"Houston, this is Tranquility Base; the ravens have landed"

(Saturday, 29th February; early-ish morning).

This has been a slow and gentle journey - as befits folks of advancing years, perhaps?

Wednesday, 26th.

The usual, jarring alarm call and up to the airport by 07.00 for a slightly delayed but speedy trip to Amsterdam.  I hadn't realised that there was a view across to Wales from the walkway to the Bristol Gate!

We settled down in our by now usual Schipol cafe to doze, to have coffee, to take lunch and eventually to move on to our Gate - where we found that the flight had been changed to a larger aircraft and we needed new boarding passes.


 














 

It seemed an interminable flight, taking a high arc up over the west coast of Scotland and the southern tip of Greenland.  But the plane had a camera in the nose and the live images at both take-off and landing were shown on the main cabin screen.  We love that.



Wanda met us at the airport - huge thanks - and we settled in for supper and an early - in Canadian terms - night.  The little cat which is resident on the top floor scratched all night to come in - we relented subsequently.




Thursday, 27th

We spent all of the day reading and keeping warm whilst the rest of the storm howled around outside.  Not a day for travelling!

By supper time, the weather had eased a little although there was still a wind, swirling the snow around the streets.  Wanda took me to the local car taxing office to complete the truck's payment for the year, before we all went out for supper locally, to be entertained both by the company and by the cavorting sidewalk-cleaning buggies, pirouetting and scoofing, twinkling like extras in a Star-Wars movie.

Friday, 28th

A steady drive up to St Jovite to shop and then on to the cottage, looking just wonderful in sparkling snow. 



The "Big Dipper" just along the road; now in its sub-Arctic mode.

    Water pump worked fine, water heater on, heaters turned up, luggage and food in.  Sorted.

Time to chill out - but not literally.

Greetings to and from the children and others.  MHR

Saturday, 29th!

Just a beautiful morning. 

But the
server is only accepting pictures loaded via the Kindle at the moment.  Strange.

That was the year that was!

Oh, the hopefulness of that last message; and yet the prescience!  After the bitterness and darkness of the last days of a fragmented UK government and the nightmare, from our point of view, of a winter general election, a month of feverish cough and a three day preparation for Christmas, there followed perhaps one of the happiest celebrations of that festival, shared with Ali's brother, Chris.  And a new year, and very happy times with neighbours and family and good friends.  A new beginning.

Climatically, the UK began the year with gales and floods and people displaced.  But Spring comes regardless and here, on the 25th, are its incontrovertible signs.  Cause for lightened hearts.