Wednesday 1 August 2012

My countdown starts today. Paul is flying out to our new home and I am here in the UK flight pending. Apprehensive, nervous, excited and so much more. See you in about 2 weeks my gorgeous xx

Thursday 2 August 2012

Today is the day I say A Bientot to my lovelies. They're off on trips to France, Portugal and parties galore. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to see them before they come to visit during the October half term. Have a weird feeling in my tummy and feeling a little sick. No doubt there'll be tears. 

Friday 3 August 2012

Looking forward to a visit from my dear friend Sara. Neither of us know when we will see each other again as she has plans to go overseas too. Another "Au Revoir".

Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 August 2012

A lovely relaxing weekend with Sara, country walks and watching our fabulous Olympic legacy with our triple athletics Gold medals from Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford, our cylcing wonders and of course the fabulous Andy Murray who became Olympic champion on 5 August 2012.

Sad to say Au Revoir to Sara, waving her goodbye down the track at Nuneaton station.  

My flight not yet confirmed - must call persistently tomorrow a.m.

Monday 6 August 2012

My lovelies are at the Olympic Stadium today watching the Athletics. Shame Dai Greene couldn't make it for a medal for them to see :-(

My Flight confirmed! Wobble‼

Thursday 9 August 2012

Trip to Chester for a 'Goodbye' lunch with family. Beautiful day and Chester really is a lovely city. It was buzzing with people and street performers. Nice coffee by the the river and lunch at Duttons. Bought a birthday pressie for my little niece who is going to be 2 on 13 August. Then called in at brother's to collect van keys on way back to Pinewood and discovered 'Princess Pixie' was in the process of giving birth to her beautiful pups. Back to Pinewood, a few JDs in good company and then bed.

Monday to Friday 13-17 August 2012

Monday

Very long flight. Managed to get some kip in             (sitting up :-( )Great to have a stop off half way to stretch my legs. Stuffed with food and drink throughout the flight. Will take me a week of exercise just to get over it. Arrived on time and husband there to greet me. Prawn & egg curry for dinner, cooked by my beloved, washed down with a bottle of Monistrol Rose Cava. Bed by by 2030 hrs local time (0030 back home).

Saturday & Sunday 18-19 August 2012

Saturday

Paul at work this morning so I caught up with a bit of admin. We went for a bimble into Stanley in the afternoon. Weather foggy, chilly and damp but they have improved the road so journey not bad at all. Do wonder how one is supposed to gauge where the edge of the road is though when the weather is really bad. Stanley was quiet but there were quite a few visiting the War Memorial dedicated to those who freed the islanders in 1982. Very sad. Not feeling too well today, think the yellow fever jab is taking hold.

Sunday

Woke up to these lovely fellas outside my kitchen window. They are eyeing up next door's chickens. Actually about 8 of them sitting on the fence and clattering over the rooftop. Spent most of today unpacking and placing our furniture where we want it. Starting to feel more like home now. Missing my kids though - they are the only thing missing at the moment. Can't wait to have internet at home so I can FaceTime them.

Monday to Friday 20-24 August 2012

Monday

More administration today. Lots to do to get settled in and find my way around. Also catching up with my Spanish using an audio course. Not much to report apart from our internet still not set up and I'm fed up that I can't see my kids on FaceTime. Getting a bit nervous about GCSE results too.

Tuesday

Spinning in Darwin today. Quite a drive too - we shook for the hours journey there and for the hours journey back. That on top of about 4 hours spinning (from fleece not tops), which is actually hard work, exhausted me. Bonny made us lunch which was a lovely homemade swede soup and fresh bread. Avoided a glass of wine as the drive home was precarious and very windy. Came home and had a kip on the sofa before getting dinner ready. Sounds idyllic - it's like going back in time but a great privilege to be able try these things. 

Wednesday

Meeting the charity shop team today. Offered my services as Secretary and a couple of hours a week in the shop. Then off to get some advice and ideas about local trips and transport. Looking forward to some helicopter rides I think.

 Thursday

Craft club today. Drove myself and a few neighbours into Stanley and met up with the group for a couple of hours. Some of them have been here for years and others are wives of people on assignments here. We then went to York Bay and Gypsy Cove, passing the wreck of the Lady Elizabeth (click on photo of wreck above to go to website for more info.) en route. The sea is tourquoise and so beautifully clear; no wonder the wildlife thrives here, unfortunately though, no penguins or dolphins today, not quite the season yet.

And guess what? We did! So fantastic to see. And Comerson Dolphins too!

