Seeing more of the UK was one of my unofficial 30 Things, so here we are the furthest I've ever been north (in England) in gorgeous Arnside just across the water from Windermere, the start of the Lake District. The panoramic view from our house is stunning and with a bakery below us, the pub next door and the famous chippy down the road, I can quite happily say we're in heaven. Now, we just need to get the sun to keep shining for us...
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Originally I was going to self publish an informative eBook on Amazon to do with all things self publishing for item 15 of my 30 Things project, but then I had a much better idea. Why not visit my old school and create a children's series instead. Everyone thinks it's easy to write for children - few words, nice story, bright illustrations - after all, we were all kids once right. Yet there's actually a lot more to it than that. The words have to be the right words and by "right" I mean a whole definition of things. And the pictures have to be stimulating enough to hold a child's very short attention span whilst telling a story all by themselves. Far from being the most easy, it's probably one of the most difficult genres to write for. Not being a parent yet myself, I was also interested to learn that every age group has a graduated reading and writing ability but often this is so slight, you might miss it. For example, I presumed Year 1s and Year 2s (ages 5 to 7) would all be at the same level give or take a few pupils. This graduation was highlighted to me when I looked back through the stories and pictures each class had worked on for our children's series. Getting them involved meant I had live, hot off the press research in my hands. They were basically teaching me what I needed to know about writing for their age groups! I don't know much about teaching but I do know (from playing with my nephews and nieces) that it has to be interactive because kids get bored. So I devised a story creation selection process. Volunteers from each class had to select elements out of a hat to build their particular story and this developed the backbone of the story. I wrote down each element on the white board to keep track. To illustrate, these were the building blocks: BOY OR GIRL OR TWINS (Reception to choose only) NAME (Reception to choose only) ATHLETE ITEM EQUIPMENT ANIMAL / INSECT TRANSPORT CONTINENT COUNTRY WONDER / LANDMARK / FAMOUS SITE Reception had the most important job of all because they were deciding the main character - what gender, what name... then later what hair colour, what eye colour etc etc And so... Georgie's Fabulous Adventures were born! Here are some of the stories and pictures I'm now going to work with and magically mock up into first proofs whilst the kids are on their summer holidays. RECEPTION'S ILLUSTRATIONS As this particular publishing journey of mine develops, I'll be sure to update you.
It might surprise you, or it might not that I get sick to the stomach before I have to stand in front of a crowd and present. Five minutes before I'm due to start, I'm ready to bottle it and do a runner instead. What I'm learning the more and more I make myself do it, is to channel the fear into exuberance - and if you know enough about your topic, you won't need any notes, maybe just a few prompts - and it will be your enthusiasm that wins the audience over. I usually do masses of prep beforehand, create way too many note cards, practice in front of a mirror blah blah blah, but for my latest efforts, I just thought about what I wanted to say over the course of a few days. Thinking it over and over was calming and made sure I got some sort of order fixed firmly in my head. I used the visuals to prompt me rather than spilling over my notes. This method forced me to look at my audience actually in the eyes (er scary!) and talk to each and every one of those children (and their teachers), making it a personal (and fun) delivery of my travel experiences. I also gestured a lot to take my mind off my pounding heart beat. My other trick is to deflect the attention off myself every now and then with questions and debates - oh, and games. Give yourself a breather if you can. It will settle the nerves. But this wasn't solely for my benefit. I was thinking about my audience and anticipating their boredom threshold. When I saw a few yawning faces, I knew it was time to change it up. Always have your audience in mind prior to putting the presentation together, then you can be prepared whilst remaining in control.
