Wirral wanderings

I am sorry that I have been unable to post for such a long time - I really haven't done that much because my servant has been so busy on her new course...it seems that studying to be a primary school teacher takes a lot of time and energy. Which is all very well, but that means that I have lost my taxi!

But this weekend we went out and I got to explore more.  We went out into an area called Wirral, which is the arm-y bit that sticks out from the west of the country, above Wales.  

The day started off quite foggy, which was a bit spooky to be honest, and we headed to a place called Parkgate, which is a village on the peninsula next to a massive expanse of salt marsh.

Here is me standing on the wall, with the estuary behind me.  It is a nature reserve and there were lots of birds there, which was interesting to see.

Of course, as has been so long since I went out exploring, I had to have a scone and jam to celebrate...delicious!

Some time during the morning, whilst we were at Parkgate, the sun started to come out and pretty soon it was sunny and warm - not at all like it had been earlier in the day.

So of course - where do you go when it is nice weather...the beach of course!!

We went to Thurstaston, which is a little bit further along the coastline from Parkgate.  After a lovely picnic at the Country Park we went for a walk along the beach.  It was really nice - and my servant pointed out to me the cliffs which are, apparently a good example of boulder clay.  I didn't like to tell her that I wasn't that interested in what the cliffs were made of - but thought I had better not upset her - she was driving me home after all.

It was a really lovely day out, and I am really looking forward to the next time I get to explore this area, I don't yet feel as if I have had nearly enough cake...

A Magical Mystery Tour

Could you guess where I have just visited from the title of this blog entry?  What if I had said that I had been on a Yellow Submarine, or that it was a Hard Days Night?

You guessed right...I went to Liverpool last weekend!  I had a brilliant time - what a fab city (a Fab Four city?!)  OK...I will leave the Beatles references alone now - although I did go to a famous street called Matthew Street and saw where the famous quartet started.  I don't know much about the Beatles, being quite a young little bear, but people tell me they are famous. There certainly was a lot of stuff around the city about them, so people must really like them.



This is a picture of me at Albert Dock, which used to be where things like cotton and tea were once stored, although now it is a tourist attraction with lots of shops, museums and places to eat.  I went there to visit the Tate Art Gallery, which is a gallery of modern art.



It is a really interesting gallery - with lots of different types of modern art in it.  I am not sure I really understood all of the art there - some of it was very strange like this piece by an artist called Salvador Dali.

Even though I didn't understand all the pieces of art there, I still enjoyed looking at them and trying to work out what they were supposed to be about.

Later on I took a look around the rest of the city, which has got some really really big buildings in it.  This is a picture of me in front of the Liver Building.  The bird on the top of the clock tower is called a Liver Bird.  I had to look up what a Liver Bird was, because I had never heard of one.  Apparently they are mythical birds that look after the city, and if they ever fly away the city will disappear!

I hope that never happens because I think that Liverpool is a nice city, and one that I would like to go back to again.



Milton
xx

Veni, Vidi, Vici!

Guess where I am?

Did you guess right?  I am in Chester - the picture above is of the Eastgate Clock which is in the middle of the city.  So, why am I here?  Well, the exciting news for me is that I have moved here!  It is quite a long way from Cambridge - on the other side of the country.

I think I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that my servant was moving house and I decided that, although I probably could get another one I had trained this one just right and so I would stick with her and make the move myself.

The city is quite historic - with quite a lot of Roman history.  I have even seen a Roman soldier walking around the city!  I know, you don't believe me do you - but I have...I'll try and get a photo of him soon and put it up here to prove it!

It has taken a little while to get really settled here, but I am starting to feel like this is home.  Although a bear like me enjoys travelling a lot, seeing new places and meeting new people it is also very nice to have a home to come back to which has all the bear necessities!!

Milton
xx

Oh...I do Like to be Beside the Seaside!

I know it has been a long time since I blogged, I will explain all in a later post, but for now I want to share with you a fantastic day out that I had last week.

My last post mentioned that I was excited about the fact that I was going to the beach - and I have to report I had a lovely time visiting various towns and villages along the Norfolk coast.

First of all I got my servant to drive me to the Victorian seaside resort of Hunstanton where I relaxed on the beach for a while.  The weather was pretty good and there were even people swimming in the sea.  I didn't fancy that though - I'm not keen on getting my paws wet.

After having a quick spot of morning cake (well, us bears need to keep our strength up when having a day out), my servant drove me along the coast through many pretty villages like Wells-Next-The-Sea and those a little inland like Burnham Market.



