Life, stuff and things

THAILAND - BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, GENTLE PEOPLE

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 14:12:00 +0000

We hadn't visited Thailand until our son and his wife had a baby daughter in 2012. It is a country that once you have stayed there, you want to keep going back! Of course having family there, we will be going as often as we can, but if we had no family ties there we would still want to return, perhaps not as often as we try to now. The only draw back is the time it takes to travel there. We normally take 2 flights each way. Flights normally take about 12 hours, not counting stop off time. We have flown with Air France via Paris. We prefer KLM via Schiphol, arrive at Bangkok. We have also flown with Emirates - stop off at Dubai. Meals on flights are adequate, but not very inspiring, just helps to break the monotony a bit. Living in Northamptonshire we would normally choose Birmingham airport if possible, and for Thai air we connected at Paris. This was due to bad weather in Paris flying with Air France when we had to unexpectedly spend a night at a hotel off airport and the only flight available the following day was Thai Air on a new A380 which was an exceptionally good experience. The Air France desk at Paris airport did suggest we might like to fly to Istanbul to save an overnight stay at Paris, but that would have meant an extra flight, so we declined this offer! They were absolutely inundated with passengers having to re-arrange flights, so we can't complain at all. Long haul flights all have an individual screen in the back of each seat for you to choose from a very good selection of films, games and other programs. Can't fault that at all. The flight maps on screen give a lot of information, constantly updated. Some planes have a camera under the nose so you can watch the terrain you are flying over, fascinating as you descend for landing! Luggage is taken care of once you have checked in at your local airport, and you don't see it until you arrive at the final destination, which makes it a lot easier. Free trollies are readily available at Bangkok airport, so no hassle there. If there is no cloud, flying over the(former)eastern USSR is fascinating - so desolate it looks like the mountains of the moon, and over Afghanistan we could see how difficult it must be for our troops. Once we were over the southern Himalayas, but too much cloud to spot Everest. The city of Bangkok is everything that everyone has described it as - hectic, vital, inspiring, fascinating. A trip along the river on a water bus is something everyone should try, stopping off to view the temples and trying the food - you are never far away from shrimps and noodles. Breakfast was a buffet with an array of European food and local food. Decided to try the noodle soup for breakfast. You choose what you would like to put in the soup mushroom, chillies etc, and it is put into a small sieve-like utensil to cook in the broth for a few moments - delicious. Would never normally have thought of hot food for breakfast when the temperature is 30C, but it seemed to work. The easy way to travel around is on the Sky Train - there is a map that looks just like the London underground, so very easy to follow. We only spent a couple of days in Bangkok as we wanted to travel on to Jomtien to visit family. The beaches are absolutely beautiful, there are so many to choose from, and there are some beaches that the locals know about where the restaurants certainly know how to serve a meal on the beach. They bring tables, chairs and sun umbrellas down to wherever you like. You can be close to the sea, and they are more than happy to bring everything down. These are my favourite meals - very informal and fun. This last photo is a traditional way of cooking sticky rice - very time consuming, involving soaking the rice in coconut milk and spices, straining and then packing this into the top of a bamboo cane and cooking it. The bamboo is the largest I have ever seen - I could barely get both hands around it.

PORTUGAL, EASTERN ALGARVE

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:59:00 +0000

We love visiting the eastern Algarve, as the beaches out of the busy times of July/August are beautiful and quite quiet. The weather is still good there now (October)- 21-28C is normal. Nigh time temperatures are quite good too - around 17-19C ~ We have never had a problem parking right beside the beaches and there is normally no charge. Even in the busy times of July/August the 12 km long beach where Altura sits in the middle is not "filled with bodies". There is plenty of space to spread yourself along the beaches. We have walked from Altura eastwards to Prai Verde and Cabeco, and another day westwards to Manta Rota and Cacela Velha and never encountered a problem. The sand is so fine and every day the beach, which shelves out very gradually, is different according to how the tides have moved the sands around - sometimes leaving sand-bars, lagoons or a collection of shells.

