Lets go home

We got up around 0930 and had a cup of tea and sat by the pool with same and had a drink and took some photos.

then left the Hotel around 11.00 and headed back to Rotunda West. As before we decided to take the non freeway route and although there were a few more trucks on the road it was still easy enough to use the auto cruise on the car.

We stopped initially to pick up some fuel and the trick of using our UK post code number plus two zeros worked again and so $ 24.00  later the car was full up and we headed off via the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale and then followed Route 27 and then 25 to Punta Gorda. we stopped at a Subway take away and inside was the largest 15 year male who was massive , such a shame.
We finally got home at about 16.00 which is roughly the same time as our friends  ship was departing and following a nice cup of tea and a biscuit we both had a rest and then a swim which livened us both up before having a salmon salad outside on the balcony. What with the time change it will now only get dark around 7.30 pm as against an hour earlier. We finished off the evening with a few more episodes of Formula 1 on Netflix, good series and then to deserved early night with air con as it was still rather warm.
Was very to read about the loss of the Ethiopian Airlines B 737 Max aircraft, very worrying considering this is the second one to go down in five months and being brand new aircraft something is seriously wrong.

Fort Lauderdale here we come

After an early light breakfast, we loaded the car with overnight stuff and hit the road to Fort Lauderdale and as we had elected not to use the Freeways but use the the normal roads it would take just under four hours to get there. The roads were pretty quiet and on one road it was in a straight line for 48 miles and with one set of traffic lights. Because of the roads and light traffic we could use the auto cruise control which makes it easier on long distances which is good.
We arrived at our friends Hotel the Embassy Suites just after 12.00 , and the place was like a mad house with lots of cruise liner passengers and had a quick glass of iced tea in the garden and then went round to Publix Supermarket just round the corner for  a sandwich before leaving on our tour down the coast to Miami.

The route took us via Dania Beach area and then through the high rises of Hollywood and the roads were a little busy as it was a Sunday and finally we arrived in downtown Miami and went down Ocean drive where all the bars and restaurants and historic art deco houses are and the place was teeming with people. This place is very much like an up market Benidorm and the only difference was the all the cars you see are hugely expensive, one Lambo after another and then you have the Ferrari’s and Rollers. The bars were packed and the noise was incredible and there were lots of nice you ladies promenading in their bikinis up and down the street.

We agreed that we would  not stop here as it was packed and as we were going in the direction of the famous Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel we would stop there instead.
We arrived at the Biltmore and had a good look round and a few photos taken although did not not bother as he took lots of photos last year when visiting. After a nice walk round and ignoring the afternoon which about £40.00 per head we took the faster roads back to their hotel and then on to ours. It took much longer to get to our hotel than planned as first of all the bridge had been raised which stopped traffic for about ten minutes and then the beachfront was absolutely packed with standing room only on the beach itself. And then we realised what spring break meant as its a week off for university students who each year come to Fort Lauderdale to celebrate and get drunk and anything else they feel like doing and their were thousands of people with cops everywhere and so it took almost 45 minutes to achieve the 8 miles or so.

We were staying in a small boutique Hotel called the Nobleton which turned out to be quite nice, it only had about 20 rooms but it was clearly a very old Hotel with a building L shaped with the rooms and a pool on the middle. Nice place as you can walk right out from your room and sit by the pool.
After we had checked in we took an Uber Taxi back to the Outback Steak Restaurant where we were meeting at around 20.00 for dinner, there was a slight confusion initially as the website said it was closed , however the website was wrong and we had a nice meal together. So we took another taxi back to the Hotel whilst our friends walked back to theirs and we wished them bon voyage!¬!

A quiet Saturday by the pool and then we understand a clock change

Well we had decided to have a quiet day by the pool as on Sunday, tomorrow, we drive to Fort Lauderdale to meet up with some friends who are passing by en route to their Caribbean cruise.

So most of the day was spent by the pool and swimming which was very pleasant and also both of us read for a while and Jennifer also carried on with her embroidery.In the evening we had discovered that the Netflix series on Formula 1 had just been released and so we started watching a couple of episodes before going to bed. However we were rather surprised to find at the last moment, and only by chance, that the clocks go forward by one hour at 0200 Sunday morning which was a bit of a pain as we were already having to get up early, well early for us when on holiday, and so instead of getting up body time of 0730 it would now be 06.30. Umm not brilliant.

Oh well nothing we can do about it except to go to be a little earlier.

