Could This Be Summer ?

Well what a lovely surprise. I woke up this morning to find blue skies and warm sunshine. How quaint.

Yes I'd obviously been sleep walking and ended up outside !

No but seriously, it was to be a sunny day so after my mug of tea and a bowl of cereal, I headed out to explore pastures new. I've got a bit of a thing about pastures you see. All those cow pats I guess. I didn't have many toys growing up so as I lived in the country.............

Anyway, Clio, my car, took me to Roundhay Park, the biggest park called Roundhay Park in the whole of the world. If it was laid end to end, it would strethch to....well pretty much where it is now I guess. But it's big and over 1 million people visit it every year.

After parking, I noticed a private bowling club (Roundhay Bohemians) across the road so I nipped in for a look see. There was a match going on and the members graciously allowed me to watch. It was all a bit different from the bocce ball I was used to in Buttonwood Bay. Balls were flying across the immaculate lawn from corner to corner and somehow missing each other. It reminded me of those police formation motorcyclists I used to watch on the telle at The Edinburgh Tattoo when I was a yute.

I always hoped they'd smash into each other too !

After 5 minutes I was falling asleep so my next port of call was to The Specialist Gardens, or in my case, The Secret Gardens as, despite being only 5 minutes drive from my house, I never knew they existed till Daphne told me about them a few days ago.

And what a joy they were. Just a few hundred yards from a busy N. Leeds street, the gardens were a haven of peace and tranquility with many benches spread around to encourage sitting and letting life's pressures melt away.

I almost had the gardens to myself and I really do believe they are a secret treasure, mostly hidden from view and simply not known about by most people making their way to the much larger park and gardens nearby. Their loss.

At this point the battery ran out on my Nikon - the trip out had been a spur of the moment thing so I hadn't prepared. I still had my HTC phone camera and so the rest of the photos were taken using that device.

I left the gardens and went on into the main park. Being late Spring, the flower beds were mostly just soil but there was plenty of colour all around. I'll certainly be back in a few weeks to see what a period of good weather and some tasteful planting has done to the park flower beds but for now, I had to make do.

As it was a weekday, the park was relatively empty. Actually, given its size, it can look empty at most times. In this next photo, you see the natural bowl where huge music concerts have been held over the years. Hidden over on the right is Hill 60 which has grass ridges providing 'seating' for many thousands of fans who can look down on the stage which would be set up in front of the line of trees on the horizon.

My favourite concerts were by Madonna, Michael Jackson and Genesis when 90,000 paying fans (and many thousands more who got in over the fences) enjoyed nights they'd never forget - or remember in a few cases ! There have also been concerts by The Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Level 42, Simple Minds and more recently, Robbie Williams.

The subsequent panorama shot shows the bowl better with Hill 60 over on the right again beyond that tree.

I walked on up to the Mansion House which dominates the area and paths lead from it to all parts of the park.

Just before getting to Waterloo Lake, I went up the hill to see Barrans Fountain. Sir John Barran, a local clothing manufacturer and MP, presented this slightly over-the-top drinking fountain to the park in 1882 as a personal gift. It has been recently restored to its former glory but perhaps due to health and safety or more likely a lack of funds, the fountain no longer provides drinking water.

But standing as it does on a hill looking down on the lake, it's a fitting memorial to the man who played a large part in the purchase and development of Roundhay Park so it could be freely enjoyed by the people of Leeds.

The park has had several owners over the centuries and one of them had a folly built to give the appearance of a castle gate. I'd never even seen this folly despite hundreds of visits to the park and I'd have missed it again today if I'd not asked a passerby the way to the Upper Lake and he pointed up beyond the folly. If, on one of my many walks around Waterloo Lake, I'd looked up to my left instead of my right at that point, I'd have seen the 'castle.'

D'oh !!

A few minutes and a steep climb later, I was at the much smaller but more photogenic Upper Lake with its fountains, numerous swans and other water dwelling critters. This lake is only 3 to 4 feet deep, not that I've even seen anyone walking across it. Maybe no one knows this fact and long may it remain so. The last thing we want to see is this beautiful lake full of idiots splashing around in it.

At this point both my energy levels and those of my phone gave up at the same time and I headed back up another steep hill to the car and the 5 minute drive home.

I love having Roundhay Park and the surrounding pleasures of The Specialist Gardens and Tropical World so close. I probably don't appreciate what's on my own doorstep most of the time but this summer I plan on many walks around the park and you can be sure that on these walks, I will have a fully charged camera with me.

To be continued.........

(60) Candles In The Wind.

As stated in the previous post, it'll be my 60th birthday in 6 weeks time but, hard to believe as it may be, there will be an even more memorable event taking place locally on that day.

As you may know, the Olympic Games are taking place in London this summer and in a long held tradition, the Olympic flame is being carried the length and breadth of the host country in the run up (pardon the pun) to the Opening Ceremony on July 27th.

The entire route has been mapped out and published and I was a little thrilled to note that it will be in Leeds on my birthday ! How fitting.

I just hope my birthday celebrations don't overshadow this worthy event but I'm sure a few people not going to my bash, will line the city's streets to watch this slightly more historic event.

Actually I plan on being there myself as after all, it's not every day the Olympic flame passes about 2 miles from your house ? In doing so, will I be missing my birthday celebrations ?

No. You see the flame arrives in Leeds the previous afternoon and gets taken through the northern streets before ending up at Temple Newsam House for a bit of an overnight rest. Next morning, my birthday, it sets off again from the city centre and heads south.

As I live in north Leeds, the flame will be at its closest point to my house at 6:30pm on Sunday 24th June and so it makes sense to try and see it then. I've no idea what sort of crowd will line the streets as it's never happened here before but hopefully I'll get a good unobstructed viewing spot even it it means slightly nudging a few people out of the way.

