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Dear all,

We arrived home safely at about 8.30pm to a dark, wet night. The flight wasn't too horrendous - managed to doze a bit listening to Bryn Terfel and 16's recording of songs from the Tudors. We were just so fortunate to hear 16 live, performing in the heavenly accoustic of York Minster. It was exciting to catch up with them again on this leg of our journey. I also watched 'Ondine', the Irish film again, this time without sleeping and losing the thread of the story line. We eventually arrived in Melbourne and added all the extra layers of clothing. Roger and I rattled home in a Maxi Taxi but it was too dark to see much.
We left the central heating on all night to take the chill off the house. I am not on Australian time yet though have done a couple of loads of washing. We have to find what we have done with Roger's bag that was left home. I have probably put it in a safe place but am too tired to make an effective search.
Love to all
Jo and Rog

PS
It is now Sunday and I have had time to review my blogs with their numerous typos, grammatical and spelling mistakes. Hopefully, they are now fixed. Roger's lost bag has also reappeared. It was carefully hidden by me from thieves and us. We have had a wonderful time, far above expectations. I hope you have enjoyed reading my holiday ramblings; my first blog and the journal of our trip 2010.
Jo

Singapore Airport

Dear All,

Our journey is almost over even the @ is back in the right spot on the computer. We have spent much of the last couple of days in the air or at airports. Monday morning did some last minute gift shopping and posted thank you cards to our Jersey relatives. Our flight to Paris, in a little plane, took only about an hour. I even saw the wheels bounce on the tarmac. We negotiated our luggage to the shuttle bus that took us to our nearby hotel. This entailed a train link to Terminal 3. We dumped our luggage at the hotel and then took the shuttle back to explore Charles de Gaulle Airport. This was a very wise decision because the architecture of Terminal 2 in particular was stunning with obvious references to the shape of planes. The ceiling of the train station was also remarkable and was like an upside down Sydney Harbour Bridge. We had an expensive main course at the airport and then had sweets from the buffet of our hotel. I slept erratically not wishing to miss our flight. The morning shuttle bus took us to Terminal 3. However, we were now accomplished at finding our way to Terminal 1. I did a little shopping at the airport and boarded the plane without any mishaps. Have been on the plane for approximately thirteen hours and caught up on three good films in a row; 'The Changling' , 'The Race' and 'Grand Torino'. I watched another but dozed off so may watch it again on the next flight as I didn't really follow the plot. The plane was hot towards the end so am hoping for a more comfortable flight to Melbourne. I shall Blog next from 108 all being well.

love to all

See you soon
Jo and Rog

Sunday Jersey

This is our last day in this beautiful part of the world, a place that is so significant to Roger's heritage. This morning we wandered around Green Street Cemetery and found some de Carteret graves. Yesterday Philip de Carteret had told us that many had been vandalized over the years. Later we drove to St. Clements to Samares Manor garden. This was large but was not up to what we had seen in UK. It was good in parts but too often viewpoints were lost by unattractive buildings or signs. Roger decided just to sit in the car and read Phoenix's email about the graves. This was probably a wise decision. They had a nursery with a plant sale so I bought a pretty amber rose for Adele and Philip which should tone in nicely with the manor's stone walls. I showed them my painting and Adele asked whether it was for sale. I hadn't considered selling it but was delighted that I will now have a painting at St Ouen's. Philip and Adele are such a lovely couple and so welcoming of the poor relations from the antipodes. They also had a doctor from Sth. Africa for lunch. He has been doing a locum in Jersey. Adele has lived in Sth. Africa and she and Philip now spend the Jersey winter there. We had a magnificent lunch of lobster prawns and crab followed by strawberries. We were then given a grand tour of the Manor, Bruce, the doctor, a neighbour of theirs in Sth. Africa had not visited previously so our tour was very comprehensive. The wood panelling in the grand hall is particularly impressive with each panel individually designed, many with interestingly stylized figures while other have floral motifs. The stained glass windows are beautiful and the very large house has numerous paintings including Lely portraits. As well as paintings they have a vast collection of squirrel ornaments, plaques and sculptures as a squirrel appears on the de Carteret coat of arms. As well as the remarkable history everything is beautifully presented and homely. Adele is an excellent interior designer and the dining room is a beautiful rose colour that complements the framed documents and the dark portraits.
We had a lovely afternoon. I spent about half an hour refining the painting while Roger had a nap in the sitting room. They were very happy with the painting - probably they may have been happy with it as it was but to me it just needed a few modifications. It was about six when we returned home. We walked to The Goose for soup and ice-cream but I probably could have done without anything after our magnificent lunch.
Have been packing most of the night. It is a pity brochures weigh so much. We hope we are underweight but don't have scales to check but may ask Maz in the morning. Our flight is about 1.15pm but will go to the airport early.
There is much that we have not done here but this time has been made special by social occasions with Roger's distant cousins. We hope we may be able to meet again either in Jersey or Australia.
Our wonderful trip is now virtually over. We fly to Paris for an overnight stopover before making the mammoth flight back home. Hopefully, we will survive but we may not surface for a few days.

