During our recent holidays we have often gone down for breakfast later than planned. Mr C decided I should set my alarm clock earlier than we usually do when we are on holiday. Despite the earlier call we were still later to breakfast than intended, probably because neither of us was ready to wake up!

The breakfast was worth the wait; the buffet spread was impressive and extensive including lots of tasty options for a continental breakfast. We were able to enjoy breakfast sitting outside in the warm morning air, causing us to linger a while before a leisurely walk to the old town.

We arrived at the seafront to find that some sort of military parade or celebration had just taken place. There were lots of sailors in white milling around and a Portuguese warship sailed from the harbour before turning round and once again docking in the harbour. Mr C saw three fighter jets do a fly past in formation.

After lingering to watch the ship we walked to the nearby Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist, the interior of which is beautiful. We found the atmosphere calm and serene and lit a candle in remembrance of mum.

We continued our walk in the old town to our intended destination, Funchal Cathedral. Our visit was cut short by announcements in several languages explaining the church was now closing to visitors and asking us to make our way to the exits. In the courtyard outside it looked like people were gathering for a Christening.

We continued our walk to enjoy more of the old town with its quaint narrow streets and painted doorways. We reached the Fortress of São Tiago whose construction began around 1614 as a defensive fortress.

We retraced our steps along the narrow streets for lunch where I enjoyed a tuna toastie in Uma Muralla. It came with a side of chips that I had tried to explain to the waiter I didn’t want. Presented in front of me they were too nice to resist…

We retraced our steps to the Cathedral thinking that by this time the service should have finished. It had, but we still couldn’t visit, it was closed with media vans outside, the Portuguese equivalent of the BBC.

We ambled our way back towards the hotel, taking in the marina before sitting in the Municipal gardens for a refreshing drink in the sunshine. Back at the hotel we chilled out some more before dinner. The hotel bed turn down service arrived later than it had done the previous day and controversially only one chocolate was left (on Mr C’s pillow), the other one was nowhere to be seen!

The two restaurants we had chosen for a potential meal were both closed, leading us to check out other restaurants nearby. We eventually settled on a place, Resaurante Combatentes which was full of people. It turned out to be a good choice; the food was excellent, it had a good atmosphere and the waiter was a little cheeky leading to fun banter. Whilst dining we learned from the waiter that most restaurants are closed on Saturday and Sunday evenings, explaining why we struggled to find places that were open and leaving us with a challenge for the following evening.

On our way back to the hotel we briefly called in at the municipal gardens before enjoying a nightcap in the hotel’s rooftop bar.

Photo taken by Mr C

After just a few hours in bed we arose at 3.15 am so that we could get to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

Checking our bags in and passing through security went smoothly leaving us time to purchase sandwiches for brunch on the plane.

The flight set off on time meaning we landed in Funchal as scheduled. I was amused that Mr C wasn’t expecting the abrupt landing even though I had told him that it was a short runway.

I had a small hiccup passing through the automated passport control system. I didn’t get my passport aligned for automatic scanning and the scanner rejected my fingerprint impression. Then as my photograph was being taken a man stood directly behind me so that there were two faces in the photograph. I was rejected and directed to the queue where my credentials could be manually checked. This ran smoothly and I learned that I had to press my hand flat for finger print images to be captured. I was reunited with Mr C who had sailed through the automatic system without a hitch.

Our bags arrived in the bagging area and shortly after we were greeted by the Jet 2 rep who directed us to our private transfer car. As we set off to Funchal our driver played us a recorded message introducing herself in English. We enjoyed riding through the streets of Funchal before arriving at our hotel, The Vine, where we were dropped off in the Taxi Rank. Our driver told us this was the hotel with a sweeping curve of her arm taking in the building and pointing towards the front of the building.

Mr C did a recce and the hotel entrance wasn’t obvious through the shopping centre entrance where I knew the hotel was located. So, in the entrance where we had been dropped off there was a lift that had a button labelled ‘The Vine’. Mr C pressed it; we got in and stepped out on the relevant floor.

There was a door with an intercom button to press which Mr C did and we were allowed through. It became immediately apparent that this was the back door (service entrance) to the hotel. We were greeted by the hotel concierge who directed us to the hotel reception area. He was surprised that we were able to get that particular lift into the hotel; it should have needed a card or passcode.

We checked into the hotel and the concierge relieved us of our luggage to be held in a safe area until our room would be ready at 3.30.

We visited the hotel roof top bar with lunch in mind but decided to choose one of the many eateries, Lyfe, in the shopping centre below where we chose pancakes.

Still with time to spare, we explored the harbour before returning to The Vine where we were escorted to our room to find our bags had been neatly placed. We were also shown how the light switches, air-conditioning and blinds worked. Then we were introduced to the free water fill system. Water dispensers are located on every floor with a reuseable glass bottle in each room. The bottle can be refilled as many time as you need. The water dispenser can also be used to refill personal water bottles.

