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 day here. We’ve had a lot of fun, but Holme Lacy seems have lost some of its magic in those intervening years. Currently, I don’t think any of us are inspired enough for another return!

Day 1 Post is HERE.

Day 2 Post is HERE.

Good to see that if the forecast is accurate, we’ve got less rain and a warmer day than yesterday!

Welcome to Sunday! Axe-throwing is OFF (was it ever ON?) . The rest of Herefordshire can now rest easy knowing that my attention is now in the direction of Trivial Pursuits or Shuffleboard! . Staff members, Jack and Hannah are doing a great job this weekend, as they seem to running everything here – they sing too!!

8.02am: Ann, Sue and Nicki headed for the Pool whilst I nursed a slightly scratchy throat! (Uh-Oh!)

10.03am: For Breakfast, we were all back at the Market Kitchen – and the free-for-all that is ‘self service’! Or were we? Actually, no! The system seemed to be slightly confused as to exactly where the eight of us should be. The staff did their best to be helpful, but ‘computer said no’ thinking the 8 of us had somehow been reduced to 6, and where the table had been set accordingly! Doh! . Eventually they ended up re-locating us to the (slightly more sedate) Brasserie32.

There, the food was tasty and on time, but for some, the hot breakfast was anything but. We got there in the end, but buried deeply amongst the wide range of food options was a sense of confusion and communication challenges! (‘nuf said!)

11.00am: Today’s Trivia Quiz was hosted by Jack. Decisions, decisions! Should we ‘throw the game’ so that we’re not insulted by the prizes? (as experienced yesterday HERE) or play like our lives depended on it. We chose the latter, as we once again split into ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ for our teams.

Today there were about 30 teams all chasing the prize (a discounted hot drink and a slice of cake), where the topic was ‘General Knowledge’.

Fifteen questions followed, and just like yesterday’s challenge, in our team, we were confident with the majority of our answers, but there were a few, where guessing was the name of the game.

When the answers were declared, we’d scored a respectable ’10’, whilst the girls topped us with ’12’. Sadly, even 12 wasn’t good enough to win, where another team scored an impressive ’13’. Our team were thwarted by the following five questions*:_

• Who voiced ‘Woody’ in Toy Story?
• How many time-zones in Russia?
• According to a recent Film poll, who is the ultimate villain?
• In what year was Queen Elizabeth born?
• Name ALL the members of the ‘Jackson 5’
  
  *Answers on request

11.35am: It was games time and today, we chose Shuffle Board. Most of us (including me) had never played before, and it therefore turned out to be typically, a game of skill and luck. Not played before? Think of it as a table-top version of Curling where instead of ice there is a marble tabletop with a sprinkling of silicone-based powder.

This ‘powder’ was amazing stuff, where it gave the puck a somewhat unpredictable journey from one end of the board to the other. More often than not, the puck’s speed was too high, and we all learned to be much more gentle with the launch sequence. Even with just a gentle push, sent it hurtling towards the end of the playing area, benefiting from the lack of surface resistance. To add to the fun, it didn’t always travel in a straight line either! For many of us, it was a very enjoyable ‘new skill’. We let battle commence, and after a few rounds, the result was Boys 25, Girls 24 – a close match!!

Surely the most accurate shot must have gone to ‘Nutter Paul’, who managed to steer his puck over the maximum distance, where it therefore scored maximum points, balancing perfectly 50/50 on the edge of the playing area! Impressive!!

12.45pm: Time to battle the elements! Our daily walk was hosted by Jack and Hannah. It was at least a dry day, if a little windy and cold.

The walk lasted around 40 minutes as we took a gentle stroll around the grounds of Holme Lacy House.

It was good to be out in the fresh air, and our small group of around a dozen meant we were kept moving as Hannah continued to tell us about the history of this grand old property. Today’s factoid? Holme Lacy is the ONLY Warner’s property that’s leased.

2.30pm: It was games time again, and we returned to the old favourite that is Trivial Pursuits.

Our natural deadline for completion was around 4.15 (some of the Nutters wanted to see the Soccer and/or Rugby on TV). The two-hour Boys vs Girls battle commenced, where after two intensive games, the result was just as it should be – a draw!!

Snooze/Soccer and Rugby filled the remaining time, where our next ‘official’ engagement, where we’d all be together, was the daily pre-dinner drinks! Yes, it’s a tough life!

6.15pm: It was our turn to host, and after popping a few corks and taste-testing the crisps, we were ready!

7.45pm: Yes, more to eat! . Our (final) evening meal beckoned from a return to Brasserie32. This time, it all came together in that they knew we were coming AND they set the table for the right number of people!

With ice-cream to follow, the food certainly hit the mark tonight! The Service was sharper too, meaning we had more time to chat and make our way to tonight’s entertainment!

9.05pm: We headed off to the now-familiar Pavilion for tonight’s headline act – The Everly Brothers & Friends.

Again, a full house tonight and again, the Nutters were split across the room. We all found good seats where the now very familiar Hannah had been warming up the audience with her singing. Judging by the applause when the Band came on stage at just after 9.30, this felt like this was the performance that the majority of the audience had been waiting for all weekend. In front of us were the ‘Everly Brothers’ (obviously), ‘Buddy Holly’ and ‘Jerry Lee Lewis’, supported by their Drummer and Double Bass player. The Band itself were very well rehearsed and engaged the audience pretty much from the off. It was a full-on sound that more than filled the room, and their energy levels were off the scale – especially ‘Jerry’ who probably deserves a show all of his own.

I wouldn’t say I’m particularly a fan of this kind of music, but the Band’s enthusiasm, stagecraft, banter and most of all, musicianship was to be admired. We didn’t stay for the whole show (it was a generous TWO-hour affair), but what we saw was impressive, where one track followed another with hardly a pause. All-in-all, great stuff!

10.50pm: Well, that’s it for this, our latest Northants Nutters adventure. The disappointing and lack-lustre Holme Lacy Hotel didn’t stop us from having a great time together, where we’ve already come up with a few ideas on where we all get together next time.

All the photos and
none of my chat HERE

An early start on the road tomorrow after breakfast should get us back to Kettering by around 1pm. See you on the other side!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 3) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

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! If you missed yesterday’s Post, it’s HERE.

We weren’t expecting miracles with the weather here today – the forecast was spot on! (unfortunately!)

7.03am: A later start for us, and we both slept well!

10.05am: Breakfast! Even I’m still feeling stuffed from last night, and so I ate lighter. Today we were in their Brasserie32, a more upmarket experience than the self-service Market Place. Although in the Brasserie there was a buffet of sorts (for cereals, juices – and playing ‘find the cereal bowls’), it was table service for any cooked choices. Nice!

11.00am: With the most important meal of the day sorted, it was time to exercise my little grey cell with ‘The Morning Trivia Quiz with Hannah’.

Today’s Quiz was 15 questions covering general knowledge. No group could be larger than four, so The Nutters split into two groups. It was a bit of a head-scratcher, and although we were confident of most of our answers, we fell short on four of the questions…

• When was the first email sent?
• How many sides has a Tetradecahedron?
• What is the other name for ‘Stinking Rose’?
• What was the original use for Play-Doh?
  
  *Answers on request!

So, with a score of 11 out of 15, how did we do? I’m pleased to report that we, the ‘Nutters II’ team, achieved the top score. What WASN’T so great was the prize! As I’ve commented before, Warner’s is ‘watching the pennies’ and is clearly on a cost-cutting exercise (well, they are here!) and our ‘prize’ was… wait for it… A hot drink and a slice of cake for (just) £6.95. Yes, you read that correctly! NOT £6.95 towards the cost, but the price we were expected to pay!! Apparently, the full cost is £10ish! We weren’t impressed!!

12.04pm: With our vouchers filed away (and unlikely to be used) it was time for our morning stroll!

Nicki located an information sheet just inside the main door of Holme Lacy House that outlined the short walk to a local Church – St Cuthbert’s!

It was a pleasant walk, but it didn’t take long for the weather to fulfil its promise. Drizzle turned to rain, but we plodded on, putting the world to rights whilst reflecting on the silliness of the Quiz Prize!

An interesting Church that also contained a history of the local Lords and Ladies who had lived in Herefordshire, courtesy of the Churches Conservation Trust.

1.32pm: Phew! That was a damp one! but we were all feeling somewhat righteous having braved the elements! Total distance covered? About 2½ miles.

2.00pm: Trivial Pursuit time! Boys v Girls!! Gosh! I haven’t played this for over 30 years!! . Not quite a suitable replacement for ‘Axe Throwing’ (that I was looking forward to, but had mysteriously been airbrushed from the today’s itinerary.

4.16pm: Three games in, and the winner was clear! The Boys won! All three (just saying! ), where our second game’s victory was achieved in record time – just 30 minutes! Ahh well, it’s the taking part, not the winning isn’t it? . Err, NO!

Time for a short rest before heading off to Paul & Sue’s room for tonight’s hosting.

