For reasons that I can’t recall, we haven’t been to the annual Carol Concert here at The Citadel, Kettering for the past couple of years – and it was good to be back!

It’s not that we haven’t been at all, as we saw their excellent performance of The Messiah back here in April. With two Carol performances on offer today, we chose the latter – the 5pm Service in preference to 2.30pm.

In the years that have passed since we last attended this Christmas staple, a lot has remained the same, whilst elsewhere, things were very different. On arrival, the Choir was already in full voice (we initially thought we were late!), acting as a ‘warm up’ before the main event. A nice touch!

Other changes include the important news that The Citadel now has two new Leaders – Captain David & Kate Donaldson – who arrived earlier this year from Australia. And with new leadership often comes with new thinking, and that was certainly the case with the look and feel of this year’s annual Carol Service. Those expecting the familiar routine of Readings/Carols/Nativity Scene/Collection/Prayers would be delighted, but much of it was all about to be offered in a different style.

It was good to see the Mayor of Kettering, Ben Jameson, attending, but unlike the Carol Service at St P and St Paul’s that we attended last week, there was no sign of any other VIPs! . A bit of a shame that!

Although, as I mentioned earlier, there were some differences tonight, some aspects have remained the same in those intervening years. The Citadel Brass Band, under the experienced baton of Richard Phillips, were as professional as ever. In fact, their sound felt even bigger and fuller tonight (even though the number of band members seemed largely unchanged). An impressive sound that would (and should) have been heard as far away as Wellingborough, Welford, Harborough and Huntingdon! I seemed to recall that Richard had ‘retired’ a few years back, and so it was good to see and hear the fruits of his (returning) labour.

No Salvation Army Christmas Concert would be complete without their singers – and tonight there was even more variety. The Songsters were as enjoyable as we remember them, whilst the Army’s own Junior Choir were exceptional. Additionally, later in the performance, there was a small group of younger members of the Kettering Salvation Army, all dressed in white, and whose voices harmonised exceptionally well – as close to angelic as you could get! . Derek Wears, a staple of past performances (and who played at our wedding) provided piano accompaniment to the majority of the vocal arrangements, where, as usual, he made it all look so easy and effortless. Finally, in a concession to more modern musical tastes, it was good to see the humble Bass Guitar ‘front and centre’ during one song tonight!

Another firm fixture was plenty of Carols, most of which were familiar to us. With tongues firmly in their cheek, the new Captains had arranged something a little quirky (probably the first public rendition in Kettering of the well-known alternative lyrics of ‘While Shepherds Watched their Flocks…’ (think ‘socks’). As the words appeared on the overhead screen, it seemed to take a while for our fellow audience members to spot that they were slightly different lyrics!

A big part of these Concerts is the ‘message’, and both David and Kate had a very different style to those who we’ve seen in previous years. ‘Miked up’, they walked the stage and were fairly animated both physically and vocally – and as a result, no-one was sleeping on their watch! . The differences continued as audience involvement became the priority. Maybe it was just me, but the threat of David ‘offering’ to wander about with a handheld ‘mic’ to check whether we were all singing, felt more like a threat than a motivator. Luckily, for everyone else present, he never made it to where I was warbling!

The desire to involve the audience as much as possible continued, including a request to look for the animals from the Nativity underneath our seats (yes, really!) A nice touch, but I’m not sure the whole congregation ‘got it’. The Captains certainly worked hard to ‘wow’ the audience, but I just had a small feeling, to them, we were ‘a tough crowd’

Elsewhere, in the continued attempt to offer something ‘different’, we had an unfamiliar take on the familiar Nativity Scene. Instead of the familiar sight of legions of cute children assuming the major roles (and sometimes playing the animals too) we had ADULTS in the key roles. For me, the sight of a couple of pensioners taking the role of Joseph and Mary didn’t quite do it for me, although it was certainly different (if a little long). For added sound effects, asking the audience to make the sound of the animals (and also asking for the Band’s assistance) on paper, sounded like a great way to get everyone included, but I’m not sure all of the audience were in a mooing mood. The result wasn’t exactly a coordinated cacophony of creature sounds! To complete the animal involvement, even though most of us know that any creatures in the stable is further embellishment of the Christmas Story, it was good to see that David & Kate had brought a little piece of Australia with them – in the form of a Koala Bear (an inflatable one, naturally!) . Ozzy humour at its best!

Ninety minutes later, it was all over for another year. It had certainly been a unique take on a familiar event. For this increasingly crusty old bloke, whilst it hit the mark musically, some of the more innovative approaches to boost audience interaction didn’t quite do it for me – although looking around, it certainly did for others!

