Monday June 4th 2012……sunny Monday!!!!!

 

 

 

Very happy to report that the golf clubs stolen from Zach last week have been recovered …well done the local RCMP!!!!

This is taken from the local paper!!

Young golfer has clubs returned after police receive several tips

Daily News

Published: Saturday, June 02, 2012

A young golfer whose prized clubs were stolen last week will have his clubs returned to him today, according to police.

The 15-year-old aspiring golfer lost the clubs Friday, a day before an important qualifying tournament.

Surveillance footage at the Nanaimo Golf Club was released to the public, showing a man running across the parking lot with the clubs over his shoulder.

 

Police received several tips from the public soon after, leading officers to a home on Highland Boulevard.

A 36-year-old Nanaimo man was arrested at his home Wednesday and issued with a promise to appear Aug. 21 in Nanaimo provincial court on charges of theft and possession of stolen property.

Police recovered "only a few golf clubs" at the time, but on Friday they found the rest of the set at an undisclosed location. Nanaimo RCMP said they also found two other sets of golf clubs, at least one of which was stolen during a break and enter at the Nanaimo Golf Club on May 8.

One of those sets has been returned to its proper owner, but the other - a black M5 golf bag containing a variety of irons and two putters - hasn't been identified.

The teen was told Friday morning that his clubs were found "and he is overwhelmed," said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien.

He ended up qualifying for the B.C. Junior Amateur golf tournament, after the club loaned him a set of irons.

 

 

I had a great sleep but woke up at 5.30am and messed around on the computer for a while then decided it was better to get up so I did and went for my usual morning walk.  For years now when I visit I do a walk of about 8km through the Village and then into the country and this is what I did!!!

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No traffic this time of day…

and we on Vancouver Island think our gas prices are high!!!

That is 135.9 pounds per litre which converts to about $2.17 a litre!!!!

Scenes from the walk!!

Mum and Dad and babies going for a swim!!!

 

No trains this morning!!

It was a good start to the day!!!

After breakfast it was time for chores…Malc and I washed Stella and whilst I did the windows Malc was the groundskeeper…

Lots of celebrations taking place today all over this is the view from my bedroom window!!!

Late afternoon we drove to the next town for their celebrations!!!

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the entertainment was first class!!!!

These were four extremely talented opera singers!!!!

Look at this happy Family!!!

Not a great photo of Darren, Sam’s husband his face is covered with the Union Jack!!!

The finale was a great rendition of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory!!!!

You would think Malcolm would wave his flag with a bit more gusto!!!! Please excuse my shirt you know I am a Kings fan!!!

It really was a great evening of entertainment!!!

The beautiful Beverley Minster!!!

We got home in time for a quick supper then sat down to watch an amazing live concert from outside Buckingham Palace…the show went on for over three hours.

I know I left England over 40 years ago and I have a Canadian Passport and I am a proud Canadian today I must admit I was thrilled to be in England and help celebrate this remarkable jubilee!!!

To finish the night off the festivities in the complex behind the house had a fireworks show and this was taken from my bedroom window!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Sunday 3rd June 2012……..a celebration!!!!

Had a good sleep till about 5.30am and then I was wide awake so decided to get up an do my around the village walk but then found out it was raining too hard for that so went downstairs made a cuppa and read the newspaper!!

At 10am I went with Janet and Malc to their local church

 

The Salvation Army is an international Christian church worshipping and working in 124 countries and has more than 800 local churches in the UK and Ireland.

We believe in openly sharing our faith and the good news of God's love for everyone, helping individuals to develop and grow in their own personal relationship with God, demonstrating a practical concern for all and speaking out against social injustice.

I grew up in the conclaves of the Salvation Army and am very proud that Janet and Malc are after all these years so heavily involved in the Army especially their social programs!!

This is a huge celebratory 4 day weekend  for the Queen’s Jubilee and we spent the afternoon watching the below float past it was very moving and entertaining.

