Summer Holiday…

Normandy (June/July)

We took the Ferry from Poole to Cherbourg driving down to our gite just outside Arromanches-les-Bains. Here we met up with Marc, Heather and Elise and celebrated Marc’s 60^th.

2^nd day – We explored some of the local beaches (Gold) – here there is physical evidence of the Mulberry harbour on the beach and in the sea.

3^rd day – We drove up the coast to the pretty fishing village of Honfleur at the mouth of the Sienne.

4^th day – We (Minus Marc who had a work commitment) drove down to the fabulous Mont Saint Michel Island village and abbey.

5^th day – Was spent mostly at the gite (inc. playing several board games).

6^th day – Out at the nearby Bayeux where we visited the Commonwealth War Cemetery, D-day Museum, the tapestry, and witnessed a Medieval parade.

7^th day – A short way along the coast is the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer (Juno beach), where we wandered around for a good few hours.

8^th day – Was Sue’s birthday, and today we returned to Bayeux for their amazing Medieval weekend where we saw displays of ancient crafts, stalls selling period appropriate gifts, people dressed in a wide variety of costumes, musical acts playing music on instruments from the past, and also the towering cathedral in the centre of town.

9^th day – Whilst the others stayed around the gite, Sue and I went out to Le Petit Jardin for a lovely lunch and then to the little fishing town of Port-en-Bessin and a nearby cidre farm.

10^th day – Marc treated us all to a celebratory lunch in Bayeux at the Saint-Laurent restaurant. Afterwards Sue and I went on to explore some nearby gardens at Chateau de Brecy, while the others went to an adventure park.

11^th day - Marc, Heather and Elise left for Paris and there were thunderstorms in the morning. Sue and I drove off to avoid the bad weather and visited several towns and beaches on both the southern coast (opposite Jersey) and the northern (Omaha) and Pont du Hoc. We also had a fabulous lunch at Le Petit Nor’Cat (Normandy/Catalan fusion).

12^th day – We drove out to explore the Pays-en-Auge region (fromage - Camembert, Livarot, and Pont-l'Évêque, and cidre villages). On the way we stopped at the grand Chateau Fort De Creully, and Billy’s Cidre Farm. We had lunch at one of the prettiest villages in the region, Beuvron-en-Auge (exposed timber buildings) and continued to the Garden of the Pays d’Auge at Cambrener.

13^th day – We checked out and travelled home via the museum in Arromanches-les-Bains (outside of which there was an American youth band playing for 4^th July), and then (Utah beach). A ferry ride back to Poole and a couple of hours in the car and we were home in the early hours of the next day.

Less is More…

March continued

Spring started early with warmer and drier weather than usual triggering early flowers to bloom.

We spent a few days house and cat sitting (only saw one of the cats, the other being shy) at Jamie’s in Peckham. We took advantage of the location to explore and get out and about.

-        We saw Angus Rogers (paintedbird) play at the Social. His cover of Nick Cave’s ‘God is in the house’, was particularly good.

-        Sue went shopping at Borough Market (a short ride on the train).

-        At the nearby CLF Art Lounge, we attended the Jam (Sandwich) Session, where we saw various talented performers including Zinzi, Temm, and Cob.

-        As London was so close, we popped out to visit National Portrait Gallery, one of our favourite art spaces.

-        Back at the CLF again later in the week we saw the experimental violinist Beka Reid.

-        Further afield we took a bus to the Greenwich Old Royal Navel College, where the Helios display was on show (a large, suspended representation of the sun). We then continued to see the Thames Barrier before returning for a tasty Jerk chicken dinner at the Prince of Peckham.

There was little evidence of the partial eclipse at the end of the month, but it did bring back memories of many years before when there was a more significant eclipse, and we created a pin box camera in the garden to show its progress to Jamie.

As the weather improves, we find ourselves out at the Dropkick Brewery, who have taken over what was the Gin Kitchen premises to expand their operation. It is becoming quite the destination location.

Another sign of the season is the wild garlic is ready for picking and turning into pesto.

At the end of the month the family took Barbara out to her favourite Chinese restaurant for Mother’s Day.

April

We decided to redecorate our bedroom and roped Jamie in to assist with some of the preparation work.

More flowers are making themselves shown as spring makes itself felt.

We ate out alfresco in the garden for the first time with a seasonable spring lamb dinner.

After the bedroom we continued to repaint the kitchen to freshen it all up.

Using a new route, we walked in a circle from Shere to Albury and back, stopping occasionally for refreshment.

We took Barbara out to her happy place - the garden centre, and there she bought enough plants to fill the car up.

Out local Historical Society has a couple of annual walks, one being the Good Friday walk around the village. It is a gentle stroll with information provide by local history experts and usually ending up in a private location – this time at the back of the ponds.

