On one of sunniest days of the year (so far) we headed off to the quaint town of Market Bosworth.

A smooth journey there, although the sat-nav did take us through Hinkley town which slowed things down a tad.

It seemed that the good weather had brought everybody out today! Parking was challenging, but we did have a spot of luck grabbing a space in a pay-and-display just as someone was leaving. Oh yes, very quaint here… a Sunday Market too!

After the quickest of wanders, around this beautiful market town it was time for some light refreshment, where the only place we found that had an empty table was The Black Horse Restaurant. Nice coffee! Next stop? The Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre.

What a find this was! Managed by Leicestershire County Council (LCC), they’d done a grand job with a Visitor Centre, a large restaurant/café, plenty of picnic spots and some nice walks too! Admission price was a very reasonable £8 each.

For us, the highlight was the Visitor Centre where across multiple galleries there was everything you needed to know about this significant battle in our history.

Making the entry ticket even better value was that it gave FREE entry for the next twelve months – so I think a return visit is definitely in order!

A nice touch! This was a memorial to everyone who fought and gave their life in the War of the Roses.

That was a great day out, and we were very impressed with the quality of the multiple galleries dreamed-up by LCC.

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 Bosworth Bound appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It was a gorgeous day today (the best for ages) so we took a short drive to Stamford.

It seems the rest of the world had the same plans and to say that the town was ‘buzzing’ was a massive understatement!

We managed to pick up pretty much everything we set out to buy, including a roasting tin, two cases of Adnam’s low-alcohol cider. Living the dream ehh?!?!

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 Stamford Stroll appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today, we invited Jo, Janet, Carol and recently widowed Chris around to ours for Lunch.

We were hoping that the glorious weather this past week would continue, and we could eat outside – maybe for the final opportunity this year! . The country has experienced five consecutive days of 30-degree temperatures in the week just gone, where, according to the Met Office, that’s another new weather-related record! It’s all very unusual for SEPTEMBER and whether it’s ‘man-made’ or not, it’s been very humid too, making it so uncomfortable, especially when trying to sleep.

Checking the latest forecast, it looks like we’re in for another super-hot one! Never satisfied us, if it were a tad cooler, that would be better! – especially in the kitchen! Our only respite is that it looks like some rain from 3pm. Somewhat ironic then, that we’re off to Greece in a few weeks, in search of some Sun!!!!

In spite of the rising temperature in the kitchen (even with the fan ON) Ann pulled out all the stops and we ‘went French’ – and with Ann on cooking duties and me on wreckage control, the dream team was once again assembled!

Working on the principle that the weather forecast MIGHT be accurate, we timed things so that we’d be finished eating by the time the rain came at 3pm.

We stayed inside for the nibbles (just to keep cool)!. Jo and Janet had helpfully brought the whizzy Dyson fan with them, making the Lounge the best place to be! (Well, certainly the coolest!)

Then it was into the Garden for Mains…

Yes, that all went down a treat – even in the blistering heat! Luckily, we also moved the fan OUTSIDE and although it helped a little, it was SO humid!

Just before 2pm, we tucked into Dessert (again French inspired) and it was then that we noticed that the sky was beginning to change from glorious blue to ominous grey! .

We ignored it, as it was still so warm, but just fifteen minutes later – and 45 minutes ahead of the forecast with us just finishing Pud – we felt a few spots of rain. We were in two minds whether to ignore it, but a good job we didn’t!

In less than five minutes, the conditions changed from ‘damp’ to ‘torrential’ (and that’s no exaggeration). It rained so hard that together with gusts of wind that came out of nowhere, it blew the picture off the wall in the kitchen – that’s never happened before! We scampered indoors at lightning speed and were soon watching the storm conditions unfold! Phew! Our timing paid off – we’d chatted, we’d eaten, we’d drunk, eaten some more and still didn’t get wet! Brilliant!

The appalling conditions continued for another half-an-hour and then in typical UK fashion – out came the Sun! . In that time, we’d put the world to rights until just after 3.30, when our friends said their goodbyes and headed home.

We’d all had a great time. It was an imaginative menu and there was lots to do to pull it off. The sizzling and humid conditions made the preparation more challenging, but at least we beat the rain when we actually sat down to enjoy it all with our friends

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 Lunch with the Girls appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It’s that time of year again! The weather is improving and it’s time to ‘get the Band back together’.

In our case, not so much ‘the Band‘, but the Trainers! And those Trainers were the members of my Department from back in the 80s. We’ve kept in touch ever since – and today was the day!

Sadly, Rick (and Niall), Denise (and Steve) were unable to make it, but Roy (and Susan) and Gill (and Chris) made the pilgrimage to ours, in what turned out to be the best day of the year so far, weather-wise. And if the weather was good, that could only mean one thing! Naked knees! Out came the shorts – for the first time this year.

Ann didn’t disappoint on the food front and we were spoiled for choice today!

…and Dessert wasn’t bad either!

It had been great to see everyone and the food went down a treat whilst the weather remained kind to us all afternoon!

After Gill and Chris left, we stayed in the Garden nattering until just after 6.30! What a fab day!

Roy and Susan stayed over, so once the kitchen wreckage was sorted, we had the opportunity for a longer catch-up with what’s been happening in their world – we even a short video call from Janine in Columbus.

Ann, Roy & Susan (with Evie) took a walk in the evening sun just before 7pm, whilst I caught up with my emails.

We finished the evening watching two episodes of the new BBC series: Ten Pound Poms on iPlayer.

Today, I think Summer finally arrived!

Roy & Susan left us just before 10, Ann went swimming and I tidied 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 The Gang’s all here! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, that’s a first! We’re off for Afternoon Tea in a railway carriage that doesn’t go anywhere (No! NOT another rail strike day!!!)

In another first, we had snow today! The first for two years!!

Our visit to ‘Carriages of Cambridge‘ was a Christmas gift from our great friends, Jo & Janet, and we’d just got around to arranging it.

Thanks girls!

Located east of Huntingdon, in Fen Drayton, it was a shortish 40-minute drive for our unique experience of Afternoon Tea onboard a static train carriage!

Wow! Even if you’re NOT a train fanatic, you’ll be impressed with what they’ve recreated here. The attention to detail is fantastic, and if you listen hard enough, once seated (above the noise of happy punters tucking into excellent food) then you’ll hear the gentle sound of a diddley-dee train… and, feel a slight rocking motion (or was that just me?). There’s even steam coming from the carriages!

There’s plenty on offer from the Menus – probably too much! With three sorts of Afternoon Tea, something for everyone… they even do Doggy Bags!

All in all a GREAT experience! And unique too! It had a very professional feel about it all and I’m sure we’ll be back. If you’re tempted, you can book HERE.

Thanks again Jo & Janet – we had a great 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 Scones, Trains, and Automobiles! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We drove to Belvoir Castle today to meet up with mates (and newly retired) Dennis & Sandra. We’ve built up quite a portfolio of venues over the past five years for our ‘days out’ together.

Venues past…

Kedlestone Hall (May 2021)
Hardwick Hall (August 2020)
Castle Howard (December 2019)
The Royal Armouries Museum (March 2019)
Bolsover Castle (October 2018)
Belton House (May 2018)
York (February 2018)
Burghley House (October 2017)
Hull (May 2017)
Leeds (February 2017)

As per normal, with the help of my incredible (shrinking!) brain, I was certain we’d been there before, but again, as usual, I had no idea when! Nothing in any of my past blog posts to say we had ever been there, but Belvoir (rhymes with ‘fever’) rang a bell – albeit faintly!!

Cue ‘Annipedia‘ who recalled that we had visited this impressive Castle, back in the early 90s when we lived in Peterborough. We didn’t go inside during that visit – as it was closed – instead, we were there to watch a jousting competition with Ann’s brother and then, current muse, Hilary. Ahh! As it was PRE Blog days (I didn’t start blogging until May 2004) – that’s my excuse for not remembering the detail!

Back to here ‘here-and-now’! It was pretty much the A1 north all the way, but first, we had to get to the A1! Normally, no problem at all, but today? A pain in the a***! They had decided to shut the A43 (but there had been no advanced communication) and that meant we had to find another connecting route having encountered numerous ‘road closed’ signs everywhere, as we attempted to ‘miss out’ the ’43’!

