High Summer hahaha........

Daughter, E and O are back at Kentwell for the Tudor high summer week so R has moved in with us. Not much like summer today (Monday) though as it's raining and the forecast is wet and stormy for much of the week ahead. Poor Tudors most of which are camping on a muddy field.

Sunday 23rd - Hubby did the long round trip to collect R from her dad and they got home about 8:30pm.

Monday 24th - I had a little help with some housework and while I was sorting out the drying laundry upstairs R made a start at painting some new bead project I'm trying out....dried potato shapes!

Hopefully by the end of the week they'll be painted, varnished and strung. I'm hoping to monitor these for sometime to judge wearability and durability as I've never made beads from potato before.

Tuesday 25th - and another wet and gloomy day. R spent nearly all of it on her laptop and I tried to use our sudden large crop of figs 

Open freezing seemed to work well, just need to test how they thaw. 

Almond cake and fig works really well, big and individual. The big one should have looked like flowers but reminds me more of stargazy pie lol.

The bread was my attempt at a filled couronne (crown) with figs, ginger and honey but that didn't work quite so well, think it needs a much sweeter richer dough. Took the photo from the wrong side too as that side had gone right over the tin and broke off! 

Wednesday 26th - still wet here and I came down this morning to three text on my silent phone from Daughter saying that both O and E are fed up with being soggy Tudors and may want to come home, today is awkward for her and me so they may be here early tomorrow if they haven't had fun today and changed their minds. R still hasn't left her laptop for more than meals. Apart from some housework I've made a few more beads using the neck of this green bottle and they are now drying out on a bamboo cane for about two weeks. 

Thursday 27th - and yes O arrived with Daughter about 8am, she stopped for tea and toast and left behind some wet muddy clothes to wash and then headed back to Kentwell. So we put on a wash while R went back on her laptop and O tried to use Hubby's old laptop for minecraft which really upset it......Hubby then spent hours rebuilding the poor sick laptop. So O decided it was a good time to play in the bath

The rest of the day was pretty much children on screens because when Hubby went to do some shopping he called into their house and M gave him the ipad, unfortunately that caused an O meltdown as he really needed the macbook-pro so Skyped his dad to ask if he could, so back I went with him to collect that and promised to return it later as M needs it for work in the morning. 

Friday 28th - took quite a while for us all to be up and ready to go out but by mid morning we did. A lovely warm and sunny day yaay! First a bit of QD shopping for some plants and Hubby looking for a new bench which they didn't have, then a lovely riverside walk and a bit of playing on the park. 

M finished work 2:30pm so we collected up their stuff from all around the house and took them home at 4pm. Missing them already! 

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Lincolnshire holiday, August 2015.......

We stayed right by Burton Water near Lincoln,  me and Hubby, sisterS and bilK.

And to help with getting around here's the map.

Friday 14th - They arrived at our house lunch time as they are sleeping over and we'll all holiday in one car. The plan was to keep meals simple causing least effort, mess and washing up and to use up what's in the fridge. So lunch was pizza out of the freezer, into the oven and onto the table and dinner was baked salmon filets with jacket potatoes and lots of salad. The remaining eggs last of the fruit and almost a whole loaf of bread got packed to come with.

Saturday 15th - not too early a start, I think we finally left home about 9:30am after what looked like a stressful manipulation of men with luggage to get it all to fit (I know I could have made it all fit better but decided to stay out of the way lol). Our first stop was Suffolk Water Park for the full English breakfast, with a lovely view

A very easy drive of just under three hours and we had arrived and met by the owner to show us around and let us know how it all works etc. On first impressions we were all very pleased with our choice of location and property.

This is the view from our balcony (look right past the men and the beer and it's beautiful)

We had a good wander round to get the lie of the land, had tea in the deli, drinks in a pub and eventually dinner in one of the Italian restaurants all within walking distance. Back in our lounge and a couple of silly games and a bit of tv then into a really comfy bed. S&K's double bedroom is along the corridor with the ensuite shower and we are in the upper floor double with the jacuzzi bath (we're all happy to share especially as I only shower and everyone wants to try the jacuzzi). It's a bit of a mezzanine floor with the bedroom open plan over the lounge so I'd better watch where I stand to get dressed and undressed or I'll put everyone off their breakfast hahaha.

