Nicki (sans Richard) joined us for the weekend. We haven’t seen her (properly) since October last year and it was great to catch-up. Saturday Today was all about celebrating (last) Christmas where we would have got together under normal circumstances, but didn’t, because of you-know-what! Ann planned a full Christmas Dinner and we invited Jo …
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Coronavirus – Return to Normality!
Normality? Err, not quite! 😮 Next Monday – June 21st – was supposed to be ‘Freedom Day’, the day that everything returned to normal. No restrictions to indoor gatherings, retail and theatres fully re-opened and no facemasks required anywhere etc etc – perfect! 🙄 But it obviously wasn’t meant to be – all because of …
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Social, Social!
Today, was one of those days where things were ‘full-on’! 😏😏 All good things though, as it was 100% social!! The Clark’s (Roy, Susan and Lauren) visited us for lunch where Ann had produced miracles in the kitchen with a choice of two starters, two mains and two desserts. Unusually for me, I didn’t take …
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Pilgrimage to the Palmers
Postponed from just before Christmas last year, today, we made the pilgrimage, 113 miles south, to my Brother’s. In a change to the normal travel arrangements, we took Robert, instead of making the journey by train. There were really two main reasons for this! First, neither of us are totally comfortable with jumping on public …
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The Look of… Kilworth
It was a welcome return to Kilworth House this evening to see Dusty Springfield in concert. It wasn’t THE Dusty (obviously!) but a darn good impression! The event had been postponed from October last year, then again in April, because of you-know-what, but tonight was (finally!) the night!!! The performance was called: Delightfully Dusty. Tonight, …
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HP Source
Yes, it’s that time again! Time to source a replacement for my now-ancient ‘Lenovo Ideapad 305‘ Laptop. It’s served me well for well over four years, accompanying me around the world helping me to keep in touch with the mother ship! It’s going to a good home – a TA friend of mine becomes its …
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Kedlestone Hall with Dennis and Sandra
We drove up to Kedlestone Hall, near Ashbourne today, to meet up with fellow lovers of ‘days-out’, Dennis and Sandra. We’re building up quite a list of destinations since we started this with them back in 2017. Hardwick Hall (August 2020)Castle Howard (December 2019)The Royal Armouries Museum (March 2019)Bolsover Castle (October 2018)Belton House (May 2018)York …
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Normality! – Dinner INSIDE in a Restaurant!
With David acting as chauffeur, the four of us (David, Valerie, Ann and I) made a welcome return to The Palmichael tonight. Last time we were there as a foursome was back in December last year although back then, the Coronavirus restrictions meant we couldn’t all share a table and had to make do with …
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It’s a Hugs life!
A significant day and hugging is back on the menu! Why? Today, we entered Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap out of Lockdown. 😁 …and talking of menus, Jo and Janet picked us up and we headed off to the newly revamped Beckworth’s Emporium for one of their legendary breakfast experiences. The girls ate light, …
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More Pi anyone?
As all of us (in the UK, anyway) escape the clutches of the pandemic restrictions, I’m in the mood to re-stimulate my grey cells (cellS?) 😁 and get my brain back into gear! I’m going to dive into the world of the Raspberry Pi! For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, the …
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Jab Done too!
After BoJo’s Press Briefing yesterday (promising, amongst other things, the return of legal hugging next week) it was off to Moulton for me this morning to get my second COVID-19 jab. Related PostJab Done! Just like my first, back in February, the whole experience was a model of organisation. I was in and out in …
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Ann’s 60th Birthday Celebrations
What could be more enjoyable than giving me an opportunity to plan a big ‘do’ of some sort! I love the nitty-gritty, with all the twists and turns, that lead up to the event itself! (But for this one, I didn’t expect things to be as ‘twisty-turny’ as they were!). Planning Ann’s 50th was much …
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Coronavirus – A Year Later!
Welcome back! Did any of us think we would be writing about the Coronavirus a full year on? I began penning my experiences about the dreaded Covid-19 back on 21st March 2020 (just two days before the first official lockdown) and catalogued my first 100 days; then again after 200 days, and finally – or …
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Jab Done!
