early on that she was going to be his wife one day! Through the years, trials and tribulations and distance their love lasted, even when my grandad was in the army stationed in London and my grandma back at her parents home in the North East. My grandad sacrificed opportunities in life for my grandma, turning down a chance to play for Fulham Football Club (they were good and big back then) because he knew my grandma didn’t want to live and raise a family in London. Instead settling on a life in the North East, raising a family, having a touring caravan they used for holidays away, exploring the beautiful English costal towns and countryside! They had plans and aspirations for when my grandad retired, they were to sell the house and go travelling full time with their caravan but alas it was never to be. Even when my grandma started with dementia the love was clear and my grandad never wavered with his love, care and attention. Even on those last few days we sat round her bed waiting for her to pass, I could tell he loved her like the first day he met her.

Hearing him reminisce and welling up with tears, it made me thing that���s the kind of love that inspires me to find my person, like they found each other! They were never rich with money or luxury items but they were rich in love and memories! When it’s all said and done, that’s what matters in life, finding someone to share a life with🩵. I'm thankful I can still hear his stories and it's something I'll cherish always.

(This post went off on a tangent, I was just going to share about my day but spending time with my grandad, hearing his stories and reminiscing is a beautiful thing and it evokes emotions within me I want to share. Thank you if you took the time to read this and I hope it inspires you to love that someone special in your life and make those memories count.)

[alleventsalert]

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Newcastle Retirement Village Expo 2022 – Retirementexpo.com.au

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[ellynneversweet]

There’s this thing that frequently comes up in discussions of intimate partner abuse, which is that people in abusive relationships often seek to make their friends and family complicit in the task of keeping their abuser happy, because a dispute between a friend of the abused party and the abusive partner will often result in private ‘retaliation’ against the abused party. Anyway, this section from P&P where Elizabeth engages in this carefully conciliatory conversation with Wickham gives me chills:

She was roused from her seat, and her reflections, by some one's approach; and before she could strike into another path, she was overtaken by Wickham.

"I am afraid I interrupt your solitary ramble, my dear sister?" said he, as he joined her.

"You certainly do," she replied with a smile; "but it does not follow that the interruption must be unwelcome."

"I should be sorry indeed, if it were. We were always good friends; and now we are better."

"True. Are the others coming out?"

"I do not know. Mrs. Bennet and Lydia are going in the carriage to Meryton. And so, my dear sister, I find, from our uncle and aunt, that you have actually seen Pemberley."

She replied in the affirmative.

"I almost envy you the pleasure, and yet I believe it would be too much for me, or else I could take it in my way to Newcastle. And you saw the old housekeeper, I suppose? Poor Reynolds, she was always very fond of me. But of course she did not mention my name to you."

"Yes, she did."

"And what did she say?"

"That you were gone into the army, and she was afraid had -- not turned out well. At such a distance as that, you know, things are strangely misrepresented."

"Certainly," he replied, biting his lips. Elizabeth hoped she had silenced him; but he soon afterwards said,

"I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month. We passed each other several times. I wonder what he can be doing there."

"Perhaps preparing for his marriage with Miss de Bourgh," said Elizabeth. "It must be something particular, to take him there at this time of year."

"Undoubtedly. Did you see him while you were at Lambton? I thought I understood from the Gardiners that you had."

"Yes; he introduced us to his sister."

"And do you like her?"

"Very much."

"I have heard, indeed, that she is uncommonly improved within this year or two. When I last saw her, she was not very promising. I am very glad you liked her. I hope she will turn out well."

"I dare say she will; she has got over the most trying age."

"Did you go by the village of Kympton?"

"I do not recollect that we did."

"I mention it, because it is the living which I ought to have had. A most delightful place! -- Excellent Parsonage House! It would have suited me in every respect."

"How should you have liked making sermons?"

"Exceedingly well. I should have considered it as part of my duty, and the exertion would soon have been nothing. One ought not to repine; -- but, to be sure, it would have been such a thing for me! The quiet, the retirement of such a life would have answered all my ideas of happiness! But it was not to be. Did you ever hear Darcy mention the circumstance, when you were in Kent?"

"I have heard from authority, which I thought as good, that it was left you conditionally only, and at the will of the present patron."

"You have. Yes, there was something in that; I told you so from the first, you may remember."

"I did hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders, and that the business had been compromised accordingly."

"You did! and it was not wholly without foundation. You may remember what I told you on that point, when first we talked of it."

They were now almost at the door of the house, for she had walked fast to get rid of him; and unwilling, for her sister's sake, to provoke him, she only said in reply, with a good-humoured smile,

"Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know. Do not let us quarrel about the past. In future, I hope we shall be always of one mind."

“Unwilling, for her sister's sake, to provoke him.” Lydia’s fifteen, and going off to live on the other side of the country in a time where travel is difficult and expensive, with very little money of her own and under the legal authority of an adult man her family already knows can’t be trusted to treat her well. Jane Austen fuckin’ knew, man.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Friday 4 October 1839 - Travel Journal

7 ½

12 35/..

damp small rainy morning – General Wilson and his sister very civil yesterday – he an Edinburgh man (said our English man who went about with us) came here young – Mr. Wilson told us he had been in Russia 55 years and was 8 when he came – the sister came at 2 years old – the general goes to England generally every 2 or 3 years – was there last October and passed thro’ H-x – sorry obliged to be in Manchester and prevented spending  the day with someone at his place near Sowerby bridge – (Mr. Edwards?) – W- gets all the new improvements in machinery spite of the prohibition – the prohibition foolish as ministers know but obliged to follow the sense of the country - .:. the exportation of machinery prohibited – but machine-makers go to Belgium, and the Russian and others therefore buy of them what would otherwise be bought of us – spindles etc. etc. we can make much better and cheaper than they can be made here – tho’ from our models spinning jennies etc. are made in the machine room here – a clever young man from Glasgow (has been here 6 years) at the head of this department – 18 English families here exclusive of general W- 18 English masters each at the head of his own department and an Italian Ghersi = 19 masters who went to the Caucasus to examine the silk there, and has published his travels – wrote then in French (Ghersi) but translated into Russian and not yet published in French – the emperor has given him some land in the Caucasus Mr. W- the generals’ brother would succeed to the place but not near so clever as the general – not a man there like him – he has organized all – a clever excellent man – he being of the 3rd class a lieutenant general can go to all court festivals uninvited .:. can speak directly to the emperor – was much patronized by the empress mother (empress Mary) wife of Paul –

General Wilson came to Russia in 1804.

October Friday 4 sent 56,000 pieces of sail cloth last year to America the Russian navy does not want more 22,000 pieces a year – shewed us a piece (narrow shred) that took 12cwt. to break it – our great sail cloth manufactories (one near Glasgow Nelsons?) capital –

Flax would be good here (Dutch and Belgian the best) but the people will leave it seed – to get both seed and flax – it should be cut as in Holland and Belgium when in flower – the serfs in the establishment some good men earn 70/. a month some men 55/. down to 30/. – average wages per man 60/. per month – live in clubs so that a man lives for 14/. per month – every serf here pays his Lord 10/. per month –

misconduct punished by fine – for day of absence from work (drinking or idling) 5/. per day –

the fines 1/3 goes to the hospital – 1/3 to the library – and 1/3 to..... women can earn 20/. per month

when the emperor buys the serfs of any nobleman, frees them and they pay 15/. per annum each man –

496 young people sat down to dinner yesterday – only about 200 girls – of what they earn 1/3 goes to the Foundling hospital 1/3 to themselves (and 1/3 towards their maintenance at the factory?)

400,000 R. due from the factory to the Foundling hospital for which interest is paid –

the masters have from £200 to £600 a year – General W- has besides his appointments an interest that is a percentage on the goods manufactory and sold – one brother with him at the factory and one plain Mr. W- who was in the house of Thomson Bonar and co. but disagreed with Thomson now a merchant in St. P- all agents for houses in England but about 3 houses – Thomson B- and co. (Mr. Hodgson the head clerk of the house who manages everything and has some capital of his own in the firm on the same terms as the capital of the heads of the house – it [would] thus Wilson [get] on and Paulet Thomson himself) and Wilson and probably Bayley –

SH:7/ML/TR/14/0035

October Friday 4 saw the cardsetting machinery yesterday before luncheon – the wire cut and set – and saw a bit done by the empress Marie herself who was about an hour doing it – saw the paper patterns of table cloths before luncheon but had them explained after luncheon It is the Italian (Piedmontese [Piemontese], Ghersi) who arranges all these – some the patters very handsome – long 6 or 7 yards? – the length of the cloth being the breadth in gloom – i.e. the shuttle passed the whole lenth [length] of the cloth – saw the sizing rooms after luncheon

table cloths, long and handsome double damask with 24 napkins about 250 Rubels

breakfast table covers very pretty cotton at 18/. mixed silk at 50/. in all colours – much cloth (for slave-shirts the man thought) sent to America – strong and good but rather coarse – nothing finer made here – Sail cloth of several qualities – dare not note down prices because made no notes at the moment – the building was the country house of a Russian nobleman .:. has cost much in adaption and is not now so convenient as if built expires – 500 inhabitants in the village –

a congregation of 50 + English every Sunday evening – Mr. Law preaches there after service at St. P-

the dining room build expires – 230ft. long the same length as the British Queen steamer built – opposition to the government western 4 tables all down the room – arched ceiling – 96 beds? (girls beds) in 1 room and 6 in the end room adjoining – iron staircases water closets and everything beautifully tidy – Salle de reception – retiring them for the empress and another at the other end for the emperor – many noblemen offered to find men at 55/. per month but General W- always declined – would have the men at liberty to do what they chose with their money – declined contracts with the Lords of the [serfs]

October Friday 4 breakfast at 9 – before and after till now 11 20/.. had written all the above of this morning – out at 12 10/.. to the bank – cashed another £25circular – then from the Directeur of th ep.o. to the money charger – and then to Brieffe he went with us in the carriage to the Directeur general of the post office saw the Directeur – returned home for passport etc. and took Gross – at 2 10/.. at the Isaac church – and ½ way up in 7 minutes 350ft. high – Gilt cross on crescent on globe – coal from Newcastle sells here at 36kop. per pood

62 poods = 1 ton we went 325ft. high –

the church of Peter and Paul 400ft. high

at 3 40/.. at the ‘modèle de l’Eglise de St. Isaac par Auguste de Montferrand architecte de sa magesté . St. Petersburg le 1er mai 1819

Pouces = pieds anglais

Verscoks = Sagènes de Russe

Pouces = pieds Français

the dome all of iron to be covered with copper sheeting 3000 tons+ of iron in the dome

the model a very beautiful one – I could not make out the scale in the short time we were there – another model in the room – of the old Isaac church? no! of what? Mr. Anderside who went to the top with us observed that St. Pauls’ is the finest (best built) building of the kind in the world – the dome of St. Peters’ at Rome will be down in 40 or 50 yards – they will be obliged to take it down if they can get money enough – the Scotch fir is the red deal § the spruce the white deal

from the Isaac church to the chocolate shop – then to Graeffs’ and bought for A- Moralts’ paper on .......... (I scarce know what) in the last volume a part of the memories of this academy – in German but A- took it nevertheless – home at 5 ½ - paid off the carriage – dressed – dinner at 6 - Reading Captain Cochrane – this edition in one volume 8vo. that I read at home in 2 vols. fine day

