A Welsh Extravaganza!!!

What a weekend we have just had...

Friday I had but a few patients at work so managed to finish by midday and picked up a rental - a Swanky new Ford Focus Zetec with under 500 miles on the clock - the day was going swell already! Loaded the car to the hilt with Bikes, clothes, tent, thermarests etc etc and then picked up the ultimate travel accessory, namely one Mez - who makes holidays fun!!

And we were off!! in search of adventure, places unseen and unexplored (well by us anyway). A sea to see and experience... Dinner stop was a seaside town about halfway down the Welsh coast called Aberystwyth. Great Chinese takeaways on a park bench overlooking the ocean. Great chinese being defined as tasty, without leaving a feeling in your gut like you just ate pure MSG or lead!

Had a bit of an explore of the old castle and a play around the ruins... as you can see...

So we then continued on down the coast road, watched a beautiful sunset unfold and arrived at our B & B in Fishguard. Great wee place, great hospitality, great views both in the evening and the next morning... If we ever go back to Fishguard we will certainly return.

Off early the next morning and the first standout thing of the day... The country way of life. Well as far as I can tell, the way of life for people outside of England... Much more laid back, walking dogs, stopping to chat to neighbours and other friendly people who are also out walking their dogs... really cool to see, and makes you feel relaxed too. You get the same impression from the irish - just that bit more relaxed. Can't yet say what the Scots are like... Hopefully we'll get there soonish.

Second standout thing for the day: Welsh sheep have tails - all of them. First I thought, hmm that one got away from the Docking man... then there were hundreds of them, all with the same manky tails... They look a bit funny when you're used to seeing them without tails.

Anyway t'was an early start because we headed to St David's which is right on the south eastern tip of Wales in Pembrokeshire... Great place, and well selected activity by us - forecast was for rain on Saturday so we thought we'd do something where we'd be wet anyway... COASTEERING! Coasteering is described as everything your mother told you not to do at the seaside... Ok so we're interested... Add an experienced guide, some newcomers, put them all in wetsuits and lifejackets, with helmets on, then send them scrambling over rocks, jumping off high ones (into the water), traversing cliff faces (if you fall, you splash), attempting to stand on rock ledges against the power of the tide trying to push you off. That's pretty much the idea.

Ok so it was a freezing day, and Ryan was not so apprehensive about the activities, but very apprehensive of getting hypothermia. Thank God for whoever invented Neoprene and Polypropylene I say! Because the weather was a bit crap the two groups that were going out got combined into one so we had 13 people which meant it was a bit slow moving and not as exciting as it could have been, but a great and fun morning nonetheless and a few challenging bits in here and there. We might go back for more at some stage in the future. Once you've had one go they let you do the more extreme versions... i'm up for it!

So Following that we continued our drive around the coast stopping in Pembroke where Providence had brought out the sun for a couple of hours for us to have lunch and wander around the Pembroke Castle. The Castle also had some people in medieval dress teaching about medieval weaponry (which was rather uninteresting I thought). I did learn one vaguely interesting fact though. When you get a 'Pommelling' nowadays it probably refers to being well beaten in a schoolyard scrap, however the origin of this term comes from the use of the bottom end of the Sword in Medieval Sword fighting - basically bashing the person over the head with the blunt end, or 'pommel' is called getting a 'pommelling'. Amazing eh?

Anyway these are some shots of Pembroke Castle (with the stars of this episode of course). Managed to climb right up on top of the castle towers too which was not only fun, but afforded great views of the surrounding countryside.

From Pembroke and Pembroke Castle we went to see some of the Natural Highlights of the surrounding area. By this stage the rain has started to spatter back down again and the wind was getting up... But we wanted to see the Stack rocks, The Green bridge of Wales and St Govan's Chapel.

St Govans Chapel was built around 600ish but it's founder was loitering about in the region a good time before that - evidently he was chased to the coastline by some nasty frenchmen, and hid in a split in the limestone cliffs which God opened for him, then closed him inside so that those who sought his end could not find him. Eventually they tired of looking for him and left, but St Govan stayed and made a little community of people there and did some teaching and prayed a lot. Excellent eh?

Onwards from there, we went to see the stack rocks where it was exceedingly windy - but fortunately blowing back towards the cliff. I saw this as an added safety feature as I scrambled my way halfway down the cliffside/hillside to get some cool shots on the Camera, while Mez simply thought I was stupid and stressed more than a little at the top. Clear difference here in the risk taking behaviour of Male vs Female. We're both still here, and happy to be!

