A welcome return to the newly refurbished ‘other’ ‘The George’ today – the Pub/Bistro/Hotel in Buckden. Since we were last here back in April 2019, the place has had a complete makeover – not just the eatery but the whole Hotel! The ladies’ loos had gold taps and were immaculate from top to bottom (so …
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Category:Pub
The Wheatsheaf – Again!
We returned to The Wheatsheaf in Titchmarsh today to meet up with good friends Mick and Jane. We were last here in January, again with Mick and Jane, and we’d chosen today’s repeated visit for the simple reason that previously, we’d all been mighty impressed with the food and service! 👍 We arrived just a …
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Friends Reunutted!
Here we are at The George in Great Oxendon reuniting with The Northants NuttersⓇ, aka Geoff & Rhonda and Paul & Sue. We last got together for our Warner Weekend at Alveston Hall, back in January and it was good to see everyone again! 😀 As we arrived in the car-park, it was clearly a …
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Lunchtime Fill at The Mill!
A welcome return to one of our favourite eateries – The Saxon Mill in Warwick! ?
Return to The Wheatsheaf
We met up with Mick & Jane at The Wheatsheaf in Titchmarsh today. Gosh, we haven’t been here for quite a few years. My blog says November, 2016 (also with Mick & Jane)? – but we do have more friends and do know more Pubs, honest! It’s fair to say we’ve been great supporters of …
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Return to Great Oxendon
A new year and time to begin resuming many of the enjoyable routines from 2021! 👍 And one of those routines is our regular lunch date with friends and neighbours, David and Valerie. Living where we do means that we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to eateries on our doorstep. We could probably find …
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Our Anniversary Break 2021 (10/37)
Whoosh! That came around quickly! It’s 2021 and our 10th Anniversary (also our 37th since our first date). 😀 In keeping with previous years, as part of our celebration, we spent a few days away – this year, it was at Chatham Dockyard and the Ship and Trades Hotel. This was preceded by a slap-up …
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First Visit: The George, Great Oxendon
We took a drive to The George, Great Oxendon today, picking up Paul & Sue along the way. They know it well, but for us, it was our first visit. Wow! First impressions were excellent. The unassuming entrance gave way to a very tasteful interior. It all looked very tasteful without being too over-the-top – …
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First Visit: King’s Head at Wadenhoe
It was off to the King’s Head in the village of Wadenhoe (population 244) to catch up with long-time friends, Mick & Jane. We’ve not been here before and in kinder weather, there are some nice walks nearby, so we might try that when it’s a lot drier underfoot and a bit warmer! We were …
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First Visit: Shires Inn
It was a drive into unchartered territory for us two today as we headed with neighbours David & Valerie for the village of Peatling Parva (population 181) and The Shires Inn and Restaurant. The occasion? A belated birthday lunch for David and me! It was Ann and my first visit, but our dining companions knew …
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Pub Addict!
Well, not really! But visiting the same Pub – the Olde Victoria – within the same week does sound kind of excessive! OK, we weren’t there for the beer, but we were there for the food and company! 😀 On this occasion, catching up with friends, Richard and Pauline (who we haven’t seen since December …
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Lunch: Northants Nutters Reassemble at The Olde Victoria
It’s been quite a while since we were last here! Ann and I met the rest of ‘The Northants Nutters’ aka Paul, Sue, Geoff, Rhonda at The Olde Victoria for lunch today. And good to see that the Menu was as enticing as ever! 👍 The food and service, as always, was spot-on, and we …
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Pub Lunch: Queen’s Head at Bulwick
We haven’t been here for a while! Our previous visit (back in August 2019) was with Chris and Gill on our way back from Apethorpe Palace. On this occasion, we met up with Jane and Mick, our long-time friends from our JS days! So, here we are at The Queen’s Head in Bulwick (pop: 152 …
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Return (of the return) to Saxon Mill
We returned to the Saxon Mill in Warwick today to meet up with Alan and Mags (Ian & Ann couldn’t make it). This is now becoming our most-visited out-of-Kettering eatery. To date, the food and service has always been top-notch – but today was a little different. It was certainly very busy when we sat …
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Tring Thing!
