To sum it all up.

We have been home now for a month and what a busy month it has been, we had 2 weeks in Auckland seeing friends and family and then we moved to Hamilton where I started my new job on moving day. Mr Logistics (Mike) organised the move, unpacked the boxes and organised our new and temporary home. We finally have wifi – as opposed to 1GB on our phone so now it’s blogging time!

 

2015 was quite a year and here is a summary.

• 50 weeks
• 34 flights
• 20 countries
• 13 languages
• 7 workaways
• 3 experiences of volunteering in SE Asia
• 6,000 ish photos
• numerous bus trips, boat trips and a few train trips
• 6 different underground systems
• 7 different sim cards and anyone’s free wifi that we could find.
• We swam in the Andaman Sea, the South China Sea, the Atlantic (well paddle) the Mediterranean Sea, Miller Lake (Ontario), Crystal Lake (Michigan) and more pools than we can count.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Koh Phyam, Thailand

Crystal Lake, Michigan

Sliema, Malta

West Coast, Ireland

Comino, Malta

Sarawak, Malaysia

Here’s a few things we learnt

• You don’t need a big backpack, everywhere we went was suitable for a suitcase, so 3 months into our trip we swapped backpacks for 4 wheel cases. SUCH A GOOD IDEA, after all we are 53 and 55 not 23 and 25. From here on in we used 4 cases, 2 large and 2 cabin size, they had 4 wheels each, TSA locks and were hard cases. Our brand was Wimbledon, they didn’t cost a fortune but weren’t dirt cheap. Thanks KL for such good shopping. These cases made it home and while they have knocks and scratches we are proud of they still have plenty of life left in them.
• Katmandu packing cells are brilliant. When you are in and out of a suitcase for a year these were a great idea for being organised.
• Sat Nav is a tool but not the only tool, ours is a Garmen and was really useful but you still need to double check on a paper map or on your phone. However, don’t rely on your phone as you may find yourself without internet. Our satnav was capable of taking us up some interestingly narrow and windy roads that may be shorter in theory but are definitely longer in reality. Check on a map first.
• I bought a good quality pashmina in KL and it turned out to be one of the best things I bought all year. If you can buy one, spend as much money as you can afford. They cover you up when needed eg temples, they cover you up when you are cold eg as a scarf or shawl, they double as a blanket on a plane and they can dress up a very basic outfit when needed. Mine is 90% pashmina (wool from the neck of a goat, it is finer than cashmere) and 10% silk. A good quality one feels very soft, can fold up very small and its creases will drop out when hung. Remember if the price seems to good to be true it probably is. Buy one from a reputable dealer and bargin.

The mighty pashmina used as a scarf in Ireland

• Buy shoes that work for you. You will most likely spend hours on your feet and well fitting shoes make such a difference.
• We booked almost all our flights through google flights, listen to local advice and be prepared to spend a lot of time organising flights. If you are travelling on a budget this is the price you pay. Remember not all airlines are on google flights so sometimes you need to look elsewhere.
• Most of our accommodation was sourced using booking.com We quickly got to ‘genius level’ which gave us great discounts and booking.com has accommodation at all levels in all countries. Remember that things vary from country to country, luxury accommodation in Asia is cheaper than basic accommodation in London or Paris. Just because it says B and B doesn’t mean you will get breakfast. Some of our best accommodation was in smaller hotels and in the ‘old city’.  Free breakfast is great, you fill up and don’t need to eat for hours (good for the budget).

Our gorgeous hotel in KL Ramada Plaza

• On the subject of free breakfasts. This is a touchy topic and you often have to regard this as a fuel stop not a gourmet experience. We have had breakfasts that vary greatly in quality, rubbery eggs, cold meats and cheese, curried chicken, fried noodles, rice porridge, fluffy white overly sweet bread, reconstituted milk, cardboard like waffles, the list goes on. I truly feel sorry for the hotels who are trying to produce breakfasts that suit all tastes. No one wins really, just regard it as a fuel stop and fill up. Save the real food experiences for later in the day.
• Instead of going to the well known places seek out the similar but less known eg we have been to Stonehenge before and this time we went to the Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire. Truly amazing, in a small village and not a lot of tourists. Don’t queue for the Louvre and stand in a crowd to see the Mona Lisa, see other equally impressive museums or art galleries at a fraction of the price or better still free eg Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Barcelona)  which is huge and your ticket lasts 2 days or try the smaller Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow or the V & A in London.
• 

  Barcelon art gallery and museum

  

  Avebury
• workaway experiences made a great year even more memorable. Workaway gives you the opportunity to live like a local. Workaway experiences vary and even the not so good ones give you the opportunity to learn something about a place and its people. We would highly recommend this as a way to travel. We met some truly interesting and generous people we hope to see again one day.  We got to work on a Scottish estate, pick blackberries in the Slieve Bloom mountains (Ireland) eat pizza in a piazza in Mantova (Italy) make glass and perfect our nail gun skills in Devon and try a slice of life in Malaga (Spain).
• 

  Monzie, Scotland

  

  Monzie Castle

  

  Susan and Alex

  

  Mike at work in Kinnity, Ireland

  

  Wash day in Kinnity

  

  Benalmadina, Spain

  

  Mike in teaching mode.

