Had a great end-of-season weeks’ holiday in Menorca this month with son John, wife Amanda, Katie and new baby Amy.

We’ve been to Menorca twice before, but never to the Northern coast, and the countryside was beautiful.

They say you’re better born lucky than rich, and as the previous week had been cold, rainy and blustery, and we set off back home in a rainstorm, I reckon the fact that our week had been warm, dry and mostly sunny puts us firmly in the Lucky category.

John, Amanda and family want us to go with them to the Red Sea for a fortnight next April, and since, after only a week back home, we are setting off once again tomorrow morning to join son Paul and family at the Red Sea for a couple of weeks, we find ourselves pausing to reflect once again on the sheer joy of surviving to become Wrinklies with a close family in the twenty-first Century. Yee-Ha !!

First four pics below from our October Menorca hol show John and Katie at the water’s edge, a view of the bay ( notice how clear the water is ? ), Madge, John & Katie on the beach, and Katie playing at the water’s edge. The sand pinnacle you see is something I do every time I get near a beach. It’s done using a bucket of sand and water and letting the mixture trickle out of your hand. You can easily achieve a height of of nearly 3ft (1M) on a non-windy day with practice and with the right sand.

Last two pics show me heading back to the villa with baby Amy in the pushchair, and one of the many pairs of rough riven wood gates to be found in the local area. Nice to see that even posh brand new villas were proudly equipped with these very basic, locally constructed gates, which apparently are a unique feature of the Menorcan landscape.

Pics from our coming Red Sea holiday to follow when we get back home in a couple of weeks. Read and weep !

Enjoyed another trip to Hastings to see Paul and family last weekend. We had an easy ride down and had good weather for the  whole weekend. Enjoyed the twins’ birthday party held at a local holiday chalet park, watching Jake playing with the local junior football team, and having a spin in Paul’s new Honda sports car. (now that scared the **** out of me !) A lovely barbie on the back lawn and an easy ride back home completed a great family weekend.

Pics below show Paul’s car, a picturesque tree at the chalet park, and the two punk dolls we bought for Lauren, who can be seen looking quite pleased with her prezzies.

Here we go again !

Madge and I have been invited on holiday to Menorca with John & Amanda, Katie and baby Amy. They have rented a villa on the North coast right next to the beach. We will be flying from Humberside Airport, which is not far from where John and Amanda live, so we will be able to park at their house and Amanda’s dad Tony will do the airport run for us.

We’ve been to Menorca before, and always self-catering, but  to the South of the island, so it will be interesting to see how the North compares.

On our first visit, we went with Sara, Adam, Sam & Tom in 1999, then on our second in 2001 we went with Paul, Silvia, Jake and twins Lauren and Dan. It’s a great family destination, with picturesque inlets, good accommodation and restaurants and a very peaceful atmosphere.

First three pics below are from ’99; looking at these, it strikes be how much better digi cameras have become in the last five years or so. First pic shows Adam stood up on the right with Sam at the inlet, next one is of me steadily cooking at the pool (The reason for my pained expression is that I had just gashed my shin on a jagged piece of loose plastic at the edge of the pool. I never go on holiday now without Newskin in my medical bag ! ). The third pic shows us all relaxing with drinks and waiting for our evening meal.

Last pic is from our 2001 holiday and shows Paul, Madge, Silvia and the gang on the beach on the first day.  On this holiday, I developed a very painful complaint nicknamed “Policeman’s Foot”. This is a tender condition of the heel, which makes it very painful just to put it on the ground. I also had problems with my teeth, and the nearest dentist was at the other end of the island. I wondered, jokingly at the time, if I had developed “foot and mouth disease” as this was raging across the UK cattle population at the time ! Anyways, maybe this time it will be third time lucky, and this Menorca holiday will be injury free for me.

Wouldn’t miss it for a gold pig anyway- being a grandad really is the best of times !

During our holiday if Florida with Sara and family, we spent a fair amount of time at the back of the beach bar playing Wallhooky.