What would normally take us about 75 minutes, eventually took us closer to 100! . We eventually got there, a little frazzled, but already thinking of how the journey home would play out? . Anyway, time to put that to one side and enjoy Belvoir and catch up with our friends’ news!

The Castle

And, not only a day of culture, but we’d also planned to try out their Afternoon Tea (purely in the name of research, you understand! )

Today’s factoid? Belvoir Castle was the last piece of work that the world-famous Capability Brown undertook before his death in 1783.

Factoid No2: The current owners: The 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland – the Manners family – are separated (but not divorced) and live in different parts of the Castle!

There were plenty of signs of wealth here and each room did NOT disappoint!

Time to look ‘below stairs’…

…and back ‘up top’, the view from the castle was spectacular!

Time for Afternoon Tea! It turned out to tick all the boxes (apart from the plastic table cloth rubbing against my legs throughout – it was like getting engulfed in a shower curtain!). Excellent sandwiches, flavoursome tea and a good selection of cakes and scones (plus, they came round with seconds!!!). At £25 each, it was great value!!

The Gardens

There was plenty to see in the Gardens, but we probably didn’t do it justice because of the time running out on our car-park tickets. It features the ‘Spiral Walk’, ‘Rose Garden’, ‘Japanese Woodland’, ‘Duchesses Garden’, ‘Duke’s Walk’ and ‘Hermits Garden’. Not enough? Add to that: ‘The Dairy’, ‘Stumpery’, ‘Tufa Grotto’, ‘Lord Granby’s Cave’, ‘Mausoleum’ and the ‘Root and Moss House’ (more of that later!). All-in-all, plenty to look at INSIDE and OUTSIDE too! Today, the weather was ideal for the latter!

…and the famous ‘Root and Moss House’ where we sat and planned our next get-together this year – a trip to Chatsworth House in November.

With our next trip pencilled-in we headed for the exit and said our goodbyes. It had been a great day (apart from the journey there!), good to catch up with friends and enjoy this continuing heatwave!

Just one more responsibility – a trip to Denis’ and Mae’s graves in Heckington to pay our respects! .

Thankfully, we successfully navigated around the A43 problems going home, and were indoors by 6.15pm.

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 Belvoir Castle with Dennis and Sandra appeared first on Steve's Blog.

They say: ‘Every day’s a School Day’, and for us, the past five days was to be taken literally. It had been time for our first visit to Marlborough College and its annual Summer School. The popular event had been cancelled for two years in a row because of Coronavirus, but at last, we were finally on our way!

It was a five-day educational affair where Ann had chosen ‘Improvers Italian’ and ‘Painting Doors & Windows in Watercolour‘ whilst I opted for ‘Piano for Beginners‘ and ‘Archery/Clay Pigeon Shooting/Rifles‘.

There’s an amazing range of Adult Education courses on offer at Marlborough College and you can see the full list for 2022 HERE.

Oh, one other important point with learning potential in mind: our week in question coincided with potentially the hottest week on record with Monday/Tuesday heading for the upper 30s, maybe even the 40°C mark!!

Getting there… (Click!)

As the week unfolded, it seems that temperature records were definitely about to be broken! The previous hottest day was eventually beaten by 1.6 degrees, according to the Met Office with a high of 40.3°C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, becoming the hottest temperature recorded in the UK. So, with records broken, it wasn’t the best time, perhaps, to be in a classroom for five days or out shooting in the open!!!

On our way there on the Sunday before, we dropped into National Trust’s Buscott Park for a look around, and a picnic.

We’re not sure why we didn’t visit when we were last staying this way over Easter back in 2012. – it would have been an obvious choice for us and we have a theory that it might not have been under the stewardship of NT back then!

We learned that although National Trust now own the bricks and mortar, the house is still lived in by the family, hence, no photography was allowed inside. We deduced that back in 2012, the NT may not have been involved. Further proof of a recent(ish) acquisition is that there’s still no NT branding anywhere. The parking arrangements were very relaxed and with the temperature now touching the low 30s, we began with a picnic under the (very welcome) shade of a tree.

Time to introduce my guest Editor for this Post – Ann – who knows a thing or two twenty about our latest find.

Buscot Park

The House

The first Lord Faringdon, Sir Alexander Henderson (1850-1934) was a financial titan, who was a major investor in the railways and a canny stockbroker. He entered Parliament in 1898 and continued to grow his fortune and collect art. Successive generations of the Faringdon family have invested in paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Graeme Sutherland, Van Dyck and Burne-Jones – and many of them are on show here, where the collection is beautiful and elegantly displayed. Overall, this was a little gem, and although we weren’t sure what to expect, it really ‘hit the mark’. One of those houses that looks like a HOUSE and not a MUSEUM. Go visit!

The Gardens

Beautifully maintained gardens with not a stray weed in sight, so they must have a battalion of gardeners on the payroll. It was good to see it in such good condition (especially, given the current dry weather conditions).

With our visit completed it was off in the direction of the Premier Inn in Marlborough taking in a quick pitstop at Three Trees Farm Shop with its FOUR CCS chargers (four!!!!) for a top-up of leccy, courtesy of Instavolt.

Checking-in at the Premier Inn just up the road was blindingly efficient, and we were soon settling into room 307 for our five-day stay. Thankfully, with temperatures outside hitting the 30s, our room was air-conditioned with easy-to-use controls – Bliss!

All that was left to do was to re-read the joining instructions for tomorrow (pencil – check, eraser – check, folder – check) – and we’re ready to re-enter the world of education!!! . Now where’s that cool drink and my apple for Teacher?!

Every Day a School Day ehh! (Click!)

Monday
A roastingly hot day was forecast, but fortunately (at least for now) we were under cover for the initial welcome. Registration was simplicity itself, thanks to Marlborough being a well-oiled machine at this sort of stuff. They’ve been running these Summer Schools since the early 70s – and it showed! First impressions of the College? It was truly massive, sprawling in all directions with its own Chapel and a gigantic man-made mound where Merlin is supposed to be buried. Signage was minimalist, so it was a good job the Tutors were on hand to lead the way! . Ann is studying Italian for Improvers and Painting Windows & Doors in Watercolour and I’m channelling my inner toff and covering Archery, Clay Pigeon Shooting and Rifles together with Piano for Beginners (not at the same time!)

Archery and Clay Pigeon Shooting: Sid was our lead instructor with Ed as his able assistant. Sid was an ex-Met Copper and certainly knew his stuff about firearms! One of the group had read that in a previous life he had also been a Close Protection Officer too! ‘Nuf said!!!

Boy! It sure was hot, but the class was small, meaning that we had plenty of opportunities to get involved providing a welcome distraction to the blistering temperatures! Expert instruction from all parties meant we were soon hitting the archery targets rather than any passers-by!!!! – and that’s always a good start! . The archery brought back the time Ann and I spent as members of the local Archery Club in Kettering, but I’d say that the personal attention here was greater and the lessons better structured overall. I found it amazing how much I’d remembered from those local Club lessons, resulting in me only missing the target twice in 30+ shots. I was also told I had a good technique!

The clay pigeon shooting was a first for me as I don’t think I’ve handled anything more serious in my life than a spud-gun and a water-pistol as a sprog (plus a .22 and a .303 rifle as part of my stint in the Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps (714 Squadron, since you asked) at school back in the early 70s). I learned a lot about the several types of guns and cartridges available for clay pigeon shooting as well as an appreciation of the evolution of the guns themselves. I also learned how easy it was to bruise your shoulder (despite the ‘kick’ from the guns being quite gentle).

Rifles tomorrow!! . 12.30 and time for our sit-on-a-bench-in-the-shade lunch! The College does provide an excellent in-house restaurant that we would sample later in the week.

Tinkling the Ivories: Concealed in the newer buildings of Planet Marlborough was my Piano class. We were another small group – just 6 of us – where Trish was our coach with Kerry as her assistant. I think we were all about the same level – complete novices – but some had studied music at school/college/uni. I was therefore probably the real rookie in the group! Hats off to Marlborough College though for its facilities, as after the initial group session with Trish we were all given our own room AND our own piano! Trish had a great teaching style – best described as musically gifted and (when coaching us) quietly assertive! Kerry was very hands-on and provided lots of practical advice during the numerous 1-to1 sessions.

