Ann bought me a remote control boat for my Birthday – the snappily titled gizmovine t01 – and today was my first opportunity to try it out. Click on the picture for a short video So, David and I headed down to Wicksteed Park and their boating pool. The conditions were perfect in that there was no …
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Category:Birthday
France 2018: Day 7 – Chateau d’If and Birthday Boy
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!(Monday) Day 6 – On the Buses!(Tuesday) Wednesday Whilst most would be content with a trip to …
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France 2018: Day 6 – On the Buses!
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!(Monday) Tuesday Blakey might have hated Butler, but he would have loved the route today. We’re on the …
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France 2018: Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Monday Welcome back loyal Reader! (The Bodyguard finalé was good wasn’t it!?) Today, we travel to our third and final Hotel. Our new …
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France 2018: Day 4 – More about Nimes
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes(Saturday) Sunday We’re remaining very local today, and exploring Nimes in more detail. You can download a VERY large map (3448 X 2419 pixels) of the local area HERE Another …
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France 2018: Day 3 – All aboard the Train to Nimes
Our Adventure so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Saturday 8.45am: A lazy breakfast here in Lyon before boarding the TGV Train bound for Nimes, or Nîmes as most of the French write it. It’s famous for being the ‘most Roman city outside Italy’ – …
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France 2018: Day 2 – Vienne by Train
Our adventures so far… Arrival(Wednesday) Day 1(Yesterday) Friday Today is our final full day here, and we’re jumping on the Train to visit nearby Vienne. Vienne is located 35 kilometres south of Lyon, on the river Rhône and is famous for its ancient Roman Theatre. Built in 1AD, It was re-inaugurated in 1938 and since …
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France 2018: Day 1 – Sightseeing in Lyon
Our adventures so far… Yesterday… (click to view) Thursday A local commented last night that the temperature here is a full 10 degrees above the average for this time of year – and there’s another scorcher in store for us today. In celebration, as well as the Sun, my kneecaps are out of trousers, but …
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France 2018: Day 0 – Arrival
Bonjour loyal Readers! Our next travel adventure means we’re off to France as part of my Birthday celebrations! What makes this a tad unique is that after flying to Lyon, we’re doing the rest of it using the French train network!8.45am: So, first of all, it’s off to Brum Airport… …and then we’re flying to …
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Denis at 89
Today, we celebrated Denis’s 89th Birthday. So the Gambles assembled here Bev, Roger, Jane and Oliver for a slap-up Lunch and more… As expected, we spoilt Denis rotten with gifts and Ann’s unrivalled kitchen skills! Denis may not have eaten as much as he used to, but he certainly seemed to enjoy the food – …
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You Wait for Ages…
“…for a bus to come along, then two arrive together!” So goes the saying, and the same could be said for Chinese Buffets too!Having had Lunch there on Thursday, we were at The Mandarin Buffet in Weston Favell again today – this time for Pauline’s surprise 70th Birthday celebration. Jonathan, their son, had done all …
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Gambles Reunited for Ann’s Birthday Celebrations
Well, I think that’s a first (not sure why though!) – the Gambles family reunited here for Ann’s Birthday!! Denis, Roger, Jane, Oliver and Bev batting for the Gambles, whilst Lee and I were in the other corner! A little like that odd tradition where the person whose birthday it is, provides cakes, Ann provided …
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Remember the 60s?
It’s getting to that point where many of our social circle are reaching a ‘certain’ age (although some have past it, and some feel past it!) Guilty on both counts! 😁😁 Tonight was another of those events, with John C (below, not facing the camera!) reaching that milestone where a Public Library (if there …
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Moggy Birthday – Biscuit at 13!
Biscuit turned 13 today and by my calculation that makes her about 68 in human years. Our previous two Persians (Mumsy and Bubsy) made it to almost 15 and 14 years old respectively, but were both unwell in their final years. I therefore expect, going forward, we’ll be making more trips to and from the …
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A Birthday Surprise for Trish
What a nice thought! Rosi arranged a surprise afternoon get-together for Trish who recently celebrated a ‘significant’ birthday. A cunning plan was hatched! We were all to arrive around 3pm, with Trish and John arriving at 3.30, thinking they were just popping-in for a post-birthday cuppa and a nibble! It all went perfectly to plan …
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George and the Flame Thrower
Ian and Ann met us at ours today. We had a long-standing date to take them out for a slap-up lunch at The George Hotel in Stamford in celebration of their birthdays last year. It’s always more than just a meal at The George, and today was no exception……superb food, fantastic service resulting in a …
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82, not out!
