Took a drive to nearby Lamport Hall today for ‘Le Picnic’ with Chris & Gill and Steve & Denise. It’s on our doorstep and given our love of old stately piles, I can’t believe we’ve never been here before!

You can’t beat a good picnic and if the sun is shining (as it was today) that just adds to the overall enjoyment. Summer may be on its way out (did it ever arrive in 2024?) but it was good to be out-and-about and get together with friends.

In fact, it turned out even warmer than the forecast – it was more like 24°C pretty-much all the time we were there!

We all gathered at The Stables Café for the obligatory teas and coffees before taking a walk around the House. The tickets were £16 each and that allows you RE-entry for free within a year.

There’s plenty to see here, and the Volunteers were enthusiastic and knowledgeable!

I think we’ll certainly be back within the year as there’s a lot of history here – all related to the Isham family.

And if the interior was impressive, then the Gardens were even more so! I’ll just leave these here…

It was certainly very colourful… and very large!

We wandered around the Gardens for about 40 minutes before the thoughts of food took hold!

We’d all done our own thing in terms of what we brought with us, but as ‘sharing’ is our middle name, we were soon ‘mixing and matching’! . We even bagged a picnic table near the Café, so we didn’t need to bring the chairs and tables from the cars (a walk-and-a-bit away).

A perfect end to a very enjoyable day out! Great venue, great food and great friends! Brilliant!

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 Le Picnic – Lamport Hall appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We headed for Tolethorpe Hall today to catch the matinee performance of their latest production: Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web.

Where’s Tolethorpe Hall?

Just like our other fave outdoor space at Kilworth Theatre, there’s the tradition of bringing a pre-performance picnic – and with the weather heading into serioius scorchio territory this week, it would have been rude not to follow the herd!

We met Helen, Jo, Janet, and Carol there where we’d all contributed to the unfolding feast – enough to feed a small county country!

Boy, was it busy in the picnic area! We thought we go there early at just after midday, but there were already dozens of people there – and they’d already bagged the shady positions! Note to self: get there EVEN EARLIER next time!

And then it began to get hot… and then hotter… and then, after we’d eaten, we had to pack everything up (as usual, but it felt like a real chore in the heat) so we could then queue to get into the theatre space. Mission accomplished, but we did all feel like ‘dish-rags’ when we found our seats.

Then, as the theatre filled to capacity, the inevitable occurred – with lots of people in a confined space – it got even warmer… and that was just before curtain up!

The Production: Spider’s Web

Spider’s Web (1954) was Agatha Christie’s second most successful murder-mystery Play – but in spite of that, I wasn’t familiar with it at all. A quick read of Wikipedia put me straight.

First of all, it’s a light comedy! Unfortunately, today at Tolethorpe, so light, that during the first half, it didn’t hit the spot at all for me. AT ALL!!!

OK, superb set, fantastic acting, clever lighting, great costumes (especially for the lead character Clarissa Hailsham-Brown) and potentially great source material, but I really struggled with it! (and that’s unusual, as I’ll watch pretty much anything and see something to enjoy). The choice of incidental music was a little strange too – modern pop hits but with the vocals underpinned by musical styles of the 20s, 30s and 40s. Maybe me struggling with it all was just down to the heat? But I don’t think it was just me fighting with the 30℃+ temperature with no breeze, as out came the fans (the type that you wave about) and eventually, out came some of the audience, looking for somewhere cooler! It was all a bit bizarre!

In all the summer events we’ve been to here (and we’ve been to many!) I’ve never felt that hot in my seat – for so long! But, pretty much everyone was suffering today – except the cast, who carried on like the true professionals they were!

OK, back to the plot. As you might expect, it’s a whodunnit and there’s a body in the library fairly early on. So far, so normal! But as I mentioned earlier, the first half struggled to find my funny-bone and maybe it was simply because the plot seemed so very complex (probably my age!). Add to that, the acoustics for one of the leads wasn’t very good, making it difficult to hear his lines.

Based on the first half, I was thinking: ‘how long until the interval?’ – and that’s never a good sign is it? When it eventually came, after grabbing plenty of water, we were ready for the second half – and hoping for an improvement. Fortunately, things livened up, and it all began to feel much more Agatha Christie. It was also much funnier and morphed into a sort ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ style with plenty of visual gags. That totally suited me, and my faith was restored (although I’m pretty sure that comedic style wasn’t originally written by AC!). At last, things were really warming up – in both senses!!

Probably the most memorable part for me (and many others there) was the (far too short) piece where the whole cast were dancing – as Zombies – to Michael Jackson’s global hit: Thriller. I could have watched that all night! The actor playing Detective Inspector Lord stole the show for me – a cross between Basil Fawlty and Michael Barrymore.

I think it all came right in the end, but it wasn’t really one of my faves where the muggy temperature and differing tones between the two halves left me disappointed. Sorry, Agatha, I know it’s one of your best, but not here, this afternoon. .

