a7065cc5

Fall 2025

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:04:38 GMT

Fall 2025 & Hawaii

Summer is wrapping up, and what a great 2025 it’s been! As I mentioned in my last blog, Julie and I spent February exploring Australia and New Zealand, we took mum to Sydney to see her childhood friend and then we all returned to the UK for my brother’s 60th birthday. We had a blast, I put together another montage to music, finishing it off with a poem I wrote for him. He seemed to enjoy it immensely.

After that, Julie returned to the UK to care for her parents, and she was away for five weeks from mid-May to late June. You truly appreciate someone’s presence when they’re not around!

Then came the time for visitors! The first to arrive were Jordan, Steph, Koby, and Milo. I had asked him if he was planning to come out at the start of the year, and he said they probably wouldn’t make it. However, while Julie was in the UK, I received a text asking if he could come out and if so, could he come for the 4th of July. This was just 10 days after Julie returned. We were only expecting Abbie, Brock, and the boys this year, so we had to get everything organized.

That’s when the “fun” began! Jordan et al were booked on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to LAX., but they arrived at the airport and discovered that Milo didn’t have a valid ESTA. Since Milo is only 2, it’s understandable that he forgot to update it! So consequently they missed their flight and were put on a later one.

They had a wonderful time, and both Koby and Milo are confident in the water, able to swim Koby fully unaided and Milo very nearly so. We celebrated the 4th of July with friends and colleagues, enjoying steaks for everyone and plenty of beer and wine for those who enjoy it.

A week after they left for home, Abbie, Brock, Pip, and Otto arrived! They were staying for three weeks and they had a wonderful time. Like Jordan and his family, we went whale watching—this was a first for Pip, Otto (Milo too!), and they were incredibly excited to see dolphins and California sea lions. Pip is a big fan of sea creatures, so he was thrilled to see them. I know all the kids loved it from the moment they saw the dolphins to getting up close and personal in the glass-sided pods.

While all the kids were with us, they all did similar things. Both sets went to the beach and the mountains. Luckily for Julie and me, no one wanted to go to the Mouse House or Universal.

Ian, Julie’s cousin, visited for two weeks at the beginning of October. We had a blast on the Warner Bros. studio tour! It’s such an interesting place, and it’s amazing to see how many films and TV shows have been made there. You know, think of Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Rebel Without a Cause, various DC films, some of the Harry Potter series CGI, and other blockbusters. We even got to sit on the Friends couch and in front of the Friends fountain!

It was also my daughter, Dominique’s birthday in early October. She was the BIG 4-0. she had a party (sadly we couldn’t attend in person) most of the family were there and we attended virtually! It looked like a great evening and some people got very drunk! no guesses for who!

Julie and I decided we needed a little break, so we had a long weekend in Hawaii. We stayed at the Kahala Hotel and Resort on the island of O’ahu. The resort is southeast of Honolulu and east of the famous Waikiki beach.

We visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial, which was very moving. A lot of thought has gone into making this war grave memorial accessible. We spent about seven hours between the memorial, which marked the start of World War II for the US, and then on the USS Missouri, where the war with Japan ended with the signing of the articles of surrender.

I also went swimming with sea turtles. I had booked us both on an excursion to snorkel with large green sea turtles in the wild! Unfortunately, Julie couldn’t participate because she had a bad cough and wouldn’t be comfortable breathing through a snorkel.

I think the only thing I might have misjudged about this adventure was how challenging swimming in the open sea with a strong current can be! After my swim to the reef, I had to catch my breath while hanging on the lifeguards’ surfboard. Once I was breathing again, I really started to enjoy myself, swimming and diving with the amazing creatures. We weren’t allowed to get too close—only 10 feet—but they were allowed to get up close and personal with us! They spend most of their day on the reef, about 40 feet below the surface, but come up for air and some sunshine. They decide where they come up, even if it means right next to you, and they did! We had about 50 minutes swimming and diving with them, surrounded by lots of colorful fish, before heading back to the dive boat. The swim back was easier because the current was pushing us back in that direction.

My mom is coming out again, just in time for New Year’s and my birthday. She will then fly back with Julie in mid-February. We’re planning to take her to Vegas for a concert in the Sphere. Right now, that’s the only thing we’re planning, and we probably won’t do much else. Mum likes to just chill and not have to worry about the cold weather.

I’m starting to plan some time away for Julie and me in the first half of next year. We really want to go to Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. We’ve been told to go in the spring or early summer when the weather is pleasant and not too humid. I’m also going to try and get to visit the White House.

We are also going to the opening week to see the stage show of the 1988 film; Working Girl. This version is a musical with music and lyrics by Cindi Lauper. If you are old enough to remember the film or seen it since 1988 then you know its about a girl made good. The film stars Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. I don’t think that they are in the stage show, but they may be in the audience! Its getting its first look at the La Jolla playhouse in La Jolla San Diego. The playhouse is famous for being the launch theater for such great stage shows as; Big River, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jersey Boys and Come From Away to name just a few, to Broadway!

As I said at the top of the blog, “It’s been a great year.”

Thanks for reading

Ciao

Paul & Julie

October 2025

2025

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:27:18 GMT

At the bottom of the world

2025

Hey there, welcome back to my blog! It’s been a while since I last wrote, and I’ve got some exciting updates to share.

So, what have I been up to? Well, let me tell you about our fantastic weekend in Manhattan in early December. We had the chance to meet our German friends, Andreas and Gwendolyn, and we had an absolute blast! We indulged in delicious food, sipped on some great drinks, and laughed our hearts out. We also managed to squeeze in some sightseeing, including a trip up the Freedom Tower.

On a side note, while we were in Manhattan, it was the 45th anniversary of the tragic death of John Lennon on December 8th. We made our way to Strawberry Fields in Central Park for the bi-annual gathering to celebrate John’s life, both on his birthday and the anniversary of his passing. It was a truly moving and poignant morning filled with music, love, and remembrance.

After our time in Central Park, we decided to treat ourselves to a Broadway show. We chose Moulin Rouge, and let me tell you, it was an absolute blast! I was a bit hesitant before we went, but guess what? It was fantastic!

And then, it was all about Christmas! Carys landed on the day of my staff Christmas party, so we had to juggle picking her up from LAX and making it to the party in time. But hey, we managed to pull it off! This time, Carys had traveled through Dublin, Ireland, so when she landed in the US, she was technically on an internal flight. This means we avoided all the waiting in line and made the arrival much quicker.

We had a fantastic Christmas with Carys! We did all the things she loves and introduced her to some US traditions. We went to a friend’s house for their Christmas party, where they have a “White Elephant” gift exchange. Carys ended up with a super cozy Kate Spade blanket that she actually “won” from other guests!

In mid-January, my mom, Chris, and Wendy came to visit. Chris and Wendy stayed for a couple of days before they flew off to Hawaii and Mexico, while my mom stayed with us and recovered from jet lag.

While they were enjoying the beautiful Pacific Ocean and Hawaii, we three were busy planning our trip to Australia.

We left LAX on February 5th and landed in Sydney on February 7th. That week, we didn’t have a Thursday! Can you believe that? It’s such a joy to travel over the international date line.

We flew on United Airlines in their Polaris class. It wasn’t quite as luxurious as Delta One, but it was much better than American or British Airways.

I had promised Julie I would take her to Oz some years ago, but for various reasons, we never got around to it.

The trip was also to take my mom. She hadn’t been there in about 10 years, and her oldest friend has lived there since the mid-1960s. So, it’s no surprise that there were tears on our arrival at their house in Miranda, just south of Sydney.

Julie and I had an exciting travel plan. We spent a couple of days in Miranda before flying off to New Zealand. Ever since Julie’s younger daughter and fiancé had spent 6 months there working at the Hobbiton film set, we wanted to go. So, off we went!

I’ve never been to New Zealand before, and I must say that the small part we saw (North Island) is breathtaking. It reminded us of Ireland but with a warmer climate!

We love to stay in Airbnb places, and I found one that I thought would be close enough to Hobbiton and close enough to the local town, Cambridge. The village where the Airbnb was is called Te Miro. It’s a tiny little place, but the best part was that the Airbnb was at the end of a 2-mile single-track dirt road halfway up a very steep hill!

The place was amazing! We had views all the way to Cambridge. We had a spa and access to a heated pool and a complimentary breakfast.

Hobbiton was fantastic! I had booked for the 2nd Breakfast tour. Anyone who has seen the Peter Jackson films knows that hobbits are always eating and always have a 2nd breakfast. However, this also meant that we were the first tour around Hobbiton. We set the pace for all the tour groups after us and didn’t get tangled up with other tours in front of us. Since Julie’s daughter worked there, they’ve changed 2 hobbit houses (holes) so that visitors can go inside them. These are proper film sets without all the film paraphernalia, and we were encouraged to look and touch anything. After the tour, it was time for breakfast! There were plenty of sausages, bacon, tomatoes, fluffy scrambled eggs, and of course, mushrooms. It was all-you-can-eat, so we indulged!

We spent 3 wonderful days in New Zealand. It wasn’t long enough, but it was enough to make sure we go back.

So, we hopped back on the plane and headed back to Australia. We made our way to downtown Sydney for a few days. I had booked us a stay at the Langham Hotel in Millers Point and The Rocks area of Sydney for three nights. On Valentine’s Day, we’d booked to do the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb in the morning. For those who haven’t done it, it takes about 3.5 hours and involves about an hour of preparation and training. Our climb leader took us up through the bridge supports and then we climbed or walked up the outside of the curved superstructure. The views of Darling Harbor, Circular Quay, Lavender Bay, and Luna Park were absolutely breathtaking. From the top, we could see all the way to Parramatta. I had actually done this 22 years ago, and it didn’t disappoint a second time, even though it rained the only day the entire time we were in Sydney. It was still an amazing experience!

The rest of the day, we spent in downtown Sydney, near the Queen Victoria Building and Westfield center. It was time to get ready for our Valentine’s dinner and to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We had dinner on The Jackson a Captain Cook Cruise from Darling Harbor to Rose Bay and back. The food and atmosphere was excellent and we had live music to dance to too. The following day, we went to Watsons Bay and did some shopping around Circular Quay and The Rocks market.

On our final day in Sydney, we decided to walk across the bridge to Kirribilli. I had been wanting to visit a pub I had been in 22 years earlier with my mom and dad. The Kirribilli Hotel was still there, and it hadn’t changed much at all. The beer was just as cold as I remembered it!

We had an amazing time in Oz and NZ! We indulged in some incredible meals and drinks, from mouthwatering kangaroo kabobs to exquisite cuisine, and from local brews to world-class wines. The memories we made are truly unforgettable, especially when we got to see Mum’s childhood friend. It was a wonderful experience!

One thing we learned during our trip is that we’ve been neglecting our holidays for quite some time now. In fact, it’s been over 15 years since our last proper holiday! So, we’re making it up to ourselves and planning a trip back.

On a different note, we had a fun little trip to Vegas. Mum hadn’t been in a few years and was eager to see what had changed since her last visit. We stayed at the Bellagio and had dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s PUB in Caesar’s Palace before catching Donny Osmond’s show. It was a blast!

Now, we’re excited to announce that we’re heading to the UK! It’s my brother’s 60th birthday at the end of the month, and we’re planning to celebrate with him, his family, and Julie’s family. It’ll be a great time to catch up and make some new memories.

As for our travel plans, we’re still working on them. We’re considering a trip to Washington DC and exploring other places as the year goes by. In the meantime, I’ve got some work to do around the house, and I hope to finish most of it during May and early June.

Thanks for reading,

Ciao

Paul & Julie

March 2025.

Fall 2024

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 20:18:14 GMT

Fall 2024

Summer is over at Jevins Resort and Spa! We’ve had a ton of visitors since March. My mom was here for about a month, then Carys, Jordan, Steph, and the boys and their in-laws came over. My friend Andreas from Germany also visited at one point there was 10 of us in our house and everyone fitted in! My cousin and his family came out for a couple of weeks in early August and we had Julie's cousins out in mid September. Whew, it’s been a busy summer! We’ve had a blast. The grandchildren are amazing. Koby is now a confident and capable swimmer, and Milo loves the water too.

The picture above is the Northern Lights or aurora borealis. This was taken by Julie in her sister's back garden on the Wirral UK.

While my mom was here, we went to Oceanside to see my favorite artist, Steve Barton, who painted the surfboard. We got to visit his home and studio. We even bought a couple more of his original paintings.