I've waited patiently for a few important events in my time so I'm perfectly capable of working my way to the front of a crowd. I've also stood in the home ends of various football stadiums during the pre all-seated era and am perfectly capable of holding my own (and deftly squeezing those of any who get in my way).

I've also been watching several Joey Barton videos on YouTube and with a bit of practice, I should be able to perform a crafty elbow in the throat to anyone who gets in my way without being spotted. I'm not so sure about sneaky follow up kicks to the shin as Joey hasn't quite perfected that technique, or at least the technique of getting away with it.

I did think about getting up early on my birthday, getting to the city centre and trying a bit of charm to get the first flame holder to use it to light the candles on my birthday cake. Now wouldn't THAT be something to remember ?! I already ruled out running alongside the flame holder somewhere on the route and asking them to light the candles. With my heart condition, it would ensure it was my last birthday and anyway, ever tried lighting 60 candles whilst running ?

By the time the last one was lit, I could be in Sheffield !

The term 'once in a lifetime' is much overused these days but I think being able to see the Olympic flame go by from a few feet away would qualify.

And I think being 60 the next day pretty much guarantees that it'll be once in MY lifetime for sure.

As I Approach 60...........

OMG !!! 60 !!! 6-0 !!! The big 6 zero !!! SIXTY.

40 and 50 were bad enough but bloody hell.......60 ! I can't be 60 !!!

For goodness sake, when I was growing up, nobody LIVED to be 60. I remember people would say "you know, if Uncle Hugh were alive now, he'd have been 60." Things like that !

Actually I'm not quite 60 yet (got 43 days to go) but the date is looming large. I'm like the lookout guy on the Titanic except he never saw his large thingy looming until the last minute.

I've known about mine for a long time but it doesn't make it any less of a shock !

It.....just....seems....so......OLD.

And I'm not. I'm really not.

I'm not ready to be one of those old guys I see in Leeds Market pulling a wheeled tartan shopping trolley behind them. I'm not ready to be buying one banana, one apple and one orange. I'm not ready for a cardigan. I'm not ready for enjoying Songs of Praise and Antiques Roadshow.

I'm not ready to be 60 !

But the signs have been coming. I already think of modern music as mostly irritating noise. If I see a group of young people on a street corner I assume they're up to no good. Policemen look like they should be in school. I fall asleep in the middle of tv shows. (Hell I fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon !) I don't understand why Lady Gaga is popular. I stand in the kitchen and can't remember why I'm there.

But it's not all doom and gloom. At bedtime, my teeth are still, for the most part, firmly rooted in my gums and not in a glass. When I pinch my skin it goes back, eventually. I don't have any aches and pains. I know who Justin Bieber is.

Despite what the mirror and my body tells me, in my head I'm not approaching 60. In my head I'm about 35. I look at old people and I think, that's not me, is it ? I mean I don't look like them to others do I ?

Young at heart. That's what they say, isn't it ? He's young at heart.

Well I'm young at heart I think. But then maybe those other old people are too. When does feeling young at heart stop ? When does reality kick in and we think....damn I AM OLD. 70 ? 80 ? Never ?

I'm sure good health plays a large part in this. It delays the onset of THINKING we're old. After all, my lack of aches and pains helps fuel my delusion that I'm really 35. I can still climb over fences and gates if I want to. I just don't want to. And it's got nothing to do with snapping bones. It hasn't.

Here in England, one gets thrown in a few goodies when one gets to 60. To help soften the blow perhaps. The problem is that being 60 doesn't mean you are a senior to everyone. In many cases, a senior discount is still a few years away yet. As is my free bus pass.

But prescriptions will become free so that'll save me about £100 a year. I'll get deals at the cinema. In fact I can surf the net and get discounts on everything from accommodation to funerals. Actually those two could be the same I guess !

And I discovered yesterday that I can golf at all 4 Leeds municipal courses for £8.40 (about $13) a round. Or at least I can when I reach 60.

Yes there will probably be lots of discounts available to me in 43 days time, even half price cardigans probably. But I'll still be 60 and have to get over the mental downer that inevitably comes with that age.

No matter how young at heart I feel and despite telling myself I'm really only 35, there is no getting away from thoughts about the future and what it holds. I find myself looking enviously at old couples still walking hand in hand along life's journey. They've long been at that point where few words are ever needed. They know what the other is thinking and when they look at each other, little knowing smiles pass between them.

Of course this could just mean that both have "let one go" at the same time but still.......

What will happen when I need help ? When I can't look after myself or live on my own ? Will there be anyone around to hear ME pass wind ? Scary thoughts indeed.

But do I live today worrying about tomorrow ?

A little, I guess. But I try not to. We all know that what can't be altered shouldn't be worried about. Ha ! If only it was that simple.

But that's for another day. When I get to 70 maybe. Or 80.

For after all, I'm ONLY approaching 60 and life begins at 60 (usually said by all those approaching 60).

So no cardigans for me. No tartan shopping basket. No Antiques Roadshow. No afternoon naps. Well not EVERY day anyway. Let's not be silly now.

For me it's going to be discounted golf and discounted trips to the movies. Maybe plan a few discounted coach trips to foreign parts and discounted visits to British castles and stately homes.

Yes I'm leaving Old Father Time on the subs bench. I may not be in my prime but I'm not ready to come off the pitch just yet !

Bank Holiday Monday

Thanks to Daphne who stocked my fridge and freezer with lots of basics, I didn't have to go shopping for a full week after getting home from my 6 months in Florida. Yep, she's a treasure.

So yesterday I went for my first BIG shop and thinking back, it probably wasn't wise to have done so on a Bank Holiday Monday.

