It was off to London today, to meet up with Angela C. Our destination was the Criterion Theatre to see the Play: The 39 Steps. I was hoping to try out my new camera-phone and snap a photograph of Eros, but the statue was covered in scaffolding and hidden from view, so I had to …
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Author:Steve Palmer
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 - well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I'm no Samuel Pepys! If you're looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you've arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it's all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
Family Lunch
The Calm before the Starter! Who’s Who! Ann, together with Lee’s help pulled together a superb Easter Lunch for the family today. Even though Mum wouldn’t travel such a distance for these things, it did still feel a little odd that she wasn’t ‘around’.Let Battle Commence… Italian Meats & Fruit Bev’s TrifleGuess who’s washing up? …
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Lent… Spent!
OK, so here we are, with just 1 minute left to go, I’m at the end of the Lent period for 2014. And, as the clock strikes midnight, it’s then end to my 44-day enforced denial of all the food and drink I really love! After nearly caving in LAST year, trying to do the …
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Tech Alert: Sky Updates its Sky-Guide
I put on the TV to find that the ‘homepage’ on my Sky-Box downstairs had changed dramatically. The Box upstairs is still showing the old layout, but I guess they’re rolling it out over a period of time. Plenty of details HERE, but my first impressions are good, in that everything just seems to be …
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A Flat Day
It was a very surreal day yesterday. Ann and I, together with Neil and Debbie, met at Mum’s Flat, and began the task of working through everything. Thanks for your kind thoughts everyone, together with the cards – they mean a lot. All your suggestions about ‘trying to remember the good times’ was the philosophy …
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RIP – Eileen Mabel Palmer
b: 1 July 1927, d: 2 April 2014 Mum passed away in the early hours of this morning, after sustaining serious burns last Friday in an accident at her Flat. We visited her at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital on Sunday, where she had been admitted to the Specialist Burns Unit. Thankfully, due to the medication they’d …
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Family Meal: Fortescue Arms
As part of Ann’s Birthday celebrations, we headed up to The Fortescue Arms in Billingborough for a surprise pre-birthday lunch treat. Unknown to Ann, the rest of her family were going to be there too! – Roger, Jane, Oliver, Bev and of course, her Dad, Denis. We were first to arrive, followed by Denis and …
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Day Out in Oxford
A packed day of activities today! We picked-up David and Valerie and headed off in the direction of the Oxford’s Peartree Park and Ride for a day out in – you guessed it – Oxford. First stop was the Ashmolean Museum – a place we just can’t seem to get enough of, having been there …
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Care Hare
You wait for ages for a great eatery to come along and then… (well, you know the rest!) Not content with discovering the Beckworth Emporium on our doorstep last week – tonight, we discovered another local gem. We met up with our friends, Paul and Sue at The Hare in the nearby village, Loddington. They …
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Not Chocolate!
Received a Kit-Kat today! No, it wasn’t me ignoring my Lent List, instead, it was the rather bizarre name for the latest OS update to my Android phone, the Galaxy S4. A rather chunky 354.88Mb download showed that it was going to take around 20-30 minutes to grab the update file – but that was …
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Tech Alert: No. 8.1
Today was my first foray into Windows 8. A friend’s shiny new laptop was supposed to come pre-installed with Windows 7, 64 bit – instead, it arrived with the much unloved Windows 8. Now there’s not much I DON’T know about Windows 7, so this was all going to be a voyage of discovery! My …
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Beckworth Emporium
You would have thought that having lived in these parts for so long, we would know every good place to shop and eat – not so! Friends had mentioned Beckworth Emporium in the past, and although we’d mentally added it to our ‘places-to-go-when-there’s-not-much-else-to-do’, we had never actually been there – and it’s only a short …
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Lunch with Alison W
Dessert! I drove over to Peterborough today in Marco – its first long(ish) journey since taking ownership a few weeks ago. It’s running a lot faster now I’ve added red car mats! Putting fuel in it was like going back in time – 25 quid and the tank is now three-quarters full! (that’s a big …
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Search Engine Optimisation – Go Organic!
