I had no idea what a brilliant, if down right weird adventure I was letting myself in for when I slid this one into the blu-ray player!!
This is Terry Gilliam's dark masterpiece. It's a brilliant film and there are fabulous, fantastic, surrealistic visual effects, gorgeous cinematography, and stunning performances by an amazing cast of consisting of both famous stars and lesser known (but excellent) actors. It's in the vein of the great European surrealistic movies like Fellini's "8 1/2" or "Satyricon". But if you're not open to a mind bending, almost psychedelic fantasy and a plot with strange twists and turns that can be challenging to follow, this won't be for you. The cast is terrific I mean, Tom Waits plays "Mr Nick"aka the Devil, how can you lose??
Christopher Plummer is excellent in the title role, Heath Ledger's last performance is awesome!! Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Andrew Garfield, Jude Law, Verne Troyer, and Colin Farrell are also very good. The costumes and sets are gorgeous, though often in a dark and grungy way. By the way it also ends up being a story about ethical choices in life and how some people are very misleading. Probably not material for a box office hit, sadly, as this film is probably too unusual for most Americans, or perhaps less open minded folks. Its actually a bit Masonic, which I loved, and had a kind of "Harry Potter" feel to it...however this (like most Dr Who of late) does leave a lot of unanswered questions and plot gaps, which at times is a little confusing but its certainly well worth another watch and several more after that!!! I feel sure that this film must have been made in the 60's because most of it is like a wild LDS trip (not that I had taken LSD in the 60's) but if your looking for a dark fantasy step this way into Dr Parnassus Imaginarium..........
If you dare!!!!!!!!!!
In other news!
Finally got my gazebo up and my spa hot tub going....and I have just seen the weather report and its going to be jizzing it down all weekend!! Typical!! *tuts loudly* I have been reading up on the carefull use of chlorine which you must have in a spa, and I have indeed added some already as it warm us, just the right dosage of course!! I really do hate the smell of chlorine though as it just reminds me of school swimming lessons, so I have bought some spa fragrances of natural Jasmine to see it that will take away the smell of the chlorine...anyway should be in it this evening testing it out, if its hot enough. It heating slowly but surely and at the moment is 22 degrees, and I have set it at 33!!!....how very Masonic of me!! *winks*

OMG!!!!!!!!!! I just love that dancing Dodo advert for 5 alive!!!

see you soon! x x

Between the horizon and the sky there is a band of golden reeds, nodding their heads in the gentle breeze....the weather is warm but not hot, the sun is shining and the cumulus fluffy clouds slip lazily by!
Sounds like something you would hear on a hypnotists couch, but this really is life on the Norfolk broads!! The days are puncutuated by picturesque windmills and tea cakes at the helm...but it wasen't all fun and golden reeds, belive me!! How can I lie? This is my blog after all so I will just tell it as it was, nothing more, nothing less....so let me take you with us, boating on the broads, where the nights are blisfully peacefull.