As the year progresses, we have started to work in the garden getting it back into shape ready for the summer.

We returned to the Dropkick Brewery with friends for a few drinks and live music.

Easter dinner was at Barbara’s with the family gathered around her dining room table.

Deb and Dave love to eat out in their garden and several friends joined them for their celebrated Pizza.

Jamie wanted to make some improvements to his back garden and so enlisted our help with some of the plant selection and planting.

 

May

A large group of friends and family gathered at the Whittenbury’s to celebrate Reg’s 95^th birthday in some style.

Several of the Dorking pubs organise music events together and we attended the latest with some of our neighbours.

VE Day celebrations in Dorking this year were a bigger affair than normal, with yards of bunting, various period appropriate musical acts, historical displays, horse drawn omnibus rides and open gardens, which we attended with Chris and Carole.

Dave and Terry rendered our patio that had suffered damage over the winter, and we painted it ready for summer, bringing the tender plants out of the greenhouse.

We visited RHS Wisley to witness some of the spring flowers in bloom.

Also joining in the Pizza party trend, the Brown’s invited is around to theirs. Deb and Dave of course to cook.

At this year’s UK Game Expo, I only bought a couple of games - MicroMacro Crime City All In, and Disappointing Affirmations. Faye, Rhys, Martin, James and Noah, and I played plenty more games over the weekend.

Whilst I was away in Birmingham/Coventry, Sue and Deb flew off to Las Vegas for a few days of girl time as a belated birthday treat to each other.

 

June

Musical events in the local pubs are likely to encourage us out and so it was early in June when we went with Anne and Howard.

Taking advantage of our National Trust membership with visited Leith Hill Place gardens and then Hatchlands Park House and Gardens.

Epsom is about halfway between our place and Chris and Carole's, so we met there for a lovely meal out with them and Paige.

A place we had hear about but never visited was Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, which is not far away. So, we rectified this and were surprised with its scale, the variety of sculptures, and the many things to be seen there. We did however avoid the naturist charity event that was schedule for later that day.

Westcott Open Gardens is a small local charitable event where some residents open their gardens to visitors to roam around, something we couldn’t pass up.

We returned to Jamie’s with some of the family for a BBQ in his garden where we could gage how well he had been looking after the plants (pretty well was the answer).

20 Years On...

It has been 20 years since I started my blog, and since then much has changed. Blogs are ancient history and even the social media that followed has fallen out of popular favour. However for me both this blog and my Facebook account is more about recording what has happened around me, a diary of sorts. Let's see where it goes from here. 

Less is More…

Another tardy update…

November 2024

To finish off the month Sue and Deb went into Guildford to do some shopping and invited me to join them later at the Ivy Asia for a festive themed banquet.

December 2024

We met Chris and Carole on Dorking at the beginning of the month and had a lovely Thai meal before listening to some music in the Cricketers.

Mid-month we hosted an early birthday party at our house for Deb’s 60^th and had a whole bunch of friends and family over for drinks and nibbles.

After the birthday party, Sue & I went up to Tring for Terry’s annual carol evening which is a highlight of the festive season.

On the 19^th Dec Deb, Jamie, Sue and I flew out to Thailand for our holiday. It is a long journey and we arrived just as dawn was breaking and we just spent the day wandering around getting our bearings and ending up at a bar overlooking the river. We were staying in the Shanghai Mansion Bangkok right in the middle of Chinatown, which was a lovely smallish hotel.

On the next day we visited a few temples and explored some markets and had a superb lunch at Maethum Padthai Kheng and eating dinner out on the street in the evening market. We also had our first Tuk Tuk ride, which was ‘interesting’. This part of the Bangkok is an assault on the senses, busy with people, loud Tuk Tuks and music blaring out of bars, neon flashing lights, and smells of food being cooked out in street vendor’s stalls.

The following day we ventured out onto the river in a long tail boat and got a different view of the city (saw the Squid Games doll out for a cruise promoting the second series). We hit all the big tourist attractions, temples, palaces, many Buddhas, and a few bars (Japanese beer at Rabbit Hill, smoking cocktail at the IconSiam Centre rooftop bar, and many interesting concoctions at the secret Widdershins).  

The next day was Deb’s 60^th birthday and we started with the trip out to the Queen Sirikit Park / Chatuchak gardens where they have a butterfly enclosure. Nearby is the Chatuchak Weekend Market all of which was enjoyable. That evening we got dressed up went to a jazz club called Foojohn where we listened to a very entertaining band consisting of mainly Netherland musicians who serenaded Deb with Happy Birthday.