Sunday 16th - bilK did what pleases him most and cooked us all breakfast. Longish drive then longish walks on both Skegness beach and Sutton on Sea beach (lots of beach huts)

And tonight dinner was yummy Chinese in another of the marina restaurants. We are so lucky having lovely places on the doorstep.

Monday 17th - Today was Hubby's choice of looking at aircraft. First stop RAF Coningsby where we all enjoyed a really interesting guided talk. Second stop was RAF East Kirkby and we just let the men and their cameras pay another entrance fee and wander around.

This C47 plane had taken part in the VJ memorial flight on Saturday and had actually flown right over us on our way here! Tonight's dinner was in a highly recommended gastro pub which is walking distance but about 20 mins along the canal towpath, we'd done a fair bit of walking earlier and I was a bit concerned about coming back along the unlit towpath so we took the car on the slightly longer route and I drove home so Hubby could drink. He's spoilt eh?

Tuesday 18th - we woke to very heavy rain so we decided to do all Lincoln City centre has to show us. Unfortunately in the car swap at home bilK had left his rain coat in his car boot so today he used sisterS's little umbrella for a while but soon decided that being wet and walking faster was a more macho look altho we kept looking for a shop to buy a coat we never found one. Cathedral first, stunning, beautiful, interesting and very photogenic

From there it was back out into the rain to the castle and prison, to the pub for a well earned sit down and we left bilK there while we ventured on to a museum and down Steep Hill to find the Jews House, which used to be a home and synagogue but now a cafe and book shop, and of course the very steep hill back up again to collect bilK and head to Brown's the famous pie shop but just too late for lunch and too early for them reopening the restaurant for dinner so we bought takeaway pies then on the way home we bought potatoes and peas and ate at home followed by watching The Imagination Game, the film all about Alan Turing which was excellent.

Wednesday 19th - what a change, we woke to beautiful sunshine. As we'd done a lot yesterday we'd agreed on a lazy day. We eventually ventured out about 11am-ish and went for a walk (about 45 mins) along the canal which conveniently terminated for us at a pub!

A couple of pints later and we were ready to stroll back which surprisingly terminated for us at another pub! Two pints later and us girls left the men there and went home to sit on our balcony with mugs of tea. ....we know what's important eh? Dinner tonight was actually back to this last pub as they do 2for1 deal so all very well fed and watered for under £40!

Thursday 20th - when we arrived here and was greeted by our landlady she said she lived in Nottingham which we hadn't realised was less than an hour away, so we contacted our cousin who lives in Nottingham and she invited us for lunch :-)

It really isn't the best photo but it is a record of us all being together on this day. It was of course a lovely family catchup time and we got to meet one of their sons and a grandson briefly plus we had a really yummy lunch, so much that we decided not to eat out in the evening just have a light snack of what we already had. We watched another film on Netflix, it was "In The Name Of The Father" all about the IRA bombings in 1974 London and the wrong conviction of what was called "The Guildford Four". Very moving!

Friday 21st - grey start but has stayed dry all day with the occasional smile of sunshine. We've explored the north east coastline of Lincolnshire, taking in Grimsby and Cleethorpes a walk along the prom and a ride on the minature steam railway.

For our last evening here we booked into the posher of the local restaurants which is Italian. I have to say the food was nice but I don't think it actually deserved the inflated prices especially as they muddled all our steaks up and had to take them away and rearrange the plates without an actual apology! Anyway it was still a nice meal.

Saturday 22nd - all packed and vacated by about 9:30am and stopped at Boston which we'd kept till now as it's on the way home. The beautiful church has the local nickname of The Boston Stump but leaflets, locals and even Google hasn't provided a reason why it got that name lol. Credit to Hubby for this great photo!

The tourist information office is inside the old guildhall and it turned out to be a fantastic museum with little films to watch and interactive screens. It was the hottest day so far so we left the busy Boston town centre and stopped a little further out at a farm shop/garden centre/cafe and had a late lunch there. Lunch was lovely but the shop and plants did leave a lot of room for improvement! We arrived home just before 5pm and Hubby went straight out again to buy essentials and put fuel in my car  (he had a big money off voucher), meanwhile we unloaded our car and bilK loaded into his and the bloodrunners car turned up to unload stuff into the trailer and then had real trouble getting the car started again. ...I couldn't even offer him a cuppa as Hubby wasn't back with the milk! All sorted and a brief relax before we headed out again for dinner which sisterS and bilK paid for as a treat, thank you so much! 