The stack rocks are like the Majestic bows of two great and gigantic ships, permanently grounded on a rugged coastline that stretches as far as the eye can see. Great cliffs that reminded me a lot of the coastline near Dunedin's Tunnel beach - a favourite spot of Fr Mark (and many others, myself included). Beautiful. God's country. Wild. Untameable. The area also is home to the Green bridge of Wales which is where the weather has eroded some of the rock on a jutty out bit of the land (probably much like the stack rocks once were) however the land is continous out over onto the rock, which again is similar to a feature at tunnel beach near Dunedin. If you live in NZ and you've never been there - Go!!

Anyway left the stack rocks and decided against going to what has been voted the most beautiful beach in the UK... Mainly because the wind was absolutely howling and the rainclouds were looking quite menacing, and the beach concerned is only accessable by foot... So we headed to the Gower Peninsula where we'd booked a tent site for the night (Stopped only by a huge steer on the main road who was happily muching away on some Blackberries and who turned to give us a wink and a look along his long and very menacing horns as we drove past!!). Gower Peninsula is supposed to be beautiful, and what we saw of it certainly was, but it was absolutely hosing down with rain and though the forecast was to clear we decided against pitching the tent in such conditions and bailed on the tenting leaving behind our ten pound deposit.

A Mad hunt for a bed ensued and we eventually got a bed at another beautiful B & B in Swansea, owned by a lovely couple Dave and Jane who have done a lot of Travelling and Lived for a while in Wellington where Jane worked as a Nurse in Wakefield Hospital!! So they were good value. Had a great meal out at a local Indian restaurant and even corked a bottle of Moet in celebration of 'Potential'!!

The next day was a beautiful sleep in followed by a quick scoot around the bay and into the hills to the Afan forest park where we met the lovely Mr and Mrs J & J Grieve. A fantastic ride (just under 17km) punctuated (if you'll pardon the pun) only by a couple of punctures for Jake, which apparrently has become something of a norm for him. Last ride in the UK for the Grieve's who leave in a week to go travelling in Europe and then back home to Dunedin. Great to catch them up again and had an icecream sundae in a little seaside town nearby called Porthcawl. Great place, great company and great to hear of another cool young couple's plans for their life together in the near future. It was not without a slight twinge of... something, i don't quite know what to call it - maybe homesickness again?... we left, knowing that when they arrive home in November they get to stay there!! Really just genuinely thrilled for them to be headed home after an action packed OE for them. However you get over such things quite quickly!!!

Looking forward now to another weekend coming up in Ilkley and chance to spend time with Daryl and Lorna on their big day, and Amanda and Dan, and Paul who are all coming up to the wedding as well.

Hope you also had a stellar weekend. Love Life. Take Care,

Ryan

Some philosophising...?

Ever heard the phrase:

Consider the SIGNS of the Times...?

Sooooo, i'm considering the sign that came through my mailbox earlier this week... You can see it below - A fine example of advertising if ever I saw one...

So what does that image make you think? and what do the first two lines make you consider?

Just the grey letters. Wow!!

And yet very true I think of the current moral climate nowadays.

The reason this struck my attention was because Mez and I were listening to Ravi Zacharias (a Christian apologist and speaker - very thought provoking...) just the other night (you can hear his online talks etc at http://www.rzim.org/radio/archives.php?v=current ) And we listened to a series of three talks entitled "Unplugging Truth in a Morally Suicidal Culture" (there also are some very strong words) In the series Ravi lays down three prevailing attitudes in contemporary society and then goes onto to reason why these ideas are flawed, and proposes three specific Christian ideals as their replacement... And that advertisement fits exactly with what he was talking about...

His three prevailing attitudes are:

1. Secularisation, which he shows leaves our society without shame.

2. Pluralisation, which he shows, leaves our society without reason. And finally...

3. Privatization which leaves us with a society without meaning.

Very interesting musings and easy to follow arguments regardless of your personal credal affirmations. If you're interested to hear him have a listen online. Anyway he has some other more amusing quotes which I just had to note down...

Steve Turner (English journalist) says: Here is the creed for the modern thinker:

I believe in Marx, Freud and Darwin.

We believe everything is ok – as long and you don’t hurt anyone, to the best of YOUR definition of hurt and to the best of YOUR definition of knowledge.

We believe in sex – before, during and after marriage.

