Another update…
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 60th 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 80th 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.