I hate people who don't go to the seaside on a Bank Holiday ! What's wrong with you ? I know it was 45F and raining but come on people, it's traditional. Doing so clears out the city centres so I can go shopping in peace. It's somewhere in the Magna Carta or Doomsday Book or some such document.

A Bank Holiday means you MUST go to the coast and freeze your bollocks off.

Actually, thinking of freezing your whatsits off, are those Olympian track athletes in for a shock when they come here in a couple of months. These days they seem to run in their underwear and not much else so they'd better be prepared for goosebumps. And they'd better create new record categories......."100 Metre World Record For Running Through Puddles".

But I digress.

So yesterday, with half the nation stuck inside watching The Sound of Music or The Great Escape, I went to our almost local Tesco's Extra and the clue is in the name - it sells much more than groceries. I went there because as well as needing groceries, I wanted to look at some televisions as I want to replace my old box with its antique cathode ray tube beaming images onto a screen the size of an iPad.

I want BIG. I want FLAT SCREEN. I want 3D. I want INTERNET.

I want a bank loan !

I do like shopping for things with plugs on the end of them as I really believe electricity was invented just for my benefit. I embrace it and I feel it's my duty to buy every gadget that uses it.

You can see why I'm still single at 59 !

Anyway the TV dept at Tesco's Extra at Seacroft could be used in training films for how NOT to run a TV dept. It's awful. Truly awful. Ok they do have a decent number of tv's on display for a supermarket but so much of the signage was wrong that it was almost useless. Speaking of useless, the one staff member was the epitome of it. When not sitting at his desk surfing the internet, he was going through the staff doors behind him as if he had a bladder complaint and the toilets were on the other side. I was there for 30 mins or so and he never spoke with a single customer.

Gizza job.

They had ONE 3D tv actually showing a 3D dvd and the rest were either powered off or showing in-store adverts. Given their price, don't you think a half decent salesman seeing a customer putting on the 3D glasses and actually taking an interest in the tv would at least leave his desk and ask if he could help ? I mean I WAS showing an interest. I went off to one side to check if the 3D "effects" could be experienced everywhere (they could) and then went back about 12 feet to do the same as that would be my watching distance at home. It was pretty awesome.

But did all this get lazy boy off his la-z-boy ? Did it chuff !

I'd seen enough and wouldn't buy a tv from Tesco's if you paid me. Time to get the groceries.

It was great to walk the aisles with no time limits as it meant I could people watch as well. Tesco's at Seacroft is like a Walmart anywhere but without the motorised scooters. Not one. Actually I'm not sure if they have them which would explain a lot !

Some products and shelf edge labels took my eye and here they are. First up is a bit of a cock up by the head office computer which clearly got its sums a bit wrong........

Then there were these Easter eggs on the 'discounted' shelves and you can see that it wasn't only the price that was halved ! A lot of the chocolate egg seems to have gone with the fairies and once started, I can't see the rest remaining for long ! Soon you could just be buying an empty box.

This next one isn't really amusing but it's just not a product I've ever seen before. Personally I like to be warm in bed so I guess I'd have to do a bit of double bagging !

Sometimes I wonder exactly where I am when shopping in Leeds. Of course research tells us that curry has replaced fish and chips as the favourite British meal and so it's probably apt that the ingredients take up entire shelves in most supermarkets here.

Finally, at the bread section, they also had a discounted area where items that had reached their sell by date were being sold at pretty silly prices. With one eye on nostalgia and memories of my mother's baking, I just had to get this bread........for 25p (40 cents). I feel a Sunday morning Ulster Fry could be on the cards !

And look, there are carrots in my cart. And bananas. Hiding the donuts and half an Easter egg maybe (well I had to get it !) but come on.....fruit AND veg !!!!!

With my cart full and my bank account emptied, it was time to head home. With no one returning from the seaside, at least the roads were clear.

I like Bank Holidays but then, for me, I have 365 of them a year !

Getting Ready For Summer

Well I've been home in England a week now (arrived last Sunday morning) and the first week back is always a bit stressful with lots to do.

Most of the items on my 'to do' list related to starting everything up again after they were in hibernation for the last 6 months : turning on the gas supply, getting car insurance and road tax, getting my cable services (tv and internet) back to normal, arranging car breakdown cover, renewing house insurance and so on.

I also wanted to get my eyes tested, the car serviced and tested and go for my dental checkup.

On the plus side, I wanted a new phone and a new flat screen tv.

I can proudly report that all of those items have been ticked off my 'to do' list except for the new tv, as I've no idea which model to get and I'm not going to rush into such a vital purchase without a LOT of surfing and review reading.

As my 24 month phone contract was up, I was able to replace my HTC Desire with a HTC One X and so far I'm loving it. I'm mostly loving being able to install as many apps as I like due to the vastly increased storage capacity of the One over the Desire. I'm like a kid in a candy store right now and basically what I want, I can have. Woohoooo.

In relation to the car, when it gets tested annually, the dealership notes down the mileage. Last year it was 10001 and this year it was 10682. Yes that's right. In a year I drove 681 miles. Ok it's really in 6 months but even so, the cost of motoring has severely curtailed my day trips and exploration of my home country. I'm planning on doing more this year and to hell with the cost. How unlike me !

I had my eyes tested on Friday and it was no surprise when the results showed I needed new glasses. I was just happy my eyes were ok as I do have pigment dispersion syndrome so get a free annual test on the good old NHS. Health wise they were fine and hopefully the new glasses will help me with my photo editing as I was beginning to think all my photos were blurred !

Finally everything went pretty well with the dentist. I do need to go back this Wednesday as a filling needs a bit of remedial work but all in all, my choppers were in good nick and amazingly still attached to my gums.

