2fer Insta Meet Ups!

 Hello my lovelies!

If you’re in the UK right now I hope you’re managing to keep cool in this heatwave. 

Seems blogger meetups are like buses. 

You wait for three years then two come along pretty much at once!

Here I am in Guernsey recently with two Instagram/blogger mates 

Annemarie from @my_over50_fashion_life and 

Jacqui from @jc30iom, 

meeting up and chatting like crazy over a tasty al fresco brunch.

These two lovely ladies both chose to holiday here in the same week and enjoyed happy and hot times on our beautiful island. 

My first 2022 meet up was with the lovely Annemarie a few weeks ago. 

We got together for a long-overdue chat whilst I was holidaying in Sussex in June (here walking along the beach hut lined promenade). 

We cooled off with heatwave aperos at a beachside restaurant. 

We walked around the iconic De La Warr pavilion and its environs. 

It was so refreshing to catch up for a chat after soooo long. 

We’d both come armed (or headed!) with the totally obligatory straw hats.

Ok, let’s start up another meet up with the what I ate, as that’s the order my phone chose to load the pics!

I ate a most delicious chicken schnitzel, the cream sauce was truly amazing.  We ate at @thefarmhouse, where Jacqui was staying; she had a wonderful stay there.

The sun was still shining as we left the car park. 

And finally, my phone has deigned to give you the lovely Jacqui!

We first met up when she was holidaying in Guernsey in 2020 

and then I reciprocated with a holiday in IoM (where Jacqui lives) a few weeks later. 

I didn’t tell you about these meet ups at the time as I was on a blogging sabbatical, so I thought I’d just cover them briefly here. 

The reason for all this activity across the Irish Sea in 2020 was that our two islands set up a bridging link as both islands were Covid free all through that summer.  

We didn’t have a similar link with neighbouring Jersey as that island still had a fair number of Covid cases on the island.  That’s how seriously we were taking it back then. 

How times have changed eh, things seem more relaxed now and our skies are a-buzz with vapour trails - stir crazy folk seem to have gone a little travel crazy. 

The skies evidence how much travel is going on. 

Oh how I digress. 

Let’s get on to the second meet up of last week. 

Whilst Annemarie was here we met up for dinner. 

Well we were tradition-bound to do a selfie eh?

I wore a simple black linen dress on this hot evening.  

Spot something?  It’s the same dress as I wore to meet up with Jacqui in 2020, so it must be designated meet up dress! 

I’ll tell you more of this dress in another post. 

But right now, let’s talk about what I ate!

I ate this  gorgeously tasty seafood gratin at The Captain’s pub. 

.  

Oh my, it was fab, but so rich and filling that half ended up in a doggy bag which with a bit of padding gave us a lovely meal next day. 

We have to get home before dark (not a Cinderella thing, it’s night time driving issues - an age thing eh) so we enjoyed a coffee out on the deck, listening to the evening bird chorus. 

I’ll post some more on our adventures soon.  

So, that’s my 2020 and 2022 meet ups covered. 

Two super meet ups in quick succession. 

Aren’t I the lucky Pouting Pensioner?!

Both mates had been to the island before and were keen to return.  Each had an amazing time whilst here. 

You can catch up on their holiday shenanigans on their Insta accounts as shown at the beginning of this post. 

You can also read more on Jacqui’s blog

The Diary of a Nobody

.by following the link HERE

where she’s recently posted on her holiday,

and see more on Annemarie’s YouTube channel

of the same title as her Instagram account

by following the link HERE.

where she will shortly be including her visit within one of her vlogs. 

If you are a blogger/Instagramer/YouTuber, have you met up with any SM mates recently?

Please share in the comments below.

And talking of YouTube …

I leave you with a little two minute film of me following the glorious evening sun on the drive back home after my dinner with Jacqui. 

I hope to post more video content on my channel.  

You can always find me on YouTube

by checking in to my The Pouting Pensioner channel by following the link HERE.

And don’t forget to subscribe because my postings are erratic!

A la perchoine,

Mary xxx 

Exit Stage 4!

Hello my lovelies!

Listening to our Chief Minister @gavinstpier’s lunchtime chats has become a Thing for island families, akin to huddles around the crystal set during the occupation.  

Friday’s was a game changer.  Announcing Stage 4 of Lockdown Exit. .

.

Yesterday hairdressers were a-clippin’ at 12.01am. 

 Restaurants opened somewhat later.  

And fireworks 💥 were a-poppin’ in last night’s sky.  

Heck, even a spaceship passed by! .

.

Yup, there was quite a buzz about the place for this stage in the exit process. .

.

But I’ll miss the stone towers.

.

.

A la perchoine,

Mary x. 

P. S.  I was quite proud of today’s post title, it’s a play on Top Cat’s exit stage left catch phrase  - anyone remember that?!

