Sunday – 4 January

We woke to a freezing cold Kettering! It felt much colder than the forecast suggested. Well, at least it was dry!

But we weren’t at home for long, as we’re off to our favourite City – London – where it was a tad ‘warmer’.

We’re with friends, John & Trish and in celebration of Trish’s birthday on Monday, where we’re going to be tourists for a few days! It’s a packed programme!!

With the programme sorted for the next few days, we grabbed the 11.48 out of Kettering. Despite the weather, the train was initially on time, but in true tradition, ended up arriving slightly late into St Pancras International.

1.30pm: We’d booked the 2pm slot at Mail Rail, and because we were now slightly short on time, we decided to grab a cab (instead of taking the Tube/Bus) to drop off our suitcases at the Premier Inn, The Cut, Southwark. I thought I knew that area quite well, but the immediate surroundings seemed to have changed quite a bit, with our Hotel literally next door to the restaurant where we’d booked a table for tonight! It was clearly new to our seasoned Black Cab driver Larry too, who took a few turns to get us to where we needed to be.

1.40pm: With our suitcases safely stored at the Premier Inn, our next stop was Mail Rail at Mount Pleasant, courtesy of Larry and his Cab, ticking over outside.

London’s ‘Mail Rail’

1.58pm: We were on the 2pm timed-ticket and in an example of perfect timing, we arrived with just a few minutes to spare!

We were first here back in December 2023 as part of our Wedding Anniversary celebrations.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with ‘Mail Rail’, we’d totally recommend it. It’s the rail service that ran under the streets of London from 1920 until 2003. These days, it’s a tourist attraction where you can become ‘a letter for 60 minutes’ and experience part of that journey in a ‘converted carriage’. It was a bit cramped, and we recommend just ONE person in the two-seaters (unless it’s a first date! ). It was totally worth the slightly cramped accommodation though!

Part exhibition, part audio-visual presentation, from the comfort of a slightly ‘cramped carriage’, we learned the history of this unique, but valuable part of London’s mail sorting and delivery process. There was plenty to see from the glass-topped carriages – either looking at the well-lit tunnels or in areas where the ‘station’ walls had been repainted white to act as a screen. Great stuff!

It was all very well put together and gave an entertaining and informative account of the importance of this service that processed millions of letters a day at its height.

Want more? After leaving the Train, there was an Exhibition on-site showing a wide range of the mechanical marvels that made up the Mail Rail service. From trains to carriages – and pretty much everything in between!

We weren’t done yet! A quick 5 minute wander up the road, led to The Postal Museum – and a short break for coffee & hot chocolate! Well, HOT was a bit of a stretch for both, but it was wet and warm(ish). Entry to the Exhibition was free, covered by the price of the ticket to Mail Rail (£19ish each).

It wasn’t particularly a large space, but it packed a lot in! The Royal Mail Coach ‘No 105’ was stunning!

Checking in

3.58pm: A short taxi ride later, we were back at our Hotel. The check-in process took no time at all, and the Hotel itself looked like a fairly new development. We were soon grabbing our bags from storage, and taking the lift to the 1st floor. We we in room 144 with our friends, next door in 146.

Tas Restaurant – The Cut

5.20pm: With our table booked for 5.30pm, we braved the cold night air and wandered the 50 metres to the Restaurant!

Ann and I had eaten here before – but not for about 5 years. Prior to that, it had always been a popular destination in my working days. So, no pressure then, in taking a couple of good friends there – their first time! – for a pre-birthday treat, hoping it was as good as it used to be! .

We needn’t have worried! The service and the food especially, was a good as we remember it. Packed with flavour and lovingly presented.

A really great experience all round! I remember now why I ate here on so many occasions back in the noughties!

7.10pm: We were stuffed – and none of us had managed a Dessert either! . We all agreed that a walk in the cold night air would help us all ‘work off’ at least some of the food we’d just enjoyed.

The area around here has certainly changed. Gone was the very busy road that I recalled some 20 years ago! A closer inspection revealed that, as we headed towards Waterloo, the main drag, or at least part of it, had been made a no-car zone! It gave the area a more tranquil, relaxed (and quiet) feel – we liked it, we like it a lot! . We passed the Young Vic, The Old Vic, Waterloo Station and got almost as far as Blackfriars Bridge before turning around and heading back in the direction of the Hotel. The area was really buzzing!

8.02pm: Twenty minutes later, we were in striking distance of the Hotel, but it was still quite early! We headed for a nightcap opposite the Hotel – The Bar & Block Steakhouse. I’d not heard of the chain before, but inside looked very welcoming, even if it was a little quiet (it was Sunday evening!). Our breakfast, courtesy of Premier Inn, is here for the rest of our stay, so we’ll have a more rounded view of the venue in a few days.

Still, it would have been rude not to try it out for ‘research purposes’, where a few Gins and a Bailey’s later, our research had begun! .

We left Trish & John to continue the quality control whilst we headed for our room to unpack and grab an early night! It had been a great first day and tomorrow is an even busier one! We’ve a tour of the new Guinness Factory, a boat trip down the Thames, a look at the newly refurbished Battersea Power Station and finally a ‘birthday inspired’ Indian meal at Dishoom in Battersea. Phew!

10.05pm: Nighty night!

Monday – 5 January (Birthday Girl!)

6.05am: We woke to another chilly one! Luckily, the walk from our Hotel to breakfast required only about 5 seconds in the open air! . It was Trish’s Birthday today and a packed day followed, although we postponed our visit to the Transport Museum to give the day a more relaxed feel.

8.05am: Time for Breakfast! We thought we were quite early, but the Steakhouse was already busy when we arrived just after 8. You can’t beat a Premier Inn Breakfast for variety – and it’s even better when it’s rolled into the price of the stay! We ate healthily (for some of us, at least, initially) and that set us up perfectly for our walk to Covent Garden.

Guinness Brewery Tour (Covent Garden)

This new Guinness Brewery only opened late last year, and it was no ordinary opening! To be precise, on the 18th December 2025, His Majesty The King arrived to officially cut the ribbon on the £73m Guinness Open Gate Brewery London in the heart of Covent Garden.

10.15am: After a quick look around the Merchandise area (kerrching!!!), we headed for the entrance to the Brewery Tour. After being supplied with hi-viz jackets, we were ready, where Colm introduced himself as our Tour Guide.

We learned such a lot about the process of manufacturing the perfect Guinness. Ironic then, that NONE is made here. Yes, you read that correctly. Covent Garden Brewery is actually the innovation hub for the brand, where they look and develop NEW Guinness products! . Factoid of the Day? Every Guinness has 300,000,000 bubbles! (Nope, me neither!)

Next on the Tour was the opportunity to taste-test some of Covent Garden’s non-Guinness products. It was well run, where we had four different products to taste. They were ALL delicious, but the majority of us preferred the IPA (bottom row, in the middle).

After the tasting session, there was an opportunity to learn how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness! . We all did very well, and we spent the next hour-or-so, sampling our wares!

Four perfect pints pulled – and tasted! Next stop? Battersea Power Station. We could have used the Tube, but instead, we decided to take the Thames Clipper service from Westminster. It was a bit of a hike, and cold too, but we knew we were all the better for the 25-minute trot!

Battersea Power Station

1.15pm: It was only a fifteen-minute journey (and much more scenic than the Tube!)

1.30pm: We seemed to arrive in a flash, and after a short walk to the interior, we all agreed that a light snack would be in order . Paris Baguette was our choice!

Up the Chimney!

Suitably refreshed, it was then a short wander to the Chimney. Ann and I had been here before, back in July 2023 with David & Valerie, but it was good to have a second opportunity to see some unrivalled views across the capital.

3.05pm: After a thorough look around the exhibition that explained the history of Battersea Power Station, we were ready to ascend! Weather-wise, it was the perfect day for the spectacular view across and around London.

It didn’t disappoint! . We now had some time to kill before our Curry, so we looked for a Café nearby! That was easy! Just a few doors away from our Delhi destination – Tozi ticked all the boxes.

It worked perfectly! We got out of the cold for about an hour, and we were also close to our next stop!

Dishoom Restaurant

5.00pm: It was already busy when we arrived – surely a good sign!

Newbies beware! The main food menu isn’t laid out in a traditional sense and took some getting used to. It’s ‘all in there’, it was just a question of finding it!!

After last night’s outstanding meal, err, ANOTHER outstanding meal! They really did impress here tonight. The food was delicious, and the service was lightning fast without making us feel that we were hurried. By the time we left just before 6.30, the place was absolutely heaving, so we wondered what they’re like on a Thursday or Friday!