So it's been a busy but successful week and now I can relax and enjoy Spring in England. Ha !

That brings me to the downside of returning here after being in Florida. The weather. If only we had decent weather here, just decent, I'd never want to leave. It's rained for over half the time I've been back and the temperatures.....oh my. The central heating has been going 24/7 for the whole week and when I was in the city on Friday, I was frozen. Forget t-shirt and shorts; this weather requires t-shirt, fleece AND jacket and triple denim jeans.

I've gone from needing a hat to save my bald scalp from the blistering sun to needing a hat to stop what little heat is in my body from escaping skywards.

But I'm home and can start planning for a good summer. Armchair sporting highlights will be the European Championships (footy) in June and the Olympics in July & August. Soon we'll start planning our 2012 European Vacation which is always fun and as I said earlier, I want to explore around the UK too.

Good times ahead. I've much to be thankful for.

Cold, Wet & Windy. Yes I'm Home !

I've been home about 8 hours now and as I was last in bed over 30 hours ago, I'm not too sure why I'm still awake.

Of course the state one is in after 30 hours awake can hardly be classed as.....awake. Right now I would confess to any crime if pressed. A while ago I was standing in the kitchen with no idea why I'd gone there. Six hours ago I fixed a large mug of tea and it's still beside me, untouched. I 'watched' two back to back footy games and couldn't tell you the scores to save my life. Not too sure who played.

Yes I'm in the transatlantic twilight zone. But I WILL be going to bed soon. After I fix something to eat. Something simple. Something I remember how to cook. If I can find the operating manual, toast seems favourite.

I'm also cold. It's taken those 8 hrs to get the house up to 64.5F. I've an electric blanket warming my bed though so once I actually get up the stairs and into bed, I'll be golden. Today, as with most days in April here it seems, has been cold, wet and windy. The weather in Buttonwood Bay is already a distant memory. Fading as fast as my tan.

Anyway this was just a post to report that I'm back home, safe and sound after a pretty awful but uneventful flight. I just need to sleep, get used to long pants and not try and use the car until after I tax it on Tuesday, being as that's the start of the month.

Anything else I type now will be ramble. Waffle. Possibly jibberish. I know, more jibberish.

That is all.

The Return Of The Snowbird

I've just opened my last Amaretto flavoured creamer, I'm down to the final dregs of my coffee grounds and my supply of puffed wheat is almost out of.....puff.

What do these odd facts mean ?

They mean that in two days time, I'll be off to Orlando airport to return home as my 6 month winter sojourn will be over. Next winter I really will experience a cold winter for the first time this century as I plan on staying in the UK. It's been so long since I spent winter at home that I seem to have developed Dickensian images of experiencing Christmas in England. A warm glowing log fire, a heavily decorated Christmas tree in the corner, rosy cheeked kids opening presents and a dining table groaning under the weight of a huge turkey meal with all the trimmings. Oh and the Queen on telle at 3pm with the sound muted !

I'm not sure if old Charlie boy wrote about such scenes but then again, Hollywood has messed so much with my mind that I donno what's real and what's made up anymore. Certainly seeing the Queen on tv didn't appear in the plot of any Dickens novel I read.

Of course I might be somewhere completely different next winter. I don't really 'do' cold weather after being in Florida for half of the last 12 years. For instance, even though it's April, the temp here tomorrow is due to be spot on 90F and the temp in Leeds......45F. Even with my maths skills, that's half as warm ! I doubt my sun kissed ebony knees will be exposed to the English population until sometime in mid August - by which time they will be pale and uninteresting again !

Will I EVER return to Florida ? Never say never but a return is not on my radar at the moment. I'm still (relatively) healthy and I want to travel while I can still walk up an incline without a rope around my waist. For the last few years I've been fortunate enough to combine spending the winter months in Florida with travelling around Europe in the summer. Ok that sounds a bit grand as in the summers we've only gone to a few European countries and only for a few weeks at a time but still......the statement stands.

We've (Daphne, Stephen and myself) visited Belgium, Holland, France, Italy and Spain in the last 3 years and I have to say these all too brief visits to Le Continent have only whetted (I love that word) my appetite for more travelling, either solo or with friends. Of course touring during the winter months is a different matter, which is why I've been more than happy to have been here in sunny Florida.

But it's time to more on. On to pastures new maybe. Where do most retired Brits go for the winter ? SPAIN !!

I may have said it before on here but when I'm abroad, I like to steer clear of my fellow Brits as for the most part (and I know this is a terrible generalisation), Brits abroad are best avoided.......even those NOT wearing Man Utd shirts ! So to spend an entire winter in a sort of 'Brit community' in somewhere like Benidorm would be like hell on earth for me. When abroad, I like to BE abroad and mix with the locals (English speaking ones of course) and sample the local food (fish and chips, roast beef and Yorkshire pud, curry etc......all locally sourced) and even watch local tv stations (showing Coronation Street and Premier League footy). I like to blend in you see ! Oh yes.

So if that rules out vast tracts of Southern Spain, where else could I go ? Well there's always Australia I suppose. They speak a form of English there, love us Brits (!?!) and share my passion for a good bbq. Just not shrimps, please. Yuck.

Sadly they're pretty crap at cricket and swimming and footy - most sports really. In fact, they favour a strange version of footy which is a mix of soccer, rugby and street brawling and they believe that riding large waves on polished slabs of timber is fun. We Brits think waves are for looking at from the comfort of a beach deckchair so the idea of standing precariously on a glorified Ikea wardrobe door is totally alien to us.

No, I don't think wintering in Australia would be for me. Too far, too expensive to get there and full of Australians. And spiders. And jellyfish. And Koala bears.

Ruling out most tropical islands and not wanting to create further argy bargy with Argentina by spending the winter in the Falklands, I need to look closer to home but still somewhere south enough to be warm.