Day 1:
In a world where everyone can't seem to slow down, and with a volcano from Iceland pumping a relentless stream of ash at us, we were glad we had booked to go boating on the broads, and not flying off somewhere. Besides, I wont leave Sirius so boating seemed like the perfect solution.
Awake and breakfasted at 6am and preparing to leave at 9am, Derek was in his usual flappy "we are off traveling" mode, which can often put him in a bad mood, which is strange really as he loves travel! I first noticed this *mode* many years ago in Kathmandu where I gave him the nickname of Russle Fidget!! because he was always rustling things in carrier bags and fidgeting with his backpack. Well good old Russ was back with me this morning as he flapped about faffing with this and that...when suddenly I had my very own volcano right here in my living room!!
"My effing camera is knackered!!!" he screeched, followed by tons of expleatives that I can't write here! Not bad really coming from my university educated, mild mannered husband. But yes indeed his posh Cannon digital camera was broke and he had to get on the internet quickly to find another he could buy and pick up on the way. He ordered one from a shop in Bury St Edmunds which is where we stopped to pick it up and pay for it. Bloomin' £500 too!!! Just let him moan at me the next time I buy a peice of Troika!! I will remind him of this fact...Ok on we go....After driving for about 4 hours, stopping for our packed lunch and wee wee stops and drinkies for Sirius, we arrived at Top Craft Cruisers at 3.30pm. On catching my first glimpes of our boat for the week, I was delighted!. She was gorgeous!! A sturdy craft painted in sky blue and white, 30 foot long by 12 feet wide and her name was "Golden Wing"....There was a stern sundeck with chairs and a table, in the cabin decked out with pretty pink curtains was a romantic four poster bed, flat screen TV, and a two seater sofa. Then there was the galley with two stools and breakfast bar, microwave and cooker as well as a stove, kettle and toaster. Toilet and shower and at the bow the wheel house, where unbeknown to me at the time, I was to spend most of the week "driving".
We were greeted by the manager, a large square set chap with a broad smile and sparkly eye's and ruddy cheeks, looking every inch a seaman! We loaded our luggage and the guy began to give us a talk through of the workings of the boat. Sirius was a bit baffled, and was wondering about sniffing apprehensively. I was trying to listen as he explained things but found it difficult as I was keeping an eye out for what Sirius was doing and he was looking more nervous by the second. Suddenly he began to whine, loudly and the next thing he pooed all over the poop deck!!!!!! How embarracing, but my perfectly house trained dog was so nervous he just let go!! We cleaned up and got on with things and then the chap said to Derek "Ready for you lesson in driving then?" ......How sexist!!! I was thinking, so I took Sirius onto the sun deck where I lit a ciggie and tickled Sirius behind the ears. Then the engine started!! Sirius realy paniced and nearly jumped out of his skin!! He was shaking like a leaf and quite clearly terrified. I cuddled him and cojouled him as our boat set off across Oulton broad! We steered this way and that and came back into parking position. Apperently Derek had passed with flying colours and Sirius was calming down, thank goodness. Just before our boatman was to disembark he noticed my masonic ring and I shyly admitted that I am a freemason. He grinned and it turned out he was a fellow brother!! and we briefly chatted about the masonic craft. Well eventually we were on our own and I took the helm to sail out of the harbour as Derek untied the mooring! As we got out into the river I asked Derek if he wanted to take over and he did so I slid out of the seat and let him take the helm.......DISASTER!!!!!!!!! straight away we hit a reed bank to the left (port) and Derek blushing and cursing, got us out with reverse thrust and then continued to sail on zig-zagging from port to starboard all across the river!!! "I though you just had a lesson?" I had huffed at him. Well Derek simply found it impossible to steer a straight course!!! Needless to say I took the helm back, and even more needless to say I was at the helm ALL week after this hitch!!
That evening we moored for the first time at a tiny place called Somerleighton and surprizingly Derek was good at parking (or berthing) our boat. SO that turned out to be the theme for the week. Me at the helm and Derek parking! But our troubles diden't stop there! We found to our horror we couldent get the cooking stuff working. Now we were told we had to run the engine in neutural at 2200 rev's but when we tried this things were still not working so we had to rely on emergency Pot Noodles for supper and copius amounts of port for me!! It had been a trying start..........

Day 2:
After we breakfasted we cast off and sailed back to the mooring at Top Craft to get advice on the galley equipment not working. It took about 2 hours to sail back and to our embarracement the problam turned out to be a simple trip switch. Had he explained this to us? we were both thinking, but to be honest we couldent remember. Off we casts again and I steered out back onto the river with its golden band of nodding reeds. When boating your in left hand drive and must keep to the right to pass other boats. This was quite easy but sometimes I felt our boat drifting over with the wind and I had to correct this often.
The wildlife is amazing!! We saw Heron, great crested greebe, reed warblers, and swans and ducks in abundence. I was happy I had remembered to pack some bread for the birds who were so cheeky some, ducks usually, would jump on deck looking for food. It was funny and Sirius had so much fun birdwatching. By day two Sirius had recovered his nerves and was quite enjoying himself, sat with Derek on the bow as he took loads of photos with his new camera. Derek had even pointed out to me that it was good that I could steer a straight course so well, so he was free to take pictures!! I wasent so sure!! Anyway we sailed on past windmills, both derelict and working and some converted to homes and pulled into moor at Reedham for the night at about mid afternoon. Reeham is a samll but very quaint village with just one shop. Going ashore we had decided to stock up on supplies as we walked Sirius, who was excited to be off the boat. At the top of the hill we found the shop...it was tiny but was one of them places that sold "everything" from tins of beans to the kitchen sink! I bought a small bag of tins and things and it cost £15!!! It was very expensive, but I suppose it was because it was the only shop in town, and catered to the boating trade. Anyway we spent the night at this very peacefull mooring and at last we could have a cooked supper, but I found it a bit of a pain having to run the engine to get things working. Still, we snuggled up to a decent DVD film and I called my mum. As the river lapped qently at our bows, softly rocking our boat which inturn rocked us both to sleep!! Very peacfull!!

