One Daily Positive - Week 17. A week in the UK

Peter and I have flown to the UK for a week, it was a bit of a last minute decision. Peter needs to renew his passport and although we could do it via a courier, we decided on a trip over instead.

Our trip to the UK together has made me realise how little interaction I have with the outside world back in Dubai. This week there has been no dog walking, or swimming, or cleaning or sweeping of sand. It's pretty much all I do normally. Instead my week has been full of family and friends.

We didn't get to see child 3 as he's now back in Australia. It wasn't about money it was time and age, but neither of us felt we could manage the trip over to visit child 4 and 4a in the short time we had here, it's only an hours flight but it's all the time spent getting to and from airports also.

We've loved the countryside in Spring, so much has reminded us of our time in South Africa also, but minus the animals. I half expected to see giraffe and zebra as we drove to Cannop ponds and hippos in the lake. The tea room at the garden centre is typical of the ones in SA also. The buildings also capture our attention more than when we lived here.

111 Sunday An early start and flight to Birmingham, collecting car hire and driving to South Wales. After unpacking and a bit of tidying as child 3 had been living in the flat, we popped in to see Mum, our 8 year niece and Thing 1. Pub with friends.

This sign has featured highly in my journeys from childhood, returning home.

112 Monday Off to Gloucester to visit child 1. We stopped for breakfast on route and regretted it all day. Called in to see child 2 on our way home then off to visit the Things, bit of salad for tea and an early night.

View from our flat window.

113 Tuesday Appointment at the passport office and a wander around Newport with mum. Took a nap in the afternoon. Child 2 and 2a came over early evening.

Down by the river, spring time, with bunnies and ducks running around.

114 Wednesday Collected child 1 in Gloucester and drove to Cirencester to visit child 5 for lunch. Afternoon just chilling and dinner out with friends and child 2 and 2a.

Caught in the rain in Fairford.

115 Thursday Pottered around the Forest of Dean went for a walk, had coffee, called in to see friends early evening and dinner out in Ross with another set.

Cannop Ponds.

116 Friday Collected MIL from Keynsham and went to Street for the day, dinner and pub in the evening with Peter's sister and family. We stayed in a B&B.

Drive by photography, Tintern Abbey.

117 Saturday A long day out, took MIL to a local garden centre for a coffee and look round. Drove to Gloucester to visit child 1, due to the weather we took her to Asda for a walk round and some last minute shopping. Into the town for Peter's suit fitting for child 4 and 4a's wedding in September, met a friend for a drink and catch up, home and an early night.

Tea room in Keynsham.

On the blog this week:

My parenting journey and how it went

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Things to do in Monmouth South Wales.

There's a lot to do in Monmouth in South Wales. Since buying a flat here I n October 2016, I've been spending summer there, escaping the heat in my home town Dubai.

We chose Monmouth to put down UK roots as my parents lived there for 18 years, sadly my father died, but my mum has remained local. Monmouth has a population of around 9,000.

As well as being a pretty market town, Monmouth has good road links to the Forest of Dean, Ross-on-Wye for the M50/M5, the Wye Valley and Chepstow for the Severn bridge crossing to Bristol and Newport for the M4. There's a fairly decent local bus service and the National Express now stops there.

Entering Monmouth either by car brings you into either the top or the bottom of the town, with ample car parking both ends. Visitors usually favour the parking by Waitrose as it's easier to find.

Monmouth is a pretty town, with its share of high street stores and an abundance of local shops and weekly market stalls. It also has its fair share of coffee and charity shops and pubs with accommodation and a newly opened Premier Inn.

I'm going to start my tour of Monmouth at the Medieval Monnow Bridge across the River Monnow. Monnow Bridge was still open to traffic up until early 2000's. It was erected in 1180 from stone, previously it was wood and the remnants remain today.

If you walk through the Gate and cross the round about to the left, you'll find this lovely little fairy door.

