A trip down Ian's memory lane

To Newark, Melton and Rooks Hill. Monday 18th July.

The Polish memorial in the War Graves cemetery.

With the wedding over we packed our bags for a half-day tour of Ian’s childhood and to visit the Cemetery where mum and dad are buried.  And to meet up with Ian’s sister Alix and her husband Larry, who are over from the USA.  

The wedding had been held in the Dales in Derbyshire, which were about an hour drive from the War Graves Cemetery in Newark-on Trent  where the ashes of mum and dad are buried.  So on a sunny day that gets progressively hotter, we set off for Newark. 

This was to be the first time that the whole of the remaining Kaye family had been in the one place since mum died in 2005. 

Mum and dad.  Rest in Peace.

Arriving about 11am we met up with Alix and Larry at the graveside.  It was a beautiful spot on a beautiful summers day, surrounded by the well tended graves of the Commonwealth soldiers and airmen killed in the 2^nd WW who were stationed in the many RAF aerodromes that were  nearby.

Dad wanted to be buried there because of the connections with the Polish Government in Exile leaders who were also there.  We told the kids some of the stories of dads exploits during and after the war, and how he met mum whilst based nearby.  Mum was living with her parents in Nottingham.

Alix provided some small roses bushes, which dad loved, and we planted them at the headstone.  It does not show his 1903 birthdate, as is the style on all the war graves headstones nearby.

The Kaye Family at the spot.

Then back into the cars, (now with Larry following behind in his rented Mercedes – with a/c!), and off to my birthplace, Melton Mowbray.  Lunch there was good pub food at the Anne of Cleeves, and we had about 2 hours to sit in the pub garden  and catch up on 5 years plus of family chat!  Back into the cars at 3pm, and a quick tour of my Melton highlights passing my old school – now half demolished, my old homes, half of them demolished, and my old play spaces, now built over! Ah memories.. Must write my biography one day soon, before I forget it all,  all i'll just make it up, ha ha!

Then back on the road south.  Alix and Larry drive south to Fareham to stay with friends overnight before meeting up again tomorrow.  Tom and Simon we drop off in Leicester, (go City!) to rent a car for their drive up to Scotland.  Rob and Ayla we take to Uxbridge, at the end of the Central line for their trip in to London to stay with Tyrone, before flitting off to Scandanavia for 2 weeks. 

Ayla at Tyrone's house in London, later that day.

It was soooo hot in the car by now 30C and on the noisy and dirty M1 / M25 not really practical to have windows open.  But all went well and we were back home with Judy and Nigel in Bramley by 8pm. We then had a great BBQ in the garden under the late summer evening sky with good food, too many bottles of  wine and more stories. The gnome illuminated our table, did its best and died! 

Bye bye........

Great day everyone thanks.

See to all at sea tomorrow.

Wedding Number One - Enter the Woods!

Ashbourne Derbyshire, Home of the Kirtleys.

Robin and Ayla and Tom flew into Gatwick and Heathrow respectively on Thursday 14th.  Thanks to Nigel who drove manfully through the London airports traffic congestion to pick them all up and bring them back to Rooks Hill.  I fail to understand why anyone would want to add another runway to Heathrow, it is already mostly a car park on the M25 for 20 miles either side of the airport, but that i understand is the plan.  Like many things about the UK now that totally baffle me.  We will talk more about Brexit later.  Anyway back at Rooks Hill we all sit down to a wonderful vegetable curry supper prepared by Jane and tumble early into bed to be ready for an early start tomorrow.

On the drive to Ashbourne

We diverted from the drive to the Newport Pagnell services on the M1to collect Simon who had arrived in the UK on Tuesday and had been staying with his skiing mate Deesley for a few days.  So we were 6 in the mining bus and it was chockers with suitcases and baggage as we trundled up to Ashbourne, home of the Kirtleys. There was even a massive hat box that went up as luggage on Simons lap.

We found our place to stay for the next few days, part of the Station Hotel, which is now across the road from where the station used to be.  But the line of the old railway, which included a tunnel through the hill behind the station, are still there and in use as a walking and cycle path up to the Dales, and incidentally the Callow Hall Hotel where the wedding reception was held.

The Station Hotel - the station itself was demolished in 1968!

 We unpacked, sorted out the ironing of shirts and trews, and prepared ourselves for the pre-Wedding dinner at Callow Hall.  We all walked through the tunnel and on up to the Hall by about 7pm and after drinks in the bar whist waiting for the others to arrives (see photos below) we had a great sit down dinner for 40!  There were about 20 guests from Australia there that night and the rest were "locals".  Becky's dad had been a local GP and so the family is well known in the area.  And Becky's sister had graduated as a Doctor on the Wednesday before, so there was lots to celebrate.  And later that night we all walked back through the tunnel to the Station Hotel.

Kaye Family Pre-Dinner Drinks in the Callow Hall Hotel

 So on to the main event, the wedding of Julian Wood and Becky Kirtley.  After another morning of ironing and preening ourselves were ready to go to the church.  Look at Jane! What a gem.

