Ely Ely Oh!

The three of us (Ann, Nicki and I) took a drive to Ely today. I haven't been there for a gazillion years.

Parking was pretty straightforward � a dedicated car-park for the Cathedral, our first stop. As we walked from the car, we suddenly realised how cold it was � but worse was to come!!

After a fairly thorough look around the Cathedral (marvellous!) and taking a load of photographs, we decided to head into town � a BIG mistake - as it got colder and colder and then it started to SNOW. Not the gentle stuff, but big flakes of the white stuff�more and more and more. We got soaked, and decided to postpone any further exploration and head straight back to the car!

Phew! - time for lunch then, so we headed for the 3 Horseshoes at Madingley. We had not been there before and what a treat it turned out to be! It was very busy, but they managed to get us a table in the pub bit. The menu turned out to be 'rustic Italian' (whatever that is!)�all we knew, was, it was brilliant! and we're definitely be going back there again.

We got home around 4, after treating Ann's car to its first visit to the hand car-wash in Finedon � a shiny motor now!!!

Time to put our feet-up, read the papers and watch a DVD. Today, we decided to go for 'Inglorious Basterds' starring Brad Pitt and directed by Quentin Tarantino. A curious film set in WWII and with its tongue firmly in its cheek! Some very, very violent scenes though and a bit strange!

Barbados, here we come�

Having dropped the hire-car back at Paul's last night gave us both a bit more time this morning. Ann had a productive morning and so did I - we we were ahead of schedule.

10:59:59. We logged on to the BA website, and chose our seats (the system only allows us to do this, 24 hours before the flight takes off)

12.15. We dropped the cats off at the Cattery in Ringstead � poor little babies�they looked so confused! :)

14.17. We're leaving for Ralph and Karen's. It was a good journey, although there was plenty of black-ice as we got nearer to theirs.

16.00. Arrived at Princes Risborough, but it took a few attempts to get up to their house as the approaching road was covered in snow. Fortunately, Bruce the taxi-driver who was going to drive us all the Gatwick Airport, got out his spade together with Karen and cleared a route through � phew!

16.15. After (just) getting all the cases in the Lexus, we set off for the airport. The local roads were a nightmare, but OK once we got onto the motorways.

17.45. We arrived at the Sofitel, a rather large and impersonal hotel based at the north terminal. There was  quite a queue to check-in, but after 30 minutes of so, we'd got our key-cards.

18.30. We found our room and partially unpacked�.but the most important thing on our minds now was FOOD! :) We decided to opt for the easy option and got a table in the Chinese restaurant just opposite the check-in desks. The service was very good and the food, very welcome.

21.20 On returning to our room, we found that none of the lights were working. Everything else was OK, TV, air conditioning etc, but the lights were done-for! In spite of one of the staff trying his best, it wasn't going to get sorted tonight. We were given the option of switching rooms, but we were too tired, so we settled for a torch instead.

Nighty night!!

The Packing continues/Salvation Army Concert/Ice Age

We spent part of the morning continuing to pack. It all seems to fit (but the kitchen sink was a bit of a problem!!) � so we should get away with being under the weight limits for BA.

Job done! We're all packed apart from a few last minute bits and pieces.
 
We're ahead of schedule, so we watched Ice Age 3 on blu-ray DVD. Not a bad film but perhaps not as good a story-as '1' and '2', but the animation was stunning � surely the cutting edge of what is currently possible � we think we could see every hair on the mammoths! Brilliant!!!

We drove down to town to go to the 6.30 performance of the Salvation Army Christmas Carol Concert. Snow�carol singing�Salvation Army Brass band � lovely!!! It doesn't get more christmassy than this!!!

David and Val were there and so were Val's Mum and Dad, Rose and Mike. Jo, Janet, Helen and Frank were also there and we also saw Joan and the guy who runs Windmill pet Supplies.

It was as usual, a great event. Good music, a great choir, and some well placed and well-thought-out religious messages. The event finished at around 7.45 and we took a slow and very careful drive back home because of the icy conditions. We then went round to David and Val's for toast (done the proper way, over an open fire) � a great end to a productive and enjoyable day!!!