#guernsey #guernseylife #lockdown2020 #covid19 #lockdownexit #coronavirus #stonetowers

Sunrise

Good morning my lovelies!
#nofilterneeded today in for his stunning sunrise over the sea.

.

My bro took these -  I was probably just thinking about my first coffee of the day whilst he was out busily snapping!

I'm thankful he shared these symbolic shots with me.

A rising sun, symbolising new beginnings.

Our household bubble is allowed to bubble buddy with three other bubbles as of last weekend.
 I'm over the moon happy and Son's family,  Other Granny and The Pout Bubble have been making up for lost time since Saturday!
We've now had no new cases of Covid-19 in 3 weeks and have just 3 live cases remaining on the island, so let's tippy toe some more on that freedom path!

How are you ok doing on the lockdown exit path?
Is your area tippy toeing too?

A la perchoine,
Mary x.

.

#guernsey #guernseylife #veday75 

#veday2020

Exiting Lockdown

Happy Tuesday, my lovelies!!

We’re in stage 2 of our lockdown exit strategy. 

Each island household is referred to as a bubble - is that the same where you are?

As of last weekend we can have bubble buddies, mixing with another household bubble. 

It’s a step in the right direction.

Stage 1 a couple of weeks ago was allowing certain businesses to open, such as construction and building suppliers.  An application needs to be made to our government to prove that social distancing can be maintained in the workplace and then, if successful, the firm is registered to commence business. 

There is slightly more traffic on the roads as a result. 

I’ve loved not using the car.   Our groceries and medication are delivered as we’re both over 70.  We have quiet lanes for walks in the immediate neighbourhood and we’re a short walk away from lovely beaches so daily walks have been exclusively on foot and highly enjoyable. 

We’ve only recently taken a car to an exercise spot.  These pics are from the second time we ventured further than our hood, though nowhere is far in Guernsey.  It was the second time I’d been out in a car in about ten weeks and it felt like liberation, like a holiday.  it uplifted my spirits.  But it felt like an isolated outing, a treat, and not something I feel we should do regularly in our new norm, which I happen to like in certain respects.  A pared down life is a great reset. 

Anyway the car needed a good run so we chose here, the other end of the island.  And there’s #nofilterneeded at Jerbourg Point, Guernsey!

.

.

I hope these pics uplifts your day as much as it did mine.


How are you doing in lockdown?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x. 

.

#guernsey #guernseylife #jerbourgpoint #seascape #seascapephotography

Fort Grey

Good morning to you. 

Firstly, thanks to all who commented yesterday and on my first post in three months, I was deeply touched and will be replying to you all later.

One of the reasons why blogging starts to feel a chore is that when interaction with readers lessens, one starts to feel like one’s writing on a one way ticket into the ether. 

I know how everyone‘s every day is busy and it’s often difficult to find time to comment, so I do appreciate that you found the time to welcome me back. 

As I get back on my feet here, I’ll post short and mostly daily posts on a mix of retired lady outfits, scenes of where I live, a bit on food I’ve been eating and projects in the home and garden I’ve been working on.  I hope you like that mix and I hope you find the time to comment sometimes as it’s  always a joy to hear from you - it’s the biggest and best part of blogging. 

So, 

Here’s where I walked last week on a very rare getaway from my usual isolation walks around the block.  It was uplifting. 

The Cup and Saucer (Fort Grey), Guernsey. .

.

A nice backdrop for a spring walk. 

A la perchoine,  

Mary x

.

#guernsey #guernseylife #fortgreyguernsey #cupandsaucerguernseyu

Renoir's Moulin Huet

Hi my lovelies.

Are you having a splendid August?

I'm sure your days are full like mine and you're finding little time to sit and read whilst the sun is out.  There's something about August that inspires me to live life to the full.  You too? Maybe there's a touch of panic in the air, the feeling that summer is slipping by ...

So I thought I'd just pop in with some pics of what I saw and enjoyed when out walking recently, as some of you have mentioned that you enjoy seeing pics of my home island of Guernsey, so I thought it would be nice to do a few scenic posts this month for you to whisk through when you have a moment or two to spare. 

Let's kick off with Moulin Huet, a bay along our south coast.

The island was celebrating the life of the French impressionist artist Renoir (d. 1919), who visited the island and worked on many paintings of this particular bay during his stay.

To create atmosphere, this charming family walked around the area invoking the spirit of the period.

Frames captured some of the scenes he painted.

From the hilltop tea kiosk.

I felt this pic was of the period, I rather liked it's composition.

No filters are needed when the shallow sea is this beautiful shade of jade.

Every walk must include a coffee and scones, it's the rules!

TP taking a shot through one of the frames positioned around the bay.

I hope you found a few spare moments to take a virtual walk around Moulin Huet.

A la perchoine, 

Mary x.

La Duchesse's Notes From A Smaller Island #5

And so the travels continue ... 

Enjoy the cooling sea on a sizzling day.

Cobo, our 'hood bay.

A la perchoine.