February 2025 – Page 2

Inactivity, so boring

What bores you?

In a nutshell, doing nothing or having nothing to do bores me immensely. I actually asked my wife prior to answering this question what she thought I’d write and she said exactly the same, “Doing nothing”.

She was spot on.

I feel as if I have to be busy to justify myself, even on rare days off I have to be doing something or else I feel I have accomplished nothing and wasted that day. However there are times you just have to do what your body tells you and just rest. Yes, I understand that, but even then I feel as if for some reason that I’ve cheated myself and others around me that day. I don’t know why.

It’s the reason I have so many hobbies. If there is nothing to do around the house then I pick up on one of my hobbies hence you can see the long list of stuff I have created or repaired in the margins of this blog.

I’m not a live wire, hyperactive or anything like that but I’m always plodding on just doing stuff. On holiday I’m quickly bored and have to be studying the local area, getting to know how it runs, who’s in charge and what’s the history. If there is a fault in the hotel room 9 times out of ten I’ll fix it. Yes I do take a small repair kit with me, don’t ask why I do it, I just do. It’s about the only thing I really pack as the wife has packing the cases off to a tee, and she’s given up questioning why I take it now, it’s permanently in the case.

A good example of this is that on our recent journey to Iceland, whilst putting the case on the baggage conveyor it split open, the zip failed. Not good. It was about 5:30 in the morning and there were no shops or baggage wrapping services open. Did i panic? Yes a bit, but I had my kit with me so I went and sat in a quiet area, much to the wife’s displeasure and got out a needle and thread, the zip had split right at the end where it should have a small metal clip holding both sides of the zip together. However the clip had departed, gone forever. With the needle and thread I was able to create a stopping point for the zip and permanently hold the zip together quite sturdily, at its previous point of weakness. So about 30 mins later I was back at the conveyor with a repaired bag that made it out to Iceland and back to the UK in one piece with no further issues.

I now use this as the example as to why my little repair kit is an essential travel companion.

So inactivity bores me. And fixing something really makes me feel good, no matter how small that fix is.

Thank you for popping by, here’s hoping each and everyone of you has a peaceful and productive day.

Stay safe.

Good old H2O

What is your favorite drink?

My every day routine is to start the day with at least two cups of tea, this is normally the kick in the pants I need to get into the groove as they say. Funny enough though this routine will be affected today as after only one cup we have run out of tea bags. A childish mistake we have made by not having enough in stock before we went on holiday.

It’s funny that on holiday my routine changes and the tea becomes coffee, a drink that at home I wouldn’t even entertain until at least elevenses.

So that’s my drinking routine on a standard day, however I guess my favourite is Water, i never seem to drink enough of it, allegedly. I’m not one of these people that carries around a vessel that looks like a small barrel, I’m a chancer kind of person who just takes a swig whenever I’m near a water tap. I do take a small flask in the work van with me but that is never enough to satisfy a thirst.

We all need water so why wouldn’t it be everyone’s favourite? We’d all be extinct without it.

Happy day to you all.

Day four – Reykjavik

Today will be consumed by just the one activity, we are heading down to the south coast of the island, somewhere we have never visited before. So today will be Black beaches, Volcanoes, Glaciers and Waterfalls. We’ve been looking forward to this one.

On our way we passed the volcano Nick named by those who struggle with the Icelandic language as E15. Why E15? Well it began with the letter “E” and has 15 other letters after it that’s why! Its proper name is Eyjafjallajökull, you will know of it, as it was the one the erupted in 2010 causing all the disruption to European airspace as its massive cloud blanketed Europe. It looked so serene from the bus as we passed by on our journey south.

Eyjafjallajökull from the route one road

Leaving early from the city centre we were heading out on Route 1, the island circular road that encompasses the island, we will be heading south for approx 2.5hrs towards Reynisfjara beach just outside the town of Vik.

From this point on I’m going to post some pictures as written text does not do these places justice.

