Sunday lunch @ Simon's

Sunday lunch @ Simon's
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

About to tuck in to the starter...

L to R: Sylvia, Jackie, Nicola, Mhairi, Owen and Simon

View out over Lea Valley Reservoirs

View out over Lea Valley Reservoirs
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

London Loop, Section 18 Enfield Lock to Chingford

The Loop is almost complete....

Another two sections (18 and 19) of the London Loop completed today - after this there are only two more Loop days left (although five sections) as we rush to get it completed before Mhairi's exit from the UK.

Some lovely views on these sections - which was nice as the start at Enfield Lock was pretty horrible. We've been through some beautiful parts of London doing this, but some of them don't half start at dodgy places!

Day tripping to Chirk

Part of the 'lets do as much as possible with Mhairi' ethos that is going around at the moment led to me, Mhairi and Nicola do a day trip to Chirk (in Wales...)

I had read quite a lot about the Wrexham & Shropshire railway, and was keen to try it. And as Mhairi likes going on trains we thought it would be a fine thing to do. And it was! The day started off well as we decided we would go for the full cooked brekkie. Delivered to our table (unheard of on other trains!), we had a fantastic breakfast of juice, hot drink, bacon, two sausages (very good ones as Nicola pointed out), tomato, black pudding (which I donated to Nicola), mushrooms, scrambled eggs and hash brown. All cooked to order as well!

It took about four hours to get to Chirk - odd for me as I went through several stations close to Wem, including Shrewsbury. Back in very familiar territory! Once we got to Chirk we headed straight for Chirk Castle. Which was a wee hike - about a mile up a road covered in sheep dung... But the colours were lovely - although we were getting a bit fed up by the time we finally got to the entrance. Nicola was in dire need of a reviving cup of tea... As it was Halloween it was crawling with kids in fancy dress (and as kids were allowed in free it really was crawling with them!). So after a pick-me-up drink we checked out the castle and its grounds. Quite imposing from the outside, but the inside wasn't so great. Definitely not one of the better ones I've been to. But the grounds were lovely - great topiary, and views out over the Wrekin. We finished that part of the day with a lovely National Trust tea and cake.

After that we went and checked out the Chirk Aqueduct. Very cool! It sits half in England and half in Wales, and it really is quite imposing. The rail bridge was built higher than the aqueduct to reinforce the superiority of the rail network... We also walked through the Darkie Tunnel - which must be named as it is pitch black inside! Mhairi lit the way with her mobile while Nicola and I followed somewhat nervously behind - it was great! 1200ft so it took a wee while!

Then it was back onto the train for the trip back to London. Dinner with wine was an indian curry with pate as a starter - again delivered to our table, and really nice food. Twas a great day out - check out the photos on Flickr!

Emerging from the darkness

Emerging from the darkness
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Chirk castle with topiary

Chirk castle with topiary
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Ball, canal and rail bridge

Ball, canal and rail bridge
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Lovely autumnal Kew

Sunday was a lovely afternoon of strolling around Kew catching up with Chris and James and admiring the gorgeous autumn colours - so lovely!

I think peak time would have been a couple of weeks ago though - a few trees had obviously just passed their best, but there were still enough to look lovely.

More photos on Flickr...

Autumnal colours

Autumnal colours
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Autumn colours with the fountain

Autumn colours with the fountain
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Great blog

I discovered this blog the other day - a great one for all my librarian readers!!

http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/

Definitely worth checking out :-)

Movie magic...

Been to two movies in the last week - pretty good effort for me! First up was District 9 which I thought was great. Although very hard to watch - the documentary style of it made it seem much more real. And the subject matter was pretty disturbing as well. Particularly given that it was set in South Africa...

Second up was (500) Days of Summer - which was ok. Bits of it I loved - some very clever ideas. For anyone who has seen it, I particularly enjoyed the 'Expectation' vs 'Reality' party scene. Been there done that many times! But the chemistry between the two leads wasn't great which let it down a bit.

Looping along...

So Saturday we did section 17 of the London Loop - rapidly heading towards the end of it! Only three more walks to finish the rest of the sections - all before Mhairi leaves.

Lovely walk - the colours at the moment are gorgeous. Very autumnal, and this one was really quite rural. Small group tho - Nicola missed her first walk due to flu (but I know she'll make it up!), and Sarah had to walk. But we had a nice stroll and a nice pub lunch - not quite as nice as the lunch at Chris's pub, but still pretty good!

Walkers on an autumnal path

Walkers on an autumnal path
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Autumnal colours

Autumnal colours
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Tripping around Turkey - complete

So my updates are complete - now I need to start getting my photos up on Flickr... that might take a while too!

Well I am now back from the most wonderful trip to Turkey... Updates below (but I might not get it all updated tonight). Once I've done my blog I'll upload my many photos to Flickr. But any people out in the ether who are also on Facebook can see some of them already from my profile there.

I really liked Turkey - will definitely be taking a trip back there...

Overall highlights:

• The helpfulness and friendliness of the Turkish people. It really was so lovely - and made travelling around so much easier
• The food - I loved the food...
• Swimming - beautiful coast line and beautiful sea (although not terribly interesting snorkelling it has to be said)
  

And so to Olympos...

After very reluctantly getting off the boat, we headed off on another bus to make our way to Olympos. This trip just seemed to take forever - but I think we were both struggling with the shock of coming from the fab-ness of the boat to having to deal with transport and stuff again. Anyhow - by the time we got to Olympos (about 5.5 hours) we were knackered.

But oh - what bliss Olympos was! We stayed at Saban Pension and it was fantastic. The most chilled out, relaxed place I've stayed at. So again - not much to say really - we spent 3 very lazy days on the beach, and chilling out before/after dinner in the courtyard. The food was fantastic, the swimming was good, the posh sun loungers were lovely - nothing to complain about at all! Strolling through the ruins of Olympos to get to the beach...

One night we went up to the Chimaera which was seriously cool. Even coming from the volcanic NZ, I've never seen anything like this. Very odd to see flames coming straight out of the ground - and watching people blow them out and then just have them spontaneously re-ignite. Very very cool!

Before Lunch

We did the 3 night cruise with Before Lunch - who were great. They were recommended by Lonely Planet, but Mhairi had also found an article which gave them a good write up as well. There are so many boats and companies, but I was really happy with Before Lunch.

Not much to say about this really - it literally was 4 days cruising around, swimming when we were anchored, reading, sunning, drinking when we weren't. The food was amazing, and we were really lucky with our group as well - everyone got on really well - the ages ranged from 29 - 73! Our captain (Ahmet) wasn't in to the busy spots at all, so he did a great job of taking us places that didn't have hundreds of other boats parked up which was nice.

When we went to St Nicholas' Island, while we were off exploring it, he moved the boat to the other side of the bay as there were too many around us :-).

Highlights included:

• Swimming off the boat. The water was so warm and so clear
• Having nothing to do, but lie around. Fantastic
• The trading boats that would come up and sell ice-creams or Gozleme (pancakes - often with banana and chocolate - yum!)
• The food - double yum!
  

