The Last Word

Just to let everyone know that I will be closing The Naked Bloggers 2013 down on Monday.  As with every year, I battle with whether to blog or not.  That is always the question as every year ends.  But I/we have decided to go on for another year mainly because we have a few holidays booked for 2014 to places where we have never visited before.

Unfortunately with the business with the FA and the battle with Aunt Daphne's estate ongoing, we have been forced to keep the blog private which means that only invited readers can view.  Hopefully one day in the future we can go public again but for the time being, its a selected readership only.  I have invited this morning, everyone I know that reads our blog.  Unfortunately this isn't automatic so if you haven't received an invite via Google then please inbox me.

Hopefully we will have some good adventures to share in the forthcoming year, and as always, thanks for following.

Phil's 2013 Summary

A famous film describes this year, “Four funerals and no weddings”.  However, we did manage to squeeze in a few holidays on the way starting with an all inclusive in Lanzarote.

Also Sue had major open heart surgery which was not the end of her trauma that seems to have lasted forever.  Anyway, she seems to have recovered already.

During February we had the last meal out with my Dad before he went into decline.  It was nice that Georgina’s other Grandma managed to come over and join us at the same time.

Lots of snow and Steve’s (Pem) 60th Birthday party.

We had a lovely cruise around the Mediterranean with Costa, more snow and my dad went into hospital in March.

In April we had a party at Sues and an all inclusive in Corfu where I tried a Quad bike for the first time.  I think I might have cot the photos for two cruises mixed up; nobody would notice if it wasn't for the dates on the pictures.  Never mind all cruises are the same, great.

Dad was only in hospital for a short time and they let him come home.  They didn't expect that he would last very long as he has kidney cancer and a heart that is hardly functioning.  Thats why he feels so crap all the time but at least he was not in pain.  Dad died peacefully at home with Mum in May and I arrived about 5 minutes later as there was an accident on the M1.  I also went to see Eric Clapton with Steve for his 60th Birthday.  Jim went to Georgia on a business trip and Shirley went to Australia to visit Dan.  There was also the bizarre Wednesday night where they all came in playing my Dad’s favorite instrument, the piano accordions.

In June, Sue’s Dad died.  On a brighter note, I went to stay with Steve in Loughborough and went out for a drink with his two boys, Ben and Joe who I hadn't seen for years.

Over the summer and especially in July we had lots of stays at the caravans with various different people; it really is good fun having those when the sun shines.

It was also Claire’s Birthday and one of her presents from Sue was a boat trip and meal on the Thames.  We even managed to get away for another cruise on the Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg for a few days.

In August we took Mum for a well deserved holiday for a cruise around Norway.  We still had time for lots more stays at the caravan as well.  Life's hard sometimes.  However, I forgot to say that I started back to work for Rexam back in March so it wasn’t all play.  Its only for 3 days a week though so we still have lots of free time.

We had a night out for my Birthday and we went to the nice Thai Modern restaurant.

In September we had more stays at the caravan and Claire got back in touch with her Mum after 20 years apart.  Claire’s Mum Liz died in October.

In November we had a trip to Prague which Claire really needed.

Here we are back to December again where we had a cruise to The Canary Islands and Malta with Sue and Ian.  It feels that at long last Sue’s troubles might finally have passed.  She has now found a really nice chap and they seem to be getting on great, her health is much better and she can party again and appears to be making up for lost time.  Have a great New Year Everyone!

December Phil

Before reviewing December and the year I have one more day of our holiday to finish off.
We were due to get out of our hotel by 12.00 noon which was just about perfect and gave us time for lunch a little drive along the coast and to drop our car off at 3pm at the airport ready to fly home.  Well, it would have been perfect if our plane wasn't delayed.

We had a little drive along the beach towards the airport but instead of going on the motorway we took the old road which has turnings to sea villages and towns.

After the second or third stop we found a huge holiday complex that had lots of shops, restaurants and pools etc.

This is where we decided to have lunch.  Its quite a nice resort if you didn't want to go anywhere else but it wasn’t all inclusive, you had to pay everywhere.