  

  Four generations of De Biagi women.

  

  Scotland, Susan happy on a sewing machine.

  

  Devon. The battens are going up.

  

  Our glass coasters, Devon

  

  Touzac, Jean-Pierre, Mike, Sian, Yuya, Ichan & Nanae

  

  Touzac
• If possible don’t over plan your trip. Allowing for a bit of freedom means you can say yes when a golden opportunity presents its self. This is how we got to volunteer in a school in the Cameron Highlands, or go to Malta
• 

  Malta

  

  The Burmese Children with Mary, Joseph and Anna, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

So our overall impressions? This was a great idea, it wasn’t all easy, it wasn’t cheap but we discovered things about ourselves and each other we didn’t know eg I’m not that good on a motor scooter and Mike can mend a dislocated thumb, what Mike and I have is something special, we  survived with very few disagreements and our marriage is stronger than ever.  We discovered that there are some very, very good people out there making a difference; read more here, here and here .

Fr Long, Davao

Fr Frank Bird, Ranong Thailand

ACU students, Ranong

Fr Gill, Ranong

Health team, Ranong

Angel, a teacher in a Burmese Learning Centre, Ranong

One of the saddest stories we have ever heard, a man (in brown) who was sold into slavery on a fishing boat with Eddie, a member of the health team, an amazing man.

In New Zealand we actively encourage our young people to take off and see the world but I would recommend you do it again in your 50’s. You see it with older eyes and with experienced minds. We have a different perspective on many things now and the adventures have not come to an end. Consequently we have taken off to a job in a new city, we are meeting new people and finding new places to visit. Most of the time we stayed between one and three weeks in a place and it is now week 3 in Hamilton and I wonder if we should be packing our bags and moving on……mmm not just yet!

This is my photo of the year, taken in Puy l’Eveque, France at about 9pm after a meal at a local galette cafe. Happy memories

The blog will continue, I am going to share food and recipes that I have gathered as we have travelled. I hope you will continue this journey with us!

 

You could never tire of this view.

Overall we have spent seven weeks here on Monzie Estate, this has been spread over two different visits. It is the people who make this place special but without a doubt the breath-taking scenery is a real draw-card.  So here is a selection of photos from the Estate we chose to share with you. I think you can work out which ones come from Mike’s camera and which come from my Samsung A7.

The ever changing, yet never changing view from the farm house where we have lived with David and Alexandra.

This is what we woke up to every morning!

 

And some days it looked like this.

 

David, Alex and the ever joyful Atlas

The Castle grounds.

A view from Mike’s helicopter ride

Monzie Castle

Gardeners, the glorious holiday cottage by the Castle.

Gardner’s Cottage

Our stay here  has been wonderful, we have learnt so much about modern life on a Scottish Castle Estate. This is not for the faint of heart, it takes an enormous amount of money and courage to maintain a place like this. On this Estate alone there is a joinery business, a hydro power station, a farm with cattle and sheep, holiday lets and a Castle. There is bracken to be dealt with, fences and walls to be maintained, cottages and farm house that are rented out, old buildings requiring ongoing maintenance and then there is a castle that suffers in the Scottish weather and needs to be maintained, all the while keeping the likes of Historic Scotland happy. With all of this there are the employees, cabinet makers, finisher, farm manager, shepherd, gardener, admin people, who all contribute to the success of this Estate. David and Alexandra’s situation is similar to other people in the United Kingdom, people who are giving their all to maintain and enhance a piece of their country’s heritage so that it will be here in the future for people to enjoy. I take my hat of to them and I have no doubt that we will be back to visit.

 

 

Ireland:

We are coming to the end of our time in Ireland and we don’t feel ready to leave. We have LOVED this place. From the moment we arrived we have encountered friendly warm people who really go out of their way to help.

It’s been a month since I wrote and I have taken nearly 500 photos so bear with me, I have tried to squeeze 4 weeks of fun and adventure into something you want to read and see and not get bored with.

We had a week between arriving and starting our next workaway so we hired a car and drove around the coast going south out of Dublin towards Wicklow National Park. If you have been following our blog you may remember me waxing lyrical about springtime in England well now it is autumn in Ireland and it is so beautiful. Wicklow National Park was an array of golds and reds. We first visited Glendalough and the ‘Monastic City’ the site of a 6th century monastic settlement. Quite amazing.

We then drove towards Cork and went to the small town of Cobh (pronounced Cove), even though the weather had turned rather grey and cold it was a colourful sight and well worth a visit.

We had a plan to drive part of the Wild Atlantic Way  and enjoy the wild west coast. It turned out to be a very good idea. Over the next few days we drove the Ring of Kerry starting in Kenmare, then the Dingle Peninsula, we keep thinking we had hit the best bit and it couldn’t get better but each new day bought more spectacular sights!

Wild Atlantic Way

Wild Atlantic Way

Wild Atlantic Way

Wild Atlantic Way

Blasket Island Information centre

The Cliffs of Moher get a lot of attention and are well worth the visit but this coastline has so much to offer.

Sobering

We got as far as Clifden and would really have liked to do more but it was time to return our rental car.

