Month: July 2017

Sunday Sevens #94 30.7.17

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This week’s Sunday Sevens features several locations in 4 different countries believe it or not! Here goes…

Sunny English summer skies


This time last week we were in Reading enjoying the last full day with our old friends who once lived in Gibraltar. They have a lovely big back garden and the weather conspired to allow the Little Postcards and their friends to play outdoors for ages on the trampoline and running about on the grass. Meanwhile my friend and I looked on, coffee, and then gin in hand, and enjoyed a jolly good catch up. We had such a lovely time, thank you so much x

Ride a cock horse… our Banbury detour


So our return trip up North managed to coincide with some rather annoying (for us) railway engineering works. We ended up killing an hour in Banbury between connections. My only prior knowledge of the place was a bloke at University called ‘Pete from Banbury’ and the nursery rhyme. I can now add to that extensive catalogue of knowledge by contributing the fact that Banbury Debenhams do a damn fine chocolate brownie.

Family times


On Tuesday we went out for a lovely meal with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. My brother gave us a lift in his van and opened the sunroof, much to the delight of the Little Postcards! Check out that blue sky!

Oh, and there was an octopus at the table too…


Heading home – very slowly!


Wednesday meant time to leave England and a long wait for our plane home. A medical emergency on the plane we should have caught made our departure time 2 hours later than it should be. I hope the patient is ok.

We took off in the end though… good bye for now England!



Blue skies above


Back in Gibraltar, and boy it’s been very warm! Not a cloud in the sky…



Hot, hot, hot!


I know I’ve just spent 2 and a half weeks in England and I’m out of practice, but it really has been hot – 32.4 degrees on Friday.

Off on holiday again


I’ve had a very quick turnaround this week, unpacking our suitcases, washing and refilling them in time for our road trip to Portugal. We are staying in the same place as we did on our last visit two years ago, not far from Alvor. This is the Queen Sofia Bridge in Seville, it’s a huge structure which sea-going tankers can travel beneath. You get a great view of the city from it too. Oh, and it was 38.5 degrees there – phew!

After a five hour drive from Gibraltar and a welcome drop in temperature by a couple of degrees, we arrived at our destination. We’ve been hanging out with the locals…

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series for bloggers which was created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. It features seven (or perhaps more) photos from the last seven days of your week. If you are a blogger and would like to join in with the Sunday Sevens community, then pop over to Natalie’s blog to find out how you can get involved.

Summer Craft Challenge 2017 (week 4)

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This week’s crafting took place in three different locations, beginning at our friends’ home in Reading, Berkshire, then returning to my parents’ home in Manchester and finally heading home to Gibraltar! 

I set myself a summer craft challenge to do something crafty throughout July and August in order to save my sanity throughout the long school summer holidays. Here’s week four’s installment:

Day 22 : Saturday 22nd July

There wasn’t much time for crafting today – a trip to Reading town centre to have a meal out and take the Little Postcards to the cinema and later a chance for my friend and I to pop out to the pub for a while on our own, meant this Crochet photo was taken at ten to midnight! Only just made it!

Day 23 : Sunday 23rd July 


Coffee and crochet in the garden, what could be better? Well a crochet lesson perhaps? I had a go at teaching my friend and her daughter some crochet…


The green chain belongs to my friend’s daughter, the pink to my friend and the grey on the red hook was mine…


Tadaaaah! That pink granny square is my friend’s first ever attempt at crochet, not at all bad I don’t think! However I did get theimpression that she was mightily pleased when she got to the end!! 

Day 24 : Monday 24th July


Back in Manchester this evening at my parents’ house and time for a little crochet before collapsing into bed… it was a long day of travelling back up thanks to rail engineering works!

Day 25 : Tuesday 25th July

You’ve got to love a municipal floral border haven’t you?! A trip to the park with the two youngest Postcards to make the most of a sunny spell in the afternoon – crochet and Europa the Unicorn came too…

Day 26 : Wednesday 26th July


Airport delays and a very late arrival meant that crochet was done in the hours of darkness again on Wednesday- I couldn’t face it while travelling this time. Back at home in Gibraltar after a wonderful, interesting and very enjoyable two and a half weeks in England (and briefly Wales). But blimey it’s very hot!!!

