Long Weekend

Saturday sees madame and I off to Oxford Street, she is taking something back to M&S as we have a 20% off voucher so she can buy it again. I see a rather nice cardigan, Limited Edition. We decide to pop over to Primark and if nothing is purchased return. Well of course that goes by the board in the end. Primark gives madame something and me a new swimsuit. We return to M&S and the cardigan is purchased.

Saturday night and we are off on a vanilla night in Camden and Lock17. Our daughter is being given a night out by the security firm she works for. I do however have a problem. Drunks are not exactly my favourite people and I have little or no patience with them so I approach the night with trepidation. We are on a balcony so I can observe the bar below. It is quite incredible, the average for a round of drinks is £15 and the four bar staff have problems keeping up with demand. After inquiring I find out how much they earn and I mean earn and considering the amount of money going into the tills they are extremely underpaid. Waiting for the night bus Camden takes on a new light, the drunk and incapable are few and far between which is not the impression you get when driving through.

Sunday sees us off to M&S at London Colney and after a rather nice vegetarian breakfast I succumb to the yellow frock and another rather splendid offering, one with 20% off and the other 50% !



Monday we are off again, Oxford Street and M&S, again! madame gets herself a pair of shoes and so do I, a pair of Autograph white summer shoes. Unfortunately they don't have my size in stock so we order them and will be picking them up tomorrow from Brent Cross.

Too good to be true?

Photo day yesterday with Stephanie then a trip to Brent Cross. I managed not to spend thank goodness. Madame had gone out in the morning to return the hairy shrugigan and her trousers to M&S. Well I had received a 20% off voucher so the items were returned and bought again. Aaaanyway off we troop to Brent Cross, a wander not finding anything in particular that caught our collective eye. A fabulously cute short item in Lipsy did however until I saw that it was a playsuit which wouldn't have, suited me that is. The manageress of the shop however spotted that I was wearing one their frocks. A wander round John Lewis and there behind the Estee Lauder counter is Sarah. Many is the time I have been there and she hasn't so it seemed an ideal time to introduce her to Ann. It took her a while and she was delighted to meet Ann, "what a surprise" she said and "a lovely surprise" and we had a lovely long conversation and I got two kisses too, something I never get in male mode.
We return home and madame is about to go out again. When you take Stephanie home she says will you collect my prescription, take it round to Mr Patel (our local chemist). I look at Steph, she looks at me. I am shocked. She is sending me, dressed, to the local shops ! Madame leaves, I say to Steph she did say get my prescription didn't she? She did say Mr Patel didn't she? Yes says Steph. Oh well. Sooo I take Steph home and call in and Brent Cross to see Sarah again just to say that it is ok to mention she had seen me dressed when I see her again in the company of madame but she had gone home :-(. So then its the chemists. Well what a surprise there! Everyone soo nice and soo many compliments too !

What is the point?

You order an item, it is sent, via Royal Mail, you receive an email telling you it has been dispatched with a tracker number. You click on the link and.... Royal Mail tells you there is no information. The last time this happened the only information I got was to tell me it had been delivered. Funny but I already knew that 'cos I had it in my hot sweaty paws !

Enough of this whinging. So post holiday things.... Not a lot actually, met up with Stephanie and Sarah last Wednesday and a trip out. We meet at Selfridges and hop the bus down to Trafalgar Square, a walk down Whitehall to show Sarah the sights. Of course living here we walk past these things without a second thought, horse guards, the cenotaph etc, down to the Houses of Parliament etc, snap, snap, snap she goes. From there we take the train to Tower Hill, lunch, in St Catherines Dock at PingPong, mmmmm, where we are treated wonderfully. A wander around the exterior of the Tower of London and its home time.


Sunday there is hastily arranged outing, off to see Dolenta and her partner Andy plus little Hoshi for a wander over Trent Park and we are joined by Peter and Sarah.



I elect to do blokey but, well it didn't turn out too well. I seem to have problems in that area these days and wind up somewhere in the middle..



It is quite sad to see the state of the grounds of after Middlesex Uni have moved out :-(

A glorious day Monday means getting the tan really on the move so its nudie sunbathing at home, plenty of protection unlike while out on Sunday. Madame is actually getting tanned legs which is giving her much pleasure.