We had one last stop when we drove past some of the wind turbines.  You can see them when you first arrive when you drive south from the airport along the beach.  They look like they are all together from a distance but they are here there and everywhere when you get up close.

As our flight was delayed we didn't get to our hotel in Gatwick until 1.30am.  By the time Sue picked us up after a long drive back we had about half an hour until it was Christmas lunch with Sue and Ian at the Old Swan.

We were then back to Sue’s to open all our presents and have a couple more drinks.

The following morning, I picked up Georgina to have our Christmas lunch with Grandma.  She had put us a huge lunch on which we all enjoyed.  It seems ages since I last saw Georgina and she has split up with her boyfriend James.  It seems fairly amicable and she’s not upset about it.  I don't think that they could have found a way to continue their relationship after they finish at University in June anyway.

We drove back the same day and then back to Melton on Christmas Eve to stop with Mum again until Boxing Day.  Somehow I forgot to take any pictures which is unusual for me these days.  Maybe I was so relaxed or maybe I was too busy, cooking the Christmas lunch and sanding and painting outside all day Christmas Day.  Merry Christmas everyone.  When we got back on Boxing day, again we only had an hour or so and we were meeting, Jim and Shirley, and Harriet and Billy for lunch at the Ship.

Straight back to Jim and Shirley’s for more drinks.  Shirley made a nice cocktail which she tested before keeping it to herself.

It wasn’t long before Jimmy relaxed and changed into his favorite Christmas present.

Of course you couldn't get Claire off the dance floor even when it was time for Christmas crackers.

Harriet and Billy enjoyed themselves and even went onto Newport Pagnell for drinks afterwards.  Theres staying power for you.

Next thing you know, it was time for Sues Christmas drinks party that had lots of people we had never met.  Its been full on this year and we need a holiday to recover.

Next stop New Years party at Dunstable; have a good one everyone.  Happy New Year!

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

We wish all our friends,family and followers 'A Very Happy Christmas'.  We hope everyone has a cool yuel.  Eat, drink and be merry.  Enjoy.

Cheers !!

Phil & Claire 

Happy Holidays

Well done to my DH for managing to post a blog almost every day that we were away.  Phil did hint that he would have liked me to write a post to give him a break but I was too much in a holiday mode and plus I didn’t take my laptop.  I had a great holiday, well actually I feel like have had 3 holidays in one and it was just great to get away and escape.  It was bit manic getting things sorted before we went and I feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground since we landed, but it’s been worth it.

Of course, in true Krause style our holiday wasn’t without problems.  The first glitch was the Gatwick hotel going into receivership the day before we flew.   We managed to book another but I have still got the paperwork to fill out so we can claim our money back for the original booking.  Easy Jet also changed our flights so we had to fly out really early in the morning.  We picked up the hire car from Las Palmas okay and with the help of the sat nav loaned to us by Chris Ford (thanks Chris) we managed to find our way to the hotel.  What I hadn’t realised was that our hotel was smack in the centre of las Palmas and the other thing I hadn’t realised was that the hotel didn’t have a carpark.  It was a nightmare finding the multi-storey and even more of a nightmare parking on the 3rd floor in our allocated space but we managed.

The weather was good, not boiling hot but around 23, hot enough to sit outside with a beer.  It was quite nice having a few days to chill out before the cruise and something I think I would do again in the future.  It was bit of a nightmare finding the port in Las Palmas even thought it was only a few miles from the hotel but we conquered, managing to drop off the hire car and making out way to the ship.  Check in was easy and we were on board with plenty of time for lunch.

I personally was disappointed with MSC and probably wouldn’t cruise with them again. The ship itself was good, clean and with plenty of facilities plus it was easy to navigate.  But that said, the food was a bit hit and miss, as was the service at times.  Some of the bar staff were lovely and we had 2 great waiters at our dinner table in the evening. I felt the entertainment was lacking, not just in the evenings but also for daytime activities as well.   Phil and I are normally safely tucked up and in our cabins by 9 o’clock but not on this cruise.  Oh no, I don’t think we made to bed any night before midnight and sometimes beyond that.