Some of the best bits of our travels are the people we meet and we had the opportunity to stay with a wonderful family who, at very short notice, offered us a bed for two nights. Nancy is the childhood friend of our Italian sister-in-law Petra and she and her Irish husband, Kevin, live in Ennis with their two gorgeous boys, Luca and Marco. The boys tried to tell us about Hurling, a sport they love but sadly we left non the wiser except to think it was a mix of hockey, lacross, a few other sports and requires a helmet. Their warm hospitality and friendly welcome will not be forgotten in a hurry!

Oh and did I mention how easy it is to travel here? The lack of traffic is great, and then there’s the great food and yes even surf beaches (plural) where people are still enjoying the water despite it being November!

West Coast, Ireland

After returning our rental car to Dublin we caught a bus to the centre of Ireland and started our next workaway. We have been working with Chris who is the owner of Ardmore Country House in Kinnitty in County Offally.

Ardmore Country House

Our bedroom!

Kinnitty is at the base of the Slieve Bloom Mountains which are well known for their great walking trails. Chris’s house is a Victorian townhouse that she has restored over a number of years and furnished with some wonderful antiques. During our time with her we have helped with some of the day to day B and B tasks, bedmaking, toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, laundry and ironing etc and we have completed some creative tasks, built an IKEA wardrobe, varnished floors, made curtains, put new silicon into showers and more.

Mike at work in Kinnity, Ireland

Wash day in Kinnity

Probably the most satisfying task for us all was recovering ten dining chairs. It seemed like such a straight-forward task but it wasn’t. The chair bases were hardwood so it took a lot of effort to undo the old covers and replace the webbing and add new covers. All three of us were involved in this task and even Renie the Canadian visitor staying in Chris’ cottage joined in. Alone this would have been a tedious task but as a group we had lots of fun!

We have loved this workaway, Chris is such good fun, she has really made us welcome and helped us be a part of this community. Chris has taken us to a number of musical events in a variety of pubs and at Kinnitty Castle, we have walked in the local area and visited some of the local villages. We even watched the quarter, semi finals and finals of the Rugby World Cup in the local pub.

Our lovely host Chris Byrne

Up in the Slieve Bloom mountains

Collecting blackberries with Renie.

Music sessions at the pub

and at Kinnitty Castle

and at Kinnitty Castle

and at Kinnitty Castle

We also enjoyed the company of Renie, who is from Edmonton in Canada. We joined her for a weekend in Sligo where we attended bits of a music festival and also visited sites associated with W B Yeats. A wonderful weekend. Renie is a lot of fun and I suspect we may see each other again one day.

Autumn has been pretty spectacular here and we have grabbed every opportunity to get out and see it. Chris also enjoys photography so we were often found out with all our cameras, well two cameras and my phone!

Slieve Bloom mountains

Slieve Bloom mountains

Slieve Bloom mountains

Clouds rolling in on the Slieve Bloom mountains

We are now going back to Scotland to our friends and workaway hosts at Monzie Estate near Crieff.  While we are sad to leave Ireland I am certain we will return and we look forward to seeing Chris in New Zealand when she visits in 2016.

Andalucia, the highs and the lows

We had such a good time in Barcelona in June that we decided a return visit to Spain was needed, so we organised a workaway in the Malaga region of Andalucia and decided to use this as a base for further adventures.

We have spent two weeks working with a family in Benalmadena helping them with their English. Benalmadena is an arabic name meaning ‘son of the mines’, however there is little mining done here now. Apart from the local Spanish people it is largely populated by the British, many on holiday and quite a large number who now live here. Huge numbers of these Brits are retired so Mike and I were feeling quite young! The only sirens you hear are ambulances going to the local hospital. The seafront at Benalamadena is very commercial and full of multi-story accommodation and eateries along the seafront. Not our kind of place but pleasant enough for a walk and a wander.

Waterfront at Benalmadena

Waterfront at Benalmadena

The Marina at Benalmadena

Mike in teaching mode.

We also found the local homes interesting but were somewhat disconcerted by the very high walls surrounding homes and the multiple locks required to enter them.

Benalmadina, Spain

A house in our street

Our hosts house.

Andalucia is a very mixed area, cities, small villages, rugged mountains, long flat plains, miles of olive trees and miles of citrus trees. Parts are very run down and in other places it seems quite afluent.

On the way to Ronda

On the way to Ronda

On the way to Seville

During our first weekend we went to Mijas, a small village in the hills full of white houses and small lanes. Lots of tourists but still very worthwhile  to visit; spectacular views to the coast, lovely houses, flamenco dancers and little eateries, what’s not to enjoy?

A quiet coffee with your friend on a Saturday moring

New Mijas

Old Mijas

The view to the sea

More views

Colourful pottery

Flamenco dancers

Even the donkeys are colourful

We also visited an old church in the town and a church in a rock called Chapel of Virgen de la Pena, in both churches Mary is VERY dressed up, to us it was more like a barbie doll or an angel for the top of your Christmas tree than the woman of Nazareth in the Bible. Try as we might we couldn’t find out why she was so dressed up. Local custom was the most common answer.

?

The old town of Malaga, like many old towns we have visited, was charming, again the small lanes, old churches but Malaga has a Picasso Museum and sunshine and warm weather.