6.30pm: Thanks for hosting, Paul & Sue! Champagne and nibbles – we’re getting a taste for this!

7.20pm: Off to Brasserie32 tonight for our evening meal. Helpfully, they’d offered to pull our table time from 7.45 – and that suited us perfectly!!

Really good, friendly service – so much a hallmark of Warner’s! . Well, at least that’s how it began. We even had a visit from ‘Dave’ part of the management team, to ensure we were satisfied. Sadly, it then all ‘fell off a cliff’ as all the waiting staff seemed to disappear!

9.30pm: We eventually got our just Desserts (with just our Desserts) and then sprinted off to The Pavilion for tonight’s headline act – The Simon & Garfunkel Story.

It was almost a full house and getting seats together was impossible (arriving later than planned didn’t help). Nicki and I stood at the back, nearest the Bar, giving us a clear view of the stage without the hassle of having to squeeze ourselves in amongst the hordes of our fellow guests. Later, this was to prove to be a really bad move for me personally! (do read on!) .

I wouldn’t say I’m S&G biggest fan, and consequently, some of their earlier compositions were lost on me. Overall though, it was a very well-rehearsed and solid sound and where the most important part – the harmonies – were spot on! Visually, they both (sort of) looked like the famous duo too. Personally, I thought the support Band (Bass, Lead and Drums), as accomplished as they were, didn’t add much to the overall sound mix and ‘Paul’s’ skills on the acoustic guitar were so good would have been enough to provide the instrumental support.

If tonight’s entertainment wasn’t memorable enough, Saturday was also the night when I was chatted up by a slightly inebriated fellow guest who desperately wanted to buy me a drink (poor deluded soul!). He, yes HE did try his best – three attempts – to get me to join him for a snifter, and I tried to give him all the signs that he’s definitely picked the wrong gender bloke. You’ve still got it Mr P, but tonight, I really wished I hadn’t!! . We parted with a short handshake, and he disappeared amongst the seated S&G fans!

With the limited leisure activities here, I’m really hoping he’s not a fellow axe-throwing enthusiast!

10.25pm: That’s it for another day! The food’s been great, and in some ways, it was good that we made our own entertainment. However, we all agreed that the cost-cutting measures across Warner’s was very obvious – and not in a good way!

Tomorrow, it’s probably more of the same: eat – drink – walk – play – eat – listen – avoid looking gay – drink – sleep! The headline act is ‘The Everly Brothers (and Friends)‘ where I’m probably not going to stand at the back! . See you Sunday!!!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 2) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

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 here was back in March 2020 – just prior to COVID – it was therefore good to be back under less threatening circumstances. We’re here for a long weekend, sampling everything that Warner’s has to offer – food, entertainment, outdoor ‘pursuits’ and maybe even some alcohol!

There’s plenty to keep us occupied including Crossbow Shooting, Pitch ‘n’ Putt, Rifles, Swimming, Trivia Quizzes, Tai Chi, Gym and much, much more! But if that all sounds a bit too energetic, there’s the vocal harmonies of ‘The Simon & Garfunkel Story‘ as the headline act tomorrow night and ‘The Everly Brothers‘ on Sunday.

11.25am: We set off from a very cold Kettering at just before midday. The day hadn’t started well, as Ann headed for the local hotel’s swimming pool just before 6.30am for her daily workout – only to find it closed due to ‘high PH levels’. C’mon, who’s been weeing in the pool?

Next stop? Paul & Sue’s, so we could travel in one car all the way to Holme Lacy.

11.47am: We’re off!

1.35pm: Here we are at Strensham Services South, plugged in for a top up for EVie and a roll and coffee for us humans!

Welcome to Holme Lacy

Holme Lacy is a Grade I listed mansion, completed in 1674 and was reportedly visited by Charles II. Set in 20 acres of the Wye Valley, it looks and feels massive and is one of Herefordshire’s treasures. It’s now managed by Warner’s and offers mid-week/weekend breaks that are great value.

3.16pm: With check-in from 3pm, our arrival was what to be considered perfect timing! It had been a good journey except for the last 30-40 minutes, where the route consisted of minor back roads that twisted and turned to keep us on our toes. I don’t recall the route being this ‘adventurous’ last time! We were greeted at the Gatehouse and given all the necessary paperwork that would be our constant companion for the next few days.

Holme Lacy House is a sizeable pile and even though it was our second visit, the long corridors and the slightly haphazard signage kept things interesting and promoted a sense of mystery .

With the car parked and plugged in to their free EV charging, we headed for our room.

Hello room 308! . Like the House, itself, our room was a generous size with all we need for our short stay. The WiFi is good, making up for a flaky mobile signal, and it was good to see a TV aerial again after all these years!

4.30pm: With all the Nutters assembled, we met up at Reception, and then (purely by accident) drifted into the nearby Bar! . And there we stayed for the next hour catching up with everyone’s news and making plans for the weekend. It certainly looked like a packed programme where, since we were last here, they appear to have boosted the amount of entertainment – Think of it as like a Cruise but without the ship and the sea. I think we’re going to be busy!

5.45pm: After a convivial get-together and some initial planning in the Bar, we next agreed to meet at Geoff & Rhonda’s room for the now-familiar pre-dinner get-together.

7.40pm: Off to The Market Place for our evening meal. As is our style, we were later eating than many other guests here. Consequently, although we didn’t have a problem making our choices from the Buffet, it was clear that arriving early had its advantages!

We found our table for eight (after a bit of re-configuring) and settled down to some very tasty food!

9.02pm: With our evening meal over, we headed for The Pavilion Theatre. We were probably one of the last to arrive, where we invented a new pastime called ‘hunt the chair’. The result? The Nutters were distributed around the venue. The Resident Band, ‘The Symphonics’ kept us entertained up until the main act.

Lorna Adams was the headline act tonight. Well, she certainly had a powerful voice. It was probably a good job there were no windows, otherwise they may have been a casualty of tonight’s performance!

In her 60-minute performance, Lorna covered a vast range of musical styles, where some landed better than others. She certainly belted out the tunes – and for me, maybe that was the issue, as for once, it was good to be seated at the back. “Panis Angelicus” probably wasn’t an obvious track to kickstart the performance, but it certainly got most of the audience sitting up and paying attention! . From Cezar Franck, Puccini to Freddie Mercury via Meatloaf and Lady GaGa, the regular and rapid switching of musical genres was, for me, a tad confusing (but I am easily confused these days!). But it did certainly demonstrate Lorna’s vocal capabilities, and she never dropped a note throughout the fifteen-or-so numbers on her playlist. I’m probably being a bit over-critical, and the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy Lorna’s talents, even though the volume was most often around the 10.5 mark!

Lorna returned for a family-friendly encore – You’ll Never Walk Alone – before exiting stage left. By now, most of us were done, leaving Paul & Sue to fly the flag for the Nutters whilst the rest of us headed for the duvet!

10.50pm: That’s it for tonight. See you Saturday! There’s a new activity since we were last here – axe throwing! Got to try and have a go at that!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Warner Weekend 2025 – Return to Holme Lacy (Day 1) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

These days, The George Hotel at Buckden is fast becoming one of our go-to Restaurants (that and Hitchen’s Barn in Oakham) for a guaranteed quality meal and excellent service.

Today, we met up with Steve & Helen for a catch-up and to hear all the news about their recent house move. We were last all together here back in March and it was good to be back again!

They keep the menu pretty straightforward here, but it’s all the better for it.

The food and service didn’t disappoint and we had plenty of time to catch up with each other’s news! We’re all going ot catch up again after we get back from New Zealand in December

Afterwards, instead of heading straight home, we stopped off at Dave & Rosi’s. Their Garden is part of the National Garden Scheme – and today was one of the two ‘open days’ this year. It looked FANTASTIC!

A sunny afternoon made it the perfect day – although the rain this morning threatened to derail things! Well done you two, you did a great job!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Buckden Bound! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Unbelievable! It’s only the 10th of December and this is already our FOURTH Christmas meal! Tough life, ehh?!?

At this rate, I’m sure there must be a real danger that we’ll both turn into Turkeys before the 25th! Gobble, gobble!

Today’s venue of choice? The very popular (and very nicely appointed) The George Hotel in Buckden (last time here was back in March). With only 10 rooms, its real draw for us is the FOOD offer (What a surprise!!!) and we’re meeting Steve & Helen there for a catchup, having rekindled the relationship, after they returned to the UK from France earlier this year.

We arrived just after 12.30, where, as has become the norm it seems, it chucked it down with rain all the way there! In fact, it was so heavy, I dropped off Ann outside the door, whilst I headed for the car-park (that was strangely empty!)

Now in from the rain, we were soon seated with our friends arriving just before us. It was a simple menu, and in keeping with the season, meant I chose the Turkey – surprising no-one!! . The only surprise was that the place was almost empty – I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so quiet. We put forward our theories (Christmas shopping, the weather, cost of living etc) and it stayed like that until just after 1pm.

Yes, that all went down a treat. We had time for a really good catchup with everyone’s news and by now, good news, The George had now filled up nicely – just how we remember it.