Why was I putting myself through this? Well aside from being one of my 30 Things, it was also due to the fact at some point or other, if I want to sell copies of my books, I will have to do public speaking. And I need as much practice as I can possibly get. Also, I'm pretty fed up of always feeling sick and nervous over something I actually do want to enjoy. What do they say? If you don't like something - change it! Going back to my old school (previously Warmley CofE and now St Barnabas CofE) was a great experience. The school was bigger (more buildings meaning more classrooms / activity rooms) but the actual amount of classes had been slashed by half (only 7 now) making the school feel more like a cosy, friendly village school, which I guess was the idea. Break times and lunchtimes were staggered unlike the way I remember with hundreds of us kids running around the playground and the school field that seemed to go on and on forever into the distance and a handful of dinner ladies trying to keep us in line. The gym still smelt exactly the same after lunchtime - that made me chuckle. No sweets or chocolates or crisps in the lunch boxes. Toast at morning break. Calming music to start the day. Maybe I'm just out of touch, but school was a completely different beast when I was a youngster. A different way of thinking, a different syllabus, a different type of discipline... One thing that doesn't change is a child's unbridled enthusiasm. It's still infectious. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to all the age groups from Reception up to Year 6, but I have to say talking to Reception was the most fascinating. The absolute wonderment on their faces of learning something new was magical and their innocence endearing. They haven't had a chance yet to be tainted by all the bad things of this world and their minds are receptive, open and honest. Nerves aside, I had a marvelous time and I'm glad I made myself do it. One step closer to conquering the fear! Before I blog about my double session of classroom antics (involving two of my 30 Things), I promised to post up Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6's answers to the game we played yesterday. These are pupils from my old school - St Barnabas CofE Primary. The object of the game was for them to see how well they know their classmates, as well as get them thinking a little about travel.
We split the classes into two teams and they each had a card to write down their answers, then the teams took it in turns to figure out whose card I was reading out (3 guesses only otherwise the point went to the opposing team). Great fun, a very high level of competitive spirit and some very funny answers! These were the questions (and my example answers): 1) If you could travel to any place in the world, where would you go? My answer: Brazil to see the Jaguars 2) What one item would you take that you couldn't live without? My answer: My iPod / iPhone as must have music when I travel 3) If you could travel with a famous person, who would it be? My answer: Joanna Lumley as she's not only passionate about travel, but funny too 4) What one food would you not be able to stomach even if it was the last food on earth? My answer: Tarantulas And now for the kids: YEAR 4s 1) America 2) iPod 3) Rihanna 4) Snails 1) Africa 2) Money (Euros) 3) Cheryl Cole 4) Tarantulas 1) Egypt 2) Inhaler 3) Michael Morpurgo 4) Fish 1) Spain 2) iPod 3) Joanna Lumley 4) Tarantulas 1) Australia 2) PSP 3) ? 4) Monkey brains 1) Hawaii 2) Xbox 360 3) Brian Cox 4) Tree Netter 1) Spain 2) DS 3) Justin Bieber 4) Tarantulas 1) Spain 2) iPod 3) Katy Perry 4) Bugs 1) New York 2) Xbox 360 3) Jeremy Clarkson 4) Tarantulas 1) ? 2) My family 3) ? 4) Tarantulas 1) Greece or Rome 2) A story 3) Harry Hill 4) Sheep brains 1) Spain 2) My dog 3) Messi 4) Tarantulas 1) France 2) iPod 3) Jowan J 4) Tarantulas 1) Africa 2) iPod 3) Steve Backshall 4) Tarantulas 1) Greece 2) DS 3) Lewis Hamilton 4) Tarantulas 1) Spain 2) My cup 3) Simon Cowell 4) Tarantulas 1) Africa 2) Teddy 3) Katy Perry 4) Tarantulas 1) Egypt 2) I could not live without my phone 3) My friend Imogen 4) Tarantulas 1) America 2) My teddy 3) David Beckham 4) Spiders 1) Spain & Egypt 2) iPod 3) Katy Perry & Selena Gomez 4) Tarantulas 1) Corfu in Greece 2) Phone 3) Santa 4) Sharks 1) Africa 2) Camera 3) Cheryl Cole 4) Tarantulas 1) Africa 2) Shoes 3) One Direction 4) Snails 1) Africa 2) Camera 3) Harry Hill 4) Lambs testicles 1) Africa 2) iPod 3) Gray Barlow 4) Tarantulas 1) Brazil 2) Laptop 3) Harry Styles 4) Tarantulas 1) China 2) Shoes 3) Reana 4) Snails YEAR 5s TEAM A 1) Africa 2) Laptop 3) Rihanna 4) Snake 1) Egypt 2) Phone 3) Bear Grylls 4) Mosquito - JACOB 1) Greece 2) Xbox 3) Bear Grylls 4) Slugs 1) Cyprus 2) Laptop 3) David Beckham 4) Pig's legs 1) Jamaica 2) Camera 3) Will Smith 4) Slugs 1) Jamaica 2) Xbox 3) Alan Carr 4) Poo 1) Caribbean Islands 2) Computer 3) Gary Barlow 4) Snails 1) Brazil 2) Pony 3) Jessie J 4) Spiders 1) The Maldives 2) iPad 3) Cher Lloyd 4) Tarantulas 1) Africa 2) iPod 3) Katy Perry 4) Scorpions 1) Greece 2) Phone 3) Bear Grylls 4) Gherkins 1) Spain 2) Phone 3) David Beckham 4) Snake 1) America 2) Computer 3) John Terry 4) Bugs TEAM B 1) Egypt 2) Phone & iPod Touch 3) Jessie J 4) Tarantulas 1) America 2) iPad 3) John Cena 4) Pig's nose - ETHAN 1) Brazil 2) Xbox 3) Randy Orton 4) Poo 1) Paris 2) My teddy bear 3) Jaqueline Wilson 4) Sprouts 1) China 2) Water 3) Lewis Hamilton 4) Bananas 1) New York 2) Phone 3) Selina Gomez 4) Beetles 1) Egypt 2) Chocolate 3) Bruno Mars 4) Gravy 1) Spain 2) Clothes 3) Stacey Solomon 4) Centipede 1) Libya 2) Laptop 3) Steven Gerrard 4) Worms 1) China 2) Water 3) Bear Grylls 4) Scorpian 1) Costa Rica 2) Water 3) Bear Grylls 4) Poison 1) Australia 2) Toothbrush (iPhone) 3) Prince Harry 4) Witchetty grubs 1) Spain 2) Phone 3) Jessie J 4) Spiders 1) Benidorm 2) Laptop 3) Jessie J 4) Tarantulas YEAR 6s 1) Egypt 2) Money 3) Bear Grylls 4) Poo 1) Australia 2) Phone 3) Taylor Swift 4) Snails 1) Africa 2) Phone 3) Cher Lloyd 4) Snails 1) Africa 2) Phone 3) Jessie J 4) Fish eye balls 1) America 2) All my DVDs 3) Seth McFarland 4) Spiders 1) Brazil 2) Shotgun 3) Bear Grylls 4) Insides & bugs 1) Niagara Falls 2) Phone 3) Steve Backshall 4) Tarantulas 1) China for the pandas 2) Phone 3) Robert Pattison 4) Fish eggs 1) LA in America 2) Laptop 3) Michael McIntyre 4) Pig's ear 1) Australia 2) Phone & Camera 3) Steven Gerrard 4) Rabbits 1) Africa 2) Laptop 3) Bear Grylls 4) Nothing 1) Chad 2) iPod 3) Bear Grylls 4) Poo 1) Australia 2) Phone 3) Jessie J 4) Fish eggs 1) Australia 2) Camera 3) Jacqueline Wilson 4) Tarantulas 1) Barcelona 2) Laptop 3) Lee Evans 4) Tarantulas 1) Chad 2) iPod Touch 3) Bear Grylls 4) Dung Beetles 1) Kenya in Africa 2) Camera 3) Steve Backshall 4) Crocodile tongue 1) Argentina 2) iPod Touch 3) Matt Smith 4) Black Widow spider 1) Japan 2) Xbox 3) Jackie Chan 4) Fish 1) Australia 2) Blackberry phone 3) Justin Bieber 4) Squid or fish 1) Australia 2) Phone 3) Justin Bieber 4) Squid & insects 1) Brazil because of the view in Rio de Janeiro 2) Phone to text my mum how I'm getting on 3) Lionel Messi 4) Mushrooms 1) Las Vegas 2) Xbox 360 3) Ed Sheeran 4) Maggots 1) Brazil 2) Penknife 3) Russell Howard 4) Snails 1) Kenya 2) Penknife 3) Bear Grylls 4) Rats 1) Egypt 2) Xbox 3) Keith Lemon 4) Squid 1) Germany 2) iPod 3) Eddie Murphy 4) Tarantulas 1) Spain 2) iPad & charger 3) Bear Grylls 4) Squid 1) San Francisco 2) Phone 3) Amanda Holden 4) Insects 1) Australia 2) Clothes 3) Rizzle Kicks 4) Mushrooms To celebrate the first anniversary of Little Child, I completed one of my 30 Things - flying a Tiger Moth! Check out the video below: If I thought May whooshed by, I have absolutely no idea where June went. Terribly aware I'm two thirds of the way through my project time frame ahhhhhhhhhhh
Here's a 30 Things update for June: As I mentioned in last month's post, items 2 and 23 are complete - photography course (and tour of London) and ride on the London Eye. Still "in progress": The children's stories (15) Storage (5) New desk area (21) Thames Trail (30) My Tiger Moth flight (item 10) got postponed by two weeks so hopefully I'm doing it this Friday - that's if the weather can be kind - and I'm going back to my old school for a second visit next week to present about travel and writing to the Juniors (item 22). Talking of the weather and how dismal it's been; if it ever cheers up, I'll be ticking off walking the beautiful Jurassic Coastline (item 7) and completing the parts of the Thames Trail I'm really looking forward to. Chomping at the bit to get these things in the diary! Another unofficial "30 Thing" under my belt - haven't visited the Eden Project for a few years now, but went along there last week during my stay in Cornwall and climbed up to the Rainforest Lookout which gives you views over the complete Rainforest biome. Pretty awesome. Finally, I've been working hard on my photos attempting to get 10 ready to submit to Shutterstock (item 17) and I'm about to book my weekend TEFL course (item 26) for September. Actually hoping to have a very productive July and get most of the remaining items in a state of progress, but won't set myself up for a big fall yet *chuckles* 1. DONE - Fly First Class long haul from anywhere to anywhere 2. DONE - Take a photography course 3. DONE - Experience the Caledonian sleeper train to Scotland & ride around Edinburgh in a funky Billy Connolly style Trike 4. DONE - Visit 1 of the countries in my Top 3 “before it changes forever” list - Cuba 5. IN PROGRESS - Sort out proper storage for my favourite belongings 6. DONE - Try 3 new variations of foods 7. Walk the beautiful Jurassic Coastline 8. DONE - Complete a family tree with at least 50 people on it 9. DONE - Fun family photo shoot 10. BOOKED - Fly in a Tiger Moth 11. BOOKED - Tandem sky dive 12. DONE - Bake a marble cake just like my mum’s 13. DONE - Make a decent curry 14. Finish writing the Dalton Trilogy 15. IN PROGRESS - Self publish an informative eBook or a children's book on Amazon 16. Publish a paid article 17. IN PROGRESS - Feature photos on shutterstock.com 18. Catalogue my last 10 years of travels 19. Lose 14 lbs 20. Host a dinner party from scratch (3 courses) 21. IN PROGRESS - Build a new desk area for the office 22. BOOKED - Do 1 presentation to an audience 23. DONE - Ride the London Eye 24. Interview 3 Indie authors from Twitter 25. (Market and) sell 100 copies of Little Child 26. IN PROGRESS - Take a weekend TEFL course 27. DONE - Achieve 3000 unique visitor hits on my website in a month (Feb 2012 was 2816) 28. Make some serious progress on my Writers Bureau course 29. Local book signing 30. IN PROGRESS - Walk parts of the Thames Trail Also in May... In a bid to see more of my home country (another unofficial 1 of my 30 Things), I organised a hair brain week's worth of whizz around the UK for a friend of mine who was coming over to visit from Canada. We spent days, weeks, months putting the itinerary together because there was so much I wanted Pat to see - and she had a few prerequisites as well... Anyway, it went a little something like this: Taking the rail air link to pick her up at Heathrow T4 (yet another unofficial 30 Thing - I have been pampered journeying to / from the airports over the years so it was high time I attempted the public transport route) - which to my surprise went very smoothly and I didn't get lost (I can navigate my way around foreign countries but when it comes to my own, utterly useless I'm afraid) - we then "dashed" as best we could back to Bennys B&B in South Ealing to pick up her extra large suitcase (from travels around the Greek Islands prior to coming to England) and then "dashed" as best we could again all the way back to Fleet - only to have a quick cup of tea, unpack and repack before we headed back into London to meet a friend and then catch the overnight Caledonian sleeper train from Euston to Edinburgh. I'm sure there must have been a simpler, smarter way, but for the life of me, I didn't find it. So we got tipsy In London, told off by our sensible neighbours for giggling too loudly once we got into our berth, and about 1am collapsed into our beds as the train gently rocked us to sleep. If you've never tried to wash and dress in a tiny berth - you should, just for laughs. It was compact, neat, tidy and all the rest of it, but you couldn't swing a cat! That hilarious little episode kickstarted our couple of days in Scotland's capital. We arrived to sunshine so made the most of it and you know, it was just another day in sunny Edinburgh... happened to see a Royal being whisked in black limousine right by our Trike as we cruised around the city (courtesy of the fantastic Trike Tours Scotland), stumbled upon a fantastic impromptu parade down the Royal Mile with fighter jet flypast, and enjoyed a cheeky drop of 12 year old single malt whiskey under the iconic Firth of Forth bridge...AMAZING !!!!! I never see the danger in anything until after I've done it. I seem to hone in on rating the experience on the thrill-o-metre and then jumping straight in. However, Pat was very quick to ask Gordon (our Trike driver) whether he'd ever rolled this thing. One of two questions apparently. If it hadn't been that one, she was going to ask him how long he'd actually been riding. Cracked me up just a wee bit. Now, I wanted to show Pat each place we visited in the sunshine one day and in the rain the next, which strangely is exactly what happened for the most part. A true, wet, miserable, cold and damp to the bone day followed so we decided to walk to the highest point (of course!) all the way to the top of the Royal Mile and visit Edinburgh Castle. An optimistic ice cream van tickled us as we entered the castle and all I can say is, thank goodness for the cafes dotted around selling steaming hot soup and the little gift shops offering free whiskey tasting. They made the day just about bearable. Before we hopped on the overnight train back down to London, we engaged in some light, hearty political conversation with a Scottish gentleman in the pub at the train station, watched Prince Charles read the weather in Glasgow over and over again and polished off another bottle or two of very very nice white wine. This time we made sure not to get told off by our neighbours and it was homeward bound. Next up - Bristol and Bath for a couple of days for family visits and meals and socialising and impromptu wedding ceremonies - not to mention a healthy dose of lovely old buildings and street entertainers. And I was surprised to see the Roman Baths had developed into this magnificent feature of the city. I remember school trips back in the day when it was just a crumbling ruin and we were able to walk right inside the baths. Now of course it costs 12 quid, but they have done it up lush. We drove this bit of the trip and Pat was able to see our English countryside at its finest. Everything so green and splendid (well it would be after 6 weeks of rain, right) and we were blessed with two fine and sunny days. Leaving early-ish Sunday morning with our packed lunches from good old Mum (I'd eaten mine by half 10, can't have food just sitting and staring at me), we took a taxi to Bristol Temple Meads station to catch yet another train down to Penzance in Cornwall. Pat had great trouble understanding the taxi driver as he had a thick Bristolian accent. I found that rather funny. Actually, I think in general Pat had trouble understanding us as we speak so fast and martyr the English language with missing ts and likes and innits. It was a beautiful train journey along the coastline with my favourite bit being Tiverton to Newton Abbot dubbed "The Cornish Riviera". We set about taking pictures (although Pat always attracted a hedge every time she lifted her camera to the window) and making lists of all the transportation she'd used on her month long jolly, all the cities she'd visited and all the quirky things she'd seen. A grand total of 27 stops later and we were almost at "Land's End", well, the train line ran out at least! Can't go any further than Penzance on the train. Here we stayed in a quaint little guesthouse called Cornerways with its winding staircase and rooms jutting off in all shapes and sizes, not to mention in all directions. Very oddly shaped house but pretty damn amazing all the same. Run by a very helpful young German guy and the only hilarious efficiency we found was Breakfast served from 8am to 8:45am precisely and on the dot! I wanted to show Pat St Ives and it was a gorgeous afternoon, the kind you dream of in Cornwall, so off we went. Here Pat sampled proper fish and chips, proper Cornish fudge and proper Cornish ice cream. Oh, and I stocked up on rock and my fave - a gert slab of coconut ice! We had a wonderful view of the harbour as we sat and ate dinner. St Ives gets me right there every time. And the giant, terrifying seagulls were on good form as well. The next day it rained of course. Our mission today was The Lizard for Cream Teas, but when I told a local from Mullion whilst we stood waiting for the bus in the pouring rain in Helston that that's what we were planning, he laughed me off the pavement. Thought we were nutters. Fair play. I think Pat thought it too, but when she tasted that Cream Tea (just as I promised), all negatives went out the window. I can safely say... she was in heaven! We got to see the back and beyond of Cornwall as the bus trundled through the tiny villages. How it managed to squeeze between the buildings, we'll never know. Sometimes it was so tight, you had to shut your eyes. Our mini jaunt to Cornwall ended with a visit to The Dolphin pub in Penzance harbour where I ate the freshest crab I've ever tasted. The sun came out and all was right with the world again. Abso-bloomin-lutely divine! We then finished up the whole trip with Pat trying a proper Cornish pastie with brown sauce, thatched roofs, The 39 Steps, a sneak peak of the MIB 3 film premiere in Leicester Square and a final, farewell dinner on Fleet Pond. Many weighings of her suitcases later and she was good to go. What I will remember most about Pat's visit is how she often called me brat but in the most affectionate way, how it always felt like I was travelling with my Aunty because they both make the same noise when they agree with me, how I fell asleep most nights giggling to myself with the way Pat puffs air when she sleeps, and finally how she attracted some right weirdos as we travelled around. Lasting memories of a truly fabulous (and hilarious) experience. Cheers me old mucker! I am indeed loving Instagram (as you may have noticed) and generally getting sidetracked with many, many things (er hmmmm football) - which is why blogs are a little sporadic at the moment. But that's what I love about blogging. There are no rules, no regulations, unless you're working towards a plan.
As promised, I'm going to talk about Cuba today. We will return to all things writing soon, after I've told you about my May exploits! So we pretty much covered the top half of the country in just over a week. Bombing it down the empty freeway a lot in the first five days to get to where we were headed. And I quickly learned (and giggled to myself every time) that squeezing your hand to the locals signals you're too busy or in a hurry so can't stop to buy their wares or give them a lift. Of course, this means an entirely different thing where I come from hehehe. You know I'm a fast tourist. I've been trained to cram it in - see as much as possible in as less time out of the office as I can. Probably not the way it should be, but at least the concept makes you travel by the seat of your pants and hone in on the things you're really excited about. And we did slow it down towards the end. My theory is, if there's something that I really liked about the country, I'll go back at some stage to do / see / experience it all over again. If I wasn't fussed, I'll happily move on to the next adventure. Well, I can safely tell you that there's plenty about Cuba I'd like to do all over again - and again - and again! Not to mention seeing the other half of the country... So I flew via Toronto to pick up my travel bud (cousin Mel) and then we flew the easy peasy 3 hour flight (with no time difference) down to Varadero. Flying from Toronto to Varadero rather than to Havana shaved £300 off the flight price - it was a no brainer! The two hour taxi transfer Varadero to Havana meant we could chill out (after getting up at the crack of dawn) and soak up the Cuban countryside before meeting our guide and hitting lively Havana. This is how I know I'm getting old - when my tour guides start to get younger than me. Robbie was only a baby at 27. What a lovely guy - quietly funny, very polite and full of knowledge about his country. Everything we could wish for. Robbie was coming to the end of his 2 years "social service" to his country as he chose to be a tour guide for this. He also spoke excellent Russian. Everybody warned him off learning a language he probably wouldn't have much use for, but he went ahead and studied it anyway - and now he's in a better position for it. When Russians come to Cuba for their holidays, he's one of very few who can actually lead the groups because he speaks the lingo! Genius. Havana at the beginning was incredible. In a few hours I had done everything I set out to experience - cigar rolling (and smoking!), rum tasting (banana rum liquer is to die for), matching rum with cigars and coffee with cigars, a lesson on sugar cane crushing and tasting the sweet nectar, cruising around the town in a 1950s crimson Dodge !!!!! It was jam packed and so much fun. We stumbled across Voodoo in Havana's forest (didn't even know Havana had a forest!), drove by random crumbling buildings sitting next to pristine ones, learned that different coloured number plates indicate certain cars for certain people - blue for the Feds, green for the Government, red for a rental - and stood in Revolution Square... the list just goes on and on... For me, Havana mesmerizes you by day and pulsates every fibre of your being by night. It catapults your senses and captivates your mind. What a place! Next up came Soroa and Vinales - both beautiful for very different reasons. In Soroa we visited an orchid garden said to be created by a lawyer from Gran Canaria in memory of his daughter who passed away from cancer. I missed out on filming the humming birds, but was able to get some great shots of the many different orchids (which I love). I'd read so much about the limestone mogotes landscape in Vinales so, when it came to seeing it up close, I was simply blown away. In amongst these fabulous places, we also drank espressos for 25p (25p!!!!!!!), visited a tobacco farm, ate at a fabulous private restaurant where the food and drinks were to die for (Mel had lobster for next to nothing) and took a boat trip through part of the largest network of underground caves in Cuba at Cueva del indio. We ended our Havana and Western Cuba stint with the famous Tropicana show. Wow Wow Wow what a spectacle. I'd waited years to see it. We went for the mid package - table next to the stage with a welcome cocktail, glass of champagne and some nibbles, and then a bottle of Havana Club and coke - plenty to keep us going. At the end everybody gets dragged onto the stage to have a boogie and my cousin happily obliged with a little prompting hehehe. I have the video evidence! Our table consisted of me, Mel, a