Out of the blue

What a day its been with some indifferent weather and  a threat of a tropical cyclone to our North  However this was all really nothing to the surprise I was about to receive

Good spouse it seems had noticed my much improved state of mind and had quickly organised  another adventure  Departure in just two weeks to sail the English Channel to France then  North to Scotland the Orkney and then on to Ireland and the Channel Isles  Sounds relaxing and informative and we shall be visiting some old favourite places we had visited in days gone by  We shall of course see some exciting new places with one side trip in particular to Girverny in France  I had mentioned in a much earlier post how a long time friend of mine had visited Monets home at Girverny last year and how surprised I was to find out she was a fan of Monet

The new relationship by our National airline has with its new partner airline will see us stopping over in the UAE which will place a whole new dimension before us '

How on earth this was all organised without my knowing is quite a feat and one which makes me exremely proud .We are also to be joined by good spouses two sisters who are also quite thrilled to go .I am of course not so sure if their husbands are so thrilled to be left at home

However I am reminded of the words of Izaak Walton who said -

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter

I sometimes wonder

What is it that drives people to perform acts of violence ? With the human mind so capable of good I despair that it also has the capacity to cause such pain.

The Boston  marathon incident really sends a shiver up my spine in the way it shows how easily one can come to harm.

Sadly I sometimes think these wrong doers see some sort of perverse fame in their actions - as Shakespeare wrote

The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones

Lets hope no further incidents occur

Does the world need this?

The situation in Korea is enough to make any sensible person shudder with tensions running high on both sides.

A simple error could have devastating consequences and the loss of human life is just too horrible to contemplate

I sincerely hope cool heads prevail.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I guess I must have been feeling a little better as I glanced through the travel supplement in the weekend newspaper

I recognized the old feelings stir as I read the features and travels on offer. A small wave of excitement swept over me as I paused to take a drink of my tea   Interest had been piqued and I settled back with eyes closed and relished the feeling as I dozed

I soon returned to wakefulness when the words of Richard Hovey sprang to mind

I am fevered with the sunset

I am fretful of the bay

For the wander thirst is on me

And my soul is in Cathay

Yes - things are getting better and so the search for our next adventure begins !

Perhaps I can learn from the cat

I have had a very stressful time over the last few months and things are beginning to become a little brighter thank goodness

Through this all I have been followed around by the family cat who it seems to me, realised that I needed some support and company

Well that may have been the case and perhaps it worked but one thing I learned is that cats have an amazing capacity to relax.Certainly no insomia there.No obvious anxiety---just sheer relaxation !!

If only their secret could be bottled and sold Im sure the world would be a happier place