Dessert was just as yummy, in the shape of Sticky Toffee Pudding for me.

It had been a great experience today (apart from my walk from the car-park, where I got soaked!) and we’re planning to meet up again after our holiday in January.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas Catchup – Steve and Helen appeared first on Steve's Blog.

This is fast becoming one of our top five ‘go-to’ hostelries for a high-quality Lunch. We were last here back in January, making today our sixth visit in just a couple of years – they’ve never put a foot wrong, and it was good to be back!

Today, we met up with Alan, Mags, Ian and Ann for our three-monthly catch-up following our get-together at The Bell in Alderminster back in August.

A tempting menu (as usual) and being a Friday, plenty of ‘variations on a fish’, were immediately obvious!

Not surprisingly, it was all delicious, and where the service was also top-notch. Food aside, it was great to catch up with everyone – and their news!

At just before 3, we were all ready for our afternoon nap stuffed (I only had a couple of spoonfuls of Ann’s soufflé, honest!) and we happily paid the bill. In the car-park, hugs and handshakes followed, and we then all headed into the Friday traffic (for us, surprisingly busy!).

Our next get-together? In February, we’re returning to at The Bell in Alderminster.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The George for Lunch (again!) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It’s been a really long while, since I was last here at The Old Bridge Hotel & Restaurant in Huntingdon. A conservative estimate would suggest that it was the early 90s when I was working with one of my first clients – Nokia.

Thirty-or-so years on, and we were here to catch up with Steve & Helen who, talking of ‘long time passing’, I last saw around 9 years ago in September, 2014 in France, during one of our holidays abroad.

Steve and Helen arrived a moment before us and we were soon seated and looking through the Hotel’s (rather excellent) menu. Even after not getting together like this for quite some time, we were all soon ‘back in the groove’ reflecting on those intervening years!

Happily too, the Restaurant was just how I remember it – at the top its game! Well-trained and attentive staff complemented by the excellent food and drink. It REALLY was a pleasure to go somewhere for a meal and feel like the whole experience was a treat! Those nine years passed in a flash and at just before 3pm, we asked for the bill. On our way out, the whole place was heaving! There wasn’t a spare table to be had, and expectant diners were queuing for the pleasure. OK, there isn’t much competition locally, but whatever the Hotel was doing, they were doing it well!

It had been great fun seeing Steve & Helen again, and we agreed to meet up again before too long, probably at The George in Buckden.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Return to The Old Bridge Hotel appeared first on Steve's Blog.

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 to travel down on the day of the funeral, but even though we weren’t expected until 12.30, it was always going to be a rush from this end, if we factored in the potential traffic congestion – even if we left at ‘silly o’clock’!

So we opted for Plan B, and travelled down the day before. Actually, the last time we did a similar journey was way back in December 2021 when we were on our way to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary and we dropped in on my brother’s to exchange Christmas presents.

Although technically, we could have done the round trip of 220(ish) miles without charging at all, we wanted to try out the new Charging Hub that’s been built in Catford, courtesy of Shell and MFG. It sports 8 CCS Chargers (the new 150kW type) and that tends to suggest we won’t have to queue 1. At all 2. Only a short while. We’ll see!

We arrived just before 3.45 and there were plenty of bays free! We were soon plugged in and charging (albeit at 83p/kWh!). . It’s still cheap, but £26.60 for just 33.67 kW felt like it had made a massive dent in our fuel kitty!

Just before 4pm, we arrived at our bed for the night – the Premier Inn in Bromley. Bromley has certainly changed since the last time I was here! The area where the hotel stands used to be a multi-storey car-park!

In the evening (just like the last time we were this way) we dropped in to see Neil, Debbie, Alfie & Frankie, just a short walk away, and where we sorted out all the world’s problems over a pizza or five! . We also exchanged Christmas presents from 2022. A great get-together! It had been good to catch up with the Palmer side of the family tree – something we don’t do often enough!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Catford Charge appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We’re really getting into the Christmas Spirit now, helped along the way by browsing through this year’s TV Times and Radio Times; carol singing at last night’s Salvation Army Carol Concert – and now about to enjoy ‘That’s what Kilworth Calls Christmas’ at Kilworth House (where we spent our honeymoon night, back in 2011).

Kilworth has become a favourite haunt of ours and the last time we were here at Christmas, was in 2019 watching a Tribute Act to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

With a live cast of incredible vocalists, the show took us on a journey through the Christmas pop songs from the 1970s & 80s. Best of all, many of them were singalongs, recreating the festive classics of Mariah Carey, Wham, Jackson 5, Paul McCartney, Chris Rea and, of course, the iconic Slade.

We assembled as we usually do in the Lounge, whilst the finishing touches were put to The Orangery. A free glass of mulled wine put us in the mood whilst we were reminded of the evils of modern technology! Based on how crowded it all felt, there were certainly far more people here for the food and entertainment than the last time we visited. At this time of year, in any social gathering, there’s always ONE group who has the volume turned up to 11 isn’t there?! In what felt like a repeat performance of my last encounter on my way to London back in May, 2022 – step forward The Annual Reunion of Macbeth Witches who were cackling away in the corner! Luckily, they were seated quite a way from us later, when it came to the meal.

The Meal

On the stroke of 2pm, we began to file into The Orangery. It was more like a stampede actually, and I’ve never been quite sure why the entrance consists of only two SMALL doors. Anyway, we were soon reminding ourselves of what we’d ordered (although Kilworth had helpfully printed our choices on our name-plate). Our Table (No. 14) turned out to be right next to the Stage that suggested we’d have to move further away, once the entertainment began in a few hours’ time.

If that had been our only ‘challenge’ for the evening, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but it was then we noticed the blankets on all the chairs.

Yes, BLANKETS! . OK, we all knew it had been cold this week, and we’ve been here before in December and never needed them – so why TODAY and why NOW? It was then that we spotted the electric heaters strategically placed around the windows sills.

And after around 15 minutes, it hit us… the place was already chilly and getting colder by the minute, even though the room had around 120-150 guests!

A word with one of the more proactive waiting staff brought temporary relief in the shape of an additional heater, but the supplied device had a lot of work to do! Too much, in fact! Still, maybe the hot meal would help?

It did!

The food was excellent – probably the tastiest we have there in many years! . However, The Orangery still wasn’t getting much warmer, and we decided on a swift exit, heading for the comfort of the Lounge – and the roaring open fire!

The Entertainment

From the warmth of the Lounge, we could hear the singers (even if we couldn’t see them) – and they were doing a great job! All the festive favourites, past and present were being sung with enthusiasm. From the safety of my occasional photo-vantage-point near the entrance, I could see that our noisy neighbours – The Macbeth Witches – were totally in the mood, and by the looks of things, totally p****** too! They were dancing with anything that moved (and occasionally with things that didn’t). Sorry about the chairs Kilworth, but it’ll wash out!

And the Lounge is where we stayed for the next hour, whilst polishing off the mince pies.

By 5pm, it was almost over and we beat the rush heading for the car-park but into the driving rain and mist too along the A14. Boy! That was a treacherous drive home!

So, what of today? Overall, for us, the event had, on balance, been a real disappointment! In spite of the excellent food, the talented singers and sharing of quality time with friends, the totally unacceptable temperature in The Orangery left its mark. More irritatingly, when I reported it to the Hotel, it seemed that because they already knew there was a problem and they’d attempted (and failed) to fix it – that made it OK! Err, in my book, NO! . Considering they’ve known about the issue for a while, why the heck didn’t they just email everyone who had booked and advise them to bring warm clothing???? Simples!

Merry Christmas!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post A Chilly Christmas at Kilworth (2022) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Here we are at the rather flashy ‘The Goring Hotel‘ in fashionable Belgravia, London (albeit belatedly) courtesy of a rather generous birthday gift for Ann back in 2021 from Roger, Jane & Oliver. Thanks everyone!

Friday, 5th

Yes, this is possibly the most sumptuous Hotel we’ve ever stayed in – and we’re here until Sunday to soak up the opulence of it all. Yep! It’s a tough life!!

After the typical congestion of London traffic on a Friday (some things don’t change!) our (electric) black cab dropped us right outside, and we were soon checking-in and heading for Room 50! The hotel is quite small by premium hotel standards and is privately owned by the Goring family offering just 69 rooms. Nothing so vulgar (dahling!) as tea & coffee making facilities in the room – if you want a cuppa, they fly a member of staff to the appropriate country where they handpick the leaves/beans for you*

*Not really! But this place is oozing OTTness and is a rare example of how to get it right, all the time, everywhere! Nothing is too much trouble for the team here where everyone knows your name! Cheers! I love it already!!!

We soon unpacked and “Oh, the pressure!”, it’s coming up to 4.30 and that can only mean one thing… Afternoon Tea at The Goring!

The hotel’s veranda area was pretty-much full when we arrived at 4.30, so it was obviously a popular place to enjoy this quaint English tradition. Their Afternoon Tea, was, as expected, super-yummy with excellent service too!

