Well, the weather is certainly better than yesterday, but apparently nowhere near as hot as home – Kettering is up in the the high 20s/low 30s at the moment!!What to do? Fly home early? Maybe not!Actually, as things turned out, neither of us felt ‘100%’ today and we didn’t get much sleep. We therefore decided …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 3, Day 2: Return to Vancouver
The weather is not looking so good, so we’ll probably stay fairly local today. On a more positive note, our forced re-location to Vancouver probably means that the roads are now much safer without me in Whistler!Bye-bye Room 1335! After a good night’s sleep thanks to the Fairmount Hotel’s bed (about half the size of …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 3, Day 1: Was Whistler now Vancouver!
Suitcases – check… Passports – check… Mobile phone – check… Laptop – check… Guide Books – checkDriving Licence – err… In spite of planning every stage of this holiday to within an inch of its life, we overlooked packing my Driving Licence. So, after landing at Vancouver International Airport with the plan of picking-up our …
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Doctor Who – Series 10, Episode 10: “The Eaters of Light”
I really enjoyed this episode – the powerful message towards the end about fighting other peoples’ fights!
24 hours in Anchorage
Well, not quite 24 hours, but almost! I wasn’t expecting to post again until we got to Whistler, but the weather and various locations along the way today made it a great opportunity for some extra photos. We got off the Ship in record time for exiting a Cruise and were soon sitting in the …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 7: Hubbard Glacier
This is probably THE event of the Cruise – a visit to the Hubbard Glacier. It’s the largest tidewater glacier on the North American continent – and LARGE is the key feature! 11000 feet above sea level, 6 miles wide and 76 miles in length – that’s a big chunk of ice! According to the …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 6: Skagway
Well, here we are, 100 miles north of yesterday’s soggy visit to Juneau, the capital – we’re now in Skagway, home to just 1000 locals. This town sees almost a million visitors a year and became the largest city in Alaska once gold had been discovered in the Yukon back in the 1890s. 7am: History …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 5: Alaska’s Capital – Juneau
The short overnight sailing meant we were in Juneau in good time, docking by the time we woke up. Compared to yesterday’s ‘return to the wilderness’, this place is sophisticated – cars, buildings… and people! (and hopefully, no bears!) On the stroke of 7am, the captain announced we’d been ‘cleared’ – and by 7.01, hoards …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 4: Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Today the Ship docked at Icy Strait Point. By air, it’s about 50 miles west of the capital, Juneau, 60 miles north of Sitka, with Hoonah the nearest city. This isn’t your normal cruise destination as the landing area is completely man-made where many of the buildings have only been built in the past few …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 3: Ketchikan, Alaska
We arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska around 7a.m. – and a cool 10 degrees! There were two other Cruise Ships also moored alongside us – and the town was clearly ready for the expected increase in trade with their shop doors wide open and the vendors offering plenty of words of encouragement to sample their wares! …
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Doctor Who – Series 10, Episode 9: “Empress of Mars”
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ OK, I watched this whilst getting over a rather nasty virus and I was jet-lagged too! 😵💫 All-in-all, I found it at ‘OK’ episode, but nothing special.
Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 2: Alaska Itinerary
We’re all at sea today, so that gives us plenty of time to get our head around the itinerary for Alaska. Sunday (tomorrow): Ketchikan (bottom right on the map) Monday: Icy Strait Point (not shown, but just left of Juneau) Tuesday: Juneau (Alaska’s capital) Wednesday: Skagway Thursday: At sea – the highlight will be sailing …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 2, Day 1: Heading for Alaska
We checked-out of the Apartment around 11am and booked a taxi to take us to the Cruise terminal. Luckily for us, there was only ONE Cruise Ship in port today – ours!, so our ride was able to drop us off without too much time queuing. In spite of the mandatory fingerprint requirement (of all …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 1, Day 4: Thursday in Vancouver
What a deterioration in the weather compared to all the other days we’ve been here! ‘Chucking it down’ doesn’t begin to describe the amount of rain falling! So, the perfect cue for a ‘Plan B’ of some sort! – somewhere that’s going to put us INSIDE, in the dry, rather than outside! As it’s our …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 1, Day 3: Wednesday in Vancouver
Neither of us slept too well and consequently, we were awake early – drinking tea at 5.30am! On the positive side though, it meant we were one of the first down to breakfast at 7am which meant we got first pick of the pastries! Today’s weather forecast… Scorchio! Given this rather excellent forecast for today …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 1, Day 2: Tuesday in Vancouver
We slept well and by morning, we were fully refreshed and ready to take on the Apartment’s continental breakfast! We arrived just as they were refreshing the stocks of pastries – and I’m pleased to report that they lived up to expectations! After breakfast, our first stop, was a bit of instant retail therapy – …
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Canada and Alaska – Part 1, Day 1: Pre-Cruise, Arrival in Vancouver
Well, this is a big one! There are three parts to our latest adventure and it began with getting the 11.56 out of Kettering – destination Vancouver, Canada! Things didn’t start well! The train was late and after we got to T3 at Heathrow, checked in and boarded the plane, the pilot calmly announced that …
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Doctor Who – Series 10, Episode 8: ‘The Lie of the Land’
Wow! Another great episode – and that’s the truth – although I did feel that the ending was a bit of an anti-climax. Still, at least the leaked images of the ‘regeneration scene’ have now been satisfactorily explained!
Laptop Coaching: Recap – Google Maps
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: With only about 6 lessons left for this Class, we’re going to use the remaining time we have left to recap a range of topics. Today, it’s a return to using the many features of Google Maps.
Return to Canon’s Ashby
It was off to National Trust’s Canon’s Ashby today to meet up with Ian and Ann. With a communal picnic arranged and a pukka parking spot for their motor-home just outside the main car-park, we had all the ingredients of a perfect day! We haven’t been here since (we think) since the early 80s, and …
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Doctor Who – Series 10, Episode 7: ‘The Pyramid at the End of the Earth’
Excellent! Best episode in a very long time… and what a cliff-hanger!
First Visit: The Marquess of Exeter
We headed off to The Marquess of Exeter in Lyddington tonight to meet up with Mick and Jane S. The Pub/Restaurant/Hotel boasts: “One of the finest restaurants, pubs and hotels in Rutland” – so expectations were high! On one of the hottest days of the year so far, what could be better than taking the …
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Laptop Coaching: File Management and Memory Sticks
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we looked at how to organise files and folders using File Explorer. We also covered how to manage files held on a ‘memory stick’.
Laptop Coaching: Keyboard (Physical and Virtual)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we discussed the layout of a typical keyboard and the subtle differences between different laptop manufacturers. We also looked at the benefits of using the virtual keyboard built-in to Windows 10.
Doctor Who – Series 10, Episode 6: ‘Extremis’
Wow! This was a good one – and I definitely think I’ll re-watch it! Another creepy episode (more than just scary) with twists and turns at every point. It seemed to start quite slowly, but then I learned it’s the first of a three-parter, so I can’t wait until next week’s episode. For me, this …
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Short Break: Beaulieu and Brockenhurst
We slept badly. In an effort to give us a different impression of Winchester, just before midnight, some local drunks had chosen the space under our window to exchange words of wisdom. I can’t recall the details, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a replay of the five-party political debate on TV last night! If …
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Short Break: Gin taster, Win chester!
We headed for Winchester today courtesy of Ann’s friend Nicki – and her gift of a hotel voucher. The route there just happened to take us in the direction of the Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill (with its own fascinating history). We set off around 9am and pulled into the car-park at Laverstoke Mill just …
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Tablet Coaching: Certification Day
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Congratulations to Robert, Keith, Patsy, Paul and Anita, who completed their final Tablet lesson today and received their Certificates. We celebrated with a few nibbles and discussed a new(ish) feature of Google Maps: ‘Offline use’. All the best! It’s been a pleasure to help you discover more about your …
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Laptop Coaching: Essential Browser Tips
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we looked at the common features of the most popular browsers for Windows 10 – and how to use them. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Laptop Coaching: Inside your Laptop
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we gave the group a broad understanding of what’s inside their laptop. We then discussed various keyboard layouts and the functions of the most-used keys. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer