Another couple of weeks chilling here in Australia.
As I said in my last blog the flowers and blossoms here are really beautiful. My favourite at the moment are the Jacaranda Trees.
The first time I saw a Jacaranda Tree was in Harare with Clint, back in the late 1990s! 😳 It was mine & Rebeccas first visit to Africa.
They are stunning, and Bunbury has lots of them, every now and then you catch a flash of purple and they’ll be another one. 💜💜
Rebecca, Chris & I and a couple of their friends, Mick & Debs, all headed down to Busselton a couple of weekends ago to see the new Gladiator Movie. There is a Cinema in Bunbury but I now understand why they make the 40 minute drive to Busselton. The Cinema is fantastic, big screens and the most comfortable, big, reclining chairs!! How very fancy! I haven’t been to the movies for ages and so it was such a pleasure to watch this big, epic film on the big screen, whilst reclining in my chair with my shoes off! 😍 Bliss.
The weather here has been a little inconsistent tbh. Rebecca had said that once summer starts there may not be any more rain for months. This hasn’t been the case, it’s been pretty dry but with a few days of rain and wind. The temperature has also been up & down. Going from highs of 30 to like today which is only 22. ( I know, I know, it’s better than freezing cold England!! 🥶😂) it does mean that the nights are still not uncomfortable. I miss the winter, the storms, the snow ❄️ I’m not nicknamed Cryogenic Claire for nothing! 😀
Chris has almost finished the outside TV cabinet, it has a TV in that works, the seedlings are sprouting and Rebecca and I have been getting some Christmas decorations on the go! Feels weird doing Christmas stuff in the sunshine and not having a glass of Mulled Wine! 🎄🍷
I have applied for my Sri Lankan Visa (go me!) Fingers crossed it comes through, I,should hear later today.
I also started to do my Indian Visa application, but it would seem I’m a little too early and might have to put it off until End of December. I have booked myself onto a 2 night Tiger Safari! 🐅🐅 (Kathleen, don’t hate me! ) Having done some research I have opted to go to Jim Corbett National Park rather than than Ranthambore, as it has lots more Tigers as well as Bengal Tigers 🐯 I really struggled finding a good tour for a single person. On most of the tours the price per person would be say £300 then when you tried to book as a single person it went up to £700! So unfair. I ended up booking through Tour Rader, who I have used before in New Zealand. The price stayed the same regardless! I will probably be sharing a room, but for 2 nights I don’t mind. The tour starts and finishes in Delhi. I was hoping to then go down to Goa for a week or so but I’ll only have 5 days left on my visa so I’m going to leave that. What I’ll probably do is head back to Thailand for a few weeks, flights there from Delhi are short and cheap, accommodation and living expenses are cheap and I’ll be able to have some chill time before my next bit, which will probably be to go to Istanbul. Istanbul is a city I’ve always wanted to visit from reading about it in one of my favourite books “The Journeyer” back when it was called Constantinople and I was still a youngster!
From Istanbul I’ll go to Bodrum and then make my way towards Tracey & Jaques and their boat in Greece. After which I might go to Spain then back to good ole Blighty!
Sri Lanka & India are booked the rest is a loose plan for the moment, but things can change!
Last Thursday as I was on my way into the Sports Centre for a swim I managed to trip on a loose slap then did that ridiculous looking running, stumble forwards thing, before crashing onto the pavement. I felt an immediate pain under my left boob, but not really anything else, my hand and knee were a little sore but not much. Luckily nobody saw me!
I continued into the sports centre, thinking I’d be ok, but feeling a little shaky and tearful. I decided swimming might not be a great idea, but perhaps sitting in the spa might help. I did this for a short while but was feeling not great, and still tearful, so I left and came home. Chris was home with a nasty cold and as soon as I got in I burst into tears. The pain under my boob was getting worse now the adrenaline had started to dissipate.
After a couple of visits to the doctor and radiology, all organised and completed within a couple of hours it would appear that I have cracked a rib! FML! 🤦♀️
It is painful to breathe deeply (which I have to do regularly to prevent a lung infection) and certain movements are very painful. I have been given some very strong pain meds, which I’m only taking 1/2 a tablet at night, which knocks me out then normal pain tablets during the day. All I can do is rest and wait for things to heal! It’s very annoying, I don’t like not doing stuff. However when I think I feel OK and start to move about too much then the pain kicks in!
Some enforced rest won’t do me any harm, I might even manage to read a few more books!
A big Thank You to Jane & Alice for all the really useful information on Sri Lanka & India, it was very much appreciated. 👍😘
That’s all for now people. Stay safe, stay warm. Have a great week.
❤️❄️💚📚💙🎄💛
Books read.
The Starless Sea. Erin Morgenstern. OMG! Absolutely stunning book, beautiful, magical. Such a wonderful book. She also wrote The Night Circus which is another gorgeous book. Thank you my gorgeous Georgia for the recommendation. ❤️❤️
Graves on the Fens. Joy Ellis. Another in the DI Galena series. Good.
I’ve also been watching Top Boy. Loving it.
Hereandthereclaire.com 