An extra blog moan for today…

Michael Jackson- was he really a paedophile?

There is a strong chance that all the latest information as a result of a TV documentary may put MJ in a bad light but there are many people[le who can still make money out of his name many years after he has died. Yes he was a little strange in his interest with young kids, mostly boys, but there are many people out there who deny it ever happened and MJ is not here to defend himself and it seems today you are guilty until proven innocent.
MJ in his day was perhaps the greatest ever pop star and he was a revolutionary and this should not be forgotten,. In America today there are efforts to pull down statues of people who took part in the US Civil wars in other words trying to eradicate history, boy just live with it. These kids in the photos with MJ look very happy and smiling and yet all teachers will tell you any abused child never smiles, or joins in and is silent, so what is really the truth here?

the baby son of Shamima Begum died in a Syrian camp.

First of all there is not proof that was her child and now people are blaming UK Government officials that the child is dead, or was there ever a child? . To run away at 15 years old indicates poor family life and then spend four years living in a moving  rubbish dump and then expect a baby to survive is really stupid. The baby may easily also have dies whilst in the UK but it is s easy to blame somebody else for your mistakes than take responsibility.
As they say, you made your bed so lie in it

An easy day by the pool and some interesting TV

In the morning Noel caught  up with blogs and emails and Jennifer continued with her embroidery and we decided not to bother with lunch but have an early BBQ of Loin pork chops and salad.
The day was nice and temp only reached about 26 C and so the pool was a little cooler than usual but it was nice and kept you moving and was refreshing. It was nice doing a little sunbathing and perhaps a quick zizz but not in the sun.  The BBQ was great and Jennifer had defrosted two rather large Costco Pork chops and they took about 20 minutes of so to grill properly so that the chop was cooked all the way through. One chop was at least two inches thick  and so we decided it was all to much to eat so one chop went in to the freezer for sandwich filling and the other shared and there was plenty for both of us.
In the evening we initially watched the latest episode of ‘The Grand Tour’ with its usual rubbish and then understanding that Netflix were starting their multi part series on Formula One I came across the recently released documentary on

Sir Frank Williams of Motor Racing fame which was really excellent and most interesting particularly the wife's views on her husband, she is now dead but interesting to see Claire Williams trying to keep the family together. Frank was a bit of a bastard it looks like and the family unit is split as the sister and brother don't talk to each other but both live off the Williams car business.
There was good video of motor racing from the past and some lovely interviews with some of his ex retried colleagues who used to work for the team. Well worth a watch and then to bed.

Inglewood Market and shopping for swimwear

You might be wondering why I have put this advert at the top of the Blog but more about this later.
We had planned to go the Inglewood Farmers Market this morning and so overnight Noel charged the batteries of the camera to make certain there was enough power for photos and videos only to get there and find he had left the camera at home. Bit of shame really however it will mean we will have to go back next week and take them. To be frank we did a drive through as not knowing how large the market would be as a few years ago Weybridge announced a Farmers market and we duly went along and it had three stalls, one selling jewellery and another selling potatoes and carrots and I think the other was a charity but there there must have been well over 100 stalls. 
There were many food stalls and for Noel it was a bit liking walking in to a Torture cell as there was really good looking fast food which would have tasted great but ruined his next few days so we abstained.

Prior to arriving at the market we stopped of at two Pharmacies looking for various bits and pieces and the Walgreen's and CVS shops, both huge shops, on the building it says Pharmacy but actual its about 10% pharmacy and the rest is everything from soft drinks to hats to newspapers but eventuality we got what we needed.
We stopped for an iced tea in an Engelwood coffee shop and shared a blueberry scone.
Driving back to home we went by the Car wash and so decided to have the car done, the lady said do you want 'The Works' well not having been here before I did not know what the works are and so she led me over to a board with a car wash menu but actually settled for the works.  The car is now nice and clean .
Now back to the advert at the top, Jennifer has , as previously reported been looking for a new swimsuit but all, and I mean all, have padded bra's which she does not want and its to do with so called prudish America where you cannot have a non padded bra as your nipples might get cold and grow as in the advert above which was banned throughout America. B..... Stupid really
Some good friends of ours from the UK are arriving in Fort Lauderdale on Friday 8th March to join a Caribbean cruise leaving next Monday 11th March and we had said we might meet up but for us it would require a three hour drive each way and a nights Hotel but when looking a couple of weeks ago at Hotel prices were, to say the least, stupid eg £ 250.00 for a Hampton Inn  or Hyatt Place and £ 800 for a Hilton so no go we thought. However after checking each day we found one we could afford and so we are having an early start on Sunday morning and drive to Fort Lauderdale, have a snack with them and then do a tour down via Hollywood to Miami Beach and the art deco area and then on to see the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and finally return to Fort Lauderdale and have dinner somewhere. Should be good day out.
After the shopping I rushed back to see the Chelsea game against Kiev only to my disappointment found it was not being shown but we won 3-0 so suddenly and hopefully the team is turning around and Sarrie is getting his act together although there are still rumours of his demise. Time will tell and let see how they do against Wolverhampton this Sunday. Oh well off to sitting by the pool in the sun, life is tough but somebody has to do it.