Innovations aside, part of tonight was about raising money for those in need. Good news then! This, the 5pm performance, raised a generous £641 and was on par, I think, with previous years. When added to the earlier performance, it totalled a heartwarming £1300, to help continue the good work by the Salvation Army in Kettering.

So, all in all, there was a lot to like about tonight, but for me, some of the innovations didn’t quite land. Someone, pass the humbugs!

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 Salvation Army Carol Concert (2025) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It’s Easter Saturday, and we’re off to the Salvation Army’s Citadel in Kettering to see the 7pm performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Composed in 1741, there had also been a TV programme on recently featuring Gareth Malone coaching eight amateur singers to take on this monumental piece. Yes, it’s definitely Easter, and the TV programme reminded us both of what a memorable piece of music this is! .

Tickets for tonight were a very reasonable tenner each, and maybe not surprisingly, the Citadel was packed!

Yes, it was easily a sell-out, with 240 tickets taken. A sixty-plus strong Kettering Community Choir (drawn from 21 individual choirs), plus a very talented thirteen-piece Orchestra, together with four soloists were all perfectly co-ordinated with musical direction by Richard Phillips. As an added treat, our good friends and neighbours, David and Valerie were part of the Choir! The soloists: Gemma Hinchliffe (soprano), Sue Blyth (alto), Andy Ward (tenor) and Mark Norwood (bass) all excelled and together created a big and beautiful sound! The acoustics of the Citadel also helped to make this, in every way, an unforgettable performance.

The music took me back, instantly, some 50+ years to 1973 when I sang this as a member of the school choir performing at the iconic Fairfield Halls in Croydon. More recently, the last time we saw this was back in 2018 in Durham – it has clearly become a firm favourite for us two over the years!

The performance tonight covered around 80% of the complete Messiah suite. ‘Baton up’ was just before 7pm, and there he final applause came at just before 9.20pm. I was slightly surprised at how many of the tunes I knew. I read that everyone knows at least ONE track from this, Handel’s most popular piece (probably the Hallelujah Chorus!), but we chalked up at least half a dozen! Fans or what!!!!

Sadly, for the guy next to me, his enjoyment of the evening was somewhat ruined! Apparently by ME!

My gentle (and assumed QUIET) humming and occasional sing-alongs didn’t impress him – obviously I wasn’t quiet enough – where towards the end of the evening he expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms by giving me a severe talking-to! . Even my apology (twice!) didn’t ease the situation, and so I guess I’m off his Easter Card list! . Note to self: If you want to sing in public, Steve – even quietly – join a choir!

All-in-all then (apart from the obvious), this had been a great evening! A really polished performance with everyone playing their part with enthusiasm and professionalism.

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 Handel’s Messiah at the Citadel appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Off into town this evening to enjoy this year’s Salvation Army Carol Concert at the Salvation Army Citadel. Jo, Janet & Helen together with David & Valerie were there, as usual, and we also saw Derek & Lydia.

We’ve been coming to these for quite a few years now as it represents another ‘sign’ that Christmas is getting close. Tonight was well-supported in terms of numbers, and it all felt like a ‘return to form’ compared to recent years. In 2022, we went to the Saturday performance, where attendance was down on previous years and Nigel had to work harder than usual, to engage the audience. Tonight, it all flowed really well!

With Nigel leading the evening, his semi-humorous approach was well-appreciated by us, the audience. The synchronisation of the Carols with the on-screen words was the best I remember, and the supporting images looked even more professional than previous presentations.

The format of the ninety-minute event was pretty similar to years gone by: Carols sung by the adults & children of the Citadel – the Songsters; carols sung by us, the audience; and of course, the obligatory nativity scene (complete with slightly wayward shepherds and an excitable angel!). Great stuff, all helped by the Salvation Army Band who were even more impressive (to our ears, anyway) this year – a very full-on sound with some innovative reworkings of some familiar Christmas tunes! . Also, a first for tonight, was a re-telling of the ‘journey to visit the baby, Jesus’ based on a modern couple’s car journey – clever!

So far, we’d had ‘the familiar’ and ‘the new’. We also had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Ella Clark again, who’d appeared for the first time, last year. Clearly, a gifted youngster with her superb voice and confident delivery.

It’s been a difficult year financially, for many local families, and the Citadel has helped with even more food parcels this year. A local even made 200 Christmas Stockings for distribution with the parcels. Talking of generosity, tonight’s donations, when added to the previous performance, totalled over £1000 – and that’s quite an improvement over last year.

