Our weekend in Hyden

We had only been in our little home for a week when we drove to Hyden, 4 hours from Perth to spend the weekend on Cherith and Ken's farm. Cherith is my second sister. We had a wonderful time together. It was so peaceful and relaxing, though we were certainly introduced to the Perth flies whilst there. But they didn't worry us when we were inside the house.

On the Friday night we went into town to take part in a Hymn Fest. This is an annual event to celebrate the lives of 4 wonderful people who were great contributors to the community of Hyden. We had a great time singing and mixing it with the locals. And there's nothing quite like a country supper. Oh my goodness. Yum! Yum!

Whilst singing my little heart out I decided I would try and get my 4 lovely sisters together at this time each year to join in the fun. Jillian, Cherith, Irene and Brenda! We all used to sing together when we were teenagers. Jillian played the piano and Irene the guitar. If we got together for long enough we could even put on an item! You'll have to keep tuned in to see what actually happens next November!!!!!!!!!

Saturday night we had Cherith's amazing roast. My 2 nephews and partners were there as well. Then Sunday morning they arrived again to join in Uncle Ken's famous breakfast. Oh my goodness. What a cook up.

Ken in action. Just putting in the mushrooms.
He certainly had it all under control.

Country bacon. What more could you wish for! What an absolute treat.

Cherith's happy smiling face. She just had to do what
she was told and to hurry up about it!

After our very full breakfast we were treated to a ride into town in Ken's old Humber! Wow! What a beauty. Look at that chrome. We hardly know what chrome is these days. We were given a right royal tour of the town, finishing off with a Drumstick each. No, the dog (Sammy) wasn't allowed to come. Spot the legs!!

The country town of Hyden is famous for WAVE ROCK and that get hundreds of tourists a year coming to see the rock. Once you've seen it, you wouldn't come all this way to see it again. But we would certainly come again to visit my darling sister Cherith and my gorgeous brother in law Ken. What wonderful country hospitality we received. We didn't want to drive back to Perth Sunday afternoon, but the city beckoned unfortunately!

19 Cayley Street

Gaynor and Mary 2 days after we moved into our little home.

Roger and Gaynor at the front door

Here's our little letter box. The poor front garden is some how surviving without being watered. I want to change it completely so I'm not doing anything in it. But I have to wait until end of February when the sun is not quite as hot!

Mary and Gaynor at the kitchen table with the famous
coffee machine in the background. We are hoping
to remodel the kitchen early in the New Year.

Dinner at the Beach

Roger and I have just come back from the most delightful time at the beach with sister Irene. It has been so hot in Perth we decided it would be a good idea to go down the beach after work and have dinner. We called in to our Fish and Chip shop - closed on Tuesdays! So we bought Chinese and set up camp on the lawn at City Beach. Irene and I had our bathers on, but the wind had whipped up so we decided a swim was not a good idea (we will go tomorrow morning at 7am instead!). The photo above of Irene and Roger was not taken tonight but a couple of months ago when we had the same idea for tea at the beach with the family. It gives you the general idea of the fun we have.




We were intrigued to see all the activity that goes on at the beach. Here were 2 beach volley ball nets set up and training going on. It was fun to watch. Isn't this beach just so special. This is Cottesloe Beach, probably our favourite, but not as close to our home as City Beach which can be reached 15 minutes by car. I absolutely love the beach.

We're still in the land of the living ! !

At last we have the internet connected at our new home and we are feeling a lot more civilized! How very frustrating it has been for us not being able to access the internet easily, especially after our amazing connection in Germany. Very spoilt we were. Even now we keep losing the connection. Unbelievable in this day and age!

Thank you for your patience as you have checked to see if I have updated! It's a wonder you haven't all given up, but I know you haven't as I have now checked my Cluster Map!!