Tenerife ? Hmmmm.

Who ? What ? Where ?

Tenerife is the largest of the 7 Canary Islands which lie off the west coast of North Africa so it would seem only appropriate to be a snowbird there. Get it...snowbird......canary ? Oh please yourselves !

It 'belongs' to Spain and best of all, there are direct flights from my local Leeds/Bradford airport !

A work friend (Daz) moved there with his family and now runs his own mountain bike operation as I believe that unlike in Florida, there are a few hills in Tenerife. Spookily enough, being almost exactly on the same latitude as Sebring, it's pleasantly warm there in the winter, renting a condo for 6 months wouldn't bankrupt me and once again, I'd not be in England.

Ok I'd not know a soul (apart from Daz), not many people would speak English, the food might not be agreeable to me or my delicate stomach and I might have a problem keeping up to date with the goings on in Wetherfield but hey, once again, I'd not be in England.

I do know they have t'interclacker as I can Skype with Daz so that generally means electricity. Hopefully clean running water and good indoor sanitation are also available (you can tell I know little about Tenerife) so as long as I don't develop an aversion to all things pasta, I should be good to trot. Well not literally !

Anyway that's all in the future. My immediate problem is how to get everything back home that I've accumulated over the last decade of coming here every winter. To keep the baggage costs down, I'm thinking my bike, golf clubs and lots of clothing will have to be sacrificed. The clothing loss will be lessened with the knowledge that I'm not exactly the same shape as I was 10 years or so ago. Many items should've been discarded already but you know how it is.......I told myself I WOULD get into those size 28 waist pants again one day. Ha ! Those days are LONG gone.

So packing will be....interesting to say the least. A challenge at best and a nightmare at worst. At £32 for the first extra case (thank you Virgin Atlantic), a few essentials may fall by the wayside. Or the next garage sale to be more practical.

Of course I may return here at some point so hopefully all relatively important items can be packed away in crates for that eventuality. I'm hoping that I can say 'au revoir' and not 'adieu' to the friends I've made here in sunny Buttonwood Bay although only the French Canadians would know the difference and, being snowbirds, they all went back home weeks ago.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Deb and Den for letting me share their lives here for so long. Never has so much been owed to so few by even less few.

Catchy eh ? Yeah I know, not as pleasing as that other guy's quote.

As you may have gleaned from my many blog posts and photographs from this park over the years, it's a beautiful place and I'll be sad come Saturday when I leave. But I have a homecoming to look forward to - maybe a burst pipe or two, the house like an icebox, 6 months of accumulated dust and no palm trees in the garden. Sighhhhhhh.

On the up side, I'll get to hug old friends (even if they don't want to be hugged), have transport again, be able to get traditional English takeaways like Chinese and Indian and watch tv adverts that don't mention trucks with impressive torque stats, medications with life taking side effects or someone called Gary who insists he be my first port of call if I have an accident or need a lawyer or both.

Speaking of adverts, I may just watch the BBC for a few hours so as not to get ANY. Wooohooo.

So my next blog post should be from sunless olde England where we drive on the left which is right, use both the fork AND knife to cut meat and can speak English without the need for subtitles - cause it's OUR language. We invented it so there.

I'll say au revoir for now (as adieu will be my next door neighbour) and 'see' you all again from t'other side of the pond.

The Return Of The 'Boy Racer'

Yes hello. It's me. Remember me ? No ? Don't blame you. I've been AWOL for 3 weeks so thank you for sticking with me.

If anyone has !

So yesterday I biked into town again. I say again as I've done it twice before on this trip and I have to say, it's been easier each time. Either I'm getting fitter or, and this is much more likely, it helps that I have been taking it easier/slower each time !

Now first up, I have a question to ask all budding meteorologists out there. When one is peddling into a decent head wind on the way somewhere and looking forward to the return trip when one fully expects that wind to be at one's back when one is much more tired......WHY DOESN'T IT FREAKIN' HAPPEN ???

Can wind blow in opposite directions at about the same time ? Cause it damn well seemed so yesterday. Thankfully it wasn't too strong but I really could've done with it at my back as after 20 miles or so in mid 80's temperatures, I needed all the help I could get.

I'd initially wanted to make the trip sans backpack as it can end up being quite heavy and it makes my back sweat. But I wanted my phone. I wanted my camera. I wanted at least 2 bottles of water. I wanted some sweeties. I wanted a new iPad and desktop computer but that's a different story.

So backpack it was.

I set off at 11:20 and within seconds was out of the park and onto the back road into town. For the first 25 minutes I saw no other vehicles. Nothing passed me and understandably, I passed nothing.

Actually no. I passed a snake but it was very dead, and flat, and therefore not going very fast at all.

And I loved it. The flat open road, the sun beating down and Val Doonican on the mp3 player. Now you've really never experienced life if you've never biked along in Florida listening to Val Doonican crooning about Delaney's Donkey or Paddy McGinty's Goat. The whole experience was surreal and brought a smile to my lips which helped me coast along at a decent pace, despite the wind and having to process the large bowl of puffed wheat I'd foolishly consumed before setting off. Thinking about it, one may have caused the other.

My plan was to continue on the back roads until I was about half a mile from the junction with US-27, the main 6 lane road through Sebring and then branch off to the golf course we go to every Monday. I was hoping I could weasel my way to getting a cart and going out to take photos of certain holes for nostalgia purposes. This was not to be.

The course was almost empty (a good sign) but so was the club house (a bad sign) and so there was no one to ask. I took the opportunity to have a short rest and then I rode on to join US-27.

