I always try to purchase local arts and crafts when i travel
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
Whenever i travel i always like to purchase a piece of local art or craft as a reminder of that visit as well as it being a lasting memory.
A stone couple, from Polis in Cyprus
Without doubt Cyprus is my favourite place on the planet. Where we stay is off the tourist path and we have such a good relationship with the locals. We love the place. I always purchase, photos, fabric or locally made produce as a reminder. However this one year we were walking along the seafront when we saw probably three or four little stone sculptures made from stones off of the local beach, with a little sign saying, “ please take a stone with our love” Now who could resist such an offer from such lovely people. We took the one of a couple, as it looks as if they are walking just as we were that very day. (We didn’t have such fine hats though 😂)
This stone now has pride of place in a flower barrel in our garden. A constant reminder of warm, pleasant days in our happy place.
So simple, so special. Memories, yours to keep forever.
Apparently I’ve not posted anything for a few weeks so I’d better, provide a little update of life as it is at the moment.
We’ve just yesterday, arrived back from a lovely 8 days away on the beautiful island of Madeira. I’m not a good flyer, I hate it to be honest, I panic, I sweat and I prepare to meet my maker on every flight, to be honest I’m very hard on myself. To therefore choose to fly to an island, that notoriously has one of the most difficult landing strips on the planet was not probably one of my best decisions. That landing almost finished me, the brakes were on so hard I was almost in the seat ahead of me, how we even had rubber left on the tyres I’ll never know. But the holiday was lovely. Some pics below.
Some pictures of Madeira, there are hundreds more, but I won’t punish you here.
There are two individuals who seem to have had such an impact on the island, that their presence is seen at most places that you visit. Christiano Ronaldo, a son of Madeira and sporting legend owns massive swathes of the island and the locals won’t have a word said against him, rightly so as he is a local lad that has done good. Secondly is Sir Winston Churchill, he only visited the island twice with a fifty year gap in between, but he painted some local pictures and as a result there are statues and areas dedicated to him all around the island.
Then we came home.
A change in temperature drop of about 15 degrees is extremely noticeable, it’s cold at home, winter is starting to wrap its frosty tentacles around the UK.
The house move is stagnant, nothing is occurring at the moment and I suspect the money people are rubbing their hands as the bill increases with the time they are taking. We’ll just have to be patient, I’m still not confident of what will occur, as I’ve stated from the start my confidence is at an all time low and always has been. Incompetence reigns supreme. (Them not us)
So that’s about it, apart from some new health conditions that I won’t bother you with, I’ll save those for another day, just things that I’ve never experienced before, starting to occur on a more regular basis, growing pains if you like.
So I hope you are all well, being kind to whoever you meet, and most of all that you are all happy.
A year ago today we lost our little dog Alf. It’s been a tough year and I must say time has not been a good healer, it’s as tough now as it was back then and he’s left a massive void in our family structure.
I’d say now that if you aren’t an animal lover then read no further. You wouldn’t understand.
However if you have a modicum of appreciation for a species that loves another being, unconditionally, then please read on.
Today I took the wife to have some dental treatment. Whilst awaiting for her to rise from the chair, I decided to take a walk around the local park and surrounding areas to take some pictures. I only had my iPhone with me, so I snapped away. Whilst back in the surgery waiting for her to exit her temporary “Prison” (Her words, not mine) i was able to do some edits of what I’d seen. A thoroughly enjoyable walk, and a view of the area that on previous walks, has just passed me by.
I’ve been after a couple of cameras for quite a while now that hold a great deal of sentimental meaning to me. This will become apparent when i publish the individual posts for them, but for now i just want to share the result of an auction i participated in on the 31st July 2025.