lovely couple from Sheffield although the bloke was originally from my neck of the woods (what are the chances?!) and 4 very insane middle aged (if not older) Austrians. It was quite a lively night on (and off) the stage! Our third day took us to a Cuban croc conservation farm (because there are only 3,000 left on the island), the Bay of Pigs, Playa Larga, La Cueva de los Peces (a 61 metre deep sinkhole filled with multicolored fish), Giron museum and Cienfuegos dubbed the Miami of Cuba. We had a great Cuban McDonalds in Cienfuegos. Literally a ham burger because beef is rationed to the max and farmers must report the death of a cow immediately. It's rumoured you'd get a longer prison sentence for killing a cow than you'd get for killing a person... Unfortunately our time in Trinidad was a complete wash out as we had two straight days of rain (tail end of a hurricane in the States???) and feeling clammy and being bitten to death (when it was 26 degrees back home in England and Canada grrrrrrrr), but we went in search of the best Mojito and had a laugh with the locals in the bars, not to mention a bit of shopping and chatting with some lovely English ladies on a Saga tour. The locals thought we were nuts walking around in our halter necks and shorts when it was torrential downpouring. Make the best of it, right! Sites close in Cuba for no reason at all. It's a country that ticks to its own clock. So, we were hardly surprised when we got to Santa Clara, to find the famous Che Guevara mausoleum closed. A real shame as this was another big highlight for me and Mel, but hey ho onwards and upwards. It was still raining and desperately clammy and we were enjoying the comfortable air con and crazy Cuban reggae tunes courtesy of the Rapper "Chocolate Nestle" (no, I'm not kidding) playing in the car. The songs Waa Waa Waa and Bom Bom Bom will be forever ingrained on my memory. Now it was time to head to Varadero. Self indulgent Cuba. My first taste of true Caribbean life. And we needed to find that sun! We eventually found it the closer we got to Varadero, thank goodness. Luckily we weren't self driving as the locals rub off on the road signs where the main towns are so they can lure you for coffee, rum, cigars and make some pesos. A good trick although you can tell the general direction you need to be heading by the big smudge on the maps! And, as Robbie pointed out, check the road. If it's well worn, you're driving the right way. After saying "goodbye" to Robbie and our little blue Peugeot which, after doing 113,000 kms as a rental, was now being sold as a brand new car, it was nice to finally plonk our bums down on the beach at our resort in Varadero and take a long relaxing swim in the Atlantic. Ahhhhhhhhh, bliss. Robbie looked miffed when he left us as we'd had him staying at the old Plaza hotel in Havana and the Finca Ma' Dolores just outside of Trinidad where he'd caught a touch of man flu bless. Now we were lapping up the luxury - and he was going home! I still don't fully understand the politics of Cuba as I hoped I might after this trip. Socialism and Revolution weaved itself in and out of what we saw and what we did, just as it should. Rations, baseball, Royal palms, the white butterfly flower, rum, cigars, coffee, being stuck in the 1950s, salsa, colours, vibrancy... these are the things I will remember about Cuba. And the fact that breakfast, lunch and dinner are the three biggest problems of the country. We had to keep reminding Robbie to stop for lunch! The Cubans have rhythm in their soul. Everywhere we went, we were serenaded to - and then offered the band's CD (for pesos of course). For me, this is a country where nothing makes sense except for the music and dancing and singing. The Cubans are busy doing nothing most of the time. Why should they work when the Government demands the majority of their profits and everybody gets paid the same anyway no matter what profession they take up?! The freeway (motorway) is empty even on a Monday morning, but you can't go too far without seeing a local selling his guava or cheese on the side of the road - which is illegal. When they see a cop car, they throw their wares in the ditch to hide them, only to retrieve them and continue selling once the cops move on. Nice! As Robbie always says "Such is life" with a shrug of his shoulders. PS. I love the fact I get to say "grassy arse" every time I thank a Cuban! I did that in Mexico too :D Check out my impressions of Cuba in photos @ Instagram: peewee291982 Being added to daily! Catch the live Twitter feed on my homepage. Blimey, where did that month go?!
