No excuses for not writing sooner. This is now clearly not a regular blog!
The last few weeks have gone by like a blur. Work’s busy and as promised, the mythical thing that is summer has been approaching and the extra activities are springing into the calendar. We were warned as soon as we got here that the summer is something special and today marks the first day of the summer for many locals – May 24th is Bermuda Day, a national holiday and the unofficial start to the summer, the beach parties, the BBQ’s and the fun!
Bermuda Day
Bermuda Day apparently started as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday and over the years has changed, developed and is now an excuse for Bermuda to have a party – one thing done very well here! Parades, music and food! It’s also the day when hundreds of athletes complete a half marathon; our friends Liz, Jamie and Robyn included. Wow – I’m impressed! It was a super humid day today and I was feeling uncomfortable just walking from where we parked the scooter to the finish line. In true Bermudian community spirit, people had set up hose pipe showers for the runners to pass through and cool off! People lined the streets to cheer the runners on and it was a great atmosphere. Having cheered our three over the finish line it proceeded to pour with rain. (On the ‘first day of summer’ – how rude!) The parade and fun was going on but with Toby due to fly out to Toronto (stag do), and the rain pouring, I decided to return home with Toby and leave it to the Royal Gazette to take the pictures – probably a mistake as I’m now disappointed but I can plan to go next year. In the afternoon Liz, Karen and I passed a few lovely hours in the Hamilton Princess hotel eating burgers and drinking tea! Here’s Liz the super-star!
Now to give to a quick run down of what we’ve been up to in the past few weeks….
Whale-watching
March-April is when the humpback whales pass Bermuda on their migratory route from the warm Caribbean waters to Iceland. It can be very hit and miss whether you get to see anything – it’s a big ocean out there! I’m pleased to say we were incredibly lucky. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get out to where we needed to be and after that we soon saw a whale break the surface for air. We then started following at a discrete distance and over the course of the day we all became experts looking for the tell-tail signs of what to look for. We’d loose a whale, but pick two up and so it continued. We even saw several tail slaps;
We even had one go under the boat!
We were high as kites and had loved every minute – it was far better than we dared hope for when all of a sudden, an unfamiliar dorsal fin appeared…we had dolphins!
How lucky?! Great, majestic whales in our vicinity for most of the day and then a pod of fun loving and playful dolphins. Brilliant!
Ag Show
The following weekend was the ‘Ag Show’ – essentially a country fair as we think of it. Over the course of 3 days 20k people visit – not bad for an island of only 65k! It was a baking hot day and Toby and I wandered round for a few hours before heading to Robyn’s BBQ. As you’d expect, lots of photos like this;
A few like this;
But at least Toby was;
Just before we were leaving the Horse and Trap racing started and we were fascinated! So much fun. I can’t remember the exact words but the judge would request ‘trot’, ‘road speed’ and similar things an then ‘RIDE ON!’ which Toby translated to ‘Organised Carnage’…they were so fast! This guy didn’t win but he was our fave – super cool!
End-to-end
We’d heard people talk about the ‘End-to-end’ race where contestants walk, run or cycle from one end of the island to the other on May 4th. It sounded like a great idea and something we’d like to do while we were out here but with everything going on, we forgot about it. So on May 3rd we were in the office and Jamie suggested we sign up…and we did! Excellent planning and preparation there then!!! We then looked into the options to get our bikes to the start line…a ferry had been arranged to take 75 cyclists to the start from Hamilton where we live (for 800+ contestants…mmmm, maybe we’re not the only ones without great planning!). At this point we realised we were going to have to cycle mid (where we live)-to-end-to-end!!! 18km to the start line and then 40km for the race (obviously, as I was participating, I need to put this in km as the numbers are larger!).
We were joined on the day by Jon as well. Here he is with Toby, don’t they look the part?!
The lovely Simon Jones was making a particularly big effort with his get-up
I have to admit my aging body complained for much of the way. I’m not 20 anymore! The lads bless them sped ahead, would wait for me but when I caught them up I’d have to keep riding – I knew once I stopped the joints would seize! I made it though and glad I did it. Thankfully just in time to catch the Chelsea v Liverpool FA Cup Final – I’m a good wife!
Curry and games night
Our life in London seemed to often revolve around food, drink and games. The food and drink with friends bit we’re good at here – but eating out as the apartment only has enough plates for 4 people! We decided to push the boat out, buy a couple more plates and have a party for 6! Liz, Steve, Naomi and Jon (Ninjo) turned up for a curry buffet and we introduced them to Gambling Trivial Pursuit. I’m sorry London Crew – I feel like we’ve betrayed you…it was a lot of fun though!
Quiz and Wine Tasting
Last weekend we went to a wine tasting followed by a quiz in Masterworks, one of the art galleries – how very high brow do we sound?! Unfortunately the wine tasting coming first did warm us up to being a little cheeky but team ‘Hoof-hearted’ – Liz, Ninjo, Trina, Dan, Toby and Chelle came 2nd and were awarded with a Masterworks goodie bag – chuffed!
