Clearly when they were giving out the brain cells, I opted for the express queue, labelled ‘five or less’. Luckily our nephews demonstrated sound judgment, by taking advantage of a BOGOF, and doubled theirs! Seriously though, what a bright generation they’re becoming. Alfie James Palmer. Currently at City University, but lucky enough to have secured …
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Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 3)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we looked at the Status Bar/Task Bar and System Tray – and how to customise the icons that appear there. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Father’s Day – 2015
As it’s Father’s Day, Ann and I drove up to the oft-visited Fortescue Arms in Billingborough to meet-up with Denis and Bev for lunch. We took the XKR and it returned 23.5mpg for the round trip of 80-or-so miles. Not bad!Ann, Denis and, oh, the XKR!Denis was in good health, as was Bev who’s become …
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Ireland and back – in less than a day!
With Ann currently ‘between professions’, we took advantage of the good weather and drove over to Bedford to meet Denise M for lunch. Our pub/restaurant of choice was The Black Horse in Ireland, a village about a twenty-minute drive from Bedford. I haven’t been there since May 2011, and it hadn’t changed a bit. First-class …
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Computer Coaching: The Next Generation
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: With the current Monday Class now full, I’m considering adding Tuesdays to accommodate new learners. Looks like there might be some demand for understanding Tablets as well. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching in Rothwell
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Whether you are cursing your computer, lingering over your laptop, swearing at your smartphone or having trouble taking the tablet – we can help! Every Monday and Tuesday morning there is a small group of us who get together at the Salvation Army’s Charity Shop in Rothwell to improve …
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Computer Coaching: A Pleasant Surprise!
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: It’s always nice to be appreciated! Filed under: Design
Computer Coaching: 1 to 1
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Due to holidays, it was a small class today. I covered setting up email and using iPlayer. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Life’s a (Kettering) Beach
It was a lovely day here today, so Ann and I met up with David and Val where our plan was to have lunch at The Vines after a walk round Wicksteed Park. Costa del Kettering Considering Wicksteed Park is on our doorstep, we don’t take advantage of its facilities perhaps as much as we …
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5ive’s Indian Summer
‘5ive’ is the name we gave ourselves – a group of Trainers from ‘back in the day’ when we all did work for British Airways, and dinosaurs walked the Earth. There were originally FIVE of us (hence the name), but now we are SEVEN (don’t ask!). We’ve kept in regular touch for over 10 years …
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Swanning in Lamport
Ian, Mags and I met up for our regular three-monthly catchup at The Lamport Swan tonight. I’d quite forgotten how good the food is here, and tonight didn’t disappoint. The service was spot-on too. In spite of us keeping in touch, we seemed to have more-than-usual to catch-up with in terms of each others’ news. …
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Down with Infinity
‘BT Infinity 2’ has been ‘down’ since the early hours of yesterday morning – it returned this afternoon. That’s the longest outage we’ve had since it was installed. Still, things seem to be back to normal…
Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 2)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we looked at the System Tray and the Status Bar. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Downtown with Newton
What a lovely day! The sun is, at last, shining for more than a few hours – so it was time to make the most of it! With the dust blown off the picnic cutlery (and the XKR!), we assembled the essentials and headed off in the direction of NT’s Woolsthorpe Manor.Woolsthorpe Manor As every …
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Windows 10 – soon!
