Triere is calling us – so we called a taxi! Peter, our holiday co-ordinator, had enthusiastically suggested that we walk from the hotel to the station, quoting ‘only fifteen minutes’. Given that the taxi took ten when we arrived, his estimation felt a little on the optimistic side – and we had to think of …
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Category:Holiday
Holiday – Day 2: Exploring Cochem
So, here are in the rather lovely Mosel Region of the Rhineland. We’re staying at the Brixiade Hotel, part of the Moselstern Hotels group. Its sister hotel, The Triton, is just 10 metres away and we have the option to share some of their facilities too. We went to bed last night shattered! it …
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Holiday – Day 1: Travel day to Germany
It’s Sunday, so why are we up at 4am? Well, our holiday to Germany with Lee and Denis by train started badly with us realising a few days ago that there wasn’t a train a train out of Kettering, that would get us to St Pancras International by the required check-in time of 7am. Plan …
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What a Tart!
Denis and Bev came for lunch today. Ann had prepared a full lamb roast and Bev did us proud by baking a variation on a Bakewell Tart with lemon curd instead of jam – the yummiest dessert I’ve had a in a long while. Cheers Bev!! After stuffing ourselves, Lee and I rescued the kitchen, …
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Lunch with Peter J
Off to London today to meet up with Peter J, a veteran and ex-committee member of The Old Croydonians’ Association. We met our favourite haunt of St Pancras International station and Carluccio’s – where, by the time I got there at 11.45, was heaving! Still, the service, as normal, was ruthlessly efficient, and the food, …
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Jubilee Holiday: Thursday
After breakfast we all decided to head into Ripon as planned. Just as we arrived, it started to rain and that’s how it stayed for most of the day. We had a quick look round the city before heading for the Cathedral – and it was worth the visit – probably the best one we’ve …
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Jubilee Holiday: Wednesday
The weather was looking as unpredictable as ever, so we played it safe and headed for the city of York by way of the park-and-ride and the Shopping Outlet. Roger navigated – and we ended up taking the slightly more (ahem!) scenic route! Eventually, we arrived and we soon parked-up at the Park-and-Ride, then grabbed …
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Jubilee Holiday: Tuesday
With the breakfast (routine running like a well oiled oily thing from oily town) over, we did separate things today. Roger, Jane and Oliver went off to ride on a steam train, whilst Ann and I slipped into castle-mode. First stop was Richmond, where the quaint town was also entertaining a fun-fair (as if the …
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Jubilee Holiday: Monday
Crikey, what is that yellow circular thing in the sky? With the sun shining, today, we’re off on the 20ish mile drive to Harrogate. Roger did the driving and we were soon there, looking for a place to park. How appropriate, the first we saw was the Jubilee multi-storey!! All parked-up we headed for the …
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Jubilee Holiday: Sunday
A long lie-in punctuated by Oliver invading our bed-space at around 7.30 – time for a sharp exit into the shower!!! The weather for the Jubilee looks atrocious, as it looks like it’s been raining all night. A quick look at the TV news, confirmed that it was just as bad in London too. We …
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Evening at Fountain’s Abbey
One of the benefits of staying at National Trust cottage is that there’s normally extra access rights to the property they’re near. So I took advantage of the opportunity and visited Fountain’s Abbey after hours. The weather wasn’t brilliant, but at least it was dry! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not …
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Jubilee Holiday: Saturday
We all slept well. I was up first (what a surprise!), followed a nano-second later by an excited Oliver. The remote controls for the TV/DVD combo had confounded all of us adults last night, but in Oliver’s hands, the problem was solved in seconds and the DVD was entertaining us in no time! Perhaps …
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Jubilee Holiday: Arrival
Here we are within spitting distance of Fountain’s Abbey, and as expected, not a mobile signal in sight! (Yes, Vodafone and O2, I’m looking at YOU!). We’re spending the Jubilee Weekend/Bank Holiday plus most of next week here with Roger, Jane and Oliver taking in the local attractions, including of course, next door: National Trust’s …
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There be Dragons!
Well, maybe! But all I need during our week away (Lee’s house-sitting), is a mobile phone signal! Apparently the properties around Fountain’s Abbey, have ZERO bars, even though it’s one of the most visited of National Trust locations. No phoning, no email, no blogs, no Twitter, and no Facebook! Eeeeekkk! Maybe the thought of ZERO …
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Sunday Lunch: Chris, Gill, Steve, Denise and Lee
It was our turn to host some of the ‘old Sainsbury gang’, so everyone came round for Sunday Lunch. Great conversation and great food all round!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my …
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The Outlook? Chilli with a chance of Alcohol!
