It’s one of those weekends where a lot of good things happened on the same day. The day started well with possibly the hottest day of the year so far. Papers were saying we were hotter than Barbados! Maybe… it was only 26 degrees here! The cats went in for their regular wash-and-blow-dry and whilst …
Read More
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!
Happy Birthday – to me!
We’re at home for my birthday this year. That wasn’t the plan – see yesterday’s blog! Cards Ann (obviously!) Angela Antoinette Bev Carol David and Val Carey H Denis Ian H and Sharon Ian McL and Ann Lee Mum Nick and Celina Margaret and Alan Neil, Debbie, Alfie and Frankie Paul and Karen Paul, Sue …
Read More
Birthday Weekend – Aborted!
SATURDAY Well, the weekend started very well – a sunny day, and we’re almost in October. David, Val, Lee, Ann and I are all ready for a bit of a celebration with David and my birthday within a day of each other. Everything was planned, and all we needed to do was to enjoy what …
Read More
Lunch with Denise
I dropped the car off at Forest Gate just before 8 to have the tyre sensor looked at again, and they kindly gave me a lift to the station. I took the train down to London, quickly followed by the short tube journey across to Holborn. Denise is now more-or-less full-time in London with her …
Read More
The Wet-Room
Well, the Wet-Room is in its final stages now. Ralph is in the process of tiling it all (after a slight blip due to some serious colour variation on the tiles we originally bought), and it’s all going very well. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until …
Read More
Weekend with Roy, Susan and Lauren
We drove over to Roy, Susan’s and Lauren’s in Ramsey today and got there about 2.30. We kicked off with a nice cuppa and spent the afternoon chatting about this and that – putting the world right, as you do. Lauren was ‘super-chef’ for the day beginning with some delicious blueberry muffins – they were …
Read More
Nick, Celina and Hannah here for Lunch
Nick, Celina and Hannah joined us for lunch. That meant ‘full-house’ here as we already has Lee, Ralph and Karen staying! Time to locate the ‘large-table-top’ that we had made a few years back (for Christmas time) that allowed us to get EIGHT of us around our dinner table (that’s really only designed for four …
Read More
Vauxhall Ampera/Jane Eyre/Colombiana/Last Night of the Proms
Ralph, Karen, Lee, Ann and I took the 9.30 out of Kettering today and headed for London. For Karen, Lee and Ann, the mission was to seek out some suitable material for THE wedding dress. For Ralph and I, we concentrated on much more important things like Vauxhall’s soon-to-be-launched Ampera – their first extended range …
Read More
Weekend with Roger, Jane and Oliver – Sunday
As planned, we had a lazy morning. After breakfast, we caught up with the newspapers and I helped Roger understand the extra functions of his new Panasonic LCD TV and Humax Fox T2 box. After a rather full-on roast chicken lunch we did very little afterwards – apart from nearly fall asleep! It’s been a …
Read More
Weekend with Roger, Jane and Oliver – Saturday
We left ours around 10.30 and arrived at theirs just after 12. After a light lunch of sandwiches and soft drinks, we set off for Hatfield House. It’s one we’ve never actually been to, and it was definitely worth the short drive. The place is massive, and unusually, these days, in private hands. We had …
Read More
Dinner with Ian and Mags
We went all French tonight and ate at Le Bistrot Pierre on the edge of the River just over the bridge in Stratford-upon-Avon. The service was a little sluggish but that was more than made up for by the quality of the conversation and the mouth-watering food. Delicious! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late …
Read More
Trip to Lyveden New Bield
On the spur of the moment (unusual for us!), we decided to risk the iffy weather and take the short drive, about 25 minutes away, to the NT property – Lyveden New Bield (a bit of a mouthful!). Apparently, we went there around 10 years ago – but I don’t remember it at all! The …
Read More
TV: Doctor Who series returns
Whilst I have the greatest respect for Steven Moffat as the writer for last night’s opening episode episode (he did write ‘Blink’, my favourite of all time), ‘Let’s Kills Hitler’, left me confused and slightly annoyed. Let’s start with the title. I think there should be a rule that says you can’t name an episode …
Read More
Planet of the Ape(thorpe)
Nicki joined us today and after the girls popped to the bra shop (it’s not really my thing), we headed off to Apethorpe Hall, a newly opened (and currently being restored) property about half an hour away located at the ‘back-of-beyond’ in the village of (spookily) Apethorpe! On arrival, there were already about half a …
Read More
Wet, Wet, Wet – Floor down
The Wet Room project continues. The floor is down – yay! Thanks Ralph!!!!! Quality job!!! 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 all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of …
Read More
Meal with Ian H
I drove over to the Premier Inn at Ferry Meadows in Peterborough tonight, and met up with Ian H, who’s this way on business. We caught up with this-and-that in the Beefeater next door and (surprisingly) managed to resist their new policy of ‘bottomless chips’! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not …
Read More
Wet, Wet, Wet/Cats Away
Ralph’s here again this week working on the Wet-Room. We’re now at the ‘pretty’ stage with hopefully the floor tiles being laid this week, and time permitting, starting on the wall tiles too. The rather fancy tap we’ve ordered should have arrived at the Plumbers as well, so it’ll be interesting to see how that …
Read More
Cats in – Sunglasses out!
