Nepal And Back

Luke made it back home from Kathmandu via Mumbai, courtesy of special flights from Jet Airways. The 18 day trip had turned into a 24 day one, courtesy of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano. An initial video impression can be gleaned by clicking here.

Saturday Superheros

Enough said!

Solent Satisfaction

Jerry managed to skive off for a couple of days with Steve at Lymington. After a day 'not fishing' and definately not catching anything on the R.I.B. (but seeing a rather amazing 'Moth' hydrofoil sailboat) the boys moved back to the more sedate pace offered by sail onboard 'Turning Point'. A trip for lunch at Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight extended across a light breeze, sunny day before icecreams back on the Town Quay.

Volcanic Interuptions

With the Icelandic volcanic ash in a holding pattern over European airspace, the chances of getting our boys back anytime soon from Nepal were on the thin side of vapourised. Martin and Judith joined us for wine and consolation to end a perfect April weekend. (Perfect apart from the absent sons obviously).

Lucksall

Pitched by the river, we enjoyed Herefordshire on a beautiful mid-April weekend [click for movie]. At night we viewed galaxies, stars and planets, including Saturn and it's rings and moons, through the telescopes of a gathering of astronomers. On Saturday we canoed all the way to Ross. passing salmon, waterbirds and the odd 'rapid'; all framed by verdant, ever-changing vistas. On Sunday, under empty skies, we walked the woods among the bluebells and primroses, accompanied by birdsong and more sunshine.

Alice

Alice visited on her gap year, 'fresh' from a tour of Ireland. After a bit of culture: Gloucester Cathedral, Iron Age Hill Forts and Stroud Farmers Market, she went clubbing with Hannah and friends and survived.

2 foot and glassy

Jerry managed six hours in the sea on a beautiful Saturday at The Ho. The gang turned up for the afternoon session, with Nick impressively catching waves on his first go paddleboarding. We even managed to get 4 of us on the same wave and try a few headstands etc. Wonderful! Thanks All, especially Simo for loan of the board and Claud for nutritious snacks.

Paignton

Grandma decided to revisit memories at Paignton where dad went to school. The sun shone all day. After fish and chips at the harbour we walked down through the gardens to Goodrington. The drive home through Totnes and beside the Dart connected back to stories from the 1940s and subsequent decades.

Sarigerme, Turkey

Our first "Gunayadun" (Good morning) sumptuous breakfast introduced the treats in store at the Dalaman Hilton (click for pics). We set about trying out sun loungers, drinks by the pool, and the gym, as we explored. Evening drinks outside and late to bed set the tone. On a walk to Sarigerme we found a tortoise. Our main adventure was a self-organised trip to Dalyan which we reached by dolmuş bus (get on/off wherever you like), with a change at Orteca. At Dalyan we hired a boat (click for film) and captain for the day and set off upriver to the thermal mud baths and downriver to the sea. "Iyi gunler" (Have a good day). We saw a turtle, kingfisher, various other flaura and fauna and beautified our skin at the hot springs. The beach is a loggerhead turtle breeding ground in May/June. We continued to laze about all week and then enjoyed a fantastic flight home in clear skies over Croatia, the Alps and the whole of the UK south coast. We brought the nice weather back with us.