Reynisfjara beach

And this video at the black beach sums it all up. It was shot in normal full colour mode but all you can see is black and white, maybe the odd colourful coat or two on passing tourists.

Full colour, but black and white

After some time at the beach just drinking in its mystical majesty and getting some fantastic pictures we moved on to the town of Vik, about 20 minutes away to have some lunch. A very pleasant Lamb Stroganoff later we moved on to our next point of interest.

Sólheimajökull Glacier

Sólheimajökull glacier is a perfect example of how global warming is effecting the last remaining glaciers in Iceland, that are retreating year on year at quite an alarming rate. However, it is a beautiful site, what is left. They say that within 150 years there will be no remaining Glaciers on this island.

Panorama capturing the glacier decline. Only a few years ago this entire lake was solid glacial ice, now the only remaining glacier can be seen on the far right.

From here we went on to visit our first of two waterfalls we would be seeing today and this first one has always been one I have wanted to visit.

Skógafoss falls

Skogafoss falls are purely wonderful. With a four hundred plus step climb up to its top you can look down onto the river as it makes its descent to the ground below. It is a magical and most beautiful site surrounded by volcanoes and lush green land. (As the snow has all gone)

From here we moved on to our second waterfall and last point on today’s trip. This waterfall has a uniquely individual twist to it, you can actually walk behind it if the weather is good enough, and today it was fine. Just be prepared to get wet as it’s a constant mist of water all the way around.

Seljandfoss waterfall

Seljandfoss waterfall is unique. Come take a walk around it.

It’s been a day of pure majesty and scenes of some of natures finest displays of grandeur and beauty. We haven’t even began to scratch the surface of some of the places we can visit here, there is so much more to see and do. And I’m certainly hoping we are back here again soon as we are both still very much in love with this island.

I won’t be posting a day 5 post as that will be a day of recovery from all the walking, some packing and dinner at the Hard Rock Reykjavik. All pretty boring stuff. I will however do a little recap post with some other pictures when we arrive back in the Uk. So thanks for looking in, it’s always appreciated. Back to boring old fixing stuff next week.

Stay safe, peace to all 🙏

Day three – Reykjavik

Anyone who’s been to this part of the world has probably been on the golden circle tour, which is a great introduction to what this area has to offer.

However we are not, as we’ve been here before and done that, so the next couple of days will be spent doing variations of that trip to our own agenda. Today was one of those days. We’ve spent the morning after breakfast browsing the area. I always look for an item to take home that will remind me of our visit and today I think I have found the item I would like. It’s a piece of art on glass painted by a superb glass artist named Ella Rosinkrans. Ella is one of only a few glass artists on the island and has been designing and creating these art forms for about the last 25 yrs. it also helps living near the Eyjafjallajökull volcano as all the black portions of her art contain ash from this volcano that caused so much disruption back in 2010 when its eruption closed airspace over Europe for a number of weeks.

Anyway I will be purchasing one of her items as a memento of this visit. We will be back to her studio on day 5 to collect it.

Whilst browsing the shops we came across this one. the shop name loosely translates as “The Golden Cat” it hadn’t opened yet, however patiently waiting at the door for opening time was….a black cat.

The cat patiently waiting for the shop to open

We then popped around to the original Reykjavik cathedral just down by the old government building.

As with a lot of Reykjavik this cathedral had a big connection to Denmark. it was built by the Danish king at the time, built for the people around a time of great hardship as a place where they could all congregate for safety.

We then moved on to our next activity.

The Blue lagoon here in Iceland is on the to do list for many. Based near the town of Grindavik the scene of recent volcanic activity, this is a geo thermal spa where the water is pumped from the local power station. The area has been subject to emergency closures and is still under such an order due to the unpredictability of the seismic activity in the area. We’ve visited before so this year we have decided to try another lagoon closer to the city centre. We have found one just 15min drive out side of Reykjavik called the Sky Lagoon.

