A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME ON THE WAY HOME.

One way or another it's been a different kind of a week. Before I tell you about it I need to explain a little, As I write my blog I can click on a link which will give me some statistics about how my blog is received out there in the big wide world, it tells me how many people have looked at it today and where in the world they are , but what it doesn't do is tell me what they thought of it,  (comments would be very welcome,,,good or not so good :).

This year it's been cold but not this cold.
'

So bearing this in mind let me now tell you how my week was.
Last Sunday the 17th found me on my way to Riga airport, I was heading for England to attend the funeral of my sister Jean. Though we had never been close I felt I should be there. The flight was fine but running a little late ,as we rose through thick fog up into the bright sunshine we always find above the clouds. This always reminds me of God's love, for altho we may not see or feel it, it is always there and in a world that seems very dark at times we can break through the clouds that surround us and enjoy the warmth of His presence around us,  It was cold wet and miserable and Stansted was full of folk heading somewhere, maybe returning from a holiday on a warm sunny shore ( boy, were they in for a shock) or maybe returning from working overseas and looking forward to time with family and friends, but they all had one thing in common and that was to be in my way!!!
It is at times like that I can see the difference in the life we used to know when we lived in England and the one we have now, one where we can travel 25 kilometers and see perhaps 10 cars on a busy day  . However having fought my way through the crowds of people and their suitcases, I ended up standing waiting for my face to be recognised at passport control , I then realised I had put it in the wrong way round ,so did it the right way, and then I made my way through the labyrinth of nothing to declare and baggage reclaim out into the arrivals hall. This to me is just another bewildering time, those waiting to meet someone need only to look for face in a trickle of people coming through the door, but those coming out are met with a sea of faces,for me I hadn't seen our  niece Lucy,for 21 years, would I recognise her?? I didn't have to worry as she found me before I had chance to go into meltdown mode ,especially as my phone decide it didn't want to work in England,  ,so after big hugs we then headed for the car, and off to Lucy's home, where I was staying.  I at last managed to get a message to Valerie via the internet,who was relieved to know I was there safe and sound.   Being Sunday ,we went to church in Peterborough, which was quite an experience for me, 500 strong congregation, but I really enjoyed listening to the Christmas story, and singing carols,and meeting new people,

The promise of things to come

Monday, the day of the funeral, saw us back at the church, [in a room decorated with Christmas trees and snowflakes.]waiting for people to arrive.
It was great to spend time with all of our nieces and our nephew with their respective families and see how they have grown over the years [some great nieces and nephews ,were not even born ]when we last all met.which was at my mum's funeral,  All to soon my time with them was over , sad to say goodbye, and  hope to see them sometime soon [but NOT another funeral],,,Then I was heading with our son Andrew for Newbury to stay for two nights,he'd come up for his aunt's funeral.

On Tuesday I was off to see our daughter Anna and family, we were going to spend some quality Dad  and Daughter time. 

Ah when I  was a lad this was a train

Here was another forgotten memory ,train travel!! having found train times on the internet it appeared that the only trains from Newbury that stopped at Westbury would leave at 7.50 or 12.00 WHAT!!!!! surely they run every hour??? not a chance so it was an early start, £11.50 the fare so the timetable had said, but oh no £32 the ticket man asked  £11.50 that's the super duper off, off peak fare, what a con. Eventually having picked myself up off the floor it was decided that if I bought a ticket from Newbury to Pewsey and then one from Pewsey to Westbury  I would save money as it would only cost £17.50. WHY!!! I'm sitting on the same train travelling the same distance in the same seat, it just didn't make any sense and I certainly wasn't going to get into a discussion with the ticket man because I am sure I wouldn't have understood why. So to me it remains one of life's mysteries.
Anna and Olivia met me at the station , we went home and had a chat with Valerie on Skype, then off to have breakfast in Sainsbury's  a bacon sandwich and hot chocolate, we had a little retail therapy, lunch in a pub, then we sorted some heating problems ( I hope) Oh yes ,and there was the question,, Dad ,,,can you have a look at my hoover it's not working, got that sorted and then my time with them was over and it back on the train and this time the ticket purchased in a machine on the platform from Trowbridge to Newbury changing at Westbury was £11.50, I'm still puzzled over pricing. So back to Newbury to spend time with Andrew ,Michelle and Thomas   .Oh the joy!!  Gammon and pineapple ,plus chips for supper,
But where was I?  Ah yes rambling on ,lost in my own little world as usual now where did I start? Oh yes "A funny thing happened" Having been delivered back to Stansted (£3.50 just to stop and get out of the car. !!!!!) said a quick goodbye to Andrew and Thomas, and off  into the airport, I eventually boarded my plane, settled in my seat and waited (and apart from takeoff nerves ) felt quite relaxed. The plane was full, not a spare seat and I turned and said to the man one seat along (who I had heard speak english) " looks like everyone is going home for the holiday" He said yes, then he said, " I read a blog written by an Englishman living in Latvia and of his life there" this quite surprised me, as it was my blog he read.  what a small world ,my thanks must go to him, for his encouragement, 