§ Mr. Hodson or any of the merchants would ship me off deals and should get a great swing – the merchants [?] in Hull very considerable –

[?] driven (fir) to the depth of 20ft. for the foundation of the church – the outside to be finished by 1840 and it will be –

[wasalwaysagreatpickle]

Friday 8 August 1828

7 50/60

12 1/2

All ready to be off, and breakfast in 20 minutes at 9 20/60 – Read Scotland tourist – saunter out to watch the arrival of the coach (from Edinburgh to Newcastle through Jedburgh) at 10 – said last night would send my luggage by it, and walk myself by Driburgh to Jedburgh – but determined this morning to miss Driburgh, and go by the coach – all in vain, the coach so full could not even take my luggage – wonder it did not break down – 

Off in a chaise at 11 10/60 having put into the post office in passing a line or 2 ‘to the mistress of the Crown and Mitre Inn and coffee house Carlisle ‘to say my return there was uncertain, and begging her, at all rates, to send off my box by the York coach on Monday without fail – fine view of the Eildon hills (Scotland tourist 309/415), at 11 50/60 pretty hill-seated village of Newton – lodgings to let there could live there for a while – very hilly road – look over wide hilly plain! – pillar erected by the marquess of Lothian to the memory of those who fell at Waterloo, very conspicuous in the distance – fine rich country – 

Turn left down to Driburgh suspension bridge (erected by the earl of Buchan Scotland Tourist 314/415) and alight at the bridge at 12 5/60 painted white – great white wooden suspension pillars with a transverse lying across them as a binder – not near so pretty as Melrose suspension bridge – the [zonic] round red sandstone temple to the 9 muses, on a little eminence at the end of the bridge, with a white Belvidere apollo in the middle of it – not in the regular grounds – not connected with anything – why put there? – Sir William Wallace, too, quite [white] on large red sandstone pediment at the top of ridge of hill among wood – 

The abbey a considerable and beautiful remain but made up with garden walls, and orchards – the woman let me to what she called the hall – some of the gothic arch work round the stalls repaired in wood – and full of trumpery plaster of paris busts – in a niche – in one of the walls a good stone bust of the present lord Buchan when 59 – Sit Walter Scott’s burial place recorded as given to him in 1791 – his wife lies there – the house a modern good-looking sort of common reddish sandstone gents house closed up by fence walls – his lordship now in his 86th year, must always have been a man of sickly taste – his a natural son with him, but his nephew, Andrew Esskime, must succeed him – the scenery around the house would be beautiful if properly thrown open  - scenery along the river pretty – precipitous red banks, and wooded slopes to the water’s edge – Lord B- [Buchan] takes toll or pontage for the bridge – the same rate for foot passengers at least as at Melrose – 

Got back to the chaise at 12 50/60 it had just begun to rain before I left the abbey – inside for above an hour – till fair – rained very heavily for some time – some very fine timber about Ancrum house Sir William Scott, bart. 

At 1 50/60 2 miles beyond Ancrum (right) see the long line of fir wood belonging to Chester (Ogilvie Esquire) – leave Ancrum 1/4 ? m. right – very hilly road – fine rich country – yellow corn – fine, green hedges and fir woods about the different [gentlemans] seats – especially the Marquess of Lothian’s Teviot hill – Lord Minto’s place among the wood on the hill, above and behind Chesters – at 2 pass over Ancrum bridge 3 red sandstone arches over broad shallow Teviot – turn left along beautiful little valley of the Jed – Jedburgh looks well – its new jail or castle on the hill and the fine old ruined abbey the tolbooth (old jail now partly turned into a library) in the town below fine objects – 

Alight at the Spread Eagle Jedburgh at 2 40/60 See going towards the abbey inquire my way of a Mr White a brewer – very civil – even went all over the abbey and to the top of it with me – the abbey belongs to the Marquess of Lothian – by his sufferance they have a church in it – £2000 raised by subscription laid out in repairing the old tower (going to fall) a year or 2 ago – the marquess subscribed £200? – the present parapet round the top of the tower not like the old one good – but a great pity to have attended it – very large [remainder] – the largest I have seen – larger than Melrose – finer? if seen to advantage – too much choked up – the church in it spoils it – from the abbey to the castle or new jail – opened in 1822 – cost 6 or 7 thousand pounds 27 cells – a mill to grind barley for broth, instead of a tread mill – 2 men cannot work it longer than 5 minutes at a time – only 3 prisoners in for debt and 2 others – 1 man for attempt to murder, and a boy for petty theft – very neat, well-kept airy prison – went to the top – rather thick – or would be very fine view – fine view as it was over the town etc. –

[weens] Mr Cleghorn on the Newcastle road, about 7 miles off – went into the post-office (a booksellers shop) for a print of the abbey – the man very civil – sent to get me the best, though a bad one at 4d [pence] and then walked with me to see the point of view whence taken – took me to see ‘the philosopher’ James Veitch a self-taught mathematician and optician – a very John Oates but more learned – excellent microscope 4 guineas on a new principal, and a chromatic telescope when finished would be 12 guineas – both cheap – a very clever genius of a man – very civil to me – I talked about Euclid (algebra) etc. – he shewed me how he made an equal (a perfect) screw – shewed me a clock he had made which did not vary 4 seconds in a month – Lord Minto, and many other gents go and spend hours with him – he is a joiner by trade – likes Vincés astronomy - Lalandés and Callets logarithms – 

Then my friend and I walked a little up the valley beautiful and continuous so for 4 miles – the Jed running along between fine red and wooded banks, the road crossing perpetually from 1 side to the other – picturesque straw thatched cottages – very beautiful little valley – at about the end of the 4 miles you turn off to weens on the Roole (as pronounced) water – Mr Cleghorn has lately lost an estate that had cost £12,000, and had to pay up arrears – it was bought on a bad title – he thus loses 1/3 of what he has, but this will not injure his respectability in the neighbourhood – his wife much liked – he quite a man of Science – has a taste for architecture etc. Travelled much abroad in Italy etc. – his father’s partner Mr Wilson who retired about 12 years ago has lost all he had but about £200 a year by buying on bad title – the cause came before the house of lords, and was lately decided against Messers Wilson and Cleghorn – 

Walked round the great 3 branched oak tree – 6 yards round the bottom of the bole – ‘a very great tree for Scotland’ – my friend (Mr Renwick) gave me an egg cup made of the tree that grew in the abbey from the time of Surrey’s destroying it, 400 years – Mr Wight too met me again in the town and gave 3 little views 2 of Jedburgh and 1 of Kelso abbey – never met with people so civil – got back to the Inn at 6 10/60 – off Jedburgh a picturesque pretty little town – straw thatches going up to the castle – but picturesque - 

In a chaise at 6 20/60 – hillyish road through a fine rich fertile well cultivated country – improves towards Kelso – Fleurs large handsome looking white-house (left) – beautiful descent down wooded road down upon the fine bridge and fine river (Tweed) – town very beautifully situated – beautiful and picturesque though not large remainder of the abbey – handsome square, or grande place – alight there at the Cross Keys – Yule, at 7 55/60 – (the white Swann the best inn) 

 Dinner at 8 40/60 – afterwards settling accounts and writing out today till 11 1/2 – rain from about 12 1/2 for above an hour and from about 6 1/4 to near 7 – went inside the first 35 minutes from Jedburgh – a gentleman would gladly have come with me from Jedburgh and paid 1/2 the chaise – declined – the poet Thomson educated in the school at Jedburgh near the abbey – born at Ednam near Kelso – upstairs at 11 3/4 –

In margin: Jedburgh abbey private property – belongs to the marquess of Lothian – by sufferance that the town has a church in part of the abbey – on this account repaired by subscription – the court of exchequer would have done it, but not being crown property, has nothing to do with it –

[rachelkaser]

Stay Golden Sunday: Old Friends

Sophia befriends a forgetful old man on the boardwalk. Blanche and Dorothy fight a child for Rose’s teddy bear.

Picture It...

Blanche and Dorothy are gathering items to give away to a rummage sale, assisted by a redheaded Sunshine Cadet named Daisy. Sophia is on her way to the boardwalk, with Dorothy driving her. Blanche sends Daisy to Rose’s room to fetch some things, and Daisy takes a shine to an old teddy bear. Blanche impulsively gifts her the bear, and Daisy skips out just as Rose enters. While Blanche chatters away happily, Rose goes to her bedroom, then runs out in a panic: Her beloved teddy bear Fernando is missing. Blanche quickly lies and agrees to help her look.

DOROTHY: I’m off the rummage sale. Would you like a ride? SOPHIA: No, I wanna do cartwheels for six miles. Get your keys and let’s roll.

On the boardwalk, Sophia walks up to a bench where an old man is sitting and asks if anyone is sitting there. He makes a smart remark at her, and the two snark at each other while comparing eye problems. He presents his name badge: His name is Alvin Newcastle, and he’s a security guard at a retirement village where one of Sophia’s friends lives. They take a shine to each other, and Sophia gives him half of her veal and pepper sandwich, telling Alvin her own name.

A week later, Rose is moping in the kitchen early in the morning. Dorothy tries to snap her out of it, but Rose is still upset over apparently losing Fernando. Sophia passes through the kitchen, telling Dorothy she’s off to have breakfast with Alvin. They’ve become inseparable. After she leaves, Blanche comes in with a teddy -- not Fernando, but Rose appreciates her effort. As Rose also leaves, Blanche confesses to Dorothy about giving Fernando to Daisy. The Sunshine Cadet has also shown her true colors: She’s holding Fernando for ransom -- even sending Blanche one of his ears.

ROSE: I’m sorry, I know I’m behaving like a fool. But I’ve got a right to sing the blues. I lost my teddy. DOROTHY: I understand, Rose. Which, if I thought about it, says something deeply disturbing about me. *aside* “I’ve got a right to sing the blues”...?

On the boardwalk, Sophia and Alvin are having a ball making fun of the other elderly beachgoers. Sophia starts talking about her late husband, Salvador, saying that he hated the beach while she has always loved it. Alvin doesn’t remember her mentioning Sal before. Sophia asks him if his late wife, Edna, like the beach. Alvin seems distracted, avoiding the question and talking about the birds. Sophia persists in asking about Edna, and Alvin can only repeat her name in confusion. Suddenly he starts to cry, and Sophia, while confused herself, holds him and lets him cry on her shoulder.

Back at the house, Blanche and Dorothy attempt to negotiate with Daisy for Fernando’s release. She quickly reveals that she knows Blanche gave her the bear by mistake, and tells them that she’ll only give him back in exchange for an expensive Schwinn bike. Dorothy and Blanche are shocked -- Dorothy attempts to intimidate her, which fails. Daisy threatens Fernando with an inked-up water pistol when Rose walks in. When she realizes Rose doesn’t know what’s going on, Daisy slinks out with Fernando, still with the pistol to his head. Blanche tells Rose the truth, and they attempt to cajole her into letting Fernando go, but Rose coldly tells them to get her bear back.

ROSE: Hi everybody. BLANCHE: Rose, don’t move, honey! She’s got the teddy bear and water pistol! ROSE: What? DOROTHY: Rose, it won’t sound any less ridiculous if you hear it again.

