Synopsis and Context The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and friends will kick-start 2022 with an action-packed spectacular episode set to air on BBC One on New Year’s Day. The festive special will feature guest stars Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Living With Yourself, Quiz), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black, Enterprice) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, …
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New Year’s Eve 2021
New Year’s Eve Here we are at Carol’s with Jo and Janet to see in the New Year – what fun! 😁👍 It’s certainly a lot different to last year at this time when we were making last-minute preparations to spend a few days in Suffolk – and because of you-know-what had to cancel at …
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Christmas 2021
How was your Christmas? For us, as I begin penning this during the week leading up to the big day, I really didn’t think we would STILL be worrying about Coronavirus! Why worry? The dreaded Omicron variant was spreading and there was the potential for the Government to lock us all down again! Almost ‘right …
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Film: The King’s Man (2021)
Our Christmas movie! With Ralph and Karen, we headed off to Cineworld in Castleford to see The King’s Man. SPOILER-FREE! Any good? Well, we’d seen both the original Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: the Golden Circle (2017) – and they were quite entertaining and loosely based around the comic book series that debuted …
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The Costello Christmas Meal (2021)
What with our 10th Anniversary Party still ringing in our ears from last Saturday, tonight we headed off to John & Trish’s for their annual Christmas meal! As usual, most of our close neighbourly friends were invited – and we all had a great time! Sean & Kellie and Conor were also able to join …
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Our Anniversary Break 2021 (10/37)
Whoosh! That came around quickly! It’s 2021 and our 10th Anniversary (also our 37th since our first date). 😀 In keeping with previous years, as part of our celebration, we spent a few days away – this year, it was at Chatham Dockyard and the Ship and Trades Hotel. This was preceded by a slap-up …
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Film: Spider-man: No Way Home (2021)
Talking of ‘Home’, here we are, far away from home on our 10th Anniversary break in Chatham. There’s an Odeon quite literally on our doorstep, so we took full advantage of the location. The movie machine that is Marvel, continues to dominate the big-screen with its latest offering, the third in the Marvel Spiderman story-arc …
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Film: West Side Story (2021)
It probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, but all the reviews suggested that Steven Spielberg had done a fantastic job with this production. So, we headed off to the local Odeon (with masks!) and Jo and Janet to catch the 1pm performance. Based around the 1961 version, it was slightly longer, clocking-in at a …
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Christmas TV Listings (2021)
We’ve all got different ‘triggers’ for when ‘Christmas’ officially begins. For many, it’s probably when the Supermarkets start displaying their Christmas lines! But that’s obscenely early, so how about… …that first Christmas lunch? …when the John Lewis Christmas Ad first appears? …or receiving your first Christmas Card? (actually, we’d had TWO by the beginning of …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Chapter 6: The Vanquishers
This was the final chapter and the final series for Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor. JW will regenerate into the next Doctor, but we won’t see that until one of the three Specials yet-to-come, next year. There was a lot riding on this episode chapter, and I was able to watch it live. It went …
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Rosi’s 60th Birthday Celebrations
We headed off to Rosi’s tonight to help her celebrate her 60th Birthday. We arrived for 6.30 (Paul and Karen gave us a lift after the weather deteriorated in the afternoon, meaning we didn’t fancy the walk). The gang was all there – Tom, Julie, Trish, John, Paul, Karen with Dave on Bar Duties! 👍👍 …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Chapter 5: Survivors of the Flux
I was able to watch it live. It went out at 6.25pm on BBC 1 and ran for 50 minutes. After last week’s mega-cliffhanger, this story could only get more complex – but in tonight’s penultimate story, at least we got some answers. (but I’m not revealing them here!) Excerpt… Synopsis… As the forces of …
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Boys and their Toys: Bye-Bye Jaguar XKR
A bittersweet day today! ? We said goodbye to my most loved car to-date – the Jaguar XKR. It was back in July 2014, when I first located the car of my dreams and subsequently parted with £33,220 for a car that was just five years old and had just 30,340 on the clock. OK, …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Chapter 4: Village of the Angels
No prizes for guessing what this one is about! A village with Angels? How do they think up the titles? 😯 Same advice as before then: Whatever you do, DON’T blink! Other useful advice is HERE. I’ve got high expectations for this one, so let’s see if this series can maintain its run of good …
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First Visit: The George, Great Oxendon
We took a drive to The George, Great Oxendon today, picking up Paul & Sue along the way. They know it well, but for us, it was our first visit. Wow! First impressions were excellent. The unassuming entrance gave way to a very tasteful interior. It all looked very tasteful without being too over-the-top – …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Chapter 3: Once, Upon Time