A Canon A1 and an Olympus trip
Today I’ve probably made the best purchase off of an auction site that I have ever made previous. I’ve been following a number of Canon A1s lately and they have all been going in the £120+GBP bracket, some even higher than that. Today I have lost out on two that sold for £93 for a damaged body and one for £121 that was just a body but of a much better quality. This particular auction I was watching was for an untested duo of cameras, a Canon A1 as well as an Olympus Trip 35mm. The Olympus alone normally commands the high £80GBP range and both of these were in this particular auction. I was just watching as this was going to sky rocket in my opinion, two good cameras from a respected seller who I have used before. Two minutes from the auction end, bidding was sat at £39GBP and I thought that any second now the price was going to go crazy, especially in the last 30 seconds. I put in a max bid of £55GBP for the lot, as I pretty much knew it would sail past that amount and go for a price in the £150-£200 price range. I hit the bid button with 20 seconds left on the auction….
You have won – congratulations!
I thought you’re having a laugh, no way. And then it came up with the winning bid being £39:00GBP no one else was bidding, crazy.
The A1 camera consists of the body, a winder, an FD 50 1:1.8 lens, a camera manual as well as a lens manual.
Postage was the grand total of £4:99 so my total for these two cameras was £43:99GBP. That is nuts, and to say I’m pleased about this is the understatement of the century. I have two of the cameras I wish for the most, and I have just landed the bargain of the day, I was in the right place at the right time. Wow. It’s unusual to catch other auction bidders sleeping, it will probably never happen again for me, it’s a very rare occurrence. Two cameras of this magnitude for £22:00GBP each! That’s unheard of.
I don’t know for what reason they are not working, as they both appear to be quite tidy examples. I have used this seller before and the posting above could also be worded such as to imply that the units may well not have been tested. But, that’s what this site is about, repairing old cameras and getting them working again. There’s no fun in talking about a good functional camera, that’s boring. We want the meat and potatoes as they say, we want to see things being fixed, or broken further….you never know with me.
Thanks for sharing my excitement at this purchase. It will all make sense once i’ve assessed the cameras and carried out any repairs.
Thank you for passing by. It’s always appreciated.
Now there’s an attention grabbing blog title if ever I saw one. Please don’t turn away nothing unsavoury to see, and I don’t normally take any pictures whilst in the Gents urinal area. Believe me this is a one off and will never again be repeated.
Unless I see better looking set of urinals than these:
Gates garden centre, Cold Overton, Leicestershire
I walked in this toilet and was instantly hit by the wow factor. Yes these beautiful sculptured ceramic flowers are in fact gentleman’s urinals. Apparently according to my wife all the hand sinks in the ladies are just as well sculpted.
I have never stood in front of a urinal before and thought, “Am I going to get told off for peeing in this” it was a conundrum that lasted two seconds as I was busting to go. I did not get in trouble, but what a charming way to equip, probably the most unappealing section of any business. well done to the design team here.
We visited the massive “Gates garden centre” in Cold Overton between Melton Mowbray and Oakham in Leicestershire. A family Member had brought us an afternoon tea for two, and as we had some time spare, what better way to spend a nice relaxing afternoon?
Tea for twoA superb selection of treats
It was a lovely afternoon some fantastic food, and there was so much cake, that we had to take a box home that we’ve passed on to my brother in law and his wife who live nearby. I love my cake, but believe me I was already getting a sugar rush with what I’d already eaten. It made sense to pass this on and not to waste it.
I love days like this, making memories. It’s all that matters.
We’ve got a few trips planned this year, and are already planning ahead for where we are venturing off to in 2026. This last year 2024/25 we took things slow and stayed at home as our dog Alf was unwell and we knew he wouldn’t be with us a great deal longer, so we decided to forfeit time away to spend quality time with him, and I’m glad we did. Sadly he left us in August of last year and since then the only trip away overseas we have had since, was when we went to Iceland in February of this year.
Alfs last holiday in Devon with us, he could hardly walk
We have had two or three further breaks away, in the UK and thoroughly enjoyed them, and I think the following year will contain a few more trips away such as those, we have a beautiful country here with so much to see that at present is unseen to our eyes, so I do think a number of our future breaks will be closer to home.
Devon
However, that said we are off to somewhere completely different and alien to us this year, that we are kind of looking forward to but not really sure what to expect. We are off to the island of Madeira. Now fortunately we are visiting with a cousin who just so happens to be married to a Portuguese national, so there will be no barriers as such and we do at least have someone with us who knows the island, and that can only be a bonus.
