Judith's blog

We woke up this morning to the usual howling gale and tried to decided what to do with the day. After looking at ‘What’s on in Shropshire’, we had a programme sorted out, until we heard a loudspeaker next door. Next to our house is the village hall and we’d completely forgotten that the Upper Onny Country Fair was on. We ambled along and looked at the steam engines, animals, stalls, etc. and then watched some of the displays, like the sheep shearing, a farrier shoeing horses and the sheep dog trial.

There were plenty of countryside pursuits available like welly whanging, tug-of-war and ‘splat a rat!’, where the fake rat came down the drainpipe and you had to whack it with a mallet. All day there were local bands playing and it was really well attended. We didn’t win win anything in the raffle, which was a grave disappointment, since we had our eyes firmly on the first prize… a tandem ride in a gyrocopter.

See photos of today.

No comments yet - please add one »

We woke up to leaden skies and too much wind. David and I are working on a new project trying to produce a weather web cast, so we were messing around with charts, sat pics, etc. most of the day. I looked at so much weather that when someone asked me what I thought the conditions would be on Sunday, I didn’t have a clue!

In the early evening we went out to check out the landing options at the Lawley, in case the comp needed to go there on Sunday. While we were there, we might as well do some archery, but on shooting my second arrow, the skies opened and we had to shelter from the rain for about half an hour. We did get to shoot for a while in the end. Then off to the pub for more chatting to friends…

No comments yet - please add one »

HOWLING! Ridiculous winds. The forecast rain held off and we had a bit of a lie in, until Maya opened the door an inch and said a cheery ‘Good Morning!’. Geoff was supposed to go up to the Long Mynd to help with the clean-up operation, but Ellie had it all organised and it was all done before Geoff was even out of bed. Amir and Joanna treated us to a nice second breakfast in Bishops Castle, but had to leave for the airport before the carnival really got going. In fact, they only just got the car moved before the roads were blocked.

No comments yet - please add one »

A nice day, but far too windy. We went to do archery and I am settling nicely into my new bow. I really like it. We were on our own, so could shoot at our own pace and after two hours that was plenty. We headed home via the supermarket to get some last minute supplies for the family visit. My sister, brother-in-law and little niece Maya arrived in the early evening and we had a nice dinner and chat. Maya is just lovely.

2 Comments »

A miserable day with gales and occasional rain, but it was really warm at the same time. We didn’t bother going to archery, as it would have just been a lottery where the arrows went. Instead we did a full day’s work and caught up with some of the jobs we haven’t got round to for a while. I thought it would be a fairly boring day until Wayne texted to ask if I fancied a spin on the bike. Did I ever?

I dug out my old helmet  my parents gave me for my 15th birthday, which is a decidedly retro look these days, but at least it fits. We blasted all round the back roads of Shropshire and Herefordshire, going through cute little villages I have never been through and finally stopping at a beautiful pub in the medieval village of Pembridge. It’s on the black & white village trail and full of half-timbered buildings. As soon as we sat down it started raining, but the ‘beer garden’ is under the 16th century market hall, so not a problem.

We got a bit wet on the way home, but the exhilaration of the speed and bends made me forget all that. In fact, it was a bit like being on a hang glider again. Hmmm… can I fit in another hobby? We could certainly fit a bike in the garage….

No comments yet - please add one »

Geoff writes: I took Judith and the others to Birmingham airport this morning, to fly out to Slovenia for the comp. I was going to go on to the Malverns, but though it was a good sky, I thought it was probably too windy, so came home to do some work. A big mistake – looking at the League now, the longest flight from there so far is just over 70km, with some other smaller ones – so it obviously wasn’t blown out. Stupid really, I should just have gone.

Judith writes: Bumped into every pilot under the sun at the airport. I assumed that paying £40 each way for sports luggage meant that we could carry unlimited weight, but Cris and I learnt differently from the others. A major repack of my gear meant that half the pilots present were transporting some of my stuff. Cris ended up having to wear his sandals round his waist. A bit of fancy knee work propping up my glider on the check in belt had it down to 17.4kg. I shouldn’t have bothered re-packing!

We arrived in Trieste without incident and then travelled into the mountains and Slovenia. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful little country with mountains and picture postcard villages. Our accommodations is lovely too. We are on the top floor of one of the houses just on the outskirts of the town, with only a two minute walk to the bars and restaurants, but with the forest starting just up the road. I have my own little apartment, with the lads and kitchen adjacent. Lovely venison and crayfish dinner tonight.

No comments yet - please add one »

Geoff writes: we were expecting a nice, reasonably sunny day today, and were planning to go to Pandy to try a triangle or out and return. But the forecast changed, and it ended up cloudy all day, so we didn’t bother going out, just did some jobs around the house. In the event, this might have been a mistake, since people did fly at Pandy (and Corndon, where it was good, and other places) and got to some good heights, in spite of the cloud cover. Oh well….

And music night at the Bridges in the evening – busier than usual, being a Bank Holiday.

2 Comments »