The main group sessions included all the essentials: scales, playing specific notes, general musical notation, signatures and the piano’s pedals (first error: the left one is NOT the clutch!). Butmostly it was about ‘having a go’ and it was great fun! It was still only a one-handed affair (the right hand) for me, but we were all going to learn Bass Clef tomorrow and maybe using BOTH HANDS with each playing something different at the same time! . Slow progress for me, but despite my somewhat frantic fingerwork, at least there was no chance of further bruising my gun shoulder! . Verdict? This afternoon had felt good!

Tuesday
Rifles: Air rifles to be exact! Again, plenty of time for practice. We were introduced to Zak (another of Sid’s team) who looked about 12 but was a seasoned shooter (having been schooled by his farm-owning Mum & Dad, presumably in between bottle feeds). He took charge of the session and really knew his stuff. First, we shot at metal targets resembling ducks (with very dented heads), and then it was ‘proper’ targets (see below!!). We finished the session by picking off spent cartridges scattered around the range! The air rifles had telescopic sights and that made for some impressive results for all of us – especially me!

We also did some more clay-pigeon shooting with Sid – this time we had a choice of guns! I went ‘old school’ and chose one with ‘twin hammers’. This meant it was all manually primed – an intensive task including: inserting the cartridges… cocking the (two) hammers… aiming… firing… ejecting the two spent cartridges… and finally, nursing my shoulder..! None of this new-fangled safety-catch mechanism either! Much to my surprise, I hit five out of the six clays. In the end, I was beaten by colleague Phil, who just happened to be a Farmer and who just happened to know quite a bit about shotguns (he owned four) – Consequently, he shot six out of six!!!

Tomorrow it’s more archery (with sights!) and more rifle shooting (proper rifles – probably a .22).

Tinkling the Ivories: More music theory today from Trish – the BASS Clef and its relation to the treble clef. Again, plenty of time for practice on a real piano. Today, we tried more attempts using the LEFT hand and then more practice with the right hand. Finally, combining the two. I really struggled with this (but I knew I would, but Trish was confident I’d be fine by Friday). I began to compose my ‘Flying Pig’ symphony as I was slightly frustrated that I couldn’t crack the ‘hands thing’

Tomorrow, more left and right hand working in perfect harmony!

Wednesday
Shooting: We started with Archery today – this time with sights! Bizarrely, in spite of the expert tuition (Cheers Ed!), it’s fair to say we all did marginally worse than without sights! How strange! . After eventually locating our arrows close to the A4, Ed also gave us a really interesting talk on the evolution of both the ‘bow’ and the ‘arrow’. Fascinating stuff, where I hadn’t realised there were arrows used in past wars that had a whistle built-in (designed to spook the enemy horses during a cavalry charge).

Then it was offsite to shoot with proper rifles – first a 306 calibre and then a .22 rifle. We all did much better!

Tomorrow’s activity? Even more rifle shooting.

Tinkling the Ivories: More practice for all of us, where I attempted to get my left hand to work independently of my right – an epic fail! . In truth, I was about as effective as the rest of my classmates, so that made me feel better! Trish reminded us that we’d only been doing this for three half-days, and we shouldn’t expect too much at this stage.

Tomorrow will bring even more practice!! But I’ll remember today as it was the day that I ended my morning and afternoon sessions completely exhausted! . Who knew that learning could be so draining? (Well, I did actually – and this had been a full-on reminder!!)

At around 6.30pm, we headed back to the College to try out their evening meal service. Great value at just £28 for a full four-course meal and tea/coffee. I might need a new shoulder though as the bruise is coming out!

Thursday
Shooting: Actually, no shooting today! Not a mistake, just part of the whole bigger picture ‘gun’ lesson plan. We visited a Gun School in Barbury – imaginatively entitled the Barbury Shooting School – where we met a lot of the staff. We enjoyed a detailed discussion about the different sorts of guns used, how the Club was formed, why it exists, and how it functions as a business.

We were also allowed into the on-site Gun Shop (cue: ‘kiddy in a sweet shop’ visual!) that contained a wide range of ‘toys’ from a gun suitable for beginners like me, to a rather larger ‘beast’ designed to cripple Land Rovers and similar moving vehicles. I’m not sure why anyone would need those, but obviously, there’s a demand from someone, somewhere! Looking at the type of guns we used, I was astounded to hear that the (very) rich and famous can pay up to £100K for a custom-made shotgun!! I’m not sure it makes much difference to the poor live targets, especially when a typical £800 equivalent model would dispatch them just as quickly!

We said goodbye to the Shooting School and headed for something much calmer! We dropped into a couple of Farms to understand more about how Grouse and Partridge ‘Shoots’ are organised. I also got up-close-and-personal to some organic wheat, some organic oats and a roebuck deer (well, within 200 metres)!

Tomorrow, it’s the ‘big competition’ where we all fire everything – and where we’re scored along the way for the big prize. This exercise includes conventional Bows, Compound Bows, Longbows, Bows suited when riding a horse, Rifles and two types of shotgun. Talk about the ‘Big Bang’ where Marlborough had them all (apart from the horse!)

Tinkling the Ivories: More practice today mainly to try and continue to teach us all to once more get our left hand playing something different from the right. For me, shall we say it was still ‘work in progress’. I tried my first duet with Ian, a fellow delegate – Elton John need not bother to call, but we got there, and the tune was recognisable. I really found this difficult… but on the plus side, so did everyone else!!!

Tomorrow is our final day, and it’s more of the same!

Friday
Shooting: The day of the Competition! .

We kicked-off with target practice using a variety of bows, followed by ‘Archery Golf’ (where the objective was to get the arrow nearest the hole, some 80 metres away). Next, was an hour of Clay-pigeon shooting (with the added challenge of twin clays!) using 12-bore and 20-bore shotguns. My shoulder felt the pressure again (literally!)

Finally, target practice using cartridge-driven .22 air-rifles. All-in-all, this was a gruelling (but enjoyable) morning and when the winner was announced I came joint 3rd. No surprise to any of us that Farmer Phil won by quite a margin.

Tinkling the Ivories: The day of the public performance! (well, in front of the rest of the group anyway!) . Ian (who had sat next to me throughout) and I turned out a repeat duetted performance of a mournful piece entitled “Mysterious Procession”. Safe to say, we won’t be releasing it (even) as a (very) limited edition single, but it wasn’t bad! . As the afternoon came to a close, we were given more music theory (notations of speed) and more practice followed.

The end result? After five half-days I was told I’d made great progress, but I am disappointed that I couldn’t seem to separate my left and right hands, as they still insist on only playing together – not independently!!!

Meanwhile, How had Ann got on? We, she easily managed to take her watercolour painting skills up another level this week, learning more techniques whilst specialising in doors and windows. Mrs P also enjoyed her Italian Class that built on her use of Italian verbs, tenses and vocabulary. By comparison, she certainly found her sessions less physically demanding than mine.

I think the results below say it all! Eccellente!

Worth going?

A resounding ‘yes’ from both of us on many levels. At its most obvious, it was good to be in ‘learning mode’ after usually being the other side of the desk. For me, mentally, it was a real stretch and I did find it all very tiring (Ann, less so!). The quality of teaching was excellent, and I especially liked the ‘hands-on’ approach. More broadly, meeting new faces and enjoying the good food made it even more pleasurable! OK, the legendary (free) ‘Marlborough Doughnuts’ were nowhere to be seen in my groups, but that’s surely one reason (of many) to return at some point in the future.

A thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying week! Thanks to Marlborough College and all the Staff!

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 Summer School 2022 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

This was ambitious, even by our standards! Ten of our neighbours here for a full-blown three-course Sunday long lunch!

In addition to Ann’s legendary skills in the kitchen, I had a go at ‘something’ (always worrying when I’ve got a whisk in my hand!). Motivated by my mantra: chocolate in everything, I created a ‘mystery Pudding’ to be revealed at the time of serving.

