under another sun

Up fairly early and a last breakfast at La Barbarie: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and some toast, plus cereal fruit and teas. Back to the room to pack and pay up. A lovely stay, and we were very sorry to go so quickly. Then a slow toddle to Icart, and sat looking at the sea, still fairly calm. Walked around the clifftop and took in views of Moulin Huet bay and the Dog and Lion and Saints Bay and then headed back to the hotel. Had a last sandwich there, thick ham, Guernsey butter and English mustard, plus a pint of Liberation. We had been made to feel extremely welcome at La Barbarie. A slightly amazing journey back. The travel Gods firmly on our side. The taxi was early, the Auringy plane took off ten minutes early, the flight smooth and fast climbing up eastwards from Guernsey so that I could look out on St Martin's Point and Moulin Huet Bay one more time before we slipped up above the low, still layer of clouds. Before we knew it back at Gatwick and were shortly on a train to Ea...

Uncle Steve again for breakfast. Lorraine microwaved some porridge for him, till it exploded. Then Lorraine off to Eastbourne with Maureen for occupational therapy discussions about showers. Steve hung out with Pat, then made his way home. I had enjoyed getting to know him better.  I spent the morning working on the Kenniad, also getting ready for tomorrow's journey. Also wasted hours having ordered some diazepam from the surgery some time ago. I like to have one with me just in case when I am flying.  After three visits to the pharmacy, three visits to the surgery where just before close of play,  my doctor appeared to explain that I couldn't prescribed this, due to the fact that they couldn't be insured in case someone was drowsy when they needed to escape the plane. Infuriating waste of time.  Meanwhile an email from Auringy saying that there might be a problem with the flight tomorrow.  Home from the futile business at the surgery pausing to quaff a  pi...

Hurrah! Off to Guernsey for the first time in three years. Trundled down to Preston Park station and caught the train to Gatwick. We were fearing delays and difficulties, but apart from our plane being delayed by an hour we were through security really quickly, having checked in online before. We were only carrying hand luggage which meant that there would be no hanging around. I felt twitchy generally and the vertigo I get from time to time was quite bad this morning. I tried to buy a couple of cups of tea from Pret but left in disgust after waiting at the front of the queue for twenty minutes. The flight however, was fine  on the Auringy twin engined prop. The weather in Guernsey gorgeous when we arrived (it being overcast in Blighty). Straight through security with our hand luggage and into a taxi with a loquacious woman driver from Madeira. Back to La Barbarie and a warm welcome from Sally there. Into our usual upgraded room. Lovely stuff.  Then after a cheeky glass of Lib...

Off to Guernsey. Always a happy day. Galloping off to the station this morning, blue skies and sun. Leaving Pat and Maureen cat sitting. Arrived early at the airport. We caught Auringy's spanking new jet, apparently the big brother of Joey the yellow Trilander who seems to have become a personality as you can see from this. I was feeling a bit twitchy this morning, but the flight was fine and our jet took a mere 35 minutes, zooming out of a cloudy Gatwick to sunny Guernsey. So fast in fact that there was no time to serve us a cup of tea, because we were sat towards the middle of the flight. The jet flies at a higher altitude and so got look down at Jersey in a way I'd never seen before. A taxi from the airport to La Barbarie where of course we were greeted warmly, and after dumping our stuff we sat by the pool, and ordered cheese and onion sandwiches and a pot of tea. Some tiny winged black insect I've never seen sat on my wrist and bit it twice, which was not only disp...

Off to Guernsey Early start. French work to do still, which was only finalised in the departure lounge from my crackberry. Flight delayed for an hour due to fog on the island. I responded in time-honoured beer in airport mode. Auringy flight pleasantly uneventful, and was met by Richard and taken right away to The Farmhouse where we sat by the pool, where R had a coffee and I gulped another cold beer as Richard updated me on the immense amounts of Guernsey progress he had made. Then home to sit in Jane's beautiful back garden among hosts of flowers, then inside to dine on pear, pea and mint soup, and pasta and salads and strawberries and wine. An early night and went to bed full of cheer. Before I went to sleep, tried to decide what to read tomorrow at the launch. I discovered that I had made a mistake in my contents page, and fell uneasily asleep amid gloom and self-recrimination.

Third time a charm Fortunately the French Tourism work was quickly done and dusted this morning, which gave me time to pack in a relaxed way. Lorraine arrived shortly before we were to leave for the airport, only to disappear again as she had forgotten her passport. Calliope following me into the Twitten and yowling before I went. Lorraine and I off to Gatwick cutting it fine, but all well, and soon we we soon in an Auringy two engined prop en route to Guernsey. The Channel blanketed with cloud, and the plane's landing was a great thump as we were caught in a low gust of wind under the low cover. Very happy to be back on the island again for the third time this year. And this time as a present from Lorraine for my impending 50th birthday. We were at La Barbarie in no time. And we soon set off for a walk around Icart Point as the sun made last peach coloured splashes in the grey, and the colours were singing with a subdued grandeur. Back the hotel for a nice pint of beer and some de...

Knitting a Ferrari Up early and off to Gatwick . Fairly trouble free journey. The Auringy two-engined prop lane bouncing slowly through great castles of cumulus clouds. Felt very happy to be back on the island, an immediate cheerful feeling. Auringy much better than Flybe . Went for a short walk to Icart point, pausing to eat a ham and mustard sandwich and slurp a cup of tea. The owner of the cafe an unusual gentleman, who once told me he had mercury poisoning. "Success," he said, sliding my ham sandwich over the counter towards me, "is knitting your own Ferrari". I mooched happily around the cliffs for a bit, which were bee-loud and bursting with flowers. Slightly cloudy, so that parts of the cliffs were suddenly brilliantly spotlit. Returned to the hotel and prepared to meet the Guernsey Arts Commission to the new performing arts centre. I was early, which gave me plenty of time to hang about drinking an execrable cup of tea from a vending machine. Met Catrion...