Daniel and Chie tie the knot
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Sunday, 22 February 09 - 09:55 AM (GMT) By Justin Dean in Family & Friends |
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On Valentine's Day this year, I travelled to France to my friend Daniel's home village of Trelly in Normandy, to attend his wedding to Chie.
It was a fantastic day. I was offered the most generous hospitality from his family to whom I am very thankful, and it was also great to meet many of Daniel's old friends.
More importantly Daniel and Chie had a beautiful ceremony conducted by the village mayor - Daniels Father - Monseiur Boizzard!
It is also worth mentioning the delicious food served at their wedding reception. If anyone is passing Normandy then I would recommend a visit to the La Verte Campagne , which is a friendly Hotel and Restaurant oddly run by a British couple with a typical French je ne sais quois.
I wish Daniel and Chie all the best of luck for their future!
Lt Cdr (P) Derek Fieldhouse (RN)
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Monday, 17 March 08 - 05:17 PM (GMT) By Justin Dean in Family & Friends |
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I'd like to share with anyone who visits my site the story of my Granddad's military service and tragic death.
Lt Cdr (P) Derek Fieldhouse RN (1926-1963)
He sadly lost his life piloting a Royal Navy Sea Vixen. The website www.seavixen.org is dedicated to lost SeaVixen Aircrew. On the website you can find a biography of my Granddad - Lt Cdr (P) Derek Fieldhouse - or simply click here.
James Dean sings Perfect Day
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Saturday, 02 February 08 - 12:27 PM (GMT) By Justin Dean in Family & Friends |
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I just loved this when I first saw it, and now it has been put on YouTube I can share it with everyone.
This is a video made in aid of Children in Need by HighCliffe School where my brother teaches. You will spot him easily because he always has a Rugby Ball in his hand.
Good work HighCliffe, and nice singing bro!
*Part 1
*Part 2
Malta - April 2007
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Monday, 30 April 07 - 12:28 PM (GMT) By Justin Dean in Family & Friends |
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Malta – 25th to 29th April 2007
For many years as a family we have talked about going to Malta. As a result of my Granddad’s career as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm, my Gran and Granddad were stationed there for many years, and as a result, my Mum and my aunties spent allot of their time growing up there. More recently my Mum and Dad had also been stationed there, my Dad also being a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm.
Prior to Christmas 2006, my Mum and I had been discussing what to get my Gran for her Christmas present. As the talk of a family visit to Malta had been going on for so long, we decided to actually do something about it. A ring around the family couldn’t find anyone willing to commit to getting the time off their commitments to join us, but we went ahead and booked it.
Gran an I overlooking Golden Sands
In secrecy we booked with Expedia . A flight for my Mum, Gran and I leaving Heathrow on a Thursday morning and returning back on a Sunday evening. We would fly with Air Malta, and stay at the Victoria Hotel in Sliema. The air plane tickets, and hotel brochure were all presented to Gran on Christmas day, and were well received.
Thursday morning came. It was an early start from Heathrow, but despite the fact that I had arrived by Heathrow Express from Central London, and my Gran and Mum had driven up from Somerset, we all arrived at the Air Malta check-in at exactly the same time. Checking was fine, and we had some time to enjoy a relaxing breakfast prior to the flight. Air Malta, by the way, were exceptional. No problems in either direction - always efficient, courteous and friendly.
In Luca Airport, we found the Avis Car hire desk easily and picked up our Chevrolet hire car. No sat-nav, so we have to rely on good old fashioned map reading. My Mum was given the role or Navigator which she managed to do extremely well despite her being the most neurotic passenger on the planet. First stop was the Hotel Victoria.
Exploring the small streets of Mdina
One of the reasons we had booked the Hotel Victoria was for the rooftop heated pool. We thought that sea swimming would be a big chilly at this time of year so having the pool would have been a nice way to unwind. Unfortunately the sight of cranes as we rolled up should have prepared us for the bad news. The roof was no longer a swimming pool. It was a building site. I was realy mad at Expedia for not warning us of such a major event, but despite emailing them I have had no response. Probably the last time I use Expedia. Anyway, we were determined to not let this ruin our holiday. The pool is still advertised on Expedia as I type.
