A highlight of my overseas trip was attending the amazing Abba Voyage concert at the breath-taking and specially designed Abba Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Described by the Guardian Newspaper as “a dazzling retro-futurist extravaganza” the concert was a step back in time for me, as I’ve always loved Abba music.
And going forward, it’s a certainty that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to transform not just the music and film industry, but every aspect of our lives.
It was a whirlwind few days after I returned from Ireland, fitting in last minute visits with friends and making trips into the West End.
Our Saturday night trip to the concert with Judie Tzuke https://www.tzuke.com/and Beverley Craven at St Martin’s-in-the-Fields was a great experience.
As noted by Wikipedia, St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval period.
It was certainly an impressive venue, and we enjoyed a meal in the cafe in the crypt underneath before the concert. This was especially welcome, as we had tried to get into many cafes in Leicester Square but being Saturday night it was impossible without a reservation.
The day before I left London was amazing as Deb took a day off work and we went by train and underground to Spitalfields and Leadenhall Markets in East London.
After a fabulous day exploring both markets and having an amazing lunch, we walked to the Tower of London and caught an Uber boat to Westminster.
Big Ben has been given a thorough clean and some of the London taxis have had a metamorphosis. No longer only in funereal black it’s great to see them in bright colours.
Big Ben has had a real clean-up.
Our very congenial taxi driver took us the long way back to Euston Station past Buckingham Palace just so that I could say that I had seen it this time around!
He certainly knew his way around London as we travelled through so many back streets I’d never seen before on the way back to Euston!
And how about this for originality – the amazing herd of 21 elephants in Spitalfields — one adult and 20 orphaned juveniles. These are bronze elephants, sculptures to raise awareness of elephant poaching in Africa by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
It was certainly an express ride through the Irish countryside and into the history books.
I loved the diversity of Ireland – the cleanliness of its towns, the pride so obvious in the maintenance of the many different houses we passed and the road signs written in both Irish and English.
We were fortunate to have Joe Lyons as our bus driver and guide. A self-confessed “rare breed”, Joe was a charismatic, passionate and family-loving Irishman from Armagh. Well-versed in storytelling, he provided many glimpses into both his own life as well as the turbulent history of Ireland.
I learned so much about Ireland from Joe. Even simple things such as the meaning of the traditional Irish Claddagh ring (which he wore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claddagh_ring and the Irish worry stone made of Connemara marble (which I brought home as a souvenir!)
I asked Joe what led him to drive tour groups and he told me that he’s been driving forever – tractors, cars and buses. He just loves to drive, though he admits that as someone who works tirelessly to please his clients, he needs to slow down and recharge sometimes.
There were 38 of us on the tour, 34 Americans, three Canadians and one “Aussie” – me! So I was met with “G’day Aussie” during the first day’s roll call. (Having actually spent my younger years in NZ, it made a change from the oft-heard comment …”ah, so say fish and chups for us then!!”)
Our tour commenced in the lobby of our hotel in Dublin from where we were taken on a panoramic tour of this fair city. Highlights included elegant Georgian homes and modern buildings by the River Liffey.
St. Patricks Cathedral in Dublin
Leafy street in Dublin
We visited Dublin Castle for a guided tour. Not your typical grey stone monolith, this impressive complex was for centuries the seat of colonial power in Ireland. Today, many official ceremonies are held in this beautifully restored building which has, like much of Ireland, a deeply moving history.
The interior of the castle was quite splendiforous, with its ornate ceilings, vibrantly polished timber doors and beautiful carpets.
Note the harp at the top of this photo. Irish harping is at the heart of the identity of the people of the island of Ireland. The harp is Ireland’s national symbol and has been played for more than 1,000 years; its bell-like sounds and music captivate all those who hear it and are celebrated in Irish mythology, folklore and literature.
The beautiful ceiling
The impressive throne room at the castle
On Day 2 we travelled to Blarney Castle and Killarney, stopping en route for photos of the stately ruins of the Rock of Cashel on their hilltop perch.
Taken from the bus so not the greatest photo of the ruins!