The old city square

Inside the Cathedral

The Picasso Museum

Tapas in the evening

We visited Seville for a day and saw the Alcazar which is magnificent. The strong moorish infulence mixed with a Christian flavour has resulted in the most magnificent building and gardens. It would be so easy to spend a whole day in this attraction. We had also planned to visit Granada, specifically to see Alhambra but tickets were sold out until October 22nd. You could go on a guided tour but those tickets were out of our price range, you could also just turn up and try for cancelled tickets, our friends Kathy and Roland did that mid-week and were successful but we were going on a weekend and it is too far to go and to not be able to get tickets. What interested us is that when we put up photos of Alcazar on Facebook some people saw them and thought we had been to Alhambra so maybe they are so similar it is ok that we didn’t go.

Alcazar

Alcazar

Alcazar

Alcazar

The baths at Alcazar

Lots of lovely street music

A lovely Church where we went to mass

Malaga town square

Look what we found down an alley!

The highlight would have to be the weekend we spent in Ronda. Some of the best scenery we have seen anywhere. The views literally take your breath away. It is hard to photograph but we have tried! The most popular tourist attraction here is the Puente Nueve (new bridge) built in 1793. Quite a feat!  It was very easy to while away a weekend here as it seemed that every corner we took resulted in something else to see, lovely piazzas, old, old churches and of course that view.

On the Saturday we walked the town and on Sunday morning we became adventurous and walked down  into the gully. Much of the pathways are narrow and steep, in places it was extremely narrow – 70mm according to me, 70 cm according to Mike. Even though it challenged my ‘height issues’ it was really worthwhile, of course all that walking down meant we had to walk back up.

Yep, that is where we went down to

The bridge from below

I made it!

More bridge

You can see the path in this picture.

Ronda was busy with tourists and it is October so it must be heaving in July/August. Some people ‘do’ Ronda with speed, we were having a leisurely lunch on the Sunday when we saw a tour group move down the road towards the bridge where they obviously looked at the view, took the required photos, walked back up to their bus and left. All this done in less time than we took to eat lunch!

When you stay for longer you have the chance to listen to the local music!

The look of horror on my face when I see where some people are walking!

As always we are glad we came but we are now looking forward to swapping the dry land filled with olive trees for the green land of Ireland.

She wasn’t expecting that!

Normally we arrive in a country with a bit of local knowledge, we have an idea of what we want to see and do and we have practiced a few pleasantries in the local language. For some reason we arrived in Germany having done none of this, we were more interested in catching up with our friends Michael and Christine who we haven’t seen in 24 years! We really enjoyed our stay, even writing about it makes me smile.

Memories from the 90’s

We took the train from Verona to Munich then to Stuttgart and finally to Schwäbisch Gmünd. The train journey through to Munich takes you through the Italian Alps and it is very beautiful, the hills and mountains are dramatic and rugged. It was also interesting watching the housing styles change as we travelled along. A trip well worth taking.

The difficult part of the journey was that the Austrian and German police forces were strictly checking the borders due to the current refugee crisis. Three times we saw police enter the train and check passports and papers. At no stage did we see or hear them being rude or violent but there mere prescence was somewhat intimidating, they were always in groups of 3-4 and at least 12 of them were on the train at anyone time. Each time they came on they took people off. The sad part was that all these people were African, at no stage were we (white and middle aged) asked for our passports or papers. We were sitting with a woman from Nigeria who had refugee status. She was travelling with her 3 young children, the youngest (18 months) had been born in Germany. These children were lovely, they were well behaved and happy to chat and play with us. They could speak 3 languages (more than we can do!) Her fear when the police came on was papable. Sadly, on the 3rd stop she and the children were taken away so her papers could be checked further. We will not forget her nor her fear. It highlighted again the different lives some of us live and it bought the refugee and migrant crisis right to us, again. We have also seen this in Thailand, in Malaysia and in Malta. When travelling around southern Germany we could also see evidence of the Syrian refugees that Germany has so generously taken in. In one town they have a camp that can hold 800 and it currently holds about 1500. Many resources are clearly stretched to their limit.

Experiences such as this make you grateful for what you have, so with this attitude we set off to find our friends. We recieved such a warm welcome and very quickly we were catching up on years of news and experiences.

Mike, Susan, Christine & Michael

Some of Michael’s many creations

The wood pile, ready for winter.

Everything here is different, the houses, the landscape, the roads, the food and it was all good!  We had a day with Christine wandering around Schwäbisch Gmünd, such a cute little town which has been very carefully and cleverfully renovated. The cars now by-pass the town center and it is easy to walk and enjoy the sights. The Cathedral has the most amazing altar we have seen anywhere!

Town centre

Cathedral

The altar made from a tree, the lectern is a cross that fits into the altar

lovely buildings!

After lunch we went up into the hills and saw sculptures left from a recent garden festival. We also saw another chapel at a retreat centre, this is a very Catholic area.

At the base of the hill overlooking the town

Angel wings in the forest

A beautiful chapel.

On the Saturday I went to the school where (German) Michael works as a social worker and did some craft work with some of the girls in residential care…..we decided that I was an international guest teacher! Anyway, it was a great afternoon and I really enjoyed being with teenage girls again, almost made me miss being at school.