We ended up at the seaside resort of Cromer which was very busy with holidaymakers.  Cromer has a great pier where my servant and I saw lots of people doing something which Cromer is famous for - fishing for crabs!  I am not a big fan of seafood myself, so I treated myself to a great ice cream instead as it had been some time since morning cake and I was getting peckish.



Here is me, full of ice cream and with the pier in the background!

One of the things I found really interesting in Cromer was the lifeboat station which was right at the end of the pier.  You could go in and take a look at the lifeboat, which was really big - I know I am only a small bear, but it was big even taking that into account!  It must be very scary being a lifeboat person - I don't think I could do that, I like to keep both paws on solid ground.

After such a full day at the Norfolk coast I was very tired by the time I got home.  Luckily I have a servant to drive me around, as I had more eventful days coming up.  But more of that in another post...

Dreaming spires

Cambridge was my destination today - my servant lived here for a bit but I haven't really ever looked around, so it was nice to get out and explore the city.

I suppose the thing that Cambridge is most famous for is its University, which is quite a good one I have been told.  The buildings are certainly very old and grand looking.  I can't imagine what it must be like to be a student at a University like this - I wonder if they have many bears studying there?  I didn't see any, but maybe they were in the library.

Here is me outside Kings College, which was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI!  That is really quite old isn't it?!

I saw lots of other bits of Cambridge today as well including the River Cam where there are funny flat bottomed boats called punts.  I also saw some of the big greens, like Parkers Piece and Coe Fen.  I was quite surprised to see that some of these bits of land have cows on them!  That must be unusual for so close to a city centre.

After a long day exploring Cambridge I was quite glad to get home to rest my weary paws.  I am so excited though because tomorrow I am going to the beach - I will blog all about it when I get back!

Milton
xx

A Big Challenge For a Little Bear

Well, there has been a little break in my blogging, but when you find out why I hope you understand!

I have just had a really amazing weekend in and around a small Welsh town called Llangollen.  The town has a beautiful river, a canal and a steam railway, but none of those were the real reason I came to visit.  Instead, I took part in the The Llangollen Round challenge walk, which was taking place over the weekend.


My servant and I drove across to Llangollen on Friday and we spent the rest of the day looking at the map and checking out the route.  It is a very long walk - 34 miles - which is a lot even if you aren't a bear with very short legs.  This is me looking at the map - but the walk was so long it actually went onto two map sheets!




We were going to have to start walking at 6am on the Saturday morning, so I got an early night in the bunk bed at Tyn Dwr, which is the activity centre where the walk was starting and finishing.  Here is me going up to my bunk for a good nights sleep in preparation!

The walk was very very tiring, but it was also really enjoyable.  We climbed so many mountains that I lost track of how many we there were! The views from the tops were stunning. There was about 125 people trying to do the full distance in one day, and about the same again who chose to split it and do half on the Saturday and half on the Sunday.  I tried doing it in one day, because although I am a very small bear I am also a bear who likes a challenge!  For those of you that are interested the Long Distance Walks Association web page gives you more information about the trail - including the profile of the whole walk!

It took me a very long time to walk it all, but what kept us all going was the amazing support from the volunteers that helped to run it.  They were so encouraging when you got to a check point, and the best bit was that at some check points they even had cake!  I think I have mentioned before that I am very partial to a spot of cake...so this was very welcome.

At the end of the walk we were all given a medal and a certificate.  Here is me with some of the lovely organisers and volunteers wearing my medal.  My legs might be tired now, but I am looking forward to being able to do it again next year.

Multi-Coloured Roof Tops

After such an amazing day out at the London Olympics (take a look at my last post), you might think that I needed a few days to recover.  And so I did!  But yesterday I decided to have another exciting adventure - in another different city.

This time I got my ever helpful servant to drive me east to the city of Norwich.  The signs as you enter the outskirts describe Norwich as 'A Fine City' - so I was really looking forward to having a look around and finding out whether this claim is true.

It was quite a big place - perhaps not quite as big as London though.  There were lots and lots of shops, and so many people all rushing around.  It was a lovely day and I got to see quite a bit of the city centre, there seemed to be a lot of old buildings.  I liked the fact that there was quite a few streets where a bear could walk without having to look out for cars.  My servant tells me these are called pedestrianised areas - and it makes life for a little bear like me much easier!

The thing I liked the most was the multi-coloured roof tops of the market area - it was like a patch-work quilt!  Here is me with the market in the background.  I am particularly proud of my Olympics badge that I am wearing in this picture.

I think the people that put the sign up n the outskirts of Norwich were right - it does seem to be 'A Fine City'.


What an amazing week it has been, I wonder what exciting adventures I will have next?

