England 1 v USA 1

England played their first group game against the USA yesterday (12th June 2010).

We had a little get together at our house with a couple of our friends and Steph's dad. Andy lit the BBQ for a pre-match meal since the weather was lovely and pretty hot. To join in the spirit of the World Cup and England we put a few flags up, wore our shirts and the dogs wore their England bandanna's.

What can we say about the game? Well we if we're honest we have seen England play a lot better. The beginning was superb with Gerrard scoring a brilliant early goal, but this start was not to be carried through to the end. We can easily point out a few players who played their part brilliantly and we can also point out a few who did not. Of course Green made a huge blunder but you could also point out that the rest of the players didn't help correct that by not scoring any more goals. Rooney seemed to only come in the game in the last 20 minutes. Heskey was taken off but for us he could have got man of the match. Heskey was always busting a gut to win the ball and we felt he played very well.

The worst point of the game for us was the fact that we never got to see Gerrard's goal, the reason was down to a huge error by the tv channel, ITVHD. Someone cut the game and put an advert in and when it went back to the game, Gerrard had already scored! What a mistake to make.

The interview with Gerrard after the game shows he felt they can play better as well. We have every hope in the team and know they should qualify from their group. Fingers Crossed!

Well, to bring up the past, England drew their opening game at the World Cup in 1966 and went on to win the whole thing, so you never know!!

Time To Go Home

We woke up late on our last day, we had to vacate by 10am and we woke up at 9.15am, the alarm hadn't gone off! Good job we had done most of the packing the night before. We rushed round getting everything into the car. Once the car was loaded up we drove to the office to drop off the front door key. No one was there though, maybe we didn't have to rush in the end? There was another couple trying to give their key in as well, we all decided just to put them in the letter box.

We stopped off at Pendine beach to give the dogs a run before the long journey home. The beach was pretty quiet again. On our way back to the car we were stopped by a man, turns out he was from the local council keeping an eye on dog owners who do not pick up after their dogs. He thanked us for cleaning up after our dogs and gave us some free doggy bags.

About half way home we stopped off at a little cafe for some food, it was pleasant enough, pity there were no tables and chairs outside because it was lovely and warm. We had an easy journey home and still had the weekend at home before it was back to work.

What's Next?

We haven't got much planned for the next couple of months, but will probably do something. We've got Uganda in October, so we might take the dogs somewhere again before then. We've been busy sorting the garden out as we are having really lovely weather and it's good to make the most of it as it can go as quickly as it came in England! Of course we will be supporting England in the World Cup and have made sure we are free to watch the games.

Andy turns 30 in November, so we'll do something special then as well.

The Manor House

The house we were staying in was a fairly large manor house split into 3 accommodations. We had the largest of the three which we had managed to get on a cancellation, therefore the cost of our stay was greatly reduced. Our part of the house sleeps 8 people in four large double bedrooms, each bedroom had an en suite. The downstairs was made up of a large lounge and dining room and what once looked liked the bar was now a kitchen. We were at the back of the house, if it was still one large house. We had a little balcony off the dining room. There was no proper garden, just a paved area with trees. Underneath the house, the cellar had been converted into a swimming pool and sauna. The pool was an exercise pool.

Outside on the drive was the hot tub, which we used every day of our trip! Sharing our drive was a mobile home that belonged to the site manager and his wife. We didn't meet them straight away as they were stranded in Poland due to the ash cloud that had affected a lot of Europe's air space.

The house was high up on a hill and the drive up was pretty steep, which we realised just how steep when we took the dogs for their evening walk. We were glad we hadn't rented one of the cottages on the site as they were up another level and the drive was even steeper!

The house was decorated with these beautiful, huge chandeliers in the lounge and dining room. There were large leather sofa's and the odd piece of beautiful furniture. We couldn't quite understand the choice of art for the house though. Even though the art was interesting we couldn't help think that it didn't suit the house. Most of the rooms were dressed with these large paintings of half naked people, we figured maybe South American. There were no signatures on the paintings.

There was a more fitting picture, a photo of a family from the Victorian times, which Steph thought was a bit spooky as well because it reminded her of those photos that the Victorians took of the dead.

The house was creaky, but we did not encounter anything supernatural!

The house had freeview but the aerial wasn't very good, so you lost some channels. The freeview box was a bit dodgy as well and Andy ended up fixing it. We're not too bothered about tv when we're on holiday, but it is nice to have it in the evenings.