Our 30^th wedding anniversary was the following day as we transferred from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, where we stayed at the much more corporate like Movenpick Suriwongse hotel, on what we learned was local known as American Corner right next to the vibrant night markets and chain restaurants. In the evening Sue, Deb and I wandered around the locality seeing many massage parlours and marijuana dispensaries before having a rather strange cocktail at the hidden away Midlife Crisis bar.

We were intending to avoid Christmas this year to concentrate on Deb’s birthday and our anniversary, but as it was explained to us the Thais like to celebrate everyone’s significant days as it is an excuse for a party and to sell to the tourists. There were Santas everywhere and Christmas songs blaring our all-over. They had celebrated Hanukkah and will go on to celebrate New Year and Chinese New Year.

In the morning of Christmas Eve, we were picked up and went to a local market to see the produce and pick some up for our cooking course that was being held at the Small House by local chef Arm. At his small house we learnt to prepare the ingredients and to cook many of Thailand’s favourite dishes.

 

Deb and Jamie had been to a local massage parlour and raved of the experience and Sue was eager to try it too. I was not so keen but thought that I needed to try. I must have a very low pain threshold as almost immediately as my masseur started on my feet I was in pain. I looked around and the others are relaxed and enjoying it all. I can say that Thai massage is not for me, and I came out more tense and pained than I went in.

Christmas day we had organised an excursion out to the tallest mountain in Thailand and along the way our guide showed us some wonderful waterfalls, a roadside market, and an intriguing mountain village where traditionally garbed villagers, with the guidance of the king, had change from growing drugs to coffee, some of which was sold to Starbucks (coffee not the drugs). Near the summit of the mountain were a couple of impressive temples one to the king and the other to the queen to celebrate their birthdays.

Back in Chiang Mai that evening Sue, Deb and I visited a bar called Noir, hidden in the old kitchen of an abandoned hotel, where we had some interesting cocktails whilst listening to a fabulous jazz trio.

On Boxing Day, we transferred from Chiang Mai to Phuket. At Phuket the taxi driver knew we had a long journey to the hotel and so stopped for those of us who needed a smoke and at a shop to buy a few beers (travellers). After arriving at Kata, we explored the town and ended up having a wonderful Japanese meal down a side street.

We noticed another side of Thailand here, a party town full of tourists from around all corners of the world, many from Russia. We spent a lot of time at the beach that our hotel fronted, swimming or just lazing in the sunshine, drinking cocktails, and relaxing. We explored the town finding some interesting bars and markets and watched the sun go down over the sea. We watched a dramatic fiery display at one bar.

Sue, Deb, and I took the boneshaker local bus to the Old Town, where we explored the Sino-European architecture and ended up back at the beach in front of our hotel.

On the 29^th Dec we spent a long day travelling, a long taxi back to Phuket airport and from there flying back to Bangkok and then back to the UK.

Sue and I had a quite New Year at home.

January 2025

Early in the New Year we had some snow. It wasn’t much but we used it as an excuse to shelter inside with neighbours playing boardgames.

Another ritual for us is to participate in the local Wassail at the community orchard. Before that though, Sue and I had a walk around the foothills of Reigate hill. Back at Dorking the festival was well attended with families, various folk acts, and the local head druid.

Midway through January we went to see the newly reimagined Battersea Power Station with family (Jamie, Deb, Chris, and Lynne). It is a large redevelopment with blocks of housing, rows of restaurants and in the large station halls many shops, a cinema, and other places of entertainment. We had come to take the Lift 109 that goes up the centre of one of the four chimneys out the top to give striking views over London. In the evening we had a family meal out at Barbara’s favourite Chinese restaurant.

 

Near the end of January Sue and I went to see Ed Byrne’s show at Dorking Halls. Called Tragedy Plus Time it is a touching show taking life’s heartbreaks and finding the comedy in it.

At the end of the month, we visited RHS Wisley where we saw some of the early signs of spring to come.

February 2025

Early in the month we got together with friends at the Pilgrim Brewery in Reigate to drink beer and watch rugby. On the following day some of us went to Birtley wood where we helped Paul and Lorraine tidy up their workspace ready for the new year of woodland courses.

For my birthday sue and I headed off to Dungeness where we rented a small cottage for a couple of days. We ate fish and chips at the iconic Pilot Inn. It was a very wintery couple of days, blowing cold along the wide expanse of shingle bank. We did find some interesting pre-war structures called Sound Mirrors, used to listen for enemy aircraft crossing the Channel. We played boardgames and relaxed together for a couple of nights.

Later in the month we started to make plans for a big trip for the next New Year in Australia and for my sixtieth birthday in New Zealand. Chris and Lynne are planning to be in Australia through December, so we will join them in Sydney for a few days.

There was a rare planetary parade this year, but due to cloud cover and position we only managed to see a few of the planets with our naked eye (some can only be seen with lenses); however, it was quite an experience.