I caught up with Angela today at the King’s Arms in Tring. The venue was chosen because it was roughly halfway between us. I thought I knew Tring, but as I approached the town, it all felt very unfamiliar! What a lovely town though! – very leafy, a nice parade of shops and where the …
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Christmas 2020
How was your Christmas? Even if you exclude the dreaded Coronavirus, we knew Christmas for us would be very different in 2020. For a start, it was our first one without Denis (where visiting him on Christmas Day had been a regular part of the festive break for the past few years). Christmas Day was …
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Our Anniversary Break 2020 (9/36)
It’s our 9th Anniversary (or 36th, if you’re counting from the day we first met) and we always try and do something special every year to celebrate. This year is no different, but we’ve scaled things back a bit because of… ‘you-know-what’! 🙄 10.50am We’re heading for Norfolk, staying at The Brisley Bell in err, …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 2)
Just when you create a title for your blog-post that works perfectly, along comes something to ruin it! After BoJo’s announcement last night, it looks like ‘Lockdown 2.0’ will require us to pack up early here in Totnes, and return home on Wednesday! – two days short!! “Devon in Seven!“ – now, what rhymes with …
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First Visit: The Bell Inn, Finedon
It was our monthly eat-out with neighbours David and Valerie tonight. I say ‘monthly’, but that’s been interrupted of late by you-know-what. …anyway, it was good to get back into the routine! 😋 Based on Valerie’s recommendation, which in turn was based on the August 2020 article in the Daily Telegraph by William Sitwell accompanied …
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Return to the Olde Victoria
Nicki arrived last night and slept over. After a lazy morning, the theme continued with a welcome return to the Olde Victoria – and a lazy lunch! 😁 We haven’t been here since February, and it was good to be back enjoying the excellent service and yummy menu – you just can’t go wrong here! …
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Return to The Saxon Mill
The Saxon Mill is rapidly becoming our most regular restaurant-of-choice when meeting our friends ‘from the West’ – and today was no exception! (Either there or The Lamport Swan). The last time we met up with ‘the Westerners’ (Ian, Ann, Mags and Alan) for one of our regular three-monthly catch-ups was back in September last …
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Mival-lous
A boys’ get-together today! 👍 I drove over to Stamford to meet up with ex-business colleague and film producer: Eric Mival. We’ve kept in touch ever since Eric shot a corporate video for Sainsbury’s (that I was responsible for) back in the late 80s. Our venue of choice was, of course, the iconic George Hotel …
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Lunch with Nicki
Nicki joined us last night and after a lazy(ish) morning today, we headed off to our fave ‘Local’ – The Old Victoria, for lunch. As usual, the food and service didn’t disappoint! Matthew was off today, but with Joanna running the show, we knew we were in safe hands! 👍😁 We were all too full …
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First Visit: The Old Pheasant, Glaston
Our first visit tonight to The Old Pheasant in Glaston where where we met up with long-time friends, Mick and Jane for one of our regular catch-ups. We last got together at The Fox back in April, so it’s been a while, and there was plenty of news to catch up with! Tonight, our location-of-choice …
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The Palace and the Pub
Off to visit Apethorpe Palace today with Chris and Gill! The Palace We last visited here back in August 2011 with Nicki, when it was known simply as Apethorpe Hall. Since that time, it’s been sold-off by English Heritage (December 2014) to one Baron von Pfetten, a French anglophile. English Heritage are still responsible for …
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Pheasantly Spicy
The first outing for my XKR this Summer as we took the short drive to The Pheasant in Keyston. It was a beautiful evening – a very warm 23 degrees. Pity then, the car decided that this was the moment for the AC to fail! We may have looked cool in a classic Jaaaag! but …
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Palmers and Bricklayers
Palmers Reunited A scorcher of a day, as we headed down to Bromley to catch up with Neil, Debbie, Alfie and Frankie. Just to make a change, rather than our normal haunt of ASK, at the top of the high-street, we chose The Bricklayers Arms, just a five-minute walk from Bromley South station. Last time …
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Joseph – And the Pub of Many Burgers
We headed for Kilworth Theatre today to see their latest outdoor production… Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph… Running from 26th May until 5th July 2019, this production was back by popular demand. Given the track record here, we knew we were in for a treat! Starring Jacob Fisher in the titular role; Carole …
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Saxon Mill – The Return
Today was a welcome return to The Saxon Mill Gastropub in nearby Warwick. Last time we were here (back in July last year) was for the same reason – Lunch with friends! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong …
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The Weekend – Sponsored by the letter ‘f’
A weekend of fun, friends, fine food, F1 and err, a fone! Friday Ralph and Karen are joining us for the weekend. We haven’t seen each other for a while and there was plenty to catch-up with! Probably the most important task was to begin finalising details for joint trip to China including understanding the …
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