Our Majorca holiday

We love to go to Puerto Pollensa in Majorca and after our 2 weeks last year we said we would take Hannah and Megan this year for a week and have 9 or 10 days after on our own. This was agreed with the children's parents and schools and then we realised how unwell our lovely daughter Kaye was and thought it might help her to come out for a week with Sebastian too. We all set out for the airport with much excitement, our wonderful friend Mike chauffeured Andy, the girls and myself to Bristol airport and Simon brought Kaye and Seb to meet us there. We checked in and got priority boarding which was great, the girls were sooo excited as they had never flown before. We had a lovely meal before boarding and very soon we were winging our way to Majorca. The girls loved the flight, looking out of the windows and giggling at the fluffy clouds. It was getting dark as we landed and the sparkling lights of Palma were wonderful from the air. We collected the 7 seater hire car and set off for Puerto Pollensa. We got to the apartment and had a quick drink and a biscuit or two and went to bed. We have stayed in this fab apartment before, 3 mins from the beach, just up the road from the British food & Hire shop. It has three big bedrooms, 2 large bathrooms, lounge diner and fabulous kitchen, fully equipped laundry room and has a pool shared by the other block residents. The girls thought it was heaven. The week was spent, swimming in the pool, on the beach, snorkelling, eating ice creams and dining out in our new holiday threads. Evenings were spent mixing with the locals in the square until very late, the culture is very much about including the kids in everything and evenings of course are cooler. The girls turned a lovely bronze colour and looked gorgeous, they were made a fuss of wherever we went and they behaved beautifully the whole holiday. We were so proud of their manners and social skills. Little Seb turned out to be proper water baby and wasn't content to just paddle...he wanted to be in up to his neck!! He loved making sandcastles with Gandy and then running off for Gandy or me to chase him. He delighted the staff in every bar and eaterie and is a dreadful flirt with the girls, cheeky smiles and giggles galore. We went to the market on the last day the girls and Kaye were there and they bought gifts and souvenirs with their holiday money, tried lots of local goodies and I treated us all to a gorgeous fish lunch on the square. As we were leaving the girls asked if we could look at getting their hair braided by the Senegalese ladies in the market, I said we would go and look but nearly fell over when they asked for 60euro each for the girls. I said no and they reduced the price to a 100euro for both. Still too rich for my blood. She asked me how much I would pay and I looked at how much cash I had and told her no more than 30euro for both! She almost spat at me and I said sorry but I didn't have any more to spend and walked away. We had only taken 5 steps and they were coming after us shouting "Nanna, Nanna, OK 30 euro for both." So they had their hair braided and were totally made up. We arrived back at the apartment and all they could tell Gandy was how Nanny had argued with the women to get their hair done. Gandy explained it's called 'haggling' and the girls decided between them to try it out next time they bought anything. We'll see how that pans out. All too soon the week was over and we all wished that we had booked for them to stay the whole time, but we tearfully waved goodbye at Palma airport, ditched the hire car and returned on the shuttle bus for a less strenuous few days. Poor Andy's Sciatica had been playing up and we had to make 2 emergency appointments with a local physio. Thank goodness our friends Sam and Ian who are residents there had a number for him. We enjoyed the rest of our time but perhaps didn't do as much physically as usual due to Andy's pain. We paid for it when we got home with a significant weight gain of over 7lbs for each of us...aaaaarrgghh! The trip home was horrendous as Andy couldn't stand for any length of time even when using his walking stick so we had to have a wheelchair and assistance through the airport and on and off the plane. He was so embarrassed but I couldn't manage everything so we had to have help.

Thankfully we got home and he had an appointment with the wonderful Wanda who has sorted him right out ( I don't know how, it's on a need to know basis evidently)

We thoroughly enjoyed having the girls,Kaye & Seb with us and will definitely do it again and hopefully with all the Grandchildren soon, maybe a very big villa to share next time...sounds great to me. It's all about family for us and the special memories that are left after sharing lovely family times together, bigger and better next time me thinks!

Here are a few pics to give you an idea of our fun....

A miracle has happened....

It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce to the whole world that Daniel and Lula are PREGNANT!!
This small miracle has occurred against all the odds and is due to make an appearance around the 10th December 2012.

