With Australia calling (or at least whispering) this might be the LAST of Trish & John’s legendary annual Christmas Meal get-togethers. We’ve been going to these for what seems like, forever – and we’re sure to miss this annual gathering of our neighbours & friends for what is usually a mega-festive-feast with a Christmas Quiz …
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Category:Friends
The Countryman (Again!)
Here I am at The Countryman in Staverton Village. The Pub is becoming a semi-regular haunt for our three-monthly catch-ups with Ian & Ann and Alan & Mags since discovering it with old work mucker, John ‘Mez’ Merrell, exactly 17 years ago today, back in 2008! 🙄👍. Sadly, Mrs P wasn’t able to make the …
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Up to Uppingham
We took the short drive to nearby Uppingham today for lunch with Nick & Celina for a pre-Christmas catch-up. Ultimately, we were to end up with our first visit to ‘No 23’, a rather upmarket Bistro (where they even had a dress code on a Sunday!). Bet you can’t guess the address!!! 😉 But, before …
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First Christmas Meal!
I’m not sure whether this is a record or not for us? It certainly feels like it – it’s our first official Christmas meal of 2025 – and it’s not even December yet! 😮. Last year, I had to wait until December 7th for my first festive nibble (but c’mon, we had only just returned …
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Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 3)
The Northants Nutters (aka, Paul & Sue, Geoff & Rhonda and us two, plus ‘Honorary Nutters: Richard and Nicki) are at Warner’s Holme Lacy House. Last time were here was in March 2020 – just prior to COVID – it was therefore good to be back under less threatening circumstances. This is our last full …
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Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 2)
The Northants Nutters (aka, Paul & Sue, Geoff & Rhonda and us two, plus ‘Honorary Nutters: Richard and Nicki) are here at Warner’s Holme Lacy House. Last time were here was in March 2020 – just prior to COVID – it was therefore good to be back under less threatening circumstances. Welcome to Day 2! …
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Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 1)
With apologies to Dean Martin: “The weather outside is frightful, but heading away for the weekend is delightful!“. Time for the self-titled Northants Nutters (aka, Paul & Sue, Geoff & Rhonda and us two, plus ‘Honorary Nutters: Richard and Nicki) to re-assemble and head for Warner’s Holme Lacy House. The last time the Nutters were …
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New Arms!
A first visit today to The Fancott Arms in err, Fancott, Toddington It was time for a catch-up again with longtime mate, Angela C. The location was about halfway between us, and made a pleasant change to our usual haunt of The Bistro just up the road in ‘old’ Toddington. It was less about the …
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Call to Arms!
Today, we drove over to the Montagu Arms in Barnwell to meet up with Mick and Jane. The last time we were here was back in May this year, also with Mick and Jane. This used to be a very frequent destination ‘back in the day’, but until earlier this year, we hadn’t been back …
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Winner, Winner! TV Dinner! – Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
For me, as a BIG Marvel fan (since the very first in 2008), I can’t quite recall why I didn’t see this at the cinema when it was released back in July of this year. Maybe it was simply that the highly infectious ailment called ‘super-hero fatigue’ had finally caught up with me too, after …
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Holiday: Spain (2025)
Friday, 31st October We flew out to Spain to catch up with long-time mates Roy & Susan. Roy sits amongst that small group of longtime friends, who I’ve known for close on 45 years – and we’re looking forward to a week of R&R at their place with plenty of time to reminisce! 👍 In …
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The Importance of Being Earliest
Well, we haven’t done this in a while! The last time we saw this Play was back in July, 2021 at Tolethorpe Hall. We headed off to Stratford upon Avon and The Bear Pit to see the matinée performance by Am-Dram group, Second Thoughts of The Importance of Being Earnest. It starred good mate and …
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Two for Who!
Fellow Doctor Who fan, Jo and I took a drive over to Peterborough today. It was a rare opportunity to visit the City that’s hosting an unofficial Doctor Who Exhibition at their Museum & Art Gallery. It’s been running since May this year (ending on 2 November) and has turned out to be extremely popular. …
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Lincoln Castle and Prison with Dennis and Sandra
We’re off to Prison with Dennis and Sandra – the Victorian Prison inside Lincoln Castle. We set off just after 9am and enjoyed a strangely uneventful journey north – even the A1 was quiet! 🤔 This is our 19th cultural day out together with our friends since we started these back in February, 2017. So …
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Passion in Paphos
Here we are in Cyprus! We’re here for a week, where the main event is the marriage of Sean and Kellie this coming Thursday! What follows is a much briefer account than my usual Posts (‘hooray!’ say some!) as I took the decision to travel light and leave the laptop behind and attempted to record …
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Rockingham Castle with Gill
We caught up with Gill today at nearby Rockingham Castle. For a more detailed description of the venue, read my Post from a few years ago (August 2022). Prices have gone up slightly since we were last here. We paid £17 (for the youngster) and £18 (for the elderly). Well, it was perfect weather for …
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Thunderbirds are… 4K!