Day 3:
On to Norwich!!
This was to be a long day with me at the helm again, and Derek tidying up our boat in a total role reversal. Its quite surprizing realy at just how untidy the boat can get during the day, but Derek, bless him, frequently brought me cups of tea in the wheel house and even more tea cakes!! My middle age spread is getting the better of me, but I was on holiday afterall so the tea cakes were welcome. At lunchtime we stopped at a picturesque pub called "The Ferry House!" and had an excellent lunch, which we were so impressed with, we went back too!! Derek, who does not normaly drink much was chuft to bits to have several pints while giggling "your driving!" at me...dont push it, I was thinking as I sipped my mango J2O... After a break of about an hour and a half we got back under way again and continued the long sail into Norwich city center. It seemed really strange to be on a boat in a city centre, but being in the middle of town meant one thing to me! SHOPPING!!!! not so for Derek though as he wanted to go off and visit the catheadral and castle to take pictures. We agreed to disagree and both went off to do our own thing and agreed to meet back up again in an hour. Derek took Sirius with him. I, in the meantime headed for Debanhams!! Yippeee!! I found a realy cute Welsh dragon bag (Iam half Welsh) a navy blue boating cotton jacket, and two pairs of gorgeous shoes! Eventually I was thrown out of the shop as they were closing as it was 5.25pm. Met up with Derek and Sirius again on a bench benith a large tree and we walked back to our mooring on the river. It was here that I realised just how nosey folks are we had been sat watching a film at sunset and folks were walking past and actually craining their necks to look at us in our boat!! How rude!!! I felt like a goldfish in a bowl!! Hastily I drew all the curtains while leaving the curtain with a veiw onto the river open so I could watch the glistening lights reflected in the water. It was quite lovely realy and dispite being in the city centre we had a very restfull night!!

Day 4:
In the morning we had a leisurely breakfast and got the engine started to set sail for adventure on some of the more backwater, smaller broads where Derek was hoping to get some pictures of the wildlife! We also repaid a return visit to the Ferry House and another excellent meal and a giggling Derek. Because he dose not drink, two pints and he is anybodies!! and he was well making up for it on this holiday. The off the beaten track broads were Bargate and Brockland broads but they were more "narrows" than broads and involved some very carefull navigation on my part. I even let Derek attempt the helm again, but to no avil...he was useless at it and we ended up zig-zagging all over the place again! I happily took the helm off him and carried on steering a proper course.
I wish I could begin to discribe just how very peacefull boating is...most of the time all you can hear is the swishing of the water, the chugging of the engine and the bird song. Sometimes I found myself thinking that I wished Derek was better at the helm so I could just relax on the sun deck with my book, but no, it was not to be. And Derek was leaping all over the boat to get the best shots with his camera.
In the evening and after a long day and aching shoulders from me, we moored VERY carefully at a tiny village called Lodden. I say very carefull as we had to moor between two boats, stern on, but fortunatly there were two chaps on the dock that helped us with directions and the ropes. They were very kind. However, shortly after we moored for the night that we realised we had moored next to a family of chavs!!! HORROR!!!!!!!! Two huge fat women were guzzling wine at the bow, kids, several of, running riot and screaming. Two blokes at the back of their boat guzzling huge ammounts of beer! Oh dear, we were thinking and shut the curtains and turned the TV up to drown out the noise of the kids. At 9pm we decided on pizza for supper and turned the engine on to fire up the grill. Five minuits later there was knock at our window. It was the chav mum from next-door (boat) complaining that the noise of our engine was waking her baby! Cheeky mare!!!! After all the racket the other kids had been making too!!! Unfortunatly there is a clause in the Broads authority rules about engine noise after dark and it turned out to be US that were breaking the rules, dispite the fact the sun had only just set............ needless to say we agreed to move as soon as we woke up and morr to have our breakfast at a quiet spot.........

Day 5:
...and we did just that!!
We cast off just before 8am and goodness I relay hoped we woke the hung-over chavs up as all their curtains on their boat were still drawn!! Naughtitly I put on full power as we sailed out of dock, but I wasent happy about the night before. We sailed on untill about 9am and moored for breakfast as we had planned to do, and it was a beautiflly peacefull spot, I was wishing we had spent the night there and we might have got to have our pizza!! We were both really hungry so breakfast was quite a big one. By mid morning we were making our way back down river and the weather was gorgeous, and much warmer than it had been at the start of the week. Derek sat on the bow with his camera and Sirius appeared to be doing an impression of Leonardo Di Caprio in Titanic!! We have photos which I will post soon, when I have uploaded them. Lunch was fish and chips at a local and we later turned off the main river and headed to Beccles. At Beccles there is a large yacht station and a yacting club so I had to do lots of manouvering to give way to the sail boats. We moored up to get some supplies from Morrisons (we had ran out of toilet paper at this stage) and this time Derek went on his own as I stayed with Sirius on the boat, watching the Weakest link and the news on BBC 1. On our way down to Beccles we had noticed a very secluded mooring in an idillic spot and as we cast off at Beccles after Derek returned with 6 can of Bitter amongst other things, we made our way back up the river hoping this spot would still be free, and wonder of wonders, it was!!! For once we moored with our patio doors facing the river and go beautiful views at sunset. Another delight of this gorgeous place was a family of Canadian geese. Mum, dad and six tiny fluff ball goslings!!! While Derek walked Sirius I was sat at the bow trying to coax the family down to our boat with bread. What a delight!!! This would turn out to be one of the best spots to more we had come across. It was called Aldeby and the mooring was so tiny it would only fit 3 boats maximum!! Shortly after Derek and Sirius got back another boat pulled in but they were very quiet and did not moor too close to use, for which I was greatfull. Uncorking my port I looked out past the patios onto a fantastic, tangerine glow sunset. This is what life is all about, I was thinking later as I drifted to sleep!

