Antigua

We've been to Antigua. We arrived back last Sunday but it already seems so long ago what with all the washing and ironing, and then looking after Jack on Wednesday and Thursday, we were straight back into the routine. It's our fifth trip to the Caribbean and the fourth island we've visited. We hadn't intended having such a big holiday this year, we had thought about having a week away in May but with Daniel And Jasmine's Wedding Day being at the end of the month, we decided we'd go away in June instead. Then we got talking about having a fortnight away instead of a week and before we knew it, we'd booked a Caribbean holiday.

We stayed at The Verandah Resort & Spa, a fabulous adult-only all-inclusive property. We were there for the rest and relaxation and boy, did we get it. It was paradise.

The resort is set over thirty acres with hillside, waterview or waterfront suites. The hillside suites have views over the tropical gardens, the waterview suites have a partial ocean view, usually with other suites inbetween you and the ocean, and the waterfront suites are literally by the side of the ocean. We stayed in a waterview suite, we were up bright and early on our first morning and this photo was taken at 6am from our balcony.

Our suite was very well situated, very close to the main pool and restaurants. Each suite is semi-detached. I'm not sure if we had any neighbours, we certainly didn't see or hear anyone. This is the front of the suite.

The back of the suite has a veranda where you can take in the views. There's a partition on the veranda between adjoining suites, but there's a door which can be opened if you're holidaying with family or friends. I thought that was a good idea, it made it private but with the option to open that door if you wanted to.

At the back end of our holiday, we were asked if we'd mind moving suites as there was a water leak somewhere around the resort and our suite was going to be left without water. It wasn't ideal but at least they upgraded us to a waterfront suite. They also allowed us a complimentary late check-out on our departure day which should have cost $50USD and waived part of the resort fee totalling $72USD, so that was something. This was the view from our new room.

We tried to keep up with our walking while we were on holiday and the resort was the perfect place to do this. It could be a little hilly in places but there were good roads around the property and plenty of space to stretch our legs.

Those views spurred us on in the sweltering heat.

The accommodation is set out around the thirty acres so we were lucky to get a suite so central to the amenities, however, those in a suite further away could take advantage of the shuttle service. These buggies whisk you around the resort to wherever you want to go. There are designated stops but they'll pick you up or drop you off anywhere you want, the drivers were always so friendly. We only used them a couple of times preferring to walk around the beautiful location.

Devil's Bridge is a National Park in Antigua, less than a square kilometre in size. It's basically a rock formation where the limestone has been eroded creating an arch with surrounding blowholes powered by the ocean. There were organised trips to this area but as it was so close to our resort, less than a mile away if you know where to take a shortcut, we walked there ourselves. We got up early one morning hoping to avoid the main heat of the day, it was a lovely walk there and back before breakfast.

The resort is built on two beaches, the first, main beach, is called Lovers Beach and was a short walk from our suite.

This beach was the most popular, though it was never crowded. I never had to wait to use one of those sea hammocks, there was always one available when I felt the need to lounge around in the sea. I have to tell you, it's a great way to cool down, and they're so relaxing. It was to one of those suites on the left hand side of the photo that we were moved towards the end of our holiday.

You can find the water sports here too. I'm not a fan really but Mick loves anything to do with water so I did go on a kayak with him to show willing, and he spent quite a bit of time kayaking alone too. He went right out of the bay. There were Hobie Cats too, lightweight catamarans, but we didn't go on those.

Mick's been wanting to have a go a paddle boarding for a long time so he took the chance here. He was really good at it, falling in only once when he first got on the board but after that he was away. He paddled all around the bay. It was something I was going to arrange as one of his monthly surprises for his birthday this year but there's no need for that now he's given it a go. He really enjoyed both the kayaking and the paddle boarding and was a regular visitor at the water sports throughout our holiday, I relaxed on the beach and watched.

Rasta Beach was further away from our suite, we could have got a shuttle to it but instead we walked, it wasn't that far. It was always very quiet here, the perfect place to get away from it all, we loved it. We could be sat there the whole morning and find we were the only ones using this beach.