More photos in our photo section: Magellenic Oystercaterhs, Longtailed Meadowlark and the Two-Banded Plover.

Spinning again at Darwin today - Steph drove us there - stil shook for the hour each way. Have nearly filled my bobbin. Can't wait to ply. Even thinking about buying a wheel when I get back to the UK LMAO.

Lovely drive in to Stanley today with Lucy, Sue and Mary. Went to Susan H's for craft club - she felted a hen - it's amazing - some people are so talented. Got a free FI trout today too. Think we may tandoori it, just need tofind the recipe. The scenery is bleak sometimes but really so beautiful. Rolling clouds, gorgeous cobalt blue seas and fabulous cloudscapes. Really miss my kids today more than ever. 

Monday

Monday is my designated housework, admin and pottering day (unless anything more exciting comes up). I cleaned the house from top to bottom today and also had a little go at learning some piano exercises. My new-found cross stitch interest is quite captivating – I completed a good chunk of my hand-beaded card. I find it helps me to relax and allows my mind to wander away from day-to-day issues and worries.Good thing really, TV here is limited, and that's putting it mildly. We are currently wading our way through the whole series of Damages, now on series 2. As yet I don't miss much, apart from family. It struck me how much we are 'sold to' back home – it's a delight to be free from it. Who knows, my views may change once the summer is over.

Tuesday

Spinning again today. I'm getting on quite well with my first bobbin. Lucy, Mary & Sue tell me it's very good for a first go. I bet they say that to everybody ;-) I really would like to have a go at felting too.

I tested the locals' good will and patience to the limit today. Our Discovery is an old 'P' registration and I drove it to Darwin to take everyone Spinning. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the bleepy thing that tells you when you've left your lights on so......yes you've guessed it, I left the lights on! All day‼ At about 4 pm we got in the car to go home, nothing! Bonnie, her husband Ken and neighbour Graham were absolutely wonderful. They tried to jumpstart, no good. They found bigger jump leads, still no good. They towed it using one of their 4x4s up the hill and round the track and back down the hill, (Mary, Lucy, Sue & I all had our hearts in our mouths at this stage), still no good. In the end the Disco was taken to the 'barn' for a supercharge. In the meantime Bonnie shared her wine and her wonderful Falkland polished pebbles. Something else I want to try. Need to pebble pick first though. In the meantime, Paul was heading out from home, about an hour away in a ramshackle, draughty old Defender whose doors were about to fall off. If you saw the road to Darwin you would understand why this is no fun. Our battery sorted we headed off and met Paul coming the other way. He followed us home but couldn't get above 30 mph for much of the drive so we spent the rest of the journey wondering if he was ok and slowing down to let him catch up. He never said a word, no sarcastic 'typical woman' remarks, just a grin and the usual lovely man he is. Love him.

Bless Ken, Graham, Bonnie, and of course Paul. Apologies to husbands of Lucy, Mary and Sue for having to make do with pizza, or even worse cook your own dinner. :-))

Wednesday

More cross-stitch today – It's Stitch & Bitch tomorrow so need to get my needles flying to ensure I have something to show everyone. I've asked Susan H to bring her felted hen so I can take a picture – it's amazing. The eye looks like glass but it's not – it's felted by hand.

Music Club – went along for our first proper session, but the band decided they were rehearsing instead as they had a new singer and a gig on Saturday at Shady's. Can't argue with that really.

Thursday

Stitch & Bitch at Mary's today with a nice chilli for lunch. Susan brought her felted hen as requested – just take a look at the photo – if you don't think it is amazing I will be stunned. She made this from scratch.  Take a look at my photos section to check out the felted eye of the hen. 

Still waiting for my Boots order to arrive as I really need to do my roots ;-(

Friday

Thrift Shop shift today. Can't believe how busy it was. Loads of people in looking for fancy dress. One woman bought loads of stuff to make a Unicorn outfit and a guy bought stuff to make a Griffin outfit. Which reminds me, I need to find a Bond themed outfit for a dinner in a couple of weeks – might have to make something up – thinking of going as Rosa Klebb in her maid's outfit.

Finally‼ Managed to get Matt on FaceTime – so good to see him and speak to him properly. He's settling into 6^th form and obviously pleased with his GCSE results. 5A* and 5A grades.

Not yet managed to speak to my mum since she fell down the stairs at Anderby Creek. I know she's ok but would like to speak to her.

Staying in tonight as we are going to see the band at Shady's tomorrow.