Cats in/Holiday Prep

Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr

This is our final weekend before the holiday, so there is plenty to do � not least the packing! We had a productive morning, mostly cleaning and generally tidying-up.

Additionally, we took the cats to the Vet for their final injections. We decided to get to there slightly before the 2pm opening time, to avoid the queues � a good move as it turned out, because it got much busier as as we approached the hour.

Both Biscuit and Bon-Bon demonstrated a degree of catittude when meeting the vet � and they growled (yes, Persians growl) through the whole process. Still, it's 'job done' for another year and at least they're both protected for any cat-lurgy!

Time to put our feet-up for a bit as we've got ourselves pretty well organised. So-much-so, we'll probably start packing tomorrow, just to make sure it all fits!!!

TV time: We watched the final episode of series 2 of Merlin (recently commissioned for a third series), and the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

More snow is forecast for tonight and so we've cancelled our get-together with Mae and Denis at Downtown tomorrow for the annual presents-swap. It's not been above �1 here today and with more snow coming, it's bound to make the journey very difficult. We've rescheduled it for Sunday, January 10th.

Han or not to Han

Our original plan was to pick up Jo, Janet and Carol and head over to Han, our favourite Chinese restaurant in Market Harborough for a final pre-Christmas gorge-fest.

However, the atrocious weather here put paid to that and we decided to have everyone round to ours. As it turned out, Carol wasn't able to make it, so the four of us gorged on an Indian feast of meals courtesy of JS and M and S!

After eating, we settled down to the blu-ray DVD 'Enchanted', an unusual film, released just before Christmas in 2007. It was half cartoon and half 'real' and started off looking like an old Disney cartoon classic such as Sleeping Beauty. The heroine, Giselle (played by Amy Adams) is tricked by the Wicked Witch (Susan Sarandon, in full panto-mode!) and ends up being transported to modern-day New York, The story revolves around Giselle coping as a one-dimensional cartoon character in the 21st century and gradually changing her views about 'true love'. Ahh, bless!

It wasn't really a film that test the blu-ray capabilities of the player, but the colours were very vibrant � especially the dance scene in the park. And, apart from Timothy Spall, I didn't recognise any of the actors, although Jo pointed out that the 'hero' was the guy (Patrick Dempsey) from Grey's Anatomy. But, it a strange kind of way, it was a very watchable film with some clever special effects (especially the chipmunk) and maybe one especially suited to this magical time of year.

The snow has arrived...

Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr

Well, they forecasted it...and the white-stuff has arrived in great quantities. When I looked out the window at around 5am this morning, it didn�t look too bad, but it�s been snowing ever since on-and-off (mostly on!) and I reckon we�ve got two inches lying in the road here.

It�s apparently a lot clear once you get out onto the main roads, but the challenge is actually getting to those roads in the first place!

Lunch with Sally B

My gorge-fest continues. At this rate, I'll be classified under 'excess baggage' when we (err, 'if' � see yesterday's blog) go away on holiday!!!

Oooo, a flutter of snow in the air. I drove over to Cambridge to meet up with Sally B for lunch. We haven't seen each other since June and it was great to catch-up.

Whilst waiting for Sally, I even found time to help out another driver who, in attempting to get into the parking space in front of me, outside Brown's, judged the angle badly and managed to plonk both her nearside wheels in the large gutter that plagues many of the streets in Cambridge.

Luckily the gutter was partially filled with leaves which softened the drop (and made it less deep) � in other conditions, it would have probably damaged the wheels. Anyway, after a bit of instruction and skillful driving, we freed the car.

We ate at Brown's as normal, and what a pleasure � and contrast, after yesterday's disappointing service in London at des Vins. Great food, superb waitress service and a good buzzy atmosphere � just how it should be! We both had starters; Sally had steak and chips whilst I tried the lamb in red wine sauce with mustard mash for our main course.

We skipped dessert finished with tea and coffee and left just after 1.30 � we even managed to fix our next get together next March.

Good to see you Sally � have fun tonight!!