Then come February next year we are returning to Iceland to venture further around the island, we love this place and we are now getting to see things off the beaten track as they say.
Iceland
Later next year we will be returning to our favourite place on the planet after a hiatus of two years. Cyprus. Southern Cyprus to be precise. It’s a home from home, and the locals in the remote part that we go to, are more like friends to us. I just can’t wait.
Our little home away from home in Cyprus
There will no doubt be days and weekends away interspersed with all of the above, and they will be most welcome breaks to get us both, (especially me) away from the drudgery of shift work.
My dream of retirement sits just over the horizon and hopefully the next few years will bring that dream to fruition.
As a child of the 60s, Tv was very much still in its infancy and has never really had a hold on me. To this day I watch very little Tv whereas my wife is the total opposite, and all those Tv subscriptions really add up.
I however prefer the radio, always have done and always will do, you can take the Tv away and I truly would not miss it for a single second.
I was brought up on radio, the excitement of owning your very own transistor radio that went everywhere with you. In bed late at night listening to those old sports broadcasts as well as walking the streets with it permanently held to your ear listening to your favourite channel, way before Walkmans and MP3 players got in on the act.
The radio I always have on in my workspace
I learnt about radio at an early age, how it worked, who invented it as well as participating in its experimental usage as I grew up, I even took the RAE exam and got my City and guilds qualification in radio, I became a radio Amateur and the experimentation went up a few notches. I think this is where my fascination in repairing all these devices comes from, an incessant, absolute thirst for knowledge and a fascination in just knowing how things work.
I sit in my little work area and have a simple radio I recently repaired, set on my station of choice, and in the Uk that is “Boom radio”. It plays my type of music and still has familiar DJs I grew up with as a child, I’m stuck in a fantastical time warp.
Radio, I use it all the time, and to me it will always be the premier medium of entertainment that i will always turn to.
My dear brother John succumbed to the “Bastard” that is Cancer ten years ago.
He was a lovely guy, fun to be with and the family compared him to a character who used to be on UK television called “Arthur Daley”. Anyone who knew that character would know why we made the comparison with John, as he’d be involved in everything all totally Kosher of course….cough,cough.
A decision was made at his wake that we’d have a family day, once a year at one of his favourite spots, Cassiobury park in Watford. And yesterday was the tenth anniversary meeting, it was a lovely day, however the weather didn’t really behave itself. Despite Watford have plus 30 degree days for getting on for a week now, yesterday the rain decided to hit in near biblical quantities. But did it dampen the day? No, we all had a great time and it was great to see everyone.
Cassiobury park in Watford
I lived for 54 years in Watford and never really liked the place, I really dislike going there but sometimes you just do what you have to do. It’s no big sacrifice is it? But there is no doubt about it that the park at Cassiobury is one of the finest, most beautiful public spaces I have ever visited in this country, it really is a stunning well kept and huge piece of parkland that you really should visit if you are ever in the area.
The normal agenda is for us all to meet at a local hotel and then wander off to the park with a picnic, seats and numerous bats, balls, frisbees and whatever, to have a good afternoon of laughter and sporting activity, that normally results in aches, pains and strains for the older participants that I can truly relate to as I write this post this morning.
There were 21 of us on this on this occasion, from all around the country, Southampton, Leeds, Wales and everywhere else in between. It really was a superb turnout and just shows how much John was loved.
A good turnout, the weather held out for a while
I often like to have a wander, and as I previously stated it’s a massive park and deserves to be explored so here are a few pics to show it off
A lovely clean park
About 5pm the weather was drawing in and we decided to move out of the park, however we weren’t quick enough, the rain hit – heavy, and we were caught out. Thankfully we had some umbrellas ☔️ and we made our way back towards the hotel. Myself and my wife were bringing up the rear and we stopped under a tree, in the park and just watched the rain. It was beautiful, a calm and lovely moment in a world of total chaos, the only two people in our own little world, it was just one of those photographic moments that your mind creates for future reference.
The rain hit, and created a beautiful memory
Back to the hotel to dry off, and then we were out to a local eatery for a meal, 21 people into a restaurant is a feat of organisation itself, and thanks go to the ladies in the group for doing that without a hitch.