March 2025

Sue and I travelled up to help Tracy (My Uncle’s wife’s daughter) move house. 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds trying to shift bulky and weighty articles was a challenge – should have seen us walking a full-size pink fridge around the streets. It was a workout for us all.

I have had a tooth infection that required medication to clear up, unfortunately it resulted in the tooth dying and having to be removed. So now I have a visible gap in the upper row of teeth, and I am considering what to do with it. Perhaps a gold one to replace it?

Less is More…

Another update…

July 2024 - Continued

We ended the month with another visit to the Sound Lounge, this time to see old school rock ‘n’ rollers Geraint Watkins and the Mosquitoes.

August 2024

This started with an alfresco gathering around at the Whittenbury’s and a BBQ in the garden.

I got together with pals (Martin, James & kids) to play a few boardgames at James’s place. Virus Inc, 5 Minute Mystery, Flamme Rouge, a pirate game (forgot the name) and Roll for It, Zombie Dice and Martian Dice.

We hosted an alfresco evening of our own, this time for Sue’s boss, his sister and Sue’s sister.

Sue and I, with Deb as well, travelled to Seaford to spend the weekend with Chris and Lynne. Whilst we were there, we walked up the coast to the lovely seaside town of Lewes.

Whilst Jamie was away on holiday Sue and I house/cat sat for him in Peckham and had a fabulous time exploring the local environs. We had some good evenings, including at Kokum with Deb and Chris and Carole, Banh Banh for a fabulous Vietnamese meal, Nola Coffee with Jo, Prince of Peckham for the best jerk cuisine with Jamie, Peckham Cellars across the road with Deb and to see the Jonny Liebeck Jazz Quartet at the CLF Art Lounge with Chris and Jo. We also went into London and went up to the Sky Garden to get a great view over the city.

We joined a large group of friends to celebrate Tracy’s 60^th birthday at the Greek Vine Restaurant in Wallington. A surreal Zorba the Greek, plate smashing, out of body experience.

It was a more relaxed day out when we went to the Sussex Prairie Gardens with Paul, Lorraine, and Chris and Carole.

Sue and I took a short break to Bristol and found it a vibrant, scruffy, and historically significant town. We ate at some amazing places, including – Bokman (Korean), Wilsons (locally sourced British), the Lido for breakfast (an actual lido), Dhamaka (Indian), Noah’s (seafood). We also found the liveliest street in town and the Old Duke pub that had live music every night. We did seek out some culture as well, visiting the Clifton suspension bridge (saw it as the sun came down), the Clifton Observatory and Giant’s Cave, and taking a water taxi past Brunel’s SS Great Britain.

Returning from Bristol we visited Dyrham Park, a suburb building with a previous owner that had a terrible past, profiting from the misery of others.

The month ended with a dinner out in Epsom at the Koza Bar Kitchen (Mediterranean cuisine) with Chris and Carole.

September 2024

A regular date in our calendar is to visit the small, but perfectly formed, Pippfest open air event in Dorking, with local music, crafts and produce. We went with neighbours, Howard & Anne, Dan & Charlotte, and friends the Whitenbury’s.

We saw father and daughter act, Dirk and Amelia Powell playing Southern style Americana at the Sound Lounge this month.

In September we visited Terry and Katherine and took an excursion out to the opulent Waddesdon Manor, a building built just as a party venue and to house some of the wealthy Rothschild collection.

One Friday we went to Dorking to the Old House and listened to Sarah-Jane Hassell play.

A project that had been ongoing most of the year was the build of a combined bin and bike storage shed in our front garden. I draw up the designs that were realised by Pete. In addition, I laid a living roof on the structure that should hopefully make it blend into it surroundings a little more.

By the end of the month, it was starting to feel decidedly autumnal with cooler nights and the change in the colour of the leaves on the trees. The conkers were scattered all over the ground. We did get out to the Dropkick Brewery for a musical evening with Sophie Mullan entertaining the assembled crowd.

October 2024

This started with my trip out to Essen in Germany for the regular Speil game convention there. I stayed in the quirky Alma Mulheimer Hotel in Mulheim an der Ruhr. I joined up with friends from Belgium (Kotie and David), and New Zealand (Gary and his son Ben). The event was very busy and was sold out each day. One of the traditions is to have pork knuckle at the Restaurant Mausefalle, and this year was no exception.

In the middle of the month, we jetted of to fair Verona with the Whittenbury’s to visit their eldest son Tom, who is living and working there at the Verona Rugby Club. It is an amazing compact city with superb history everywhere. This weekend coincided with a wine event that meant the streets and plazas were full of revellers and music. We also watch the Verona Rugby team win their first league match of the year. We also took a train out to Lake Garda one of the days we were there.