Didn't like the sandflies tho - don't know what they did to me, but I really reacted to their bites. They weren't itchy, but I would swell up for about 24 hours after being bitten. So I particularly liked the two bites I got on either side of my head... (although I think only I noticed the lumps!)

The village of Kayakoy

Kayakoy was amazing. Very odd to be in a village that had just been deserted - and what a crazy idea it was. Lets move the Turkish Christians to Greece and the Greek Muslims to Turkey... funnily enough that whole thing just didn't work out so well.

But it was really quite atmospheric, and as we went up at dusk it was pretty empty which added to the spookiness of it.

After strolling around the village we went to the Levissi Garden for a meal which was fantastic. A wine cellar with 12,000 bottles of wine, so we started with a bit of wine tasting, then got a guided tour of the house the restaurant was in, then we both had the most amazing lamb meals. It was so lovely!

Fethiye

Friday was another bus down to Fethiye - where we were scheduled to get on our boat cruise on Saturday.

Trip down was ok - more free juice, water and cake on the bus so that was all very pleasant :-). Our instructions from where we were staying were very explicit about which company to get our transfer to their place with, so it was a tad stressful at the Otogar as another man seemed very keen for us to go with him. However Mhairi held firm and we went with the right company.

Met a slightly odd woman on the minibus who was very keen to hang out with us, but obviously wasn't keen on what we wanted to do. I think she was hoping we were going swimming, but Mhairi had already researched Kayakoy and we were keen to do that. However she wasn't happy with the accommodation so ended up leaving and we 'lost' her. We thought it was fine - although I was a bit unhappy the next morning at brekkie to be told that if I wanted coffee I would have to pay for it!

After a brief dip in their small pool, we headed off into Fethiye to take a look at our boat, get some money for the trip and then head up to Kayakoy.

Ephesus sights

We finally re-emerged from our room about 11am and went downstairs - where the man behind the counter said 'You must be Megan'. This followed Ramazan at TJ's Tours who had also said 'Hello Megan' when we walked in there after getting off the bus! Almost felt famous :-).

Adem was also very helpful and friendly. He is married to a NZ woman from Hamilton - he proudly showed us their wedding photo in an old issue of NZ Woman's Weekly from a few years ago! We met her later on, and their gorgeous wee toddler. He gave us the tour of the hotel, pointing out the carpet shop at the back which is run by his brother (who also owns Jimmy's Place). If I'd been going to buy a carpet I probably would have got it from him - they looked lovely. But unfortunately we were there before payday and I just couldn't afford one. When Mhairi said she was from Timaru he immediately responded that he had sold a carpet to someone from Oamaru. And had also been swimming in Lake Taupo...

We ambled around Selcuk for a bit, had some lunch then went out to Ephesus. It was really hot and very striking. Although (and this is probably blasphemy to any classics fans out there) - once you've been to a few of these sites, they do start to be a bit the same... The Forum in Rome, Agrigento in Sicily, Pompeii (different but the same...). Although I was rather taken with the library - felt very pleased that the most outstanding facade left was of the library!

Dinner was at a restaurant called 'The Old House' - I had lamb chops (I still can't go past them) but I should have had what Mhairi had which was The Old House Kebab as that was delish! My lamb chops weren't the best... But it was a lovely wee courtyard restaurant so despite my dish envy it was very nice!

Travelling overnight

Following the tour we hung around for a few hours until we hopped on the overnight bus from Eceabat to Selcuk - our next destination... There were 3 other travellers on it as well (as in NZ/Australian rather than Turkish people!) so that was good.

Long trip though - we left at 9.30pm and got to Selcuk around 6am. Bit of a situation when we got on as there was a woman in one of our seats. She spoke a lot to us, but as it was all in Turkish we couldn't understand what she was saying. All very confusing, but she ended up getting off at Canakkale - we got on the bus, which drove on to a ferry and then ended up in Canakkale. That whole process seemed to take about 1.5 hours. It was a long night...

We had arranged for our hostel to meet us from the bus and it turned out we were all staying at the same place - but no one came to meet us. At one point we thought a man was coming to collect us, but he wasn't. However he worked in some tourist role, spoke very good English so walked us to our hostel and woke them up so we could go in! All at about 6.30 am! Then we crawled into bed for a few hours to sleep off the bus trip!

Gallipoli

The original plan had been to do a snorkelling tour in the morning and then do the tour of the battlefields in the afternoon, but for some reason the snorkelling was cancelled. We aren't sure if that was just because there was only two of us, or because the water was a bit rough (it still looked a bit choppy in the afternoon as we did the tour)... It was pretty disappointing, but having seen the water later we figured that maybe it was for the best.

We did the tour through our hostel, and TJ was a fantastic guide. He really knew his stuff, and obviously has a real interest in the topic. He had a folder of different source material which we referred to at different times, and a couple of times asked for volunteers to read out letters etc which were written at the time (both Mhairi and I did our bit). That made a lot of it seem more 'real' as well. It was a very moving and sad afternoon - it just makes you realise the waste of life that it really well. Seeing row after row of graves in so many different cemeteries (and we didn't go to all of them) told the story so clearly. We also went to the Turkish cemetery as well which was a nice balance to the day.

At the start of the tour we went through the Kabatepe War Museum - amazing to see bullets smashed together - they had hit each other in the air, there were so many being fired. We also saw the remnants of some of the original trenches (photos to come) - they have recreated some, but you can still see the channels from the original ones. At the point were the fronts were only separated by a few hundred yards. Just absolutely crazy.

What was interesting to us was the fact that the Turkish people were so friendly and welcoming to us everywhere we went, and there were often NZ or Australian flags up in the different places we stayed, but we were the forces fighting them. I guess the respect the two sides developed for each other still remains. What was also interesting (but not from a good point of view) was when TJ explained why they had to move the commemoration ceremony from the cemetery at ANZAC Cove - due to the high number of backpackers turning up, getting hammered and damaging the headstones at the cemetery. Unbelievable.

It was an excellent tour.

London - Istanbul - Eceabat

My flight left at 6.30am - which necessitated an EXTREMELY early start. My taxi picked me up at about 3.45 am I think - absolutely horrendous hour to be getting up! What was most amazing was getting to Gatwick duty free around 4.30 am, and most of the shops were open. Quite a bizarre experience...

Once I got to Istanbul I managed to find the coach which went into Taksim Square where I had arranged to meet Mhairi. This wasn't as straightforward as it sounds as there wasn't much information at the airport. I went up to a couple of wrong buses first of all before finding the right one. After that it was nice and straightforward tho!

Managed to find Mhairi ok (by the red Metro sign and by the ambulances - very good instructions from her!), and we hopped into a taxi to head to the Otogar (bus station). Istanbul has the craziest bus station I've ever seen - over 160 bus stands, and it really was organised chaos. There are loads of different bus companies (and I mean loads), and it is a matter of finding which one goes to where you want to go. Our taxi driver circled all of them (I don't think he understood our pronunciation of Eceabat which is were we wanted to go!), until finally we just told him to stop and hopped out. We were helped by an older man, who again obviously didn't understand our pronunciation as he took us to the office for buses to Cappadocia. At that office Mhairi showed the man behind the desk the guide book and pointed to Eceabat, whereupon he had a conversation with our original helper in Turkish, who then grabbed both our bags and hared off across the bus station to the Canakkle office. Which fortunately was the right office (we would have got there eventually ourselves as that is where Mhairi thought we needed to be heading towards).