That evening was took a stroll down to the sea front and had a couple of drinks as we walked along the promenade. Maltese seem very keen on power walking as a form of exercise and during the early evening they were power walkers overtaking us in their dozens as we strolled along. We happened along a traditional Maltese Restaurant for dinner, and settled in to try some of the local specialities. Fish was delicious, and the local fish sauce contained lots of capers and was particularly good. Mum took a fancy to a Maltese digestif called Leila. A walk back up the hill to the hotel finished the day.
Gran and Mum both talked about how much Sliema had changed. How built up in now was, and how it was difficult for them to remember the places they used to stay. I too felt that Malta may have lost much of its tradition to the modern tourist boom. Sliema could have been any town in Ibiza or Tenerife.
One of the many steep staired streets in Valetta
On Friday we got up early. We wanted to tour the island in the car. We headed North out of Slima on the highway until we reached the tourist resort of St Pauls Bay. St Pauls, like Sliema has changed beyond recognition with lots of hotels going up. We then ventured inland looking for Mdina and Rabat. We stopped on the point overlooking Golden Sands where we had some photos taken. It’s the only sandy beach on the island and has not changed much since Mum was last there. Mdina is one of the oldest cities on the island, and its tiny streets reminded me of wandering around Venice. There are several tourist exhibits that guide you through the turbulent, violent and fascinating history of the city. They are worth a visit, although the waxwork tour seemed to go on forever. Nestled amongst the streets is the Mdina Cathedral, with a massive fresco depicting St Paul being shipwrecked on Malta.
We then took a short walk to Rabat to visit the Roman Catacombs. These are ancient burial chambers where entire families and communities were buried together. Although the Catacombs stretch for 3.5 square kilometres under the city, only a small part is open to visitors.
From here we returned to the car and headed for some other points of interest. The Dingly Cliffs, the giant cross overlooking Luca, and the Blue grotto. Most importantly we wanted to reach Hal Far and Berzebbuga, for it was here that the naval families used to be stationed.
Hal Far was an interesting visit. One of the three WWII airfields on Malta, it later became the main airport for the country before being replaced by the modern one at Luca in the early 80s. The ATC tower still remains, but the runway is a drag strip and the taxiways an industrial estate.
Gran enjoys a pint of Cisk at a harbour front bar
Onwards to Berzebbuga, and we were in for a shock. My Mum had been talking about the places she used to swim when she was a child and had hoped to find them. Berzebbuga is a small town, and it is surrounded almost entirely by Freeport. One of the largest container shipping ports in the world. This is what happened to my Mum’s childhood swimming spot. My Gran couldn’t recognise where they used to live. Again progress has changed the place beyond recognition.
A drive back to Sliema, and a quick change for dinner. The concierge recommended another local traditional restaurant which we headed for. A local couple ran a small restaurant, probably only capable of seating 20 people. It was a squeeze at the table, but they were so welcoming that it didn’t matter. The food was excellent and they shared the concern of the modernism of the island. They didn’t like that it was commonly referred to as ‘progress’.
After dinner a walk past the main Sliema docks, took us past the ferry boats and yachts, and we stopped at an ice cream shop to buy ourselves a desert as we walked back up the hill to the hotel.
Saturday was the day we had set aside for visiting the capital of Malta – Valetta. From Slima it is a short ferry ride across the harbour to Valetta. Valetta is another walled medieval city, and unlike the other places on the island, hadn’t changed as much over the years. It was more commercial – the obvious signs being things like McDonalds and Marks and Spencer in the high street, but on the whole it was very similar to how it had always been.
Mum and Gran pose in the gardens overlooking the Grand Harbour
From the ferry we have to walk up a steep hill the main street, and then down the other side to see Valetta Grand Harbour. This was where the carrier fleets used to come and moor up when they visited Malta, and where my Mum on many occasions greeted my Dad as he came ashore after months at sea. I too had been there to form the welcoming party on at least one occasion, but I was still drinking milk from a bottle, and my memory struggles to go back to last week, let alone to when I was a tiny baby.
