Biscuit turned 13 today and by my calculation that makes her about 68 in human years. Our previous two Persians (Mumsy and Bubsy) made it to almost 15 and 14 years old respectively, but were both unwell in their final years. I therefore expect, going forward, we’ll be making more trips to and from the …
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Category:Milestone
Janet +1
We enjoyed a fantastic evening in the company of Jo, Carol (and the star of the evening) Janet – who’s now one full day into retirement – hence tonight’s celebration! We picked everyone up around 7.15 and headed off to The Palmichael – we haven’t been there for a year-or-so and it was good to …
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Carmen conquers Kettering
No, not our home town’s answer to Debbie does Dallas, but a first for us – Live Opera in Kettering! We caught the live screening of the 2018 production of Carmen streamed all the way from the Royal Opera House in London. It was also being seen in another 1056 cinemas across 29 countries. Wow! …
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Tech Alert (No. 877)
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 …
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SPECS and the City (not!)
They say you always remember your first time! Mine was on the road between Catford and Lewisham back in the late 70s at 10.47 – a Sunday I think – and it was over in a flash. Dad was horrified, Mum was angry mortified – and I was very embarrassed having been caught in the …
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Valentines’ Day 2018
I have a good record of making this day special – normally including a home-cooked meal too! In recent years, I’ve collaborated with David, and we’ve made it a joint event for our two special ladies rolling in a romantic movie courtesy of Mr Sky. However, this year was different – as Lent started on …
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Lent Boy (ish) 2018
It’s Valentine’s Day and whilst most of us are preparing for a special meal and spreading petals around the place, I’m also getting ready for another annual event… It’s earlier this year, and so here we go again… another year… another of my ‘Lent Challenges’! For 2018, it’s now 48 items that I’m trying to avoid …
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Christmas TV (2017)
196 pages/£3.50 (+50p) We’ve all got different prompts for when Christmas celebrations officially begin – is it when the Supermarkets start putting out their Christmas lines?, the first Christmas lunch?, the BBC Christmas ident being seen for the very first time? or when the Sales start being advertised on TV? For me, it’s when the …
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Parkway’s Final Cut
Today, was the end of an era for me. The Hairdressers, that for over 30 years, has kept me well-groomed, has decided to close its doors – so today was the ‘final cut’. And it was a good job I left early for my 9.30 appointment as when I got to the ‘main drag’ in …
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DIY and Me! :)
DIY and I go together like Morecambe and Cream and Peaches & Wise!So, I deliberately stepped outside my comfort zone today and dropped in on my friend Chris. The plan was to lend a hand with his latest garden project. This required sawing, screwing, drilling, measuring and aligning – all the ingredients of a typical …
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The Gin Palace opens…
Over the past few years, as many of you already know, I’ve developed a liking for the occasional* G & T. Thanks to my good friend Jo, who introduced me to the delights of ‘the berry’ a few years back, I’ve started to accrue quite a collection. Word had obviously got around as many of …
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£1-a-Day (2017) How Did We Do?
Well, I’m done for 2017, it’s 5am on the 8th (the day after this year’s campaign ended) where David, Paul (Marsh) and I have now survived this year’s challenge of living on a £1 a day each, for food and drink – for seven days . Last year, the two of us (David and me) …
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£1-a-Day (2017)
Here we are again! More-or-less a year after last year’s event, I’m doing it all again! This time, although David (supporting the Salvation Army) and I are eating together, I’m raising money for Barnardo’s with my old ‘mucker’, Roy Clark (who just happens to work for them and who is also surviving on a £1 …
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Victoria and the Chinese
It was off to our favourite City today – London – to catch-up with the Palmer side of the family and to meet Connie (Dad’s ex-work colleague) for our annual Summer get-together (a bit late this year – June in 2016). We drove over to Bedford and arrived just before 10am. We managed to get …
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RIP Bonbon
Bonbon (with her sister) – just a few months old Well that was a total shock! I was doing this-and-that at home, I’d dropped Ann off at the Station (as she was out all day) and then I washed the Jaguar. So far, so normal! Who could resist her? We were due to be out …
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Full of Eastern…
Wow! That was a laugh today! We re-assembled many of the ‘Eastern’ (then ‘Romford’) Area Trainers round at ours for a slap-up lunch. As usual, Ann did her creative stuff in the kitchen, and produced a mighty impressive menu! *N.O.S.E.B.A.G = Our ‘restaurant club’ back in the 80s, standing for Noble Order of Scoffers, Epicureans, …
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Bye-bye OCA
Well, all good things come to an end, and today, I said my final ‘goodbye’ to The OCA after 13 years as their WebMaster. Having stepped-aside as Chair and Magazine Editor this time last year, this was the final (final!) ‘cheerio’ having allowed a year to find a replacement. Going forward, I’ll simply be a …
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Biggles Flies Again
Biggles? More like Giggles! as I took control of a real aeroplane courtesy of last year’s birthday pressy from Ian and Mags – a 45 minute flight over the skies of Northamptonshire! Ian & Ann, Ralph and Karen and my Ann were there to witness my performance as just after 11am, I ‘took the stick’ …
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Happy 12th Birthday Moggies!