We moved into our lovely 2 bedroom home on 5 November after having to move for 2 nights and stay with my sister Irene as Brenda's house was full for the weekend (great nephews baptism). This was rather traumatic for me I must say. Our house settled and actually became ours on 12 November on which day we took off to Hyden (4hrs drive East) to my sister Cherith's farm for the weekend. How wonderful that was for us both and we didn't really want to come home so soon.

Our home is in a very convenient location. We are 5km's from the city of Perth, 5 minutes from my sister Irene's home, 6 minutes from Church, 6 minutes from work, 300 metres from the train station and most importantly 15 minutes from the beach (the lovely Indian Ocean). I am starting to lose count of how many swims I have had, but I know Roger has only had one!! The last couple of Friday nights we have gone down after work and had Fish and Chips overlooking the ocean. How special is that? (especially when we hear Schopfheim and Basel has had snow and it is rather chilly)!!!

Things are coming into place for us, though we still have a bit of organizing to do. We are badly lacking in cupboard space so have stopped unpacking until we update the kitchen, which probably won't happen until February. But basically we are enjoying being in our own home and are very comfortable and happy. We have a cute little courtyard out the back and even have some lawn, which we feel is a luxury. I am now the proud owner of a lime tree and whilst pruning it yesterday I discovered 3 limes on it! The thorns are a bit much though. Why do lime trees have such nasty thorns? I don't know how I am going to be able to pick the fruit.

Well, this is just a brief update to get me started and I promise there will be more in the next couple of days.



We have had 2 days of 34C and it is going to be the same for the next couple of days. Not very nice really. We have had quite a few days over 35C. It's a bit early to be getting such temperatures, but we can usually sleep at night and that is the main thing.

Good News

Hello Dear Friends

I know many of you have been checking my blog to see if there has been an update. My apologies. I seem to be on a bit of a roller coaster ride at the moment! Even more reason I should be keeping you up to date!

We are both doing well. We are feeling very, very blessed and cared for. We are settling in and finding our feet here in Perth. We know the road ahead isn't going to be easy and this makes it even more important for us to settle quickly, find good networks and friends to journey beside us at this difficult time.

We had a lovely time with our son Tim and his wife Amy last week. The 4 days went very quickly with all we wanted to do. Plus I had to do some work, so this cut the time even shorter. They were both very refreshed after their time in Bali. I am so glad they were able to have this time. Irene and George were also there with them.

The 3 of us had a lovely swim together at our favourite beach Cottesloe (Roger guarded our gear!!) and then enjoyed champagne and fish and chips on a balmy evening. Watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean was amazing. We hope there will be many more times like this.

Wednesday evening Amy and I enjoyed going to see the musical West Side Story. What a treat this was for me. We had brilliant seats as Amy knows someone in the cast and they allocate good seats for their friends, even though you have to pay the same price. It was fantastic. And I got to meet Alinta after the show. Tim and Amy went to a Jazz Club after the show where some of the cast were meeting together.

Our big news is that we have put an offer on a small 2 bedroom unit in a suburb called Glendalough. This is north of Perth and is quite close to the city (2 train stops). It is also close to work for me. We are hoping to get a quick settlement for 12 November. We will move in on Friday 5 November and pay 1 weeks rent for the privilege. But it will be worth it. How exciting is this? Beyond our wildest dreams actually.

George and Irene have also given us their 12 year old Volvo. It is in very good condition and we have been enjoying driving it and having lots of independence! We are so grateful to George and Irene for the loving care they have given us. They have been truly amazing. But so has my sister Brenda who we have been living with for 6 weeks. Poor darling I am sure will be glad to see the back of us. She has been very loving and patient.

We had the best dinner last Saturday night at Brenda's. There was Brenda, ourselves, George, Irene, Cherith (another sister), her husband Ken and son Ashley. Talk about laugh. At one stage I was laughing so much my stomach started to hurt. It was a great evening for us both and did our hearts good.

I'm sure there is much more I could tell you, but if I go on much more you are not going to have time to read it all!!!!!!

10 things I love about Perth

• Being near my sisters is a real treat. We are staying with my youngest sister Brenda and I am loving her sense of humour. We are having lots of fun together.

