A 'first' at 36

For a while now, 'A' has been driving me mad to go horse riding.  I have to say this is something I've wanted to do myself for as long as I can remember but I did wonder if at the age of 36 I was a little too old to be potentially 'falling off' a horse.  After a little discussion I finally decided to do a bit of searching online to see if I could find a suitable place for us to experience our first pony ride.  I came across a site called horsetreks.co.uk part of livetheadventure and after a few emails back and forth we booked a 45 minute hack.

The Ginny Hole centre was located in Stottesdon which was nearly an hours drive from home.  Far too much time, I have to say, to weigh up the pros and cons of why I'd finally decided to do this.  'A' was seriously looking forward to it though so I figured it was now or never.  When we arrived the staff that greeted us were so friendly they immediately put us at ease.  We discovered that I would be riding 'Apache' and 'A' would be on 'Thunder'.  We laughed when we heard the name of 'A's horse as I had mental pictures of a huge black stallion, rearing up and neighing!  It turned out that both Apache and Thunder were very lovely black and white cob horses that were extremely well behaved and calm and nothing like the the image their names conjured up.

As it turned it, 'A' and I were the only riders on this particular hack and as we'd never so much as sat on a horse before they decided it would be a good idea for us to each have our own member of staff to accompany us on the ride.  This was great as it filled us with a lot more confidence.  We were given directions on how to 'steer' the horse and get him to move and then off we went for our 45 minute walk.

We were told that the horses are extremely clever and that usually within 5 to 10 minutes they have a notion of what type of rider is 'onboard' and if they feel it's a novice then they decide to 'try it on'!  Apache tried this a couple of times by eating the hedge as we walked along and then doing some serious head shaking.  I never realised that it could be quite so difficult to control a horse.  You watch others doing it and it looks so simple, but even managing to keep your balance at such a height can be tricky if the horse decides to have a wobbly moment.  We did attempt a little trot on the way back up the lane which was fun but blimey was it knackering and we only did it for a couple of minutes!

I'm very pleased to say that neither of us fell off and both returned with our limbs all intact.  After seeing how high you are on the horse's back falling off would definitely be the last thing I'd aim to do.  We both had a fabulous time at Country Treks.  I can't see myself competing in the 2016 games but it's really something I'd like to try again at some point and 'A' has said the same.  Horses are such beautiful and intelligent creatures, it was a real honour to be so close to them even if it has taken me 36 years to get around to it.


'A' and I with 'Thunder'

Lazy days of Summer

After returning from holiday to 'not so great' British weather imagine our joy when the forecast was for the temperature to reach the dizzy heights of 24c!  Woo hoo!  As we still had a few free days from work we decided to make the most of the dry spell and headed off to Bidford-on-avon for a picnic and afternoon by the river.

A walk along the Avon

Arnold having a lazy afternoon

Frisbee!

Arnold gets his own ice-cream

We arrived around lunchtime and tootled off for a stroll along the river to let Arnold stretch his little Border legs.  We ate lunch and then spent a lovely, lazy afternoon playing games, reading and doing the crossword.  And what trip to Bidford would be complete without a trip to the chip shop for tea.  By the time we left for home it was around 8.30pm which meant we were treated to the most beautiful sunset throughout our journey.

The following night, although cloudy, we enjoyed a smashing barbecue in the garden followed by an evening around the chiminea.  Many, many games of pictionary and uno followed then lo and behold the cloud shifted and we were left with an evening of star gazing.

'A' & 'P' enjoying a night in the garden

Saturday saw us taking a drive out to Mom and Dad's caravan as they'd decided on a short break near Enville.  Another leisurely afternoon ensued with an attempt at our 2nd barbecue of the week.  Unfortunately the wind had other ideas leaving us to use the small caravan oven to cook for 7!

I've only just realised that I've not yet told you of my new addition, so now seemed a perfect opportunity.  Her name is Glinda (as in 'Wicked'/'The Wizard of Oz') and she's a beautiful Ice Blue Mini Convertible.  She arrived just before our holiday so I'd not had much chance to test drive her.  However, Saturday's sunny trip to Enville was a superb opportunity even if it did mean we had to take two cars to enable us to transport all of our junk!  It was worth it though, nothing more exhilarating than powering down the country lanes with the wind in your hair.

'Glinda'

A blissful break in the Balearics

A couple of weeks ago we headed off on our Summer hols to sunny Majorca.  This was our 5th year in beautiful Puerto Pollensa and as ever it didn't disappoint. You'd think we'd be bored with the Balearics by now but there's just something about the laid back lifestyle, the beautiful weather and glorious sandy beaches and scenery that keeps us returning year after year.  This year we took Mom-in-law and among her first comments were 'I can see why you come back every year'.