Nugget our little miracle

Dan is insisting it is a boy and will tolerate no girl thoughts...he'll have what he's given and I know he'll love it either way. He was so ecstatic during the Ultra sound scan..the baby was waving it's little hands and he was in total awe!
Lula has had a bit of morning sickness but that has now passed  for the most part and her little bump, affectionately called 'nugget' is now very visible and causing all sorts of wardrobe problems....so pleased and excited, we are truly blessed and so very very grateful.

The B*****d is still about....attempted burglary at Fern

It seems that Alice & Sam's place, Fern Bungalow in top field was the latest target for our local miscreant. An attempted break in occurred earlier this week but  no entry was gained. Bonzo dog perhaps scared him/her/them off! Stay vigilant peeps and keep it all locked away. By the law of averages this S.O.B's luck must run out soon!

On a better note Allie is raising money for 'Free The Children.UK' by running the London Marathon. She needs sponsorship NOW, so could you please donate at : 


www.virginmoneygiving.com/allie1989

A beautiful little addition to the family...welcome Ella Grace

Yesterday our lovely niece Jasmine (Andy's Sister Bev's daughter) gave birth to the latest addition to the family, her name is Ella Grace and she weighed in at 6lbs 14ozs. I popped up to say hello after my shift had finished and was totally gooey about the little poppet. She has a mop of dark hair and the sweetest rosebud mouth.

Congratulations are in order to Jaz and her partner Bradley.

here she is ...

Ella Grace

The family circle just keeps getting bigger...Ella is the 2nd Grandchild for Bev and 10th Great Grandchild for Andy's Mum Betty!

What blessings and a lovely start to 2012.

Soaring Red Kite.....

Walking to the castle with little Tink my super cute chonzer we stopped at the lookout point where once my favourite bench was placed..sadly it has rotted and been removed. Please someone put one back for the tired and weary walkers to stop and catch their breath! Joy of joys today I saw a fabulous Red Kite soaring above the valley and over the castle, I stood enthralled for about ten minutes until the wonderful  creature flew off towards Penmaen. I walked home feeling elated and extremely blessed to have experienced such a special moment right in my own backyard!!
Youngest daughter Kaye is moving house this week and our littlest Grandson Sebastian is now crawling and getting into all sorts of mischief. He very kindly left us a message on our answerphone after finding the house phone and somehow managing to press redial.....it took me a few minutes to realise it was not some weirdo on the phone but a growling yabbering Sebby Bear. SOOOO cute. I can't wait to see them after Xmas and give him a big Nanna hug.

The super cute Sebastian

Wintery weather...brrrrr

Getting up early to walk my little Tink I've noticed that there is a definite nip in the air. We go out in the dark but the sunrise catches up with us after about 30mins. The gorse bushes have some yellow blooms on and they look bright and happy in the pale morning light over on the golf course. Little Tink now wears her warm waterproof coat and her high vis jacket on top. The bracken has turned brown and crispy and bits cling to Tink's fur as we roam, cow pats are everywhere again, bloody destructive beasts, they churn everything up so badly. I have decided I need a new coat for winter as my current one is not as waterproof as I would like and I am fed up with coming home soaked to the skin and shivering with cold...only in very heavy rain but hey it's not a good feeling.
Bonus to all this walking is my continued weight loss and fitness improvement...I have been Fat fighting for a few months now and have lost 2stones 4pounds!!! Dropped 4 dress sizes,reversed my diabetes and controlled my blood pressure. What a blessing Slimming World Extra Easy has been and more especially the inspirational Alicia who runs the group in Killay. She really is a mine of information,support and also much hilarity week after week and I don't think I would have continued without her help. I feel 10years younger and have a new lease of life. Young Megan (my Granddaughter) did say quite seriously that she didn't want me to lose any more weight because she likes me squishy!! I'm going to carry on and get to my target weight sometime next year and then I will try to have the resolve to maintain it...wish me luck.

The wonderful Aunty 'D' is 85years young!

