Gathering of the Clan !

During the summer of ‘The Gathering’ we all realised that not everyone could get to Ireland, so my cousin David and others had organised our own ‘Gathering’… at the Whittington Heath Golf Club in Staffordshire http://www.whittingtonheathgc.co.uk/Default.aspx

and here we are…What a wonderful day, where we even had some of our own Irish Dancing..  Great Day, and so lovely to meet all my cousins again !

 

To top it all…. my daughter Anna arrived the next day, along with her husband Gavin took me for lunch… to announce that … another Grandchild was on the way !!

Its going to be a busy 2014 !

Time for a Change…

I’d had a fleeting visit to Cannock Chase in Staffordshire…and finally decided to ‘retire’ the mountain bike… after I’d smashed all the chain and gearing on some rocks… at least it wasn’t me !

So, after a few visits to the shops… I was persuaded to buy a posh new ‘steed’ , and was soon out testing it on the hills over to Edale and back…amazing what a difference a new bike….seems to make !

Half Term Visitors…

I’d not been back long from Wales as my next two Grandsons arrived – Ethan and Elijah – who were to stop with me for the week… ready for some adventures !

I started gently with them, going to the Museum of Science and Industry http://www.mosi.org.uk/ in Manchester… one of my personal favourites, and although busy with lots of other half term visitors, still a good day out …. and well worth the travel in and out, and whilst we were on our way home discovered something for later in the week… However the next day the boys ‘insisted’ on a nice walk up onto South Head in the Autumn ‘sunshine’…or was it wind and rain ?

What could be done in the Autumn rain… something that even Grandad was looking forward to …the BMX track at Platt Fields in Manchester !http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/bmx/outdoor-track/ I collected Little Lol and his cousin on the way there, and the five of us turned up ready to ride ! I’m not sure they were all too pleased to see Grandad ready to ride…but ride he did, and what a great time…and they all kept racing, determined to eventually beat me…so I had to give in eventually …didn’t I ?

All too soon, the week was over, and we all drove down to Wiltshire and back… for me to put my feet up !!

Castles and Jacuzzi’s

A nice invite across to Wales from Anna,Gavin ,Tristan and Lincoln, had us all sat in a Jacuzzi…in the rain in Snowdonia… well it would be a shame not to, when it looked so inviting !

We were stopping at a great Holiday Park up in Snowdonia, and not only was there lots of things to do there, we were only up the road from Caernavon Castle, where we had great fun climbing…and imagining ..

and had a great daytrip up to the top of Mount Snowdon…. although the youngsters took the train !

So, a flying visit to Wales, saw me leaving them all there as I returned home… to prepare for the next bunch…

Flying Visits from the Americans

 

A quick visit from Joseph,Nicola and Thomas, had me running down the trail with little Thomas…

He does like to run… and meet up with his cousins, who he doesn’t see very often…mind you, he does live in New York !

All too soon  they were gone… back over the Ocean !

Oooops !!

 

I stopped updating my blog, as I realised I would have lots of family commitments to keep me busy…

and didn’t anticipate a great deal of travelling…

 

So, here I am, December 2014….14 months gone by… and loads of ‘complaints’ from my loyal readership !… and lots of exciting events and travelling in between !!

 

So, I’m now going to update my blog- if only to refresh my mind- with backdated entries, obviously a lot shorter than usual ( good, you all say !)… giving you a flavour of the time I’ve had since September 2013, my last ‘live’ entries…

Then… when I’m ‘up to date’….I promise to keep ‘up to date’ !!

Homeward Bound..

After my exploits of the day before, I awoke in Mabie a little stiff,bruised…and wondering what to do ?

-the heavy rain pattering down on Wallys roof helped me decide !…go home

So that’s what I did -ready for the Hayfield Sheepdog trials http://hayfieldshow.co.uk/whats-on/ this weekend, just hoping the weather improves, as forecast…although I arrived home to heavy rain !

Until my next travels…I’ll leave you with this quote from Oscar Wilde that Fr Colin made at church in Elgin last Sunday…brilliant

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is …that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future