Booze Cruise…

Recently we took advantage of a deal being done by the Majestic France wine store where by if you pre-order a certain value of wine they will provide either an additional discount or free travel on a ferry or the train to get you to their store. And since the price of the wines is about half that of the same wine in the UK, we decided to nip across the channel for a day trip. We were very lucky with the weather as it was a beautiful day with temperatures around the 28C mark. At Sangatte, a short distance from Coquelles on the coast, the long, sandy, beach was almost empty and we could stroll along in peace and quiet watching the ferries sailing between France and the UK. He two were tall cliffs that mirrored those we could see at Dover in the distance. It was at Sangatte that we had booked into Le Blanc Nez restaurant for lovely lunch. We then stocked up on our goodies and trundled back home. If things change with regards to the impact of Brexit we might not be able to do this again so easily, or so cheaply.

Local History…

The Heritage Open Days scheme provides access to historical buildings and we took advantage of it to visit a few in the nearby villages of Effingham and Little Bookham. These included:

·        St Lawrence’s Church, Effingham – where Sir Barnes Wallis (Dambusters) is buried.
·         Manor Farm Tithe Barn and Barnes Wallis Anniversary – a Grade 2 listed tithe barn (one of the largest in Surrey) that held a comprehensive exhibition about Sir Barnes Wallis to mark the 40^th anniversary of his death.
·         Effingham Methodist Church – a quaint church with a small exhibition about local people including Ada Lovelace (Analytical Engine – early computer program), Charles Howard (Lord of the Admiralty who defeated the Spanish Armada), and dinosaurs.  
·         Manor House School
·         All Saints Church, Little Bookham – believed to have originated from about 1100 and containing a Vulgate Bible.
·         Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

After such a cultural tour, we ended up at the King William IV, a quaint pub with a view across to Ranmore.

Sipping in the Park…

The sun was out for the Pippfest in Dorking and we went along with friends to soak some of it up, along with a few pints of local ale.

The quoted aim of the festival is:

‘Pippfest is an annual festival of music, art, crafts, food & lots more at Pippbrook House. Fun for the whole family and a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness (and fundraise!) for the CHiP project, a community campaign to save this beautiful building for community use.’

Some of the wonderful local bands we watched included:

·         Lifes Circus;
·         Easy Skanking Band;
·         Eclectix;
·         Stephanie Davies & The Super Dynamics;
·         Objayda.

Just for Laughs…

Along with a couple of neighbours/friends we went to see Jimmy Carr perform at the Dorking Halls. To be expected he was very rude, using the audience as part of his act, which did make me feel somewhat vulnerable sitting in the second row, but luckily a vegan gold star lesbian marketing software optimiser took the flack for the rest of us in the hall.

St Albans and Surrounds…

We visited Uncle Terry and Katherine at her home in St Albans and wandered around the town stopping at the Assembly Hall Museum and Gallery where the old Court Room had been converted into a café we also saw the cells in the basement and an exhibition space with Cornish artist Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures and drawings on show. We also spent some time in the lovely Cathedral with an informative guide and also listening to the choir practicing. The following day we visited Wheathampstead (where Katharine and her family come from) and the National Trust property (Bernard) Shaw’s Corner (the house containing many personal items such as his Nobel prize and Oscar statue for Pygmalion).

More of Wot I Have Read…

Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

This was one of the books on Sue’s Kindle and as I had finished my last physical book I went virtual. I found this to be written in a way that made me think of it like a crime drama serial on TV. It was gentle and uncomplicated without too many surprises and washed over me quite well.

‘Dr Ruth Galloway is called in when a child’s bones are discovered near the site of a pre-historic henge on the north Norfolk salt marshes. Are they the remains of a local girl who disappeared ten years earlier – or are the bones much older?

DCI Harry Nelson refuses to give up the hunt for the missing girl. Since she vanished, someone has been sending him bizarre anonymous notes about ritual sacrifice, quoting Shakespeare and the Bible. He knows that Ruth’s expertise and experience could help him finally to put this case to rest.

But when a second child goes missing, Ruth finds herself in danger from a killer who knows she’s getting ever closer to the truth…’

Festival of Booze…

We have been going to a Gin Festival for several years but last year it failed as a business and the Gin & Rum Festival appeared. As I am not a huge fan of gin, but do like a drop of rum, I was thrilled by the change. Our regular drinking gang joined us (Deb, and the Whittenburys) and we bumped into several other friends at its new venue at the Oval cricket ground. In the line, I also got talking to a lovely American couple who were holidaying in town (turned out he had lived in NZ and had tips on places to visit during an upcoming US holiday).

Unusually for a Bank holiday the weather was hot and sticky so we struggled a bit amongst the crowds in the poorly air-conditioned tasting hall.  But overall, we had a good time and went on to a lovely bar called Mother Kelly’s to sample few beers from their extensive selection before Sue, Deb and I went to Clapham Junction and had a bite to eat (and anther drink) at a quirky bar called Vagabond (you can buy the wine with a card from dispensers, like they do in Vinopolis).

Late Summer Sun…

It was another glorious summer weekend when we visited RHS Wisely gardens with Marc, seeing the new entrance and ongoing expansion work and a sculpture exhibition throughout the grounds. We had lunch at the lovely Withies Inn, and that evening Marc and I were beaten at board games by Sue.