Day 6:
.....was not a good day
In fact nothing seemed to go right for us as we missed the lunchtimes at two pubs and I had to go like the clappers to find a parking spot for sundown....and to my compleat horror, Sirius almost went overboard!!!
Having missed lunchtime at one pub we carried on to a pub at St Olaves where we had, had the fish and chips. The tide was very low so the dock was quite high after we moored, and I even doughted I would get off, let alone Sirius!!! Derek, at 6 foot 1 has long legs and high docks are easy for him. I am a foot shorter with shorter legs and Sirius smaller still. Time was getting on and between us we worked out a stratagey to get off our boat at the bow, which was higher than the stern. Derek got off first and gave me his hand to haul me off. When I was off the boat and on land Derek got back on to help Sirius. Sirius on the other hand had idea's of his own and eagerly dived to jump the dock himself. He missed and to my compleate horror I watched as he vanished between the boat and the dock. Screaming and feeling sick I raced forward!!!! Derek was trying to haul him up by his lead and coller and I was reaching down to grab his front paws as he was making swimming doggie paddle movements. I almost went over myself as I reached over for him but I dident care as one movemoent of the river could squash Sirius between the boat and the dock and my baby boy could have died. Tears streaming down my face and screaming at Derek I managed to get his front paws onto dry land and Derek gave him a shove on his bum, and he was on ground. The relife was incredeible but I still felt very sick and thought I would throw up any second.
We got to the pub and I sat on a table bench outside and chain smoked as I cuddled my soggy doggy who actually seemed quite un-fazed by his ordeal. Derek had asked me what I wanted to eat and I just said a sandwich as I still felt sick. Several moments later he came back with his pint and my J20 and said "Its good your not hungry now as they have stopped serving food!!" He said. It was already 3pm and the chances of getting anything to eat were getting smaller and smaller........While I was off at the helm again half an hour later Derek had a tin of Big Soup and he microwaved me a Rustlers burger so lunch today was on the move. Derek had come up to my wheel house and sat down and asked what we should do. I suggested going back to Beccles and shop again for a blow out of a supper. Chinese microwaveable I was thinking and Derek agreed it was the best course. We got back to Beccles at 6pm and Derek rushed to the shop and we were under way again another half hour later and I sailed at full speed to get a place at our planned spot for the nights mooring, and guess what? It was FULL!!! and it was getting darker by now and as there is no boating allowed after dark and we dident have navigation lights I swung the boat about and drove our Golden Wing at full speed back up the river to check any other free moorings!! By 7pm it wasent looking good and Derek was even considering pulling in at a bank and using the mooring pegs we were carrying. I was not happy about this.........
"I am going to head back to Aldeby!" I yelled back to Derek in the cabin.
But secretly in my heart I was praying that there would be some space and we would not have to use the pegs.
So THANK GOD there was just one space free when we got there, as Derek took over the helm to berth us!!
By 8.30 pm we were moored and me, with my port, Derek and Sirius with their beer, all got happily sloshed!
We all deserved it after the day we had, had.

Day 7:
Our last day was a very relaxed laid back one. Thankfully.
It was another trip back to Beccles and the Yacht station only this time I would actually get to see the town which was delightful. However the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was raining but it diden't spoil some shopping for me and a walk for Sirius and Derek. There was even a Stead and Simpson shoes shop open and I got a gorgeous pair of summer snadles. Also at a nearby WH Smiths I also invested in my favorite writer, Philippa Gregory and bought "The White Queen" a story of Elizabeth Woodville! Following all this it was lunchtime and Derek and I headed for the Kings head hotel, and orderd some lunch, it took ages to arrive but when it did it was the yummyiest thing I have ever tasted. Well worth the wait and far better than the spinich and ricotta canaloni I had had at the Ferry.
We headed back to our boat and on board we did the sad task of packing!
Despite some bad things that happened this was one of the best holidays I have ever had!!!
At Tea time we sailed back up to a nice spot near Oulton broad so we wouldn't have far to go in the morning.
The last evening we watched the sunset over the river, and after dark we watched Fauwlty Towers.

