January 16th Jan 2025.

 Not been down to the Vale since my last post as the weather turned nasty with cold winds and SNOW!. 

So it's a good job I had plenty of jigsaws in from presents at Christmas and birthdays, so it's been sat in my man cave with the heating on and music from my jukebox, so been quite happy.

Have managed to get to the gang weekly meetings though Jean called off last Thursday has the cobbles at Portland basin were a bit dodgy for her.

Here are the jigsaws I've done the last few weeks.

  

So I'm been busy doing this and keeping warm, goodness knows how people without friends and enough money to have the heating on have gone on!, I'll bet the thermostat's in number 10 and 11 haven't been turned down, or are the taxpayers paying theirs too, wouldn't be surprised would you!.

Don't forget Keir even though you're away as much as you are, you still have to pay the standing charge, perhaps you should be looking into that!!, The standing charges just for my house is roughly £300 p/y (Gas water and electric), so for the 10 houses in my row, it works out at £3000 a year before you turn anything on!, shame on you and Reeves!.

Gripes over.

Hoping to get down to the Vale tomorrow.

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Happy New Year 2025.

 Firstly Happy New Year to one and all!.

To round off 2024 I went down the vale for an hour on Monday (30.12.2024) and though it was cold was well wrapped up.

I took a couple of fat ball feeders and hung them on a tree too see if there was an activity and it wasn't long before the small birds found them.

Coal tits recognised by the white stripe on the back of their heads. 

Hard to tell when facing you. 

 Then there was Blue tits.

  

Nuthatches.

Collared Dove. 

Magpie.

Some ones been busy building bird feeders and putting them up round the park.

Then it was off to Morrisons for a welcomed cuppa and a small breakfast.

Always bring the sausage home for my friends, the cats!.

The Bridge View café was closed over Christmas but opened on Thursday the 2.1.2025 which was my birthday!, and my friend Jean and her daughter had arranged an afternoon set meal for us, which was the usual excellent affair with assorted sandwiches, cakes and drinks, then out came Strawberry pavlovas as big as tennis balls.

Then there was scones with butter cream and jam, all very nice but too much for us all at once, so it was out with boxes to take home what we couldn't manage there and then.

More rounds of tea or coffee for everyone.

My Daughter in law had come with presents for me and had a drink but couldn't manage to help with eating some of the food as she had toothache and couldn't get a dental appointment on the day but texted me later to say dentist arranged the following day!.

If you haven't made any new years resolutions yet make one, to visit the Bridge View café this year the food is excellent!.

On the way to Portland Basin on Saturday, called at Home Bargains for some fat balls and found they now do big boxes of them, 12.5 kgs which is about 150 balls!, that will keep the birds happy for a while.

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Merry Christmas 2024.

 Merry Christmas everyone and hopefully a Happy New Year.

Already had a fabulous Christmas dinner at the Bridge View café at portland basin with my Dog walker friends, off today to Sons and family for the main Christmas dinner.

Saturday our normal gang met, is going to be The Windmill at Denton ( The Bridge is closed) and then on my birthday we will be back at The Bridge as they are back open again after their Christmas break, well deserved if I say so myself!.

Got these unusual pressies from a dear friend down in Paignton as she knows about Alfie my Tortoise.

If you haven't see him before here is Alfie, he's rather lethargic at the moment with it being winter, but I've told him the winter Solace was last week so the days will be getting longer now, did you realise that?. 

 

Checking out our Christmas cards.

My latest jigsaw completed, gives your age away if you know all the labels in this shop!.

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Week before Christmas, 19.12.2024.

 No bird pictures this time folks as I've been bad with norovirus, ( vomiting Bug) so it was  stay in and not pass it on, the vomiting soon stopped but it was the debilitating effect for the week after, but I'm all clear and back to normal now, if you can ever call me normal!.

Me and the gang were booked into the Bridge View Café for a Christmas dinner on the Thursday the 12th but I was in no state to go and Claire and Brian at the café kindly put it back to today the 19th, so I turned up to a nice welcome and my two mates were already there at the table, which was laid out with lights and crackers, so I added my battery lights to make it more festive, (I'd arrived with them wrapped round my hat!.

Jean had brought Christmas hats for us all!.

(note my lights on the table.)

The other Peter.

Jean with Café tree.

We had one of the best café meals I've ever had, with plenty of dishes of everything, even parsips!. everything was cooked to perfection with plenty of top-ups of drinks.

We had booked for 2 courses and it was a good job otherwise anything else would have been wasted!.

We were entertained by our good friend Chris and were lucky that his mate David turned up too, so we had a few duets too, both very good singers and been singing together for quite a long time. 

We spent the time after dinner with more drink top-ups whilst we opened our presents to each other, and we all did very well to each other and had a whip round and a box of chocs for the staff who had looked after us so well.

One of my favourite presents was one off Jean who had had me a 1000 piece jigsaw made and it was one of my own photographs!, by the same people (Snapfish) who had made my calendars. All the others of my presents were very nice too.

That will be a challenge hey!.

 As we got up to leave ( They were going to close) the staff came up and gave us a parcel each.

When I got home to open mine this was what was in it!, assorted sandwiches, pie and sausage roll. In the other box was an assortment of cakes mince pies and cream!. 

So that was my tea sorted, will have to have the cakes later, too full now.

So a very good day even if I was biased with not seeing anyone for the past week,. I can only say if you haven't visited the Bridge View Café before make it one of your New Year resolutions to visit, the food is exceptional!.

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Joke time!.

 When I went to the doctors and said "I think I've got arthritis" he checked me out and said "No, it's the onset of Riga Mortis!.

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