We left Watford about 10pm for a drive back to the East Midlands, we said our goodbyes, made arrangement for a couple of other gatherings that are on the horizon, and had probably our best run home up the motorway that we’d had in many a year.
A superb day was had by all, it reminds me of a picture that was displayed at Johns funeral that made everyone laugh.
Says it all
Sums him up perfectly and had everyone who knew him smiling and grinning whilst nodding in agreement. It was him. And this is how we remember him.
We have a date for next years gathering, and I can’t wait.
Memories, there is nothing like creating wonderful memories. People may physically be gone from our lives, but they are never, ever, forgotten.
This could also be titled, “When is a mum not a mum?”
I married my dear wife over 30+ years ago now, and to say she has been the stabiliser of my life would be an understatement, the rudder to my boat, you get the point I’m a lucky guy.
However we knew very early on in our marriage that we would not be having children, and that was difficult at the start. Not as much to me as, to be honest, children weren’t really in my plans at that early stage, but to my wife, she viewed it as if it was her duty to produce a child, she was a woman after all and she dearly wanted a child. And I’d do anything to make her life complete. However this was never going to be a dream come true in our life time as unfortunately and for reasons I won’t discuss here, we were dealt the bum deal as they say. It wasn’t to be. We were to remain childless.
Those first ten years of our marriage were an immense test of our feelings for each other, I’d come home at times and often find her crying for the child she could never have, and yes my heart broke every time, it was a very sad period in our lives. We explored every possibility, in the early days when Kim Cotton was the first in the UK to venture into surrogacy, we followed that closely and were considering the possibility of going down that same route, it was early days and there were lots of pitfalls and heartbreak stood in each corner of the decision making progress. It was fraught with problems and legal issues. We stepped away from this opportunity, reluctantly.
Back in the early 90s the adoption process was not as open as it is nowadays, we just wouldn’t have been considered, it was so selective and as we were quite young and in local government housing at the time, we wouldn’t have even got through the initial application stages, oh how times have changed.
There’s a strange feeling taking your wife to baby shops such as “Mothercare” to chose prams and a decor for the child you would never have, we knew we would never be buying but it was “fun” in a weird sense as we learned a lot about how life would have been if we were dealt a fairer set of cards.
Then the younger members of the family started having children of their own, I thought things would be worse for us as I was worried about my wife’s reaction to all these upcoming births. I needn’t had worried, as this turned out to be the point in our married life where it all changed for the better.
We pretty much became permanent baby sitters, it’s fair to say we probably witnessed more periods of excitement and firsts in their little life’s than their own parents did, it was fantastic, and we could hand the nippers back at the end of the day, even though we did have the occasional overnight stay.
That was definitely the turning point, and my wife changed when this occurred, she was accepting of the fate she had been dealt, but she now had what she wished for, children to look after.
We had brilliant days out with them kids, we did all the stuff you just do and we could now visit those shops to buy gifts for these little visitors that we had been gifted the chance to look after.
We even witnessed teenage angst
To this day those kids, or should I say young adults spend so much time with us, they’ve even joined us on a recent holiday and the relationship we have with them is fantastic. They have grown up to be beautiful souls and it’s nice to think we played a part in their stories. We still ask each other what we think our kids would have been like, and often comment that if they are just like the nieces and nephews we helped bring up, then we couldn’t do much better than that.
The prompt for this post was encouraged by the fact that even though we are the only childless couple in our family, every Mother’s Day and Father’s Day we are showered with cards and gifts, and whilst I question it every year it’s their way of showing their appreciation, and just saying thank you.
I’ve sent them all a WhatsApp message telling them what I have purchased with their gift cards, as I like them to know where it’s been spent. This year I’ve purchased some new tools and a special extraction fan for my soldering, just so I can stay around and appreciate them a little longer. They and their parents changed our life’s for the better.
I should really be thanking them. But they know I’m always here for them. I’m not a dad, but they make me feel so much like a dad. ❤️
Thanks for passing by. Stay blessed and try to be happy.
Foxes Den 
You must be logged in to post a comment.