Monday

I wake to the sunrise as there are no curtains because there is no need for them and I take a look at the spectacular views.  There is birdsong and the call of buzzards and then the sound of Molls tinkling the ivories practicing the theme to James bond before the bus picks her and Freddy up outside the house and takes them to school.  Lucky them the bus comes and picks them up right outside the door and the driver waits and has a chat with Sal before setting off.  My early morning cup of tea is like nectar as I feel everso slightly baggy headed,  I blame the heating in the bedroom rather than the copious amounts if wine consumed last night.  The weather is glorious - not what I had anticipated nor packed for but heyho I would survive - there will be shops in Yeovil if I need to have a rethink

I am so chuffed as Tommy had taken the day off and apart form a midday delivery Sal was free too so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together once the children had gone to school.

Tom and I took Buddy the dog for a walk in the surrounding area.  Neither words nor photographs can begin to convey how stunningly beautiful it is where they live and our walk to St Catherine's Chapel and then around the village of Abbotsbury was fabulous - actually fabulous doesn't do it
justice - this was England at is very very best.  I make no apologies for filling the next few days of the blog with loads of photographs!

Our walk took us past Abbotsbury Childrens Barn where a Swan gave us such a lovely display then we realised he was probably protecting some young on a small island in the middle of the water and then we saw cuddly sheep and a calf which popped its head up over the hedge to say hello.

We strolled back and  reconvened at Clayhangar and waited for Sally to get her dressed crab and prawn basket ready for her client before deciding to pay a visit to Portland, somewhere I have not been for years.  I remember as a child we would go there spending a Sunday picnicking on the causeway bit between Weymouth and Portland, there or Charmouth - and having decided to go for the day we would go whatever the weather and sometimes at Charmouth we could be shrouded in a sea mist and freezing and back home it would have been fabulous - I actually remember my sister sitting in the car all day and refusing to get out!

We parked up and started out exploration with an Ice-Cream - it was needed as it was exceptionally warm!!!  We headed for the quarry where there are all sorts of sculptures to investigate and
far reaching views.  In 2012 Portland hosted the sailing events in the Olympics.

Tommy and Buddy posed for a photograph but if Tommy was looking through a ring then Buddy wasn't and vice versa!!!

The quarry area was fascinating - the sculptures obviously evolve and they hold classes to enable people to do their own and presumably to add to those that are already in situ - in some ways this is a sort of modern day Stonehenge - I guess that at some point in the future these artifacts will be discovered and people will wonder why they are there and what purpose they served!

So here I am at the top of Portland with Buddy and both of us are looking at the camera.  The sea and the sky were the most fabulous colour more like what I see in Cyprus.  It was so lovely, a grey and rainy day would have given such a different impression.  It was a little windy up top but I was rather too warm in my jumper and scarf!!!

We had planned to have an afternoon cuppa and Tommy took us up to the cafe which is run by the inmates of the prison because the views are spectacular.  Sadly it was shut, in fact nearly everywhere was shut, it was Monday!!!!  We decided the best thing to do was to call into Aldi (which was open) pick up some cakes and head back to Clayhangar for a cuppa before I packed up and headed off to Yeovil and my friend Hazel.  I was so grateful for Tommy taking me part of the way and even then I managed to take a wrong turning!!!!

I arrived at Hazel's safe and sound but Yeovil is now the world capital of new buildings and roadworks and in the short space of time since I was last here two or three new estates have sprung up where once we used to enjoy countryside and green fields.  One has to wonder where the people are coming from to fill all these new houses and where they will work as Yeovil offers limited opportunities in terms of employment and even more so when the future of GKN is in the balance.

I was so lovely to see her - she will be coming out to visit in a couple of months and I can't wait.  We have been friends since about 1980 when I met her in Yeovil on a night out and she was wearing a pink and purple ra-ra skirt and I thought she was so cosmopolitan!  She is on the right of the picture.  On the left is our good friend Jane and in the middle is Sal who is a friend of Jane's and Hazel's.  We owe Jane so much, she and John were staying in Emba when Dad died and were there to look after Mum whilst we traveled down from Droushia.  They provided help and support during a difficult time and when I cocked up with Mum's flight they were good enough to go to Bristol airport for the flight which came in at 1.00am, wait and then clock up at 20 quid parking bill.  It was lovely to go out the four of us and we had a lovely evening at the Carpenters Arms in Chilthorne Domer.  Big big thanks to John for being the taxi service.

It is a big day tomorrow as I am going back to work!!!