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.

Off for a ‘day out’ (just the two of us) to the Chester House Estate in nearby Irchester, Wellingborough.

Bought originally by North Northamptonshire Council in 2004 as Chester Farm. Re-branded and then re-opened in 2016 as Chester House Estate, it opens from 10-4 and is free to get in with free parking too! (but it’s a good ten-minute walk from the under-sized parking area before you get to the main buildings).

What makes this place somewhat unique is that It’s one of the few locations in the country which can demonstrate over 10,000 years of human activity – there‘s a great timeline HERE on their website.

On the day we were there, there was a live ‘dig’ going on – apparently, they’d discovered a Roman Cemetery.

Today, was pretty much deserted where I think the (very helpful) staff outnumbered the visitors by about three to one! There’s certainly a lot of space here and it felt like it was still very much ‘work in progress’. But, in the absence of anything formal there are some nice walks across, and around, the land. There’s a Saxby Cider Shop, a Farm Shop, a Yoga Class (yes, really!), a Cafe…

…and even a Learning Centre & Museum!

It was just a pity that it all felt a bit lifeless. I’m sure (hope!) it’s busier at weekends/bank holidays and school holidays though!

One aspect of the Estate is the sheer amount of open space they have here. It’s immediately noticeable, as you wander around. They could probably accommodate multiple soccer matches going on here simultaneously and it wouldn’t feel cramped at all! With all this space in mind, some of it has been put to good use as they have an outdoor theatre performance here in the shape of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream‘ later this month. In short, there’s so much potential here for an awful lot more activity!

We finished our visit with a cheeky slice of cake and a coffee in their Farmhouse Cafe. I’d say that the Estate is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area, but based on today (and that may be a tad unfair) there’s not enough to make a day of it… maybe half a day, tops!

We took the short drive to The Buttery Cafe in Woodford for a light lunch and then headed home.

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 First Visit: The Chester House Estate appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Thought I knew nearby Kelmarsh Hall very well, having got married there in 2011 and partied there for our 10th Anniversary last year!

Apparently not! I saw parts of it today, that I’d never seen before!

The House

They’ve opened up parts that were inaccessible before, and it was all very well presented.

There was plenty to see, both upstairs and downstairs, too!

I’ve always been impressed by Kelmarsh – today, even more so!

… and that was just inside the House! – we hadn’t visited the Gardens yet! Just before heading outside, we tried out the Sweetpea Tearooms – and that was excellent too!

The Gardens

…and we couldn’t have picked a better day for it! Gloriously warm (but not too warm).

It was good to be back here today! Kelmarsh looked fantastic – inside and out, upstairs and downstairs (and the cheese toastie wasn’t bad either!) . Definitely worth a visit, even if you’ve been before – and it’s only a tenner each for admission – but maybe a good idea to double-check the prices HERE before you go!

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 Glorious Kelmarsh! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Back in June last year, we took the first steps to improving our environmental footprint by going ‘all-electric’ for our main car. Then, in April 2020, we ditched British Gas as our dual-energy provider, and based on recommendations from friends who’d already made the switch, moved to the rather weirdly named Octopus Energy.

Today was the next stage of going even greener by having our existing gas and leccy meters swapped-out for a pair of up-to-date ‘smart’ equivalents. If you haven’t thought about smart-meters yet, then go for it – it’s a no-brainer!

Here’s why… To start with, you get a totally free installation that only takes a few hours to install. Their smartness means they ‘talk’ to a small ‘IHD’ (In-Home Display) — also supplied free — that boasts lots of coloured lights and snazzy graphics! Naturally, it got my vote immediately! More importantly though, underneath all the ‘flash’ is some serious number-crunching that provides you with the minutiae of your energy consumption! . Best of all, this whizzy technology also means you never-ever get an estimated reading again, because the device automatically sends your meter readings back to the mothership every 30 minutes.

Why Octopus? Well, their customer service has been nothing short of excellent – something that British Gas failed at miserably (amongst many other things!). We get a clear, concise bill every month to show where we’ve spent our money, and they have some very innovative tariffs (not just for EV owners) that make their competitors look positively stone-age. Helpfully, they speak very plain English and I’ve never waited more than a day-or-so for a reply when I’ve emailed them (and I’d say that’s especially good, considering the current impact of the pandemic on many organisations!). Did I mention they’re the ONLY energy provider recommended by Which?

If you fancy some cash in your pocket and are in the market for swapping providers,
Click HERE,
fill in your details
and then use my unique referral code
share.octopus.energy/oak-ape-388
and we’ll get £50 each credited to our account!

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 Smart Octopus! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Letting me loose on any DIY task is always a risk!

And recently was one of those (ahem!) ‘opportunities’ to demonstrate my talents (or lack of them!). Specifically, Ann’s new mini-greenhouse. It looked splendid in the pictures online, but like most things these days, it arrived (from those very nice people at Access Garden Products) as a self-assembly flat-pack.

Oh joy!