Ann and I dropped into Jo and Janet’s tonight for a rather splendid Chill – accompanied by lashings of alcohol, and then followed by cheese. I haven’t had a chilli since before the start of Lent – and it was very welcome! Yummy! Yummy! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 5 (Tuesday)
A beautifully bright morning that seemed to contradict the general weather forecast – lucky for us!!! It’s our penultimate day here at the Cottage, so we’re going to cram in as much as we can into our day. To start with, we’re off to Marlborough. Parking was easy as it was literally in the centre …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 4 (Monday)
A frosty night here, but it looks as though it might warm up later. We’re off to Cirencester today- it’s only a short drive away and hopefully it doesn’t include any mega-complex roundabouts like yesterday! On the way there, we stopped off at the Barn in Great Coxwell – a 13th century, err Barn that’s …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 3 (Sunday)
Today it’s Cardiff, by train. And what a bargain – £6.50 return each from Swindon! Heading towards Swindon Station was an interesting challenge! First, there was the infamous ‘magic roundabout’ – a mini-roundabout surrounded by five err, mini-roundabouts to navigate around. Good job it was a Sunday, as it took me a few revolutions to …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 2 (Saturday)
We woke-up to a very misty morning here although the forecast is for a dry but cold day. And cold it was – f-f-f-f-freezing!!! As we boarded the Park and Ride it felt like Winter! After the short trip into Oxford, we got off the bus right opposite the Westgate Centre – perfect! After a …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 1 (Friday)
Here we are staying at The Old Stable Lodge on the Coleshill Estate, Oxfordshire, courtesy of The National Trust. We arrived just after 11, quickly unpacked, had a quick look round the place and then headed out to Faringdon for lunch and a bit of exploration. We took a short walk around shops there and …
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Fish and Chips – ‘Shoot that Pigeon!’
Tom, Julie, Paul, Trish, John, Rosi, David and Lee joined us for Fish and Chips tonight (Karen wasn’t able to join us as she’s in Manchester). It was the first proper opportunity we had to catch-up with the gang since the wedding and the conversation flowed freely (with a little help of Rioja and Moet!!!) …
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Ordinary Ordinals
My day-job requires me sometimes to be a bit of a ‘wordsmith’. My word-processor of choice is the mighty Microsoft Word, but one of my pet irritations is the way Microsoft Word adds the date to your document when you use the ‘insert date & time’ feature. 01 March 2012 is one example. I just …
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Tech Alert: No. 1123: “I Hate you Butler!”
You wait for ages for one to come along… ..and then possibly the most useful Android app for a long while makes its appearance! If you live in London, or work there, or travel to the Capital once in a while. and have to get a bus from A to B, (that’s me!) this app …
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Great App for Android Phones
If you need to find the cheapest price for something, this is a great app. …and it’s. FREE! Check Out “Idealo” 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 with …
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Oliver’s Birthday/Get together with Gill and Chris
It’s Oliver’s birthday today and we drove down to Duxford Air Museum to meet-up with the Jedi-Knight himself with Roger & Jane. Wow! the Museum has changed – we haven’t been there for 20 years or more and there was so much more to see and do – simply brilliant! We started off in Hangar …
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Moving Tenerife!
A bit of a ‘tech’ afternoon here today. I spent a hour-or-so ‘moving’ a friend’s website files from their temporary home (a sub-folder on my website) to their very own shiny new web-space, courtesy of those nice people at 1 and 1. So, if you want to test-drive it, (oh, and book a holiday in …
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I Luv Technology – Part 994
Got an Android phone? Got a Wi-Fi printer too? Want to print photos, emails, appointments and more? Check Out “PrinterShare” Brilliant! 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 with …
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Tech Alert No. 237!
Just took delivery of this handsome beastie! It scans, it copies, it prints.. and it’s wireless too! Best news of all? It was cheaper than the printer it replaces (that one suffered a coronary just before Christmas). It’s still less than £150 those very …
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Flight confirmed
My flight’s status: SCHEDULED. Emirates 37 from DXB (14:55 GMT+04:00) to BHX (18:45 GMT) 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 with a fondness for the art of writing …
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