All-in-all then, a thoroughly enjoyable evening with all the ingredients that we’ve got to know and love over the years.

It’s official – we ARE now in full Christmas mode!

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 Salvation Army Carol Concert (2023) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

On a chilly Saturday evening, we headed to the Salvation Army Citadel in town for 7pm and their annual Carol Service. Due to COVID and other commitments, we haven’t done this for quite a few years!

I can’t think why we didn’t go to this event back in December 2019 (their last one before you-know-what).

To put tonight into perspective, the town’s mood was sombre to say the least. Kettering doesn’t often make the national news, but it had earlier in the week (for all the WRONG reasons). We were all still reeling from the news of a horrific murder of a woman and her two young children that took place literally 400 yards from where we were all standing! Horrible!!!

As I mentioned, the last time there was a Christmas Carol Concert here was back in 2019 (as usual, on a SUNDAY) and there were THREE performances. This year, there was just the SINGLE event tonight – Saturday – and one tomorrow. Consequently, tonight’s competed directly with the Strictly Come Dancing Final on TV. So, maybe that was a factor as to why attendance was pretty low. Looking around, sadly, it was probably the lowest we’d ever experienced, since 2014 when started coming here. Whether that was down to the TV competition or another reason, I’m not quite sure, but it did feel somewhat lacking as a result. A real shame!

Led by Major Nigel Govier, Kettering’s Citadel’s head-honcho, tonight had all the great ingredients of past performances (sans nativity scene) – including the Kettering Citadel Brass Band, The Children’s Band, The Songsters (their in-house choir) and the Children’s Choir. As in previous years, there was an opportunity for us to sing along to some well-known Carols. And, in spite of the technology providing the words on-screen having some minor wobbles along the way, it all sounded really good, especially given the lower turnout.

Nigel did a great job in hosting the evening. From past experiences, he has always been great at getting the audience ‘onside’ with his humour and empathy, but I did feel tonight, we was having to work harder than usual to involve us all.

In addition to the singing, we had a selection of pertinent readings from the scriptures together with a summary of the great work Kettering Salvation Army has done locally for those who are struggling – eating , heating and paying their bills.

For us, the standout performance was from Ella Clark, one of the younger members of the Army who had a gifted voice as she gave us her interpretation of Who is He? Ella is certainly destined for (even) greater things.

The lower numbers tonight meant that the traditional collection didn’t quite pull in the pound of years past – c£385 – but every little helps doesn’t it?

As we head towards the Big Day, it was great to be part of another festive event to get us in the mood for Christmas!

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 Salvation Army Carol Concert (2022) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, here we go! David and I are doing our charity ‘thing’ again this year – starting today – and living on just £1 a day for food and drink for the next seven days!

This year, we also have new recruit ‘Helen’ joining us in lieu of her hubby Paul, (who’s taking the easy way out and making plans to trek across Cambodia raising money for the Salvation Army!)

…I think I’d rather trek across a supermarket!

Why do this? Well, it’s great way for me to lose a bit of weight and also to get involved in a good cause. This is now our SIXTH year, and in previous years, we appear to have inspired others to get involved their own ‘£1-a-day’ for other causes – and that’s very rewarding in itself! Last year, we set a target of £1500 – and you helped us smash that by donating £2000. Thank you!! For 2019, we are again supporting the Salvation Army and we’ve upped the target, attempting to raise £2000. We’ve set up a donations page to make it a more a meaningful event (see below).

Click HERE to support us in 2019. Thanks!

We did the shopping at Aldi and Morrison’s a few days ago, and we noticed that in many cases food prices had gone down a little – that was a pleasant surprise, and it did mean we could squeeze in some fresh fruit this year (first time ever – hello Mr Nectarine!) and some treats, to keep us motivated.

As you can see, we haven’t spent ALL our budget yet – just £16.37. There’s a few more bits to get – we need to pick up some pasta, some chilli sauce, possibly some more mushrooms and more rice – but DEFINITELY some small motivational treats for in-between meals. All-in-all though, we’re pleased that prices, in many cases, seem to have gone down.

The challenges each year, when buying the food for this event are numerous. Most significantly, ‘Variety’ is a big problem – and as a result, that makes the menu at best, ‘slightly boring‘. We’ve tried every-which-way to make it more exciting, but after six years at this, we just have to accept the repetition and lack of creativity – Masterchef this isn’t!

