Property search...........

I met the delightful and beautiful Collett this morning at Redcliffe Quay and watched a little boy playing  complete with his skeleton scarf and Captain's Crossbones Hat  ensconced tightly on his head.

Again Munroe I was so reminded of you at that age..............you wouldn't go out anywhere without a "uniform " and a hat of some kind! I will not publish this to the world and embarrass you!

After completing a range of business we visited the Couturiere, Noreen Phillips, a wonderfully talented, elegant and globally acclaimed fashion powerhouse  and her team to pick up our personally made and designed dresses. Her shop is a veritable treasure trove of ladies dresses, evening wear as well as bags and shoes. There are several of my friends who could spend a long.................long time with her.....Christa?

We did encourage a gentleman visitor to purchase a beautifully handmade pink shirt! If you are ever in St John's Harbour this is a must place to visit! Thank you Noreen, I am thrilled with my dress..................watch this space!

The rest of the day was taken up with visiting  a range of properties along  the west coast of the island, for me another 7th heaven experience. Gave us lots of food for thought!

No time for the beach today but who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Nuff said!

What if you discriminately..............?

Sunday Exploring

Waking up each morning to the warm sun is so good. Apparently up the hill here there is normally a breeze which keeps the temperature  very comfortable. However the weather has not been as "normal" this last week and it is hot from 6.00am...............however I am not complaining.

The island is "divided" into 6 areas, St John's, George, Peter, Paul and  Mary.  Today we were exploring the area on the south east part of the Island known as St Philip. Everywhere you look there are many, many churches. Even the smallest of villages will often have 2 or  3 churches. The ladies are always so well dressed  with very smart long but colourful dresses and of course .....hats.  As we passed through one small village I could see that all of the choristers were dressed in white robes, a real contrast to the colourful dresses.

All shops are closed on a Sunday but you can still buy  wonderfully fresh fruit and vegetables at little stalls by the side of the road. No parking bays ....you just skew to a halt  wherever. Tiny, fat little sausage like bananas are the sweetest ever as are the very small pineapples, native to the island. Friendly advice is also given as the vendor looks for the best piece for his customer...............eat the bananas tomorrow when they will be perfect!

Everywhere is so green and lush, the grass wild and high in many places due to the recent heavy rains.

The island is only 17 miles wide and it wasn't long, having driven along the main highway, Fig Tree Drive, before we reached our first port of call, English Harbour having passed Aunty May's Garden Shop!

The Marina is empty with only a few yachts left, the rest having taken off to cooler climes in the mediterranean. This is the "closed" season here, May to November,  the hottest part of the year!

I spent ages just watching the antics of a very old pelican as he ducked and dived catching fish.

I was reminded of you Munroe as a 7 year old  boy  reading "Storm Boy" for the first time  and the dramatic effect it had on you when the pelican was shot! There were 3 pelicans flying around and diving , always successful  with a mouthful of fresh fish as their reward.

This part of the island is much hillier, not high but with constantly changing heights. Bright and colourful buildings and with many hand painted signs obviously communicating the views of the writer!

Our first beach of the day was Pigeon Point and as you see just glorious. Nearly deserted with only a couple of adult groups just sitting and chatting in the remarkably warm waters, a scene that will have been repeated there since time immemorial!

Half Moon Bay, our next stop, so reminded me of Barra  in the Outer Hebrides, when Maggie and Brian, Jim and I  anchored there when we were on Arctica  in April 2008. Opposite sides of the ocean but the colours just the same..................although temperature somewhat different.

So many different sites and scenes reflecting the culture of the island!

So many gorgeous scenes and  how can I choose one  snap to represent a whole  experience of a beautiful moment in time? So many photo opportunities and here I go again snap, snap snapping........thank goodness for the advent of digital cameras........has it only been 13 years since my first camera?

Our next stop for lunch and ultimately for the rest of the day was a new luxury complex built by friends of Ann ( in fact her ex pupils!) at Nonsuch Bay. This was at the ends of nowhere along a very slow, and rickety, rocky, access road. Lunch was just delightful looking out from the hillside across the infinity pool out to sea. The fruit punches....non alcoholic..........are just fantastic.

We bedded down on the beach for an afternoon of reading and swimming and I have never  been in such hot.....no not warm............but hot sea water!

If you have the odd $750,000+ spare cash you can purchase one of the smaller one bedroom studio apartments................a little bit out of our league!

On our way home we eventually found a property we had identified for  Ann's consideration.............food for thought. Looking at properties helps fine tune your criteria and helps you determine the specifics. I do know however that the minute you walk into some place you know instantly whether it is really for you!

Exhausted............... we eventually arrived home just as darkness was falling, another satisfying and happy day.

Antigua, Long Bay

Long Bay is just north of Nonsuch Bay

It's a tough life but someone...........................!

Long Bay...............just simply "Paradise".

Received a text from Jim to say snow forecast! Three seconds later took this pic!

Some new beach friends..OK?

Senior Citizens and the Physically Challenged!

Wakened 4.00am. Cocks crowing 4.15am. Body clock doing its own thing again but hey….so what! Dawn was at 5.00am and picture taken 5.45am. A hearty breakfast on terrace in the already hot sun and then we headed into town to do basic stuff.