So, with the public within half a mile of me warned to stay indoors and to blindfold their pets, I armed myself with a screwdriver and more importantly, my reading glasses – and the challenge commenced!!! I guess it was one of those times when everyone in the Close welcomed social distancing!!

Luckily, the said flat-packs came with a very comprehensive assembly booklet, but unluckily, it started to rain about halfway through the exercise, reducing the booklet to tissue paper.

By the time I invited my trusty assistant, friend and neighbour (and far more competent) David to the task, it was raining hard, but at least I’d assembled about three-quarters of it.

Actually, I was quite proud of my achievements. No personal injuries, and no humans nor pets harmed!

With the back assembly and the shelves in place, I was on a roll…

…or not!

We soon discovered that some materials were missing from the package (the plastic running tape to support the glass) and so we couldn’t finish the job and add the finishing touch – the glass panels. Rain then stopped play for a few days!

Fast-forward a few days to Monday, and the Sun was now out (and the missing parts were in!). On with the task then!

I hate handling glass, it’s a real pane (groan!!!) and there were six of the beasts! Anyway, it all went very smoothly, and within the hour, it was ‘job done’. Pets’ blindfolds were removed, and neighbours breathed a sigh of relief, as normality returned…

…whilst the geraniums prepared themselves for their new home for the Winter!

Maybe I’m better at DIY than I thought! Time will tell! EDIT: September, 2022 – it’s still standing!

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 Greenhouse Effect appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, I haven’t been here since the 14th of December 2011! – for my wedding! !

Click on the button below for a trip down memory lane…

Welcome back to 2020! The reason for today’s visit was an invitation to a private tour around Kelmarsh’s well-known Gardens (where Mrs P is a volunteer-gardener).

9.55am: On arrival, we followed the arrows to the rear of the Hall, where a member of the Kelmarsh team pointed us in the right direction. Given the tropical weather of the past few days, this morning looked like it was going to be a bit of a disappointment! There was a trace of blue in the sky – just a trace – but that was to change later to grey, accompanied by a well-needed downpour of rain of biblical proportions! Luckily, we were to miss the moisture by a whisker!

10.10am: Given the really hot weather of late – and the lack of rain, first impressions of the Gardens were excellent, with hardly a weed in sight, with a blaze of colour for us to enjoy!

…even if I didn’t know the names of some most of what I saw!

Mrs P did though!

10.25am: Looking at the sky, where its light blue hues had changed to a depressing mid-grey – so we quickened our pace..!

…but in spite of the deteriorating weather…

…the flora still looked in rude health!

10.30am: We could hear thunder in the distance, so we called it a day and headed back to the car.

10.40am: It had been a very memorable (but slightly curtailed) visit, but the Gardens looked fantastic and it was great to see Kelmarsh Hall again after all these years. We hadn’t been in the car long before it belted it down with rain, so it looked as if our timing had been well-judged.

As usual, click on the button below to see the photo gallery with some additional photographs (and none of my chat!)

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 Kelmarsh appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We drove down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s this afternoon. The weather was horrendous, but it was well worth it as we were going to see Oliver playing flute in the East Herts Concert Band at their Christmas Concert.

The venue was the delightful St Mary’s Church in the village of Standon, a Grade 1 listed place of worship near Puckeridge.

But before the entertainment, we needed to eat, and Roger had helpfully booked us in at The Star Pub. Even more helpfully, it was exactly opposite! Parking though, was challenging to say the least. We could have used the Pub car-park but due to some excessive faffing around by another motorist, we had to drive past the pub and eventually left Robert, with two wheels on the pavement in the street just up the road. Standon is only a tiny village, and the Concert tonight was therefore going to test everyone’s parking skills!

The Pub’s food turned out to be excellent, and they coped really well with the increase in trade generated by those heading for the same destination as us!

At 7pm, we retrieved the cushions that Roger had helpfully packed in readiness for the pews, and we headed inside the Church.

Unusually, the ticket price was based on ‘what you thought of it’ AFTER the event. I’ve not experienced this arrangement before!

By 7.30, the Band was assembled, but wait a mo’, there was no sign of Oliver! ‘The Devil’s in the Detail’ as they say, and a closer inspection of the programme’s cover explained it all! There were actually TWO groups of musicians — The Youth Orchestra and Concert Band — the former were on first and Oliver was performing later.

All-in-all, it looked like a great selection of Christmassy tunes — and at least the carols were ones that everyone knew!

Oliver was soon on stage! He played with confidence and the overall sound from the Band was impressive!

The final piece — Sleighride — was where both groups of musicians joined forces. It didn’t disappoint (given there were only about 40 players) and they produced an impressive full orchestra sound — it was the perfect way to end the performance.

The Concert finished just after 9.15, and we were soon on our way back to our premium B & B for the night! After breakfast tomorrow, we’re heading home to finish preparing the garden for the Winter!

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 Oliver – Live in Concert appeared first on Steve's Blog.

An early start for us today as we spent Saturday and Sunday with Richard and Nicki at their place in Banstead.