London Olympics 2012

Oh my goodness, I had such a fantastic day yesterday!  There is so much I want to write about, I don't know where to start.

At times like this I think it is best to start at the beginning.  Yesterday was the last day of the London Olympics, and I decided that I wanted to go down to the city to see the Men's Marathon.  My servant and I got up really really early and we got the train down to Liverpool Street station.  I had never been on a train before, so this was exciting in itself.  Here is me on the train ready:

When we got to London there were so many people it made my eyes ache trying to take them all in!  We walked down to where we were going to stand to watch the runners, and stumbled across a model of Wenlock - one of the Olympic mascots.  I just had to have my photo taken with him!





We had a great spot to watch the men run past - and my word they can run fast!  We didn't see the end, but I was told the man from Uganda won, when he went past us he was third, so he did well to catch up and pass the other two men in front.



One of the most fun bits of today was watching the people in purple - they were the volunteers and they really knew how to work the crowd.  I even got to have my photo with a couple of them before the race.





I had such a lovely day and it made me think that I really am a very lucky bear to be able to see such amazing sights.  I have been quite inspired actually, and think I might try a paw at running.  Perhaps the next Olympics will have a bear representing Team GB in the marathon?!

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day and where better to go on such a nice day, but a park?  And more particularly - Milton Country Park.  Now the really observant ones of you will already have noticed that this park shares my name - how cool is that?!  Although I would like to think that the park is named after me, I think it is really more likely that I am named after it...after all, it has been here a lot longer than me - I am only a little bear.


This is me sitting on the balcony of the cafe and behind me is the pretty pond which has swans and ducks and moorhens and coots and a whole lot of other birds I didn't recognise. 

One of the best bits of the Country Park is the play area - there were lots of boys and girls there all having a lovely time in the sun.  I think I might go back there again, when its not so busy, so that I can have a play on the swings and the slides myself!



Having spent all morning at Milton Country Park I was really tired, so I had a little nap in the afternoon.  Well....a bear's got to have his rest, hasnt he?!

Milton
xx



Time for cake...

Well, today I got to visit what is often called a 'Cambridge Institution'.  I went to Fitzbillies, which is a cafe/bakery/restaurant opposite, funnily enough, the Fitzwilliam Museum (well, nearly opposite).  It is apparently famous for its Chelsea Buns - and being a bear who loves cakes, pastries, breads etc etc...well I just had to try it out.

Here is the front of the shop, which i think was pretty welcoming - and the place is much bigger than I thought it was going to be, especially for a little bear like me.

I am not really sure what the history of this shop/cafe/bakery is, but its been there for over 90 years and apparently when it had to close last year there was an outcry and now its reopened.

Whatever the story, the Chelsea Buns are pretty good - one for a friend of mine's Cake Blog, certainly.  Now then....I wonder if there are any other Cambridge specialities I should try out before me and my servant leave the area...

Milton
xx

Where it all began

As I mentioned in my last post I am a Jofli Bear.  Now, people have heard of Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Panda Bears, but not many people have heard of Jofli Bears - so its about time I changed all that isn't it?!

A Jofli Bear is a special type of bear, a travelling bear, the sort of bear that has adventures and sees the world and, perhaps just as importantly - blogs about it!

So now you know what I am - lets get this journey started.  I wanted to show you where I went yesterday because for a bear with little legs it was quite a climb.



This is me on the left about to start to walk up Castle Mound in Cambridge - phew it was a warm day, and it took me quite a while (did I mention I have little legs).


But it was worth it - look at the view from the top!  This is a view of Shire Hall - what an imposing building - I bet they do some important stuff in there.

The reason I wanted to come up here was to show you all where it all started.  My servant (I mentioned her in my last post) used to work here and it was whilst working here that she first heard about Jofli Bears.  Thank goodness she did, because when she left her lovely colleagues placed me into her care, and the rest...as they say...is history.

So that's where it all began - lets go have some fun!

Milton
xx

The start of things to come

Here goes...

Being new to the world of blogging I will keep this short.  My name is Milton and I am a Jofli Bear..."what's a Jofli Bear"...?! I hear you all cry...all will become clear.

The reason I have taken to the Blogosphere is to keep a record of all the wonderful places I am going to be going on my Journey of Life (that's a clue as to what a Jofli bear is...).

My servant (ok, some people may describe her as owner, but we all know the real situation) is about embark on a new and exciting course of events (she is about to start training to become a teacher) and she has asked me along for the ride.  How could I refuse...life it made for living!

So I will be accompanying her around the place, doing what she does - seeing the sites she does and generally having a bit of a blog along the way.

Please join me!

Milton
xx