As most of you know it was Geoff’s big birthday at the
week-e
nd.
He had a full day of activities planned and they all went very well even if we did get a bit behind schedule at one time.
My favorite part of the day was going to see Taming of the shrew in the gardens of St Johns college.
It was so good I almost didn’t notice that it was pouring down with rain.
My cake turned out really well and was enjoyed by everyone… not a crumb was left.
Thank you ,to all you lovely wonderful people, people I would like to call my friends.
In my hour of need you have all been there for me and it has helped me more than you could ever know.
We are all coping and grieving in our own way but are there for each other when needed.
My heart breaks for Irene and Amanda too and I hope we all get through the Funeral on Friday.
This is hard to say so straight to the point.
Had a very unexpected phone call on Monday night from my ex’s girlfriend.
He was killed in a pile up on the M5 while riding his motor bike.
Now we had been separated almost 3 years but this came as a great shock, especially as I then had to tell my boys.
You never expect to have to tell your children that their father has died.
We are coping the best we can at the moment and are touched by every ones kindness.
This is what Matthew has to say about it on BEBO
On Monday July 23rd My father , David Kelly , was in a motorcycle accident on the M5 near bristol, he was only 40 years old since June 18th and i was soo glad i was there to celebrate his birthday with him as i do not see him regurlaly. he is like a hero to me , he has come through so many bad things lately that some people can only imagine , he finally came out on top , only for the world to take him away from us all . He was such a caring, lovely, funny man and he always used to brighten everyones day with his cheeriness , he never seemed to not go by a day when whatever happens he would always make one person laugh. i am proud to tell everyone that this man was my dad . i am soo proud for what he has achieved in his life , and now i am going to try and give myself a good life and make my father proud . i will see him again . I Love You Dad xxx
He has had so many nice words from his friends and I know this is helping him alot
Today I got the marzipan and icing on, so can relax a little now.
Just got to tidy it up and smarten the top up.
Must say it smelt real delish, if it tastes as good I will be well pleased.
Geoff has a real full day planned for his Birthday and I am so looking forward to the week-end and being with him on his special day
Wednesday 20/06/07
Although we slept in a nice bed I didn’t get too much sleep as I was worried about today’s walking. The guide books says ” this is the day many walkers dread, indeed some walkers have been known to slip away down the road rather than face the Cirque de la Solitude.” 
There was never any question of me slipping away down the road but that did not stop me from feeling a little scared.
We were up early as we had breakfast booked for 6am, but that was not to be as by 6.30 the hotel had not opened for breakfast.
So we decided to leave with out our breakfast, we had stocked up with bread and cheese the night before and had some chocolate too so would be ok.
I don’t work well with out breakfast so it was a very slow start made even worse as I was very worried about what lay ahead at the top of this long slow climb.
The last half hour was a very steep and rocky climb to a gap known as the Col Perdu, it took us
21/2 hours to reach this gap.
I remember taking a look down into the Cirque and thinking “shit” what am I doing here.
It was nothing like walking you had to climb down to the bottom using chains at the hardest parts… I shook like a leaf all the way down and Geoff even had to swear at me …lol. one false move and I felt I would be dead. so you can imagine my relief and delight when I finally made it to the bottom in one piece.
We thought this was the end of the cirque only to find that after a small walk we then had to climb out the other end with the aid of chains and a ladder at one point. Must say climbing out was far easier than climbing down.
It took a total of 3 hours to get into and out of the Cirque, an experience I will never forget.
We then had a long descent down to the refuge Tighjettu but we decided to carry on for another half hour to reach Auberge U Vallone as we had heard the rock pools were to die for.
We finally reached the refuge 7 hours after setting out.
We decided to use the Tent tonight and pitched it right next to the river and a fantastic rock pool where we spent the whole afternoon swimming and sunbathing.
( I think I had been right not to carry on yesterday and I think I just maybe heard Geoff say that the Cirque was indeed a hard day but i don’t suppose I will hear him say it again )
Tuesday 19/06/07
Woke early today and the guardian had left us out a breakfast (6 euro )the coffee was most welcome.
Not really sure what to expect from today as there was a lot of talk about the spasmata slabs.
we left at 6.25 am
After a steep decent we came to the spasimata suspension bridge . something I
had been looking forward too.Glad to say at that time we were the only walkers around so there was no hurry and we could cross it one at a time.It was great fun but did wobble and sway quite a bit.
Next came the slabs, nothing like I expected infact it took me a while to realize I was actually walking across the much talked about slabs.The give away was the cables attached to some of the rock.Care had to be taken but as the weather was good we had no problems.
We then had a steep and rocky ascent until we got a great view of the ski station at Haut Asco.
This is when Geoff got his brain wave…. instead of doing the very long and rocky decent down to the ski station he wanted to carry on and do the next days walking as well. This maybe would have been a good idea apart from the fact that the next day was The Cirque de la solitude.
On one hand I could see his point, as by carrying on we would not have to drop down then climb back up tomorrow morning but on the other hand as I didn’t know what to expect from the cirque (and was quite worried about it )I wanted to be nice and fresh for it after a good nights sleep in the hotel.
So I insisted we carry on down, although I was real mad at myself and wish I felt different about it.
It was a long and very rocky descent to Haut Asco I questioned myself over and over again wondering if we should have carried on.
We finally arrived at Haut Asco at 12.20 .. 6 hours after setting off.
Had a room booked at the Hotel chalet so enjoyed a great hot shower.
My legs ached a little and I had hot spots on the bottom of my big toes.
At last after months of nagging and waiting, my garden is all fen
ced in again.
I came home from work on Thursday and the workmen had been and gone, but from what I can see they have done a good job.
Not only did they re-place the 2 missing panels but they also re-placed the damaged ones too.
So that’s 4 new panels in total.
Now I am just waiting for some nice weather and my son can get out there painting them.
Every year I get the part time college book.
Every year I think I will do a course, always the same course but for many re
asons I never have.
This year I got the book and this year I have been and signed up for the course.
A year long body massage course.
What makes this year any different to other years….one word really GEOFF.
I will make sure he reaps the benefits too.