Any excuse for a gathering these days, but last weekend was a real event for the maternal side of the family. My truly wonderful Aunty 'D' reached the grand age of 85years old! As my mother Joyce's younger sister she is the last one standing from her generation...The Matriach of a very large family. My sister Sharon and I travelled down to Bexhill-on Sea for the celebrations. My cousin Ro's children were there (well most of them) with their families and the 'do' was arranged by cousin Janice at The Mermaid on the seafront. Bubbly, balloons, disco, karaoke, buffet and cake   what more could you ask for. The kids had a great time and we all got to meet the latest arrivals to the ever growing family circle, 13week old Max born to Julia and Anthony and 3 week old Joshua, born to Jason and Vicky. Joshua is Janice's first Grandchild and of course she is besotted! We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Gemma's first baby who will be the first KIWI in the family.

The wonderful Birthday Girl

Sharon and Janice

The wonderful Will Sullivan did a turn for us on Karoake after much poking and torment by Sharon and myself (not to mention some throat lubrication from the bar) He did an admirable rendition of Tom Jones's SEX BOMB complete with hip wiggling gesticulations. He got screams of delight and applause but sadly no underwear for his efforts. Good thing too as most of the undies worn that day were support wear and would have caused serious injury if thrown!!! His two daughters Sophie and Megan watched in open mouthed amazement at their superstar Daddy....what a great thing to do, they will remember that forever.

Will...Sex Bomb ! Video to follow soon..

We sang Happy Birthday and Janice lit the candles on the cake...they were erupting jets of sparkling flame and went on for quite a while. No hope of blowing them out and it smelt like bonfire night for a little bit but what a fabulous effect.

The DJ was an interesting chap, stage name Dan The Man he was complete with fake tan, dyed hair and bright green jacket. He was a bit scary really and loved the sound of his own, often discordant voice. I know it's cruel but Sharon and I couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle...especially when he grabbed Janice to dance!! Sharon decided to torment poor Anthony and made him dance with her, his discomfort was obvious and gave me great delight to watch and I was not alone in this. The Williams girls have all been blessed with the wicked Woodhouse genes for tormenting and they all enjoyed the menfolks squirming. They are a credit to their Mum Ro and Dad John who would have been so proud of them all. They all seem to have stuck together after the dreadful loss of their parents and such courage and fortitude in the face of adversity is a rare thing nowadays. Aunty 'D' had a bit of a bop and made a very touching thank you speech, reinforcing how special the bonds of family and friends are.
We headed off to our hotel for a late supper with Ro's kids and their families and stayed up till late in the bar having a whale of a time reminiscing and laughing.
Up next morning and got together for breakfast before a few sad goodbyes to the kids and off to meet Janice for coffee. Had a look around her lovely flat in Bexhill and went to the Italian downstairs for a super latte.
We had a little time to spare so on the spur of the moment popped up to say Bye bye to Aunty D who was delighted to see us. She was looking really well surrounded by loads of cards,gifts and flowers and we sat and had a lovely chat for half an hour. She is fantastic in every way, always with a smile and never a hint of self pity, refreshing in an elderly person. She attributes her longevity to her bad habits which these days are mainly Gin and Cigarettes!!
She was telling us that when she was a teenager she envied our Mum Joyce (her elder sister) because she had auburn hair and dimples....she especially wanted dimples and would go to sleep with her fingers deeply pressed into her cheeks to try to get some! It wasn't until she started her first job when someone said how beautiful her hair was that she realised she was a real flaxen blonde...without the bottle. I always envied my cousins for their bubbly, warm and loving Mum and it's lovely to still have my special aunty around. I reminded her that she incurred my mum's displeasure when she bought me my first Bra, knickers and suspender belt (no tights invented then) I remember them well, white cotton with little pink rosebuds on and I thought I was so grown up. It's a real milestone for a girl and I have my Aunty 'D' to thank for that and for so much more throughout my life.
Hopefully we will all get together next year for her 86th birthday and the way things are looking we'll do it for many more than that, I truly hope so.To spend time with my wonderful sister is one of my life's real treasures, we are so in tune it is spooky, I don't have to explain my jokes or witty remarks and we often say the same thing at the same time! We bounce off each other and become a real double act when in company and it is just wonderful. I love her like I love no-one else, she is my beautiful, sparkling, sister and I know she loves me right back!
These are special gifts that no amount of money could buy and oh my,  I am so grateful to be so blessed.