Julie returned to the UK in late May to visit her parents and bring back her eldest daughter, Carys. This is Carys’ third trip to Corona and likely her tenth visit to the US since we moved here. We had an amazing morning whale watching off Dana Point, the dolphin and whale watching capital of the world. We were fortunate enough to spot two blue whales, a bunch of common dolphins, and some California sea lions. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a blue whale fluke. When the whale arches to dive deep and its tail pops out of the water before it plunges into the depths, it’s a rare sight. Apparently, blue whales don’t do this as frequently because they’re so big. Overall, it was a fantastic trip.

We also had a wonderful day up in the mountains at Lake Arrowhead. The drive was tough because we had to pass through low clouds from 2000 to 4000 feet above sea level. But once we reached the top (5174 feet), it was a breathtaking day. Lake Arrowhead is a beautiful place, but during the winter months, it can get cut off by snow. In the winter of 2023, it was cut off for 13 days with 14-foot snow drifts. I don’t think we’ll be going in the winter anytime soon!

We also attended a couple of concerts. I know I said we wouldn’t be doing any this year, but we managed to get tickets for The Rolling Stones in Vegas and Hootie and the Blowfish in Anaheim.

The Rolling Stones were incredible! The band rocked out their biggest hits, and it was amazing to see Mick, Keith, and Ronnie still rocking when their combined age is over 230 years!

Hootie and the Blowfish was a totally different experience. Surprisingly, many people haven’t heard of Hootie and the Blowfish, but the attendance at the concert clearly showed that a lot of people had. This too was a great concert. Darius Rucker, the lead singer, had the crowd singing along to their hits.

My cousin Joe, his wife Chris, and their family, Martin, Tracie, and Zach, arrived late in July. We had a blast exploring the usual sights. We went whale watching off Dana Point, they visited the San Diego Zoo, and enjoyed the heat of Palm Springs. We also spent a day in LA, checking out Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Venice Beach. Hollywood is not what you expect. It has a fair number of homeless people and street vendors trying to make a living. But you can’t come to SoCal and not see the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood sign!

Beverly Hills is exactly what you’d expect. It’s full of fancy stores that require appointments, and the prices in the windows are hidden. If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it! And there are so many “beautiful” people. I call it "the Look at Me Capital of the World.’

Then just to finish of a great day we went to Venice beach to get high, sorry I mean to see the sea and the skateboarding!.

Before they got to us, Joe and the gang spent a few days in Vegas and by all comments had a great time there too.

Next were Julie’s cousin’s Ian & Erin. Ian was out last year and didn’t want to go home then, he defiantly felt the drag to say after two weeks especially with a weekend in Las Vegas.

Then it was our turn to travel, Julie headed back to the UK in early October and I joined her later in the month. My eldest, Dominique and her daughter Taylor were over from Ireland and my youngest Meg was over from Hull as well, were also joined by Abbie, Brock and their boys, so it was a great end to the trip.

As the year comes to a close, Carys will be joining us for Christmas and New Year so we need to plan something cool while she is here. Then in early January my Mom and Chris & Wendy are coming out. Chris and Wendy are going to Hawaii then a cruise to Mexico and Julie, mom and I are going to Sydney for 2 weeks in early February. I promised Julie we would go to Australia when she was 50, unfortunately I missed that milestone so we are doing it now. Mum is also excited as she will be seeing her childhood friend and her family, who she hasn’t seen in around 9 years.

We are also trying to go to the East Coast, Manhattan to try and catch up with my friend Andreas, so that is something to plan and look forward to.

Oh, I almost forgot, we have an election in a few days. This will be the first presidential election we have voted in and I can honestly say I do not know which way to vote, the rhetoric from both candidates is about them and not what is good for America. We shall see what the outcome is and how it shapes this country in the next 4 years.

We are looking forward to 2025 and to hopefully seeing people over here again. We will be back in March as it’s my brother Chris’ 60th birthday but we will literally be in the UK for about 6 days. We have some small ideas to do with the house in the coming months and we are hopefully going to see Coldplay somewhere in the US, tickets are available but not very cheep!

As always, if you fancy coming out to take in the sights of SoCal please feel feee to reach out but as I’ve said before “book early” we have already got people penciled in for next year!

Thanks for reading and stay safe

Ciao

Paul & Julie

October 2024

Palm trees and snowy mountains

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 22:45:10 GMT

Palm Trees & Snowy Mountains,

Well Christmas and New Year have gone and we are now looking forward to Spring and summer. So whats been happening? As I mentioned last time I had to swap my car, you will not be surprised to know that I got another Tesla, same model - Model Y - but this time in blue and the Performance Version, because the previous one wasn’t fast enough! The real reason is because Tesla made it just that easy. They waived the return costs, wear and tear, excess mileage and new tires and gave me the first month free and 10,000 loyalty points to spend this year, so why not. I didn’t go for the full self drive package as I feel its still a bit of a gimmick and not worth an additional $12,000.

We have started the year by redecoration our master bathroom. We have painted the walls and decided to paint the vanity unity. As is mostly the case here the cabinetry is just left as stained wood and in our case with a white tile top. we decided to paint the cabinets. This was a fairly simple task, thank you YouTube, and added handles to the draws and doors. We also had the glass around the shower changed out last year and had a new tile floor installed in both the master and family bath, this gives the whole room a new fresh feel. We also tackled the family bathroom and 2nd ensuite downstairs. So this years guest should see a big difference.

We have also had the pool and patio area updated, we had all the concrete cleaned and repainted and resealed. It really has made a big difference to the outside, we knew the area looked tired but now that its been done it looks amazing.

As I mentioned last time we had Abbie, Brock, Pip and Otto out for Christmas, my birthday and New Year. It was great fun. One of the highlights was having a magical ride on The Polar Express. If you’ve seen the film with Tom Hanks doing the voice of the conductor then you know the story, well our experience was just the same except without the snow and the long trip to the north pole. The only thing we didn’t do was go in pajamas. Almost everyone on the train was wearing PJ’s and it really added to the atmosphere. The kids loved it and so did Pip & Otto.

As regular readers will know last year we had a year of music, going to various concerts a round the southwest US and I said that this year we would go and see more of the country we now call home. Well so far this year we have booked 2 concerts, the first one to see the Rolling Stones in Vegas and the 2nd to see Hootie and the Blowfish in Anaheim. At this rate I’m not sure where we will go “sightseeing” first!

We have visitors scheduled for the mid and late summer 1 from my side and 1 from Julie’s side of the families so thats part of the year taken up and we are planning to be back in the UK possibly in May and October, so I can see this year going fast. Oh, and my mom is coming in March for a month.

During February we have had some weather events. We have had 3 atmospheric rivers come through California dropping over 3 trillion gallons of rain and we had 144 inches of snow forecast for the Sierra Nevada mountains, thats 12 feet but luckily it only managed about 8 feet in 3 days! The media is making a very big thing of it but this seams to come around every 12 to 15 years. We are now officially out of drought and with the snow on the Sierra’s the ski season will last until around August. But I’ll bet that in 4 to 5 years we will be back in drought!

I’m hoping that my son, Jordan and his family can get out here again in the summer for a couple of weeks and my daughters Dominique and Meg. Carys will be back in May for a couple of weeks it would be great if they can come out.

As always we hope everyone is staying well but just as a throwback, its been 4 years since the start of the pandemic!

Ciao

Paul & Julie

March 2024

End of the year

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:49:14 GMT

Winter 2023

December 2023

Hello all, thanks again for reading my blogs. I appreciate the feedback either directly or via Julie’s Facebook page. Well, what’s been happening? It is getting very close to Christmas and my birthday. We are gearing up for some Christmas visitors, Abbie, Brock, Pip and Otto are coming to spend Christmas with us and we cannot wait. This will be the first time we have had any of the kids and grandkids with us for Christmas since we’ve lived here. I am looking forward waking up on Christmas morning to see twinkling eyes and excited noises, and that’s just from Julie, I have no idea how the boys will be!

We have booked to go on the Polar Express, yeah, I know it’s supposed to be in snow, which there is not a lot about in SoCal, but we know Pip will really enjoy going on a train and seeing Father Christmas with all the joy of the holiday season.

We were back in the UK during November, Julie had to be back for 3 weeks to help look after her parents. I was back for the planned 1 week. It’s the first time we have travelled back and forth separately. This time we flew Delta Airlines in their Delta One Suites. It was ok but I think I prefer the new layout in Virgin Atlantic, yes there is a little less storage space at your seat, but the seat is much more comfortable, otherwise it’s still the same old grind getting to LAX and then to family from London, lucky my brother arrange to pick me up so no rental car for me. I got a car service for Julie to and from her parents and used the same service for me to get back. It was a much more relaxing journey.

Julie and I ended up having a 2-center holiday with us both being in different locations. She spent her time on the Wirral while I was in Wakefield. We did manage to get together for 2 nights and had a couple of nice meals.

Whilst I was in Wakefield, I went to Stockeld Park with Jordan and his family which was very good, Koby loved playing on the climbing equipment, and we all enjoyed the festive light show and of course the maze! I’m surprised I’m not still lost in there! It was great fun though and made better by the fact I didn’t have to drive so could enjoy a beer. We also went to a restaurant chain called Hickory’s, this is themed on Southern US foods and décor. I must admit it was fun and the beef rib I had was fantastic. They also sold Stone IPA which as regular readers will know is brewed not far from our house. It would have been perfect if they had Stone Delicious IPA but maybe next time.

We had originally planned to have our last night in London. We were due to stay at The Goring in Belgravia but as we were basically independent travelers this had to be cancelled. When we travel back, we class this part of the journey as our “holiday” as it’s the only time we get to ourselves, but alas we didn’t get that this trip. Additionally, it always surprises people to find out that the last time Julie and I had a regular holiday was in the June of 2010. I know people say “but you live in a holiday destination” but that’s just it, we LIVE here. We still go to work, do the washing, do the shopping, take the trash out, etc.

For over 15 years I’ve promised Julie, I would take her to Australia, so I have decided I am determined to do that as soon as possible hopefully as soon as next year! Marie if you're reading this we will let you know.

Finally, it’s Christmas again, funny how it seems to turn up quicker every year. It’s been a funny old year, lots of visitors, lots of music and lots of laughs. And some sad things as well. As we prepare for 2024 and all the undoubted shenanigans of the upcoming Presidential Election, I have a feeling it will be another great year. My objectives are to get Jordan and his family out here to start his American adventure; to hopefully see some more of our great country not just Vegas and as with this year some home improvements to keep Jevins resort and Spa at the standard our visitors have come to expect. It’s going to be a great next few years. We have we the FIFA World Cup here in 2026, and the summer Olympic games in LA in 2028. These two global events means that the whole of SoCal benefits from more investment which means more jobs and a better economy for all of California residents, yeah, I know its 2 years away, but it will go fast.

Julie has made her Christmas cake and I have again been feeding it brandy for the past 3 months. I can’t wait to have a slice with usual accompaniments. We have the trees up and the house decorated for the holidays. As you may recall I took delivery of a Tesla Model Y back in December 2020 and now it has to go back. I decided to continue with a Tesla and I have taken delivery of a Tesla Model Y Performance in Blue with white interior. As much as it's the same model as the previous one it is almost a different car, the build quality is a lot better the finish inside and outside has improved and the software is much better. I decided to not get the Full Self Drive option as I didn’t use it enough to justify the increased cost. So far my impression of the new car is favorable.

As always stay safe and be nice to your nearest and dearest and Merry Christmas.

Ciao

Paul & Julie

Fall 2023

Sat, 14 Oct 2023 22:51:24 GMT

Fall 2023

Its been a great summer, very busy in lots of enjoyable ways. We had visitors from mid May and the last won’t leave us until the end of October, with only small gaps between each set of visitors, some even crossed while they were here! We also completed our Summer of Music. we have been to 6 gigs through the year.

It all started and ended in Las Vegas, well no great summer of music stated in Wakefield! Haha, just kidding, Wakefield is becoming the merry city once again and that’s great to see. there is a lot of regeneration happening in and around Wakefield which should mean a lot for the inhabitants in regards to jobs etc. Also after our last visit to Vegas, Wakefield should challenge to have the UK’s Sphere there rather than London. More on that later in the blog.

Back to the Summer of Music.

The first gig was Sting in Las Vegas, in the Colosseum in Caesars Palace. We stayed at the Venetian Resort it was also for Julie’s birthday weekend. This was the “My Songs Tour” that Sting is taking around the world, If you get chance go and see it you, won’t be disappointed.