Just outside our resort was Long Bay Beach, another beautiful expanse of fine white sand and crystal blue waters. This beach didn't belong to our resort so you had to pay for sunbeds and umbrellas here but it's nice for a change of scenery if you want it.

I think that's given you a taste of where we stayed and what the resort was like, I'll be back to tell you a little more about our holiday in my next post.

Summer Flowers

We're back from our travels. I'll tell you all about our holiday in my next post but in the meantime I'd like to share some beautiful blooms from my garden. These were taken before our holiday but I just didn't get round to posting about them before we left so I thought I'd do that now.

The star of my summer garden is the astrantia. I just love these flowers, like little pin cushions. These plants come in white or cream and shades from the palest pink through to the deepest purple. I just love the white ones. I don't give them much attention, they care for themselves and reward me with these beautiful flowers.

After experiencing the scent of daphne when we went In Search Of Snowdrops at Dunham Massey earlier this year, I couldn't resist buying a plant for the garden. Many varieties flower from late winter to late spring but I did a bit of research and came up with Pink Fragrance which has a long flowering season, often from April to October. This is the plant in June, the scent is divine. I've planted this in a container so it can be enjoyed on the patio.

I always plant scarlet geraniums at each side of my back door. The intense red of the flowers are set off by the tall blue glazed pots I plant them in. This one was an extra I had no room for so it was popped in a different pot and displayed with some of my other potted plants. The colour is doing weird things to my camera, most likely because it's so vivid.

Peonies can be quite temperamental when it comes to them being moved, they can die but even if they live, they may not flower for a year or two afterwards, so I was surprised that after moving my peony in the autumn it has rewarded me with not one but quite a few blooms this year. No sulking from being transplanted at all.

I have a plant stand on the patio where I display lots of little different pots of flowers. This one is erodium Bishops Form and it flowers all summer long. You can see the little hedgehog pot hanger hanging onto the side which my friend Maggie from Needles, Greens and Everyday Things bought me in my Twelve Day Advent.

Another from the plant stand is this alchemilla Connoisseurs Choice. A cousin to the more common Alchemilla Mollis, this one is a dwarf variety and slow growing. Ideal for a small pot or container.

Just a few of the things I have growing in my garden, it's a joy to see things flowering throughout the different seasons, though we returned to absolute carnage, the sun and heat has done its worst and many things have suffered. We're now trying to nurture everything back to health. Time will tell if we succeed.

Jack's Birthday, Father's Day And A Day At The Beach

What a wonderful weekend we've just had. It was Jack's second birthday on Saturday, how those two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Eleanor and Jacob decided not to throw a party this year but had an open house for family instead. 

Mick and I, along with Daniel and Jasmine, went round in the morning to give Jack his presents. The slide we bought him was a huge success, once he'd opened it there was no counting how many times he was up and down.

As always, books attracted his attention. I'm so pleased that he's a little bookworm, he loves to be read to but he's just as happy to look at a book and turn the pages himself. He got so many presents, he was opening them all day. Jacob's family don't live close by so we left before lunch time so they could spend the majority of the day with him, they don't see him as often as we do. We returned early evening just before they left so that we could spend another hour with him before bedtime.

Yesterday was Father's Day and we spent it with Daniel, Jasmine, Eleanor, Jacob and Jack at Sandsend on the east coast. As we came over the moors it got rather misty and as we arrived on the beach there was a sea fret, or a coastal fog, which occurs when warm air blows over the cold sea causing the moisture to condense into a thick mist. It happens mostly on the east coast of the UK. We couldn't even see the sea.

Sandsend is a small village with a lovely beach about three miles up the coast from Whitby and is popular with fossil hunters. A beck, or small stream, cuts across the sand. You can see steam rising from it in the photo above as the sea fret was clearing and the heat of the sun began to work its magic.

Jack loves the seaside, he's happy digging in the sand, collecting pebbles or playing in the water. The beck is ideal for him as it's shallow and there's no waves to splash him.

It doesn't mean he won't get wet though, that's what becomes of crouching a little too low. Eleanor was well prepared with a change of clothes.

We went off for a little walk. As you can see, it wasn't very busy, I was surprised as it was a beautiful day once the mist lifted.

