Well this is THE main reason we’re in London – the Olympic Closing Ceremony which starts at 7.30 tonight. 09.30am: The day started well with us heading down to the restaurant to be greeted by about the most positive and energetic person I think I’d ever met (at breakfast anyway !) Dwayne, clearly was …
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Category:Milestone
Olympic Weekend – Saturday
We caught the 9.56 from Kettering into St Pancras International for our once-in-a-lifetime Olympic weekend. We were lucky enough to secure four tickets for the Closing Ceremony and we’re meeting Ralph and Karen as soon as we arrive . The train arrived on time and as we trundled into St Pancras, we only waited a …
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The Only Way is… Tooway
OK, after years of constantly below-par broadband speeds here, I finally ‘bit the bullet’ and did something about it. For as long as I can remember, it seemed like everyone else (apart from the rest of the neighbours in our immediate area) were getting faster connection speeds than us. When the houses were built 20+ …
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Fancy a Big Mac?
Some say that Big Macs aren’t good for you, but having spent a couple of hours at Ian’s helping him set up his shiny new 27 inch iMac, I beg to differ! What a super looking piece of kit! I could be tempted!!! 🙂 Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing …
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A Mocha, a Matt and an iMac
I met up with Ian today in Solihull (The Touchwood Shopping Centre) – our mission was to consider the various options for his replacement computer. First stop was a coffee to discuss our plans – Macs first and then possibly John Lewis for PCs. Luckily, there was …
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Tech Alert (Part 972)
Yummy! In preparation for satellite broadband that’s being installed next week, I’ve invested in one of these toys – the Devolo dLAN 500 AVTriple Starter Kit, (try saying that quickly!!!) – it’ll allow me to network the internet downstairs to the TV, Sky Box and Blu-ray DVD player – all via the domestic mains socket! …
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The 2012 Olympics: The Opening Ceremony
Wow! What an event!!! Sheep, geese, James Bond, Mr Bean, Mike Oldfield, JK Rowling, The NHS, Mary Poppins, Sir Simon Rattle and a cast of thousands. Welcome to the ‘Isles of Wonder’ – Great Britain. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my …
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Sky Go and Ice Cream Sandwich
Occasionally an app comes along that makes a big difference to getting the most out of your Smartphone and its data allowance. Step forward the ‘Sky Go’ app from err, Sky. At last, this is now available for Android’s newish operating system ‘ICS’ (Ice Cream Sandwich) and a range of Smartphones including my HTC Sensation. …
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Mum’s Progress
We are now experts in form filling and completion! Completed ‘Application for Higher Level of Attendance Allowance’ form (29 pages) – check Completed ‘Application to Register a Lasting Power of Attorney – Property and Financial’ form (14 pages) – check Completed ‘Application to Register a Lasting Power of Attorney – Health and Welfare’ form (14 …
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Paul and Sue’s 25th
We drove the short distance to Rothwell this afternoon, arriving around 5pm to join the celebrations for Paul and Sue’s 25th Anniversary Party. It was an outside event and mercifully, the rain had stopped – and that got the whole thing off to a great start. I guess …
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Mum’s Progress – Two Steps Forward…
Writing about Mum’s condition is good therapy for me – bear with me! I’m not normally indecisive – especially with really important stuff, but Mum’s condition has got me scratching my head. Physically she is in about as best condition as anyone would expect for an 85 year old. With her three stents and her …
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Mum’s Progress
Thanks everyone, for asking about Mum – this seemed the most effective way to let you all know the latest news. Mum was a little tearful when we first arrived, but we were soon having a thorough heart-to-heart conversation confirming the exact state of her health. The stents are fine and so is the pacemaker …
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The Bionic Woman
Heard from the hospital today – they’ve fitted Mum with a heart-pacemaker to accompany the three stents she had fitted a couple of months ago. Hopefully, she’ll be discharged in a day-or-so, then I think I’ll enter her for the London Marathon next year!! Phew! That was all a bit ‘touch-and-go’ for a moment there! …
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Sky Gods
We love our TV, and more especially, all the ‘stuff’ that the ‘Sky-Gods’ provide – the excellent sky-box (that consistently wins all the design awards when pitched against everyone else’s), the mobile app, and the ability to set-the-box using my phone – these all make watching our fave programmes a breeze. Something we’ve got very …
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Jubilee Holiday: Thursday
After breakfast we all decided to head into Ripon as planned. Just as we arrived, it started to rain and that’s how it stayed for most of the day. We had a quick look round the city before heading for the Cathedral – and it was worth the visit – probably the best one we’ve …
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Jubilee Holiday: Wednesday
