A Good Read

After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
Alice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice's family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended.

Although some of it is a bit grim it is also a compelling read that moves through different time zones and multiple points of view.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

Holiday Roundup

Oh dear, I'm back home, missing my daughter and the glorious weather. When we landed at Heathrow at 5.15 pm the temp was 6deg, later I was warming my pj's on the radiator!! I 

oOo

Back in Oz we were hoping to visit the Gold Coast but the weather had been bad with high winds resulting in many of the beaches being closed. 

After a delicious breakfast at Espresso Garage we went here

how good is this, a beach in the middle of the city

enjoyed by all!

It's a lovely walk in the Southbank area

Ibis are found all over the place, they are considered a nuisance and have the nick name of 'bin chucks' because they are always scavenging in rubbish bins.

We've had a great time together and created lots of happy memories.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

Out And About

We all love a market so a visit to Redcliffe market was a must.

Unfortunately it was a miserable day, with lots of rain.

I nearly bought this cushion cover!

oOo

I like going into the city, travelling on the ferry. Last time I was here the ferries weren't operating due to severe flooding so I used buses, this time I used the ferries, which I prefer. With help from my daughter and google maps I correctly navigated my way from the ferry terminal to the Queens Street Mall. I wandered around for a bit.

Kitten D'Amour is an Australian fashion brand selling beautiful vintage clothes

            look at these lovely pantaloons!

After a bit of retail therapy it was time for coffee and cake. Afterwards I bought a gift for my friend M, then visited Anzac Square

which is always a lovely place to visit.

You wouldn't know it's in the heart of the bustling CBD.

It's quiet and peaceful.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

Shopping and Imbibing

Last time I was here my daughter and her partner had to work some of the time. I didn't mind because I'm happy to take myself off exploring. This time they have had the whole time off and it's been a different experience. I'm all for "Lets go and see that church/station/museum" whereas they are "Lets shop till we drop then head for a bar for a few drinks/chats/laughs". I did a fair amout of the former last time I was here so I was happy to do the latter. We've also done a fair amout of eating out, breakfasts and lunches, and relaxing times at home, talking, painting nails, reading, a few drinks and a bit of napping. My favourite breakfast place from when I was last here has gone. The whole block has been demolished to make way for a very nice upmarket supermarket. 

I like travelling on the city cat ferries

admiring the riverside houses

The walk along the river is very nice.

The South Bank area of Brisbane is lovely with parks, pretty night lights,

night market, lots of eating places, bars

 and a very popular purpose built beach.

We've had a mixed bag of weather, sun, cloud and showers.

oOo

The pets are good

Lloyd has some mobility issues but is still enjoying life.

 

Arlo is doing very well. Still enjoying rolling around in his favourite garden spot, and joining me on my bed! He is very affectionate when it suits him.

We're going to a basketball game now, spectators, not playing 😄

∼ Be warm and well∼ 

Polly x 

A Good Read

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her apartment, with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case. They soon establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who’s a bit too fond of alcohol, and hosts raucous dinner parties with her artist friends. She is also a budding novelist, and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still unfinished mystery she’s writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous.
But Esther’s role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit—or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women’s pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet-master pulling the strings in this electrifying thriller.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

G' Day

Greetings from down under. Yes dear reader I'm in Oz visiting my daughter, and this time my eldest daughter is with me, which is lovely, on holiday with both my darling daughters, and my Aussie daughter's girlfriend.

My daughter arranged the flights and chose China airlines because their prices were much cheaper than Singapore, Malaysia and Ethihad that I was looking at, we saved about £500 each. I was sceptic at first, but the flights were just as good as other carriers that I have used. I didn't like the meals though, the breakfasts were ok but not the mains.

We were very lucky with the long leg from the UK to Taiwan, the plane was only about two thirds full, one whole section was empty and once the meal was finished with we asked if we could move there to sleep. I slept quite well across three seats. My daughter not so well, she doesn't like long haul flights, and she is tall so she couldn't get comfortable.

Taiwan airport is huge 

with lots of pretty themes at some departure gates.

Taiwan has a complicated history. It has been governed independently of China since 1949, but the People's Republic of China views the island as a renegade province and vows to eventually “unify” Taiwan with the mainland, using force if necessary. Tensions are rising. Beijing has taken increasingly aggressive actions, which includes flying fighter jets near the island. Some analysts fear the United States and China could go to war over Taiwan. We didn't know any of this when we booked the flights, I just hope nothing escalates before we return home!

oOo

On a lighter note, I have had a lovely Mother's Day. It's the first time my girls have been together to celebrate it since they were living at home. After a leisurely breakfast we walked down to a farmer's market.

The weather was good but we were expecting showers, and when a downpour arrived we sheltered until it passed and then went home. Later, back home my lovely daughters made afternoon tea. Assorted sandwiches - egg mayo, tuna mayo, cheese, ham and tomato, we had wine and delicious cakes.

I chose this pecan, caramel and chocolate tart.

It was so rich I couldn't eat it all in one go!

Tomorrow we're having a retail therapy day 🛍

  ∼ Be warm and well∼ 

Polly x 

Rufus' Diary

Hello dear reader, I hope you are well. My news is - I've had fleas!! I don't know where I picked them up, the vet said they can be in the garden, humans can pick them up on their shoes, or the most common cause, from other dogs. I was given a HUGE gravy tasting tablet thing to eat and before long they were migrating from my skin to the ends of my fur. Polly and her daughter had a great time combing and picking them off, all the while Polly was saying die you ******* die. Language! Whatever is in the tablet is ok for me but poisonous for fleas so although I've only had one or two small ones on me they won't live, and the whole house is regularly sprayed to kill any eggs.

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What a lot of rain we've had. 

The level of water at the stream is high, we haven't been through it for ages. 

You can just about see the culvert that channels water from the fields.

It has been worse though, we've seen the water level up to that bridge.

The bonfire area is filling up again.

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I love this chair, I fit it so well, I use it more than Polly nowadays. She tolerates me using it because she doesn't like it anymore. She's had it for years but although it's super comfy it's big and bulky and she wants to get something more modern, hmm if that happens I guess I will no longer have my own chair!!

∼ Be safe and well ∼

Rufus 🐾