The next day on the boardwalk, Sophia waves Alvin over while crocheting a scarf. He immediately becomes hostile when he sees she’s sitting on his side of the bench. Confused, Sophia moves, but Alvin continues to yell at her before storming off. Back at the house, Sophia and Rose meet up in the kitchen. Sophia tells Rose what happened and how confused and upset she is. Rose tells Sophia how she’s depressed over Fernando (whom Sophia mistakes for one of Rose’s boyfriends). The doorbell rings, and Rose goes into the living room while Sophia continues to crochet Alvin’s scarf.

Blanche answers the door: It’s Daisy with Fernando. At first it seems she’s being reasonable, but then says she’ll take a cash payment instead. Blanche is ready to fold when Rose surprises them. She stops Blanche and says she’s giving up on getting Fernando back. She gives an impassioned speech about how sometimes you have to accept what life throws at you, no matter how unfair it seems. She turns Daisy around to face the door, and proceeds to show her just how little her threats actually matter:

The next day, on the boardwalk, Sophia sees Alvin again. He’s cheerful and friendly again, and seems to have no memory of the day before. They resume their friendly bickering. A short way away, Dorothy is watching them when she’s approached by another woman: Alvin’s daughter, Sandra. She tells Dorothy about how much Alvin’s brightened by the friendship, but eventually lets it slip that her father is sick and not getting better. Later that night, Dorothy enters Sophia’s room, saying she has some news about Alvin. Sophia says she could tell something wasn’t right, and Dorothy has to break the bad news to her: Alvin has Alzheimer’s Disease.

Sophia is speechless, and Dorothy tells her that Sandra has had to take a leave of absence from her job to care for Alvin, but they can’t afford that anymore. They’re sending him to New York to get special treatment in a few months. Sophia, saddened, tells Dorothy that sometimes life can really suck. She’ll spend the few months before he goes finishing his scarf. A few months later, Dorothy finds Sophia sitting alone on the boardwalk, wistfully realizing she’ll never see Alvin again. She’s finished his scarf and plans to mail it to him. As they walk off, Sophia shoos an old man away from the now-empty bench, saying, “Someone’s sitting there.”

“That gentleman just peed in the ocean.”

For the second time in a row, the first episode of The Golden Girls returns with a Very Special Episode. And were this any other show in the world, I might cringe at starting off a season with such a sad episode. But not only is this episode a fantastic showcase of Estelle Getty’s talents and Sophia as character, it’s also got a great B-plot to balance it out. Again, were this any other show in the world, balancing a story about a complex, tragic illness with a story about a bratty child holding a teddy bear for ransom might be well-nigh impossible, but this show somehow manages to make it work -- spectacularly so.

ROSE: Alvin from the boardwalk? SOPHIA: No, Rose, Alvin from The Chipmunks.

Sophia the character has been slowing working her way forward the entirety of the first two seasons. At first, she was just supposed to be a recurring side character, not as important as the three characters played by more (at the time) well-known actresses. But this transformation has finally reached full bloom as Estelle Getty shows just how how extraordinary this character really is -- and how much she, as an actress, brings to the table. Poor Sophia goes through the wringer this episode, going from happy to have made a new friend to confused and hurt by his erratic behavior, and then shocked and sad when told the news. And Estelle makes you feel every part of that.

This is also one of the episodes where you get a glimpse at what’s going on behind Sophia’s armor of wit and acidity, along with hints that she uses humor as a coping mechanism when she’s upset. When Dorothy comes to her with the bad news, she at first tries to deflect with humor, then says she might be better off not knowing before finally admitting that she knew something was wrong with Alvin. When Dorothy tells her about his disease, she gives a short speech about the unfairness of the situation, and “you need a reason to get up in the morning” no matter how long and happy a life you’ve lived.

SOPHIA: *gesturing to empty bench* Someone sitting here? ALVIN: Cataracts or glaucoma?

This might be the first time since the first season’s “The Heart Attack” that Sophia has shown a softer side. In the mid-episode A-plot/B-plot collision, she briefly snaps at Rose when the latter asks an inane question, as per usual, only to immediately apologize and confess that she’s unhappy. I won’t get into it too much -- if only because I will cry and this episode will never be published -- but this episode is even more deeply affecting if you know about Estelle Getty’s own struggles with dementia later in her life.

Joe Seneca as Alvin is also one of the more memorable guest stars, as he reenacts the behavior of someone stricken by the terrible disease. Full disclosure, while I haven’t known anyone who’s had Alzheimer’s, I have known some with dementia, and his performance is close to what I remember. The scenes where it’s not visibly affecting him, where you get a glimpse of the wonderful person he truly is and what a good friend Sophia could have had, makes it hurt even more. Janet MacLachlan as his daughter Sandra also does a great job with her single scene of dialogue, foreshadowing the reveal and even talking up how good Sophia’s friendship is for Alvin.

Phew, the A-plot is an emotional roller coaster... The B-plot is not only equally memorable, but provides all the giggles that the A-plot lacks by necessity. It even ends with one of the most badass moments in the entire series: Rose giving a bratty child a much-needed shove. I’m not for laying hands on children, but I am about corrective action when a youngster is being too much. And Rose just showed the child that all the youthful edginess in world means nothing if you have no literal weight to throw around.

The absurdity of Blanche and Dorothy getting into a hostage situation over a teddy bear is pointed out numerous times, with even Rose being a bit baffled by it. Rose acts a little more maudlin than necessary when she thinks she’s lost Fernando, but I completely understand her upset when she finds out Blanche gave him away. The story is wrapped up a bit too early, leaving Rose and Blanche to have a one-off short scene in the kitchen to wrap up their part of the episode after the B-plot wraps up. But it’s otherwise well-timed and has perfectly spaced jokes.

BLANCHE: So that's when this salesman from Men's Sportswear walks clear across the store into Ladies’ Petite and says, "Uh excuse me, miss, but I noticed you've been having a hard time deciding between the turquoise strapless and the flaming red backless. Well, personally, I would prefer to see you in the backless." And I said, "When?" And he said, "How 'bout Saturday night?" And I said, "How 'bout in your dreams, sleaze-o!" Can you believe the nerve of that guy? ROSE: . . . what were you doing in Ladies’ Petite?

Jenny Lewis as Daisy is another great guest star . . . wow, this episode is just the most, isn’t it? She comes across so cheery, almost to the point of satire, in the opening scene, and we later find out that’s by design. She’s actually a hardened troublemaker with a loaded pistol of red ink at the ready. That makes it extra good when she gets her comeuppance. Though I do have one question: Are we to infer she took Fernando deliberately? All she was told was that Rose’s contribution to the rummage sale was on her bed, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Fernando was there also. But it also wouldn’t be out of character for her to have taken a prized possession with the goal of holding it over their heads later.

If I have one criticism of this episode, it’s that the writers couldn’t resist throwing in a crass, unnecessary joke based on Alvin’s race. Earlier, Sophia said, “You Black?” to Alvin, and that was funny because it was the punchline to Sophia touting the success of her cataract surgery. But the part where Sophia makes a veiled reference to “Black men in the bedroom” just felt crude. Not to mention Sophia once again uses a slur for people with dwarfism when Rose shows her Fernando’s little overalls (presumably a reference to Dr. Newman from “A Little Romance”).

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 (five cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode:

I’m absolutely spoiled for choice in this episode in regards to the best moments. While I laugh the hardest at Rose’s blunt “dismissal” of Daisy, I think Estelle Getty’s performance in the penultimate scene is one of the best pieces of acting in the show’s entire run -- and Bea Arthur as a scene partner is no slouch either.

[catalinalakemacquarie]

Welcome to Catalina Lake Macquarie. Set among the idyllic surrounds of Lake Macquarie, it is more like a resort than a retirement village. Explore a simpler yet more enriched lifestyle for those over 55 who have a zest for life and are ready for their next big adventure. Visit https://catalinavillage.com.au/ to find out more.

[scotianostra]

Scottish Rugby Player Doddie Weir was born on July 4th in Edinburgh.

Born George Wilson Weir, Doddie was educated at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College and given the school’s heritage with the sport, and Doddie’s size, it was only natural he would take up the rugby.

After his education finished he played for Stewart’s Melville FP, the FP stands for former pupil, he then went on to play for Melrose in the Scottish Borders, and was part of the team that won six Scottish club championships.

He was brought uup on Cortleferry Farm, near the village of Stow in the Scottish Borders. horses were a big part of his early life and he competed at local gymkhanas along with his sister Kirsty. Later he went on to represent Scotland at national equestrian events. Once, at the Scottish Horse Trials, he competed against Princess Anne.

As his rugby career progressed he moved to England in 1995 to join the Newcastle Falcons, helping them win the Premiership in 1998.

Lock Weir was capped 61 times by Scotland, and was part of the victorious Lions tour to South Africa in 1997.

He moved back to Scotland to join the newly reformed Borders team in 2002 where he remained until his retirement from professional rugby. He finished his playing career together with Gary Armstrong at Borders Reivers in 2004.

In 2016 Doddie was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2016 and made his diagnosis public the following summer. Although the average life expectancy is between one and three years, he has defied the odds to keep battling and his charity, the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, has raised more than £4million for research into a cure. Doddie was also told that a year later he would not be able to walk, he defied what the doctors said still walked in up to the final months of his life a testament to the determination and fighting spirit of this remarkable man.

A big favourite with the Murrayfield crowd, the 6ft 6in lock was famously described by the late commentator Bill McLaren as as being “on the charge like a mad giraffe”.

Doddie spoke of his MND

“As a bloke you just think ‘I’m fine’, but with this that’s not quite the case. Basically it’s a muscle wasting disease and that’s how in the later life of MND it’s horrific because you need help everywhere.

"Basically your muscles in your legs disappear so you can’t walk; you can’t really eat, and then your muscles within your speech disappear so you can’t speak; you can’t swallow and can’t breath so it’s horrific what happens.

”….“But it’s such a debilitating condition and there’s nothing out there that can help any patient with MND.

He has signed a “Do not resuscitate” (DNR) IN 2020.

In February 2020 Doddie said his decision to refuse potentially lifesaving CPR came after a tough chat with his sons Hamish, Angus, and Ben, "I’ve had to talk to them about DNR. We’ve just signed a document for that at the moment, which isn’t easy.”

He added: “You just have to be honest and open and they took it really well.”

Weir set up a charity called My Name's Doddie Foundation to help fund treatments for motor neurone disease.

In 2018 The Doddie Weir Cup was inaugurated, a perputual Rugby Union trophy to be played between Scotland and Wales, the first match in Cardiff in November that year was won by Wales, Scotland are the current holders.

Neither the Welsh Rugby Union nor the Scottish Rugby Union originally intended to contribute any of the gate receipts from the inaugural match to the charity, but pressure from fans and in the media resulted in them eventually donating a six-figure sum

On the evening of 26 November 2022, his family announced that he had died of motor neuron disease, aged 52. A memorial service was held at Melrose Parish Church on 19 December, with audio from the service relayed to Melrose RFC's ground The Greenyards.

Clinical trials into motor neurone disease (MND) have received a £500,000 boost from the My Name's Doddie Foundation to mark what would have been his 54th birthday.

[travelphilosopher]

For the second stage of my walk I had planned to tackle the Carlisle end and walk from Bowness on Solway to Carlisle, and then get a bus over to Newcastle as a one day bus ticket (£11.30) is just a few pounds more than the fare to Bowness (£6.30). The plan was to get the bus to Chollerford and pick up from where I had left last time the next day.

