Travel Time Again

Yesterday Stephen took me to Bristol centre to catch the early bus to Gatwick Airport. I arrived at Budapest Airport where I was met by Janos who escorted me via Solnok by train home to Mezobereny where Ibi met us at the station. It is nice to be back. This is just the start of my winter travels. At the end of this month we are off to visit Naples for five nights. Then on 8th November I am flying from Budapest to Cape Town where I will stay with my stepdaughter Jackie until the end of the year. So it will be a braai on the beach for Christmas. It is ages since I have seen the girls and I am really looking forward to seeing them again. I have no particular plans for my visit but I would like to go east around the coast to Knysna to see the amazing herd of elephants who seemed to have avoided notice for many years. See> http://www.knysnaelephantpark.co.za/ Apart from that I will be just happy to be there for a few weeks in the Western Cape. I return to Hungary for the New Year and Ibi`s Birthday. So, for the rest of 2011 I will be away from home. As far as I know, Stephen will be basing himself at my flat as he is mostly working in the West of England at this time.

Notes and News

I have again been in Mezőberény with my dear Hungarian family Kalman. The weather is changeable with recent rain and wind, at least the many frogs in the stream alongside the house chant their delight throughout the night. I am very well looked after and if I have a problem, nothing is too much trouble to solve. It was my birthday on June 7th and I was presented with a special "gulyás", birthday cake and wine. Sadly the result necessitated a visit to the doctor because of a flare-up gout in my right foot - now I hope under control!
The garden is maturing well and the strawberry patch has been prolific and the fruit delicious. Later there will be grapes, peaches, figs, tomatoes and pears. The goat that lives next door has had kids recently and I can be seen with one of the kids above!
Other wildlife abounds:- We have been visited by a stag-beetle,a mole crickets which are now very rare if not extinct in the UK, woodpeckers,and nightingales. Sadly the storks which have arrived in the area to breed have ignored the excellent nest platform on top of the house roof.
We have downloaded some films to the PC and I enjoyed watching "Cat Ballou" with Ibi and this morning "The Grapes of Wrath" -if one can enjoy such a depressing film! I will try for something more comedic next time. Janos enjoys watching episodes of The Onedin Line in which my father plays the part of Fraser, the rival shipping line owner.
I am not sure exactly when my son Stephen will get back home to Bristol, about the same time as me I hope. What an amazing adventure he has had.
If anyone sees this please look at Steve's blog. It's a good read.
http://steviep.ontheroad.to/ It's not up-to-date yet but I hope he will catch up with it before too long. He has reached the Azores on the last leg of his transatlantic crossinf so not far to go now.

Hungary II

I am still in Hungary (until 15th March when I fly back to Gatwick). The snow last night here has started to thaw and may just be the last of the winter. I have been watching with interest the unfolding news from North Africa and the interviews with Gaddafi who is in denial it seems. The scenes of fighting and crowds awaiting rescue from Libya are amazing. Stephen visited the Italian island of Lampedusa last year on his epic journey, I had never previously been aware of it and now it is headline news as it has become a haven for thousands fleeing Libya. In the other news today I was amazed by the Irish cricket team who have had a brilliant victory over England at the World Cup in Bangalore winning by three wickets. What an embarrasment for the English!

First Blog of 2011

It's been a long time since my last post - Sorry for that but have excuses! I suppose the prime excuse is that I was laid low with a heart attack and spent some time in hospital in Bristol. As always, my Hungarian family was marvellous. Tünde flew over and looked after me, then her mother came over and we spent Christmas together. Apart from having to take many pills morning and evening, I seem to have recovered well. Now I am back in Hungary where
i will stay until the beginning of March. I can relax here and am very well looked after and any necessary medical checks performed by Doctors here. I have been walking as much as possible and yesterday Ibi and I walked along the Köros river road and watched the sun set over Mezöberény, our shadows refected on the trees by the riverside.
During the daytime, Ibi and Janos go to work and I relax in the house until Ibi gets home after one o'clock. After lunch, Ibi often has students who visit for private English lessons and I can join in the conversations and enjoy giving them the benefit of my knowledge and occasional stories of my homeland.