Home again

We’re back! It was absolutely freezing in Amsterdam. I went around wearing a cord shirt, two jumpers, a quilted coat & a fleecy cape. On my head was a woolly hat, a scarf wound around my neck & fleecy lined boots on my feet. In other words a real Bibendum, the Michelin man.

Most days were dry though overcast. The one day we were totally free from arranged trips was sunny so we had a good day to go on a canal cruise around the city & walk back to the hotel from the Rijksmuseum. Sunday evening it really threw it down. We got absolutely soaked as we walked back to the hotel from the maritime museum. I was packing that night & feared we might end up flying home in damp clothes. Fortunately everything dried out by the morning.

The journey back home was quite spectacular. It was another clear day, so it was easy to see the land below for quite a distance. Inevitably we came into cloud, but even that was interesting to look out at. Usually the clouds form a cotton-wool carpet, flat & boring. This time great columns erupted from them. When the columns of cloud reached a certain height it looked as though someone had taken a knife across them, giving them an incredibly flat top. I suspected such columns were suggestive of bed weather below.

As we came over to England, & started to descend, I was surprised & stunned by the snow on the Pennines. It didn’t look very thick but I wasn’t expecting to see any. As we flew on to Liverpool, I thought there’d been more snow, then I realised it was the white crests of the waves rolling onto the Lancashire coast. It must have been very rough at sea on Monday. By the time we reached John Lennon airport we ran into hail. We hastily got to the hotel across the way to collect our car.

Our next bit of spectacular was as we approached Lancaster on the motorway & could see across Morecambe Bay to the Lakeland fells. They’d clearly had a heavy snowfall during our absence, thick & virginal-looking, much thicker than that over the Pennines. As we got to the promenade we became aware of how high the tide was, a churning mass of grey-brown, with leaping white crests.

Today we’ve got the wind howling around the house. The garden gate squeaks away. Hopefully our new fencing will survive the onslaught & for once we won’t have to replace any panels after the storm.

For all the bad weather, it’s good to be back home, to be snug in the warmth. It seems a lot longer than five nights away. We’ve come back with renewed vigour, even if a bit weary immediately, not helped by an urgent visit to the dentist yesterday – a filling came out while we were away so needed remedying before it became too painful.

As for our feelings about Amsterdam & all things Dutch, I will tell you that in other blogs in the near future. Until then, bye…

 The above was written yesterday, Wednesday. I made frequent endeavours to post this yesterday. Unfortunately it was impossible to go on the net throughout Lancashire yesterday.It was a relief to discover it wasn’t just me that was having difficulties. I suspect it had something to do with the storms that raged all day.

The arrival of winter

Winter has finally arrived.

Last night, before going to bed I looked out of the window. Paloma, our new car, was coated in glistening white.

This morning I was stunned by the beauty of the whiteness of the garden. Frost coats the lawns, the trees & other plants. As I go to the laundry room I stop to look at the thermometer on the garden shed, -10°C.

We’ll soon be off to Amsterdam. One thing is for certain – I’m packing thick warm clothes, layers of them. I’m also wearing boots & a woolly hat. I remember how cold Hull can be when the East wind blows in winter there. I suspect Amsterdam will be worse. I’ve had a look at the forecast for the days we will be there. One day the maximum temperature is predicted to be 0°C. It will be colder in the evening & we will be out, hunting for dinner, then – I can’t believe we will want to always eat at the hotel & we’ve only paid B&B.

Still I won’t complain too much if we can get the bright sunshine of today as well. The cold you can wrap up against, but grey wet days never show anywhere off to their best. They’re just miserable. I’m really looking forward to the off. I can’t wait.

The holiday dilemma

At the weekend I was pleased to get a call from D, the husband of my cousin Ann, who died earlier this year. He’s been on holiday to Australia – he’s got family there. He’s come back sounding rather down. He’s discovered the loneliness of holidaying on your own.

I’m sure this must be a problem for so many people. Part of the joy of a holiday is sharing your experiences with other people, be they friend, family or lover.

I don’t know what the solution is. Some go on holidays for singles but then discover there is a reason why those others are single – they’re bores. Some go with friends/family who are a couple & then hope not they’re not playing gooseberry all the time. As you get older it is harder to find interesting single people to go on holiday with.

I think D’s concluded he’s not going on holiday again. Instead I think he’ll be thinking of short visits to family & friends throughout the country. That way he’ll get away a bit, & still have company without becoming too much of a burden on any one person or outstaying his welcome.

Some people positively choose to be on their own, loving their own company, happy to come back & do their holiday sharing with friends when they come back. Some have found an interest which guarantees they meet people with a similar interest – so we have one single friend who goes on a bowling holiday with his local club. That way he knows some people to start off with, & is sure to meet others who enjoy bowls if nothing else. Another goes on art appreciation holidays for similar reasons.

I suspect at least part of D’s problem is that it was too soon. He still keenly misses Ann & the travelling just emphasised how much he missed her. He was fine when he was with the family in Perth & Adelaide, seeing his brothers & sisters, nephews & nieces, but it was the long flights, the few days spent in Singapore to break the journey that got to him. I suspect that before he went away he was so busy organising things, settling her estate etc. that it wasn’t until he got on that plane that his loss really hit him, & then there was nobody there to help support him. Grief really struck home. I just hope time will make things easier for him. Meanwhile I’ll continue to give him phone calls from time to time so he knows at least some people care & are thinking of him.