Thursday

Jersey - A to Z of Places I have Visited


I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.

Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.





In 1995 we returned to Northern Ireland from our 3 years of living in the US.

Shortly after this my father died leaving mum on her own.  She had always liked to travel so the following year my sister and I and our families and mum decided to go on holiday together.
It was decided that we would go to Jersey in the Channel Islands because mum and dad had gone there several years before and had really enjoyed it.





I was very happy to go there as we had never been to any of the Channel Islands previously and we had always heard that the weather was better there than in the UK.


One of the things I remember the most about that trip was going to the Jersey Pearl.  A place to learn all about how pearls form and about the grading of the quality of pearls.  It was very interesting for all 3 generations of our family.  Then Fred bought me a heart necklace with a little pearl set in it; a little pearl that I had chosen myself.  I still have that necklace today.






The Jersey Pearl has been open for over 30 years now and is evidently still one of the biggest attractions on the island.

It is at St. Ouen which is on the North West of the island.






The island of Jersey is not very large and we could comfortably drive the whole way round it in one day stopping off to see some sights.

Some of the coastal regions were similar to the rocky parts of the Northern Ireland coastline and we all enjoy the rocks.





The beaches were nice and with having 6 kids in our group (my sister and brother-in-law have 3 and we have three) we spent several hours on the beach. If you have read the CALPE post in this series you will have read more about my sister and brother-in-law there and my brother-in-law inspired one of my NEED HELP? blogposts.





Some of us are very fond of swimming in the sea and the temperature of the water was somewhat higher than we are used to in Northern Ireland thankfully.



The capital of the Island is St. Helier which is in the south of the island





and has a lovely harbour & marina.





Another thing some of our family are very fond of are castles.  Mostly we see a lot of ruins of castles but here on Jersey there was a very impressive medieval castle which is over 800 years old.





It is called Mont Orgueil Castle and overlooks the beautiful fishing village of Gorey on the east of the island.




We spent a lot of time one day looking round the castle





and the sea front is also nice to walk along.





 There is another Castle called Elizabeth Castle which can also be visited on a rocky islet in St. Aubin's Bay near St. Helier on the South of the Island but this one is only 300 years old.


There are also several sculptures on the island but they may be more recent than our visit so long ago and I do not remember them.  Which is a pity because if you have read the post in this series about ENNIS or an earlier post about TERVUREN in Belgium or one about FOUNTAINS you will know that I like unusual fountains, roundabouts and sculptures.

I have heard of the Jersey toad being a unique species of toad and there being a sculpture that and I believe there is  one to do with liberation and a kind of tree shaped one but maybe I just need to go to Jersey again to discover them all.


Where do we find pearls, toads and castles?

Another thing I remember about Jersey was all of the family enjoying ice cream together most days but then we would enjoy ice cream anywhere and always will at any chance we get.


We have not had the opportunity to visit the Islands of Sark and Guernsey which along with Jersey make up the Channel Islands but I believe Sark is smaller, very beautiful and known for it's wildlife whereas Guernsey is predominantly a fishing island.







Photo Credit:  Pixabay  &  Wikipedia  as my few pictures of so long ago were not able to be used in this post.


If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria
H for Hong Kong
I is for Islandmagee




Sunday

10 Gift Ideas for Baby Boy's First Birthday / Christmas - Need Help?



Do YOU need some help finding good gift ideas for a baby boy's first birthday or Christmas? 

I've had the same problem so let me help you with 10 Gift Ideas that I know are appropriate and good.






Well our granddaughter is coming up to her first birthday and I was working on a blog post based on thinking about a gift for her so then I thought I really should have done this when our grandson Matthew was coming 1 as well.

So I thought I would do it now and of course these will work for Christmas as well.







Click the pictures and names of toys below to find out more about each one.

Click the Numbered Titles below to see a range of examples.



1.  Train Engine.

You need one that is not too small and has good wheels because he will just love to push it along and it doesn't have to make a sound as he will do that himself pretty soon.

This one is by "Melissa & Doug" which I think is an excellent make both for quality and for design.



Melissa & Doug Stacking Train Toy (18 pcs)







2.  Tractor and trailer.

This is what our oldest son bought Matthew for his first birthday and he still plays with it yet.
At first it was big enough for him to sit in the trailer and be pulled along.
Then later he was riding it and now it is instrumental in carrying the sand from the sand pit to wherever else he decides it has to go in the back garden.


Falk 1012B Child's Tractor with Trailer






3.  Wooden Educational Jigsaws.

It is never too early to start them on simple pull out jigsaw puzzles because first they are learning to lift the pieces out and then they learn to place them back again.  Great for dexterity of little hands and fingers to begin with and then for hand eye co-ordination later.






Playcrate-Pack-Wooden-Learning-Puzzles








4.  Wooden Building Blocks.

When has a boy not been happy to build something.  Again good for dexterity but also good for the imagination before they reach their second birthday.








Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set of 100







5.  Shape Sorter.


Our kids had a simple round tub with a lid which had 3 shapes cut out and then there were 4 sets (different colours) of the three objects that would fit in through the different holes.  They never tired of this for the first few years.  Such joy and clapping when they could put each piece in correctly.

Now they have them in all different forms.  Like the Noah's Ark sorter that we got Matthew one day when we saw it cheap in Lidl.

Or this one




Fisher-Price Baby's First Blocks 






Need ideas for a Baby Boy's first Christmas? Just check here!






6.  Road Map Mat.


Lots of places sell these mats including IKEA where we got one for Matthew to have at nanny's house.


His mum and dad got him one which is bigger




Extra Large 79" x 40"! Kids Carpet Playmat Rug 






7.  Xylophone.


This really should be the wooden based type because it is much stronger and durable and also because it just sounds better.

We hunted for weeks to try to find one for Matthew coming up to his first birthday because we are a musical family and even long before then Matthew had taken a love for banging on his granda's drums in his study and wanted to dance to any music we made.  Matthew started walking at 9 months and would go from one foot to the other trying to dance as he approached his birthday.

Finally I tried on the internet and managed to get one there







but it wouldn't arrive in time for his birthday but that was just as well because his auntie in Canada had the same idea and sent him one in time for his birthday.   We got ours anyway for Christmas time and it stays in our house with the other instruments we have.




Need ideas for a Baby Boy's first birthday? Just check here!





8.  Bath Toy.


Kids like lots of little things to play with in the bath but as they get more independent because of finding their feet as we say, they really do enjoy a more intricate bath toy which can spurt out water and soak them and whoever is bathing them.

Matthew has adored playing with a certain toy that sticks to the side of the bath.

He fills it with water and loves to have it dump the water back out again.

I can't find the one he has but this one looks like a good choice.






Toddler Bath Toy Boats Set, 2 Pack Bath Boats for Kids






9.  A Child's Bible.


Never too soon to start reading to your child.  They just adore to look along as first you turn each page and then they try to turn them.  Of course they like to turn back the pages too which is rather infuriating for someone like me who wants to read the story when it is the first time they  have seen the book.

Lots of good books out there and for Suzie's baby shower before Matthew was born everyone brought a book as a gift so there was no shortage of books to stir up his interest.

Also never too soon to get a child's Bible.  Even though at that age even the simple bibles may seem too much for them just simplify the story even more as you turn those pages and reveal the pictures.

At the shower our gift was the Jesus Story Book Bible by  Sally Lloyd Jones.







The Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition: With CDs



This version has a set of CDs along with it.  The book is well written and well illustrated and Matthew loves to go grab it each night to have his Bible Story (+a few other books) read before bed.

There are other versions of it too which are cheaper.




10.  Piano.

When we couldn't get the Xylophone a nice shop assistant in "The Entertainer" shop suggested we might like to see a piano and we smiled at each other but then said this is a gift for a first birthday but he said it wasn't out on the shelf yet and he would bring it out and we could just take a look.



Melissa & Doug Learn-to-Play Piano With 25 Keys



We were hooked.

