Bank Holiday Trip

May Day 2006 and the street trip out on a bus to Barry Island- well not quite perhaps but our trip off to London for the weekend with a coach, organised from work, was the modern equivalent I suppose. It was a new experience for the 4 of us and a change of scenary at the very least.

Driving along the M4 on the outskirts of London watching the beautiful scenary and rural towns passed the time away but what I began to notice was how the towers and steeples were now changing to the Golden domes of mosques as we got closer to the capital.

Indeed as we got off at Marble Arch and walked down Oxford Street for coffee, to get our bearings, I don't think I've ever been confronted by such a variety of diffeent colours and ethnicity in my life - this is a strange place indeed, a sort of Blackwood Market stall holders day out on a huge scale.


Anway, having booked tickets for the London eye the night before we decided to take one of the open top busses around the city to see the sites on route - this was a great idea as you could get on and off as you liked and the non stop commentary provided was both interesting and funny - what wasn't so funny was the temperature. Having left Wales in a tee shirt we had to buy extra clothes to combat the cold along the way.

Getting off the bus at Tower Bridge we then had a half hour boat trip along the Thames and got off just before the London Eye where we enjoyed the superb cuisne and hospitality of Mr R McDonalds before jumping to the head of the huge queue for the Eye.

After being ejected by the bouncer from the very same queue and queing with other tourists for another half an hour we eventually made it in for our flight, which was well worth the wait to be fair and a real experience which we all enjoyed - the views over London were amazing and well worth the effort. Even more so for the flash devils in the 'pod' next to us drinking champagne on their own - this is a truly decadent place but I still wouldn't swap for BBQ chicken and Kronenrerg on the veranda in Newquay.


Eventually coming back to Earth we made our way back accross London in the open top busses which were by now sort of mobile advertizement for Iceland and got back to Marble Arch in time for a coffee and to catch the bus home.

Everyone was shattered on the trip back- Bethan had been to a party the night before in Cardiff and didn't come back until late whilst the rest of us didn't sleep too well or perhaps it was just the creeping hypothermia of the day.



Whatever- it was a great day out and we left with the feeling that next time (always a sign of a good day out) we would try and stay a little longer and book a hotel for the night and see what more London has to offer.

Happy Birthday

Degree educated, Mother of two, surfing supababe Amanda celebrated her birthday on Saturday with what turned out to be a relaxing few days which kicked off with a pre-birthday drink on Friday night that went so well nobody could face another drop all weekend.

Saturday saw Bethan try her grade 4 ballet exam in Bedwas, which we've all got our fingers crossed for whilst Bronwyn scoured Cardiff for that extra special mothers day present, but after spending 6 hours in the Cinema and McDonalds just could not find that perfect gift so the DVD collection at home gets increased by one (and just coincidentally the one I was hoping for- what a conincidence).

Tuesday saw everyone with a day off at home as the local unison workers were on strike apart from the oppressed male minority for whom it was business as usual and another day down the mine.

The weather this week is truly appalling - it may be that the green green grass of home needs all the water it can get but the BBQ season can't come quick enough for the rest of us - wheres global warming when you need it?

Kicking Off

Well this is us- team Murphy

Me, Stephen on the left, Amanda my wife and our two daughters - Bronwyn in the red and Bethan.

I was never any good at diaries but thought I'd start a cyber version which might prove interesting, at least to me over the next few months and see where we go with it.

Not perhaps a diary in the truest sense of recording whats happend but more a record of my thoughts on events and things that effect me and my family over the coming months.

Two teenage daughters , stressful job and a shared obsession with good (can't afford fine) wines should make for plenty of subject matter and a different slant on my weekend blog of our time spent in Newquay with Amandas family in their caravan.

Well a quiet start to begin with as time moves on and one day away from the weekend but as an introductory thats as good as its going to get.