The last tea cake had been scoffed too!!

On coming back yesterday we are already planning to return and have chosen a boat on the North broads that is slightly bigger and even has a full size bath....that might come to pass in October......however, I can't wait. I have even bought a jolly roger flag to hoist on the next boat!!

love Vix, Derek and Sirius x

p.s
A PHOTO-BLOG of the trip is coming next!!
;)

By cool bag I dont mean a "cool bag" ie: Trendy! I mean a cold bag...I have just googled cool bag and how to make one and all I got was how to make an old bag look cool. If that applied to people I would be in luck!! This old bag would love to look cool!! LOL!!!
Anyway I need to keep some salad type stuff cool, and the cooler bag I bought is far to small for all the stuff I need to keep cool, which includes box of salad, chicken sweet chilli dips, samosas, and pakoroas as well as some cheese and pickle, and chocolate moose for afters!! Now building ones own cool bag should not be difficult for me if I just put my physics A'level brain into gear, but this is a little difficult with all the brain cells that have died since I was a teenager!
Rummaging through the garage I came up with the novel idea of using bubble wrap ( I have stopped using ebay for now as my username has been stolen by someone who hasn't the brain to make up their own names) ....Using bubble wrap with tin-foil to insulate it, which I figured would make a pretty good cooler bag. The only problam being is it will make lots of litter and will not be reuseable! Ho Hum!! this is a last minuite thing, however! So I am going to give it ago in the morning!...I will let you know how it works out! ;)
Ok...last nights episode of Dr Who!
Dident quite meet my full expectations and excitement that I was feeling at the start of the story. The begining dident dissapoint and I sensed Moffat was "up to something" as this story began to unfold. There were some unansewerd question too, but I have got used to this a lot since the new who started. Perhaps I am just getting too old to "get it", who knows! The new generation of Daleks looked about as fearsome (as my friend Kate said on FaceBook) as a group of Mini's!!! Noting the colour! I was hoping too that the Daleks would have a more 60's retro feel to them, but they diden't and infact diden't look fearsome at all. The final "big fail" for me came when the Spitfires appeared in space! Oh good grief, what was Steven thinking? This is something Russle Tea Lady would have done. How the heck are we supposed to belive that Spitfires are capable of intersellla flight with absolutly no explanation. I was hoping there would be one, but non was forthcoming. Well not that I could figure anyway. Ok....it was still an enjoyable romp even if much of the story made no sense! and I enjoyed the Doctor battering the Dalek bit and Matt Smith has proved in this story he is a very good match for Tennant! In fact his acting was superb!!!
Anyway...I never new there was an updated "V"
I am just watching it on Syfy channel, and it looks absolutly brilliant. How long has this been out without me noticing? I was a huge fan of the original series, which I have on DVD...but has no idea it had been re-made!

see you soon, with tonns of piccies!! ;)

Just an excuse to do another list really! *blushes*


1: Sanur Beach, Bali!.......................Derek and I were supposed to visit Bali on our round the world trip in 95' but we had to cut things short due to a series of disasters most of which have been documented on here, so I wont go back into detail. We finally got round to visiting, however in 98' and this became the first of about 7 trips for me...and why! Its simply paradise!! A golden beach lapped by the sea surrounded by a tropical lagoon! gorgeous food, lovely locals and a fascinating culture!! I know of nowhere in the world that has "everything" in such a small space! The cost of living is low and the beer is cold...what more could I ask for? Sanur is only a small part of Bali and obviously on the coast! The locals belive that the centre of the island is sacred so the more you get inland on Bali, the more you can expierance the local culture, which is bright, vibrant and fascinating! The art centre is a large village called Ubud, which is basically a huge open air art gallery. Derek and I used to go here for breakfast in an art gallery that doubled as a cafe, before going off on days out to explore the holy volcano's and the beautiful countryside of central Bali. Also In Ubud you can find some of the most luxurious 6 star hotels in the world!! We could only afford to spend 3 nights at one at around $700 a night!!! and it was pure, unabulterated Luxury...with a capitol L!!! ...sadly our last visit was in 2002 and as I wont be parted from my baby boy, Sirius, international travel has been knocked on the head...but I have some fantastic memories!