So despite my doubts about Google's statistics ,I now know there are people out there who do read my blog and I thank you and wish you a very Happy Christmas.

OF VINES,TULIPS AND FAIRY TALES

It wasn't the earliest of starts, in fact it was quite civilised for excursions from Stelpe. We boarded the coach after it had delivered the schoolchildren all excited and ready for their day, (well some were)

We were off for the day in Tervetes novad visiting a young man who has a business growing grapes, and then a visit to someone who grows tulips, this would be followed by pusdienas (lunch) and then a short distance down the road to the main destination of our trip The Tervete Nature Park.

After what seemed to be the wettest September in memory we had enjoyed two days of wonderful warm sunny weather and this morning didn't disappoint, it was glorious and as we travelled we watched farmers

out in there fields cultivating and sowing next years harvest. In one field we watched huge machines applying a liquid fertilizer, covering wide swaths of land in a single pass, such a long long way from childhood days when the local farmer would drive through our village towing his muck spreader and filling the air with a distinctly agricultural aroma.

Three large poly tunnels held 100 nes in each.

Trained along wires the vines were above head height.

Large sweet juicy grapes tasting  nothing like shop bought ones. 

Anyway I digress Tervete novad (parish) is about 100 km from Stelpe so just a short trip for us today.

Our first stop was to visit Edgars Zihmanis who has planted some 800 vines outside for vine production and 300 inside three large poly tunnels and these were the vines we had come to see. With varieties from Ukraine, Russia and the U S A, he has selected varieties that will withstand Latvias cold winters with temperatures down to -25 -27C.

At the end of our tour there was a tasting session and believe you me there is nothing quite like a freshly picked juicy grape.

Like so many old buildings here, neglect and lack of funds
has caused  a multitude of problems for those
wanting to restore them  to their former glory.

Valerie took  a shine to this pup

While dad looked on.

Please take me home.

Settling back on the coach we headed for our next call the tulip grower ,here we could buy bulbs ready for next spring flowering, and after some confusion as to whether we should turn left or right we turned left only to find it should have been right, never mind we arrived and disembarked, The man whose business we had come to visit was waiting for us and we heard about his plans for the area, and the business he had. I'm afraid that when we went into his garden we discovered that his dog had had a litter of eight pups and these were the main attraction for many of us, Valerie took great delight in cuddling one pup and was most put out when I said no we can't have one. Mother was a German Shepherd and father looked like Bernese Mountain Dog, well he was certainly the size of a mountain!!

My dining companions.

Our lunchtime venue

Meat, mashed potato two different salads and sauce.

By golly it was good, very tasty.

Finally it was dinner time and we were to eat at the Agrofirma Tervete Ednica, a fairly new café which served an extremely good value for money meal.and very tasty too, excellent service and brilliant price , under 4 euros, for main,course pudding and drink [juice ].  