Valetta provides an outstanding view of the Grand Harbour, the Mediterranean Film Studios where they filmed movies like Gladiator are just about visible in the far eastern harbour entrance. In front of you are the oldest walled cities in Malta called Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua. We walked around Valetta for some time, visiting the War Museum in St Elmo's Fort, and St John's co-cathedral where the famous painting of the beheading of John the Baptist by Caravaggio can be found. A small lunch in a sunny square where Mum and Gran overdosed on apple pie was followed by a brief walk up to the Phoenician Hotel, where Mum remembers buying me the most expensive bottle of milk, served on silver service, when she made the mistake of booking into the most expensive hotel room on the island all that time ago.
We walked back to the ferry, and went back to Sliema, but we were interested in the Grand Harbour and immediately boarded another tour boat which gave us a guided tour of the three harbours of Malta including the Grand Harbour. The Grand Harbour has some very large dry docks, some of the biggest in the Mediterranean and the tax perks of the island make it an ideal place to have your private super yacht taken out of the water for servicing. I must remember that for when I need it!
We had discovered that Saturday night was a grand fireworks display in Valetta, and so we went back to our hotel, changed, and again took a ferry back to Valetta. There was a traditional band, with the strongest men carrying the Virgin Mary on their shoulders. They were lead by a tremendous old gentlemen, who had unfortunately forgotten to put is false teeth in, and the grin he wore from the pride of carrying the flag, did not do him any particular favours.
The traditional Maltese horse drawn carriage
For the large part the fireworks festival involved selling hamburgers, hot dogs, candyfloss, and any other type of fast food to any fool willing to pay for it. Once finished the plastic containers and wrappers would be tossed on the floor with all the empty beer bottles to form a layer of litter which has to be walked through. We found a nice little restaurant and ate pasta, outside in the wind. From here we had an excellent vantage point for watching the fireworks, and they were spectacular. Exhausted from our hard days sightseeing and eating we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.
On Sunday Morning we paid a quick visit to St Julian's where Mum remembered the Dragonara Casino, and various nightclubs used to be. It could have been any grimy Mediterranean resort, and so Anglicised that you would not recognise it as Malta at all. We had a nice walk along the rocks before checking out of the hotel and heading off pack to the airport.
Before we dropped of the car we had time for one last meal, and we aimlessly headed out following the east coast looking for somewhere suitable. We found St Thomas’ bay. A delightful, unspoilt corner of Malta, and an ideal place for a fish lunch. We headed back to the airport where the check-in went smoothly and the plane left on time.
It was good for me to have spent some time with my Mum and my Gran. We all lead busy lives and it seems that it is all too easy to sacrifice the important relationships with your family, with the not so important ones of work and professional life. We had a great time, it was nice to catch up, and great for Mum and Gran to see where they used to live, even though allot of it had changed beyond description. I hope we will get a chance to go away together again someday.
More Pictures can be found in my Image Gallery
Family Tree Research Starts
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Monday, 08 January 07 - 01:11 PM (GMT) By Justin Dean in Family & Friends |
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This year, inspired partially by the BBC series "Who do you think you are?" and by the gift of an all in one HP Photosmart 2575 Scanner / Printer at Christmas, my Mum has embarked on a quest to trace the family history.
Her efforts can be followed on, you've guessed it, terapad.com! Her website is at http://jacquiedean.terapad.com . Anyone with information about the family past is invited to join in on her forums, or email pictures for the family tree.
The software aiding her research is the one recommended by the BBC called, imaginatively enough, Who do you think you are? - Delux Edition. She is finding it very user friendly, although she hasn't as yet got as far as starting the free subscription to www.ancestry.co.uk .
There are already some great historic photos in her web galleries, so why not check out her site. It's alot of work, and I wish her the best of luck with it.
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