Sky Laggon Reykjavik (Picture Skylagoon)

Only opened in recent years this is a custom built lagoon / Spa where the order of the day is to take in the Skjól bathing ritual a seven stage experience that relaxes and invigorates you inside and out. I was sceptical but I must admit it’s a worthwhile experience although the cold sessions were quite horrendous seeing the outside temperature was -6. As I said it was a worthwhile experience.

The day finished with us all feeling refreshed, we then headed back to the city where we convened at a bar for some dinner. One of our party is a football fan whose team were playing and fortunately they won so the day came to a pleasant happy ending.

The Twister cocktail was a nice way to finish the evening, I believe it consisted of Rum. Peach schnapps and other bits. Oh, and an ice lolly on the top. Good stuff!

Have a great day.

Of love and appreciation

Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.

My mother on her death bed bless her, turned to me and my wife whilst we were beside her and said, “You are a wonderful couple”

The last few words this beautiful soul ever spoke and they were to the both of us. It is the most precious memory I hold and the finest gift I have ever received. It was like a moment of full flowing love and appreciation, we were in her thoughts at the very last moment of her existence.

Some gifts do not come in a physical form, sometimes a gift is given in a form that just cannot be replicated, a real one time special offer, exclusive just for you. And this was ours.

Often talked of by us. Never to be repeated, but forever remembered and cherished.

The last words of a much cherished and kind hearted soul who made and shaped my world. My mother. ❤️

The gift of words, original and heart felt, and very much exclusive.

Peace to you all.

Day two – Reykjavik

Well we are actually on day three but I’m writing this in past tense. I’m struggling to find the time to be honest, we’ve kept ourselves very busy.

Day two has been a quieter day, it’s Sunday and we had a late night last night, so today we are relaxing as we have a couple of busy days ahead. The plan today was just to saunter around, stay local and chill, and that is quite easy when wind chill is taking temperatures down to minus eight degrees Celsius.

So we did chill we went to a local museum/exhibition centre called Perlan

Perlan is an all exhibition of all that has made Iceland, its natural wonders, its wildlife and its people. It’s a fantastic place to spend a few hours learning something of the history of this island. It’s an immersive exhibition with a number of shows about auroras, volcanoes and glaciers, it also looks into global warming and the issues of protecting this fragile environment. There is also a 100mtr ice tunnel at minus 15 degrees that replicates an ice tunnel found in a glacier. The 360 degrees view from the observation deck are superb.

And another thing, the Icelanders love their signage, no messing about, straight to the point they say what they mean. Here are two examples, one is found on a sealed off door to a shop, the other is in a bar.

And here is the one in the pub. No messing.

So we finished the night at a new bar called Skor that we found, based on darts where you play different games. You hire the board in a way similar to how you hire a lane in ten pin bowling. This was a nice way to finish the day.

After that we wandered back to our hotel, look what came out to greet us for the second night on the trot.

Two nights on the trot. We have been blessed.

And what a way to finish the night. Two nights in a row, we were truly blessed.

Happy day all.

Difficult to impossible

Write about your approach to budgeting.

To be honest I think I’m pretty good at budgeting as long as I don’t have my wife beside me when I’m making a decision on how to budget.

Bless her she seems to be one of this group of people that sees the word “Shop” and then she’s off.

And if the shop mode is in full swing then all thoughts of budgeting are out the window.

It’s the same with home improvements, I’m the practical one who will size a job up, get it planned and priced and she will come in at the last moment and add her requests and all of a sudden a perfectly decent price will now double because she’s probably added some unnecessary upgrades that weren’t really needed.

It’s different but you become used to it. I’m absolutely sure that in a previous life she was a lady of the manor, however I am not unfortunately on the earnings of a lord.

So I am quite good at budgeting, however nine times out of ten I don’t bother as it’s a pretty impossible task.

Have a lovely day..