As many other stated, the Bowness on Solway sector can be a hard one to plan, with only a three buses going that way, and the earliest which I got at 12.50 with an arrival time of 13.37 which doesn’t give you much daylight for walking. The other option was to walk to Bowness and get a bus back, but there are only three; one at 7.34, 10.32 and 18.57. There is one though at 17.14 from Bowness that goes to Anthorn and arrives at Carlisle at 18.08. There aren’t that many places to stopover in the area, and to be honest there isn’t much else to see.

  I fell ill with a slight cold and cough a couple of days before I set off for Carlisle, but as many do, I didn’t think I was that ill and felt the fresh air would do me good. It was raining when I arrived in Carlisle and I toyed between resting in the hotel or doing the walk. I passed the Gretna Bakery and bought a yummy 6 inch pizza for 90p, that would keep me going for the day. After discovering the tiny bus station in Carlisle I decided to I would get the bus to Bowness on Solway as planned and then get the bus to Newcastle.

I sat in the bus station, well really it was a bus shelter with about 7 bays and eavesdropped on the locals who were complaining about the buses. The 93 was late, and apparently the locals knew the driver well, and it was a habit of hers. The bus didn’t take cards, so I used cash for the £11.30 North West Explorer which gave me unlimited travel on all buses in Carlisle and as far as Newcastle upon Tyne. The journey on the tiny bus wasn’t eventful as we went through estates and some barren countryside. I made a mental note of the paths I would be returning on and it wasn’t very scenic.

As we ventured further towards the coast a few walkers were on the path, and in Burgh by Sands a cluster of groups were spotted, and a couple of people got on the bus. It looked like a grandmother and her grandson and by the size of their backpacks it appeared they had been camping. As I traveled through more remote and rural villages, I eventually arrived in Bowness at 13.48 a little later than scheduled.

It’s a sleepy village and the lady who got off at the stop asked if I was lost. Well, I was a little as there were no signs and google maps was not being helpful. I said I was looking for the stamping station and she pointed me in the right direction (to go back) to the banks promenade. I mentioned this to the grandmother and the grandson who were also looking to get that precious stamp and we both ended up at the little shelter where the box was. However, the stamp was missing and had been stolen. I had read about this a while back and assumed it had been replaced, but it hadn’t. The alternative was the King’s Arms pub that we passed, but the grandmother said it was closed. For them it was the final stamp for the card and were pretty upset. I looked up the pub and google said it was open, and so the three of us trekked back and peered around the place to find it was open, just the doors were closed as they were painting. I got my stamp and so did the little boy, and I bid them farewell as they decided to stay and eat there.

Online timetables for buses aren’t always useful and the ones at the bus stop are generally a better source of information. I knew there was one around 7 p.m. and a cursory glance at the timetable posted at the bus stop  said there was a 17.14  back to Carlisle. This information proved to be very useful later on.

The time was now just after 2 p.m. and I ‘d felt I’d lost half an hour of walking which is about 2 miles with the bus delay and the hunt for the stamping station. I retraced the route that the bus took, and I knew I was going to be in for a quiet and lonely walk as there were very few walkers around. I took a path off the road at Port Carlisle where I found another sign and took a photo. I then heard a ‘hello’ from behind and saw an old man in an open garage who asked where I had come from.

Roger at Port Carlisle

Meet Roger, the man who made the sign, and who lives in a cottage on the path. He was retired had made an interchangeable sign that he could customize for walkers to take photos. There’s a small donation box, and he says the little extra helps, but most of all he loves meeting people from all over the world, and we had a nice chat about this and that, but I was conscious of the time and that in order to get to Carlisle and the last bus to Newcastle I needed to crack on.

The path continued through the banks towards Glasson, where the bus had previously stopped. There wasn’t much there at all, and I continued on a very long and empty road. I had to think of myself as a Roman soldier as I plodded on. By now I had learnt not to rely on signs as I passed one saying Burgh by Sands was 3 miles away and Carlisle was 8.5 miles away and that I had walked 4 miles in 1.5 hours. I needed to up my pace as it was approaching 4 p.m. and I was anxious whether I would make it to Carlisle or find a bus stop in time for the last bus. The rate I was going meant I wouldn’t get into Carlisle until 7.30 at least, and my original estimate had been 6.30 without the delays. Plans really don’t always work out in rural areas.

A sign for Burgh by Sands

Yet another

Another sign

The walk to Burgh by Sands was the longest 3 miles I had ever walked and it took nearly an hour. I got to Burgh West End where I decided to rest on a bench as I could feel a blister wanting to appear. Carlisle was 6.5 miles away and I had walked just over 7 miles. The time was 16.44 and I had to decide what to do. I had nearly run out of water and had hoped to stop in a pub, but if I carried on to Carlisle the arrival time was looking more towards 8 p.m. and it was getting dark, and the outskirts of Carlisle didn’t look particularly safe. I checked online for the timetable of the buses and saw that there was supposed to be a bus passing through at 16.53 and had to make a quick decision whether to jump on the bus and get back to Carlisle or go to the pub and try to walk a bit more before the 7 p.m. bus.

How most of the path is from Bowness on Solway to Burgh by Sands

I wasn’t feeling so great and had been coughing, and with the new blister forming I had little incentive to continue. I’d done half the walk in 2.5 hours, but quite frankly I was bored. Now buses in these rural areas sometimes don’t turn up or are late, so I decided to wait it out because all I had seen was cows and sheep and cars speeding past me, and the coastline was too faraway to appreciate. It made me wonder why I was doing the walk, and if I carried on what would I achieve? If it had been earlier in the day I would have carried on or if I was with someone, but alone on empty roads and paths really is no fun.

I waited until about quarter past five and there was no sign of a bus still as my heart skipped a beat each time I heard an engine come around the corner. I decided to make my way to the Greyhound Inn, then I wasn’t sure if my eyes were deceiving me when I saw a bus with 93 on it. I quickly ran or hobbled back to the nearest bus stop and ran into the road to make sure it stopped. Someone was getting off as it happens and the bus driver apologized for being late as the bus had broken down. I didn’t care as I was able to sit down somewhere warm and know I would at least make the 19.25 bus to Newcastle.

The bus was about 30-40 minutes late, and by the time I got to Bowness there were a few walkers waiting to board the bus. The grandmother and grandson were there as well as two other walkers, and the bus tried to make up time, but due to scheduling the driver was told to pull over just before getting into Carlisle and to swap buses with another which created a further delay. I consoled myself with the fact at least I was going to be on the 19.25 and not the 20.25 bus. Allegedly the journey would take 79 minutes, but later realized that too was not wholly accurate. It’s a long journey of about 60 miles, so I was getting value from my ticket at least.

I went through most the towns I would hopefully be walking through at a later stage including Brampton, Hexham, Bardon Mill, Haltwhistle and Corbridge. I arrived in Newcastle Eldon Square about a quarter past nine, and made my way hastily to the hotel. By now I had decided I was going to have a lie in and I was coughing quite badly and made the decision to have a rest day. My friend had already offered to meet me for a late lunch the next day in the city and with that choice being made, I luxuriously watched repeats of NCIS and other shows in bed until there was nothing left to watch.

I realized that this walk isn’t about ticking it off the list, but about what you get out of it and walking all day on an empty road or path just wasn’t doing much for me. Maybe one day I’d go back and finish the Carlisle sector, but having seen where I’d be walking, it wasn’t something that in all consciousness I would look forward to.

The cows and sheep that kept me company on this leg of the walk

Hadrian’s Wall Walk ~ Stage 2, Day 1; Bowness on Solway to Carlisle For the second stage of my walk I had planned to tackle the Carlisle end and walk from…

[megharies-blog1]

Electric Bike Touring The Netherlands?

I’ve just completed a three-week tour of the Netherlands. Magical and such an uncomplicated and enjoyable trip. I cycled from my house to DFDS ferry in North Shields, fully loaded and prepared with a tent, cooking gear, food, sleeping bag, mobile phone external battery and bravado. Had a great dinner on board, nice sleep, woke up in Ijumdien and cycled off for the first leg on the North Sea cycle route.

People invariably laugh at the idea of cycling in the Netherlands – it’s so FLAT they say. Seems like a bit of a sissy cycling holiday. But on the first day, with the Dutch mountains rising hard ahead (the wind in face) and with a full load, it’s not so easy, or at least it wasn’t for me on my super slick bike with road tyres and light frame. I was in first gear pushing hard and aching with it.

Just before I left I was at the Fish Quay and I met a lovely ex-Whitley Bay woman who was hiring a touring ‘e bike’ from Craig and she had plans to zip around the north of England. She was so nice I suggested she come with me for a bit. Annette and I ended up spending two weeks discovering the wonder of the well-routed ‘green’ cycle paths through villages and forests, stopping off at art galleries and camping in ‘mini-camps’, farm stays and ‘nature parks’. She met me on the second day of the trip. She had a Scott e-touring bike, also fully loaded with tent and gear. Her bike was much heavier than mine because of the battery, but with all the camping equipment we were not different at all weight-wise but oh my were we cycling under different conditions.

In the Dutch mountains, Annette was whistling a happy tune in ‘eco-mode’ and enjoying the scenery. I wasn’t.

When we set off together, I was not sure it would work. I’ve cycled with others before who weren’t the pushy ‘I’m going to wipe myself out’ types. I push myself, I don’t enjoy going slow. I’d told Annette that this was the case and that if it didn’t work we could go our own way and she was fine about it. But it did work; and over the course of the following few weeks we heard many similar stories from others – the lovers who cycled together with blokey bloke busting his gut and non-cycle fanatic partner tootling along with him (and the other way around); the older couple off on a trip with their young enthusiastic chatty teenage grandson; the retired gent who just came along with me for a bit because he had time (and an e bike). The thing I realised is that e-bikes make cycling with others enjoyable and fun – whatever the fitness and strength and Hutz-pa level. But there was more to it than that.

About one-third of the Netherlands is below sea-level, keeping the flood water out and creating ‘new land’ through reclamation has resulted in a complex and fascinating system of dykes, sand-dunes and water management systems unparalleled anywhere in the world. One of our first-week encounters was the Afsluitdijk (dyke), built in the 1930’s to contain the North Sea. With the wind in your face, it’s a very long 30km (particularly after an already long day in the saddle, and frustratingly knowing that the best campsite is at the other end).

Despite my ‘legs’ wanting to work, I’m nowhere near tour de France experience and it proved challenging – until Annette cycled off ahead and provided a slip-stream that made the dyke a whole lot easier to cross. On several long days, she rescued me when I was flailing.

This ‘commensal’ experience is one of the key benefits of electric bikes for me. I’ve ridden a lot with different people over the years but often end up riding with people who cycle at the same cadence and speed. Electric bikes make cycling with others so much more enjoyable. And the Netherlands is so well set up for a cycling holiday – traffic free cities and tracks, camping or bike huts, e-bikes or not. And I can’t not mention the stroopwaffles and apple cake.

The other benefit, of course, is when you don’t have the legs you once did. Lots of comments on my facebook posts about the trip whereof this ilk. ‘I’ll get one when I get older’, ‘my mother has one and she loves it’, ‘fred had to give up cycling but he could do it again with an e-bike’. As we were touring we met lots of older people on e-bikes. There were news stories about the increase in cycling accidents when people who hadn’t ridden bikes for a while found themselves racing along at 25km an hour and couldn’t quite handle the speed. Good caution for doing some training before heading out. But there is something else to consider here for me.