An illusion we created

Creating our illusion

The girls at work

Paper folding

paper folding

The next day we visited churches where Sieger Koder had been the parish priest. If you haven’t heard of him he was a prolific artist who died earlier this year. His work is both moving and thought provoking. Some of it is provocative in the challenge it throws at us. I have used his art in my work and it was very special to see it in its original setting. I had no idea he was from here so seeing it was an unexpected surprise. Can you tell these are my photos and not Mike’s?

St Paul and St Stephen

A provocative piece

Stations of the cross

Jesus is taken down from the cross

Jesus is nailed to the cross

An Altar piece

The Assumption of Mary

2 pilgrims

Pilgrim travellers

On our last day we went to Ludwigsburg to visit the castle known as Bluhendes Barock. What a magnificent castle, the grounds alone are worth a visit and currently there is a autumn pumpkin festival on with art displays and all kinds of pumpkin foods to try. We had a 2 hour guided tour of the castle, our guide was so good that the time flew by. Such a lovely place.

Bluhendes Barock

Formal gardens

Some of the 60,000 pumkins

Pumpkin boats

On the way home we went to Besigheim to see the town Christine had lived in as a teenager. This is a medieveal walled town built on a hill, lovely half timber houses and the surrounding terraced hills are covered in grapevines.

Our stay in Schwäbisch Gmünd was short but sweet. The landscape was beautiful, rolling hills, green trees, apple trees every where you looked, open fields with almost no fences to be seen. The area seems safe and friendly, people were open and welcoming. As per usual there was lots of cooking and eating, my notebook is becoming very full with recipes. I will have to start sharing them soon!

We hope it doesn’t take 24 years for us to see Michael and Christine again.

Next stop? Malaga in Spain for another workaway.

The Wise Woman of Whitby

We visited Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire the other day and I promised that I would revisit an article I wrote a few years ago on Hilda of Whitby.  It orginally appeared in Tui Motu magazine, an independent Catholic magazine published in New Zealand (www.tuimotu.org ) but I have made a few changes to suit this format.

The abbey was first established in 657 and the ruins today are not the church or monastry that Hilda lived and worked in. As with many churches it has been re-built and re-built and destroyed and destroyed, most famously during the Dissolution of Monastries (Henry VIII) in 1540. Weather has also taken its toll on this building as did the bombing during in 1914 from a German battle cruiser. The ruin now stands proudly on the hill above Whitby and it is quite a sight! The Abbey is now care for by English Heritage.

Hilda seems in a number of ways to be a woman of our times, I certainly would have liked to have known her. She is acknowledged by both Catholic and Anglican traditions. Her feast day is generally acknowledged as being on November 17th (my mother’s birthday) and for some people it is June 23rd (my sister’s birthday) and she is recognised as a teacher (my occupation).

St Hilda was born in Northumbria in 614. Her name was actually Hild which means battle (really? Had they had one, were they anticipating one?) Hilda comes from a period in time where I struggle with some of the language, her father was called Hereric and her mother Breguswith, her sister Hereswith was  married to Æthelric whose brother was King Anna of East Anglia, try saying some of those names! And do you know any man called Anna?

Most of what we know about Hilda comes from the Venerable Bede, he writes very positively about her.  She became a nun at the age of 33, quite an age in 647, her faith was Celtic and she was strongly influenced by St Aiden of Lindesfarne. Within two years of joining the convent she was asked to be the Abbess of a double monastery in Hartlepool. Double monasteries were not uncommon at this time, women and men lived in separate accommodation but came together for worship. Later Hilda was asked to lead the congregation at Whitby, at this time it was known as Streoneshalh (another interesting word to say!)  She stayed here until she died in 680.

Hilda regarded the study of scripture as very important and she was influential in the solid training of priests. She also established the study of the arts and science in the seminary. She held to the ideals of monasticism, all possessions were held in common and peace and charity, specifically love in action (caritas) were practiced. So good was the academic and pastoral training that five of the priests that trained at Whitby became bishops. Hilda was held in high regard by all and people often came to her for advice. She was influential with kings and princes, members of her congregation and people from the local community. She welcomed all people and was commonly referred to as ‘mother’. Hilda always encouraged people to find their true vocation; one well know story is about one of her herdsmen named Caedmon, she encouraged his musical talent and he is believed to have composed one of the first hymns in English. Hilda saw him as being as important in God’s eyes as any member of the nobility.

In 663 a synod was held at Whitby due to conflict between elements of Celtic tradition  and Roman tradition. Issues ranged from what was the proper haircut and dress for a monk, to how to calculate the date for Easter. This was a big issue and the source of great conflict within some communities.  It was seen as desirable that all people in the same area celebrate Easter at the same time, Hilda wanted to follow the Celtic tradition but when the decision was made to go with the Roman practice Hilda used her influence to bring about a peaceful acceptance. This was incredibly important in creating unity within the English Church at this time. Prudence is one the gifts recognised in Hilda, not a word many of us use today. This situation at the synod was an excellent example of her prudence: Hilda showed great insight into this situation and used her knowledge and wisdom to work towards a peaceful outcome.

Today Hilda is the patron of learning and culture, many schools are named after her.

What can we learn from Hilda today? For me as a teacher it is the idea of being a mother to those I teach, to encourage all people to find out what God is calling them to be and do, and especially the concept of caritas ‘love in action’, that we put into practice what we learn about our faith. Hilda can also remind us that all people are loved by God….not just those we like or help us achieve our goals.

