A Good Start Of The Holidays

A very fine good evening to you all, and what a great evening it has been. Tonight it’s Jenny blogging for you all and it’s going to be a short blog as I shall need to get dinner on so that it shall almost be ready to eat when Motoko and Amanda get back from there trip! This afternoon Motoko decided to take Amanda gliding, as the weather cleared up and rain gave way to good weather and so they went gliding. I did go with them but I cam back early as I needed to sort something at work. But shall the weather remain clear and sunny for the next few days? Let’s find out.

Oh well it’s going to be one hell of a foggy few days here in our little corner of Cumbria isn’t it. But in the best Cumbrian traditions we Cumbrian march on and ignore all the bad weather that Cumbria chucks at us. A fine example of that brave Cumbrian attitude to weather was this morning!

This morning there was light rain and a stunning rainbow followed by a break in the weather and Motoko woke up looking frisky and bright eyed and busy tailed. So much so she was shaking me to wake up and get out of bed, in the end I gave in and got washed and dressed. Amanda got things ready for breakfast and while we were having breakfast Motoko told us that it was fantastic weather to have a horse ride and have a good long hack around the local fields and lanes. This idea was a good one and all three off us geared up and then wonders up to the yard to groom our horses. Once we had groomed our mounts and tacked them up, we helped each other in to our body protectors and mounted our horses. The weather was cool and it was the perfect temperature for a good hack and we set off down the drive way and out in to the big wide world.

We didn’t meet any traffic at all; it was just us three trotting long the country lanes and fields of Cumbria. It was just the sound of Mother Nature going about her daily business and the sound of our horses as they walked and trotting over Mother Nature’s earth. Motoko hummed a few tunes as we hacked out and Amanda and myself sang along, even when it started to rain harder we carried on humming and singing along. The rain was not going to dampen our spirits, and when the rain got too heavy we dismounted and took it in turns to hold the horses as we geared up in our 66N Hi-Viz rainwear and we carried on. As brave as we are even we in the end thought we should return home since the rain and visibility got even worse!

As some of you know me, Motoko and Amanda were going to go to Kyoto which is in Japan for our holidays this month. But our friend Sam Mia is recovering from an operation and was sad that we were no longer going to be around to go to the Tommy Emmanuel gig with her and her big sister and wife. So Motoko and I spoke about it and in the end called off our holiday in Kyoto so we would go to the Tommy Emmanuel gig instead. So when the time came we packed up out gear and slept the night and Sam Mia’s and Moria’s an evening before the gig. That evening before the gig was a really enjoyable evening and Motoko and Moria played their guitars. Among the songs and tunes they played the played some Tommy Emmanuel songs.

The gig it’s self was a masterpiece of musical wonder and splendour, Mr Tommy Emmanuel really was on form and his music was powerful and magical. Everyone was enthralled by his unearthly musical talent and his cheerful music; we also got to meet him before the show started. This really pleased our daughter Amanda and at first she was timid and shy and then once she got more confident she shook his hand and had a small chat with the master of guitar playing. Going to see Tommy Emmanuel perform live with our friends was a fantastic way to start our holiday.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

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Motoko & Jenny Carter

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Today is the day the vixens had their picnic *swishes tail*

A very good morning to you all, and I hope that you are all well in this wet and windy Cumbrian weather we are having this morning. This morning it’s Jenny blogging for you all today, the last blog was going to be done by me to, but Motoko got there first!

The weather has been so up and down this week, we have had a hot short sunny patch followed by icy cold winds and rain, to fog to ice, we really have had it all. But is this weather going to be up and down for the week ahead? Let’s check it out shall we?

Well now the weather isn’t set to be that bad is it, looking at that forecast. But like any good weather forecast it’s not going to be set in stone is it. Yesterday was fantastic weather, it was very cold but the sun was out and made everyone feel great. This morning the weather is ice cold rain and a strong wind, and I woke up today to find that a few roof tiles have come off our roof over our bedroom and once again rain was getting in. Motoko at the moment is in a deep, deep sleep and right the moment I am using the sleeping Motoko has a laptop stand. Using her as a laptop stand works ever so well until she moves around in her sleep, and then that unbalances the laptop and then messes up my typing.

