Just back from our wedding anniversary trip to Alderney – one of the Channel islands still pretty much lost in time. Got the teeniest plane over from Southampton – two seats wide, and you are shown to your seat individually as they open an ancient rust-bucket of a door flap for each couple. Average age of the Aurigny Air fleet is 37 years and I reckon we got the great-grandpa of the plane family both ways – creaaa-ky…
Pottered about the island on foot and by bike – unlike Sark, there are cars here, including – very amusingly – the Police car which has 'AY 999' as its numberplate.. But no traffic lights or roundabouts, it's pretty unusual to ever see 2 cars at the same time.
Stunning beaches as ever – amazingly white sand and turquoise water shimmering in the sun, although the water's cold enough to take your toes off. No-one on any of them, apart from the occasional dog-walker and on one, a bunch of locals putting together a wooden painted catamaran. Although you will also spot the incredibly wndy and wet day on our arrival – check out the monster waves crashing over the breakwater, which last time we cycled along. Not this time, methinks..
Hotel reminded me of the obsequiously polite butcher's near Janine & Ross's cottage – similarly at the Braye Beach everything is 'yes sir', 'would you like white or brown toast madam' and 'the kippers, sir – a fine choice', from the charm-oozing chubby maitre d in his snazzy braces. Offset that with a huge crab lunch – we managed to arrive in the middle of the somewhat underwhelming Alderney Seafood Festival which roughly translated as 'a few more fish dishes on the menu and a hopeless hunt for a full fruit de mer' – but hey ho, the one crabula we did find was a total whopper.
3 years of being Mrs Scotty Hawkes hey – god, that's gone in a flash. Lucky that I still like the name though – I introduced myself to the Board of UK Sport last week and when I explained the 'I've played sport for 40 years, you know everyone's known by their surname, even if I do now sound like a bloke..' story, for the first time ever got a flash of understanding. Good to get after over 1000 days of trying the new name out!
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