And how about a potentially controversial idea of considering the value of a wise woman? We have many wise women in our Church whose voices need to be heard. It has been truly interesting to read about a woman whose value was acknowledged and treasured.

The Abbey can be accessed from Whitby harbour up a flight of steep steps.

Scotland the brave…

We have just completed 2 1/2 weeks on a workaway near Crieff in Perthshire, Scotland. It has been a truly amazing experience.

We have been working for a young couple who have returned from London to help run  the family estate. Alexandra is originally from the Wales and after 10 years working in New York she returned to London and set up her own PR business. David who comes from Monzie Estate (pronounced Monie) has been working in London as an investment strategist, so giving all this up to come home to Scotland has been a very real ‘Scotland the brave’ move.

This is what we woke up to every morning!

David, Alex and the ever joyful Atlas

David’s family has been on Monzie Estate since 1855 when the castle and property were bought for a wayward son who was living in Paris. Legend has it that he rode his horse in one entrance, saw the castle and kept on riding out the other gate where upon he quickly returned to Paris.

A view from Mike’s helicopter ride

Monzie Castle

Here we are complete with Hunters wellies and the dog (Atlas)

David’s father died about 20 years ago and his mother, who still lives in a part of the castle, has largely been running the estate. David and Alex are now taking over aspects of this work and breathing new life into this large and complex estate. There is a joinery that was started by David’s father where bespoke kitchens and furniture are built, difficult in the current economic climate, a medium sheep and beef farm. There is a hydro electric plant, rental properties and holiday cottages, and of course a very grand castle dating back to the 17th century that needs to be maintained. There are also a number of derelict buildings crying out for restoration. The holiday cottages are Alex’s project and they are amazing, one is in an old farm cottage and the other is a rather grand but small house that was originally for the castle gardener. The farm is the first farm in the Scottish Highlands and the views from here are truly awesome and I do mean that quite literally, they are awe inspiring. People who come to stay in the holiday cottages get a chance to see a truly beautiful part of Scotland. You can read more about Monzie Estate at http://www.monzieestate.com

Gardner’s Cottage

Our home with David and Alex

While we have been staying with David and Alex we have completed a number of tasks, Mike has been re-arranging a sewing room, painting the master bedroom which was quite a mission when the anaglypta paper also has layers of paint on it. I have also been re-arranging the sewing room then sewing cushions and making lampshades for the holiday cottages and of course doing lots of cooking on the aga. Mike has also taken some amazing photos, including some from a helicopter he managed to get onto. We have both thoroughly enjoyed being creative.

Mike working on walls

Some of the completed cushions

Scotland, Susan happy on a sewing machine.

The weather has been less than average, more like an Auckland winter really.  People  have commented that this is the worst summer since 1985, which is actually the last time I was in Scotland so maybe it’s all my fault???? We have had the opportunity to visit towns nearby, to wander around the estate, to have drinks at the local scotch distillery (The Famous Grouse), see Stuart Crystal, we even attended the Crieff Highland Games, a very Scottish experience.

Up high on the estate.

Susan in the heather

Picking raspberries and blackcurrents with Alex

Out and about with Alex and Atlas

Crieff Highland Games

Weather aside we have really enjoyed our time with David and Alex, we have talked the evenings away, laughed at all kinds of things, shared ideas and travel stories and we feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to drop into their lives and share this time. During our time here we have come to see the enormity of the task they have undertaken and we are full of admiration for what they hope to achieve.  In fact, we have loved it so much we are returning in November for more!

The next workaways to come are four younger kiwis so we decided to stay longer and show them the ropes before we left. You have heard of six degrees of seperation? Well it turns out it is even smaller, the two girls are called Hannah and Grace (the names of our daughters) and Hannah’s Aunt and Uncle are our friends Pat and Robin who we met up with in Canada, Grace’s aunt is someone we know from church so I am sure if we try hard enough we will make connections with Ryan and Tim. It’s a small world!

Mike, Susan with Atlas, Tim, Grace, Hannah and Ryan.

Today we are “on the road again” taking a 10 day trip seeing people and sights before we head of to our next workaway near Verona, Italy.

A slice of life in Devon.

After leaving Canada we flew back to England via Charles de Gaulle in Paris. This would have to be the most unfriendly, chaotic airport we have been through this year and this was flight number 21 so we have been in quite a few airports. The difficulties came because we had a connecting flight and had to change terminals. Finally we landed in Birmingham Airport, a destination I had been quite rude about and I am happy to have been proved wrong. The people were super friendly, the systems speedy and efficient. Of course there is a huge size difference between the two airports but……

So off we went to Teleford and a few days with my Aunt Kim. Such a warm welcome and a very pleasant time catching up. Then it was off to Devon to the little village of Plymtree for a one week workaway. Plymtree is a small village not far out of Exeter, it is very picturesque and friendly. We were working with a well known glass maker called Siddy Langely. You find out more about her work at http://www.siddy.com  she is incredibly talented and her work is beautiful. Siddy has sold her Devon longhouse and is in the process of building a new house and glass studio. For a week we worked alongside another couple who are there on a long stay, we (actually mainly Mike) helped with getting the exterior ready for cladding.