17 Million F*ck Offs - A Song About Brexit- and a day around the house

Well this is really worth listening to

Well it was quite a busy day today as Noel wanted to continue writing his medical history and of course that brought many memories both good and very bad but Hey Ho he will be glad when it is completed which may take until the end of the month. Its already 20 A4 size pages and so will take a little time to read but areas still need more information.
Jennifer spent some time on here embroidery and also washing sheets and clothes but as its quite warm and sunny here there is actually not to much thank heavens. 
Watched the Manchester United game against PSG and delighted that Man U won which really stunned the French, see this must be the fault of BREXIT that we won... Also have noticed that French Customs are looking for salary increases and are therefore on a go slow at Calais and slowing down the Eurostar passengers and also the trucks as they 'Try to simulate what it would be like with out a Brexit deal'  Who are they kidding!!!!
I keep on reading horror brexit stories about passports and green cards for car insurance , the price of food and lack of availability of same etc etc  and what people fail to realise is the the EU countries will also require passports that last longer than six months, they will need a green card and they cannot get English produce so the who thing is Bullsh**. BMW are saying that they may produce the new electric mini in Holland is there is a Brexit no agreement, so what you really want the Dutch to build cars,  at the moment they build mostly trucks ( and some minis) and as UK is a larger market for cars than Holland do they not realise that people won't buy them because they moved production, I certainly would not, I would certainly buy another Toyota as they have recently invested in a new production plant in Derby and need to be supported, also Toyota build much more reliable cars than BMW, how many of their Diesel engine cars are catching fire?? really great if you want to have a BBQ en-route.
Quite frankly the EU for all their bravado and shouting at the Brits, are very scared that the EU will collapse when we have left and serve the EU right as they got too big and ugly. A Free Trade Organisation is all that is needed  and if they think that having the EU will stop wars, think again. Once we have left and the money dries up Banks in Europe will suffer from the over extending in Greece, Italy , Spain  and France to name just a few etc .
It seems that every Government in Europe and North and South America have severe political issues. Do you remember when Belgium went without a elected Government  for 589 days, did anybody even notice??
On a more local front we had stir fried chicken with noodles for dinner and then finished off the remaining strawberries.

A bit windy and cooler today

Worth listening to about getting old

Not much sun this morning and the temperature has dropped a bit as there is a cold front coming through but gone by Thursday according the weather information provided by Yahoo weather app.
In the morning Noel caught up with some more blogging and photos and then started work again on his medical history which eventually he may publish so that anybody else with same issues may have an understanding and be ready for what will possibly happen to them. In the afternoon we watched the Borussia Dortmund Game against the Spurs and the Germans gave them a tough time but the Spurs defence was  up to it and just to rub salt in to the wound after only having perhaps 30% of the possession Spurs scored again.
At half time I decided to check on another app on the Amazon TV fire stick to see when and at what time the Australian F1 will start and as I switched back the program froze and eventually dies, damn it and its half time. So I read the instruction what to do which did not work and then contacted Amazon on-line support and they advised me what to do but it became suddenly obvious that it was the TV at fault as for some unexplained reason it had changed from HDMI 2 input to Reg input 1 hence the’ no signal’. So I missed about 25 minutes of the game. It could have been quicker but Amazon are good and if you put in your home telephone number they will call you back, so I tried and then discovered the number provided by the house agents was incorrect and although Amazon said they were calling, nothing happened. Just what I needed.
Anyway got it sorted in the end.
Jennifer cooked up a chicken stir fry with rice and then we watched the film about Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick bridge disaster. Nice chap, gets drunk and drives of a bridge and makes no attempt to save the girl with him and fails to report for 8 hours. But most Americans forgave him due perhaps to his surname amazing really.
Oh well Man U play tomorrow…

A slow day in the Groves household

Well rain was promised for today and when it arrived it came in an absolute torrent and at one time I thought the swimming pool might overflow. I should have taken a photo although all you could see was very little as it was so heavy and reminded us of the rain in typhoons in Asia.
We had planned a day in as Noel had developed a tummy problem possible form the mushroom from Saturday evening and/or something else, the problem is I cannot always tell what has caused the usual issues with the result that some considerable time was spent in the smallest room in the house. I am thinking of moving the TV in there to help the time pass by. Oh well it could always be worse and usually clears up after a couple of days so Tuesday will also be a quiet day.