So yes, we the vixens did have a picnic and it was as fantastic picnic indeed. Sam Mia our fantastic friend is recovering from a very nasty operation and she is still very sore and uncomfortable from it but she sent us a text message yesterday morning if we would like to have a picnic in one of Moria’s father’s fields (Moria is the wife of Sam Mia!) and so myself and Motoko and indeed Amanda loved the idea and we packed the hamper and a bottle of wine and plenty of good food, although Moria told us that she was proving food, we couldn’t go empty handed! Once we arrived it was a five minute walk with Motoko, Amanda, Moria, Amanda and Sam Mia’s big sister Ragnhildur. Sam Mia found a nice spot so we put down the picnic rug and we set up our food. The sun was bright and made everyone feel on top of the world and we really felt that spring was in the making and we all felt frisky. It was bitterly cold though but we had plenty of warm clothing and waterproofs at the ready.

All in all it was a fantastic idea and having a picnic in our little corner of Cumbria at the time of year is a mad thing to do but this rare moment of sunshine was too good to pass by and so we went for it. Everyone was glad that we did it and it was just great to see our friends again.

Sam Mia really put on a brave face and we could all tell that she was really very sore indeed but she made the best of her idea and smiled away and joined in with the rest of us, though I heard from Moria that when we went home she crashed out from pain and she slept from when they got home till just before they had their evening meal. I hope Sam Mia you shall be taking things very easy today and getting plenty of rest.

The plan is today that Motoko shall be teaching Amanda more kendo today and Sarah (Motoko’s oldest sister) and Sarah’s daughter Charlotte are coming down for Kendo as well and so is our friend Neko (who’s name is really Ritsuko but Neko is her well used nickname). So it’s going to be a busy afternoon of Kendo-ing fun I think, well a part from me as I awful at it ha ha, so I hope I get let of lightly and not have to face Motoko or Sarah!

Well I must stop blogging now and start to think about getting out of bed, but I think I shall have a few more minutes and cuddle up to Motoko.

That is all about it for the blog this morning but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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Autumn Is In Full Swing

A very good evening to you all and I hope that you are well very well indeed, this evening it is Motoko blogging. Now then let’s start as ever with our blogs weather forecast for Cumbria for the week ahead, forecast I must is from the Met Office.

Cumbria is well known for is wet weather and indeed Cumbria is the wettest place in England, and this blogs forecast proves it. Well autumn is in full swing now here in our wonderful part of Cumbria, the wind and rain has arrived more than ever now. Which will soon give way to the icy winds of winter and the snow was pure as Mother Nature herself. But for now we are still in autumn and Mother Nature is gripping the leaves and caressing them, turning them in to a splendid spectacle of rich gold, red and amber colours. The winds here are strong and blow though the valley and into the natural basin we live in, the wind swirls around, ripping the magnificent leaves from the trees, robbing them of their golden splendour. The nights are drawing closer with each passing day this month, finishing work in the fading daylight shall soon give in to the natural course of our planet and we shall soon be finishing work by floodlights as apposed to Mother Nature’s warm embracing sunlight. The days of wearing summer clothing, straw hats and BBQs outside in the garden are over for this year. But I’m not depressed as each season we must endure always has it’s ups and downs and each has a charm that is different from that last. I really love nature.

With the nights drawing in, heavy rain and mist and fog arrive it’s even more important to be seen be it; riding horse, walking, push biking out on the lanes at the time of the year. A rule which has always been Paramount at work, and a rule I and Jenny take very seriously indeed is the use of high viability when hacking out and leading treks off into the heart of Cumbria. Looking after our staff and making sure they are safe and happy has always been important to I and Jenny, as well as making sure the customers are also safe and well while engaging in equine activates. To this end as part of the work uniform I and Jenny provide to each staff member two hi-viz tabards to wear when ever they go out on a hack and leading treks. Secondly we provide for our staff a full 66N hi-viz rainwear suit which you can ride in, 66N is very hi-viz and very waterproof so that is perfect for our line of work. Jenny and I got the idea to use 66N hi-viz rainwear when we wore them while having a horse riding holiday in Iceland, a holiday which we need to do again sometime as it was great. For normal work on the yard we also provide ocean rainwear which is strong and tough. So remember this autumn and winter to stay seen and stay safe, hi-viz may not be the height of fashion but its practical and makes sure you and your horse seen. All of our horses have high visibly sheets and boots as well to make sure we really do stand out.