I live 12 miles from work. I do cycle to work, but not every day. It’s just too much time and effort. If its rainy or windy, it’s really not the most pleasurable experience. If I had an e bike I wouldn’t need to worry. With four modes available (eco, tour, sport and turbo) I can choose what level of effort I want, how fast I want to get there, and it’s quicker than metro door to door. Riding to Newcastle from the coast is a bit long for a regular commute for me on my current bike. So I pay for transport, I have a car. I’ve calculated the cost savings – it makes sense to ditch the car for an e-bike and with the savings, I could have a cycling holiday in the Netherlands every year.

#Itmakessense

The post Electric Bike Touring The Netherlands? appeared first on Ride Electric UK.

Source: https://www.rideelectric.co.uk/blog/uncategorised/electric-bike-touring-the-netherlands/

[architectnews]

Europa on Alma St Kilda, Melbourne Property

Europa on Alma Melbourne Property Building, St Kilda Property, Victoria Real Estate Images

Europa on Alma, St Kilda, Melbourne

13 Aug 2021

Design: dwp | design worldwide partnership

Location: St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Europa on Alma St Kilda Residence

dwp | design worldwide partnership project is finalist for Project of the Year – Ageing in Place

dwp | design worldwide partnership is thrilled to have yet another project recognised for design excellence. Europa on Alma has been announced as a finalist in the Project of the Year – Ageing in Place category for the 9th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards.

Designed for Bolton Clarke, an Australian-based provider of independent living services through at-home care, retirement living and residential aged care, this project is a first class independent living facility created specifically for the ‘baby boomers’ who remain actively involved in the community and are not ready to wind down.

Located in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne Australia, Europa on Alma offers the perfect combination of secure independent living, city convenience and a relaxing lifestyle. Only a 2 minute walk from the city tram and surrounded by retail, entertainment and medical facilities.

Inspired by the bohemian history of St Kilda and the community who lived there in the 1970s dwp has designed a residence for that same community that will now call this space their home. “It is a modern blend of new and exciting living that harks back to that old experience of life in St. Kilda” says dwp’s Melbourne Studio director.

Dwp is proud to be continuously receiving industry recognition in all sectors we represent, this recent announcement highlighting our Senior living Sector included.

Rebecca Plumstead dwp Sector Leader for Seniors Living said “It has been a pleasure working with Bolton Clarke in designing Europa on Alma especially as this project is a benchmark for the break away from traditional low level developments in suburban areas and move towards offering a vertical village in urban surroundings. In addition to this, Europa on Alma successfully incorporates both the lifestyle offering for its tenants as well as a care offering when needed.”

dwp | design worldwide partnership

dwp | design worldwide partnership is a global architecture and design practice that was founded by two designers from Adelaide working in Bangkok, dwp has grown to have a global reach and, through the acquisition of the former Suters Architects in 2017, it has an established architectural practice in Australia for six decades, with studios now in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney. Around the world dwp has over 350 people and studios in New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, UAE and Singapore.

Europa on Alma Melbourne Property images / information received 130821 from dwp | design worldwide partnership

Location: St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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[jo-shanebali]

We've been to Bali Too!

Day 1: Getting There

2/03/2020: Up at four thirty and dressed. With the last minute items added to suitcases, we woke the kids to give out farewell kisses, but were greeted with signs that being awoken had not impressed them. Mitch dropped us off at Williamtown well before six for our seven o'clock flight. 

Once at check in we hit our first hurdle of the day. When answering questions Jo told them that her phone storage battery was in the checked luggage and was told to remove it. A frantic search of her luggage ensued, off to the side of the check in desk just like the Chinese and Indians that we have laughed at on previous occasions. Upon finally retrieving the rogue item, the charger was safely stored in her carry on and suitcases sent through check in. Shane had batteries in his check-in but said nothing.

Standing in line for coffee, one of Shane's colleagues tapped him on the shoulder. Pete was returning from Bali, just checked in for his flight to Dubbo. He told us it was unusually quiet for the time of year, surely as a result of Coronavirus and emphasised not to worry too much about getting around, the light blue taxis were the better ones but they were all okay. Just make sure that they have a meter on. Beers will cost only a few dollars, particularly in resorts and that if we did get ripped off, it would still be cheap, just not as cheap.

Newcastle Airport- Jo looking disheveled after the suitcase search

The flights were quite good, only an hour and a bit to Brisbane. This is where we ran into Ryan, our niece Ashley’s husband. He was on business with Boeing for a few days so we had a quick chat while waiting for the queue to move up the aisle. Then straight on the shuttle as our luggage was going directly to Bali and within no time we were going through security at the International Terminal, with three hours to kill. Some of this time was spent sorting out Jo's passport which was rejected at the immigration auto check. She had to queue and go through manually. First stop was duty free where we only intended to buy a litre each for Bali but nothing for home as when we travelled via Sydney, the duty free was only ten dollars cheaper than Dan's. Not worth it, but Brisbane had two litres of Absolut Vodka for fifty five dollars. We grabbed four bottles for home. 

Loaded up and ready to go, and on the way to Gate 76A we passed Brisbane River Grille who were advertising two eggs on sourdough with a two for one deal. Stopping in there for a quick breakfast, two meals, a coffee and chai latte for about eighteen bucks, it was while we were finishing up that our flight was called for boarding. We effectively walked straight onto the plane without too much of a wait and straight to row twenty one. The seats were comfortable, leg room sufficient and the meal provided half decent. About five and a half hours later, at two o'clock local time, the plane touched down in Denpasar. It was well worth paying the extra few hundred bucks to fly with Virgin than with the alternative, the "worst airline" that we had ever flown with.

After ticking off drugs with the immigration card, just prescription meds, not a boogie bag full of whatever and disembarking at Denpasar, we were herded onto shuttle buses that took us to the terminal, successfully maneuvering through the drugs issue (after some explaining), and the temperature gauge picking up if we were crook. Upon exiting the terminal, drivers and their signs were everywhere looking for their clients. Our names finally appeared on cardboard and our driver Made, who pushed our luggage to a clear area and told us to stay put while he retrieved his van, reappeared from the confusion, invited us inside and with the luggage in the back and gave us a bottle of cold water and a cold hand towel each. It was much appreciated.

Welcome to Bali

Made drove like a madman, not unlike the Arab that drove us to the airport in Paris the previous year. Squeezing through gaps that never existed, creating extra lanes at traffic lights that also never existed and blowing the horn at anyone that got in his way. Scooters everywhere risking their lives while maniacs pushed them out the way. Not that they were too innocent themselves. We were soon to find out that this was normal.

Once at the resort boom gate that got us into the Belmond, Jimbaran Puri, the security guard ran the long stick with the mirror around the underside of the car and allowed us in. Thank goodness, we weren't suicide bombers and were rewarded as such with a cold drink each at reception. Orange juice, ginger and lychee plus another cold hand towel and a small flower arrangement for Jo. Then entouraged to our golf buggy, we were driven to our villa where decorations adorned the entry celebrating Shane's 60th birthday. Once inside we were treated to a small birthday cake, candles and a song, a resort shirt for Shane and not forgetting Jo's 58th birthday, a small ornamental turtle made from turtle shells for her. Our butler Ayu gave us a great start to our holiday.

Villa No.65. Traditional celebration ornaments

After our arrival and reception by our butler we cracked open a couple of beers by the pool followed by a dip which was really warm. The pool was around seven metres long by four metres wide. Apart from the area where we could get in, about a foot deep, the rest of the pool was five foot deep and rectangular in shape, but unlike our pool in Phuket, this one was definitely private. Anything was good in the humidity.

Greetings from Bali

The couple of drinks early on led to another one within happy hour. We then headed for a walk down the beach in the direction from where we had just come, the airport.

The first thing that struck us was the filth on the beach, the second was the smell as the locals though it was a good idea to burn the plastic. Bali is apparently just one of dozens of Indonesian islands that are not coping with marine and coastal litter landing on their beaches. Only two years ago some 1.2 million tonnes of ocean rubbish landed on local beaches. Over thirty percent were plastics. Bali's problem is with its locals who are responsible for eighty percent of the rubbish that washes up. Hotel workers and villagers dump their rubbish in the rivers and with the increased flows of the rainy season, off it goes, disappearing downstream. Out of sight out of mind. This has been going on for decades.

Jimbaran Bay

Kuta Beach in December (Jakarta Post)

Maybe a quarter of the way towards the airport we turned about and headed back, politely harassed by hawkers trying to get us into their restaurants, all amongst the debris. With our dinner in mind, and back at the resort, if we had chosen one of the hawkers’ restaurants we would have had the pleasure of the wafting fumes of the local fishermen's fires.

Safely back, we traded a voucher for our first cocktail, the vouchers given to us at reception. Seven meals, seven cocktails and a couple of massages each. Although mostly empty, the few available dinner tables on the sand were filling up. As it was, the beach had a reasonable drop off to the water so from where we sat the rubbish wasn’t visible. We could still smell it. We asked for a table and were duly obliged, on the sand. The waiter took our order and so on it went.

Sand seating at the Belmond

The rest of the evening was lovely, ordering the Balinese BBQ and entertained by what the barman described as a gay band. It was in fact a "guy band", four males singing requests (if they knew them). They were pretty good, their dulcet tones punctuated the moaning and screaming of the local mongrel dogs rooting on the beach in the background. Their back drop was a magnificent sunset. As the meals arrived we enjoyed them accompanied by the aroma of burning plastic piercing the air as we ate. In the end we paid the bill, retired back to our pool for an evening dip. The temperature was hot during the day but quite pleasant during the night.

The "gay band" entertaining everyone

With the first day behind us we hit the sack by ten thirty.

Day 2: A Walk Around the Town 

3/03/2020: Being up at six thirty meant that we had plenty of time for a tea, a coffee and swim before breakfast, listening to Leonard Cohen on the Bose. We were only entitled to breakfast and lunch or dinner in our package so a late breakfast would negate the need for lunch. That's was the plan anyway.

By nine we were at breakfast, a buffet type deal with a separate menu for breakfast of the day, mostly egg dishes. We chose the eggs and grabbed other food from the buffet as well, crispy bacon, small snags, fruit, cereals etc.  Teamed up with some flavoursome juices, if this was the norm then we were more than happy. After breakfast we checked out the main pool and Jimbaran Bay from the edge of the sand. It was then back to the pool where we lazed around until housekeeping interrupted us to clean the room. We told them to give us fifteen minutes and we'd get out of their way.

This was to be the norm, every morning

Deciding to walk along Jimbaran streets and back along the beach, we strolled along Jalan Yoga Perkanthi, the laneway to our resort until hitting what we thought may have been the main street. No sooner had we turned the corner that Roberto from Timor-Leste bailed us up. He was standing next to his scooter on the side of the road and started giving us a spiel about where he was from and the great opportunity he was going to give us. He gave us a couple of cards that were to be torn open and a prize won. Once opened he carried on and on about the great prize that was inside. Shane won a couple of t-shirts that he could pick up at the Karma Group offices around the corner. Joanne however had won majorly. There was a gold circle inside the card that had to be scratched. It would contain one of three prizes. Firstly seven days at a Karma Resort in Bali, secondly a GoPro camera or finally a couple of million Rupiah. He carried on as if excited, and if we came with him to the office, Jo would get the prize and he would get a hundred bucks commission. Karma are a group that manage time share resorts around the world and for a couple of grand buy in and five hundred or so bucks maintenance fee per year would allow us a week holiday somewhere. Not for us.