After settling in we walked to the nearby Municipal gardens to chill out with suitable refreshments. Later we dined in one of the local street restaurants, Espaco that Mr C had recced whilst I had been relaxing in the hotel room. The atmosphere was lovely, warm and vibrant. I chose one of the local dishes, Scabbard fish, cooked to the house recipe which was followed by a shared crème brulee. During the evening, we enjoyed bantering with the waiters and were served with a complimentary glass of sweet Madeira as we waited for the bill to be prepared.

We returned to the hotel’s roof top bar for a nightcap overlooking the twinkling lights of Funchal.

We were due to holiday in Madeira at this time of year in 2025 but our trip had to be cancelled four days before we were due to travel due to Mr C having a health scare which meant he wasn’t insured to travel.

This year with mum becoming increasingly ill in the weeks that led up to our planned trip to Madeira we weren’t sure whether we would be able to travel or not. Mum sadly passed away in the week before we were due to travel. This gave us just enough time to set the most immediate things in place and still travel to Madeira as planned.

In the morning Mr C had an unexpected issue which needed to be resolved. This led to us setting off for our overnight stay close to Manchester airport later than we had planned.

We had lunch relatively local to us in Fletcher’s Garden Centre before eventually driving to Manchester and checking into the Premier Inn in Cheadle Royal. This was a first for us, previously we have stayed in the nearby Premier Inn in Heald Green.

There had been a recent announcement that Jet2 Holidays had a new service that allowed you to check your luggage in the night before. We thought that was a good idea, so after checking into the hotel we drove to the airport to take advantage of the new arrangement. After driving around the airport (several times) looking for a place to park we realised that the simple idea was not quite as simple as it seemed. Parking near to the terminal is very expensive; £5 for five minutes, £10 for ten minutes or £25 for thirty minutes. We had no idea how long it would take to check in our bags and parking further away posed different problems so we abandoned the idea opting to check in as normal the following day.

We returned to the Premier Inn to chill out with a cup of tea before dining in the Griffin Inn with a glass of wine or two before returning to our billet for an early night before our early start.

For many reasons 2026 has proved to be a difficult year for me. The difficulties, unexpectedly have led me back to my enjoyment of adult colouring books and colouring pencils. Working with colouring pencils brings a sense of focus, calm and achievement.

Richard Bach

The more he uses for others, the more he has himself.

The more he gives away, the more he possesses of his own.

Lao tzu

The Museum of Witchcraft was the creation of Cecil Williamson, whose interest in witchcraft and magic began in childhood. Cecil initially founded a Museum of Witchcraft in Stratford-upon-Avon but after local opposition, moved to the Isle of Man and in 1951 opened The Folklore Centre of Superstition and Witchcraft. Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, was featured as the ‘resident witch.’ As time went on, the two men’s interests became increasingly divergent and Cecil returned to the mainland to set up a succession of witchcraft museums.

Eventually, Cecil settled in the Cornish village of Boscastle and opened the Museum of Witchcraft in 1960.

St Petroc himself  brought Christianity and established a Church here around AD 518. Petroc was a Welsh nobleman educated in Ireland. He set out with his followers in boats, or coracles, and the winds and tides brought him to the river Camel estuary. Here he built a Monastery, with a School, Farm, and Church to serve the monks and to minister to the area that became known then as Petrocstow – now Padstow. Petroc travelled widely and founded more Churches in Cornwall, Walkes and Brittany and converted King Constantine of Cornwall to Christianity.

In AD 916 King Athelstan of England conquered Cornwall, and granted Petroc’s Church the right of Sanctuary, one of just three Churches in Cornwall with that status. In Ad 981 a band of Viking raiders destroyed Petroc’s Church, leaving it in ruins. Around AD 1100 a new Norman style Church was built on this site and the thick walled tower base survives from this period. In the 1400s the Church was rebuilt, using Caen stone from Normandy, and remains to this day.*

*Information from a signboard outside the church

Prideaux Place (Cornish: Plas Prideaux)^[2] is a grade I listed^[3] Elizabethan country house in the parish of Padstow, Cornwall, England. It has been the home of the Prideaux family for over 400 years. The house was built in 1592 by Sir Nicholas Prideaux (1550–1627), a distinguished lawyer,^[4] and was enlarged and modified by successive generations, most notably by his great-great-grandson Edmund Prideaux (1693–1745) and by the latter’s grandson Rev. Charles Prideaux-Brune (1760–1833). The present building, containing 81 rooms,^[4] combines the traditional E-shape of Elizabethan architecture with the 18th-century exuberance of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill Gothic.

The house contains a fine collection of works of art, including royal and family portraits, fine furniture and the Prideaux Porcelain Collection. The recently uncovered ceiling in the Great Chamber is a masterpiece of the art of the Elizabethan plasterer. In 1968 the estate comprised about 3,500 acres, excluding the St Breock estate situated about ten miles away, also in the family’s ownership, inherited from the Viell family in the 17th century.^[5] The deer park is one of the most ancient in England, containing in 1968 about 100 fallow deer, increased from only about six in 1946 following World War II.^[6]