If you rent this house you need to bring your own towels and things for the kitchen like washing up liquid, sponges, salt, pepper etc... as it is bare. This is usual in some holiday homes, but our experience is the 'household' things are usually already catered for.

Would we rent this house again? Probably no and most definitely not at it's usual price. Although the house was interesting and it was a bit of a novelty staying in a manor house, we don't think it had the luxuries you would expect especially if you paid full price.

We've also got plenty of other places to visit.

We enjoyed our stay though and the dogs had fun.

We booked with Hoseasons, Seascape Cottages, Manor house 4 we stayed 3 nights and paid £140 including pet supplements.

Pembrey Country Park

We ventured further from Pendine and came across Pembrey Country Park. The park consists of woodlands and a beach with lots of activities such as a dry ski slope, adventure activities, etc... We of course were just there for the walking. To enter the park it costs £3 to park the car. We drove to the beach first.

The beach was huge, it is one of the longest beaches in Wales. There were very few people on the beach and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The weather was warm. The sand was scattered with shells in lovely different colours. Sand dunes lined the beach and the water looked warm, but we knew it definitely was not!

After the beach we went back to the car and let the dogs have a drink, we then carried on for a stroll through the woodlands, we stuck to the edges.

A few people were sun bathing and having a picnic on the large open green areas. We walked quite far and the dogs were getting tired, so we headed back to the car. It would have been nice to have a picnic as well, but we didn't think to bring one.

Tenby

We travelled a bit further from Pendine in search of more southern beaches. We tapped 'nearest beach' into the Satnav and Tenby popped up. It wasn't far to Tenby, about 40 minutes.

Upon our arrival we ended up driving through the very narrow streets of the town and back out by the harbour. We could see the beach, but no suitable parking. We ended up parked outside of the town on a road, but not far from the beach.

Tenby looked so pretty, it was a lovely warm day, sunshine, blue sky, blue sea and golden sand. The houses over looking the harbour and the beach were all painted different colours. We felt we could have been somewhere tropical.

There were steep steps down to the beach, but nothing too difficult, Steph just had to make sure Spike didn't pull her too much, she still has to be aware of her knee and taking it easy with the foot.

The beach was practically empty, only a couple of other people with dogs. The dogs enjoyed jumping in and out of the water, too cold for us humans though!

Pendine Sands

We took a short break to South Wales for Steph's birthday and a mini dogs holiday. South Wales is a 3.5 hour journey from our house, so a few stops on the way for Spike and Chewy.

We arrived late afternoon and set out to get directions from the locals to the house as the Satnav only got us so far. The house that we had rented was high up on a hill, a note and a key in the door awaited our arrival. The proprietor was away, but told us to let ourselves in. I guess security is not an issue in the area!

We stayed in a large manor house with it's own exercise pool and hot tub. The house is split into three accommodations, we had the largest part which sleeps 8.

We spent a bit of time unpacking and exploring the house. The pool was housed in what used to be the cellar. We went and had a nosey, the pool was covered with a mat before we knew what had happened, Chewy came running in and straight onto the mat! It all happened in kind of slow motion with Chewy suddenly realising he was sinking! Chewy lept for the edge and Andy ended up dragging him out, a wet but ok dog!

The local beach wasn't far from the house, so we took the dogs for a run. Seems like we had picked a good time of year as there was a sign saying dogs weren't allowed from May to September.

There was another sign that said 'Risk of Explosion!' the beach at Pendine Sands is Ministry of Defence property and part of it is closed to the public. There was enough of the beach open to us and the dogs.

The tide was quite far out, but the dogs managed a swim anyway. There was also a canoe lesson going on just further down.

Steph's 30th

Steph had a brilliant birthday, big thank you to all our family and friends. Andy arranged a birthday meal with family and friends for Steph on the day before. It was really good having everyone together. On the actual day we went to Alton Towers and had an ace time. Steph went on all the big rides except for the Oblivion, Steph really didn't fancy that one! The new ride 'Thirteen' was pretty good, we thought it would be scarier and longer. Thirteen is basically a roller coaster with a few drops so you lose your stomach and then it goes into a tunnel where the track drops twice and then you go backwards. We had to queue a long time for it.

We all got a soaking on the log flume and went home wet and tired after an excellent day out.

We will do a separate report for the trip to Wales.

2010 So Far...

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. We've made a few decisions for 2010 so we're pretty excited and have lots of things to look forward to.

We've nearly finished decorating the lounge, just the stairs and banister to paint. We've got our new suite which is so comfy!