The Cecilian Singers' Carol Concert 2009

We drove over to Leicester to see David singing in the Cecilian Singers Choir. Val couldn't join us this year as she's in America visiting her sister.

We've been going annually for a few years now, but the format this year, was slightly different as they'd changed the venue to St Philip's Church in Evington Road. Parking was typically Leicester, all double-yellows with the occasional free space. Finding a space wasn't helped by the thick fog that had lingered all day. We were lucky in finding one solitary space on the street, about 5 minutes away.

For 2009, the programme was different. Instead of one event punctuated by the sit-down supper, we had the first half in the Church, then supper, then the second half in the Church Hall, in the next room.
The Programme was excellent in our view. Part one was a more traditional carol-concert whilst Part two featured more modern stuff. This year, for the first time, members of the choir did some small group and individual pieces � solo singing, recorders and a lute were all featured.

As always, each half contained the obligatory 'sing-for-your-supper' piece. Part one featured Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, whilst Part 2 allowed the audience to murder, O Come all Ye Faithful :)

The food was its normal high standard and all-in-all, this year for me, the whole event was the best they'd done so far.

For us, Christmas has now officially started!

We left around 10.45 and in spite of the thick fog, were home by 11.45.

Roger, Jane and Oliver here for the Weekend

Saturday
The day didn't start well weather-wise with rain, rain and more rain. Good news though, by the time they arrived at just after 11, it was starting to clear-up.

Ann had already rushed down to Waitrose for 8am to get in the food for the weekend and we sat down to pizza and salad just before 1.

After clearing up and closely supervising Biscuit in the garden after yesterday's incident, Ann, Roger, Jane and Oliver drove over to Corby for a spot of swimming (my sink-like-a-brick technique would have cramped their style) and I stayed at home and caught up with a bit of work and read the newspapers.

When they got back at 5ish, it was time to prepare tonight's meal of sausage and mash. In between the preparation, we tried to keep Oliver interested in the Blu-ray DVD: Prince Caspian, that he'd chosen from our collection, but it's a pretty slow start to the film and Oliver got bored very quickly. After pausing the DVD a number of times, we gave up, Oliver went to bed and we tucked into our evening meal. We finished off the Sausages and Mash and then got stuck into the trifle that Ann and Oliver had made earlier,

With Oliver safely tucked-up in bed we could have an adults-only meal and conversation followed by us all watching the end of the film. We eventually went to bed at 10.35.

There were plenty of potential interruptions from the 'Trick-or-Treaters', but unusually this year, we ignored them (apart from the group that came round at 2.45 in the afternoon, who because they were so early, fooled me into thinking they were someone else.
 
Sunday
It's raining hard and having let the cats out a couple of hours earlier at 5.30, I'm beginning to think that wasn't a good idea. Bon-Bon was smart enough to come in, but Biscuit was no-where to be seen! Hopefully this wasn't a repeat of recent events. Phew! about 10 minutes later, she wandered in, also soaked through!

Oliver was up just after me at 7, doing what kids do, running around and investigating everything. My Office, where the door was shut yesterday, now presented itself as an Aladdin's Cave for him � books, CDs, computers all requiring a thorough investigation and followed up with a barrage of questions � oh joy!! :)

We had a late-ish breakfast of cereals, croissants and jams and then we settled down to the Sunday papers, whilst Oliver helped Ann prepare Sunday lunch � a full roast.

Oliver's good in the kitchen � he does all the jobs you want him to�but occasionally, some of the jobs you don't! All-in-all though, a real asset.

Lunch was on time and by the end of it we were all, as usual, completely stuffed!! The kitchen carnage was quickly returned to its more normal state and we then chilled-out chatting and snoozing. It's now 3.15, it was time for them to head home.

It's been a great weekend, but a bit knackering, especially for Ann, who attempted to keep Oliver amused throughout his stay � it's easy to forget the limitless energy and the intensive questioning of a five-year old!

Germany calling�

Well, here I am at the Bauer Hotel and Gastof in Munich � a rather sweet little hotel about 20 minutes from the airport. I'm here for three-and-a-bit days for one of my clients.