Home and all to bed after lots of photo saving to flickr and sharing and swapping, and this morning as they needed to leave straight after breakfast we were all up quite early. Now they've gone and we've unpacked and on the third machine load of washing! 

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2015's birthday.......

Yep it comes around every year and I'm so pleased about that :-)

Last Thursday we went out for dinner with friendsL&K and I was given a little gift bag with my card and present that I've had to look at for five days, finally I unwrapped another little jug for my collection.

Monday night four of us ate out as our "girls night out birthday celebration", any excuse to eat out eh? Unfortunately my steak wasn't good, it was rare when I'd asked for medium and it was very chewy, so the very sweet waitress apologised and let us have desserts for free. My friends sent me home with more cards and gift bags full of presents.

Yesterday was my birthday and my lovely day started with opening all my presents and cards, I'm such a lucky girl (never too old to be a girl). Hubby cooked my breakfast and after that I had trouble getting off the sofa because of all the well wishers coming through on facebook, messenger, WhatsApp, email, text and phone calls.....I was feeling very special.

Daughter and family arrived soon after lunch, her partner arriving after work. We had nine sitting down for dinner (hubby and I cooked a roast together) and Son arrived for the evening (work and traffic delays) so I shared this birthday with my husband, both of our children, all of our grandchildren and even a couple of extras, it's been quite a few years since we've managed to all get together on the right day.

Daughter made my chocolate cheesecake dessert/birthday cake which was absolutely delicious

SYO concert at Snape Prom.....

Last night was the Suffolk Youth Orchestra end of summer tour finale concert.

They have played four concerts this year in the Czech and Slovak Republics. What a great opportunity for young musicians. E said it was brilliant and apart from the incredibly exhausting very long hours on a coach she loved it.

Daughter had bought me and herself seats for Snape a long time ago. Just before E came home from tour Daughter kidnapped E's best friend to come and stay and surprise her. E'sBF then wanted to come to the concert (she's never been to anything like it before) but unfortunately Daughter could only get a prom ticket which is sitting on the floor right in front of the stage.

We arrived in plenty of time, collected the tickets, found a bench for our picnic and enjoyed the view. Had time for a short wander and to admire the sculptures then went inside. I love the huge hall which isn't decorated at all, has vast walls of open brickwork and a massive ceiling of open beams, but I know has the most amazing acoustics so you feel pleasure just walking through the door.

When it came to it E'sBF was a little nervous sitting down there by herself so Daughter sent her to sit up with me and she sat on her cushion, could hear it all but see nothing. We could see E on percussion really clearly. Beside me was in fact an empty seat and my nearest neighbour said it was her ticket which wasn't going to be used and she was happy for Daughter to use it after the interval.

As luck would have it the piece they played which took up the whole of the second half needed only one timpany player so four percussionists just sat on stage doing nothing. They did, however, get a special mention from the conductor and all played in the encore piece.

A lovely evening and yet another proud grandma moment to treasure.
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The Bee Song by Arthur Askey....

Oh what a wonderful thing to be

A healthy grown up busy busy bee

Whiling away all the passing hours

Pinching all the pollen from the cauliflowers

                                                                        etc.

full lyrics can be found here

And this is Arthur Askey himself performing it

This is me just now, the busy busy bee. 

Friday I drove to friendH and as usual we talked till 3am then to bed, up by 9am and carried on with the conversations till I left at 1:30pm Saturday got home around 3pm with a new house plant she had given me that was a cutting from her's, but no pot, so my first job was to find a pot which actually meant repotting a tomato plant into something else first (nothing is ever straightforward).

Saturday evening we were at a friend's 40th birthday party, in a hall with disco and buffet and lots of cake and a sweets carousel and speeches the lot! 

Sunday was the annual "bowling summer social bbq" which is always good food and good fun with games outside after the food, mostly I watch the golf into giant umbrella targets and the croquet but I did play a few games of boule although I'm not very good. 

This morning we have our monthly coffee morning and tomorrow morning we have friends over for coffee but mainly to collect two bikes that our little ones have outgrown. Tomorrow afternoon my lovely nails technician is coming to do myself and my neighbour, it's not following coffee morning this time as we mistakenly thought this Scottish bank holiday was a UK one! Tuesday evening Daughter and I are off to Snape Maltings for the end of tour finale concert by the Suffolk Youth Orchestra of which E is a percussionist, their tour was Czech Republic and Slovakia, what a great experience for a young teenager. 

And I'm sure there's lots more to come...... busy busy bee!