I was surprised at how many of the highly colourful corners and streets I remembered. Orange, pink, yellow, red, green, brilliant blue houses surrounded by  bourganville, hibiscus, birds of paradise,  unknown flowers and a plethora of greenery and so many different types of succulents. Life is indeed very visually stimulating on this island.

In the bank there is a special queue for “Senior Citizens and the Physically Challenged”. The sign is in extra large print just in case you didn’t bring your specs! Great idea. We sat very comfortably awaiting  our turn, in the wide seats set aside for us OAPs,  watching the  very long standing crocodile queue of under 60s wend its way round the bank forecourt! Maybe age does have some advantages?

Had the best cup of coffee since my return from Oz in…………..the Australian Coffee Shop in St John’s Harbour! Not just as good Blair as Manly Wharf  but so much better than anything in the UK! The Flamboyant Tree across the way was just so beautiful with incredible red blossom…truly living up to its name!

A lovely surprise awaited me in the designer shop “Noreen Phillips” at Redcliffe Quay. The most beautiful cobalt, blue dress has been put aside for me by Anne as a gift, before her return to the UK! Picking it up tomorrow as a few adjustments being made to ensure a perfect fit!  Photo to follow later……………

As Ben said, Mother doesn’t go to “The Gym” she goes to the “Antigua  Athletic Club”, the most beautiful grounds, gym and pool in a very lush complex! Lunch with my Tropical Punch (non-alcoholic), a few lazy lengths in the gloriously warm water, an hour’s lazy sunbathing  without even a book to disturb the mental inactivity, no and we returned home to a quiet evening by the tv.

 Sorry that is totally inaccurate……….. the plethora of noises outside is a veritable cacophony, even louder than that in the tropical rainforest on Fraser Island in Oz!!!!!  Difficult to ascertain the individual sounds…..something to google later?

Flying High.

Easy flight out. 8 hours is a long time but getting used to longer flights!!!! We ended up being upgraded to  Traveller Plus class due to error on part of BA who got their seating plan mixed up. It is obviously worth complaining especially when the plane is not full? A bit more space and plenty leg room.

Through immigration reasonably quickly…..well Antiguan “quick”….. and arrived Chez Anne having bounced  very slowly up the rickety, rugged hilly road and underneath  the deep undergrowth. Apparently there have  been incredible and unusual amounts of heavy rainfall resulting in  the garden  needing a little attention! Views from the little terrace out over the sea are just wonderful. 

Shock Horror!

I need to have english pounds in Antigua to change into XCD -  acca Eastern Caribbean Dollars and guess what......... was charged £8.50 to change £350 of Clydesdale Banknotes to English notes!!!!! Will never be caught out this way again!

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous!

Great journey from Stirling despite hassle of ash cloud affecting our booked flights. Train easy and comfortable to King's Cross.

Warm in London! I do mean warm and very sunny! Crossed to St Pancras with all our bags, I did say I always pack too much and won't this time........... fibs....... and then second train to Gatwick followed by taxi to our next hotel.

Gleneagles in morning.......London in evening,  see pic......... view out of bedroom window. Duh!!

Breakfast with Rory Bremner, Chez Gleneagles

Well then……………not many people can say they sat at the next table to Ann and I at Breakfast in the Conservatory at Gleneagles! However Rory Bremner now has that accolade.

I couldn’t think of a discreet or even indiscreet way of acquiring a photo……. hence an online presence.

 I must say he is a very slim and indeed a very handsome man and it was interesting to see how folks looked at him without trying to be seen so doing!

Volcanic Ash, Grímsvötn, Iceland

Who would have believed it just one year on? The weather has indeed been strange and extreme around the world. Even in Scotland we have had storms and extreme winds as a result of a low depression resulting in uprooted trees and lots of damage and yes,  it is less than 4 weeks to the longest day! Summer where art thou? At home we have been without electricity for 29 hours, no heat, no warm food, no internet access and lots of withdrawal symptoms. Minor inconveniences in the big picture of things happening around the  world.

Travel plans have had to be changed as flights from Edinburgh have been cancelled due to the eruption of Grímsvötn in Iceland. Have the airlines learned from last year's chaos? Who knows but, in all honesty, I am not taking any chances. Fingers crossed that flights from London to Antigua won't be delayed!

Observations from satellites of the ash plume.
Meteosat Second generation (MSG)  images are monitoring for the presence of volcanic ash emission in the vicinity of Iceland using infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, data at several different wavelengths can be combined to identify the main ash plume, which, when present, would be shown as pink, yellow and orange colours in the images. However, it should be noted that it is only the thicker parts of the plume that are able to be detected by this method. In addition, the ash plume is often masked by overlying high cloud and therefore might not appear in the satellite image.

So instead of flying to London from Edinburgh have spent the night in Gleneagles, driving to Stirling to take the train to London and hopefully flying out tomorrow........... don't count chickens etc! Early morning and no gales! 


Thinking.......red sky at night, shepherds delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning!!!!!

The Proposed Plan

You can plan a trip but like all good plans.................?