It's about 21 degrees at home but they seem to be having a mini heat-wave here � phew! it's 3.45 in the afternoon and it must be close to 30 degrees outside.

�and I've just discovered that the room doesn't have any form of central heating!!

Tolethorpe Hall � The Tempest

We went to Tolethorpe Hall tonight to see The Tempest and we plan to see Chris and Pete M there too. 

The weather has been a little unpredictable this week (ahh, the irony�weather�tempest�geddit!?), so rather risk a picnic, we ate at The George Hotel Stamford. Janet picked us up at 5.15 and together with Jo and Carol, all in the same car, the five of us headed for Stamford.

We left on time and had a trouble-free journey to Stamford. On arriving, the car-park was as normal, pretty busy, but we managed to get a space right by the steps to the exit � perfect!

As we walked towards the entrance, that's where we ran into Chris and Pete � perfect again! Ironically, the weather was looking really good, so maybe�maybe, we could have risked a picnic!

We were shown to our table where the restaurant was already buzzing. The waitress told me that they are like this every Saturday and they'll probably do 250+ covers tonight before she finishes at 12.15 am!!

We had a great meal � the food was well above average and the service too. We left about 7.30 for the short-ish journey to Tolethorpe Hall.

On arriving the car-park was almost full but Janet's disabled badge, secured us a prime parking position.

As expected, it was a full-house � and rightly so, as the production turned out to be superb! From the fine acting; the excellent music quality; the brief pyrotechnics and the range of lighting effects, they were punching well above their weight as an amateur group � brilliant, brilliant, brilliant and brilliant!

The production lasted just over two-hours - -one hour for the first half, then an interval and then final half. The time flew by and although Tolethorpe Hall is known for its cold evenings and we had come well prepared � we needn't have done so, as even at the end, the outside temperature was still just above 18 degrees.

We said our goodbyes and Chris pointed us to a quicker way out to the A1 cutting-out Stamford town centre. As a result, we think it chopped 15 minutes of the journey-time.

After Janet dropped us off, we headed for bed straightaway and 'under the covers' just before midnight.

What a great day - and the girls' idea of choosing The George as a replacement for the picnic was inspired!

Burghley House with Ian and Ann

We had antipasti for lunch and then drove over to Burghley House. The drive there was very pleasant and the weather was gorgeous � 24 degrees. When we got there, the car-park was packed but after a couple of drive-rounds, we secured a space.

It was great to return to Burghley � we haven't been since June 2007 when we went there with Nick and Celina. We had a good look round the house, and I'd quite forgotten how stunning the interiors are! After the visit to the inside of the House, we took a 'pit-stop' and sat outside the Tea-Room with our pots of earl-grey tea. Gosh, the weather was hot!!!

Given the gorgeous weather, the main attraction was the garden area � the 'Surprise Garden' - full of kids enjoying the water features. The garden also contains some interesting 'constructions' based around the theme of water and the elements. We then had a quick look round the 'Sculpture Garden' and (Ian's) Ann spent some extra time taking more photos there. 

Time flew and we must have spent all-in-all a couple of hours there .

We had a good journey back to and on returning, settled in the garden reading the newspapers, watching the cats catch butterflies and chatting about this that. 

Ann started to prepare the evening meal and at 7pm on the dot, we were ready to eat � another Italian masterpiece - Lasagne and Salad, followed by home-made Panacotta and then a humungous cheese-board � all washed down with some wine and soft drinks. We initially decided to eat outside as it was still quite warm. However, by the time we got to the cheese course, it had turned a bit chilly, so we headed indoors.

Ian and Ann left just after 9, just as it was getting dark. It was great catching-up with them both � a perfect day! 

Good food + good friends + good weather = a perfect combination!

Busy, Busy!

Another busy Saturday, but for all the right reasons!.

First, off to car-wash to get the car cleaned, then onto Central Garage to drop Ann's personalised number plates off; sign the hire-car paperwork; pick-up the hire-car; then back home to tidy-up and do some cooking before Ian and Ann join us for the rest of the day. We're probably going to Burghley House after lunch today if the weather holds � so far the forecast looks good!