Just enough time for ‘feet-up’ before heading out to the theatre…

Where and what? The London Coliseum Theatre to see ‘My Fair Lady’.

7.00pm Curtain up! I felt a bit overdressed in long trousers and a traditional shirt – note to self: pack trainers, a baseball cap and shorts for next time! Clearly, ‘dressing up’ for the theatre is no longer de-rigueur! OK, some were ‘smart’ but many looked like they’d just stepped off the beach! Yes, I’m getting old, and turning into my Dad!

OK, Victor Meldrew moment over, but would the person in Row A, to my right, stop texting during the performance, please!!!

Wow! What a show! Pitch-perfect singing, great acting, faultless comic-timing and superb choreography made this, for us, the perfect evening out for entertainment. And if all this wasn’t to your taste (why not!?!?) then the innovative set design and the way they choreographed the scene changes – was a performance in itself! Brilliant!!. We pretty much knew all the tunes: “Wouldn’t it Be Luvverley!“, “I’m Getting Married in the Morning“, “I Could Have Danced All Night”, “On The Street Where You Live”.

Additionally – and controversially – “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?”. Ahh, bless! They don’t write them like that anymore – which may be a good thing, otherwise, our ‘wonderful NHS’ would be overwhelmed with injured men! .

Any glitches? Generally, a very (very) well-oiled machine, however, the orchestra/vocal/sound mix was a bit ‘off’ during the initial scenes of Act 1 – but they soon put that right!

A word about the Theatre itself: In spite of its age – it was opened in 1904 – there was plenty of legroom, we had a great view (Row B, Dress Circle) and the perfect temperature too! (well, maybe a touch too cool!). Tickets were a whisper under £100 each which we considered a bargain for this part of town!

10.04pm: The curtain came down just after 10pm and after the mass exodus, we were lucky enough to find a cab pretty quickly as we wandered down towards Trafalgar Square. We were soon back at The Goring looking for some nightly nibbles (it must have been the ‘London Air’!)

Ooo! It’s past 10.30 on a Friday night, and we’re staying up late! We headed for the Lounge and tucked into some sandwiches and a cheeky glass each of Pink Port.

11.23pm: That’s it! We’re done! . We’re off to Greenwich and the maritime area tomorrow – we haven’t been there since February, 2016!

Saturday, 6th

9.10am: A lazy start to the weekend! Helpfully, there was an in-room menu to tempt us, and where the Full English (at just under £40 a plate) was prominently displayed.

Maybe,  we should have brought sandwiches, but I think instead, we’ll try the restaurant, and blend in with the other guests (who seem to be 99.9% non-natives). Maybe, Brits can’t afford to stay here – consequently, this felt like an EXTRA special treat from the family.

10.22am: Suitably stuffed for the day ahead, we headed for Westminster Pier. It was a gorgeous day out there and as planned, we headed for Greenwich. We grabbed the nearby 148 Bus and then the famous Thames Clipper (at the time of writing, now managed by Uber), so we half-expected to be heading for the English Channel whilst our ‘driver’ consulted his sat-nav.

10.45am: No such worries, as we skimmed our way along the Thames and arrived at our destination within about 45 minutes. Actually, this was a really good service and a good alternative to trains and the Underground – and the Clippers accepted Oyster Cards too!

Yes, a really relaxing journey taking in the sights of the riverside along the way!

…and a short techy note! Just logged the fastest 5G speeds I think I’ve ever experienced IN THE WORLD – and we’re on a boat, just east of Tower Bridge! Thanks, Three Mobile!

Hello Greenwich!

11.32am: It’s been a while since we were last here. We love the Maritime area and clearly so did a lot of other people – it was buzzing (even though the above pic must have been during a quiet moment!).

The Chapel

11.40am: First stop would have been The Painted Hall, but they were now charging £13 for entry, so we skipped that as we saw it on the previous visit anyway! – and instead, headed for the St Peter & St Paul Chapel (still free!)

It’s still as beautiful as ever, but today, just slightly spoilt by the erected scaffolding at one end!

Next stop? The Queen’s House (where we’d also visited last time)

The Queen’s House

11.55am: As we approached the House, it was just as we remembered it (well, the exterior was!)…

We had only been looking around for a short while and initially, it all looked pretty much as expected, with the gorgeous Black and White floor by Inigo Jones located in the Great Hall.

…but then we spotted a lot of new content…

The new content was a mix of paintings, pottery and busts – and neither of us recall seeing any of it last time. Was it just a bad memory, or something more significant? As it turned out, according to one of the Guides we spoke with, there had been a lot of money spent here in the intervening years since we were last here. The ceiling in the Great Hall had been completely renovated and the art collection had been bolstered. That explained it! .

Probably the painting getting most attention was the complete restoration of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I known as The Armada Portrait (one of only three in existence in the world). It looked brand new and the colours were spectacular.

We were now all ‘cultured out’ and Lunch was calling us! The nearby Pubs were rammed and there didn’t seem to many places to just get a drink, so we headed for the nearest M&S for some takeout.

12.54pm: We found a nice shady spot within sight of the Cutty Sark and sank our ciders and vegetarian ‘sausage’ rolls (some mistake surely???) in record time. Actually, the pseudo sausage creation was quite tasty!! .

1.20pm: Then, after a short wait, it was back on the Thames Clipper for our return journey back to Westminster Pier.

2.30pm: Back in the room and time for a glass of champers and a shut-eye for an hour-or-two! It had been a GREAT day at Greenwich with the journey there and back trouble-free, and where Greenwich itself had been a delight! It’s still one of our favourite destinations when we’re in the capital!

Time for our evening treat – a visit to Rules Restaurant in Covent Garden, the oldest restaurant in London dating back to 1798 and so-named, after its founder Thomas Rule.

7.06pm: It was already buzzing when we arrived. We were a tad late after the ‘journey from Hell’ in the taxi that meant it took three times as long to get there (and cost twice as much!). We were given a very warm welcome and were soon seated, attempting to decide what to choose. Decisions decisions!

And because the restaurant still thought it was Ann’s Birthday, she was surprised by her ‘celebratory’ Sticky Toffee Pudding!

9.06pm: A perfect evening! Thankfully, the journey back to the Hotel by Taxi was without incident and we were back in Room 50 just after 9pm.

Sunday, 7th

What a great break! It’s been good to be back in London again – especially to see the Greenwich Maritime area enjoying so many visitors! The food and drink everywhere didn’t disappoint (does it ever with me?) and the weather was kind throughout our stay. Some things don’t change though, and the traffic jams were just as we remember them! Horrid!!! But good to see so many electric cars amongst the gas-guzzlers! The Hotel was beyond excellent! The staff were super-attentive, and it was good to be staying somewhere that WASN’T part of a big hotel group!

Sadly, time to head for home and say farewell to London and The Goring Hotel

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The Goring (not boring!) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

A welcome return to the newly refurbished ‘other’ ‘The George’ today – the Pub/Bistro/Hotel in Buckden.

Since we were last here back in April 2019, the place has had a complete makeover – not just the eatery but the whole Hotel! The ladies’ loos had gold taps and were immaculate from top to bottom (so I was told – naturally!)

It all looked fab! Why were we there? – lunch and a catch-up with long-time friends, Roy & Susan.

It’s also been a while since we saw each other and we had lots of news to share!

As expected, the menus have been completely revised to complement the makeover. The food was always excellent before, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can improve even further.

We needn’t have worried! The food was probably the best we’ve eaten in a long, long time! Attractively presented with tip-top service, it was an absolute delight to be back again.

For reasons that we couldn’t fathom, they seemed to think some sort of celebration was in order and presented us with a plate of ‘sweet treats’ to finish. Well, it would have been rude to turn them away!

Wow! What an experience! I’m sure we’ll be back again very soon.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Return to the other George! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

How was your Christmas? For us, as I begin penning this during the week leading up to the big day, I really didn’t think we would STILL be worrying about Coronavirus! Why worry? The dreaded Omicron variant was spreading and there was the potential for the Government to lock us all down again! Almost ‘right up to the wire’ it was one of those “I hope not” moments!

Away from politics, and on a very personal note, it was our second year where there we didn’t have parents to visit!

Then on the Tuesday before Christmas, some good news! (ish) – the PM promised no further restrictions over Christmas, as well as a financial support package for the hospitality industry to offset their loss of trade. It could have been worse… we might have been Scottish! – The PRS (aka The Peoples’ Republic of Sturgeon) had gone one step further and cancelled Hogmanay and also put a limit on social gatherings! There were similar restrictions promised across Wales and Ireland too!

However, best not to get too smug for us ‘south of the border’ as things might be different here after Christmas and into the New Year!

Meanwhile, back in a cold Kettering, thanks to any absence of restrictions (for the moment!), we could now confidently start to pack for our Chrimbo-break with Ralph & Karen at the Oulton Hall Hotel near Leeds.