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Booking online......

We spent a lovely couple of days in Cheshire visiting friends we hadn't seen for 20+ years!

They live in a one bedroom bungalow so we booked online into a nearby hotel for double room with breakfast. The photos looked good and the reviews were all good too and it was cheap. The online form asked what time we would be arriving and I ticked 11am-12noon.

After our four and a half hour drive we found the hotel easily. We parked avoiding all the potholes and walked through the door just after noon. The lady on the desk seemed very flustered and said no checking in before 2pm, I told her the website had specifically asked me what time we were arriving and didn't mention 2pm, she said "oh oh wait a minute so sorry I haven't even looked at the booking forms yet, we are in such a muddle this morning". She printed off our booking form asked Hubby to sign it then said "You were supposed to be in the suite but there is a leak in the roof and we are waiting for the roofer" lots more flustering about and more than once letting us know she was the manager and what a big responsibility it all was, then eventually she gave us the key to room 31 and said "I hope you're alright with the stairs, we do have a lift but it's quite near where the leaky roof is...." we both instantly said we wouldn't chance it and took the stairs-corridor-stairs-corridor-stairs then just as Hubby was putting the key in the door the out of breath manager came running along saying "Don't unpack I've given you the wrong room" so we swapped keys for room 30. The door was broken, bashed and pinned and she saw my face "It's quite secure" she said "There was a bit of bother at the weekend and someone kicked the door in, but we've fixed it so it still shuts properly and locks."

The room itself though small was fine, the bedding looked very clean as did the bathroom. There was a kettle with a couple of teabags etc provided and there was WiFi and it was only for one night so no problem at all.

So with a giggle we left the hotel and went to meet our friends. It was so lovely catching up with them after all this time. We have kept up the Christmas card swap each year so knew about their various moves and they are planning another move which could bring them a bit closer to us. Unfortunately neither of them are in the best of health and the weather wasn't that good so it was perfect to just head out to eat and sit and talk. They took us to a garden centre for lunch, but to call it a garden centre is such an understatement, I think it sells everything for the home inside and out and has three different cafe areas. Have to say their cream and jam scones are enormous and delicious, half of one was more than enough for me so pleased I'd shared with friendC. I had wanted to arrive with a pot plant gift but we hadn't found anywhere to buy one so arrived with chocolates, however we were now in the perfect place so I told friendK to pick her own gift and she chose a hanging basket.

Back to theirs, hanging basket hooked up and settled down with tea and chat about all the people we had worked with together back in the early 70s, the two men had worked together from 1968 and I joined in 1972. That definitely was dusting off the cobwebs from the archives lol.

Out for dinner about 7pm-ish and as they were getting tired we went in two cars so about 9pm-ish we said our goodnights and went straight back to the hotel. We went into the bar but they didn't have any bottled sparkling water and the tap was broken for the soda water so I had tap water while Hubby had a pint and he watched tv (having to give it a gentle nudge when it went off) and he got talking to the only other guy in there at the time, while I had a quick catchup with my social media stuff. Then up to bed.

We certainly didn't expect any toiletries to be provided for the price we paid but to have to go and ask for another toilet roll because the half one in the bathroom ran out was a bit unnecessary!

Happy to report we both slept well. Breakfast was buffet serve yourself, and I had bran flakes that were very soft, there was a little tinned fruit on offer and the toaster burnt the toast one side only. We both had cooked but the fried eggs had sat there long enough to be hard and rubbery, but the bacon, sausages and mushrooms were fine, I avoided the tomatoes as I couldn't actually find a whole tomato in the pan of juice and the baked beans were much the same. Tea and toast with real butter that was soft enough to spread and she even found me some jam when I asked so we were adequately fed.

We weren't in any rush as our friends knew they were having a new electric meter fitted in the morning so as we didn't want to stay in the hotel we checked out and headed back to the garden centre to have a good look round. We bought some plants that we really did need ;-)  We arrived at our friends' before the Eon guys so plenty of time to chat, then after the meters had been changed we headed out to eat and because none of us had dessert they brought back cake for afternoon tea (too much eating for not much moving around which will have to be corrected very soon). Then just before 5pm we were waving goodbye after making them promise to visit us next. Home about 9:15pm which was good.

Sorry this has been all words and no photos so here are the plants we bought planted first thing yesterday before it started raining again.

Lull before the storm......