The Moggies turned 12 today – that makes them around 64 in ‘human years’. Habits-wise, they’re very much the same – they still wake us up at whatever time suits them (2.45am seems favourite at the mo’) to let them out; they still prefer dry cat food to wet; they’ll do anything for Dreamies and …
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Lent Boy 2017
Here we go again! It’s another year and therefore another of my ‘Lent Challenges’. For 2017, it’s 46 items that I’m trying to avoid (from March 1st until Thursday, April 13th). I’m told that I can take the Sundays in between off – but where’s the fun in that!? 🙂 I try and grow my …
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Lounge Makeover (Part 1 of 9637)
And so it begins… The Lounge was the first room we decorated when we moved-in nearly 21 years ago, and although it’s worn well, it’s looking a bit drab, when compared to the other, more recently decorated parts of the house. Being us, simplicity and speediness didn’t come into it, and every square inch …
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Boxing Day in January
Boxing Day in January? Well Boxing evening actually! We did Trish a favour tonight and helped her with the Refreshments at one of Kettering School of Boxing’s big events. Well, they say there’s a first time for everything – and it certainly was for us, as neither of us had ever been to a Boxing …
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3-2=42
A bit of a technological milestone today! – even though the Maths in the title looks a bit dodgy, all will be revealed! I moved my mobile phone from the always reliable ‘O2’ to 3. I’ve been with O2 for as long as I can remember (1985 actually) when it was called Cellnet, and they …
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TV Obsession
Yes, it’s that time of year, where we start to think about replacing the TV. But first, a short history lesson… Technology waits for no one – even for tech-heads like me! So this is our first 4K TV. In English, this means it has four-times the picture detail of an HD Telly. OK, nothing from …
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New Year’s Eve 2016
This year, we drove up to Matlock to share New Year’s Eve with Ralph and Karen. We set off from ours just after 1pm and arrived just before 3 – a straightforward, hassle-free journey (and the longest so far in Ann’s new car). The venue tonight is the Peak Edge Hotel where we’re going to …
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London: New Year Fireworks 2016
We weren’t there, but thanks to YouTube, here is the next best thing! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 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 …
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Curry with the Costellos
A bit of a milestone this one: we invited the whole Costello family around tonight for a mega-curry night. I picked up John and Trish for 7pm and Sean and Conor arrived around 8.30. For the main event, Ann prepared Chicken Tikka, whilst I prepared a Pork and Apple Madras and also Bombay Potato. To …
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Palmers Reunited
Our second foray into travelling down to my brother’s by train meant that we didn’t need to leave at the crack of dawn to get there. Unusually though, the ticket prices weren’t so advantageous and we weren’t able to get our pair of tickets for around £40 (as usual) – it was closer to £80! …
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Bye-bye Marco!
On March 1st, 2014, not long after retiring, Lee gave me her car – a VW Polo. She had decided that, in spite of her love for cars and motoring in general, the stress of driving on modern roads had become too much. Wow! what a gift! I was wheel-less at the time, and it …
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Christmas Begins (2016)
We’ve all got different prompts for when Christmas celebrations officially begin – is it when the Supermarkets start putting out their Christmas lines?, your first Christmas lunch?, the BBC Christmas ident being seen for the very first time? …or when the Sales start being advertised on TV? For me, it’s when the Christmas TV Times …
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