Tuesday sees madame and I off up town, Oxford St of course. A breakfast in Pret and a wander down to M&S. I need knickers. Well ladies swimsuits as you can well imagine are not that good at hiding dangly bits so I need something to err... keep things under control and out of sight. Of course this means we have to walk around and inevitably it means we find other items that take our fancy. A quick discussion results in us exiting empty handed and a dash to Primark. If we manage to find something there then M&S will be given a miss if not we shall return. Of course all this is pointless, we do both in the end.
It is sooo lovely that we advise and discuss prospective purchases for each other. To have someone pick you out a swimsuit and tell you it is rather cute and should buy it is fabulous, to stand in the queue together waiting to pay without turning a hair where it is patently obvious to all and sundry that the items are yours and you are not buying them for anyone else. Aaaanyway we return to M&S, madame gets her floral trousers and I get a fab hairy cardigan, well shrug, well shrugigan. Once home we find that the knickers will require alteration as they show, not a good look, just as well they are unfinished so a little trim her and a little trim there and... prefecto !

Holilday time

A nice relaxed start to the journey. We don't have one of these early morning flights for a change. On the train to Gatwick at about 10 ish. It is amazing how time races past. Bags dropped and no hand luggage we have a rather nice lunch in a Lebanese restaurant then off to duty free and down to the gate for our flight and we are on our way to Las Palmas.
I love flying, the sheer power as the engines scream and the plane trundles forward followed by that kick in the back as speed picks up, nose up and away, madame however does not. Soon we are over the south coast.



Arriving at about 7.30 we wait ages for passport control to show up and then collect the cases meet dear Howard who is patiently waiting. A quick ciggie and we grab a cab and Las Palmas bound, safely booked into the hotel we now need feeding.
Luckily the hotel is a mere 50 yards from the promenade. H takes us along the prom to a Chinese all you can eat for 9€ and is rather nice then its beddy-byes as we are shattered.

Day 2. I am awake with the lark as per only to find horror of horrors its bloody dark. I mean at home I'm up around 5.30 - 6.00 and its broad daylight, not here it isn't plus...... plus our electronic gadgetry has seemingly updated to European time. Unfortunately the Canary Islands are on GMT !!! Aaaanyway I'm awake and up and about so what I thought was 7.00 am is 6.00 ! Off out for a walk along the prom and breathe that sea air which it turns out is rather chilly.



After a ahort stroll its back to the relative warmth of the hotel for a wash and brush up and leaving madame asleep its off out again, along the prom and as much as I love my phone camera the beast comes with me. I'm looking for somewhere for breakfast, just a little one for us, hotel breakfasts are far too substantial and expensive. Cafe found for a later visit I espy some sand sculpture, the last supper no less....



I return some time later to the hotel to rouse madame and we set off for sustenance then a walk and holiday pictures. Its cloudy as everyday seems to start but the wind makes it a trifle parky.



Stroll ended we search for lunch somewhere along the promenade. Post lunch we return to the hotel where H joins us, we get changed and decide to investigate the pool on the roof....



Around 7.00 we change and the three of us go back to H's flat for dinner, its only about a fifteen minute walk so off we set... Now flying is no problem to me but looking over the balcony of a flat on the 17th floor is another story altogether. Post gossiping and dinner we grab a cab and are on our way back to the hotel looking forward to day 3....

Day 3. Post early morning walkies and breakfast we meet up with H and hop a bus into the old town of Las Palmas stopping off for churros and coffee, yum, and a wander around the local market....



H being H a wander around the old town becomes a history lesson and very informative it is too :-) It is interesting how architecture tells its own story, how styles and tastes mould and influence. One could be in Spain or Mexico or South America, in fact a myriad of places.



Christopher Columbus or Cristóbal Colón or indeed Cristoforo Colombo all the same person actually.

Of course we visit a few beautiful churches. Religious I am not but churches or indeed any religious edifice I do enjoy them all.



A visit to a charity shop, another passion is followed by a diet conscious lunch and then its back on the bus and an afternoon on the beach. The sunbeds etc are run by the local authority and a good job they make of it too. H has his favourite pitch so we follow. When packing I had decided to put in three wigs oh my am I glad I did what with the wind I only ever wear the short one which was an after thought.



