Our Interests

First of all I must thank Jenny for the support she has given me in all the varied interests and pastimes I have had in the past and yes! I was an anorak and went train spotting. Must at this point mention Brian Corfield and John Walpole and the fun we had in different parts of the country.

However, our interests at this point in our lives revolve around our desire to see the world. Since we have been married we have been lucky enough to enjoy  pastimes and interests that we can partake in as a couple. Walking, camping, fishing, watching motor racing, gardening, reading, listening to music, watching wildlife, flora and fauna in general  and lately photography. Most will figure in our retirement years.

Walking, well not just walking, hiking! Our minor conquests being Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Massanella (Majorca), all mountains we have summited (well got to the top of) and in our later years. We have always enjoyed wilderness type walks, Ben Eighe in Scotland has eluded us twice because of bad weather (one day perhaps!) We have completed many walks in Scotland and the Peak District, however we hope to be able to do more all over the U.K and further in the future.

Camping started our nomadic influence, we bought our first tent just after we married and have continued throughout our marriage taking with us our daughter Rhiain and son Michael not forgetting our Border Collie Meg. We have had some memorable holidays in tents and we will never forget them. One instance that springs to mind is a particularly stormy night on the headland above Abersoch Bay on the Lleyn Peninsula in Wales, when the tent blew down and Jenny was left  trying to hold it up in her birthday suit. I guess that’s where the saying “happy campers” came from as the rest of the campers were all smiles!

Fishing is something I have done since I was a lad. On taking Jenny on a fishing trip after we were married, Jenny sat at the top of the river bank knitting whilst I fished. Then that moment came “can I have a go please” and she caught fish! Next it was a visit to the tackle shop to purchase a fishing rod for her and as they say the rest is history, (she still has caught the larger sea fish than me when we went deep sea fishing from Weymouth).

I have watched motor racing since I was in my teens and once I learnt to drive went to most of the racing circuits in the U.K. I took Jenny when we were courting (that’s a word you don’t hear much nowadays) to Mallory Park in Leicestershire and she has had an interest ever since. We have been to Grand Prix (what’s the plural of more than one, prixes?) at both  Silverstone and Brands Hatch. It has rubbed off on our daughter Rhiain who has followed F1 since she was a teen and was a massive Schumacher fan (now switched her allegiance to Lewis Hamilton.) The reason motor racing specifically F1 will still figure in our retirement will be the ability to visit the European F1 circuits and stay in the comfort of our own Motorhome. Oh the joy of not having to queue to get in or out of the circuit.

People have said we will miss our garden, yes, that is true. We have spent so much time (and money) on it, however we have seen pictures of some of the most fantastic camping sites in different parts of the world and we can wake up and see a different garden every day. Also we won’t have to mow the lawn or do the weeding!

For the first time since we were children we have not got library tickets, but we are sure we can pick up books from car boot sales, charity shops and with the wealth of information centres collect brochures, etc. on local interest, we will have enough reading matter to satisfy us. Our musical tastes don’t differ much. Jenny listens to what I put on!!!  I have put all our (well mostly mine) CD’s on the laptop and with MP3 and being able to load music tracks on to the SATNAV (when I work out how to do it) our (my) musical tastes will be completely satisfied.

We have both a passion for being outdoors and in some of the locations we hope to be in, our appetite for wildlife, birds, and flora should be well sated. Within the countries we shall visit we should be able to see the majority of animals and birds that we wish to see, to name some Coyotes, Deer (in the US), Albatross, Penguins, Seals, Whales (in New Zealand), most of the marsupials, Koalas, Platypus, Crocodile (in Australia), not forgetting various reptiles and “creepy crawlies”.

We both now enjoy photography, however, Lord Lichfield, Andy Rouse we ain’t. We have spent a fortune on photography magazines, had every book in the library that they had, been on a landscape photography course and we still have so much to learn. We have two cameras a Nikon SLR and Nikon compact with 4 different lenses for the SLR and several filters.

Only time and practice will see if our “Photo Gallery” page is worth looking at. Take a look what do you think? Please use the “Guest Book” to let us know, constructive criticism gratefully received. A concise list of the photography equipment we are taking with us appears on our “Bits & Pieces” page. Have we missed anything out?

Other Interests? Well I would like to do water colour painting, perhaps I should take a course on that one day and I still cannot play the didgeridoo  that I have had for 8 years (well that’s a lie I can make a f**ting noise) maybe in Australia I may learn? Oh! and I’ve  missed out knitting and embroidery I don’t do that! Jenny does!

All images on this website are copyright of Alan and Jennifer Morris and may not be used without prior written permission.