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 14:26:00 +0000

Visiting European countries, or the Far East is usually a great experience for everyone concerned. The different foods, the (usually) better weather, the sightseeing and the making of new friends all adds to the experience. We have recently returned from a trip to Portugal. We again drove the 1600 miles each way. It was interesting experiencing the change in temperature as we travelled through France, Spain and finally Portugal. The temperature reached 34C as we drove through the hills in Spain. It continued to be 30C even when we arrived in Portugal towards the end of August. We would certainly recommend a holiday in Portugal during end of August/September. Schools go back there around the end of the first week of September, so it quietens down then on the beaches etc. Being British we are used to eating an evening meal at about 6.30 p.m or 7 p.m. This would be considered too early for most European people. We noticed that when we stopped in Spain some restaurants didn't open until 8.00 p.m! The tapas dishes are definitely worth a try. You can sample most parts of a pig (cheek etc).There was something in squid ink, but not sure what it was as translation sometimes not good, but amusing. Tripe is often offered (this is popular as a dish in Portugal). The are so many choices of seafood that you are spoilt for choice and of course it is freshly caught every day. Many locals like to take a couple of hours for lunch outside in the local square. We decided to give it a go, and went to Cacela Velha where we had a beautiful lunch! The food was delicious a starter of crusty bread, olives and sardine paste, then oysters and cockles washed down with a crisp glass of Vinho Verde. This is a lovely restaurant on the east coast of the Algarve. This is not far from where we stay in Altura. The last two photos are of Cacela Velha. We have walked along the beach from Altura, past Manta Rota to Cacela Velha, but there are rather too many steps to climb up to the church and restaurant, so we drove there. It only takes 10 minutes in the car, but rather a long time if you choose to walk! As you walk along the beaches, either toward Monte Gordo or Manta Rota or Cacela Velha, you will find many beach cafes. Most cafes serve orange juice freshly squeezed, and I have never found that you needed the sugar that they sometimes bring you with it. The oranges are so fresh, but vary as some have numerous pips and some have none at all. If you drive around Portugal you are never far from the orange trees or olive trees. There are also many vineyards. This time we decided to do a little sightseeing, nothing too strenuous. We visited a beautiful Palace in Estoi - about 28km from Altura. We also visited the remains of a castle in Alcoutim. This town is situated by the Guadiana River which separates Portugal from Spain

The Northampton Clown

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 10:21:00 +0000

My original hometown is Northampton in England, and apparently this rather odd local story is currently a big topic all round the world (which I find hard to believe, but there we are):

Northampton Chronicle & Echo World Exclusive: Northampton Clown talks about his appearances

New YouTube videos and more great online games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:11:00 +0000

I've just been watching some of the many Disney and Pixar movie trailers in my daughter-in-law Sureephon's YouTube channel and also playing related Disney/Pixar games in the FlashyOnlineGames.com website. A very enjoyable way to spend a spare hour or so!

And that has reminded me that, in addition to all the other great games in the site which I recently blogged about (see here), even more great new games have been added to the site over the past few days, in particular these ones:

FlashyOnlineGames.com: DreamWorks Animation games

Pixar Flash games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:58:00 +0000

Further continuing the series of game recommendations for FlashyOnlineGames.com, here are some of the best Pixar games in the site:

  Cars: Tractor Tipping

  Cars: Lightning's Desert Dash

  Cars: Radiator Springs Racing

  Cars: Mater to the Rescue

  Cars: Doc Hudson's Time Trial

  The Incredibles: Thin Ice

  Toy Story: Space Ranger Training

  Toy Story: Bowl-O-Rama

(See also here)

Disney Flash games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:46:00 +0000

Here are some more game recommendations for FlashyOnlineGames.com, this time featuring the best Disney games in the site:

  Mickey Mouse: Super Racer

  Winnie the Pooh: Piglet's Round-a-bout

  Winnie the Pooh: 100 Acre Wood Golf

  Lilo & Stitch: Stitch's Laser Blast

  Lilo & Stitch: Beach Treasure

  Bolt: Bolt to the Rescue

  Bolt: Rhino's Rollerball

  Meet the Robinsons: Pizza Delivery

  Pirates of the Caribbean: Cursed Cave

  Pirates of the Caribbean: Depths of the Dutchman

(See also here)

Not the Nobel Prizes 2013

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 19:51:00 +0000

Thank you to my son Peter for bringing this to my attention, as it gave me a good laugh:

The Ig Nobel Prize Awards 2013

More classic cartoon-based Flash games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 16:24:00 +0000

Following on from yesterday's post, here are some more games based on classic cartoons that can be played via my son Peter's FlashyOnlineGames.com site:

  Bugs Bunny: The Island of Dr Moron

  Bugs Bunny: Mad Dash

  Daffy Duck: Studio Adventure

  Tweety: Ocean Cleaning

  Wile E Coyote: Rocket Ride

  Wile E Coyote: Debris Derby

  Tom and Jerry: Mouse About the House

  Tom and Jerry: Midnight Snack

(See also here)

A lucky day today?

