Beginning on Thursday. 2nd June and ending on Sunday, 5th June, this was a celebration of HM Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. Thursday, the 2nd Spent the morning catching up with ‘bits and bobs’ as we only got back from our Scottish holiday yesterday afternoon. Top Trooping First of the formal stuff – …
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Holiday: Day 13 – Our Final Day: Scotland (2022) – Jedburgh Japes
Day 13 – Tuesday, 31st May Morning Reader!👍. It’s the final day of our holiday today and therefore my last holiday post! 😟. We’re home tomorrow, late afternoon – so, thanks for continuing to read about our holiday adventures! Twelve Days of Scotland Day 0 – Compact and Bijou in Carlisle Day 1 – Dumfries …
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Holiday: Day 12: Scotland (2022) – Mega-Moisture in Melrose
Day 12 – Monday, 30th May Morning, lover of quality literature! And welcome to my Blog! 👍. It’s our first full day in Melrose. We arrived yesterday afternoon and we’re staying at Burt’s Hotel in Market Square. The weather forecast for today is rubbish (wet AND cold!) and so we’re exploring super-local destinations. After enjoying …
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Holiday: Day 11: Scotland (2022) – Motoring to Melrose
Day 11 – Sunday, 29th May Welcome back loyal Reader! As we said goodbye to Deborah & Steve and the rather excellent The Old Dairy in Gartocharn (with its FOUR EV Chargers 👍) we’re now heading for ‘Leg 3’ – Melrose (pop. c2500) – the final part of our Scottish adventure for 2022. 9.38am: What …
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Holiday: Day 10: Scotland (2022) – Scenery Day!
Day 10 – Saturday, 28th May Howdy Folks. Day 10, and our last day here in Gartocharn (pop c680 + 2 drowned rats). Today, we’re off to soak up the scenery, taking in Loch Lomond National Park in Balmaha, Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in Aberfoyle (and as many other areas as we can!). So, here’s …
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Holiday: Day 9: Scotland (2022) – Glasgow Revisited & the Riverside Museum
Morning all! 😀. We’re on Day 9 of our Scottish adventure! – and surely some mistake – it’s NOT raining! 🤔🤔. We were seriously thinking of trading-in the ‘mozzy spray’ for anti-rust treatment, based on the past few days, but maybe not! We also saw a large round orange thing in the sky, but the …
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Holiday: Day 8: Scotland (2022) – The Hill House and Helensburgh
Day 8 – Thursday, 26th May Welcome back loyal Reader! It’s Day 8 of our 2022 trip to Scotland where we’re currently lodging in Gartocharn, a small village (pop. 680), close to Loch Lomond. ‘The Old Dairy’ at Cambusmoon Farm has been our base for the past few days and we’ve just a few more …
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Holiday: Day 7: Scotland (2022) – Stirling Castle
Day 7 – Wednesday, 25th May Welcome back loyal Clan! 👍. We’re on the second leg (Day 7) of our Scottish trip, currently staying in the tiny village of Gartocharn (pop. c680). I think I’ll give up looking at the weather forecast here! One minute, blazing sunshine, the next – rain, rain and more rain …
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Holiday: Day 6: Scotland (2022) – On the Loch!
Day 6 – Tuesday, 24th May Morning McReader! 😀 It’s Day 6, and our first day staying in Gartocharn (pop. c680) south-east of, and very close to, Loch Lomond. In spite of the less-than-exciting weather forecast, we’re exploring Loch Lomond today – by boat. Walkies! 10.05am: But before all that, it was walkies time! Yesterday, …
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Holiday: Day 5: Scotland (2022) – Pollok House and Loch Lomond
Madainn mhath!* 😯 *Google Translate available HERE Day 5 – Monday, 23rd May It’s ‘Day 5’ of our Scottish break, and as we say goodbye to Troon, we’re now beginning Leg 2. We’re heading for the tiny village of Gartocharn (pop. c650) for its proximity to Loch Lomond staying at Eastcambusmoon Farm‘s: The Old Dairy. …
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Holiday: Day 4: Scotland (2022) – Culzean Castle
Morning All! 😉 Day 4 – Sunday, 22nd May It’s our last FULL day here in Troon before we head north for ‘Leg 2’ in Gartocharn (for Loch Lomond) on Monday. On today’s list is just a single attraction: National Trust for Scotland’s Culzean Castle. Culzean Castle It would be appropriate at this stage to …
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Holiday: Day 3: Scotland (2022) – Glasgow
Morning all! Thanks for your readership so far! 😀 Day 3 – Saturday, 21st May We’re on Day 3 (of 4) here in beautiful Troon staying at the rather excellent Salt Lodge Apartments right on the Harbour’s edge. In a change to the UNadvertised programme, the Isle of Arran is postponed – today, we’re going …
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Holiday: Day 2: Scotland (2022) – The Robbie Burns Experience
Morning Reader! 👍 Day 2 – Friday, 20th May Welcome back! This is our second day (of four) in Troon, Scotland. We’re staying in Troon Yacht Haven at the very well-appointed Salt Lodge Apartments that overlooks the Harbour. We fully charged the car last night courtesy of Scotland’s State-run charging network, the imaginatively titled: Chargeplace …
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Holiday: Day 1: Scotland (2022) – Heading for Troon (1/4)
Morning Readers! Hope Thursday finds you both well! 😉 Day 1 – Thursday, 19th May During the night (presumably to prepare us for Scotland) the rain put in an appearance, promptly followed by a few encores! It made for a poor night’s sleep with the rain hammering on our skylight window. What a contrast to …
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Holiday: Scotland (2022) – Carlisle
We’re heading north to Scotland for two weeks- more specifically, Ayrshire, Loch Lomond and the Borders. We’re dividing the holiday into three chunks (see the map below) and being a motoring holiday, we’re going to be using Scotland’s electric car-charging network. It’s a heck of a drive from home to ‘chunk 1’ (Troon) and in …
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Pupils Reunited!