After last week’s four-star episode – The War of the Sontarans, tonight, another familiar foe (or is it foes?) became part of the story… We’re now exactly halfway through this series and there are still plenty of unanswered questions. I’m really liking the linking of the six stories under one heading – Flux – rather …
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Film: Dune (1984)
It’s Monday Movie Night here! 👍👍 Having seen the new production of ‘Dune’ at the cinema recently, we all agreed it would be good to go back and watch the original that hit the cinemas back in December 1984. I recall seeing it (somewhere!) when it was first out, and by the end, came out …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Chapter 2: War of the Sontarans
After an impressive start last week to the beginning of series 13 with The Halloween Apocalypse, would tonight’s episode chapter impress? The sixty-minuter (that’s a long one!) premièred at 6.15pm on BBC1 (but I wasn’t able to watch it live because we were out at Rosi’s surprise 60th Party at Ise Lodge Community Centre). Some …
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John Lewis Christmas Advert (2021)
Yes, it’s that time of year again! John Lewis officially released its Christmas TV advert at 8am this morning. It’s a tad earlier than previous years by about a week. This year’s festive treat is called “Unexpected Guest” and for many, this now signals the official beginning of the Christmas shopping period! 🎅🎄🤶 According to …
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TV: Doctor Who – Series 13, Episode 1: The Halloween Apocalypse
Unless you’ve been caught in a massive temporal disturbance, you won’t have missed the plugs for the latest series of Doctor Who – it was shown just before every BBC peak-time programme over the past fortnight. It’s now old news that this will be Jodie Whittaker’s final season – and for me, it can’t come …
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Cue the family at Kew!
We’re off to Kew Gardens for a family reunion! 👍 The gathering is from Ann’s side of the family – Brother Roger (with Jane and Oli); Cousins Chris (with Kate) and Alison (with Ali, Zidane, Sami and Jake). We left at 8am and had a pretty good journey there (but an even better one coming …
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First Visit: King’s Head at Wadenhoe
It was off to the King’s Head in the village of Wadenhoe (population 244) to catch up with long-time friends, Mick & Jane. We’ve not been here before and in kinder weather, there are some nice walks nearby, so we might try that when it’s a lot drier underfoot and a bit warmer! We were …
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Film: Dune (2021)
Off to the flicks again, this time to see the remake of Dune. OK, back to the here and now, let’s see if this version hits the spot!!! To me, just like the original, the cast is impressive (but no Sting!) – Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen McKinley Henderson, …
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Film: Bond 25 – No Time to Die
It’s movie time for us again! 👍👍 Ahh, “No Time to Die“ (aka “Bond 25”), we’ve been expecting you (for quite a while, actually!). After five postponements because of you-know-what, it was finally here! I don’t intend to give away the details of the film here, it’s more of a reflection, so you’re safe to …
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First Visit: Shires Inn
It was a drive into unchartered territory for us two today as we headed with neighbours David & Valerie for the village of Peatling Parva (population 181) and The Shires Inn and Restaurant. The occasion? A belated birthday lunch for David and me! It was Ann and my first visit, but our dining companions knew …
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It’s all about family! – Cousins
A couple of years back, we discovered some cousins (on Ann’s side) we didn’t know we had – Chris and Alison! ❤️❤️ Between then and now, we’ve got to know them quite well – and this weekend, Chris and his partner Kate came to stay for a long weekend. Friday A very relaxed day began …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 15/15: My Birthday 2021
Hello reader! Try to contain your excitement – today is the final Post for this holiday! There’s also a birthday to be celebrated in the group (Clue: it’s NOT Ann’s!) 🤔 7.25am: As we’re away, most of my cards and gifts are sitting at home, but I did bring some of them with me. For …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 14/15:
Morning reader. Thanks for coming back – I admire your stamina!?. “Are we nearly there yet?” Yes, this is day 14; just one more Post to go and then you’re free! Here we are at the Mill End Hotel in Chagford, (population c1400), in the middle of Dartmoor on the penultimate day of our south-west …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 13/15:
Morning all! We’re on our way to the final leg of our holiday, staying at the Mill End Hotel in Chagford, Dartmoor. Check-in time is 3pm, so as usual, we’re going to make the best use of time and visit a couple of attractions beforehand – National Trust’s East Pool Mine near Redruth and National …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 12/15:
Greetings, reader! It’s day 12 of our 15-day break here in the south-west. It’s also our last full day here at The Piggery (courtesy of AirBnB.) on the Lizard Peninsular. 10.09am: Just a couple of quickies today: National Trust’s Godolphin and Praa Sands Beach (famous for surfing dudes). Godolphin (National Trust) The estate was once …
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