Tickets purchased ok, so then we waited for about 1/2 hour until the bus left. Absolutely crazy - buses (both coach, mini-bus and van size) pulling in and out, people strolling around in front of them paying absolutely no attention to what might be pulling in behind them. Very hard to describe! Eventually our bus pulled in and having established it was the right one we were off.

Very different from NZ buses! In addition to the driver, we also had a 'Captain' - whose role seemed to be to just walk up and down and check we were all ok, and a 'Host' - his job was to pass out the FREE water, juice and cakes that we got! Plus the lemon cologne for our hands as well. It was great! And it was a nice new bus as well so it wasn't too bad a trip.

It was about 5 hours down to Eceabat - slightly concerning as we got closer as it occurred to us that none of the places we pulled into seemed to have place names so we weren't sure how we would know we were there. But it was all fine - but we did make sure the 'Host' knew we were getting off at Eceabat! From the bus it was a hop step and a jump to TJ's Tours and Hostel where we were staying. After a full 12 hours of travelling for me I was very pleased to finally get off the the bus!

How famous am i??

I'm speechless... I remember Finbarr taking the photo. Most amazing thing is that I never saw this - a friend of mine spotted me and emailed me about it. The Times no less!

And finding out about it on Mum's birthday no less. Fantastic

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6814256.ece

I'm up two spots....

According to the latest ONS survey of names, Megan has gone up two places from last year - I am now officially the 15th most popular girls name in the UK.

I know I would have blogged about that last year as well but I can't find the posting.

I have to admit, I do find myself turning around on the street when I hear my name, and without fail it is addressed to some wee'un who is about 5 years old...

Maya is 69th (up 9 spots), Lucy is 14th (just pips me - grrr - but she's dropped down 3 from last year). No entry for Leigh or Tracey sorry... :-)

Thomas comes in at 3rd (he's down 1 from last year), Alex at 47th (up 11 spaces!), Sam at 79th (down 2).

Interesting to see Reuben make an appearance as well - up 72 places. I have two friends in NZ with sons called Reuben so maybe it is moving this way...

More Looping

Another two sections of the London Loop completed - this time from Moor Park to Elstree. 12.1 miles so not a bad distance, and given the different walking speeds in the group we didn't finish at too bad a time.

We are now right up in North London so for most of us it is a schlep back across London to get home, but for Mhairi (our resident of North London) she is starting to enjoy not having too bad a trip home - she's had a long time of waiting for us to get to her part of town!

We had a lovely picnic spot on this walk, with great views out over London. Amazing to see the planes landing at Heathrow on the other side of London and think that it was only a few walks ago that we were walking under the flight path. Really did make me think that we are actually completing a circuit of London!

Despite knowing that the first section of this walk was badly signposted, I still managed to get us a bit lost - annoying when it was a long walk anyhow. And when we didn't need the signposts, there were loads of them! Or two at once pointing in different directions...

Grassland

Grassland
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

This was really quite pretty - but a bit scary to see autumnal colours appearing...

Sitting on the dam edge

Sitting on the dam edge
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

'B's - lots of 'Best of's

I finished listening to my 'B' albums the other day. The line up this time was...

Back in Black - AC/DC
The Back Room - The Editors
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub
Based on a True Story - Fat Freddy's Drop
Beautysleep - Tanya Donnelly
Because of the Times - Kings of Leon
Before and After Science - Brian Eno
Begin to Hope - Regina Spektor
Being There - Wilco
Best of Blur - Blur
Best of Bowie - David Bowie
Best of James - James
Best of Neil Diamond - Neil Diamon
Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Best of Talking Heads - Talking Heads
Best of The Doors - The Doors
Best Yet - Greg Johnson
Big Up! - Dean Fraser
Bird Beats & Flowers - Hem & Autumn Defense
Birds - Bic Runga
Blankets - Tracker
Bloc Party EP - Bloc Party
Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck - Flotation Toy Warning
Body Blow - Headless Chickens
Bossanova - The Pixies
Boy in Waiting EP - Starsailor
Boyracer ep - The Brunettes
Boys & Girls in America - The Hold Steady
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Brand New - The Stereo Bus
The Bravery - The Bravery
Bright Yellow Bright Orange - The Go-Betweens
British Ballads - Anthony Reynolds
Brother's Keeper - The Neville Brothers
Bryter Layter - Nick Drake
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Soundtrack
By the Way - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Not many standouts in this list for me, although fun listening to some stuff I hadn't listened to for years. The Pixies and Brian Eno particularly. Think The Bravery will be coming off - and I can confirm that two albums of David Bowie is too much...

Despite my best intentions...

I get busy and then I get tired and then I don't update my blog... Sigh. Anyhow, here is my latest round up :-)

Mhairi strolling up to the top of the Downs

Mhairi strolling up to the top of the Downs
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Revisiting an old walk...

On Saturday Mhairi and I did the 'Pulborough to Amberley' walk that I had done with Julia and Craig a couple of years ago.

This time nettle alley was not quite so bad and we braved the field with the possible bull in it (in fact we think there was one in there, but he was quite happy chewing away with his cows so we were quite safe). We also didn't need to fight our way through the bracken either... Another nice stretch to the top of the Downs - its always good to get back there!

Hot hot Wilco

I may have seen Wilco a lot, but not as many times as Kevin! We worked out he is probably getting to about 15 times...

Anyhow, he had a spare ticket for one of their London shows and I really like them so I snapped it up. Uber hot and sweaty venue however - Troxy. I lasted about 40 minutes near the front before I started to feel decidedly odd - so I beat a hasty retreat further back where I thought I was safe.

But no - my head started going again. So dash for the loo where I sat for a while with my head between my legs until I felt better. Back into the crowd, before I got REALLY bad - back to the back of the venue where I sat down for a few songs and then hung around at the back of the crowd trying to see Wilco while drinking some water.

Almost fainting at a gig is a new one for me - almost doing it 3 times makes it an absolute record!

Leaving another gig early...

That was Animal Collective - who I do really like. Unfortunately the tickets were for the night of the 20th.

I knew trying to go after a day at the cricket was a mistake, but Kevin and Fin wouldn't be swayed. I think we lasted about 40 minutes until we all decided we had to go home!

So two gigs left early in one week - unheard of!

The Ashes 2009

So again I had managed to secure tickets for the first day of the last Ashes test at the Oval - Kevin and I went last time with Craig, Sarah and Nola back in 2005. Having re-read that post I think the crowd this time was definitely quieter than it was in 2005...

After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing (Craig mismanaging his diary, Owen being poorly), the final line up was me, Finbarr (came over from Ireland for it), Kevin and Craig. We had a great day - no rain, England won the toss, and so we settled in for a day of spectating - with just a wee bit of beer as well...