The next one was Ringo Starr and his All Star Band in mid May at the Pechanga Resort Casino, just down the road from us in Temecula. We then had some time off while we entertained various visitors before it was time to start again in early August.

This time it was Maroon 5 at the Park MGM in Las Vegas.This was a great concert. Again if you ever get a chance these are a great group live. Adam Levine really knows how to hold an audience.

At the end of August we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Boy George and Culture Club. Included in the band was Morrissey from the 1980’s band The Smiths. he was also accompanied by Lulu. Boy George was very good singing all his classic hits with a couple of Rolling Stones and George Michael numbers thrown in. Also The Hollywood Bowl is a great venue.

The next was in late September we were in San Diego to see ColdPlay on their Music of the Spheres World Tour. As usual ColdPlay pulled out all the stops. The show as amazing. All the usual stadium busting fan favorites to seldom heard live numbers (in our experience) of Yellow, and Clocks.

Finally we ended back in Las Vegas for the show I had been looking forward to all summer. Not just for the band but the venue. We went to the 6th show of U2’s Achtung - Baby at Sphere in Las Vegas. U2 are a great band but this was all about the venue. I managed to get tickets for the floor section around 30ft from the stage and we were immersed in what can only be described as currently the best venue in the world. Basically you are inside a sphere where all around you is a screen, not just in front of you but above you and behind you and I don’t mean your typical concert screen, this one is 16k clarity. Thats 4 times most HD TV’s and the internal screen covers 160,000 square feet. Just one screen, no joins or edges (except the one on the guitar) just a great big screen! That is the size of 4 American football fields. It is the largest sphere on the planet. The experience is truly immense. People can get motion sickness from looking at the screen, amazing as you actually never move!

This is going to be the venue for big acts like ColdPlay, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones. acts that have a great show as well as the fantastic music. Speaking of music the sphere has a sound system with 163,000 speakers the sound is crystal clear in every seat. And the outside is just as impressive - Yeah, I loved it!!!

The visitors started with Carys in June and Jordan and family at the end of June to Abbie and family in August and Nicola & Bill in September and finishing with Ian and family in October. How we fit it all in with work and general life is amazing. Sometimes it feels like we are running a hotel, but we get a great kick out of it all.

Its also very interesting to see how each group differs with their expectations and what they want to do when they are here. Some want to do nothing, just chill, some want to do things for their kids and others want to do Vegas!! We tried to talk Nicola and Bill to get married by Elvis in Vegas, but they resisted!

Nicola and Bill had an itinerary for their stay and at first glance it looked like “Good Luck with That” but they had planned it and did everything on their list, using trains, subways, buses and Uber. For a part of the world that says it has no public transport infrastructure, they proved us and them wrong, well done you two!

Abbie, Brock, Pip and Otto visited in late August and it didn’t start off as well as it could. Pip wasn’t very well before they left the UK so they had to delay the start by 2 days but they got here in the end and both Julie and I learned a lot about trains from Pip!

Jordan, Steph, Koby and Milo were here from the very end of June through mid July. Jordan had always wanted to be here for America’s birthday. We had a 4th July party with work colleagues, and neighbors. Jordan was lucky enough to win $80+ on a dice game, probably the first an Englishman won anything from a American since 1776!!

Before that Carys was here, this is her 2nd visit to our place in Corona. The highlight for me during Carys’ visit was Whale watching. There are 100’s of things to do in SoCal but whale watching is, in my opinion, the best. We were lucky enough to see Fin whales, common dolphin and bottle nose dolphin during our 2 hour safari.

Before that my brother Chris and his wife Wendy were with us with their friend Lisa on their way back from Hawaii only for a few days but as always it was great to see them.

We will be back in the UK in the last half of November, Julie for 2 weeks me for just 1. We try get back twice per year, it always seems like we make the trip at the cold times in the UK it would be great to be back for summer. Its a bind flying in and out of LAX and Heathrow. the traffic and distance makes the trip more stressful. Next summer Virgin start to fly from Las Vegas to Manchester, so may give that a try.

This will also be the first year in 13 that we have missed Thanksgiving. We will be traveling on November 23rd so hopefully we may get a Turkey dinner on the flight back.

Abbie, Brock and the boys are looking to come out at Christmas. hopefully we can do this. It will be great fun. It means Santa can come to our house this year!

I have tried to put some video’s on the video section of the website of the U2 and ColdPlay concerts hope fully it works and you can enjoy.

Thanks for reading chat again soon

Paul & Julie

October 2023.

Summer 2023

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 18:51:28 GMT

Summer Fun

Hello and welcome back to our blog. Well summer is most defiantly here in SoCal, we have temperatures hovering around 37c (98f) for most of the last few weeks and sadly the annual wild fires are back again, although not as many as previous years, just yet.

As I mentioned previously we have had family here from Mid May to mid July. Chris, Wendy and their friend Lisa on their way back from Hawaii followed by Carys towards the end of June and Jordan and Steph and the kiddos from early July.

We had a wonderful meal at The Hobbit restaurant with C&W. It is probably one of the best dining places around here and when you consider how close we are to LA and Las Vegas that’s a big deal. We also got complimentary tickets to see the Anaheim Angels Major League Baseball. A good time was had by all!

During Carys’ visit we went whale watching, as I mentioned before this is awesome adventure. We were on a small, fast boat very close to the water and were lucky enough to see large pods of dolphin, both common and bottle nose and 3 fin whales. We were out for around 2 hours, although you are not guaranteed to see anything, it really is spectacular when the giants of the ocean are so close to you.

Jordan arrived at the very end of Carys’ stay. so they had her final weekend as overlap and we had a pool party on the Sunday to celebrate America’s birthday. Together with co-workers and their families and other friends we had a great time. This was the first time we have actually had a proper cook out for 4th July so it made it even more fun and Jordan won almost $100 playing left, right & center!

When I last wrote we were due to see Ringo Starr at a local casino. We did and he was very good. It was Ringo Starr and his All Star Band. The band is made up of other famous musicians from the 70’s through to the 90’s this iteration included: Colin Hay from Men at Work, James Stuart from Average White Band, Steven Lukather from Toto. He has also toured with Bruce Springsteen, Slash and Stevie Nicks to name just a few. The gig was very good, Ringo is clearly more comfortable behind the drums but he also led the band on a few numbers and fan favorites.

Julie’s youngest daughter Abbie is coming out to see us at the end of August with her husband Brock and their 2 kiddos, so we are looking forward to having a fun time with them also. It will be Abbie and Brock’s first visit to us since 2016 when we lived near Seattle

Both Jordan and Abbie are very brave travelers in my opinion, they both have very young children and are willing to sit in economy for a 10 hour flight with children under 1 year old. I know Julie struggles traveling with me and I’m 60 !

While Jordan and Co were with us Koby spent a lot of his time in the pool and is now a fairly confident swimmer. we bought a floaty for Milo and he really enjoyed being in the pool also, although it was very difficult getting him in and out of the floaty. So we are looking forward to Pip & Otto spending time in the pool, Pip is confident in the water already so hopefully he will start to swim better while he’s with us.

We have just come back from another weekend (Aug 6) in Las Vegas, we were there for another concert. This time Maroon 5 at the Dolby Live theater in the Park MGM (originally The Monte Carlo Resort). The concert was very good and totally sold out on the Saturday night. As regular readers will know Julie and I have been to a few concerts in the passed few years but I can honestly say this started out as the loudest opening I have ever heard! The opening was that loud you could feel the building vibrating! I’m surprised my ears were’t bleeding! Adam Levine is a great showman and really kept the audience engaged.

Our next concert should be fun in a totally different way, we are going to the Hollywood Bowl - probably my favorite venue - to see Boy George and Culture Club. I’m not sure what sort of gig this is going to be, but I’m sure it will be lots of fun!

On the work front we have just successfully opened a new production room to make more salad dressings! These dressings are going into small cups for salad lunch bowls, we have the capacity to make around 2,000,000 cups per week. However, I have been tasked with expanding again to more than double the overall capacity to around 15,000,000 units per week. It’s going to be a busy few years, and here am I looking to retire! Salad dressing is a growing business! Taylor Farms has also invested in a salad company in Europe so who knows where we will end up sending and making dressings?

My cousin Nicola and her partner Billy are coming out in mid September it will be there first visit to SoCal as over 21's so the world is their oyster, we are also going to Vegas for 3 days so let's PARTY. Julie’s cousin Ian his son and his parents are coming out at the end of October, the weather won’t be as hot as now but i’m sure they will have a great time regardless. we also have one of my oldest friend looking to come out in early November, he is planning to get married while he’s here so that will be great fun.

We are planning on being back in the UK in mid to late November this time we are flying direct with Delta, this may be the last time we fly back from LAX to Heathrow as from next year Virgin Atlantic will start to fly Las Vegas to Manchester. the flight from our local airport to Vegas only takes 37 minutes gate to gate and Southwest Airlines let you have 2 bags for free, so a quick flight to Vegas and then on to Manchester. should be a whole lot less stress.

Well that’s all for now

Stay safe and play safe!

Ciao

Paul & Julie

August 2023.

Spring is here

Fri, 12 May 2023 16:51:15 GMT

Spring 2023

Hello and thanks for coming back to our website. As I mentioned before, for 6 weeks during February and March I was a “single” man. I’m happy to say I managed to live and prosper getting lots of things done and without managing to go mad or any more mad!

Julie and I have decided that this is the best way for us to manage our time back to the UK. Julie is now semi retired so she can get back for an extended time, where I come back for a few days and bring her home. We are doing this in November when Julie will be back for just over 2 weeks and I will be back at the end of her stay for about 6 days.

As I mentioned last time Julie and I enjoy going to concerts so now we have started our “Summer of Music”. We went to see Sting in Las Vegas over easter. I must admit this was a great concert, he sang lots of his popular back catalogue both with The Police and as a solo artist. I have just booked us back to Vegas to see Maroon 5, Van Morrison and U2 not all at the same weekend! but over the summer through to September. We are also seeing Ringo Starr on May 19 at a local casino - Pechanga. We will be seeing my brother's favorite, The Zac Brown Band in September in Irvine, so just 30 mins down the road. I have also booked tickets to see Coldplay in San Diego and Boy George and Culture Club at the Hollywood Bowl.

The other achievement I have accomplished is, I finally fixed our spa. So now we have a spa that works and I have a happy life!

Chris, Wendy and their friend Lisa are due here for a few days as they fly back from Hawaii in late May. Hopefully the weather will be more settled and they can have a few days in our pool relaxing. I thought the weather had turned and we were getting ready for summer but we have had another couple of days of rain and cool temperatures, but this followed a really hot weekend and high temperatures. It’s difficult to know what to wear, shorts or sweaters!

We also have Julie’s elder daughter coming out in mid June for 2 weeks and my son Jordan and his family at the end of June for 2 weeks so we are looking at a busy first half of summer. Carys and Jordan will be here for the 4th July weekend so we are having a pool party with other friends and neighbors, I’m looking forward to it, hotdogs, burgers and steaks on the grill, with corn on the cob and all the fixings. Having family here will be a great way to celebrate America’s birthday.

Carys has said she wants to go whale watching, this truly is one of the highlights of SoCal. Yes there is Disneyland and Universal but in my opinion it's the natural “wonders” of SoCal from sea to mountains and deserts that are the real attractions. There are not many places in the world that you can go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon on the same day! This year because of all the snow in the mountains the ski resorts will be operating until mid July!!!

We were up early on May 6, to watch the coronation of King Charles III, apart from the weather it looked like a great day and from an American point of view it really did show the UK off as a great place for pomp and circumstance. I have had lots of friends ask me about traveling to the UK and places to visit because of that and now that travel is totally unrestricted I’m sure some of my friends will make the trip. As you may also have read the US has now dropped all restrictions to visitors to the US regardless of vaccination status, I must say that this is about time, we have friends and family in the UK and Europe who are wanting to come out here and visit both us and the country, so from me Welcome Back, We are Open.