In a final flourish, they presented Trish with her ‘Happy Birthday’ Dessert!

6.30pm: We headed for the Clipper pier at Battersea, just a 10-minute walk away and were soon saying goodbye to a beautifully lit, almost silhouetted, Battersea Power Station – a great memory for Trish! . As we departed the Clipper at Blackfriars, we noticed something strange! It seemed like we had London all to ourselves. In fact, thinking back to the day as a whole, the capital had been very quiet – hardly any people and certainly a lack of traffic. Was it the weather? The time of year? Who knows?

7.45pm: We’d walked quite a few miles today, and so we said goodnight to Trish & John and headed back to our room. It’s a packed programme tomorrow that includes the Churchill War Rooms and the Globe Theatre.

Tuesday – 6 January

6.05am: Morning all! A quick look out of the window confirmed it’s another cold one!

After a hearty breakfast at the now familiar ‘Block & Stone’ Steakhouse opposite, we made our way, by Tube, to the Churchill War Rooms.

Churchill War Rooms

9.55am: Hidden beneath Westminster, the Churchill War Rooms was the secret underground HQ of the PM during the Second World War. Now augmented by a wide range of exhibits, it tells the story of the PM during this wartime period in the greatest of detail. It’s a popular place, and we had a timed ticket for 10am.

The experience is split into two distinct halves. First, there are various rooms where the Cabinet and support staff met (and often slept!). Second, the remaining space is the exhibition devoted to Churchill’s life. The whole process was helped by the optional commentary via personal headsets – these were a must, as there is a mind-boggling amount of information to absorb. I felt that it’s typically one of those exhibitions where a second or even third visit makes sense .

There was plenty to see here – more than we expected, and for Ann and me, it certainly felt like they’d added to the already comprehensive history of this iconic war leader since we were last here in 2017. Whatever your views of Winston, he certainly lived a full and colourful life and got the country through what is often called our ‘darkest hour’. I’m not sure there are many Politicians around now with that much mental (and physical) stamina! Given his larger-than-life persona, it was advised to allow more than 2 hours to take it all in – we could have done with even more time by the time we left at 11.45.

Next stop? The Globe Theatre. We’d originally planned to walk, but the weather had deteriorated, and we took the Tube instead!

It turned out to be one of our wiser decisions as down came the snow. Yes, snow in London! I can’t recall the last time I saw that!

Globe Theatre Tour

In spite of being slowed down by the appalling weather as we took the short walk from the Tube station and across the ‘wobbly (and now slippery) bridge’, we arrived in good time.

There were around a dozen of us in the group, and we were all looking forward to our ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour of The Globe.

Gerard introduced himself as our Tour Guide, and in the next hour, he impressed us all with his knowledge about the rise, fall, rise, fall and rise of this well-known building! We’d last been here with mates, Ralph & Karen, back in August, 2007 to see Othello. Since then, we noticed something about the Stage area had changed. Gerard confirmed that it had been ‘decorated’ based on further research some years ago.

What an amazing building… and the amazing story that led to its ‘resurrection’! Gerard certainly did a great job in keeping us engaged and it was clear that he was an actor ‘between projects’. We’ve certainly been blessed with excellent Guides during our time here in the Capital – thanks Gerard!

Tourists in need of Shelter!

1.55pm: As we exited The Globe, we all agreed it was now much colder than yesterday. Luckily The Swan, next door, was open and we took refuge in there for an hour-or-so (and based on yesterday’s visit to the Guinness Factory, assessed the Barman’s skills at pulling a pint!). Phew! We needed that!

A Wander…

2.30pm: With our circulation restored, we set off for a wander along the Thames Path, close to the seaworthy replica of The Golden Hinde and towards Borough Market.

Borough Market

2.45pm: As expected, the Market was heaving – and it was only Tuesday! Although it was good to look around, ideally, we were looking for somewhere to sit down and eat. There was plenty to eat, but seats? Not so much!!! Even the local Pubs didn’t tickle our tastebuds, especially as Trish had a fishy wish for Salmon .

Lunch

3.10pm: We backtracked from Borough Market and stumbled into The Old Thameside Inn (right next to the Golden Hinde).

It was virtually deserted inside, and the need to order via an App made it an experience where we almost got to the end of the meal without conversing with any of the staff! (and if that’s the future, I don’t like it, especially as the App asked if we wanted to add a tip!). What we DID like however, was the food! Trish got her Salmon, whilst we three tucked into their Pies – Steak for Ann and Beef Rib, Shin & Brisket for John and me. Good to see that my carrots were arranged to imitate the famous Chuchillian gesture!

Southwark Cathedral

4.15pm: I’m not sure where the day had gone, but it was now getting dark, and we finished off our day by visiting the nearby Southwark Cathedral. Dating back to 1106, it used to be called the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie. No wonder attendances at Church are dropping!!

Splendid architecture! Well worth visiting, although the smell of stagnant water/blocked drains as we entered was a bit of a turn off!

5.00pm: By the time we left, the weather outside had lost all traces of the mini-blizzard from earlier in the day. It was still colder though, and we quickened our step.

5.35pm: We walked back to the Premier Inn, passing the Tate Modern and my old watering hole The Founders Arms and the rather impressive Blackfriars Station, whose platforms now dominate the skyline. After dropping into the Tesco Express near the hotel for some essentials, we ended our day at the now-familiar Block & Stone opposite the Premier Inn, for a nightcap.

Wow! What a day! It had been a busy one – but in a good way. The snowy conditions as we approached The Globe surprised us (as well as the numerous joggers in t-shirts and shorts!), but it had all been totally worth it.

The Tower of London tomorrow!

Wednesday – 7 January

A change of plan this morning! Due to a situation at home, our friends now needed to get back to Kettering much earlier. We postponed the Tower of London and the rest of today’s itinerary until another time.

Bye-bye London!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post London Calling! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

My Blog is still broken and I’m unable to upload any photographs! . Hopefully, it’ll, be fixed soon, but in the meantime, I’ll keep things ‘short and sweet’.

Usually, at this time of year, we’d be off to see a Pantomime, and then we’d probably see the new year in with friends and/or neighbours.

This year’s a little different! Jo & Janet are away in Loughborough, so today, at least the morning felt somewhat ordinary. We spent a few hours yesterday, dis-assembling and emptying the main bedroom ready for the decorator/plasterer/electrician and plumber in a few weeks’ time. That meant we had a load of stuff ready for the local dump – what a way to spend New Year’s Eve! It looked like a simple job, but turned out to be anything but! I think the final straw was when the portable steps collapsed with me holding the TV! . In fact, at every stage, even with neighbour, David’s help, we hit a snag. Surely it was a sign telling me to give the responsibility to some other poor sod! lucky person! I finally took the decision to book ‘the professionals’ to assemble the TV bracket in its new home – more news on that in a future Post.

In the evening, we headed over to Rothwell and The Old Barns to joining Sean & Kellie who had organised a small ‘Do’ for those that couldn’t make it to Cyprus for their Wedding. We got an invite too! – a nice touch! It was well attended, and we stayed until about 9.15pm.

Happy New Year!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post New Year’s Eve (2025) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Here’s my annual jottings for Christmas week, 2025…

After what seemed a manic period taking us up to this week, we somehow managed to get ourselves really well-organised this year, where in the week before this one, it all seemed very relaxed – just what retirement should be about (but it seemed to have eluded us in previous years)! I’m not sure what we did differently, but long may it continue!

Monday, 22 December

5.25am: Up with the birds this morning!

8.45am: A early start on the road and probably our final business-type get-together, as we headed for the opulence of the Holiday Inn Express near Oxford! The reason? Our annual review with our IFA, Chris.

10.05am: As the traffic was light, we enjoyed as hassle-free journey, and meant we arrived in record time.

2.31pm: The journey home was uneventful, and although ‘Doris’ took us on a different route home – via Buckingham – adding about 20 minutes to our overall journey time, we were soon indoors and tucking into cheese & biscuits. With the grotty weather outside (cold and wet!), we caught up with some jobs inside the house.

4.55pm: Heard from Jo, my walking buddy, and we took a quick walk around the immediate area.

5.35pm: Curry Night, thanks to some additional bits from Jo and Janet

6.25pm: Slumped in front of the TV watching Beyond Paradise and then the finale of The War Between Land and Sea.

Tuesday, 23 December

5.30am: Another early rise!

6.20am: Ann’s off to the Spool

10.35am: A busy morning followed! First job? Brief the Plasterer who will be sorting out our bedroom ceiling as part of the decorating project in early 2026. Then a shed load of ironing and a thorough vacuuming of the house. Ann got stuck into the packing for our few days away, whilst David and I pursued more manly challenges! That challenge began my first foray into installing the new TV bracket in the Bedroom.

