Neil and I were lucky enough to secure a couple of tickets for an invite-only track day for the new Jaguar f-type at Millbrook. What fantastic day! Perfectly hosted by Jaguar with an opportunity to try-out all the variants of this gorgeous car! There were 25 of us – and rather spookily 25 cars. So, …
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Category:Days-out
Because We’re Worth(ing) It
Friday We left around 8.30 heading in the direction of Worthing, and our good friends Ian and Sharon. I say, ‘heading’ as the need for retail therapy kicked-in, and we dropped into Guildford – our first visit ever – for a quick punt around the local shops. We parked easily and were soon helping Guildford …
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Messing about in Boats (sort of!)
David and I went over to David’s boat – Osprey One – at Buckden Marina today with a plan to wash and polish it. The weather had other ideas, and we had to abandon the mission having only really given it a good wash! We’ll be back!!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in …
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The Journey
I met up with Ian today in London, near the Houses of Parliament. First up was the historical part of our day, where we visited the Jewel House, the Chapter House and Pyx Chamber and then, after a brisk walk taking us past Buckingham Palace (and an ice-cream van), we ended up at Wellington Arch, …
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The Weekend Starts Here
After the significant events of this week, it was good to chill-out this weekend. Ralph and Karen came to stay, and arrived around tea-time on Friday. After a quick catch-up, it was off to the Shuckburgh Arms in Stoke Doyle for a meal – the photos below say it all! – a fantastic meal all …
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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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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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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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Education, Education… Curry!
I met up with Angela C at King’s Cross and we headed to the Barbican and the Museum of London. This was the first part of our ‘educational’ day in London.The Museum was fab – I haven’t been there for a good 10 years and it’s changed a lot. It was good last time…. but …
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Messing about in a Boat!
I spent some time with David on his boat today. More of a ‘winter-prep’ session than a proper trip-down-the-river – but great fun anyway even though the man event was emptying the on-board chemical toilet!!!! The weather was unbelievable warm for (almost) November!! Afterwards, we had lunch at the Marina – a first visit for …
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5ive Go to Bath
After last year’s very enjoyable Trainers Go to… event in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon, this year, we headed for a weekend in Bath. Carey had to drop-out at the last minute (which was a great shame), but we know she was there in spirit! It was my turn to organise it all and after some initial difficulties …
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You wait for ages and then..
…loads come along all at once! I was London-bound today to meet up with my good friend Angela C – and a trip round the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. On the way down, I was surprised to see Denise M join the train at Bedford and so we spent the rest of the …
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Queen’s Greatest Hit?
Today, we’re heading for the capital to take a look round Buckingham Palace! It’s our second visit, but a first for Roger, Jane and Oliver. Roger has organised everything – food, taxis and rail tickets. So we just needed to take the short drive to Harlow Town railway station to get us to Liverpool Street. …
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Sally gets an iPad Mini
I took the train to London today to meet up with Sally B. She’s treated herself to a shiny new iPad Mini – so that was a perfect excuse for me to immerse myself in a fruit-based OS (part of my ‘five-a-day’), catch up with all Sally’s news, and use up my last Pizza Express …
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Oxford/Silver Party
We started the day by driving over to Oxford to meet up with Nicki C. We did the smart thing and took the Park-and-Ride, both arriving there at about the same time. Oxford was fab. The weather turned out to be better than forecast – hot! and we had a great meal in the roof-top …
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The (Bank Holiday) Weekend Starts Here…
FridayDenis joined us in the afternoon. He’s staying until Sunday. He’d had a good trip down and was already at ours when I got back from Trish and John’s after sorting out a few bits & pieces with Trish’s phone and tablet. Ann was working from home and after a(nother) frantic week at work, we …
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Hidcote Manor Gardens
We drove over to Ian and Ann’s this afternoon. We had lunch at theirs before taking the short drive to National Trust’s Hidcote Gardens. Apparently, we haven’t been there for around 15+ years, but I don’t recall any of it at all – but it was DEFINITELY worth the visit (even though the weather was …
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Two for the O2!