• The weather has been amazing since we have been here. Cool at night and beautiful during the day. It has been very good for our spirits and just what we need (though I am saying prayers for the farmers who really do need rain). I don't want to be too selfish.

• Living near the Canning River. Each morning last week I walked Archie (Brenda's King Charles Spaniel) along the river. What a lovely way to start the day.

• Travelling on the train. So different to train travel in Europe. But as I mentioned in my last blog, the trip along the river is spectacular.

• Not having to worry about speaking bad German! Roger and I do a little communicating in German, but not much. Our ears do prick up when we hear 'anything German!!'.

• At the moment, living so close to the city. Perth is such a beautiful city. We haven't had a lot of time to explore, but we will in time!

• The friendliness of people. Everyone we have contacted has been very polite and helpful. This has been such a blessing to us both at this difficult transition time.

• Getting dressed up and going to work is a treat. I hope it lasts! I don't want to work every day and are still working this all out. Stay tuned!

• Fish and chips down at Cottesloe Beach (with a wine or 2 thrown in). Must get a good photo so you believe me how wonderful it is! Hope to go down this week when Tim and Amy are with us for 4 days.

• Revisiting old haunts that I haven't been to for 30 years. Wow! How things change. I think once we have settled in we are really going to enjoy our time here. We just need to take one day at a time. All of us need to do this and not get ahead of ourselves.

Till next time........ Gaynor

MY WEEK

Well, life goes on and we continue to settle in here. We've had quite a busy week with lots of paperwork to do in many areas. We've even managed to transfer our driver's license to W.A. and had a very helpful lady to help us. I was sent a letter from the Victorian Motor License Board giving me a discount on my driver's license for the next 10 years because I have been a good driver with nil demerit points. Unfortunately there's no such scheme in Western Australia! Oh well.

I went to work on Monday and Thursday. It was a bit scary. So much to learn. I'm not sure if I like the computer. I'm much better on the phone and doing other jobs. But I will learn it all in time. I hope I am not taking on too much just at the moment. I do get a tad anxious about things. But the girls in the office are very understanding and helpful and I do enjoy getting all dressed up. I've been enjoying catching the train as well. It must be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world along the Canning and then Swan Rivers. All the black swans and pelicans along and in the river. Just quite something.

Roger and I went to a Bach lunch time recital on Wednesday at St George's Cathedral. It was only about 40 minutes but the organ was magnificent.

Roger rode his bike to West Leederville and then on to where I was working on Thursday. He then had to ride home. It was too far for him (about 35km's) and he was exhausted for the rest of the day. I think he now realizes he can't do these long rides any more - unless there is a very long break in between.

On Tuesday night we met family down at Cottesloe Beach for a fish and chip dinner. It was rather cold, but we rugged up and enjoyed ourselves. I look forward to many more of these dinners at the beach. The weather is so balmy.

My swimming partner (sister Irene) has gone to Bali. How dare she!!!! I should have gone for a swim yesterday, but don't like going on my own. Roger doesn't really like swimming. I think I've mentioned that before.

We are missing our lovely friends so much. Each one is so special and we feel such a long way from them all - AND WE ARE!! But it is lovely to hear from many of them. It will be good when we can Skype and see everyone in person.

I got my hair cut on Tuesday - well shorn more like it. The only person that would like it is my dear friend Christine. I don't like it at all. But, as they say, there's only 2 weeks between a good and bad haircut. It's almost a week! I do miss my dear hairdresser Antje in Schopfheim, although she's not there anymore.

We are off to Shenton Park Rehabilitation Centre tomorrow afternoon. Roger has an appointment to see his Neurologist who will introduce him to a physio, speech therapist and occupational therapist. I wonder how we will get on?!

I am having all sorts of emotions at the moment, particularly as Roger seems to be getting worse and there is so much we are not able to do together anymore. It is really hitting me and I don't like it one little bit. Even walking down the street together is a struggle. It will be good when we have our shopping trolley. Our boxes have arrived but we have kept them in storage until we move first week of November.

