Saturday evening ramblings

Its hard to believe that we are already on our second weekend here on Mud Island. I feel a lot better now that we have arranged a proper bank account and car insurance for our little skedonk a.k.a Seat. Its name will be Whiney, as it has a rather odd and loud whine coming from the wheel bearings when you drive it. Still it is 100% roadworthy and has a valid MOT until next year. It also has a proper sound system, so if the whine gets too much, we will just turn up the volume on Isle of Wight Radio. Well we will do when we collect the car tomorrow!

On that, Isle of Wight radio is just like Jacaranda Stereo, belting out golden oldies, one or two newish numbers and interspersed with local news and advertising relevant to the Isle. Sam and I have a good giggle when the classics come on. We are starting to adjust to the way of life on the island. Its a small community, and as mentioned before, its no bigger than Lonehill (ok that is an exaggeration, its the size of Sandton, 35kms wide). Some of the great things we have become used to already. Forgot to by bread? No problem, down the road to the local corner shop, and back, in 5 mins. Feel like some beans on toast at 2 in the morning? No problem, up the road and around the corner to the 24 hour supermarket. There is a beautiful park just down the road from us, and more than a few good pubs in the local neighborhood. Its easy to walk anywhere, and the bus service is good if we need to use it. Conan, Kerry, Jody and Mark all live in Ryde which is a 25 minute drive from us, but over a stunning ridge that provides 360 degree views of the island and its scenery. We can get Mrs Balls chutney down in the village of Cowes! Today Sam and I found a really good fresh veg store, all organic and at reasonable prices. Sam was so excited she logged onto her favourite food sites to get all her best recipes so she can go shopping as soon as we got home. There are also foot paths all over Cowes so you can take a stroll too.

So we are getting on just fine! I have some pictures to post tomorrow. Oh and also we had out first house clean up today. (Not that we have left it messy!)  Sammy and I work very well together cleaning and ironing, although I suggested to Sam later on in the afternoon that maybe we should find out if our old domestic worker Tobikele has a valid passport!! Its not too bad, I think I will become a wizard at ironing soon!