Museic time now and yes I mean Museic and not music, as I and Jenny are very big Muse fans and always have been. At the moment Jenny’s arm is still sore but she is now working Mondays now which is good and her Physio is going very well. This means that Jenny will be working normal hours very soon, as long as she takes things easy. This also means that she will be back to drumming along to Muse and a-ha in no time at all, that means that I, Jenny, Amanda, Ritsuko and Sam Mia and Moria can play along to muse! Muse brings people together no matter what their differences ore views or beliefs are, it’s a universal language and should be embraced by everyone. It brings all of our friends together; we set up our instruments and just have an all day jam session. Playing muse is an amazing experience and great fun, if you have everyone playing life parts and no pre-recorded sounds it’s an even better experience. Muse also helps you bond and with Amanda that is very true, playing music together really helps I and Jenny bond with Amanda and that reinforces our relationship with Amanda. She is such a wonderful young women and the best daughter a family could ever wish for, and part of bonding with her is to play music together, she is a good keyboard and drum player. I used to run a jpop band with a sound very similar Tsukiko Amano, I was ever so lucky to meant Tsukiko Amano and it was a time I shall never forget. My jpop band did a few gigs around Kyoto for a few years but slowly my band slowed down and did fewer gigs and then at last the band fully came to and end when I left Kyoto to live in England. Once in England I started a band with Jenny and my younger sister Bex and Bex’s friend, but we have not produced much music this year.

November shall be a fantastic month for video games, and I am of course talking about Uncharted3: Drake’s Deception and the Elder Scrolls Skyrim. Let’s start with Uncharted first shall we, now the first thing I though as I brought Uncharted: Drake’s fortune was “Oh another 3rd person shoot em up game”. I brought it and took it home and well I couldn’t have been more wrong, it was more than a game. It was a full blown story driven action packed adventure full of plot twists, amazing characters and stunning visual effects. Nathan Drake isn’t like an everyday action hero, he is a human being and a normal one at that, sometimes when he jumps and lands it’s not perfect every time and he can stumble and so on as an example. He doesn’t hide pain and he doesn’t act like a tough guy the whole time. The Second Uncharted game called Uncharted2: Among Thieves took the game to a whole new level and I and Jenny really did fall in love with the game and this time the game had even more action packed moments such as dangling from a train suspended over a cliff edge and amazing moving sets. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves also has an online mode as well, and is our daughter’s favourite uncharted game. With what me and Jenny has seen of Uncharted3: Drake’s Deception looks to be the most action filled game of all the uncharted games to date, and Me and Jenny have pre-ordered the UK Exploration Collectors Edition of the game.

The Elder Scrolls have always been my favoured RPG games. I have always been a great fan of The Elder Scrolls since I played Arena many years ago, and since then I have enjoyed plaything The Elder Scrolls. My friend Moria is such a fan of The Elder Scrolls that she knows the Lore off by heart and can name many, many, many names, towns and locations in all of the games. I and Jenny can’t do that but we do enjoy the games, and The Elder Scrolls Skyrim looks to be the best yet. Not only can you get married in this new game and that can be same-sex-marriage, you can duel cast spell, have double swords, dragon shouts, better graphics, new game engine. Everything has been reprogrammed to make this game the best yet, and watching videos from the home website of The Elder Scrolls Skyrim I can tell that all their hard work has been worth it. Jenny and I have pre-ordered the collectors edition of this as well, and our daughter has also. It’s nice that Amanda has the same likes in games as well do, means we can play them together as a family.

Jenny and I used to play Final Fantasy XI Online for years and years and then we just stopped playing and then closed our accounts and then once Final Fantasy XIV Online was for sale we brought it and we have never looked back, till now that is. We love FF XIV but at the moment there not a lot of players to form parties with and that kind of thing, and FF XI has many players since it has been on the market for a lot longer. So I have re-installed FF XI Online and some time this week let it all update, then I and Jenny can make new characters to play online with, it’s a shame we have to start again from scratch but it will be fun to start all over again. Amanda has a FF XIV and a FF XI account which we found out only this week, we I, Jenny and Amanda can run around the online world together casting spells and hitting stuff.

Now that the yard has been built up, improved and open again this year I and Jenny are going to hold a small staff party on Halloween of this year. It shall be full of music and lots of homemade cake, snacks and meals for everyone to enjoy. Plan to hold it in the indoor school where it shall be warmer and good lighting. That also means that there will be plenty of room for tables and so on. I and Jenny plan to go in one our catsuits each, and be great if staff dressed up for it a little was well. Jenny and Amanda has already planned what food and drink shall be there, and all I have to do it seemed is to help them cook it all and then set everything up ready on the day part is being held. Talking of staff parties I am also planning a Christmas staff party as well!