We believe in the therapy of sin, we believe that adultery is fun, we believe that sodomy is ok, we believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything is getting better, despite evidence to the contrary. The evidence must be investigated and you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in Horoscopes, UFO’s and bent spoons. Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed and ourselves. He was a good moral teacher, although we think basically that his good morals are really bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same – at least the ones that we read were. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God and salvation.

We believe that after death comes nothing, because when you ask the dead (what happens?) they say nothing! If that is not the end and if the dead have lied, then it is compulsory heaven for all except perhaps for Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson – what’s selected is average, what’s average is normal and what’s normal is good. (That’s the salvation by survey syndrome – you know?!).

We believe in total disarmament. We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed. Americans should beat their guns into tractors and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that Man is essentially good, it’s only his behaviour that lets him down. This is the fault of society, society is the fault of conditions and conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him, and reality will adapt accordingly. The universe will re-adjust, history will alter.

We believe that there is no absolute truth except the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds and the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be the father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky. And when you hear: ‘state of emergencies’, ‘sniper kills ten’, ‘troops on rampage’, ‘youths go looting’, ‘bomb blasts school’ – it is but the sound of man, worshipping his maker.

Big WOW!!

Here's another I liked:

One person writing in a jocular vein puts it in this way, what secularism is all about. First, Dentistry was painless, Then Bicycles were chainless, And carriages were horseless and many laws enforceless. Next cookery was fireless, Telegraphy was wireless, cigars were nicotineless and coffee – caffeineless. Soon oranges were seedless, The putting green was weedless, the college boy was hapless, The proper diet fatless. New Motorodes are dustless, the latest steel is rustless, our tennis courts are sodless, our new religion godless.

Some thoughts to ponder I guess.

Hope you're enjoying your week and enjoying the Marvellous backyard that is yours to play in (this world - despite it's failings...) Later, Mo

Another great weekend!!!

Ireland. What a land.

I have developing within me something of an infatuation after yet another fabulous weekend in the land of Eire.

Flew into Dublin friday afternoon after a rather cruisey but full morning at work and a very relaxed and easy trip from work into town, then on the bus to the airport (which only costs a pound! bargain!). Another relaxing wait for a couple of hours for my accomplice for the weekend, Mr Daryl Lynch, Groom to be and organiser extrordinaire! We went and found a bus to Sword - a wee town near the airport with a surprisingly bustling busy few pubs. Scored some food, scored some craic, and a few quiets at the local, then headed back to the travelodge to retire. After an early start saturday morning and excellent chow we went and picked up our car from the airport (a Renault Megane Scenic, complete with superluxury electric whizdo in the roof), and then headed for the above left. Croagh Patrick, standing at 2510 ft which is situated an or so north of Galway on Ireland's west coast. Which is only a few hours drive from Dublin... if you know where you're going and your navigator doesn't fall asleep. Such is life. So we got a little lost... scenery was fab. Nearly got to knock too - where there is some Catholic shrine... though to be fair there is a Catholic something or other in almost every town!!! Did pass through another exceedingly cool town called westport, which far outstrips its NZ namesake. Picture a small village, on a river, with really cool romanish looking overbridges, and heaps of really cool old buildings, bustling with people and a carnival like atmosphere, a bit of Greytown (on a good day) and a bit of art deco-ish splashes of bright paint. You're there. Westport. Great place.

Anyway we arrived, we climbed it we got the photo's as proof. Sparkling clear day too so another 360 degree panoramic photo is ours and may soon be on the wall... New camera has a cool stitch function too so all i need to do is learn how to work that and it will all be fine...









Croagh Patrick also doubles as a bit of a pilgrimage - it is said to be the mountain on which St Patrick fasted for 40 days and also where he rang his bell to drive out all the snakes and venomous creatures from Ireland. Clever chap really. I went to St Patricks primary, St Patricks church Paraparaumu, St Patricks College Silverstream and never learnt such things... (which to be honest is not to say they weren't taught necessarily!!!) Anyway pilgrims do it in bare feet - we saw one guy giving it a go - not for me sorry - would not have been able to walk for weeks for the blisters from both the heat and the exceedingly soft skin that covers my tootsies. Maybe next time... There are interesting we plaques at various stages up the track, a statue at the bottom and a small chapel at the top for the celebration of Mass which apparrently happens every week. I thought it would be a cool idea to get Fr Rowan or Fr Matt up there for a bit of eucharist action... but fair enough if you guys would rather stick to the flat!!! Might be a bit much climbing for the Ole ticker eh Fr Matt!

