We took the XKR to The Snooty Fox in Lowick tonight to meet up with Geoff, Rhonda, Sue and Paul. Just our luck that we spotted a coach as we pulled into the car-park and that meant a 20-strong coach-party also had the same location in mind! As a result, even though the staff were …
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A Few Gambles
ThursdayJane and Oliver stayed over for a few days – a rare treat! They arrive mid-morning on Thursday and after a belly-busting lunch where Jane brought homemade apple crumble and some homegrown marrows (large enough to be mistaken for Zeppelins!) we all headed off to Wicksteed Park. Zeppelin Alert! Not surprisingly, with the school holidays, …
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House Call – 2
Ann, Nicki and I met up with Jo, Janet and Carol at The Crown Hotel in Stamford for one of their mega-breakfasts before spending the rest of the day at Burghley House. Predictably, I opted for the Crown Breakfast. Yummy! Then it was off to the House, just as the sun came out, so for …
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House Call – 1
Nicki joined us for the weekend, but with the weather looking pretty unpleasant, we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves. So, Ann picked up Lee and they arrived back home around the same time as Nicki. We spent a couple of hours catching-up (and handing over Nicki’s birthday presents) before sitting down to …
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Ask – The Family
A bit of a travel experiment today! We travelled down to my Brother’s by train. We left just before 8.45 and after a short drive to Bedford (dropping-in on Steve and Denise), then grabbing the train at Bedford, and finally, changing at Farringdon. Three hours later, we were at Bromley South – a tad quicker …
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Strada Various
It’s that time again when us Trainers (‘the 5ive’, because there’s 7 of us – don’t ask!) all assemble for our regular catch-up. Venue of choice tonight was Strada in Great Queens Street, close to Holborn Tube. Before the get-together I met up with Angela outside the London Palladium beforehand (Scooby-Doo? Boy, this place has …
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Outdoor Cinema
This was a first for us! Outdoor Cinema – in the UK!! We drove over to Boughton House, just a few miles away for a LunaFlix’s event where they were showing the iconic 1990 flick Pretty Woman. I’d booked the tickets almost nine months ago, having seen Lunaflix’s advert on Facebook – and planned it …
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Sean/Prawn/Bourne
It was off to Sean’s first thing to continue our pruning marathon. One very full wheely-bin and a sack-full and we were all done… until the next time!Before… After… The next stage was to drop into the local dump (oh, the excitement) and get rid of the extra bag full of foliage – but the queue …
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87 Not Out!
It’s been a Sunday/Monday sleepover at Roger, Jane and Oliver’s as part of Denis’s 87th birthday celebrations and we picked up Bev on the way through from Stevenage station on Sunday. We certainly had the weather for a celebration, and mostly ate outside! That makes a pleasant change!! There was even time to soak up …
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EXCELlent Day
It was off to our good friends Nick and Celina today for lunch and a quick teach-in to boost my Excel skills. It was good to see their place since our last visit. – two-and-a-bit acres plus a horse and a tractor made it more of a tour than a simple visit! It was turning …
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End of Term – Oliver
We drove down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s for Oliver’s end-of-term musical concert at his new school: Richard Hale. The past few days have been roasting – and today was no different with temperatures in the mid 30s. I feel like I’m getting old! ☹️ Oliver’s solo piece was entitled: ‘Nobody Knows’, and he certainly …
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Tablet Coaching: Essential Routines and Certification
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, in the final lesson, we continued to discuss the regular Routines that help keep Tablets healthy and up-to-date. We also presented delegates with their Certificates of Completion. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: File Management (Part 1)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we looked at how storage is named and how to manage files held on the laptop. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Go Stowe!
We met up with Chris, Gill, Denise and Veronica for a trip to Stowe House. Wow! If you were going to have a place to impress your friends, this would be a pretty good contender! The weather had been very disappointing this week and we were hoping for a bit of sunshine – and as …
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Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 2)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we continued to look at the different ways of customising the appearance of the PC’s Desktop. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Bach in Cranford
Cranford HallIt was a beautiful Summer’s evening (rare this year, so far), and we took the short drive to Cranford Hall – about 10 minutes away – to see Fiori Musicali perform their evening of Bach pieces. Tonight there was just four in the ‘Band’ – playing harpsichord, cello, recorder and violin. The event was …
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Tablet Coaching: 1-to-1s and Daily Routines
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: With this group’s lessons finishing soon, today we carried out some 1-to-1 problem-solving and looked at a range of tasks that if carried out regularly, should ensure a trouble-free ownership experience. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 1)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we looked at how to customise the appearance of the PC’s desktop. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Getting to Know Windows 10 (Part 3)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we concluded our trilogy of lessons about Windows 10. As a bonus, we also looked ahead at the new features of the forthcoming Windows ‘Anniversary Edition’. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Holdenby Church
After a mega-pruning sessions at Sean’s this morning, we chilled out this afternoon. We took the short drive to Holdenby House – more specifically the Church, for a ‘do’ to raise money for the for the 149 year-old organ. It’s one of the Churches that Ann ‘looks after as part of her voluntary role with …
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Mail Chauvinist
An early start this morning, as it was over to Mags’ to sort out her PC, helping her to switch email providers from Virgin to Microsoft. She was also waving goodbye to the ageing Windows Live Mail and moving to the sparkly new Windows 10 Mail. Luckily, Mags had been able to do quite a …
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Project: Forest Mushroom
It was up to Bev’s new place today to help her with a boring but necessary job – not that we minded! It was to give her fences their first coat of fence paint with the colour of choice: Forest Mushroom. With three of us on it, starting at just before 10 (with a short …
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Tablet Coaching: Open Discussion and 1-to-1s
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, We took the opportunity to take a break from a formal lesson plan and have an open session instead. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Getting to Know Windows 10 (Part 2)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we continued our lesson about the pros and cons of Windows 10. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Fathers’ Day 2016 – The Gambles Assemble
We drove up to Denis’ today to share Fathers’ Day with him. A great view of the windmill from the gardenWith Chefs Bev and Ann in the kitchen, we were assured of a fab lunch. With Bev on Mains and Ann on Desserts it didn’t disappoint – Roast Chicken, Yorkies and a shed load of …
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Computer Coaching: The Essentials of Online Shopping
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we discussed the pros and cons of shopping online. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Passport to Pimlico
Day 1 (Thursday)Dolphin House Serviced Apartments So, here we are at the Dolphin House Serviced Apartments in Pimlico, London, for a short break. It’s an opportunity for us to be tourists for a few days, and take in the sights and sounds of the Capital. Wow! the Apartment provides everything – a spa, a grill …
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Tablet Coaching: Google Play (Part 2)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we continued our look at Google Play including ‘Newsstand’ and the App’s settings menu. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Getting to Know Windows 10
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we introduced the group to the pros and cons of Windows 10. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Mid-week Break in Worthing
WednesdayWe set off just after 8.30 and decided to go via the A14, the M1 and the M25 via Heathrow (rather than our ‘normal’ A14-M11-M25). Distance-wise there wasn’t much in it, but Google Maps suggested it would probably be quicker – at just under three hours. Well, even though it didn’t seem like it at …
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