For Sue’s Mum’s birthday we went out to her favourite Chinese restaurant, Heens, with Jamie, Deb, and Dave.

Later in the month we took Barbara down to visit Chris and Lynne where we ate out at a lovely pub.

November 2024

The weather continued to get cooler, and the nights are drawing in. Sue and I managed to get out on a grey day to visit Sheffield Park where the trees were showing their vibrant seasonal colours.

A musical event we had planned for some time was to see Bellowhead on their 20^th anniversary tour as they played the Dome in Brighton. We decided to stay over and explore a bit of the town. Before the event we went and had a tasty cocktail at Gung-ho! And then followed up with a fabulous Italian meal at Cin Cin. The band, ably supported by the Longest Johns, were in good form and managed to get almost everybody up and dancing on their feet. The following morning, we took a leisurely stroll around the lanes, fortified by a lovely breakfast at Lost in the Lanes.

Taking advantage of a bright, but cool, weekend we went up to Newland’s Corner where we walked through the woods. They have installed a boardwalk that passes three ancient yew trees that are more than a thousand years old.

We gave in to the persistent Christmas presence and visited the local WestFestival held in the Community Hall and Church.

As a couple of our neighbours are moving away soon, we got together with them (Dan & Charlotte) and other neighbours (Howard & Anne) and had a Sunday lunch and a stroll in the countryside. A pleasant day indeed.

Sue’s boss Jonas was over from Sweden, so we kept him entertained one Monday evening with dinner out at the Queen’s Head in Dorking.

To celebrate Lorraine’s 60^th birthday we met in London with Paul, Lorraine, Deb, Deb & Dave, and Chris & Carole (although Chris had leave as he was unwell). We had a few drinks at the Coach & Horses in Soho, before moving on to have a fabulous roast dinner at Sophie’s Soho, and finishing up at the Opium cocktail bar in Chinatown.

Another Tardy Update…

 Another update…

 Mar 2024 - Continued

As the weather improved, we continued going with walks on the weekends with friends – to places such as Reigate Hill.

We continued our support of the Sound Lounge – seeing Jenny Colquitt this month.

At the end of the month the Westcott Historical Group had their Easter walk and talk, this time visiting Rokefield House (a converted manor house and former Jewish blind children hospital), with stories of lost pubs, a grisly murder, royal furniture craftsman, and ice-house.

After visiting friends who were trying out their new caravan, we stopped at Chichester and visited many of its historic sites.

Easter dinner was had at Sue’s mums with several generations of the family present enjoying the company and food.

Apr 2024

This month started with a walk in the countryside to admire the spring bulbs and wildlife (even saw a dead snake).

A new venue in Dorking for us is in the St Marys church, where they occasionally hold musical events. We went with Terry and Katherine and saw Saints & Sinners who played gospel and blues music. Sue made us a hearty Lancashire hotpot for our evening meal. The next day we wandered around Leith Hill Place gardens and admired the large collection of rhododendrons. We also tried to find the bluebells at White Downs, but the place has in a real mess after some very controversial woodland management.

Sue held a soiree for a work colleague (Frenchman Lionel) who was retiring and made a spectacular buffet whilst I mixed a few thematic cocktails.

We visited the house of our neighbour’s partner (Anne of Howard) to play games and have dinner and stay the evening. The next day we returned the favour with a meal at ours along with Marc who was passing through.

Later in the month we visited the Sound Lounge with Deb and Jamie and saw The Lost Trades perform a very entertaining set.

We have several friends who enjoy their food and drink and regular amongst them are Deb & Dave, and it was with them that we had an outing in Reigate to a couple of drinking establishments (including the Hop Stop), and then to Lebnani for some Beirut soul food.

May 2024

The West Festival (West Street in Dorking) started off the long weekend, and we enjoyed several bands (staying mostly in the Star).

Our first outdoor garden party was for a gathering of work colleagues past and present (mostly from GPE and Honeywell). It was good to catch up with them all and find out how they are getting on now.

We are of an age now where we are going to several 60^th birthday parties. In May it was Pete’s and was down at the Railway in Carshalton. On our way home we managed to see the Northern Lights in the night sky.

The Dropkick Brewery has become a favourite place of ours and we spent a glorious day their listening to a DJ set by Uncle Stubble whilst drinking a couple of pints and eating Uboo’s tacos.

We celebrated Jamie’s birthday with a visit to his neck of the woods, where he took us to a rooftop bar (a converted multistorey carpark), a couple of other drinking establishments, and then we had a lovely Indian meal at Kokum.

There was a garden party to celebrate Hillary’s 80^th birthday around at the Whittenbury’s and it was a lovely occasion with friends and family enjoying the good food and company.