Saturday

Off to Stanley Craft Fair today. Called into The Pink Shop to pick up the McKenzie-Thorpe I've had framed "She Loves Me" - what a great job. it looks fabulous.

Loads of interesting stuff at the craft fair. The Stitch & Bitch girls did brilliantly. Amongst them Mary's cross-stitch Meadowlark has won 3^rd prize in her category – really pleased for her. Susan's felted hen, unsurprisingly got 1^st prize and even a mention on Falkland Islands Radio on Sunday night. The quality of much of the work is amazing, remembering that a lot of it is created from scratch, that is right from the greasy fleece of the sheep. Unfortunately the time, material and effort that is spent making these items means that many people don't want to pay their real worth.

Much of it is produced for sheer pleasure.

After the fair I took Paul to Gypsy Cove.

The band playing at Shady's were well received and paid due 'respect' by their audience. The usual kind of rock music and anthem songs but very well performed. Had a couple of glasses of red and left by 2300 hrs as Paul and I are off with the conservation group quite early tomorrow.

 Sunday

Killing Calaphate in the Falklands – Calaphate is an aggressive invasive plant from the South Americas. A couple of plants were bought here about 80 years ago to act as shelter. For some reason it has really taken a hold and is spreading aggressively at Sussex Point. Calaphate looks like a thorn bush and is a viscious sharp thing which causes problems for cattle and sheep. The conservation group agreed to undertake and experiment to try to get rid of the plant manually in one small area. There were about 16 of us who split into groups of 3 or 4. Each member was assigned with the task of cutting, carrying or poisoning. I was 'poisoning' which entailed painting herbicide with an artist's brush on the exposed root after cutting. Tiring and hard work on the back. It was very windy but no rain. Were were rewarded by Richard and Toni, owners of Sussex Point Farm, with a lunch of homemade drop scones, diddle-dee & apple jam, syrup, lemon curd and strawberry jam and a BBQ for 5000 at the end of the day, washed down with some chilled Grolsch. It was great fun in great company and really good to get out and meet some local people and do something for the islands. I am going litter-picking at Mare Harbour next week to try to combat litter that blows onto Bertha's Beach. Somebody she works with used to go to school on a pony (sharing the ride with 2 other kids), the journey used to take a few hours. The advent of 4x4s being imported onto the islands since the conflict in 1982 has made a huge difference to their lives – I'll leave you to judge if it's good or bad.

Monday

Housework day again. Also got stuck into my cross-stitch ready for Stitch & Bitch on Thursday. Once I've shown my first completed piece of craft it is going to be posted off to the UK to a certain little lady who I love to the end of the universe. I took a break and went for a walk across the fields. A beautiful clement day. Actually had to take my gloves off. Accompanied Paul on a work's dinner but retired early as tired from the conservation trip on Sunday.

Tuesday

Spinning again today. Lucy is driving and I have gifts of thanks for my rescue last week stowed in my rucksack – Penderyn Whisky and Golden Virginia tobacco. Penderyn is a delicious welsh whisky matured in madeira barrels and a favourite of my family's. I hope Bonnie and Ken like it too.

Before I left I stuck some mutton shanks in the slow cooker for dinner tonight.

I finished my first bobbin of yarn and started a second one. Apparently I have got on well and quite quickly so hopefully my next one will be even quicker. I have asked Bonnie if I can do some felting over the next few weeks as there are a few gift ideas I would like to try. Bonnie gave us some lovely fresh home grown curley Kale before we left.

Shanks cooked to a turn when I got home – served with sliced sauteed potatoes and veg. Yum Yum.

Music club again tonight (on Tuesday now). Great to get to do some singing with a band. Some of it was hit and miss, none of us knew each other and we all play/sing different stuff; still it was good fun neverthless.

Had some upsetting news about a friend back home today. Sending wishes and positive thoughts her way and praying for a good outcome.



Wednesday

Was up until 0400 hrs lat night updating and uploading to this blog. We have a limited downlaod quota but there is free download between midnight and six a.m. (give or take 10 minutes either side). Our first month here was a disaster in terms of download – we (or rather 'I' ) incurred an additional £120 of extra charges in downloads – I was downloading the latest episode of Desert Island Discs and left it doing so overnight, however, I had inadvertently selected download ALL episodes – so now I am better off by 86 episodes and worse off by £120. Whilst I was uploading last night I realised that Georgie would be up in the UK so I sent a BBM message and got a reply. Suddenly my Blackberry disconnected from the WIFI network and wouldn't reconnect. It's funny how technology gives us the illusion of proximity. Not being able to message my kids freely shattered that illusion and all of a sudden the 8000 miles was all too real. I shed a tear or two but beat the modem up until it connected to my Blackberry again. I then went to bed happy after wishing Georgie a great day.

