Turning 60 in Bristol

NO ... fortunately not me just yet (but soon enough) ... we have come to Bristol this week to help my very good mate Steve celebrate his. We had the pleasure of sharing his 50th with him and group of his friends and family in the Dordogne region (in the magnificent hills and countryside inland from Bordeaux) of France. Quite the week ... and so it has turned out again so far this one 10 years later. And it is only Tuesday!

We arrived late Friday and you can see Steve & Helena being greeted by Deb in the lovely garden of our B&B on Saturday morning (I will add a separate post about the B&B shortly so it is done justice). 

They were picking us up to go to lunch at Venue 35, a nice Cafe not too far down the road and quite close to their bungalow renovation. The arrangement had been made by Helena as a surprise for Steve because he did not know his sister and husband (Ros & John, nearest camera below) were coming over for his birthday. So you can see us below hoeing into lunch amid lively conversation with another of their friends (Lorraine) who had also been in France 10 years ago.

Steve was surprised and pleased, of course. Lunch was the entree and the party was to come in the evening at a local pub called the Mouse. Very fortunately for Deb & I, it was literally around a corner and up a hill from our B&B ... not at all chosen for that reason but fortuitous none the less. After lunch we headed a bit further along the road and were given a tour of their bungalow renovation ... it will look excellent when it is done and will be very spacious, open and airy. Their location has the advantage of being adjacent to a nice open space/park and some nice quiet cul-de-sacs so that parking is not a big issue as often happens in streets all over the UK.

You can see Steve being a good boy and blowing out all his candles above! Not too much of the cake was left and what was found its way into nibbles with coffee at the nursing home - whoops ... I keep calling it that now he has turned 60, but it is actually the (old) nurses home at Southmead Hospital where they are bunking for the duration of the renovation. You see us enjoying yet another feed in the common room on Sunday (Steve & I reckoned it brought back memories of the Woodlawn refectory - less lots of hungry boarders of course!). This was after some earlier earlier afternoon tea in the same place, followed by a walk and a couple drinks at a nearby pub. Then it was "home" to rest up for the final stage of the three days of gluttony ...

Monday here was a bank holiday and we headed down to Weston-Super-Mare where Helena's brother Aidie and his partner Beccie (also present in France) hosted a cream tea, drinks, and dinner & more drinks and dessert! Below you can see the spread for the cream tea portion, including a Victoria sponge - as the second photo shows, Helena really liked it :)! Those of you who know Helena will understand she loves her food and so the second image is only partly a misrepresentation! Helena's mum & Step-dad (Edna & Doug) were there so, for me it was good to catch up with them. We first met way back in 1991 at Steve & Helena's wedding ... yep dad, Doug is still here!

 

Helena needed a little nap so we did not disturb her for a while! Then, as the sun had finally arrived after a very wet and windy morning we headed out for some time in their lovely garden ... the view in the second photo is out across the Mendip Hills so they are in a wonderful location with the seaside very close on the other side (though not visible). 

 

The 60 year old and his wife of 25 years this year ... enjoying the sun & drinking red wine too ... how tastes mature!

Really ... drinking it too, not just minding it for someone!

And as you can well imagine, while this shot shows the ladies discussing whatever it was they were discussing and ignoring the gardening fork totally that is in the foreground, the gentlemen were elsewhere in the garden attending to things that needed doing ... naturally, you need to use you imagination without the wide-angle lens!

Today, was a quieter day, and an even quieter evening now. We drove over to Devizes Caen Hill to check out the 16 of the 29 locks on the Avon River that allow the long boats to ascend and descend. Here are a couple of pictures to give you a sense and here is a link in case you are curious to know a bit more about their history and operation.

The view from the bottom ... a lot of water held back (controlled)!

One lowered and moving to the next level ...

Two waiting for the next drainage.

Manual labour ... and at the front end a manual winch to drain.

Underway and enjoying the hard work ... this is near the top.

There was a range of birds and ducks and geese and swans as you might imagine along small lakes/ponds at each level. There was a group of school kids enjoying a canoeing excursion too. However, the two greatest treats was seeing a pair of swans guarding their nest and this photo shows the one on the nest preening it ...

But BETTER STILL (even if you think Maggie is cute!) check out the next stage after the eggs hatch ... this takes "cute' to whole other level ... quite some way to end the day ... check mum's back in case you miss it (the partner swan is not in this picture but is in some others)!