Blogpost No2 February 2024
When we last spoke, dear reader, Bob and I had arranged a few days with dear friends Ina and Michael Fine at Woy Woy on the Central Coast (NSW), followed by a couple of days further south near Lake Conjola, with Fiona and Ian Stewart at Yatte Yattah. It feels like a lifetime ago now!
We enjoyed dips in the warm Pacific Ocean, walks through rainforests and high mountain ridges (Mount Bushwalker!), delicious meals punctuated with laughter and life stories, some funny, some sad, always followed by more laughter then topped off with a visit to the beautiful Bundanon Art Gallery for lunch and high culture. A tonic for anyone’s soul.
We arrived back in Sydney to find that our gorgeous girls would be with us for the whole weekend - an unexpected joy! We made the most of our extra time. There were many games of UNO! Some of which I won.
It was a wrench saying goodbye. Really hard. But we’ll be back! As soon as humanly possible. We’ll be back.
Bob and I headed to the West Coast to see my brother Paul, who’s lived in Perth for 18 years. It was like no time had passed since we last saw him in 2019. The walk from the luggage hall to his car in the blistering 34C heat was … interesting! Luckily we have a sense of humour … and wheels on our bags ;-) x
We settled in for a week of swimming in the Indian Ocean, Golf, and Symphonic Concerts in the park. More good food, family and friends. Our cup runneth over.
And all too soon we were boarding the non-stop Qantas flight to London. It was our 14th wedding anniversary. Hurrah! We landed back in Blighty on Valentine’s Day. Made no difference to our tiredness. There was a 12-hour wait between landing and boarding our flight to the Island so we opted for a Day Room at a decent hotel near Gatwick. Clean sheets, a hot shower and a few hours of horizontal kip can do wonders. Our dear friend Jill Cavellec picked us up and whisked us back to Kirk Michael once back on the tiny isle. And so began the warped wormhole that is jet lag.
We must have been running on adrenaline on Thursday because we woke at a decent hour of the morning feeling relatively rested. We drove to town, had a hearty brunch (big mistake!), whizzed around Tesco and M&S and back in time for a nap. All good.
That night I woke at 2.30 am and found no sleep after that. But I felt decidedly tired; exhausted. Go figure. Friday morning I arose to meet my mermaid pals at Fenella Beach for an extraordinary experience (especially after the warm Oceans of the Antipodes!). We were booked for a sauna and a dip! I was horrified by the depth of cold that greeted me. The Irish Sea makes no pleasant adjustments for ill-prepared bathers. OMG! Breath-taking is a poetic way of expressing my first baptismal dip … followed, it has to be said, by an absolutely glorious hot sauna overlooking frothy Fenella waves. A second dip was necessary as my sweat glands were on fire! Did I really need to enter a third time? Yes I did!
I felt incredible afterwards. Fully alive and tingling and ready for the world. I had a haircut followed by a visit with Mum. She was very sleepy though I was informed she’d had a great week. A shower (not possible for two weeks), two nights in her bed (usually upright in a chair in the lounge) and she’d been chatty all week. Hurrah. I managed to get a smile and a squeeze of my hand. I was glad of that.
The rest of the week has been a blur of physical adjustment, comprising mostly of sneezing, sleeping, sneezing, sleeping etc we’ve lost a whole week but it was necessary for our poor bodies who take longer than our busy minds, to feel at home again.
One of the big decisions we faced when we got back was how to reintroduce Sweep back into the mix. We asked our lovely neighbour Jill if she would hold onto him for the weekend while we got back into the swing of things. When we spoke, after saying hi and welcome home and all that good stuff she blurted out: “I’d really like to keep him. He gets on so well with Connie and he loves being part of the farm work he’s just so settled…” it was music to my ears. Bob and I had discussed whether Jill might adopt Sweep at some point in the future. That she suggested it and was so upbeat about him was perfect. I saw him today from our bedroom window. He was out in Jill’s field, barking, his tail wagging happily. Then Connie appeared and they just chased one another round and around …tails wagging, ears up. I miss him. But this is right. Bless him!
I'm writing this on Thursday, Feb 22nd. At lunchtime, a box of Children Of The Sea books/CDs arrived. I am beside myself with amazement. It’s taken a very long time from concept to application for funding, to the creation of the music and then, onto a book with beautiful artwork from local artists. I’m so grateful! And a bit overwhelmed. There's a very silly video of me opening the box on FB ... if you haven't had a giggle already.
There are a few details to organise before they’re available to order which you will be able to do from Fled’gling Records website once everything’s in place. I’ll be organising a launch concert here on the island in the spring, date and the venue is yet to be arranged. So there are still some official things to put in place but once we’re all up and running you’ll be the first to know! Thank you for your patience. Thank you for being interested. Thank you! Thank you!
It’s now Friday February 23rd and … Mum was taken to hospital late last night after a fall. More than that her oxygen levels were really low and it looks like she has a further development with Heart Failure. Such a drastic term! Anyway the upshot is that she’s improved enough to hopefully return to the Home sometime tomorrow afternoon. My sister and I helped her move from A&E where she’d been overnight, and witnessed her revival as she joked with the lovely staff on her Ward. She has no idea where she is or why she’s there but there’s so much going on she’s vaguely entertained … this is a good thing. My brother and sister-in-law are with her this afternoon and I’ll be back tomorrow to bring her back to Ramsey … fingers crossed! Never a dull moment n’est pas?! Just needed to share that. Thanks for listening!
Hello again ... it's now Saturday and a further night of observations is required because Mum's kidney function isn't as good as it could be. Hey-ho. She was very funny when my sister and I called in to see her this afternoon. Some kind soul had brought a shapes toy for her to play with. It's amazing how absorbed she becomes when there's a fun and colourful puzzle to solve. My fingers are back on duty ... crossed as firmly as they're able. Tomorrow is another day. I have high hopes I can bring her back to the Home.
I've edited a daft video of our happy antics in the Antipodes ... a sort of "What we did on our holidays". Enjoy!
OK dear Reader ... it's time to leave you and see what joys March will bring. There are already so many signs of Spring .... it's a very exciting time of year!
Till next time stay well and keep rising above the turbulence.
Endless blessings!
Much love
Christine x