Today was the day we took the cats it for their normal six-monthly ‘service’ – we postponed it from yesterday, because we were busy with wedding stuff and Patsy needed to drive to Bournemouth to rescue some abandoned cats – all 17 of them! David and Val popped round for lunch. We had Italian cheese …
Read More
Meal with Paul and Sue – The Old Bakehouse
We met up with Paul and Sue tonight at The Old Bakehouse in Rothwell, for a regular get-together. Last time we went there, it was with David and Val in May 2009 – since then they’ve added an extra part to the restaurant out the back and the whole area looked fantastic – they’ve even …
Read More
Lunch with Denise – Not Quite!
I popped over to Bedford today, to catch-up with Denise M. August seems to be the month for lunching – I could quite get used to this and it certainly beats working!!! It’s all part of my improved (hopefully) try-and-keep-more-in-touch-with-friends routine. I haven’t seen Denise since Gill’s party and our get together at The Black …
Read More
Gurkhas, Gas Leaks and Gossip!
I met up with John Cullwick tonight. After a lot of discussion, we agreed that we haven’t seen each other for at least 8 years! He’s over this way for a wedding, and it was too good an opportunity to miss a catch-up. He was staying at the rather unglamorous, but functional Travel Plaza Hotel, …
Read More
Yes Please!
Coming soon: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 3G I want one! – but it has to be the 3G version. Hopefully arriving in August in UK shops… Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my …
Read More
Cider with Rosi
No, much better than just cider! David and Rosi invited us round for a late lunch, and we took Paul and Karen with us. Stuffed peppers, slooooow cooked lamb, fennel and potatoes followed by baked peaches with almond flavoured crème fraiche. Yummy yummy! In between enjoying the more-than-excellent food, we pronounced judgement on the recent …
Read More
Cloudy, with outbreaks of Spam?
OK, a big techy-decision here today! Regular readers will know that I defected recently from Windows Mobile to Android. That encouraged me to move away from Outlook Calendar and Outlook Tasks to manage my day-to-day stuff. That really only left the email function in Outlook as a reason to stay, and I’ve always been a …
Read More
Lunch with Denis and Bev
We picked up Lee around 9.30 and headed for Denis’. Bev is cooking, so that’s bound to be a treat – I’m hungry already! Food, as expected, was excellent. We all tucked into shepherd’s pie, swede and cabbage – yummy! Dessert was Christmas pudding and cheesecake – double yummy!! We dropped into Downtown on the …
Read More
Ring, Ring
We drove over to Leicester this morning, specifically to look for a pair of wedding rings. Our first stop was our last, courtesy of George Tarratt specialist Jewellers, and after just 40 minutes of discussion and viewing, it was ‘mission accomplished’. So, that’s two bespoke white gold rings with added diamonds now on order. Easy-peasy! …
Read More
Second half of Doctor Who Series 6 soon…
Not long to wait… “Let’s Kill Hitler!” 😮 (Provocative title ehh?!?! 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 all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be …
Read More
Mazza’s
We’d both had a tough week, and decided that the best way to start the weekend was to drop into Mazza’s our fave Indian Restaurant in Kettering. Having said that, even though it’s our favourite, we haven’t ben there since July last year – unbelievable!!! We got there early – around 6.15 – and that …
Read More
Wet, Wet, Wet – ‘A Night on the Tiles’
More like a day and a night… and another day! With the temperatures into the 30s here yesterday, Ralph’s efforts to lay the initial tiling on the floor turned into a nightmare, as the cement went hard far too quickly! The result was that this part of the project took far longer than he imagined. …
Read More
Wet, Wet, Wet
Ralph’s here this week. We’re now at the ’pretty’ stage of creating the Wet-Room that’s painting the ceiling, tiling the floor and wall – and on Friday, with Mick’s help, installing the lighting Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My …
Read More