So Onwards we went adventuresome spirits that we have, and tried to get to the Cliffs of Moher before sunset... which is when i found out that even having an awake navigator is not so flash when you cant make sense of the map. So we took the scenic route, around the coast road which was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trip - pristine rocky coastline dotted with a few surfcasters (what I would have given for my rods just then...) and the odd group of happy campers sticking up tents. It's a national park and totally beautiful - really cool twisty turny narrow road too to make life interesting.

Unfortunately I have no photos (I was driving!) so you'll have to take my word for it - it was beautiful. Picture the rocks and green of Central Otago (in spring) against a backdrop of cliffs and rolling hills like the Waikato region, against a rocky shoreline like Kaikoura or Pukerua Bay and you're somewhere near to it. Very cool. Godly even. Well evidence of His footprints anyway.

So we did make it to the Cliffs of Moher. Have I used awesome too many times already in this Blog? They are really great, picturesque, idyllic you could see they would be majestic in any weather, but on a perfectly still Saturday night with the sun setting across the sea, i doubt they'd get much better... Here's some pics...










So the sun set, and realising we were hungry - ok to be fair, realising Ryan was hungry we headed back to Galway, found the IBIS, had a quick shower and change, then off into town for a couple of drinks and some food. Galway is a great town - really thriving town, great nightlife (well what we saw anyway) and again a really friendly happy atmosphere. Saw a two piece traditional band and spent a bit of time in another cool bar with lots of nooks and crannies. Tried the new Guiness toucan brew, I thought it might have been a little easier to drink than the original (as in not as heavy) but Daryl thought there was no difference. Clearly we're not yet connosieurs and will need to spend much more time developing skills in that area. Inculturation shall we say?

Another late night, another early morning, another feast for breakfast and we were off again. Headed for Dublin and home. Stopped off along the way at an old Catholic Monastery called Clanmacnoise which was started by St Ciarin in 400ish and which is right alongside the Grand Majestic Shannon (as the Pogues so poetically put it...). Needless to say it was plundered by anyone who was anyone that could get up the river... Vikings, Normans, Henry the VIII, and plenty of other English marauders. Such is life I guess. St Ciarin actually died before the monastery was finished (of Yellow fever), evidently they were a bit paranoid about it and so in the cathedral, well actually outside the west door of the Cathedral they invented this ingenious architectural bizzo for a confessional... Idea being that it was better to remain outdoors where the air was cleaner to prevent the spread of disease... anyway the priest stands on one side with his ear into the groove you can see behind Daryl's smiling figure and you talk (or even whisper) into the same groove on the opposite side and the way the groove is it transmits the sound... Really cool - whoever thinks Christians are no brainers are well... no brainers??

So Clanmacnoise was cool, the only other thing I remember from there was that they had very good stone workers/carvers and made great big tall crosses (celtic styles) that are now displayed inside these little stone hobbit house looking dome things... Quite cool really... Hmm and St Ciarin was said to do minor miracles... He was annoyed at his mother doing the washing wrong (or something like that) so he cursed it and made everything turn white... then in his remorse he prayed and restored everything to its original blue colour but apparrently also managed to make the Dog, cat and trees blue also... interesting 'miracles' and hardly seem befitting of a saint, or in line with any kind of christian teaching i've heard, but thats what the plaque said... it's sometimes hard, I think, in Ireland to separate genuine truth from mythology... but the irish are great storytellers bless them!!

Anyway headed back to Dublin, stopped off to see Amanda and Dan who are smiley as ever, and seem to be enjoying life, busy as it may be with running the radio station (Spirit FM 89.9 Dublin) - actually we had opportunity to hear both of them live and they are very good, though Amanda something of a traitor in forgetting to mention NZ in the list of top ten places to visit... She said AUSTRALIA!!! I kid you not. However she vehemently denies this and claims she later went on to extoll the virtues of visiting the motherland which conveniently we were out of range for... Anyway They fed us which was super nice of them, then we left, got stuck in a traffic jam and I missed my flight, €60 later and five hours later and I was again winging my way back home to Nottingham and my beautiful sleepy wife.

A great weekend all round. Hope yours was too, Later, God Bless you, Ry.

Heat Wave!

Sesh! This is getting beyond belief. All reports of England weather being grey, dreary and horrid are out the door.

This place is hot and I mean HOT.

STINKING HOT!!!

The buildings, transportation not to mention hospital uniforms are not made for this weather.

This weeks forcast...

High Low
Wed 33°C 23°C
Thur 26°C 19°C
Fri 28°C 19°C
Sat 27°C 17°C
Sun 28°C 17°C

And hardly any wind...