Been looking forward to today. I can have a little lie in after being up most of the night. Lucy is coming round for lunch and to sort out some trips out, but most of all excited about going Bertha's Beach this afternoon. Myself, Lucy, Sue & Mary have one fo the afternoon keys and it is a beautiful day (yesterday was dismally icy and a bitter cold wind) - as the song says, “What a difference a day makes”‼

The track to the beach is a mini 4x4 adventure some days and as we pulled up to the beach to park I spotted a Crested Caracara – not terribly common here in the islands but there are a few. He was majestic and rather beautiful. We were all very excited and taking pictures then poor Mary realised her camera battery was flat and she did not have her spare – even though she has pictures from other occasions, you do feel that every opportunity missed is a loss here.

We walked for 4 hours or so to Fox Point and back. Glorious sunshine, and very unusually, no wind at all. There were the odd lone Gentoo penguins who must have been waiting for their colonies and the Comerson Dolphins were out playing too. I caught a little bit of video of them chasing the waves. Some beautiful shells here too. I found what we believe is a seal's skull.

By the time we got home I was exhausted having only had about 5 hours sleep. Paul cooked dinner and I slept like a log when I went to bed.

Thursday

Stitch & Bitch today – love it. Meeting up in Stanley at another Susan's house. I'm taking my cross-stitch to show my completed first piece. Am going to get some knitting and felting bits whilst in Stanley today.

Lovely day in Stanley. e went to the Spinners' Guild which is basically a portakabin in a garden with a pallet for a step. Hilarious but what a little gem of place. 6 spinning wheels and several weaving looms and loads of fleece at only 80 p per 50 grammes. Bought some white and grey fleece for felting and later some wool at Falklands Farmers to start knitting. Yes KNITTING (lil ole me). Paul will wonder what's happening. When he came home and found me cross stitching he looked at me and said “Who are you? And what have you done with my wife?”.



Friday

Not much to report today. A few bits of admin to do before going to my shift in the Thrift Shop.

Monday

The usual admin and cleaning day today. Andrea invited me round late afternoon to show me how to felt. I made my first Xmas blauble (hbyrid of bauble and blob) as I'm sure it's not quite the shape it shold be. When I got home I spent the evening practising and making different shapes. It's fascinating how stabbing a needle into fleece can transform it into pretty much anything you like.

 Tuesday

Off spinning with Lucy, Sue and Steph today. My turn to drive. The road to Darwin is dreadful at the moment. It has been covered with very sharp shale to fill the potholes – unfortunately not successfully in some parts of the road. It is very difficult to drive at times – you just aim for the ruts and tracks that alread exist and hope for the best. The car behind kept it's distance to avoid a chipped windscreen from the shale that comes out from the back of my car.

Bonnie spent quite a bit of time with us today. When we arrived there were 2 hawks sitting in a tree. Think they were redback hawks. They are protected I think, but the islanders don't like them around at this time of year as they attack the new born lambs, or even worse as they are being born and take their eyes and tongues - nice‼

Ended up with 16 fresh eggs today – 4 from Steph as a thank you for driving and 12 from Bonnie from her hens for £4.00. Yum can't wait – eggs here tend to be from Chile from much of the year and have a kind of mustiness to them – I'm really fussy about eggs though – think it's just me and that Paul doesn't notice.

Dinner at Mary and Colin's tonight. They are clearing out their freezer so am looking forward to a nice lamb shank.

Wednesday

Windy day today. Was looking forward to a boat trip this weekend to Volunteer Point and a flight to Sea Lion Island but have been advised that we are expecting severe weather conditions this weekend so all have been cancelled :-(

Apparently we are due some very cold weather along with a dumping of snow.

Cooked a pasta, broccoli, bacon and cheese bake for Craft Club tomorrow. We are having a lunch to say goodbye to Natalie who is off to Europe.

Message from Matt – “FaceTime me”, second messeage “Quick”. Lol, I wait for days to get him to FT me and then it's a mad rush. He makes me laugh.

Sara's birthday today and a very special meeting with some HRH's for some recognition in her hard work and effort in the Olympic and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies.

Happy Birthday Sara - Hugs to you my lovely xxxxx

Thursday

Standing outside waiting for my lift. It's fffffffreezing. Cheesey bake in hand. Lucy is driving today. Weather not great and road to Stanley, though not as bad as Darwin, is very slippy in places.