It looked like a simple task, but turned out to be more complex than we thought (don’t they always!). Why? Just our luck that one of the support brackets that screwed into the back of the TV (that would eventually attach to the bracket shown above) was impeded by the various sockets on the rear of the TV. Cue some serious hacksawing! Thirty minutes later, it was mission accomplished, thanks to David’s superior hacksawing skills!

Thanks David! Now all we needed to do was to work out the exact positioning on the wall for this serious piece of metalwork, that somehow also needs to conceal the Sky mini-box and other vital componenets – definitely a two-person job! . Well, we made serious progress, but it’s definitely NOT a job I’m going to complete this side of Christmas, as I need to give some serious thought to the fact that the bracket sits on a plasterboard wall. Stay tuned, as they say, more DIY news to come!

12.45pm: After a quick Lunch, Ann headed off to Sue’s for her last piece of voluntary work before the big day. Meanwhile, I pottered about, attempting to complete some bits and pieces that seem to have been hanging around for ages – mostly paperwork.

4.45pm: Ann arrived back from Sue’s just as I was on my way out.

4.55pm: Walkies with Jo!

5.45pm: It was a cold one out there, much colder than Monday. Fortunately, Ann had prepared Dinner, and we were soon tucking into Bangers, Mash with Cauliflower Cheese. Yummy!

6.30pm: A night in front of the TV – Cadfael, (S1, Ep 1) and Madame Blanc Christmas Special.

Christmas Eve

5.25am: Up before the birds again this morning for no other reason than (unusually) neither of us slept very well! .

6.15am: Ann headed off to the Pool whilst I prepped Brekky and then caught up with tonight’s EastEnders on iPlayer – a worthy cliff-hanger for Christmas Eve! Who is she?

9.35am: Being Christmas Eve meant that today was mostly about cleaning – cars, house, bathroom… and even US! . Weather-wise, it wasn’t the best day for sprucing up the cars, but needs must, as they say – and I dug out my thickest coat and a pair of fashionable Marigolds! It wasn’t a good look, but it was a practical one

Midday: With the cars sorted, it was time to revisit our Bedroom TV bracket project! Having spent some valuable time with David yesterday working out what is going where, today was about precision. With the need to not only accommodate the TV, AND the new TV bracket, I also needed to fit in the Sky Q Mini-Box and my Amazon Firestick. That meant in addition to all that hardware, I’ll also need to factor in three mains sockets. I hate visible cabling, so it all has to fit behind the Telly, so that only the TV is visible from the front. Yikes! A real challenge – where even now, I’m not sure it’s all going to fit! Still, a bit more measuring, where at least on paper (or more accurately, wallpaper) it seems it might all work.

And then there’s the additional challenge of choosing the right fixings given that the bracket sits on a plasterbaord wall. Those who know me, know that I love a challenge (but also that any DIY job is NOT how I prefer to spend my time!) . Enough of this for today.

1.15pm: A well-earned Lunch for us two, having cleaned the house within an inch of its life!

Some TV followed – a catch-up with the national and international News followed by the film: Babe. THEN, whilst Ann took a short siesta, I watched(for the umpteenth Christmas) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – excellent, harmless fun for a time when humour was a lot simpler!

5.35pm: Let the celebrations begin! We took the short walk down to Jo and Janet’s for pre-Christmas nibbles! What a perfect way to start things off before the big day!

A couple of generous glasses of G&T got things off to a great start where the pre-nibble, err, nibbles got a hammering. Thanks, girls, you remembered I like ‘Bugles’

…followed by the main event!! Yum yum!!

The M&S novelty chocs raised a festive smile. As you opened the lid to plunder the contents, it played a Christmas tune (thus preventing any secret pilfering at a later date!)

The good food and plentiful drinks allowed us to easily put right all the world’s problems! . Our various ramblings discussions resolved topics as broad as: the pros and cons of Tattoos; the trustworthiness of Facebook and also answered two key questions: ‘Why Botox?’ and ‘Who will replace Tess & Claudia on Strictly’?. Lofty stuff, ehh?!

Christmas Day

Morning all! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

6.05am: A lie in this morning!

6.30am: Today, I am mostly being a taxi!

7.17am: I dropped Ann off at the Park Hotel for her daily exercise.

8.20am: Mrs P safely retrieved from the Hotel!

8.55am: This year, the unwrapping of gifts was a game of two halves! We exchanged pressies and cards to each other, and left the remaining gifts for when we get back tomorrow.

9.50am: Later, we taxied down to Roger, Jane & Oliver to spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day with them.

11.20am: Unsurprisingly, there was hardly anything on the road today as we headed south – and we arrived in just under 90 minutes.

After ‘hellos’ and hugs all round, we were soon tucking into some traditional Christmas fare and catching up with everyone’s news.

12.45pm: Nice touch! . Roger served up some Pre-Lunch bubbles!

2.10pm: Christmas Lunch 2025! Wow! What a feast! You just can’t beat Christmas Lunch with the Gambles organising things!! . Super-tasty!

Absolutely delicious and we’re stuffed! The Cheese Course can wait!

5.10pm: Present swapping with an open fire and a cuppa! – Perfect!

Let the paper ripping begin!

6.05pm: A great selection of gifts – thanks folks!

Unwrapping presents was thirsty work! Time for a liquid break. Roger introduced me to the Palmer’s range of Ales (brewed in Dorset). I’d not sampled their wares before, and the Dorset Gold went down a treat. Even Mrs P liked it! . Ann? Beer? Surely some mistake!?

7.35pm: More food in the shape of the ‘paused’ Cheeseboard from Christmas Lunch was now on offer, and I somehow managed to squeeze some in.

7.45pm: Film Night!!! Paddington 2.

A good choice and perfect for this over-full, somewhat lethargic audience! I don’t think I need to eat for another week (yeah, right!)

After the film ended, we spent the rest of the evening just chatting. This and that, but in the end, our conversations turned to an extended natter about EVs and the current market.

10.55pm: A late one for us, but it had been a really enjoyable day just catching up with, and enjoying the whole ‘family gathering’ tradition – surely that’s what Christmas is for! . We made some brief plans for tomorrow, including a walk around the local area punctuated by, as usual, some really good food.

11.10pm:

Boxing Day

7.55am: Morning all! We both slept well and didn’t get up until just before 8 – it must be Christmas!

10.00am: We decided to take a walk before any more food passed our lips!

We wandered in the direction of The Maltons (‘Ware’s finest Gastro-Pub’) – but didn’t stop – and then onward to the iconic Hanbury Manor with its stunning views out across the countryside.

10.55am: Phew! That was a cold one! Colder than it looked

11.15am: Brunch is served!

12.25pm: Is there such a thing as ‘Boxing Day’ presents? There is, in our world, and we followed the tradition!

As always, some useful gifts to us all – from us all!

Before we said our goodbyes to our Hosts, there was just one last ritual to enjoy. This was the unveiling of Jane’s Christmas Cake (always a yummy treat!)

1.05pm: With a generous slice carved from this year’s festive masterpiece to take home, we then said our goodbyes and headed home.

Saturday, 27 December

A lazy-ish day today with Ann playing to her strengths and busy in the kitchen, and me doing some odd jobs around the house. As I sat down to complete this Christmas Post, I realised that technically, something was wrong! . Adding text was fine, but for reasons unknown, I now couldn’t upload any new images (images already uploaded were fine!). I spent a significant amount of time attempting to resolve it, but nothing seemed to help. And, with my web host’s technical support team not available until January 2nd, things were unlikely to improve in the short term

I decided to give it all a rest and have another go tomorrow.

3.05pm: Elsewhere, with most of the domestic tasks now completed, we decided to have a marathon ‘Festive TV’ catch-up session, watching as much as we could that had been recorded over the Christmas period.

9.15pm: By the time we went to bed, our eyes were completely square! . Still plenty left though!!

Sunday, 28 December

Morning all! . With our eyes returning to their normal shape, the day unfolded. Jo & Janet are joining us tonight for a TV Dinner, so there are things to do.

Disappointingly, absolutely no progress at all in resolving the technical issue with this Blog, so I decided to abandon writing the Post completely and publish what I have, as-is. It was hardly ideal, as I do like to keep a detailed record of these occasions, but my options were limited – pictures tell a thousand words, ehh? I may back-fill Friday’s content using the photos I took on Boxing Day once this all gets resolved, but for now, I’m not adding any new content other than what is already penned. On a positive note, this Post was due to be published at the end of today anyway, so there’s minimal ‘loss’.