And no, I very definitely did not climb the winding staircase to kiss the legendary Blarney Stone and gain the gift of the gab. (And I aint a “wuss”). I was happy to just wander around the beautiful gardens.
Killarney was a quaint lakeside town. That night we were treated to a delicious meal in our hotel and an opportunity to get to know some of the people on the tour.
Throughout the day there had been much laughter and merriment as we travelled along in the bus, with Joe providing a roving commentary and at times, exchanging cheeky repartee with certain passengers.
“I don’t want to see the same people sitting up the front every day” he announced. “Variety is welcome.” And after that, I reckon quite a few of us took the opportunity to sit up front for a first-class view out the front window.
Mind you, the back of the bus was certainly a lively place to be, with some of the Americans from New York City and Texas.
Although I was a solo traveller, I was welcomed by these friendly folk and enjoyed their travel stories as well as learning more about their lives in America. It was great to be invited to join them at meal-times and whenever we made a sightseeing stop on the way.
I grew up in NZ and knew about sheepdogs, so it was rather intriguing to visit a farm in Ireland and watch the Irish version of a sheepdog herding sheep.
Where’s the sheepdog? He was “away, away …”
Beforehand, we were treated to a delicious morning tea which included home-made scones – definitely a tasty start to the day!
The famed Ring of Kerry took us on a winding, 100-mile scenic drive through some breathtaking coastal and mountainous country
Ever-changing landscape
At the visitor Centre on Valentia Island we watched a short film on The Skellig Experience. This told the story of the neighboring island of Skellig Michael, a filming location for “Star Wars” https://www.skelligmichael.com/star-wars/ and once the austere home of early Christian monks.
We then enjoyed fish and chips at the local pub in Portmagee.
That night, we returned to Killarney and I took the opportunity to wander the streets and enjoy a scrumptious meal of traditional potato cakes in a friendly and welcoming pub.
Our next day’s adventure took us from the coast of County Clare, across the River Shannon Estuary on a 20 minute ferry ride.
We were bound for the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular wall of sandstone soaring almost 700 feet above the Atlantic.
After dire warnings from Joe, our illustrious driver, we didn’t dare explore outside the boundary walls for fear of disappearing in a sandstone slide to infinity!!
The visitor centre here proved an amazing building, tucked into the side of a hill with a glass frontage. This was probably the coldest day we’d experienced and after a quick trip climbing steps to the top for a decent view, a few of us retreated to the cafe inside the visitor centre for a tasty lunch and some souvenir-buying!
Posing with Santa!!
Our final night in Limerick included a medieval-style feast in Bunratty Castle.
After climbing up several sets of narrow steps to the main hall, I was glad to sit down and sample the famous Mead!
Afterwards, we were serenaded by songs and harp music evocative of medieval times, with excellent traditional dishes eaten in the way of the times – with fingers!
That was my last night of the tour, as I had to return to London the next day.
My hotel room in Limerick had a pretty amazing view of the River Shannon.
Here’s a marvellous statue depicting the Irish game of Gaelic Football in the main street of Limerick.
Note: Gaelic football, commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch
After a short walk around the town of Limerick the rain started and it was getting cold so I headed back to the hotel and caught a cab to Shannon Airport about a half hour cab ride away.
I have great memories of my time in Ireland, not forgetting the visit to St Brigit’s Well in County Clare. St. Brigid, one of Ireland’s greatest female saints was thought to have lived in the sixth century and credited with founding the convent at Kildare.
Thanks to Joe and all my fellow travellers who accompanied me on my first trip to the Emerald Isle.
The main reason I decided to return to England this time was to take a walk down Memory Lane … to reacquaint with family and friends after 23 years.
I didn’t realise how emotional this could be.
My dear friend Debbie met me at Heathrow Airport and it was wonderful to see her smiling face again. Twenty three years is a long time but for me, friendships made years ago are like comfortable slippers – we just slide in easily and carry on where we left off.
Sadly, my Uncle passed away two days before I arrived in the UK so I missed him, but was able to see my 89 year-old Aunt and of course, my cousins and their children. We had quite a few memorable get-togethers.