As we pass the 'Frying Pan', a pretty inlet that cuts across the road (under it), someone shouts “oooohh sealion, sealion”. We see 3 of them swimming in the inlet. It's quite far in for sealions but they like the plentiful fish in this little place. We pull over to try to get some shots but it's too difficult. The slamming car doors alert them to our presence and they swim away. One of our neighbours sees us and stops as she is passing by – checking we are all ok. It's customary here to check that anybody parked up on the roadside is ok and everybody gives a wave as they pass on the roads to acknowledge they are safe.

A quick shop in Stanley, the Chandlery for food, Falkland Farmers for wool and crafty bits and then the bakery before heading to Sue's for the get together and lunch. Some fab bits of food on display as always. Had some of Mary's wonderful ginger cake and cream for pudding and a couple of Buck's Fizz. Some of the ladies kindly gave me some coloured fleece to start me off. Though I intend to buy some from the Pink Shop. Went to the Gift Shop on Villiers Street and bought myself a nice fur headband ready for the forecasted appauling weather this weekend. 

A bit of crafting at home this afternoon and then an unexpected phone call from the school - Matt has broken his ankle playing rugby. Can't believe it  Need to talk to him but it's late at home and he is still at the hospital. G tells me to stop worrying and to remember she broke her ankle when she was 10 and she's ok. Bless her. Early rise tomorrow in the hope of speaking to Matt and to update this site in the 'free download zone'.

Friday

Knackered - need a lie in. Did not get to speak to Matt. He's tucked away in his room and we can't get FaceTime working :-( Spent ages instant messaging but Matt had prep to do so I had to stop 'pestering' him. 

His foot is in plaster - playing rugby it seems is not the safest of sports. Should be grateful it's just his ankle I know. Bless him, he sent me a photo.

Off to the Thrift Shop for my weekly shift. Paul is out 'roadying' with the band tonight. I'm staying with the telly.

Maria video skyped me tonight - lovely surprise - it was about 2330 hrs in the UK - she'd been out for an Indian and looked like she'd had a few - hahahahah sorry Maria, only joking - love youxxxx

Hear you guys have some bad weather on the way - wind? The wind is so bad here there ARE no trees. Wondering what the weather warning we have will actually turn out like. We have been told that our Sealion Island trip is actually on now so we have to report in at 0800 for 0930 take off. 

Looking forward to a weekend with my hubby.

Sunday

Alarm went off at 1615 and fifteen minutes later I'm up, washed and dressed; in the kitchen cooking a full English. Black pudding, Falklands beef sausages, bacon, fresh eggs and baked beans. Sealion is the most southerly of the islands and if the weather turns is likely to get the worst of it. Making sure we have a packed lunch, hot drink, water and are layered up to keep warm. I'm wearing hiking boots, tights, leggings, Sprayway waterproofs, cashmere rollneck, fleece and Sprayway coat plus the usual hat, scarf and gloves. Paul is similarly attired and we have our sleeping bags which we are instructed are mandatory in case we get stranded on the island. However, we Lucy and I are added to a trip to Sealion on Wednesday, fantastic！

Anyway, full of carbs to keep us warm we set off to the departure lounge and sit down with Lucy, Jez and a few others for a coffee whilst we wait for take off. The flight team then announces that the weather warning is so bad for the south that they are not happy to take us in case they can't get back to pick us up. Lucy and I look at each other - we had half expected it but are so disappointed as we want to see the seal pups. Worst of all I'm full of food and have nowhere to go to work it off. We need to stay local we are advised and I don't fancy the gym and all the sweaty show offs today. Home it is and knitting to the rescue. I'm trying to knit some armwarmers but not getting very far as I keep dropping stitches or getting the tension wrong. Persistence will pay off I'm sure.

Paul is tired and goes for a lie down. The snow starts and then Margaret and Brian call us so we Skype them back.  Mum FaceTimed we too. So lovely to hear from family. The snow disappears as quickly as it came. The wind continues to howl though.

Monday

Tea and cake at Steph's today - yay！

Val MacDermid keeps me company as I go round the house doing my housework. Window cleaner may turn up today so must remember to keep the bedroom curtains shut when I go for my shower :-$

Cooked a pineapple upside down cake, but used quarters of plums instead of glace cherries (yeeugh) and also sprinkled a bit of ginger over the fruit before covering it with the sponge mixture. It came out really syrupy. Very tasty. Taking half for Steph and will leave the rest at home for Paul

A few emails to catch up on - desperately trying to get the front garden wall sorted at our property in the UK - it's so difficult to manage these things from a distance sometimes. 

