I am sure you will have realised by now
that I am NOT a lover of the cold!!
My travel destinations are always
tropical, exotic, HOT!!! So how I ended up booked onto a week long
Skiing trip in January is as much a mystery to me as it is to you.
But first we must do a rapid re-cap of
the last year!!
I apologise in advance for the brevity
of these events as each one is worth at least two blogs a peice but
there are only so many hours in a day these days!!
I left Fiji in May following an amazing
Lovo up in the hills.
A Lovo is a traditional celebration
that involves a meal cooked outside in a pit,
A fire pit is dug, wood is sourced, cut
and arranged in a way to support a huge collection of stones. Once
the fire is well under way the stones heat up until they are really
hot. Slowly the wood burns away leaving a pile of white hot stones.
At this point any remaining burning wood is cleared away and the
stones are spread out to make an incredibly hot area.
Food wrapped in leaves or foil are then
arranged all over the stones and the whole thing is covered in a
layer of banana leaves, then sacking and eventually earth. At this
point everyone retires to the shade to enjoy some serious drinking
while supper cooks away for an hour or so.
As it was Mothering Sunday in Fiji on
the day of the Lovo it was my job to be the Honourary Mother to
everyone, a job I embraced and fulfilled extremely well I think!!
Dinner was amazing and I am now a firm
lover of tarrow and coconut milk!!!
We sat up quite late that night
while the 'Boys' and I put the world to right with the aid of a few
bottles of beer and rum!!
This adventure in the hills was
followed by an equally amazing meal cooked by Elizabeth at the
Resort
Home cooked veggies and some amazing
meat for the boys was followed by lots of beer drinking that was well
supported with Danny.
All in all my stay in Fiji was an
absolutely fantastic trip. I was spoilt rotten with meals and spa
treatments, compliments of Danny and Elizabeth,
I was looked after and virtually
adopted by locals and business owners alike and I made friends with
some incredible travellers from all over the world!
Mango Bay must be described as simply one of the most beautiful
places I have travelled to filled with some of the most talented, caring, interesting and
wonderful people it has been my pleasure to meet!!
(Elizabeth and Danny also got married
while I was away on this Skiing trip but that is another story!!!!!)
*****************************************************
I arrived home to find that Lisa (my
daughter) and Steve (my soon to be son in law) had set the date for
their wedding. It was to be on Lisa's Birthday in July in a bare 8
weeks time!!
The venue was to be the Barn at the
Cider Orchard that belonged to Steve's God Father and the decorating
was all going to be hand made!!
Eight solid weeks of collecting, making,
painting, gluing, burning and general creation followed as bunting, wind
catchers, mobiles and other such delicacies were loaded into boxes
for the journey to the Farm.
Over a period of two days the Barn was transformed into a magical place for everyone to enjoy!
I had raided the Workshop of anything heart or love orientated and once the wooden chairs were
relocated to the central table, the Barn was complete!
A heat wave hit the UK that week, which
was bliss as my accommodation was camping.
On the day of the wedding the sun shone brightly and Lisa looked amazing,
Steve looked impressive too and Kris
even managed to come over from Cyprus – in his wet suit!!!
Their blessing took place under an
ancient apple tree at the heart of the orchard making the whole day totally magical.
The weather was wonderfully hot,
the camping ideal, decorations fluttered
and swayed around people in beutiful summer dresses.
The Ceilidh mixed and mingled everyone while the many excited children mixed the rest!!
My Beautiful Little Girl was now a
married Beautiful Grown up Girl.
By the time the wedding was over the
summer season at the Workshop was in full swing.
After the summer
wash out of the previous year, the unusual sunshine brought tourists flocking to
the area.
John made, I pyroed and our amazing
volunteers helped and made and cooked and played as the summer wizzed
past.
We even had a visit from Dave who had set up
the Workaway.com web site where most of our volunteers had found us
and I was videoed for a Blog on their site!!
In August we had the Cider Festival,
this time with extended families as Lou and Craig joined us with
children and friends!
In September my Sister Fleur and her
adorable flatmate got married up in the Highlands of Scotland. Lisa
and Steve (Dr. and Mrs Fox!!) drove up from Southampton to meet me in
Chester and together we drove the length of the UK to arrive at
Glenco in time for a dramatic Scottish Fling!!
With Ben Nevis in the background Fleur
and Elliot exchanged their promises under a stormy sky that stayed
dry until everyone was safely back inside!
That night I danced and gyrated with a
room full of men in skirts and had the time of my life!!!
Then in October I set off on a quick week
long break to see Kris in Cyprus and the Ski story begins!!!
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