We’re really pleased with the way the garden is coming on this year. I can’t claim much of the credit myself – Ann has the green fingers, whilst I do the heavy lifting! In the evening, it was off to nearby Geddington for a Reception following the wedding of Jonathan and Bec. A great evening …
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Month:May 2015
Bank Holiday Rush
I picked up Lee on Sunday and Nicki joined us today for a lazy Bank Holiday. We’d quite forgotten that Nicki still had our Christmas presents so that got the day off to a great start! I’ve now have some high quality cleaning products for the XKR, so they’ll be put to good use in …
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Cuba – Day 10 (Last Full Day)
My final post from Cuba!!It’s our final full day here today, so one of our last chances to soak up the sun, eat at the Troughery, and try out a themed restaurant. Tomorrow, we’re off to the airport at about lunch-time on an overnight flight – and hopefully in Blighty for Lunch on Friday. We …
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Cuba – Day 9
Ralph, Karen and Ann tried out the Gym whilst I tried out the internet connection. I think we sweated about the same amount – connectivity was a nightmare!Then it was off to the trough for breakfast, and thankfully the eardrum-bursting background music from yesterday was nowhere to be heard!Also working in our favour today were …
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Cuba – Day 8
After yesterday’s disappointing BBQ, we’re hoping the dining experience will move up a few notches and we can try out some of the themed restaurants. But first, it was breakfast and we followed the hoards as they meerkatted their way to the communal trough, aka the Gran Terraza. In terms of seating, there were two …
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Cuba – Day 7
Today, we said goodbye to Parque Central Hotel and took our pre-booked taxi to our next ‘home’- Paradisus Princess Del Mar in Varadero – until Thursday. Bye-bye to the View from Room 548 Our Taxi was early, picking us up just before 9.45. We hit the highway heading east, and two-and-a-quarter hours later, we arrived …
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Cuba – Day 6
After yesterday’s mega-tour, we had a lazy day today – it’s our last day here as we’re off to ‘Cuba – part two’ tomorrow, specifically Paradisus Princess Del Mar in Varadero until Thursday. After breakfast, we headed to the roof-top pool where we stayed until lunchtime, when the sun temporarily disappeared and it became very …
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Cuba – Day 5
This was the day of the MEGA tour. Lillian, from our previous Tour, a few days ago, returned as our Guide, and we set off just before 9am. Unlike Tuesday’s Tour, the distances today were pretty vast, so we had the help of Luis and his air-conditioned taxi! The first part of the Tour meant …
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Cuba – Day 4
After yesterday morning’s scrum in ‘our’ restaurant (masquerading as guests having breakfast) we decided that we’d return to the relative calm of the ‘other’ restaurant by way of the tunnel connecting the two parts of the hotel. Although busy, this turned out to be a smart move, in spite of the slightly chaotic atmosphere. After …
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Cuba – Day 3
After yesterday’s mega-tour of Havana, we planned to take things at a much slower pace today. We took breakfast in the ‘right’ restaurant (and collectively decidied we preferred the ‘wrong’ one that we ate in yesterday), and made a rough plan for the morning. We decided to re-trace the steps from yesterday’s official tour, but …
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Cuba – Day 1
After the 9 hour Virgin flight (very nice!) from Gatwick, and the twenty-minute taxi drive (very scary*), here we are, having just checked into the rather splendid 427 roomed Iberostar Parque Central Hotel in Havana. First impressions are good – a free glass of bubbly, air-conditioning and all the staff seem to speak English! The …
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Cuba – Day 2
We slept well, and maybe not surprisingly with the time difference, were awake very early. We headed down to breakfast just after 7, and Ralph and Karen joined us not long after. Actually, locating the restaurant was surprisingly difficult and we ended up in the ‘other’ one on the other side of the hotel, after …
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Cuba – Day 0
John dropped us over to Bedford station this afternoon, and we jumped on a direct line to Gatwick. I think this was the slowest train we’ve ever been on! Still, it didn’t really matter as we’re not travelling until tomorrow. Two hours later we arrived at the Hilton Gatwick (where we’d also stayed back in …
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Birthday Bev
It was up to Denis’s today to celebrate Bev’s Birthday. We picked up Lee just after 10 and headed for Heckington! Roger, Jane and Oliver took the train and arrived just after 1. Birthday Girl Bev sorted out the finger buffet (yummy!) – and we all gave it a thorough good hiding, with Lee even …
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A Tale of Two Shuckburghs
In the morning, I popped over to The Olive Grove – a Garden Centre in Oundle, to catch-up with Alison W, a colleague from my days in the 90s at Nokia. This was our first visit, since it opened its expanded eatery – and it didn’t disappoint: great food, great menu and very (very!) pleasant …
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Early May Bank Holiday 2015
The forecast suggests that the weather is all over the place this weekend, but we’re hopeful it’ll be good for our trip to Roger, Jane and Oliver later today (Sunday) and our postponed visit (from last year) to Eltham Palace on Monday. SUNDAYWe left home around 11am and arrived just after noon. True to form, …
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Haddock Grate Time!
Another Friday and another meal out! Our regular monthly eat-outs with David and Val had, in past few months, somehow fallen by the wayside, so we put that right tonight by driving over to The Shuckburgh Arms in Stoke Doyle. David acted as chauffeur in his rather swishy-looking new Mercedes convertible (but, it wasn’t warm …
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