December 23rd

1.25pm: With pretty much everything sorted for our Christmas break, we decided to have lunch at The Old Forge. By complete coincidence, Jo and Janet were there too!

3.35pm: We’re all packed and the car had been cleaned within an inch of its life. Just time for a final vacuum around the house and a bit of washing – and we’re all ready for our Christmas getaway!

6.34pm: Time for a local walk with Jo in the spirit of healthy living before we abandon all restraint with food and drink over the Christmas break!

December 24th (Friday)

6.43am: A quick cuppa in bed, followed by breakfast – and we’re ready for our journey north!

10.29am: We’re off! It was about a two-and-a-half-hour journey to the hotel plus we needed to allow time for a quick charge for EVie on the way, with us planning to check-in around 2ish.

12.39pm: A quick stop at McDonald’s in Castleford for a few electrons, courtesy of InstaVolt…

…plus a few calories for us..!

We planned to meet Ralph & Karen at the hotel but when we touched base during our journey by phone, they were just a few miles from McD’s too! So, we met up there for a quick chat before heading off to our destination.

The Hotel’s History

2.10pm: The Hotel has had an interesting history – and the document below is worth a read. It’s not your average ‘Old house becomes a Hotel’ yarn!

Download the history (pdf booklet)

We arrived pretty-much bang on schedule – and what a lovely place! First impressions were VERY favourable – a quick check-in, lovely staff and a beautiful room too! Oh, and there was a bottle of Port waiting for us!

It was a sign of things to come! Our stay was pretty-much food, more food and then even more food, frequently punctuated by alcohol and occasionally by some much-needed sleep! These days, we have plenty of experience with the latter, but for the former, the calorie potential here for the next few days is beyond enormous!!!

Afternoon Tea

3.05pm: After a rapid unpack, our first ‘forced-feed’ was Afternoon Tea in the hotel organised by staff members Robbie and Youssef. As expected, it was wall-to-wall scones, jam with double-cream, plus mountains of sandwiches, chocolate eclairs, mini–Victoria Sponges, plus loads of other sweet treats! Bottomless pots of tea complemented the calorific values! It was clear they had a great Pattiserie Chef here!

It would have been rude not to try out a little of everything (but we did try!). Somehow though, we also needed to try and pace ourselves as we had Dinner scheduled in the Hotel’s Grill in around four hours! Yes, I know, it’s a tough life!!

We even had time to pull a few crackers! We really enjoyed our first couple of hours here. More of the same was on the cards!!!

Dwinkies in Ralph & Karen’s Suite

6.30pm: But before the next round of food, we headed off to Ralph & Karen’s room for some pre-dinner drinks!

Well, that was a good start to the festivities! With Carols from Kings on the TV in the background, we increased our fluid intake even before heading for the restaurant! Looks like we missed the Hotel’s Carol Service (and free glass of bubbly), but we claimed the fizz later!! sparing the rest of the guests from our singing talents – we’re considerate like that!

Dinner in the Calverley Grill

7.30pm: Food again! We were soon at our table for just us four – and that’s how it would stay for our time here – Perfect!

Crackers, Party Poppers, and those long thin balloons that are designed to fly, were all part of the table decs, and we were soon in the festive mood! – and soon irritating our neighbours with unwanted and unstable balloon flights!!! Yo-Ho-Ho!

We didn’t have to wait long for our meal, and it didn’t disappoint! Three courses, packed with flavour and well presented too! The service was also excellent where our Waiter, Oliver (from Romania) kept us entertained throughout! He even taught us some Romanian!! (specifically, why some innocent Romanian phrases, that when translated, sound like English swear words!)

Yummy! It was all delicious and piping hot (except for the ice-cream!)!

8.57pm: We’d just enough stamina left to visit the bar and order some nightcaps – Bailey’s for Ann and for me, whilst Ralph enjoyed a beer and Karen adding a touch of class sipping a glass of Prosecco.

9.45pm: Well, I was first to admit to needing my bed. There’s another full day tomorrow – eating, drinking, completing the quiz – and somehow squeezing a post brekky walk in. Nighty-night!

Christmas Day (Saturday)

Merry Christmas!!!

6.33am: Old habits die hard and we were both awake at our normal time – no alarm required! Merry Christmas dear Reader!

After a quick cuppa in bed and exchanging some of our smaller gifts (the larger ones were still at home), we were ready for our first breakfast in the Hotel! Note to self: “eat lightly, there’s a lot of food being forced on us today, and we don’t want to go bang do we?”

Breakfast in the Calverley Grill

9.05am: We dropped into Ralph & Karen’s and headed for breakfast.

Certainly, the staff had entered into the spirit of the occasion! Vibrant colours and OTT suits were de-rigeur!

And just like the staffs’ dress-code, there was plenty of variety (and colour) on offer – cereals, toast, fresh fruit plus the traditional ‘Full English’. And for me, aiming to ‘eat something light’, started so well with muesli and yoghurt... (Christmas IS the time for miracles isn’t it!)

…and then it all fell apart! FIVE sausages?????

10.24am: Time for a walk I think, if only to ease the guilt!!!!

It wasn’t the warmest of days – certainly NOT the 11℃ promised, but it did feel very Christmassy!

For most of the walk, we didn’t see another person and where the views across the golf course were pretty spectacular! Chilly though and very muddy underfoot!

We even stumbled across the local Church – Saint John the Evangelist. All the signs were that it was deconsecrated, but a quick look on the interweb revealed it was in rude health!

We didn’t cover a massive distance, but it WAS good to get some fresh air – albeit very cold air!

11.25am: Well, that certainly cleared the cobwebs away. Next stop? Ralph & Karen’s for a mid-morning cuppa and a general catchup…

…including the completion of the Hotel’s two quizzes… ‘Trivia’ and ‘Christmas Songs’.

Christmas Lunch in the Calverley Grill

1.30pm: In spite of a hearty breakfast (and then some!) we were all ready for the main event – Christmas Lunch! It came with a free Santa Claus (and perhaps more importantly) a free glass of bubbly!

and to finish…

…a perfect end to a perfect Christmas lunch! The Hotel worked its socks off – and it showed!

3.52pm: We missed Her Majesty’s Christmas message on TV as well as the Hotel’s Treasure Hunt because we were still busy piling on the calories. Eventually, we waddled out of the restaurant and found a comfy set of chairs, chilling-out for a while and comparing waistlines!

6.57pm: Waistline comparisons over, Ralph & Karen came round to ours to help reduce our stock of pre-mixed G&Ts. Thanks guys!

We spent the next hour-and-a-bit in the company of Morecambe & Wise courtesy of the BBC. The first episode was their Christmas Special from 1971…

…and the second, more importantly, was a ‘lost tape’ not seen for over 50 years, recorded in 1970 and colourised for transmission tonight! Brilliant! They don’t write them like that anymore!!!

Buffet Supper

8.45pm: With the laughter still echoing around the room, we decided to pay a visit to the Buffet. When we got there, it was ‘last orders’ although there was still some goodies left. Honestly, we ate lightly!

The Hotel’s Big Quiz

9.37pm: We were one of the last groups to leave the restaurant and as we chewed our final mouthful we were reminded of the ‘Big Quiz’ by one of the staff (I think it was a subtle hint for us to leave the restaurant, so they could clear up!).

By now, we were all a bit neutral about taking part in ANOTHER quiz, but we had a go. We do like a challenge, but it was difficult to hear the quiz handler and some of the early questions turned out to be duplicates of the written quiz we’d handed in earlier, leading to a bit of confusion in the audience. It all settled down and overall, it was good fun, but a bit disorganised.

10.32pm: Thirty questions later, I think it was now the wrong end of the day for me – and the over-use of my six brain cells combined with an excess of grape was having its revenge! I wasn’t alone! Ann retired first, and after we three did our duty and marked a neighbouring group’s answer sheet, we called it a night too. It was unclear if they were going to announce the results there-and-then, but we’d had it!

10.48pm: Well, that’s the big day over for another year! Personally, I’m amazed I lasted this long! It was all very memorable for all the right reasons! We ate (a lot), we drank (a lot), we laughed (a lot) and we walked (not a lot!). We also met Santa and we gave our brains a stretch! A fantastic time where I felt very Christmassy all day.

Boxing Day (Sunday)

6.14am: I didn’t sleep too well! Perhaps it was down to a simple case of over-eating yesterday. I wonder? Tonight was the Gala Ball where we all dressed up (photo later!) – but before then, the Hotel’s Boxing Day breakfast awaits!

Boxing Day Brekky

9.10am: Bizarrely, us two were very hungry this morning! You’d think with all the food we’ve already consumed, we’d feel like a couple of stuffed piglets – not so!

Awaiting us, the good news was, that as a team, the four of us won the written quiz, that we handed in yesterday. Apparently, we were the only group that got ALL the questions right! A bottle of Prosecco awaits us! (Oh no, more booze!)

10.34am: All round to Ralph & Karen’s where it was tempting to crack open the fizz but we settled for a cuppa.