We were also lucky with our dinner table; we had the Scots Jim and Gina who were very nice and the two single German ladies Helga and Elizabeth who seemed to enjoy our company because after dinner was finished they followed us round different bars and even to the nightclub.  Actually I think Helga and were a little bit in love with Phil, weather it was his Germanic genes or his good looks I dunno but he definitely had 2 admirers.  At times I would have preferred it to be just be the 4 of us but that’s just Claire being unsociable and grumpy.  If I were solo cruising I think too would seek out the company of others.  We promised to keep in touch but already I have lost their business cards.

We had a good time and it was party, party, party.  We were glad that we invited Sue and Ian to come along and we got on great.   Both Sue & Ian are good company, they are very laid back and I think we gave each other space when needed.   It was a shame that the weather wasn’t so great.  I have never seen rain before in the Canaries but I have since learnt that the cold weather was due to there being so much snow in Teide in Tenerife which brought a cold front to the islands.  But I mustn’t complain as it was much warmer there than it was at home.

Sue & Ian came back to our hotel in Playa des Ingles for one last supper and it was a little sad saying goodbye to the airport.  After all the dancing and partying we felt a little flat for a couple of days but then we chilled. I was really looking forward to staying in a Riu hotel even if it was self catering, however I was disappointed.  Our Riu was tired and unloved, the room was okay but the kitchen facilities were very basic. In retrospect I wished I had of complained and asked to be moved especially because our balcony only got the sun in the morning.  But that said, the hotel was full of Germans and I am not sure I would have blagged an upgrade even if I paid more.

The other gripe I had was that I really didn’t like Playa des Ingles, it was so commercialised and god only what knows what made me choose there for my last week, especially as I had been there before.  Phil felt the same and I know he was disappointed with the hotel but he didn’t complain too much even though I would have done if it was the other way round.

Actually Phil was a star for the entire holiday, he drove the hire car and got us to where we needed to be; he cooked a few times, washed the pots and even made me tea in bed on more than one occasion.   I know we are fortunate to go away so often but this holiday was really needed and it has done us the power of good.

Thanks to Sue for coming to pick us up from our Gatwick hotel on Sunday morning, 4 hours of driving for her in the wet and the rain.   We got to the flat at midday and then got collected by taxi to go to the Old Swan at Woughton for our Christmas get-together with Sue and Ian.  Originally we planned this because we were due to get home on the Saturday but then Easy Jet changed our flights.  Never mind, we had roast beef and red wine, what more could a girl want.  Afterwards we went back to Sue’s to open pressies and then home to crash and catch up with X-Factor and Celebrity.  We were cream crackered but it was a lovely end to a great holiday.

Yesterday was busy, Phil picked up Georgina from Roade and they went to spend the day with grandma; I had 150 emails to read, a tonne of post and 8 loads of washing to do.  I also did a food shop in Asda which took me nearly 2 hours.  A reminder of why I hate Christmas, next year we are going away for the whole shebang, I have decided.  I went to visit my nieces in the afternoon and then came back to tackle the ironing.   What a miserable day it was.  Last night I caught up with my soaps.

And so am I ready for Christmas, well sort of.  I am going to the gym this morning.  Been lucky only put on 2 pounds on holiday which is pretty amazing considering how much I ate and drank but I danced every night on the boat and Phil & I did a few hours of walking which must have helped.  After lunch I will pack the bags and we will drive to Melton to spend a couple of days with mum.  It will be a quiet one and after Boxing Day, Phil and I intend to hole ourselves in the flat, catching up with TV and generally doing nothing.

I will do a Christmas post tomorrow and then will be quiet for a couple of days.  Phil will do his usual end of month, end of year summary and I also have asked Sue to post a guest blog which hopefully she will get round to doing before the end of the year but she has a busy schedule so it may be next year.  Right now, I leave you with the best of my holiday photographs.  Happy hols everyone!