We’d managed a lot of the prep yesterday – mostly peeling, slicing and beating – and that certainly took the pressure off today! So, what was left to do before our guests arrived? A bit more food prep, some pre-cooking, a tidy up, some dusting, a quick floor wash., a swift vacuum and finally, arranging the therapy sessions for the dishwasher!

Phew! We were now ready to enjoy the important bit – the food and the company!

Pretty much all of the gang were invited: Jo, Janet, Tom, Julie, John, Trish, Paul and Karen. Unfortunately, David & Rosi couldn’t make it, but we aimed to save them some dessert!

Given the numbers, we took a chance by planning to eat outside where the weather, luckily, turned out to be kind to us with no sign of rain and a pleasant 17℃ – although it did cool down significantly, into the evening. For once, the Bank Holiday forecast was accurate!

Kick-off was 2pm for drinks with everyone sitting down for 2.30.

We’re off!

After a few nibbles, next came the main event; and with enough food – especially the roast potatoes – to feed the whole of Northamptonshire, we were all soon settling into a well-worn routine. The routine of course was; chat, eat, drink… then repeat! In other words, perfect!

And of course, after the main course came dessert! Plenty of choices today – three in fact – where Ann had created a rather humungous Pavlova…

…together with the perfect complement in the shape of an equally impressive Apricot Crumble…

…whilst I’d been a bit handy in the dessert department by finally revealing my ‘mystery Pudding’ that turned out to be… (drum-roll)

…a rather gooier-than-I-expected ‘Twix Cheesecake’ (mk1). This was my first attempt, hence the ‘mk1’ moniker – and it’s back to the Galley later, for some minor next-time tweaks.

What to choose ehh? Fortunately, in this house, seconds and thirds are actively encouraged, so no pressure for a decision (just pressure for the sequence!)

Well done then, to the few who managed to resist the temptation of triple visits! (it wasn’t many!) As you might expect, in spite of the slight experimental nature of MY contribution, everything went down a treat!

We ate, we drank, and we chatted in a generous fashion! As the afternoon continued, the temperature dropped, and we were all thankful that we’d dressed in layers!

The afternoon passed in a flash – it was five o’clock before we knew it! Jo and Janet had to leave a little ahead of the teas and coffees because they were hosting a Gin Evening at theirs (you’d be forgiven in thinking that it’s 24/7 partying ’round these parts), meanwhile, the rest of us ‘struggled on’ as best we could!

It had been great to get together at possibly our final eat-outside-en-masse this Summer. The food and the wine helped to keep the conversations going, as did the OK(ish) weather, We certainly had enjoyed plenty of time chatting – so that was a big bonus!

A couple of hours later, as the temperature dropped even further, and with the dishwasher hitting its third (and final) job for the day, the rest of our guests called it a night! We eventually said our goodbyes just after 8pm.

It really was lovely to see everyone – now that’s what I call a proper long lunch!

And talking of goodbyes, as we cleared up and returned the kitchen and dining room to a state of temporary idleness, it felt like ‘bye-bye Summer’ too!

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 Ten for a Bank Holiday Lunch! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Letting me loose on any DIY task is always a risk!

And recently was one of those (ahem!) ‘opportunities’ to demonstrate my talents (or lack of them!). Specifically, Ann’s new mini-greenhouse. It looked splendid in the pictures online, but like most things these days, it arrived (from those very nice people at Access Garden Products) as a self-assembly flat-pack.

Oh joy!

So, with the public within half a mile of me warned to stay indoors and to blindfold their pets, I armed myself with a screwdriver and more importantly, my reading glasses – and the challenge commenced!!! I guess it was one of those times when everyone in the Close welcomed social distancing!!

Luckily, the said flat-packs came with a very comprehensive assembly booklet, but unluckily, it started to rain about halfway through the exercise, reducing the booklet to tissue paper.

By the time I invited my trusty assistant, friend and neighbour (and far more competent) David to the task, it was raining hard, but at least I’d assembled about three-quarters of it.

Actually, I was quite proud of my achievements. No personal injuries, and no humans nor pets harmed!

With the back assembly and the shelves in place, I was on a roll…

…or not!

We soon discovered that some materials were missing from the package (the plastic running tape to support the glass) and so we couldn’t finish the job and add the finishing touch – the glass panels. Rain then stopped play for a few days!

Fast-forward a few days to Monday, and the Sun was now out (and the missing parts were in!). On with the task then!

I hate handling glass, it’s a real pane (groan!!!) and there were six of the beasts! Anyway, it all went very smoothly, and within the hour, it was ‘job done’. Pets’ blindfolds were removed, and neighbours breathed a sigh of relief, as normality returned…

…whilst the geraniums prepared themselves for their new home for the Winter!

Maybe I’m better at DIY than I thought! Time will tell! EDIT: September, 2022 – it’s still standing!

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 The Greenhouse Effect appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Well, I haven’t been here since the 14th of December 2011! – for my wedding! !

Click on the button below for a trip down memory lane…

Welcome back to 2020! The reason for today’s visit was an invitation to a private tour around Kelmarsh’s well-known Gardens (where Mrs P is a volunteer-gardener).

9.55am: On arrival, we followed the arrows to the rear of the Hall, where a member of the Kelmarsh team pointed us in the right direction. Given the tropical weather of the past few days, this morning looked like it was going to be a bit of a disappointment! There was a trace of blue in the sky – just a trace – but that was to change later to grey, accompanied by a well-needed downpour of rain of biblical proportions! Luckily, we were to miss the moisture by a whisker!

10.10am: Given the really hot weather of late – and the lack of rain, first impressions of the Gardens were excellent, with hardly a weed in sight, with a blaze of colour for us to enjoy!

…even if I didn’t know the names of some most of what I saw!

Mrs P did though!

10.25am: Looking at the sky, where its light blue hues had changed to a depressing mid-grey – so we quickened our pace..!

…but in spite of the deteriorating weather…

…the flora still looked in rude health!

10.30am: We could hear thunder in the distance, so we called it a day and headed back to the car.

10.40am: It had been a very memorable (but slightly curtailed) visit, but the Gardens looked fantastic and it was great to see Kelmarsh Hall again after all these years. We hadn’t been in the car long before it belted it down with rain, so it looked as if our timing had been well-judged.

As usual, click on the button below to see the photo gallery with some additional photographs (and none of my chat!)

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 Return to Kelmarsh appeared first on Steve's Blog.

An early start for us today as we spent Saturday and Sunday with Richard and Nicki at their place in Banstead.

Saturday

We left home just after 7.30 and drove over to Huntingdon station. Why not take the car? Well, it’s not the getting there, it’s the getting home part. Last time we tried it on a Sunday by car, it took twice as long to get back as it did to get there – Ahh! I’d quite forgotten how congested it can get ‘darn sarf‘ – and how busy the M25 was, even on a Sunday!

As things turned out, it was a text-book journey there with all our connections on-time or slightly early! Rich & Nicky picked us up from Sutton station just after 10.30 and we were soon catching-up over coffee & cake at theirs!

But apart from the social aspect, we had a cunning plan in mind — and that was to tidy up/prune their garden and plant as many bulbs as the space allowed.

We were reasonably optimistic about the weather having checked it daily for the past three days. Being November, it wasn’t going to be the warmest of days, but at least the forecast promised dry weather. I’m not the world’s most enthusiastic gardener, but with the appropriate clothing, I’d be OK… wouldn’t I? wouldn’t I??

…errr NO!

Everything started well: It was dry, 8 degrees and whilst Nicki and Ann turned the soil in the back garden, I concentrated on the pruning out the front.

…and it certainly needed a haircut!

After about an hour, with its new trimmed look, it was ‘job done!

…just as the rain started to come down in buckets (this wasn’t forecast!) together with a drop in temperature as the sun beat its retreat! Any one of those factors would have been enough to ‘down tools’, but not us four!

We soldiered-on, getting progressively wetter (and in my case, progressively grumpier) as the rain became more persistent. We pushed on, and eventually, the final bulbs were in by 3.45 but with no improvement in the weather, we called it a day and cleared-up…

…but not before admiring all our work!

With the ‘toiling of the soil’ over, it was time to turn out attention to… the evneing meal! Richard had planned ahead and prepared his signature dish: “Garlic Roast Lamb”, whilst the rest of us got cleaned up!