I think Jack enjoyed his birthday weekend very much and Mick and Jacob enjoyed Father's Day. I certainly enjoyed spending time with my family, such special memories made every time we're together.

I'm going to sign off the blog for a little while now, we shall be going on holiday soon but I will catch up with all your lovely posts on my return.

Mick's 60th - June

It will be Mick's 60th birthday in August so I'm arranging little surprises for him throughout 2026, hopefully one each month.

The surprise for June happened last Thursday. We started off with a lovely lunch at a fabulous olde worlde pub in a nearby village. They serve really good food with an extensive menu.

The inn dates back to 1540 and still has a traditional interior, three small rooms and a lovely beer garden which we may have used had the weather been a little nicer.

It was home for a little rest before we set off on our journey, we were heading to Birmingham.

Les Miserables is one of Mick's favourite musicals, and my absolute favourite. When I saw there was going to be an Arena Concert Spectacular at the Utilita Arena, I had to get tickets. This was definitely something we were both going to enjoy. 

We were seated in area B, right in front of the stage but not too far forward that we had to stretch our necks to look up. The atmosphere was electric and the production was amazing. The arena tour is more like a concert than a traditional theatre show as sets and props are replaced by lighting and projection screens and the orchestra is on a tiered balcony and can be seen, rather than in an orchestra pit, but all the songs are still there.

The cast were fantastic, they put on an amazing show. Samantha Barks who played the part of Éponine in the film took the part of Fantine, she was brilliant, as were Matt Lucas and Helen Walsh as the Thénardiers. I think Bradley Jaden who took the part of Inspector Javert stole the show though, he was incredible. 

We both loved it and the arena setting works brilliantly for this musical, in fact Mick said he preferred it to the stage show. It was a wonderful night out.

Granny Wrap

You may remember that I was using up all the tiniest scraps of hand dyed yarn in my stash, turning them into a Granny Wrap shawl. You can see the planning part of this project in my Little Pearls Of Colour post back in 2024. I had sorted through all my leftovers putting anything which weighed less than 6g to one side to use in this project.

It's been a labour of love but the Granny Wrap by Annaboo's House is now finished. I have to tell you that some of those scraps extended for just a few stitches so you can imagine how many ends I've had to sew in, but I just don't trust the knots in magic knot balls so it was worth it to me for peace of mind. 

Some scraps were longer than others but none weighed more than 6g, the total weight of the shawl is a remarkable 403g which means it's a very scrappy colourful shawl. It's amazing isn't it, a couple of people in my family have laughed at me for saving such small oddments of yarn but just look at what they've all added up to and what I've created with them.

"And what did you have left at the end?" you ask. Just the tiniest of scraps so I think I fulfilled the goal. The darker one was intentionally left out as I wanted to use brighter colours.

It's so soft and surprisingly warm so it will be perfect to either drape round my shoulders or lay across my lap when the colder weather returns. In the meantime, doesn't it look pretty in the sunshine.

Daniel And Jasmine's Wedding Day

What a wonderful day we had on Thursday when Daniel and Jasmine got married. It seemed a long way off when we booked the venue but these last few months before the big day have flown by. As most of you will know, Jasmine's American, all her family live in America, so being Mother of the Groom has been a little different for me as I've got to do most of the things that Mother of the Bride would usually do, including shopping with Jasmine for her wedding dress. It's been an absolute privilege. I know you'll all be wanting to see the dress she chose so we'll start off with a photo of Jasmine.

We looked in so many bridal shops, there were a few close calls but there was just something about each dress which let it down, until she saw, and fell in love, with this one.

The wedding and reception was held at Walton Hall at Waterton Park Hotel & Spa. The Hall is the former home of famous naturalist Charles Waterton and it stands on an island in the middle of a lake. There's also a more modern hotel on the mainland in the grounds but the ceremony, reception and evening reception were all held on the island.

We'd been hoping for fine weather. We were all a little worried when we woke at 3am to the sound of thunder, flashes of lightening lighting up our bedrooms and the sound of rain. The rumbles of thunder continued through the night and accompanied us as we were getting ready in the morning but by the time we arrived at Waterton Park, the sun was shining and the temperature was rising nicely. It got really quite hot as the day went on but not too overbearing as it had been earlier on in the week, it was perfect.

