Well, 25C is the coldest day so far – but I guess we’ll cope! It’s day 4 of 5 here and we plan to do no planning at all! We took a quick look around the ‘recreated’ heritage village next door and that was a bit disappointing in term of content. It was fun trying …
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Holiday – Muscat – Nizwa Fort (Day 3)
Yes, another early breakfast for us so that we would be ready for Tour Guide at 8am. Then, just as we headed for Reception, we got a call to say his car had broken down and we should be ready for 8.30! Doh!!! He was early – and at 8.20 we zoomed off in a …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 2)
Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made – even on holiday – so here we are in the gym at 8am!!! Some mistake surely??? Death in Paradise? Even by my standards (very low), this is a well-equipped gym – and better still, it was empty, so no fear of embarrassment either as I fumbled with …
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Holiday – Muscat (Day 1)
Another ‘silly o’clock’ start with the car picking us up at 6.30am to get us to the airport for our 8.50 flight. So, it was Rice Al-Krispies at 5.45am and goodbye to what’s been possibly the best hotel we’ve ever stayed at. The journey to the airport was incident-free and we were soon joining the …
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Holiday – Abu Dhabi (Day 3)
Those that know me, know that I don’t do ‘lie-ins’ – as soon as I’m awake, and the brain kicks in (more slowly these days!), I’m normally up and doing stuff. So, it was quite a surprise that we didn’t get up until 9.30 this morning! Eeeek! that’s nearly lunchtime for me!!! It’s our …
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Holiday – Abu Dhabi (Day 2)
It’s our second day here and we’re off on a conducted half-day tour of Abu-Dhabi.We don’t know much about the place, so it’ll be good to see the ’bigger picture’ given that our first impressions of the people, customs, climate and food have impressed us both in equal measure. So, it was an early breakfast …
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Holiday – Abu Dhabi (Day 1)
Well, here we are at the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri Hotel in Abu Dhabi. We’re here until Monday morning and then we fly to Oman. Now. we’ve had a good night’s sleep, we’re going to take a walk around the hotel. First, inside our room: After breakfast and the briefing from the Tour Guide, …
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Delayed Flight!
Our flight to Abu Dhabi had been delayed, but at least we’re on board! Reason given: ‘ice on the runway’ 🙁
Holiday – We’re on our way
It’s ‘silly o’clock’ (also known as 3.20 am – yes A.M.!) here in the UK and the ever-reliable ‘John le Taxi’ has arrived to speed us to Heathrow. Next stop is Abu Dhabi and the rather splendid Qaryat Al Beri hotel. Lee is cat-sitting, so all is right with the world! We’re here until Sunday, …
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Cross-posting test
This is a test to see if my Blogs are automatically cross-posted to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you’re reading this on one of those three, then it’s all back to normal and working!!!
Test Cross-post
Hhhmmmm, I think my blogs aren’t cross-posting to my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages – something needs fixing. If you are seeing this post on any of those sites, I’m WRONG!
Website Makeover
The last time I gave my website a makeover was in 2010 – so it’s time for a rethink. Hard to believe, I’ve been working on it since Christmas – and it’s still not quite finished! 😲 Anyway, with the major structure and content now completed (apart from my ‘photography’ page where I still haven’t …
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Theatre Trip – ‘Hello Sailor’
As part of their Christmas present, we took Lee and Denis to see HMS Pinafore at the Royal Auditorium at the Derngate. First stop though was ASK (the Italian restaurant chain), just round the corner. It was pretty busy when arrived just before 1pm, but as we’d pre-booked, we had no trouble getting a table. …
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Film: Twelve Years a Slave
And so, as planned, it was off to the local Odeon this evening to the must-see-film-of-the-moment: 12 Years a Slave. Directed by Steve McQueen (no, not that Steve McQueen, that Steve McQueen) and starring Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt (who was also part of the production team) – and the not-so-well-known-but-ultimately-the-main-star: Hiwetel Ejiofor. The film …
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Catching up
This was a weekend of catching-up with old(er) friends. Steve and Helen Humphrey joined us (all the way from France) and their holiday-let business on Friday evening and Chris and Gill A joined the four of us on Saturday evening – and together we tackled one of Ann’s super-scrummy three-coursers! (bang goes the diet -and it’s …
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HSL Project – Completed
The HSL (Hall, Stairs and Landing) Project is now completed, and here are some before and after photographs. The Old… Strip away! The New… Sorted!