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carterr

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A brilliant few days at the Southampton boat show and a new boat

A good afternoon to you all its Motoko here *waves and sips green tea* and it’s my turn to post a blog now I think, as Jenny has been blogging more than I have around here of late. But like always let’s check out the weather for our part of Cumbria!

Well it’s a typical Cumbrian forecast isn’t it as you can see, then again it could be wetter and has been wetter. So then now let’s get to the matter at hand now we have got though the weather forecast, the topic today is our trip to the Southampton Boat Show. The show this year as just as great as other years that we have been going to them, and this year was made even better as it was full family trip.

I, my fantastic wife Jenny, our daughter Amanda and my super little sister Becky all piled into my Jeep and we headed for Southampton. It’s been a long time since I have had a few days away with Becky so that brought us closer together again, even though I work with her and see her a lot. It’s always wonderful to spend time with her outside of work as well, it’s just a shame that my older sister Sarah and her daughter Charlotte couldn’t come down with us to the show as well this year. Another person made the visit to the show even better was seeing Kyoto Wolf again, seeing him once this month when we went to the Morgan factory was amazing, but seeing him at the show as well makes seeing him twice in one month a rare occasion and it was a pleasure to spend the day with him again.

Our plan was to spend the first day checking out the new Beneteau boats which were close the entrance to the show after you go over a few foot bridges. Reason why we wanted to check out the new Beneteau boats first is because we wanted a buy a new one. You see, we have been playing with the idea of getting a new boat for a year and a half now and this year we decide to go ahead and buy one. Our old boat has now been sold and is owned by two very good friends of ours, Sam Mia and her wife Moria. Both of which are keen sailors and I would go as far as to say that they are fantastic sailors, and are part of the sailing team that I and Jenny are in. It’s nice to know that our old boat is with people who will enjoy owning it as much as I and Jenny did.

So then we set about popping in and out of all the new Beneteau’s at their stand and I and Jenny already made a very long list in our note books as to what type and style of Beneteau that we wanted. After spending a lot of time, we at last came to a joint decision that we wanted to go for a smaller boat than our older one. Even though the bigger ones were amazing inside and out, we wanted something that was small, lower cost to run, but every bit as elegant as the bigger ones. We ended up getting a new Beneteau First 30 sailing yacht and my word what a fun, well styled and playful boat she is too, and the moment I, Jenny and Amanda (and even Becky) saw it we fell in love with it.

The Beneteau First 30 sailing yacht is a fat, sleek boat and is very sporty and well styled. It has a tiller to steer the boat rather than a wheel, and has very nice body work and lines to her.

The wood inside is a wonderful colour and has plenty of storage and places to put things.

Has a big cabin at the front and a good sized on in the back. It’s just the right size for my family and has room for about two guests to stay onboard as well, as the guests can sleep in the galley area. Amanda will sleep in the back cabin and I and Jenny shall sleep in the front.

The cabins are very well thought out and both front and back cabins have a lot of storage and room to move about in without having to duck or knock into things. Each has its own little wardrobe and the front cabin has a mini wardrobe either side of the bed, and the back cabin has a single wardrobe in the back by the door. The beds them selves are very comfortable as I tested them out and if I find them comfortable they must be good, as I am a little bit fussy about what I sleep on.

The head is also a nice little room, and is a nice bright white colour with a nice sized sink and a very nice big mirror which is bigger than our own bathroom mirror. It’s a nice sized room, and has plenty of head height and so once again you don’t have to duck or bump into any obstacles. The toilet it’s self is a standard one really but it’s a modern one and so is better to use and to operate than our old boats toilet. It has a funky see though compass in the back wall of the head, although you can’t see though to the desk it lets the let in and casts a really great funky light inside the head, I found that to be really great, which is a little odd but there you go he he.

After a good two hours of talking to the sales man, ticking boxes and picking what we wanted added to the boat as extra we at last got down to the number crunching and the whole package of the boat as standard with the added extras I and Jenny wanted added on came to just under £100.000. Sounds a lot but if we had gone for one of the bigger ones, it would have been a lot more, so it’s not that costly when you think of it like that. Also if we had not picked what extras things we wanted, it would have been a lower cost. But we both wanted to add the extras so the cost went up a lot. Below is a video I filmed of our new boat, isn’t she amazing?!