Whilst the food cooked. all that was then left to do was to chill-out warm-up in front of the log-burner!!

The meal didn’t disappoint and after us all digging-in for seconds, we all agreed it had been a great reward for all our efforts today!

Next stop was a movie – and after a thorough review of Netflix and Amazon Prime we settled on Daddy’s Home from 2015 courtesy of the latter.

Starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, it was the kind of movie that (for us) was laugh-out-loud funny – we loved it!

Our day ended perfectly and as a bonus, we appear to be slightly ahead with our gardening plans. Tomorrow, it’s pruning and numerous visits to the local dump.

Sunday

Sunday’s weather promised a dry day and when we peeked through the curtains around 8am, it looked like the promise had been kept (although it was a little foggy!) – but at least it was DRY! In fact, as the morning ticked-away, the temperature eventually ‘soared’ to 10°C by lunchtime! Happy days!!!

Today was about continuing the mega-prune and generally tidying up the garden as much as we could.

I say ‘mega’ as it required two separate trips to nearby Epson’s Green disposal site (about a 20-minute drive away) to get rid of our enthusiastic clippings! After all our previous visits earlier in the year, I think they’re getting to know us there by sight now – we’re be on first-name terms soon!

After almost three hours, we downed tools around 11.45, satisfied with what we’d achieved. Whilst Richard and I headed back from our last disposal trip (for this visit anyway!), Nicki and Ann prepared a quick lunch that would allow us to get a slightly earlier train home.

It was all delicious, and we reflected on how much progress our hosts have made since they moved in!

Perfect timing! We finished lunch by around 1pm and having said our goodbyes to Richard, Nicki dropped us back to Sutton Station. Next stop Victoria, and then King’s Cross!

The 16.13 was on time (although we had about a 45 minute wait) and we were soon on our way back to Huntingdon. A trouble-free journey along the A14 meant we were home just before 5pm. OK four hours is a long time on public transport and if the roads had been perfect, we could have driven it in two-and-a-half hours – but when was the last time the road conditions were perfect!

…and the above made it all worthwhile!

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 Bulbs for Banstead appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Our final day in London today!

Ahh, that’s better! I feel a walk down Oxford Street coming on (before midday!)

On our list today…

9.20am: We were out earlier than yesterday, but confident we’d miss the rush on the Tube. How wrong we were! It was nose-to-armpit for the whole of our journey in, and reminded us both of how travelling around the capital used to be when we were based. A sensory experience I thought I’d never have to endure again!!!

The Samsung Shop

9.45am: Our first stop of the day was the Samsung Shop in Oxford Street – aka The Samsung Experience. It’s (apparently) the ‘Mecca’ for Samsung fan-boys and girls, and it looked very upmarket inside. I’m not a fanboy myself – far from it – I simply choose the brand that offers the best techy-spec! However, in theory at least, you can’t do better than this official shop for all your ‘bits and bobs’ for their phones. In my particular case, I’m on the hunt for some very special (and very new) wired chargers. They’ve only been around for about a fortnight, but I felt optimistic!

I already knew these two ‘species’ – Chargus Wattus Maximus Major (and Minor) were like ‘hen’s teeth’, but the official shop was bound to stock them, weren’t they?

Weren’t they????

Well, it turned out to be a completely wasted journey! (apart from helping me to increase my step-count for today!) As I enquired if they stocked the new ’15W super-charger’ and maybe even the ’45W hyper-charger’, the Assistant looked mighty embarrassed as he whispered “No sir, we don’t have either, and we’ve no idea when they’ll be here”.

A bit disappointing considering it’s their flagship store!
So, what’s all the fuss about these chargers? Well, they’re both able to charge the new generation of Samsung phones from completely empty to completely full in… wait for it… just over an hour! Amazing technology, and a real life-saver if you’ve ever need to charge your phone in record time!

To add insult to injury, I was advised by the Samsung Shop to try Currys opposite or Carphone Warehouse down the road. Of course, I did, but of course, they’d not got them either!

On our way to our next stop – St Paul’s Cathedral – we couldn’t help admire how much better Tottenham Court Road station now looked. Very shiny and very spacious too!

St Paul’s Cathedral

10.25am: Time to forget tech for a while and concentrate on something much older. We exited the Tube at St Paul’s and headed for the Cathedral. Neither of us had been here for a good many years, and so we were looking forward to admiring this famous landmark inside and out. Once again, our 2-for-1 tickets saved us a packet – Total admission price? £20 instead of £40!!

It didn’t disappoint..!

Superb architecture that looked like it was decorated yesterday. Beautiful!

The Crypt was just as interesting and included the resting place of two military heavyweights – Nelson and Wellington.

A quick pit-stop next to the Crypt, before heading off to our next stop…

The Bank of England Museum

11.35am: We were a little early for Lunch, so we decided to track-down the location of the Bank of England Museum – especially as it had now started raining. A short walk later (after being re-directed when we mistakenly entered the Bank itself!) we arrived at the Museum, literally just round the corner. No queues and so we were inside in the dry very quickly.

What a find this was! Five separate galleries explaining the history of this famous institution, as well as plenty of interactive exhibits to attract the young (and me too!)

Entry is free, and there’s plenty on show to enjoy. It’s a light and airy space with plenty of emphasis on interactivity. Want to control inflation? Check. Seen a ten-bob note? Check. Wonder how they actually create money? Check.

There is so much to see here, and it’s all presented in a clear and well-constructed fashion.

If you’ve an hour-or-two to kill and you’re in the area, then this is a no-brainer (especially if it’s raining – and it WAS.. still!).

This had been a most delightful of discoveries – and for once, we’re so glad it started raining, otherwise we may never looked for it!

12.35pm: We decided to walk back towards St Paul’s where there was a Café Rouge. There was method in our madness, as I could use the gift voucher that Sally B had bought me for my Birthday! – Thanks Sal!!

1.05pm: I think we arrived just in time! It was already 80% full when we arrived, and after we were seated, they kept on arriving! They’re obviously doing something very right here!

We were soon seated and served (a good start!) and when our food arrived, it was piping hot.

We both chose from the fixed-price two-course menu. Risotto and then Crumble for me, whilst Ann opted for the Chicken and Chips followed by Chocolate Fondant Pudding with ice-cream.

It was all delicious and in spite of how busy they were, our two waiting-staff were a ‘well-oiled machine’. We left, just as the restaurant approached 100% capacity – yep, perfect timing!

2.10pm: We took the short walk back to St Paul’s Tube dodging the showers.

3.05pm: Arriving back at the ibis, there was time for a couple of hours to recharge batteries (phones AND humans) before we’re out again on our way to (for me) highlight of the day – the Theatre.

5.30pm: Fully recharged, we took the now well-trodden path back to Stratford Station – this time heading for Leicester Square Tube. The Theatre is right next door, so that made things easier!

The Theatre

We’re seeing tonight’s performance of The Man in the White Suit at its new home of Wyndham’s Theatre.

Those of you of a certain age will remember the 1951 satirical comedy film of the same name made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. I love any film out of Ealing and this new Play, was going to be a real treat!

Starring Stephen Mangan, Kara Tointon and Sue Johnston (just until December 6th) it originally opened at the Theatre Royal, Bath in September 2019 before transferring to Wyndham’s Theatre. It’s only been running a few weeks in London, and I was eager to see how it translated to the stage. In fact, I learned later, that the original 1951 film itself was based on a Play so that makes this latest adaptation: ‘the-Play-of-the-film-of-the-Play!’

7.35pm: A slightly delayed ‘curtain up’, but it was worth the wait. I think we were both unsure of how the film version would translate to the stage, but it worked really well. The leads all acted their socks off and although it was possible to recognise certain scenes from the film, it all felt very different – in a good way! In fact, I’d say we both enjoyed it more than the film (and I really like the film!). It was longer too at around two-and-a-bit hours. Comedically, it was much more slapstick than its on-screen equivalent – with the occasional musical break – and it all came together very nicely! The very clever set-design allowed for some extremely sophisticated configurations, and the set-changes were as entertaining to watch as the production! Superb entertainment all-round!

9.45pm: As the actors took their bows, the audience showed their appreciation with very enthusiastic (and well-deserved) applause. Being a small theatre, we were able to exit without any fuss and were soon on the Tube back to the hotel (for the final time).

