1st blast was Woking Hospital. I last visited here some 60 years ago whilst being born ! Unfortunately this morning one bloodshot eye had turned green, and the infection had spread to the other one. So off to the hospital where the practicing nurse said it was the worst case she had seen……..after some tests involving orange dye, i now had traffic light eyes with orange tears streaming out, not a pretty site. Next to Boots to get a script filled out, then Hazel set up a bathing station and is administering all care required. It’s going to take some weeks to clear up, hopefully the holiday can continue.

2nd blast was RHS Gardens, Wisley. Massive changes including a new entrance, shop and re development of the old glasshouse site, including the removal of the old glasshouses I used to work in, a bit sad so I shed a few more orange tears…

This site will house laboratories, world farm food and a roof top garden all where the glasshouses used to be. Thankfully some things remain the same, with some glorious hydrangeas on Battlestone hill, and miniature Cyclamen near the rock garden.

Paphiopedium insigne “sanderae”, I remember growing this clone…

Depending upon how I feel tomorrow we will try a trip to Goodwood Revival, with a longer day hopefully on Sunday.

Today the Jaguar Car Club of Tasmania went boating in the UK! Gordon had flown in from Tassie yesterday, and spent the day with local brother Keith aboard T42. Neither had been narrowboating before, but were amazed at the River Wey and its corridor of calm. We went thru 3 locks and 1 set of gates to the New Inn at Send for lunch. Then back to Pyrford via a stop at the Anchor Inn for afternoon refreshments. A great day guys, kept us busy so we couldn’t worry about our colds……We have decided to skip the first day at Goodwood Revival, as we have to provision the boat, and have yet to visit RHS Wisley.

Gordon, Keith and Tasotter messing about on the water…

Gordon tries his hand on the tiller, and does a great job!

We are back in the UK. Bit of a horror flight for me with a cold, and one of my tear ducts is blocked causing a bloodshot eye.Hazel is coming down now as well, so I must get better. ! Never mind we shall soldier on after a good nights sleep. Pretty sunset tonight though.

We have safely docked, thanks to this tug, so all good for our flight back to the UK.

Well we had 40 knots of wind coming down from our last port, and this has prevented us from docking so far. We’ve been steaming round in circles waiting for the wind to abate. Unfortunately this has meant all tours being cancelled, not quite the ending we wanted…..The Captain has just announced he’s going to attempt to dock…..wish us luck ! Blogging will resume in the UK or Greenland if we can’t dock !

We are in North Iceland, at the port of Akureyri. A full day tour started off with a visit to Godafoss, the “Waterfall of the Gods”. Then onto Skutustadir, with its craters and

lakes. Note how thin the soil is over the old lava and ash flows. A lunch of fish and potatoes next in a local hotel, followed by a short drive to Dimmuborgir.

This was the most interesting stop, with lava fields interspersed with stunted birch trees in full autumn colour. It could have been a set out of the “Lord of the Rings”, especially as the Icelanders think a lot of the formations are trolls turned to stone.

Our final stop was at Namaskard, a geothermal area. This was a rather muddy pit and lake of sulphur smelling mud and boiling water, not quite up to some of New Zealand sites we’ve seen. Tomorrow sees more geothermal activity once we’ve moored at Reykjavik, and it’s our last day onboard…..

Our Captain warned us last night that the weather could get a bit rough, so he was altering our course and slowing down to let it pass. There was a little bit of movement this morning but we’ve passed the worst and are now heading for Iceland. It’s going to be a busy 2 days with full excursions, and I’ve got a sore throat/ stuffie nose…..nursie has dosed me up on drugs and I’m not going to let it slow me down!

Thanks for all the comments, we read them all but the internet is so slow it’s hard to reply without the mail program timing out.

We are moored in some majestic scenery, with huge mountains and no trees. It reminds me of the Scottish highlands, but on an even bigger scale.

Our tour guide was an 18 year old still in high school. Passionate about his country he is a great ambassador, and conveyed many of the islanders ideas and traditions. It was great to see some American reactions as he talked with disdain about Trumps idea to buy Greenland. The North Atlantic Islands obviously stick together. No guns, no violence and little to no crime. There have only been 4 murders since 1950!

The roller landscape with undersea tunnels and hairpin bends made driving exciting.

Whilst the colourful little villages provided a spark of colour in the immense landscape. Overall a most interesting experience, I couldn’t live here as there are no trees and few gardens, but it will be an interesting place to watch from afar, especially as they try to wrest their sovereignty from Denmark.

Leaving Bergen yesterday the Captain informed us of swells ahead and closed some of the upper decks. The motion was lively during dinner at Polo Grill, but seemed to settle later on, and we moored at Lerwick in the Shetland Isles OK. Apparently it was rough south of us, and we have been joined by another cruise ship who could not get into Kirkwall, Orkney Isles. We have also got all the guides and coaches for our Cruise line, so there are a lot of tourists wandering around, some unhappy…

It’s our second visit, and we love the place in summer, During winter life could get a bit rugged, with violent storms sweeping across the islands. Our local lassie guide gave a very personal tour. Apparently the TV series Shetland is popular around the world, for those who watch it you will know the building above, as it’s featured a lot. Some of the buildings go back to the 1700’s, whilst garage roofs are used as boat stores.

The town hall had a magnificent array of stained glass windows. I had not realised that although Scottish their history is mainly Scandinavian, until Included as part of a dowry when King James of Scotland wed a Danish princess. As depicted below

The town is a maze of little lanes, with shops clustered around the harbour. We have a few island souvenirs, fortunately they post as our suitcase is getting heavy, the island knit ware and Sea Otter books being particularly attractive ! Hazel greatly enjoyed her mini Scottish holiday, especially listening to that Scots accent.

A threatening sky greeted us in Bergen, and our excursion to Ole Bull’s island in a local fjord. During the early 1800’s he was a noted musician, actively promoting Norway.

Reached by a tiny ferry our group of 15 or so, were the only guests so it was a very personal tour with a knowledgeable guide. Despite numerous money problems, and wives, (not necessarily related I might add) he actively promoted Norwegians to use their language and folk music, until then Sweden had dominated the arts. His “house” or retreat on the island was a mixture of styles from all the countries he had visited, for instance the 3 different chandelier styles. This produced a fairy tale effect.

He was friends with Greig, and the island had a similar feel to Greigs house where he composed music, and is in fact only a short distance away. Set in some delightful gardens, surrounded by a mossy forest it felt a real haven.