By now it was 12:25 and I was hungry again. From previous rides into town I knew I was pretty much limited to using a fast food drive thru for my food choices as I've no lock for my bike. I knew it wasn't likely that anyone in a car driving US town with an aged population would want to 'borrow' my bike but I couldn't take the risk. Some migrant orange picker might find himself on the run from the border police and decide he'd get to Mexico faster by bike !

Hey, it COULD happen !

As I approached the nearest Burger King, I saw there was an RV park across the road. At the first property, right by the entrance, an old man was cutting his lawn and I asked him if I could leave my bike at his place while I nipped over and had something to eat. Of course when he heard my accent and found out I was from England, he asked me if I knew so-and-so as he'd been based in England during the war and made lots of friends there.

Telling him that I knew lots of so-and-so's in England (!!) I inched away slowly and said I'd be back soon for my bike.

I have to admit it was wonderful to walk into that BK with no bike worries (I'd left the old man talking earnestly to it about the women he'd met in Gloucestershire in 1944) and I immediately recognised a friend from Buttonwood Bay in the line. Knowing Hank would never be out without his wife, I scanned the seats and there was Sharon reading the supermarket ad papers over in a corner. Small world.

I put this phone photo up onto Facebook and have just taken it from there to save time so it's not great quality but shows Hank & Sharon in Burger King and that's what matters !

I got a kids meal so that I wouldn't be processing a lot as I continued my riding. Always thinking you see.

The old man had gone inside when I returned to his house and so I quietly recovered my bike and rode away, my guilt at not being able to thank him being easily offset by not having to listen his war stories.

The ride from there into Sebring Old Town was wonderful as there is a cycle path (ok it's a sidewalk but well used by cyclists) and it goes along the south and east of Lake Jackson. After only about 10 minutes I was at my destination, Sebring Circle, which is a roundabout at the focal point of the old town with 6 streets leading to and from it like the spokes of a wheel. This is classic old town America as beloved by Bill Bryson with Ma & Pa stores, small family run eateries and wonderful emporiums where you can buy anything from a hub cap for a '69 Corvette to a pack of scented ribbed condoms. In Sebring, there would be many more enquiries for the former over the later.

And right by the Circle there was a fire hydrant and it was spewing water ! Now I know this is a tad silly but I was overly thrilled as I'd never seen this before. Not personally. Not in real life. I'd seen all those movies when little kids would dance happily through the gushing waters of an open fire hydrant in mid town New York during a hot summer. Now it was MY turn.

But the Sebring locals were spared this experience and I was probably spared a night in the cells as the water pressure was so low that I'd have been hard pushed to get my feet wet. I've seen more pressure from a drinking fountain.

But it was still cool.

Minutes before, the water had been a rusty brown colour, so hot as I was, I didn't fancy taking a drink. You're probably not supposed to drink water from a hydrant at the best of times so I returned to my backpack and had some of the bottled variety instead.

Then I crossed over into the little park created in the middle of the Circle and sat down on a bench to rest and take in the views. As always, there was a humungous flag pole in the centre, towering over a memorial to the Sebring soldiers who had gone off to fight in various wars, never to return alive.

Behind me I looked along the path that led to one of the 6 streets leading from the Circle and noticed a classic street clock right out of Back to The Future. The face of the clock was in deep shadow as there were numerous tall trees within this little park area but hopefully these photos give an idea of the style of the clock.

Just beyond it, I liked the view down the street so zoomed in for a better image......

By now I'd been out in the hot sun for almost 3 hours, discounting my time in Burger King, so it was time to head back to Buttonwood. Just a few yards from the Circle, I came upon a police car parked up with its lights flashing. In front was a small truck with someone sitting in the back (don't think that was the crime) and the officer was handing over a ticket to the driver. I thought it best not to try and take a photo of this incident as for one thing, by the time I'd taken my backpack off and got out the camera, both parties would be gone. It'll have to be my little memory, and thus probably forgotten by this time tomorrow !

I don't know if it was the rest I took, the BK kids burger with small fries or the Cherry Coke Zero I'd just finished off, but something gave me the energy to ride the 10 miles back with ease, not stopping once. Even the wind in my face couldn't slow me down. I was Lance Armstrong for those 45 minutes.

So it WAS probably the Coke then !

I returned hot, sweaty but only slightly tired. I used MapMyRun to work out how far I'd ridden and it was 21.88 miles. Not too shabby for an old guy who has to pay a fortune for medical insurance as I have 'a pre-existing medical condition'. Pah.

I think when I go home I'll ask for a partial refund.

Golden Years ?

Into the 3rd week in March and I've only posted 2 blogs ! Clearly the blogging Muse has abandoned me.

Writers of successful blogs (in terms of visitor numbers at least) tend to post regularly, if not daily. I've never been one for doing that as I never intended my blog to be any sort of online diary. I said a few weeks ago that I'd try doing that but as you can tell, it hasn't worked. My daily life just isn't that interesting....even here in sunny Buttonwood Bay.

Specialist blogs do well too. Dieting, cooking and crafting seem to top the list and no doubt any blog dealing with celebrity, real or made up, will also get thousands of visitors.

So as I don't diet, can't cook, am not crafty and have never met a celebrity (except for some actor from Emmerdale when he came out of Leeds Costco), my blog post topics are somewhat limited.

I thought that travel posts would be cool and even helpful but they take so much time to create that I quickly lose interest in doing them. I've still a few holiday posts that have never been completed and I really have little enthusiasm for returning to them now. Take it from me, Italy, France and Spain are all wonderful and we had great times there. Done.

Oh that felt so liberating.....as if with those unfinished posts out of the way, I have a fresh canvas.

Right, in keeping with that artistic image, my brush is poised and I'm all set to go..........

Ahhh....ummm.........sighhhhhh......dammit Muse, hit me with something ! ANYTHING !!