11.39am:  We probably should have walked, given the amount of food and drink we’ve been packing away, but instead, we took the short seventeen-mile round-trip drive back to Castleford to see the 12.10 performance of the just-released film: The King’s Man. It was good to get out! For my review of the film, click HERE.

3.15pm: Arriving back at the hotel, we enjoyed another collective cuppa at ours before putting our feet-up for a couple of hours.

7.00pm: Round to ours again to finish up the remaining Champagne and Beers in our fridge!

Black Tie Gala Ball

7.25pm: Off to the highlight of the weekend – the Black Tie Gala Ball. More bubbly and more food!

The food was, just like every other meal, was delicious!

9.07pm: Not only was there fine food laid on, there was entertainment too! The Hotel provided a DJ and a modern ‘Swing’ trio. The former was fine but the trio, although clearly talented, had set their amp too loud, resulting in us having to leave our table (and we were at the back!) for somewhere quieter. Maybe a sign of our age, but it was far too loud!!! It seemed we weren’t the only ones, with a few others seeking refuge away from the trio in the main part of the Hotel. It was a real shame as they had fine voices, were well choreographed and had real stage presence!

We headed for the Lounge area, and on our way, asked Reception to take a photo of the four of us as a memento…

10.46pm: That’s it! We’re done! Again, the Hotel had done a very fine job. It can’t be much fun having to watch others enjoy themselves whilst serving and clearing up the aftermath, but they did us proud and we can’t praise them enough! Nighty-night!

Christmas Monday (27th)

We checked out after breakfast – happier but heavier! It was a great stay at the Hotel where all the staff worked really hard to make it a success. We’ve got a lot of unforgettable memories from our short time here. Thanks Oulton Hall, you were fantastic!!

See you on the other side! Just over 100 miles until we’re home, where we’ve still got a load of gifts to open and some Christmas TV to catch-up with including…

The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast, Call the Midwife, Death in Paradise, EastEnders, A Very British Scandal, La Boheme, Dancing the Nutcracker, Anything Goes – The Musical, Around the World in 80 Days, A Ghost Story for Christmas, All Creatures Great and Small, Royal Carols Together, Carols from King’s, Sean the Sheep – The Flight Before Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Amazing Mr Blunden, Christmas at Holkham Hall, Not Going Out – Christmas Special, Last Train to Christmas, A Boy Called Christmas, Spitting Image Christmas Special and The Great Christmas Bakeoff.

Phew!

Christmas Past

2020
2019
2018
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Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas 2021 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

After taking a trip up to Heckington to visit Denis and Mae’s grave (our first visit since Denis’s funeral back in April last year), we dropped into The George Hotel in Stamford for one of their legendary Afternoon Teas (courtesy of Dennis and Sandra’s Birthday pressy to Ann!)

What a surprise – it was delicious! — and I ate far too much!!! A perfect day weather-wise too! We sat outside in the revamped courtyard and just soaked up the Sun. Good to see The George looking so busy too! We stayed for just over an hour and then headed home.

It had been good to visit the graves today and spend a bit of chill-time sampling the delights of The George Hotel again.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post George Gorge! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, we’ve just spent the past seven days in Scotland. The first half was a bit ‘off the beaten track’ with friends in Gartly, Aberdeenshire and then we drove to Inverness’s largest hotel – The Kingsmills – for the remainder. Not sure if that makes me a (temporary) ‘Highlander’ or not!?

Although we’ve been to Bonnie Scotland before, this time, we felt we got to know the people and the places more thoroughly.

So, what did we learn?

• As a country, the people and places are very COVID19-Aware
• The scenery is spectacular
• The locals are very friendly
• If you’re coming to Inverness at this time of year, bring a vest (or preferably 3!)
• If you want to use your mobile phone, bring a mast (preferably 20!)
• We solved the mystery of where all UK’s public toilets have gone – they’re in Scotland! (much to Ann’s delight!)
• No one makes chips like they do up here
• Someone stole all the dolphins!
• Parking in many towns and villages was completely free

Would we come back? Of course!

WORDS TO THE WISE: Don’t expect Inverness Airport to have a petrol station so that you can top up your hire-car’s tank before handing it back! The nearest seems to be Tesco, some six miles away!

9.05am: With the hire-car parked and the keys deposited in AVIS’s ‘dropbox’ we whizzed through Security into one of the UK’s smaller airports.

Our plane is on-time and we’ll be home mid-afternoon. Farewell Scotland, see you next time!

Click on the button below to see all our photos from this trip…

P.S. Very nice to come home to a mat piled high with cards… and then there was all my birthday gifts to open! Oh, the pressure!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 8, Seven Days a Highlander! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Thanks for all your good wishes, cards and gifts! They’re mostly all back at home and I’ll enjoy them when we’re back tomorrow!

Here we are then, in Bonnie Scotland, on the occasion of my 64th.

It’s another day of discovery today and we’ve got two locations in mind:-

Nairn – a well-known seaside town on the Moray Firth with not one, but TWO golf courses!

Fort George – a large 18th-century fortress

…and for my birthday lunch, The Cawdor Tavern in (not surprisingly) the village of Cawdor.

8.05am: Looking at how busy the Hotel was yesterday evening, we decided to take breakfast earlier today to avoid the potential queues.

9.10am: We’re off! A quick dash to the petrol station en-route to fill up with juice (what a novelty, I haven’t been in a petrol station for well over a year!). Our first stop is only 16 miles and 25 minutes away…

Nairn

9.45am: Nairn is an ancient fishing port around 17 miles east of Inverness. Well, this visit certainly woke us up! In spite of a vest, two coats and gloves, (and the car saying the outside temperature was 10.5℃) it felt more like MINUS 10… it was f-f-f-f-freezing with a biting north wind!

The Harbour…

The Beach…

10.05am: And if the Harbour was freezing, then Nairn’s beach-front was even colder! But hey! In order to show that we weren’t lilly-livered southern-softies, we walked along the front (and a bit further inland). Another memorable birthday experience!! More information about Nairn HERE.

The car-heater and its heated seats have never had so much use! We were SO pleased to be back in the car!

Fort George

11.05am: Fort George is a large 18th-century fortress to the north-east of Inverness. It was built to control the Highlanders in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, replacing a Fort George in Inverness constructed after the 1715 Jacobite rising to stamp out any further rebellion. The current fortress has never been attacked and has remained in continuous use as a garrison ever since. More information HERE.

This was the highlight of the day for us and much larger in real life than the photographs we’d already seen when planning this break. Yes, it was WIDE, but it was also DEEP – it seemed to go on forever!

There’s the great ‘Highlanders’ Museum’ full of memorabilia associated with all the Regiments here through the years.

But there are plenty of reminders that it’s still in use!

…and the mobile signal is as crap here as is most of the Highlands!

Plenty of these little fellas to keep the undesirables at bay!

…in all shapes and sizes!

The Cawdor Tavern

1.25pm: The Tavern and its food had some excellent reviews and whilst staying with our friends earlier in the week, Richard had also recommended it.

The rather understated entrance betrayed the great food that was yet to come for my Birthday Lunch 2020!!

3.10pm: Wow! What a Birthday Lunch. Definitely another of those occasions where a short snooze would now be in order! Instead though, we headed in the general direction of the Hotel by way of the Culloden Battlefield (as you do!)

We headed back to the hotel to start packing for our departure tomorrow. What an unforgettable day! Great places, great food… and hypothermia! We won’t forget my 2020 birthday celebrations in a hurry!

Click on the button below for all our photos so far
(and none of my chat!)

My Previous Birthday Celebrations

2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 7(8): My Birthday 2020 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

My last day of ’63-ness’ today, and we’re off to Loch Ness! Given our complete failure to spot any dolphins during this trip, I don’t hold out much hope for an encounter with Nessie!

We’re sticking to the west side of the Loch and plan to take in some of the sights along the way including…
– Fort Augustus
– Urquhart Castle
– …plus anywhere else that makes a good photo!!!

10.10am: After a hearty breakfast, we set off from the Hotel. The weather forecast predicts slightly warmer weather than yesterday so we’re in for a treat. Mr Mercedes (our hire car) said it was already a scorching 8℃ which was a massive improvement!

It’s a pretty straightforward route on the A82 today for the most-part. We’re taking a slight detour on the A887 at Invermoriston and then the A87 before re-joining the A82 later in order to soak up even more of the glorious vistas.

As a passenger, if you like the view on your journey full of the blues, greens and browns of Mother Nature, then this is a real treat!

From the Driver’s perspective, though, it’s a slightly different story. The road was all single-carriageway, alternating between dead straight short parts (with virtually no chance of overtaking) and twisty-turny sections that demanded your full attention (on a motorbike would have been even more fun!). The road also rises and falls with the landscape making our choice of an automatic-gearbox a wise choice! None of this is immediately obvious if you look at a typical map.

The variation in terrain meant that those in charge of the vehicle needed to concentrate on the road at all times, missing out on some of the marvellous views…

…where the only way to really appreciate the scenery was to find a parking-spot in one of the numerous lay-bys.