Lunchtime meet-up at The Bell Pub in Marston Mortaine, Bedfordshire.The Bell Pub in Marston Mortaine
We had another memorable catch-up at The Old Water Mill in Ringstead, Northamptonshire.
And yet another at my cousin Sarah and her husband Dave’s house in Rushden. Actually it was Dave’s birthday and he cooked a splendid roast beef dinner for everyone – complete with the best ever Yorkshire Puddings!
Wonderful dinner cooked by Dave on his birthday!
Mamma Mia
Staying with my friend Debbie in Oxhey near Watford is pretty amazing. Debbie’s company makes theatrical costumes and she is currently working on Mamma Mia and creating costumes for the forthcoming international tour commencing next February. It’s very exciting to watch her and her team at work and a real privilege to be able to accompany Debbie to various fittings for actresses.
The Escondidos
Debbie also has a music room in her home and plays keyboard for the band called The Escondidos. It’s just great to hear them rehearse for their shows and these are musos in their seventies – good on ya guys!!!
Fireworks night was a big event and I went with Debbie’s large family group to Metropolitan Bushey on Sunday, November 5.
It was spectacular, with the band Supersonic Queen, a funfair, stalls, food, and a bar.
These are just a couple of the very elaborate fireworks displays. There was a huge crowd of people and very long queues to get a drink, but the weather held and it didn’t rain, thank goodness!
A good time was had by all.
Bath Abbey
Bath is a beautiful city and when visiting cousins in Chippenham, Wiltshire I had a memorable time walking around the fabulous buildings and shops. It truly is a scenic city, with the beautiful Bath Abbey, and the famous Roman Baths as well as various quaint and colourful shops.
The famous Bath Abbey
Jacks of Bath
Just a pretty shop front
Sally Lunn
The famous Sally Lunn’s Eating House
Colours of Autumn in full swing
Pulteney Bridge
Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which the family wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in a Palladian style, it is highly unusual in that it has shops built across its full span on both sides.
This has proved to be a great time to visit England as the autumn colours are spectacular and the weather is really only just starting to get cold and rainy.
Oh, how it’s changed since I was last in Singapore 30 years ago! However the humidity and heat were just as fierce.
And so many people …
The flight – 8 hours from Brisbane – was pretty uneventful. Arriving at Changi Airport and going through Customs took a while but eventually I made it to the taxi rank and we ploughed through the Friday night traffic to my hotel.
My travel agent had booked me into the Peninsula Excelsior in Coleman Street which proved to be an excellent choice as it was very central. I caught a glimpse of the famous Raffles Hotel as we passed by and reflected on a very happy memory of a night spent there many years ago!
Had a funny trip on the “Singapore Duck” the next day, which travels along the road and then into the water for a sightseeing tour.
This sign caught my eye …
Just cruisin’ in the Duck!
View of city buildings from the “Duck”
That was enough sightseeing for one day! I did a wander through City Hall and Raffles City shopping malls, but in the end, resorted to a rest at the hotel.
Was treated to a delicious Japanese meal in the evening by “a friend of a friend” which included some interesting conversation and sampling of Sake. Lucky me!
Gardens by the Bay proved to be an excellent early morning experience on my final day in Singapore, before the heat of the day arrived and I retired for a restful afternoon before boarding the 14 hour flight to London.
For those of you who followed my journey around Australia, you might recall my faithful blue Suzuki Grand Vitara which I named Bluebird.
Bluebird proved to be an amazing vehicle to travel in. Most of my overnight stays were in cabins or roadhouses, but I did have a tent, even though I had never used it until I reached Coral Bay in WA. A popular tourist spot, there were no cabins available, so my only option was to put up my tent in the campground (with some help from the young couple next to me!) As you can see, my little Suzuki was full to its brim with my worldly goods which I was taking up to Broome, where I lived for almost two years.
Coral Bay Campground WA
I loved living in Broome, especially spending time with my little grandson, who was born in Melbourne. I had missed him so much when the family moved to Broome in 2017, however in 2022 I re-visited Broome and was able to re-connect. He is a gorgeous lad, now 8 years old and has a little brother Jacob, my second grandson, who is now two years old. Both are very happy little boys which is great to know. Being so far away, I love to get photos and look forward to the time I can return to Broome and see them again.