Sue and I took a drive out into the countryside and visited the novel Ichi-Coo Park and then a portion of the Wey and Arun canal. The next day we had a long walk out to the Stepping Stones where we enjoyed some jazz (a regular jam session with a wide variety of musicians).

At the end of the month, I went with friends (Martin, James, and Noah – meeting Rhys and Faye) to the UK Games Expo at the NEC. We visited the show and bought a few new games and then spent the rest of the weekend back at the hotel playing more games.

Jun 2024

It was a horticultural start to the month with us working in our garden before going to visit the wonderful Sissinghurst Castle gardens. The next day we stayed more local and visited Logmore Place that was open as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Cyprus Holiday

Mid-month we took off for a long weekend in Cyprus, staying in Paphos on the south coast. It was hot with clear skies the whole time, and we soaked it all up. We spent a good part of the time visiting the remarkable ancient historical ruins with the rest of the time delighting in the local cuisine. One day we took an excursion out to see Aphrodite’s Rock, Lofou, Millomeris Waterfall, Lion’s spirit Winery and Omodos where there is the Timios Stavros Monastery – a lovely small group tour. During the heat of the day, we did retreat to the pool to cool down, and of the evening we tried to be down by the water’s edge to watch the spectacular sunsets.

June had been cold for the UK, but later in the month it brightened up and the signs of summer in the countryside around where we live was a welcome thing.

Another visit to the Sound Lounge, this time to enjoy the poetry of Mike Gerry with musical accompaniment of the Cassia String Quartet.

One of the games I bought at the Games Expo made it to the table – only just fitting as it is a bit of a monster. It a long while to get to grips with it and eventually we had to call it quits before the end. It is the third in a series – Great Western Trail (New Zealand).

Our local fete was bigger and better than last year and was good to see so many people enjoying themselves. Later in the Deb & Dave came round and we ate alfresco.

A relatively new addition to the New Zealand official holidays is Matariki the Maori New Year, which this year was at the end of the month.

Back over to the Whittenbury’s for a pizza party, where we met Lily, Tom’s new girlfriend.

For Sue’s birthday we spent some time with her mum and then at Jamie’s (where he cooked a lovely meal), to party with friends. The next day Sue and I had a relaxing day at Polsden Lacey exploring the gardens and listening to jazz on the lawn.

Jul 2024

Elections – there have been some bizarre global election events, and the UK had theirs with the landslide victory be Labour over the Conservatives.

We caught up with friends around at Paul & Lorraine’s.

And with neighbours at Howard’s.

Then at the Brown’s new house with friends and family.

On one of the hottest days this year Sue and I went out to an open-air event (tickets courtesy of Dave W). There we saw Old Time Sailors, the Lightning Seeds, and headliners Madness. A fabulous but long day.

Back at Dropkick Brewery with Deb & Dave we listened to several DJ sets and enjoyed the sunshine and beer. The following evening, we had a friends (D&D, the Browns and Paul & Lorraine) around to enjoy our back garden.

The month ended with a(nother) boozy and musical weekend, starting with a walk out to Wotton Hatch with neighbours Dan & Charlotte. Then with an evening at Dropkick Brewery to see The Collective ska band. Finishing with and afternoon session at the Sound Lounge listing to Geraint Watkins & The Mosquitoes.

Increasingly Less Frequent Update…

I have been incredibly poor in updating my blog, sorry, but here is a quick update…

Oct 2023

We managed to get mum out her home and over to Jamie’s for a quick birthday celebration. She is still struggling with several mystery illnesses along with a lingering case of shingles.

We got together with Terry and Katherine and Brian and Julie for a lovely evening at Pendley Bridge.

Nov 2023

I struggled to teach Chris and Carole the boardgame Wingspan, but eventually we got there and enjoyed and evening of food and games.

Sue and I visited RHS Wisley to revel in the autumnal displays of flowers and foliage.

Things are starting to ramp up for the forthcoming festive season with a quaint West-Festivity Christmas market in the village.

Sue and I however are trying to hang on to autumn with some lovely walks in the local area.

Later in the month we were treated to an evening out at Ronnie Scott’s with Deb, Jamie, and some of his friends, where we enjoyed the vocal talents of Beady Belle.

We celebrated Ollie’s 18^th birthday with the Whittenbury clan, Deb, and Paul & Lorraine. With a curry out in Brick Lane.

It is feeling colder now, but still we managed to get out for a few walks with friends.

Dec 2023

Ok, now we can prepare for Christmas with the house being decorated.

Sue’s boss, Jonas, was over from Sweden and so we went out into London, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the Christmas decorated streets. We visited the lovely  Mercato Mayfair (crafts, foods and drinks in an old church), we also had drinks in hidden bars such as Opium in China Town and Stone Nest, and had a tasty meal in the Fatt Pundit.

