Peter and Dianne Wilson

ToBeContinued

Peter and Dianne Wilson

In July 2011, Dianne and I returned from three fabulous years in China where Dianne was an administrator for Maple Leaf International Schools. To read about our China adventures, click WilsonsInChina. Dianne spent the next 4 years as an administrator in three elementary schools in B.C. In September, 2015 she officially retired. So what happens now? The nickname of this blog is ToBeContinued for a reason...



Europe » United Kingdom September 21st 2023

This blog entry was delayed not just by my COVID experience but by the sad news on our last day in London that my younger sister, Jane, died unexpectedly in Victoria. On our return to Victoria, we managed to have a few days with the family which involved a lot of sadness but also a lot of happiness as we remembered what a great person she was. But we must complete the trip, so here goes…. Brighton We have watched many English TV shows where Brighton was shown to be a famous holiday resort. We have family members who think it is a terrible place to go. So, we thought since we are in the neighbourhood, we should go and find out for ourselves. Two nights gives us one full day in town. The first afternoon ... read more
Brighton Pier
More Brighton Beach
The Volk Electric Train

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Hampshire » Winchester September 12th 2023

Boy, did it ever feel good to get out of our stateroom, nice as it was. Even though the day after Dianne’s visit to Newcastle was an “at sea” day, at least I got to walk around the ship, visit the library/games room and stop at the ice cream stand. I was glad to have this day to rebuild my energy. It is amazing how tiring doing nothing can be. Portland One of the things I found strange was that even though the ship often docked in a port so we didn’t have to tender to shore, we often had to get on shuttle buses to get away from the ship because these are active port areas and they don’t want people milling about. There is a free shuttle bus that takes you to The Castle ... read more
Too much information?
A tied island
Historical posters

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Tyne & Wear » Newcastle Upon Tyne September 6th 2023

Dianne was feeling pretty low while we were in Liverpool but started to feel better as we visited Greenock outside Glasgow. I, on the other hand, started to feel worse. Sore throat and cough and I started to feel a bit feverish. The “at sea” day (August 31st) was a bit of a blur to me and the COVID tests we did on September 1stwere not designed to make me feel better. Dianne was negative, but I was positive; she even tested both of us twice Sigh. Discussions with the on-board medical people determined that I would have to stay quarantined in our stateroom, but Dianne was OK to carry on as normal. The fact that I got free Wi-Fi, free room service and free alcoholic and other drinks did not really make me feel better. ... read more
A first view of Lerwick, Shetland Islands
The new Shetland Library
Lerwick

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow August 30th 2023

Guernsey The cruise ship can’t dock on this little island, so a tender pulls up to the side of the ship and up to 150 people cram into it for the short ride to shore. It was rough. Anybody with mobility issues would have trouble navigating on and off the tender. The Channel Islands are closer to France than England and were the only British territory occupied during the Second World War. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a novel about that period. It must be popular because not only was it made into a film in 2018, but they have shore excursions taking you around to many of the locations that could have been in the story. Both Dianne and I read and enjoyed the book (and must find the movie), and ... read more
TLC - The Little Chapel
Restful country scene
Fort Grey

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London August 25th 2023

OK, we’re back in business mainly due the loving care and attention provided by Nurse Dianne supported by the Princess Cruise line staff. I think the many errors I found in the text versions of the blog were not caused by the effects of COVID, but from the fact that I can’t type. But onwards…. London Day 4 The British Museum was our main target for today. It is so immense that you can’t really take it all in during one visit. We toured the China section which brought back many memories of our time in China. The other area where we spent time was a section on Africa. One display, The Tree of Life, was very moving. Mozambique suffered badly from war and natural disasters in the late 20th century. In 1995, the Turning Arms ... read more
Flowers galore
Glazed Dragon Tiles, late Ming Dynasty
Ancestral screen from Nigeria

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Shetland August 24th 2023

This blog has been more difficult than any previous series. The lack of internet on the cruise ship really puts me behind. Yes, there is internet available, I’m just too cheap to pay for it. Then Dianne came down with a nasty cold in Liverpool and gave it to me in Greenock. Mine seems to be a lot worse. Turns out it is full blown COVID-19. The bad news is I am quarantined in our cabin. Dianne tested negative so she is free to gad about. It is particularly nasty (the COVID, not that she can gad about) One funny story that is relevant (unlike some of my other funny stories). After eight fun filled days in London (yes, I will be blogging about the last four days) we headed to Southampton and the Island Princess. ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London August 24th 2023

Our first international trip since we went to Hawaii in 2020, just as COVID-19 was rearing its ugly head. Long time readers of this blog will remember that trip was memorable for perhaps the wrong reasons; the 54 hour marathon in the snow (Hawaii?) and Peter’s herniated disk. What will be the memorable moments of this trip? It’s going to be great! Great Britain! As you would expect, we were well prepared for our trip due to Dianne’s great planning aided by great instruction from our London Airbnb hosts for getting to their site. There are three sections to this trip: 8 nights in London 14 nights on a cruise ship circling the British Isles 13 nights in various locations in the south-east part of England The trip got off to a bit of a rocky ... read more
Ready to go
Home away from home
Burgess Park

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » St John's September 18th 2022

We had to backtrack somewhat on our way to the Irish Loop and Portugal Cove South because the “highway” we wanted to take was gravel. Only about 40 kilometres but we had a rental car and didn’t want to take any chances. However, taking the TCH had one benefit. It took us past Salmonier Nature Park which started as an environmental education centre but has become a tourist destination. A two-kilometre boardwalk took us through some very interesting exhibits including many animals that had been injured and were recuperating in a setting as natural as could be made. There even was a section dedicated to animals that were now extinct like the Great Auk. It was a setting totally different from what we had been used to. This park is in the interior of The Rock ... read more
Remnants of the past
Salmonier Nature Park
Boardwalk

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador September 13th 2022

Editor’s note: We are back home on Pender having flown out of St. John’s the morning of the day Hurricane Fiona hit the Atlantic provinces. Apart from having a 5:00 am flight, our trip was relatively painless. The Baccalieu Trail We traversed part of the trail to get to our B and B in New Perlican (which apparently is older than Old Perlican) and on our first morning there we headed north to finish the job. Several towns were on our way but the main target was Bay de Verde and Blunden House. The house was built in the late 1890s which makes it pretty new in BDV terms as the first European visitors to the area came in the 1500s. It is a good example of the merchant class of housing with one section for ... read more
Bay de Verde
Cemetery
Weatherbeaten

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » St John's September 9th 2022

Observations on bus touring We had never taken a tour of this type preferring to make our own arrangements (I have a great travel planner). We took this one on the recommendation of friends who had taken the trip pre-COVID. I was nervous about travelling with a bunch of “old people”. Yes, I saw the irony in that statement. The people on the tour turned out to be great. We now have lots of new friends (foreshadowing). The tour guides had a great system of assigning us to different seats every day so no one got the coveted front seats for more than half a day. There were twice daily draws to see who would be the King and Queen for the next half day. Patti had arranged for “door prizes” and the drawing of the ... read more
St. John's harbour
Harbour defences at Cape Spear
Cape Spear




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