Who needs the TARDIS to travel in time? All I need is an episode of Thunderbirds to instantly transport me back to the 60s! In fact, it was just after my 9th birthday that I first got acquainted with the Tracy Family and all their high-tech kit (ahh, so that’s where I get my obsession …
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Candlelight Concert: Coldplay and Ed Sheeran
It was off to nearby Northampton to see another in the series of Concerts by Candlelight that are all the rage at the moment. Last time for us was in September, 2023 at Peterborough Cathedral to hear the music of The Eagles. This time it was ‘two for the price of one’ with the sound …
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Arrow Returned
We headed off to the Arrow Mill today to catch up with long time muckers: Ian, Ann and Mags (sans Alan). It’s been just over a year since we were last here and it was good to be back! 👍 Yum yum!! A great menu that changes daily. You can’t beat this ‘posh Pub’ for …
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Azamara Holiday – Summary
Day 22 — Saturday, 23rd AugustAzamara Holiday – Summary Phew! As promised, here’s a summary of our holiday, which includes links to all my daily Posts. We spent it with great mates, Ralph and Karen, taking in Canada, Greenland and Iceland. Thanks for your readership, comments and feedback – it was great fun recording our …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 21 – Even More Akureyri
Day 21 — Friday, 22nd AugustEven More Akureyri! Morning all! 😁. Welcome to our BIG Holiday of 2025 – and our last day exploring Iceland! We’re with great mates, Ralph and Karen, having conquered Canada, and grappled with Greenland‘s weather! 😯. Even MORE Akureyri? Can there be anything left to see here?* *Of course there …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 20 – More Akureyri
Day 20 — Thursday, 21st AugustSightseeing around Akureyri Morning All! 👍Welcome to our BIG Holiday of 2025! With Canada and Greenland completed, our final hop is here in the north of Iceland – in Akureyri. In a first for us eating Breakfast abroad, in amongst the continental staples of ham, cheese, peppers and tomatoes were… …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 19 – Akureyri, Iceland
Day 19 — Wednesday, 20th AugustAkureyri, Iceland Morning all! Welcome to Wednesday! We said goodbye to the Azamara Quest at some unGodly hour this morning as we headed for disembarkation in Reyjavik, Iceland. Reykjavík 5.32am: We’ve arrived! Reykjavik has a population of around 140000 and is the capital city of Iceland. The port was busy! …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 18 – Heading for Iceland
Day 18 — Tuesday, 19th AugustHeading for Iceland 6.05am: Morning all! It’s Tuesday and a grey and foggy one out there, where the radar puts us about halfway between Greenland and Iceland. We’re doing a comfortable 15 knots, but there’s a bit of a swell on! 🤢🤢. This final part of our Cruise has just …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 17 – Prince Christian Sound, Greenland – NOT!
Day 17 — Monday, 18th AugustNOT Prince Christian Sound, Greenland Morning, my dedicated readers! 👍👍 Thanks for all your comments, questions and feedback during this holiday, where our latest travels has seen over 700 reads. As we hit the final week of our unique adventure, outside it’s a drab Monday morning, as we continue sailing …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 16 – Qaqortoq, Greenland
Day 16 — Sunday, 17th AugustQaqortoq, Greenland Morning all! 👍 It’s Day 16 of our three-week adventure, having ‘done’ Canada, we’ll soon be heading for Iceland in a few days’ time. For now, here we are on a chilly Sunday morning in Qaqortoq (aka Julianehaab), for our penultimate day in Greenland. Having sailed through the …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 15 – Paamiut, Greenland
Day 15 — 16th AugustPaamiut, Greenland Is it the weekend already? We’re at that stage where all the days are merging into one massive bout of eating, drinking and enjoying the scenery. Yes, I know: ‘Poor Loves!” 😁😁 With Canada now becoming a distant memory and our last few days left in Greenland, our final …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 14 – Sisimiut, Greenland
Day 14 — Friday, 15th AugustSisimiut, Greenland Good morning, dedicated readers! We’re in Sisimiut, Greenland, where we arrived ahead of schedule last night at around 8pm. We’re still with our great mates, Ralph & Karen having already enjoyed the sights and sounds in parts of French-speaking Canada – Montréal and Québec. After a few more …
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Amazing Azamara – Day 13 – No Nuuk!
Morning all! Welcome to Thursday – day 13 of our BIG Holiday of 2025! We’re now heading for Greenland, but due to the weather conditions, we’re NOT landing at Nuuk, Greenland’s capital! Day 13 — Thursday, 14th AugustNuuk, Greenland Well, the above itinerary is ALMOST correct! 🤔 Day 13 ehh? How appropriate – unlucky for …
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Amazing Azamara – Days 10/11/12 – Next stop, Greenland!
Days 10/11/12 Monday, 11th August to Wednesday 13th AugustSailing to Greenland Morning all. Welcome back to our BIG Holiday of 2025! It’s another period at sea as we head for Greenland. On Monday morning, we got the internet back too, but it’s all a bit temperamental. Consider this an extra ‘simplified’ Post that I didn’t …
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