10.15pm: Luckily, the Tube was much less busy than on our journey in, but a problem at West Ham station meant that we all had to evacuate the carriage whilst the driver investigated ‘an incident’. Someone had helpfully (not!) set fire to a pile of newspapers in another carriage – and then left in a hurry! Luckily, the plucky driver poked the pile with a stick and manoeuvred it onto the platform where it burned out. We were soon back on-board and heading for our next – and final – stop, Stratford.

10.25pm: After leaving the Station, we weren’t sure whether our shortcut through the Stratford Centre would still be open – but it was! As we we walked though, we could see why…
There were quite a few homeless people settling down inside for the night in their makeshift beds – a sad and sorry sign of this modern age!!

As we exited at the other end, the only thing outnumbering the tube passengers at the start of our day, was a gathering of the Met’s finest! We’ve never seen so many boys (and girls) in blue just standing around. I think there was more here than the whole of Northamptonshire’s force put together!

We quickened our pace!

10.40pm: Back in the room! It’s been a long day for us, but it’s all been very worthwhile. We’ve packed a lot in (as we always do!) and even squeezed in some extra stuff too! Another very memorable ‘Birthday break’ – I wonder where we’ll be this time next year?

Home by lunchtime tomorrow!

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 London Mini-Break – Day 3 (of 3): Suits you Sir! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Here we are then, in the capital for my Birthday celebrations!

After yesterday’s retail therapy, today, it’s all about sightseeing, and we’re off to visit Westminster Abbey and The Banqueting House …and maybe more!
That means there’s at least THREE relics on show in London today then!

7.20am: Another lie-in – that’s the second one this year! Instead of ploughing through emails, it was a really nice change to wake up to a record-breaking number of text messages and social-media posts wishing me well. A great start to my day.

As we’re away, we only brought the first few cards with us – the rest will be opened when we get back. Thanks in advance… and for the various gifts too! I’ve heard there’s quite a few to open on our return!

8.45am: My ‘Birthday’ Breakfast in the Hotel was impressive in terms of its range. You’ll be pleased to hear that I did precede the above with a bowl of fresh fruit (hurrah!) but then go on to spoil the healthy intention with a couple of pastries (boo!)

Westminster Abbey

9.45am: My birthday celebration began with a spring in my step (early days yet!) as we took the short walk to Stratford Station, heading for our first sight-seeing opportunity – Westminster Abbey. It was a good day to travel underground (and stay inside) as the weather for London was already damp with more rain forecast. We were prepared for it and although I was pleased to see Ann, it WAS an umbrella in my pocket!

10.30am: By the time we arrived, the weather had deteriorated and it was now pouring! Luckily, the queue wasn’t too long and we were soon inside. The 2-for-1 offer had saved us a hefty £23.

Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside, but the excellent – and free – multimedia guide (portable video player and headphones) made up for it with Jeremy Iron’s soothing tones telling us all we needed to know. Simply, put, the interior was stunning with lots to see. Today’s Top Tip? With so much to take in, in addition to everything that’s in your normal eye-line, it helps to look down as well as up on a regular basis.

The Supreme Court

11.45am: In a change to the advertised programme we stumbled across The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom – just up the road in the direction of Whitehall. We already knew of it, just not exactly where it was.

Architectually, it was a fascinating building, with a mix of old (it used to be council offices) and the new (it had been extended and was very light and airy). Free admission too!

It had a very ‘open’ feel to it and was scrupulously clean. Inside there are just four Courts where supreme justice is served, so it’s kept very busy. Deserted today though!! A lovely piece of London!

A very interesting place and well-worth a visit if you’re also planning to see the Abbey, Parliament, Big-Ben etc etc. best of all, given its function, we were left completely free to wander around without any restrictions.

The Banqueting House

12.30pm: Next stop (and back on schedule) we arrived at The Banqueting House, home of the famous Charles I’s execution and Ruben’s ceiling – how’s that for contrast!!??

Beheading aside, the jaw-dropping moment was easily the Ruben’s ceiling on the first floor…

This was a real treat for me and the vibrancy of the colours, let alone the feat of actually creating it in the first place, was mind-blowing! If you’re interested in visiting, the location is easy to miss unless you’re specifically looking for it. Located between Downing Street and Trafalgar Square, opposite Horse Guards. Price of a (London) pint to get in!

Birthday Lunch

1.15pm: Birthday lunch was at the nearby The Clarence Pub – and perfectly timed as my feet were reminding me how much walking we’d done so far!

When it comes to food (birthday or not) I’m easily pleased, whilst Ann is far more discerning. The Hake from the specials board found a home with Mrs P, whilst I chose the Chicken Pie and Smashed New Potatoes. One thing we did agree on was the cider – it had to be Aspall on draught!

The National Portrait Gallery

2.05pm: Next stop – and our last for the day – was The National Portrait Gallery. Last time I was here was back in May 2016 with my old prog rocker mate, Ian. We were on our way to see supergroup Yes in concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Just like my previous visit, there was lots to see. Some familiar, others less so, but it made for a very enjoyable experience. For us, the amazing thing was that it was sometimes hard to tell whether it was a painting or a photograph! What a talent!!

Thoughtfully laid out by age, the displays showed-off a wide range of subjects and styles…

It felt like it was perfectly possible to stay here ALL DAY and not see the same portrait twice!

How many faces do you recognise?

Nice to see very modern interpretations too!

3.45pm: Tomorrow, we’re off to see a Play just up the road (more about that tomorrow), so we thought we’d beat the queues and pick-up our tickets today. It seemed like a good idea, but no such luck, as the Box Office politely informed us that our tickets won’t be ready until 30 minutes before the performance tomorrow. So, it was back on the Tube, as we headed back to the Hotel.

4.35pm: Phew! What a day! I may only feel 19 on the inside, but my feet definitely are all 63 years of me! We hobbled back from Stratford station, picking up some sandwiches along the way – all set for my Birthday Tea (where I’m not expecting candles!)

5.30pm: It’s certainly been an actioned-packed Birthday (just the way I like it) and if I didn’t get round to replying to all your best wishes on social-media, I’m working through them next. For those who sent me cards, as I mentioned earlier, we travelled light and I’m opening those when get home on Saturday – that goes for my presents too!

Now for a lie-down in a darkened room!

Previous Birthday Celebrations…

2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

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 London Mini-Break – Day 2 (of 3): Birthday Boy (2019) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Ann and I drove over to Stratford-upon Avon for our regular(ish) get-together with good friends: Alan, Mags, Ian and Ann. Our eatery of choice this time was The Swan’s Nest Hotel opposite the River.

It was the in-house eatery Bistrot Pierre that was our ultimate destination and I thought we’d never been to it before, only to discover immediately on being shown to our table, it was all very familiar! A quick check of this Blog revealed that Ian, Mags and I had been there as part of our regular Trainer ‘get-togethers’ back when we were earning: 30th August 2011!

Weather-wise, it was a glorious day! It would have been perfect for eating outside with a bright blue-sky and a temperature well into the low/mid 20s, but our table was already set inside and that’s where we stayed (although it was right by the big window in the corner, so at least we had a good view!)

Luckily, our table had been designed by King Arthur which meant it was easy to chat with everybody (most of the time). I say most because it was also very busy there, and very noisy too (technical term: ‘had atmosphere’). Still, we had plenty of opportunity to catch-up with everyone’s news, even though at times, we needed to raise our voices and it didn’t spoil the experience!

Food and service were both excellent – and the combination of the friendliest of waiting-staff and a wallet-friendly bill, did the trick! We all left with full bellies (even though none of us had Dessert) and a big smile.

Unusually, we didn’t set a date for our next get-together – more forgetfulness than anything else – but Mags had picked up on it and started the ball rolling by email. Looks like our next jaunt will be next February/March sometime.

Unusually for me, I didn’t take photos of the food! No, I wasn’t asleep! I was without my mobile phone today as it’s new, and whilst I wait for a protective case, it stayed safely at home for fear of me dropping it!

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 Best Nest! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It was our weekly Archery Class tonight!