I’d love to be, but unfortunately I’m not allowed.

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

It’s nice to see patriotism being shown all across any nation in the world. It’s good to show a love and a belief in all that your country and its people stand for. It allows everyone else looking in to know that its people can’t be walked all over and pushed around, they all stand together.

However in the Uk a good majority of its own people hate to see anyone showing any pride. You quite simply get labelled as being, far right, fascist, racist you name it. It’s just not fitting the current climate of opinion or agenda to show any patriotism.

What’s the point. Am I patriotic? Yes. But just like discussing religion or politics, I just keep it to myself. My business.

Label me if you must, but I’m not the idiotic one, take a look in the mirror and make a change.

Have a wonderful day.

Day one – Reykjavik

This is our third visit to Iceland and today has been a long one due to us travelling for the most part of it. However I’d like to share these little snippets with you.

Last night was special we witnessed the Aurora Borealis right over our heads in the centre of the city. Quite a spectacular show. Aurora Borealis – Northern lights, Iceland

We also did a few touristy things and here is some of what we saw and did.

The old parliament buildings looking out towards the mountains. Looks so different without the snow that normally adorns the area

We popped in a local bar to watch a game of football and to grab something to eat and drink. The beer – local IPA was nice, the brand name was questionable though 😂

And did you know what the third most popular tourist attraction in Reykjavik is? it’s probably not what you think but it is, the Icelandic Phallological Museum otherwise known as the museum of the Penis. Stay with me now…it’s quite an experience.

The museum is a collection of “Penis’s” from animals around the globe and every mammal on the island is represented. It all stems from the curators fascination with the form from an early age and this collection was formed as a result. That said there are also “representative” examples of creatures from folklore such as “Trolls”. Just have a look at the link I posted above to find out more yourself.

However the cafeteria and bar area is quite something itself with tee shirts, gifts and food a plenty all in keeping with the subject of the museum.

The food and drink is of a very good standard, the surprising fact is that a massive 60% of all visitors are female. That is the very hing that strikes you as you walk in, just how many women work there and are also there as visitors. You do hear an awful lot of laughing and it is all mostly tongue in cheek fun. A day out. It’s worth popping your head in the door and having a visit though. I’ll save pictures of the exhibits for another day, as waking up to a barrage of penis pictures doesn’t feature high on everyone’s daily agenda.

Have a great day and peace to you all.

Aurora Borealis – Northern lights, Iceland

Day one in Iceland has been full on since we’ve arrived, we had a superb flight, good transport to the city centre, and have had a jam packed day since just doing everything the tourist does. Including booking a number of tours off of the beaten track rather than the usual ones we have done in the past.

We’ve had some dinner this evening and retired to the bar and everyone is very tired now. I doubt there is no one in our small group who hasn’t been up now for at least 19 hrs and we are all starting to flag. However, i have looked at the Aurora forecast map and it’s going to be a lovely clear night with at least a 40% chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis.

Though most are wanting to hit the sack, I convince them to give me 20 minutes more just to take a walk down to the harbour. It’s blowing a hooley. The wind is biting and it’s almost -8 in temperature. It’s not a pleasant evening.

But, boy were we treated to a beautiful light show in the heavens tonight. Lots of people pay good money to go out on these Northern light hunting trips, when for nothing, tonight a show took place above the city as it usually does, when the conditions are right, for free.

What a fantastic sight, and whilst walking back to our hotel it was lovely to hear people say. “We are glad we followed your advice tonight Dave, and went out for that little walk.” The thing is that time in situations like this is precious and you have to make the most of your time. We could have missed this spectacular scene for the sake of being controlled by tiredness.

We’ve seen them in the past at a very low level, but tonight surpassed our expectations. It’s not often that nature puts on a show for free, but when she does, she does it in a spectacular fashion.

Tonight was a spectacular show

What a night.

Thanks for passing by. Peace to all.

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