Well ok, a "funny" thing happened on the drive back from golfing on Monday. Jack and Barrie, along with new member, Jerry, were discussing ages. I think this came about after Jerry suddenly decided to give us the results of his recent prostate test, something I could've done without knowing.

Despite being a good result, the subsequent chat revolved around the well known fact that ANY prostate result is a bit meaningless when you're around 80 years old as you're likely to be dead from something else before a dodgy prostate takes you.

Anyway, ages were mentioned and I said something like "God I'm playing golf with a right bunch of old farts." Said in a compassionate and caring way of course.

"Why, what age are you" came the response.

"59"

"OMG you're a youngster."

Now considering I've been somewhat dreading the rapid approach of my 60th birthday in June, this was like music to my ears. Seriously. Music. I suddenly DID feel young. I know, crazy eh ?

You see it's all relative. In this park, the average age is probably in the 70's. I mean you have to be 55 just to get in ! There are probably 3 of us out of about 2,000 who are under 60 and we all live in this house ! Dennis is my age and Debby is even younger.

Back in the real world, my approaching 60th birthday will cause people to believe that I'll be senile, over the hill, geriatric, and possibly a bit useless. Yet apart from losing several thousand memory cells, being a bit physically slower and napping during daytime tv, I feel better than I did 20 years ago.

But the age 'number' is hard to fight against. Most people have preconceived ideas when they hear you are 50, 60, 70 etc. We get told we live in a young society where old relatives are not valued for their life experiences but actually ignored, treated as nuisances and plonked in front of the tv from dawn till dusk. If nothing else prematurely ages a person, that will.

Here in this park, and many others like it, retired people generally live to ripe old ages because they keep active, keep involved and look out for each other. Every few minutes, residents are walking or cycling past my window. The small gym is full by 7am and water aerobics sessions are going on around the same time to keep hearts pumping and arteries unclogged. Tennis and other games are in full flow and indoors, all forms of dancing and manual dexterity crafts are in progress to keep the effects of arthritis at bay.

But the boost I got by hearing myself called a youngster the other day proves that a lot of how you feel physically is determined by how you feel mentally.....and right now I feel great.

60 ? Bring it on !

I donno if we have parks like this in the UK but we should have. Yes we have caravan parks and holiday parks and so on but do we have parks for retirees ? Before I came here I'd have doubted their usefulness but now I'm a convert. If only we had Florida style weather in the UK.

Buttonwood Bay proves the old adage that "you are as young as you feel" and I have to say that being around people older than me and who are just as active as me, if not more so, has lessened my dread of being 60.

In just over 5 weeks time I'll be back in the real world again and back in the UK where I'll be made to face my age in a much different way. I just hope I can take the BB energy and positivity back with me.

One positive note will be that when I reach 60, I'll qualify for free prescriptions. See, it's not all bad !

On the down side however, any water aerobics might have to be done in my shower.

Move Along Please - No Fish To See Here.

Without being too sexist, it's a well known fact that wherever a group of men are gathered, golf and/or fishing stories will be related, debated and often contested.

To keep that tradition going, I shall relate the three highlights of our regular Monday golf game yesterday as believe me, I've rarely had ONE decent story to relate, never mind three !

But don't get too excited as these stories don't include a hole in one, killing a gator with a belly putter or a vulture dropping a fish from 200ft onto the fairway. Actually to be honest, these aren't stories as such, but 3 individual shots that will live long in our memories - or in my case till a week on Wednesday.

Another reason for recording them in his here blog thingy.

Ok lemme set the scene. Jack, Barrie and myself were playing at Harder Hall Country Club and to let you know our standard, we usually go round with scores in the low to mid 90's. So we won't be joining the PGA senior tour anytime soon but man do we have fun.

The first memorable shot came from Jack but sadly he was the only one who saw it. It was the par 4 10th hole with houses and the "out of bounds" along the right side of the fairway. In the past, I've had several drives go close to or, in one case 2 weeks ago, actually go into a hedged garden and despite seeing it sitting up on the very lush bermuda grass, I couldn't retrieve it without trespassing.

This time it was Barrie who sent his ball, we thought, into the same garden but he had a ball retriever in his bag and so with me in attendance (as my own ball narrowly missed going in as well) he managed to hook it out - only to discover it wasn't his ball at all. In fact we never did find his ball.

While all this was taking place over on the right of the approach to the green, Jack must've been having fun of his own down the left side and had plonked his 3rd shot into the green side bunker. Barrie and I were still messing about finding and retrieving balls and had no idea what Jack was doing when we suddenly heard him shout out. He'd taken his 4th shot from the bunker and it had sailed onto the green and rolled right into the hole !

Now I'm only assuming he holed out in par as I think his shout would've been a lot louder if he'd holed for a birdie or even an eagle - no he was just excited about holing from the bunker so I think a par was his score. Anyway he was the only witness to this feat but he made sure we heard his shout and his ball was indeed in the hole, as I removed it myself when I eventually made it up onto the green.

That was excitement No.1.

Well I never said it would be VERY exciting !

A few holes later and with the grin still fresh on Jack's face, it was Barrie's moment to shine and this time we were all witnesses. He'd already hacked a few shots from the light rough down the left side of the fairway and even hit a tree with his ball almost returning to his feet, when he finally hit a shot that landed about 20 feet from a green side bunker. As he viewed his chip, Jack gave Barrie some sage if rather optimistic advice : -

"Just chip it over that bunker and it'll feed down to the hole, hit the flag and go in."

Yes thank you Jack. If only we played golf to that standard !

Well blow me if that isn't exactly what happened. Any comments forming in my head were changing by the second as his chip shot flew off the club face......

Oh good chip over the bunker, Barrie.

Oh well done getting it on the green, Barrie.