12.10pm: Which is exactly what we did for our first stop (marked ‘1’ on the map above) at Glengarry Viewpoint. What we didn’t expect, was a Scot in full Highland Dress serenading the lay-by’s temporary residents on the pipes! Ironically, music aside, because the trees were still in ‘full foliage’, the best view across the water was a little obscured by the mass of greenery – still gorgeous though!

Back in the car, we left the Piper to seduce the rest of his ‘guests’, whilst we headed for our second stop of the day – Fort Augustus – a further thirty-minutes drive away. The road continued to provide a wide variety of terrains, but after a few more short stops we eventually arrived where the temperature was now enjoying a ‘highland heatwave’ of 11½℃

12.45pm: After parking the car (we had to pay this time for the first time this holiday!!) we took a short walk up and across the various lock gates that offered some exhilarating views across the area. The Caledonian Canal is approximately 60 miles long and was designed by the famous civil engineer, Thomas Telford. It was completed in 1822 and connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William.

It may not have been the warmest day on record but it certainly LOOKED beautiful! Our fingers were feeling the reality of the climate, and we looked for somewhere for bite to eat and warm-up…

12.45pm: The Lock Inn was closest and doing a brisk trade! Perfect!

It was difficult to know what to choose as there was so much on offer! We also had a scheduled visit to our final stop today at Urquhart Castle for 1.30pm, so it was going to be tight (however little we ate!). In the end, we decided to NOT rush things and present ourselves at the Castle ‘fashionably late’. Our food arrived in double-quick time and whilst Ann enjoyed the child’s portion of Macaroni Cheese (yes, they still call it by its ‘old name’ up here), I tucked into the exceptionally meaty burger with added cheese. Their chips maintained the tradition that Scotland (for us) serves the best chips ever, anyway!

Just as we left, the heavens opened, and we said goodbye to the sunshine! Where did that come from? It was the cold, very wet and hard variety of rain that almost turned into hail. Well, it certainly helped quicken our step back to the car!!!

2.10pm: As expected, we WERE ‘fashionably late’ arriving at Urquhart Castle (and unfashionably wet). Our tardiness didn’t seem to make any difference, and we were ushered in to the car-park by the very friendly, damp security staff.

The weather was now the worst we seen since we arrived. Colder, wetter and windier. I have a reputation for destroying umbrellas, but the weather was doing a fine job on its own.

Whichever way I pointed the umbrella, the very special Scottish wind got underneath it and managed to turn it inside-out on at least six occasions!

In truth, we didn’t spend as long here as we might have done if the weather had been kinder. It certainly didn’t improve, and within 30 minutes, we were ‘all done’ having only managed to capture a few photos in between the lashings of ginger beer rain. We headed back to base back along the road that we’d started out on. Now in addition, to the ‘ups and downs’and ‘twist and turns’ that began our journey, we now had rain, then sunshine, then rain, then more sunshine to cope with!

3.30pm: Just as we arrived back at the Kingsmills Hotel, out came the Sun, but more permanently this time (typical!!) A quick coffee in the Hotel’s Lounge brought us back to life, and we then headed back to the room to think about my birthday events for tomorrow.

Click on the button below for all our photos so far
(and none of my chat!)

It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I’m told there are some surprises planned!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 6(8) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We have a grand plan today! We’re off to the large land-mass to the north of us that is the Black Isle – perversely named because it’s actually not an island and not particularly black! We won’t have time to cover it all, but we want to give it a damn good thrashing!

Surrounded on three sides by water – a peninsular – one of the theories about its colour-attribute is that it remains snow-free whilst the surrounding mountains are covered in the white stuff!

I didn’t know that!

It’s a cool start, but 11℃ by 11am is none-too-shabby for this time of year!

8.30am: But before all that, it’s breakfast – and our first experience of what Kingsmills has to offer in these crazy COVID-19 times!

The hotel was very well organised at breakfast with an invite-only-from-your-table-hot-brekky-buffet option together with table service for everything else.

For my non-UK readers, unlike the nearby Isle, a Black Pudding IS actually black, but just to keep it confusing, it’s NOT a pudding.

9.45am: Off we go, and it’s spot the tourist! (us!!!) The locals are wandering around in shirt-sleeves – and we’re not! Typical woosy-Sassenachs ehh!! We jumped in the car for the short journey northwards with the car’s heating on ’11’ together with the heated seats set to ‘max’.

10.55am: Our first stop was Beauly – not the one for petrol-heads, the one with the Priory!

A splendid construction and in the now-familiar ‘red’ stone that seems to be all the rage round these parts.

Next port of call was the adjacent High Street. It had the sort of shops that hinted that this is an affluent area…

…including the rather well-known (apparently!) Campbell and Co, supplier of all things tweed for the ‘huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ fraternity! We noted the photo of Prince Charles ‘dropping by’ proudly on display inside!

12.05pm: Stop 2 was the town of Fortrose. This was home to a ruined cathedral…

Fortrose was a bit of a ‘one-horse town’. We took a walk aroud the area, but it was pretty-much deserted and eerily quiet. Nice view across the water though…

12.55pm: Our third stop was Cromarty…

We found a car-park (free-of-charge again!) and found ourselves pretty close to the water-front. We were immediately struck by the numerous exceptionally large ‘oil rig’ type constructions, which felt like they were in touching distance!

Actually, on reflection, whether they were constructing or de-constructing was difficult to tell, but it was a hive of activity. The locals didn’t seem to be paying much attention, but to us, it all looked somewhat strange!

1.20pm: Looking back towards the land, we spotted the old lighthouse (de-commissioned in 2005) now looked-after by the University of Aberdeen (not ALL of them) for their Field Studies.

…and if ‘oil rigs’ within touching distance wasn’t weird enough, how about the above? It was very tall ‘monolith’ with wording referring to ‘Cleopatra’. It all seemed a bit strange and a bit out-of-place, but later I did some research…

Apparently the 13ft construction is the “Cromarty Emigrants’ Standing Stone” with words by Cromarty’s most famous son, Hugh Miller. It relates to the vessel Cleopatra, one of 62 emigrant ships that set sail from Cromarty in 1831 for Canada. The actual wording is HERE.

1.50pm: No research needed for the next part! – the local hotel – The Royal Hotel – for a coffee-break! We were glad to be inside in the warm!

The hotel had clearly seen better days, but the coffee wasn’t bad and the service was polite and efficient. We stayed for around half-an-hour thawing-out before heading back in the general direction of the car taking in a few more of examples of the local architecture…

2.15pm: Back on the road, we headed for our final stop of the day – the town of Dingwall, about a thirty-minute drive away.

2.55pm: Again, we parked for free! (I like it!) and we were soon in the high street. There were plenty of shops and plenty of people, but it all felt a bit less-affluent than our other destinations today. ‘Throbbing’ may be a bit of an over-statement, but the town’s shops seemed well-supported.

It was a pity that the local Museum wasn’t open as it apparently packed with lots of information about the town since the demise of the Town Council in 1975.

3.05pm: In fact, it was probably a good job the Museum WAS closed, otherwise our late lunch would have been even later! Luckily, we stumbled upon a small café, just off the high street called The Courtyard Café. It was (still) far too cold to eat outside, so we got table inside and enjoyed a quick bite!

3.50pm: It was only as we returned to the car, we noticed a tower high on a hill (no goatherd though!). We learned that it’s the MacDonald Monument. Built in 1907 dedicated to the memory of (deep breath!) Major-General Sir Hector Archibald Macdonald, KCB, DSO, ADC. It’s a fair distance away and a bit of a climb, so maybe we were lucky that it’s currently closed!

Tomorrow, we’re heading in the direction of Loch Ness. Hopefully, a monster of a day!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 5(8) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, that’s the first half of our Scottish break over – and it passed really quickly! After a relaxing and VERY enjoyable few days with Richard and Lynn in Gartly, we’re off to our next (and final) ‘home’ for the final four-days – the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness.

In some respects, our leaving was perfect timing, as just before we went to bed last night, we learned that the revised – and much tougher – lockdown rules up here (officially from Friday, but being encouraged immediately) would now have made our stay with Richard and Lynn impossible AND illegal – and so we’re glad we did it when we did!

10.05am: After a full-on-fry-up, we said our rather tearful farewells to our hosts, loaded our bags and hit the road…

12.15pm: Although it was only about a 70-mile trip, most of the journey (west, along the A96) is just single-carriageway, with only the occasional double-lane for overtaking. As a result, our journey took just over an hour-and-a-half, eventually arriving at Inverness’s Eastgate Shopping Mall just after midday.

We parked the car in the very spacious (and spotlessly clean) underground car-park and headed for a quick mooch around the shops. We also wanted to soak up a few of the local sights prior to lunch.

12.30pm: The Castle looked inviting but unfortunately, it was closed for renovation.

12.45pm: Although it was a colder day, the blueness of the sky and water made for a very attractive view down the River Ness (no Photoshopping required!!)