Always lovely coming home however good the holiday and O made us this

Home by supper time Saturday and Hubby was out fundraising Sunday so I got everything unpacked and put away and all the laundry done, even did a bit of gardening as the grape vines grow frantically this time of year. 

Monday was going well until the kitchen totally flooded and it took us both nearly an hour to mop it all up. Seems the water purifying system we have was to blame and Hubby immediately turned that off and bypassed the water back to mains then phoned our maintenance man and left a message. Times like this I realise I wouldn't have known what to do so I'll need a full tutorial when it's all fixed. 

Thankfully after mopping and removing cupboard kickboards it has all dried well and not seeped under the flooring. I noted our mishap on facebook to get lots of sympathy as one should, Hubby is most determinedly not on facebook, so he got a couple of odd messages from friends who knew before he knew that they knew (did that make sense?) The maintenance man rang back when Hubby was out of course (swapping blood-runner bikes with his mate) and asked what the problem was and said he couldn't pop round just yet as he's in Tenerife! So with it all switched off and not a problem he'll come Wednesday next week. When Hubby came home and I was about to update him he already knew as his mate had seen that on facebook too hahaha.  Hubby also phoned the water board as the mains stopcock under the sink won't budge and they were coming Wednesday but didn't, Thursday but phoned to postpone till Friday but didn't then either! 

Also on Monday the gas people relaid our patio slabs and removed all the barriers from the patio and the drive revealing some ugly patches in the tarmac which Hubby seems quite happy with, I'm not happy! 

Meanwhile late Monday I heard from my niece that her teenage daughter had been rushed into hospital in the early hours that day which really worried me. We managed to get to the hospital (about 60 miles away) for a visit on Wednesday and thankfully antibiotics worked and blood tests fine and they were sent home Friday afternoon.....I say "they" as my niece stayed the whole time barely sleeping on the reclining chair beside the bed, so she is now unwell too from a stressful week. 

And today is quite a bit cooler and windier and wetter, but no actual storm (artistic licence in the title sorry). Hubby is out in this fundraising again so I'm heading to the kitchen now to make a large and warming cottage pie for him to come back to, he's spoilt eh? 

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Isle of Wight holiday, July 2015.......

Thought I'd start with the map and say that it's just off the south coast of England for anyone that's never heard of the Isle of Wight. Just 27 miles west to east and 13 miles north to south.

Friday 10th
This was the day before our holiday so apart from ironing and packing I did some baking to use up food that wouldn't keep.

The round loaves are half-wholemeal using up the last of the cheddar topped up with the last bit of parmesan and lots of finely chopped spring onions (thanks Hubby for the chopping) two of them were packed to come with us.  Far right is a sweet bread filled with the last two bananas and the last wrinkled apple grated and lots of cinnamon. The dozen buns are cinnamon and raisin which I iced four of and we ate and the rest together with the banana loaf and other cheese and onion bread all went in the freezer. 

Saturday 11th
FriendsN&T came to get us at 10am and off we headed on our holiday 😎
Very warm and sunny, reading up to 26C on the car dashboard, but unfortunately lots of traffic jams so instead of taking a leisurely lunch stop we headed straight to Lymington Ferry port and had half an hour in the nearest pub for a sandwich, then onto the 4pm crossing to Yarmouth

(Hubby isn't hanging his head in despair, he's holding his cap on as it's very windy). We easily found our holiday cottage called Marsh Mellow. All very pleased with our temporary home and the closeness of Yarmouth town centre when we had a walking wander round and stopped to eat at one of the pubs. Back at the house we opened the big cupboard that had some games in and out came the scrabble (I won 😆).

Sunday 12th
Unfortunately our double is the most uncomfortable bed ever and I didn't get much sleep, but everyone else seems more than happy which is good.  It was a wet start to the day but that didn't stop us and we drove out to Osborne House. Actually it barely stopped drizzling all day but nothing heavy.

We decided to rejoin the English Heritage as there will be other places this week to visit. Learnt a lot about Victoria and Albert and their nine children and we spent almost the whole day there. Another local pub for dinner and us ladies had the Sunday roast...I think one dinner between us would still have been too much! And of course we ended the evening with more games out of the cupboard.

Monday 13th
Wet start so we made it a lazy start. We ventured out midmorning when it was dry but windy. Our first stop was to Yarmouth Castle but it's closed on a Monday so we've planned that in for Wednesday. So we just carried on our walk along the coast to Fort Victoria, or what remains of the fort. As we walked back across the bridge the gates came down, the traffic stopped and the bridge swung open to let three boats pass through which was very entertaining.