Short break: Portsmouth (Day 4)

I got up at 7 so I'd have time for a shower before heading up the road to get a ticket for the car that we couldn't park near the hotel last night.

Ooooo�I've noticed I'm a bit pink this morning after all that exposure to the good weather yesterday � they'll be no chance of that today though, it looks very grey out there.

Mission accomplished � we're parked for three hours for the reasonable sum of �3.

We hit the breakfast scene around 9 and then headed for Gunwharf Quays. We're going to catch the Gosport Ferry to meet up with Steve and Denise.

First stop though was the excellent D-Day Museum just up the road in Southsea. It was a really comprehensive museum and the most stunning (and unexpected) part was probably the 'Overlord Embroidery' � a bit like the Bayeux Tapestry� only longer � telling the story of Operation Overlord. 

After leaving the Museum,  we headed into town and jumped on-board the 11.30 Gosport Ferry, and rang Denise to let us know we were on our way. The weather by now, was deteriorating!
Denise met us at the Terminal in Gosport and after a short walk, we were on board the good ship 'Touch�'. Wow, what an impressive boat! Denise and Steve are sailing to Alderney tonight and the weather is definitely getting worse!!

After leaving Steve and Denise at the Marina, we decided to visit the Royal Marines' Museum back in Southsea. This was also an impressive place including probably the biggest collection medals we'd ever seen. We spent over an hour there and as we left the weather was worse � such a change from yesterday. We jumped straight back in the car and headed back to the Hotel.

Time for 'feet-up' and bit of TV before getting ready to see Ian and Sharon in Chichester at The Cider House Restaurant, Chichester. It's their Anniversary tomorrow and we've got them a cheese-knife set from John Lewis.

The Cider House menu is

here

  - and what a menu! The food was nothing short of excellent and the service was spot-on too! One of the owners (Julia Dent) was serving and the place was packed! We must drop her a line to compliment her on the whole experience � superb!!
We said our good-byes and had a smooth journey back to the Hotel, getting in around 10.45pm. We even got a a parking space nearby, which was an improvement on last night!

Well, it's been a GREAT break and we've been so lucky with the weather (apart from today!). We're leaving straight after breakfast tomorrow, so we should be home by lunchtime.

Short break: Portsmouth (Day 3)

I didn't get up until 8am!!

Looking out the window, the weather looks good at the moment although the forecast is cloudy. We plan to primarily use today to take photographs and try out our new camcorder.

9.00am. We got down to breakfast and found it a lot quieter than yesterday. The service was still sluggish, although the food was excellent.

10.00am. We took a short drive to the War Memorial. It looks like the original memorial was for WW1 and a a large extension had been added to accommodate WW2. The weather seemed to be getting better!

Whilst we were looking round, we saw what might be Ann's next car! (only joking).


10.30am. We then drove to the Historic Dockyard. We haven't been there for (we think) 15 years! It's been developed quite a bit and it was great looking around the improving good weather helped. HMS Victory looked stunning and so did the various modern warships.

11.00am. We then took a boat trip round the harbour. The Guide was really informative and pointed out lots of Frigates, Destroyers and a couple of aircraft carriers. We even saw some brand new warships awaiting commission. Ironically, some of the other warships were there awaiting a decision about their future. Part of the trip included stopping off at the now familiar Gunwharf Quays.

12.00. We had a final look round and then decided to take the Ferry to Gosport.

1.00pm. The ferry was busy � obviously a popular way to get to Gosport. The journey only took about 5 minutes and only cost �2.30 return.

The weather was now really hot. We took a short walk along the marina and stopped off at a small Bar/Bistro: Coburns on the Water and tucked into a burger with a cider each. We sat in the sun for about an hour before catching the ferry back.

2.45pm. We drove back to Gunwharf Quays and popped into the M and S Outlet and bought a few bits and pieces.

3.10pm. We went to see the film: Coco avant Chanel at the Vue cinema starring Audrey Tatou. The film was typically French and told the story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. It's not the sort of film that normally I go for, but it was well-filmed and quite a moving story.