Saturday I went round to Kevin's to watch the afternoon session (he has Sky and I don't), and I was back there on Sunday to watch England take the little urn again :-). I really would not have been suprised had Australia managed to pull it off - and England took the wickets very sporadically so I was never that comfortable that it would happen, but finally it did.

I was very pleased - although I did feel for Ricky Ponting. The holy grail for England is now to retain it when they go to Australia... that would be a real sporting feat!

Some photos below, but also more on Flickr.

Craig and me

Craig and me
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Craig modelling my new sun hat

Craig, me and Kevin

Craig, me and Kevin
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Happy in the sun :-)

Beer!

Beer!
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

We did watch the cricket as well...

Grizzly Bear

No, not of the animal variety... Kevin had a spare ticket to this Grizzly Bear gig, and as I really like one of their songs I decided to go along.

They were good - but not really a band that you stand and listen to. Apparently they are a "muso's" band. Anyhow, once they had played the one song I knew I was ready to go and as Kevin was tired we left early.

Good, but didn't blow me away. Think their cds would be good tho.

Two great books

I've just finished two very good books - can thoroughly recommend The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I loved it - but it made me cry. I've been thinking a lot about Mum recently and this book just hit me. But it was worth it - just glad I finished it at home rather than on public transport!

Then I read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. I've read all of her books and I thought this one was almost as good as her first. Quite shocking in many ways, but still very enjoyable.

So get reading!!

A walk of two halves...

Two more sections of the London Loop completed... the first half was lovely - lots of it alongside the Grand Union Canal - easy walking, nice sunny Sunday morning, good pace. Second half was completely different - overgrown with stinging nettles (Mhairi and I were walking in a corn field at one point to avoid them as we both had long shorts on), and a very indistinct path which was also well overgrown with brambles and other prickly plants. So it was a real battle and my shins are very scratched and nettle stung.

More grist to my mill about walking on a Sunday - it just never goes right. Something always goes amiss... Plus I had to set my alarm for 7am, which on a Sunday is just plain WRONG.

Grand Union canal and walkers

Grand Union canal and walkers
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Quarry lake

Quarry lake
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Me at Thursley Common

Me at Thursley Common
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Thursley Common - regrowth after fire in 2006

Thursley Common - regrowth after fire in 2006
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

A rare Sunday walk...

Headed out with Julia for a rare walk on a Sunday - the last time we walked on a Sunday I fell over and Craig had forgotten to put his walking shoes on... This one started in a similarly inauspicious fashion...

We got to Clapham Junction to catch our train - only one an hour so we were both there very early. Which was a tad unfortunate given that our train was late, so we had to hang around for what felt like a long long time... But it did turn up and we were en-route!

Milford to Haselmere - It was just over 10 miles but we ended up shortening it slightly as Julia's achilles heel was playing up. But it was a good walk nonetheless. In Surrey (ie down the train line from Surbs), and the Surrey walks are normally a bit uninspiring - but this was lovely.

We had a great lunch at The Three Horseshoes pub - benefit of walking on a Sunday is that the pubs do roasts :-). Lovely lamb with mint sauce for me, and beef with Yorkshire pud for Julia. Interesting wee pub - it was closed down for years and then the villagers clubbed together and bought it. Lovely garden and great food! We also wandered through Thursley Common which was burnt in 2006. It is now recovering and was really rather stunning - I'm not sure the photos I took do it justice.

We then ended up walking around the rim of the Devil's Punch Bowl - which was where this walk ended. Great day out tho - and the sun came out for the first time in ages!

The "A's" have it

So mid-week I did finally finish the 'A's of my ipod. So here is what I've been listening to...

A.M - Wilco
Abbey Road - The Beatles
About A Boy - Badly Drawn Boy
Absolution - Muse
Accelerate - R.E.M
Achtung Baby - U2
Across the Road - Harding
Addicted to Company (Pt 1) - Paddy Casey
Age of the Understatement - The Last Shadow Puppets
Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon
Alas I Cannot Swim - Laura Marling
All Change - Cast
All I Intended to Be - Emmylou Harris
All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2
All the Plans - Starsailor
All We Could Do Was Sing - Port O'Brien
Alligator - The National
Almost Killed Me - The Hold Steady
Alone With Everybody - Richard Ashcroft
Alright, Still - Lily Allen
American III: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash
American IV: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
American Recordings - Johnny Cash
Angels of Destruction! - Marah
Antics - Interpol
Antidotes - Foals
Arcade Fire - The Arcade Fire
Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird
As I Am - Alicia Keys
Ash Wednesday - Elvis Perkins
Asleep In The Back - Elbow
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Astronomy for Dogs - Aliens
At Dawn - My Morning Jacket (Bonus disc 2 of 2)
At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Automatic for the People - R.E.M
Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense
Aw C'Mon - Lambchop

So what stood out? Port O'Brien, Aliens and Paddy Casey - will be going back to them. Rediscovering Interpol and The National - particularly The National. I'd forgotten how good they were! Cast - boring. Think they'll be coming off... Lots of Johnny Cash... Kings of Leon, The Hold Steady and My Morning Jacket were also good listens - and good to rediscover.

The 'B's started off with 'Back in Black' by AC/DC - brilliant! But more of that when I'm done with the Bs...

Wakehurst Place

Wakehurst Place
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

The walled garden, Wakehurst Place

The walled garden, Wakehurst Place
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Kew with a difference - Wakehurst Place

Nicola and I did a wee trip out to Wakehurst Place - taking advantage of my Kew membership and her National Trust membership - free entry for the both of us!

It was a lovely garden - very different from Kew. If only because there aren't millions of planes flying low over as they come in to land at Heathrow! But much less busy, and definitely a bit more 'wild' in places. We had a lovely couple of hours strolling around, followed by an extremely delicious coffee and cake - it has to be done after a bit of garden admiring!

It is also the home of the Millennium Seed Bank which we had a wee wander through. Obviously not looking at the real seeds, but they had a nice atrium with some quite good displays on the importance of seeds. I'd definitely like to get back there - its just not quite as convienient for me as Kew - you need a car...

More photos on Flickr (as always...)

Two movies...

So this week I've been to two movies - first time I've been in ages, and then two come along at once!

First of all I finally went to see Star Trek - ages after most of my friends, but I got there eventually. And I loved it - thought it was really well done. Spok and Kirk were both VERY good, and as a long time watcher of Star Trek I came away happy. And looking forward to future movies.

Today I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - which I also really enjoyed. I was particularly excited to see Surbiton station play a role in the first few scenes. And I picked it as Surbiton before they showed the station name! I know my 'hood...

I've read a couple of reviews of the film since I got back, and I think had I read the book recently I may have been disappointed with the film as it has obviously missed a lot of stuff out. I did think the battle scene at the end was a bit different, and there was a crucial detail in that which they didn't include in the film - not sure why. But I did enjoy it - lots of Snape who is one of my fave characters - although if you go, I hope you haven't read the book recently!