The ceremony was at 12.30pm, this was followed with a prosecco and Budweiser drinks reception and canapes on the lawn by the lake. It was so relaxed with guests mingling and chatting whilst different groups were called for photos. It was nice that some of Jasmine's family were able to come over from America to share the celebrations and there were lots of friends from different areas of their lives joining in the festivities too.

Jasmine had four bridesmaids including Eleanor who was Maid of Honour. They each wore dresses chosen themselves, Jasmine wanted them to have their own style but more importantly, be comfortable.

Eleanor and Jasmine stayed together in a room in Walton Hall the night before the wedding. On the morning of the wedding, Eleanor presented Jasmine with a scrapbook she'd made for her containing photos from all stages of her life with different friends and family, and letters she'd asked different people to write to her to be opened on the morning of her wedding. Jasmine said she cried at every one. It's a good job then that Eleanor was on hand to do her hair and make-up before the wedding. It's lovely to see these two sisters-in-law getting on so well.

Daniel couldn't choose between two of his closest friends so in the end decided to have two best men. They both did a brilliant job. Mick and Jacob are at each side, Ryan and Rob at each side of Daniel. I was surprised when Daniel decided to go with tuxedos but I thought they all looked very smart, I love the look.

The flowers were gorgeous. Eleanor was so happy with the florist she used for her wedding that Jasmine went with the same person. She wasn't really fussy about what flowers she wanted, she knew she wanted blues and purples and eucalyptus, she really just gave a broad outline of the things she liked and the florist came up with the rest. I think she did a beautiful job and Jasmine was very pleased with them.

Jack was a little star. He was a ring bearer and came down the aisle with his head bowed. I thought he must be a little shy but he was, in fact, so thrilled with his new shoes that he couldn't take his eyes off them, haha. Bless him. He didn't make a murmur throughout the ceremony and was as good as gold all day long. He kept going past 10pm when Eleanor finally took him up to bed.

There were three speeches, Daniel made one and so did each of the best men. Daniel decided they'd make the speeches before we ate so that everyone could relax and enjoy the meal. He didn't want to be worrying about having to stand up in front of everyone whilst he was eating. Daniel's speech brought a tear to my eye when he mentioned my mum and dad and how he wished they could be here celebrating with him, I didn't know he was going to say that and it caught me off guard. I also had a little moment when he was thanking me and Mick for everything we've done for him, his speech really was very touching. Although the best men hadn't conferred, they managed to make their speeches very different and individual. They were three very good speeches.

The wedding breakfast was delicious. We started with traditional Yorkshire pudding with braised beef brisket and a rich onion gravy. The main was oven roast breast of chicken finished with a red wine jus, fondant potato and seasonal vegetables. For dessert we had individual white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake delicately sprinkled with cracked meringue, finished with raspberry coulis, and we finished off with freshly ground coffee and mints. Everyone commented on how good the food was, the canapes earlier had been excellent too.

The wedding had a loose galaxy theme, after all, they both studied astrophysics at university. The cake followed this theme in design. Each tier had a different flavour, from top to bottom: strawberry milkshake, chocolate orange, toffee and salted caramel, lemon. I have to say that the cake was absolutely delicious, I've never tasted cake so moist and flavoursome.

There was a little time to relax after the meal before the evening festivities began. An evening disco was held in the old boathouse which opened out onto decking where a barbecue was enjoyed. Yes, yet more food, and this was equally as good as what we'd already sampled. Daniel and Jasmine had their first dance to Lover by Taylor Swift. The DJ played a good mix of tunes and the dancefloor was never empty. It went on till the early hours and everyone said what a fantastic day they'd all had. There were smiles on everyone's faces all day long.

We've had a few preview photos sent by the photographer, some of which I've included here, others are photos that have been snapped on phones throughout the day. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the official photos.

What an absolutely fabulous day, very special memories made for everyone. I asked Jasmine if she was sorry it was all over and she said no, she couldn't be sorry because it was just perfect!