Saturday

We left home just after 7.30 and drove over to Huntingdon station. Why not take the car? Well, it’s not the getting there, it’s the getting home part. Last time we tried it on a Sunday by car, it took twice as long to get back as it did to get there – Ahh! I’d quite forgotten how congested it can get ‘darn sarf‘ – and how busy the M25 was, even on a Sunday!

As things turned out, it was a text-book journey there with all our connections on-time or slightly early! Rich & Nicky picked us up from Sutton station just after 10.30 and we were soon catching-up over coffee & cake at theirs!

But apart from the social aspect, we had a cunning plan in mind — and that was to tidy up/prune their garden and plant as many bulbs as the space allowed.

We were reasonably optimistic about the weather having checked it daily for the past three days. Being November, it wasn’t going to be the warmest of days, but at least the forecast promised dry weather. I’m not the world’s most enthusiastic gardener, but with the appropriate clothing, I’d be OK… wouldn’t I? wouldn’t I??

…errr NO!

Everything started well: It was dry, 8 degrees and whilst Nicki and Ann turned the soil in the back garden, I concentrated on the pruning out the front.

…and it certainly needed a haircut!

After about an hour, with its new trimmed look, it was ‘job done!

…just as the rain started to come down in buckets (this wasn’t forecast!) together with a drop in temperature as the sun beat its retreat! Any one of those factors would have been enough to ‘down tools’, but not us four!

We soldiered-on, getting progressively wetter (and in my case, progressively grumpier) as the rain became more persistent. We pushed on, and eventually, the final bulbs were in by 3.45 but with no improvement in the weather, we called it a day and cleared-up…

…but not before admiring all our work!

With the ‘toiling of the soil’ over, it was time to turn out attention to… the evneing meal! Richard had planned ahead and prepared his signature dish: “Garlic Roast Lamb”, whilst the rest of us got cleaned up!

Whilst the food cooked. all that was then left to do was to chill-out warm-up in front of the log-burner!!

The meal didn’t disappoint and after us all digging-in for seconds, we all agreed it had been a great reward for all our efforts today!

Next stop was a movie – and after a thorough review of Netflix and Amazon Prime we settled on Daddy’s Home from 2015 courtesy of the latter.

Starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, it was the kind of movie that (for us) was laugh-out-loud funny – we loved it!

Our day ended perfectly and as a bonus, we appear to be slightly ahead with our gardening plans. Tomorrow, it’s pruning and numerous visits to the local dump.

Sunday

Sunday’s weather promised a dry day and when we peeked through the curtains around 8am, it looked like the promise had been kept (although it was a little foggy!) – but at least it was DRY! In fact, as the morning ticked-away, the temperature eventually ‘soared’ to 10°C by lunchtime! Happy days!!!

Today was about continuing the mega-prune and generally tidying up the garden as much as we could.

I say ‘mega’ as it required two separate trips to nearby Epson’s Green disposal site (about a 20-minute drive away) to get rid of our enthusiastic clippings! After all our previous visits earlier in the year, I think they’re getting to know us there by sight now – we’re be on first-name terms soon!

After almost three hours, we downed tools around 11.45, satisfied with what we’d achieved. Whilst Richard and I headed back from our last disposal trip (for this visit anyway!), Nicki and Ann prepared a quick lunch that would allow us to get a slightly earlier train home.

It was all delicious, and we reflected on how much progress our hosts have made since they moved in!

Perfect timing! We finished lunch by around 1pm and having said our goodbyes to Richard, Nicki dropped us back to Sutton Station. Next stop Victoria, and then King’s Cross!

The 16.13 was on time (although we had about a 45 minute wait) and we were soon on our way back to Huntingdon. A trouble-free journey along the A14 meant we were home just before 5pm. OK four hours is a long time on public transport and if the roads had been perfect, we could have driven it in two-and-a-half hours – but when was the last time the road conditions were perfect!

…and the above made it all worthwhile!

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 Bulbs for Banstead appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Yes, it’s that time again! – technology marches on, and I’m looking to replace my ageing BT router – the ‘Homehub 4’. It might only be around 6 years old, but that’s a lifetime these days for this sort of tech!

Why change? Well, normally, it would be simply down to more whistles and bells, but this time, things were different! Oh yes! Not only was the replacement going to have to have more whistles and bells, but it needed to be a lot more reliable too! Not that its unreliability was the router’s fault, as I’ll explain later.

As things were to turn out, I got all my whistles and bells, plus a few more AND the total price of our broadband package actually went down!

If I was to prioritise, the promise of a more stable wireless capability was the main aim, as this was desperately in need of improvement, especially for some of the radios and mobile phones here.

Why? Well, not surprisingly, we tend to push the router hard in this house – and that’s what was causing the unreliability. Not content with just the ‘normal’ typical family connections; say, a couple of phones, tablets, laptops etc, we’ve got so much more ‘talking’ the current router – see the list below.

The result being in many cases, devices were randomly losing their connection and the speed-per-device was sometimes horribly slow. And no-one was surprised, not even BT when I told them how many bits of kit were connected!!!

