Hello Millie

Granddaughter number her two was due to arrive on 9th July so my arrival at 2am on that date was cutting it fine. In the event,Millie made her appearance in the late evening of 10th. Luckily it took Freya only a few minutes to remember me and she was happy to stay with me whilst Heather and Barney spent 9th,10th  nd 11th July in the maternity unit. Freya and I had a great time giving snacks to the ducks and pigeons in Langtons Park and we spent time with Auntie Jo too.

Freya was happy to welcome her sister,!Millie home. Millie was very like Freya had been at that age albeit almost 3 pounds lighter.

Because Scruffbag and I would be away for Freya's second birthday, I wanted to give her our present early so I could have the pleasure of watching her receive it. She is speaking well now and can say trampoline and bouncing and clearly enjoyed doing the latter on the former, and, having watched her father building it, she was also able to make a good attempt at removing the mesh.

Millie enjoyed resting outside in the sun and Freya and I enjoyed cooling off., especially on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK at 38 degrees.

It was great to see Jo and Andy and Lauren and Jack to. Lauren was a great help in advising me on clothes shopping at Lakeside. She took the first steps towards buying a flat in Chelmsford with Jake whilst I was there. Jo and I had a great trip out to Southend, though I did try to persuade her that Leigh on Sea was better. A great family barbecue at Jo's was also a treat and a chance to meet up with Jan and Ray.

All in all a great visit and I was lucky to meet up with good friends Sue and Mally and Shane and Dave too.I look forward to returning with Scruffbag in September but for now it's back to Hoffa.

Resting in The Azores

We only stayed in Flores for two nights. Nick was keen to fly home and I wanted to get back to the UK in time for the birth of granddaughter number 3 in early July and there is no international airport in Flores so we would need to go to Horta in the nearby island of Faial..

We spent some time on the first evening in the bar next to the small marina with a couple of beers for the men and a couple of glasses of ice cold vino verde for me as well as a taste of the local seaweed on bread (interesting and edible is all I can say). We also had a supper of a couscous like dish, the name of which escapes me. This was followed by a long and welcome night's sleep.

The next day we found the local supermarket and bought some fresh food, though the supermarket was very small and the choice of vegetables was limited to say the least. We also sent a couple of postcards, did the laundry in the marina launderette and then walked a mile or so to the local garage to fill our diesel cans for the trip to Faial the next day.

The journey to Horta in Faial took 24 hours, leaving at 10-30. It was a relatively uneventful trip motor sailing in very light winds with another sailing yacht visible behind us most of the way. The marina was  very busy at this time of the year, with several yachts at anchor (something only allowed when it is busy). We were rafted up on the quay alongside another English boat.

Horta is a very pretty town and we had a couple of nice meals in Peter's sports bar, one with Nick's friends Chris and Julia, who were holidaying in the Azores , having left their boat in Portugal. Peters seem to own a lot of things in Horta, bar, gift shop, airport cafe etc. and they tend to be pricier than some other establishments, though the food s good.

We hired a car and Nick drove us around the island for a couple of days, We visited the caldera in the centre and we walked around the nearby bay.

We also visited the site of the last eruption near a lighthouse that was once much farther out on a limb than it is now. The volcano centre was housed beneath the lighthouse.

We also drove all round the island and visited some natural sea swimming pools. Faial is very green and verdant and the flora is amazing with miles of hydrangea hedges, wild roses and nasturtiums and many other typical English garden flowers growing wild. The scent is delicious.

Nick drove down some roads that were little more than dirt tracks, particularly the one leading to a bird watching spot.

Interestingly, inside the hide a grey wagtail had chosen to make a nest and lay three eggs. She seemed unperturbed by our presence but I guess it is not a busy hide.

After  just under a week, it was time for me to catch a plane for the UK. Nick was staying for one more day then Scruffbag would be on his own for a week until our friend, Ralph arrived to crew for the next part of our journey..