Jennifer did some more of her embroidery and Noel continued reading his book which will be finished within the next two days at the current rate of reading. In the meantime one is watching with considerable amusement the fun and games of American Politics. The Anti Trump party ( previously known as the Democratic Party) have now decided that they will not get the result they want from the Muller report which will no doubt, after two plus years of investigation, will prove absolutely nothing except how you can waste taxpayers money and so they have given that up and starting a new approach by looking for abuse of power, perhaps they should be looking at the Clintons?
I remember reading a story prior to the US elections that the Democrats felt in order to win they should help promote the candidate less likely to succeed who’s ,name by the way, was Trump as all they did by name calling etc was to promote Mr Trump and of course he got elected. They still cant believe they lost after two and half  years and so have now started a new approach. However to me they seem to be making the same mistake again by trying to get Trump and so all they do is ensure his name is in the papers every day and over time the Democratic voters will reason that they will lose and vote again for Mr Trump.
After many years in business which we wanted to grow we did not go out in to the wider world and slag off our competitors as means to grow as it does not work as you need to have services, and policies for politicians, to help improve your business growth. They also have a new female member of the house which they seem to have marked as a future President by the name of Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and my god if you think Trump is bad look at this lady. She is promoting the Green Deal which enforces NO cars, aeroplanes in America and free schooling and healthcare and an increase in family support, there is one small problem she has not explained how it will be funded. Also all and I mean ALL houses and building in the USA must be retrofitted with better insulation and more eco friendly, and all of this to take place within ten years or the pollution will take over the world, didn't they say that in the 1990’s???. I think they people with white coats should pay her a visit.
Mind you the UK politicians are continuing to not only screw each other but the country as well over Brexit and now there is a planned march from Sunderland to the Houses of Parliament to protest at the Government failing to honour the people verdict. In the meant Mr Macron the French Idiot has lost the plot entirely, his country is in disarray and he is blaming the Brits, perhaps we should invade again.  Oh well let the fun and games continue whilst we enjoy the sun.

Its Sunday and time for shopping but first the football

Noel watched the Fulham vs Chelsea game before breakfast ( score Fulham 1 Chelsea 2)

and then following breakfast we headed of to the Publix Supermarket about ten minutes away to do a bulk shopping to cover us for the next few days. The interesting thing about the Supermarkets here is that they all  have enormous car parks and so people arrive with a large , they call them truck, and towing a thirty foot boat on a trailer and park up and go and get some ice and beers and then off they go. You often see these very large RV’s the size of a house also parked up, you could not so this at Waitrose or Morrisons in Weybridge, however they do have lots of space in this country.
Noel watched some more football in the afternoon which he had recorded earlier in the days with Everton playing Liverpool which ended in a draw.
After nearly a month here we have settled in to the life style but we don't seem to have any neighbours although there are houses which seemed to be occupied and then you realise its the gardeners or cleaners or pool people. So the nearest occupied house is about 100 yards away where I di see this guy doing some skinny sun bathing, not a pleasant sight, and then across the river where there appears to be a couple with two kids and three dogs. The son has a car which he seems to spend hours either cleaning or last week adding some blue neon lights to the front of the car, no doubt this makes it go faster.
The rest of the day comprised of a late lunchtime BBQ of lamb chops and salad and finishing with strawberries which are very large over hear.
By the end of the day we were both a little tired and after watching a documentary about the owners of Club 54 in New York which opened in the mid 70’s and closed a few years later due to tax evasion. The guests to this place included just about every famous name at the time complete with a mixture of gays and transvestites. Eventually the place was closed down and they owner went to jail but got off early by shopping some other people who played the same tax avoidance trick as them  One of the owners subsequently dies of AIDS related illness and the other now runs a worldwide chain of very fashionable boutique Hotels.
A quick shower then bed.