H selects a rather nice place for dinner, tapas. Almost every table is reserved but we squeeze in. Apparently it is the Spanish thing to book and then just not to turn up. What is nice is my frock is admired by three young ladies at the next table, the fact that I am in it has no effect whatsoever ..



Off we wander and just by chance we hear music, thinking it is from a local 'tranny' bar we go to investigate only to find there is a flamenco event in the town square and by the end of the night the bar is forgotten. Again do I get looked at? Hardly at all.
My goodness I love my phone camera.....



Day 4. We are off to a market close to the hotel, as we are very near the weight limit of our luggage it is just a matter of wandering around the stalls. Very little for the tourist as it turns out in other words a typical market of course there are the fake Ray Bans in abundance but the sunglasses story is yet to come ;-)



After liquid refreshment H dashes off to collect goodies for tonight's meal and we follow the music. Returning to the square where we were the night before we find the flamenco is still in full swing this time with little cutie pies on the stage....



When, after an hour of so, we had seen enough we return to the hotel roof for a little sun before making our way to H's for dinner. We get back to base rather late but it is so nice to stroll the streets late at night feeling safe and being warm enough not to require coats.

Day 5. A trip out today. We meet up with H and get the bus to Arucas a pretty village in the hills famed for its.... RUM! The bus, as all buses do, takes to the side roads serving little communities along the way. Wild flowers in abundance by the roadside flash past and liberal use of the horn as we round hairpin bend after bend and sheer drop after sheer drop. A lovely stroll through the town, so peaceful and a beautiful church, well cathederal.



After a little sit in a delightful garden we make our way to the distillery and join a guided tour which is short thankfully as it gets us to the tasting sooner. Now not being a drinker especially of the neat spirit variety I am highly delighted by the flavoured rums on offer. Mmmmm chocolate, mmmm caramel, mmmmm honey not too keen on their unflavoured 10 year old special though. Oh how I wish we could have thrown out some clothes and bough a few bottles, approximately 9 Euros a bottle and when I look at home we have to pay £20 !!



A stroll through Arucas and H shows us the town hall. Apparently when Franco declared his intention to take over Spain the local inhabitants of Arucas wheeled out a fifteenth century canon, placed it in front of the town hall and fired it as a warning not to mess with them. The effects can be seen today !



We find that the bus we want will not arrive for over half an hour so we return to the delightful garden to wait its arrival. A delightfully peaceful half hour later we return to the bus station and get the bus to another village, Teror and lunch. More country roads, more hairpin bends, more sheer drops, quite entertaining.





Day 6. Our last full day. H is busy so we take ourselves off, breakfast first at what has become our favourite cafe and a stroll, time to buy supplies of tobacco. Once purchased we stroll around and find a rather nice opticians and in the window the sunglasses to end all sunglasses. In we go, just to find out the price of course. Well needless to say we exit with them, upswept tortoiseshell with red arms and a rather significant name on them... Christian Dior, oh yum ! Off to the hotel to dump our purchases. Change and out to lunch. Post lunch we repair to the roof of the hotel and H joins us and madame sidles off back to the opticians to get a rather nice pair of Ray Bans which she will get de-glazed and have her own lenses put in.



Post sunbathing we dress for dinner, its back to the all you can eat Chinese on the front and would you believe a game of scrabble which shockingly neither of us have played before !



Its around midnight when we finish the second game and very windy and consequently rather cold as we stroll back to the hotel.

Last Day. Our flight isn't until the evening so we stroll along the promenade for about two miles to find would you believe a shopping centre with a Primark. Not filled with joy at the prospect we find it and Primark and I find two rather nice T-shirts! We take lunch in McDonalds but elect for a chicken caesar salad. Mind you there are not many McDonalds with a view like this...





We stroll back to the hotel and the roof for a last sunbathe where H joins us. About 5 we leave in a taxi for the airport and home.
Safely in the air we settle down for an uneventful journey except for some gentle turbulence for about half an hour. Of course being a night time flight I'm terminally bored with nothing to look at.