What a walk it was in the Peak District

Cor - currently recovering from an epic day of walking yesterday in the Peak District. I was meant to be rollerblading today, but I had to pull out. I barely had the energy and inclination to walk to the supermarket and back!

I think it is fair to say that Craig and I learnt many lessons - I just wishing learning the lessons wasn't so exhausting!

• Don't ever not stop for lunch because 'we'll be back in the village in an hour and we can get lunch then...'. That old chestnut 'famous last words' comes into play...

• Don't step into peaty bogs - especially don't do it twice. Like quicksand (I imagine), it ain't that easy to get out of.

• Don't assume that because a trail is marked on an OS map that it will look like a well defined path in real life.

• Do use your common sense at times - you may have a whizzy gizmo gadget, but when you see people walking in the distance, and also a cairn, that is a pretty good clue that there will be a path over there...

Craig had suggested going up to the Peak District for a night a few weeks ago. Camp one night, walk on Friday and a big one on Saturday then back down to London on Sat night. He had a new GPS gizmo he wanted to test, and I’ve always wanted to go to the Peak District (try and meet my Mr Darcy!) so I was very keen. Turned out to be just us as everyone else was busy – they missed a real treat!

Read on for epic adventures in the Peak District... And lots more photos on Flickr as well!

Craig holding the 'gizmo'

Craig holding the 'gizmo'
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Sheep on the moon landscape

Sheep on the moon landscape
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Me amongst the rock formations

Me amongst the rock formations
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

A loop around Edale...

Craig had mapped out a route which was circular around Edale. We took in Mam Tor - but were there way too early to see all of the paragliders who were there when we drove home that evening.

We then took in Kinder Scout which was fantastic and then around to Kinder Fall. It was a fantastic walk - stunning scenery, and it took in so many different landscapes. Rolling peak hills, then a fantastic moon like landscape with incredible rock formations all around. Enroute to Kinder Scout I stepped into a bog (just as Craig told me not to). Straight in, up to my knee and it was stuck fast. Craig tried pulling me out but my leg wasn't moving... At one point I was worried my boot would come off! In the end I gave up and sat down on the boggy edge and pulled my leg out that way. Thank heavens for gaiters and quick drying walking trou!

We were fine up to Kinder Falls. Then it all went a bit pearshaped... The path we were looking for (as it turned out), wasn't a well defined path, but needed to be followed with a compass bearing. Which would have been fine, except we hadn't realised that, so kept finding the path and losing it again (which we couldn't understand why), then it started to rain on and off, and we spent about 1 and 3/4 hours cris-crossing the peaty bog, going up and down boggy bits, trying to work out how to get where we knew we needed to be. Its fair to say we both got VERY stressed at times, but finally we did work it out. However this was all done on no lunch (see top post) and after setting off walking at about 8.10am, we got back to the village of Edale at 4.15pm. It was a very long, very hard day of walking, but it was great. Oh - except for the bit when I fell in the bog again... this time, both legs in, up to my knees.... Can't say it was any more fun the second time.

After another meal at the Nag's Head we then had to drive back to London - well Craig did. We were both knackered - it was a very long day!

Our tents

Our tents
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

It began on Friday...

I set off from work on Friday at midday to go and meet Craig at his work. The plan was we would get to Edale, put up our tents (I borrowed mine from Simon’s sister), and then go for a short walk before having dinner in the pub. Ah – the best laid plans…

It was all fine until we got past Junction 25 on the M1. At that point we realised we weren’t slow because of the road works but because there had been an accident between Junction 26 and 27. Too late for us…. About 1.5 hours later (but it felt like much longer), we got to the exit at 26 and headed off. Traffic was still pretty slow though, and a 4 hour trip turned into 7.5 hours. We got to the campsite just after 7pm… It was my first experience of being stuck in traffic like that – I’ve always been lucky and been driving past it in the other direction. Can’t say that I would recommend it.

We got the tents up fairly quickly at the Fieldhead campsite (Craig has used his, but aside from a short demo I hadn’t put mine up properly before) then we headed off to the pub for dinner. It was a two pub town – we ate at the The Nags Head which was fairly standard fare. It is also officially the start of the Pennine Way. We probably would have stayed there but a big group in the other room started singing… What was cute for a couple of songs just turned plain annoying after about 6 or 7 numbers. So we headed off to the Ramblers Inn for another pint and a whisky before bed. Also very underwhelmed with that pub as well - despite its name it was pretty mediocre.

My ipod A to Z

I'm aware that there is a lot of music on my ipod that I've never listened to... So today I started a project to listen to the all the albums A to Z. I'll update and republish this posting as I progress through the list, but currently I've listened to:

A.M - Wilco
Abbey Road - The Beatles

House and East garden

House and East garden
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

And not a bad garden to have either!

Nicola and Mhairi 'out front'

Nicola and Mhairi 'out front'
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Not a bad entrance to have...

Hatfield House - at last!

I have wanted to go to Hatfield House for years... And have made a few attempts in the past, each time foiled for differing reasons. Tried with Tracey - but we were too early and its season hadn't started yet, tried with Leigh & Maurie but it was shut on the day we wanted to go, tried with Nicola but its season had finished...

However, I was finally successful! Although the trip appeared to be in jeopardy yet again, when my temporary bridge came out on Saturday morning - at that point I truly did believe I was fated not to go... (I'm mid-way through dental work...). However I managed to wedge my tooth back in, and with fingers crossed I headed off to meet Nicola and Mhairi...

It was a lovely day. A stunning house (as you'll see from the photos - check out the rest on Flickr as well), and the grounds were just gorgeous. Interesting to compare it to Blenheim Palace (as the Duke of Marlborough was apparently great friends with the first Marquess of Salisbury as well) - they both have quite stunning grounds, and the houses were of course fab. No photos allowed in side the house, but it was quite amazing. Highlights of the house for me were the Marble Hall and the Library. I can't help it, it must be in my blood, but I just love a room lined with books!

We spent a lovely hour or so wandering around the grounds, admiring (or not) the sculptures which are currently dotted around, and also keeping an eye out for the two weddings which were on that day. Only saw one dress - bit too ruffly for my taste tho...

Mhairi and I also checked out the Model Soldiers gallery - couldn't help but think of Eryn as I looked at all the different displays! We ended the visit by tracking down the place where Elizabeth 1 was when she found out her sis had died and she was going to be Queen. There is now a commemorative oak planted on the spot (rather than the original one) and I was quite happy once we'd seen it. And there were some spectacularly old oaks dotted around as well - quite amazing.

And my tooth managed to stay in as well :-).

Yet another delayed catch up...

But I do sort of have valid excuses... Wales, hayfever... I haven't loaded up my photos on to Flickr yet but will do so real soon...

Anyhow - read on :-)

A new venue for me

I went to see The Low Anthem at the Union Chapel - I'd never been to the venue but it was great! No alcohol allowed inside (as it is a church...), but the acoustics were stunning, and it is just lovely inside.

The band were great as well - I'd only heard one of their songs, but they were well worth going to see, even not knowing the others. I get the feeling they are probably on the cusp of making it much bigger, so it was good to see them while they are still in small venues.

A bit more of the Loop...

