This was a milestone event – our final visit to the local Odeon. The building is due for demolition next week (Tuesday, the 28th), leaving the town with no cinema at all. Apparently, the town has had a cinema, somewhere in the town, for the past 100 years! And now it doesn’t – and the …
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Category:Milestone
Figarodeon
It’s not unusual for us to go to the local Odeon, but tonight was for TWO very different reasons. Reason 1: This is the LAST TIME we’ll ever visit this Odeon. Why? It’s being bulldozed, together with the nearby Pub – Hobson’s Choice, to make way for (ahem!) ‘a new development’. Most of us locals …
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Closed for good!
Well, that was a surprise! Nearby Hobson’s Choice announced it was closing its doors permanently! OK, it was never going to be awarded a Michelin Star, but it was on our doorstep and offered a ‘basic’ menu (read ‘cheap’) and the staff there were always super-friendly. Every time I visited, it was always doing a …
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Return to ‘332’
Today, together with my first boss – Ken Barden – we returned to the location of my very first ‘proper’ job: Sainsbury’s, Central Croydon aka ‘Store 332′. The reason? We’d heard that Sainsbury’s HQ had taken the commercial decision to close down the store permanently in a few months’ time 🤔 and we both felt …
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It’s Official – We’re UltraFast!
Well, maybe not QUITE yet, but the latest ULTRA Fast internet technology is officially on its way! Huzzah! 👏👏👍 At last! After spending the past 35 years or so, being firmly BEHIND the curve with internet-speed technology, we’re going to get the fastest available! The above leaflet arrived through our letterbox yesterday. I thought something …
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It’s official – I’m OLD!
A pivotal moment today! It’s official – I’m OLD! I received my VERY FIRST State Pension payment overnight! 😲 Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness …
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The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
We watched it live on BBC1. It was full-on so we took a break every so often and watched something else! It was emotionally draining but essential viewing! The queue (to end all queues!) was closed a little after 10.40pm on Sunday. Queuing time was reported to have been over 12 hours at some points …
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RIP HM Queen Elizabeth II
Nothing to add that hasn’t already been said. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination …
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Virgin in our Post Code!
Well, after writing to Virgin Media in 1992, asking about the chances of improving my then pathetic Internet speed of about 1Mbps – it’s finally happened! Back then, their reply was ‘there was no demand in your immediate area for our services’. Today, finally, in August 2022, Cable has arrived! — Aw Bless! It only …
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The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration
Beginning on Thursday. 2nd June and ending on Sunday, 5th June, this was a celebration of HM Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. Thursday, the 2nd Spent the morning catching up with ‘bits and bobs’ as we only got back from our Scottish holiday yesterday afternoon. Top Trooping First of the formal stuff – …
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Bowling Virgin! 😬
I’ve done lots of things in my life – but as far as the more ordinary pursuits are concerned, I’ve never been ten-pin bowling!! Today, I ticked that box, meeting Paul & Sue for my inaugural match at the local ‘Rock n Bowl Tavern’ in town. Tuesdays turn out to be the best value day …
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It’s all about family! – Cousins
A couple of years back, we discovered some cousins (on Ann’s side) we didn’t know we had – Chris and Alison! ❤️❤️ Between then and now, we’ve got to know them quite well – and this weekend, Chris and his partner Kate came to stay for a long weekend. Friday A very relaxed day began …
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Coronavirus: ‘Freedom Day’
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration when everything returned to normal for us here in England! ‘Freedom Day’, as it became dubbed by the Media, was promised to be the day when we all got our lives back. The bottom line? – best not to ditch those face-coverings just yet!! 😯 Mixed …
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George Gorge!
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! …
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Pilgrimage to the Palmers
Postponed from just before Christmas last year, today, we made the pilgrimage, 113 miles south, to my Brother’s. In a change to the normal travel arrangements, we took Robert, instead of making the journey by train. There were really two main reasons for this! First, neither of us are totally comfortable with jumping on public …
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HP Source
Yes, it’s that time again! Time to source a replacement for my now-ancient ‘Lenovo Ideapad 305‘ Laptop. It’s served me well for well over four years, accompanying me around the world helping me to keep in touch with the mother ship! It’s going to a good home – a TA friend of mine becomes its …
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Jab Done too!