Suddenly realise the time and have to whizz up to the admin team to sort a few travel issues and then to the shop for cards, some of which need to be posted TODAY aaaargh........Don't forget the upside down cake, which actually nearly ended up a 'right way up cake' when I dropped it and caught in mid air as I rushed out of the house.

Tasks completed I'm off to Stephs. Lovely cakes, all made with her fresh eggs. We chatted about various things but had a good laugh at Stephs hat which was meant to be a floppy beret but because she'd used chunkier wool and the same needs it looked more like a gnomes hat (see pic). We had a cuddle with the hens and decided that actually close up they are not that cute - weird eyes - much prettier at a distance.

Got home and had a Skype with G - always lovely to talk to my gorgeous girl - she sounds good and over her new term-itis. She wanted dates for coming out here - bless her she is going to miss her friend's birthday party 28 December - I always feel so bad about those situations but I have to have some time with them whilst I can.

Cooked Stanley bakers chicken pie, mash and veg for dinner and offered Paul some pineapple upside down cake. I got changed to go to the choir meeting whilst he ate it. He came into the bedroom and said "Do I HAVE to eat all of this cake?", "Of course not", I said, "Just take what you want'. "Can I eat all of it?" He asked - lol - saves me the poundage..........

Choir meet interesting........some of the songs not quite right I think. I'm supposed to be taking it over when the current encumbent moves on - Lord help me........go on, pleeeaaaaasssse

Tuesday

Blimey, you guys are having a rough time with the wind and rain again.  Sending you all love and hugs. Loving the spaniel in the foam though.

Back to Darwin today for a spin. Couldn't get it right today. My foot action was not in sync for some reason and I kept overspinning, also did not move the yarn along the 'sprockets' early enough so some of my bobbin collapsed. Bonnie made us a lovely curried swede soup with French bread and chocolate and orange cake (gluten free). All very yummy. Believe it or not you need food like that when you are spinning. We told Bonnie's husband he could connect our wheels to a generator and get free electricity. Honestly, we get seriously warm spinning and have to turn the heating off. Bought a dozen of Bonnie's lovely fresh eggs to take home. So miss fresh eggs - £4.00 a dozen here. Saw a swede last week, (the edible kind) £4.00‼ 

We left a little earlier today. There was Black-chinned Siskin sitting on bush singing his beak off. The road is pretty bad and the wind we've had recently means it is getting worse. It consists of large shale pieces which are lethal for the tyres, as if the pot holes aren't enough. I felt the car was not handling as normal so was keeping an eye on the driver's side rear wheel as we made our way home - bit worried it was looking low (last week one of the groups who go on a different day had a puncture on the way there AND on the way back). Dropped the girls home and then went to 'Kwikfit' to check out the pressures - seriously low - the worst was 9 PSI and others ranged from 22 to 28 - they should all be over 30. Sorted now but must do weekly checks to make sure, particularly before I head off to those further afield places. 

The car keeps doing a funny thing - when I fuel up, or sometimes when I stop for a few minutes somewhere and switch the engine off, it wont start again. All lights work and so on, the key turns but there is no power - it has been a real cunundrum, until today that is - it happened at 'Kwikfit' and the guy watched me in the car - "Put your foot on the accelerator" he said - I'm doing the modern car thing were you just turn the key - put my foot down and Bob's your Uncle - off she went. I must psychologically put my foot on the accelerator when I first go out but later just turn the key - odd but will keep an eye out to see if that is indeed the case. Left the bloke in 'Kwikfit' grinning with that 'honestly, women' look on his face. Big raspberry but thanks for your help love.

A bit of shopping, home, cooking chinese as a practice for the Safari Supper this coming Saturday - chinese style braised beef and egg fried rice. Will do a few other bits too but wanted to give them a try. Quite tasty but more chilli and more honey or muscavado I think. We watched Damages (series 3) whilst we ate. And here I am at 0215 FI time (0615 UK time) updating this blog. 

Goodnight, or should I say Good-day and God Bless you all. I hope the weather calms down for you all.

