A lot of my friends and colleagues have grown-up using PowerPoint for their presentations. Nothing wrong with that, but the trouble is, EVERYONE seems to use it for EVERY presentation these days! – and it can be hard to make yours stand out. I came across PowToon this week, and it looks like fun – …
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Two for the O2!
I met up with Angela C at Waterloo station and we headed off in the direction of the O2. To make it a bit unusual, we took the cable-car ride from Victoria Dock – it’s only about a 10 minute ride, but you do see some spectacular views across London. So, not a great day …
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A Celebration in Worthing
FRIDAY We headed off to Worthing, as tomorrow is our good friends’ Ian and Sharon’s 10th wedding anniversary. The event has come round really quickly – it seems like only yesterday, we last roasted in sun-drenched Worthing. Because of the National Bowls Tournament, accommodation had been difficult to book, but we eventually located a small …
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The Clans are Stuffed!
Today was one of those rare family events – we got together the majority of the two clans around at ours for a communal lunch. With one eye on the weather forecast and the other on our stock of washing-up liquid, we prepared for the three-course meal – and ten hungry mouths. Unfortunately, Lee cried-off, …
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The Alan Parsons Project – The Final Remaster?
Alan Parsons fans rejoice! The final remaster – I, Robot, is being released on September 16th.
‘History Live!’ at Kelmarsh Hall
With cracking good weather promised, we decided to take the short drive to where we got married – Kelmarsh Hall – to see English Heritage’s annual Historical event. Now renamed ‘History Live!’ it promised all the good stuff we’d seen in previous years, so we knew we were in for a treat. As things turned …
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Knuckles Rapped and Bubble Wrap!
Bummer! Why was it that today, the only recycle-bin in our street that wasn’t emptied, was ours? Simples! (apparently!) I’d put bubble-wrap in the bin and as every schoolboy knows, that’s not recyclable. So, I had to empty the bin and remove the bubble-wrap before ringing the Council to arrange a separate pick-up ‘sometime soon’. …
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Cloudy at St Pancras
Another scorcher today! I had an early lunch combining a ‘techy-coaching-session’ with Sally B at the ever popular Carluccio’s – but there were still a few clouds above us at St Pancras International Station!
Lazy Days
With the weather forecast promising Sahara-like temperatures here today, the priority was to get all the chores out of the way, as quickly as possible, and then take up permanent residence on a sun-lounger! So, it was over to Peterborough first thing to put some distance between my eyebrows and my fringe (a haircut in …
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One Little Indian!
For the locals around here, they already know that Burton Latimer village is well served for eateries. More specifically, Indian restaurants – there are already two fairly prominent ones within walking distance of each other in the high street, and it doesn’t seem possible for them to squeeze in any more! So, we were quite …
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Mirror, Mirror…
After lunching with David at Prezzo’s in town (courtesy of Mr Tesco’s vouchers!), we headed home where the task-of-the-day was to hang the new mirror for the converted bedroom. It was a heavy beast that required two us to position it so the supporting screws could be positioned .Job done!
Weekend with Roger, Jane and Oliver
FridayRoger, Jane and Oliver arrived around 8.30. Lee joined us too, so we’re all set for a great weekend. The weather looks like it’s finally switched to ‘summer-mode’ and the only thing that’s tainting the enjoyment is the fact that Bon-Bon is still missing. SaturdayThe Sun came out as promised – big time! It looks …
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Pussy Galore!
Thanks for all your help everyone – we’re now back to our full complement of cats!!! At just after 4am this morning, when I let Biscuit out into the garden, who was sitting out there? You guessed it: Bon-Bon. So, after almost 60 hours of freedom, she managed to find her way home – not …
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Missing Moggy (+48 hours)
David I mail-shotted Nash Court and nearby roads this morning – they back onto the Spinney. Thanks to Rosi, Heather and Stella for Facebooking their network. Kerry has also spoken to Budgens about placing a notice in their shop window – cheers! Ta to Jo for her Google Maps research into the local area. Still …
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Missing Moggy (+24 hours)
We’ve mail-shotted every house that surrounds our estate. Now, we sit back and wait for the phone call! What a crap day!