I'll keep you posted if anything exciting happens here!!

Working Girl!

It was fun to get all dressed up on Thursday and head over to my sister Irene's place for 'work'. I think I looked rather nice in my work clothes!! (sorry, no photo's - you'll just have to use your imaginations!!!). Irene had an appointment at 10am and so she was trying hard to tell me all that she wanted me to do for her before she went out! Well, she left in a flurry and I was sitting in the office with computer that wouldn't connect to the net and 5 huge files on the desk. And I was wondering...."what on earth should I be doing"!! At least I could laugh about it and then when Irene got back I could say to her "what on earth were you thinking".

I am hoping to do some serious work over the next couple of weeks so will keep you posted how I progress and what I will be doing.

Roger is enjoying his bike riding, but doesn't always get out each day. When we were driving together on Friday he told me his left hand fell off the handlebars and he was in a bit of a pickle. He told me he said "hand, now you just get back on those handlebars", and it co-operated. Well, I did get a laugh out of that. My darling Roger is really going against all the odds and he is truly developing his sense of humour. We might be going through many chances at the moment, and a lot of uncertainty, but we are blessed to have each other, that's for sure.

The weather here in Perth is amazing. It hasn't rained since we arrived nearly 3 weeks ago. I have 2 sisters on farms and they sure do need rain. It will not be a good season for them unfortunately. We were out in the garden today helping Bren to clean out her water feature. It looks lovely now. It just needs some coloured lights in the evening!

We didn't go to Church today. We couldn't agree on where to go. Bit sad isn't it?!! But we are hoping to go to a Bach recital at St George's Cathedral in Perth at lunchtime on Wednesday. This will be very special for us both.

Beginning week 3 in Perth

Irene picked us up on Monday morning and we went down to Cottesloe Beach for a lovely walk and then a swim in the Indian Ocean. It wasn't really hot (about 24C) but after a walk I felt like a cool off. It was divine. The water is so cool and refreshing and you can feel it doing you good. If only I could swim every day (well, I'm not actually swimming, I'm doing little exercises and just enjoying being in the water with the waves washing over me). What a shame Roger doesn't enjoy swimming and water in general.

I had been carrying on about swimming to Irene so much she decided she would annoy me and swim on Sunday just to say she had started before me. What sort of a sister is that!! Oh, we are really going to enjoy each other company. It is going to be great.

After our swim we had a coffee and special raisin toast at Beaches Cafe then headed back to Irene and George's for a curry and just a few games of Chinese Checkers. Irene and I are CC's buddies with just a little competition thrown in. She is currently winning 4/1! Bit sad isn't it? But I will improve my game. We just love playing this game and each time we get together out comes the board.

We checked out another Church on Sunday morning. We loved the singing and the message, which was 'You must not stea' was pretty good as well. But why oh why don't Churches get their act together and learn how to make new people feel welcome and comfortable! Roger will get his choice of where to go this Sunday.

Roger washed Brenda's car yesterday after her visit to the farm this past weekend. It was very 'buggy'!!!! I planted some petunias in the front garden and I can see them growing already.

Roger is off to the GP again this afternoon. I am finding it hard having to do all the driving. I was always very happy to leave it to Roger in the past and only drive when I had to.

So, this is a little update for you and to let you know things are going okay.

A new beginning

Roger and I arrived safely in Perth at 15.00 on Tuesday 13 September. We had a good flight though did not sleep. We caught up on a few movies instead!! It sure is good having your own personal screen.

My sister Irene picked us up from the Airport and drove us to my younger sister Brenda's home in Brentwood. A lamb roast was in the oven cooking away. How yummy for us. We had a good first nights sleep and a little sleep in, so didn't really experience jetlag.

