Our Archery lessons continued tonight. We’re now in our third week (after a fortnight’s distraction elsewhere) and we’ve moved up to heavier bows – Ann’s on an 18-pounder and I’m trying out a 20-pounder. Considering it’s been raining day and night for most of the week, the evening turned out to be perfect! And perhaps …
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We Haven’t Saved the Planet!
Well, after exactly a week of ownership, we may not have saved the planet (yet!), but we’re saving something! 👍 #GoElectric #eNiro
RIP Biscuit
Today, we bid a sad farewell to Biscuit. Over the past six months her health had really started to deteriorate and based on our previous experience of owning Persians, by the time they get to 14, they’re suffering. Biscuit was fourteen-and-a-quarter! 😪😪 With her sister passing back in August 2017, she had become ‘top-cat’ (literally) …
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Fully Charged Live 2019
It seemed appropriate that our first major outing in our very first EV would be the Fully Charged Live Show at nearby Silverstone! After picking up Chris and Mark in Northampton, we headed for this iconic location, where, in addition to plenty of ‘talkie-bits’, there was also an opportunity to test drive the latests EVs …
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Barn Dance
This was only our second foray into the skills needed for Barn Dancing – Kettering A&E were on standby, especially the foot and toe unit! 😁 Last time, back in the stone-age, I recall I had the floor to myself! Less a scene from Saturday Night Fever where the crowd were wowed by my moves, …
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Charge!
Well, we finally did it! We’ve taken the plunge and we’re now all electric for our main car! 😁 We fancied something in white, maybe with a touch of blue… Our Choice Ahh, there it is! The Kia e-Niro ‘First Edition’ After a lot of research, we narrowed it down to just ONE model! – …
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Coton Manor Gardens
Continuing our theme of looking at old things on our doorstep, I put the mirror to one-side and instead, we headed for Coton Manor and Gardens. The Manor House isn’t open to the public, but the Gardens are open Tuesday to Saturday. Based on the number of cars in the car-park, it was clearly a …
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Cottesbrooke Hall and Brixworth Church
Fresh from our soaking at Deene Park a few days ago, we braved the elements and headed off to Cottesbrooke Hall today. The Queen Anne style House dates from 1702 and enjoys Grade I listed status. It has Gardens too! It’s not the first visit for me (apparently, we came here 20ish years ago), although …
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Sealed with…
a Knot! It was off to Deene Park for a Bank Holiday treat! It’s the home of the Brudenell family – pretty well-known around these parts, but probably best remembered for the 7th Earl (James) who led the charge of the Light Brigade. Instead, The Sealed Knot (the re-enactment group) are in attendance, bringing the …
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Bow Guest
After last Friday’s and Saturday’s expert coaching, tonight, we headed down to town for 6.30pm to enjoy some more archery practice, as guests of Kettering Archers. It was great fun, and the weather was on our side – a beautiful evening! It was very well attended with around 20 of us on recurve bows, a …
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15 Years a Blogger!
In what seemed like a quirky and innovative exercise back in 2004, today marks 15 years exactly since I began blogging. Back then, actually publishing anything online (especially whilst out-and-about) was definitely NOT the norm! Still, those that know me, know I was always one to ‘push the envelope’ with my tech! 😁 Since that …
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Quivering in Kettering
With the local residents advised to stay indoors, and the adjacent roads closed or on diversion – it can only mean one thing! No, not another major crime in Kettering, just Ann and I taking archery lessons! 😁 The coaching is split into two-parts. Part 1 is a class just for us two (as we …
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A Nagging Thirsk
We’re ‘up north’ for a few daysand taking in the sights! This includes a visit to the Nags at York Racecourse on Thursday! (Extra shirts packed!). I’ve only ever betted on a horse twice before in my life – back in 2004 and again in July 2006 – the former returned me an embarrassment of …
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The Weekend – Sponsored by the letter ‘f’
A weekend of fun, friends, fine food, F1 and err, a fone! Friday Ralph and Karen are joining us for the weekend. We haven’t seen each other for a while and there was plenty to catch-up with! Probably the most important task was to begin finalising details for joint trip to China including understanding the …
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Bank Holiday Weekend in Banstead
We travelled down to Banstead today to meet up with good friends Richard and Nicki. What made today different was that we decided to do it all by train (given the poor journey we had back last time by car!). Whether it’s a sign of getting a bit older, or simply the thought of the …
