Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip away @Ergates.
Shame about the Sunday lunch @Penny_Forthem .

We enjoyed the boat trip, though there were some highs and lows, but more highs. In places where there were limestone rocks the sea was a glorious turquoise blue. We went to the little island of Paxos south of Corfu and moored at a sea front village where there were two small beaches after a short walk. I had a swim at the second one.

Then we had lunch on the pretty terrace of a restaurant, baked jumbo prawns in tomato sauce with feta cheese. Back to the boat and around Antipaxos, another small island. The boat moored about 50m in beautiful turquoise water from a small beach so that people could swim. A lot of the younger people swam. I prefer to walk into water from a beach so I didn't swim again. Glad I didn't as there were jellyfish and 2 people near where we were sitting had been stung.

Next we visited some blue caves. The water was very blue. The big boat went right into the caves.

On the way back loud music was played on the upper deck. We were on the lower deck and the music came through vents in the ceiling. I went upstairs to see what was going on and the young were dancing to the music. We could have done without it downstairs as some of us were trying to chat to people we'd met. After that there was Greek music. The guide called for everyone to go upstairs and watch the Greek dancers. That was quite fun.

We arrived back to our hotel in time for a shower and dinner.

 

More photos.

 

Forgot the dancers!

 

Glad you've had fun @Busy-Lizzie and that the weather held for your boat trip.

Shame about your lunch @Penny_Forthem but maybe you can post a review? I did after a less than stellar lunch at a place we knew and loved but was ruined under new management.

Shame for you too @Ergates. My OH will eat anything except tripe, oysters and seafood that looks like snails and other slimey critters. I'm fussier as; in addition, I won't eat andouilettes or sprouts and I've gone off aubergine. I do generally feel tho that home cooling is much better value so we only eat out if it's a special occasion or a day out.

Possum has her exam tomorrow and has to do a 60 minute presentation of her website and its whys and wherefores so is getting a bit stressy. I've kept her supplied with proper Belgian chocolate this afternoon and cooked her favourite roast dinner - belly pork with crackling - and some Yorkshire pud as a special treat except that instead of doing the usual small ones in bun tins I did one big one flavoured with sage and with caramelised onions at the base. Not impressed - she can be very Capricorn about changes! But then she had a second piece. Ha! And apple crumble!

Should sleep well tonight.

Hope everyone here does too.

 

Nice pics @Busy-Lizzie.

I'd read that there were going to be roadworks at the Wellington junction again @Ergates but wouldn't have thought any holdups there would have affected your stretch of road but who knows? Glad you enjoyed the break but pity about the food.
I've never thought to check the hygiene ratings of any restaurant we've visited - perhaps we've just been lucky. I've never been keen on Indian or Chinese restaurants though, having seen the rear premises of many in Hong Kong, they put me off for life!

Best wishes for Possum for tomorrow @Obelix-Vendée, an hour's presentation is quite a long time though so don't envy her.

My Pear cake was ok but nothing special. The recipe's measurements were peculiar I thought and the mixture barely covered the sliced pears (Williams) which didn't have much of a taste although raw they were lovely. Wouldn't bother again as I much preferred the Dorset Apple Cake I made a few weeks ago.

 

Evening all.

Horribly wet today, but as I was cleaning and packing most of the day it could have been a lot worse. The forecast for tomorrow is rather better, but I've packed everything in plastic bags because my suitcase is definitely not waterproof. Just the first stage of my homeward journey tomorrow, spending the night in Glasgow before getting the coach taking me to Belfast (via the ferry from Cairnryan) early on Tuesday morning.

 

Evening all.

Horribly wet today, but as I was cleaning and packing most of the day it could have been a lot worse. The forecast for tomorrow is rather better, but I've packed everything in plastic bags because my suitcase is definitely not waterproof. Just the first stage of my homeward journey tomorrow, spending the night in Glasgow before getting the coach taking me to Belfast (via the ferry from Cairnryan) early on Tuesday morning.

 

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Good morning everyone. Fabulous pictures @Busy-Lizzie. Was any plate smashing involved in the Greek dancing? Good grief @Obelix-Vendée I echo what @lizzie27 said about the length of the presentation Possum has to make. 60 minutes seems overkill - especially as the average human has an attention span of about 20 minutes!
Safe - and dry - journey today @Liriodendron.
Meeting my sis and some of our friends at a GC today for coffee and something to nibble on. As I said the other day, I am picking up one friend a wee bit earlier so we can have a mooch for plants. I want some tiny alpines for my troughs.

 

Good morning. Another itchy night and one hunting episode to keep me awake so late on parade.

