My Blogs including travel logs and sketches

              My memories from a time that we would all probably prefer to forget 20/4/2020  Richard Branson  quote after asking for a loan from the government 24/04/2020 Boris Johnson nearly dies after contracting Covid 24/04/20 Trump says "Bleach kills Covid ". 26/04/20 Footballer Moise Kean breaks social isolation rules by having a party with his team mates 29/04/20 Boris Johnson's message to stay at home. (Wilfred was born 29/4 )                                16/04/20 Captain Tom Moore starts his charity walk.                                                                      30/04/20 Tom Moore walked 100 t...

The inspiration for this was the tragic shooting at Heaton Park Synagogue, Manchester where two people died 2/10/25 I heard there was a secret chord, That David played, it pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do you. While the singing filled the air, The spider creeping from it's lair. It's bite will try to stop the strains of Hallelujah. The seeds were sown, the table laid. The dice was cast the price was paid. The clouds came down and fog obscured the reason. Words were written in the sand. Wiped over by the Mistrel's hand. Listen to the wind say - Hallelujah. Fed with venom, filled with hate. Death is waiting at the gate. You really want to change the music - don't you. As the people round you cry. The shouts ignored, the bullets fly. The darkness falls and all you hear is - Hallelujah. I heard there was a secret chord That David played, it pleased the Lord But you don't want to sing it, do you.. Instead the hate inside you swelled. A lonely...

 Who were the Hovellers ? The name was given to a community of fishermen based around the town of Deal in Kent. From the mid 18th Century merchant ships and Men-of-War used the stretch of sea between Deal and the Goodwin Sands, known as the Downs, as a harbour. They would stock up on provisions before venturing out on the trade routes to the Caribbean or India. Sometimes there could be as many as 300 ships waiting for favorable winds. The Downs provided shelter in bad weather, but ships would frequently loose their anchors, or even some of their cargo. Many ships came to grief on the Sands too. The Hovellers changed from their traditional fishing role to scouring the seabed for lost property, thus acquiring the name. They frequently assisted ships in trouble and they saved many lives. However, they also acquired a reputation for pillaging goods, or even sometimes refusing aid. In some cases this may have been justified,  but there are recorded instances where Captains  re...

  Los Lobos is an uninhabited island that lies a few km off the north coast of Fuerteventura. It is a protected area of unspoiled natural beauty. So if you want to " get away from it all ", it is worth a visit. I was staying at Playa Blanca , Lanzarote, from where the island was clearly visible. I wasn't able to find any excursions to it , but there is a regular fast ferry (catamaran) that goes to Corraleyo, Fuerteventura, that takes about 30 minutes to cover the 15 km. I was told that I could get a ferry from there.  Booking was easy. The booking office is a large modern building on the quay, next to where the fast ferry moors up. It's a few Euros less if you book the day before. I got a 9:30 sailing, so I had plenty of time for        breakfast. The ferry to Los Lobos is a very distinctive little yellow boat called the water taxi. It is          moored just along the quay from where the fast ferry docked. I bought a ticket from a ...

  The only time that I'd been to Morocco before was a day trip to Tangiers. Although it had been an interesting experience, I wasn't sure that I wanted to go there again. But we'd seen a bargain; Agadir I'd never heard of it. It's a resort on the Atlantic, 150 miles from Marrakesh. A hotel called The Caribbean Village were doing all inclusive for half the price of anything in the Canaries. Average temperatures are better than the Canaries in January. The flight from Gatwick only took 3 hrs 10 mins, it was supposed to take 4 ! The airport is small, in the middle of nowhere, 25 km from the town. Security was tight. We were herded through passport control, everyone manually checked and passports manually stamped. Our cases were waiting for us, so was our taxi !  Although most of the journey is on motorway, there are speed restrictions, so it took about 40 mins. The countryside looked quite flat and baron.  Our hotel was a few miles away from the town, set in a natural ...

  My travels in the Algarve   Below are extracts from a travel log from September 1991, when I took my backpack, and set out on a journey around the Algarve. I hope you find it interesting. You may even want to visit some of the places  yourself. 23/9 Well it's come around again. Summer holidays, and I've left it too late to stay in this country. So last Friday I booked a flight to Faro, Portugal. I should have arrived on Monday afternoon, but my plane was delayed by 3 hours, and we didn't touch down until 21:00, and everything was closed, including the bank.  What didn't I have ? Money.  I thought it would be a good idea to take travelers cheques. I asked around but the only advice I got was to find a hotel in town. But I needed some Escudos to get to town. !  Bit of a problem. I was surprised how provincial the airport was, considering that it is the only international airport in the Algarve. Security looked scarce, but I didn't want to spend th...