One of the other challenges is attempting to buy some of the ingredients in sufficiently small quantities. Specifically: it’s just impossible to buy a small enough portion of the tea-bags and milk we need for the seven days. Buying shops’ minimum sizes means we still risk blowing the budget and then have too much stock left over at the end. Our workaround is to estimate how much we actually consume – and calculate a unit price – and take it from normal household stock. For 2019, that’s 1p per teabag – 50p – and 60p’s worth of milk!

A further challenge is that it’s hardly a well-balanced diet! Just as well we’re only doing this for seven days! Imagine if this was how you had to eat ALL THE TIME!

But after a few years of doing this, we just don’t think it’s possible to have three meals a day – for just £1 each – AND ensure it’s all nutritious. I’ll be really very happy to hear from anyone who can suggest how we might make the week ahead more healthy! And before you ask, buying raw fruit and veg and ‘making it all from scratch’, sounds like a smart move, but sadly, it just doesn’t work.

UPDATE: Friday, 6th. David picked up all the bits we couldn’t get on Thursday, so now we have all (or pretty much all) we need for 2019’s challenge – and what’s more, in the end, we didn’t quite spend the whole £21 – just £18.18.

So, here is our meal schedule for the next seven days…

Wish us luck! Next stop: ‘Day 1 Breakfast’ in about an hour. Yummy!!!

Click HERE to support us in 2019. Thanks!

Previous Events

• £1-a-Day 2018 (for the Salvation Army)
• £1-a-Day 2017 (for the Salvation Army)
• £1-a-Day 2016 (for the Salvation Army)
• £1-a-Day 2015 (for OXFAM)
• £1-a-Day 2014 (for Children in Need)

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 £1-a-Day (2019) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

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 we all got together was back in August last year, and it was great to catch-up with everyone’s news.

Food-wise, in my case, it was a bit under-par. Clearly the regular Chef was off today, and in his place, they’d recruited someone who works at the local Crematorium! Let’s just say my chicken-burger was very north of ‘well-done’ and if they cooked enough of them, it would have solved the local pot-hole problem!

Luckily, the Dessert was kinder on my teeth!

2.15pm: Time for goodbyes as we returned to the baking heat outside. A short walk later we were on the platform. Some unlucky timing and picking the wrong platform for the ‘fast’ to Victoria meant we didn’t board until around 3pm.

5.20pm: After a very sweaty journey home on the Train, we eventually arrived through the door! But perspiration waits for no-one and by 5.55pm, we were ready for our next jaunt – The Salvation Army’s ‘Concert for Ethiopia’ supporting their work there. We picked-up David and were soon parked, heading for the Kettering Citadel. It was already very busy when we arrived, and initially it was tricky finding three vacant seats – a nice problem to have though!

Concert for Ethiopia

The lack of seats meant tonight was a really well-supported affair – and the two-hour concert didn’t disappoint! For our entertainment: A Junior Brass Band (obviously), a Young Choir, a solo singer – Charlie Green and Kettering’s very own Thomas Fountain on the Cornet. It was all MCed by the Salvation Army’s ever-humourous-and-engaging Jack.

We know Thomas quite well – he played at our Wedding – and we’ve seen him in concert a few times since. With four separate musical pieces, he really made his instrument sing, and is clearly at the ‘top of his game’! In fact, everyone was simply superb in their own way tonight – and the applause confirmed it!

And so did people’s generosity! We’re happy to report that they raised over £1000 – and that was in addition to the ticket sales.

8.25pm: It all came to an end after the final upbeat number from the Band. As good as it was though, it had been very warm in there and we were glad to get out into the fresh air. We popped into nearby JS to pick up a few bits-and-pieces for tomorrow’s visit to Denis’s (first time EVER that I didn’t complain that the Store was too cold!) – and then headed home.

9.00pm: We sat outside, where the thermometer in the garden was still reading in excess of 30 degrees!

Phew! What a scorcher today!

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 Palmers and Bricklayers appeared first on Steve's Blog.

You might remember Paul – he joined forces with David and me for our ‘£1-a-Day’ fund-raising event in 2017 and 2018.

Well, he’s mad enough – in a good way – to continue his generous nature and has volunteered to do a 94km sponsored walk. Yes, you read that correctly – 94km!!!

And this is no ordinary walk! How about five days across Cambodia in November!

It’s all for a great cause: to raise money for the Salvation Army – specifically Gloucester House Rehabilitation Centre in Swindon. Apparently the walk also involves camping overnight in tents, but this is no Glamping event as Paul is going ‘old-school’ with ‘good ol’ fashioned’ blankets and mattresses (and did I mention the creepy-crawlies!). Add to that, the humidity and heat, and it sounds horrendous!! Massive respect Paul!