Travel wise, our main holiday this year is Uganda, we are very excited. This is a trip Steph has wanted to do for a few years now so we are finally off to Africa in October. Before Uganda, we are off to Pendine in Carmarthenshire, Wales for Steph's birthday. This will be a good dogs holiday as well. There won't be much walking on this trip though as Steph had to have surgery on her foot and it won't be fully recovered by the time we go at the end of April. We will be going away again for a second dogs holiday when the foot is better. In addition to Steph's birthday trip, we're going to Alton Towers to satisfy our child/fun side as Steph is turning 30.

Andy's team Technical Services FC are doing well in their Sunday league, they hope to get second in the league. Andy's professional team, Newcastle United are already promoted to the premiership, so as you can imagine, Andy is ecstatic. Fingers crossed for Nottingham Forest FC to get automatic promotion as well.

Steph is busy with Uni and everything seems to be going well so far.

Our next report will be Steph's birthday and our trip to Pendine.

Almost forgot to acknowledge it! You'll notice the new look to the blog, hope you like it.

eBay Success

We are now proud owners of a Berghaus Freeflow IV 30 backpack. We say proud because we won a brand new one on eBay for £28.80. These bags retail at £60.00 and after searching the Internet we only found them for £45 brand new, therefore we feel we got a bargain.

The Berghaus Freeflow IV 30 has some very good features which is why we sought one out:

• Capacity of 30 litres - a decent size for a day pack
• Freeflow back system - which helps against you feeling sweaty when carrying the bag
• Breathable shoulder straps
• Compression straps
• Additional compartment in the base
• Holders for walking poles
• Pocket for a hydration pack
• Raincover
• Adjustable chest harness
• Made from 600 denier polyester which is good for strength and low weight

Will serve us well.

Destinations Show 2010

We went to the Destinations show at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday 6th March. We had excellent luck when we arrived as just as we were approaching the ticket counter, a lady came up to us and handed us a leaflet and said there was a free entry ticket in it for two. Sure enough there was and we got in free! Very nice person!

We've never been to this event before and our expectations were probably a lot higher. There seemed to be plenty of exhibitors, but the room still seemed like it had loads more space for loads more exhibitors. There were a few companies there which confused us to why as their product didn't seem to be travel related. There were a couple of clothing stands where we were able to pick up some discounted gear, a fleece each and a waterproof jacket each.

The show helps you choose and book a holiday with more 'off the beaten track' destinations. As we've already chosen our destination for this year we just gathered information for future destinations. We were entertained by some traditional Bhangra dancers, they were very good. Wanderlust magazine had their photo competition on display and some of the pictures were just simply brilliant.

There was a 'meet the experts theatre' and we were interested in hearing Simon Reeve speak. It was still 20 minutes to go so we went to the bar for a drink. After our drink we realised we should have started queueing a lot earlier! There were loads of people and we thought that we may not get in. Luckily we did but had to stand, but it was only for 30 minutes.

Simon Reeve works for the BBC and has made several travel programmes for them. Before the BBC Simon Reeve worked for a newspaper investigating terrorism, smuggling, arms-dealing etc... For the BBC, Simon travels more 'unknown' destinations.

In the theatre, Simon was interviewed by David Linstead from Wanderlust magazine. Simon talked about his current travel series travelling around the Tropic of Cancer. We saw clips of the series and Simon told us some of the difficulties him and his team experienced. They couldn't get into China at all, so had to take another route. They had to sneak into Burma because the Indian secret police were against them entering with Simon's wife leading the secret police off in a distraction tactic to allow Simon to get to the Burmese border.

Simon discussed the controversy surrounding Burma of should people still travel to the country because you could be supporting the dictatorship etc...

Simon discussed the one country he deemed as the most dangerous for him which he said was Somalia. He chose Somalia because he was protected by a gang on his travels through the country and while on the road they came under fire from a rival gang passing them on the road. He knew that there was nothing he could do himself to get out of that situation.

Simon chose Oman and Bangladesh as 'must see' countries to visit, maybe they will be on our own travels one day.

We'll be watching Simon's series on the Tropic of Cancer on BBC2 starting on Sunday 14th March at 8pm.

We left the show after the Simon Reeve interview.

Our verdict is that the show was good, but I can imagine that the Earls Court version in London was probably much better. More stalls needed at the NEC and maybe a bigger theatre for the experts as it would be a shame if you couldn't get to hear them. Interesting though and plenty of travel information available, Simon Reeve was the highlight.