After BoJo’s Press Briefing yesterday (promising, amongst other things, the return of legal hugging next week) it was off to Moulton for me this morning to get my second COVID-19 jab. Related PostJab Done! Just like my first, back in February, the whole experience was a model of organisation. I was in and out in …
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Ann’s 60th Birthday Celebrations
What could be more enjoyable than giving me an opportunity to plan a big ‘do’ of some sort! I love the nitty-gritty, with all the twists and turns, that lead up to the event itself! (But for this one, I didn’t expect things to be as ‘twisty-turny’ as they were!). Planning Ann’s 50th was much …
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Jab Done!
On the day that the PM was going to announce his plan for the exit route out of Lockdown in England, I drove over to Moulton to get my first vaccine jab. All the Covid-related numbers seem to be pointing in the right direction, and the details behind the PM’s message were widely leaked before …
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Coronavirus – 300 Lockdown Days later 😮
It’s Sunday, the 17th January and we’re 300 days into the official announcement of the pandemic. When I wrote my initial post about the first 100 days of Coronavirus back in June last year, I assumed (and hoped!) it would be a one-off… …then in October, 200 days in, I found myself penning another, wondering …
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A Smart Octopus!
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 …
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Coronavirus – 200 Days and Counting! 😮
Crikey, I can’t believe we’re now 200 days since they announced the first Lockdown! When I wrote about this after (just!) 100 days, I don’t think anyone imagined we’d still be trying to cope with the reality of the coronavirus nearly 7 months on!! In fact, as I type, it looks like things are going …
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Super Saturday
Today was dubbed ‘Super Saturday‘. It was the first day with the slightly relaxed lockdown in force, where some (not all) businesses were now allowed to re-open, trying their very best to make up for their lost trade over the past three months. Examples included Pubs and Hairdressers who were allowed to trade from one-minute …
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The Corona Chronicles – My First 100 Days
It’s Saturday, the 21st March, and as the ‘new normal’ unfolds and the virus begins to dictate our lifestyle, I guess we’ll all look back on this in years to come with that wonderful gift of hindsight – and (hopefully!) draw some important lessons! This blog, that I’ve penned on and off since 2004, tends …
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Celebrating Sainsbury’s!
A short tale of how, many years ago, one person influenced the career paths of three others – and today’s reunion! 👍👍👍 The Back-story In 1972, I joined Sainsbury’s at their flagship store – Central Croydon as a Saturday Student – working Friday nights and all-day Saturday. By late 1974, I was still uncertain as …
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We’re out!!!
It’s 11pm here in the UK and midnight in Brussels – and after 47 years, we’re out! OK, technically, we’ve got a period of ‘transition’ (whatever that means!) but the people have spoken! I voted remain, and I can’t help think that this is the worst decision ever for our country. Our children (and children’s …
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China – By the numbers!
Welcome to my second – and final – piece reflecting on our recent holiday in China, (the first was posted HERE yesterday). Our 19-day adventure included shiny modern cities, smaller towns, rural locations, large retail malls, small local shops – and pretty-much everything in between! We saw the uber-rich, the rich, the poor and the …
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China – What we learned!
After almost three weeks immersing ourselves in ‘the Chinese way’, here’s the first (of my two-part) light-hearted look at our experiences. Part 2 is tomorrow. The People With a population of around 1.4 billion, in the big cities it certainly felt like it. In the more rural locations, however, you’d never know! Families used to …
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London Mini-Break – Day 1 (of 3)
We’re on a three-day mini-break in London that’ll incorporate my birthday celebrations tomorrow. Last time we visited the capital was back in August when we stayed ‘up-west’. This time though, we’re on the opposite side (literally) and heading for east London where Stratford will be our home for the duration. 9.35am: OK, the weather forecast …
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£1-a-Day (2019) – How Did We Do?
£1-a-Day 2019
How Did We Do?