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 Tolethorpe Hall: Spider’s Web appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We took a picnic to National Trust’s Calke Abbey today. Our last visit was back in May 2011 when the weather was truly atrocious! Luckily, today, it was a little kinder.

What makes Calke a bit different from most other NT properties is that its name doesn’t reflect the building itself! As any local will tell you – there’s no Abbey!

"A novel take on presenting the past..." 

It only took us just over an hour to get there and we were soon parked and both ‘picnic-ready’

But of course, under the ‘new normal’, we didn’t have complete freedom to roam, as the NT is operating a ‘timed entry’ system into the site. We were limited to Calke Park and the Gardens only. The café was open but we didn’t fancy that as we had already packed enough food for the whole of Derbyshire!

We began with a walk around the immediate area. Some of it was closed off so that limited our wanderings – but it was still very enjoyable, and we covered 2¾ miles…

…taking in some great views, including a very well maintained kitchen garden too!

We sat down to our picnic around 1pm – and in spite of the forecast, the rain came (but not until our last mouthful!)

Still, it was a great day out – even if was a bit damp, and we didn’t get to see inside the House this 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 Calke Walk appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Roger, Jane and Oliver joined us for the weekend!

Saturday

The main event for today was a picnic at Belton House and then a walk around the historic Mansion and Gardens. I think it’s our most oft-visited stately home having been there recently (ish) with with Dennis and Sandra back in May, 2018 and Chris and Gill in July, 2017.

On arrival, the weather was disappointing to say the least (Summer’s not quite over surely???) Oliver was sporting shorts and I was in a short-sleeved shirt. Consequently, both of us were woefully ill-dressed for the conditions – a plummeting temperature followed by rain!

1.00pm: However, It didn’t stop us enjoying our picnic though, as we sandwiched ourselves between ‘Robert‘ and the car next door to act as a wind-break! Brrrrr!

1.55pm: I think the c*** weather made us eat more quickly, and we soon made a significant dent in Ann’s extensive picnic.

As soon as we’d cleared up our bits, we headed straight for the House. Word to the wise: Since our previous visit, there’s been one major change here! ALL VISITS ARE NOW TIMED, so it’s not just a case of turning-up and hoping to get in straight away. But, as it happened, it was perfect timing on our part, as there were five slots on the very next admission – the 2.15!

2.10pm: We’re in!

Given our previous visits, from a photo point-of-view, I decided to concentrate on the less well-known/seen pieces on show inside, together with less obvious views of the property and surroundings.

3.05pm: Time for a cuppa, especially as the damp weather from earlier had returned, but this time it was torrential!

A quick, but determined sprint to the nearby tea-shop got us more-or-less to the front of the queue (followed by the rest of mankind) and we were soon seated in the Stables enjoying our cuppa and cake!

3.35pm: Next stop was the Gardens where the weather, perfectly on cue turned from rain to warm sunshine! At last!

4.00pm: Our final stop was St Peter & St Paul Church aka Belton Church.

4.20pm: A great visit! (again!). Even the weather didn’t really spoil our visit (even though it looked like it would!). We wandered back to the car and headed south.

All of today’s photos at Belton House (with none of my chat) are HERE

6.15pm: It was a good journey home and we were indoors by 5.45. By 6.15, Ann had laid the table for a yummy table-buffet. All that was left to do was to choose a movie for the evening…

Bohemian Rhapsody (courtesy of Sky Store): Even better than I remember it the first time around in the cinema

11.05pm: That’s it! Nighty-night!

Sunday

A lie-in for me until the unearthly late hour of 7.15 whilst the others slept-on.

9.10am: A little bit of Queen, courtesy of Spotify to get the day started!

9.45am: Breakfast is served – Porridge with Strawberries followed by a Bacon Butty!

10.30am: Jane, Oliver and I watched the rest of Thor: Raganarok, Roger caught up with the Daily Telegraph, whilst Ann put the finishing touches to lunch – this was a real family-foodie weekend, and just how we like it!

12.15pm: Pre-lunch drinkies!

1.00pm: Lunch is served. Roast Chicken with all the bits!

2.30pm: Lunch over! A bit of clearing up followed by a long natter.

whilst listening to something a little more relaxing!

3.45pm: Well, where did that weekend go? It passed really quickly – a great sign of a great time!

Bye all, it’s been great to catch-up!

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 Family Weekend appeared first on Steve's Blog.

A scorcher of a weekend is promised, so what better time than today for a picnic!

..and what could be more perfect than Fineshade Wood (the clue’s in the name!) for some fine picnicking in a Wood in the shade! – and it’s only a thirty-or-so minute drive away too! The Wood is managed by the Forestry Commission and is part of the former royal hunting forest of Rockingham Forest. Part of the Wood is publicly owned and part-leased by the Forestry Commission – and we remember it well from our previous visit a few years back.