Irene drove us to Roger's first GP appointment Wednesday afternoon. We were both upset, but the Doctor was wonderful and very understanding. We have made a good choice (made the appt from Germany!). Irene took us for a nice coffee and to have a wee peek at the unit we will be staying in for 3 months from beginning of November.

In the evening of drove Brenda's Honda CRV for the first time. Brenda had a knee replacement about 7 weeks ago so is unable to drive at the moment. It was good to have her sitting beside me and she gave me a lot of confidence. It wasn't really a problem driving.

Thursday Irene picked us up and we visited the Neurologist. He has a few ALS patients and it was good to chat with him about things. It also helped to have Irene with us. He will start the ball rolling for Roger to have ongoing help, but this will take a while to get into the system.

The first few days we were feeling very lonely and missing our wonderful friends in Schopfheim and Basel. It is such an empty feeling to go having so many friends and finding it hard to catch up with them all, to no friends. If only we could have brought them all with us! We had a bad day last Monday but have kept things in balance since then.

The good news is that Roger has bought a City Bike (European name - he is going to start a new trend!!!) and is now enjoying the freedom this brings him. He has had a nice big wire basket installed on the back so that he can be useful and go shopping for us all!! He will have to leave his bicycle helmet on though as he finds it hard to put it on and take it off. His new bike is a soft light blue and helmet to match! We are not sure how long Roger will be able to ride the bike for, but I personally am very pleased we have bought the bike straight away so that Roger gets maximum use of it whilst he can. When he can't ride it any more, then it will be my turn (ho hum!!). Sorry I can't show you a picture of the lovely bike. You will have to wait until November when we can access the internet more readily and download our piccies. So, be patient.

We went to Church this morning and Roger wanted to drive. And now we both know he can't drive anymore and this makes us feel very sad. It is sad to see Roger losing so many things. It is actually breaking my heart. It means I am having to pick up a lot more things that Roger was always willing and able to do. So many adjustments are having to be made all the time and this will continue into the future.

At the moment we are both in good spirits and really we do have so much to be thankful for. Staying with Brenda is a real treat. She has such a lovely home that she moved into on 16 August. We are very comfortable here and she is spoiling us. The weather in Perth has been amazing. Rather cold in the morning and evening and beautiful and sunny during the day with temperatures between 22 - 28C. I would love to go for a swim, but my swimming pal (Irene) said it is still too cold for her. But maybe I can convince her soon.

I will try and blog regularly to keep you all up to date with our happenings. It's not going to be as exciting as being in Europe though, but I'll see what I can do!!

Goodbye Schopfheim and Basel

What a few weeks it has been for us both as we have met with wonderful friends to say our goodbyes from this beautiful place.

This picture was taken by Brigitta who did a great job taking photos at our farewell afternoon tea yesterday in Basel. We are standing in the window of our friends apartment. What a view!!

We had such a special afternoon with about 60 of our friends. It was perfect as far as we were concerned, though quite a few tears shed. We are exceedingly blessed to have so many great friends who have loved, encouraged and helped us along our way whilst we have been here. Each one is so special to us and adds something to our lives. We are certainly going to miss them.

We have had some lovely emails from people and we do feel encouraged and loved so much. But I think the email that has touched me and caused me to really think about what lies ahead and how to go ahead was this "all the best to you both in these times of letting go". Good advice don't you think?

So, a new chapter in our lives is about to begin. At present we are both very tired but indeed happy. It will be good to see family again (though have to wait patiently until October to see Tim and Amy and then our other children at Christmas). But who knows?!!

We are helping each other to get through these last days. Rog might only have one arm/hand that is good, but boy can he do things! He has helped and encouraged me so much in these days when I feel emotional under charged! We have laughed a lot about many things and done our fair share of crying (as you can imagine).

We leave Schopfheim and our beautiful home and friends here and will be taken into Basel by dear friend Dave who will pick us up Thursday afternoon 9 September. We will stay with friends for 3 nights then get the train from Basel to Frankfurt where we will stay overnight. So, it will be quite a trip, but I feel this is the best way of doing a long trip.

