Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 49 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday so it must be time for our weekly trip down memory lane. To family holidays and dream destinations. To see staggering beauty. To experience crisp, fresh mountain air. To experience the peace. To see the mountains and lakes. To see the awe of the The Alps. It’s time to visit Switzerland.

In these odd times where travel seems such an alien concept. Where our passports are gathering dust in drawers. Suitcases are redundant. Its so vital we continue to dream. To remember what a wonderful world we actually live in. To remind ourselves that places like Switzerland do exist.

Yes it’s now been 5 years since our last trip. Our last holiday. But one day we will return.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 33 Comments

Always there…

A misty moody start. If you had to pick one defining image to sum up Yorkshire then it would probably be something like this. Or maybe it should be lashing it down with rain.

Our weather is the perfect backdrops for writers. Novels like Jane Eyre, Nicholas Nickleby, Wuthering Heights, The Secret Garden, The Railway Children, All Creatures Great and Small. Even perfect for Bram Stokers Dracula to be shipwrecked here.

It also never fails to give this muppet something to photograph. And he is a muppet…

Yesterday I looked out of the window and over that very tree was a beautiful rainbow. Perfect for a photograph. So with as much speed as I could muster I grabbed my mobile and legged it outside. Arrived at the garden fence. Ready to snap that very tree and the rainbow. Looked down at my mobile to switch on the camera app……

Why am I holding the TV remote control. Can’t remember that having a camera. PANTS.

And with perfect timing. By the time I had ran inside. Put the remote back on the table and this time actually picked up the mobile sat next to it. By the time I had made it outside again. The moment was gone. The rainbow was no more. PANTS.

But with patience the Yorkshire weather will deliver again. It always does. As will my muppetry. It will always be there.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 43 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday so it must be time for our weekly trip to alpine heaven. Time to visit Switzerland.

It’s Sunday so it must be time for a little wander down memory lane. Back to 2015. Our last family trip to beautiful Switzerland. Last week we looked at the last long walk we did as a family of three. A walk at the Gonnergrat. But we had one more walk. A much shorter one but still memorable. This would prove to be our LAST walk with my partner.

I give to you that walk. I give to you one of the most beautiful countries on the planet.

Thank you Switzerland.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 85 Comments

Time to love Yorkshire

I put my hands up. I might poke a bit of fun at my county of birth. Well actually a lot. Yes the weather can be grim, the people can be a bit odd (me certainly included), we might be a little behind the cutting edge, probably spend too much time focusing on the past BUT….

It is a great place to live and visit. So much history, beautiful brooding landscapes, welcoming, diverse, a wonderful quirkiness and a place that has definitely left its mark on the world. So maybe every so often I should really show and tell the good about Yorkshire.

So here goes. I give you just a fraction of what Yorkshire has to offer.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 40 Comments

Change

I was listening to the radio this morning and the presenter was happily chatting away. He talked about how things had changed for him. This got me thinking about how much it has for me. Changed beyond recognition.

Let’s go back 20 years

  • Just starting a life changing relationship
  • Still playing football and cricket,
  • Regular mountaineering and climbing,
  • Drinking alcohol a bit too much,
  • My social life often centred around the pub,
  • I would get edgy if I wasn’t meeting up regularly with friends,
  • Using alcohol to overcome social anxieties,
  • Work was super busy with so many meetings. So many people to deal with,
  • Spending little time at home (time at home was seen as a bit of a waste)
  • Holidays,
  • Frequent family meetings revolving around mum,
  • Concerts, football matches, the Theatre and the Cinema,
  • Trying to avoid being by myself and if I was I would try to drown out the silence with my MP3 player,
  • Fuelled on caffeine.

Now contrast that with this week….

  • Single parenting,
  • Aspergers,
  • Revisiting wonderful memories,
  • Emailing one or two friends,
  • Blogging,
  • No work,
  • Housebound with one trip beyond the gates to the Vets,
  • Tea total, no caffeine,
  • Lots of silence,
  • No meet-ups,
  • No prospect of holidays, trips out, concerts,
  • Reading,
  • Time spent talking with Hawklad,
  • Only one other physical conversation (briefly with the Vet),
  • Homeschooling,
  • Working out in the garden,
  • Trying to practice mindfulness.

Life definitely has changed. It always does eventually. Some things for the worse. Some things for the better. Some things I would change back. But many things I cherish. On balance I definitely wouldn’t go back.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 58 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday so it must be time for our weekly virtual trip to beautiful Switzerland. A country that is 900 miles away from our house in England but actually feels more like where our hearts want to be. One day we will return.

Today we are going back to 2015 and our last trip to this alpine wonderland. It was the second last day of our holiday and the weather was glorious. So we went on a bit if an expedition. We went to the Zermatt. From there we caught the mountain train which took us to 10285ft (3135m) to the top of the Gonnergrat. The train is an experience as it’s Europe’s highest open-air railway.

The top is a huge rocky ridge with a luxury hotel, restaurant, shops, astronomical observatories, a beautiful stone chapel and views of The Matterhorn. It overlooks a stunning glacier and has views of 29 4000m mountains. It’s a truly epic place.

After a few hours at the top we walked down most of the way. Poignantly this would prove to be our last long family walk as a team of 3. So it’s extra special to me and our son.

I give you the Gonnergrat.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 60 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday afternoon here in the UK. Sunday means it must be our weekly trip down memory lane. A lane which leads to one of the most stunning countries on our planet.

🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇨🇭

Switzerland is such a special place for our family. Hawklad’s Grandfather is scattered here. His Granny and his wonderful Mum will be laid to rest here as well. Yes it’s 800 miles away and that sounds such a long way some days but actually it isn’t. It’s so close. Hope exists that one day soon we will return.

But tonight I’m living in memories. Surrounded by grey, misty Yorkshire weather. A place lacking in colour for days. Then the old photos bring colours flooding back to lift my soul. A reminder of just how special this alpine paradise is.

With a fair wind we will one day return. But we will need to think about that beautiful rocking horse. As the shortest in the family now maybe it’s my turn to ride it. How much fun would that be.

I hope one day you will visit as well. ❤️

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 53 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday so it must be time for our weekly trip to beautiful Switzerland. A country we haven’t managed to visit for 5 years but is very special to our family. It might be 800 miles away but it feels so much closer.

Yesterday I was talking to our son about visiting this wonderful country again. Without promoting he simply said ‘shame we can’t just move there’. I’m so with him on that. Imagine waking up everyday in a country that looks this good. Imagine that clean, fresh mountain air. A country which is so friendly, where everything works perfectly and one which still feels so safe. Living there would be a dream come true.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 34 Comments

Swiss Sunday

We haven’t been able to visit Switzerland since 2015 but it still remains very special to our little Yorkshire family. One day we will return but in the mean time let’s take a virtual trip to this beautiful land.

In these troubled times there are certain thoughts that I cling onto. Thoughts that are so dear to me that they always part the clouds and make the sun shine. One such thought is that Switzerland is there. It’s still there and is most definitely still that beautiful.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 47 Comments

Swiss Sunday

It’s Sunday so it must be time for our weekly virtual trip to beautiful Switzerland. A country which we have not been able to visit in person since 2015 but still means so much to us.

This week I was talking to our son about Switzerland. I asked why he loved it so much. He thought for a while and simply said.

“It’s so big. Everything is bigger than I’ve ever seen before. You feel so small there”

He’s so right. In terms of area it’s not that big. The United Kingdom is six times bigger than Switzerland. But once you get there, it hits you. In Switzerland everything is on such a grand scale. It’s completely breathtaking.