Well, that was a surprise! I powered up my Windows Tablet this morning – and this screen popped up. Apparently, Windows 10 is being rolled-out on July 29th and will be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
Green Fingers and Geddington Wedding
We’re really pleased with the way the garden is coming on this year. I can’t claim much of the credit myself – Ann has the green fingers, whilst I do the heavy lifting! In the evening, it was off to nearby Geddington for a Reception following the wedding of Jonathan and Bec. A great evening …
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Bank Holiday Rush
I picked up Lee on Sunday and Nicki joined us today for a lazy Bank Holiday. We’d quite forgotten that Nicki still had our Christmas presents so that got the day off to a great start! I’ve now have some high quality cleaning products for the XKR, so they’ll be put to good use in …
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Cuba – Day 10 (Last Full Day)
My final post from Cuba!!It’s our final full day here today, so one of our last chances to soak up the sun, eat at the Troughery, and try out a themed restaurant. Tomorrow, we’re off to the airport at about lunch-time on an overnight flight – and hopefully in Blighty for Lunch on Friday. We …
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Cuba – Day 9
Ralph, Karen and Ann tried out the Gym whilst I tried out the internet connection. I think we sweated about the same amount – connectivity was a nightmare!Then it was off to the trough for breakfast, and thankfully the eardrum-bursting background music from yesterday was nowhere to be heard!Also working in our favour today were …
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Cuba – Day 8
After yesterday’s disappointing BBQ, we’re hoping the dining experience will move up a few notches and we can try out some of the themed restaurants. But first, it was breakfast and we followed the hoards as they meerkatted their way to the communal trough, aka the Gran Terraza. In terms of seating, there were two …
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Cuba – Day 7
Today, we said goodbye to Parque Central Hotel and took our pre-booked taxi to our next ‘home’- Paradisus Princess Del Mar in Varadero – until Thursday. Bye-bye to the View from Room 548 Our Taxi was early, picking us up just before 9.45. We hit the highway heading east, and two-and-a-quarter hours later, we arrived …
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Cuba – Day 6
After yesterday’s mega-tour, we had a lazy day today – it’s our last day here as we’re off to ‘Cuba – part two’ tomorrow, specifically Paradisus Princess Del Mar in Varadero until Thursday. After breakfast, we headed to the roof-top pool where we stayed until lunchtime, when the sun temporarily disappeared and it became very …
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Cuba – Day 5
This was the day of the MEGA tour. Lillian, from our previous Tour, a few days ago, returned as our Guide, and we set off just before 9am. Unlike Tuesday’s Tour, the distances today were pretty vast, so we had the help of Luis and his air-conditioned taxi! The first part of the Tour meant …
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Cuba – Day 4
After yesterday morning’s scrum in ‘our’ restaurant (masquerading as guests having breakfast) we decided that we’d return to the relative calm of the ‘other’ restaurant by way of the tunnel connecting the two parts of the hotel. Although busy, this turned out to be a smart move, in spite of the slightly chaotic atmosphere. After …
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Cuba – Day 3
After yesterday’s mega-tour of Havana, we planned to take things at a much slower pace today. We took breakfast in the ‘right’ restaurant (and collectively decidied we preferred the ‘wrong’ one that we ate in yesterday), and made a rough plan for the morning. We decided to re-trace the steps from yesterday’s official tour, but …
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Cuba – Day 1
After the 9 hour Virgin flight (very nice!) from Gatwick, and the twenty-minute taxi drive (very scary*), here we are, having just checked into the rather splendid 427 roomed Iberostar Parque Central Hotel in Havana. First impressions are good – a free glass of bubbly, air-conditioning and all the staff seem to speak English! The …
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Cuba – Day 2
We slept well, and maybe not surprisingly with the time difference, were awake very early. We headed down to breakfast just after 7, and Ralph and Karen joined us not long after. Actually, locating the restaurant was surprisingly difficult and we ended up in the ‘other’ one on the other side of the hotel, after …
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Cuba – Day 0
John dropped us over to Bedford station this afternoon, and we jumped on a direct line to Gatwick. I think this was the slowest train we’ve ever been on! Still, it didn’t really matter as we’re not travelling until tomorrow. Two hours later we arrived at the Hilton Gatwick (where we’d also stayed back in …
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Birthday Bev
It was up to Denis’s today to celebrate Bev’s Birthday. We picked up Lee just after 10 and headed for Heckington! Roger, Jane and Oliver took the train and arrived just after 1. Birthday Girl Bev sorted out the finger buffet (yummy!) – and we all gave it a thorough good hiding, with Lee even …
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A Tale of Two Shuckburghs
In the morning, I popped over to The Olive Grove – a Garden Centre in Oundle, to catch-up with Alison W, a colleague from my days in the 90s at Nokia. This was our first visit, since it opened its expanded eatery – and it didn’t disappoint: great food, great menu and very (very!) pleasant …
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