We had a great gig at the Roundhouse celebrating the life of Simon Emmerson and were entertained by Imagined Village, Afro Celt Sound System and Working Week.

We topped up our seasonal spirit with our annual visit to the Christmas singalong organised by Uncle Terry.

Sue and I took off into the woods one day and explored another of our local areas, this time heathland, ancient Saxon churches, and public houses in Aldbury.  

We had a dinner at ours for Deb’s birthday and celebrated it along with Chris and Carole.

We joined in with the village carols on the green and wandered around the streets admiring the festive lights on our neighbour’s houses.

Another festive tradition is meeting friends at Borough Market for a drink and some cheese shopping, and we expended this to also include Spitalfields Market.

Christmas was a round of seasonal indulgence traveling between family and friends, eating and drink way too much, but enjoying each other’s company.

We ended the years with a walk and an evening of boardgames with some neighbours.

Jan 2024

We started the year with a walk around Headley Heath with friends.

And explored some new paths (to us) a few days later, as we explored Reigate Heath. And then a day later with a trip down to the coast at the lovely village of Bosham.

The Dorking Community Orchard was again the location of the annual Wassail festivities that we enjoyed with the neighbours.

Terry and Katherine came over for a visit and together we walked up Leith Hill.

At the end of this month, we were out in town with Deb and Jamie at the underwhelming Leo Green Experience (it certainly was, but not what we were expecting. We did however have a drink in the quirky Scarfe bar beforehand.

Paul and Lorraine’s business, Hedges & Hurdles has a new venue and a as friends we joined the working bee to get the place tidied up.

Feb 2024

We went all sporty at the beginning of the month with our first visit to the local football ground to watch the Dorking Wanderers play the Fylde.

We walked with a couple of neighbours out to the wonderfully named Friday Street, and back in a 6-mile loop.

For my birthday treat, Sue and I flew out to the Austrian Lake District hoping for a wintery wonderland, however we were misinformed and the was not much sign of the white stuff. We did however enjoy some of the well organised local walks. We stayed for a few days in Fusch am See in a family run hotel on the lake.   

We walked the approximately 7 miles around the lake the next day, before having a sauna and a swim.

The next day we hiked over the Mozartblick (very steep decent) to the town of St Gilgen at next lake along, had a beer (or two) watching a carnival, before taking the cable car up to the top of the Zwolferhorn where we finally found some snow.

We then transferred to Salzburg and took in some culture with a concert in the Marble Hall at the Palace.

The next day we walk all around the old town taking all the many and varied cultural highlights. A very interesting city.

This month we went to a relatively new venue called the Sound Lounge in Sutton that promotes unsigned or new music, and here we saw the highly entertaining Matt Owens and his band.

Mar 2024

Chris and Lynne came over to stay and we did a bit of a pub crawl around Dorking, starting at the Drop Kick brewery.

Sue created a wonderful Mexican inspired meal, washed down with a few tequila-based cocktails that we enjoyed with a few friends.

We have some relatively new neighbours and we have introduced them to the joy of boardgames.

As spring starts to make itself felt we started clearing the garden and had our first fir in the fire pit.

Wild garlic is now in season and so we went foraging. Sue turned the pungent greens into pesto, salsa Verde and garlic butter. 

Many Varied Happenings…

Aug

We visited Seaford with Deb and stayed with Chris & Lynne early in August. They took us out to the nearby Rathfinny wine estate, a large and spectacular vineyard, and although the weather wasn’t great, we did enjoy a lovely meal with a few bottles of local bubbly. The following day Sue bought a couple of artworks (Mechanoid Totem, Surreal No. 4 by Stefan Mucha, and an AI, along with a glass work called Henge by Fiona Christian), and in the evening we saw some music in town.  

Our (Deb, the Whittenburys, Paul & Lorraine, and Sue and I) first festival in a while was one that has been running for many years, Fairport Convention at Cropredy. It is a small event with a single stage where we saw a variety of acts (Nile Rodgers & Chic, Toyah & Robert Fripp, Wilson & Wakeman, Merry Hell, 10cc, Fisherman’s Friends, Stawbs (their last gig), Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau, Easy Star All-Stars, Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri, The Joshua Burnell Band, Fairport Convention, Gilbert O’Sullivan, The Young’uns, Solstice, Beans on Toast, Morganway, Richard Digance). Most of the audience were of a certain vintage and the music was not really to our taste – not sure we would return.

Straight afterwards the gang went on a camping at Brig’s Farm in Dorset, at a site with minimal facilities in a lovely part of the world. Whilst there we visited Seatown, Lyme Regis, and River Cottage HQ and the weather was glorious throughout it all.

At the end of the month, we flew to Stockholm and visited Marc, Heather and Elises in their wonderful new house. Situated on a large island near a lovely lake, with a woodland walk around to a fabulous café.