The weather was looking as unpredictable as ever, so we played it safe and headed for the city of York by way of the park-and-ride and the Shopping Outlet. Roger navigated – and we ended up taking the slightly more (ahem!) scenic route! Eventually, we arrived and we soon parked-up at the Park-and-Ride, then grabbed …
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Jubilee Holiday: Tuesday
With the breakfast (routine running like a well oiled oily thing from oily town) over, we did separate things today. Roger, Jane and Oliver went off to ride on a steam train, whilst Ann and I slipped into castle-mode. First stop was Richmond, where the quaint town was also entertaining a fun-fair (as if the …
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Jubilee Holiday: Monday
Crikey, what is that yellow circular thing in the sky? With the sun shining, today, we’re off on the 20ish mile drive to Harrogate. Roger did the driving and we were soon there, looking for a place to park. How appropriate, the first we saw was the Jubilee multi-storey!! All parked-up we headed for the …
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Jubilee Holiday: Sunday
A long lie-in punctuated by Oliver invading our bed-space at around 7.30 – time for a sharp exit into the shower!!! The weather for the Jubilee looks atrocious, as it looks like it’s been raining all night. A quick look at the TV news, confirmed that it was just as bad in London too. We …
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Evening at Fountain’s Abbey
One of the benefits of staying at National Trust cottage is that there’s normally extra access rights to the property they’re near. So I took advantage of the opportunity and visited Fountain’s Abbey after hours. The weather wasn’t brilliant, but at least it was dry! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not …
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Jubilee Holiday: Saturday
We all slept well. I was up first (what a surprise!), followed a nano-second later by an excited Oliver. The remote controls for the TV/DVD combo had confounded all of us adults last night, but in Oliver’s hands, the problem was solved in seconds and the DVD was entertaining us in no time! Perhaps …
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Jubilee Holiday: Arrival
Here we are within spitting distance of Fountain’s Abbey, and as expected, not a mobile signal in sight! (Yes, Vodafone and O2, I’m looking at YOU!). We’re spending the Jubilee Weekend/Bank Holiday plus most of next week here with Roger, Jane and Oliver taking in the local attractions, including of course, next door: National Trust’s …
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Wedding Photographs
We dropped into Nigel’s this afternoon to pick up the Wedding photographs. It’s been a long wait, but definitely worth it – thanks Nigel, they’ve brought back some very happy memories of our special day. Friends and Family: Take cover, you know what’ll be the topic of conversation next time we …
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The Joy of Framing
I drove over to Northampton today to pick-up our Wedding sketch of Kelmarsh Hall – it’s now been titled and framed by Joy, and looks really good! – Cheers Joy!!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of …
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The End of Lent (Phew!)
For me, Lent has now ended. Those close to me will know I’ve been steering clear of my 19 fave foodstuffs, since the beginning of Lent – 22nd February. How did I do? Well, for whatever reason, it’s been harder this year to remain on-track, and I did briefly succumb a couple of times – …
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Great Grouting, Shiny Knobs and Sky Anytime+!
A very productive and satisfying day here today! First stop was ASDA for a few shopping essentials and then to Wickes the necessary DiY bits. Next, the big task of the day was to tidy up the grouting in the kitchen – a job we’ve been planning for ages, but we just needed a period …
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Sky Anytime+
I see that Sky has made a small but significant change to the way their Sky Anytime+ product works for Sky TV customers. Sky Anytime+ allows customers to access thousands of movies and TV series via an internet connection. Originally, when the product was launched, the service was only available if you also has Sky …
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The Cats are 7 Today
Biscuit and Bon-Bon are seven years old today, so here is an update of them both. A few years back, it was a rarity, if either of them jumped onto our lap – now it’s a semi-regular occurrence (although Bon-Bon hardly stays there for longer than a few minutes, Biscuit is more than content to …
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Posh Spice – The Exotic Dining Experience
Jo, Janet, David, Val, Ann and I headed for The Exotic Dining restaurant in Kettering tonight. Cunningly hidden upstairs above the shops in Newland Street, no wonder we’d never stumbled on it before. Jo and Janet had been before, but for the rest of us, it was our first visit. A bit of prior research …
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Mum’s sorted!
After an extended stay at King College Hospital – plus a few ‘false-starts’, (where we thought a solution was on the cards, only to find that ‘others’ were able to jump the queue), Mum seems to have been sorted. Looks like they’ve done some work on Mum’s arteries and she should be discharged in the …
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