We didn't change our plans, they were changed for us!

A month ago almost to the day I wrote that " we're spending a week in Kendal* before going back to Kantara, (changing the oil and filter), and going out on another cruise." I was wrong. That was wishful thinking. (Just to remind myself, this is what Kantara looks like.) (*It wasn't Kendal, it was Cautley, Sedbergh, some fourteen miles away.)

(And this is a canal.)

It's true that the weather's not been particularly inviting over the past weeks, and friends and acquaintances who have been out in it have reported some pretty soggy experiences and severely restricted travelling. (Just to remind myself, this is what that looks like.)

But, just as we seem to have entered a dry and sunny spell, we've had to deal with a dying central heating boiler, trees, hedges and shrubs that have started to take over the front garden, negotiations with the builders of next-door's extension regarding our boundary fence, and the need for a new side gate,and my need for new specs. It all takes time, and it all has to be done here.

(Just to remind myself, this is what the garden looks like when it doesn't have trees, hedges and shrubs that need to be cut back.)

On the bright side, Steve and Karolina have just today started to move into their first home together.

Last Sunday was Father's Day. We'd planned to have a family lunch in Verulamium Park, but the weather didn't look very promising. Well, if it did, it was promising to rain. So we ate at home, and went down to the park afterwards to make the most of the newly-appeared sun and do the Old St Albans Treasure Trail together.

Then back to the house for coffee and cake and cream. Perfect!

Yesterday I ordered new glasses. Three pairs. Arm and leg time. Won't be ready for two weeks. Any hope of being back on Kantara soon have been further scotched. Talking of being scotched, it was Rabbie Burns who said, in his best tartan accent, no doubt, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang oft agley.”, which, being roughly translated, means, "If you make plans, too bad."

We're getting there!

...but still only in small steps via all sorts of diversions, some of them pleasant, some of them not so. One of the pleasant ones was three nights in wet West Wales. Except that it wasn't wet. I read just this morning that Cardiganshire (Ceredigion to the locals) was the second hottest spot in the UK at the start of the week, topped only by Kew Gardens. And it was New Quay  (Cei Newydd) in Ceredigion to which we drove on Monday. It was a lovely drive (after the initial crawl on the M25). The weather was fine and the traffic light and intelligent.

You know you're in Wales even if you miss the Croeso y Cymru signs. Distances are measured in milltir, and bendy roads warn you Araf, or the far more angry Arafach Nawr! And town and village names are far too long, with too many letters l, w and y. Just try saying them!

We arrived at the B & B (Summat Else, highly recommended) under a warm, low sun. Our very pleasant and comfortable room had views over a gloomy holiday village to the not-at-all gloomy Cardigan Bay, and we were enticed by that to drive down to the sea-side town to take a closer look. The dusky light was beautiful.

We wandered around, looking for somewhere to eat later on, and found that most of the eateries were closed for the winter. In fact, The Pepper Pot was the only place that served more than just fish and chips, apart from a pub with just one star for hygiene. No problem. The Pepper Pot  was just fine, and we ate and drank well before returning to the B & B.

The weather the next day was incredible. It could easily have been a day in June, not February. At 12:30 we looked down over the beach. The sun was quite low in the sky, and people threw shadows taller than themselves, yet women lay bikini-clad on the sand, and naked children paddled and splashed in the sea. (It was half-term week in Wales.) Very summery.

In mid-July of last year, I wrote, "The weather being what it was - and it was actually a bit cooler than yesterday - Grace and I took the opportunity at last to do the Foxton Locks and Village Treasure Trail." Well, the weather on Tuesday being what it was - and it was actually a fair bit warmer than that July day - we did another of the Treasure Trails.

It was a lot of fun. We did it slowly, spending time to look more closely at places, or to take in the views, or to have coffee, we walked for miles, and we discovered that the Welsh language very conveniently has words for very important things that can be easily understood by the English. So we have ambiwlans, toiledau and difibrilatew for example, and siop and brecwast and teledu (say them out loud for best effect).

New Quay was the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, and he featured a fair bit in the trail. New Quay tourist office has its own Dylan Thomas trail. The New Quay townsfolk were his inspiration for Under Milk Wood, and Quite early one morning was very closely based on his own walks through the town. The edge of love, the 2008 film about the poet and his wife, was made in New Quay.

The town and its beaches and harbour are very photogenic.

This sign is not the Australian insult we thought it might be!

It actually means No climbing.

We completed the Treasure Trail before lunchtime, so we drove out to Llanerchaeron (Lllanerchaeron in Welsh), a National Trust property we first saw just a few weeks ago on Flog It on TV. After a tour of the house and a good lunch in the café, we decided we'd have to return the next day to finish seeing all there was to see.

So back we went the next day to see the gardens and farm. It had been a self-sufficient house in its heyday, and that involved a lot of food growing, animal farming, butter and cheese making, bread-making, fish farming and so on, and this is still maintained to some extent.

On our weary way back to the B & B, we took the scenic route and stopped off at places of beauty for the inevitable photos. The sea is always a favourite.

Our days of beautiful (though worrying) weather came to an end the morning we left. It poured with rain for much of the day, but the driving was good, and we split it up a bit with a visit to a restaurant for lunch, and to WHSmith for some Welsh language tuition books for Grace, who's been learning Welsh (cwnraeg) for a while now. I'm learning Italian (italiano), which is far easier!

And now we're back, and... we'll get there eventually!