2: Varanasi, north India!!................Varanasi is India's most holy, and to me most beautiful city! Its the place to discover if you want to find the real heart-beat of India! Its a compleat assult on the senses! Colour, sight sound, smell, and a deep spiritual expierence that is compleatly unforgetable! Derek and I have stayed here a couple of times on several trips to India. And the place never ceases to amaze me! There is always something new to discover, if you can ignore the chaps on the burning Ghat trying to get tourists to pay to watch a cremation!! Ugh!! not nice!!...We once took a dawn, rowing boar ride out on to the Ganges to watch the sun rise. and regular readers of my blog will remember it was here that Derek mistakingly drank Canabis in the form of a bhang lassi!! I don't reccomend it!! The only down side of the beautiful city is the lack of booze. It is the most holy city so drink is all but banned. But hey!! who needs a drink when you have a million beautiful temples to explore!! Anyway, for all my waffling about India, it is certainly not a place for the faint hearted, or snob or self centered person! You have to visit with a very open mind, and get expert advice before hand...a year before my first visit I swatted up on what seemed like hundreds of guide books, so in a way I had prepared myself. But Varanasi blew my socks off!! I felt hounered and very privledged to visit this most beautiful city!! Namaste!! :)

3: Kathmandu, Nepal!!...................You wake at dawn to the sound of gentle tinkling bells and flutes! I can't imagin a lovelier wake up call!!! But this is indeed what you wake to in Kathamndu in the Kingdom of Nepal! It nestels surrounded by the Himalaya and on clear days you can see snow capped mountains in the distance, high above the golden roofs of the many Temples in down town Durbah square, which is a favorite haunt of ours! Colourfull prayer flags and wheels are everywhere, compleate with the hustel and bustle of this amazing city that is home to the "Erotic Elephant" temple, and the may festivals that are held there. We were privledged to witness the living Goddess, Kumari Devi on one of our visits, but gain, like India, not for the faint heated! I witnessed the sacrifce of a bullock, and I vomited and cried for ages! It was total horror! But this is a culture all of its own, and aside from this event, is an awesome culture to behold...and a heaven for tea lovers!! During my time as a travel agent I have heard many a client be-moan the fact that they are made to drink tea with hot milk, abroard!! hehehehe...not in Kathmandu! Here fresh tea is served from the mountains with cold milk, and its absolutly gorgeous! The Nepalese are amazing people too, as even when you get on the Everest trek you can still stop for a tea break or a breakfast of omlette in the shaddow of Everest!! As a side note the Nepalese are some of the most heavy drinkers I have met in the world and its usually the women who are the worst. I got accosted by a mother and daughter at 8am and they were absolutly plastered on Raksi which is the local firewater. When its served hot in a glass with Yak butter round the rim its delicious!!! You sip the hot liquor through the creamy butter!! But BEWARE!!! 2 or 3 glasses of this and you will be absolutly plastered!! Belive me!! and I can be a heavy drinker when I want to be! LOL!!

4: Samosir island, Indonesia!!..............This tiny, volcanic island is set in a huge jade green lake and is a haven for weary backpackers sick and tired of hairraising bus rides and hawkers! Saying that though this island has a magical charm about it that I find hard to put into words! It was a place where I played guitar at sunset to some locals and fellow travellers, was adopted by a mum dog and her 3 puppies, local man kicked one of said puppies and Derek beat him up...we left the guest house and I nicked a hippy hat from the guest house shop!! as retribution! Oh heck we had some fun there!!! Every afternoon heavy cumulus clouds would build around the lake, and just when it looked like there would be a storm, all we got was a few drops of rain!! Everything is in walking distance here and the cost of living is low like on Bali. The local culture here is based on ancestor worship which is fascinating!! and if your lucky you may get invited to a festival or performance, from their rich history! However its compleatly relaxing here!!

5: Kho Phang ghan island, Thailand!........ Yes this was where some of the scenes from the movie "The Beach" was set but that was long after Derek and I had our last visit to this paradise!! We stopped hear for a month in a tiny, stillted beach hut on the shore of Try Thong. We were not the only inhabitance on this beach hut though!! One night our hut was invaded by an army of termites, and we were often payed a visit by a huge lizard! On a down note hear, this was the place I first expierenced heat stroke as well as the massive ant bite that still scares my left leg to this day!! However the days were lazy and slow with trips into the tiny village for supplies, walks on the silky soft beach, looking for brightly coloured hermit crabs, and lazing about getting blottoed and playing endless games of Ludo!! The first day we were there the delightful landlady asked me if I liked Thai potato curry! At that point I had not tried it so I just said yes. What I got blew my head off with heat from a huge assortment of powerfull chillies. The next day I asked for egg and chips, and she cooked this better than my own mother so I stuck to that after! heheheh!! We had a trip to the infamous "Full moon" party one night on the other side of the island, and we were not impressed. It was just a load of stoned hippies on a beach with loud music!!! Not fun!! we left just before midnight! Anyway form hear we "island hopped" which was cheep and easy, apart from hitting a realy bad stom on a boat when we were heading to Kho Teo! I noticed that the locals were praying as our boat pitched and yawed...then I noticed there were no life jackets either!!!..I began to pray too!!...when we finally arrived I down a quater of a bottle of whisky to calm my shot nerves!