In all the years I’ve been blogging (since 2004!), this is a first, and it’s very frustrating! . I’ve got a big Post planned for early in January to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and I do hope it can all be resolved by then.

6.00pm: Jo and Janet popped round for one of our ‘Winner, Winner, TV Dinner’ get-togethers (like, we need even more food!) . Tonight’s choice? F1- The Movie starring the ever-youthful, Brad Pitt.

Christmas TV 2025

As usual for us, Christmas TV played a large part in our Christmas celebrations. Our Sky Q box was therefore kept pretty busy – even whilst we were away.

= Don’t bother
= Only if there’s nothing else to see!
= Not bad!
= Worth a watch!
= Loved it!

A Ghost Story for Christmas . Top stuff, Mr Gatiss!

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas Special . Aww! A real festive one!

All Creatures Great and Small (Behind the Scenes) . A bit of a ‘Luvvie Fest’ for me, but it gave some interesting facts about the series

Amadeus (new series from Sky). Still to watch

Beyond Paradise Christmas Special . A bit cheesy, but quite watchable

Call the Midwife Christmas Special . Disappointing! Would they really send Nuns all the way to Hong Kong?

Carols from Kings. Still to watch

Death in Paradise Christmas Special . Lost a tick for the uber-complex plot making it feel a bit daft.

EastEnders Christmas Episodes . Higher production values these days. ‘Nigel’s’ dementia storyline, nicely handled. The Queen Vic continues to be the most dangerous Pub in the UK

Festive Pottery Throwdown. Still to watch

Gone Christmas Fishing . Excellent! Simple format but so watchable!

Good Ship Murder. . Only if you’re desperate. So bad, it’s actually, err,… VERY bad!

Great Festive British Sewing Bee. Still to watch

Great Peep Show Festive Bake Off . Better than we thought it would be!

Madame Blanc Mysteries . Even better than usual. Slight deviation from the usual ‘whodunit’ storyline

Return to Paradise Christmas Special . Still not sure about this as an ongoing part of the ‘Paradise’ franchise, but this episode was quite watchable

Royal Institute Christmas Lectures. Still to watch

Royal Carols – Together at Christmas . Very festive!

Stuffed (One-off comedy drama) . Oh dear! I was really looking forward to this – an original comedy-drama with a Christmas theme. Really disappointing given the acting talent involved.

The Apprentice Christmas Special . Dire! Gave up a quarter way through episode 1 (of 2)

The King’s Christmas Broadcast . Short and to the point, it was well presented

The War Between the Land and Sea (finalé) . Not quite as good as I was expecting. A bit clichéd and the ‘message’ as subtle as a sledgehammer

What We Were Watching . Good nostalgic fun! They don’t make ’em like this any more (shame!)

Christmas Would I Lie to You? . Very good!

Films
Double Indemnity . A great film!
F1 – The Movie. Still to watch
Invitation To Murder – A Death in Cairo . Better than we thought it would be
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Still to watch
Stargate Continuum. Still to watch
The Count of Monte Cristo. Still to watch
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation . Brilliant! Chevy Chase at his best

Plenty still to plough through, but for the first time ever, I think we were both underwhelmed with 2025’s Christmas TV offerings. Maybe it’s because we’re older and ‘we’ve seen it all before’, but there was a serious lack of originality for 2025. What we saw was mostly good, but it was ‘the same old, same old!’ . Hopefully, 2026 will be better!!

Christmas Past…

2024
2023
(Christmas mostly cancelled
due to my hand injury!)
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

…and so, probably for the last time in 2025…

Merry Christmas!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas 2025 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

With Australia calling (or at least whispering) this might be the LAST of Trish & John’s legendary annual Christmas Meal get-togethers. We’ve been going to these for what seems like, forever – and we’re sure to miss this annual gathering of our neighbours & friends for what is usually a mega-festive-feast with a Christmas Quiz to argue over! But best of all, a chance to catch up with longtime friends!

This year, it was good to welcome the new ‘Mr & Mrs Costello’ – Sean & Kellie – to our gathering.

It had been wet all week, but today was one of those rare pleasant days in December, weather-wise, that allowed me to wash the car in preparation, and as per tradition, pick up Paul & Karen in time for a prompt 6.30pm arrival.

We ticked that box and arrived just before 6.30. Next, we were soon catching up and helping our hosts deplete their stocks of beers, wine and nibbles!

Let the Party begin

With the conversations flowing and Tom showing off his Santa Suit and me in a retina-searing shirt (so, what’s new!?) we were all soon in the Christmas Spirit!

Nearly there!

Meanwhile, the cooker was on overtime getting the food ready (with more than a little help from Trish!). This year: a full-on Christmas Roast Turkey meal!

Trish, plus a little ‘supervision’ from John had done a great job again this year in getting everything ready!

Christmas Feast Time!

With everything cooked to perfection, we were soon ready for this year’s feast! And if it felt like there was enough food for the whole of Northamptonshire, it’s probably because there was!

To lighten the food preparation load, Ann created her famous Cranberry Sauce and Devils on Horseback’ whilst Karen brought her rather delicious Red Cabbage.

Wow! What a feast! And there was still Dessert and the Cheeseboard(s) to come! But as has become tradition, we took a break from the food and began the annual Quiz. Written and devised by yours truly again this year, it had the knack of bringing out the best and worst in our friends – and this year, we had two new members – Sean & Kellie.

This Year’s Quiz

You can download a copy of the Quiz from HERE.

Trish drew names out of the hat to form the teams, and it was soon ‘eyes down’ and ‘fingers on buzzers’.

This year’s Teams
Karen & Rosi
John & Julie
Paul & Trish
(the THIRD year in a row, they’ve been randomly paired!)
Kellie & Sean
Tom & Dave

Consisting of just five Rounds (four questions per round) – mostly multi-choice – where Mrs P in charge of scoring and crowd control, battle commenced!

Round 1: Festive Trivia
Round 2: Festive Sport
Round 3: Christmas Heroes
Round 4: Festive Food
Round 5: Festive Film Abbreviations

With five points for a correct answer and 10 points for answering the occasional bonus questions (and a loss of 10 points, if, after buzzing, you don’t have an answer), we were off! As usual, this year’s Quiz was serious fun!!!

With the mantra “it’s the taking part, not the winning” banned from everyone’s thinking, the leaderboard changed more than a couple of times as Round followed Round of a particularly noisy (but enjoyable) event.

By the end, there was a clear winner! And it wasn’t who we expected. Well done, ‘the youngsters!’

1st – Sean & Kellie (70 points)
2nd – Karen & Rosi (45 points)
Equal 3rd – Paul & Trish (40 points)
Equal 3rd – Tom & Dave (40 points)
5th – John & Julie (10 points)

Well, that was fun! We’re certainly a competitive bunch!

And there’s more (food)!

With the Quiz over for another year, we turned our attention back to our other favourite subject – food! With everyone catered for, we were soon tucking in.

And because we’re all officially ‘cheese monsters’, TWO Cheeseboards were required, all helped along with bottomless glasses of Port and Limoncello – oh, and the occasional teas and coffees.

…and so ‘Goodnight!’

They say time flies when you’re having fun – and that was definitely the case tonight. Sean & Kellie were first to say goodbye just after 11, and by 11.30pm, the rest of us were thinking the same. In earlier years, we would have partied on through past midnight, but these days, not us lot in 2025! We were home by 11.45pm and tucked up just before midnight.

Well done Trish & John – another fantastic evening, however you look at it. Merry Christmas! . We’re officially in a festive mood now, but wonder if we’ll be doing it all again here in 2026? G’day Bruce!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Trish & John’s Festive Meal 2025 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Here I am at The Countryman in Staverton Village. The Pub is becoming a semi-regular haunt for our three-monthly catch-ups with Ian & Ann and Alan & Mags since discovering it with old work mucker, John ‘Mez’ Merrell, exactly 17 years ago today, back in 2008! . Sadly, Mrs P wasn’t able to make the trip today – she’s caught some sort of cold-type bug!

Why here? It’s pretty much mid-point for all of us, where the food and service has always been excellent. Today was our ‘Christmas’ event after visiting back in January, 2022 and March 2025 then most recently, June 2025. Of course, it was a further opportunity for me to get stuck into another traditional Christmas Meal. In my world, you can never have too much Turkey!

But it wasn’t to be! No sign of a Christmas menu at all – now that was a surprise!

Our table was right next to the mouth-watering Specials Board – some great choices awaited us and for me, more than made up for the lack of festive bird!

If the Specials Board wasn’t enough, there was always their usual Menu choices.

It was a relaxing affair with plenty of time to talk about this-n-that and everything in between, but it did feel strange without Ann being there! . The Pub itself was enjoying a busy lunchtime – if people are ‘tightening their belts’ there was no sign of it here today! . As our lazy get-together came to an end, both the service and food had been memorable as always, in a good way – so good, I forgot to snap a photograph of my main course – Roasted Fillet of North Sea Cod in a White Wine Sauce. Me eating fish??? Surely some mistake! I just fancied it, and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

I left just before 3pm where the drive back was hassle-free, apart from the weather that was a wet as the journey there! . I was home inside an hour.

For our next gathering, in February 2026, we’re returning to Saxon Mill in Warwick.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The Countryman (Again!) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We took the short drive to nearby Uppingham today for lunch with Nick & Celina for a pre-Christmas catch-up.

Ultimately, we were to end up with our first visit to ‘No 23’, a rather upmarket Bistro (where they even had a dress code on a Sunday!). Bet you can’t guess the address!!!

But, before the guessing and the dressing up, we took a short wander around the main drag – luckily, no rain was forecast – chilly though at just 5℃!!

We stumbled across a nearby watering hole – The Falcon Hotel – what a surprise! . Two pints of the local brew for Nick and two halves of the same for me, whilst Celina settled for Hot Chocolate and Ann, a G&T.

Then it was off to No 23, just down the road.

You can view their Menus HERE.

It was already packed when we arrived, and that was surely a good sign!

It was! The food was superb and beautifully presented too and it left a great impression for our first visit. I began with the Goujons and then succumbed to the temptation of the Festive Turkey Roast (and it’s still not quite December!). We shared a Dessert and whilst Nick & Celina enjoyed their Rice Pudding, Ann & I fought over the Fig Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream.

When we left at just after 3pm, the place was even busier! . Two Christmas Lunches down… with just 300 to go (probably!)

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Up to Uppingham appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today was all about Christmas preparations! With all the cards written, we turned to even bigger tasks! I think we’re even earlier than usual with all this – it’s still November!

First job? Put up the Christmas Tree! An hour later, mission accomplished!

Next: Christmas Wreath up!

Then it was setting the table for The Northants Nutters Christmas Lunch at ours next weekend.

Finally, it was pressy wrapping time. It seemed like more than last year (it actually, wasn’t!) but we pretty much exhausted all our stock of wrapping paper!

Phew! It’s been a full-on Saturday. Feet up for the rest of the day!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas Prep appeared first on Steve's Blog.

A first visit today to The Fancott Arms in err, Fancott, Toddington

It was time for a catch-up again with longtime mate, Angela C. The location was about halfway between us, and made a pleasant change to our usual haunt of The Bistro just up the road in ‘old’ Toddington.

It was less about the beer and more about the food offer, as this was one of our rare get togethers face to face, having spent most of our year communicating via the infamous Zoom and by telephone!

After grabbing a drink in the very ‘old school’ Bar, we were shown to the dining area. Yikes, we weren’t expecting that! It was massive! And it began to fill up as soon as we were seated. Surely a good sign, especially as it was only Monday!

We had plenty of time to catch up with each other’s news – in fact, we were so busy talking, we skipped dessert and finished with just a coffee.

The food and service didn’t disappoint, and consequently, the Pub is now on our ‘must go back’ list. Our long Lunch gave way to a smooth journey home, and I was indoors by 4pm

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post New Arms! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

It’s another of our ‘Winner Winner, TV Dinner’ Nights. Jo & Janet joined us for 2024’s ‘Paddington in Peru‘. On the ‘Dinner, Dinner’ front, a rare evening off (pretty much) for Ann as J&J supplied the Mains and the Dessert – all we needed to do was prepare the veg and the custard!!

When we originally arranged this one, the movie was free on Amazon Prime, but by the time we fixed the date, it was charging for it – and unusually, all the other streaming platforms were too! Not a free showing ANYWHERE – unless we ventured into the dubious world of illegal streaming (and we don’t do that here!). So, £4 later and courtesy of Amazon Prime rental, we were ready – and so was the veg and custard!!!

Synopsis

Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru.

Any good?

Although it probably wasn’t quite as good as the two ‘Paddingtons’ that preceded this one – Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017), it was still a great watch! The animation was as good as it gets and the story/script kept things moving at a comfortable pace. Although the plot is of the ‘wafer thin’ variety, it’s perfect for a relaxing evening where your brain can function at just 50% and still follow what’s going on. Stick around at the end for a cameo appearance from a previously ‘loved’ character – it’s worth it! And talking of characters, no, you’re not going mad – the actress playing ‘Mrs Brown’ has changed from Sally Hawkins to Emily Mortimer.

Dinner, Dinner!

On the menu tonight: Salmon and Cranberry Wellington followed by Orange & Cointreau Steamed Pudding

Well, that all went down a treat! Now for Dessert!

A perfect evening in!

Here’s to our next TV Dinner!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Winner, Winner! TV Dinner! – Paddington in Peru appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Today, a welcome return to the Olde Victoria – our local – to meet up for lunch with long-time friends, Richard & Pauline.

The last time we four got together was June last year (also at the Olde Vic!), and it was good to catch up. For the first time EVER (20+ years!) we couldn’t get into the car-park opposite, as it was already full! This required me to venture into uncharted waters, just past the Pub – as had many others – judging by how few spaces were left in the side roads. We do like ‘living on the edge’.

We’ve never had a less-than-brilliant experience here, and today was no exception. However, despite the late improvement in the weather, it still wasn’t warm enough to even consider eating outside.

The Burgers are a particular favourite of ours here – and the Chips are the best anywhere! . So for us two, it was perhaps the obvious choice of the ‘Olde Vic Wagyu’ variety (with Chips, of course!)

Although the usual lightning-fast speed of service was a little ‘off the pace’ today, it was, on the whole, a very pleasurable experience. The waiting staff were as friendly and helpful as ever, and our taste buds enjoyed their usual treat! We had plenty of time to catch up with everyone’s news, but had to skip Dessert because I was on the clock for a meeting in Rothwell at 2.30. It was good to see Richard & Pauline after all this time, and the Olde Vic didn’t disappoint.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post The Olde Victoria appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We met up with Mick & Jane at The Wheatsheaf in Titchmarsh for Lunch today.

We were last here (again, with Mick & Jane) in April 2022 and it was good to be back. This used to be our go-to Pub/Restaurant when we first moved here (we must have visited close on 50 times!), but it went through a phase some years ago, where the food and service became somewhat ‘average’. Since then, we found a few other venues to take its place, but happily, in recent years, it’s returned to form.

Actually, the service was a little sluggish. I think the staff were all very willing, it just felt that there wasn’t enough of them – no menus were offered whilst we sat in the Bar! (the usual practice). In the end, we gave up waiting and headed for our table.

Ahh, menus! That helped! Happy days, as it all looked very enticing. By the time the food arrived, we were ready for it!

No problem with the taste – it was all very yummy, but disappointingly, my Mash was cold (however, the flavour of the Pie made up for it! ) and I certainly felt that the experience lacked a certain ‘something’. Overall then, the slightly lacklustre service and the food presentation took the shine away from the overall experience, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying each other’s company and comparing notes about recent – and future – holidays!

Based on today, I think we’re going to put The Wheatsheaf ‘on hold’ for a while, as there are plenty of other eateries we can try in the area! . A real shame!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Return to the Wheatsheaf appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We got together with John & Trish round at ours for our first Movie Night of 2025.

Our Film of choice was the iconic Grease, from 1978. Ann laid on some food too!

We even squeezed in a Cheeseboard!!

It was great to see Grease again. I think we knew all the tunes and all the lyrics too! . By 10pm, the film had ended and we chatted about ‘this and that’ Meanwhile, outside, it had snowed!

Just after 10.30, we said our goodbyes and agreed to do this again before too long! Gosh! It looked cold out there!

A bit of essential ‘deck clearing’ before we called it a night just after 11!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Movie Night: Grease appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Technology waits for no man – but I do try and keep up!

Way back in June 2019, we took the plunge and bought our first BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). At the time, one of the attractions was a sizeable financial subsidy from the State to buy the car AND a Grant to have a Charger fitted on the side of the house. In 2019, there was really only one major player for BEV Home Chargers – ‘BP ChargeMaster’ (who later became BP Pulse). It did the job… just… but became quite temperamental in terms of how it shared its data such as costs and energy delivered. So unreliable, in fact, as of today, we were on our THIRD Unit from BP.

Coincidence (or otherwise), BP withdrew from the Home Charger market a while ago, so it was time to shop around for something better and maybe something smarter. ‘Better’ should be easy, but ‘smarter’??

For a while now, ‘smarter’ Chargers have been a thing. How so? The best ones out there now talk directly to your energy provider rather than relying on the car itself to initiate the communication. Why’s that better? Well, the car industry generally makes reliable EVs but their in-car technology, shall we say ‘varies a bit’. Kia is a perfect example! – our current car. On the one hand, it’s the best we’ve ever owned, but the inbuilt ‘charge manager’, recently, without warning, stopped communicating with our energy provider! Permanently!!

Time for some serious research, and after quite a few hours of online activity, I found that there were a just few contenders out there who ticked all the required boxes for us. In the end, I opted for the ‘Ohme Home Pro‘. (Ohme pronounced, perhaps not how you think… it rhymes with ‘Oh me‘ – who knew? ). £600 lighter, I placed the order online a few days before Christmas, and the package arrived on Christmas Eve. .

Installation

Today was the day for installation. It was mostly straightforward because we already had all the cabling in place from retiring the BP Unit – or so we thought! In theory, it was just a case of removing the BP Pulse Unit, and replacing it with the Ohme plus a bit of configuring. Well, I say ‘straightforward’ especially as I got our local and long-time competent ‘Sparkies’, Mick and Ash, to do the hard work.

Although it mostly went to plan, there was an additional unforeseen cabling challenge. Because we were ‘early adopters’ of home charging, it meant our existing outdoor cabling did NOT have the necessary ‘CT clamp’ wires built-in. Apparently, this is a highly recommended safety feature these days (why?), so it couldn’t be ignored. A temporary fix was put in place, whilst the required length of CT cabling was ordered.

Now, all that was left to do, was to test everything. I’d already set up my new Ohme Account and linked it to our existing Octopus account, so, again, in theory, once the device was powered up, it should live up to its ‘smart’ credentials.

After a couple of false starts – including a visit to ‘Installer mode’ – requiring a few twiddles, it all seemed to be working. Success! …and here’s the proof…

Note how the Charger has worked out the best times to charge the Car (for the Grid) today, and as a result, Octopus has given us various slots at the super cheap rate of just 7p per kWh – and that applies to the electricity FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE, NOT JUST THE CAR! .

Today, I LOVE technology!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Ohme, Sweet Ohme! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Merry Christmas! After last year’s aborted efforts to celebrate due to me seriously lacerating my left hand on the Friday before Christmas (and subsequent operation on Christmas Day, 2023) we’re looking forward to this Christmas, even more so than usual!

As the week leading up to Cbig day began (Christmas Day was on a Wednesday, this year), it was to be a week of catching up with friends and family…

Sunday, 22nd December

A very relaxed day. Time to catch up with our reading and to schedule all the Christmas programmes into the Sky Q box. We were looking forward to the Carol Concert later.

See my separate Post HERE for this year’s Carol Concert.

Monday, 23rd December

A super-chilled day where we invited Conor over to ours for Lunch He’s on leave from the Army until well into the new year, and it was great to catch up with all his news. It wasn’t a traditional festive meal – pizza and chips, but at least the napkins had a festive feel to them!

The rest of the day was spent on the mammoth task of wading through our Sky Q ‘festive’ recordings that have been growing over the past few weeks!

5.02pm: In the evening, I met up with Jo and we continued our daily walk routine. It felt good to be able to keep up the walking routine!

Tuesday, Christmas Eve

In the morning, Ann baked a cake and I cleaned the car! (living the dream, ehh!?)

2.20pm: More eating and more catching-up with friends today! This time, in the afternoon, it was over to Rosi and Dave’s for an extensive Buffet with our friends.

4.50pm: A brisk walk back to ours followed, attempting to work a few of the calories from the Buffet. . After a quick cuppa and some thorough testing of Ann’s cake, that she had made earlier. The only ‘serious’ job of the day? – we sorted out what we needed to pack for our two days away at Roger & Jane’s, tomorrow.

7.15pm: We finished the day watching the Doctor Who Proms. Much better than I imagined it would be having heard the same audio-only version earlier this year with Catherine Tate bloopering her way through her MC duties. Very disappointing back then, and she ruined the overall feel of the performance, IMHO.

Fast-forward to tonight and luckily, the bloopers seemed to be mostly tidied up in the edit suite (the character name is Ruby SUNDAY, not Ruby TUESDAY! Doh!!!) and tonight made for a very watchable and listenable concert, especially soprano Aida Garifullina whose voice was chilling and moving in equal measure (even if you’re not a fan of Who!)

9.05pm: Early night!

Wednesday, Christmas Day

5.47am: Merry Christmas! We were both awake early for no apparent reason! After a cuppa, Ann headed for the pool whilst I headed for breakfast!

9.15am: After Ann returned and after her light breakfast, we opened our presents.

Then it was off to Roger’s to be waited on hand-and-foot for the rest of the day and Boxing Day too!

10.52am: We’re off. I was expecting the traffic to be quite light being Christmas day, but the A14 (and especially the A1) were both quite busy. No hold ups though, and an hour-and-a-quarter later we’d arrived.

12.08pm: As we pulled in to the drive, the weather had remained mild and not a sign of rain! We were soon exchanging hugs and handshakes and getting unpacked.

We were soon settled in the Lounge and putting in our orders for drinks! . Whilst Ann opted for a sensible cuppa, I re-acquainted myself with an old friend – a bottle of Black Sheep Ale – a great start to the Christmas celebrations.

After a quick natter ‘righting the world’ (our first attempt today – more was to follow), it was lunch-time and we all headed for the kitchen – and a traditional Christmas Lunch.

1.25pm: What a feast! You really can’t go wrong with Roger & Jane on cooking duties and with Oli taking charge of drinks, the perfect Christmas Lunch unfolded…

Crackers completed the picture (with the jokes as corny as they come – but just how we like them!)

…but I was hopeless at assembling the ‘build your own Santa’ kit!

2.53pm: At just before 3, it was all over for another year, well almost. By a slim majority, we all decamped to the Lounge to watch the King’s Christmas Speech (on their rather excellent one-month-old 48″ OLED Samsung TV) accompanied by the Cheeseboard and a rather smooth 2019 Port. Perfect!

4.20pm: After the Speech, we returned to ‘putting the world right’ over a cuppa.

5.20pm: And then the highlight of the day (for me anyway!) – unwrapping our Christmas gifts to each other… From Oliver: 2 Guinness Tankards and 4 cans of Guinness to test them out! . From Roger & Jane: Tiptree Strawberry Gin, a Prisoner Graphic Novel and the DVD ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ (that completes my MCU 4K collection of DVDs) – until the next release! Thanks everyone! Spot-on gifts!

6.10pm: Forget the (heavily hyped) Gavin & Stacey finale, what we were all looking forward to was the latest Wallace and Gromit outing…

…and it didn’t disappoint! Superb animation, witty script and very ‘British’. Hat’s off to actor, Ben Whithead who has replaced the Late Peter Sallis as the voice of Wallace – an uncanny similarity!

7.20pm: More food in the shape of gammon sandwiches and a clever G&T that included frozen plum juice. Sounded strange, but tasted delicious!

9.35pm: With Ann flagging, we called it a night, leaving our hots to party on. What a great day!

Thursday, Boxing Day

7.01am: As usual, I was up first, catching up with the national news and writing this. Given the very pleasant conditions outside (well, it’s NOT raining) we’re all planning a walk later after breakfast.

10.25am: Boxing Day Breakfast awaits…

11.30am: As threatened planned – Boxing Day walkies!! A wander through and past Hanbury Manor in a loop and then down the hill to Thundridge Village.

Onwards to Thundridge…

We planned to get the annual family photo taking advantage of the good (ish) weather, but we never did!

12.55pm: Well, that certainly blew the cobwebs away! It had been the perfect weather for walking – but even nicer to return to a roaring fire!

As pleasant as it was outside, it was good to be back indoors! . We caught a little of the Boxing Day footy courtesy of Amazon Prime where we saw Fulham take on the mighty Chelsea – and win! 2-1!! We weren’t expecting that! Oli, (these days, an ardent Chelsea fan) was shocked!

3.14pm: Time for a late Lunch featuring the traditional cold-cuts complemented by a some yummy hot party food.

4.35pm: An excellent Lunch, but no Christmas would be complete without one of Jane’s Marzipan-laden Christmas Cake! Yes please! (twice!)

5.15pm: Time to catch up with some Christmas TV in the shape of 2024’s ‘Ghost Story for Christmas‘ from Christmas Eve. As usual, it was a creepy tale, again for this year, produced by Mark Gatiss entitled: ‘Woman of Stone’. A good 30 minutes of nerve-tingling story-telling.

5.50pm: Gosh! We nearly forgot! Boxing Day/Tree pressies! For me this year? A giant Toblerone from Ann and some beard moisturiser courtesy of R, J & O. Excellent!

6.26pm: With the traditions of Christmas fading fast, we ended the evening watching: ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘. A film by Guy Ritchie on Netflix that rivalled the John Wick franchise for body count (but was still surprisingly watchable and tastefully done, if that were possible!). Apparently, it was based on a true story! Ann retired early, feeling that she was going down with something horrible!

9.43pm: I turned in after the film ended to find Ann, upstairs, fighting-off the bugs! That didn’t bode well!! . It was our final sleepover tonight as we’ll be heading home after breakfast tomorrow.

Friday, 27th December

Good morning! A yummy breakfast was on the cards…

After breakfast, and after saying our goodbyes we headed home. It had been a great time at R, J & O’s for Christmas. Great food, great conversations and the weather even behaved itself too! Just a pity that Ann suffered towards the end.

11.58am: We were home around midday, after a slightly frustrating journey due to the ongoing improvements (of the improvements!) at the legendary ‘Black Cat’ roundabout. Ann went straight to bed whilst I headed for the local Aldi to pick up some essentials.

Saturday, 28th December

With Christmas almost over for another year (in our heads, anyway!), it was a day of clearing up and making room for all the gifts we received this. If, after reading this, you have the impression that all we did was EAT – you’d probably be right, so I was pleased that I only put on a couple of pounds over the festive period this year. I hear the words ‘Diet’ being suggested – yes, probably!

I’ve listed our usual annual Christmas TV watchlist below, and buried in it towards the end was an accidental discovery whilst browsing through Amazon Prime today (that was also shown at cinemas in November, but I somehow missed it). It’s an action comedy called Red One. If you like stories about Santa Claus, then this one, made this year – and still on at the cinema as I write this – it’ll give you that warm Christmas glow! Official reviews vary from ‘really poor‘ to ‘an enjoyable romp’, and it was certainly no classic, but if you fancy something a little different this year, it’s an enjoyable watch, whilst you finish off the last of the leftovers!

Just one last job… I popped round to John & Trish’s to set up their digital photo-frame, and then it was back home and feet-up for a short while.

4.40pm: I caught up with Jo for our evening walk. Drizzly and getting colder, but we both knew we needed to burn off some of those festive indulgences.

5.45pm: Back to watching Christmas TV! We finished the evening with the Chelsea Detective Christmas Special.

Christmas TV

As usual for us, Christmas TV played a large part in our Christmas celebrations. Our Sky Q box was therefore kept pretty busy – even whilst we were away.

= Don’t bother
= Only if there’s nothing else to see!
= Not bad!
= Worth a watch!
= Oh yes, very Christmassy!

All Creatures Great and Small – 1983 Christmas Special
All Creatures Great and Small – 2024 Christmas Special
A Christmas Carol (The Mark Gatiss Stage Production)
Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2024
Call the Midwife Christmas Special (two-parter) (Is this running out of steam? It’s certainly not running short of graphic depictions of childbirth! Sugary sweet in a BAD way. Bah! Humbug!!)
Carols from Kings 2024
Christmas Ghost Story 2024 -Woman of Stone
Death in Paradise Christmas Special 2024 (New Copper!)
Doctor Who – The War Games (90-minute remastered episode). More information on my Blog HERE (Hats of the team for creating the ‘new’ regeneration scene!)
Doctor Who at the Proms 2024
Doctor Who Christmas Special 2024 – Joy to the World (Ultimately disappointing and I’m NOT warming to the new ‘Who’ character)
EastEnders Christmas Episodes (Even more tension than usual, but a well-put-together plot)
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale – Still to watch (but only to see what we missed – never really ‘got’ the attraction of this one)
Good Ship Murder Christmas Special (How did this get commissioned for another two series?)
Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special (Good story!)
Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Christmas Fishing (Simple and entertaining)
Outnumbered Christmas Special 2024 – Still to watch
Swan Lake – Still to watch
The Chelsea Detective Christmas Special 2024
The King’s Christmas Speech, 2024
The Red One (A surprisingly enjoyable Christmas Film)
Wallace & Gromit – Murder Most Fowl (Best programme this Christmas!)

So, that’s it for another year! My reindeer slippers are nearing the loft hatch and we’re planning to take down the decorations early new year – it seems to take so long to arrive, but is over in a flash! . Hope yours was a good one!

Christmas Past…

2023
(pretty-much ‘cancelled’ due to my hand injury!)
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

…and probably for the last time in 2024…

Merry Christmas!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas 2024 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We’ve all got different ‘triggers’ for when ‘Christmas’ officially begins. For many, it’s probably when the Supermarkets start displaying their Christmas lines! But that’s obscenely early isn’t it? So how about…

…that first Christmas meal? (this year, our first one was last Saturday )

…or when the John Lewis Christmas TV Ad first appears? (an almost ‘return to form’ this year for JL after a few misfires!!)

…or receiving your first Christmas Card? .

Anyway, back to Christmas TV. The real big event for me (and this ritual goes back years!) is when the Christmas double-issues of Radio Times and TV Times first go on sale. Normally that’s around the first or second week in December, and I always try and pick them up as soon as they’re out! This year, I was too busy wrapping presents to pick them up on launch day, but we were in Milton Keynes the day after (the 11th) and grabbed our copies from M&S.

I think my (slightly obsessive) fascination with these two publications is a throwback to my childhood, when Dad used to bring them home after finishing work for Christmas. As a family, we loved Christmas (of course!) but more especially, we all loved Christmas TV (first, in black & white, then colour, on just three channels, then four, then five – then hundreds! — and by 2024, probably closer to thousands if you include all the streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Lionsgate+ etc etc). Back then, there was no remote control, so Dad’s choice normally ‘won’, but that didn’t cause any issues, as TV was more family-friendly back then wasn’t it — The Generation Game at Christmas anyone??? To add to the fun in those days, there was also frequent positioning and re-positioning of the aerial to ensure the best possible pic!

With these oversized publications taking pride of place in the lounge, our first job was to painstakingly search through the schedules, taking it in turns to circle our favourite programmes.

Fast-forward to 2024 and it’s much the same now — except we use a highlighter pen or just go online, or download the digital versions to our Tablets (only the second year, we’ve grabbed them online). What progress ehh!?

…then again… maybe not!

The Christmas Double Issues (2024)

These days, both publications have a massive page count, mainly because they both list more-or-less the same information, Why’s that? Well, for my younger readers here, back in the ‘Stone Age’ (up until 1990) RT listed only the BBC stuff (including the radio) whilst TVT covered just the commercial channels. These days, in the now ‘gazillion-channels/satellites/streaming TV era’, you have both publications running into hundreds of pages. . Prices are slightly up on last year, but that’s offset by an increase in page count – The Radio Times is up to 303 pages, whilst the TV Times boasts 228!

So, just like back-in-the-day all that’s left to do now is to plough through them both, highlighter pen (or two, or three) at the ready, and our Christmas TV preparations are sorted!

Ghosts of Christmas (Covers) Past – 2010-2023…

Merry Christmas everyone!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Christmas TV Listings (2024) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

We’re already in December, and very unusually, we’ve not had a single Christmas meal yet! That’s so unusual for us, but we only arrived back from New Zealand last Sunday! At this point in 2023, we were on our third! It’s a tough life, ehh??

We picked up Paul & Karen in time for the 6.30pm ‘kick-off’ at John & Trish’s – a regular yearly event in our diaries for the past 5 years!

So, we were straight into Trish & John’s annual Neighbours’ Christmas Feast.

The Meal, 2024

With Trish doing most of the ‘heavy lifting’ in terms of the Turkey plus obligatory vegetables, things got off to great start with Rosi’s nibbles. Ann recreated her rather yummy Cranberry Sauce and Devils on Horseback, whilst Karen took care of her special Red Cabbage and Julie sorted out the Cheese for the legendary Cheeseboard (with a few extras from Trish). As usual then, a real team effort that was to be a real treat for the tastebuds!

With John on Bar duties, we were soon into the Christmas Spirit and catching-up with what’s been happening in all our lives since we last got together as a group (which I think was LAST Christmas!).

All that was left was to sit down and eat – and there was plenty to share!

…followed by a traditional Dessert! (Who had all the Bailey’s Sauce???? – another bucket full needed for 2025!).

…and ending with the Cheeseboard! – that didn’t seem to last very long at all!

With the eating out of the way, it was time for…

The Festive Quiz

This year, it was a much simpler affair (as the creators, we had both been all-consumed with getting ready for our holiday, leaving less time to be any more creative this year).

