Imagine If You Owned This Derelict House.

Carole and I had been sitting at a cafe on a raised balcony walkway that overlooked the sea at Funchal, Madeira. The very sea one can spot beyond this derelict and abandoned house. We had been enjoying the coffee and chatting about how great this warm winter weather was. How idyllic it would be to live in such a place with this panoramic sea view. 

Such was the nature of our idol banter when we paid the waiter and walked up the lane to spot this very place. It was empty and in need of some TLC. However, the grounds and the building, as one can see, held nothing but grand promise. 

Carole and I fell in love with the house and dreamed on for a while. We fantasised about living in such a wonderful place with a gorgeous view. It was only a dream but we indulged ourselves for a few moments with the good old "What if..." thoughts.

No doubt someone would buy the grand place in the near future. It is, after all, a prime house in a prime location.

Looking Forward to Another Cruise

Carole and I spent yesterday morning packing the luggage for our holiday cruise. We are going to the island of Madeira first and then onto the Canary Islands. It's a two-week cruise and we've been looking forward to this since we booked up in the summer. It also breaks the winter up for us.  

The last time we did this cruise was three years ago and we saw a man dressed as Father Christmas sweating in the warmth. This was December. God knows how hot it can get in the summer months.

I'm hoping to see the man in the Funchal, Madeira with his eagle again. This time, I'll hopefully get a good photo with me holding the wonderful raptor. 

We'll also visit the Spanish mainland at Cadiz and Seville. Then Portugal's capital city of Lisbon. All in all, it should be a fun winter break. :D 

Autumn is Blowing Kisses at Me.

After the lovely summer, autumn seems to be blowing kisses at me when I get up each morning. The darkness is about for around an hour and a half, plus the leaves are turning various shades of bronze and gold. 

The foliage looks very appealing but the chill in the Fenland air lets one know that the beginning of the bleak seasons is upon us.

The fields are now just muddy furrows awaiting crops to be planted in the spring. Soon the flat fenlands will have a hazy mist over the fields with bare trees in scattered lines here and there along the dykes.

This is the time of year that Carole and I book a cruise to the Canary Islands. We start off from Southampton to Madeira and then to the various Canary Islands each day, returning via Cadiz in Spain and Lisbon in Portugal. It is our two-week break that clouds the bleak winter for us.

When we return, it is soon Christmas and from here on, the spring is but a few weeks. Or at least, it seems to be. The last time we were in Grand Canaria, we watched people on the beach playing football in the sand. We also saw a man dressed as Father Christmas sweating because it was still warm. We laughed and made a vow that we'll always cruise in the winter to the Canary Islands, just to break up the monotony of our English winter.