A boys’ day out for me! John C and I took a drive to the Mini production line in Cowley! 👍👍 These days, early departures for me are rare, so leaving ours at the unearthly hour of 7.30am felt like a bit of a stretch. It was going to be worth it though! We arrived …
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Category:Car
The Pulse of Kettering!
There was a time when our home town of Kettering always seemed to be the LAST to get any tech innovations. Well, that’s just changed! Why? How? A few days ago, we learned about something here that’s put us ahead (currently) of any other town in the UK. And no, for once, I’m not talking …
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Catford Charge
These days, long-distance driving for us is reserved for holidays only – no longer any 100 mile-plus jaunts to chase down the next big job for either of us! So, today was a bit of an exception. It was family-related as we were going to Cousin John’s funeral tomorrow at Beckenham Crematorium. Plan A was …
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Super Sociable Saturday and Sunday!
It was one of those fantastic weekends where we spent 99% of the time eating, drinking and enjoying the company of good friends! It’s a tough life!!! 😀 Saturday The morning was spent preparing stuff and having a final tidy-up in readiness for our guests. Just after midday, Ralph and Karen joined us, and after …
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Film: Black Widow
It’s been a while since we last went to the cinema (December, last year, when we saw Wonder Woman 1984). That visit was to the local Odeon, but it’s been even longer (August, 2020 – almost a year) since we went to the shinier, newer, Cineworld, here at Rushden Lakes to see Christopher Nolan’s mind-boggling …
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Pilgrimage to the Palmers
Postponed from just before Christmas last year, today, we made the pilgrimage, 113 miles south, to my Brother’s. In a change to the normal travel arrangements, we took Robert, instead of making the journey by train. There were really two main reasons for this! First, neither of us are totally comfortable with jumping on public …
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Holiday: Marlborough – Day 5 (of 5)
7.00am: Morning! 😁 The latest weather forecast suggests that it’s not going to be as bad as we thought, but we still need our weekly dose of ‘retail therapy’! So, we’re NOT packing the sun cream, instead, we’re heading for Swindon Designer Outlet. Last time we were here was back in March 2012 during Ann’s …
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Holiday: Marlborough – Day 4 (of 5)
6.30am: A bit of a lie-in this morning! 💤 According to the forecast, it’s another warm one today, so we plan to make the most of it. We’re heading out to Heale House and Gardens in nearby (ish) Middle Wooton and then onto NT’s Cherhill Downs – armed with a picnic of course! Actually, the …
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Holiday: Marlborough – Day 3 (of 5)
6.10am: I certainly slept better than yesterday and if they can get the service right at Breakfast after yesterday’s fiasco, then all will be right in the world! 7.55am: It’s breakfast time and I’m happy to report that it all went very smoothly and there was no visible wounds showing on the staff from where …
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Holiday: Marlborough – Day 2 (of 5)
6.45am: Morning all! 👍👍 Strangely, I didn’t sleep too well, waking up at 2.30am (!!!) accompanied by a head that felt like I’d overdone it on the shandies! Disappointingly, I hadn’t!!! I popped a few pills and tried to get back to sleep. My pounding head (like my hairline) receded quickly, but I never really …
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Holiday: Marlborough – Day 1 (of 5)
10.00am: Well, here we are back in ‘holiday-mode’ where we’re spending six days in and around the beautiful town of Marlborough. Marlborough is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. The town boasts a population of between …
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Brideshead Visited
It’s another cultural day-out with our friends, Dennis and Sandra, this being our eighth adventure. Together, we’ve previously enjoyed:- The Royal Armouries Museum (March 2019)Bolsover Castle (October 2018)Belton House (May 2018)York (February 2018)Burghley House (October 2017)Hull (May 2017)Leeds (February 2017) Castle Howard is a private residence, north of York and has been the home of …
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Party, Party!
Well, we haven’t done this in a while! It’s fair to say that many of our immediate circle of neighbours have all had significant things to ‘deal with’ these past few months, so tonight was the perfect opportunity to get together. We played to our strengths, Ann weaving her magic in the kitchen and creating …
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Cambridge-sur-Mer
Ann and I drove over to Cambridge today. I say ‘drove’ as ‘sailed’ would have been more appropriate I think! – so much rain! ? And add to that, the mega-roadworks as they transform the A14, meant slow progress! Still, we made it in around an-hour-and-ten! 👍 Gone are the days where I used to …
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Film: The Lion King
We headed over to Cineworld at Rushden Lakes this evening to catch the latest cinematic incarnation of ‘The Lion King‘. Featuring the voice-talents of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (as well as James Earl Jones reprising his role from the original film) the …
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Pheasantly Spicy
The first outing for my XKR this Summer as we took the short drive to The Pheasant in Keyston. It was a beautiful evening – a very warm 23 degrees. Pity then, the car decided that this was the moment for the AC to fail! We may have looked cool in a classic Jaaaag! but …
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Charging towards Uppingham!