Education, Education… Curry!
I met up with Angela C at King’s Cross and we headed to the Barbican and the Museum of London. This was the first part of our ‘educational’ day in London.The Museum was fab – I haven’t been there for a good 10 years and it’s changed a lot. It was good last time…. but …
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Film: The Railway Man
Ann and I took a rare trip to Kettering Odeon today to see The Railway Man. I say rare as it’s been ages since we both went together – the last time was when we saw Skyfall back in October, last year. The Railway Man was the true story of Eric Lomax, who was one …
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A Tough Month Ahead
Warning! Smug comment alert!!! Looks like a tough month ahead as I try and wade through all the DVDs from Christmas!!!
A Fine Fox
Our annual pilgrimage to meet up with Jane and Mick S for pressy-swaps took us back to The Fox Inn in Thorpe Waterville. We’d only been there once before back in April last year, but were so impressed with the food (and the size of the portions), we thought they deserved a return visit! We …
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The Year of the DoDO – 2013
Warning: This blog contains overt references to Doctor Who – those of a nervous disposition should hide behind the sofa! The recent 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who – ‘The Day of the Doctor’ – may have been a global hit, but much more important to me was my first year in retirement – The …
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New Year’s Eve 2013
The Wheatsheaf We drove over to The Wheatsheaf at Titchmarsh for their celebratory NYE meal. We got together a party of ten – Carol, Jo, Janet, Lee, Nick, Celina, Ralph, Karen, Ann and me – and made an evening of it! The food was superb and although we got their relatively early – 8pm – …
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Christmas 2013
Mum arrived on Christmas Eve (she’s here until Saturday) and Lee had stayed over from the weekend. So, this year was about a close as it gets to a family Christmas. With all the pressies under the tree and the three-bird-roast awaiting its fate, we were all set. Lee and Mum were in fine form …
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Lunch in a Hurry
Roy, Susan, Janine and Lauren, joined us for lunch. It was a little hurried as they got held up and we were destined for the annual carol concert later in the evening at the Salvation Army in town. Luckily, Ann had done most of the food preparation the day before, so there was very little …
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Family Boot Sale and Pressy Swap
Tempted? Me neither!We drove up to Denis’ today for lunch and the mega-pre-Christmas-present-swap. Those present: Bev, Roger, Oliver, and Ann. Jane was working and Lee didn’t feel too well (so she stayed at ours). We had a great journey there – where was everyone? – the A1 was deserted! We stopped-off at Mae’s grave in …
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Anniversary Lunch and a Long Screw
No, not the effects of the wine – that IS a tree hanging from the ceiling! It was good to revisit The George in Stamford today – we haven’t been there since November 2010). We’d arranged for a celebratory lunch there for our second anniversary – for us, it’s the perfect venue. After struggling to …
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Amazing Special Effects!
Click on the pic to go to the YouTube link We’ve all become used to awesome special effects in films and TV these days, but this is soooooo clever! How did they do it? Even cleverer when you learn that it wasn’t made by the BBC, but a very talented individual!! – Remember, this scene …
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Anniversary 2/29
So, here we are – our second wedding anniversary (or 29 years together in ‘old money’!) ..and we’re still talking! …and sometimes to each other! But seriously, some things just work well together, and I’d put us up there with other ‘perfect combos’ such as Morecambe & Wise, grated cheese & baked beans and Cameron …
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Christmas has Begun…
When does Christmas officially start for you? For us, it’s when we’ve bought the Radio and TV Times… …blown the dust off my reindeer slippers! Classy ehh? …put the tree up …decorated the fireplace! and sampled a few Christmas wines!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Tech Alert: No. 831
Technophobes, look away now! This is a handy piece of kit – it’s the tongue-twisty Huawei Mobile WiFi E5776. The device gives you your own wireless network wherever you are using the 3G/4G network – so no more rip-off fees from hotels to use the internet!!! It’s about the size of a cigarette packet (remember …
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