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Movie of the Year: ‘Avengers: Endgame’
If Sci-Fi is your preferred film genre, then I reckon this movie is as important as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Star Wars (1977)… Read on… But what makes this latest blockbuster different is the sheer scale and ambition by those responsible for its existence – Marvel Studios (more about all this later). So, …
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The (other) George
Our weekend of socialising continued today with a welcome return to The George – this time, it was the one found in Buckden and not its namesake – The George in Stamford – our other favourite! Today, we met up with Roger, Jane and Oliver for 12.30 – last time we were all together here …
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Two Locals and Two Towneys
We caught up with Nick and Celina today. After a quick look round their local Garden Centre, we headed off to another local for Lunch – The Black Bull, in nearby Market Overton. Then it was back to theirs for a coffee and to admire how much they’ve done with their Home since we were …
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Easter (2019)
This year, we spent most of Easter with Denis in Heckington. Good Friday We left home fairly early (8.15am) and there was hardly another car on the road. As a result, we made record time and arrived just before 9.45. We’ve got plans to catch-up with Bev too whilst we’re up here, but that’s tomorrow, …
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Visit to Bletchley Park (2019)
We haven’t been to Bletchley Park since, well, I don’t know when! It was certainly before I started blogging regularly – a rough guess was back in the early 90s! We set-off just before 9.30, picked up Conor C (our treat for getting himself into the Army), and headed-off to see what had changed there. …
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Out… Foxed
We went to The Fox Inn at Thorpe Waterville tonight to meet up with Mick and Jane. Last time we all saw each other was back in November last year for our Christmas get-together at Loch Fyne in Elton – and the last time we were here was back in January 2014. We went to …
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Leeds, Feeds and Boats
7.50am: A relatively early start today as we planned to catch the 8.51 Train from Peterborough Rail Station heading for its counterpart in Leeds. We’re catching-up with Dennis & Sandra for one of our semi-regular day-outs together. We’re starting to build up quite a history now, as this will be our seventh get-together, having already …
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Film: Split
We took the long journey (just short of 600m!) down to Jo and Janet’s tonight for some ‘nosebag’ and to watch the Film – Split. The film is part of the trilogy that includes Unbreakable (2000) and the (very) recent Glass (2019) that we saw back in January. The Director M. Nigh Shyamalan is actually …
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Birthday Girl 2019
It was a welcome return to The Tollemache Arms in Harrington today. We met David, Valerie and little Evie there – where my natural charm with children took a back-seat and reduced Evie to a mega-sulk for most of the meal! Young children and me? It’s NEVER an easy relationship! 👍 Today was to celebrate …
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‘The 5ive’ do Lunch
Well, here we are, I’m in my favourite city – London – and meeting with ‘The 5ive’ for Lunch. We’re ‘The 5ive’ because there are 7 of us (I know! Don’t ask, it’s complicated!) who met and collaborated on a training project back in 1999. We’ve met semi-regularly ever since – and just to keep …
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Warner Weekend 2019
Well, this is a first for us! We’re off for a Warner Weekend with our like-minded friends: Geoff, Rhonda, Paul and Sue. We’re staying at Warner’s Littlecote House Hotel in Berkshire. It’s a themed long-weekend entitled: ‘Oh! What A Feeling‘, celebrating the music of Lionel Richie & The Commodores as well as Tom Jones. There’s …
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Film: Captain Marvel
Much has already been written about the significance of the arrival of Captain Marvel into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Happily by others! 😁 Welcome then, to my spoiler-free review of Captain Marvel. The Film was released on March 8th and Critics (the paid ones) had already pronounced that although it was no Black Panther, …
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Moggy Birthday – Biscuit at 14
Biscuit turned 14 today. With Bon-Bon looking down on her sister, Biscuit continues to be ‘top-cat’. She’s still VERY vocal at times – quite spontaneously – and a year since it first started, we’ve still no idea what she wants. It’s amazing how such a small mouth can emit such a loud noise. Luckily, her …
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Holiday: Return from Oz – Day 18 (of 18): By the Numbers
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Holiday: Return to Oz – Day 17 (of 18): Jakarta – In Search of the Man in Yellow!
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