Month: April 2019

A postcard from Cornwall

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Over Easter, we were lucky enough to have some time off together as a family and hopped on a flight to the UK headed for Cornwall. We stayed in the beautiful seaside town of Padstow, where Mr Postcard and I last stayed the summer before we were married. I wonder what our much younger, unmarried selves would make of us, a family of five turning up all these years later…. Mr P reckons he would probably have broken off the engagement – the cheek!

Here’s a little postcard from Cornwall!

Our first full day was a rather damp and grey affair, but that didn’t put us off exploring Padstow’s quaint alleyways and streets.

Our second day, however, was beautiful. The sun came out, and so did hoards of visitors…

So we headed up and out of town…

…past the beautiful war memorial…

… and along the coastal path along the Camel Estuary where the open space and fresh air was so welcome.

There were people there, but it wasn’t quite so densely populated. Some were having sailing lessons, and these three little sail boats being towed behind a rhib made me chuckle. I thought they looked like three little ducklings following their mum!

We clambered down onto the beach and skimmed stones. It was lovely.

We headed back towards town and realised we were running out of beach we had to get a wriggle on and clamber over some rocks before the tide came back in forcing us to walk the long way round. We made it!

Our walk had made us hungry, so we stopped off at Rick Stein’s chippy for a portion of chips and sat on the quayside to eat them under the watchful eyes of these two….

Padstow is home to a lobster hatchery and we popped in to see it.

This chap is known as ‘Captain Barnacles’ and is thought to be between 40 and 50 years old. These lobsters though, are a tad younger and were swimming around in the lobster nursery.

We took a drive out of Padstow and to the bay of Trevone. What a beautiful spot.

We weren’t the only people to have that idea, but it was gorgeous!

The next day, we took a trip north to Tintagel, the home of Merlin’s cave and Arthurian legend. We were blessed with another beautiful day…

There was a lot of maintenance work being carried out on the ruins of Tintagel Castle so it wasn’t open to the public unfortunately, but we could still view it from afar.

It’s a very pretty place on a sunny day, but it must have been a bit bleak to live there on stormy days… very Game of Thrones.

Our walk back up into town was rewarded with a lovely lunch and then an espresso ice cream – it was amazing!

Littlest Postcard was incredulous when he saw this…

“I didn’t think King Arthur had a car!” No son, neither did I.

The drive back to Padstow took us through beautiful countryside and quaint villages and hamlets. This church looked so lovely.

We headed to Padstow’s stately home, Prideaux Place..

Used as a filming location for a number of films, including Twelfth Night starring Helena Bonham Carter and Richard E Grant. It’s a family home still and sits in beautiful grounds.

We were very lucky to see it on such a beautifully sunny day and with many of the spring flowers at their best.

Living where we do and not having easy access to cycle trails etc, we aren’t much of a cycling family. But I have always wanted to go cycling as a family and we did it here in Cornwall. There are several bike hire places in Padstow and a fantastic cycle trail (The Camel Trail) along the Camel Estuary to Wadebridge (and on to Bodmin). So we hired bikes…

…and set off. It was hard work but lots of fun once we got into the swing of it. The views were fab too, when I was brave enough to look up from the road!!

We managed to cycle 11 miles in total – so that means we earned a reward don’t you think? 😉

Our last day in Padstow saw us hop onto the little ferry which takes passengers across the River Camel from Padstow to Rock.

We waited on the jetty by the harbour wall for it to arrive and for the passengers to disembark.

Once aboard, we headed across the River to the sand flats left by the low tide.

The Little Postcards loved the quick-sand and pools left by the low tide. They got a bit wet… so our trip to Rock itself was a little curtailed. It was fun though, nonetheless.

After a walk and a coffee, we headed back down the beach to wait for the ferry back home and some dry clothes for the Little Postcards!

Within moments we were approaching Padstow again, but to the beach this time as the tide was too low to reach the harbour.

We had such a lovely time in Padstow and the surrounding area. It’s s truly beautiful part of the world.

Full of quaint little streets and alleyways…

Thank you for having us to stay Padstow!

Sunday Sevens #185 28.4.19

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Hello there, Sunday’s come around again rather fast. We’re in the middle of another bank holiday weekend here in Gibraltar as its Worker’s Memorial Day tomorrow. We’re at the time of year when we have few 5 day weeks at school. It’s nice in a way but a bit ‘bitty’ in others as it’s hard to settle into a proper routine.

Anyway, here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Goodbye Blighty

Last Sunday (Easter Sunday) we left our lovely rental house in Padstow in Cornwall and headed to Exeter airport to fly home to Gibraltar. We flew to Malaga and then drove home from there. This was my last glimpse of Blighty for a while as we headed south over the English coast.

Easter Sunday sunset

And back at home in Gibraltar we were greeted with grey and wet weather, but then we got this lovely sunset! It’s good to be home!

Boating manouvres

The Little Postcards returned to school after Easter on Tuesday morning and I found myself down by the side of the harbour in Gibraltar and was mesmerized by the boats. This huge tanker was coming into port with the help of a little tug boat. The tugs are so powerful despite being so small!

Magestic morning arrival

This is a very impressive cruise ship which came in one morning with the golden morning sun shining on it. I watched it leave again later in the day with the sails unfurled. It was quite a sight.

Evening with friends

On Thursday evening I had a lovely catch up with friends in Queensway Quay. There’s no better tonic than a a good old giggle, and boy did we laugh. Just brilliant.

Same place, next day…

And just a few hours later I was back. This time with a friend from home (Manchester) who I haven’t seen for over 10 years, who happened to visit Gibraltar on a day trip from a holiday in Benalmadena. Another lovely catch-up. I’ve been very lucky this week!

Ladybird rescue

Yesterday we took a drive along the coast from Gib to Marbella and found ourselves in the midst of a ladybird bloom (if that’s the correct terminology). There were loads about and we found many of them struggling in a fountain. We fished about 50 out and left them to dry their wings out in the sunshine.

Beautiful bougainvillea

Where we were was also in the midst of the most beautiful bougainvillea. It was perfectly set off against the deep blue sky.

And that is where this week’s Sunday Sevens (or perhaps that should be Sunday Eights) comes to an end. I hope you’ve had a good week, and that the coming 7 days are kind to you.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Friday photo challenge (week 17) Sky

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Last week, when we were on a visit to Tintagel in Cornwall, I looked up at the sky and saw this wibbly wobbly vapour trail above my head. I’ve never seen a vapour trail like that before perhaps it had something to do with the mystical ley lines below?

This week’s Friday photo challenge theme is Sky, and here’s how the sky looked this afternoon over Gibraltar – gorgeous!

This #52fridayphotos challenge is organised by Alison in Andalucia

Sunday Sevens #184 21.4.19

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Happy Easter! Here’s this week’s special Easter Sunday edition of Sunday Sevens. Last week I promised you a more interesting one than last week’s and here it is…

Leaving on a jet plane…

Last Sunday we drove to Malaga airport to catch a flight to the UK. We were treated to a view of Gibraltar away in the distance as we took off…

…can you see here through the misty haze? Our destination was Cornwall, Padstow to be precise, for an Easter break – bliss.

Pretty Padstow

Our home for the week. Our first day was wet and grey, but then the sun came out and we had fabulous weather – it was utterly glorious and very different to the grey weather Gibraltar was experiencing.

Tintagel

We met up with a dear friend on our holiday who lives near by in Devon. Many years ago, shortly after graduation, we all visited Tintagel for the day while staying with him and his family. It seemed fitting to repeat the trip, this time with the Little Postcards. You can no longer climb down to visit Merlin’s Cave due to health and safety issues, but with the gorgeous weather, it was definitely a magical day.

Prideaux Place

Padstow has its own stately home; Prideaux Place. The house didn’t open for the summer season until today, but we still managed to enjoy the beautiful grounds. It has featured in several TV shows and films and is really rather beautiful. I took lots of photos which will appear in a longer blog post very soon.

An Easter treasure hunt

The rental company we used to find our holiday home for the week left 3 treasure hunt sheets full of questions about the town for the Little Postcards to complete. The prize being chocolate Easter bunnies. One of the clues had us hunting around for an archway with a significant name. It took a bit of finding, but I wasn’t going to give up! We, or should I say, ‘they’ completed the quiz and treasure hunt and got their choccy treats.

Bike ride

We hired bikes and rode along the Camel trail from Padstow to Wadebridge. It’s on a former train line and gave us fabulous views of the Estuary, and rather tired legs. It was a lot of fun.

Ferry across the Camel

We caught the ferry yesterday from Padstow to Rock on the other side of the Camel Estuary. We had been watching the little yellow boat going back and fro from Padstow to Rock all week and decided to make the trip on our last day. The five minute long trip took us the huge sandy expanse across the water and to the small town of Rock. I wish I could think of a witty line about living on the Rock, but it escapes me!

And finally, happy Easter. However you are spending this weekend, I hope it’s a happy one for you. I spotted this lovely Easter wreath on a cottage door in Padstow yesterday.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #183 14.4.19

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I’m afraid it’s a very short Sunday Fives (rather than Sevens) this week. I’ve been super busy this week and unfortunately not had much time to stop, look around me, and take photos. The good news is that my work is now done, and I can have a break next week with the Little Postcards as they are off school for their Easter break, which is definitely something to be happy about.

Sunrise over the Rock

Well it’s not strictly sunrise, but it was the moment the sun appeared above the Rock on Tuesday morning. It was so calm and tranquil at the small boats marina.

Pattern alterations

It’s my least favourite part of Dressmaking on my course at the minute (pattern cutting). I love the sewing, but the patterns make my brain hurt! I’m not really very mathematical and it doesn’t come naturally to me. That said it’s getting easier each time I do it, and it’s beginning to make sense at last!

Sunny skies

We’ve had a few lovely sunny days this week. It makes the spirit soar when you see blue skies doesn’t it? Sadly I haven’t had time for a Med Steps trip, so had to make do with walking to and from meetings, appointments and classes this week!

Itchy hook

So if you are staring at a skein of yarn and are desperate to make something with it, but you don’t know what – does that mean you have an itchy hook? If so, I’ve got one of those…

Saturday sunset

And relax…. it’s been a long, and busy week which unfortunately left me with a migraine yesterday. As the sun went down, my focus came back long enough for me to take this pic, have some dinner and grab an early night.

I feel much better today…

That’s all for this week’s rather stunted Sunday Sevens, next week is a rest week for us all as the boys are off school and we’re planning some fun things, so I promise, next week’s edition with be far more interesting!

As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Friday photo challenge (week 15) Simplicity

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Simplicity is the theme for today’s #52Fridayphotos from Alison in Andalucia and this just happened… even the most complicated work is simple if you have the help of a good teacher. Eleonora from Coastal Crochet launched her latest crochet-along (aka CAL) this morning, and along with Part One, she published a very helpful step-by-step YouTube video, so it’s super simple.

Whoops, it looks like I may have just accidentally started another new project!

Sunday Sevens #182 7.4.19

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Hello there and a very happy Sunday to you. I hope you’ve had a good week. We are edging closer to the school Easter holidays here in Gibraltar – just one week of school left to get jobs done before I have days full of boys! Here’s this week’s look back at the last seven days… (and, incidentally it’s my 500th Postcard from Gibraltar post! That sounds like rather a lot doesn’t it?!)

Mother’s Day lunch

We went out for a lovely lunch on Mother’s Day. A glass of Prosecco, rose and a beautiful view across the Strait to Morocco came with the meal.

Med Steps on a Monday

It’s been a long time since I’ve been up the Med Steps on a Monday morning, but I managed it this week. It was lovely up there, grey skies but some sunshine, and cool breezes. Perfect conditions.

And Spring has sprung…. the native Gibraltar Candytuft is blooming.

Dressmaking class

As I finished my jacket at last week’s lesson, it was time to draft another pattern for a new project at this week’s lesson. I bought this lacy fabric (below) from my teacher Dorcas a while ago because I loved it and really fancied making a top with it. That process has begun now.

Crochet blunder

I have been working on a filet patterned crochet jumper for a while and decided to pick it back up again this week. Unfortunately I paid the price of not rereading the pattern properly as I just carried on with a 4mm hook I found in the bag with the partially made jumper. Having done 2/3 of the front I got the measuring tape out to check if it was time to shape the shoulders. It was long enough, but, and it’s a big but, the pattern didn’t match the back. I was two pattern repeats short – I should’ve used a 3.75mm hook! It’s been unraveled, and I’m now playing catch-up!

Frustrating flights

We decided to do something we don’t normally do on Thursday – we went over to Spain while the Little Postcards were at school. It was a rather long drawn out process. We left home, got stuck in a queue to cross the runway as a plane was landing… then I realised I’d left my phone at home so we had to turn around and go home again to pick up the phone in case school called with a problem. Then I took this photo as we were stuck for a second time with another plane landing… instead of taking 15-20 minutes to get from our home to the border, it took 50!! Whoops.

We had to forfeit our lunch, instead of leisurely tapas we had a service station sandwhich in the car to make sure we were home in time to pick the Little Postcards up! Maybe we’ll get the tapas another time…

Stormy day

The weather on Friday was rather grim, wet, very grey and with gale force gusts. This was the rather uninspiring view of the Bay of Gibraltar around morning school run time. There were rumbles of thunder as I walked home – fortunately I made it back indoors before the horizontal rain started!! (The big grey ship may be a Spanish aircraft carrier coming into port in Algeciras across the Bay from Gibraltar.)

Saturday sunset

We’ve not had a Sunday Sevens sunset picture for a while. I caught the last rays of sunshine disappearing behind the hills opposite our home yesterday.

That’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens, I hope the coming seven days are kind to you.

As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.