Stay tuned to read how we are getting on and setting in to beautiful Perth.

Our visit to the Basel Zoo

Roger and I were pretty happy that all the animals in the Zoo were active and not sleeping after a yummy lunch!!!

We were most impressed with the way the Basel Zoo was set out in lovely grounds. The monkeys have been relocated whilst their home is being upgraded. I think this is going to take a while.

Although the weather wasn't warm and it looked like it was going to rain, we were able to enjoy a good walk around and were glad we had made the effort to go. We've been here 4 1/2 years and we haven't been to the Zoo. Not good!

FAREWELL TO OUR GORGEOUS BOYS

So, here is the 'family photo'!!! Kevin very kindly sent me a copy from his camera. Aren't we happy? Aren't we gorgeous??!! MY BOYS ! ! !



Kevin has had our Formal Farewell Dinner on the calendar for about 5 months! Kevin and Mark certainly pulled out all the stops to make it the most wonderful, memorable evening and we had such a delightful time with them both and Judy and David. The picture of the 4 of us didn't turn out so I am going to have to get Kevin to send it to us and maybe I can post it later.



Below is our delicious meal beginning with cream of parsnip and leek soup. I think the rest is self explanatory and I am scared of explaining them all in case I get it wrong. The sorbet is mandarine! Oh my goodness, what a meal.

Day out with Bernhard and Lorraine

Roger and I had a very special day out with lovely friends Bernhard and Lorraine the other Saturday. Bernhard drove us about an hour from Basel, Switzerland. They treated us to a lovely boat ride on Bielesee (Lake Biel) and we ended up on a little island called Erlauch. Above is the boat we travelled to get there.



Just some of the beautiful scenery on the island. Such a cute small Swiss Village.

Ah, those mobile phones. Such a nuisance! I think Roger is
going to give his to Lorraine!

We walked an hour to this rather excluded restaurant and had a very delicious lunch of fish and then yummy dessert - as you can see.

By the time we were ready to go home it had begun to rain and become quite closed in! But we had such a precious time with Bernhard and Lorraine. We have such treasured memories of special times together 'chewing the fat'. They have loved and supported us here over the past 4.5 years and we are going to miss their company and stimulating conversation.

Another chapter is about to begin............

GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS WEEK

I am going to copy my blogging friend Pat's heading! Thanks Pat. Love you. xx



* Special dinner with our lovely Swiss friends here on Monday night

* Getting the top of the kitchen cupboards cleaned (yes, this was a good thing!)

* Having a delightful dinner on Tuesday night with special German friends. Being picked up and brought home again without having to worry about train timetables (and missing the last train!)

* Baking on Wednesday. I love baking. I made an Apricot Cake and Oatmeal (Anzac) biscuits. Of course we don't eat them. I give them away! If Roger is lucky he can grab a couple before they go out the door.

* Wednesday night we had dinner with another German couple. They live up in the mountains near our place, about 40 minutes drive from Schopfheim. Marianne is one of my 'Girls' Night' ladies but is such a treasure to me. It was rather an exhausting night for me as we had deep and meaningful conversation! They had their heater on as it was so cold there and we had fog on the way home!

* On a mission to find black Linen trousers, but I've left my run too late! (this really isn't a good thing!)

* My lovely Hooks & Needles ladies on a Thursday afternoon in Basel. I LOVE THIS GROUP.

* Centrepoint Basel morning tea and lots of hugs. I love hugs.

* Dinner at Gasthaus Sonne in Schopfheim with gorgeous, entertaining, funny, lovely US friends. Time went all too quickly and they just managed to get on the train before it pulled out of the station!!! Phew, that was close.

* So now it's Saturday and we are pleasantly tired. We have been to the annual Centrepoint BBQ and then to a friends community garden for afternoon tea.

* GOD IS GOOD

* Roger and I love each other very much

I'M BACK ! ! !