Just photo's of historic cars at Engelwood

For a lot more photos go to the smug mug website.....
link below .....
https://noelgroves.smugmug.com/Travel-with-us/2019-27-Jan-9-April-Florida-visit/Englewood-Car-Show-and-Restaurant/
Requires password

Swimming, sunbathing, shopping, historic cars and dinner-Phew what a day!!

It was a nice bright and warm day and so we spent the morning swimming and sunbathing and a light sandwich for lunch before leaving home.
Jennifer is looking to buy a new swimming costume and after we had failed in Sarasota she had located this shop which is stuffed full of swimwear and as it was on the way to Englewood it seemed sensible to go en-route to the car show. Yes, the place was full of swimsuits and perhaps due to the age of the local population the costumes almost arched back to the Victorian times with little skirts and double skinned together with lots of stuffing up top and tightening stuff down below and at over $ 100 per item she very quickly decided it was not for her. From there we headed of to Englewood.
Every first Saturday of the month there is the Englewood drive when you take you old historic car along and allow other people to look over your pride and joy and then every hour drive it up and down the road to show that is goes. There were a number of cars also for sale and at eye watering prices but when you look at the work that has gone in to restoring them you can understand why.  It was quite warm and so we stopped in a roadside bar for a glass of Bud Light beer which went down very well whilst sitting doing people and car watching.
For dinner we had booked the Englewood of Dearborn Restaurant which does not look much from the outside but when you ghost through in to the back outside garden area complete with pond and bandstand it is a nice place. Noel had the steak and Jennifer a large Greek salad with sautéed prawns followed by a apple strudel which she said was the best she has had for a long time It was about 6 pm we sat down and the place was not that busy as we were a little early but but 7pm it was jam packed.Shortly after 7pm the band started up playing mostly blues numbers with a few couples of a distinct age hanging on to each other to avoid falling whilst hoping the hip or knee does not give in, yes most people were over the 60 mark but obviously have a good time.
We left the restaurant around 8pm and walked back to the car and although it had not rained the car was completely covered in due which surprised us. We do need some shopping and thought about doing it on the way home but then said Nah!! lets doe it tomorrow morning and do a full shop for the next few days.
Back to an early bed.
FOR MORE THAN 100 CAR PHOTOGRAPHS GO TO MY SMUG MUG ONLINE PHOTO ALBUM-PASSWORD PROTECTED

Another day in camp- Its the First of March-where does the time go?

We had a nice day around the house today after the previous days excursions ‘up north’ as they say.  Jennifer is continuing to do the embroidery for one of the grandchildren and hope to have it complete before we leave Florida but it is coming along nicely.

Noel spent time catching up with three days blogging, the trouble is if you leave it for a few days you tend to forget what you did, not sure if this is a sign of getting older or the days are similar and nothing really stand out except in the case of Thursdays Sarasota visit. Time was also spent going through the friends photos which have recently been uploaded as some of them needed turning and so that is now complete. As I have previously mentioned, perhaps more than twice, that I am reading a book about a junior doctors exploits and also about the NHS and in particularly about A & E and the waiting lists. The current ,so called, approved maximum waiting time is four hours and hopefully it is less but what reminded me about this is the following. As you leave Sarasota there are number of hospitals, all private and vying for business and a couple of them have electronic signs up roadside advising the average wait time to see a Doctor and on the day we came back the sign for the Sarasota Main  Hospital was showing just six minutes, blooming Hell and further down the road another one was showing just four minutes.

Returning to politics for the moment I have concluded there are actually two TRUMP parties in the USA , one is the Official Donald Trump Republican Party and the other is ‘I hate Donald Trump Party’ or mostly known as Democrats who by chance have spent all the time since President Trump was elected to try and find out something wrong about him, with no obvious result. Yes he did perhaps pay off a porn star who said she spent the night with him, and so the Democrats are going after him for this forgetting all about  The Kennedy and Clinton affairs. What nobody seems to be doing is taking this lady to cleaners for trying to extort money from Trump. Its all wrong and no wonder nothing ever gets done in this country, perhaps its needs a Dictatorship Ha!!!
We worry about the UK and Brexit but there are serious issues in Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Sweden, Poland etc all of which are largely of EU making. Trump today described the EU as a ‘Museum piece’ and he is not wrong.
In the evening Jennifer made a really delicious cod, salmon and prawn dish with mashed potatoes, absolutely brilliant..
Then to bed after watching ‘The Grand Tour’