After a lot of research, we simply settled on the latest router from BT – their so-called ‘SmartHub 2.0‘. Additionally, they promised no increase in the price of our contract (apart from RPI) at the end of the contract, but also a free techy visit if needed, and perhaps more importantly, ‘guaranteed strong wifi around the home‘ (using ‘mesh‘ technology). There’s quite a useful comparison between the various BT ‘Hub’s HERE.

Crikey! even Which liked it!

“We had high hopes for the BT Complete Wi-Fi, and it definitely lived up to its bold claims. The Smart Hub 2 on its own is the highest scoring router we’ve tested, and with the added disc it’s one of the best mesh systems we’ve seen. It can give you excellent coverage and fast transfer speeds, even with lots of devices connected”.

Check out their full review HERE.

I must admit, even though the reviews of this replacement were glowing, I tend to treat all the hype with some caution these days – even from Which.

“That’ll be interesting” I thought, “we’ve got close on 40 devices all needing to talk to the router, and I’m sure that’s well in excess of what’s recommended”

Our shiny new toy arrived a few days later. There was now even an app to help you set it up!

Long-story-short: It was a breeze to get up-and-running – and more importantly, after some thorough stress-testing, every device in the house was rock-solid in terms of its connection. I guess this ‘mesh‘ technology-marlarkey does the trick!

And just to be sure, I located a complementary piece of kit known as a ‘disc’ on eBay (half the price than direct from BT) that works with the router to boost the signal even further (some 15% apparently). That now lives upstairs and although not strictly necessary, it could only make things even better.

Time will tell over the coming weeks as to whether it lives up to the hype – we’ll see!!!

Tech Spec:
Supports ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL2, G.FAST
1 x Analogue phone port
2.4GHz 3 x 3 MIMO 11n, 5GHz 4×4 MIMO 11ac
4 x gigabit LAN ports
2 x USB 3.0 ports
Serves as a DECT base station
7 x Wi-Fi, 2 DECT antennas
1 x USB 2.0 port

#CynicalBugger

Update: Well, three weeks later, I’m happy to report that the internet is vastly improved. Downloads are a tad faster (although I wasn’t expecting that!) and every device has enjoyed a 100% connection since the router’s installation. Thanks BT!!

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 Tech Alert (No. 1211) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We picked up Helen, and headed to the ever-reliable Beckworth’s for one of their Afternoon Teas! Yumminess predicted!

The food and service didn’t disappoint, and judging by the fact that the rest of Northamptonshire were also there, others were equally impressed!

Afterwards, we took a look round their Garden Centre and chose one of their excellent Hanging Baskets…

We dropped Helen back to hers just after 4.15 and after a quick tour round her garden, we headed for home. Perfect timing then, as the heavens opened, and the rain returned!

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 Tea for Three appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Continuing our theme of looking at old things on our doorstep, I put the mirror to one-side and instead, we headed for Coton Manor and Gardens. The Manor House isn’t open to the public, but the Gardens are open Tuesday to Saturday.

Based on the number of cars in the car-park, it was clearly a popular destination! We took the short walk to the entrance and after parting with £7.50 each and receiving our free map, we headed for the main event – the Gardens!

First impressions were great ones! So much colour and so much variety too!

This is clearly a loved Garden! Every blade of grass looked like it had been manicured within a millimetre of its life!

…and if that wasn’t enough of an assault on the senses (in a good way!), there were also… Flamingos! (Yes, really!)

Three of them in total, totally at ease surrounded by us humans, all trying to grab a photograph!

Our final stop was their outdoor Garden Shop. The area sported a large range of healthy-looking plants and where the size of some of the greenery was a clear indication of the TLC from the gardening team!

All-in-all then, a very worthwhile visit!

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 Coton Manor Gardens appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We travelled down to Banstead today to meet up with good friends Richard and Nicki. What made today different was that we decided to do it all by train (given the poor journey we had back last time by car!).

Whether it’s a sign of getting a bit older, or simply the thought of the generally heavy road congestion and plethora of speed-cameras nearer our destination – just thinking about avoiding taking the car this particular journey, was relaxing in itself! It may be only 100-or-so miles by road, but it’s two-and-a-half hours at least, behind the wheel! So, not to be recommended!!!

Saturday…

OK, our journey may have required TWO changes of Train – Finsbury Park and Victoria Station, but it still felt good to NOT be staring over the top of the steering wheel for the journey! We arrived at 10.25 and Nicki met us at Sutton Station – and just 15 minutes later, we were sharing coffee at theirs and planning our weekend tasks.

Yes, it’s mainly a social get-together, but we’d also offered our services helping them around the house – but especially in the Garden!

Whilst Richard concentrated on emulsioning the kitchen, we three headed for the front garden aka ‘the jungle’.

There was plenty of work needed here but by lunchtime, we’d made a small dent in it – with plans to completely remove the neglected foliage. The weather was not on our side. Not only was it freezing cold, every so often, it chucked it down with rain! Yuk!

2.45pm: Back to work – and another couple of hours graft and we’d made some significant progress.