I'm sure when it's winter and it's freezing cold i will want it to be hot but this is just a little too hot for me. And no seaside, no Oriental Parade or Scorching Bay to hang out at after work with out picnic dinner paddling our feet in the cool sea water.

I'm craving water now.

Water to soak in.

Water to drink that doesn't taste like chlorine.

A sun shower would be rather nice.

Maybe just a normal cold shower will have to suffice.

Oh well. So be it. At least we have running water as an option to start with.

God bless Africa.

Workin workin workin

Many of you have been asking how work is going for me (MEZ) so i thought i'd do a blog update. Oh and yes Ryan is still alive here somewhere. A bit quiet on the blog front but i'm sure he'll make up for it in his next entry.

Well I'm into week two now and so far so good. The ward has been quiet actually. All the nurses reassure me this is NOT normal. I hope not as i would like to be a little more busier than i currently am.

I was quite chuffed to find out that I got the position over 92 other applicants and that I got in just in the nick of time. One week later and the Trust was to cease any external applications. That is they would only interview and accept applications from those already working for the trust. God has been good to us.

So this is me.

Nurse Mez.

Back in action!

A Taste of Home

As mentioned briefly in the previous posts we went to the Bright Lights Festival put on by the SPEC Centre in London.

The theme: BEAUTIFUL.

With a focus on the FACT that we're all beautiful and even more so when our lives are in tune with The Beautiful One (ie God). The joy of living life in the light of the Beautiful One and the fact that the more we do so the more beautiful we become.

There was the rapping priest

And an opportunity for us to test the tent on English soil.

to have a bit of fun

To see friends

And to get a Kiwi fix

Mixin da groove wit da Word

Fr Stan - Take two

We went down to London on the weekend to be a part of the Bright Lights festival. It's put on every year apparently and so we thought we'd better check it out. That and the fact that friends of ours - Beanie, Jonny and Mary-Grace are the super cool NZers who have organised it! (oh and we got to see Caroline our friend who has been travelling the world for the last year!) It was so great to finally get to say hello!

There were great speakers, great talks and a lot of food for thought. We came away refreshed thanks to having to opportunity to soak up some good teaching presented in a variety of styles.



As you can see Fr Stan is a fan of rap preaching. Check out Francesco Productions website for more on him. www.francescoproductions.com/pages/bio.html

Mixin Da Groove

This is Fr Stan Fortuna a Franciscan Priest from the New York Bronx. He's a man with talent, a man with groove and a priest like no other! Speaks the Truth clearly with depth, poise and non-politically correct resolve that is entirely endearing.

Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine..

We thought you might like to see some video footage of a slice of summer in Nottingham. Well I've finally worked out how to do it so here it is.



I hope it makes all of you shivering at home feel a little warmer.



MEz

Ilkley

Last weekend we headed to the town of Ilkley.

Ilkley is a very pleasant spa town situated in lower Wharfedale at the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. It's surrounded by fine unspoiled scenery, with Ilkley Moor and and the famous (although I'd never heard of it) Cow and Calf rocks positioned just above the town.
Ilkley is also about to be famous for the town in which our friends, Daryl and Lorna, are to be wed on the 5th Aug this year. And this was the true reason behind our visit. To catch up with them.

On meeting Daryl we made our way to the Ilkley Moor which we were to cross, meeting Lorna on the other side for lunch. It was about a 2hr walk. From the top it offered us a great view of the town and a warm breeze to cool down our heated bodies. I ended up a little bit rouged by Mr Sun again. There is no getting used to this English weather and it's ability to crank up the heat. From now on I think we should take the sunscreen wherever we go!



Also on the moor is the famous whitewashed building known as White Wells (we borrows this picture off someone else) - which houses a bath at a site which (reputedly) dates from Roman times. [N.B. Ilkley was an important outpost during the Roman occupation, when it was known as "Olicana".] Interestingly enough there is also a very famous english folk song (in the same way that pokarekare ana is for NZ perhaps) which i've not yet had sung to me in full. It's kinda funny - people ask what you are doing for the weekend and you say you are going to Ilkley, and they all reply "Oh - Ilkley moor, Bar tat..." which is the first line of this diity and which means "walking across Ilkley moor without a hat" the next line translates something along the lines of you'll catch the death of cold... and basically die a horrible death! it's all positivity over here i tell you. Overwhelmingly so!

