Sunshine on a cloudy day

Today is the last day of our two week adventure to the Indian ocean as part of SWMBO birthday celebrations. In tune with previous 2018 holidays, today has given us rain and high winds, but we have compensated for the lack of sunshine by having a full English at the golf club and extending our room until this evening to allow us somewhere to chill away from the busy common areas which are full of families playing Scrabble and backgammon.

The back nine on the golf course is closed and there are no buggies today so I clearly picked the best days for a thrash. Yesterday I played with a chap from Durban who was born in Liverpool but moved to SA at an early age. He has his millions filched away here in Mauritius and in the Isle of Man, and is now looking to move as the infrastructure in Africa continues to be more corrupt and fragile than Europe. The only problem he has is that the cost of living differential is not in his favour as the Rand is so weak.

We have certainly been treated like royalty here since our little challenge with the initial room allocation, and daily massages, dinner and breakfast on the beach as well as the premium all inclusive have all added to the pleasure of the stay.

Even with my surname I can't do much about the climate but I suspect it will start raining as soon as we get home.

Bronzed bodies

Well, the England team did as well as could be expected against a more experienced European outfit. I can't help comparing it to Theresa May and her attempt to make something of the Brexit process. Putting aside her remain bias, her time in the Bank of England cheque clearing division clearly did not expose her to the aggressive negotiating skills needed to deal with European politicians trained under the Charles d'Gaulle 'non' school of diplomacy.

I can well imagine Donald Trump trying to council her. He is a hard nosed businessman which is just what is needed. He says it as it is and at the moment it's a pigs ear of a project. There seems little that can be done now to keep Corbyn out of office so I look forward to 14% mortgage rates, unlimited spending and higher taxes. What our place will be in Europe by then is anybody's guess.

It's interesting that Trump thinks Boris Johnson would make a good Prime Minister and he considers him a friend. You never see them in the same room together do you?

Enough, lets get back into holiday mode. There is a Wallasey wind blowing down the beach this morning so we are on the balcony at the moment. The kite surfers are out in force so it looks a lot like New Brighton but with palm trees.

I played the back nine holes at the Heritage golf club yesterday then hit a few balls on the range. The course was a typical resort layout with generous fairways, a bit of water and well protected greens. The holes were cut so well that only a centrally directed putt found the bottom of the cup. We are eating at the golf club tonight so that should be good.

Last night we ate at the Indian restaurant which was excellent. The resort has gone very quiet as the wedding guests and others left to go home but we are happy to chill with the good food and wine keeping us going.

More golf tomorrow and hopefully Gareth and the boys can clinch the Bronze medal. If we achieve a Bronze at an Olympics people are over the moon, lets hope they see the footballers in a similar light!

Change the light bulbs.....

So the Seychelles leg of the tour has finished. The 15th hole got the the better of me over three rounds so l will watch with interest as the PGA Senior tour play the course in December. It will be an interesting logistical exercise as the hotel only holds 210 guests. They are expecting 450 players and hangers on. The De Havilland Otter only holds 17 people, and for the note of Wallasey golf club members, the course has no practise facilities.

We have now flown to Mauritius. Things have deteriorated. For a Country which has tourism as its major industry, a two hour queue to get through immigration was totally unacceptable. Half the desks were unmanned and it took an age to process people entering the island.

The Heritage Awali where we are staying then did not live up to its 5 star rating. Our sea view room looked out onto some brown worn ground which was once lawn. Behind that was the children's pool, then some beach umbrellas behind which was the sea. Not what was expected. The hotel were not overly co-operative, so I was forced to call Trailfinders at home. Even they could not get any change from the hotel.

I think it is all because their sister hotel next door is closed for a four day private Asian wedding and many guests are staying here. So we had a meal at the beach restaurant resigned to our lot. We drank wine and watched Les Bleu qualify for the World Cup final.

This morning we explored the hotel. We now have a daily massage plan in the Spa, tee times at the golf course and a meal schedule at all the restaurants. This was still a struggle even with a Premier all inclusive package.
Our day just got better though as we have just been upgraded to a  beach front room. It is actually a suite so thank you to the hotel and Trailfinders for sorting that. So now all need to do is see England do the business tonight, and nobody will need to come home early.

Here we go here we go here we go

I had parrot fish for supper last night, I had parrot fish for supper last night. Before that, of course, we watched the England football with a few other footie supporters. Beer was on offer so a few were taken. This is Winter here in the Seychelles and boy did we know it last night as the heavens opened. Just the sort of rain that's needed at home, but not here as it wiped out the TV feed for the Russia v Croatia game just as Russia went 1-0 up.

Earlier in the day SWMBO joined me in the golf buggy and took a shot at the downhill 15th featured in the last post. Her ball is somewhere in the jungle as, to be fair, is mine.  Seven balls lost between us but the green staff have kept us topped up with spares as needed. One more round to try to hit the green on 15 and to improve my eclectic, then off to Mauritius for holiday part 2.

Today is a chill day and tan top-up but still a bit overcast. We have become minor resort celebs as we have had extended loan of the golf buggy for a couple of days while everybody else has to walk. Might hit the gym this afternoon though!!

I had parrot fish for supper last night.

Soixante

Like the Queen, SWMBO has had several days celebrating her birthday, but today is her official one. We started with a champagne breakfast with cards and presents from friends and family, then we went our separate ways. I went off to play golf. Heartless swine I hear you say, but all will be explained. SWMBO went to the beach and had a wonderful few hours doing nothing.

I thrashed round the Lemuria resort course and it was a reasonable test. The front 9 was flat with a few water hazards, the back 9 was brutal as it snaked through the forest towards Anse Georgette, one of the top ten beaches in the world.

After a quick change we then went back into the forest where golf met birthday.

It is what the hotel call a sundowner as we perch on the highest point of the course and watch the sunset, the fruit bats and the jungle all take on a new and different aspect. We could stay as long as we liked and they gave us a golf buggy with headlights for the rest of the evening. We enjoyed drinks at the summit from Lili and cocktails from the hotel, so the buggy driving could have been tricky!!

After a pleasant meal, the buggy is parked safely outside our villa. The looks from fellow guests was a picture as we drove it home. The clientele is mainly French so I really wish I had couple of flags of St George on the windows!

Tomorrow we will join said froggies for the football and I am sure more drink will be taken. Allez les blanc!

Birthday pens

Blimey it has been busy. On Saturday we hosted a party for SWMBO in the Racquets Club in Liverpool. It was the start of her 60th birthday celebrations, and was well organised by the children so she had to no nothing except enjoy herself. She did that right enough!

On Sunday we did bbq and cake for the ankle biters at Becky's before packing for the next bit of her birthday adventure.

So on Monday we set off on an Emirates Airbus to Dubai. A quick change into a Boeing 777 and we ended up on Mahe in the Seychelles. It was then unexpectedly quick to arrange a 20 minute transfer to our hotel in Praslin. We flew on a De Havilland twin prop Club. 15 seats and a view through the cockpit made for an interesting take off and landing.

The hotel is part of the Constance group and has the only 18 hole golf course in the Seychelles, what a surprise!! Last night though we ate then crashed hoping to wake for the Columbia v England footie. It finished at 01:30 local time so we are chilling today ready for the delights ahead. Photo's will follow!!

So Harry, Gareth and the boys give us an extra treat for Saturday afternoon. Is it really coming home?