Day 27 : Thursday 27th July


I bought myself a present when we were in England – a yarn winder. My stash of left overs has been getting a bit unruly of late so fancied having a go at winding some nice neat balls… I need a bit of practice for that – my first attempt was a little loose!

I also returned home to two cards to collect goodies from the parcel post – my June edition of Little Box of Crochet and my latest subscription to Simply Crochet Magazine. Now I have loads of fab ideas to work on over the coming weeks!

Day 28 : Friday 28th July

Coffee and crochet, the perfect way to start the day. Don’t you agree? A moment of calm before the chaos of the day!

Do you fancy joining in with your own summer craft challenge? Just tag your photos #summercraftchallenge2017 on Instagram and we can all craft together!

Sunday Sevens #93 23.7.17

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A jaunt to Wales


Last Sunday we took a drive to North Wales to visit family. Just over an hour’s drive from my parents’ home and we were in the beautiful rolling hills near Mold. It’s such a beautiful part of the world.  Our relatives also have a big garden so the Little Postcards had a whale of a time running about playing with their cousins and three lovely dogs…

…. including Seren. Isn’t she adorable? 🐾

More blue skies


If you saw last week’s post with grey skies over Manchester, you will understand why I needed to include this photo of gorgeous sunny blue skies this week 😉

Goodbye…


This used to be the view from our bedroom window. On Tuesday, we returned to our old home (which we have rented out for the past 8 years) and emptied the loft in readiness for selling the house. Mixed emotions about leaving this place, but it’s the right thing to do.

Obligatory fish and chips photo…

Now don’t get me wrong, we didn’t eat fish and chips all the time when we lived in England, maybe once a month? But we sure do miss fish and chip dinners in Gibraltar. There are several food establishments on the Rock who serve British style fish and chips, but it’s just not the same. So we have to indulge when we are back home.

Zero food miles 

We were lucky enough to enjoy some of my parents’ home grown strawberries on our trip over. This is the last one – and it’s mine!!!

Hello Reading


We took a train down south to Reading on Friday to visit some very dear friends who used to live in Gibraltar. We do miss them a lot so it’s fab to have an annual catch up.

Rainy Reading


Yesterday the weather wasn’t fantastic so we headed into Reading town Centre for a lovely lunch and cinema trip for the Little Postcards and their friends. Such a lovely day in spite of the weather!


Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series for bloggers which was created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins. It features seven (or perhaps more) photos from the last seven days of your week. If you are a blogger and would like to join in with the Sunday Sevens community, then pop over to Natalie’s blog to find out how you can get involved.

Summer Craft Challenge 2017 (week 3)

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Week three of the Summer Craft Challenge already? Times certainly flies when you’re having fun!

I set myself the challenge of doing something crafty every day throughout July and August in a bid to retain my sanity during the very long Gibraltarian school summer holidays. Each day I post a crafty photo to Instagram with the tag #summercraftchallenge2017 if you fancy joining me just tag your pictures too.

Day 15: Saturday 15th July

I thought my embryonic string bag, somehow echoed the shape of the huge Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank when we visited last Saturday. My boys were mortified when I stopped to take this picture though. Poor boys and their crazy Mum!! 

Day 16 : Sunday 16th July


A day-long trip to Wales to visit relatives meant not much time for crochet until late on… a wonderful day though, none-the-less 😊.

Day 17 : Monday 17th July 


The weather was glorious, so I indulged in a little al fresco hooky in the back garden. You just can’t beat an English garden in the summertime can you?

Day 18 : Tuesday 18th July

And finally…. it’s finished. Not the largest string bag in the world but I’m rather pleased with it. 

If you would like to have a go making one yourself, you can find the pattern on Ravelry here. I added an extra row or two around the top and handles.

Day 19 : Wednesday 19th July


Wednesday and Thursday were very busy days. We are selling our old house in West Yorkshire and Wednesday was the day the loft needed to be emptied. The day was spent driving across the Pennines, sorting the house and driving back. There was a tiny window of Crochet opportunity during bath time for the Little Postcards.

Day 20 : Thursday 20th July


A scarf for a Little Postcard is underway. My evening treat after a day sifting through umpteen boxes of long forgotten treasures from our old loft.

