Author: Maggie Daniel

Up, packed and left our cases at the coach and then into breakfast. Ready for the trip home.

Back on the ferry.

We think the driver, Bill, was in a hurry to get home. He was not hanging around at the drop offs or the services.

We were home by 4pm. Mal was cooking dinner even though he had a really bad cold.

It was a very nice weekend.

Breakfast and Angie and Janet decided to go on the trip to Alum Bay and Newport. The other 3 of us decided to take part in the quiz. We were hopeless. Well who knew who has won the most Grammys? And what is a flock of flamingos called? I knew how many hearts an octopus has (I watch so many Natural History/ Wildlife programmes. )

We then sat and played Rummy. Later we walked into Yarmouth.

We went for lunch in Gossip’s Cafe.

Even in Yarmouth people were stopping us and asking all about Red Hatters. We should have printed a sheet out with Jenny Joseph’s poem on it!

Back to the hotel and again  we sat outside the hotel overlooking the sea. We were so lucky that we didn’t have any rain. Of course we did sit wrapped in our coats and maybe the Guiness helped!!!

Eventually back to the chalets to get changed and ready for dinner and the evening entertainment.  It was an Abba Tribute band. We danced quite a lot.

 

I was up early and had to be at Westwood Cross for 6.35 as 5 of us Red Hatter were off to the Isle of Wight to Warners Norton Grange. Not too bad for the pick ups on the way apart from having to go via Dartford. They gave us the back seat of the coach.

Of course, the whole coach were asking who we were and why we were dressed the way we dress. We got to know a lot of them, all very friendly. We caught the ferry at Lymington having driven through the New Forest.

The ferry stops just round the corner from Warner’s Norton Grange where we were staying. So, we arrived at 2.30 and although we were given keys, we couldn’t enter the chalets until 3.00. We sat outside facing the sea, having a drink!

We were chatting so much and drinking that it was 5.30 when we decided we ought to go and collect our cases and go to our chalets!

Pam and I were sharing and she was getting a little tipsy!

Entertainment in the evening with Sweet Sensation. We all had a few dances.

We walked in the Minster Fields. It was lovely listening to the birds so I had  my bird identifier on, blue tits, great tits, robins of course, chaffinch and a dunnock. Spring must be on the way! At least the rain stopped for a day.

Traitors in the evening!

A miserable day, it just kept raining!  I went to Westwood Cross for an overdue car clean. Mal usually does it but hasn’t recently, so I had quite a shock when told it was £35. They obviously polished the leather seats as I slipped on them when I got in the car.

I heard from Paula, she has now been registered partially blind and yesterday Gilly had her knee operation which went well.

Traitors in the evening again!

A walk along the river in Sandwich, still quite misty.

Lunchtime I met the Red Hat girls at Taddy’s Barn for lunch. A good lunch and really good company. Two didn’t come as they said it was too close to us going away on Saturday, so we will see them then.

We agreed as a group we have quite a lot on in February but decided out February lunch would coincide with a Marlowe theatre trip and meet earlier to go to  The Ivy, Canterbury.

In the evening Traitors, what twists and turns!

23,000 people in Kent without water and they have doubled the water bill! Thankfully we still have water BUT every time you drive out , there are “South East water” vans. How can” he” receive £150,000 bonus?

We have to laugh, in north Cyprus we always had water and a swimming pool. OK, we ordered tankers in the summer but it was a fraction of the extortionate  price they are charging for out current water bill.

We went to King George VI park. It was very misty and we managed to get our walk in before the rain started pouring down. A bit of a miserable day.

Also today our local hospital  (QEQM) have declared a “critical incident“. This country is broken!!