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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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 11/15: St Ives
7.10am: Welcome to Wednesday, my loyal reader! We’re on leg 4, day 11, of our 15-day break in the south-west of England. We’re still here at the AirBnB called The Piggery. We’ve a shorter day ahead today as we have just St Ives on the cards. 9.59am: We’re off! We went ‘car-free’ (almost!) leaving Robert, …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 10/15:
6.10am: Morning all! It’s day 10 of our 15-day break here in the south-west of England. We’re in Ashton (population, c572) staying at an AirBnB called The Piggery on the Lizard Peninsular. It’s rather splendid and is very well equipped. On our list of places to visit today: National Trust’s St Michael’s Mount; a look …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 9/15:
Morning Monday! Morning reader! We’re on day 9 of our holiday here in the south-west. Today, we checked out of The Alverton Hotel here in Truro and headed furthest from home – to Helston. It’ll be our first stay, ever, in an AirBnB – it’s called The Piggery 😃 As per normal, we couldn’t check …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 8/15:
Greetings reader! It’s day 8, and we’re on leg 3, halfway through our holiday here in the south-west of England. Today, it’s our final full day in Truro, as tomorrow, we’re onto leg 4, an AirBnB in Ashton, Helston. We slept well in spite of the resident next door setting the volume on his radio …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 7/15:
6.25am: Hello reader, welcome back! I hope you’re enjoying the Posts! We’ve been here almost a week, and we’re on leg 3, day 7 (of 15) of our holiday in the south-west of the UK – Poldark country! Arrrrrrrrrrr! 8.15am: Our first breakfast here in the Hotel. Great food, shame about the service! Maybe we …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 6/15:
Welcome back dear reader! 😁. It’s Day 6 of our south-western UK holiday. 10.10am: Today, we said goodbye to the B&B in Boscastle and headed for Truro on ‘leg 3’ of our break. We’re staying for three nights The Alverton Hotel. It looks like we might have left the good weather behind us in Boscastle …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 5/15:
It’s Day 5 – Welcome back, my dedicated reader! New readers, this is what you might have missed… Today, it’s a series of trips: the popular Tintagel Castle, home to the legend of King Arthur (or not); Port Isaac, a local fishing village; Finally, Padstow. We’re also going to squeeze in Trevathan Farm Shop (for …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 4/15:
Welcome back Reader! 😍 Today, we bid farewell to Exford and the White Horse Inn (and the next-door Lodge, where we stayed). It’s time to move on to ‘leg 2’ of our south-western trip – and our next stopover, Boscastle, around three hours away. We’re on Day 4 of our 15-day break and so far, …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 3/15:
Morning! 👍 Welcome to Day 3 – our final day in Exford. You might have missed… You missed my previous posts? Surely not! OK, just for you, Day 1’s post is here and Day 2, here. You’re welcome! 😀 Overnight, the free EV charger had done its job (albeit slowly at 3.5kW/h) and we now …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 2/15:
Morning Reader! Thanks for dropping by. It’s day two of our fifteen day ‘southwest adventure’. If you missed yesterday’s post, it’s here. As per this morning’s weather forecast, we’re promised some of the damp stuff around midday, so we’re going to make the most of the morning. Still, at least it’s now not coming until …
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Holiday: Devon and Cornwall – Day 1/15: Arrival
9.12am: We’re off! Continuing our holiday breaks around the UK, this time we’re heading for Devon and Cornwall. Our mission? To explore this ‘long skinny part’ of England in some detail and force the National Trust card into meltdown (we have around 8 locations on the list!). And with our English Heritage cards looking on …
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Film: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Those that know me, know that I like my superhero movies! My favourite film studio is Marvel and the cinema chain of choice for me, Cineworld. So, combine all of these at the same time and I’m in heaven (well, hopefully, Cineworld at nearby Rushden Lakes!). Just leave me in one of their comfy seats, …
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Ten for a Bank Holiday Lunch!
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 …
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Exotic Dining in Kettering
To be honest, you don’t often see the words: exotic, dining and Kettering in the same sentence, but on this occasion, the title should be read literally! Cunningly concealed above the vacated town-centre Argos is: The Exotic Dining – the perfect location if you fancy a REALLY good curry! (Pedantically speaking it’s actual Indian and …
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Days Out: The Ashmolean Revisited
We drove to Oxford today to meet up with long-time friends Chris & Louise – it was a suitable halfway house for all parties. Being great fans of The Ashmolean (having been there in November 2011, March 2012, September 2013, March 2014 and May 2018) we agreed to meet at Peartree Park and Ride and …
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Warner Weekend 2021
We’re off on our annual Warner Weekend with our ‘Northants Nutter’ friends, Paul, Sue, Geoff and Rhonda. This is our third visit to Warner’s since 2019, and they’ve all been great fun, with plenty to keep us occupied and offering great value for money. This year, our destination is Warner’s Gunton Hall nestled between Great …
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Pub Addict!
Well, not really! But visiting the same Pub – the Olde Victoria – within the same week does sound kind of excessive! OK, we weren’t there for the beer, but we were there for the food and company! 😀 On this occasion, catching up with friends, Richard and Pauline (who we haven’t seen since December …
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Saturday (Stuffed!)
I don’t think we’ve ever had a Saturday like this! It was pretty much wall-to-wall eating for the whole day! Tough life ehh!!! 👍 First stop was a celebratory lunch at Rushton Hall with our good friend Chris A in honour of his recent birthday. It looked like the weather was going to stay dry, …
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Lunch: Northants Nutters Reassemble at The Olde Victoria
It’s been quite a while since we were last here! Ann and I met the rest of ‘The Northants Nutters’ aka Paul, Sue, Geoff, Rhonda at The Olde Victoria for lunch today. And good to see that the Menu was as enticing as ever! 👍 The food and service, as always, was spot-on, and we …
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Theatre: “Memories of the Musicals”
It’s theatre time again for us! Today, we headed to Kilworth and their outdoor Theatre to see a very special production called: Memories of the Musicals. Billed as… “a full-length show featuring the very best songs from every one of the nineteen musicals produced at Kilworth House Theatre since the theatre opened in 2007. Six …
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Pub Lunch: Queen’s Head at Bulwick
Super Sociable Saturday and Sunday!
It was one of those fantastic weekends where we spent 99% of the time eating, drinking and enjoying the company of good friends! It’s a tough life!!! 😀 Saturday The morning was spent preparing stuff and having a final tidy-up in readiness for our guests. Just after midday, Ralph and Karen joined us, and after …
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Film: Black Widow
It’s been a while since we last went to the cinema (December, last year, when we saw Wonder Woman 1984). That visit was to the local Odeon, but it’s been even longer (August, 2020 – almost a year) since we went to the shinier, newer, Cineworld, here at Rushden Lakes to see Christopher Nolan’s mind-boggling …
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Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest at Tolethorpe Hall
We headed for Tolethorpe Hall near Stamford today to see the latest production of The Importance of Being Earnest by the Stamford Shakespeare Company. We haven’t been to Tolethorpe since July, 2015, where we saw Henry V – quite a while! And going further back in time, we last saw a previous production of the …
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Coronavirus: ‘Freedom Day’
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration when everything returned to normal for us here in England! ‘Freedom Day’, as it became dubbed by the Media, was promised to be the day when we all got our lives back. The bottom line? – best not to ditch those face-coverings just yet!! 😯 Mixed …
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