We started the day by driving over to Oxford to meet up with Nicki C. We did the smart thing and took the Park-and-Ride, both arriving there at about the same time. Oxford was fab. The weather turned out to be better than forecast – hot! and we had a great meal in the roof-top …
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Heard the one about an Italian and the Mexican?
David and I slipped into ‘pensioner-mode’ and then into Kettering Prezzo’s for a voucher-sponsored lunch. After a quick look through the menu, we both opted for the Calzone – the ‘lovechild’ of a pizza and a Cornish Pasty! Despite its doubtful heritage, we both opted for the Carne Picante variant, consisting of chicken, meatballs, chillies …
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The (Bank Holiday) Weekend Starts Here…
FridayDenis joined us in the afternoon. He’s staying until Sunday. He’d had a good trip down and was already at ours when I got back from Trish and John’s after sorting out a few bits & pieces with Trish’s phone and tablet. Ann was working from home and after a(nother) frantic week at work, we …
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Hidcote Manor Gardens
We drove over to Ian and Ann’s this afternoon. We had lunch at theirs before taking the short drive to National Trust’s Hidcote Gardens. Apparently, we haven’t been there for around 15+ years, but I don’t recall any of it at all – but it was DEFINITELY worth the visit (even though the weather was …
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The Mexican and a Tablet
After our disastrous visit to the new Turkish restaurant with Paul and Sue back in April, we decided to play it safe and cook it all ourselves this time!Paul and Sue came to ours, and with me in charge of the kitchen (a rare event in itself!), ‘Mexican’ was the menu of choice! Even the …
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Return to Kushboo
We haven’t been to Kushboo since what feels like ages! (it was actually December 2008), but it was the perfect venue for my regular three-monthly meet-up with Mags and Ian. Ann was also back in good time and was able to join us! For a Monday, it was already quite busy when we got …
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Galaxy Minis
I spent a very productive couple of hours today helping Trish and John get their heads round their two shiny new Galaxy S Minis. They’re a great phone, packed full of features and ideal if you want a screen that’s not too large – and don’t fancy an iPhone!
Pussy Galore
We popped over to Wootton to Chris and Gill’s for a meal tonight. Steve and Denise were also there, but the added surprise was Wootton’s now acquired three additional cats in the shape of Evie, Archie, Hattie. They join Charlie – and the ageing Carmen (20 years young) to complete the ‘set’ Two minutes later, …
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Wilting Spinach!
Trish – where are you? We were due to pop round to our good friends Trish and John this evening for a meal. However, Ann’s boundless energy rebounded, after a particularly busy week at work, and so I did the socialising whilst Ann recharged her batteries at home. Tom and Julie were there, as were …
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An Alternative to PowerPoint?
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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