Janet prepared a wonderful roast beef and Yorkshire pudding meal and followed by my personal favorite steam pudding and custard!!!

Malc, Janet and two of their children Andy and Sam!!!

I wanted to walk all day but it was just too wet but around 6pm I had to go so got the umbrella out and went into the village!!

Cottingham is rated as the biggest village in England…enjoy walking around with me!!

I liked this sign!!

 

LONDON -- On a luxury barge festooned with flowers, Queen Elizabeth II sailed down the River Thames on Sunday amid a motley but majestic flotilla of 1,000 vessels, mustered to mark her 60 years on the British throne.

Hundreds of thousands of Union Jack-waving spectators formed a red, white and blue wave along London's riverbanks and bridges, cheering the 86-year-old monarch and her armada of motorboats, rowboats and sailboats of all shapes and sizes. The pageant was a nod to Britain's maritime heritage and one of the biggest events on the river for centuries.

The queen wore a silver and white dress and matching coat - embroidered with gold, silver and ivory spots and embellished with Swarovski crystals to evoke the river - for her trip aboard the barge Spirit of Chartwell, decorated for the occasion in rich red, gold and purple velvet.

The queen's grandson, Prince William, and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge - he in his Royal Air Force uniform, she in a red Alexander McQueen dress - and William's brother, Prince Harry, were among senior royals who joined the queen and her husband, Prince Philip.

After a celebratory peal of bells, the boat set off downstream at a stately 4 knots (4.6 mph, 7.4 kph), accompanied by skiffs, barges, narrow boats, kayaks, gondolas, dragon boats and even a replica Viking longboat.

The flotilla was sailing past some of the city's great landmarks - including the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and St. Paul's Cathedral - before ending its journey near Tower Bridge. Downriver, ships too tall to fit under London's bridges were moored along both banks of the river.

Large crowds turned out despite cold, drizzly weather to fete a queen who has assumed the status of nation's grandmother.

Hundreds of people ignored the persistent rain and camped out overnight to secure prime riverside spots. Crowds swelled into the thousands Sunday, with revelers in hats, flags, leggings and rain ponchos adorned with the Union flag mixing with burger and cotton candy vendors along the 7-mile (11-kilometer) route.

"It would have been wonderful if it had been sunny like last Sunday but we have come prepared," said 57-year-old Christine Steele. "We have got blankets, brollies (umbrellas), flags and bunting. We even got our glittery Union Jack hats and wigs, and the Champagne is on ice."

The spectacle was a tribute to Britain's past - monarchs used the river as their main highway for centuries, and naval power built the island nation's once-great empire - as well as to its abiding love of boats and the sea.

River processions were once common in London. The last comparable royal pageant was held for King Charles II in 1662, when diarist Samuel Pepys recorded boats so numerous he could "see no water."

Sunday's flotilla included more than three dozen "Dunkirk Little Ships," private boats that rescued thousands of British soldiers from the beaches of France after the German invasion in 1940 - a defeat that became a major victory for wartime morale.

This J & M”s home!!

Would you believe it another Pearson who names his vehicles…this is Stella!!!!!

So when we leave on Wednesday for Europe we will pull Stella behind the car J & M will sleep inside and I will sleep…….wait for it…..in a …….TENT!!!!!!!  More about the journey another day!!!

A lazy evening eating, talking watching TV!!!!

Last night my Kings hockey team won again and are now only two wins away from their first Stanley cup!!!!

Thanks to Robin for sending me these two photos of Paola at Casa Hogar yesterday…great to see her smiling face!!

I think I have recovered from the loss of one nights sleep and hope I sleep through tonight.

Good night…Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday 2nd June 2012………You may as well start learning Yorkshire……..evenin all!!!!!!

Hello from jolly old England!!!!!

So after Heather dropped me off at the float plane terminal I waited a few minutes before boarding…

I let everyone else board before me and as luck would have it I was instructed to sit in the co-pilot’s seat…..so the views were awesome!!!

