Monday Coffee…or wine!

The fan is on again.  This morning was freezing cold but now the house feels like a sauna.  So much for the end of summer!

Hi! Shimmy closer and enjoy the heat while it lasts.  Fancy a glass of wine instead of a hot beverage? I’m feeling lazy today and have decided to enjoy my Monday Coffee with you in front of the television watching Grand Designs.  I’m a bit obsessed with the show and hope to one day build my own dream home.  I have to admit, that dream seems to be slipping away as time goes by.  Did I mention that I am not a very patient person? The dream seems to be fragmenting into other smaller dreams, which we are enjoying and pursuing whenever finances allow.

One of my personal dreams was to visit the Cheddar Gorge, which I did over the summer holidays.  I am still enthralled by the photos I took in the caves and was pleasantly surprised at the clarity.

I hope to visit King Arthur’s Labrynth in Wales. I’m not sure if it is the same place but apparently, there are caves in Wales which have trampolines in them!

What dreams to you have for the future?  I’m sure I’ve asked this before.  The beauty of the question is that dreams are ever-changing, ever-growing and we tend to change them as circumstances around us evolve. So, what is your dream?  I dream of visiting Australia and the United States.  Europe would be fantastic, but I think I would prefer to try living there over a period of time.  There is not enough time in this world to do everything, but I shall certainly try to do as much as I can before the Grim Reaper calls.

Speaking of Grim Reapers, have you read my book, One Month To Live? It’s a paranormal short story about a girl whose mother who has one month to live.  Sounds a bit simple, but it has a few twists here and there.  My character seems to have a certain affiliation with the Reapers in the story and doesn’t take too kindly to one visiting her mother.  Then again, she doesn’t take too kindly to most things.

I find it hard to describe this book because it is so quirky and short.  I always fear that someone will choose it over my other books and judge my writing according to that book.  Let’s just call it my black sheep of the book family! If your interest is peaked, click on the pic below to download your copy.

“Five years I had waited for this day to come. Five years. At last, my mother was going to die!”

You’ll probably finish it in half an hour! Plenty of time for me to top up your wine glass and fetch some lovely Cheddar cheese from Cheddar and salty crackers. Once you’ve finished reading it, write me a review.  It will be interesting to see what you think of it. Right, here’s your glass; have a cracker with some cheese and I’ll wait for you to finish.  In the meantime, I’m going to research Scandinavian self-builds again.

Monday Coffee

Pull up a chair and watch out for the lady with the muffin behind you! She’s teetering on one leg and that oversized mug of tea looks as though it’s going to provide a watery end to her chocolate delight, and probably her pretty blue blouse.

How are you? I’m sorry I missed you last week.  We were either away for the evening or recuperating from an adventure.  It has been a fun couple of weeks and I’ve fulfilled a fifteen year old dream – to visit the Cheddar Caves and Gorge in Somerset. I’ll tell you more about it after we place our order.  What will it be tonight: coffee, tea, latte or something a bit more exotic?  I think I will go for a Darjeeling tea.  I find I don’t drink it often enough and I miss my peppermint tea too.  We have been spoilt with a new Tassimo machine at home which provides a Chocochino fix that is hard to refuse.

Now, onto our trip to Cheddar.  We arrived mid-afternoon and we pleasantly surprised to find a quaint little town steeped in history.  The three mile gorge offered spectacular views and a stunning backdrop to the shops and tea houses meandering down the steep hillside.
After collecting our tickets, we made our way into the caves where history oozed out of the pores of the earth.

The smell of damp and the incredible colours of the rocks, stalactites and stalacmites added an air of mystery and excitement to the atmosphere.

Austere shapes carved out by water hundreds of years before left dimples and caverns in the rock – one referred to as the Sistene chapel by their discoverer, Lord Gough. I was mesmerised, trying to take in as much of the caves as possible as we walked around. We listened to the special phone with options to follow the numbers posted in various parts of the caves that gave invaluable information on each section of the cave’s history.

Once we completed our investigation of the caves, we moved onto the museum located further down the hill.  A kindly gentleman dressed in skins showed us around and showed the children various activities based around the history of prehistoric man. My favourite was sticking my hands in a box to try to guess the odd shapes contained within.  There was a skull, different sized bones, flint stones and shells. Oddly enough, I was the only one willing to shove my hands into the box.  The others watched in glee as I squealed each time my hand touched something new.

We laughed our way through the displays, pointing out the different sections of history and where each
family member belonged.  I still believe my eldest belongs in the neolithic age!

Time was not on our sides and we had to move on before everything shut down for the day.  We sprinted down the hill, following other families that were as determined as we were to catch the last tour bus going back up and through the gorge.  Luck was on our side and we made it just in time!

Once seated at the top, we took photos of the scenery as it went by, enthralled by the sheer size of the gorge.  Yes, it is small in comparison to other places in the world, but it is still our special place in England.  Anyway, I haven’t heard of any other caves that have their own Cheddar cellar! We were lucky enough to buy some of the chees that had been cured in the Cheddar caves and I can tell you first-hand, it is absolutely delicious!

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Our tour bus dropped us off outside the caves, and sadly, it was time to say good-by to the gorge.  Most of the attractions were closing for the day.  The good thing about buying tickets to the Cheddar Gorge is that, if you don’t get a chance to do everything on that one day, your ticket is still valid for ten years.  That means, you can come back and complete your tours of the other attractions at a later date.  Now that’s value for money!

Needless to say, it was a wonderful day out and surprisingly, even the angsty teenager and stroppy eight-year-old cracked a smile and admitted to enjoying their day.

Have you done anything exciting this past week? How was your weekend?  I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to for your summer vacation.