Whilst in Broome, highlights included working after school on the Follow the Dream program for Indigenous students – cooking food and helping students with their homework. I was also fortunate enough to obtain several paid writing projects within the Broome business community, as well as some English tutoring, helping a lovely young French couple with their English and some students from Broome Senior School.
The Broome Women Writers’ Group, with its highly creative, dedicated and well organised members, offered the opportunity to make new friends and develop my creative writing skills. It proved to be a much valued part of my time in Broome. Today I am proud to be participating in an Anthology of writing from the group’s past and present members, which is currently being compiled.
We never know what lies ahead for us in this life, and I was sad to leave Broome and the good friends I had made at the end of 2019, but keen to move ‘over East’ to be closer to my brother and family.
I am now living permanently in Brisbane with my partner Peter, who has a slide on camper on a Nissan Patrol. We have enjoyed several adventures together, including a trip to the Mundi Mundi Bash in April 2022. You can see some videos of Mundi Mundi at https://www.facebook.com/mundimundibash/videos.
It was a fairly long drive to Broken Hill and then out to the festival past Silverton, but apart from the rain, which had caused some flooding in the New South Wales outback, it was well worth the effort. There were over 10,000 people at the festival and I have never seen so many caravans and campers in one place. There was a fantastic line-up of artists and Peter and I relished the experience.
Stalls were selling special “doggy shoes” – hilarious to see but the dogs loved them
Recently, we travelled down to NSW and spent a lovely Christmas Day with my brother, niece and family in Clothiers Creek. We left the day after Boxing Day and headed for Kyogle and Nimbin before meandering our way back to Brisbane via Rathdowney and Boonah.
This is the Nissan with the slide on camper
We camped in a beautiful camping area on the Lions Road – see https://www.visitscenicrim.com.au on a recent trip to Rathdowney in NSW. The truck is fully self-contained which means we can free camp whenever possible and there are plenty of towns which offer free camp sites for up to two nights in NSW and Queensland.
Going forward, I’d really like this blog to be much more inter-active, to encourage those interested, both young and old, to have discussions about travel, writing, or health. You see, I’m particularly interested now in maintaining great health and living a healthy lifestyle, as that was the real reason initially that I left my job and my life in Melbourne back in 2018 to have an adventure.
In 2016 I was pretty devastated to find myself in hospital, after I’d had an abnormal stress test. I had three stents inserted into my left coronary artery and, although I was aware of my family history of heart disease, I had no idea that my arteries were so blocked.
It was crunch time and led to my decision to have an adventure – and to make the most of the rest of my life.
Although I have enjoyed good health since that time, I was again reminded that I have heart disease, when I experienced another abnormal stress test in 2022 and ended up having a stent in my right coronary artery. This has been incredibly hard to recover from emotionally, especially as I had no idea that I was at risk of a heart attack.
Apart from quite a few episodes of gastric reflux and heartburn, I had no other symptoms. I have since learnt that women often suffer from these two symptoms which can actually be heart pain.
I feel incredibly lucky to have survived this as I apparently had an 80-90% blockage.
I have just finished attending Cardiac Rehab sessions at St Vincent’s Hospital in Brisbane, which have proved to be very worthwhile. Apparently only 30% of people who undergo heart procedures actually go on to attend cardiac rehab which is quite surprising. Each week we attended for two mornings and listened to a short educational lecture to do with the heart, then progressed to the gym, where we were monitored for the next hour whilst exercising on each machine for 10 minutes.
We were also encouraged to do weight bearing exercises.
Why have I decided to document my health situation now? Well, if anything, it’s to remind those who might read this blog to get regular check-ups as you age. It’s also to encourage others to make each day count, to stay healthy and enjoy every day. There are still so many things I’d like to do and I still want to travel, and to talk and write about people and places.
I hope I’ve inspired or motivated you to look after yourselves and start your own journey! And I would love to hear what’s going on in your life, so please leave a comment!