So, after my generally sub-par performance last week, I’m hoping I’ll be on better form tonight – especially as my Mentor, Dave, is back to keep an eye on me!

Again tonight, conditions were perfect – not too warm, not too cold with a gentle breeze. It was a good turnout too, and we all noticed that it started to get dark a bit earlier impacting on how much time we had to shoot.

After a few rounds shooting at a target, I joined the Longbow group where Dave gave my technique a thorough examination. One of the things I’m noticing is that I can retain the said technique providing I’m there every week, but if I miss even a single lesson, then it’s a return to crapsville!

As things turned out, tonight was a good night for me – my best performance for some time – and I shot right up until about 8.15 (when the lack-of-light stopped play). Unfortunately, I’m not there next week, so it’ll be interesting to see the impact of this on my technique next 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 Bow Best? appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We always like to do something a little special for the August Bank Holiday – and this year was no different as we’d planned a two-day break in London.

The weather forecast promised a scorcher (especially in the capital) where temperatures are predicted to hit the low-thirties! Apparently another temperature-record will be broken today according to the Tabloids! (Actually, it was – we learned later that it had hit 33.2°C in London!)

Bank Holiday Monday

We’re travelling light! Just two bags between us (and one of those is purely ‘tech’!), so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on…

Being a Bank Holiday, we guessed that the train schedule would be somewhat messy. In fact, there had been announcements over the previous fortnight about NOT travelling AT ALL over the bank holiday! We knew Kettering station was affected, so we drove to Bedford and travelled to St Pancras from there. Arriving for the ticket queue at just after 10 (after a bit of a wrestle with the car-park ticket machine that required an ‘AS’ level to use!), where it seemed the rest of Northamptonshire was already there – and the station was heaving!

10.13am: With our queuing for our tickets over, the journey was happily, a trouble-free experience to the capital. It was our first trip on the new franchise that is East Midland Railways and not much has changed, but what had, was good including totally free wi-fi throughout on a train that arrived out of nowhere (based on its arrival time).

11.00am: We were soon joining a different hoard – on the Tube to our destination to Gloucester Road! And the tabloid promise was coming true – a scorcher was in the making for sure!

If it was warm above ground, imagine the joy of the Tube. Ahh, the Piccadilly Line – super-busy and every passenger (apart from the three Aussies next to me), getting more moist by the minute – there was more air coming out of the loudspeaker grille than the AC duct – what a way to travel on a Summer’s day!!!

11.30am: But before the Museum visits, it made sense to dump our bags. We’re staying at the (very) modestly-priced IBIS Styles in Gloucester Road (more about that later), and after losing some weight we headed for the Museum region, a five-minute walk around the corner.

The Science Museum

11.45am: First stop was the Science Museum. We haven’t been here for a while, but we’d heard it had had a makeover courtesy of the National Lottery.

Wow! What a change! One of the first exhibits celebrated the age of steam…

…followed by plenty of exhibits of cars through the ages…

Next, examples of how machines were powered after the steam generation, including…

There was also a big section on the future of transport – very thought provoking!

1.10pm: The highlight for us though was the GCHQ Exhibition on the lower-ground floor. There wasn’t that much to see, but what there was, was fascinating! It was a little like the exhibits at Bletchley Park, but in addition, it included more recent accounts of modern code-breaking.

An excellent exhibition and worth seeing even if you HAVE been to Bletchley Park. All-in-all a fascinating visit with much more than we expected! Well worth a visit!

1.45pm: Next stop was a fifteen-minute bus-ride away (on the No. 23) to the Design Museum, next to one of the entrances to Holland Park. In all our travels in London, we’d never come across this Museum before – and amongst all the other buildings in Kensington High Street, it stood out a mile, architecturally speaking! The Museum is open daily 10 until 6 and open late on the first Friday of every month until 8pm.

The Design Museum – Stanley Kubrick Exhibition

2.15pm: Unfortunately, we’d narrowly missed an exhibition from our old employer ‘Mr Sainsbury’ (that had closed the day before) ‘From Corn-Flakes to Cola’ – or so we thought. It was still advertised… and still running!

Located around the perimeter of the first floor was a wide range of label-designs, packaging ideas and typography from ‘back in the day’ (probably best NOT to be too specific) – but it certainly brought back memories!

For those of you who read my Blog and also have a connection with ‘good ol’ JS’, there’s some great memories to wallow in here!

2.45pm: Back to the main event then – the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition. We had to pre-book, but on arrival, after a quick pit-stop, we got in about an hour before ‘our slot’. We knew we were in for a treat as the media hadn’t given it a five-star review and Steven Spielberg has sung its praises too!

The Exhibition commemorates Kubrick’s life, twenty years after his passing, and is as comprehensive as it comes. Luckily for the curators, Kubrick seemed to keep everything – and his notes captured the minutiae of his profession perfectly: from camera angles, casting and story-boarding, it was all here. In short, the Exhibition comprehensively tells the story of this icon of a film-maker, exploring his unique command of the creative design process of film-making, from storyteller to director to editor.

The Exhibition illustrated how Kubrick created genre-defining worlds for his films and relived iconic scenes and memorabilia from The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more. In all, there were over 700 rare objects, films, interviews, letters and photographs – fantastic!

This had been one of the most comprehensive Exhibitions we’ve ever seen. The level of detail that Kubrick had recorded in the process of his film-making was simply amazing! And it was so good that someone had had the foresight to pull it all together for this exhibition.

4.00pm: We were all cultured-out by now and having been ‘spoilt’ by the Museum’s air conditioning, we certainly felt the heat when we came out. It was now (at least) the promised 31 degrees. We made for the nearest bus-stop – fortunately just a short walk away – where we only waited around 10 minutes for the number 49, that took us pretty much straight to our hotel! After a quick perusal around the local Waitrose for our evening meal, we checked into Room 309.

5.30pm: We were glad to be out of the heat, but there’s a full-day ahead tomorrow!

Tuesday

The Victoria and Albert Museum

10.15am: After our quick breakfast at the Hotel, we walked our first stop of the day: The Victoria & Albert Museum. It was already 22 degrees outside, so it was good to enjoy the relative coolness inside!

Spread across five floors, there’s plenty to see here and the gift-shop is home to plenty of quality merchandise that punches well above its weight in terms of range.

Plenty to see on the 1st floor, modestly entitled ‘Britain’. it covered the years from 1500 through until 1900 and showed-off a wide range of home interiors, where there were even complete recreations of whole rooms! Lovely!

11.15am: Lunchtime at the V and A, with a particularly enjoyable view – The John Madejski Gardens…

…albeit with London prices!

Our final stop was the area of the Cast Courts containing an amazing range of replica statues!

This had been an impressive Museum. It was quiet, mostly sprog-free and (given today’s heatwave) a comfortable temperature. Our next stop however, would turn out to be the complete opposite!

The Natural History Museum

12.35pm: I can’t recall the last time I visited the Natural History Museum, but it seemed to have changed a lot (based on my memory!).

There is a lot to see here and for the reasons that follow, we didn’t really do it justice. First of all, it was packed! Second, it was very noisy, thirdly, there were gazillions of sprogs in attendance (the main source of the noise!) and it was much hotter than its neighbour. Why all these kids – it’s a boring Museum after all? Well, if anyone says that the craze for dinosaurs has died-down, it certainly wasn’t in evidence here. The enormous section of the Museum devoted just to Dinos was where most of the human-traffic was heading – and it was heaving!

But we had to see what all the fuss was about.

Impressive doesn’t begin to describe what was on show. Anything, and probably everything, you ever needed to know about dinosaurs was covered here. But, forget the facts, because most of the attention (and noise) was from around the life-size dinosaur exhibit that moved and roared! Literally scores of people all squeezing into the (smallish) space to grab a shot of this animatronic marvel – including me!

The other major attraction here was ‘Museum of the Moon’ – and the area surrounding it was rammed with onlookers! It featured an inflatable installation artwork by Luke Jerram – a spherical replica of the Moon, with a diameter of 7 metres. Several copies tour the world for temporary exhibitions, often accompanied by music. There are also copies in museums in Barcelona and Sydney. Ann liked it, but because I’d seen the word ‘interactive’ somewhere in the promotional material, as clever as it was, I was expecting it to ‘do’ more than just ‘hang there’ accompanied by ethereal music. Beautiful though!