I hope you have enjoyed my waffle. I have mostly blogged very late at night so hope it has made sense and that you have been able to travel vicariously with us just as I have done with several of my friends' writings.

Looking forward to catching up with all the news from Oz and meeting you soon.
love
Jo and Rog

Jersey, Saturday

Dear All,
We had this morning free before meeting Roger's cousin for nibbles. After breakfast we had a short drive to St.Aubins. We had walked there and back on the first night. We have since realized what an effort this must have been as the drive there seems very long. However, it was lovely on the promenade above the beach. The tides are incredible in Jersey with the water disappearing for a very long way and boats stranded on dry or muddy flats in the harbour. At night the coast line is lit by light globes strung right around the beach front from St.Helier St.Aubins. This looks very pretty.
This morning at St.Aubins we visited their Saturday market but there was nothing of interest. Afterwards went to the Harbour Gallery which had some interesting craft and jewellery but most things were very expensive. Afterwards we headed to Corbiere to view the lighthouse. On the way stumbled across a car boot sale (more my scene) and picked up some earrings and a dahlia as a present for Katrina and Chas who were hosting the afternoon event. Afterwards we went to Reg's garden which had a fete with treasure. The garden was beautifully planted but to me the aviaries and shed roof tops wrecked the vistas. (Hopefully, we may visit Samares Manor Garden tomorrow morning.) We had just enough time for us to meet Phil and Angie at The Goose - the pub near us. We were surprised that they had come by taxi but when we saw the narrow private driveway down a steepish hill with long drops on the side we understood. Katrina and Chas have a beautiful stone house with a part of it converted from stables. The back garden is totally surrounded by trees and the beautifully mown green lawns enhance the stunning woodlands. In Spring it must really look wonderful.
We had such a lovely time. Katrina and Chas have a severely physically disabled daughter of sixteen but she has recently successfully completed her o level including French which is no mean achievement when she has to dictate everything.
We arrived back at the hotel at about 5.00pm. I decided we should explore more of Jersey. Our road trip took us firstly to Gorey. We didn't climb Mt.Orgueil castle
but the area is a very pictuesque little fishing port. We headed North through St. Clement, St.Catherine, St.Mary and St.Martin. We also went through Trinity too hoping to find a Gallery that we had seen on our travels last night. Eventually found it - but although it looked impressive no opening times were displayed and
there was little information elsewhere so we may have to give it a miss. Next door
to this gallery tucked back from the road and behind a hedge was a restaurant- Oakland's Lodge. We were both quite hungry but not as hungry as they envisaged with their huge serves. The food was excellent. Roger had sizzling prawns while I chose
sole stuffed with spinach and prawns with a lobster sauce. They were served with royal potatoes, a speciality of Jersey, and vegetables or salad. After all our wanton driving for hours before tea we were cleverly able to travel directly to our guest house without any extra scenic tours. So here I am blogging at an almost decent hour and putting off sorting through papers and pamphlets for the final cull.
We have had a wonderful time. Hopefully, tomorrow will also enable us to experience more as well as enjoying our time in the Manor.

Love to all
Hope to see you soon
Jo and Rog

Friday, Jersey

Dear All,
Today had a sunny start but by the end of breakfast the clouds had rolled in. By the time we got down to the car it was pouring. Roger was doing the buses again today and I had hoped to paint. We decided to persevere with these plans as the weather is pretty changeable here. I decided to drive aimlessly for a while discovering new vistas and picturesque spots. Jersey is only 9 x 5 miles so you can work out where you are once you hit the sea. I eventually arrived at St.Ouen's Manor. It was still drizzling so chatted to Philip and Adele before making a late start. The rain soon cleared. After lunch it became sunny so had to rig up Roger's Dunblane umbrella for shade. At times had to battle with the wind too as the umbrella tried to become a parachute. Have practically finished the painting but to me it needs some refinements. I may take my paints to play after Sunday lunch at the manor if I can.
I met up with Roger a little later than I had planned because of my late start. Threw a shirt over my painting gear so looked a bit better and OK for the Zoo. This is the first time we have visited The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Centre but they have special twilight rates for summer so decided to go. This zoo specializes in preserving endangered species. We were impressed with the zoo and the beautiful environment in which the animals were placed. The pink flamingoes were like ballet dancers and the monkeys were so cute and the snakes huge. At the zoo I noticed a poster for a concert tonight. Decided we would try to go. I phoned for seats but the booking office had closed. We decided to risk it and just turn up at the school. We were not that far away but had not allowed for the dreadful business of finding our way around st.Helier with its maze of one way streets. Eventually, after many wrong turns, we found the school. The concert had started but an usher let us in from the back. Once again the musical magic that has followed us throughout this trip continued. We were in The Great Hall, Victoria College Jersey just like a Harry Potter movie listening to "Collegium Regale", the men of King's College Cambridge without the trebles - a bit like the "King,s Singers". Their singing was very accomplished with interesting and sometimes amusing arrangements of popular songs and Negro Spirituals as well as pieces from the ancient music and twentieth century repertoire. It was a most enjoyable evening and something we hadn't planned. We hadn't eaten except for a Jersey ice cream so ended up having a very late tea - Chinese take-away in our room as everything around our area closes at 10.30pm. Tomorrow we socialize with the cousins.
All the best
love Jo and Rog