This photo is not too clear but that is Kirby in the police boat waving to me…not sure if he knew I was up front!!!

Take off was smooth…

and the views cool!!!!!

The white X is where I went a few weeks ago hiking to Dodd's Narrows…

20 minutes later we arrived at the river terminal!!!

It was a great start to my epic journey….a free shuttle was waiting to take 8 of us to the Vancouver airport about a 7 minute ride and as I had already checked in on line and had my boarding card I missed the crowds…

which was where the only little hiccup occurred…..I was travelling with a small suitcase and my backpack and I was checking both those ..no problem…but then the lady asked me to put my carry on back pack on the scale and it weighed 10kg and she told me I was only allowed 5kg and I would have to take the excess out of my day pack into one of my checked bags….I have never before heard of a weight restriction on carry on luggage(as an aside later checking their website this new rule came into effect for bookings made after March 1st and I booked my flight in January so had I know that I would have said something)…anyway I just stepped aside and opened my suitcase and pretended to take three books out of my day pack and put them in my suitcase but what I actually did was put the books in between my fanny pack that I was wearing and the small of my back…closed the suitcase up and went back and now my carry on pack weighed 6kg so I just smiled and she said OK and off my checked bags went in one direction I went in the other direction and when I rounded the corner I just put the books back in my back pack…am I sneaky or what??????

Had about 90 minutes to kill before boarding time so just enjoyed walking around the terminal and checking out the stores before boarding

and we left on time at 6pm.

The flight was full and I had paid an extra 80 dollars to get a seat in the exit row with extra leg room which I was happy for.

  I would have preferred an aisle seat but when I booked all they had was a window but the views were quite wonderful!!!

The flight was almost 9 hours and I was surprised how quickly it went by….it was light the whole way and I read lots of literature on the countries I shall be visiting and making notes…..had great music on my I pod…drank lots of water…..had my delicious sandwich, thanks Heather!!!!

Arrived at Manchester on time at 11am….it took about 30 minutes to get my bags and then outside to see the smiling face of Janet and my much older but cuter Brother Malc!!!!

We had a great journey home Janet had made some sandwiches and home about 1pm..amazing how far you can travel these days in a few hours….

My nephew Andy came over for a visit and was great to see him but shortly after I hit the wall and had to sleep so went and napped for a couple of hours and felt refreshed.

Different country but same behavior…watched a live soccer game!!!!!

A little private joke but please check out the beautiful new curtains!!!!!

A good staple supper of Fish and chips….then my Niece Sam and her husband Daz came over for a visit and it was so lovely seeing my family again….my other nephew Mark, Claire and little Tom are away this weekend but I will see them on Tuesday.

10pm and I have to crash…so a great day no issues and glad to be in Jolly old England….Blessings to al!!

Friday 1st June 2012….rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!!!!

Well it is almost noon the bags are packed Heather made me a lunch, Ross made the most amazing cinnamon buns and I am ready to head out to the float plane terminal for my 1.50pm flight to Vancouver and my flight later today leaves at 6pm getting into Manchester at their time of 11am Saturday morning!!

I must say a huge thank you to Heather and Kirby and the boys for again making me feel like part of the family…I have so enjoyed my weeks on the Bank!!!!  thanks!!!

Looking forward to seeing my family and travelling together…so bring it on!!!!!!!

 

Happy, safe and wonderful weekend to all my readers!!!

Thursday 31st May 2012…..all my bags are packed I’m ready to go!!!

Spent most of the day packing, getting Ramona ready to be left for three months and visiting with Heather who cooked a lovely meal again this evening before I went off to poker.

In sports consistency is a key element in success and I am very consistent at poker I lost 20 dollars AGAIN!!!!

So here I am ready for my last sleep…I will blog and answer e mails when I can so do not fret if I am a day or two behind!!!

I land in Manchester at 11am on Saturday morning and then a 2 hour drive to Janet and Malc’s house…

 

Yashi Kochi!!