No rest for the wicked - Saturday morning I was up and out early to meet the Loop walkers to do another section. This section was from Hayes & Harlington to Uxbridge and as a lot of it was along the canal it was pretty good. We had a great picnic for lunch as well - courtesy of most of the others in terms of the home made food tho!

What a lovely mermaid...

What a lovely mermaid...
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

It had to be done really...

Rhossili Beach, looking down towards Llangennith

Rhossili Beach, looking down towards Llangennith
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

What a beach!!

The reclining monkey...

The reclining monkey... (2)
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

More surrealism - this used to stand on the pier with swings from each of its arms... I sent someone a postcard of it!!

Me on the Pier

Me on the Pier
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Quite what this has to do with Wales I'm not sure...

Hanging out in Mumbles & exploring the Gower Peninsula

And that was my week really. It was a lovely chilled out week hanging out with Divya and her 10 month old, Tarun. Especially as he was just beginning to walk - I saw his first steps! And then we spent a lot of time trying to get him to recreate them :-).

Monday we walked from Langland Bay around the coast to Casswell Bay, which was great and has really made me want to look into doing a long distance coastal path next...

Tuesday we went over to Rhossili Bay and the Worms Head peninsula. Stunning scenery and very remniscent of NZ. We didn't go down to the beach on that day tho, as Divya was carrying Tarun in a back pack and didn't fancy going up and down the 200 steps to the beach! There is one house down on the beach which would just be amazing to stay in - and you can also see shipwreck ruins when the tide is low - very cool. On the way back we stopped at Casswell Bay for an icecream... Had to be done!

Wednesday was a Mumbles day - just strolled into the village, had some lunch and went for another wee walk along the coast. Mumbles is where Catherine Zeta Jones has a house - but there was no famous star spot for me I'm afraid! The pier was great - check out my photos on Flickr (when I've posted them...)

Thursday we walked along the promenade back into Swansea (about five miles), had lunch, dipped into a museum briefly and then went back and sat in the sun and read magazines. Bliss!

Friday morning was an early start as we headed off to Llangennith (which is actually the other end of Rhossil Bay) so Divya could go surfing. Very cool getting the thumbs up from surfers as we headed to the beach - telling us the surf was good! I got most excited by that!! So while Divya surfed I had a stroll along the beach - amusing myself by spotting all the dead jellyfish on the beach... Then in the afternoon it was back on the train to London.

A lovely wee break - and I had great weather as well!

Another year older...

So I turned another year older - and a very quiet birthday it was too. I went out on the Saturday night to help Mhairi celebrate her birthday. She had several cake themed gifts which was quite funny (she is the cake baker extraordinaire...)!

Sunday I opened a few presents - despite not wanting to do anything for my birthday people still spent money on me, and I did get some lovely gifts. And they are still rolling in - which of course I'm enjoying :-). I headed up about lunchtime on the train to Swansea to start my next 'staycation' in Mumbles. Very interesting as once I got past Bristol Parkway it was all new territory for me... I had a wee doze on the way up, and managed to completely miss the Severn Tunnel - I didn't even realise I'd been through one until Divya's husband Lee mentioned it to me!

My birthday evening was low key but good - drank wine and watched the final of The Apprentice - just what I wanted to do!!

This time one year ago...

Lindsey had just arrived down from Glasgow to help me celebrate my 40th, and Tracey had been here a few days already. Hard to believe that is a year ago now - I'm looking down the barrel of being 41 and I'm not sure where the last year has gone...

Anyhow, this year my birthday will be very different as I'm not doing anything. Just haven't had the energy or inclination to celebrate it at all. Weird - I thought I would feel like this last year, rather than two years on, but I'm just not bothered about doing anything for it. I am out tomorrow night to help Mhairi celebrate her birthday (which is today) and we're having our 4th annual 'June Babies' drinks for work on June 19th so that will be enough for me.

And on Sunday I'm heading back up to Wales to spend a few days with Divya and Tarun - I'm not sure exactly where I'm going tho - I get the train to Swansea, that much I do know! Somewhere around Mumbles I think... So I'll be off line until next Friday anyhow, but look out for updates and photos then.

Cool cooking

The cooking class was great. Really good fun. Small group - only 10 of us around a table, sharing out the chopping/mixing etc. Jennifer (the instructor) did all the cooking, although Mhairi did get up and make the fish cakes. But the way the food was cooked was very straightforward - and obviously the salads didn't need any cooking!

The food was delicious - I just now need to be brave enough to try and make it myself! All very simple recipes - very tasty as well. I didn't realise until the end of the evening that the classes were actually held in the instructor's flat. She had made it anonymous enough that it was immediately obvious.

All in all, a very good present - even if it was taken up almost a year on!

Anyone for tennis? Or a bit of cooking?

So tonight I went for my first tennis lessons - I signed up ages ago for 5 group lessons which started tonight.

Great fun - I really enjoyed it! And I don't think I was the worst one there... Sadly I'll miss next week's lesson as I'll be in Wales - but I'm already looking forward to going back. Next week is backhand, so its a shame I'm missing that.

And tomorrow we are finally using the cooking voucher my friends got my for my birthday last year. We are cooking cuisine from Burma - here is some of the description below...

We’ll learn about some typical Burmese ingredients such as fresh turmeric, dried shrimp, balachaung, and toasted gram flour and make some characteristically tart, crunchy salads and tangy curries. We’ll finish our evening by making ‘Lephet-Thoke’ – a traditional Burmese salad of pickled tea leaves that is eaten at the end of a meal.

Some of the dishes we’ll learn include:

Fish Cake Salad with Lime Juice and Herbs
Ginger and Lemon Salad with Roasted Peanuts
Twice-cooked Snapper Curry with Fresh Turmeric and Bamboo Shoots
Hand-mixed Burmese Rice with Tamarind

This is also a fundraising class, so the money raised is going to a good cause :-).

From the Foo Fighters to the Manic Street Preachers...

So with my last gig to the Manics, I have finished my first ticket album... Started on 15 November 1995 with the Foo Fighters at Brixton Academy, finished with the Manic Street Preachers on 28 May 2009 at the Roundhouse.

I know this isn't complete - if I did a comparison with Kevin's I know he has tickets for gigs we went to, that for some reason I have not managed to keep hold of. And there are some bands here that I know I've seen more often than I have tickets for - eg I'm pretty sure I've seen the Manics more than 3 times, James more than 2 times and Gene more than 3 times... And this doesn't include gigs from when I was still in NZ either - so very London focused.

Anyhow - in amongst the 200 or so tickets I have are: 44 for the theatre (including plays, musicals, comedy), 18 footie matches (17 of which are Villa), 9 cricket matches, 5 rugby matches, 3 sporting events in the USA and the following bands (number of times seen in brackets)...