4.00pm: We might have done more, but the rain showers that had come and gone all day now turned into a downpour…

5.45pm: We soldiered on in between the rain, but in the end, the rain beat us – and so we downed tools and called it a day!

7.25pm: All that hard work was rewarded with some yummy food! Specifically, Nicki’s mouth-watering Lamb and her Mint Marinade!

8.25pm: Movie time! Courtesy of Netflix, we settled down to State of Play (2009) starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck. It turned out to be excellent! But towards the end, I could feel my eye-lids drooping!

11.00pm: zzzzzzzzzz!

Sunday…

Not surprisingly, we slept incredibly well, and after a quick breakfast, we were ready for today’s challenges!

First job was to finish off the front garden – and that required numerous trips to the local Dump!

1.45pm: We ploughed on, and with Lunch on the horizon, by 1.45, it was ‘job done’!

2.05pm: Celebration Lunch!

3.20pm: Suitably fed and watered, we said our farewells and Nicki then dropped us back to Sutton Station for the 15.38 slow train to Victoria. Richard joined us for part of the journey as he was heading for Crystal Palace.

6.24pm: Home! An excellent journey, with all train connections working as they should! We felt a real sense of achievement this weekend and of course, it was great to catchup with our great friends – and help them out too! The stress-free journey there and back, has convinced us that this will be our preferred method of travel for future visits. Three hours door-to-door with an opportunity to doze, is an opportunity too good to ignore! (I must be am getting old!)

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 Bank Holiday Weekend in Banstead appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We caught up with Nick and Celina today.

After a quick look round their local Garden Centre, we headed off to another local for Lunch – The Black Bull, in nearby Market Overton.

Then it was back to theirs for a coffee and to admire how much they’ve done with their Home since we were last here back in 2017.

Then, back to ours to prepare some of the food for the neighbours’ gathering round at Tom and Julie’s to celebrate Lewis’ 30th.

It’s all go! …and in a good way! We had a great time and stayed until about 11ish – and then dropped-off John and Trish at theirs. Catch-up again soon neighbours!

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 Two Locals and Two Towneys appeared first on Steve's Blog.

This year, we spent most of Easter with Denis in Heckington.

Good Friday

We left home fairly early (8.15am) and there was hardly another car on the road. As a result, we made record time and arrived just before 9.45.

We’ve got plans to catch-up with Bev too whilst we’re up here, but that’s tomorrow, as we’ve got plenty of jobs to do for Denis in the Garden to keep us busy today!

And it looked like we had perfect weather for it! After a quick coffee, we got to work. Our two major chlenges were…

…paint the newly installed fence panel…

… and (my speciality!) jet-wash the patio.

So, whilst Ann sorted the fence, I got stuck into the delights of a Patio that hadn’t seen a pressure-washer for a good few years!

Three hours later, it was ‘job done’ – the Patio had never looked so clean and in Ann’s case, all the fence panel needed was a third (or maybe a fourth) coat.

Easter Saturday

Another hot day forecast – this is turning into a very atypical Bank Holiday weekend!

We had a lie-in until the impossibly-late hour of 7.15am! Another day, another two challenges presented themselves – the shower attachment and (because it’s Heckington) a wildly unpredictable interweb signal of any kind (unless the wind was in the right direction). In fact, the strongest signal was actually in the bathroom, but juggling a mobile in one hand and the shower head in the other, was clearly not an ideal strategy!

We somehow survived and spent the morning sitting out in the Sun soaking up the glorious sunshine!

11.00am: Time to get Denis ready for our Lunch where we’re catching-up with Bev too! Bev had booked The Swan Holme nearby, and after picking her up, we headed for our 1 o’clock table.

We were super-early (12.15) but we were seated without a fuss. Service was brisk and we were soon tucking-in.

1.45pm: After our feast, it was back to Bev’s for teas and coffees and to catch-up with neighbour, Lynne.

2.30pm: Time for goodbyes and then we headed back to Denis’s to appreciate the remaining sunshine!

3.30pm: Back at Denis’s where Ann re-organised the Kitchen and Utility Room whilst Denis took on the role of Observers!

5.00pm: Time to catch the last of today’s Sun and put another coat on that fence panel – will we EVER darken it down? (it’s now had about five coats!)

7.25pm: The Sun went down and it turned a lot cooler – so we retreated to the Lounge and watched a bit of TV for the rest of the evening.

Easter Sunday

8.35am: With another hot day in store, our plan today was to complete a few more of the smaller tasks in the Garden.

The extra coat we’d put on the fence panel last night, finally (finally!) seems to have done its job – it’s toned-in nicely!

9.15am: First job today is to turn the soil and plant ‘a crop’ of sunflower seeds

10.30am: Statutory tea-break!

10.55am: Final job of the day was to prepare the legendary ‘Gambles Dahlias’ ready for planting on our next visit…

11.30am: A quick vacuum, strip our bed and then prepare Lunch for Denis – and we’re done!

12.45pm: Lunch is served!

1.25pm: We said our goodbyes and had one of the best runs home ever – 1 hour 15 minutes.