Wow you've hit the flag, Barrie.

OMG it's gone in !

Actually it was teasingly better than that as when the ball hit the flag, it was going at a fair pace and so bounced back a little onto the rim of the hole. I thought it was going to sit there and still be an awesome shot but a second later, it disappeared into the hole and that small part of Harder Hall Country Club was treated to the bizarre spectacle of three grown men leaping around and "high fiving" like they'd each won The Masters.

That was excitement No.2.

By now I was feeling decidedly left out ! Then we got to the short par 3 16th and it was my turn to hog the golfing spotlight.

My 8 iron tee shot sent the ball arcing 125 yds over the water hazard and onto the back of the green and I was already thinking.......ohhhhhh I could get a par here.

I'm nothing if not realistic when it comes to my putting skills !

Once on the green, I began to think a par was being optimistic as my ball was on the back edge of a quite severe slope leading to the hole. I'd have to aim my putt along the edge of the slope about 6 feet to the left of the hole and then let it roll almost at a right angle for another 5 feet to the hole. Just getting it close would be an achievement.

(Well I have to build this up a bit as after all, it's MY turn and MY blog)

Now lets be honest here. I know as much about checking a green's grain and lining up a putt as I know about the national flag of Uganda. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

But I can see where the ball needs to go to get to the hole. My problem is that usually the ball doesn't take this route as I'm a pretty crap putter.

Not on this occasion. My putt was a joy to behold and all 3 of us watched as it left my club face and trundled on its merry way along the slope. The speed seemed good. The line was just as I wanted it to be. After about 15 feet it started to turn down the slope towards the hole and I felt it was going to be close. Quite close. Very close. OMG close.

IN THE HOLE close !

A birdie ! Better still, my first ever 2 in golf. My years of patiently watching golf on tv were finally paying off. And people said I was lazy and wasting my time. Ha !

The ball dropped in with all the speed of a very slow snail but all the grace of a Bolshoi prima ballerina and for the third time on the back 9, a trio of shouts went up, the fives were high and a good day just got even better. Now we ALL had shots to talk about and I'm afraid you, dear readers, will have to be my grandchildren on this occasion as I don't have any real ones to tell.

What a day ! What a back 9. What a great feeling seeing a 2 on my scorecard.........in between a 6 and a 7 but what the heck, it was still there.

My final score was 94 which won't win any prizes but we play for fun and fun we had.

And yesterday, for 3 brief moments in time, we each felt like a pro.

But unlike them, we didn't just casually touch the peaks of our caps. We didn't just give a small wave. Hell no. We shouted like idiots, smiled like crazy loons and slapped each other more times than was comfortably necessary.

And best of all ? We get to try it all again next Monday !

And yes, I'll be back watching golf on the telle this weekend.

My advice to those pros ?

When you get a birdie, chip in from a bunker or from over a bunker, at least try and look happy and excited.

After all, 3 of us now know the feeling.

Three Men & A Baby.

Blimey, one post in nearly three weeks ! I'll be losing my Blogger Membership status at this rate.

So what's been going on here in sunny Buttonwood Bay ?

Well the main 'event' has been the 7 day visit of Deb & Den's eldest son, Brian and his family - wife Tara and kids Mason (4) and Emerson (baby). Youngest son, Joshua, joined this mini family gathering for 2 days from his home in Miami, a 3 hr drive away on the most boring road in the whole world including all the roads in N. Dakota ! Now that's boring !

So it's been....different. My experiences around 4 year olds and a baby could be counted on one finger although I have been around some adults here who have displayed the same characteristics !

Spewing 'stuff' from both ends and talking nonsense would be the two most common abilities.

Day 1 passed in a bit of a sleepy haze as the family had set off from their Michigan hotel at about 3am to catch the 6am flight to Tampa. Arriving in the park at 1pm or so, the rest of the day was spent trying to get a few words out of 2 VERY tired adults and 2 young 'uns who thought their world had changed completely. A few hours previously they'd been in a world of snow and critters with antlers and were now in a world of baking heat and critters with hard skin and very large mouths. Yes, park residents !

After a few hours sleep for them all, next day, and every day since, with temperatures reaching the 90's and the sun cracking the paving stones, the park's main swimming pool has been the favourite place to spend outdoor time. Here is the family group with, left to right, Tara, Dennis, Mason, Brian, Debby and Joshua.

Ok with introductions over, here are a few more pool shots..........

Now I know what you're thinking.......what on earth is going on in those last two pics ?

Well in the penultimate one, Joshua is showing us that Darren Brown/David Blane aren't the only people who can do a spot of levitation and who knows, he might be the only one to do it in a swimming pool ! Ha !

As for the last photo, well you're on your own there. It could be a recreation of a scene from "The Hunt For Red October" but most likely it's simply a fun thing to do with the broken off end of a swimming pool 'noodle.' I can report, however, that as a snorkling device, a noodle is as much use as toilet roll.

Works a little but you'd never want to explore the Great Barrier Reef with one.

Moving on, here are a few random generation type pics of cuteness........

And then some random shots of just cuteness.........

And here is Mason helping out with the dishes......by adding to those needing to be washed ! It's early days.

I changed it to sepia as for one thing, there was very little colour in the photo to start with and for another, well I felt it added a bit of 'yesteryear' to the shot. A sort of "if Hovis did washing up liquid" kinda thing.

Lots of fresh air, hot weather and swimming can take it out of kids, and big kids too. But there is always nature's way of recharging batteries.

A good nap.

We'll miss the patter of tiny (and larger) feet when they all leave tomorrow but it's been great being able to accommodate them all here.

On Tuesday 2 more retired friends from Michigan will be coming for a visit.

Maybe we'll leave the toys out for them !