I am now in the last 6 months of the lease on my Tesla Model Y. As user of a main stream EV for over 2 years I think I am now in a position to comment of my experience of driving and living with an EV. Yes that are some changes to mindset and driving that have to be taken in to account. First of all its is much easier to own and charge if you have a driveway and can charge at home, I charge at home and I installed a charger at work so always having access was easy. The tesla supercharger network is also first class, but that is based on California and the western US in general. I am never more than 50 miles from a supercharger. I have only had “range anxiety” once, that was back at the very beginning when I was unsure about what the real range was. There was a lot of talk about the build quality of Tesla’s and I would agree, there is lots that could be improved, however it has not stopped my enjoyment of the car. A big issue is how the car wears through tires (tyres). In 30,000 miles I have gone through 2 sets of back tire and almost 1 set of fronts. to make matter worse Tesla specify a specific type of tire for their cars which are more expensive - go figure! you can put on “normal” tire but it does effect the ride quality.

In wrapping up, as always if you are interested in a vacation to SoCal please feel free to get in touch, we have family and friends “booked” in for this year and even next year. We are always happy to have people stay either for the duration or as a base to explore, just remember California is larger than the UK and SoCal is just about as big as Wales, with much worse traffic, but fewer sheep!

Thanks for reading, until next time

Ciao

Paul & Julie

May 2023

Is Spring here yet?

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:21:43 GMT

Is it Spring Yet?

So, its been 12 weeks since my mom became a snowbird. First of all its been a pleasure having her here with us for Thanksgiving, Christmas, My 60th birthday and New Year. She slotted in to our lifestyle very quickly and has even enjoyed some of the TV programs we watch! although she still watched “Coronation Street” and “Emmerdale” regularly. She together with Julie also kept a big secret from me. My brother Chris and his wife Wendy came out to surprise me for my birthday, to say I was speechless was an understatement! I really did enjoy them being here although it was only a week it was still great.

Whilst mom was here she joined the local line dancing troop in Corona and she had a great time, all the regulars enjoyed having her there even though its a slightly different kind of line dancing than what she is used to. In the UK the dancing is focused on foot work but here they also “wave their arms about”. Still she liked going and enjoyed the companionship she got there.

Julie and mum travelled back to the UK on February 11. I’m not sure mum was fully looking forward to it as she seemed to be well settled here, I hope had a great time? Julie has gone to the UK also to welcome her 2nd grandchild He was born on February 13. Julie Just made it back in time to be there!

So as Julie is now in the UK I’m now a “single” man, I haven’t done that in over 20 years! Nothing really different I'm still going to work every day, I just have fend for myself when I get home and at weekends, but I’ve given myself a list of stuff to do so shouldn’t be bored too much! If I am, I may go and get a dog!

I have decided to have the first 2 weeks as quiet weeks focusing on getting stuff done around the house that I’ve been putting off and sorting out plans for our summer of music. As I’ve previously mentioned Julie and I like to go to concerts, (not festivals, I couldn't bear to be in a tent, why pay a load of money to live like a homeless person!) so far we are going to see Sting and Van Morrison in Vegas, probably Coldplay in Vancouver Canada and I’m trying to get tickets to see Richard Starkey (Ringo Star) in San Diego. Plus whoever else comes along to tour in the area. Incidentally U2 may be doing a short residency in a new venue in Las Vegas called the Sphere, So may go to see them too.

I’m going to be traveling back to the UK in mid March but as usual I will be only be back for a few days as I have lots to do at work and we don’t get the vacation time like you get in the UK, I get less than 20 days vacation per year, compared to when we were in Ireland that is less than half of the amount! Still after 12 years I have now gotten used to it.

I have now submitted the relevant papers for my son, Jordan and his family to come and make a life out here in the good ol’ USA. I have applied for a family sponsored Green-card and also a work visa (H1-B) through my business. hopefully he will get the H1 this year but its a bit of a lottery so who knows!

As I mentioned above my brother Chris and Wendy were out at Christmas for my birthday and they are now coming back in May, firstly to Hawaii then back to SoCal to spend a few days with us at Jevins Resort and Spa!

As I write this it’s the end of February and the weather is cold! I know I’ve mentioned it before and I know it’s not as cold as the UK, although I think right now the UK is slightly warmer than here it is still COLD! We live just below the Cleveland national forest and Santa Ana mountains. the maximum peak is only 5000 feet above sea level at its highest about 6 miles south of us but on 2/23 we had snow on top of the bit I can see and thats only 1000 feet above sea level. I have had numerous weather warnings on my phone telling me to stay indoors and make sure, if I do go out I have plenty of layers on and incredibly to inform people of how long I intent to be out as there is a danger to life! I kid you not, there is also a severe rain/flood warning that if we live in the Santa Ana river basin to move to higher ground! You couldn’t make it up.

As always thanks for reading

Paul & Julie

Feb, 2023

Winter 2022

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 20:12:02 GMT

Seasons Greetings and my birthday present.

Winter 2022

Winter is finally here in SoCal. We’ve just had our first winter storm of 2022. we have lots of snow on the nearby mountains and lots of localized flooding in our back garden! I know its not as wintery as in the UK right now but it is still colder than Julie and I would like. Julie was summoned for jury service in Thanksgiving week, this’d been postponed from the end of October. So we decided to have our thanksgiving lunch at a local restaurant as we weren’t sure if she would be sitting on a jury until Thanksgiving eve, as it was she was discharged on the Tuesday before turkey day. The restaurant was very good, the usual choice of Turkey or Beef and all the usual trimmings but without all the cooking and washing up afterwards.

We have just about completed our Christmas shopping, like probably most of the western world we shop on line using various vendors in both the US and the UK. This makes shopping for gifts easier but not necessarily more enjoyable as its nice to have that personal touch.

As I mentioned last time, my mom is now with us for the bulk of the UK winter. She has been here a few weeks already and is slotting in to our lifestyle quite well. We aren’t doing all the usual tourist stuff with her, she is just being part of us and doing the things we do as a regular part of our lives. The first weekend in December we celebrated the holidays with some close friends at their place and we took mum along with us. we had a great time eating, drinking and having a good laugh. They all made mum feel very welcome and special. Its good to see friends but very good to see them during the holidays.

As some of you may already know it will be my birthday at the end of December. I too will be having a number finishing with a 0. Since the start of 2022 Julie has been asking what I would like for my birthday, and as usual I had no idea what to suggest. However, when Chris and Wendy were out in November we went to Laguna Beach. This place has some great art galleries so we called in to one.

Since we have lived here I have wanted a painting from a local (San Diego) artist called Steve Barton , however, I wanted a particular type, a picture painted on a surfboard. Steve paints these periodically and occasionally you can buy one from some galleries. I have been reluctant to make the purchase on the rare occasions I have seen them, as we have moved around quite a lot in the past 12 years and as they are 6 feet long I was concerned about having a wall big enough to display it!

We were chatting with the gallery owner and she said she knew Steve and would ask if he would paint one for me. So after some texting and phone calls we commissioned Steve to paint a Surf Board to our liking. Normally Steve would paint a couple of deck chairs and a small "surf" hut as part of the scene but I didn't want them so asked for them not to be added. The picture arrived and now has pride of place in our dining room, that's it at the top of the page what do you think of it?

As we now start the final countdown to Christmas we are getting ready for a traditional Christmas with turkey and all the trimmings, including Christmas pudding! Julie as usual has made a Christmas cake (fruit cake for my American readers) in October and I have been feeding it with brandy for the past few weeks, sadly anyone under 21 can't try it, but I can't wait to have a piece with mature cheddar or Wensleydale and cranberry cheese and a glass of whiskey.

Finally, I would just like to say a big Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my family, friends and readers. I hope the coming year brings health and happiness to everyone

Ciao

Paul & Julie

December 2022

As an addition to my last blog.

I had a great surprise between Christmas and my birthday. Mom, Julie and I were sat watching the TV on 12/27 when there was a knock on the front door. Julie asked me to get it as she was expecting a parcel from Amazon. I trudged to the door to collect the parcel, on opening the door I was amazed to see my brother Chris and his wife Wendy stood on the step surprising me with horns and shouting "SURPRISE"! They had just arrived from the UK to surprise me for my birthday! To say I was shocked was an understatement, I can't think of anytime in my adult life I have been lost for words, this was a first.

It was great having them here to celebrate my birthday. Thank you brother you truly made my day!

Fall 2022

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 17:36:40 GMT

End of summer 2022

Fall 2022

Hello everyone and thanks for coming back. Well summer is now over its late October and we have not long said goodbye to Julie’s sister, Diane and her husband David. They were out for a couple of weeks and we tried to do plenty while they were here, not the usual tourist stuff - “been there, done that” but stuff we wouldn’t have done normally.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though. During the summer, just before Dom & Jordan came out I had a small accident. I managed to partly rupture my achilles tendon. Yes very painful, and it did prevent me from a lot of walking whilst they were with us, sadly it didn’t get me out of going to Disney! However I managed to push through with lots of nagging from everybody until they went home. The ankle felt like it was getting better, until about 2 weeks before Diane and David were due to arrive, then just as I got out of the car walking to the house I felt and heard a “POP” and felt more pain than I have ever experienced. I released that the whole tendon had snapped!

I went to the ER and had it confirmed. I found an orthopedic surgeon made an appointment for Wednesday 14, September and was scheduled for the operation on Thursday 15, September. no waiting lists here, but it did cost over $12,000, thank goodness for insurance! So for the past 5 weeks I have not been able to put my left foot on the floor.

This did have an impact on Diane and David’s visit as we had arrange to go to Las Vegas to see 2 shows, Rod Stewart on the first night and Donny Osmond on the second night. I had no option but to rent and electric wheelchair. Not the type you get on the TV show Benidorm but a state of the art chair that could go up and down curbs, turn in its own footprint. It was rather a cool machine.

Having the chair had its advantages especially at the Rod Stewart gig, Julie and i got moved to the area reserved for disabled and I actually managed to shake hands with Rod as he came through the crowd.

However, there was also a massive downside of being in a chair and being, all be it, short term disabled. Over the whole weekend the number of times I was ignored or “not seen” was very disappointing. I quickly came to realize that if you are not the same height as most adults you will not be seen. From people just not looking at what is in front of them to people with their heads stuck in their phone it was quite dangerous especially at road crossings where the throng of people made it very difficult to get off the road on the curb before the lights changed back.

Now 6 weeks on from the operation to repair the tendon I am able to stand and even take a few faltering steps back to normality. Which is a good job as we are due in the UK next week to see the newest addition to our ever growing family, grandchild number 4. Milo Jevins, a little brother to Koby, born Monday October 3rd. I’m very pleased to say both mother and baby are doing fine and so are Koby and Jordan. we can’t wait to meet you little guy.

We are only back for 7 days so are making the most of seeing family as much as possible, most Julie’s side as we will have just seen mine through the summer and my mom is traveling back to California with us on November 12. She has decided to become a “Snow Bird”. A term given usually to Canadians who fly south for the winter to get away from the cold, so mum is doing exactly that 12 weeks in Southern California a great idea to keep the cold out. I wonder if I can have her winter fuel allowance!!.

We are expecting my brother Chris and his wife Wendy here on the halloween weekend. My brothers favorite band, The Zac Brown Band are playing the Hollywood bowl on November 4 so I suggested that they come and see him, and what do you know they are! It should be a good night, we have Garden Box seats and are having a meal in the seats before the show. We are also spending most of the day in Hollywood and staying in the Leows Hotel Hollywood. Although Hollywood isn’t all the glamor that its made out to be its still an experience. There is plenty to do and see so long was we stay clear of the many homeless in the area.

Outside of the current busy time we are thinking about Christmas and my 60th birthday, having my mum with us will make it different, as we haven’t had family with us for Christmas whilst we’ve lived here. So this year will be different. We are also planning to have a different Thanksgiving, usually we cook and have people over, this year however, we plan to have a Thanksgiving at a local hotel so there’s not any cooking or washing up to do!

You may recall from my previous blogs that I have a Tesla Model Y? Tesla sends updates out to the car over the air, via WiFi. Recently I got and update that gave me Full Self drive capability on all roads, previously this was only available on the freeway but now it is on all roads and traffic conditions. I have used it a number of times it does take some getting used to but I personally think it's a major step in the direction of autonomous transport! there is still a long way to go but I believe the first steps have now been taken!

Again, thanks for reading as I’ve said in the past if you’re looking to explore Southern California them drop us a message we would love to be your home base while you explore this amazing part of the world, we do have some family and friends coming out in 2023 so not all dates are available.

Thanks again and stay safe

Ciao Paul & Julie

October 2022

Finally!

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 20:49:10 GMT

Finally!

It really did happen, they finally got here!