Bon-Bon is Missing!
This is really weird! Bon-Bon is the sort of cat who likes to take it easy. Very easy! They say that dog’s have owners whilst cats have ‘staff’ – Our two cats just have ‘chilling-out’ as an Olympic sport!!! She’s not interested in climbing fences or chasing birds – she just watches other do that! …
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When Vouchers Go Bad!
David and I dropped into town to use some Tesco vouchers at Prezzo’s . We had the set meal and the food (and service) was fab! But when it came to voucher time, we discovered that the vouchers weren’t valid for a ‘set meal’.
Kettering’s Smallest B and B?
And finally, with the bed arriving from Fenwick’s late last week, this was the first opportunity we’d had to get the ‘blue bedroom’ back to looking like.. well… a bedroom – it’s been the dumping ground for all sorts of c*** for what seems like months, whilst the office was being converted back to another …
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Lovely Lamb!
Phew! Another one of those manic Saturdays, where it’s all go-go-go! We were both ‘up with the lark’ – Ann dropped me at the station for 8.30 so I could get to St Pancras International in time for chairing the twice-yearly OCA Committee meeting (we chose the Parcel Yard at Kings Cross again because of …
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Amazon Rip-off (in a good way!)
Many years ago, I discovered that it was possible to convert my CD music files so they would play on my PC. It was a slow process, but over the period of years that followed, I managed to convert ALL my existing CD collection – over 150 albums, and I now convert all my recent …
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Cote and Coat
I travelled down to London this afternoon, catching the 4.30 out of Kettering. It was a beautifully warm day and I travelled light – not even a coat! My destination was Cote in Charlotte Street where I met up with Angela, Philip, June and Antoinette. We had lots to catch-up with, and the time just …
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Lyddington Bede House
Ralph, Karen, Ann and I took the short drive to Lyddington today to meet-up with Nick and Celina. The weather was disappointing – very grey with light rain We visited English Heritage’s Lyddington Bede House before dropping into The Old White Hart just down the road for some ‘refreshment’. Then it was all back to …
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Steve and the Blind Man
Today was the day when Gary D from Notions came to fit the blinds to the windows in the office/bedroom conversion. Good timing really as we had Ralph and Karen staying tonight! Nice job Gary – thanks! Apart from a few bits and pieces for the ‘guest tray’, that’s the room all sorted!
Bird of…
A lovely ‘Bird of Paradise’ flower arrangement from our friends Ralph and Karen.
Searcy’s
As a way of saying ‘thanks’ for proof-reading the annual OCA Members’ Magazine, I enjoyed a very pleasant lunch with Keith W today. Searcy’s (as normal) was the height of efficiency – and the food was excellent too! Perfect timing in that we had time for three courses and a couple of coffees before my …
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Norway Holiday – Photographs
Our recent holiday snaps are viewable at https://www.stevepalmer.com/myphotographs/summercruisenorway/index.html
Elephant in the Room
Literally!
Nordic Cruise (Friday): Heading Home
We’re on our way from Norway heading for Southampton. It’s a journey that’ll last all day (and all night), arriving at the Mayflower Dock early tomorrow morning. So, that makes today a (re)packing day, a chance to engage in one or two events on the Programme that we’ve somehow missed, and finally a chance to …
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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Thursday): Stavanger
…and just to remind us that we’re NOT in Paradise, we awoke to the sound of torrential rain! It’s amazing how the character of a country can change with the weather. Stavanger looked really grotty – so much so, after we’d gym-ed and breakfasted, we decided to stay on board until the weather cleared-up. Looking …
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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Wednesday): Olden
Another really good night’s sleep, we awoke to another day in Paradise. It was only 6am and already there was a blue sky waiting for us! But first, the serious business of a trip to the Gym and then the other serious bit – breakfast at The Trough otherwise known as The Waterside. It doesn’t …
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