It was a welcome return to one of our favourite towns today – Uppingham. Being a Friday, it’s Market Day too, so there was even more to enjoy! Last time were here was back in February 2018 – and that was Market Day too! …and me being me, it wouldn’t be a normal day without …
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Film: Spiderman: Far from Home
We travelled not far from home today, returning to Cineworld at Rushden Lakes.This time, to catch the latest Marvel Super-hero Movie: Spiderman: Far from Home. And not just any old film presentation! We chose the iMax version (and in 3D too!). What a feast for the senses! What is ‘iMax’ anyway? An iMax presentation is …
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Guilty as Charged!
It’s been a week of experimentation whilst we tried out various Public Chargers for the first time. First stop (on Tuesday) was Rushden Lakes where there are 7 chargers (5 x 7.2w + 2 x 22w, all shiny new) – and better still, they’re all free! Pity then, that I was guilty of not RTFM, …
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We Haven’t Saved the Planet!
Well, after exactly a week of ownership, we may not have saved the planet (yet!), but we’re saving something! 👍 #GoElectric #eNiro 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 …
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Fully Charged Live 2019
It seemed appropriate that our first major outing in our very first EV would be the Fully Charged Live Show at nearby Silverstone! After picking up Chris and Mark in Northampton, we headed for this iconic location, where, in addition to plenty of ‘talkie-bits’, there was also an opportunity to test drive the latests EVs …
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Charge!
Well, we finally did it! We’ve taken the plunge and we’re now all electric for our main car! 😁 We fancied something in white, maybe with a touch of blue… Our Choice Ahh, there it is! The Kia e-Niro ‘First Edition’ After a lot of research, we narrowed it down to just ONE model! – …
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Sunday Scramble 2018
Another first for us today! We met up with Chris A and Gill’s brother, Andrew, at Bicester’s ‘Sunday Scramble’. Hosted at RAF Bicester, it was conceived in 2014 for a meet-up for car enthusiasts involved in car restoration. It’s ‘moved on’ a bit since then and were told it would be well-supported. We left relatively …
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Lottie Time
It was a return visit to ‘Lottie the Lotus’ today to give Chris a hand in its rejuvenation. Specifically, the passenger side-door window was mis-behaving, and needed a very close inspection! We made excellent progress and by 2pm we’d even managed to strip the Driver’s door too. 😉👍 Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late …
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Shelf Awareness and Dented Pride!
Oh bugger! Prior to… I went out to the garage today to discover that overnight, there had been an ‘incident’! The very large shelf that I use to store all my old training materials had ‘made a bid …
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SPECS and the City (not!)
They say you always remember your first time! Mine was on the road between Catford and Lewisham back in the late 70s at 10.47 – a Sunday I think – and it was over in a flash. Dad was horrified, Mum was angry mortified – and I was very embarrassed having been caught in the …
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Brampton Halt for Six!
Today was my second visit to the newly discovered The Brampton Halt Pub & Restaurant, about a 30-minute drive from ours at Chapel Brampton. I’d accidentally discovered it with John C a few weeks back when he and I met at Sedgebrook Hall (it was almost next door!). This time, we met up with Geoff …
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Sedgebrook Hall
What a perfect evening! I took the XKR and drove over to Sedgebrook Hall to meet up with John Cullwick, a business associate from my early days as a self-employed Management Trainer. We had a quick drink outside before taking the short walk to the Pub next door – Brampton Halt. It was …
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First Visit: The Marquess of Exeter
We headed off to The Marquess of Exeter in Lyddington tonight to meet up with Mick and Jane S. The Pub/Restaurant/Hotel boasts: “One of the finest restaurants, pubs and hotels in Rutland” – so expectations were high! On one of the hottest days of the year so far, what could be better than taking the …
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Lottie Lives!
It was over to my mate Chris A in Northampton today to spend a day with ‘Lottie’. Lottie is Chris’s new acquisition in the shape of a yellow Lotus Elan SE. After a quick blast down to Newport Pagnall and back, it was onto the serious stuff of replacing the driver’s door seal. A hour-or-so …
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