Well, what can I say? After 12 years and many discussions about having a free holiday to California, my daughter, Dominique, son-in-law Hugh and my granddaughter Taylor finally made it here for a vacation.

As I’ve been mentioning for the past few posts, they were due to originally visit in 2020, they tried again in 2021 and finally got here in 2022. And it has been a blast! Also, my son, Jordan, daughter-in-law Steph and grandson Koby were also on the plane from London, so it made it a truly awesome 2 weeks.

We tried to cram as much into their time as possible; we did all the usual tourist things we have had the others do over the years from Whale watching with Capt. Dave’s dolphin safari to Hollywood and Beverley Hills to Santa Monica, LA’s Farmers Market , lots of shopping and eating to teaching Koby to swim and generally having a great time.

We didn’t think Jordan and family would make it out due to him not having a passport, however his new blue British passport turned up on Wednesday, 2 days before he was due to fly, talk about cutting it close!

It was a great time and the longest we have all been together for about 15 years! It’s a pity Meg and Alfie weren’t here at the same time although it would have made the sleeping arrangements a little more difficult!

This was the furthest Dom, Hugh and Taylor had ever been from home and I really think it opened their eyes to what the world looks like.

One of the things they wanted to do was go to Disneyland, so I girded my loins and bought the eyewatering expensive tickets and took them all to the Mouse House. Although it was very busy, they did have a good time and I think it’s fair to say if I go back in the next 3 years it will be too soon!

We also had a pool party day where they all got to meet some “normal” Americans, not just Julie and me. Again, it was a great afternoon plenty of nice thick steaks on the grill with corn-on-the-cob and salad, a very traditional American cookout, oh, and plenty of beer and wine!

As I mentioned earlier Koby learnt to swim and is now 100% confident in the water, considering 3 years ago he did not go in the pool until the very last day and then only in his daddy’s arms it’s amazing how he is developing.

Dominique, Huge and Taylor also had a life lesson while out with us, I think they may listen next time when I say sunscreen is a necessity before you get burnt and resemble a lobster , ouch!

Although prices have changed along with the rest of the world Dominique, Hugh, Taylor, Jordan and Steph helped our economy by spending on new clothes and food thanks for the meals, guys.

During their time here they created a shared digital album of memories. There is over 1000 photographs and 50 videos ( some of which you can see here )and that’s after I edited some of the pictures out. You’ll thank me later Julie!

I’m not sure what they would all consider as their highlight of their vacation but for Julie and I it was having a house full of family, yeah making noise and generally turning our world upside down but we wouldn’t have had it any other way, it was fantastic!

Now we are back to our normal, +38c (100f) temperatures and back to work. Our next visitors Julie's sister and her husband, Diane & David will be here in about 6 weeks, again we are looking forward to them coming but it will be a totally different vacation.

On an unrelated subject I would like to link you to a great short movie/commercial for my home county of Yorkshire . it's narrated by that unassuming Yorkshireman Sean Bean and spoiler alert he doesn't get killed in this one! Hope you enjoy it and happy belated Yorkshire day

ciao Paul & Julie

August 2022

Summer 2022

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 21:47:47 GMT

Good things come in 2's

Class of ‘79

Its mid-June 2022, I am just returning home to the US after visiting family for a twice delayed family wedding, a second birthday celebration for my step-grandson and to celebrate my son’s recent wedding and his great news on being an expectent father for the second time, seems like things are coming in two’s this year!

All this got me thinking about where I am in the world, no, not literally, I know where I live, well most of the time, just the bigger picture. I am going to be 60 at the end of this year and as much as it’s not a big issue to me, it has got me thinking about the Class of ’79, those of us who left school in the last year of the 1970’s.

For the most part we were born in late 1962 to the summer of ’63. We were around in the swinging 60’s but grew up in the 70’s.

I know every generation believes that they had it hardest and the others had it had it easiest. However, I think we really did…. have it both ways! We are almost the last of the Baby Boomers but by then we were also almost the first of Generation X. I believe that this makes us special, my mum always said I was special!!

We joined the “big school” in 1974, we came from St Austin’s, English Martyrs, St Ignatius, and many other catholic junior schools in the area. We met new people and developed friendships in the mixing pot that was St Thomas a Becket School. Most of us grew up together coming from the likes of Eastmoor, Lupset, Alverthorpe, Kettlethorpe, Ossett and other places around Wakefield. I recall some of the people I went through school life with, some still live in and around the Wakefield area. Others have moved further afield. Therefore, I believe we are the special ones. Yes, other generations have fledged the nest and spread far and wide but we the class of ’79 did it in greater numbers. Also, we grew up in relatively peaceful times, yes, I know about the Cuban missile crisis and the cold war and wars in southeast Asia, but as kids these things were just black and white pictures on a screen in the corner. I’m not trying to trivialize these issues but as I mentioned earlier, we grew up through the 1960’s not with the 1960’s! Our first understanding of “conflict” was who was number 1 in the pop charts. These were announced on a Tuesday, we would gather round a transistor radio to listen to the broadcast on the BBC lunchtime show and the top 20 would be played on a Sunday “teatime” where again we would stand around the radio with our new cassette recorders, recording our favorites without getting the DJ’s voice. Napster eat your heart out, we the kids of the 70’s got there first with music piracy! Is that something to shout about?

In my opinion we were that generation that really could decide where our future lay. Some left school at 16, some at 18 after A levels and some after going on to university. I remember in the last years before we left school, we had to spend time chatting with a career counselor (not sure what they called them then, but I think that’s the modern equivalent). I remember being asked what I would like to do when I left school and recall saying I was interested in Marine Biology, to say I shocked the “counselor” would be an understatement! She asked me what my interests were and what I felt were the subjects I was good at – as I was in the top 3% of my age group, I think it’s fair to say I was fairly talented! When I answered she suggested I should think about a “career” in the coal mines! Now don’t get me wrong I have no issue with coal miners or mines in general, my father worked down the mines his whole life but as I was reminded at his funeral last year, he did not want his kids to follow him down the mines, he wanted what he considered better for us! As I look back now on this episode of my formative years and what I have accomplished I’m glad I didn’t follow the career counselor’s advice, the only way I would have got to California would have been to dig my way here!

All this got me thinking of the people I grew up with. Over the past few years I have reconnected with some of my old school friends through Facebook although I am no longer on that platform and have even managed to meet up a couple of time back in Wakefield. It was good to catch up and see where we had all ended up. As I mentioned above, we the last of the baby boomers and the first of the Gen X’s have really spread our wings. Talking with some it seems the health service was the choice of most of the girls I spoke with and various industries for the boys, although I must state that on the reunion occasions it was mostly girls who attended, so it's not a scientific study in anyway.

It was also sad to hear that some of our Class of ’79 had passed away, very sad really when you consider that in some cases it was before their 50 ^th year!

######

As I mentioned at the top of the post, we have been back in the UK for 9 days. We celebrated the wedding of my cousin with members of the extended family and congratulated my son who got married in April. Then on to the west side of the country to see Julie’s family and to celebrate Pip’s 2 ^nd birthday. All around a great week both in seeing family and getting away from the normal we have at home. I’m happy to report that both sides of the family are in good health and spirits. Notwithstanding the usual aches and pains for all of us as we get older.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have started to have our busy summer. My youngest daughter, Meg and her partner Alfie visited us in May for 2 weeks. As they have seen it all before, they were just happy to be in the sun and in the pool having a distracted time from their normal day to day routine.

We have about 4 weeks before Dominique, Hugh and Taylor make their first visit to us since we came to the US 12 years ago! To say we are excited about this is something of an understatement! There is so much we want them to see and experience that being here for 2 weeks is not enough time. Jordan, Steph and Koby should be making this trip if Jordan gets his passport in time!

Julie has also made the decision to change her job once again. After turning 60 she was looking for a better work life balance so has decided to semi-retire and resurrect her consultancy business. This gives her the flexibility to work the days and hours she likes whilst keeping an active interest in the profession she has spent her working life in. Right now, she has 2 contracts taking up almost the whole of a week for the next few months. Things are still going the right with my employer; we will post record results again for this year and are probably still the largest produce supplier in the world.

As always thanks for reading and stay safe.

Ciao

Paul & Julie

June 2022

Spring is in the Air

JEVIN001 — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 21:02:37 GMT

Spring is in the air

Spring 2022

Well, the holiday season is now over, and we have started tax season here in the good ol’ USofA. It’s not until you live here you realize how many seasons we have got!!

But looking at it another way it means that the cold weather of winter is behind us, and we are looking forward to it getting warmer through the spring into summer. Although, we have had one of the wettest starts to the year since records began. We had over 8 inches of rain in a week through January and more rain and “cold” weather in February with some very strong winds.

Both Julie and I managed to catch (is that the correct term) COVID in mid-January. We had to go into isolation for 10 days so that meant working from home and not going anywhere. We both had mild symptoms, as a lot of others have reported like having a bad cold, we still have some lingering aftereffects, runny nose, dry cough and sinus congestion but thankfully nothing too debilitating.

We were due to go to Las Vegas at the end of February to see Van Morrison, unfortunately this was cancelled as Van didn’t feel the COVID issues were sufficiently reduced to have the gig! We managed to bank our flights and accommodation and we got the ticket money back for the concert, so we will use these later in the year, as the saying goes, “Vegas is the answer to any question”!

Julie and I celebrated our 17 ^th wedding anniversary on February 26. We decided to spend the weekend at the Mission Inn in Riverside a National Historic Landmark and feature of Riverside and Southern California. It’s a beautiful hotel with great restaurants and bars. Our favorite is the Presidential Lounge , known locally as the Presidents bar it honors the 10 Presidents of the United Sates of America who have stayed, visited, honeymooned and even got married at the Inn. It also hosts the festival of lights at Christmas and other festivities through the year, overall, a great place to visit.

It will be Julie’s birthday in April it’s a rather special one ending in a “0”! I have booked for us to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island in San Diego. It is a beautiful hotel that is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort. It is the second largest wooden structure in the United States. If you click on the link above you may see a movie of Julie & I, driving along in a vintage Corvette, haha! We will be having a dinner cruise around San Diego Bay on the Saturday evening and generally having a very relaxing time. You can check out the live beach camera here and see if you can see us!!

Soon we will have our first visitors of 2022. Meg and Alfie will be with us for 2 weeks from mid-May, with Dominique, Jordan and their families here in late July, Diane & David here in Mid-September. We are going to Las Vegas hopefully to two shows, on the first night we will be seeing Donny Osmond and on the second night Rod Stewart this should be a great weekend. Chris and Wendy here in Late October, and we are going to the Hollywood bowl with them to see the Zac Brown Band one of my brothers’ favorite artists, we are in the Garden Box Seats where we will have a picnic and wine during the concert. We will not be like some who bring candelabras and flowers for the tables, at least I don’t think so! We are also going to Florida in early May to see Chris and Wendy and will be back in the UK in mid-June it’s going to be a busy summer!

Through January, we started to get to work on the front garden (or yard as it’s called here). We have decided to reduce the amount of ground coverage plants and replace with succulents to reduce the amount of water we use; this is both an environmental decision and a financial one. It has been heavy going, the foliage that was in the ground has very deep roots and is very difficult to pull out, not to mention then I must dig a hole for the new plants, they need to be big enough to give the plant a chance to flourish. The ground has been “baked hard” by years of hot sun and little rain, so I’ve had a workout digging the holes.

I have also sold my motorcycle; I made the decision as feel I’m now a little too old to be riding around on an aggressive sports bike and riding a bike here in the summer is too hot. Still, I had fun with it, but life moves on. As you will recall from earlier posts I bought an electric car at the start of 2021, a Tesla Model Y Long Range. I did over 12,000 miles in the first year for a cost of $7.25! Partly due to the deal on free supercharging and partly for having solar panels on my roof. I calculated if I still had the Ford, it would have cost me around $2,100 in gas (petrol) for the same miles and that cost would have been increasing. As of today – March 7, 2022 - gas prices in SoCal are $5.46 per gallon. I know that’s still cheep compared to the UK but its very expensive here when you consider that that average vehicle gets about 20 miles per gallon!

If anyone reading this and looking for a vacation spot you are more than welcome to come across and set your base at our house, we are currently free between Mid-August to Mid-September, I promise I won’t ask you to dig any holes!

Great to chat with you all again, stay safe and be kind!

Ciao, Paul & Julie

March 2022

We had visitors

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 23:06:44 GMT

We had Visitors!