I hadn’t travelled to London for almost three years and then today, I was here in the capital again, in just two weeks! Recently, it was the rather excellent Doctor Who Experience with Jo; this time something much less timey-wimey – today, a small reunion of ex-school chums (Valerie, Hazel and Bob) and all official …
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Film: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Off to the flicks with fellow superhero enthusiasts, Jo and Janet, to catch Marvel’s latest blockbuster – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – part of the continuing expansion of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (the MCU). 😀 Hard to believe that this is the 28th movie in Marvel’s rollout (yes, really!) and the 11th instalment …
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Food and more food!
Increasingly, we’re both a little bit more conscious of what and how much we eat these days – so today was going to be a challenge! Not so much quaLITY but quanTITY. Potentially, there was a big chance we could easily over-eat – and, no doubt, pay the price the following day! 🤔 First stop …
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London-bound: Doctor Who Immersive Experience
We haven’t been to London for nearly three years (because of you-know-what) and it felt slightly weird boarding the train. Some things don’t change though, and because of engineering works, we had to skip Kettering station and drive to Huntingdon to get to the capital on time. Again, ‘normaility’ meant the train was PACKED! The …
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Film: Downton Abbey – A New Era
Off to the local Odeon today, courtesy of a certain Meerkat, to see Downton Abbey – A New Era. As Downton fans will already know, this is the follow-up to the first big-screen Downton outing in 2019 where the Crawley family and Downton staff received a royal visit from the King and Queen. Back then, …
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Bowling Virgin!
I’ve done lots of things in my life – but as far as the more ordinary pursuits are concerned, I’ve never been ten-pin bowling!! Today, I ticked that box, meeting Paul & Sue for my inaugural match at the local ‘Rock n Bowl Tavern’ in town. Tuesdays turn out to be the best value day …
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Holiday: Shropshire – Day 5 (Our last full day)
Thursday, 27th April Morning Reader! Not bored with these Posts yet then? Thanks for your readership! It’s our last day here! 🙁 Today, we’re starting our final day, super-local, heading for Oswestry (a nearby border market town). Oswestry is not quite in Wales, but you can almost ‘touch the dragon’! 6.05am: We were both up …
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Holiday: Shropshire – Day 4
Wednesday, 27th April Morning loyal Reader! – Welcome to Day 4. Thanks for reading this far! 👍 Looks like it’s a bit cooler today compared with the previous few days! Today, we’re again staying relatively local and heading for Welshpool (a Market Town) and then National Trust’s Powis Castle – around 30 miles round trip. …
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Holiday: Shropshire – Day 3
Tuesday, 26th April Wow! You’re back again! – thanks for continuing to read my ramblings! Weather-wise, it looks much the same as yesterday but with the added risk of a bit of rain! Today, we’re off to the town of Shrewsbury. We’re heading for the Museum & Art Gallery and then the ‘old’ prison (for …
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Holiday: Shropshire – Day 2
Monday, 25th April Well, hello, loyal reader! 👍 On our itinerary today: English Heritage’s Wroxeter (remains of a Roman City) and National Trust’s Attingham Park (an English country house). We last visited the latter back in July 2004 (so, naturally, I don’t remember any of it!) 😮 English Heritage: Wroxeter 11.02am: As we arrived at …
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Holiday: Shropshire – Day 1
Sunday, 24th April Morning Reader! 👍 We arrived here at our holiday home The Tractor Shed in Kinnerley yesterday. As we don’t know this part of the world at all (I think the last time we were in Shropshire was back in November 2006 for a pre-Christmas break), we’re firmly in ‘explorer mode’ to soak …
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Holiday: Shropshire (in a Shed!) – Arrival!
Continuing our holiday breaks here in the UK, this time, we’re spending time in a shed! (an ex-tractor shed that is!) courtesy of Sykes Cottages. Located north-west of Shrewsbury, sandwiched between the A483 and the A5 in the village of Kinnerley (population just 1108!), it’s a new(ish) addition to the Sykes Cottages property portfolio, imaginatively …
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Return to the other George!
A welcome return to the newly refurbished ‘other’ ‘The George’ today – the Pub/Bistro/Hotel in Buckden. Since we were last here back in April 2019, the place has had a complete makeover – not just the eatery but the whole Hotel! The ladies’ loos had gold taps and were immaculate from top to bottom (so …
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Doctor Who Special: The Legend of the Sea Devils
The BBC first released a one-minute clip on Twitter on Saturday, 2nd April revealing the next Doctor Who ‘Special’. It’s been a while since anything Who-related has been marketed and this was an important episode for a number of reasons: First, it will be Jodie Whittaker’s penultimate appearance as our time-travelling hero. Next, we see …
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Film: Operation Mincemeat (2022)
A little bit outside our usual routine today as we headed for Cineworld at Rushden Lakes. Crikey! Rushden Lakes on a Saturday! Are we mad? Easter Saturday too! Madder than mad!!! But you probably knew that already! Why Cineworld? Mobile phone operator THREE gave away two Adult tickets for just £3 each to its customers …
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