Di is our guest host for SYH this week. Here are her questions.

https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2022/08/09/share-your-world-8th-august-ish/

 When you’re on holiday, do you prefer self-catering or a hotel/B&B?

I like self-catering best because I like the privacy and I like being able to save money by getting a few things at the supermarket and making my own breakfast and dinner if I’m not going out. Naomi and I used to stay at holiday houses owned by the railways back in the 90s and they were great. They were not posh; they were just former staff houses that were rented out but we had lots of room to spread out. I’ve had a few negative experiences at hotels in recent years which has just put me off. Twice we stayed in hotels in Sydney which were not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. In one it was impossible for us to use the shower because it had a half wall that was too difficult for us to step over, plus they charged me extra to make up a second bed even though I’d requested it when booking. The other one had no tea and coffee making facilities. We like our cuppa and did not appreciate having to go down four floors to the kitchen to make one and then bring it back up again.

I have stayed in some very nice B&B’s but in Australia they can be pricey so for a stay of longer than a couple of days self-catering is the best value for money in my opinion.

 Do you have a favourite meal you cook for yourself or order when out?

Well, I do like a nice roast dinner, especially lamb. That’s got very expensive now but sometimes we cook it at home for a treat and if we go out for a meal at a pub and roast lamb is on the menu it’s often my choice.

In the current fuel crisis, have you made a conscious effort not to use the car unless absolutely necessary?

I am not the car owner in our household but yes, we are more careful about trips now than previously. Because of where we live it is impossible to avoid driving. There is no public transport. If we want to go to the shops, doctor, chemist or to our volunteer jobs it has to be by car. On days we do go out we usually try to roll several errands into one trip. In the summer we were doing a lot of drives and outings for fun. I hope we’ll be able to continue to do so but it may have to be less often.

4.  If you were to compare yourself to a plant, what would you be?

A shrinking violet.

GRATITUDE:

I am lucky to have a lot of happy memories from my childhood. Please share one from yours.

Oh, there are so many. Well, when we lived in England, we used to go to stay with our grandmother every summer for a couple of weeks. She lived in Clacton on Sea so some days we’d be taken to the beach and at least once per holiday to Clacton Pier. Those of you who live in the UK probably know it for its amusements. I did look forward to going there most of all. We’d ride on the carousel and the little train ride for kids. I think mum took us on the ghost train at least once but not the Ferris Wheel or Helter Skelter. I also loved seeing the donkeys giving rides on the beach. I think I only had a ride once but it was just nice to see them. I don’t have a memory of a single holiday in Clacton but rather of several of them together. There was usually a parade which we’d watch from an upstairs window as it went down the street where we stayed. One year mum took us to see a dollhouse and model train exhibition. I loved that.