Armed Forces Day Nottingham

I really enjoyed Armed Forces day yesterday...

I loved every minute of Armed Forces day, held here in Nottingham.
 I was looking forward to seeing the fly pasts, as it took me back to when I was a child and was taken to air shows by my parents and grandparents at Hucknall, Notts.

As I live close to where the events took place at Victoria embankment, I did not have to get up too early and was there within a few minutes of leaving home! A bit like the Red Arrrows who only took a few minutes to get here from their air base!
I mostly stood next to the arena and watched most of the events there, which put me in a great position for the aircraft flying over.
I got a lump in my throat as I watched the most fantastic Red Arrows. They fly with such expertise and in perfect formation, I am a big fan! I have not been to an air show for some time and think I need to find one to go to! The Tornado's came next and were also amazing as they flew in perfect formation. I was so excited to see the parachute team come down and hear about how they are used to drop into enemy territory...

On the ground I loved seeing the search and rescue dog team and hearing about how they are trained and what they do. The civilian Lancers team on horseback were very good, showing some of the history of battle. 
The young team from Loughborough grammar school were great the way they showed how to work as a team.

The Dakota, Lancaster bomber and spitfires took my breath away as they flew over several times very low..they were great to see. Several people around me were saying"Wow" over and over.. me included! I did not get to stay for the whole day and missed some great action from the river and horseback. I did however just see the helicopter(s?) from my bedroom window!
I am so proud of my city of Nottingham and the area I live in The Meadows, I believe we welcomed everyone that came here. I am so thankful that people travelled here to show their support for the men and women of the forces who risk their lives to protect others and fight for freedom. Many. many thanks to them and all the fallen who have served our united Kingdom and allies.
As a Christian, I pray for peace..

March 2013

I think the year is moving along quite quickly....

My first post of 2013 and already we are in March! What can I tell you...
Well, we are still waiting to hear about the house! I know things must be moving along in the background and when properties become empty they are not being re let, so I know something is happening and I suppose we will hear something eventually!

 Next weekend is Chris's birthday and also St Patrick's day the day after. It's a great time to catch up with family and friends and celebrate Irish connections!

Spring seemed to be here this week but then it's 'vanished' again and  very cold weather has reappeared..it could only be England!

I am continuing to read through my bible. I have now read the whole of it from beginning to end and it took me some time to do that! I am now following a reading plan for Lent and finding it very helpful to focus on what happened leading up to Jesus being crucified and then rising from the dead on the third day..Easter Sunday. People sometimes say that they have given up something for Lent. That is a good thing to do if it helps you focus on Jesus and prayer. There's not a lot of point giving something up if it does not mean a real sacrifice..
I know reading the Bible is the best way of getting to know the word of God and having a real relationship with him. I am becoming more aware of Jesus walking with me every day as I read the word, pray and talk to God. 
Being part of a great church and being in fellowship with the other members is a great encouragement to me and helps set me up for the rest of the week!
Have a great week and if you are able why not visit a great church near where you live? I know you would be welcomed by the people there as they once walked in for the first time too..

Sunday 4th November 2012

I woke up coughing and sneezing this morning...

I usually get up on a Sunday and head over to the Notts County ground, where our church has a meeting at 10:00am. Not this morning though as I seem to have caught Chris's bad cold/ man flu type thing! Chris is able to have the flu vaccination but every time he has had it he has become unwell so this year did not have it...ah! he still became unwell! So now we are both coughing...

 I was heading back to bed, but got distracted on the way when I came to turn the PC OFF! I am thankful not to have gone outside as it is very cold and there is a threat of ...SNOW!

I think if I rest today I will feel a bit better tomorrow when Monday dawns and it's time for work!

Oh yes, while I remember, the swimming has not started yet so I am not a slimmer me yet..though I have been on the train recently and it is a slightly longer walk to get into Nottingham Midland station...I wonder if that will help? There are a lot of steps to climb to get to the platforms too..... In a few weeks we will be heading off to Manchester/Chorley, so lots of steps to go up and down then!

Summer of Sport

We had an interesting Summer of sport...

I loved watching the Olympics and Paralympics. I did only see them on the TV, but still loved them! I realise that if I had done my research properly then we could have gone to the events that were free! I did look into going to the closing ceremony of the Paralympics but decided I had not left enough time to organise it properly.

I am quite excited that I have managed to listen to the music from the Olympic opening ceremony and found out that a DVD is coming out very soon! It's on my Christmas wish list..hint hint!

We had the Tour of Britain come through Nottingham too! That was exciting! I also managed to catch sight of Richard Whitehead when he went on his open top bus tour of Nottingham!

I think we all probably feel we could do more exercise after seeing the amazing athletes! For me I searched out my swimming costume and thinking about adult swimming lessons...I have to admit to being a bit nervous of the water and only seem to swim half a width before I put my feet down and want to hang onto the side of the pool..or Chris..whichever is nearest! 
I am doing a little bit more walking, only in the local area, but I do live close to Trent Bridge and the River Trent, that's a lovely place to walk in!

Next time I post it might be a slimmer me or I might have left it until Christmas then will feel fuller from all the chocolates and filling food of Christmas....

The Olympic Torch Relay In The Meadows

I was so excited when I knew that the Olympic torch relay was coming to Nottingham!

I booked the day off so I could see the relay come through the Meadows area of Nottingham. I have lived in the Meadows for 34 years and did not want to miss a thing! I positioned myself on the corner of Ryehill Street and waited! The excitement grew as we could hear the music from the convoy as it came over Trent Bridge.

The music became louder as the convoy moved down Victoria Embankment and through the Meadows...at last we could see the convoy coming!

 One of the vehicles....

 I was even more excited as I realised the torch was going to change over right in front of me! Waiting for the flame to arrive...

 The two torches 'kiss' and the flame is passed over...

I feel so blessed that I was there to witness something so fantastic! I never dreamt that I would be so close to The Torch! It is very exciting that The Olympics 2012 are right here in the UK....