Memories of very old crochet


One of the treasures was this crochet cardigan I made 20 years ago. A good friend of mine had the most gorgeous cardigan when we were at university, it was made of many little granny squares crocheted in fine cotton or silk. I was so enamoured with her’s that with her permission I had a go at making my own.

Unfortunately, this was my first major foray into crochet and I was unaware of the fact that crocheting with DK yarn would lead to a far chunkier finished version compared to my friend’s. It’s blanket-like coat appearance meant it was consigned to a cupboard rather than my wardrobe. Obviously the hours of Crochet which had gone into it meant I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. It will return to Gibraltar with me to be worn in our drafty lounge on a winter’s evening. 

Day 21 : Friday 21st July


Today, we caught the train down South to visit some family friends. Europa the Unicorn came too along with my crochet.

If you fancy joining in with your own summer craft challenge, why not take photos each day and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #summercraftchallenge2017 ?

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope it’s a good one for you.

Weekly photo challenge (Week 29) : Waste

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Waste is something we all deal with on a daily basis, and one which needs handling with a great deal of care if we are to prevent our beautiful planet getting destroyed. Last week, I took the Little Postcards to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, and one of the exhibits there is dedicated to waste – how timely for this week’s photo challenge.


The boys loved the hands-on exhibits showing the state of landfill waste dumps over the centuries, in other words, before the 20th century, very little waste was  buried and that was biodegradable. 


It proved a very valuable lesson for us all.

On a lighter note, how about a more cheerful bit of waste? How satisfying to see all the little bits of yarn when you finish darning in all the endy bits :-).

I’m joining with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.

Sunday Sevens #92 16.7.17

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This week’s Sunday Sevens sees our summer break beginning in earnest…

So long Gibraltar 

Last Sunday, myself and the three Little Postcards boarded a plane bound for Manchester. The summer holidays got off to a flying start in every sense of the word. As we left, we got this great view of the Rock and the Spanish Mediterranean coast before taking an unusual flight path along the Strait of Gibraltar hugging the Moroccan coastline before heading north. I have never flown that way before and it was interesting to see the Moroccan mountains complete with lakes and winding roads so closely.

Looking for colour on a grey day


I am a great lover of Manchester, having been born and brought up there. Marrying a southerner, I had to put up with years of abuse about it raining constantly in Manchester (it doesn’t by the way). Anyway, just to prove me wrong we have had a bit of iffy weather at the start and end of the week. To divert my attention away from the grey skies, I found tons of beautiful colour in the front gardens close to my parents’ house.

Cinema time


Another sketchy weather day on Tuesday saw us head to the cinema in the Trafford Centre to see Despicable Me 3. We try to go to the multiplex most summers when we visit. Being used to just 2 small screens at the cinema in Gibraltar, it’s a rather grand affair here in comparison. 

A trip to the country


Wednesday, and we took a trip to a very familiar place for me, Dunham Massey. This National Trust property featured heavily on my childhood Sunday afternoons. It’s beautiful deer are always a treat to see.

Harvest time

Back in June, I made a quick trip home to visit my parents and we stopped for a pub lunch on the outskirts of Warrington. At the time, I posted a photo of the beautiful field next door in my Sunday Sevens. We revisited the pub with the Little Postcards on Thursday as it was a warm and dry day and the pub had a great kids play area and football nets too. As we ate our lunch, we spotted some activity in the next door field – it was harvest time. That’s something we don’t get to see in Gibraltar!



Old and new

On Friday I took the Little Postcards into town to visit the fantastic Museum of Science and  Industry. We have been before, but not for a few years and felt it was due at return visit. The boys loved all the hands-on experiments. After the museum, we took a walk into the centre of Manchester. It has changed so much in recent years, but amongst all the new modern developments there are still some reach architectural jewels.

An astronomical trip


Yesterday we took a drive out to the Cheshire Plain to see the Jodrell Bank radio telescope and visitor centre. The venue for stargazing tv extravaganzas with the likes of Dr Brian Cox and Dara O’Brien, it’s certainly undergone a bit of a transformation since our last visit around 8 years ago. It was another hit with the Little Postcards for the hands-on exhibits. 


Thanks for joining me for this week’s Sunday Sevens. Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins blog.

Summer Craft Challenge 2017 (Week 2)

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Last week, I began my summer craft challenge for this year. Beginning on the first day of July seemed as good a time as any! So this is the second installment of my weekly craft challenge round up. It began in Gibraltar and ended in Manchester as the Little Postcards and I started our summer holidays.