2.30pm: With the car unpacked, it was a quick cuppa, washing on…

6.00pm: …and then dinner in the Garden. I can’t recall the last time we had so many hot days in a row over Easter!

Easter Monday

Ann went off to her volunteering morning at Kelmarsh Hall, whilst I caught-up with my reading. Tonight, Conor dropped by to have Dinner with us.

All-in-all, this has been a superb Easter break! Weather-wise, it couldn’t be beaten with wall-to-wall sunshine from Good Friday right through to Easter Monday!

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 Easter (2019) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

So, here we are again – Boughton House – and what’s become a regular event these past three years: it’s one of LunaFlix’s many outdoor cinema events. Our first visit to this novel form of cinema-going was back in 2016 when we saw Pretty Woman, and in 2017, it was La La Land. This year, it’s 2001’s Moulin Rouge starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.

Many of our youthful gang were in attendance – Geoff, Rhonda, Jo, Janet, Carol and Ann. Missing the action this year?  Paul J & Sue and Nicki.

Ironically, in past years, the weather had always been pretty predictable – dry and mild at worst, scorching hot at best. This year was a bit different though! We’d been experiencing super-hot days of late, but yesterday, the weather broke, and it rained for a large part of the day. Our worry for tonight was that the evening may too, turn into a very damp affair!

Food-wise, the girls had it covered – a picnic to rival many picnics! Ann had cooked a chilli, whilst Rhonda made us a chicken-and-mango curry with rice (to rival Uncle Ben’s!). Jo, Janet and Carol supplied yummy desserts in the shape of Orange and Passion Flower Cheesecake accompanied by Apple Tart. Suffice to say, there was plenty of liquid in in its numerous variations too!


Simon, our host weaved his magic (as he always does) and we enjoyed great sound quality and a pin-sharp picture. The only slight glitch was the picture crapping-out near the end due to the projector overheating. Cue, a mass exodus for many – to the loo!

The weather turned out to be well behaved – by raining in the afternoon, and perfectly dry in the evening (but it did get very cold about an hour into the film), but we were all well prepared for that!

At 9.15, the film began. We’d first seen it back when it was first released, and tonight, after the first 3o minutes, we were both reminded how much we enjoyed it. After a slightly noisy opening scene, it settled down into a musical love story. You know the type: Boy meets girl… boy loses girl… boy types a lot… boy competes with another boy… Girl wishes she had medical insurance. Bring the tissues!

Probably the stand-out memory was Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s singing voices. They were so confident and tuneful, I had to check online to remind myself whether they had vocal-doubles! Well, co-star Jim Broadbent certainly had help, but it turned out that the two leads just practised hard – and the results were much, much better than we expected!

Check out Ewan McGregor’s version of Elton John’s Your Song HERE, or try the video below (Better than the original!!! Sorry, Elton!)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkxj-FBEH1w&w=400&h=225]

…and Nicole Kidman’s duet: Come What May HERE

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YsMvzgeSuI&w=400&h=225]

As the final credits rolled close to 11.15, Simon thanked us all for coming, we then packed up bits-and-bobs and headed for our cars, and in our case, the heated seats!

All-in-all, it had been a fantastic evening and we’re planning to do it all again next year.
     

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 Boughton of Youth appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today, we slipped into ‘gardening mode’ and headed off to our good friends Nicki and Richard who have just bought their first house together, in Banstead. We’re here until lunch-time on Sunday with a list as long as your arm of garden-stuff that need ‘sorting’.

The specific target? Their back garden – a jungle of trees, shrubs, and other assorted foliage, that’s all been neglected for quite a few years by the previous (recently deceased) owner.

Saturday
We left ours just after 6.30 and arrived around 8.45. It was a pretty good journey for a Saturday, but as usual, the M25 was very busy.

We kicked-off just after 10 and hit the garden hard. In the first hour, we’d made quite a bit of progress with Richard on Chain-saw and dump-run duties, whilst we three concentrated on clearing the area. The sweltering weather we’ve all been experiencing in the past week did NOT fully materialise on Saturday and that made things a lot easier with a cool breeze supporting our efforts. By 6.30pm, punctuated by lunch and more than a few beers, it was all over, and we stopped for the day to admire our handy-work.

We enjoyed Dinner in the Garden (courtesy of Nicki) and after all our hard work, the Lasagne and Salad went down a treat! We enjoyed the evening Sun, reflecting on our progress so far – and creating the to-do list for tomorrow!

Then it was feet-up in the Lounge before we all crashed-out around 9.30!

Sunday
We slept well, but looking out the window, suggested that even at 6am, it was already warming-up outside. I assumed ‘Dawn Patrol’ responsibilities and spent 30-minutes-or-so, chopping up the branches from yesterday’s efforts. Ann followed shortly afterwards.

Whilst Nicki sorted out breakfast!…

Richard and I then headed for the local Tip – twice! – freeing up valuable space in the Garden

By 12 noon, we’d done as much as we could. We had a quick lunch before saying our goodbyes.

It had certainly been a busy day-and-a-half! We’d achieved a lot more than we thought, although the photos above tend to imply ‘Work-in-Progress’. I even had my first go’ with a Chainsaw!
    

We all felt a great sense of achievement by the time we ‘downed tools’ – it had been less of a clean-up, more of a transformation!

We left around 12.45 and although we knew the traffic would be bad, it was still a horrible journey home. What took us just two hours to get to theirs, going home was a different story – we eventually arrived home at 4.45pm! Four hours!!!!

Note to self: Sort out a more predictable journey home for next time!

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 Gardeners’ World appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Warning: This Blog contains a serious amount of techy nerdiness, and (more scarily) me attempting some DIY.

It’s not for the faint-hearted, so if you are easily shocked, please click HERE to exit!
 

OK, so I’ve had my new whizzy Amp, sorry ‘AV Receiver’ for just about 12 months now, and recently re-cabled it all so that it took over the sound processing from the TV and the DVD player. Why?, to take advantage of recent additional sound technologies including Dolby Atmos. Easy-peasy! and so far, so normal!

But one niggling little techy-doubt remained as the we’d noticed that every so often, the BT Router had a major wobble causing the Amp AV Receiver to stutter when playing music via the ‘net or from the Home-server. Additionally, downloads to the TV were becoming a bit unreliable too. Finally, my latest techy purchase of the rather clever ChromeCast Ultra dongle was behaving very erratically and not living up to its promises.

ChromeCast Ultra

They all had one thing in common – they were all wirelessly connected to the ‘net. After a longish chat with the boffins at BT, we concluded that their new, recently delivered shiny new router – the BT Smart Hub – wasn’t quite so smart at handling the numerous incoming net connections – both wired and wireless. BT muttered something about ‘BT Routers aren’t designed to handle more than about 8 wireless connections’ – so, in layman’s terms it was simply ‘overloading’ – perhaps another reason NOT to have kids… with Phones… and Tablets… and X Boxes as well!

After a bit of reluctance on BT’s part, they agreed to send back my previous ‘outdated’ router – the previous generation BT HomeHub 5. Of course, it never arrived (thanks BT!) and after a few follow-up calls, two week later, a shiny new ‘old’ one finally turned-up.

After a major exercise in re-connecting all our wireless devices back to their old friend, things appeared to be much better. But I spoke too soon, and after about a week, wireless connections around the house started to drop-out again. On the plus-side however, at least the wired connections were now behaving.

So I concluded that it was just the wireless devices that couldn’t seem to hang on to their connection.

Then, in a moment of clarity (increasingly rare these days) I realised that a reasonably straightforward – and cheap – solution was possible! One that would reduce the number of wireless connections AND improve the stability of the whole network – Replace the unstable wireless devices’ connections with their wired equivalents.

So, specifically, I needed a wired connection for the:-

• Samsung 4K TV
• Samsung 4K DVD Player
• Sky Q Box
• Google Chromecast Ultra
• Yamaha Amp AV Receiver

…but unfortunately, the HomeHub 5 was located nowhere near these devices (it’s never simple in this house!) and to make it even more challenging there wasn’t enough spare Ethernet sockets on the back of the Hub anyway, to feed all my devices.

Netgear Unmanaged Ethernet Switch GS308-100UKS (less than £20)

After a bit of research online, I realised that all I needed was a multi-port unmanaged Ethernet switch as well as what seemed like a healthy supply of Ethernet cabling to run around the outside of the house and some shortish cables for the devices themselves. I could have used the much simpler Powerline option, but they didn’t solve the problem.

Thanks to Mr Amazon, everything I needed was delivered more-or-less a few hours after I’d clicked on the order. That left just the following to-dos:-

• Colour-code/label the switch ports and cables
• Dress-rehearse all the connections
• Drill three holes in the side of the house – one near the router, one near the TV/Sky Q Box/DVD Player and finally, one near the AV Receiver
• Laying the cable round the perimeter of the house from the Router to the Switch and re-cable/connect the devices
• Test everything!

9th February: Colour-code the Switch ports and Cables
Probably the easiest part of the job, once I sourced some sticky dots with enough colour variation

11th February: Dress Rehearsal
The Lounge looked like a ‘death trap’ with cables strewn all over the place. The area near the TV was especially dangerous with the TV and DVD unit out so I could get around the back to make the connections. Luckily, Ann was away, and the operation went smoothly with every device working as it should. I cleared up the cables ready for the live event.

15th February: Drilling the Holes
I needed a very (very) wide drill bit for this, and a real ‘big-boy’ drill – neither of which I own. Step forward Mick, our local Sparks with son and heir, Ash who completed the job in record time – cheers Guys!

16th February: Laying the Cable
Actually, this turned out to be the most hazardous part of the job – it even drew blood! Where the hole from the Router protruded outside the house, it just happened to coincide with the thickest, thorniest rose bush we own. Trying to get my hands behind it without ‘testing’ the thorns was impossible – as a result, there was literally blood on my hands!

All that was left to do was to buy some extra cable clips to tidy everything up.

17th February: Testing
In spite of my industrial injury, adding the cable clips was a simple task – now it looks a lot tidier. More importantly, perhaps, I’m pleased to say that it’s all been VERY worthwhile. Sky downloads are now much more stable (and faster too!), GoogleCast is rock-solid, and there’s no more drop-outs with our streamed music.

Job done! Total cost was less than £50 (including the plasters!)

…and two-weeks later, flushed with the success, I decided to ‘upgrade’ the Switch!

With the unmanaged switch working like a dream, I decided to ‘raise my game’ and upgrade it to the equivalent managed version. Specifically, my new ‘toy’ is the Netgear GS108Ev3. The difference, if you’re not into Ethernet Switches, means that this one can be managed and monitored remotely via a browser or the supplied software.

This means I can now do all sorts of things I couldn’t do with its predecessor, including:-

• See how much data is being channelled through each port
• Prioritise a port so that if congestion occurs, certain ports take priority (such as the streaming of music or downloading of movies)
• Set the speed of the port (or leave it to handle the speed automagically)
• Check for faults in the cables
• …and much more

So, all I needed to do was swap-out the original Switch, plug in the various cables, connect it to the mains and check for flashing green lights…

…and then see what the ‘traffic’ is like…

…and it was all working just fine. If you’re wondering about the two ports – ‘2’ & ‘3’ with ‘0’ traffic, they’re spare for any additional kit in the future!

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 Tech Alert (No. 877) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We drove over to Bedford today and planned to hop on the train for the short ride to St Albans. However, Fate had other plans for us as the car-park was completely full and we couldn’t find anywhere else nearby with a long enough parking period. Instead we braved the M1 and drove to St Albans, out of necessity. We were due to meet up with Peter J, but he’s not so well these days and felt he couldn’t make the trip – so just us two this time.

The reason for St Albans? We’ve been wanting to visit the town for quite a few years because of the lovely Cathedral and the the fact that the town itself is really old! Potentially, there was a lot to see here, but for today, we narrowed it down to just the Cathedral.

After a reasonable journey on the motorway, we arrived at our destination. parking again, was an immediate problem, but we shoe-horned the Sportage into a space just opposite the Cathedral for the maximum allowed period of two hours. From thereon in, it was all a bit of a rush, but we managed to do everything we planned – just!

Wow! What a stunning piece of architecture both inside and out – we were blown away by its beauty.

With the cultural part now completed, it was time to look to the future. With the revamp of our bathroom in mind for sometime soon (ish!), we thought we’d drop in C P Hart – the bathroom specialist in the town where we sourced 99% of our stuff for our refreshed downstairs loo, this time last year. They were very helpful and after a short discussion, they’re going to draw up a few plans for how the bathroom might look.

Then it was off for lunch at Lussmann’s in the town centre, where they did us proud (in spite of having a party of an extra 100-or-so also eating at the same time!)

All-in-all a great day where I think we made best use of the parking difficulties in-and-around the town. Next time we’re here, we’ll park in the multi-storey (that we didn’t see until we were leaving) so that we get more time to explore this fascinating place.

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 St Albans 2017 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Not content with enjoying ourselves at Ian’s 70th birthday celebration yesterday, today, we laid on a birthday lunch for Lee’s 82nd!

Pick up from Yeoman’s Court was just after 11am (carefully avoiding the planned Armistice celebrations in Burton Latimer) and then we headed back to ours for the birthday lunch. But, before lunch, there was the more vital activity of the present-opening ceremony!

…revealing a glittery plant, an LED battery powered lantern and the two-DVD box set of 80s Detective series, Shoestring.

Lunch then followed featuring all Lee’s faves – Roast Chicken, Roast Potatoes, Green Beans, Stuffing followed by Profiteroles!

A great day for Lee then, especially after her recent (and frequent) trips to KGH. We dropped her home (this time REALLY avoiding the Armistice event that I learned was in the afternoon in BL) at just after 3 and then we went onto Sean’s for our final visit this year to get his garden ready for Winter.

Back home by just after 4, we rewarded ourselves with a cuppa and a cheeky mince pie before settling down for the rest of the evening watching TV – the Strictly results and then Blue Planet II.

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 82, not out! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

After last night’s late-night curry-fest with the Costellos, what could be better than a lie-in this morning? Well nothing actually, but instead, we sped off to Nick and Celina’s to continue with helping them re-model their garden. After a quick faff-around in the kitchen clearing up the final debris, we hit the road early and arrived just before 9.15am.

The four of us soon got stuck in – pruning, digging, dumping, planting and re-planting, stopping only for the short break for a cuppa and then a ‘picnic on the lawn’ around 1pm.

My goodness, we got so much done today, and even though the promised heatwave never really arrived (probably a good thing!), it didn’t stop us making great progress.

It’s fair to say that by the ‘close-of-play’ just after 3, we were all ready to call it a day. And we did, said our farewells and headed home. Fortunately, our navigation around the road closure at Upplingham was a lot more successful than Friday’s near Oundle and we were home by 4.30.

A rewarding day in every sense – I feel a hot bath coming on!

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 Netherfields appeared first on Steve's Blog.