Christmas & Winter 2021

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

Well, it’s not really that frightful outside but we have had some temperatures down as low as +1c at night! So, season’s greetings! both Julie and I hope everyone back in the UK is safe warm and in good health and spirits?

As I mentioned in my last post, we had just returned from visiting family in the UK. I am pleased to say that my mom and aunt came out to visit with us from November 13 through to the day after Black Friday – I wonder if that day has special name, like grayish Saturday or something like that?

But as anyone who knows my family well, will not be surprised to learn that this visit almost had be cancelled, not by COVID this time but by firstly Wakefield’s finest, the west Yorkshire police and then by a sewer drain!

Where to start? On the Thursday the week before mum was due to fly out to us, she was “T boned” by a speeding police car on Park Lodge Lane! She was making a legal right turn, when the police car ran in to the side of her, she was pretty shook up (but not the Elvis version) but not too much and had to be brought home, the last ¼ mile by my brother Chris, who was woken up by the young policeman (aren’t the all?) calling him from mum’s phone and saying that “this is west Yorkshire police and that Mrs. Christine Jevins had been involved in a Road Traffic Incident on Park Lodge Lane”. Well, you can imagine his reaction! So the only damage was the car and mom a little shocked!

On bonfire night, the night after. The family were having a bonfire party and setting off fireworks. Mum was walking back to the house when she stood on a sewer drain that promptly collapsed, dropping mom through like a hang man’s trapdoor! While she was trapped down the sewer one of the family just finished their “business” and then flushed! Ugh!

She managed to break a small part of her knee and badly twisted the tendons in her ankle. The family called 999 and two teams of paramedics arrived to take mum from the sewer and transport her to A&E where she was left waiting for 8 hours before being seen!

All this was just a week before she was due to make a 10-hour flight to see us! Fast Forward a little over a week and I’m glad to say she and my aunt safely arrived in LAX. We brought them back to our home and for the 1 ^st time in my life my mom was speechless when she finally stepped foot (or hopped) into our home.

It was great having her here with us, I took some time off and we went to Laguna Beach, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and various other places in SoCal. Mum has seen it all before of course, but it was the first time for my aunt. Although I think we did have a couple of firsts for mom, when we were having lunch in Laguna Beach, we were overlooking the ocean and you could see dolphins frolicking just offshore. Then when we were in Beverly Hills. We stopped to cross the street. A black SUV stopped to let us cross, nothing special about that. Well, the SUV was being driven by Morgan Freeman!

We have now returned to normal and are now in the run down to Christmas, we have the trees up and the lights on the outside of the house, and in what had now become a tradition for us after completing the tree on Saturday we settled down to watch that holiday classic, Love Actually . I know lots of people say it but hasn’t this year gone fast? it seems like 5 minutes ago we were wishing everyone a happy New year and now it's back again. We are looking forward to 2022, hopefully Dominique, Jordan and their families will finally get here!

We are planning on being back at the end of March for around 8 days, but in the meantime, we will be going to Vegas, it will have been 2.5 years since we were there! We are going to see Van Morrison and then later in the spring we are planning to see Coldplay – again – but this time we may travel to some other part of the US possibly Dallas.

We have decided to get back as close to normal as soon as possible and as soon as circumstances allow. With the years passing quickly there can’t be much time left!

we are also planning on going to see Chris and Wendy in Florida in May. Finally as always if you want to come and see Southern California then please contact us. we love having visitors but as Fred Pontin used to say "Book early" we already have people scheduled to stay at easter, in July & September!!

That's all for now, stay safe, keep smiling and be kind to one and other.

Ciao

Paul & Julie

December 2021

Fall 2021

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 18:06:22 GMT

Bernard Jevins. January 11, 1940 - September 10, 2021

Fall 2021

Well, hello again, I know it’s only been a short while since my last post, but I thought I would chat with you all again.

As I mentioned last time Julie and I were hoping to go back to the UK as soon as possible to see family both old and new.

We did manage to get back, we landed in London on September 18. Although we had planned this return, the week before we flew my father passed away, so it made it more important than ever to get back and support my family and have them support me in this very sad time.

His funeral was in accordance with his wishes and fitting for a man who never sought out being the center of attention. My brother managed all the arrangements along with his wife and my mom. Both he and I read a eulogy at the service. It felt good to remember my dad as we did. Later the immediate family gathered at my mum’s house to support each other and celebrate his life and his impact on all of us.

Dominique and her family made it across from Ireland to pay their respects and although it was great to see them, the first time in almost 3 years, I would and I’m sure they would have preferred a happier occassion for a reunion.

Earlier in the trip we managed to meet our new grandson Pip and he was a joy. He is growing up so fast and he is no longer a baby but a full-grown toddler! He is learning to sign and taught both Julie and I some sign language! so now we are tri-lingual, we speak English, American and sign!

We also spent time with Julie’s family, her sister and her husband are in the middle of remodeling their house, literally knocking it down and rebuilding it! I must admit I cannot for one minute imagine doing that myself, all respect for undertaking a project like that and living in a caravan on a building site!!

In the middle of the week, I had the honor of attending my youngest daughter, Megan’s graduation from college – she calls it Uni, but I’m an American now and we call it college! It took place in the magnificent York Minster; it was one of the highlights of a sad trip to see her and her partner Alfie “make the walk” to collect their certificates and to become officially Bachelor of Science Graduates.

The COVID requirements of both the US and the UK made travelling different, we had to get tested before travel then on arrival then before we flew home. All this was relatively easy to do and if this is going to be the new normal then so be it, it’s a small price to pay to continue to travel and spend time with loved ones.

As regular readers will recall, various members of my family have been trying to get out to see us all year and indeed the year before, without any success due to the travel restrictions both from the US and the UK. However, I’m pleased to say that now the US is open for travel my mom and Aunt will be with us from November 13.

Both Julie and I are very excited about this. I’m not sure the US is ready for my mum and Aunt though! I’ve warned the Yardhouse that they need to get some more beer in readiness for their visit!

They will also be here for Thanksgiving so it will be a first for us to have family here for Thanksgiving together with our wonderful neighbors and their kiddos.

One thing that we discovered whilst in the UK was the vast amount of non-alcohol beverages, beer and spirits – mostly Gin to my eye, were available in abundance. Whilst I have always been very suspicious of alcohol-free drinks, that being the taste, I was very impressed with the Tanqueray Gin and various beer offerings. In particular Guinness, as someone who has drunk more than their fair share of the black stuff in St James’ Gate Brewery Dublin , I was very impressed with the alcohol-free version, I would challenge anyone to tell the difference! We can’t wait to get some of these offerings on this side of the pond!

One of the highlights of the trip was being able to pick Koby up from school. Jordan, his dad, had not told him we were in the UK, so he was very shocked to see us waiting for him when school finished. He was a little bit shy until he got used to seeing us in the flesh rather than through a screen! After that he was all systems go! He only started school earlier in the month and he is enjoying it immensely.

Overall, our trip back was a mixture of sadness and laughter. I’m sure my dad would have been happy that we all came together to celebrate his life and no matter what, I think he would still be supportive in our move eleven years ago to the US, as I said in his eulogy, he wanted better for his kids than he had, as we want better for our children than we have. A life is there to live, and a world out there to explore.

To all reading this, please stay safe, be kind and show the people special to you how you feel.

Paul

Corona CA.

October 19, 2021

September 21

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 21:18:21 GMT

American!

September 2021

Hello and welcome back

Well, it’s coming toward the end of summer, the nights are starting to draw in and its darker on a morning when I get up. I know you will say it’s only the end of August but for us at this latitude it starts to get darker earlier and by the middle of September it will be dark at 7pm.

So, as I told you all in my last post, we were looking forward to having visitors here from mid-June until mid-July, sadly these visits were cancelled due to covid. My mum and aunt had rescheduled for mid-July but unfortunately that was cancelled as well.

We were also due to come back to the old country in late August for my niece, Lizzie’s wedding and my mom’s 80 ^th birthday.

Unfortunately, we can’t get back for that again because of covid but also, we no longer have the correct travel documents!!

How could that happen I hear you ask? If you recall from last year, I mentioned that both Julie and I had applied to become American Citizens, well on July 27, 2021, we became American citizens! What we didn’t know was that we had to surrender our green cards and right now we do not have a US passport to enable us to travel back to the USA. We still have UK passports but in these uncertain times we cannot re-enter the US on a UK passport! We have applied for US passports, but it could take up to 16 weeks! We should have gone through the ceremony in mid-June. However, a new federal holiday was announced 12 hours before we were due to swear the oath of allegiance, so we were pushed back by 6 weeks if this hadn’t happened, we would have been able to get back for the celebrations.

We do plan to be back this year now that the UK is allowing double vaccinated travelers, so mum save us some birthday cake!

We have had a good summer so far and not withstanding no visitors, we did have a 4 ^th July party at our house with around 25 people, neighbors and co-workers. I like to think of it as a practice for when Jordan and Dom get here then we will do it again.

We have had some sad news also; it breaks my heart to inform you that our friend and companion the big yellow duck expired! Still, he had a good life swimming with the kids both large and small. We will miss him or her! There is talk of a new replacement in the form of a chicken or was that a flamingo! Not a lot of difference, right??

We have also been watching a great series on Apple TV+ it’s called Ted Lasso it is a very funny and poignant program that can have you laughing one minute and give you tears in your eyes the next. Watch it and let me know what you think?

Right now, Julie is between jobs, she left Stir Foods in early June and is now a lady that lunches! She has been into my facility to help with developing and commercializing a number of our new salad dressing that have just launched in to the market here, so she is keeping her hand in!

Update Julie has a new position as Director of R&D for a company called Cadence Kitchen.

Until next time!

Spring 2021

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 18:49:45 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Spring 2021

Hello and welcome back.

Well, Spring is finally here in SoCal, yep, we have rain, snow on the mountains and flooded roads! But we did have our first swim in mid January, the temperature was an exceptionally warm 30 degrees, so we switched on the pool heater and had 2 days of just floating around!

Julie and I are well on our way to having our jabs, (vaccinations to my American readers), I’ve had both mine and Julie will get her 2nd by the end of March. We are super excited, It really does feel like this pandemic is now starting to be overcome, we have vaccination records (proof of vaccine) from the CDC so this will hopefully help us travel. Still some way to go but we have started to turn the corner.

All this is good news for travel, both in to the US and for us to get back to the UK.

We have visitors planned for June and July this year. My Mom and Aunt are due here mid June and my daughter Dominique, son Jordan and their families are due at the end of June. hopefully the COVID restrictions will be eased enough for them to make the trip.

It will be Dominique’s first visit to us in 11 years, but better late than never! It will be exciting for all of us to see Dom, Hugh and Taylor’s reaction when they step off the plane at LAX and then the drive back to our place.

Taylor has been worried that she may get bored whilst she is here, so here is a little web site for her (and you) to check out and see what’s around in SoCal

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/states/southern-california/

Also for any one else wanting to come out here is a link to some of the things that makes SoCal unique and different from other places.

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/southern-california/dangerous-things-to-say-so-cal/

Although why they are dangerous remains a mystery!

We are still planning to be in the UK in August this year, my niece Lizzie is getting married so we are looking forward to being there to celebrate with them. Also my mum will be 80 yrs old on August 22, so it will be a double celebration, and of course we will get to see Pip for the first time in “real life” rather than FaceTime. We can’t wait!!!!

I may not have mentioned in previous blog posts that we added a cinema room last year. Technically its more of a drive-in but without the drive! Ok, to be clear, it's an outside cinema. It has a 100 inch screen with a 4k projector attached to an Apple TV paired with a bluetooth 360 degree speaker. We also have a popcorn machine (thanks Diane & David) so hot popcorn and cold beer from the keg makes movie night something to look forward to.

Since the start of the year we have - finally - started to personalize our home. we had the kitchen cabinets painted white and painted the walls in the kitchen, over the course of the next few weeks we will be adding mirrored closet doors to the 3 remaining bedrooms and possibly more paint to other walls around the place. I will include some pictures of before and after in future blogs.

As I have mentioned in previous posts we are in the naturalization process. This should have been completed by the end of March but due to COVID this has been delayed until June, so there is a chance we maybe doing our citizenship interviews when we have visitors here!

On the work front, I have now recruited my team and virtually finished the construction and installation of the new dressing facility for Taylor Farms ( taylorfarms.com ). We will be starting to make dressings from March 29. Our first dressings will be Poppyseed and Asian Sesame that go in to our Sweet Kale Chopped kit and Asian Chopped kit, followed very quickly by Caesar Chopped kit and Sunflower Crunch Kit. with Caesar Dressing and Sweet Onion Coleslaw dressing respectively.