Not content with enjoying ourselves at Ian’s 70th birthday celebration yesterday, today, we laid on a birthday lunch for Lee’s 82nd! Pick up from Yeoman’s Court was just after 11am (carefully avoiding the planned Armistice celebrations in Burton Latimer) and then we headed back to ours for the birthday lunch. But, before lunch, there was …
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70, not out!
We celebrated Ian’s 70th tonight, together with 30-or-so friends and family at his place. His birthday had been on the previous Monday and this significant get-together had been organised by his other half, Ann – with military precision – and been in our diary for a year! With plenty of food and drink, some familiar …
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Holiday: National Trust’s ‘Strode House’ (Day 5) – Birthday Boy!
Well, here we are – In Somerset for my 61st. It was good to wake up and (when I eventually got a signal) to see all the good wishes via social media. I think for the first time, there were more ‘happy birthdays’ via the ‘interweb’ than by traditional cards. The main event for today …
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Neighbours get-together
Well, we haven’t done this for a while, so it was good to see everyone today. We never need an excuse to get together but today we had one! Rosi had organised a party for hubby Dave’s birthday. A tricky manoeuvre considering the weather has been all over the place these past few days – …
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Biggles Flies Again
Biggles? More like Giggles! as I took control of a real aeroplane courtesy of last year’s birthday pressy from Ian and Mags – a 45 minute flight over the skies of Northamptonshire! Ian & Ann, Ralph and Karen and my Ann were there to witness my performance as just after 11am, I ‘took the stick’ …
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Happy 12th Birthday Moggies!
The Moggies turned 12 today – that makes them around 64 in ‘human years’. Habits-wise, they’re very much the same – they still wake us up at whatever time suits them (2.45am seems favourite at the mo’) to let them out; they still prefer dry cat food to wet; they’ll do anything for Dreamies and …
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John C’s Birthday
It’s been a while, but we caught up with the neighbours tonight in celebration of John C’s birthday on Monday. It’s probably the first time we’ve all got together since Christmas – and there was plenty of news to catch-up with. In fact, there wasn’t enough time for us to be properly sociable, and chat …
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My 60th: Final Supper
It was round to Denise’s tonight for my final (honest!) Birthday celebration meal. We arrived just before 7pm where Denise had pulled out all the stops all by herself (Denise’s Steve didn’t quite make it, as he was still on his way home after a mega-sailing expedition!) We began with nibbles round a real fire …
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My 60th – Curry Mop-up
My Birthday celebrations continued last night with Paul, Karen, David and Rosi. They couldn’t make the original get-together back in September at The Exotic Dining, so it was the perfect excuse to do it all again, as a ‘mop-up’ exercise, tonight at the same location. The service and food was, as always, superb! and I’d …
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My 60th – Black-Tie Curry Buffet
…and the celebrations continue (with still quite a few to go!) with a Black-Tie event at ours for a few friends. Nick & Celina, Ralph & Karen and David and Valerie joined us for my Curry Banquet – with Ann doing most of the legwork in the kitchen and me contributing just by making the …
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Australian Cruise: Singapore Stopover – Day 15 and 16
Written: Sunday, 23rd October Day 15 – Saturday So it’s goodbye to Celebrity Solstice and hello to dry land in Singapore. We’re here for two days before we fly home on Sunday. It’s our fifth visit and we love the place! We first came here 30 years ago (or thereabouts) so we thought we’d revisit …
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Australian Cruise: Brisbane – Day 3
Written: Monday, 10th October. Our day began early as we still haven’t got into a regular sleep pattern just yet. This meant we were at the Gym (for the second day running) by 6am. I stuck to my standard 30 minute ‘walk’, whilst Ann did all this and more! Then it was off for a …
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Australian Cruise: Final Two Days On-Board– Day 13 and 14
Written: Friday, 21st October Day 13 –Thursday Somebody must have spiked my iced-water last night! I didn’t wake-up until 7.45! – so much for the Gym at 7 then!!! If we were to get a prime position on Deck this morning, it was a good job we’d ordered breakfast in our room, because by the …
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Australian Cruise: Arrival in Benoa, Bali – Day 12
Written: Wednesday, 19th October We slipped into Benoa, Bali at around 7.30 this morning – we watched the arrival from the treadmill in the Gym! Strangely (and unlike yesterday) the Gym was deserted and we were able to ‘do our thing’ much more easily. Then, as usual, we headed for breakfast in Blu that was …
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