Day 8 : Saturday 8th July

Our last chance to take a dip in the pool and my last chance for some Mediterranean alfresco crochet for a while. A simple granny square by the pool was as exciting as it got.

Day 9 : Sunday 9th July



On Sunday, we flew from Gibraltar to Manchester to visit my family. I was rather tired by the end of the day after wrangling three Little Postcards through the airport without Mr Postcard (we left him at home). I managed to begin a project using my new Caron Cake, but just a few rows as I was a bit jaded!

Day 10 : Monday 10th July

Monday saw a bit more progress on my Caron Cake project, although not a lot!

Day 11 : Tuesday 11th July

By Tuesday I was getting into the swing of it and really loving the colour changes in the yarn.

Day 12 : Wednesday 12th July

On Wednesday it was rather busy, so I didn’t have much time for crochet, just a lonely little granny square to add to a long standing WIP back at home.

Day 13 : Thursday 13th July

After a bit of a slow start to my week, craft wise Thursday was brim full of yarny goodness… First stop Black Sheep Wools in Culcheth, near Warrington to drop off three Sixty Million Trebles blankets which had been made in Gibraltar. One was made as a collaboration through the Gibraltar Crochet Collective, the other two by me. They will now be parceled up and sent off to child refugees.

Oh how I do like Black Sheep Wools… So many lovely balls of wool to squidge and gorgeous colours to feast your eyes upon. Europa felt rather at home there 😉.


Next stop, a nearby pub for a spot of lunch. Then, while the Little Postcards played nearby, I managed to get a bit of surreptitious under the picnic table hooky done!

Back at my parents’ home I finished it… I played yarn chicken (going in for another row) and won!

The finished article… Perfect for snuggling up in winter.



Day 14 : Friday 14th July


Time for another new project using birthday present wool (the Caron Cake used for my scarf this week was also a birthday gift). I got into a raspberry swirl with this lovely yarn as I began a string bag pattern.

So, there you have it, my second weekly round up. If you feel inspired, why not join in too, just tag your Instagram photos with #summercraftchallenge2017.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Sevens #91 9.7.17

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And so it begins…. schools have broken up for summer here in Gibraltar and the eight week-long summer holiday is underway.

I will continue posting Sunday Sevens, the photo challenge and my summer craft challenge throughout the summer but as for any other more considered posts – well we will just have to wait and see. I see days filled with beach outings, picnics and other child friendly activities and hopefully a bit of adult relaxing too.

Here’s to summer fun!

A sunset walk

I’m pretty sure I have posted a photo like this once before after a similar evening stroll to the recycling bins – ah the glamour!  Still the view makes the task a bit more appealing :-).


Casting my vote

This year’s Gibraltar National Day marks the 50th anniversary of the referendum when Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain British. For the past month or so, there has been a special exhibition of press cuttings and Pathé news reels of the time. 

Part of the exhibition features a polling booth where you can cast your own vote in a mock second referendum. School parties have come down to see the exhibits and the children have also had the chance to vote in a childrens’ referendum. I cast my vote too!

First figs 


We have figs!! Last year our little fig tree did bear fruit but something or someone snaffled them before we got the chance to harvest any for ourselves. This year we were rewarded for our patience and we have 2 ripe fruits. There are more still to come as well!

Cake!


We have had two birthday celebrations in the Postcard household this week. One required a home made cake. It was rather tasty 😋 

Nothing to see here…


Diamond the Postcard family pet rabbit has got a new party trick.. He loves jumping up onto the sofa during his evening romps around the lounge and making me jump out of my skin. I’ll be sitting there watching telly or crocheting and bam he’s suddenly up beside me! He’s such a cheeky monkey.

Instagram milestone


This week my Instagram account reached a bit of a milestone. It now has 500+ followers. Fancy that! Thank you to everyone who’s stopped by and said hello 😊

Beautiful Europa Point

Yesterday morning I took a little stroll to the lighthouse at Europa Point. It was a gorgeous morning without a cloud in the sky. Trinity Lighthouse was looking fab with her new lick of paint and the scaffolding taken down.

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series featuring seven photos from the past seven days and was created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins.