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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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Tuesday): Andalsnes
Once again, we were up with the lark and our first stop was the Gym. Afterwards, we had a quick breakfast and whilst the majority of those on board headed ashore to the quaint little town of Andalsnes and its stunning views, we took advantage of an empty Ship. Stunning Andalsnes If cruising is all …
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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Monday): Bergen
We woke early (6am!) to the sound of the Ship approaching the docks. By 7am, we were moored and ready for a day in Bergen. The weather looked promising as well, so we popped up on deck to see the view as we sailed in – it was breath-taking! Unchartered Territory – Sailing into Bergen …
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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Sunday): All at Sea
It’s a ‘sea day’ today that began early! This was mainly due to us mis-reading the breakfast times, thinking that breakfast closed at 9am – we wondered why it was so quiet when we go there at 8.45! (In fact, it stopped serving at noon!!!) The Sea After breakfast, it was off to the Gym …
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Holiday – Nordic Cruise (Saturday): Disembark Southampton
It’s really unlike us, but we saw a really good deal for a short-notice five-day cruise courtesy of P and O – and it was too good-a-deal to resist! So, we’re heading for Southampton today, whilst Lee house & cat-sits for us. We’re on the Ventura sailing at 4.30 for Norway. We were on board …
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From this to that
..and so, the old ‘office’ finally becomes a bedroom! Before Now
Magic Carpet
Steve from John Lewis arrived as planned and laid the carpet today. Magic! Now it’s just a case of positioning the new furniture!
Home for Chrome!
It’s almost ‘job done’ so we’re putting the finishing touches to the office/bedroom conversion – and it seems that chrome fittings are the current trend. The headboard and ottoman arrive tomorrow and the the bed should be here in a few weeks. Currently the bedroom furniture is ‘living’ in the second bedroom whilst we wait …
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Cats in
Ann took the cats over to Patsy’s today for their six-weekly service. Feisty or what!
Spot the Difference
Answers on a postcard please! Can you spot the difference in these two (almost identical) photographs?
Trish and Chips
With the weather steadily improving, there was a really good chance that our fish & chip supper could be hosted outside! – Maybe Summer had finally arrived!!! So we set up chairs in the garden (and just to be safe, in the lounge too!) and then I drove over to Atlantis Fish Bar to pick …
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A Week with the Galaxy S4
OK, I’ve had the phone for only a week now, but it’s given me plenty of opportunity to give it a good work-out. O2 delivered the phone in record time – it was ordered at 3pm last Thursday, and it arrived 11am, the day after. Impressive!!! Here’s my impressions so far: Look and Feel – …
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Bedroom Redecoration – The Final Phase
We can now see ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’. The wallpaper is up (thanks to Honor), and the room is beginning to look more inhabitable! So, all that’s left to do now is: – Reinstall the new radiator – Site the new furniture – Position the bed – Replace all the brass …
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Big Blue for Kettering!
Nothing really exciting ever happens in Kettering – it’s a nice place to live but nothing really ever gets the local tongues wagging! Until June 2013 that is! The Council has decided that the current refuse collection arrangements of a Black bin, Grey bin, Blue box and Red box, don’t quite cut it any longer. …
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Flat-Pack Frenzy!
And so it begins – The final stages of the office/bedroom conversion! Honor arrived bright and early to begin the painting and wallpaper-hanging whilst David and I got on with the manly task of assembling the flat-pack furniture! Five hours later (and no spares bits left over) we’d assembled the filing cabinet, desk (almost!) and …
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Market Harborough
Nicki stayed overnight and with a complete change in the weather compared to yesterday (today – hot & sunny, yesterday – rain, rain and more rain!), we decided to head over to Market Harborough to look for some more bits and pieces for the office/bedroom conversion. Result! We managed to find some suitable glasses, two …
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Which Smartphone? – The Result
Finally, I made the decision! After months of research and consulting others, my replacement mobile phone is now on order, and it’ll replace my HTC Sensation that’s served me well for the past 24 months. In the end, NOT being an Apple fanboy helped the decision-making, as it narrowed down the choice to just TWO …
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i Love Technology! (Part 12039)
Technophobes look away now! Today, the BBC released a major update to the legendary iPlayer app for Android. Now it’ll work on high-end 10 inch Tablets too! It’s been a long time coming, but definitely worth the wait!
Steve and David do the Ivy
A full-on day today! David popped round and we spent an hour or so removing the ivy from the front of the house (a job I’ve been putting off for ages!!!). Then it was off to The Trading Post for lunch. David hadn’t been before, but Ann and I went there around 10 years ago …
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Ouch! my Head Hurts (geddit?!)
Even for a confirmed Doctor Who geek like me, last night’s episode left my head spinning. The episode began with some touching and clever scenes that very much fitted in with 2013, the anniversary year. What else? Well, definitely a wtf moment right at the end (I won’t spoil it here, just in case you’ve …
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Han’s On!
We don’t normally do spontaneous (unless it’s in the diary!), but Ralph was on his way south and it made sense of him to stay over tonight. And with Ann planning to visit her Dad in hospital in Dorchester tomorrow, we brought forward our regular monthly meal with David and Val from Saturday to …
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What Does it Mean Doctor?
Doctor Who series 7 comes to a close this weekend at 7pm, where we’ll apparently learn the answer to the question posed by Dorium Maldova in an earlier episode: ‘the question that must never ever be answered’* . Stand-by afterwards then for the gazillions of Internet Forums to overheat big time as the topic is …
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