By comparison, it makes our £1-a-Day event sound very tame!

Previously, we’d also been part of a (much safer and more comfortable) Quiz Night earlier in the year supporting the same cause. Rather him than me in Cambodia! Quizzes I can do, but long walks are not my thing – and 94km is a serious amount of shoe-leather.

Tonight’s fund-raiser re-lived the era of Swing from the 40s in the company of the SA BigBand – and it didn’t disappoint! Nick (Band-Leader and Piano) led the 19-strong Band through a series of Swing-staples indispersed with a few more religious arrangements. The sound they produced was (much) greater than the sum of their parts – powerful stuff indeed!

We also heard the vocal talents of Rob Moye who accompanied many of the numbers.

We really enjoyed the music, and all credit to Paul and Helen for organising the evening – a great event for a great cause!

Good luck on the walk Paul!

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 Big Band for a Big Event appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, here we are again! Starting today, it’s my ‘Pound-a-Day’ week for 2018!

This my FIFTH year exercising this little bit a will-power by living on £1 a day for a week – for all food and drink. I’m being joined again by mates, David Ablett (also in his 5th year) and Paul Marsh (returning for his a 2nd year).

Why do this? It’s great way for me to lose a bit of weight and also do something for a good cause.

This year, with David and Paul, we’re raising money for the Salvation Army and we’ve set a target of £1500. The event will end at midnight next Sunday – and we’d love you to support us.

We’ve set up a donations page for you HERE

So, all that’s left to do now is ‘get on with it’. We’ve created the Menu for the week and we’ve done all the shopping. You won’t be surprised to learn that we avoided Waitrose – and headed for the cheaper supermarkets instead!

Click on the image for a larger version

It’s hardly the most exciting nor nutritious menu – MasterChef needn’t be concerned – but our limited budget excludes anything ‘too fancy’!

Click on the image for a larger version

Click on the image for a larger version

We spent £9.70 in Aldi and £7.96 in Morrison’s – the only item we couldn’t locate – at a price that suited us – was Nuts & Raisins for Paul’s ‘between-meal’ snacks. However, if we allow for the additional cost of milk at 75p, our careful shopping means that we’ve got £2.59 left over [Maths fans that’s: (3 x £7) – (£9.70+£7.96+£0.75)] in case we need a top-up of anything.

Wish us luck!

Thanks, in advance, for your support again this year!

Related Posts

£1-a-Day 2017

£1-a-Day 2016

£1-a-Day 2015

£1-a-Day 2014

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 £1-a-Day (2018) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today, we discussed the power of Google Search – including some shortcuts for ‘power-users’ that speed-up search results.

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 Tablet Coaching: The Power of Search! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

In this, our penultimate lesson for this Group, we recapped ‘sampling music’ (legally, of course) and ‘storing photographs’.

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 Laptop Coaching: Music Management & Photo Storage appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today, we discussed the key features & benefits of the various Browsers that are available for an Android Tablet.

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 Tablet Coaching: The Browser (Part 1) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today, we recapped the key features and benefits of Microsoft’s ‘OneDrive’ App.

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 Laptop Coaching: One Drive (Recap) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today’s lesson was a very flexible one! We spent time 1-to-1 with each Pupil addressing their individual needs

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 Laptop Coaching: Open Session appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today, we lookeed at the capabilities of the built-in Camera pre-installed in modern Android tablets.

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 Tablet Coaching: The Camera App appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Tuesday Class : With the new update rolling-out to all PCs in the past week, today, we looked at the new features and improvements of this latest version of Windows

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 Laptop Coaching: Windows 10 – April 2018 Update (Tuesday Class) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Monday Class : With the new update rolling-out to all PCs in the past week, today, we looked at the new features and improvements of this latest version of Windows.

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 Laptop Coaching: Windows 10 – April 2018 Update (Monday Class) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

After last week’s Lesson covering setting-up eMail, today, we discussed:-

• Attachments
• CC vs BCC
• Adding a permanent signature
• Spell-checker

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 Tablet Coaching: Setting up eMail (Part 2) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

After Part 1 last week, today we continued to look at managing files using a ‘USB Stick’.

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 Laptop Coaching: File Management (Part 2) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Tech Blog:

Today, we discussed how to set up eMail on a typical Tablet.

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 Tablet Coaching: Setting up eMail (Part 1) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

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 Laptop Coaching: File Management (Part 1) appeared first on Steve's Blog.