1.30pm: Although there was still plenty to see here, it (‘it’ being the noise and the heat) was all a bit too much for these two old codgers (a sign of our age?), so we retreated back to the safety of the now familiar Waitrose, Gloucester Road (opposite our hotel) for the bits-and-bobs for our late lunch.

2.30pm: With Lunch sorted, there was just time for a short siesta before getting ready for tonight’s main event…

The Royal Albert Hall

6.20pm: Now refreshed, we took the short(ish) walk direct to the Royal Albert Hall. It only took us about 25 minutes from the Hotel.

7.00pm: The highlight was seeing our favourite Opera, Mozart’s The Magic Flute where tonight’s performance is part of the 2019 BBC Proms season (‘Prom No. 51’, if you’re counting!) The last time I was at the Royal Albert Hall was for a very different kind of the music: the culmination of Camel’s World Tour in 2018 back in September last year – and the last time we enjoyed the Magic Flute in London was almost six years ago in April 2013 at the Royal Opera House. We love this Opera!!

Well, seating-wise, we couldn’t have got much higher, and to say our ‘backs were against the wall‘ for this performance was literal. Any higher, and we would have needed a parachute – and oxygen! Still, the seats were comfy, but we also felt the temperature rising with all the bodies from a (near) sell-out performance (I only saw four empty seats). Ann had thoughtfully packed a fan, whilst other less fortunate souls were frantically waving their Programmes to create a breeze!

But what of the 155-minute Glyndebourne performance itself? In a word: ‘Superb’. Everyone (see the full cast below) was at the top of their game tonight, and even at the distance we were from the stage, combined with the RAH’s challenging acoustics, the sound travelled well – and sounded fantastic. More especially, Caroline Wettergreen who sang her heart out as ‘Queen of the Night’, judging by the enthusiastic applause completely wowed this audience.

Creatively, it was a visual treat. It’s probably the only time you’ll see rubber babies, LED-powered chefs’ hats and where a Bake-Off based backdrop completed the picture!

The Cast

10.10pm: As we exited the RAH and followed the other 5538 heading for the Tube, we smiled as we knew we only had a short walk back to a comfy bed, whereas the crowd were heading for a bake-off of their own in the shape of the Tube!

10.50pm: Back in our room, all that was left to do was to lighten our load going home by emptying the half-bottle of Pinot before crashing-out!

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 August Bank Holiday 2019 – West London 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.

After a two-week absence, (Film Night two weeks ago and rain stopped play for the whole Club last week) we’re back to the Bows tonight!

Weather-wise, it was a scorcher – a great start to the Bank Holiday weekend!

And the weather seemed out bring out the members too! – a record attendance for a Friday. The exception was my Mentor, Dave who was away at another shooting event tonight. In his absence, I used the Longbow for actual target practice…

Wish I hadn’t though!

Why? Well, the two-week absence definitely affected my efforts – to say I was ‘all over the place’ was an understatement, with just as many of my arrows threatening the grass as the target! Still, on a positive note, Ann did pretty well – and it was a beautiful evening to be outside! We stayed until around 8pm, when most attendees called it a night too!

Not my best efforts, by a long, long way – better luck next week!

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 Archery Absentees! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today, a planned day out with David and Valerie to the National Memorial Arboretum.

It was a return visit for David and Valerie, but it was our first! Thank goodness then, that the rain has stopped, as a month’s worth fell in a day yesterday over the UK! (although it did belt it down briefly on more than one occasion during our journey there).

It was pretty straightforward to get there, located north-east of Lichfield, Staffordshire, and about a 85-minute drive for us. We arrived just before 11am and thankfully, the Sun was out – and that’s how it stayed!

On its website, the Arboretum is described as:-

“The UK’s year-round centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice, and fosters pride in our country”.

More specifically, The 150-acre site is a maturing woodland area, featuring over 30,000 trees and a vast collection of Memorials. It was originally opened in 2001, but had a massive refurbishment (courtesy of the National Lottery) that was completed back in March 2017, when the Arboretum’s new award-winning Remembrance Centre was officially unveiled by the Duke of Cambridge.

First impressions did not disappoint – airy and spacious, and it certainly lived up to its 150-acre size! It felt massive – but also intimate at the same time – with memorials to hundreds of individual/associations/organisations and regiments all in their own individually designed spaces.

What to do first? There’s a lot to cover and impossible to see everything in a single visit. Thoughtfully, to ensure that visitors got the most from their time here, there were guided-walks, buggy-rides and a Road-train too! Or, you are free to just wander around, if you prefer. Entry is free, but you pay for anything organised.

We all agreed that the Buggy-ride was to be our first stop. Steve, our driver/commentator did a superb job in explaining in great detail, the Memorials on the route (we reckon only about 20-25% of the total).

The whole area was immaculately clean too!

Our Buggy-tour lasted just under an hour which led perfectly to lunch-time! The Restaurant turned out to be excellent too! Spacious, with a sensible menu at sensible prices! All vegetables were free (which was a pleasant surprise).

After lunch, we split into our matrimonial pairs and did our own thing. Ann and I headed for the Road-Train. There was only a slight overlap between the memorials covered on our initial Buggy-trip, but we were soon seeing the other 80% of the site.

Again, there was plenty to see. Although the Road-Train was a bit slow for us, at least it gave us the opportunity to ‘hop-off’ at strategic points (but note, no hopping back ON!).

We hopped off at (for us) the star of the site: The Armed Forces Memorial.

Probably the largest Memorial I’ve ever seen in this country, it honours those members of the Armed Forces (Regular and Reserve) who were killed on duty or died while deployed on operations or as a result of terrorist action.

Wow! This left a lasting impression! After this, we were all ‘memorialed-out’ and we finished our visit with a cuppa and cake back in our foursome!

David continued his chauffeuring for the day and we were home inside 90 minutes. I feel a return visit for us before too long, in order to look at some of the Memorials in more detail.

An excellent day!

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 First Visit: The National Memorial Arboretum appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Another one our of cultural days out, meeting up with Ian and Ann along the way, heading for National Trust’s Farnborough Hall.

Located off the M40 between Banbury and Gaydon, the Grade I listed property (and its gardens) has been owned by the National Trust since 1960, when the Holbech family endowed it to them.

Opening times are quite limited here, so best to check before you go. At the time of writing, it’s operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays – and only from 2pm until 5pm. This is because the House is still lived in by the owners: Geoffrey Holbech’s daughter Caroline Beddall and her family. For the same reason, no photographs are allowed inside, which was a shame (but understandable) because there was plenty to see, it had all been restored beautifully (especially the plasterwork!) and where everything made it feel like a home that was not only lived-in, but loved too!

The House itself was a sort of Reverse-Tardis (it seemed bigger on the outside than the inside. There’s just the ground floor and the staircase to see (as the rest is off-limits to visitors, lived-in by the family, naturally!). Consequently, it didn’t take long to get around. We all felt that because of its ‘manageable size’ it was easy to imagine actually living in it.

Unlike a lot of NT properties, it doesn’t have a Tea-Room, but we had a cunning plan to compensate for that! Today’s more-or-less continuous rain meant that it wasn’t the sort of day to enjoy the Gardens, so we had a quick walk round outside before heading for Farnborough’s Tea-Room located in the nearby Village Hall.

And the Village Hall didn’t disappoint. After a quick five-minute drive following the home-made signs from the Hall, we were soon inside, where home-made cakes and fresh tea (served in proper china including a sizeable teapot) awaited us! The range of cakes on offer included ‘a ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ cake (worth trying, just for the novelty value). This was a building lost in time – and that suited us perfectly! All-in-all, it turned into a very enjoyable ‘tea-break’ – so typically British, and about as close as you can get to Midsomer Murders without the murders!

But before all that, there was the all-important question of lunch! After some research beforehand, we settled on The Moon and Sixpence in the High Street nearby Hanwell.

And if the food was to be as good as its flower display outside, then we were in for a treat! We were! The food was excellent!

A great day out, but slightly spoiled by the biblical levels of rainfall!

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 First Visit: Farnborough Hall appeared first on Steve's Blog.