The time has come.....

[PhotoLady]

It seems to have been quite an exhausting 12 months for us, what with 2 weeks property hunting and buying long distance from Cyprus in the UK, sorting out paperwork, dogs sorted for travel, container all packed up and unpacked at the opposite end then dealing with Social Services and Local Government authorities to take care of an ailing parent who we sadly lost towards the end of October last year...

Phone calls and paperwork was a never ending circle but mostly due to the fact things all changed very quickly in the space of a few months after our return to UK at the end of April. My father deteriorated very quickly starting in July and the local authorities/social services were always well behind in the loop, in fact we never got a financial assessment completed with them knowing completely where he was on the 2 occasions they came to visit us.

Then it was the "after" paper trail which we think we're pretty much at the end of and our telephone bills are now back to what they were in the beginning as we're not making them any longer....

So, we've booked ourselves a week away from home (mum included) and we're off to Malta next month. Time to relax on a sunlounger overlooking St Paul's Bay with our Kindles and something alcoholic, the odd boat trip and possibly another visit to Gozo with lots of bus journeys thrown in. We're all very much looking forward to it

Ruby is off back to the kennels where she stayed last month for 5 nights when we went to see our friend in the Channel Islands.

[Houdinibun]

Phew sounds like a much needed break...enjoy

[PhotoLady]

Thanks!

Life has really only started to settle down after the New Year.... Mum is bored witless over the winter months and we have the need for some slightly stronger sunshine.

We all need a change of scenery so are heading to somewhere that's familiar to us all but staying in a hotel that none of us have stayed in previously. Better we feel that Mum has no immediate reminders of where her and my Dad used to stay. The area is familiar to us all but this time we're more in Bugibba resort rather than Qawra.

We're counting the days already!

After that, once March is done - things will get much better for my Mum as she will be back in the land of crown green bowling and we will not have to babysit her quite so much.

[Cogs123]

Jules, you don't Know me but I sincerely wish all 3 of you will have a fabulous, memorable holiday you certainly deserve one
after the traumatic year you've all been through......Happy Holiday

[keving]

Enjoy Jules. When you get back post some tips of what to see and do ... I'm going to Malta later in the year, just for 3 days though

[LouiseCastricum]

Enjoy your trip in March, you surely deserve it !

[PhotoLady]

Thanks Cogs...
And Kevin - there's so much to see and do in Malta but it has a fantastic bus service and it's very easy to get around.

Let me know which area you will be thinking of staying and I will certainly help.

[PhotoLady]

Thank you Louise - we're counting the days now

Today, the three of us headed into Blackpool for a few hours this afternoon. We paid for 3hrs on the car park and spent the first hour wandering around The Regent just opposite the car park. It's an old cinema that now houses a lot of antique and craft shops/stalls over 3 floors. There's always something in there to catch our eye but it was the first time Mum had been and she was amazed at the amount of china tea sets and their different designs!

The cinema itself has since been renovated and they've kept the upstairs part of it in full working order, showing old movies most weekends. They still have those double seats for courting couples And the single seats have a small table in between them. It's in really great condition - we think we will go to a screening later this year.

Then it was off to the shopping area and an obligatory stop off for an afternoon cuppa (and cake for me and Mum) before we took a stroll along the breezy promenade and the Comedy Carpet in front of Blackpool Tower.

It passed a pleasant few hours, so that's another day closer to our holiday!

[Jim B]

Hi Jules

Hope you all have a wonderful time; we hope to go to Malta in October and use all the Hilton points I've accumulated to stay up in St Julian's. Fortunately my wife humours me as I drag her around all the fortifications for the umpteenth time just like I did when I took her to Istanbul. I know it has been a traumatic period for you and your mum so hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

Jim

[PhotoLady]

Thanks Jim

Any place that's "foreign" at the moment will do us nicely, thank you!
Me and hubby would have been perfectly happy to go to Benidorm but thought it would be better for Mum to be somewhere that she's familiar with in getting about etc or to be left alone if we want to go and explore and she doesn't fancy the trip out. Mum likes to relax and read rather than running here, there and everywhere like we do....