Second day came of the boat show and this was the day that we had arranged to meet up with Kyoto Wolf, which is why we wanted to get our new boat on the first day so we had the whole of the second day to spend looking at the show properly, and to spend the day looking around with Kyoto Wolf.

He picked by luck the best day to come and visit us as HSM Bulwark arrived and what an entrance, it was a pleasure to watch that majestic ship sail into the boat show.

It’s a shame that we did not get a chance to go on board the boat, but it had only just arrived and was only open to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the show. I and my family left the show Thursday evening for home, if we had not had to go home we would have stayed another day at the show and gone onboard the HSM Bulwark.

HMS Bulwark is the new flag ship of the Royal Navy or soon will be and it’s a really great ship, and a big one at that. It’s been kitted out with new gear since it first came into service and has been made fully modern with the newest up to date kit. I took a few pictures for our friend Sam Mia who is an Ex Royal navy Warfare Officer. Kyoto Wolf took a lot more pictures of it than I did as my camera ran out of power soon after I took a few pictures, as I used my camera a lot to film our new boat and take pictures of that.

So head on over to Kyoto Wolfs blog to see more pictures of HMS Bulwark and also a video, as I know Kyoto Wolf is blogging about the show this very minute, I know this as I am talking to him via MSN Messenger!

It’s safe to say that our few days at the boat show was really welcoming and we feel totally relaxed and refreshed, and Jenny’s arm didn’t play up or hurt her at all. But her arm is giving her a little pain now though, but that’s because she was getting in and out of boats the whole time. She is taking it easy today though and is only working Mondays at the moment, so she is being sensible and not over doing it.

That is all about it for the blog this afternoon but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carterr

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Three wheels can be better than four, somtimes

A very good evening to you all *waves* its Jenny blogging today, and this evenings blog is going to be a short one. Because of this we are (just this once he he) not going to start our blog with a Cumbrian weather forecast, reason is I am typing a fast blog as I am typing this blog in-between people have a shower before we all watch a film.

I, Motoko and our daughter Amanda all hopped in our car and drove all the way to Somerset, England. As to why well we all went to visit Kyoto Wolf who is a very close and personal friend of ours, and we all booked to go on a very special tour of the Morgan Motor Car Factory. Friday was all taken up by driving and once we got to Somerset, Kyoto Wolf gave us (as always) a warm and enthusiastic, and once we unpacked a take away was ordered and we all tucked in.

This morning everyone woke up early and had a nice English breakfast and then drove to the Morgan Motor Car Factory. Once there we were greeted with a nice welcome and as much tea and refreshments we felt like consuming.

This all took part in the main resection and visiting centre, which looked clean and well kept.

Once the tour started things soon got under way and we started at the top of the complex in the garage that was full of car that were waiting to be picked up or shipped out across Europe. This area has some splendid well kept cars and the garage was spotless.

So then next up was the garages / construction areas where the historic cars are made. Like the dispatch area they were very clean and tidy for a garage. Everything is made by hand and we saw many employees working very hard with jobs such as shaping the wood, which is not steamed into shape but bonded together and then bent into shape in a vice for a weekend till the wood is bonded and holding it’s new shape.

In one area where a few of the employees set about working on the metal body panels were beating the metal into shape, all done by hand my I add. The garages / construction areas smelt very rich in lovely wooden smells and that smell you can find at the race tack pit stops.

How about this as a little run around car? This made us all laugh, but it’s fully working and used by the staff to get around the factory complex. There is also a grean one which Kyoto Wolf photographed.

Some of the last garages / construction areas were the places where the cars rolled in to at last be fitted out with the last few bits and bobs that had to go on, such as the framework for the hoods, inside carpets and trimmings to name a few.

Last area we went into was the area where they were working on the bodywork of their new Morgan Three-Wheeler, and everything they said about it is true. We were all very lucky to sit in one which was awesome, which was I must say a little cramped but it really did feel as if you had just hopped into a cockpit of a kind of plane.

Everyone has not had a shower and all ready to settle down and watch a film now. Me, Motoko and Amanda have to drive back to Cumbria tomorrow so we must also have an early night. To sum up this trip, it was fantastic to spend a few days with Kyoto Wolf again and to walk around such an iconic English motor car factory.

That is all about it for the blog tonight but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carterr

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.