Located behind the Bridge is the Church of St Thomas the Martyr dating in parts from 1180, although the exterior was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth heritage Trail, marked with blue plaques.

Looking up the town on the right are the public toilets with a wealth of literature about what is on in the town and outside the Robin Hood Pub is the information on the rest of Monmouth Heritage Trail.

On a nice day, you can grab fish and chips and picnic by the river or follow the Monnow to where it meets the Wye, passing allotments and open space good for walking a dog in.

Alternatively at the back of Waitrose car park you'll find Chippenfield park with plenty of open space, shaded areas, benches, a children's park and the Nelson Gardens. There's a very strong connection with Lord/Admiral Nelson and Lady Hamilton here, despite only spending a few days here, in 1802, this is evidenced by the gardens, museum and the Kymin. Monmouth is also 35 miles from the sea as the crow flies, but the Royal Forest of Dean near by supplied timber for the battle against the Spanish Armada.

Take you time exploring Monmouth and the side streets, make sure you visit one of the many pubs in the town for food and drink. We prefer to visit the Estero Lounge near the coach station for food as it's reasonably priced and quality is ok when we meet up with family and friends and freshly cooked which is a bonus compared to the alternative chain in the town. It also has a secure garden, ample seating and is dog friendly, as are the coffee shops also.

There are some unusual style buildings in the town, which make it interesting to walk through, especially near the top where you'll find the Shire Hall located.

The Shire Hall in Agincourt Square is a Grade 1 listed building, built in 1724. Formally an Assize Court, it is now the Tourist Information Centre and offices for Monmouth Town Council. They also hold weddings there.

Monmouth is the birth place of  Charles Rolls of Rolls Royce. His statue can be found outside.

Just up the road and is Church Street. It is full of independent shops, restaurants and the Savoy Theatre. 

The Savoy Theatre was refurbished in 1928 and is a Grade 2 listed building retaining it's original features. It has been opened as a cinema since 1910 and was originally known as the Assembly Rooms constructed on the site on the Bell Inn. It was also briefly a roller skating rink at the end of the 19th century.

Next head up to St Mary's church  an Anglian  church founded as a Benedictine Priory in 1075. The current church dates mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries.

At  the eastern end of the churchyard,  is the gravestone of John Renie, his wife and two sons. Renie was a house painter who died in 1832 at the age of 33. It comprises a rectangular carved 285-letter acrostic puzzle. From the larger H on the centre square the sentence reads "Here lies John Renie" which may be read in any direction.

Exit the road side of the church and there's a slope leading you down to the caves, back up the steps and turn right into the Nelson museum.
Just past here back towards the town is Monmouth Castle and the regimental museum of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers. It is also the Birth Place of Henry V.

Head back towards the church, turn left at the traffic lights, left to Osbaston and visit the commonwealth graves, cross the road and follow the footbridge over the river Monnow, which leads you back into town.

On your walk back to your starting point, the Monnow Bridge, you'll see Bridges day centre on the right, they offer a variety of activities here and I joined in with a keep fit class, it runs on a pay as you go system, which is good for short visits.There's also a newly opened swimming pool at the secondary school, Monmouth Leisure Centre and it has soft play also.

Monmouth has many events throughout the year, from music festivals, Friday markets, street carnival, agriculture shows, seasonal boot sales, craft fairs, flower festivals and so much more. Check out the events and dates at Visit Monmouthshire.

The Kymin, Museum and Admiral Nelson Gardens in Monmouth.

I've never understood the link with Lord Admiral Nelson and the Kymin as a Naval Temple in Monmouth. Although Lydney Docks are a mere 15 miles away over the boarder in England, there was no Naval Dockyard in Wales until 1815 in Pembroke, some 10 years after Nelson's death and the HMS Victory was built in Chatham Docks in Kent. 

However the nearby Forest of Dean was declared by Lord Nelson to be the 'finest timber in the kingdom'.

Nelson visited Wales to visit Sir William Hamilton and tour his Pembrokshire estates in 1802. The Kymin at the time was a hunting lodge.

At this point Nelson and Lady Hamilton the wife of Sir William, had been having an affair for 4 years.

The Kymin was reached up a very steep and narrow, windy road, it was a nerve wracking drive but worth the trip up the hill for the views alone.

View from the Kymin of Monmouth

Originally a hunting and picnic lodge, an extension was built for someone to live in to look after the property, it's now owned by the National Trust.

Nelson Museum located at the top of town in the Old Market Hall. Entrance is free and there is a magnificent collection of Nelson material. 

The Nelson gardens are one of Monmouth's hidden secrets, located behind lloyds Bank off the high street. It can also be approached via Chippenfield Park which used to be a race course.

Entry is via a10ft-long tunnel leading to the base of the old town wall, which formed the perimeter of medieval Monmouth

It was originally the site of a tennis court in the 17th century and a bowling green in 1718.

Further Roman and Norman remains are thought to be buried deep beneath the lawn.

Maintained by a team of volunteers there is plenty of information to be discovered as you walk round the garden from the people working there and information panels.

The gardens feature a hot wall, heated by hot water in pipes to encourage more exotic plants to grow.

Pavilion

Old town wall.

There's a lot more to see in Monmouth including the Castle which was the birthplace of Henry V and the Llangattock family whose son Charles Rolls was joint founder of Rolls Royce.

My Sunday Photo -Week 140 V is for View

Life is starting to return to normal after my father's sudden death in July. A new normal, bearing in my mind my home is in Dubai and I'm going to be in the UK for a while longer yet.

The original purpose of my visit was to help the teen with his apprenticeship applications and to find him somewhere to live, we've been delayed by 8 weeks, but I'm on it now. I was also here to sort out our new flat in South Wales and house we rent out in Malvern as well as paperwork for investments, UK tax and a few other bits and pieces.

Slowly I've started to get round to doing some of the above now and I'm on top of things with mum. Peter arrives next Sunday for 2 weeks and we'll be travelling around the UK having a bit of a holiday and hopefully seeing a bit more than the inside of the shed, garage, attic and the view of a field from the car boot.

The view from the Wyche Cutting, Malvern.

Week 95 - My Sunday Photo and Photalife

An unexpected trip to the UK for a family funeral on Monday, as sad as the occasion is, it is lovely to be home and have the opportunity to see family and friends again.

The weather in Dubai has been cooling down, with temps now consistently below 35c in the day and 30c during the night. That still sounds hot to you, but for us living there, it means we can now spend time outdoors, start the gardening, walk the dog and leave a window open to get some fresh air.

We don't get seasons in Dubai, it's either hot or hotter and anything that provides a splash of colour amongst the beigeness of the desert is artificial and requires a lot of work to maintain.

I took this photo of the berries, hydrangeas and autumnal leaves in my mum's garden this morning.

Walking the Malvern Hills

 On our recent trip to the UK, we visited Malvern where we lived for 8 years prior to becoming expats, almost 6 years ago. We still own a property there so we booked into a B&B in the town to meet the tenants and have a few days catching up with old friends.

We probably didn't walk the Malvern hills as often as we should've or could've. Being outdoors is something both Peter and I miss, in South Africa it wasn't safe to just go off walking and in Dubai, it's too hot most of the year and besides, everything is just beige here.

We parked at the Wyche cutting and walked along the hills to the Beacon, it was windy and we managed to get back to the car before the rain came. The paths are tarmac'd so no specialist walking equipment required.

 Although we are undecided as to where we would live when we return to the UK (time scale unknown) we both talked about how lovely it would be to bring #BobTheDog on the hills for a walk and we met several dogs on our walk.

Our house is down there, somewhere.

The views from the hills are spectacular and the camera just doesn't do them justice.

The wildflowers are stunning, providing a break from all the greenery and brightening up a dull summer's day.