It was crayfish season, so we had plenty of them with a variety of other Swedish delicacies. One evening we ate out at the home of Sue’s boss, Jonas, and his partner.

During our stay we also visited the ABBA the museum, took a ‘under the bridges of Stockholm’ boat tour (don’t bother with this one), and the Swedish royal palace.

Due to an UK air traffic control failure our flight was cancelled whilst we were in the lounge waiting to board. Luckily, we could stay the night with Marc & Heather, and we managed to find a replacement flight for the next day that went via Oslo.

Sept

The month started when Howard and Anne hosted an evening for the neighbours, in their garden on newly installed decking. It was lovely, convivial, and warm evening together.

The following day Howard & Anne, Deb, Sue, and I we walked into Dorking to visit Pippfest, a small music event held in town. Again, the sun had his hat on and the had a jolly time.

Whilst Sue was off on a girly weekend, I visited the Surrey Hills Wood Fair where Paul and Lorraine were showing their woodland crafts in the scorching sunshine.

Each year Open House in London allows visitors to see a different side to various places in the capital. This year we went with Jamie (and briefly Deb too) and saw a community garden (Walworth Garden Farm), a rebuilt church (St Paul’s in Lorrimore Square), and a Grand Design house (15 and a half Consort Road). Also stopped at a local brewery (Orbit Beers) for refreshments and had dinner at Peckham Cellars.

My main gift to Sue for her 60^th birthday was a holiday to London and Paris, and it started in London where had Thursday night at the spectacular St Pancras Hotel with lunch at the Midland Grand Dining Rooms. That evening we explored a place we had never been to before in London, Little Venice.

Friday morning, we took the Eurostar train to Paris and checked into our quaint room at the Monsieur Aristide Hotel in Montmartre. We took a sunset boat ride along the river and saw many of the tourist sights such as the Eifel Tower and Notre Dame as we cruised up and down the Seine with champagne in hand.

Saturday, we took an excursion out to visit Versailles. There were thousands of people and even though the place is massive, it still felt a bit of a crush in places. Looking at the lavishness of the palace and grounds, it was not a surprise the populous revolted. On our way back to the hotel we got caught up in the rugby world cup frenzy, with crowds of Irish and South-African supporters on the Metro and in bars.

On Sunday we wondered around the Montmartre district, and visited Saint-Jean church, Le Mur Des Je T’aime (I love You wall), Place du Tertre (where the artists are), the Sacre Coeur Basilica, Clos Montmartre Vinyard, au Lapin Agile, Dalida’s bust, le Passe-Muraille, came down via the Funiculaire.

Before we left on Monday, we followed an ‘Emily in Paris’ on-line tour (her apartment, the office she works at and some gardens).

A Busy Start to Summer...

 June

June started with Mark joining friends up at the UK Game Expo to participate in all things boardgame.

Early in the month we also joined the gang at Birtley Woods where Hedges & Hurdles were part of the regular craft event there.

On the 12^th Mum arrived for her long-postponed visit to the UK. Luckily the weather had improved.

The first major event was the wedding of Terry and Katharine at Aldbury church, with the reception at Pendley Manor. It was a joyous event.

The next excursion was to the Aldbury Morris annual weekend away, this time held in Shrewsbury. We stopped in at Ludlow on the way and met up with Jodie.  It was a great weekend of baldricks, bells and beer. And on our way home we stopped at Attingham, a National Trust property.

A duo from Australia called Saije, that the girls saw busking in Brighton, were playing at the Sound Lounge in Sutton and we went along to watch them perform. Very good they were too.

Sue shares her birthday with neighbour Howard, and together we went along to the Asia Ivy in Guildford and enjoyed a fabulous meal.

For Sue’s actual birthday we took over the local Grape Variety where many friends came over to celebrate her 60^th birthday.

July

One of the treats for Sue’s birthday was to go to one day of the Love Supreme Jazz Festival in Glinde, where we enjoyed music and merriment together with friends.

Mum wanted to travel north to visit family and friends and so we took her, stopping briefly in Lemington Spa on the way and the fabulous Blists Hill Victorian Town near Ironbridge. We explored Kirkham and Lytham tracing the family roots and caught up with family and friends.

The big family holiday was to Budapest with Mum, Terry & Katharine, and us. We stopped in the Astoria and spent a good few days exploring Buda and Pest in the heat of summer.

The family had a gathering at Chris & Lynnes on the weekend before mum left to return home.

A few days after mum had left, we had a gig with Deb at the Barbican to see Herbie Hancock and we watched and listened to this jazz icon play some wild music.

Sue and I rounded of the month with a visit to the Sculpture Park where we saw some crazy things lurking in the undergrowth.