Well, on arrival, first impressions (compared to our previous visit) were disappointing!

Why? Gone was the series of mini car-parking areas shaded with trees and with plenty of picnic tables. Instead, a humongous great open parking area…

…and rather ironically, the Forestry Commission seeedm to have felled a load of trees to achieve the new look! It all felt very disappointing, but we hoped we’d still find some picnic areas on our walk…

Off we toddled on our two-miler, but it soon became obvious that picnic tables were not part of the scenery! Still, it didn’t ruin our walk, where the combination of great weather and tranquil surroundings made it all very enjoyable.

But this definitely wasn’t the place for our picnic, so we consoled ourselves with a couple of extra-large ice-creams instead! Two large scoops (scoop 1 – Chocolate, scoop 2 – Salted Caramel) for Ann, whilst I wrestled with a scoop of Strawberry and a scoop of Salted Caramel. Boy! they were large cornets! . Almost a picnic in themselves!!!!

So, where to go for our official picnic? We headed in the direction of the quaint village of Wansford and had a quick wander round. There’s was nothing suitable here that we could find (having unsuccessfully failed to find the path to the river), so it was back in the car, crossing county boundaries, heading for Barnwell Country Park.

On arrival, we knew we’d made the right decision! Plenty of areas to walk and (more importantly by this stage) plenty of areas for a picnic!

Wow! It was a really enjoyable walk. We took in some impressive views along the route, and I think in the end, we actually preferred it to Fineshade Wood!

And our picnic was well-worth the wait!

That’s what days like these are for!

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 Picnic Saturday appeared first on Steve's Blog.

a Knot!

It was off to Deene Park for a Bank Holiday treat! It’s the home of the Brudenell family – pretty well-known around these parts, but probably best remembered for the 7th Earl (James) who led the charge of the Light Brigade.

Instead, The Sealed Knot (the re-enactment group) are in attendance, bringing the sights and sounds of the English Civil Wars (relevant, because ‘back in the day’, Deene Park was seized by the Parliamentarians).

We’d also brought the sights (and sounds?) of a picnic, so all we needed was some good weather and we’d got a good day in store!

Well, the forecast looked good(ish) but unfortunately, that’s not how things turned out! We arrived just after 2pm, easily parked and then found a really good space to pitch our chairs. We’d just unpacked our picnic – and then the heavens opened!

Still, with the Battle now in full-swing, it distracted us (temporarily) from the crap weather…

…and as you’d expect from the Sealed Knot, they were all taking it very seriously!

The Battle must have last around 45 minutes and when it was all over, as the ‘players’ left the field, they all looked thoroughly exhausted! A pity the weather kept a lot of people away, but still worth the 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 Sealed with… appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It was our annual trip to Lunaflix’s outdoor cinema presentation tonight – the Film? 2016’s La La Land; the venue? Boughton House. We’d been here last year to see Pretty Women and I immediately noticed this time, it was much better supported (with apparently, over 400 tickets sold – last year it was more like 200!).

August in Northamptonshire means keeping an eye on the weather forecast – constantly! – and although it was a dry evening, it got cool really quickly as the evening wore-on. Good job then we’d packed the right clothing! (in short: one of everything and a pair of gloves too!)

We made more of an event of this year as we were joined by our good friends, Paul & Sue and Geoff and Rhonda. With each of us taking a specific chunk of the picnic to prepare, we ended up with a table that was truly Olympic standard! – all that was missing was the candelabra! (Although we did see a group with solar lights surrounding their space!)

Just after 9pm, as the sun went down and we packed away our picnic, Simon, the organiser treated us to some bonus footage – the ‘Singing in the Rain’ scene from err, the 1952 film: Singing in the Rain (luckily, that was the only rainfall we saw tonight! – and a complete contrast to our recent firework event a few weeks back)

And then, it was the main event. Like last year, the picture and sound quality was just amazing (techy note: Blu-ray disc and a high-end front-projector)

And 128 minutes later, it was all over. Was it any good? Well, I think our Jury’s ‘still out’! Personally, I loved it! You can’t beat a good ‘Boy-meets-girl… Girl loses boy… Boy-gets-piano’ type story – everyone else in our group though had different views – a bit like Marmite then, this one – and fair to say it didn’t enjoy universal appeal!

  to  then!

If you’ve been living under a stone since its release, and you’re curious, I’d say give it a go. And if you do make it to the final act, don’t think of leaving before the credits roll, believing you’ve ‘got it’ – there’s a ton of ‘stuff’ going on in the final 10 minutes! One more thing to add: I think the outdoor cinema experience with everyone enjoying the (relatively) good weather, their food and their drink and of course each other, probably made the overall experience better!

All-in-all then, another great night out, with friends, with a picnic and a film – is there anything better?
    

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 La Picnic appeared first on Steve's Blog.