Our last stop was the Tervete Nature Park some 400 hectares of forest with paths down which one can wander and find giant mushrooms, fairytale caricatures, small homes for folk who live in this magical forest, there are play areas for children and grown-ups, tea rooms for those who just want to wander and enjoy the magnificent trees some up to 40m tall. If you want there is an observation tower which is 39m high and you can look out above the trees over the surrounding countryside. We had a guide with us as we set off and he told us many stories of the folk who lived there. The prerequisite though was that you must believe in fairy tales or you would see nothing at all. The two hours spent there was just not long enough and it is now on our list of places to take friends when they visit us.there is also a land train if you so wish, which some of us took advantage of a ride back up the hill, 

The bridge to take us from the carpark into the
Tervete Nature Park, so much safer than crossing the road. 

Along our way were rather nice places to sit and ponder a while.

How about rabbits this big?

I think Valerie would like one of these for
our garden!!

Just keep caterpillars this size off my plants. 

Practicing being a garden gnome (suites me I don't think)

Des Res in need of some upgrading.

No2 Fairy walk ready to move in to.

This witch was great she fed us with chocolate covered rasons.

Didn't like the size of the spiders though.

Part of the adventure playground, and as responsible adults
of course we had to try it out. Didn't we?,

Sadly our day was drawing to a close and we had to head back towards Stelpe after another great day out with our friends.

Where did summer go. Was it something that I said?

An international gathering from, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine
and the UK. The venue 13 Upes Iela

Those of you who know me will understand that when the grass starts to 
grow in spring and the plants start to wake up ,our garden tends to take over and sitting and trying to write this blog tends to take second place, or even third or fourth place.

There always has to be time for friends to visit, days away, and on the very rare occasion even a night away but all of these come with some cost. Unfortunately weeds and grass do not seem to understand the concept of a day of rest.

The joy of having a garden though is sharing it with friends and no matter what. quoting an old English song “Everything stops for tea” so the door is always open, PG tips ready and there is usually some cake or scones in the cupboard waiting to be eaten so if you have a bit of time to spare friends are always welcome.

The reason I am here now trying to put some thoughts into a blog is Spring and Summer have come and almost gone and we are sort of in between seasons. One day wet (which it is today) one day dull and dreary another warm and the next cold!! (to the point of putting the heating on).

Some bright spark once said “summer should get a speeding ticket” it travels so fast!!

Anyway that be it as it may, we all have to accept Autumn is on it's way some trees are beginning to turn red and the birch trees are showing yellow. I really like the way they seem to have tear drops of yellow leaves amongst the green almost as if they were sad at the passing of summer.

I mentioned earlier that there had been those days away, and I have endeavoured to cover them with albums of pictures on Facebook, one picture being worth a thousand words, and it's much quicker than writing a blog. ( If you are not a friend on FB send me a request and then you can catch up.)

Meanwhile here is a short account of the occasional day off and happenings in Stelpe we have had in picture form,

 (APRIL) Anna and Olivia, helping us at school cooking with the children

Olivia getting some cooking tips from Nanny.

In return a new hairstyle for Nanny.

(April)Our two large trees that had to be felled.

Our neighbour Janis making a start.

TIMBER!!!!!

A job well done. It's great to have good neighbours.

(May) My own humble effort at tree felling,
(Now  you see them)

Now you don't

( May) Our son Mark helping Dad with some barn repairs.

June found us in Lithuania at Kurija  Nerija National Park.
Looking towards Russia.

Sand dunes right on the Russian border.

All together now, a life on the ocean waves.

A little about our boat trip.

On the shore line, just hope the tide doesn't rse to much.

We had a day out in Lithuania with friends from
Vecumnieki, where everything is big!!
From cookng pots

to ants

Snakes

Even the mosquitoes. 

As we left after a long day we stopped for one
last look over the countryside from this 100mtr
viewing high platform.

A few days latter found us heading out again,
this time to Kolka, which is where the
Baltic sea joins the Gulf of Riga.
This is a local fishermans boat.

Lunch in  a fishermans home.

Heading for  Cape Kolka

I'm Glad I never brought my swimming trunks.

A proud moment for grandparents, when we attended Katies
graduation in Winchester Cathedral in July