After the long walk into town the previous evening, we decided that we wouldn’t be in the mood to walk into town for breakfast so we booked a table in the Brewers Fayre restaurant which is located next door to the hotel. This turned out to be a wise move because a lot of people without bookings were being turned away and asked to come back later.

Our friend’s funeral was at 2.30 so we had time to visit Great Yarmouth Minster which we had walked past the previous evening. The building is amazing and has a rich history. Whilst we were there, we each lit a candle in remembrance of our friend.

We still had a bit of time to spare so I was able to visit Edinburgh Woollen Mill where I ended up purchasing a couple of tops.

We returned to the hotel to change for the funeral. We were slightly delayed by the arrival of room service which turned out to be a far better service than some of the more expensive hotels we have stayed in recently.

We arrived at the crematorium in plenty of time so Mr C took the opportunity to finesse the Eulogy before we braved the heavy rain to walk to the waiting area. The service was secular, although the celebrant included some traditional words used in Christian ceremonies. The service included words of memories from his wife, words of tribute from Mr C and a poem written by one of his daughters.

For some reason I can’t quite explain, I shed more tears than I usually due on such occasions. Something for me to reflect on.
At the wake, I was able to spend time with our friend’s widow and share her grief whilst reflecting back on memories and regretting that future plans were not to be. The four of us, after many years absence, last met just a few months before his cancer diagnosis.

Later, Mr C had booked us into the Furzedown Hotel for an evening meal. The hotel turned out to be much further away than he thought it was. I felt like I was on a route march to dinner. Finding a bar for a post dinner drink also proved problematic. All the pubs we saw were closed or shut had already stopped serving for the evening. We had to retrace our steps to Weatherspoon’s which for some reason Mr C had wanted to avoid!

Photo taken by Mr C

For some reason I was feeling out of sorts when I woke up, possibly because I could feel the beginnings of the lurgy coming on. We were a little late for breakfast but thankfully there was only a small queue.

After breakfast we had planned to catch the ferry to Birgu but the plan was flexed and we detoured to the war memorial first rather than on the way back from Birgu as we had planned. The pathways that led to the memorial were all blocked off. We had quite a tricky time getting to the war memorial and so it took us longer than expected. Some pathways were closed and the roads around it were very busy.

After photographing the memorial, we walked to the lift that would take us down to the ferry. Unfortunately, the extra time it had taken to get to the memorial meant that we had just missed the ferry and had to wait for it to come back.

Photo taken by Mr C

Eventually in Birgu, we took a few photos of the harbour before sitting on a bench for a few moments to look at a map so we could get our bearings. It was now time for a refreshing drink before walking into town. We didn’t opt for the nearest café and settled for a shady arcaded place a short distance down the street.

Then we headed into town checking a signboard before choosing to visit the Inquisitors Palace first. As we neared the palace, I saw a photo opportunity and realised my camera was missing. I remembered I had put it next to me on the bench when we sat to briefly peruse the map. I always check I have left nothing behind when I move on from a place but for some reason, I didn’t see the camara, maybe it had fallen on the floor underneath the bench. I will never know…

Mr C retraced our steps checking all the cafes and also the bench area where we briefly sat. It was gone without a trace.

Despite being distracted due to the loss of my camera, or, more importantly to me, the photos I had taken during the first days of our holiday I enjoyed our visit to the Inquisitors Palace.

By some quirk of fate, I had unexpectedly upgraded my mobile phone (paying less for my contract) just a few days before we travelled to Malta!  The new phone has an adequate camera, so going forward I was able to capture my own photo memories of our adventures in Malta.

Photo taken by Mr C

We went in search of lunch, ending up on the harbour front sharing a pizza and enjoying a glass of wine and beer seated in shade at restaurant Sottovento. This was handy for our next intended visit, The Maritime Museum. However, we found that the museum was closed to the public until further notice, because is being refurbished.

We returned to Valletta, on the way checking at the café near to where I lost my camera. The waitress took my phone number and directed me to the police station that was 200 yards away to see if it had been handed in there. It hadn’t but the police officer also took phone details, although both of us knew that by now my camera was not going to turn up.

It being my birthday, back at the hotel Mr C ordered a bottle of Prosecco to be delivered to the room. The bar staff said, can you take it yourself? Mr C agreed but they provided no ice bucket so it turned out to be a do it yourself sort of celebratory drink on the balcony! When we sat down, I had a little birthday surprise in that my mum (who struggles with technology) was able to use her new mobile phone to ring me up to say happy birthday.

We walked into Valletta to find a suitable restaurant for a birthday meal, ending up, to our delight, dining in our restaurant of choice, Grain Street which we had thought was shut that day. The food and service were amazing.

Our cosy nearby bar was shut on Sundays so we returned to the hotel for a nightcap instead.

During our recent Malta adventure I unfortunately lost my camera along with the photographs for the first part of our holiday. Luckily just before we travelled I had upgraded my mobile phone (paying less for my contract) so I was able to take photos after my camera had gone missing.

I have now replaced the camera but the photos that should have accompanied my stories from Malta have been lost in a foreign land…

In the morning I attended the funeral service for the mother of one of my friends. Before attending the subsequent wake I visited the crematorium memorial garden and spent a few moments next to the walnut tree under which my father’s ashes were sprinkled.

Later, in the afternoon, I walked one of my Leegomery circular routes. I would have liked Mr C to join me but he declined my offer. This allowed me to ‘Rest a While’ on one of my favourite benches where I lingered  a little too long… My brolly came in handy as I was chasing raindrops on my way home.

I am aware of why I first started blogging and the initial posts I made, but I am not sure why recently I felt the urge to find out what year that was, it turned out to be 2007.  My first blog post was not very interesting but it was the beginning of a journey…

My World
I thought I would change the layout of the ‘My World’ page on my website. That page was always intended to add random thoughts and current topics. But the way it was laid out didn’t really allow for this which meant that after I created the page it just languished there without any new comments.

I think this will be a much better way to add these sort of things, I hope you like it! I have added a few images I have taken this year just to give it a bit of interest to start off with

I was going to style it so it looked more like the rest of the pages, but I thought leaving it the way it is might be a bit easier on the eye!

There have been some difficulties along the way, those difficulties have been overshadowed by the friends I have made and the ‘meeting of minds’.

My first commenter from the Blogging world was Jams on something I was passionate about.   The blog took over and I haven’t updated my webpage for many a year…  I am still (mostly) enjoying my blog journey…

Today is my 6th Blogiversary so I light a celebratory candle, the candle is also in memory of my friend Jams.