A Final sunset over Plymouth?

After a weekend of drinking and eating too much, we decided to get out for a walk along the coast path. The weather had cleared and we there was a clear evening for the first time in about two months! We managed to get a few nice pictures to remind us about the nice bits of Plymouth!

Family Meal

On Saturday 28th July we had a family get together at the Lockyers Quay for a meal. It was a great evening and once again, lots of wine and beer was consumed (so much for keeping fit!)

The weather was absolutely appalling once again, but we were fine once we had all gathered inside the pub. Below are a selection of pictures from the evening.

The Boys!

Mum, Sarah and Hayley

Sarah, James, Hannah and Josh!

Group shot with Norman

Ralph, Cherry, James and Hayley and the Boys!

All the Boys!

Work Night Out

On Friday 27th July I had my farewell work party. There was a great turn out and many pints of guinness were consumed! It was great to say goodbye properly to the people I have worked with over the past five years. Many have become good mates, who I will be keeping in touch with after i have left for NZ. Unfortunately there are no pictures from the evening as i feared i would misplace the camera after too many beers! Farewell A Section.

A weekend in the Brecon Beacons

On Friday we travelled to Trecastle in the Brecon Beacons. We had booked two nights at the Castle Coaching House, where we have stayed twice before. It is a lovely place to stay as it only takes about three hours to drive to the location. It is an ideal location to just get away from all the daily hassles and pressures, which we have got plenty of at the moment!

John and Val run the establishment and they always provide a warm and friendly welcome. The weather in Plymouth was fine when we left, but as we got into Somerset it took a turn for the worse! Torrential rain continued for the remainder of the journey. The M5 had been closed only a junction further on from where we turned off, so we were lucky. The news later reported people having to sleep in their cars due to being stuck in the floods.

We had a lovely meal on Friday night and also too much to drink! The fillet steak is without a doubt the best i have had anywhere. After our meal we sat in the bar and got chatting to two Kiwi's, Rob and Donna. They were from Dunedin on the south island. They gave us some useful information and Hayley had the pleasure of having poetry recited to her by Rob, who fancies himself as the new Charles Dickens! Judging by the look on Hayley's face, I don't think he will be winning any prizes soon!

We planned to spend the day walking in the mountains on Saturday, but the weather was pretty grim. The hill fog was right down and it was raining just for a change!

The forecast suggested that the fog would lift during the afternoon to over 600m, so we planned a route that would take us only slightly higher than that altitude. The forecast was wrong and three hours later we had pulled the plug on the walk. We were soaking wet and the weather was getting worse! We did reach the top of the first mountain at 631m. We could see about fifty yards at the summit!

Saturday evening was spent at our accomodation with another lovely meal but less drink! The weather forecast for Sunday did not seem too bad, so we had planned to go for the high tops of Pen Y Fan etc. Unfortunately, when we woke up and looked out of the window, the weather was even worse than on Saturday. We went downstairs for a hearty breakfast and decided not to even try walking, but instead we would visit Cardiff.

We packed our bags and said goodbye to John and Val. We headed down towards Cardiff, but the closer we got, the worse the weather became! Plan C was to head to Cribbs Causeway shopping centre in Bristol. We headed along the M4 in terrible conditions and decided to carry on to Exeter instead. We spent the afternoon in the town centre and the weather was fine.

It was a nice weekend, but a shame about the weather. I suppose we should be getting used to the rain now as it has rained virtually every day for two months!

A visit to Grandad and Nan Lamble

On Thursday 19th July i drove up to see Grandad and nan Lamble before i jet off to NZ. I was on my own as Hayley was working and Charlie was at school. We spent a nice day together looking through old family photographs, which brought back many childhood memories.

I was also given a beautiful watch, which i will treasure. Bob and Ted, the two dogs, will probably not be sad to see me go. They had great fun trying to bite my ankles and hump my legs!

Last Day At Work

Tuesday 17th July 2007 was my last day at work. Almost five years to the day since I joined the force, i was handing my warrant card back over. It felt a bit strange, but i was secure in the knowledge that i am moving on to better things.

It was also Hayley's last birthday in the UK. We celebrated with a meal upstairs with Sid and Jane, along with lots of wine!

A Meal at Howard and Claire's

After all the effort of the day's walk, we went to Howard and Claire's house for a meal and to plan for the Rescue team Barbeque.