After Roberto finished waffling on, we said no and moved on. He couldn't believe that we knocked him back. He must have been pretty confident that he had us hooked but it wasn't the case. We were told before we left that if we rocked up to Karma's offices once in Bali and put up with a couple of hours of hard sell they would give us a week anyway so we knew exactly what Roberto was on about before he started.

The street was very busy with cars and scooters. The footpath was narrow with obstacles constantly in our way, pushing us onto the road. Small and large temples were everywhere and shops catering for locals scattered along. We walked a fair way before heading up a side street towards the beach. Jalan Segara Wangi was lined with a mixture of large houses, businesses and cramped corridors where it looked like the poorer people lived in humpies either side. A fair bit of vacant land as well. A common theme for all of our walk was the rubbish around that nobody cleans up. It reminded us of villages in Fiji, Vanuatu and Phuket. They all looked the same.

Jalan Uluwatu runs parallel to the beach

Accommodation of some of the poorer folk

Approaching the end of the street, larger beachfront sheds came into view. We were in the centre of the seafood restaurants and were blocked for a while from accessing the sand, eventually finding a way through and landed right next to the Aroma Resto Bar which we took advantage of with a couple of beers before deciding to return to Belmond for a couple more. After the first one, Jo was falling asleep in her chair so she ended up back at the room for an afternoon snooze. Shane followed not long after but being locked out spent half an hour in the pool.

Heading back for happy hour, one of the bar staff asked us if we wanted to book a table for dinner, we looked around, nobody to be seen. We questioned her as why it was necessary but she didn't understand. What she did say however was that the place was empty due to the Indonesian government banning incoming flights from China, most of their business and they were hurting*. Their loss was our gain, no obnoxious Chinese tourists to deal with. No table ended up being booked as no-one was around.

We found out later that all outside tables were booked out

Ending up being seated just inside in a pretty good spot, the afternoon was spent watching storms brewing but nothing seemed to be coming towards us. Then everyone outside started picking up their stuff and heading inside, no storm but strong winds bringing some rain. We experienced our second great meal in two nights which capped the day off perfectly.

Patrons enjoying the outdoors, unlike us. Then the rain hit

Dinner done, we headed back for a swim, patch sewing on our travel blanket and bed.

* The ban on China was due to a new virus, Novel Caronavirus or COVID19. It was spreading around the world with the Chinese city of Wuhan being the worst hit and thought to be ground zero. The whole city was locked down and field hospitals set up to cope with the thousands of sick and dying. China was declared a hot spot and by the end of March the world had a pandemic on its hands with most international travel banned.

Day 3: Lunchtime Massage and Afternoon Food Tour

4/03/2020: Up and off to breakfast before eight. Today we had a food tour booked so we would eat lunch with our voucher instead of dinner. It had been raining all night and it was our first wet, overcast day. Eggs Florentine was the focus today, eggs a bit runny for Jo. She had something else, then back to the pool. 

Oranges today. Looked like a cross between an orange and a lime. Not sweet and not particularly juicy

It wasn't too long after we jumped into the pool that housekeeping again interrupted us to clean the room. We told them to come back later, to do our room at twelve when we had the first of our massages. Hopefully with a happy ending.

The massage parlour was quite exposed and to the south. Once introduced, the madame gave us forms to fill out regarding our health, their get out of gaol card and showed us samples of what kind of oil we wanted rubbed in. We were then shown to a small shower / toilet room where we stripped off, put on the gowns and paper undies. Resurfacing, the ladies that were to do the duties were then introduced. Shane had Tri who had to give him a strong massage, Jo couldn't remember who gave her a normal one. Once his back was cracked, she got stuck into it and he felt every bit of it. There's a fine line between pleasure and pain but there was no happy ending. Maybe second time around. Jo was very sunburnt as remarked by both ladies at the start and offered aloe vera. As promised, they returned after the massage with the gel from the aloe vera plant and rubbed it into her skin. Bonus!

Immediately after the massage was our lunch which we ranked on a par with the dinners. Seafood for both, large grilled prawns and fish of the day. 

Massage Parlour

We again took it easy by our pool until it was time to head to reception for our 3pm meeting for the food tour. Jo suggested leaving a half an hour early and to check out the tours. We were particularly interested in Ubud as it came recommended by several people. There were several good places amongst the AsiaWorld fact sheets so we grabbed a few and told the travel dude that we would book a tour first thing the next morning. Our food tour was beginning. 

Our guide was a lady called Sunarti. She was a chef. Originally from a small village in Java, she moved to Bali to live with an Aunt to finish high school and Uni in Denpasar, married and had 3 children including twin boys born in November just like ours. This was a connection between us that seemed to impress her.

We were approaching peak hour in Denpasar so the drive was arduous. The first stop was to a street stall where a Balinese favourite treat was sold. Created by a lady called Murniati Widjaja who entered and won a competition in 1982 to come up with a national drink for Indonesia. It was served in a bowl which was a concoction of ice chips, condensed milk and creamy coconut syrup with a variety of chunky fillings including avocado, jackfruit, jelly like cincau, and coconut flesh, called  Es (Ice) teler. It was quite sweet and quite refreshing, very popular with the locals and tourists alike. Sunarti told us how local people would stop at a stall to enjoy a bowl on their way home from work.

Sunarti extolling the popularity of Es Teler

Back in the car and to a home style biscuit factory where a traditional favourite called pie susu was produced. A group of women working from an open shed producing 1000 packs a day, nine biscuits in a pack. We were taken out the back where it was evident that the women made the biscuits from scratch, one would knead the dough, another would break some off and put it in a hand press to make the tart like shell. A third woman would make the caramel type custard to fill the tart and then into a couple of ovens. Out the front of the shed was a group of women who would individually stack the biscuits and package them up. They were working pretty hard but were happy and pretty chatty. The day was cool with the rain but the chat stopped when the heat was on, according to our guide. These home factories are everywhere and each may add a personal touch to the recipe.  

The local biscuit factory. About eight women make and package 9,000 a day

Next was a food produce market used by the locals. Wide variety of fruit, vegetables and chickens (not stored on ice). There were also several stores selling the little basket offerings that appeared all over the place. Apparently, they are put out in groups of five, three times a day by families (this occurs at the several shrines in our hotel too). Old ladies with baskets on their head who acted as porters, little kids pulling on Jo's shirt selling packs of tissues for five thousand Rupiah, Shane gave her seven thousand. Snake skin fruit, skinned bamboo root, jack fruit, dragon fruit and eggs covered in salt. So many unusual foods and people made for an unforgettable experience. 

Old mate sold our guide this lovely bamboo shoot

The next stop was the night food market. We got there fairly early so there was plenty of room. Sunarti took us around and explained all of the stalls before we chose what we wanted. All bar one was Muslim and they were shut. No pork tonight. We both chose the same, a spicy omelette pancake filled with bits of vegetables and minced meat called Martabak Ayam followed by Bakso Ayam, a dense chicken meatball in a clearish broth with rice vermicelli, some green stuff and some other stuff. Once Sunarti had our order we took a seat at the Bakso Super Purwoharjo tables while she ordered our meals. The food was different and very tasty. We were not disappointed that’s for sure. 

I tasted much better than it looked 

After dinner, and having been dropped off back to the Belmond at a decent hour, we managed to grab our free cocktail and be entertained by a group of performers and gamelan orchestra dancing several traditional dances including the Balinese Legong dance as well as the Cendrawasih, Baris and more. It was excellent bar the couple that thought it fine to let their toddler walk amongst the orchestra and dancers, touching all the instruments while they recorded him.

Balinese traditional dancers

That was it, day over. Tomorrow, an easy one with a trip to bogan heaven, Kuta Beach.

Day 4: A Half Day in Kuta

5/03/2020: Up at six thirty for a swim this morning, we could hear the rain all night and it had just stopped as Shane hit the water. Everything was wet, including the towels. Lesson learnt. Jo had other priorities with a sick Sophia at home but after a while and a phone call or two, she managed to jump in the pool as well.

We decided to take it easy today but punctuate it with a few hours in Kuta, shopping and checking out the beach so we headed for reception and asked them to organise a car. The concierge said a hundred and fifty thousand for one way. We settled on four hundred and fifty thousand for a half day, jumped in with a local called Markay and were well on our way before eleven. The conversation quickly turned to shopping with Markay suggesting a stop at a store called Krisna to which we agreed. This was a massive store full of all sorts of gear from clothing and homewares to knick knacks. After a quick stop and a few souvenirs we continued on.

Our next stop was within the Jalan Kuta Art Market and the nearby Matahari Centre. The stall holders were immediately onto us, trying to sell us their fake products. Jo went straight for them, looking for cheap Mimco and other purses and bags, as well as shoes. Shane a few shirts and some boardies. An order from Soph had Jo looking for a pair of Converse sneakers. She found some but the seller wanted the cost of a fair dinkum pair back home. Jo offered him 300,000 rupiah but he refused. After walking away, the guy chased her down the road to make the deal. He then had the audacity to ask her for a tip for his efforts.

The Matahari Centre was similar to the Krisna Centre with not much to interest us. Neither was anywhere as interesting as the walk to get there. Viagra, prostitutes, all on offer and strangely enough targeting Shane. He walked to and fro several times and each time they made the offer. They must have thought he was weakening.

Next was a walk to the end of the markets and onto the sand where we were hassled about surfing lessons. As if. Legion Beach was clean from the top down to the water where all of the people were but north to Seminyak and south to Kuta was covered with debris and rubbish. At least a couple of loaders were cleaning it up.

Rubbish on the beach up to Seminyak

We'd just about had enough but a stroll back to where we were dropped off led us to the shops again. Shane bought a shirt in a shop (took a while to find one big enough), he also bought a floppy hat and small bag for tomorrow's golf. Jo bought more bags or such.

Bartering over some purses

Upon reconnecting with Markay, within no time we were back at the resort doing the usual. Lazing in the pool and heading over for a cocktail before dinner.

Early one tonight, Ubud tomorrow and looking forward to it.

Day 5: Ubud

6/03/2020: Around eight o’clock we headed over to reception to meet up with our guide from AsiaWorld, Katut. Once underway he explained that the fourth child is named Katut and then it recycles so the eighth child was Katut. We're sure he said he was the seventh so we couldn’t work it out.

Heading out into leaden skies with light showers, we were continually passed by scooter riders with all their wet weather gear on. The labourers in the back trays of the trucks done the best they could. Small tarpaulins over their heads or just got wet. The brochure listed a set programme for what we paid for but our guide suggested other stuff which we were happy with. So we deviated slightly from the original plan.

Our first stop was a batik shop in a nearby regency, Gianyar. Batubulan to be exact. This required that we travelled over a toll bridge to get there. The Nusa Dua-Ngurah Rai-Benoa Toll Road or Bali Mandara Toll Bridge crossed what seemed a very shallow Gulf of Benoa. As we travelled, Katut explained to us that the area we were heading to were batik producers. The “factories” were run by local villagers, the money made going toward helping run the village as well as income for the workers. This theme repeated throughout Bali with the silver and pottery industries etc.