5.30pm After the film, we headed back to the M and S Outlet to look round the men's department again. This time, I managed to get a new suit at around half-price � excellent!

6.15pm. We headed off to Caf� Rouge, just opposite The Spinnaker Tower. It was pretty quiet and after moving tables because the table-top was falling off! we were served pretty quickly. Ann chose the Beef Bourguignon and I had the Breton Chicken. The food tasted good, but Ann had to send hers back to heat it up! We finished the meal sharing Belgian Waffles with bananas smothered in chocolate.

7.30 We headed back to the hotel only to find that parking was a nightmare � absolutely no spaces anywhere. We eventually parked it in a parking area at the top of the road, but I'll need to fill the meter tomorrow before 8am � bang goes a lie-in!!

7.45 We're knackered!

Short break: Portsmouth (Day 2)

6.30am. I was up with the sound of birds and the faint sound of a hovercraft! A bright blue sky outside suggests today might be a fine day weather-wise.

8.30am. Breakfast calls, so it's a short walk across the road (!) and in through the back-door to the breakfast-room. It wasn't a very big room, and it was very busy when we first got there � but we were soon seated. Michael took our order � scrambled egg and salmon on granary bread for Ann; scrambled egg, sausage and beans for me.

9.30am. After breakfast, we took the short 5 minute walk into Southsea.

Once in the town, we headed for a unique John Lewis still called 'Knight and Lee'. Unique because it was very small and it had possibly the loudest escalators we'd ever seen heard. The staff seemed to have tune-out the noise, but we found it quite irritating. Back to the mission: I bought Ann some casual shoes and a belt. We then headed for Debenhams (sorely in need of some money being spent on it) where I stocked up on socks and added to my t-shirt collection. We then walked back to the hotel.

11.10am. We headed back into Southsea, to the Post Office to drop off a package. Whilst waiting for Ann, a Hummer turned up to pick up a load of girls on some sort of celebration. The Hummer was the centre of attention, with locals taking photographs and other motorists taking note of it blocking-up the high street! 

11.30am. We set off for Devizes to meet up with Johnny H and his wife Mel. On the way there, we stopped off in Wickham, a rather quaint town. We popped into Lilly's a small tea-shoppe. It was already busy but we spotted a table for two in the corner. Ann chose a baked jacket potato with ham and cheese whilst I went for the cranberry, brie and bacon sandwich � both delicious�and the service was excellent.

12,30pm. After picking-up some flowers for Mel in the shop next door, we resumed our journey, narrowly avoiding a short down-pour of rain.

2.15pm. We had a fairly good journey to J and M's, but because I'd set the sat-nav for shortest rather than quickest, we were directed away from the motorway which added to the journey time � it took about two-hours.

It was good to see them both again especially Mel, who's recovering from a very serious operation. The time flew and we were there until 6.30.

Ann drove back, and this time we stuck to the motorway, reducing the overall journey time by about thirty minutes.

8.00pm. We stopped off at Gunwharf Quays and decided to try out Chiquitos a Mexican Bar and Grill chain. We were quite hungry by now. The service was sluggish and the food OK rather than anything better � it could have been hotter too! We weren't offered a dessert and it took an age to get the bill�.but it filled a hole!!!

8.45pm We took a short walk along the top floor of the Quays towards the harbour. The view was spectacular, especially with the sun setting against The Spinnaker Tower (the phone on my mobile doesn't really do it justice).

9.45. We arrived back at the hotel. It's been a busy but enjoyable and rewarding day. Just time for a night-cap, a bit of TV and then � zzzzzzzz�

Short break: Portsmouth (Day 1)

We're off to Portsmouth for a few days. We left around 8.30 and popped into Central Garage on the way out to have a look at their used and new car stock as part of getting a car for Ann.

After much discussion with Paul, we narrowed the selection down to possibly a new Fiesta�but we do have some more research to do.

We left the garage around 10.15 and two-and-a-half hours later we were parking in the Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth car-park � a great journey!