Trish drew names out of the hat for this year’s team pairs…

Paul and Trish
(Same as last year – what are the chances, ehh? Last year’s winners too!)
Julie and Rosi
John and Tom
Dave and Karen

Consisting of just five Rounds (4 questions per round) – mostly multi-choice – and with yours truly posing the questions and Mrs P in charge of scoring and crowd control, battle commenced!

Round 1: Festive Trivia
Round 2: Festive Sport
Round 3: Festive Music
Round 4: Festive Films
Round 5: Festive Abbreviations

With five points for a correct answer and 10 points for answering the occasional bonus questions, we were off!

As usual, it was a noisy but thoroughly enjoyable affair. My new Round of ‘Festive Abbreviations’ seemed to get the ‘thumbs-up’…

…with the above causing a lot of head-scratching (Answer: When Three Ships Come Sailing In).

An hour-or-so later, the scores were in! Paul & Trish handed over their crown to Julie & Rosi who scored a mighty 105, followed by Dave & Karen (65), Paul & Trish (45) and Tom & John (30). With prizes awarded, all that was left was chat more, eat more and drink more! (which we did, with ease!)

Download a copy of the Quiz from HERE

What a great get-together!

I’m not sure where the time went tonight! One minute we were admiring Rosi’s nibbles and the next it was close to midnight. Many moons ago, that would have meant we just carried on for another few hours – but not these days! We all called it a day around the same time, where we were home and ‘putting the cat out’ at just before 12.30am! Phew! We’re exhausted – but in a good way!

Merry Christmas! . The festive season has now officially begun for us!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post First Christmas Meal of 2024! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Yes, it’s that time of year again! It’s Friday, 14th November and right on cue, John Lewis has launched its Christmas TV advert. In past years, the offering was guaranteed to also boost the sales of Kleenex, but in more recent times, they’ve been a bit ‘lack-lustre’ and haven’t tugged the heartstrings quite so strongly! (Well, that’s MY opinion!) . At the time of this year’s launch, we were in New Zealand, but plenty of my mates reminded me about the launch.

What’s the story? This year’s festive tearjerker features a sister’s emotional quest for the perfect Christmas gift. The two-minute TV advert, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, celebrates the search for the perfect gift through the wisdom of John Lewis’ customers and the breadth of offering in its stores.

This is JL’s 15th (!!) since they started the trend of the big retailers spending mega-amounts on cinema-quality productions. 2024’s is slightly ‘off-piste” as does NOT feature a cover song to support the visuals. Instead, English, singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft provides the emotive soundtrack with his existing ballad, Sonnet. (listen to it here). Instead, On November 15, a nationwide search for aspiring musicians to cover Ashcroft’s melody will be launched and the winner’s version will be released on TV on Christmas Day. Actually, that sounds like a nice touch!

Click below to watch this year’s offering…

What did you think? As always, it’s a bit of a ‘Marmite’ theme this year, and it certainly didn’t have me reaching for the tissues either, but at least it had a time-travel theme to it, so for that, it got my vote! If you belong to that group who think that “Christmas adverts aren’t as good as they used to be” here’s a reminder of JL’s previous festive promotions below…

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2023
– Snapper, the Perfect Tree

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2022
– The Beginner

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2021
– An Unexpected Guest

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2020
– A Little Love

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2019
– Excitable Edgar

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2018
– The Boy and the Piano

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2017
– Moz the Monster

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016
– Buster the Boxer

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015
– Man on the Moon

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2014
– Monty the Penguin

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2013
– The Bear and the Hare

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2012
– The Journey

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011
– The Long Wait

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2010
– She’s Always a Woman

See you here, same time next year?

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post John Lewis Christmas Advert (2024) appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Off to the Falcon Inn in Fotheringhay to meet up with long-time pals, Mick and Jane to celebrate their 41st Wedding Anniversary.

The last time we were there was pre-Covid back in 2017. Before then, this was our go-to Pub/Restaurant when we lived in nearby Peterborough. Since then, we’ve developed other allegiances and, in that time, the Pub itself has had a few owners. Our most recent experience in 2017 wasn’t that good, so here’s hoping things have improved!

Well, on the positive side of our experience, it was a lovely day weather-wise, they already seemed to be quite busy with their tables outside all taken, and the car-park was filling up. We were seated in the Orangery, taking full advantage of the sunshine. We had all the ingredients for a great celebration as The Falcon Inn has a good reputation, so what could possibly go wrong?

The menu looked attractive too, and with Bar Snacks and an à la carte option, there was plenty of choice. Unfortunately, it took ages for them to actually provide us with a menu, and it all went down hill from there!

The service continued to be slow, painfully slow! We only had ONE Course and we were there for two hours! When my food arrived (just over an hour after ordering) the dish looked good, but the vegetables were tasteless and under-seasoned – although the pie was yummy. Ann reckoned hers was the worst burger she’d eaten in a long while!

I was the only one to attempt to order a Dessert, but I gave up because no-one seemed interested in taking my order. Not surprisingly, we all skipped coffees! It was such a shame to see this place so lacking in the basics! . Luckily, we’re spoilt for choice for eateries, and I therefore don’t think we’ll be going back any time soon!

Anyway, at least the snail-pace of the service gave us plenty of time to chat! It was really good to celebrate M&J’s special day (although it would have been better if the service was swifter!) . It was such a contrast to the last time we were all together (back in March) at The Red Lion in nearby Cranford where it was a superior experience all round!

Happy Anniversary, Mick & Jane!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Return to The Falcon Inn appeared first on Steve's Blog.

A Bank Holiday Street Party in nearby Berwick Way for no other reason than ‘because we could’!

Well, the weather wasn’t exactly ‘glorious’ – a cool and breezy 17°C – but that didn’t prevent around 20 of us from getting together at the foot of Berwick Way.

With Mick, the Burger King on BBQ duties serving up some excellent burgers and sausages, Janet and Ann on Mains and Jo and Sam on Desserts, we forgot the weather (for a while anyway!) and tucked into some excellent food. By popular request, Ann’s home-made Cheese Straws made an appearance!

If burgers and sausages weren’t enough, collectively, we’d assembled a massive list of additional junk food that included all the usual suspects – pizzas, peanuts, sausage rolls and crisps. The variety of processed food was only outdone by the array of alcohol on offer – we even had an ice-bucket! Let’s not say we don’t do these things half-heartedly!!!

Jo reproduced her Coronation Trifle from June 2022, which was supported by individual Lemon Drizzle Cakes and a Cheesecake, in case we were bored! (err, we weren’t!)

And, in a rare display of ‘healthy options’ (sort of!) we enjoyed Sam’s ‘double-decker’ part-of-our-five-a-day Fruit Meringue!

Momentarily, we were guilt-free!

Wow! What a great turnout, especially given that the weather didn’t really co-operate! Still, it could have been worse, at least it wasn’t raining. Afterwards, it was easy to see that we all did the food (and drink) justice! The sound of popping corks was only interrupted by the obligatory Amazon delivery driver’s reversing beepers, doing his best to get to his destinations without running us over!

If there was a single thing that was a (slight) disappointment, it was, as expected, the weather. It began breezy (as we frequently ‘rescued’ paper plates, cups, tablecloths and hats all heading in the direction of the next county!) and turned increasingly cloudy and cool. By around 3.30 it was just bordering on ‘yuk’ but that may have been because we ran out of food and drink!

We all agreed that overall, it had been a very worthwhile get-together and there was even talk of making it a regular event! Sounds like a plan!

Best news of all was that after taking the cost of the food and drink into account, we had money left over in the shape of £60. We donated that to Cransley Hospice. .

Same time next year then!!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Bank Holiday Street Party 2024 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Headed off to Toddington in Dunstable this morning to catch up with long-time friend, Angela C.

The journey there took longer than expected – it should have been around an hour, but with the M1 near Flitwick being dug up in both directions, it made my progress VERY slow!

We made good use of time catching up with each other’s news and rolling in some techy problem-solving relating to Angela’s phone and her laptop.

The food offer was ‘simple fare’ and where the service was as good as remember it when we first discovered the place last August for a similar get-together! . It was a very productive morning, where all-but-one of the issues were solved, leaving ‘why no spell checker in Outlook?’, something for me to do some more research on.

At just after 1 o’clock, the final task of the day was successfully bluetooth-ing Angela’s phone to her car – and it worked a treat! Thankfully, it was a much smoother journey heading north for home (even though the roadworks were still slowing things down) and I was home just after 3.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Job Done in Dunstable! appeared first on Steve's Blog.