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 13:13:00 +0000

My son Peter has posted something fun in his personal blog for today, Friday the 13th.

Flash games based on TV cartoons

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 12:03:00 +0000

Continuing from my post in April listing some of the retro computer and arcade games in my son Peter's FlashyOnlineGames.com site, here is a list of some of the games in the site that are based on TV cartoon series shown on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon:

  Ben10: Critical Impact

  Ben 10: Power Splash

  Flintstones: Bedrock Bobsleddin

  Flintstones: Bedrock Bowling

  Wacky Races: Wacky Races

  Hong Kong Phooey: Karate Challenge

  SpongeBob SquarePants: Anchovy Assault

  SpongeBob SquarePants: WhoBob WhatPants

  Avatar the Last Airbender: Elemental Escape

  Beyblade: Ripzone

  Mutant Ninja Turtles: Foot Clan Street Brawl

  Mutant Ninja Turtles: Sewer Surf

(See also here)

Another lovely Thai holiday is over

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 16:11:00 +0000

We were in Thailand for the third time in the past 12 months during most of June, once more visiting our son Peter and his family in Pattaya. We had a lovely time, as always, staying in a lovely condominium in Jomtien Beach that really felt like a home from home. We miss everyone there very much now that we are back in England. It is nice to be back in our proper home again though.

Retro computer and arcade games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:58:00 +0000

As well as the Sonic and Mario games in my son Peter's FlashyOnlineGames.com site, there are also lots of retro computer and arcade games rendered in Flash so that you can play them online in your web browser.

Here are some classic 1980's computer games from the Commodore C64, Commodore Amiga and Sinclair ZX Spectrum:

  Great Giana Sisters

  Jetpac

  Nebulus

  R-Type

And here are some 1980's arcade games:

  Defender

  Space Invaders

  Centipede

  Missile Command

  Frogger

  Pac-Man

(See also here)

MarioWebGames.com and SonicWebGames.com

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:50:00 +0000

If you enjoy playing Super Mario Brothers and/or Sonic the Hedgehog games, take a look at these two blog posts highlighting some of the best free Mario and Sonic Flash games in the MarioWebGames.com and SonicWebGames.com sites:

Mario and Sonic game recommendations part 1

Mario and Sonic game recommendations part 2

Sonic and Mario online games

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:19:00 +0000

My son Peter's FlashyOnlineGames.com contains lots of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. Flash online games. Here is a sample selection of them:

  New Super Mario Bros. Flash

  Super Mario 63

  Paper Mario World 2

  Super Smash Flash

  Super Mario Crossover

  Tuper Tario Tros

  Ultimate Flash Sonic

  Shadow the Hedgehog

  Sonic Match It

  Sonic Rush Adventure

(See also here)

Our Portugal travels continued

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:08:00 +0000

Continuing our diary of our travels to Portugal, it was interesting to see when driving through France the vineyards and fields of sunflowers (not the ones that grow many metres high!) these sunflowers only come waist high. They were dried out and done to a crisp - rather brown and curling at the edges. They were certainly ready for harvesting. Were these destined for bio fuel we wondered?

On to Spain - also fields of sunflowers ready for harvesting and hundreds of olive trees and many vineyards. You could never get blasé about the scenery - mountains as far as you could see - beautiful. Certainly worth the 1,600 miles journey there!

The one thing you notice in Portugal are the orange groves. At any time of year you will see oranges on the trees (we have been in December and were surprised to see oranges still growing). Of course the best time is the springtime when the blossom permeates the air. You can purchase bags of oranges varying in weight up to 10 kgs from the locals.

The beaches are truly stunning, with varied backdrops. You can find beaches that are private coves with enormous cliffs protecting them on the western Algarve, but on the eastern Algarve the beaches are easier to access, some with sand dunes and miles of pure golden sand to walk along.

Car parking is never a problem. Amazingly in the busy summer months you will still find parking spaces at mid-day! In the U.K you would be queueing miles back from the beach on a sunny day.

To be continued.....

Our Portugal travels

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:43:00 +0000

Well, we have been on our travels again. We have driven to Portugal on the Algarve, which is about 1,600 miles each way!