Siddy’s Devon Longhouse

Our workaway friends Sandra and Todd

The building site and our accomodation

Devon. The battens are going up.

Yep, that’s me with a hammer

One of the brillant things about workaway ( http://www.workaway.info ) is that you get to experience things you wouldn’t as a tourist. While in Plymtree we went to a concert in the village hall, we went to the village pub and wondered around the roads which in some cases were so narrow we thought they were driveways!

The road to the village

Wheat in a neighbouring field

The village pub

I did quite a bit of cooking!

The other amazing opportunity we had was to make some glass coasters with Siddy. You can see this process in the pictures below. It involved using broken glass and putting it into a mould which is then placed in a kiln where the glass melts and then is cooled very slowly. We are REALLY pleased with the result and now have a permanent memory of our time in Devon.

Mike preparing the moulds

Picking out the glass pieces

Are we happy yet?

Final positioning

Ready for the kiln

Our glass coasters, Devon

After a week it was time to collect another rental car and drive north towards Scotland. The drive gave us the opportunity to visit a few places we had on our to do list. The first being Sampford Courtenay, a beautiful village in west Devon on the slopes of Dartmoor. We have a friend who is named after this village, his great grandfather left here to come to New Zealand.

So cute

thatched cottages

Wheat shafts

From here we headed north and encountered something we have read about and heard but not seen. A traffic jam on the M5. What should have taken 4 hours took over 6 hours, there was a horrific accident that brought traffic to a complete stop for a while and after that it was slow until we were a long way north. The fact that it was the first Saturday in August also meant that every man and his caravan was out. Oh and did I mention the rain?

We got as far as Morecambe and spent the night there. The next day we were up bright and early and off  north going via the Lake District. Even in the rain this is spectacularly beautiful. This was followed by the scenic route to Edinburgh and now we are at our next workaway on the first farm in the Scottish Highlands. I will tell you more about that next time!

Mike in Morecambe

Bring me sunshine

stone walls in the Lake District

Ambleside

The Tale of Two Lakes

We have friends in New Zealand (Pat and Robin) who have a holiday cottage at Miller Lake  on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. When we knew that they would be there in July of 2015 we made the decision to visit. I also have cousins in Michigan, USA so it seemed logical to see them on the same visit. It involved some to-ing and fro-ing but it was worthwhile! My cousins were at their holiday home in Crystal Lake in Northern Michigan, on the map below the red marker shows Crystal Lake and Miller Lake is north of the ‘6’ on the Canada side. However, travelling by water was not an option so it we were off to the airport again. Paris, Toronto, Chicago, Traverse City.

Our time at Crystal Lake was great, it was small town America in real life and it was good. We experienced July 4th complete with parades and activities.

July 4th bunting was out everywhere.

Lots of old cars

Every Church had a float

Even the funeral director had was in the parade.

Can we go home yet?

My cousin Shirley (82) and her husband Art (84) have a daily target of 10,000 steps and we over shot that target every day! We walked all around the local area and learnt its history.

Art’s extended family have been at Crystal Lake since the early 1900’s and it was fascinating to learn their story. We stayed in a cottage right on the lake front and from here we saw squirrels (red, black and grey), chipmunks, red cardinals, blue jays, chickadees. We heard a woodpecker, and on walks near by we saw a deer, a snake and a young eagle.  During this week we also attended the memorial for a much loved elderly family member who had died in 2014, went to a art gallery event, ate at the Cherry Hut (a local institution) kayaked and swam in the lake, rode in a 1955 mahogany Chris Craft speed boat, ate with various relatives and enjoyed the company of my cousin Ben and his wife Mary. We packed in enough activities to last a month! Crystal Lake is beautiful and we hope to return one day. We are truly grateful to this extended family for their generous hospitality and hope to be able to host some of them in New Zealand one day.

With my cousin Be

With Art and Shirley

Out on Crystal Lake

The cottage

view of the lake from the cottage

A garter snake

From here it was back to Toronto for three days. The big event was a trip to Niagara Falls. A long day but so worthwhile, we visited the small historic town of Niagara on the Lake. We would have liked to spent all day there but it was just a short stop before we were off to a vineyard to sample ice wine, as opposed to iced wine which apparently is the cheap immitation. We bought some lovely wine to take to Miller Lake and share with our friends. Then it was onto the falls. I didn’t realise that Niagara Falls is a city as well, beautiful parks but very touristy once you leave the ‘shore line’. We went on the boat trip, it was so much fun. If you go from Canada you wear a red poncho and people going from the USA were in blue or yellow ponchos. I think it is fair to say that seeing the falls from the Canadian side is the way to go as in the USA you are on top of the falls and from Canada you are opposite the falls. Such a worthwhile day, we thoroughly recommend this trip. This was a day we won’t forget in a hurry.

A few mornings later we made our way back to the airport to collect a shuttle van to take us up to Owen Sound on the Bruce Peninsula. In two short hours we were with Pat and Robin and the fun started straight away. This was a very memorable week and will definitely be one of the highlights of this year.