The Amps (1), The Muttonbirds/Don McGlashan (6), Oasis (1), Boo Radleys (2), Tanya Donnelly (2), Billy Bragg (3), Manic Street Preachers (3), Beck (2), Babybird (1), James (2), Pavement (1), Wilco/Jeff Tweedy (4), Tindersticks (1), Nick Cave (1), Go Betweens (3), Teenage Fanclub (2), Ocean Colour Scene (3), Son Volt (1), Prodigy (1), Kristin Hersh (1), Echo & the Bunnymen (2), Smashing Pumpkins (1), Eels (1), Vic Chestnut (1), Lambchop (1), Calexico/Iron & Wine (2), Fat Freddys Drop (3), Salmonella Dub (1), Julian Cope (1), Bruce Springsteen (1), Gene (3), Embrace (6), Mark Eitzel (1), Badly Drawn Boy (1), New Order (1), Waterboys (1), Snow Patrol (2), Ian Brown (1), Rufus Wainwright (1), Franz Ferdinand (1), Finn Brothers (1), The Thrills (1), Starsailer (4), The Killers (1), Bloc Party (3), Doves (1), Interpol (1), Marshmellow (1), Mark Olson (2), Elbow (3), James Blunt (1), Hard Fi (1), Sufjan Stevens (1), The National (1), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (1), Bluetones (1), Marah (1), Silver Jews (1), The Raconteurs (1), Arcade Fire (1), The Hold Steady (1), The Guillemots (1), The Hours (3), Band of Horses (1), Portishead (1), My Morning Jacket (1), Autumn Defense (1), Hot Chip (1), Dodge Brothers (1).

Very hot London Loop sections

Completed another two sections of the London Loop - Kingston to Hatton Cross (8.5 miles) and Hatton Cross to Hayes & Harlington (3.8 miles). A total of 12.3 miles, but it took us AGES... I've blogged before about our different walking speeds, but yesterday felt very long to me. A lot of that was the heat - we're in the middle of a wee heatwave here, so it was very hot walking, but even so I still feel like it took too long...

The start of the first section was lovely - through Bushy Park, which despite the fact that its on my doorstep, I've never been to before. En-route to the park we saw a very amusing sign at a pub, which I've posted below - made us all smile! After we left Bushy Park and got closer to Hatton Cross we were also getting closer to Heathrow, so the plane noise got louder and louder... We had a 'plane spotters' picnic as it felt like they were literally taking off just next to us, so for the particularly loud ones we'd all look up to try and identify it from the tail fin. The conversation ebbed and flowed depending on when a plane was taking off... It was a real relief to start to head away - I don't know how people manage to live so close without going insane - a couple of hours of it was doing my head in...

Husband creche

Husband creche
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

The fab Manics

Went to see the Manic Street Preachers play their new album at the Roundhouse on Thursday. A fantastic band and a great venue. We were stood upstairs at the back, which meant we had a great view, and as its a relatively small venue, it still felt very much like we were part of it.

The gig was two sets - the album first, then they came back on and did 'hits' - a bit like the Echo & the Bunnymen gig I went to last year. Very cool - played a lot of my old faves so I went home very happy :-).

Real live TV...

Second time lucky for Simon, Mhairi, Owen and me as we got in to see the filming of 'The Apprentice - You're Fired'...

We had lucked out the first time, but it worked in our favour as this time we had priority tickets. We did make sure we got there very early tho! Very interesting to see the show being filmed - although I don't think we made it on to tv! Quite funny to sit there and be told to laugh and clap when nothing is going on - knowing that your sound is just going be used somewhere else!

Great evening tho!

The Hours (again)

Went to see The Hours (again) with Divya on Monday night - this time they played at Cargo. Another great set from them, although it was somewhat on the short side. They now have two albums, but still only played just over an hour. Bit disappointing.

And this time our famous person spot was Jarvis Cocker (see earlier post for the last famous person spot).

Back from wonderful Wales

And as I was clever and took my MacBook with me, I have my posts all ready to go! So read on below for the holiday - I'm about to start uploading my photos as well, but that may take a wee while...

Highlights were:

• Summiting Tryfan
• Finding the lovely Welsh farmer and realising we were no longer lost in the wilds of Wales
• The great company
  

Lazy Friday

Friday was a low key day. The Kershaws headed out early-ish, but we just mooched around the house. Owen and I then went to meet them at Beddgelert to go for a wee stroll with them all.

Beautiful wee village - very different from where we were staying. Stunning - although looking quite thunderous as it was a bit grey and cloudy when we were there.

Owen and I then went back to pick Finbarr up and we headed off to try and find Owen's 'ancestral home' - Vaynol Hall, where his great grand-father had been gamekeeper. Cue much amusement, as Owen seems to be from all of the country, but we did find the somewhat imposing entrance to the estate. Which was all we got to see as it was definitely 'Private Property'.

Saturday we had to be out by 10, and we had left by about 9.30. We all felt very sorry to be going!

The best laid plans...

Very early start today – out of the house by 8.15! The plan was that me, Craig, Owen and Finbarr would head out early, climb Cnicht (5.5 miles – approx time 4 hours) and then meet Sarah and the kids in Betws-y Coed. Oh the best laid plans…

The morning was a bit grey, but not too bad when we set off, and the climb up to Cnicht was ok. Getting closer to the top the cloud started to come down, but we persevered. It was meant to have stunning views, but as you can see from the photos all we saw was cloud. So far so good…

The descent was where it all went wrong… We were meant to be looking out for a lake – quite hard to do when visibility was about 5 feet ahead of us… However Craig had a plan that as long as we headed north east we’d eventually hit the lake. 3 hours later we finally end up at a farm (after walking across very boggy peat bogs, crossing and re-crossing streams, and walking around the corner of a field to be faced with 6 bulls) and found a rather dashing young Welsh farmer who promptly told us where we were – which was miles away from where we were meant to be (about 5 to be precise). We’d gone so wrong it was incredible – thank heavens for finding that farmer!

We learnt many lessons on that walk – like a map and a compass aren’t that useful when you don’t actually know where you are on the map… or when you can’t see any landmarks to map yourself against… However it all ended ok – we ended up back in the land of people again!

Me & Fin at the summit with Craig in the distance

Me & Fin at the summit with Craig in the distance
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Perched on the edge of the world in the cloud...

The 'Carry on Walking' team

The 'Carry on Walking' team
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

An 'in' joke... not as funny as the films are (apparently...)

A climb but no summit...

A late start – I didn’t get up until after 9.30! So a somewhat slow morning, but eventually about midday me, Fin and Owen headed off to do our designated walk of the day – Moel Siabod.

Weather had changed overnight – no more glorious sun, but dull grey cloud and spots of rain flying around. We got most of the way up to Moel Siabod, but at the crucial point the cloud came down and I didn’t fancy doing any climbing/scrambling in the mist, so we admired the view from a lower ridge and headed back down. And still managed to get a bit lost!