We had a good shopping session as there are loads of shops � Ann got a couple of coats and I picked up a few bits and pieces. We'll probably come back later this week and explore upstairs and also drop into the VUE cinema.

At around 4.30, we took the short drive to the hotel � The Florence House Hotel in Southsea, as recommended by Trip Advisor. We stayed in room 3, a very tasteful and modern design in black and white (how practical, a black carpet!) � very spacious too�and free wireless internet�perfect!

7.10. We asked at the hotel where the places to eat were. There were quite a few but for convenience, we chose The Florence Arms literally two minutes walk from where we're staying. It apparently had a wide range of ciders and the food was top-notch pub-grub!

When we arrived, it was quite busy and after ordering some local cider (yuk!), we were offered the menu, which was quite extensive. We ordered the fish and chips and after a short wait, we were invited into the restaurant.

The fish and chips was excellent and best of all, they had a proper cider available � Aspall's. The service was great too considering there was only one waitress on duty � well done for keeping us all fed and watered. The only shock was when they informed us they didn't take plastic. Luckily, we scraped together the �20...just!

8.45. We planned to take a walk, but it was p****** down, so we headed back to the room.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is good � better than today, and we plan to travel over to Devizes and catch up with Johnnie and Mel.

Angela's 60th Birthday Party

We travelled down to Isleworth today for Angela's 60th birthday party - yes, I know, her birthday was in February!

It's quite a long drive from home, so we arranged to pick-up Denise and Steve in Bedford who'd also been invited � it would have been daft them doing the journey too as they're so close to us. We got to theirs around 1.45 and headed onwards more-or-less immediately towards the M1. That was the easy bit as it turned out that the M25 was the problem area � I'd forgotten to make allowances for the long-term roadworks and consequently, we crawled through them for 30 minutes or so arriving at Angela's just after 3.30.

There was already quite a few people there � the only two we recognised was Rick A and then June P. All-in-all, I guess around 50 people were there in total.

It was a great atmosphere and the food was nothing short of brilliant! A great variety, and not a sausage roll in sight. Angela was a great host and got us mingling! The weather held (just) and we only suffered one downpour. Thoughtfully, Angela had erected a small gazebo adjoining the end of her patio doors, and that gave us all somewhere to shelter from the rain.

After a quick nibble of desserts (also excellent � check-out the mini-cheesecakes!), we said our good-byes and left around 6.45pm and had a good journey back preferring to go via Hangar Lane and M1 north rather than suffer the M25 again. We arrived at Denise and Steve's around 8.15pm and stayed for a coffee and chocolates � Denise had bought me a whole box for doing the driving � yummy!

We left theirs around 9.15 and not long into the journey, there was a torrential down-pour of rain which slowed us down quite a bit. We got in about 9.45 � Ann had a bath and I caught up with a bit of TV.

Ahoy-there Ship mates�

Just call me Captain Pugwash - yes, it's Ann and me on a boat! David and Val's boat to be precise � the good ship Carusa.

We nearly didn't go at all because of the weather - but it started to brighten up and after packing a few provisions, we left around 1pm for Buckden Marina.

By the time we got there, the weather was even warmer and so it was top down and we set sail in the direction of Godmanchester. I even got to drive, pilot, steer, point the vessel. This was a tricky manoeuvre, because the effect of turning the steering wheel was slightly delayed and I hadn't accounted for wash and the wind � in fact, I  was all over the place steering-wise at times! At one point, a guy painting his dinghy, shouted at me to slow down � I must have been doing all of 10 knots. It took a lot of concentration and was great fun! 

We eventually broke out the provisions and that certainly kept the hunger at bay until our destination � Godmanchester.

We arrived in there around 1.30 and parked moored the boat. Time to take a slow, relaxed walk around Godmanchester.  The sun was really shining now and it was gorgeous, just wandering around in the good weather. Ann and I tucked into an ice-cream each from a Mr Whippy van and then we all made our way back to the boat.

We arrived back at the Marina around 5.15 and then headed home. It's been a great day and I'm glad we took a risk with the weather.

David and Val are round to us for my 'chili-chicken' later.