This is a game which consists of a ring on a string or wire hung from a projecting wooden rod which has to be swung any whichway until it latches onto a hook fixed to the wall. The feature about the game which literally gets you “hooked” is the fact that any skill you develop can be transient – you can get five in a row, then miss the next five, so the game never gets boring as a result of developed expertise on the part of any one player.  There is a Website, www.wallhooky.com , which promotes the game.

When we got home, I wasted no time knocking up  a version of my own, and we have some hilarious tournaments across the age ranges from Wrinklies to grandchildren. We vary the rules to add interest, like choosing a couple of “bankers” in a set of ten attempts, such as, say, 2nd and 5th attempts. If they are successful, they can be worth, say, three points instead of just one. This gives less skilled players a chance to catch up if they are lucky.

Pics below show the hook and ring setup, and a couple of shots of Madge in action.

Had good news the other day on the Wrinkly Health front. After our Florida holidays in June, a small spot on my back which I have had for years became swollen, scabbed and bled a little, and the skin around it reddened, so I made an appointment at my local doctor’s to have it checked out. He diagnosed a Basal Cell Carcinoma (a type of skin cancer, but not the more serious Melanoma which can spread ).

He gave me a prescription for Penicillin to reduce the inflammation, and made me an appointment at the local hospital Plastic Surgery Unit to have it removed, but being non-urgent he told me it could be months before I got the call, so I put it to the back of my mind, although I was obviously a bit concerned.  I suggested that maybe it was just an infection and that the anitbiotic might shrink it back to normal, but he said he didn’t think so.

However,  after the course of antibiotics, the swelling did go down and the spot shrank back to its original size, so it was right out of the blue when I got a call from the Hospital last Thursday to say that there had been a cancellation, and could I call in the next day for treatment.

Could I !! And the good news was that it had been just an infection  which needed no further treatment. There really is a Santa Clause !

On Sunday, 31st July, I had my 70th Birthday Party & Barbeque. After a week of rainy days, I had great faith in my Accuweather.com forecast of overcast morning followed by sunny intervals in the afternoon, and it turned out to be spot on. After a cool start (handy for setting everything up) it ended up warm and sunny the rest of the day.

Volleyball, table tennis, pool, Wallhooky, boules, there was lots for the young and not so young to do between eating, drinking, catching up and reminiscing.

Pics below show one of the food tables, Adam in charge of the barbeque, grandkids Jake and Dan on the pool table and three of the oldies showing they know how to enjoy themselves !

We hadn’t got back from our Florida holiday for more than a week when our Grandparents’ skills were called upon again. Son John, wife Amanda and Katie & new baby girl Amy invited us to share their caravan holiday at Filey, about 70 miles away on the East Coast.

The weather was warm and sunny apart from one day when we spent most of the afternoon in the indoor swimming pool, and we were joined by Amanda’s parents for one day which happened to be the best day weatherwise. It was lovely to enjoy a traditional English seaside holiday again, which was all we could afford when our own kids were little.

Pics below show John, Amanda and Madge set up a the edge of the beach, Katie enjoying a ride on the roundabout, and Amy giving us a smile back in the caravan. The simple pleasures really are the best !

Just got back from a 2-week holiday in Florida with Daughter Sara, Son-in-law Adam, and their two boys Sam, 11 and Tom, 6. We met some interesting people, and once again were struck by how friendly and polite people are in the US of A.

Another weekend with young guests Sam, Tom, Luc and Jackson. The weather has turned bright and sunny, but it is still quite chilly outdoors because the air temperature is ludicrously low for the time of year. What happened to Global Warming ??

Great news of Grandsons Sam, 11, and Tom, 6, about their progress at school. They have both been placed on the Gifted and Talented register at the local Education Authority, Tom for Academic achievement and Sam for Academic and Artistic achievement. This means that they will have even more opportunities to shine both in school and in extra-curricular activities. We are all so proud of them !

Pics below show clockwise Jackson, Sam, Tom and Lucas around the table, and then Sam and Tom in their school uniforms:-