under another sun

Up for a full Guernsey Breakfast, and then contemplated what to do. It was a cool but sunny day, and Lorraine and I decided to go down to Moulin Huet bay. However as we walked down Moulin Huet valley we began to realise the tide would be fairly high, and suddenly opted instead for a cliff walk to Jerbourg. We mooched steadily along taking moments to stop and sit and stare at the beautiful cliffs, and look at all the flowers. It was such a nice time. When we reached Jerbourg, we went to the kiosk and had a couple of pieces of toasted gâche and some teas and cold drinks. From there we walked back until we cut in from the main road to walk along the paths to the wishing well.  A big building job was going on there, however, and the well was dry. Tried not to read too much into the wishing well being dry, however the water was still flowing down the waterlane and it was still beautiful. I did my wish a bit further along as the stream fell towards the top of Moulin Huet. From there we...

The first day that Lorraine and I spent on our own, and we really enjoyed walking from Moulin Huet to Jerbourg. Sitting on benches here and there just to listen to the birds singing on the wooded parts of the cliffs. Felt very relaxed today. At Jerbourg after looking down at the foghorn in its little white building, blasting out its mournful note, which echoed off the other islands, we had some coffee in the hotel there, and then caught the bus into town. Went a bit mad and bought myself a new Guernsey jumper, a traditional navy blue one. Lorraine went into East, which is closing down, and I went to the Guernsey Press Shop, where I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of Guernsey Doubles still clinging on by their fingernails. Wandered over to East and was instructed by the manager to go downstairs, to find Lorraine, who was busy in the changing rooms, and came away with a load of bargains. Caught a bus back home, while we waited I peered into some of the parked buses to see if...

A full Guernsey breakfast at nine o'clock, and then out into the gorgeous parish. Down to Saints and then up onto the cliff path. Paused at the bench dedicated to my Grandfather’s sister Dolly, where we fell into a conversation with a Portuguese lady, who lives in England who asked me if I was a Christian when I started talking about the cliffs. She said she had been born again. We walked on in a beautiful Sunday morning, perfect for walking in being not to cold nor hot. We walked to  Jerbourg, and doubled back and dipped down to the wishing pool, where we both made wishes. The trough of the abreuveur was full of leaves, and leading down was a stream of golden leaves under which water trickled. Then we walked down the waterlane to the top of Moulin Huet and back home to the Barbarie. The weather changed a bit, but we made it back to the hotel for a rest before it rained.  A bottle of Prosecco, a gift from Beth and John, had been left in our ...

A slightly sadder and wiser man I opted for a vegetarian breakfast this morning. Lorraine decided to have a quiet morning of embroidery and relaxation, and Mum and I went out for a long walk to Jerbourg. Another utterly beautiful day, and a good chance for me to catch up with all that is happening with Mum. Mum scampers up and down the cliff paths amazingly well and my step counter told me that at the end of the day we had done about 20k paces much of them up stairs and rocky paths along the seagull and kestrel haunted paths. We stopped off at Jerbourg to be sullenly supplied with tea by the kiosk lady before walking home along the roads. Found Lorraine, and we had a bit of downtime before getting a taxi into town this afternoon. Lorraine shopping for bras and had a proper fitting and came away with two excellent new bras. I learned quite a bit about bras today.  Mum and I slipped off for a cup of wretched coffee in the place that now does crepes by the market. Eventually after...

Breakfast, Lorraine and I late again, but having had a good night's sleep. A beautiful day to drive around Guernsey in. First stop The Little Chapel and the clockmaker's nearby. Pat I think particularly enjoyed The Little Chapel. Its diminutive caddis fly shell beauty rarely disappoints. From here we drove to Jerbourg and pointed out the islands, had a stroll down the road to the corner of the island where there is a donkey under a Guernsey flag, showing its nether regions to Jersey. A cup of tea at Jerbourg, served by the world's least smiling tea kiosk lady. From there, an aborted attempt to reach the cafe on the seafront at Fermain Bay, so instead we scooted off into Town, to a place called Hojo's where I have been a few times without ever really noticing the Japanese theme to its food. The place is amusingly pretentious but we all opted for a Japanese-lite chicken soup with ramen noodles, which was eaten gamely by all with a variety of eating irons and chopstick...

Something of a slow start to the day, tucked into breakfast and hung about in a leisurely way, before going for a walk. Wandered down La Rue des Grons, looking wistfully at the old family home. Walked back into St Martin's where we caught a bus into town. The driver refused to charge us double, which is a controversial new States of Guernsey policy, with the bus price for locals being half. By chance the bus also had one of my poems Hooked as a poster in it. You can't help but be cheered by this sort of thing. Some wandering about in town, a spot of shopping, with Lorraine buying some tops, before meeting Richard and Jane in Delice. This is the new name for the old market square cafe I have haunted for many years. Richard and Jane had made it back to Guernsey safely, and had caught one of the few trains available, meaning they spent a good deal of time waiting at Gatwick. Good to be able to chat to them properly for a bit. Had a glass of wine, and they introduced us to  ga...

A kippery breakfast for me, and a haddocky one for Lorraine. After a slow start and, with a moment's sad pause, asking Lorraine to apply sunblock to the area of concern we ambled down towards Moulin Huet again, but turned onto the cliff path to Jerbourg. Another stunning, almost painfully beautiful day as we wended around the coastline looking down on the blue water and out at the cloudless sky. Once at Jerbourg we had some much-needed tea from the kiosk and then walked smartly to Icart on the roads, admiring the gardens en route. Arriving there an hour later (somewhat footsore) we met Richard and Jane, and Holly the dog . We went to the tea garden, for helpings of Guernsey gâche and carrot cake. The mad-hatterish theme maintained as we poured our teas only to discover that the pot contained a rogue peppermint bag too. A happy hour chatting with Richard and Jane in the sun. I wish this was something we could do once a week. Kindly dropped off back at La Barbarie, but the bar su...

Departure Last day in Guernsey... For a month only thank God. After a leisurely breakfast, and a thorough read of the Guardian, Lorraine and I went on a walk from Moulin Huet to Jerbourg. Today hotter than ever, and the cliff path utterly beautiful. The tide was out a long way, and the gleaming sands and turquoise water looked fantastic. By the time we reached Jerbourg we were sunburned and thirsty, so we sensibly repaired to the Auberge. It is a wonderful restaurant and we looked out at the hazy sea and Herm dreaming across the water as we sipped a pair of cold Carlsbergs. Had some lovely food, topped off by Banoffee Pie Mess, whose ingredients were fresh bananas, crushed meringue, Guernsey cream, butterscotch sauce, toasted almonds and pecans with digestive biscuit ice cream. And by God it was yummy. I don't bother too much with puddings, but this was fantastic. Then a wending walk back to the hotel to pick up our cases. Lurked in the hotel bar, where I thanked Andrew the owner a...