Ann and I drove over to Stratford-upon Avon for our regular(ish) get-together with good friends: Alan, Mags, Ian and Ann. Our eatery of choice this time was The Swan’s Nest Hotel opposite the River. It was the in-house eatery Bistrot Pierre that was our ultimate destination and I thought we’d never been to it before, …
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Category:Friends
£1-a-Day (2019) – How Did We Do?
£1-a-Day 2019
How Did We Do?
Six Go Swinging!
A short drive to Rushden tonight with David, Valerie, Jo and Janet for the Rushden & District RAFA’s “Swing’s the Thing” Concert. We’d been invited to this fund-raising event by good friends Richard and Pauline, and being local, it didn’t take us long to get there. However, our unfamiliarity with the immediate area meant that …
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£1-a-Day (2019)
Well, here we go! David and I are doing our charity ‘thing’ again this year – starting today – and living on just £1 a day for food and drink for the next seven days! 😊 This year, we also have new recruit ‘Helen’ joining us in lieu of her hubby Paul, (who’s taking the …
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Queen’s Greatest Bits II
It’s another day-out with friends – this time, we’re heading for Buckingham Palace, meeting Roy and Susan. So, we headed off to London (via Huntingdon Station) by train, for the 12.30 Palace Tour. We’re choosing Huntingdon these days over Bedford and Kettering simply because: there’s more trains; the tickets are cheaper and the parking is …
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First Visit: The National Memorial Arboretum
Today, a planned day out with David and Valerie to the National Memorial Arboretum. It was a return visit for David and Valerie, but it was our first! Thank goodness then, that the rain has stopped, as a month’s worth fell in a day yesterday over the UK! (although it did belt it down briefly …
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First Visit: Farnborough Hall
Another one our of cultural days out, meeting up with Ian and Ann along the way, heading for National Trust’s Farnborough Hall. Located off the M40 between Banbury and Gaydon, the Grade I listed property (and its gardens) has been owned by the National Trust since 1960, when the Holbech family endowed it to them. …
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Kilworth Cats!
Off to Kilworth Theatre today with Ann, Janet, Jo and Carol to see the theatre’s production of ‘Cats‘. Am I the only person to have never a ‘Cats’ production before? Quite possibly! Last time we were here was back in June, to see Joseph – and today was just as busy! West End quality without …
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♪♪ Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening! ♪♪
With both A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody (planned for LunaFlix’s outdoor cinema this weekend at Boughton House) postponed because of the weather forecast, we needed a ‘Plan B’! That’s the first time that the weather has disrupted this annual event – totally unexpected in AUGUST! 😮 The replacement dates didn’t work for any …
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The Vast and the Curious
Off to the vastness of an iMax screen this evening (courtesy of Cineworld, Rushden Lakes) with Jo and Janet. I’m curious to see if the ‘love-child’ of the mighty Fast and Furious franchise is any good. Step forward then, the imaginatively titled: Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. Petrol-heads Rejoice… When the first Fast and …
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Glove Story!
Where do I begin..? Both Ann and I are getting serious about our Friday-night Archery Classes, and it was therefore time to start investing in some kit of our own. So, earlier in the week, after some recommendations, we took the short drive to the local Archery Shop in Burton Latimer – TargetCraft – to …
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The Palace and the Pub
Off to visit Apethorpe Palace today with Chris and Gill! The Palace We last visited here back in August 2011 with Nicki, when it was known simply as Apethorpe Hall. Since that time, it’s been sold-off by English Heritage (December 2014) to one Baron von Pfetten, a French anglophile. English Heritage are still responsible for …
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Long(bow) Story Short!