We have the capacity make 1,000,000 pouches of dressing per day!!

We are very excited to bring this plant on line and start to get our dressings into the mouths of consumers.

Thats all for now, again thanks for reading and for the feed back some of you give and your little bits of news, it’s great to hear from you.

Chat soon

Paul & Julie

March 2021

January 2021

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 21:35:12 GMT

2021 Tesla Model Y

Hello and Happy New Year all.

I‘m sat writing this on the morning January 5, 2021. I, like the rest of the world I suppose, are glad to see the back of the old year, probably for the same reasons as everyone else. However surprisingly I’m also sad to see it go! Why you may ask, well even with all its problems 2020 has been a good year for us on some levels. We welcomed the safe arrival of our new grandson Pip. Our granddaughter, Taylor and other grandson Koby are both thriving and in Taylor’s case doing well at school even with “learning” from home and in general our immediate family have been healthy throughout the year. My youngest daughter Megan graduated with a BSc in the summer and all our other children are pushing along.

Yes there have been some challenges, family furloughed, jobs at risk, but in all cases the effected family members have refocused and taken steps to support their immediate family through the challenges. I look at these younger members of my family and feel pride that they have not given up but tried and at some level succeeded to continue in their path of life.

As 2020 finished I made a decision to change my car - yeah ok it was a Christmas & birthday gift to me! - My previous car was a 2016 Ford Edge Titanium, I bought it new in 2016 and it has been a great vehicle, comfortable, reliable and modern looks. It took us to Seattle when we relocated in 2016 and back again when we came back to Southern California, with the only thing that needed changing was the battery and one tire (tyre).

However I had decided earlier in the year that my next car would be an EV (electric vehicle) so on December 30, 2020 I picked up my new Tesla Model Y, long range. Car buying in the US is much different to the UK. You go the the dealer tell them what you want and 98% of the time drive off the lot with what you wanted, all in the same day (though it is usually 4-5 hours). In the case of this purchase, things have changed again. I created an account on the Tesla site ( tesla.com ) choose the model I wanted ( tesla.com/modely ) from across the top, specified what I wanted to personalize the car, gave them $100 as intent to buy and placed my order. I was told it would take 5-12 days to deliver my vehicle (due to the Christmas holidays, but I also found that it can take longer due to demand, more on that later). You then complete the rest of the needs on the site (trade in, how you’re going to pay etc,) then sit back and wait. Then you get a text to say your vehicle is ready with an appointment time to collect your new car from the local Tesla center.

We arrived at 6pm at a multistory carpark (the local Tesla center, no showroom etc) in Irvine (about 30 miles from home) drove up to the 3rd floor and parked, got a text saying where the new car was parked and then went to see the new addition to the family. The paper work was on the seat, I signed it, drove the new car to the parking lot exit, gave the paper work in with the keys for the trade in vehicle and drove home. very different and no traditional sales people, so another change on the horizon like on-line shopping. We were at the delivery center for approx. 1 hour in that time this one center must have delivered about 25 new Tesla vehicles and they had been doing that since 8am that day with other days the same! and Elon Musk just announce almost 500,000 vehicle sold this year.

Some who know me may ask why a Tesla? after all I’ve had a Dodge Charger, BMW 5 series, and even a Jaguar F-Type as well as the aforementioned Ford with a big V6 3.5 liter engine. As some of you also know I love new technology so I decided that I would get the most technological car available. Tesla’s are basically super computers on wheels, and the wheels are probably the only thing they really have in common with fossil fueled cars.

My model Y comes with FSD (Full Self Drive) and autopilot and yes it really does all that! Its quite weird and scary the first time you “switch on” FSD on the freeway. The car accelerates to the posted speed (you can change this) and stays a safe distance (5 car lengths) behind the vehicle in front. It will slow down to match the speed or if possible (based on traffic flow) speed up, indicate and automatically overtake the car in front, then return to the lane if safe to do so. all this with no input from the driver. As you get to your off ramp (motorway junction) the car alters its speed with what’s around you and moves across the the right and automatically takes the off ramp from the freeway and gives you back control. All very science fiction, except now it science fact!

When we told our family of our first adventure with FSD and Autopilot there was the expected WOW’s of disbelief and skepticism and comments like “oh, I don’t think I would like that” - exactly what Julie said at the time!

However, I am convinced that in 50 plus years time when Taylor, Koby and Pip are sat chatting with their grandchildren and fossil fueled cars are a museum exhibit that will say that their Grandude was first one in the family to take this leap. I would also like to think that I will have contributed in some small way to changing the current stress on the climate to something our great grandchildren don’t even have to think about.

Plans for 2021.

I’m sure like the rest of humanity our plans are to get back to normal in 2021, although I have a feeling normal will not be what we expect and it won’t be a quick process. I think 2020 has made a real change to how we see and interact with the world and each other. I very much hope that the plans we had for visitors in 2020 will happen this year and that we can get back and see family who can’t travel to see us.

I hope that our family stay healthy and use the learnings and experiences from the last year to continue to grow their talents and abilities to grow themselves and provide for their families.

We will be completing our naturalization in March and at that point we will become citizens of the United States of America, (as well as UK citizens). I also truly hope that now Brexit has been concluded the UK can heal its internal wounds and grow to the country it aspires to be. I know that after our grueling election and the shenanigans since the result we are looking forward to a more sensible conversation. I think what we all need now it to focus on getting over this pandemic and being able to be physically with our loved ones once again.

Finally, If any of you reading are in the market for a new vehicle this year please feel free to you the referral link here; http://ts.la/paul10492 if you’re interested in a Tesla. it will give you 1000 miles of free super charging and whatever other goodies and incentives they are offering at the time of taking delivery, oh and I will get 1000 miles too, so thank you in advance.As always stay safe and take care

Ciao

Paul & Julie

January 2021

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 19:19:39 GMT

This time next year!

October 9, 2020

Hello and welcome back. Well as the title of this blog states plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. This is a proverb meaning: the more things change, the more they stay the same . I think that this sums up 2020 so far. For every 1 step forward we all take we seem to take 2 back! It may be better to walk backwards, we’d probably get further!

Like the rest of the western hemisphere, our country’s management of the pandemic is about as logical as anyone else’s. We rely on politicians making decisions based on information given by scientist to a skeptical and scared public who have their own thoughts, and a media system that is geared to making money from adds whilst trying to stay impartial, it’s really no wonder that there is so much confusion and lack of clarity. I’m not criticizing all these decisions makers but each, including the public, has an agenda.

Like the majority of people I have family and friends who have been effected by this pandemic, and what it has brought with it. Whilst it's distressing to learn of the deaths and illness this thing has caused to people its the ones who are loosing their jobs and lively hood who are also suffering. Members of my family have been furloughed, have gone back to work in a limited capacity only to be looking at furlough again, to family who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, to ones who are staring down that same threat and may loose their lively hoods in the weeks to come, and school closures. If we as a people are not careful this will effect generations to come in ways we cannot understand right now.

As you may recall from my last post Julie and I have applied for naturalization to become US citizens. Part of the process is to have an understanding of US history. During my studies I came across the speech at the first inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President, best known for his famously pointed reference to "fear itself”.

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

He would further go on to say;

“More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.

There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.”

On reading his full speech it struck me of how much like what FDR and the US people (and the world population the time) faced back at the start of the 1930’s we face similar today. The difference is FDR was prepared to fight for his citizens to turn the tide on the issues of the day. I know the causes of the issues in the 1930’s are not the same causes as today but the atmosphere of fear is the same. Today we have a 24 hour news cycle telling us how bad things are, telling us what’s going wrong, telling us who’s going wrong, but never telling us what’s going right, how we are making progress, even small steps forward.

At the end of FDR’s speech a woman by the name of Sarah Love said "Any man who can talk like that in times like these is worthy of every ounce of support a true American has.”

After listening to our elected leaders and the various opposition parties I struggle to see anyone who is prepared to lead our global village from where we are today. To me they are all looking to ensure they stay in their own jobs at the expense of others.

In reality I do not know anyone personally who has caught the illness, I traveled from January until the end of September on packed planes across the US and have been tested only to find I have no antibodies, no symptoms, no illness! And I was classed as high risk due to the amount of travel I was doing. I’m not trying to talk down this pandemic, all I’m asking is have I been lucky, its because I’m wearing a mask, am I immune, or has god reached down and said “not you”? What I do know is that if I had fear then that would have stopped me working and potentially cost me my job. No I never felt threatened to have to travel, I decided that I would not be controlled more than necessary, but would also take precautions to protect myself and those around me.

On a lighter note.

As I mentioned in my last post, Julie’s daughter my step daughter Abbie and he husband Brock welcomed their first born. Peregrin Robin Oak Horning, known to the family as Pip. He and his mum and dad moved from Bristol to Chester in September and all the family are now settled in.

My eldest daughter, Dominique and her family made their now annual pilgrimage back to God’s own County in August just in time for her brother Jordan’s birthday. It is a great shame we could not have met them at the planned wedding but…. Well you know!

I am also proud to say that my youngest daughter, Megan graduated this summer with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Askham Bryan/Harper Adams collage in animal management. She is also now waiting for her postponed appointment at the US embassy in London to be granted her GreenCard so she can start the next chapter of her life as a US permanent resident.

Julie changed jobs back in July and now works as the Commercialization and Development Director for a company called Stir Foods. She is responsible for 5 plants making Hummus, Salad Dressing and salsa.

I have also now stopped traveling backwards and forwards to Dallas as I’m now on another new project to build and bring on line a salad dressing plant in Ontario CA, around 16 miles from home. I shouldn’t really complain about all the travel I’ve done in the past 2 years as it has given me great status with Hilton hotels and Southwest Airlines to such a degree we have enough points for about 6 weeks in Hawaii and as soon as we can we are making the most of them!

You may have read and seen on the TV through the summer months of all the devastating brush fires here in California. We too had a small scare back in August when the hiking train across the road from us started to blaze. Thankfully it only lasted around 4 hours and only burned 1500 acres. The firefighting helicopters, planes and firefighters quickly got it under control and extinguished before it could be a major fire. Sadly that can't be said for other parts of the state where up to 4 million acres have burned this year.

We also in late September had a swarm of earthquakes (that apparently is the technical term) approximately 150 miles south of us. In a 24 hour period we had over 160 quakes that were larger than a 3 on the Richter scale. We are overdue "the big one" apparently and members of my family ask why we live here with that possibility, that's one of the costs of living in such a beautiful part of the world, at least in my opinion.

Thanks for reading and until next time

Ciao

Paul

Summers Here and so still is Stay home - stay safe

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 21:18:25 GMT

10 weeks of stay at home

June 24, 2020.

Well, we've followed the stay at home order for the last 13 weeks. It has been frustrating to say the least. However, I have now started back to work, but as usual nothing is easy as I work in Dallas TX. So I'm social distancing through the airports but almost sat on other peoples laps during the flight, but hey at least I get to wear a mask!!

The other sad part is both Dominique, Jordan and their respective families should have been coming out here for a vacation from June 21 fo 2 weeks but had to cancel due to COVID!!!! It would have been Dominique's first visit to us whilst we've lived here and we couldn't wait to take her, Hugh and Taylor to all the cool places in SoCal, hopefully this time next year we can try again.

Julie is just in the point of changing jobs, Leaving Albertson's and soup making to Stir foods who are a salsa, humous and dips company based in Orange.

Probably like most people at home during these strange times we have actually spent more time talking with family. One of the highlights of the weeks has been enjoying a family quiz at the weekends, Julie's family on Saturdays and mine on Sundays. The questions have been challenging and very funny in some cases (together with some of the answers)! We even got into the habit of taking a group picture after the quiz. Bit of a rogues gallery really!!

You maybe asking "what's with the big yellow duck"? Last year Julie saw it in the local pool shop and said that would be great in the pool. However, Meg & Alfie had just got us the big Avocado so I said we didn't need both. This year when I thought we have visitors I decided to buy it. so come on over and ride the duck!

As I sit writing this, I can also say that my Step Daughter, Abbie and her husband, Brock have just welcomed their first child, a boy, a grandson for Julie and a step grandson for me, Welcome little man, we can't wait to see you in person.

