I hope 2 blogs in one day is not too much to cope with- but I must catch up as I am now back at home after a week up north. When I say "Up North" I am always reminded of a children's book I used to read, Stanley Bagshawe, where he lived with his granma " up north where it's boring and slow"- and so the phrase always comes into my mind and I laugh because now it is anything but "boring and slow". My old home town Gateshead reaches out across the River Tyne and the regeneration along the riverbanks is quite a tourist attraction these days. Behold culture - The Sage for music, The Baltic for art, the newly refurbished Theatre Royal , magnificent stone facades of Grey Street and the Grey's Monument, ... read more

Yes , here I am again and on a short trip to Stockholm ostensibly to see Richard and Catherine and their new apartment. It occurs to me today (my last day) that this has been a visit with a design theme – “ancient and modern”. The “ancient” was special exhibition of “Inca Gold” held in one of the many museums here. ( Sorry no photos – not allowed). This museum in rock tunnels on Skepsholmen ( one of Stockholm’s city centre islands)- which were carved out in the 1940s for naval defences during WW2. Well I suppose having this amazing display of Inca Gold artefacts in this museum would also mean it would be very secure. And so I wandered amongst such beautifully designed and crafted adornments – helmets, masks, breast plates, earrings, nose plates and ... read more

Hello everyone… and here I am in Sweden for a couple of weeks. Having had my “summer hols” last winter in Oz and NZ – I thought I better have more “summer hols” in Europe. (Well if I don't get away travelling every month I get withdrawal symptoms. ) Each summer when my dear friend, Lesley, comes back from Dubai where we used to teach together we have some holiday time together… and the rocky landscapes, forests and lakes of Sweden are the perfect antidote to the desert sands and highrise towers of Dubai!!! We arrived at Arlanda airport north of Stockholm and took our rental car North about 450km at Tallhed near the little town of Orsa. Michael and I had some lovely times there at old wooden cottages which belong to my good Swedish ... read more

After I got back from the BIG TRIP in April- I did think I would use the blog for my other occasional travels but I never really got round to it at the time. Well I have been to Sweden at Easter and then to Normandy with Christine ( my sis-in-law) at the beginning of June - so will post some of those fotos in another blog to catch up. I have also had my home exchage family from Christchurch New Zealand to stay - so it has been a lovely busy time.A Anyway my lovely cousin Marllyn (who lives in Spain - more trips there for me coming up) is always full of bright ideas which usually involve Terry in some extra DIY work around the house..but this time her idea was for me to ... read more

So what do you do on your last day in NZ- apart from have to phone Singapore airlines as when I try to check in online - the flight number doesnt exist at the time I have listed on my schedule and they don't seem to recognise my ticket number...but I am not panicked at all and I am there on the system - but the flight number is changed and the time has changed and all because tonight the clock goes back here...so I guess it buggers up the airlines no end. So it was a day to have all my packing properly sorted and chuck some stuff out...and I even did iron some things - first time in 6 months aprt from when Marilyn ironed my clothes. Then after sitting on the deck in ... read more