So, with Friday here again, it’s time for our weekly Archery Lessons courtesy of Kettering Archers. For me, tonight is extra special as I’ve traded-up to a proper English Longbow! – and it came with some expert coaching from one of KA’s experienced Bowmen, Dave. Although it’s perfectly possible to use the Longbow for target …
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Silverstone Classic 2019 – The Cars are the Stars
We headed over to Chris and Gill’s today, and then to this year’s Silverstone Classic. Obviously, it’s all about the cars and so I’ll minimise the word-count in this Post and let the pictures tell the story! The weather was spot-on today. After the mega-heatwave of the past few days, it was just perfect! – …
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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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The Black Country Living Museum
Our very first visit to The Black Country Living Museum! 9.30am: We picked-up David and Valerie and headed by car for ‘the smoke’. Located in Dudley, the journey took us a lot longer than we planned, (due to some serious congestion on the A14 in the direction of the M6). So, after some inspired diversionary …
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A Long Time with a Longbow!
Friday is with us again and that means it’s our weekly lessons, courtesy of Kettering Archers! For me this time, there was a deliberate change of equipment! After spending last week and the week before dabbling with the Longbow, tonight, I decided to spend the whole evening with this more authentic Bow. Remember, it has …
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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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Joseph – And the Pub of Many Burgers
We headed for Kilworth Theatre today to see their latest outdoor production… Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph… Running from 26th May until 5th July 2019, this production was back by popular demand. Given the track record here, we knew we were in for a treat! Starring Jacob Fisher in the titular role; Carole …
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Da Da Daaaa..!
Just imagine being part of Jeff Wayne’s 1978 Album “Musical Version of The War of the Worlds”… …Well, imagine no longer! 1.30pm: We’re off… Jo and I left Kettering in plenty of time heading for this unique experience in London. Our expectations were high, as we’d both read (and heard) some excellent reviews. Our destination …
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Saxon Mill – The Return
Today was a welcome return to The Saxon Mill Gastropub in nearby Warwick. Last time we were here (back in July last year) was for the same reason – Lunch with friends! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong …
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Tea for Three
We picked up Helen, and headed to the ever-reliable Beckworth’s for one of their Afternoon Teas! Yumminess predicted! The food and service didn’t disappoint, and judging by the fact that the rest of Northamptonshire were also there, others were equally impressed! Afterwards, we took a look round their Garden Centre and chose one of their …
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Big Band for a Big Event
You might remember Paul – he joined forces with David and me for our ‘£1-a-Day’ fund-raising event in 2017 and 2018. Well, he’s mad enough – in a good way – to continue his generous nature and has volunteered to do a 94km sponsored walk. Yes, you read that correctly – 94km!!! And this is …
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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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Barn Dance
This was only our second foray into the skills needed for Barn Dancing – Kettering A&E were on standby, especially the foot and toe unit! 😁 Last time, back in the stone-age, I recall I had the floor to myself! Less a scene from Saturday Night Fever where the crowd were wowed by my moves, …
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The Weekend – Sponsored by the letter ‘f’
A weekend of fun, friends, fine food, F1 and err, a fone! Friday Ralph and Karen are joining us for the weekend. We haven’t seen each other for a while and there was plenty to catch-up with! Probably the most important task was to begin finalising details for joint trip to China including understanding the …
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Bank Holiday Weekend in Banstead
We travelled down to Banstead today to meet up with good friends Richard and Nicki. What made today different was that we decided to do it all by train (given the poor journey we had back last time by car!). Whether it’s a sign of getting a bit older, or simply the thought of the …
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Movie of the Year: ‘Avengers: Endgame’
If Sci-Fi is your preferred film genre, then I reckon this movie is as important as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Star Wars (1977)… Read on… But what makes this latest blockbuster different is the sheer scale and ambition by those responsible for its existence – Marvel Studios (more about all this later). So, …
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Two Locals and Two Towneys
We caught up with Nick and Celina today. After a quick look round their local Garden Centre, we headed off to another local for Lunch – The Black Bull, in nearby Market Overton. Then it was back to theirs for a coffee and to admire how much they’ve done with their Home since we were …
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