6: Donegal, Ireland!!..................With its absolutly gorgeous food this is not a place to visit if your on a diet!!!
Dereks, mum was born here so a lot of his family are here too! Needless to say we have made may trips to this superb area of glittering green Ireland!! In fact we were in a gift shop one day and Derek found he had a new cousin!!! "So!! you'r Roseablla's boy!!" the shop keeper said to Derek! They began talking and that was it...we were there for the next 3 hours!! We had many days driving off the beaten track in the countryside, which was gorgeous! stopping at tiny villages for lunch and walking in the hills! We were staying on the side of a small mountian called Tivarhurkey (not sure how its spelt) where Dereks auntie had a tiny white cottage, next to a static caravan (where we stayed) with stunning view onto Donegal bay! Our evenings were spent with much booze and me experimenting on the tiny caravan stove, with local recipies I had picked up! One of which was cabbage and bacon for supper, and soda bread! Ahh the delights!! It was also hear that I notied the severe effects of the smoking ban which happened in Ireland before it happened here! On our first trip the many pubs on the diamond at Donegal centre had been packed with locals having the "craik", music and laughter...when we returned after the ban, all the pubs were all but deserted...its so very sad!

7: Vietnam!! all over!! my taylor-made tour!!............One afternoon it was very quiet at my shop so I sent the girls home early and got stuck into sorting our own tour of Vietnam! Taylor-making is fairly easy...well I would say that being a travel agent....you just have to get all your basics in place and then prepare to spend ages on the phone to book the various parts!! I had, had some bacardi in my back office and cans of coke in my fridge so yes...youve guessed it...I got hopelessly drunk and was at my shop untill gone 7pm. Derek had been furious, and even more furious when he found out our bank account was £7,000 lighter!!! I got home and hid!!
The tour, however coulden't have been more perfect!!
Dispite the copious amounts of bacardi I had consumed I had managed to string together 3 weeks of adventure and relaxation, combined with perfect hotels, a wonderful, local guide, and 8 excellent flights!! How the heck I managed it, will forever remain a mystery to me...but I did!! First off was 2 nights in vibrant Ho Chi Minh city and then onto the paradise beach at Nha Trang, with trips out to the islands and a glass bottom boat trip and tours of the local Temples! Next was the overnight luxury train Victoria express to the Sapa mountain region, for some superb trekking, and a luxuary hotel. We met the local tribes people who were delightful, and the sights and sounds were amazing! For some godforsaken reason I had managed to combine all of the best aspects of a custom made tour with all the full delights of the beautiful country!!! When all said and done, eventually Derek smiled and said it was fantastic!!

8: Zanzibar -Spice island!!.................This was two weeks of totally slobbery on mine and Derek's part!! Two weeks of 5 star luxuary bungalow set in immaculate gardens with a resort and swimming pool on the beech, set on a tropical lagoon, where you could paddle while jewel coloured fish nibble your toes!! A total delight!! This was Breezes beach club resort! I would say this is the perfect honeymoon resort as it is certianly represented as an adult romantic get-away! There was, however, a down side to this two weeks of paradise. On the run up to our holiday I had a slightly aching wisdom tooth, and I dident do to the dentist before hand, so as a result I spent a lot of time in absolut agony, and had to see the resort Doctor, a large jolly lady who could only advise pain killers untill I got home! I ended up popping so many pain killers I collapsed one eveing and was dreadfully ill. Derek on the other hand was not fareing much better as he got sun stroke without knowing he had it. On the first day we had spent on loungers underneath an umbrella made of dried coconut leaves. It was about 100 degrees....Derek is a red head...and there were lots of holes in the handmade umbrella. That night, Derek totaly red, went down into the restraunt on the beach to get a menu for our evening meal. I had stayed at the bar. A few moments later a waitress come rushing over to say Derek had fainted! We rushed him back to our bungalow and I covered him in wet towels to get his temp down. Thankfully it worked and he was ok the next day.

9: Kerela - Lighthouse beach, India..................if you have ever dreamed of having a tropical beach all to yourself, well just go hear to make it come true!! For several times during our holiday there we had that gorgeous, unspoilt beach to ourselves, apart from a local lady, who for a few rupees, would bring us a huge bowl of fresh fruit everyday!! Another paraside to add to my list!! Our hotel was set on rock benith a delightful red and white lighthouse, which every evening would twinkle far out to see, in rythmic pulses of light! There was too beaches seperaterd by a rocky outcove , our was the quieter of the two, but the busier one was packed with locals and tourists alike, as well as fishermen trawling for their evening catch! Its actually a local beauty spot where everyone one comes to watch the glowing evening sunset! One evening we made friends with a family on holiday from Mumbai, and I played with the children!! Such a delight!

