Sandwell

TENBY

Our five-day holiday to Tenby in South Wales started on a lovely sunny Monday morning when 31 of us were picked up at our homes by Plimbley Travel based in Wolverhampton. Our journey to the Belgrave Hotel was comfortable and very pleasant and we arrived in high spirits, looking forward to a few days with old and new friends.

We were greeted by the Manager when we arrived and after settling into our very comfortable rooms we found our way around and met for dinner in the restaurant after which we were entertained by a lovely lady singer who got us all to join in and get up on the dance floor.

Our first excursion was to the little coastal town of Saundersfoot with its' pretty harbour and little shops, after which we visited The Lovespoon Workshop where David [son of the owner] told us the history of love spoons and the significance of the designs engraved on them. Lots of spoons and other wooden artefacts could be purchased in the little gift shop, however one of our members decided to purchase a china mug with a black Labrador painted on it for his daughter! We then headed back to Tenby and during the journey Colin, our very knowledgeable driver, told us all about the area, pointing our landmarks and places of interest along the way. Some of our group walked around the little harbour, visited the Lifeboat Station and then paid a visit to the statue of Prince Albert which overlooks Tenby. He must be very lonely up there waiting for Victoria! After dinner we were entertained by a gentleman singer and quite a number of our group made their way onto the dance floor to demonstrate their obvious talents in all types of dancing. A good time was had by all and we retired for the night tired but looking forward to the next day.

A free day today with an optional excursion, or please yourself day. A group of us went across to Caldey Island on the little ferry boat and spent a lovely few hours wandering around, visiting the Chapel, the chocolate factory [that wasn't really a factory just a little workshop and shop], enjoying our lunch in the sunshine and sampling the numerous perfumes and lotions made on the island and sold in the gift shop. Two very determined ladies did manage the steep climb to the lighthouse though, and took photographs to prove it. One of our group knew exactly which perfume she wanted to purchase from the shop because it smelled lovely on her hand, however even after revisiting the shop she couldn't decide which one it was and so came away empty handed. The best part of this though was that the ladies on the trip smelled really nice after sampling most of the perfumes in the shop for free! One of our ladies did come back with a permanent reminder of the trip which was left by a seagull and we all said we were glad we had sampled the perfumes! One of our group also thought she could write a postcard to her friend before purchasing it but she was reminded of this by one of us - good try though.

Another great evening of entertainment and dancing, and Dor Dor [she knows who she is] did an excellent impression of Freddie Mercury and his vacuum cleaner in the song 'I Wanna Break Free'. She was very funny and made us all laugh. Good fun and we got most of our group onto the dance floor at some point during the very enjoyable evening. Now we know you can dance there will be no excuses for sitting down next time.

On our last day we went to St Govern's Chapel in rememberance of where Christianity was first introduced to Wales. There was a treacherous downward descent to the Chapel but several of our group managed this and took photographs to prove it. One of our group took a lovely photograph of the Chapel even though he didn't make the journey down - he is a very good photographer and shall remain nameless. We then went to Pembroke to have a little wander round, view the castle and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Lovely. Following this we sent to a museum in Pembroke Dock where some very knowledgeable guides told us the history of the Sunderland Flying Boat and the contribution they made in the 2nd World War. Plenty of photographs, memorabilia and displays which were very interesting and we enjoyed our visit. Of course packed lunches had to be eaten sitting in the sun outside, but some of our group thought otherwise and sat on the coach instead!

On our way to Pembroke we had a very interesting encounter with a herd of huge black and white cows who decided they wanted to walk down the road and stop all the traffic. This proved to be a great talking point and we all enjoyed watching them try to climb over hedges and get into fields that they weren't supposed to be in. Lots of photographs taken and videos to record the event, not often, or not at all, seen in West Bromwich. I did have to put one of our group straight though. She said that they should never have done away with sheep dogs. I had to point out that these were cows in the road NOT sheep!!! Another of our group happily told us that there was roast beef on the menu that night!

Gala Dinner tonight in the hotel, five courses of lovely food with good company too. Some of the group left early to hear the Welsh Male Voice Choir in St Mary's Church in Tenby. Unfortunately they discovered that the group were not performing that night after rushing dinner, walking to the church and finding it empty. Needless to say they were disappointed but took our lovely coach driver to task for telling them otherwise. So, another evening's entertainment to finish off our holiday and retire to bed ready for our homeward journey.

At the start of the holiday, Akela [who shall remain nameless], gave everyone a Chocolate Quiz and the answers and prizes were given out before the Gala Dinner. This was just for fun although one or two took it very seriously. Our worthy winners were 1st prize - Ann Hobson [Afternoon Tea for Two at Wyevale Garden Centre], 2nd prize - Mike Matthews [After Eight mints and small bottle white wine], 3rd prize [joint team effort] Eve Crathorne, Marie Jones and Ann Lewis [Twirl bars], 4th prize [joint effort] Janet and John Welch [Roses chocolates], 5th prize Alan Hobson [Chocolate Orange] and the booby prize Pat Perry [little bag of boiled sweets, no chocolate!]. Great fun - thank you all for taking part.

A mention must be given to one of our group who had excellent dress sense and colour co-ordinated his shirts and ties to perfection! You have now set a precedent, keep it up. We must also thank Chelsea for coming along with us and joining in - please come again you will be very welcome.

We also have some members with hidden talents, namely Dor Dor who is a great impersonator. Chelsea, a fantastic dancer together with a few others who shall remain nameless, she also learnt to knit on holiday and is now taking orders, however they make take some time as she lives in the USA! Norman our Treasurer who is very good with playing cards and puzzles which had many of us confused, I believe he is also a dab hand at sorting out shower temperatures, so Daphne said! And of course Alan our wheelchair pusher extraordinaire who did a fantastic job looking after Ann, our lovely Chairman.

To summarise our holiday - the hotel was excellent as was the food with plenty to choose from to suit all tastes. The staff were friendly and helpful too. We were lucky with the weather, sun every day and no rain. Excursions excellent. The company was fantastic and there was a lot of laughter between us all. Plimbley Travel organised everything and are very worthy of our thanks. But most of all thanks to everyone who came on the holiday, for being such good fun and making our our stay in Tenby a great success.

If anyone reading this would like to know more about our holiday then please email us via the Contact page.

Just to confuse everyone there were 4 Pat's, 3 Ann's, 2 Janet's, 2 Norman's, 2 Brian's and 18 others altogether!

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