On the day that the PM was going to announce his plan for the exit route out of Lockdown in England, I drove over to Moulton to get my first vaccine jab. All the Covid-related numbers seem to be pointing in the right direction, and the details behind the PM’s message were widely leaked before …
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Coronavirus – 300 Lockdown Days later 😮
It’s Sunday, the 17th January and we’re 300 days into the official announcement of the pandemic. When I wrote my initial post about the first 100 days of Coronavirus back in June last year, I assumed (and hoped!) it would be a one-off… …then in October, 200 days in, I found myself penning another, wondering …
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Website Makeover (2021)
Yes, it’s that time again! An opportunity to refresh the look and feel of my personal website – StevePalmer.com. With ‘you-know-what‘ giving many of us plenty of time on our hands at the moment, it’s been the perfect opportunity to pick up some new knowledge and skills! 😁😁 In truth, I could have left it …
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Doctor Who – New Year Special 2021: “Revolution of the Daleks”
It’s been a while since Doctor Who was on our screens and the BBC has been using every opportunity to remind us of this ‘one-off’ episode. The 75-minuter went out on BBC 1 at 6.45pm tonight. We’re promised some big reveals in this one – new style Daleks, the departure of two of the ‘fam’ …
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Christmas 2020
How was your Christmas? Even if you exclude the dreaded Coronavirus, we knew Christmas for us would be very different in 2020. For a start, it was our first one without Denis (where visiting him on Christmas Day had been a regular part of the festive break for the past few years). Christmas Day was …
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Film: Wonder Woman 1984
With all the bad news around at the moment, I guess we could all do with an uplifting movie! This one doesn’t disappoint (even if you’re not into super-hero stuff!). Actually, it was just great to go out! 😊 All Cineworld cinemas are temporarily closed because of you-know-what, so we drove to the local Odeon …
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Our Anniversary Break 2020 (9/36)
It’s our 9th Anniversary (or 36th, if you’re counting from the day we first met) and we always try and do something special every year to celebrate. This year is no different, but we’ve scaled things back a bit because of… ‘you-know-what’! 🙄 10.50am We’re heading for Norfolk, staying at The Brisley Bell in err, …
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Christmas TV Listings (2020)
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 appears?…or receiving your first Christmas Card? 😁 For TV lovers obsessives like me, it’s probably when the BBC …
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Return to The Palmichael (2020)
It felt almost like a return to normality tonight, as we took the short drive to The Palmichael joining David and Valerie to celebrate a recent birthday. The last time we were there was for Janet’s retirement ‘do’ back in March 2018 and a lot has happened to restaurants since then — especially since Coronavirus restrictions …
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A Smart Octopus!
Back in June last year, we took the first steps to improving our environmental footprint by going ‘all-electric’ for our main car. Then, in April 2020, we ditched British Gas as our dual-energy provider, and based on recommendations from friends who’d already made the switch, moved to the rather weirdly named Octopus Energy. Today was …
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‘Doctor Who Festive Special’ Announced: ‘Revolution of the Daleks’
7.24pm: Just before the Strictly Come Dancing results show last night the BBC showed the trailer for this year’s Doctor Who festive special. Actually, it caught a few of us out, as the rumour was that it was going to be on after the show, just before the latest episode of His Dark Materials. I …
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Tiers for Fears
At just after 11.30 this morning, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock announced from the House of Commons which-areas-were-in-which-tier. Unfortunately, just before the announcement, the Government website that listed the tier-breakdown in more detail buckled under the sheer volume of people all trying to type in their post-code! These new restrictions kick-in next week – December …
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TV: The Crown (Series 4)
After much hype and anticipation, at just after 10.30am, the mighty Netflix marketing machine swung into action announcing that The Crown (Series 4) was available to watch! It was a very powerful opening episode, and we narrowly avoided the temptation of binge-watching the whole series based on how good this single episode was! We’re going …
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John Lewis Christmas Advert (2020)
It’s 8am on Friday, November 13, 2020 and if the rumours are true, the John Lewis Christmas Advert for 2020 has just been released. They ARE true! 😁 This year’s production is called “A Little Love” and its release officially signals the beginning of the Christmas Shopping season. The advert is being used to promote …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 4)
No stress at all for ‘the driver’ today as we’re leaving the car at the station and travelling by train to Plymouth! Thanks to ‘Lockdown 2.0’, it’s also our final FULL day here as we’re heading home tomorrow (instead of Saturday). I shan’t miss those narrow, twisty-turny roads at all! 😏 10.05am: It was a …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 3)
Here we are on day three of our seven-day five-day break here in Devon. Last night felt like the Cottage might take-off with the gales blowing for most of the night. A quick inspection this morning revealed that there wasn’t any damage and everything of significant weight was still where we left it! (The car… …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 2)
Just when you create a title for your blog-post that works perfectly, along comes something to ruin it! After BoJo’s announcement last night, it looks like ‘Lockdown 2.0’ will require us to pack up early here in Totnes, and return home on Wednesday! – two days short!! “Devon in Seven!“ – now, what rhymes with …
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