I met up with Angela C at Waterloo station and we headed off in the direction of the O2. To make it a bit unusual, we took the cable-car ride from Victoria Dock – it’s only about a 10 minute ride, but you do see some spectacular views across London. So, not a great day …
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A Celebration in Worthing
FRIDAY We headed off to Worthing, as tomorrow is our good friends’ Ian and Sharon’s 10th wedding anniversary. The event has come round really quickly – it seems like only yesterday, we last roasted in sun-drenched Worthing. Because of the National Bowls Tournament, accommodation had been difficult to book, but we eventually located a small …
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‘History Live!’ at Kelmarsh Hall
With cracking good weather promised, we decided to take the short drive to where we got married – Kelmarsh Hall – to see English Heritage’s annual Historical event. Now renamed ‘History Live!’ it promised all the good stuff we’d seen in previous years, so we knew we were in for a treat. As things turned …
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Cloudy at St Pancras
Another scorcher today! I had an early lunch combining a ‘techy-coaching-session’ with Sally B at the ever popular Carluccio’s – but there were still a few clouds above us at St Pancras International Station! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! …
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Lyddington Bede House
Ralph, Karen, Ann and I took the short drive to Lyddington today to meet-up with Nick and Celina. The weather was disappointing – very grey with light rain We visited English Heritage’s Lyddington Bede House before dropping into The Old White Hart just down the road for some ‘refreshment’. Then it was all back to …
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Worcester: Long Weekend – Saturday: Tewkesbury & Gloucester
Today, we headed for Tewkesbury. It was mainly to look around as tourists, but also to find somewhere for wallpaper and other bits and pieces for the converted bedroom. After parking the car, we had a quick look round the shops and the old architecture in the town before heading for Tewkesbury Abbey for a …
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Worcester: Long Weekend – Friday
We’re off to Worcester for a few days. We haven’t been there for about 10 years, so it’ll be interesting to see if/how the place has changed very much. First stop was intended to be the iconic Royal Worcester Shop, only to find that it ceased to exist (much like the the Royal Worcester Porcelain …
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Sea-Dogs, Cider and Elbow Grease
Having practised my ‘poirate’ accent all week, David and I took the short drive to Buckden Marina to spend the morning cleaning and preparing Osprey One (David’s boat) for the sailing season ahead. It was a gorgeous day, probably the warmest so far this year, and that made the morning even more enjoyable. We met …
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It’s tall… very tall!
I travelled down to London today to meet up with Peter J. We planned to take a tour of The Shard – 72 floors and 1016 feet of vertical architecture close to London Bridge and Guy’s Hospital. We weren’t quite sure what to expect as we turned the corner from the Tube Station, but nothing …
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Snakes on a Plane!
Not quite! How about ‘Nails on a Train’. The woman sitting opposite me is either on her way to a Macbeth party, or plays the guitar a lot! 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 …
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Roger’s 50th – Tosca
Just occasionally we do ‘posh’ – and tonight was one of those occasions. With DJs and posh frocks on the outside and Sudafed and Strepsils (for Ann and me ) on the inside, we set off for the Royal Opera House to celebrate Roger’s 50th. After our quick change of clothes, we headed for Stevenage …
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Handbags at Noon!
Well, not quite as is was just ONE handbag and only 11.45! Carluccio’s, St Pancras I set off for London to meet up with my old friend, Peter J at our regular haunt – Carluccio’s at St Pancras. As I was waiting outside for Peter’s arrival, I noticed something a little odd about The Lovers …
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Fire and Ice
We woke to find that we’d had around 3-4 inches of snow overnight – all that on top of the ice from yesterday! Nice!!! The house felt freezing, so we fired up the err, fire and were soon ‘toasty-warm’. We postponed our drive over to Peterborough preferring to stay in and catch-up with stuff on …
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