Fairford March 2011 – We are back in business

It is a long time (nearly 7 years) since Gerry stepped out of uniform and we began life post retirement. We certainly have more leisure time and have become far more relaxed. Last November we thought that our blog of Life Post Retirement had run its course but following several complaints we have decided to continue to share our family news and our travel adventures. We hope you enjoy the Blog in the future as much as you have apparently in the past!

What’s been happening since November 2010?

Since the last “diary” update we have been less busy travelwise than we would have perhaps liked. One reason was a long spell in hospital for Gerry’s mum and the decision that she would have to move into a nursing home once discharged. We therefore cancelled plans to visit Lebanon, Jordan and Syria so that Gerry could work with his brother and sister to empty his mum’s house and then sell it. However, we have not cancelled our trip merely delayed it sine die.
Sorting out mum’s house resulted in a rare event. Gerry, his brother and sister managed to get together for a couple of days in Cardiff to start emptying mum’s house which had been the family home for just over 55 years. Quite emotional, but at least mum was in hospital and did not have to see what was happening.

Winter was very cold with some heavy snow falls in December that meant we hibernated for a few days. Venturing out on foot was worth the effort as there were some quite beautiful views. More photos.

Recovering from the snows we headed to Guernsey for a few days in February.

The weather was not brilliant but we did have some sunshine. We didn’t mind too much as we were walking sections of the coast path and were treated to views of misty, stormy seas one day and beautiful bays the next. The walking was very pleasant although our thighs ached from all the climbing and descending. We enjoyed good food, good accommodation and a good time! One tip; we took the car on the ferry with a full tank only to find fuel in Guernsey was 25% cheaper than the mainland!!

UK Based Grandchildren In the last few weeks we have also enjoyed some wonderful days with Jenny, Mark Bethany and Callum. One day was spent at Caversham with Gerry helping Mark erect a climbing frame. Thank heavens that Gerry had taken his power screw driver and socket set as they helped make life a lot easier and the job a lot shorter to complete. We also spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon at Basildon Park a National Trust site with the children walking over a mile in the spring sunshine before being treated to an ice cream. The family Davidson also visited The Nook twice and again we were lucky to enjoy spring sunshine and time feeding the ducks, playing in the garden and with Gerry’s model railway.

Gerry’s model railway project started last August and has progressed steadily until the last two weeks when Annie was on Jury Service in Swindon which gave Gerry 10 days of solid train time. The baseboard is mounted so that it is moveable and can be stored vertically. That also makes it a lot easier to complete the wiring. Most of the base level track has been laid and tested with the help of Bethany and Callum. As of today, all of the base level track has been laid and construction of the elevated section begun. Click here to see some photos of the railway project.