Stunning views tho – and something quite spooky about walking past the ruined slate houses – presumably from the disused slate quarry just over the hill. Must have been a very bleak place to have lived and worked…

A fantastic castle and changing of the guard

Another lovely day weatherwise – amazing for Wales! This was our designated ‘lazy’ day. Partly as we were tired from Tryfan (many aching muscles…), but also as Julia had to head back to London later in the day which meant no big excursions. Craig and Sarah etc headed off to Port Meirion, but we decided to venture into Caernarfon and go and check out the castle. It was a seriously cool castle – looked just like the ones we used to draw when we were kids! We also ambled out along the bay for a while which was just lovely. Unfortunately that sparked the urge for fish & chips in us, which then sparked a fruitless hunt in the town as there didn’t seem to be a chippie – despite it being a town on the sea! So all feeling very disappointed we settled for a very sub-par lunch at a café on the town square. It is a lovely town – but some of the inhabitants were a tad odd… Loads of Welsh being spoken tho – more Welsh than English which was interesting.

Then it was back to Rhosbodrual, Julia left, me and Fin enjoyed a beer in the sun, and waited for Craig and Sarah to return from their adventures. And about 7.30ish the changing of the guard was complete with the arrival of Owen.

The Welsh flag flying proudly

The Welsh flag flying proudly
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

A very cool castle

Julia with the fab boot bag!

Julia with the fab boot bag!
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Spot the boot bag!

Climbing Tryfan - we knocked the old girl off!

So today was designated as ‘Tryfan’ day. It had the best forecast – clear and sunny, with some wind. I’d had real reservations about doing Tryfan – it is a pretty full on climb and I hadn’t really enjoyed that aspect of Crib Goch, but when push came to shove, I couldn’t stay at home and watch Craig, Julia and Finbarr head off, so of course I went…

The climb on the whole was actually not too difficult, but it started immediately, and we were then climbing for two hours to get to the top… There were a couple of hairy bits where I felt like I was stuck, but aside from that it was manageable. I’m typing this on Tuesday morning, and I’ve got some great bruises and very sore muscles today! The path was pretty indistinct at times which I didn’t like very much, and as we got close to the top we took a wrong turn so we missed one of the iconic views of the mountain… And then we couldn’t find the top – Finbarr who had mountain goated off up a different route was up there before us, so we called out to him and from that worked out how to get up to the top! We admired Adam and Eve (but chose not to climb up on to them…), had lunch and then headed down.

The second half of the walk involved climbing up to Glyder Fach via Bristly Ridge, and I was really uncomfortable with that. The wind was really quite strong, and I was a bit wary about tackling it so I decided to walk back down via Llyn Bochlwyd and Cwm Idwal. Julia also came with me as she has been having trouble with her Archilles heel so she didn’t want to push her luck given that it had got her up and down the mountain. So we wandered off and left the boys to their own adventure. And watched all the fighter jets swooping up and down the valley as we descended – very cool! Down at Cwm Idwal we paddled in the water (boy was it cold!!), sat in the sun and waited for Craig and Finbarr to reappear via the Devil’s Kitchen. Which did take quite a while as they got a bit lost up there – we were just wondering at what point we would call out mountain rescue when they appeared!

Then it was back to the house for a well deserved beer, and a whisky before bed – which wasn’t late as we were all absolutely knackered!!

Looking back down Tryfan

Looking back down Tryfan
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Impressed?

Me on the summit of Tryfan

Me on the summit of Tryfan
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Made it!!

Craig looking back up at Tryfan - the way we descended

Craig looking back up at Tryfan - the way we descended
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

Look in awe!

View from the house, Monday evening

View from the house, Monday evening
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.

What a view!

Sunday - managed a walk!

Slow start today as a couple of members of the party stayed up a wee bit later than others drinking whisky (not the author I hasten to add!). But in the afternoon, me, Finbarr and Julia headed off to do our first walk – Llyn Crafnant and Llyn Geirionydd.

We went back to the same café Julia and I had had lunch in Betws-y-Coed and bought a ‘hikers pack’ – sandwich, flapjack and drink. The walk covered all terrain – forests, rocky paths and lakesides. Walking alongside the side of Llyn Geironydd was very much like walking along the side of Loch Lomond. Beautiful lake, but as the guidebook told us ‘the clarity does not indicate purity’. Lead mines above the lake have ensured that the run off has contaminated the lake and killed off most of the animal and plant life…

Llyn Crafnant was not quite as stunning as Llyn Geironydd, but it isn’t poisoned as it acts as a reservoir for the Conwy valley. It was a great first walk – not too strenuous and some great views. And no rain once we actually started walking!

London to North Wales

Early start – had to be at Earlsfield at 7.30am to meet Julia – I had to get up earlier than I usually do for work! She was running slightly late – but we were on the road by just after 8. The trip up was ok – no traffic in London – which is the good thing about leaving so early! Most of it was bog standard, but once you get to North Wales it gets so scenic. Windy roads, stunning scenery – and lots of rain!!

We went through Betws-y-Coed where Craig, Julia and I stayed when we did the Snowdon Horseshoe, so that was a nice trip down memory lane. We stopped for a very nice lunch there and just had to drop into one of the many outdoor shops that line the road… We are now proud owners of very cool boot bags ☺. Then finally we headed off on the last stretch towards Llanberis. We passed Plas Y Brenin – sparking much discussion about coming back to do a course there - very excited about that!

Craig, Sarah and the kids had got to the house slightly earlier than us so they were off doing the food shopping – great for us! The house was lovely. Finished to a much higher standard than the photos on the site would suggest – lovely big open plan kitchen and lounge area. Craig picked Finbarr up from Holyhead and then we were all set to go!

'Staycation' number one...

So this Saturday I'm off on the first of my two 'staycations' to Wales. I'm unlikely to have internet access so will be off the radar for a while - no suprise there you all think!

Anyhow, the first staycation will be in Rhosbodrual in Caernarfon - we have booked a cottage for a week. The plan is to do some quite serious walking on a couple of days, and touristy stuff on the others. Hoping to climb Tryfan (although I'm a bit nervous about it), and also get to Portmeirion (where they filmed The Prisoner).

Core group will be me, Craig, Sarah and their two wee ones, and Finbarr, with Julia and Owen for half the week each. I'm greatly looking forward to it! Will take my Macbook with me so I can at least write my blog while I'm away so once I'm back I can just do some copying and pasting...

So The Apprentice never happened...

Very annoying - they issued too many tickets so we missed out. Apparently whoever gets 'fired' this week took up loads of tickets for their friends so there was less room for the plebs. Not sure if The Apprentice makes it to NZ - if not this may be meaningless. Suffice to say I was very cross!

Bank Holiday bliss

Right now it is the Monday of the first May Bank holiday - and we've had good weather which has been fantastic!

Saturday I went to see Picasso: Challenging the Past at the National Gallery with Nicola which was very good. I really enjoyed the rooms with the still lives, and also the portraits. Interesting new look at Picasso to see how he was inspired by so many of the old masters. Then I went round to Julia's in the evening to admire her new sofa - watched Sex & the City (the film) as well - which I thought was pretty dire...

Sunday was a lazy day, but I met up with Maya in the evening and we went to have dinner at Chris's pub. Lovely roast lamb, and we then all had dessert as well - we shared spring fruit crumble, custard tart and rhubarb fool. All very delish!

Later today I'm off to meet Mhairi and Simon for a stroll along the Thames and then we are off to see the filming of The Apprentice: You're Fired. Very excited about that!!