1.05pm: We carried on mooching and although there were quite a few shops closed because of you-know-what, the 19th century Victorian Market Arcade looked splendid!

1.15pm: We stopped for lunch at the rather under-stated restaurant ‘Prime Steakhouse‘, just over the bridge. Ann had the Venison Casserole whilst I chose the Cajun Chicken Burger (spicier than I thought it would be!). Both were excellent and we just (just!) managed to resist the temptation of dessert (as good as they looked) to leave enough room for our meal tonight in the Hotel.

2.15pm: Truth-be-told, even though we’d not been nearly as ‘busy’ as our previous days here in Scotland, we could have easily just gone to sleep after the meal! Instead, we decided to walk alongside the Ness to walk off – at least part of – lunch! Again, the views were superb!

…and again, no Photoshopping required to ‘bring out the blue’ of the water. We walked all the way down to the next bridge and along the opposite side taking notes of any restaurants we saw that might be suitable for my Birthday celebration on Saturday (and there were plenty to choose from!)

3.45pm: Fifteen minutes ahead of official check-in time, we blagged our way into the hotel early – The Kingsmills Hotel – and we were soon checked-in.

Room 300 is a generously-sized room! If Lynn’s cats were here, we could have swung BOTH of them, with room to spare!

6.00pm: Just time to get depressed by the news before heading down to the hotel’s restaurant for our evening meal

6.35pm: Well that’s a first! No paper menus here. Simply point your phone camera at the QR code and up pops the latest menu on the screen. Naturally, I was in heaven, Ann, meanwhile was in confusion! After one of the shortest coaching sessions I’ve ever done, our choices were sorted, and I chose the Grilled Chicken whilst Ann opted for the Salmon Fillet.

9.00pm: For whatever reason, we’re both shattered! We had just enough energy to think about options for tomorrow before crashing. We’re either going to take a trip in search of Nessie or exploring the Black Isle.

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 4(8) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It’s our last full day here before we drive to Inverness tomorrow – and we’ve a busy one planned (nothing new there ehh?!) After yesterday’s adventure that took us to the rather beautiful areas of Banff, Portsoy and Cullen (ending with a drive through next-door Buckie) today, we’re soaking-up more of the area to the north-west of base-camp, including:-

• Huntly Castle
• Baxter’s Highland Village in Fochabers
• Gordon Castle Walled Garden in Fochabers
• Spey Bay (Dolphins!)
• Elgin Cathedral (and the cashmere shop!)
• Auchindoun Castle

(Not necessarily in that order!)

Huntly Castle

10.15am: We arrived in town and were soon parked for our first stop of the day – a revisit to Huntly Castle (last visited in 2002/3?). We took the longer-than-we-thought walk down to the ruins and. First impressions? It was amazing how much was familiar considering we hadn’t been here for 20+ years!

The temperature was now a very pleasant 16℃ and we spent longer here than we planned. Next stop: The Walled Gardens at Gordon Castle.

Gordon Castle Walled Garden

12.05pm: The Walled Garden should have been easy-peasy to find. It wasn’t! In spite of having the correct postcode and based on the reputation of the excellent signage to anywhere cultural in these parts, we should have been there in no time. As things turned out, we first ended up down a dirt-track leading to a farm. Then a crop of new-build houses – and neither was anywhere near where we SHOULD have been! We’re still not sure what went wrong, but we did get there eventually!

It was definitely worth the trip (as convoluted as it was!) – it all looked beautiful!

…and even sweet-peas in September – Amazing!

Johnson’s of Elgin Cashmere Shop

12.35pm: This is the kind of shop only for people with bucket loads of cash (and who have clearly lost their marbles). How about a cashmere jumper for the bargain price of £715 (reduced from £1915)? We didn’t think it was our civic duty to buy it!

In complete contrast, the Restaurant was excellent value! Superbly well-organised and very COVID-19 compliant (as we tried to enter the EXIT door!). We tucked into Giant Haddock Goujons (Ann) and a Beef Burrito (me). And it would have been rude not to sample the Premier Cru in these parts that is… Irn Bru!

Elgin Cathedral

1.45pm: We took the short walk (5 minutes) from the restaurant at the Cashmere shop to the Cathedral and for us, this next stop was probably the highlight of the day. The Cathedral, in ruins, dates back to the 13th century…

…and there was plenty to see here – inside and out! The staff were super-friendly and knowledgeable, and it made the visit extra-special. Read more HERE

Baxter’s Highland Village

2.50pm: Our penultimate stop for the day was Baxter’s Highland Village. We weren’t quite sure what to expect – all we knew was that Baxter’s is famous for its soups! Our love of all-things-retail meant that our weekly dose of retail-therapy was about to be served – in huge quantities!

Our first experience was their Museum boasting an impressive display of ‘old style’ retailing and merchandising. Fantastic!

…with their products taking centre-stage…

Just next door was the 2020 equivalent, with pretty much EVERY product they make on display (with a healthy 25% discount too!).

…and the Queen likes them too apparently!

*Not really!

Auchindoun Castle

We didn’t quite make it to Auchindoun Castle, so maybe that’s on our to-do list for another time! Instead, we headed for where dolphins had been spotted…

Spey Bay

3.55pm: Well, what can I say about Spey Bay? Idyllic?, Ethereal?, Beautiful?

Well, today it was NONE of those!

It was cold, blowing a gale, and its beach (the largest shingle beach in Scotland, in case you were wondering) was an ankle-breaker! Add to that, the main ‘porpoise’ of our visit was to see the dolphins, but they’d been sensible, and buggered-off to somewhere much warmer. Richard had lent Ann his binoculars and she thought she saw a couple of fins bobbing up-and-down, but I reckoned it was two Nokia employees who got lost swimming!

The experience had all been a bit too close to nature for my blood and we retreated to the car and headed back to base, where Lynn soon served up some hot coffee to bring us back to life!

7.10pm: Our final meal with Richard and Lynn was one not-to-be-forgotten. Locally sourced Venison in a casserole – and it really was melt-in-the-mouth.

10.15pm: With the world put right after the meal, it was time to say our goodnights and get packed for our departure tomorrow! It’s been a great stay here, and we’ve covered a lot of miles and caught up with some old friends. Brilliant!!

Nighty-night!!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Holiday: Scotland – Day 3(8) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

I was up early, mainly down to me setting the clock an hour fast!

The weather forecast looks promising (although not quite as warm as it predicted yesterday) and so on Richard’s advice, we’re heading for the Moray Coast about a 40 minute drive from base-camp.

11.15am: First stop was Banff, a small town and a Royal Burgh since 1372. We were soon parked (are all car-parks free up here?) and taking in the sights…

…A beautiful location sporting a very neat Marina and what it lacked in size, it made up for with its sandy beaches…

Incredible! And not what we expected at all! (in a good way). Contra-forecast, the weather was now improving and warming up a treat to a healthy 19℃, so we decided to take the walk from Banff to nearbyish MacDuff – and back.

Although we didn’t walk ALL the way into Macduff, it was a very pleasant 2.25 miles and ticked the box for our daily walk quota!

12.30pm: Next stop was Portsoy, a quaint fishing village famous for its marble, which is a serpentinite stone that looks like marble. It was also the principle location for the 2016 remake of the movie: Whisky Galore.

By now, it felt like a proper Summer’s day, and we soaked up the warmth as well as the glorious views.

12.55pm: I’d like to say we only went there for the Church, but in truth, we were there for what was opposite…

…their famous ice-cream parlour!

Whilst Ann tucked into a combination of Blackcurrant Sorbet and Banana, I settled for Ferrero Rocher and Cadbury’s Flake. We returned to the Church, not to confess our sins, but to sit on their wall and enjoy our ice-creams, watching the world go by!

1.30pm: Our final stop on today’s whistle-stop tour of the Moray Coast was another fishing village – Cullen. The location is famous for Cullen Skink and as every schoolboy and girl knows, it’s a soup made from fresh skink smoked haddock and potato. Lucky for us then, that the village’s Hotel – The Royal Oak – was serving it. After a quick rummage and fitting of our masks, we were whizzed off to our table. After filling in our contact form (much more comprehensive than anything we’ve seen in England!) we were soon tucking into the local broth.

Wow! That was a hearty meal! There was only one thing left to do – try and walk it off! We headed in the direction of the harbour, where we enjoyed the view of even more sandy beaches!

2.45pm: Lawrence of Arabia would have felt right at home here – and we’d only really seen a small part of the area. We headed back to Richard and Lynn’s for well-deserved ‘feet-up’ in preparation for tonight’s evening meal – Shepherd’s Pie.

7.25pm: All the exploring today had made us quite hungry!

Tomorrow is our last full day here and we’ve got quite an itinerary…

• Huntly Castle
• Baxter’s Highland Village in Fochabers (language!!)
• Gordon Castle Walled Garden in Fochabers
• Spey Bay (Dolphins!)
• Elgin Cathedral (and the cashmere shop!)
• Auchindoun Castle

10.05pm: Nighty-night!

Steve Palmer

I 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 seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

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