Jane ready for the main event!  Dressed by Judy - thanks!

The wedding ceremony was held at the local St Oswald's church. A beautiful medieval gem of a place there are bit of windows that are reported to go back to the original building consecrated in 1281!!! How old is that.....

St Oswald's church, Ashbourne

The lancet window with stained glass dated to 1281.

Another wonderful window in the church

 The bride arrived dead on 1pm and the vicar did her thing and they were pronounced man and wife by 2pm.  Hymns included Jerusalem and Love Divine.  All the old classics, sung with gusto, and a choir.

After they left the church we were shut in briefly whist they took photos outside against the old church doors! And then the bells started. They are very proud of the bells at St Oswald's.  The various plaques attest to the fact they can ring peals of 5000 plus changes in 4 hours and do so whenever they can think of a reason to, Queens Jubilees etc.

Plaques about bellringing in the church.

You can see the bell pull ropes under the tower.

The melee outside the church went on with photos and chat for about an hour. See photos below.

Jane and Anne, got to love those hats...

Happy bride Becky and her mum...

Tom and Simon looking very smart!

Rob and Ayla enjoying the moment.

Linda photo bombing the Kayes!

Then back to Callow Hall for a wedding breakfast and toasts and speeches at about 5pm and then a dinner and dancing from about 7pm!  Much eating and drinking followed; duck, salmon, chips, roast veg,  spit roast sucking pig, wines, puddings, cake cutting, more teas and coffee, more toasts, dancing, cigars (Ben Wood was just back from Cuba with the real things).  Beautifully thought through decorations and table pieces of books and cards and the menus on chocolate bars and beautiful flowers everywhere.  Becky and her crew had done a wonderful job of making the place look just fantastic.

Then we all took carriages home at about midnight.  What a day and night.  Beautiful! A selection of photos from the afternoon and evening are given below for your perusal..

The groom in mid-speech.

2016 -Two weddings - and a holiday

Off we go - again

Monday 11th July.

So we have just moved house in Brisbane for the 4th time in 18 months.  We have put our dog, Yoshi, with friends.  We have planned the trips and booked the hotels and flights.  We have bought the wedding frocks and suits.  We are ready, lets go! Onto the plane and up up and away.

Leaving,  on a jet plane..................

Settling into Rooks Hill for a few days with Judy and Nigel, (thanks).  The weather is very typically English since we arrived, sun and showers. We slept well last night and today had a great time in a visit to Wisley Gardens.  Simon already here, Tom, Robin and Ayla in the air.

A spaceman made of plants!

Jane in the rain, check out the fashionable footwear!

And by the way, whist we have been here the UK has decided to have a new Prime Minister, so we have been keeping up with the political shenanigans. The BBC coverage has been depressingly populist where they interrupt the news every few minutes to ask some punter in the street "what they think" of whatever is currently happening. Oh dear what has happened to the BBC?

Its never too busy to stop and smell the roses

Merry Christmas to all our Readers

The Devonian Period

It's a Saturday, 20th December 2014, and Jane and I are cleaning around and packing up the cottage we have been staying in in Devon since 3rd October 2014.  When we arrived here outré plan was to stay for two months then continues our Gap Year travels staying with friends in Toronto, New York and Miami before having Christmas with my sister and her family in Orlando, Florida.  How the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry!

Merry Christmas everybody.

In very brief summary, Jane was not only diagnosed with bowel cancer, but thanks to the quick ministrations of the UK National Health Service she was diagnosed, admitted to hospital, operated upon, discharged and, according to the consultant surgeon, cured, within a apace of 8 days!  Now that what I call service.  Any follow up treatments will now happen in Australia to where we will return in early January 2015.

Tomorrow we drive to Jane's sister's house in Bramley to have a relatively quiet Christmas there before finally packing up and returning to the UK, with Jane in particular leaving a little more of herself behind here than she may originally have anticipated.

Ian outside an historic pile.

Our time here has been spent in the lovely village of Blackawton, off the beaten tourist track but a just a few miles from Dartmouth and Totnes and an hour south of Exeter.  The weather here since we arrived has been pretty wet and windy, but interspersed with some glorious sunny days too when we have escaped into the Devon countryside and just enjoyed being here.  Great local pubs and restaurants to snuggle into when its too awful to go outside much.

We have visited all the local National Trust houses including Greenway, Agatha Christies seaside house, Saltram House and may other more historic piles.  Walks along deserted beaches and windswept cliff tops have rounded out the experience, between various trips to hospital.  A trip to London also took in the poppies at the Tower.

The poppies at the Tower of London

Jane is recovering brilliantly now and we look forward to seeing or hearing from you all again the New Year. Have a very merry Christmas and a really wonderful New Year .

We leave you with a selection of photos from our time here in Devon.

View from Darmouth over to Kingswear

Buckland Abbey, house of Sir Francis Drake.

Love and peace to you all

The rood screen in Blackawton Church, with Advent candles.  Beautiful.

Ian and Jane