Having decended the Moor we conveniently found ourselves at the door of the local pub where we consumed a much desired meal and cooled off in the shade of the old trees that towered us.

Sunday after Mass we headed to Bolton Abby.

The Bolton Abbey Estate is the Yorkshire Estate of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It covers 30,000 acres of beautiful countryside in the Yorkshire Dales. There are medieval buildings to explore and 80 miles of moorland, woodland and riverside footpaths. Evidently every ruined Abbey in Britain has much the same story - was once a thriving population till Henry VIII came and ripped the roof off, and stole the stained glass, it all ends in tears from there with the locals forced to watch as their beloved cathedrals slowly fade over time - but hey bits of them are still standing 400ish years later... so i guess those Catholics are a little harder to get rid of than ole Henry thought...

So we wandered around the Estate grounds. It was a gorgeous day and hot again. I really should have gone with the shorts option rather than jeans. Lots of people were there soaking in the sun a quality family time with bbqs, ice cream men, family cricket and swimming all adding to their fun.

I would have loved a swim. It was oh so tempting to push ryan in the water when we were standing on these rocks but i know all too well what he's like and the end result would have been a saturated me!

Another cool part of the estate is found after a riverside walk then through woods to the Strid, a notorious stretch of water where the River Wharfe is forced into a deep and narrow thundering channel.

At its narrowest point the Strid is only about two metres wide. Apparently foolhardy visitors have in the past tried to jump across the roaring chasm. Failure is invariably fatal, as there is no recorded incidence of anyone having survived a fall into the frothing waters of the Strid - which easily sucks its victims into the underwater caves and eroded tunnels which lie hidden underneath each side of the rocky channel. (YIKES!)

It wasn't really that pretty to look at. To me it looked like a waterfall of beer. But yes not one you'd be itching to jump into. Ferocious it was... ferocious.

On our walk through the woods we stumbled upon this tree. You can probably only tell from the close up picture that it is in fact totally covered in coins! And my parents always told me "money doesn't grow on trees". LIARS! And here's the evidence! I mean how else did it get there?! Unfrotunately there was no explanation about this tree and it's origins. Seeing as it grows money i'm not surprised they're keeping it a secret.

Again Ryan used this scenic day to capture the wonders of nature around us.

Here's just a few. I will endeavour to get more pics onto the 'photo' link on this site but now that i'm a working woman it may take some time.

DOH

Note to self. When half way through a large blog post be sure to save or publish otherwise you may lose it all!

Grrrr

A bit more of Nottingham

How is it that we can live in city for years and not see half the sites. Then you get a visitor and decide there's a million and one places they MUST be seen even though you haven't bothered to get there yet yourself. .

So anyway our friend Paul came to visit the other weekend... needless to say we got to see a bit more of NottinghamHe's made a home for himself as a Youth Worker in Northampton (which is south of Birmingham) not too far from Notts. We thought of all the places we could take him in Notts that might be somewhat interesting. So we packed in a few sites and also some new ones that we ourselves had yet to experience. And I've got to say that I was impressed.

We went to the Galleries of Justice - The old courtrooms and prison were in use from the 1780s to the 1980s - although there has been a court on the site since at least 1375 and a prison since 1449 (oh the history in the country!)

They want you to relive the experience so you're each given a prisoners identity. Paul actaully ended up on trial and in the dock being asked to explain his actions! Was quite amusing.

The prison cells looked to be horrible places to spend your days. Small, dark, damp, not the slightest bit cozy... I don't think those who occupied them would have looked quite as cheerful as we do in these pics either!

Ryan and I in an isolation cell

Paul wins the award for the scariest looking prisoner!

Doesn't Ryan look just the part with his ball and chain?

Hmm look whose talking....

That weekend we also went and explored the caves beneath Nottingham castle and more under Nottingham City centre. These caves date back... well a long long time.There's an amazing maze of tunnels and things. People used to live and work in these caves and also used them as shelters during the war.

This is part of the tunnel beneath Nottingham Castle

You can just make out in the wall of the cave the holes carved out to hold

the canon balls they would shoot out from the side of the Castle.

Beside this old wooden chair, found in the Old Trip to Jerusalem Pub (the oldest pub in Notts we're told) one finds this very interesting sign.

For those of you that can't make out what is says (because even at your young age your eyesight is failing you) it reads:

"Here sits the 'Pregnancy Chair'. Legend has it that any female who dared to sit upon this ancient chair very quickly became pregnant"

Well I'm not the least bit superstitious but you still wouldn't find me sitting on it...

...but I came close!!