I just want to tell you that we completed the 24 box set last night and OMG what a finale! Best 50 quid we ever spent. It's like watching one massive long movie that goes on for hours and hours (and hours). Recommend it to anyone who loves high octane action and thrill, not to mention a good deal of intrigue. It took me 10 years before I made time to sit down and watch it end to end, but so glad I have now. Before I attempt to tell you all about my awesome month of travel - coming to you a week later than planned - here's a 30 Things project update for May: Guess what - sorting out my storage and building a new desk area for the office are still "in progress"... I can however tick off items 3 & 4 with a smidge of 30. I had a fabulous time on the sleeper train up to Scotland and then cruising around Edinburgh on our trike was magic! Can't even begin to describe Cuba to you (but I will definitely try in my next Blog post) and when I say a smidge of 30, I did walk part of the Thames Trail along South Bank. Still a fair bit to experience though, with my particular interest being the sections including Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens, and the most stunning part of the Thames Valley from Marlow to Cookham. With the photography course (and tour of London) under my belt, along with the London Eye ride, next week I'm planning to visit my old Primary and Junior school to create a children's story with the kids. Providing the weather improves, I'm also flying a Tiger Moth next weekend. On the slightly smaller list of "Unofficial Things to do before I'm 30" - still eBaying like crazy trying to clear the decks, garden re-design is now complete, large guest bedroom now ready to be decorated at some point, discussion for living room overhaul well under way... and an England International Friendly on home turf at Wembley has been attended. So until the next time! 1. DONE - Fly First Class long haul from anywhere to anywhere 2. DONE - Take a photography course 3. DONE - Experience the Caledonian sleeper train to Scotland & ride around Edinburgh in a funky Billy Connolly style Trike 4. DONE - Visit 1 of the countries in my Top 3 “before it changes forever” list - Cuba 5. IN PROGRESS - Sort out proper storage for my favourite belongings 6. DONE - Try 3 new variations of foods 7. Walk the beautiful Jurassic Coastline 8. DONE - Complete a family tree with at least 50 people on it 9. DONE - Fun family photo shoot 10. BOOKED - Fly in a Tiger Moth 11. BOOKED - Tandem sky dive 12. DONE - Bake a marble cake just like my mum’s 13. DONE - Make a decent curry 14. Finish writing the Dalton Trilogy 15. IN PROGRESS - Self publish an informative eBook or a children's book on Amazon 16. Publish a paid article 17. Feature photos on shutterstock.com 18. Catalogue my last 10 years of travels 19. Lose 14 lbs 20. Host a dinner party from scratch (3 courses) 21. IN PROGRESS - Build a new desk area for the office 22. BOOKED - Do 1 presentation to an audience 23. DONE - Ride the London Eye 24. Interview 3 Indie authors from Twitter 25. (Market and) sell 100 copies of Little Child 26. Take a weekend TEFL course 27. DONE - Achieve 3000 unique visitor hits on my website in a month (Feb 2012 was 2816) 28. Make some serious progress on my Writers Bureau course 29. Local book signing 30. IN PROGRESS - Walk parts of the Thames Trail Really excited about what June has in store, not to mention the Euro 2012 footie. Giant St George flag flapping on the side of the house in the unseasonable June gale force winds as we speak! I wonder how many hours of football I can clock up watching on the box? Hoping to catch as many games as poss... although looking at the items I have left, it's almost time to get my head down for some serious studying / writing / promo work to make the second half of the list happen before November 6th... We were so fortunate during our city break to Edinburgh, to witness a Scottish parade marching down The Royal Mile. We later discovered there were some minor Royals in town and even passed right by their limousine on our Trike tour! |
AuthorBlogging is an amazing concept so here I am giving it a whirl. You'll get words. You'll get pics. Sometimes a vid or two. You'll get tongue in cheek, the odd humble opinion and an honest insight into my travels and writing life. Maybe even a few gems along the way. I'll be musing on home turf as I see more and more of the UK and sharing my experiences further afield on holidays and adventurous trips across the globe. Archives
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