Mike, Susan, Pat and Robin

The Bruce Peninsula is beautiful, we did a number of walks/hikes/tramps – different countries call it different things – we went to Flowerpot Island and did the loop track, walked around the shore line and ate a picnic, we went to Devil’s Monument and walked part of the Bruce Trail at Lion’s Head, most of this is part of the Niagara Escarpment. All different and all spectacular.

Pat and Susan

We did not stop talking or singing

Susan, Pat and Robin

Susan and Mike on the Bruce Trail

Apart from this we swam in the lake, kayaked, paddled a canoe, meet with family, cooked, had a BBQ, re-arranged furniture in the cottage, sang at every opportunity, laughed lots and talked! Nature wise we saw a rattle snake, a garter snake, loons (national bird of Canada) trumpeter swan (they get their name from the sound they make),  racoon, woodpecker, canadian geese, fox, luna moth, turkey buzzard, horse flies and a lot of very large mosquitoes!

Luna moth

On the Bruce Trail

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island

All in all it was a truly special week, we enjoyed the opportunity to see where our friend Pat grew up, to meet her family and to share time with them all. It was with sadness and a few tears that we said farewell and made our way back to Toronto.

The cottage at Miller Lake

Just to keep you on your toes I should add that this blog is very up to date. We are currently in Toronto’s Pearson Airport awaiting our flight to Paris and then a connection to Birmingham, England. We will be in the UK for all of August, two workaways and some family visits plus a little touring around!

O la la, Paris! Superlatives abound!

We arrived back in France courtesy off a bus from Victoria Bus Station. At GBP25 this was not to be sneezed at. The bus journey was good, the experience of getting the bus onto a train to take you through the Chunnel was a new one. The minute we were back in France we were smiling, such happy memories from our time in Touzac. Be prepared, superlatives will abound in this blog! Without any hassle at all we arrived in Paris and were soon at our hotel. Such a lovely room and so central. We dropped our bags off and went out for dinner, we found an absolutely gorgeous little cafe and had a delicious meal accompanied by a really nice un-oaked chardonnay. MUCH nicer than an oaked chardonnay. The next day we were up and at it, well at least as far as a small boulongerie to have coffee and a baguette. Yes, we ate well in Paris! Reminds me of Rome and Touzac!

While in Paris we walked everywhere doing at least 12-15kms each day, no wonder my sandals are wearing out! First to the Louvre. SO BEAUTIFUL, SO GRAND, and surprise, surprise, such a long queue to get in. We had already decided that we weren’t going in so this was not a biggy. Want to know why? We have already visited some incredible art spaces, many for free, most with no queues. We spent ages just turning and looking at these beautiful buildings, built on such a grand scale. It really does take your breathe away.

The old and the new

A cafe at the Louvre

Magnificent

An entrance to a Metro station

Moving on we went to the park that leads off from the Louvre towards the Champs-Élysées. More beauty, more grandness, more smiling, more hawkers selling trinkets and hats.

After reaching the Place de la Concorde we turned towards the Siene and headed for the Eiffel Tower. It was a long walk, quite a few kms but so many stops were required to look at things along the way. If you read my blog about our time in KL you may remember the advice we were given about the Petronas Towers, ‘the best view is from outside’. The same applies with the Eiffel Tower, again horrendous queues but we were very happy to look at this magnificent structure from a distance, from each side, from underneath. Incredible.

The view from across the Seine

The Eiffel tower from below

Looking out from below

Vapour trails were everywhere!

The Siene of course requires some attention so we went on a river cruise, a good rest for the feet but also a great way to see this grand old lady of a city. The 70 minutes on the boat went by very quickly, I would recommend this trip. Now all we had to do was walk back to our hotel!

Notre Dame from the Seine

The next day was Sunday and we decided to walk up to Montmartre and go to mass at Basilique du Sacre Couer. A really lovely experience, this a great way to see a church in action as well a time for us to stop and give thanks. The singing is led by the Bendictine sisters who live at Sacre Coeur and it was just beautiful to hear them and to join in with the singing. After mass we wondered around Montmartre looking at the art markets, admiring the buildings and eating lunch before wandering back down to our hotel mid-afternoon.

The view from Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

Lunch time in the art square

So much to see and no room in the suitcase!

Our friends Fran and Gary Elliot arrived early evening and with much excitment we greeted each other and then it was off to (you guessed it) dinner. So much talking followed it took ages to finish dinner.

Fran and Gary

Yum!

Notre Dame was the goal for the next day, another long leisurely stroll via the Louvre to see this landmark, and there were the queues. Honestly, all these tourists! We of course are travellers not tourists. So we walked around the outside, admired this beautiful building and then it was lane walking. This has turned out to be one of our favourite things to do in a city, just wander the streets and the lanes, look at the houses, the shops, seeing where and how people live in some of these old cities.  All this walking makes one tired so a stop in the park and a beer with lunch followed by a long conversation was just what we needed. Refreshed we walked the Champs-Élysées to towards the Arc de Triomphe.

Back to the Louvre

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

More food

Arc de Triomphe

The likely lads

Fran and Susan

This was our last day in Paris but the beginning of Fran and Gary’s stay so we traded yet more stories over dinner and wine, then it was time for us to pack our bags and get ready to fly to North America. Paris was magic, it is an experience for all the sense, writing about it evokes both memories and a very happy feeling. I do hope we return one day!