Oh yes - Lucy checked this afternoon and our Sealion Island trip tomorrow is now to Volunteer Point instead - just as excited, we are now Sealion Islanding this coming Saturday :-))

Wednesday

What a fabulous day with Lucy - helicopter ride to Volunteer Point where we saw King Penguins, Gentoos & Magellenic Penguins. King Penguins are as gorgeous in real life as they look in the photos and the babies are so cute. I'll upload a video later. The scenery was beautiful and at one point on the beach we were standing in bright sunlight shining directly upon us but encircled by almost black cloud.

The King Penguin chicks are hilarious. They seem to know when you have food or are eating and come wandering over for a beg of a feed. We don't feed them though as it's not allowed.  Watching them walk is hilarious.

There are also animal corpses lying on the beach - mainly sheep, but the odd penguin or two also. It's amazing how they fleece and bones remain even after everything else has been scavaged. It is all bleached white. The landscape is amazing; even though the pictures are taken in colour you could almost think they are black and white. Check them out in our photos section.

All in all a great day. :-)

Have uploaded a video but the YouTube version is a bit fuzzy - hope you can see it anyway.

Thursday

The weekly crafting and shopping trip to Stanley today. It's a lovely day with lots of sunshine, though by the time we get to the other side of the ridge the weather could well change; it usually does. 

Got to Stanley and spent a good hour and a half with the ladies. Sue H showed me the cable cast on method to help with my awful knitting project that I have started about 15 times - it seemed to solve the problem.  We did the usual shopping trip later and bought some lovely ink well bottles with the original contents in. They were saved from the shipwreck of an American Sailing vessel, the Jonh R Kelley. It was wrecked in Port William on 15 May 1899 on it's way to San Francisco from New York. Also bought some little penguin ornaments - nice ones though - handmade by one of the craft ladies. 

We had an interesting conversation at the Spinning Guild. One of the ladies there still has a peat oven in her house. It's basically a range but fired with peat. 1 October is national peat cutting day in The Falkland Islands - it's one of their bank holidays. I'm now thinking of planning a trip to one of the shepherds' huts to stay the night and use the peat oven - no electric, so candlight only - could be a laugh.

After our Stanley escapade we headed off to Surf Bay which is veryclose to Stanley. So beautiful and peaceful. We got back later than usual, about 1700 hrs. I am so tired now and need a good night's sleep to make sure I'm up to the next couple of days which will be busy. Chilli for dinner tonight - converted from last night's spaghetti bolognese.

Friday

OMG forgot that today we have a wheel changing session combined witha coffee and cake morning. Did get a good night's sleep last night but not as good as I would have liked. Still woke up at 4 am and then snoozed in and out of sleep until 0900 hrs.

Wheel changing session interesting - refreshed my memory from my couple of days at The Michelin School in London almost 30 years ago. Unfortunately discovered that though our car has the jack, it does not have the jack handle or the wrench to get the nuts off. Need to get that sorted.

After that I went to my shift at the Thrift Shop. Made some good sales. Went to the bar to meet a couple of people for a G&T but only had a couple before coming home to a very welcome chicken curry cooked by my one and only - then bed.

Saturday

Sealion Island is here - yaaaay - have to dash to the shop first as I don't have any ginger, chillies or garlic and spring onions for our main course at the Bond themed Safari Supper tonight. Picking up Fiona en route to the helipad.

Only spent 2 hours on the island as needed to be back for cooking and finishing off my Rosa Klebb outfit, but what a wonderful 2 hours. The elephant seals were in full swing, new pups had been born the day before and still had umbilical cords attached. The Discovery Channel were there filming too. There were a few Bulls and one of them was trying to move into another's territory but he was soon chased off. I have a bit of video and will add it to this site once sorted. The seal Cows were beautiful and pups so cute. 

At one point Fiona and I thought one of the Bulls was coming for us. There was a cow and a pup up on the rocks, which is very unusual and we got quite close to her. We could see the bull far enough away by the sea with the rest of his 'hareem', but he seemed to have an eye on us. Suddenly he raised his body up and barked then started heading towards us at surprisingly swift speed. Needless to say we ran. Turns out though, he was after 'another bit of skirt' - she also ran, well, shuffled.

We wandered along the beach, encountering more seals, penguins and caracaras. There were other birds too, and lots of Oystercatchers nesting. I managed to get a photo of one of the eggs as an Oystercatcher tried to distract us from his nest by doing a little dance. We made it back to the lodge through huge Gentoo and Magellenic penguin colonies, finishing our visit off with a coffee and sandwich before heading back to the East Island on the helicopter.

