Bella Italia!

Tree and I have not long returned from our trip to Venice for her 40th birthday celebration. We had a good time, getting in a lot of walking, and are glad to be back home. Venice is a lovely city but I wouldn't recommend staying for more than a few days as you can take in most of it in a good weekend. It is an expensive place and the locals take every opportunity to inflate prices for the tourist trap. I wouldn't mind but a lot of it is not worth anything to start with. The most ridiculous place to go is Harry's Bar. A club sandwich is 45 Euros (£39). That has got to be one mother of a sandwich for that price!! Some people we know had lunch for four, upstairs in the expensive bit where the menus have no prices marked, and got a bill for over £1000!! There is Murano glass everywhere you go, most of which is imported in from China, and carnival mask shops. We took a trip to Murano and decided to buy a small piece of glass, direct from the foundry where at least we would know it was genuine. We took a trip to the Lido and got on a bus. We were trying to get to Malomocca, a small picturesque village, but ended up going straight through it. Next thing we were going up a ramp and onto a ferry before we could get off. At the other side we drove for miles, with the roadside turning from houses to rougher houses and then a shipyard. At every stop rougher people got on and Tree had a guy with a deep scar, right across the back of his head, sit in front of her. At this point she noticed in the guide that the next stop was in an area where the people were described as "relatively lawless". Needless to say, we stayed on the bus and went back to the ferry pronto. Altogether not bad for 1.80 Euros!!

I must also add that Venice is not good for veggies as the food is all geared towards meat eaters. Hoever we did find, possibly, Venice's only veggie restaurant. Sadly it was on the day before we left!!!

When we got back to Blighty, we went down to see Joy and Nige for a few days and chill. Tree and I enjoyed some nice weather and spent a lot of time on the beach and went hunting for some places to move to.

Now comes the rush as I get ready for the first show of the year at Tiddesley Wood!

P.s Well done to Dan for completing the marathon and don't forget it is not too late to make a donation.

Run, Dan, Run

Well time is flying, as ever it does, and I am up to my neck in the proverbial work. Tree has been busy as well making her weaving sticks and door wedges.
We are taking a week off though, to go to Venice for Tree's 40th and then on to Cornwall to see Joy, Nige and the tribe. A very welcome break indeed.
I also want to give a quick mention to Dan, who is running in the Marathon on Sunday, and wish him every success in finishing in good time. Go visit his site here and make a donation - no excuses, even a pound will do!!

Otherwise, I have been getting back in touch with Pip, my eldest daughter, and this has made me very happy. I always feared that Tree was wrong, when she was optimistic about us seeing each other again, and had almost given up hope. Pip has left home and lives with her boyfriend Murali. Tree and I bumped into Pip in the Shambles just before New Year and a few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue. We have met up a couple of times since and things are back to normal between us. It has always been so painful to me that we lost contact but we both recognise that circumstances prevented it being otherwise. Anyway, she is a free minded, independent person now with a lovely bloke beside her (Murali, not me you fool) and the future is very bright.

I am now officially the shortest one in the family as Pip, Elliott and Gideon are all taller than me!!