Fred loves to play the keyboard as well as the guitar and this small wooden piano was so cute (just like a miniature real upright piano), colourful and in tune.  You could really play it and the keys were great.

We just said "we'll take it" and then to each other we said "if it's too much for him now he'll have it for later".


No fear of that - it was a hit on his birthday and ever since.







In fact little sister Ruby who is now just about to celebrate the big first birthday loves to crawl over to it and sit back and tap the keys and turn to laugh at us now.








Disclaimer:
I am NOT an Amazon affiliate & I am not compensated in any way for these recommendations












Thursday

Islandmagee - A to Z of Places I have Visited


I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.
Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.





A few years ago we went on a little birthday trip of a couple of days around some places in the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland (which is part of the Causeway Coastal Route)




and on the drive home we passed signs for Islandmagee.

I had always heard of this name before and just assumed it was a town somewhere in Northern Ireland but on this day I discovered it wasn't a town it was a peninsula.  So since then I have thought someday we should go and drive round to investigate what it is like.


So that day finally came on Monday of this week.





Ok so yes one of the reasons we went this week was because I could not think of anywhere I had visited that started with the letter "I" but it has been absolutely splendid hot sunny weather here with unusually high temperatures and we had previously agreed to try to take one day or afternoon out somewhere each week for relaxation and exercise.


So off to Islandmagee we went for the afternoon on Monday.

Parts of it are owned or at least looked after by the National Trust and we had become members last year but where we went in Islandmagee on this first trip we only saw their sign once and there were no fees or car parking to be paid for so being members was of no advantage to us there.

We do love the Antrim Coast but have not visited that area as much as we should have in the past and driving along beside Belfast Lough along the route to our destination was just beautiful with the sun gleaming off the water.

The most famous part of this peninsula to us was The Gobbins Cliffs which we had heard a lot about in the past few years due to the work that had been done in making a complete walking path around them.

There are good signposts for The Gobbins Visitors Centre which is attractive from the outside





and also on the inside and is free to go in to find out about the Gobbins Trail,



have something to eat in the cafe or have a look around the gift shop.  This is where you book for the walking tours which must be done in advance and you need to be aware of the health and safety considerations before you decide to go on the walk.  Not for the fainthearted or anyone with any fitness problems.








The thing I noticed most about the Centre was the family friendly atmosphere both inside and out with a couple of things to specifically amuse the children while the grownups would be reading and finding out more about the area and a good play park outside.




After looking around here we drove along some of the wider roads and followed Google Maps directions on the phone for Port Muck.  This took us on to some rather narrow roads as we got closer to our destination.

The advantage of these narrower roads was the great view out to sea and we found an ideal spot to stop and take a huge amount of photographs as we were on the height looking down over the land and sea.

Fred was trying to get a panoramic picture of the coast and the Irish Sea while I was taking individual pictures.





We spied a rocky headland jutting out into the sea




and I tried to zoom in more




but the distance was too great to give a true picture of it.

But I'll come back to that later.


We drove on down to Port Muck Harbour which you can see on the map above is on the NE of Islandmagee.

Again it was time to take a lot of photographs.

It consists of a little harbour with some sand,





rocks and more rocks





and more rocks which we love - there is just something about rocky coves in Northern Ireland it is hard to find better ones in the rest of the world that I have been to (or am I just biased?).





People were fishing from the jetty, sitting on the jetty, sitting on the grass area and some on the small beach.  It was not crowded and felt very peaceful.


Other people were going for walks in two different directions from the harbour both led uphill the first with steps and the second on a grassy hillside path.





While I was taking pictures of the harbour and sea Fred was already on the steps waiting for me to come for a walk.

At the top of the steps there was another set of steps to take you down to some rocks but then we spied the headland we had seen earlier - I did say I would get back to this.



Islandmagee - When is an Island not an Island?

The headland wasn't a headland it was an island





but is it an Island that is at certain times connected to Islandmagee?




When the tide is low could anyone walk across?

That is the big question I have yet to have time to investigate.









If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria
H for Hong Kong