Caribbean Cruise-Martinique

Chester to Warrington.

Warrington to Euston.

Euston to Gatwick.

Gatwick to Barbados.(Thomson, Boeing 767)

First port...Martinique.

Here she is, the magnificent Sea Princess, what a lovely ship.



We docked at Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique which is one of the islands of the Lesser Antilles (and measures about 50 miles by 22 miles.)




Christopher Columbus discovered Martinique in 1493 though he didn't land until 1502, at which time he was met by the native Carib indians. Today it is a French island (YIPPEE!!),the language is French, the currency is the Euro, the citizens here vote in French national elections and it currently enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean.

The fruit and veg stalls in the local market were magnificent.



As was this lady's hat.



And the cathedral.



Sea Princess shone in the afternoon sun.



Husb got a French supermarket carrier bag (Result!)



Then after a little wander we took a boat across the bay where it looked sunny AND FOUND A BEACH! Where was everyone?



French flag flying in the Fort-de-France



Caribbean Sea-Tick. Done it.





Clouds were gathering over the Ship but we were happy in the sun and sea on the other side of the bay...



...where we saw some St Tropez style boats, very shiny white.



Back on ship it was formal dress for dinner so Husb pinky-bow-tied and I frilled.



Everyone gathered in the "Atrium" for the champagne fountain



so I went down in the ship's snazzy lift




to help the maitre d'hote pour champagne all over my shoes.

Back home for fishy feet!

WE DID IT WE DID IT!!! (I still can't believe we did it!)

Husb and I are now home from a fantastic holiday which did us the world of good and which convinced us both that flying is not too bad when there are idyllic islands in the Bahamas waiting for you. WOW! It really was a lovely week and photos will follow as soon as possible. We had a perfect homecoming with the Pixen and the Drake waiting for us at the station and Sammie and Penny at home (and Rod, her tiny little boyfriend)

Penny doing her party trick.



There was even a beautiful bunch of flowers to welcome us (and a hoovered carpet WOO!)



As the Pixen was only home for a couple of days (Royal Wedding Street Party Committments!) we thought this would be a good time to use our vouchers for the fishy feet at Aquasiva up on the Chester rows.

Garra Rufa fish originate from Turkey and are renowned for their ability to enhance the appearance and texture of our feet by gently exfoliating them by nibbling away at the dead skin cells. It has also been discovered that the Garra Rufa fish excrete an enzyme, diathanol, which improves skin regeneration. Initially it felt a bit ticklish but we had lovely smooth feet afterwards.



We started with a foot bath...



...and then in went the feet!



They didn't seem to like the feet of the lady sat opposite me.



Mine were obviously delicious.



I would have wanted a refund if the fish in my tank were so full they didn't nibble...




As it happened I was ♪♫ ♪♫ simply irresistible ♪♫ ♪♫ (right foot especially)




Mini foot massage to finish and then we slid all the way back to the car. Brill!


(How long have Freddos been 20p?????? TWENTY PEE!!!! OMG)

Big Sis and BIL come to Chester werhoooo

How exciting!!!!!!

Big Sis and B-I-L coming to Chester!

So without further ado we headed off to the river for a baked potato in Hickory's



before mozying down the river on the Mark Twain.





I must know the commentary off by heart by now but we all smiled at the story of the witches on Barrel Well Hill. Those ladies suspected of being involved in witchcraft were put in a barrel and sent rolling down the hill into the Dee. If they drowned they were deemed innocent and therefore must be on their way to heaven. If they survived they were obviously guilty and were hanged on Barrel Well Hill anyway!

A little retail shopping followed...



and a look at the Chester Clock..



before the scenic walk along the walls (alongside the cathedral looking splendid at the moment, lovely colours),




and the old "Chester Cathedral Cricket Team"'s ground, back to Orla who was safe and sound in her parking space with noone else near her (!!)

A ride in Orla was a must and she needed a run out so next day we headed off to the Choaks (BIL fancied a trip to Milan)



Meanwhile his wifey had found YET ANOTHER BAG SHOP!! HOW many bags????




As you can see we had a fantastic afternoon!



It was rounded off with a trip into school for the GCSE Art Exhibition, the lure being the free glass of wine that Husb was serving(!) but we were all very impressed with the amount of work the students had done. Shoes featured a lot and the work was mostly textured rather than painted...

naturally we discussed this over an excellent carvery tea where we were looked after by Joy, Kay's daughter.

Brilliant fun! and Sis and BIL seemed to be loving it all too. I'm not sure who made the greatest impression, Orla or Sammie?! They both received a lot of fuss anyway!

(Now then...what do I need to do for my forthcoming holiday...???)

Pre-season cricket dinner

Wareing, Nigey, Bear and Will...

Bob and TC (the colonel)



...not quite sure how this happened...(Possibly had something to do with me giving Bob stick about his new non-stick chewing gum?)



Entertainment by the Deportees (Greenie and Bill!!)



Its always a good night as it signifies the fact that the long winter is over at last.

(and once more, into the kitchen I go with the bread and butter...)

Good luck for the coming season lads.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDNA!!

91 !!! Still plenty young enough for steak and ale pie in the Piper (I think it was the mashed potato that won it!!) Happy birthday to an amazing lady!

Mothering Sunday 2011

Mothering Sunday is always the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Mothering Sunday was also known as 'Refreshment Sunday', Pudding Pie Sunday (in Surrey, England) or 'Mid-Lent Sunday'. It was a day in Lent when the fasting rules were relaxed, in honour of the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand', a story in the Christian Bible.

(Hmmmm does that mean we could have had chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cheese and/or yoghurts today then????)

No one is absolutely certain exactly how the name of Mothering Sunday began. However, one theory is that the celebration could have been adopted from a Roman Spring festival celebrating Cybele, their Mother Goddess.


As Christianity spread, this date was adopted by Christians. The epistle in the Book of Common Prayer for this Sunday refers to the heavenly Jerusalem as "the Mother of us all", and this may have prompted the customs we still see today.

It is known on this date, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church). The church in which each person was baptised.Cathedrals are the 'mother church' of all other churches in an area.People who visited their mother church would say they had gone "a mothering."

A card from Singapore plus the sound of Cub's voice, a visit from the NixenPixen and some fabulous glass earrings from Drake...great ingredients for a great day! And aerobics was busy enough this morning too!

We had a lovely afternoon hunting geocaches in Chester yesterday.We met Nic under the Eastgate clock..





and walked through the Roman Gardens..





and Drakey found the first... a tiny nanocache, werhooo!





Then headed towards the river for the second..



which I found, YIPPEE!



Geocaching takes you to places you wouldn't normally visit and we saw a beautiful cherry blossom tree...




It was a lovely weekend. Thank you all at hollindale.co.uk