We were also planning to be in the UK at the end of August, however we have had to postpone that due to the travel restrictions, so sadly we will have to wait to see all the family until either later in the year of next year.

One thing i have discovered since the stay at home order is that a keg of beer (5 gallons) only lasts about 11 days, I think it was evaporating but Julie seems to think I drunk it! Still the local BevMo and Total wine have them in stock to swap, thankfully.

Finally, I have just submitted my N-400, my application to become and American Citizen. I now have to wait and then have an interview to make sure I'm a suitable person to become and American. I have to answer questions on my background and on the history and civics of the USA , all this just in time for 4th of July, America's birthday. Who would have thought a kid from the edge of Eastmoor would get to live the dream in the USA?

Until next time

Paul

Stay at Home!

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 19:07:58 GMT

Chris, Jonny, Guy & Will

We are now in to day 10 of our self imposed lock down! We have been trying to keep a daily routine, Julie is better at that than I am right now! We need to also start using the gym equipment that we have in the garage, that should help with some of the boredom.

A little update since I last published:

January 2020

We were very lucky to get tickets to the 4th show out of 5 for Coldplay ’s only tour (so far) in 2020. It was at the Hollywood Palladium in support of LA prison reform and to promote their new album Everyday Life . As you will know if you have been to see Coldplay or almost any other mega band tickets are usually on the expensive side and the show is usually sold out before the website opens – how does that happen? However, this time things were different, the ticket price was $100.00 each! Yes, that’s right $100 bucks. And the venue only held 2500 people, standing only but you could stand where you wanted, and we had a great view of the band and the whole show. The only special effect's present was a single white/light blue balloon, that was brought in by a member of the audience, blown up by mouth and batted around the place! Chris even spoke about it saying it made a change from the lighted wrist bands and fireworks they normally have. The band played 19 songs on the set list mostly from the new album but also a smattering of fan favorites including Fix You, Viva la vida and A Sky Full of Stars, however, unlike the stadium gig's these were arranged as acoustic numbers, very cool! Chris sat at the piano also tried to sing Amsterdam but gave up as he couldn’t remember the words! As one of the world’s best-selling bands it was a privilege to see them in such an intimate setting.

As some of you may know, I've been working in Dallas Texas since early January. Hopping on a Southwest Airlines flight on a Monday morning and back on another one on a Thursday evening to go home, 2hrs 30 mins flight time each way!

I've been helping our Dallas facility increase its performance and get a stronger bottom line. But it hasn't been all work and no play - well sight seeing really.

I had a few hours to kill so decided to go and find "the grassy knoll"! Yes it is there and yes you can go and walk on it a view from the alleged spot where the lethal shot was taken to shoot JFK back in 1963. there is even an "X" marks the spot where the car was!

February 2020

We had our 15th wedding anniversary so decided to have a nice meal at a famous (well over here it is) brewery Stone Brewing World Gardens in Escondido about 45 miles south of where we live. We have been before and some readers may recall visiting with us. We had a very enjoyable evening, the food drink and of course the company - Julie - was fantastic

March 2020

The COVID-19 and self isolation. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, Julie and I are in self Isolation, just like the rest of our family and friends across the globe. I would just like to say as I finish this blog, Please stay safe, Stay indoors and take care. Hopefully this thing will pass quickly.

March, 26. 2020

New Year

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 18:07:57 GMT

Hello and welcome to the new roaring 20's

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year?

We were back in the UK a couple of days after the year changed - Jan 3 to be exact. we were only there for a quick visit - 5 days to see the older members of our families as they find it more difficult to travel to us and mainly to see my dad who has some health issues. Sadly we missed his birthday (Jan 11) but did leave him a card and birthday wishes. He shares his birthday with youngest member of my family, my grandson Koby who was 3 on the same day

So its the middle of January and I find myself in the Lone Star State, Texas. Dallas to be exact helping yet another of our sites move the needle on its performance. This should only be a short gig as I have to be back in LA by the end of February to start the changes and bring to life the new plant there.

On Monday January 20th, Julie and I got tickets for a Coldplay gig in Hollywood, at the Hollywood Palladium. This was the 4th concert in a 5 gig "World tour" that started in Jordan and finished in LA. There was only around 2500 people present. The concert was very acoustic and not at all like their 80,000 sell out arena gigs. They played a few tracks from their new album, Everyday Life , and some of their well known tracks from previous years. the acoustic version of Fix You was AMAZING. When the band asked the audience to put away your phones, for Viva La Vida people did. It was probably the first time most of the people had seen the band in real life, rather than through a screen!

Looking forward to February. We appear to have been unfathomably missed off the invite list for this year’s 92nd annual Oscars ceremony on Sunday February 9, 2020, so it’s unlikely we’ll be rubbing shoulders with any A-listers. I do, however, have the next best thing in the form of this handy guide to LA’s best star-spotting. So if you find yourself in LA anytime of the year really, these are the places to be seen in…

Where the stars come out to play

La La land itself. The place where you can see the stars 24/7. Not the ones in the sky, obviously – too much smog for that – but the ones we love to watch on the sliver screen and would scream after if we ever got to see them. Actually, you probably shouldn’t scream after them if you see them, because if you take my advice and check out these hip LA joints you might very well spot a celeb or two.

The strangest thing about LA is the hotel culture; much of the most amazing stuff happens in hotel bars and rooftop pools and the great thing is you don’t even have to be a guest to hang out there – so here’s where to go to see and be seen…

Hotel Happenings

Spire 73

High atop the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is Spire 73, the hotel’s 73rd story rooftop bar that claims to be the highest open-air bar in the entire Western Hemisphere. There’s plenty of outdoor seating, lounge cabanas, and fire pits. On the menu are bar bites, a slew of sweets, and cocktails too, of course.

Beverly Wiltshire

Since opening in 1928, this legendary property has been the preferred address for celebrities, royalty and the international elite — and it’s easy to see why. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it will put you in the enviable heart of Beverly Hills, with designer shopping, fine dining and postcard-worthy views at your doorstep. You can be your very own Pretty Woman, but you may have to bring your own Richard Gere!

The London

Experience the Boxwood on the Roof at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills. It’s referred to as playfully sophisticated, and we think that’s just perfect. Enjoy dreamy views of the city and tasty libations such as the Brit with a Twist - Kikori Japanese whiskey, orgeat, and fresh lemon juice.

The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt has been around since 1927. It hosted the first ever Academy Awards and was the playground of Marilyn Monroe. It also has two of the hippest bars in LA. The Library Bar is a hidden treasure, tiny but delightful. The bar is covered in fresh fruit and herbs and smells beautiful. Tell the mixers a bit about your favorite flavors and they’ll make a unique cocktail just for you. Also check out the Tropicana Bar with its dramatic fire pits around the David Hockney pool. Hollywood doesn’t come cooler.

The Shangri-La

Tuck into this indoor-outdoor rooftop restaurant and bar for beachside breezes and views. The menu is dependably straightforward, with things like brussels sprouts (yes the one's you have at Christmas, roasted and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar are wonderful) and sliders to choose from. The cocktails are equally approachable. This is a great place to quietly people watch.

Shopping with the stars

The Grove & Farmers Market

The Farmers Market has been around since 1934 and is full of food vendors and unique little shops. The Shine Gallery is packed with Americana and is the place to find a unique gift while watching the stars unsuccessfully hide under their baseball caps. Right next to it is The Grove, one of LA’s best shopping, dining and entertainment destinations. After you’re done with the credit cards, check out the filming for Extra Live where celebs pop in for interviews most days.

Melrose Avenue

The hit TV show Melrose Place was named after this stretch of alternative stores, independent boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants for a reason. Get yourself strutting down the Ave and pick up some wicked vintage items and designer goods, just like the A-listers do.

Dolby Theater (Formally Kodak Theater) - " Welcome to Hollywood …. what's your dream?"

The Dolby Theater is the home of the Oscars and offers tours of the areas you’d normally only set eyes on if you were nominated. When the Oscars aren’t on various acts on tour use the theater as a venue. Its not common to see stars here (except on Oscar night or when they are doing a hand/foot print ceremony next door at the Chinese Theater) but it is a cool place to visit and walk the grand staircase like you've been nominated! The place is a little tacky think of Blackpool, without the class and donkeys, but you can't visit LA without going to Hollywood.

The end of the Year and the decade

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:30:15 GMT

The end of the year and the decade

We did something we have never done in the past 9 years, went shopping on Black Friday! Julie decided to buy herself a new car. She wanted to swap the Range Rover for something a little sportier, so she went for a Porsche!

We discovered its pronounced “Porsh-ah” in the US. It’s a Macan Sports Edition 2019 with cream leather interior.

New Home 1st Christmas

For the past few years we have decorated the outside of our house for the holidays (as they say here). Nothing very bold or tacky just a few lights around the outside of the house and decorations on the inside. As this is our first Christmas in our own house, we thought we would carry on the tradition. Most homes in our street are decorated some more than others! One of the most decorated places though is East Lake Village in the city of Yorba Linda, where we lived last year, there the saying is “Go Big or Go Away”!

Family

We love getting together with family, whether it’s in the UK or at our house, the more the merrier. We will be coming back in 2020 for Lizzies wedding and to see as many family members as possible.

Family gatherings

Family are important to us. They keep us grounded, as we all get older and more spread throughout the world it is important that we keep connected. we have both said in the past “come and see us” and we mean it, or that we will meet you on the east coast as we have done twice this year. Once in Orlando FL and once in Boston MA.

SoCal & LA

A lot of people asked us why LA and SoCal? Well it’s easy, we came here for jobs and loved it. Yes, it has its issues, pretty much like all other major cities and areas around the world, but it also has some stunning places to visit.

Favorite Places

Of all the beaches in SoCal our favorite is Laguna Beach. Its an artistic center with many galleries and restaurants and then there’s places like Echo Park just off the 101 freeway on the way to Hollywood. There are many great places from San Diego up the PCH to San Francisco and the beaches of Orange County to the desert and places like Palm Springs.

Lastly for this year, Julie & I would like to wish all our family and friends across the miles a safe and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2020. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible next year.

Ciao Paul & Julie December 18, 2019

Life and times in SoCal

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 10:32:19 GMT

Winter 2019

Hello and welcome to my first blog post. I have set up this site jevins.com as my alternative to the mainstream social media sites, which in my humble opinion are getting more intrusive into individual’s privacy. You may comment that writing a blog is giving away your privacy and that may be somewhat true. However, to keep in contact with family and friends I can’t deny the benefits of such platforms as FB, instawhatsit, and twitpage have done for people living around the world. Indeed, without these forms of social networking I would not have connected with some members of my extended family even though they still live close by where I grew up and my immediate family still live. I have also reconnected with great, talented and successful people from my school and workdays, so thank you, social media.

Also, as I am in the US some of my spellings and phrases are based on American English so please forgive my use of z and other grammatically alternative connotations that I’ve no doubt will make my poetry writing friends teeth itch!

Most of you know who we are and where we live so I won’t bore you again.

What’s happening now?

Well it’s winter 2019, we have not long returned from Chicago where my amazing wife, Julie, was presented with a national industry award. Julie received the award for 2019 Top Women in Storebrands in the category for Research & Development and Quality Assurance.

She was nominated by her manager and selected by a national committee of food industry leaders to receive this award. It is considered a food Industry Oscar!

Chicago was, how shall I put it? FREEZING! We left LA the temperature was 72f (21c) and landed to find 36F (4c) with snow on the ground! That was something of a shock and guess what? Although it’s called the “windy city” there was no wind, bizarre!

As some of you may already know, we purchased our forever home (well for now)! in April. We have been hosts to; Megan & Alfie, Carys, Jordan, Steph and Koby through the summer. We have loved every minute of it, especially when one of our guests did a �� by the pool, can you guess who it was?

Christmas is now just around the corner and in the next few days we will be decorating the house for Christmas and New Year with Julie’s sister, Diane and her husband David. We are looking forward to celebrating the holiday season with them at a couple of special places; the Hobbit restaurant and the Blind Rabbit speakeasy in Orange County.

The first 3 months of 2020 promises to be a very busy time, for me especially. I am in the process of designing/developing a new food production facility in LA (well just 4 miles east). It’s so close I can see the iconic LA skyline! This will be the 19th plant for Taylor Farms – my employer – The largest salad and deli producer in the US.

I will add to this blog page in the coming weeks/months. Right now, Julie and I would like to wish all our family and friends across the world a safe, peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year and all the best for 2020.

Regards Paul & Julie