Local labourers trying to stay dry

Katut suggested that we drop into Sari Amerta Batik Collection for a look around. Out the back were several women using looms to weave fabric. We were shown the different finishes and how they achieved them. The two weavers were creating a patterned silk fabric where the pattern is set out and the fibre dyed accordingly. They then had to strictly adhere to the pattern so as the final product was as desired. The other women were creating batik fabric for whatever, clothes, home furnishings and such. Creating patterns and images on fabrics, for the shop maybe? Maybe not.

Inside the shop was quite impressive and no photos allowed. There were rows and rows of garments and silk scarves, from batik shirts and tops in all sizes to tourist type batik wax stamps. Very interesting. We were quite entertained by the skill of the women out back and left the store with a couple of hundred dollars of goodies.

A batik woman

A woman of the loom

Next stop was a short drive north to a traditional Balinese house with family temple in Singapadu. We turned right into a lane off Jalan Raya Singapadu, a couple of doors from Bigpig Supply HQ. This was great. A substantial property of about a quarter acre of which half was the living quarters and gardens of the family and half the family temple.

The sign on the front entry gave the house number, family name and the number of males, females and children living there

As we entered through a stone portal, the entrance led past the community kitchen and onto a path which linked the individual pavilions of the family members. We all live under the same roof but these people didn't. All rooms were individual and bare. The bedrooms were just that, a bed. To protect them from the inclement weather they relied upon wide roof overhangs and drop down cane roller blinds. Next to, and to the rear of the kitchen was the bathroom. It backed onto the laneway, next to the entrance. In front of the bathroom was a building that contained their grain and whatever else they needed. To the rear were the living quarters.

It was explained that this was a patriarchal society. Women would move into the husband’s family compound and become part of that family. In the event of divorce or separation, the woman would leave and return to her family, leaving behind any children as they are “his” property.

Entrance to the traditional Balinese house

The temple area was exceptional. Delineated by a high stone fence from the residence, the pamerajan at the north eastern corner was strewn with family and other shrines. Apparently, shrines are dedicated to family ancestors as well as the Hindu Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Their shrine, the sanggah kemulan takes the form of a miniature wooded structure raised on pillars and containing three compartments, one each. All mounted on a masonry column.

Sounds about it

Only a kilometre and a half down the road was the metalsmithing village of Celuk and the next stop. The Prapen Jewellery Store selling silver jewellery. The store was named after the Indonesian name for forge, perapian or the workshop of a metalsmith and started four generations ago to sell their jewellery directly to the cruise ships that docked nearby. Skilled metalsmiths with limited finances are provided with tools and designs and given work. As with the batik place we were shown around a small workshop with an example of this work prior to going into the store. This gave us a feel about the skill involved in making pieces with such intricate detail.

Four different processes were used to create the jewellery, Carving where a piece of metal is pressed onto a base of black pitch with patterns created by chiselling, Openwork where a pattern is placed on a piece of sheet metal and  pierced onto a base of black pitch, Granulation where hundreds of tiny metal granules are soldered onto a base and Metal Weaving, the process of creating bracelets made of woven strands of silver wire.  

Which process is going on here?

After our workshop experience we were directed into the showroom and escorted every step of the way. No pictures in here. The display was intriguing but not too much different than any other jewellers. Jo bought a small bead for her Pandora bracelet, we rested at the carp pool and we moved on.

The serenity of the carp pool

By eleven we were in the village of Batuan and entering its nearly one thousand year old temple, Pura Desa and Pura Puseh Batuan. We parked across the road behind a large open pergola type building where traditional Gambuh dance performances took place (but not today) and we would borrow a sarong for respect whilst inside. It was then like we were in a game of Frogger trying to cross Jalan Raya Batuan.

The temple, as testified by inscriptions at the front gate, was over a thousand years old going by the Balinese Saka calendar, based on lunar cycles. It was constructed in 944 isaka but still approaching one thousand years old by our Gregorian calendar. It was also a Tri Kahyangan member, a three temple concept preached by Mpu Kuturan to the Balinese Hindu community around the 10th century. The concept goes like this. The Pura Desa or Village Temple is a place to worship God Brahma the Creator, Pura Puseh to worship God Vishnu the preserver and the Pura Dalem to worship Lord Shiva the Destroyer.

Once inside the temple was typical Balinese comprising of three areas, Nista Mandala or outside area, Madya Mandala the middle area and Utama Mandala or main temple area. From the central courtyard we faced the Kori Agung containing a closed doorway meaning explicitly for the gods. As with the entrance, two rather large characters stood either side of the door. Don't know whether they were welcoming or not. Below them were a pair of not so friendly looking Dwarapala, on one knee with mace in hand. There were also dragons at the base of the stairs. To the right was a Bale Kulkul where drummers played Kentongans to summon and entertain the locals to the temple.

As we moved further towards the back we encountered similar buildings and statues that more than likely had a different significance. At the back of the temple was another building that held bits and pieces that had come from the temple over time. Probably from the maintenance and rebuilding over the centuries. Villagers were responsible for the upkeep of the temple. The “priest” for the temple is an elder from the village who can have a family and normal life.

All in all, an interesting experience, well explained by Katut.

Kori Agung is the main shrine within Utama Mandala, the temple's holiest courtyard

Following the temple we were asked if we would like to visit an art gallery which we did. Turning right a couple of blocks away and up a tight lane led us to the front door of Dewa Putu Toris Gallery. As with the jewellers earlier, we were escorted all the way and denied photos. As we worked our way through the gallery, the paintings were either ordinary at best or far too large. As a consequence we completed one lap and back to the car. The monkeys were next.

At a quarter past midday after a short trip north we arrived at Mandala Suci Wenara Wana, the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Here amongst over twelve hectares of forest and temples were over one thousand Balinese long tailed monkeys, or macaques to be exact. They were divided into seven groups geographically divided comprising of the Central group, the largest with over two hundred monkeys as well as the Temple, Selatan, Cemetery, Michelin, East and New Forest groups. The New Forest group was the smallest with just over a hundred monkeys.

Once inside Katut warned us about trusting the little buggers. They’ll steal hats and sunglasses if you’re not careful and have no food or water bottles on display. Don't look them in the eye, feed them or try to touch them as they may become aggressive. Just mind your own business and give them a wide birth. We did this and apart from some curiosity, they were so used to humans that they ignored onlookers and went about their business, playing around, eating and preening each other. This area was not an enclosure and monkeys were free to roam the village. They have been known to enter homes and steel food.

Moving through the different areas was like an obstacle course as not only did they not pay any attention to people moving about, they sat about on walls and the middle of pathways, making the humans move around them. We took our time wandering about before returning to the entrance for our next stop, tucker.

Keeping the young ones at a distance from the public

This one stole the water from a woman and quickly took the lid off

Not far from the monkey forest was a quick stop off at the markets before lunch. The Erlangga Organic Resto was next and served us fine food with a fine view. We were driven around to a rear car park, then escorted to an outdoor covered dining area adjacent to rice paddies at various stages of growth. Katut pointed out that a paddy to the side was ready for harvesting as it was starting to yellow whereas the paddy next to us, although the same height was not. It was still green but not far behind. All paddies were linked by manmade water channels fed by the nearby stream.

The channels were blocked so as the water was directed to the correct paddy

It was mid afternoon and the day was drawing to a close. Earlier on Katut asked us if we wanted to visit a coffee place on the return trip. We agreed and ended up at the Satria Coffee Plantation where amongst other offerings, served Kopi luwak or Balicatpoochino. When we arrived we were greeted by a young woman called Devi and escorted on a path through their property being shown different herbs, spices and such as we went. We then entered a work area where an old lady was cooking up some coffee beans at the back. Trays of different beans and ingredients were in bowls to the side and Devi demonstrated the crushing of the beans into powder as we looked around. After exiting we passed a couple of cages with civets sleeping on an elevated platform. We were then shown to an outdoor seating area where we waited for our tea and coffee samples to be served.

Trays and bowls of ingredients. Old lady roasting some up down the back

Asian palm civets were said to be, along with bats, the cause of the SARS caronavirus nearly twenty years ago. Over eight thousand people contracted the contagion, killing 774. SARS started in China just as the current caronavirus did through close contact or eating exotic animals. Many civets are captured and kept in cages, fed only coffee cherries to maximise their output of digested seed. Devi made a point of saying Satria only kept their civets for a few days and released them. Who knows where they got them from.

The civets eat the coffee cherries and only partially digest them, fermenting them on the way through. People sift through their scat to retrieve the cherries and produce the so called "ultimate bling coffee"

We had no sooner settled in at the outdoor area when the tea and coffee samples were put in front of us. Some were nice, some not so much and some were awful. The samples included ginseng, coconut, vanilla and avocado coffee as well as saffron, lemon grass, rice and rosella tea.

One of the awful ones. Ginger tea

Yum! Balicatpoochino

That was it. No sooner had we finished our experience that we were back in the car, being chauffered back to our resort and prepare for happy hour and dinner.

Early one tomorrow so early to bed.

Day 6: Golf and Lobster

7/03/2020: Today was an early one, Stu put the pickup time forward to quarter past six and was knocking on the door before six. He didn't have a cab so we needed to find one somewhere at this ungodly hour. There was no-one at the Belmond so they walked back to the Fox Hotel and asked reception to order one in. A taxi quickly arrived and after being reminded by Stu to turn his meter on and being shown on his phone how to get there, we had soon arrived with not much time to spare.

Having had security do the mirror under the car trick again, we pulled up out the front and were greeted by some of the caddies. Pleasantries exchanged and the handing over of 2.3 million Rupiah each, we met our caddies who promptly took us to the driving range for a thirty or forty ball warmup. Things weren't looking good if the warmup was any indication.

Caddies waiting for the warmup to finish

The course was magnificent but quite empty. The description of the course could be done no better than their web page itself. It read.

"The tee box on Hole # 1, sets the tempo for the front nine, with beautifully mature trees set in parkland terrain, against a backdrop of spectacular ocean views. Upon reaching the green on hole # 4, a spectacular view can interrupt one’s putting, all the way to the majestic Gunung Agung!  The high point is reached at Hole # 7 tee box, where the ocean view may hinder the shots required to conquer one of Indonesia’s longest holes, a par 5 of some 620 yards!  Then, it’s onwards to Hole # 8, where your tee shot must traverse a “jungle” ravine to the winding fairway spread out beyond.  And last but not least, while Hole # 9 club selection is critical on this tricky par 3 with its elevated peninsula green surrounded by water and greenside bunkers.

Having completed the “first stanza”, it’s on to beautifully rolling coconut groves, with strategically located lakes on holes # 11 and 12 to test the nerve and skill of all golfers. A plethora of well placed bunkers are to be navigated on the par 5, hole # 13 before landing on the nestled down green. Following the playing of two gentle par 4’s, holes # 14 & 15, one must be ready for the strong finishing holes, commencing with Hole # 16, a par 5 carved from amongst high dunes, with the prevailing wind almost all ways in your face!   Then, we cross the road to a game breaker, the par 3, 17th hole, where playing for the first time, golfers may well ask, “where’s the fairway”!    Yes, your tee shot needs to be somewhat precise, as tee boxes and the green are the only dry piece of land on the hole!    