Very grey early on but we now have blue skies for a while. Roughly 5mm of rain so far and a bit more due this pm and evening. The garden is looking rinsed.

I wished Possum good luck for today as I headed off to bed and suggested she imagine the examiners all naked. She laughed and said it wouldn't help. Told her it would make her smile and that would relax her. We'll see.

I like Dorset apple cake too @lizzie27. Pears can be bland but I have some picled in a spiced syrup to serve with pâté and charcuterie that I hope will be good at Xmas and the pear frangipane I made last week was good.

That sounds like a tortuous trip home @Liriodendron so I hope there's plenty of good scenery for you and maybe time for a cuppa and cake at the Willow tearoom/Rennie Mackintosh café in Glasgow.

Enjoy your coffee and chat @Ladybird4. I hope you find some good alpines. I've been watching Geoff H's Paradise Gradens as I sew and he was sowing mixed alpine seeds into gritty compost between paving slabs. I might try that on our gravelled area if I find any seeds.

 

Morning all, rather wet today so again no gardening. I've stripped the bed and the washing machine is on which gave me a good excuse not to walk with OH in the pouring rain! No sense in two of us getting wet.

Hope your journey home goes well with no long delays anywhere @Liriodendron.

I've probably suggested this before @Obelix-Vendée but have you tried good old fashioned Calamine lotion on your insect bites, that is if you can get it in France of course? It's very soothing, especially at night when everything always seems extra itchy. Hope everything goes well for Possum today.

Enjoy your coffee morning out @Ladybird4.

I'd better get on with the ironing.

 

Afternoon all!

Thanks for the good wishes for my travels! It does indeed take a long time to get home, so I just have to consider the journey to be part of the trip. The scenery between here in Oban and Glasgow is really spectacular, so I'm looking forward particularly to the train journey this afternoon. And tomorrow's coach ride to Cairnryan goes along the A77, which provides views of Arran and Ailsa Craig, and the Belfast to Dublin train is pretty scenic...

Hope Possum's presentation goes well, @Obelix-Vendée . Also hope your itches subside quickly. Calamine might work - but it's a pity you've not found any relief by using antihistamines. Harvest mites are the pits!

We're considering a pear tree or two for our front garden, as they're resistant to honey fungus. Any recommendations gratefully received.

Oban looks nicer today than when I arrived a fortnight ago!

 

Slept in this morning, and then headed out to the Donkey sanctuary for an early lunch. A great antidote to our disappointing food experience at the weekend. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the tummy upset was a single episode, all quiet for the rest of the afternoon, and so far today. Might not get a walk as it is alternating between sunny spells and showers, but I have to call into the supermarket as we pass anyway.
Hope all goes well for Possum and her presentation. I always used to advise interview candidates to take a glass of water in with them. Very good if you get a dry mouth, but also good to use as a delaying tactic if needed to think of a suitable answer! Last job I had, the interview process took the whole day! An intelligence test, followed by two different role playing exercises, one with a roomful of people pretending to be staff with a grievance! Then a buffet lunch with the team I’d be leading, and a chance for them to size me up. In the afternoon, I had to do a presentation to the board! Very pleased to get a phone call before I’d even arrived home, offering me the job.
We did get a walk, but did get rained on! As expected, it has stopped raining as soon as we got home. I suppose at least I should be grateful that I can get the recycling out in the dry.
Hope the weather improves for @Busy-Lizzie! And that @Goldenlily26 is managing to get some joined up thinking from her GP surgery.

 

Had a super meet up today - sadly no plants but I did buy two jumpers! There were 6 of us all together and imagine how shell shocked we were when one of our party told us that she had had a pacemaker inserted a fortnight ago. She looked exactly as we knew her and she was enjoying her cake and coffee too. We couldn't tell that she had been in need of this procedure but it was a relief to see her so upbeat and 'normal'! We managed to get our December meet up sorted - before the diaries get too full.
Gorgeous picture of Oban @Liriodendron - thank you for sharing. As it was quite pleasant when I got home I decided to risk putting a wash load on - bad move as it started persisting down halfway through the wash cycle. I could have done with that blue sky down here.
Signing out now. See you all tomorrow.

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Hello all.

We went back to Paleokasritsa today. It was a lovely day, summer dress weather.



We paddled at this beach, didn't swim as there were stones and rocks under the water.


Then we had delicious huge prawns again with a Greek salad for lunch.

There was an aquarium which had fish and reptiles. The guide was very good.

 

After that we went on a 40 minute boat trip to see the other bays and beaches. The tree growing out of a rock was in the Bond film "For Your Eyes Only".