Botanica Tour Ends

On our last day at Bath we visited two gardens. We had a beautiful walk around the pictureque landscape of Stourhead gardens with it follies and classical temples and bridges reflected in the still water of the lake. This had similarities to the Wilderness areas of Hestercombe gardens and the grand landscapes of Blenheim Palace. It also had remarkable rock grottos with sculptures spot lit by daylight from above. This is the most visited garden in England and it vistas are clearly recognizable. Afterwards we travelled to Montisfont Abbey which was also set on a grand estate. The trees were magnificent many of remarkable size. It houses the National Collection of roses but I felt it was past its best and needed much maintenance and deadheading. The lavender hedges however, were very impressive. A bonus of this visit was an exhibition of Beatrix Potter's drawing and quite an impressive collection of paintings. There was along queue for the exhibition but it was worth seeing. I was a little disappointed that the drawings were not placed chronologically as you worked from resolved later works to her earliest attempts. The detail and careful observations, however, made for a special show. We returned to Bath passing Wilton House which we would visit later for The Bournemouth Symphony's "Classic Spectacular"and viewing Salisbury Cathedral from afar and Stone Henge and its trail of tourists from the bus. Tea was at the hotel and tonight wine was provided. Sara, Phil and Julie were thanked and we were so fortunate with them all. I was given the task of making a small speech for Julie. She is doing work experience at Hidcote and Sissinghurst which will be an amazing opportunity. I am sure we will see her again at Heronswood. The next day we rose early to depart for London and Hampton Court Palace. This extremely hot day was noteable more for the heat and the crowds rather than the beauty of the exhibits. I think that Melbourne's flower and garden shows are on a more achievable scale and I now have no desire to see Chelsea or Hampton Court shows in the future. This was the end of our Botanica Tour. I have blogged on this day in London so now at last have completed the saga of the gardens grand tour, a very happy time for both of us.
This tour was beyond expectation, Our guide and leader, Sara was most impressive and we were very fortunate to benefit from her extensive knowledge and share her love of gardens. It was fortunate to see so many superb gardens and enjoy the friendship of the other participants. Thankyou Margaret, Jim, Jan and Robert for being such excellent travelling companions.
Sorry the blog of the garden tour took so long to complete. Unfortunately details have been lost with time. However, now that I have easy access to a computer, I should be able to finish our happenings in Jersey at the end of each day.
Love to all
Jo and Rog

Jersey Thursday

Dear All,
After breakfast I bought lunch at a nearby supermarket for my painting day at St. Ouens. Roger purchased a day bus ticket and headed to St.Helier. We had arranged to meet at 6.00pm. We were in phone contact thanks to Telstra who seem to have fixed the error problem on my phone. I started painting about 10am. Had a break before lunch and had a long chat with Adele and Philip. My painting is progressing quite well. It became quite hot and I tried to rig up Roger's big Dunblane umbrella without much success. Within half an hour I needed it for shelter. We had a very heavy shower and I was forced to abandon painting for the day. Rang Roger and arranged to meet at Jersey Museum at St.Helier near the wharf. Found another multi level car park - the one I had used in 2007 and was able to find my way around easily. We didn't go to the Museum last time but it is well set out. It has an 18th century house set up as it would have been at the time. On level one was The Jersey Story which looked at the history from paleolithic times to the present day including the de Carteret support of the English monarchy. There was also a Marilyn Monroe exhibition that showed many of her costumes. This was quite interesting particularly after recently viewing the Grace Kelly collection at The V&A. There was another exhibition by a Jersey illustrator and Graphic designer Edmund Blampied working from the 20s. By the time I arrived in St.Helier the day had reverted to summer though not long afterwards there was another short burst of rain. We had tea in St. Helier and then decided to go for a drive. We saw some beautiful countryside and stunning sea views of St.Brelade Bay. Am much better on the indicators today.
Hopefully will be able to finish the painting tomorrow.

Back to completing blog of the 'Grand Tour'.
All the best
Jo and Rog