It’s that time of the year again when we try and counter the excesses of Christmas and prove that our National Trust Membership is still worth having. This is year six and you can see the previous entries here: 2014/5, 2015/6, 2016/7 (either didn’t do it or forgot to write about it that year), 2017/18 and 2018/19.… Read the rest
Six Days, Five Counties, Six National Trust Properties
It seems that this has become a bit of a “thing”. This is the fifth year of getting out post Christmas to work off some of the chocolate consumed and make the most of our National Trust Membership. You can see the previous entries here, 2014/5, 2015/6, 2016/7 (either didn’t do it or forgot to write about it that year) and 2017/18.… Read the rest
Reading Toy Run
The Reading Toy Run has been going since 1985, so slightly longer than we have lived in Reading but we have never been to see it, which is quite shocking. This year we made amends for that.
The toy run is a charitable exercise bringing together lots of bikers who ride through the outskirts of Reading each carrying a present for a child.… Read the rest
The Kings Head Theatre Pub
While at the Edinburgh festival this year we went to see a parody of the musical Hamilton based on the F1 life of Lewis Hamilton, something that has obviously been begging to be done. If you were an F1 nut, as I am, you’d have greatly enjoyed the pastiche.… Read the rest
All Aboard the Mail Rail!
It was my birthday this weekend (thanks for the best wishes, cards and cake!) and as a special treat to myself I arranged to go up to London to ride the Mail Rail.
Mail Rail is the name of the narrow gauge railway that ran underneath London and was, until 2003, how Royal Mail transferred post across the city. … Read the rest
Bristol Balloon Fiesta 2018
Warning – if you have a phobia of balloons then this post is not for you. It contains a lot of them!
I have a “bucket list” of places I wish to visit and experiences that I would like to, well, experience.… Read the rest
The Sculpture Park, Churt, Surrey
While visiting friends over the weekend they took us to somewhere that I have to admit that I’d never even heard of – The Sculpture Park near Churt in Surrey. It turned out to be a hidden gem.
As the name suggests the Sculpture Park is home to several hundred works of art which are set out a long a series of paths through a forest. … Read the rest
South England 2018 – Day Two – RHS Garden Wisley
We eschewed the delights of a Premier Inn breakfast and instead chose to hit the road early and make our way from Kent to Surrey and the RHS gardens at Wisley. We are recent members of the RHS having been wowed by a previous visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.… Read the rest
South England 2018 – Day One – A Not Quite Spontaneous Weekend Away
Those that know us will know that we aren’t known for our spontinaity and have our lives planned in meticulious detail months, even years, in advance. So when I discovered a couple of weeks ago that we were free this weekend and suggested that we go away for the weekend it came as a surprise to both of us!… Read the rest
ZSL London Zoo, Zoo Nights 2018
Last Friday we once again set off for Regent’s Park and the ZSL London Zoo for their annual Zoo Nights event (neé Sunset Safari, which I think is a much superior name). This is becoming a regular event for us having been both in 2015 and 2016.… Read the rest