10: Souter lighthouse- National Trust!! Sunderland...........I could not go without mentioning my favorite "English" get a way from it all!! Souter lighthouse and our "Keepers Cottage" I have blogged about this inspiring place before so I wont go into much detail here, it further back in my blog if you haven't seen it!! Its a haunted lighthouse!! and the keepers cottage has been furnished by the national trust to resemble what it would have actually been like! I love the bath here!! Its a huge, beautiful white porceline Victorian afair!! and I could spend ages wallowing in it!!

Places I dident like!

1: China!!...the stuff of nightmares!!
2: Costa Rica!!...beautiful eco tour of the rainforests but Kuoni cocked up our booking which ruined our tour!
3: Mumbi, India...smashed my head open slipping on a wet bathroom floor!
4: Sydney!!...caught gastroenteritus and ended up in hospital!
5 All of the travel agents "educationals" I have been on including: Turkey, Skiing in Italy, Majorca and Bali! Educationals are for travel agents to expierence a new country but they are in fact working holidays where you dont get any time to yourself. You have a team leader and MUST do as your told!! you have to share your room in my case on one with a woman who was constantly texting her boyfriend all night. and another ended in violence when a gay man punched me because his boyfriend prefreerd my company to his....the list is endless!! Travel agents on these are mostly self centred, attention seeking weirdo's!!
6: Singapore!!....to clinical and just for shoppers!!
7: Indoniesia!!....mostly for mental bus drivers, who try their best to kill you!!
8: London!!!....for me its lost its "Englishness!"
9: Goa!!!......far too touristy now!!! Full of hippies and wasters...this was once a beautiful place!
10: .....emmmmm....can't think of a ten!!

Hope you enjoyed! ;)
love Vix

Sorry, I got really behind on this as I have been busy with other things at the moment!!

As promised....our pop up TV-bed photos!!



View sitting on the bed with the VT off!



Bed with Tv lowered and away in its automatic box in the footboard!



...and last but not least my Troika bed side table lamp! 2 views!





Sorry for the poor quality, but I haden't realised they would be such a small size, so I have now altered the size of my phone images!
This bed is absolutly amazing. Everyone should have one!!
At the touch of a button a 32 inch flat screen HD TV rises elegantly from a box in the foot-board. Our dvd is connected to it, which sits under the bed, but it s bit fiddly to operate so Derek has bought a cable so I can connect my ipod directly to the tv and so I can watch my treasured "Hammer house of horror" series!!! Yipppeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Playing ipod to tv gives you the very same picture quality you get from a dvd, for some reason Derek thought it would be fuzzy. But no...I was very impressed with the results, having watched some classic "who" in the process.
Tonight I will have a huge bubble bath at 8pm, at 9pm I shall watch "Children of the full moon" on the TV bed, with a vintage port, some mediterranean quiche, and cream cheese stuffed peppers!!...and Sirius with his nightly treats course.
Derek will join me at 10.30, and.........
..........that information is not for a public blog! *giggles cheekliy*

After reading much internet information on this I am now seriously considering growing my own Golden Virginia!!!

It all started with an internet hunt as I was trying to find cheep ciggs for sale in the UK, without going down the road of having to import them and risk the wrath of her lovely Majasties Customs and Exciese! As some of you long time readers may know I tried going down this route about 3 years ago, only to have my beloved cigs confiscated by these people and to be informed of the fact by a curt letter threatening me with legal action!!! Now I am a law biding citizen but this whole demonisation of smokers has gone too far, and I simply refuse to pay £6 a pack when most of it goes to our money grabbing government, who brought in the pathetic smoking ban!! Ok...I am not going to go on a rant about the rights and wrongs of smoking (wish everyone was as tolerent as my Derek) but I have figured out I can grow it myself!!! I have been reading a tobacco growers forum and it appears the plant grown very well indeed, but can take ages to mature and dry out ready for smoking. However, I am willing to give it a try, and will join that same forum to ask for help and advice along the way. They are really pretty plants too, and might even be a lovely added addition to my hot tub area in my garden, once they are big enough to go outside!.
*sticks two fingers to Gorden Brown*
I have also been reading on the harmfull addetives in mass produced ciggies but I have known about this for a long time, and its just another incentive for me to grow my own! At least I will know what I am smoking...and its LEGAL!!