A rare (ish!) ‘pure’ techy blog for my readers, who are interested in ensuring their websites are well-ranked in Google’s search engine results. I can’t claim authorship – it’s from those very clever guys and gals at seosherpa.com – and definitely worth a read! Click on the graphic for a version that’s easier to download. …
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Cats of Nine Tales
Biscuit Bon-Bon The twins turned nine today. Oh, the tales they could tell – probably more than 9 – but that would have ruined the title! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in …
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Lent Boy 2014
Yes, it’s almost that time of year again, and those that know me, know that since 2010, I’ve been using the Lent period to deny myself all the food and drink that I enjoy. I try to add a few items each year to make the experience even tougher, but it’s getting to the stage …
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Film: Non-Stop
The reinvention of Liam Neeson as an action-hero, has, in my view, been pretty much a success, with films such as Taken, Battleship and Unknown (and more) adding to his more recent acting portfolio (perhaps except Taken 2 that I felt was a bit disappointing!) Although the Sunday Mail, gave his latest: Non-Stop – directed …
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The Generosity of Friends
VW Polo – ‘Marco’ We’re lucky enough to have lots of friends – friends, who over the years, have been very generous to us. Today was another of those times when we were ‘bowled-over’ by a someone’s actions. Lee, our good friend of many years, told us today, that after a lifetime of driving, she’s …
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DVD Frenzy (Part 2)
I’m still wading through all the DVDs I got for Christmas and after yesterday’s viewing that left me a tad disappointed, today’s session was much more satisfying. It was only when I was assembling my comments, that I noticed that they all had a single theme in common – alternative/parallel universes. So, if you’re a …
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DVD Frenzy
The weather’s been rubbish, the washing and ironing is done, there’s a new web-site on its way, so there’s nothing left to do but catch-up on all those Christmas DVDs! “Parker”Statham, six-packs and a stetson..oh and quite a bit of blood, but not as much as normal in JS’s films. Nice open-top Bentley Continental out-acts …
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Website Relaunched
After what seems like an infinite amount of time ‘faffing’ around, I have finally completed the redesign of my website – StevePalmer.com. If anyone spots any typos, or something’s not working, I’ll be pleased to hear from you! Thanks! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 …
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Hey Prezzo
After my previous get-together with Ian and Mags at the underwhelming Chimichanga’s back in October last year, this time we headed ‘next-door’ to Prezzo’s – hopefully this was going to be a better experience. I needn’t have worried, as the food was delicious, and given how busy the place was (on a Monday!!!) , others …
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Film: Cuban Fury
After the thoroughly depressing 12 years a Slave, from a month or so ago, we felt that our next visit to the cinema ought to be something a ‘little lighter’! So, we picked up Jo and Janet and headed for local Odeon to see Cuban Fury. Starring Nick Frost and (a rather wrinkled) Ian McShane, …
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Valentine’s Day 2014 – mmmmmm and mmmmmm
Ten-out-of-ten for originality this year as I surprised Ann with a box of personalised M&Ms (courtesy of https://www.mymms.co.uk/). …and by personalised, I mean it’s a photograph and words of your choice etched onto an individual M&M – unfortunately though, they don’t come with reading-glasses! Luckily, a book of love poems and a single red-rose were …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 5)
Our last day here and we’re planning to sun-worship for as long as we can (before the boring, but necessary task of packing begins this afternoon). But still one last opportunity for indulgence in the shape of a half-price (I am a pensioner!) back-and-shoulder massage in the fully equipped Spa. Actually, it was a smart …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 4)
Well, 25C is the coldest day so far – but I guess we’ll cope! It’s day 4 of 5 here and we plan to do no planning at all! We took a quick look around the ‘recreated’ heritage village next door and that was a bit disappointing in term of content. It was fun trying …
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Holiday – Muscat – Nizwa Fort (Day 3)
Yes, another early breakfast for us so that we would be ready for Tour Guide at 8am. Then, just as we headed for Reception, we got a call to say his car had broken down and we should be ready for 8.30! Doh!!! He was early – and at 8.20 we zoomed off in a …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 2)
Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made – even on holiday – so here we are in the gym at 8am!!! Some mistake surely??? Death in Paradise? Even by my standards (very low), this is a well-equipped gym – and better still, it was empty, so no fear of embarrassment either as I fumbled with …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 1)
Another ‘silly o’clock’ start with the car picking us up at 6.30am to get us to the airport for our 8.50 flight. So, it was Rice Al-Krispies at 5.45am and goodbye to what’s been possibly the best hotel we’ve ever stayed at. The journey to the airport was incident-free and we were soon joining the …
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Holiday – Abu Dhabi (Day 3)
Those that know me, know that I don’t do ‘lie-ins’ – as soon as I’m awake, and the brain kicks in (more slowly these days!), I’m normally up and doing stuff. So, it was quite a surprise that we didn’t get up until 9.30 this morning! Eeeek! that’s nearly lunchtime for me!!! It’s our …
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