When I got home Paul had started on the chinese style braised beef and the chicken and prawn parcels and we continued together to get the egg fried rice and veg sorted. I made the blades for my Rosa Kleb shoes - cardboard, silver foil and sellotape work wonders. Paul made me a gun using a marker pen and cardboard, which again I finished off with silver foil and sellotape. Table set, food prepped and in the oven. Showered, and ready to go. We are heading off to The Hill's for our starter. Who knows how the night will unfold. Our co-guests at the starter were Doctor No, Domino, James Bond, Commander Jamie Bond, A Prawn with a License to Krill and another Doctor No.

Well the starter was lovely, a fully homemade prawn cocktail and champers. Lots of decor in line with the theme of the night. Then Paul and I headed off back to ours to serve our main course to our 4 guests - and we didn't know who they were until they arrived. It went well - we served some nice chilled wine with it too and Paul finished our course off with a little Bond theme on his guitar. Our guests were another James Bond in black tie, A James Bond in casual gear, a Chinese agent Wai Linn from Tomorrow never Dies and Vespa. Again we split up and Paul and I headed off to our pudding location where we met a very convicing male Solitaire, a shark, 2 German hikers (apparently there's always a German hiker in a James Bond film???), Moneypenny and Q. We were served a fabulous plum and cinammon tart as well as Cherry Cheesecake, Trifle, white wine and Baileys. Fantastic. Then we all headed off the for the final showdown where we all met up for cheese and biscuits and a bit of a party.  Shirley Bassey won the best fancy dres sprize. A Good night. Paul and I did do a little playing and singing in the conservatory but it was very late and soon time to head home. Such a busy day and week - the dishes can wait. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sunday

Spent most of today in pjs, eating pizza and drinking coke. Not feeling too good but not a hangover. Hmmmm

After the long flight the kids spent a few days settling in and adjusting. The weather is good but not brilliant and there is a strong wind.

Tuesday

The kids and I drove to Stanley to make sure we got all the food we need. It's going to be interesting as the kids love to snack on ham, cheese and 'fridge food' and the choice here is rather limited. 

Thursday

We went to Elephant Beach Farm on the north of the East island. A nice drive along the M25 of the island, passing Port Sussex, San Carlos, where the British troops landed and were based in the 1982 conflict and then on to Elephant Beach Farm. The kids had quite a shock when we got there. A little cabin, pretty much in the middle of nowhere with very basic amenities and facilities. The grumps started when one in particular realised there was no WiFi, oh yes and only 2 tv channels. Oh dear. Eventually both of them ventured out of their room and we went to meet the owner's sheep, looked for the roosting owls in the barn before dinner. Paul had a fantastic idea to get 'buy-in' and he took both the kids out for a driving lesson in the Disco. Paul and I later took a nice walk out to the 'lake' before bed.

Friday

A beautiful day and we went for a 4x4 tour of the coastline. A really beautiful part of the Falkland Islands. Mandy and John, our guides let Matt drive their Toyota and Georgia drove our Disco. They had a great time and really enjoyed the 4x4 experience. There were lots of Gentoo penguins who were very inquisitive but unfortunately we only had a very distant sighting of elephant seals.

Georgia managed to bring the Disco back minus its front bumper.

We had our packed lunch on the road and got back about 1400 hrs when we pack up and headed home. The law here means that on some parts of the islands you can drive without a license so we allowed Matt to take the wheel and drive us part of the way home (Elephant Beach to San Carlos). The weather changed beyond belief en route and he ended up driving through, rain, sleet and snow.

Saturday

A day resting

Sunday to Monday

Sunday we took the helicopter to Bleaker Island. A long and narrow remote farming island to the south east of the group. Originally called Breaker Island due to the waves that come in, the name has been corrupted over the years. The winds were very high, around MPH and it was quite difficult to walk sometimes, however Paul and I were undeterred, unlike the kids, and headed off to see the Imperial Cormorants building their nesting colony and the Rockhoppper penguins.

A huge pile of meat was provided which we could have bbqd in the large outside barn however, because of the wind we opted to cook in the kitchen. We were sharing the lodge with some travellers from the UK and Australia. They had just spend a week at Sealion Island having alighted there after sailing from South Georgia.

On Monday morning Paul and I went for a walk to the north of the island. We hoped to get a close up of the Black Necked Swans, but they were very shy and kept flying to the other side of the lake. Our flight back to the East Island was a little hairy due to the wind.

Tuesday to Saturday

The kids spent most of their time revising and studying in preparation for the next half term. Oh yes and getting dvds from the library. TV here is limited and our internet download is too. I then headed back to the UK with them and dropped them in London from where they went to their dad's.