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Home→Published 2018 1 2 3 … 18 19 >>

Yearly Archives: 2018

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Christmas at home

Christmas at Home

Blasdale Home Posted on December 25, 2018 by SteveJanuary 25, 2019

Christmas was at home with Selina, Phil and Julian. Usual fare of turkey, roast potatoes, parsnips & carrots, plus a stalk & a half of sprouts, bread & cranberry sauces, stuffing balls and rather a lot of pigs in blankets. Various Christmas puddings and lakes of wine, including a dessert one we’d brought with us from New Zealand. Not a white Christmas, but a warm one.

The Table Centrepiece
Posted in Kingswood | Tagged Christmas, Julian, Phil, Rosemary, Selina | Leave a reply
Park Bench in Eaton Park, Norwich

The New Park Bench in Norwich

Blasdale Home Posted on December 13, 2018 by SteveJanuary 25, 2019

We went for a couple of night to Norwich to see Bob, Lizzie and Ann. While there, we walked around the very local to them Eaton Park and sat on the new park bench which those at 410 had bought.

Steve, Lizzie and Bob in Eaton Park, Norwich
Steve, Lizzie and Bob in Eaton Park
Posted in Norfolk | Tagged Norwich | Leave a reply

Goodbye Margaret and David Lishman

Blasdale Home Posted on December 9, 2018 by SteveJanuary 25, 2019

Today we travelled to Fillongley to scatter Margaret and David’s ashes. It had been arranged with the new owners of Margaret & David’s former house that we could scatter their ashes in the garden. Very gracious of them.

We arrived in time for cakes and coffee in the neighbouring farmhouse belonging to the Bagleys who had been so helpful to Margaret and David in the days before M&D left their house and went into residential care. Ron and Mary, Gilly, Dan and Audrey, plus Brenda also came.

Suitably fortified, we made our away across to M&D’s house & garden and chose two trees to scatter the ashes around and marked the places with a scattering of carnations.

After the scattering we all went for a very enjoyable Sunday lunch at the Cottage Inn, where we toasted Margaret & David.

Posted in Warwickshire | Tagged David Lishman, Margaret | Leave a reply
National Trust - Canons Ashby

National Trust Canons Ashby

Blasdale Home Posted on December 8, 2018 by SteveFebruary 8, 2020

Rosemary wanted to see a National Trust house dressed for Christmas. The most dressed house is Waddesdon Manor which we have seen many times. Last year we went to another house because Waddesdon started charging NT members to go around the house at Christmas. (This is probably the intention of the National Trust, so they can get more non-members in paying the full price.) R was outraged (even though she’s heard all about people booking free NT members tickets and then not turning up) so she insists we go to another house. So, this year we went to Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire.

The house was decorated in various different styles based on one of the many eras when the house has been lived in. The helpers were all dressed up in appropriate costume for the various eras of the house decoration. We wandered around playing with the children’s toys. Of course, the day ended with tea in the cafe and a search through the secondhand bookshop.

Canons Ashby
Canons Ashby
Canons Ashby
Canons Ashby
Canons Ashby
Posted in Art, National Trust, Warwickshire | Tagged Canons Ashby, National Trust | Leave a reply

The Bodlein Library and Erotic Literature

Blasdale Home Posted on November 26, 2018 by SteveFebruary 28, 2022

Rosemary and I had a trip to Oxford today. Parking virtually impossible in Oxford, so you have to use the Park and Ride. Being retired, the cheapest and easiest way into Oxford is to park at the Bicester Park and Ride which is free. Then catch the S5 into Oxford, yet again free with your bus pass, and they supposedly run every 15 minutes. The website shows you live arrival times of buses, ours was a tad late.

In the city of Oxford, we went straight to the Library where there was an exhibition of books and magazines. The Bodleian is a copyright library so receives most publications from the UK. These included erotic publications, some of which were subsequently banned. The access to these publications was restricted and categorised as Phi. Students could see them for research purposes only with a written note from the Director of Studies. Most of the books displayed in the very public area were very tame, you could hardly believe any of them would have been banned in the UK.

Once Banned Books

Next was the business of the day shopping, clothes shopping. Having spectacularly failed at this, it was time for lunch at the Cinnamon Kitchen, an upmarket Indian Restaurant on the upper floor of the Westgate shopping centre. There are several restaurants up on the roof. Many with outside seating for warm days. A token gave us a free glass of bubbly and we had a fine meal.

After lunch we had a look around John Lewis. They were still doing their Black Friday sale, and all the Google Equipment was matching the online Google prices. So tempted to load up with a few more Google Home Speakers. I was also looking for active noise cancelling headphones for travel. I did learn a couple of things though. Noise cancelling means two things, Noise cancelling can apply to microphones in the headphones enabling the other party to hear you above background noises, or it can be to remove the noise of the environment from the music you are listening to. Be warned, it’s not obvious when you look at the devices. Most of the headphones on display were not working (battery flat), and to pair your Bluetooth phone to the device was nigh impossible, you had to find the device, and I have never seen so many Bluetooth devices available for paring on my phone.

Well after this, it was home time, but we had to go to the sweet shop for some aniseed balls. These were purchased at Hardys Sweet Shop on the High Street. It is so much further down the road than we ever imagine. We always believe we have gone past, and the shop has closed. Aniseed balls purchased for Rosemary. I won’t touch them now after a large dentist bill to replace a cracked tooth; I tended to crunch them up with my teeth.

Posted in Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire | Tagged Cinnamon Kitchen, Oxford | Leave a reply

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