The first time we visited Portugal was with a tent, a giant, swish ‘pyramid’ tent that we’d borrowed from Husband’s colleague. I had to crawl in and hold the central pole, getting hot and sweaty while Husband hammered the pegs in outside. On a site at Ancora [north Portugal] where an interested neighbour ‘advised’ us on where to have our doorway, we pitched under some sap-dropping trees that stained said tent for ever, resulting in our having to buy the colleague a brand new pyramid tent when we returned. [We’d also torn the fabric attempting to dry it out in a French motorway services car park].

This was also the trip when we visited Porto by train from Viano do Costelo, buying return tickets and discovered on our return to the station to get back, that the train ‘does not return from here’. We had a wonderful, dockside meal and…

45 DEGREES – TEMPERATURE IN MANY PLACES AROUND THE GLOBE AND SOMEONE WROTE A BEAUTIFUL LETTER TO THE SUN:

Dear
Sun……….

If You may

Please go to Computer Settings

Kindly display Brightness and

Lower your Brightness

We are sweating like pigs

Temperatures are sky-rocketing

Please, it’s too hot to Handle You!

Sun’s
Reply…….

I have not changed any settings

Please go to your settings and

Increase the number of trees

Reduce carbon emission levels

Reduce concrete jungles

Increase number of lakes

Use water wisely and carefully

Instead of bikes, cars

Use bicycles whenever possible

Or go walking it is the best exercise

The
Sun further said…………

My dear children

Basically, You all need to Switch to

‘Human Mode’ from ‘Auto Mode’

Otherwise do not blame me

For the Global Warming

Simple as that…………..

Fellow blogger Janet has kindly nominated me for this award. To find her blog, which describes her travels around the UK and includes all kinds of eclectic details, visit here: https://tidalscribe.wordpress.com/

The Rules….Well, there are always rules are there not?

1.Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and make a link back to their blog.
2.Answer the 11 questions sent to you by the person who nominated you.
3.Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award, and then write them 11 new questions – or cheat and use the same questions
4.List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.

So here are my answers to Janet’s questions:

1.Tell us three things about the place and country where you live now.

a] The small, Dorset town where I live has the largest parish church in the country.

We travelled to New Zealand in the autumn of 2011 when the Rugby World Cup was scheduled to be held there. This was to be our retirement treat-a three month stonker of a trip that also encompassed Australia [where I have cousins] and a small add-on of a stay in Hong Kong on the way home.

The thrill of such an enormous piece of travel was tempered, initially by having our flight from Heathrow cancelled by Quantas for no reason we could discern. This meant that our onward flights from Brisbane were scuppered, messing up our arrival to Christchurch, New Zealand and losing us a night of accommodation.

2011 was also the year of Christchurch’s catastrophic earthquake, which was heartbreaking in itself, besides disrupting the Rugby matches and venues involved.

After a tortuous and exhausting series of flights we arrived to Christchurch’s small airport. In the arrivals hall we staggered…

I’m very grateful to Janet from Times and Tides of a Beachwriter for this Sunshine Blogger Award. Thank you Janet 😊

I have discovered Janet recently and I’m glad I did it. If you don’t know her yet, she has four novels and four collections of short fiction published on Amazing Kindle, go visit her blog now and you won’t be disappointed.

The Rules

Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and make a link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions sent to you by the person who nominated you.

Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award, and then write them 11 new questions – or cheat and use the same questions 🙂

List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.

Janet’s questions

1.Tell us three things about the place and country where you live…