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"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
And so.... here we are five months after returning home to the Cotswolds and living a somewhat different life to the one we had on the boat. Lots of things have happened since we got back and therefore a bit of a catch-up seems in order. Firstly, lets look retrospectively for a moment. Those last few days in Malta saw a very mixed bag of weather, demonstrating that the Mediterranean sea can turn on you big time as the summer fades into Autumn. This was the scene as we walked along Sliema waterfront the day before departure. That structure is a popular outdoor swimming pool being swamped by gigantic waves. Funny how nobody seems to be in there today! Looking back once again, the difference in diet we had on the boat reminds me of how much healthier most meals were. A typical dinner would have looked like this...... At home my culinary efforts result in platefuls of grub more like the one below. Either way, I can't quite get out of the habit of arranging food into pretty patterns on a plate. On more than one occasion I have had to endure comments like... " it looks better than it tastes"! I may have mentioned some time ago that the garden had essentially reverted back to something resembling the Amazonian rainforest....only without any exotic animals....apart from next doors chickens, who pop over the wall each day and scratch to buggery what's left of my lawn. I can see a rather nice spatchcock style roast coming on soon if they're not careful. To restore order I have basically adopted a slash and burn strategy using powerful petrol driven machinery. Or "boys toys" as Nicki calls them. This demanding work has kept me out of mischief for many a day, although the by products of my labours did create a problem of sorts. Let me elaborate. Hacking away at trees and shrubs results in huge piles of garden waste that has to be disposed of. I did try burning it, but all the neighbours complained that my daily infernos created enough smoke to seriously threaten climate change in the village, not to mention the effect it was having on their clean washing. Plan B was necessary....take all the rubbish to the dump 6 miles away. However, Nicki's car is far too nice to use as a pick-up truck and therefore we needed to bite the bullet and get a second vehicle more suited to the task. The opportunity to finally realise a lifelong ambition was too big to miss. Another tick on my bucket list was staring me in the face. And the car I had in mind...... Practical, workhorse, great in bad weather, lots of luggage space.....the list of benefits I explained to Nicki before purchase were endless. Luckily she loves it and we both smile every time we go out in it. We like to venture into the wild countryside around us on what we call our "Cotswold Safaris". Is that a new business idea I just had? Some weeks ago a troupe of our Maltese friends came over to stay with us and the Land Rover doubled up as an excellent people carrier. Needless to say the extra space was more than necessary after we took them on a trip to Primarni in Cheltenham. It's just over a year ago since my father passed away and coming home has given us the opportunity to visit his grave several times, which now features a memorial stone in a style specified by him. As you can see, it bears his rank of Lieutenant Colonel and his name in Polish, also in accordance with his wishes. RIP. And now to perhaps the most significant bit of news to report. Whilst Nicki has done her usual thing of going back to work at her old school, part time, I made the monumental decision to stop being a layabout, good for nothing loafer and start looking for gainful employment myself. It seems I am still reasonably employable as next week I join the Business Development Team for The Royal International Air Tattoo at nearby Fairford. All I can say is "chocks away", time to hang up my flip flops and get a haircut. Apart from being the biggest airshow in the world, this event is a massive commercial enterprise with an enormous exhibition and trade fair attached. My involvement will take me to the end of July when we'll hop on a plane shortly afterwards to re-join the boat. I reckon we'll still have a good three months worth of cruising before the iffy weather sets in. Although we'll be setting sail again somewhat later than usual, a spell of good, honest, hard work will be a real tonic. It also means the new BBQ might get some use and weekend trips to the coast in the Landy will also be on the agenda. A change is as good as a rest they say.....and I'm sure the next few months will be good fun. There is one image that I have tucked away inside my head though, just in case things get a bit hectic. It speaks for itself.
2 Comments
John Tat
4/3/2016 03:01:20 pm
Love the blog - thanks for the updates!
Reply
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A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
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