Puerto Pollensa, Majorca

Peaceful times on the Pine Walk

Having five on the Pine Walk

As ever, our holiday journey was anything but ordinary.  We set off from Birmingham at 6.20am and by 8am were making an emergency landing at Limoges Airport in France after a pressurisation problem with the plane.  We were informed later in the day that the Captains sudden and rather terrifying announcement of "May day, may day, emergency descent" to the entire cabin was actually intended for the surrounding air traffic rather than our panic stricken souls.  Not much of a consolation after having your pants scared off!  By the by, we landed safely but then had a rather long delay whilst awaiting another plane to safely transfer us onward to Palma.  I did vow never to fly again after our little incident but funnily enough, 12 sunny days later the whole experience didn't seem quite so bad :). However, I think it may be my last booking with Monarch!

Most of our holiday was spent lazing on the beautiful golden beach at Puerto Pollensa and swimming in the clear blue Mediterranean sea.  With the baking temperatures the beach was most definitely the best place to be as there was a constant cooling breeze.  We did do a couple of sight seeing trips during our stay, more than anything to show Mom-in-law the lovely Majorcan way of life.  We visited Arta and climbed the steps to the church of Sant Salvador and then took a stroll around the town visiting the convent on the way.  After Arta we headed on to Portocristo a little further down the coast.  Portocristo is such a scenic little resort with many yachts and boats lining the harbour and a charming beach and town.  We stopped for a ice-cream break on a bench over looking the beach and MiL commented on how it looked like a picture postcard.

Church of Sant Salvador, Arta

View of Arta

Steps from the Church of Sant Salvador, Arta

Harbour at Portocristo

'S' at Portocristo

Sunday was market day in Alcudia and Pollensa Old Town so we headed out early morning to miss the worst of the heat.  As normal the markets were bustling and alive with the Mallorcan vibe.  At Pollensa we scaled the 365 Calvari Steps to the little church although the heat was a little overpowering at times.  The view from the top over Pollensa Old Town and out towards Puerto Pollensa is glorious and well worth the climb.  Right near the top a local was playing lovely Spanish music on his guitar as we walked by.

'P' and 'S' at the market in Pollensa

Market in Pollensa Old Town

Guitarist at the top of the Calvari Steps

Calvari Steps, Pollensa

During our stay we spent many an evening at our favourite local venue, Palms Bar.  They remembered us from previous years and gave us a lovely warm welcome each evening when we visited.  We saw some fabulous entertainment while we were there including a Rod Stewart tribute, Michael Buble tribute and Abba Angels.  Rod Stewart (also known as Vinnie Scott) has a fantastic act and we were keen to see him again this year after being so entertained in 2010.  This year they had a new act, Michael Buble, who although was a little lacking in confidence and looked absolutely nothing liked the man himself, was an amazing sound alike and sang his songs with great flair.

'P', 'S' and 'A' at Palms Bar

Rod Stewart Tribute at Palms Bar

We had our regular visit in the town square to Jose at Bony's bar.  Again, it was lovely to see he remembered us and that he's still as colourful as ever.  We had a lovely take-away this year too from the Dragon Oriente.  Customer service was brill and the food was lovely.  In fact MiL liked the duck so much that it became a holiday phrase :).  In fact we ended up with many silly holiday phrases as we do on most holidays.  Such as "Hola, mi llamo A...", "Do you want to play Uno?", "That duck was just lovely" and probably most used of all "the RELAY!!" which was a send up of a rather enthusiastic British swimmer we'd seen being interviewed during the Olympics.  Absolutely riveting stuff I'm sure you'll agree ;-), but they all meant something to us lol.  Does everyone have 'holiday phrases' or is it just us?

'P', 'A' and me at Bony's

'S' and Mom-in-law at Bony's

For the first time ever after visiting Majorca I was actually happy to return home.  I'm never one to be homesick but I think a mixture of the hotter than normal weather and the fact I missed our lovely pooch was all the incentive I needed to get me on the plane home.  Not to say I didn't have a wonderful holiday as I really did and now feel thoroughly refreshed  .  'P', 'S' and 'A' would have been quite happy to stay even longer I'm sure, and 'P' has already said that our next trip definitely needs to be longer.  Arnold didn't seem too disgruntled at being deposited in kennels and judging by the fact he looks a little slimmer I think he perhaps had more exercise than he does at home!