Life's about experiences. These are mine.
Weather apps can be deceptive and wrong. Yesterday it looked as if today was going to be a write off in terms of being able to get out for a dry walk but as we drove over to Basildon Park it was still dry.… Read the rest
The irony of taking a weeks holiday when the weather turns after ten weeks of glorious sunshine is not lost on me. Therefore, to make the most of the calm before the storm we headed out early this morning for a walk around Dinton Pastures.… Read the rest
While many place still remain closed the National Trust has opened the grounds of a number of its properties. In order to limit numbers you have to go on to their website the Friday before and make a booking. Given that we are off this week we’d decided that it would be nice to go and stretch our legs at a couple of local NT places.… Read the rest
Sandwiched between the good weather and the shops reopening is our “holiday” week. Originally it was going to be spent at Centreparcs but that has been shoved out by 13 months due to the Covid situation. Our employers are keen that we use up some of our leave entitlement and so here we are on our first “staycation”.… Read the rest
I started to write this post a couple of months ago and then ran out of steam as Covid started to take control – thankfully not to me but the country and wider world as a whole. I revisited the post again as next week we were supposed to be going on holiday and while that clearly isn’t now going to happen I thought it was still worth some reflection on what might constitute holidays for the rest of 2020 and possibly into 2021 too.… Read the rest
Seeing the queues outside the Real Alcazar yesterday we took the precaution of prebooking a slot for today. I’m glad that we did as it was busy both inside and out.
Real Alcazar sounds like it should be a football team (at least I think so) in the same vein as Real Madrid and Real Bettis but is, in fact, an amazing Moorish palace.… Read the rest
Over breakfast this morning Helen and I were debating the weighty topic of whether to risk going out without a coat this morning. Our weather apps concurred that it was only eight degrees outside. Eight degrees in the UK in February is enough to send me running for my coat along with my hat and scarf but here it seemed a bit of overkill.… Read the rest
A familiar response when I tell people that we are off on holiday is “again?” I am aware that we go away a reasonable amount and do plan our trips away a long time in advance but nevertheless it does always strike me as an odd response.… Read the rest
Last last year I read Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants, the first novel in his Century trilogy. The book follows the fortunes of a number of families in the UK, US, Germany and Russia. One family comes from a mining community in South Wales and the story paints vivid picture of life down the mines.… Read the rest
Occasionally I do something that I do not think that I can convey the awesomeness of through my words alone. A trip to the Mini factory in Oxford is one such trip. Nevertheless I am going to give it a go.… Read the rest