Hole # 18 a 400 yard dogleg left, draped by a lake all the way down the left side of the fairway, brings you to the 18th green directly in front of the clubhouse terrace, where many golfers will be watching your par puts! "

Off we go. Shane's caddy Daihu and Stu's on the back. He didn't ask her name

Apart from the blistering sun and draining humidity which called for plenty of water (and a few beers), we were going through balls like steam. Stu said not to worry as people around the course come out of the vegetation and sell the ones they've found in the scrub. Which they did. The vegetation was so lush that if a ball missed the fairway or rough, they were pretty well gone. Not that our caddies would give up easily. They spent plenty of time in there looking. Not only did the girls look for our balls, they also carried club options to the ball, suggested which club to use and where to aim. They also carried a sand bucket all the time to repair our divots, of which there were plenty. When on the green they would mark our balls, pick them up and give them a polish, replace them and recommend where to hit the ball and how hard. Golfing dumbed down but quite good.

After Shane breaking 130 and Stu twenty shots better, it was all over. Particularly after Shane tried to line up a date with his caddy and Thomas. She was thirty four with no husband or kids and Thomas could use a woman. Didn't happen though as she went shy on him.

A long birdie putt for Stu on the green of the one hundred and thirty yard nineth

Stuart was keen on lobster and usually stayed at Legian when in Bali so after a cab back to our rooms, we gave ourselves a half an hour to meet up again and head for a feed. Stu's girlfriend, Ilene from the Philippines was over as well. A bit over an hour after we returned from golf we were headed out again.

One of the local haunts for a good feed was actually called "The Lokal" in Legian. Stu swore by it as it was owned by an Aussie. Bacon and egg rolls on the breakfast menu. We had lobster mornay, chips and salad all round. Pretty good.  One hundred bucks a couple with a few coldies.

Lobster at the Lokal

After lunch we walked to Legian Beach and back towards Kuta along the sand until we hit a shopping centre that Stu was after Ilene was keen for, and the Candylicious shop to stock up on lollies for her daughter back home.  Jo bought draught beer flavoured jelly beans as well as champagne flavour and pancakes and maple syrup flavour. We then headed to a café called The Kitchenette where e ordered fruit juice and tea. Stu ordered water but the server forgot. It took ages to get his attention, the same when we wanted our bill.

The day's humidity had taken its toll. Storms were brewing and by the time the rain hit we were in a Bluebird taxi, giving him instructions that the meter was to be on and we wanted to be taken to the three or four factory outlets while he waited with meter running. He couldn’t do it as he had an appointment a short time after. We all piled out into the rain and jumped into another Bluebird taxi that had pulled up behind us. This driver was happy to meet our request of being the driver for our shopping expedition for surf brand bargains. By now it was flogging down. The roads were flooding but traffic was still chaotic.  All in all, shopping lasted for a couple of hours and when we were dropped back at our hotels, the fare was under seven dollars. It was arranged for Stu and Ailene to get their swimmers and come back to our villa for a few drinks and a swim. Two drinks were had in the room and then we decided to head to the restaurant to have our free cocktails and some dinner. Shane was feeling ill again and didn’t want to eat so we decided that Stu and Ailene could use our meal voucher for a seafood dinner for two and Stuart pay for a main and dessert for Jo. Apparently, the seafood feast didn’t live up to Stuart’s expectations.

Following a big day we were all so knackered that we agreed to postpone the swim until lunchtime tomorrow. Early one to bed.

Day 7: Stu and Ailene

 8/03/2020: Starting the last full day in Bali rather lazily, with the usual enjoyable breakfast, was in due partly to yesterday taking its toll. Jo as usual was on Facebook, contacting people at home and getting the "goss", Shane reading the New York Times. Although Bali was Caronavirus nervous, with only a handful of cases if you could believe the government (prayer will keep everyone safe sort of thing), the contagion was beginning to tear through other parts of the world with the instigators China at eighty thousand cases, Italy approaching ten thousand cases and Spain and France just revving up, Australia had well under one hundred cases. That didn't stop the numb skulls at home from panic buying, unnecessarily emptying the shelves of staples. For some strange reason they considered that wiping their backsides was as important as eating, clearing the shelves of toilet paper. Shane would do his bit though, saving the family from afar.

No toilet paper? New York Times to the rescue.

Yesterday was exhausting, we were golfed out, shopped out and rained out. After breakfast and a few coffees we hit the pool. Stu and Ailene were due soon and the fridge was stocked. We had ordered ten Bintangs and a bottle of wine for the day before but hadn't used them. Their mid morning arrival and a stocked mini bar meant that a few hours of less than salubrious but quality pool time befell us.

The villa oasis

 As you'd expect, the Bali sunshine and parched throats meant that the beer and wine didn't last long. Within a few hours we would be heading back to the nearby Fox apartments where Stu and Ailene were staying. Straight up to the rooftop where we could sit under cover by the pool and relax a bit more. If that was possible. The intent was to have a swim but it didn't eventuate. The views were great on both sides. A distant airport and bay to the west and the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue on the hillside to the east. A football match provided some short lived entertainment below.

Infinity pool

Kick off at lapangan Yoga Perkanthi

As it was our last full day in Bali, it was also Stu and Ailene's last day, flying out late in the night. She flew out to Manilla at eleven and he back to Darwin at one. No curfews here. They had booked for an extra night to make use of the room and facilities until time to head to the airport. In the interim we would eat a late lunch/early dinner at a ribs restaurant that Stuart loved called Naughty Nuri's Warung and Grill. It turned out a bit of a disappointment though as since it was franchised and the taxi driver dropped us off to the nearest one, it wasn't his usual haunt and the quality was below par. Still a good night though.

Ribs at Naughty Nuri's Warung and Grill

After dinner we taxied back to Fox, said our good byes and walked back to the villa, via a few drinks at the bar. We finished off taking it easy and starting to pack.

Contemplation and packing to end the day

Tomorrow we will take in the GWK Park to kill time before our flight home.

Day 8: Heading Home

9/03/2020: Shane was up late due to being up all night with splats. Asia doesn't agree with him. Jo was up early for a swim and more packing, a ten o'clock massage and breakfast alone. She also took Shane's second massage as he bailed out due to fear of embarrassment. Our luggage was to be picked up at ten to twelve as we thought that we were to check out at twelve. Last night we got our check out letter and ancillaries bill. It said we checked out at one, gaining us an extra hour so Jo rearranged our bag collection and rescheduled our driver.

When Jo arrived after eleven from both massages, plus a 20 min facial thrown in for free, Shane got-up and started packing. Before long it was in the pool for the last time, shower and get the bags ready for collection. The porter turned up early and we sent him away until later. Just before one we called him to have a second go before walking to reception followed by our porter, bags and side kick all by golf cart. By the time we had paid our thousand bucks in extras it was quarter past one and time to reunite with Markay from a few days before.

One last garden ornament

Jo had talked him down from six hundred to four fifty rupiah to take us around to a site or two before dropping us of at Ngurah Rai Airport about five. This would give us plenty of time to get our plane home. First, and as it turned out, last stop was the cultural park a few kilometres away.  The Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park was opened by President Joko Widodo only eighteen months earlier.

Markay was very helpful, parked at the bottom and jumped on the shuttle with us to make sure we bought the right tickets to get to the top. This cost Rp125,000 each but before we left the ticket booth he suggested we get the Rp30,000 golf buggy to the top and walk back down, which we did.  With this he told us he would meet us down at the carpark when we were finished.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue

Rising above Bali's Bukit Peninsula, the statue depicts the Hindu god, Lord Wisnu, the protector of the universe. He is riding the mythical eagle and national emblem, Garuda who represents loyalty and selfless devotion. Kencana represents the crown of gold mosaic

The tower had only two floors available to the public, the ninth floor where we were given the story of the myth and the twenty third floor where we could get to a reasonable view from a few large portholes in the eagle's back or at Wisnu's shoulders. There were small glass floors showing the steel work below and information boards on the wall all explaining the construction's technique. There was not much to photograph, further suggesting that the restrictions on cameras were a rort.

After elevating back to ground floor and collecting our stuff we were soon back out the front of the tower and heading back down the hill. The park was constructed within an old limestone quarry with large and tall swathes of limestone left amongst the voids where it was taken. These voids became the access roads, some leading to other temples and displays. Just down from the tower and to the right was a replica of Garuda overlooking Lotus Park. It was quite large and clearly showed the finished product and technique of attaching the triangular copper sections to the frame, fusion welded and patina. To the side of this was a large representation of Wisnu, overlooking his plaza.

Wisnu Plaza. A sarong had to be put on when entering this site.

It was all downhill from there. To the shuttle bus and car park that is. It was not long after four but we had had enough and told our drive to take us to the airport where we settled in with a couple of cups of tea until our check in opened. At Bali the large suit cases were scanned before check in, not after, so we had to time it right.

We passed this guy numerous times on our journeys. I Gusti Ngurah Rai, the national war hero who led the Balinese armed forces following the Indonesian Declaration of Independence due to the subjugation by the Dutch. He and all of his troops were killed in battle after he ordered a paputan (fight to the death) during the Battle of Margarana

Joining the queue, we thought that there was an unusually large number of old people, explained once Jo noticed the Viking Cruises tags on their bags. It seems that the Viking Princess had been denied docking somewhere in Java due to caronavirus and had sailed to Bali who also denied them docking. After sitting off the coast for a while, Bali sent health specialists out to test them all and they all tested negative. They were  then tendered into shore and the ones that had had a gut full were  flying to Brisbane and then home. The ship then headed to Colombo, probably almost empty.

Once on the plane we got a pleasant surprise: We had jagged the emergency exit seats with plenty of leg room. Yippee!!  Down side was in the event of an emergency landing it was our responsibility to open the emergency hatch which was above the wing and assist people to evacuate. The rest of the flight was a doddle.

We were twenty five minutes late for take off thanks to all the passengers from the cruise and their 3 check in suitcases each. If it wasn’t for them the plane would have been half empty and left on time. The pilot made good time though as we landed in Brisbane ten minutes early. Not being too sure what the procedure would be on landing in Brisbane with changing from international to domestic flight, we had declared our timber/shell items and were directed to a customs officer to ask what we had. Lollies, biscuits and instruments made from coconut shells was our answer. Okay, thanks for declaring now keep on moving. Gee he didn't even look at our gear. Anyway, once out of the secure area we had to head to the Virgin Domestic transfer desk. Our luggage was reweighed and sent through to loading. We got straight on a shuttle bus and straight to the domestic terminal, giving us two hours before our flight to Newcastle was to leave. So much for thinking time would be tight.

In transit for the final time

Jo was excited to be having the window seat on last leg but was soon to discover it was a windowless seat. For some reason it was a wall.  Again, the flight was easy and in no time we were touching down at Newcastle airport. She had arranged for Eve to pick us up with the plan to park nearby and wait for a phone call once we had collected our luggage to save on parking fees. While waiting near the luggage carousel Jo noticed Eve and our almost year old grandson Mason standing waiting for us. She flew over and tried to get Mason to walk as he had just done for the first time a few days earlier. He wasn’t going to oblige so he got scooped up and smothered in kisses. Oops, sorry Eve, hello sweetheart and a kiss for her too.