Oh dear, I really must try and redeem myself! I can hardly believe it is so long since I have posted on my blog and I am feeling rather ashamed. I know I have some faithful followers and I am going to try and reform.

So, what have I been up to since my last post back in June. The usual things, catching up with friends, dinners here in our beautiful little home, lots of walking, activities at Centrepoint and of course JULY WITH JOCELYN! What a treat that was, but I must say she fairly worn us both out.

Roger and Jocelyn met at Frankfurt Airport on Friday 2 July and travelled by train to Dresden for a little time together. This gave me a chance to have some "Gaynor time", which meant enjoying my own company. I loved it and realized how important this is going to be for me in the future. I really didn't do much of anything.

Roger and Jocelyn arrived back in Schopfheim on Wed. 7 July and we had happy days together doing lots of catching up and fun things together.

We travelled to Rome on Easy Jet on 15 July and spent 5 very hot days there. I was able to book our flights in February so got a really good deal. I also managed to find a good hotel close to the railway station that wasn't going to cost us too much money.







We arrived home late on a Tuesday night, had 2 days to wash, etc and then caught the TGV (French Fast Train) to Paris - just over 3 hours from Basel, so not a bad trip!! We stayed with lovely friends Keith and Deborah (though Deborah wasn't there this time) and again saw many of the sights of Paris. I just love this city and its people. I could have stayed a few more days. It was also wonderful to catch up with Keith again and he was an amazing host. We felt very spoilt all the time.

Then it was home to spend 2 last days with Jocelyn before she flew back to Melbourne.

Jocelyn left on 31 July and it was PACK PACK PACK!! We both felt exhausted before we started, so you can imagine how we felt after a couple of days. Not good. But we got it all done in 4 days and then waited and waited for the boxes to be picked up. They left our home only last Monday 9 August and we are now trying to get back into a good routine to enjoy the last month here in beautiful Schopfheim, our home, visiting our friends and doing all sorts of lovely things.

Remember we are living in a fully furnished little home so we can continue to live here very comfortably. We plan to move out on 9 September and will stay with friends in Basel for 3 nights until we take the train to Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon 12 September and stay there overnight.

We have our good days and bad days. Roger's ALS is progressing but we are continuing to try and be upbeat and positive. Not always easy, but it's the best way to be. Roger has done amazingly well through all the packing and the emotional stress. We will sit back now and enjoy the following weeks.

END OF CYCLE TOUR CELEBRATIONS

So, here we are at the end of our cycle tour in the lovely city of Angers where we finished up. We decided to shout ourselves to a drink in a rather 'young' bar before heading off for dinner together. We are all smiles, but you can be sure we were all rather exhausted!! To make matter worse, both Roger and Jayne had rather bad hayfever. Jayne was not happy having to wear her glasses. I do hope she never sees these photo's or I am not going to be very popular. She doesn't like being seen with her glasses on!! Ah, what fun we had.

We then moved on to a delightful restaurant that had been recommended
by the Hotel where we were staying. Angela shouted a bottle of champagne,
which we all enjoyed very much. I had the biggest steak you could
imagine and couldn't eat most of it!!

Here's to good friends and a great tour.

I wonder when the next one will be and where!!!!!! (ONLY JOKING)

LOIRE VALLEY CYCLE TOUR MAY 2010

At last we have some photo's to share with you of our cycling tour we did beginning 25 May. There are many photo's so I have just chosen a few people shots!! It is bringing back many happy memories (especially now that the pain has gone!!!!). I will also upload a heap to Facebook for you to see.


The first day when we set off from Tours, France. All fresh and happy!! Here is Joshua and Jayne ready to peddle out!

Roger and Gaynor showing off their tandem.

Jayne took this photo of us in action!!

Taking a breather by the lake

Jayne showing off some of the beautiful countryside

NOT HAPPY!! We have come to the end of the road and there is no way across apart from a barge which is locked up on the other side of the river!! This caused us quite some angst!!

The boys needed this drink!!

Uncle and nephew enjoying some time together!!