The men went to get some fish and chips takeaway which actually took them ages as the local brew dragged them into a pub for a couple first!

Tuesday 14th
Today was another English Heritage visit to Carisbrooke Castle, our first stop being the donkey demo of bringing up water from the well by walking the wheel

There was so much to see that we wandered around in really lovely weather for hours. 

All that historical education and a lovely meal in a yet another pub left us needing a good walk along a beach so we stopped at Sandown. As we'd already eaten more than enough and I'd brought the home made bread we decided to buy a few bits to go with it and have a light supper and play another silly game! Actually this game was awful so we all strongly advise you to avoid it at all costs!

Wednesday 15th
Us girls headed out to do the two local markets, they were very little craft markets and didn't take long at all. We bought some hand made cards and friendN bought some chutney and was told by the lady that made it that with two of her friends (sitting there too) they had been national chutney champions for the WI four years running. We then rang the men to meet us and we went into Yarmouth Castle using our English Heritage membership, small but very interesting and while we were outside on the upper battlements looking out over the Solent, we watched the lifeboat go out on a rescue and come back. Then it was a lovely walk along the last remaining fully wooden pier after which it was time for lunch. Then buying provisions for later we headed home and out again to walk the marsh land that starts at the old railway station behind the house.

So on through fields of thistles (I said ouch a lot and they laughed) and over styles (I got stuck and they laughed) and bridges then back along the road and beach and back to the harbour. Love the variety! Back home and we made full use of the little garden summer house for our cream tea. 

Of course we needed to work off all those calories so a game of KUBB before another yummy pub dinner. 

All this relaxing is exhausting lol.

Thursday 16th

The Needles, and we were all a little underwhelmed.

The whole site has become too commercial, the Needles are too far away to look impressive and the little cable lift chairs are expensive and don't really go over more than Alum Bay, however not a total disappointment as we all enjoyed the glass blowing demo, I could watch that sort of thing for hours. Yesterday I'd bought friendN an "I-Spy" book for the island and she'd ticked lots of things that we'd already seen but today she wanted to see the oldest standing stone which we wouldn't even have known about if it hadn't been in her book, so a long walk up Strawberry Lane and the stone got a big hug as the information board said it was probably "the most misunderstood prehistoric monument"!

Then we drove to find lunch and found a lovely pub called The White Mouse and we sat in the big bay window with views of the coast and cliffs. More driving round the coast road and a stop at Ventnor then a stop at Shanklin. We'd all had big dinners at the pub so decided to buy a few provisions to help use up what was in our kitchen already for a snacky super out in the garden. The weather had been glorious all day and soon after we came inside it rained, so it was another silly trivia game before bed. Confession.....I only bragged about winning that first scrabble game because I seriously lost everything else hahaha. 

Friday 17th

Our last day and we had to tick off as much as we could in the i-spy book, so first another English Heritage property Appuldurcombe House which none of us could pronounce so when someone called it Applecrumble House it stuck. This one was actually free as it was just a shell of the old building and while we were there they were setting it up for a wedding.

We would have gone into the falconry centre (which we would have had to pay for but the man at the desk when asked if there were toilets was so grumpy we didn't go in. Next stop was Brading for the Roman Villa, and we had lunch there, then to Bembridge but drove through as nowhere to park, and onto Ryde for a walk on the prom, and saw the hovercraft go back and forth a few times and the ferry and the old London underground train they still use along the pier (tick tick tick). Time to sit with an icecream people and boats watching. Then following the coast road to East Cowes and across the estuary on the chain link ferry (sometimes called the floating bridge) then last we could do on the ticklist was Newtown for the oldest townhall in constant use, and we found it but there really was nothing else there to see. We managed to book ourselves into the very popular fish restaurant in Yarmouth and so pleased we did as the food was very yummy and we finished the evening in the nearest pub. 

Saturday 18th

Doesn't a week go by too fast when you're on holiday! So packing up and going home day and the men had hankered all week over the full English breakfast on offer in the pier cafe so that's what we had before getting on the ferry. 

The verdict was we'd all definitely go back to the Isle of Wight and we all prefer Yarmouth side to stay for its uncommercial relaxed atmosphere especially as it's so easy to get around the rest of the island to sightsee.

Lovely holiday with very lovely people and we thank them lots and lots for doing all the driving! 

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