We crossed over to France via P&O Ferries to Calais, staying two nights in Le Touquet, then further into France and staying at a Campanile hotel near Bordeaux, and on to Spain, where we stayed at another Campanile hotel (one of only two in Spain) in Alcala de Henares - a suburb of Madrid with a beautiful square full of restaurants - very popular. We love it there and it gives us a respite from the hundreds of miles of driving on motorways.

The continental motorways are really quite good, not so much traffic as in the U.K even though there are usually only two lanes and not three. They are probably not used as much because of the toll charges - no camper vans - hooray! We noticed that the land became more and more arid as we got further into Spain, no wonder they have had those terrible fires. Every where looks as if is crying out for some rain.

We finally arrived in Altura, on the Algarve, right by the beach which is really beautiful, miles of golden sands and sand dunes. Altura is near Villa Real de San Antonia, right next to the Guadiana River which marks the border between Portugal and Spain. We are about 17 miles from Tavira which is always worth a visit, and 35 miles from Faro, the capital of the Algarve.

All of the towns have lovely little squares with cafes and bars where you can enjoy fresh local seafood, fresh orange juice, local beers, wines, etc. In the spring the square in Villa Real D.S.A. is full of the scent of orange blossom - heaven!

More to follow on our travels later.....

The FlashyOnlineGames.com site is live!

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:50:00 +0000

My son Peter has just launched his latest Flash online games site: FlashyOnlineGames.com

Back in England, missing Lily

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:42:00 +0000

We've been back home from our wonderful Thailand holiday for a week now, and both John and I are really missing our gorgeous granddaughter Lily. We're missing our son Peter, daughter-in-law Su and everyone else there too, but this was the first time we've ever seen Lily (of course, since she was only born in June). We hope to go back there again some time in the early part of next year.

First photos of our granddaughter Lily

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:43:00 +0000

Our son Peter posted these three lovely photos of beautiful baby Lily on his blog recently, the first one from the day after she was born and the second two when she went home yesterday:

Ahhh, how sweet! John and I are really looking forward to seeing Lily (and Peter and Su of course) when we go to Thailand in about one and a half weeks.

Our granddaughter Lily was born today!

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:12:00 +0000

Fantastic news - Lily Anne Inns, our first grandchild, was born in Thailand today! Mother Su and baby Lily are both fine, although Lily was born one month premature and so has to stay in hospital for a little while. Can't wait to see some photos!

We are going to Thailand to see Peter, Su and his family on July 12th, and we are staying for nearly a month. This was planned a long time ago around Lily's expected due date of late July, so it is really wonderful that she will already be there when we arrive!

We are going to be grandparents!

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:46:00 +0000

Happy New Year! And fingers crossed that all goes well - our son's wife Su is expecting a baby in July. This will be our first grandchild. So exciting!

Our son and daughter-in-law are with us in England now

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:13:00 +0000

Peter and Su arrived here from Thailand today and are staying over here for a month. It is so good to see them! It's been a year since John and I have seen Peter, and this is Su's first trip to England - the first time we have ever met her in person. She is lovely!

Lot's of fun family outings are planned of course, and Peter and Su are going to stay in London for one week too.

Disney-Pixar's Cars 2 is in UK cinemas now

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:48:00 +0000

It was released yesterday, a month after its US release. John and I really enjoy watching Pixar's films, especially last year's Toy Story 3, as well as the other computer animated films such as Shrek 4 from DreamWorks and Ice Age 3 from Blue-Sky. We'll probably wait until it comes out on DVD later in the year as we're not big fans of going to the cinema, although I am sure it will be excellent on a huge screen in 3D.

My son has a free online games website with some Lightning McQueen and Cars games in it, my favourites of which you can play below if you wish:

  Cars: Lightning McQueen's Desert Dash

  Cars: Tractor Tipping

  Cars: Radiator Springs Racing Demo

  Cars: Luigi and Guido's Tire Rush

  Cars: Luigi's Casa Della Tires

  Cars: Doc Hudson's Time Trial

What is Charlie Sheen doing?

noreply@blogger.com (emmachissit) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:30:00 +0000

I've always loved Charlie Sheen's sitcom "Two and a Half Men", I think it is one of the greatest TV comedy programs of all time. But, like so many fans of the series, I am very sad to see what has happened to Charlie recently. It is terrible to see him go completely off the rails, though of course this isn't the first time he's done that, as this article highlights all too well:

Charlie Sheen's most disgraceful moments