Our annual Kingswood village Christmas dinner was again hosted by Ian and Julie. How they manage to quietly cater for 30 plus of us with no signs of stress is beyond me. It was a lovely evening out with the various friends in the village. The weather was cold walking there and back, but dry. Snow forecast for tonight.
Category Archives: Buckinghamshire
Kingswood Firework Party
Our usual Kingswood firework display at George and Annie’s, with firework maestro, Ian. BBQ food cooked by Keith and Duncan & served by Karin & Charlotte. It was a lovely evening, no rain again, with a glimpse of the moon. Bonfire made from pallets and garden waste.
Birthday
My birthday was celebrated at Canaletto with Ian and Julie, and of course (well, she paid, too) Rosemary. Had a very good meal there, and a reasonable number of other people, considering it was a Tuesday evening, were also dining, My main course was Monkfish which set me thinking about serving Monkfish at home. I have cooked it before, but please read my next post, about my trials and tribulations buying Monkfish the follows nag weekend.
Small Faces, All Or Nothing
The reason we rushed back from Scotland was because we were booked to see a musical at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. The show was a Small Faces musical called All Or Nothing. The touring play was about the early days of the Small Faces, their rise to fame and how they were ripped off by their various managers. We went with Ian, Julie, Ian, Judith and Sue. The original reason we went because the grandson of a friend was starring as Ronnie Lane. The musical was excellent playing many of the hit records from Small Faces and other 60s music. We learnt much about the Small Faces, which I “verified” on Wikipedia when I got home. The music was loud and at the end the whole audience was standing, clapping and singing along to it. This gets my vote! Friend’s grandson……..Brilliant!
Lunch with “Old” Walkerites
We met for lunch at Peter and Janet’s meeting up with a number of former Walker employees. At the lunch party were John, Peter, Steve D, Ann, Steve & Rosemary B, Tessa & Pete R, Their better halves being Carol, Janet, Kathy, Chris, Dagmar & Robin (who was a late arrival turning up in his & Tessa’s 2CV). We were all very full after an excellent roast beef joint cooked by Peter.
The weather again held good, not sparklingly hot, but sunny and no rain.
Ludgershall Bike Night
Monday was Ludgershall Bike Night. We arrived after shortly after seven with friends and parked (our car) on the verge. There were still a few bikes arriving when we arrived. Our friends, who used to be bikers, were amazed at the number and variety of bikes, from modern to vintage. My pictures are mainly of Harleys, because I wanted to email some pictures to another friend, Jon.
There were various stands there, including the Oxfordshire BMW owners club, fish and chip vans, burger vans, a bar and hog roast. The event is short because most bikers like to leave in day light.
Ludgershall Village Fete
Visited the Ludgershall Village fete held at the Old Rectory. The weather turned out reasonable, so I was able to site outside and eat my promised cream tea. We spent quite a time there, exploring the gardens and woods which back on to the Marylebone / Birmingham Snow Hill line. The vegetable garden is pristine, no weeds, neatly tilled and presumably no rabbits. There were also a number of vintage cars and vintage tractors. Jim was doing tractor rides around the gardens.
Waddesdon Manor
A Buzzard in our Garden
A Buzzard visited our garden, sitting on the fence between the paddock and the garden. As I approached, the bird flew off and sat on the fence further into the paddock. It then flew into the next door field. In the process the Buzzard was mobbed by the Red Kites. A bit of a change, the Red Kites themselves are normally mobbed by the Jackdaws and Rooks.
Brian V’s Leaving Drinks
Last year, I met up with a few ex Walker people at the Kings Head in Aylesbury. Brian V had just recently retired and was having a leaving drink for those who worked, or were still working, in the Aylesbury office (now closed.) This photograph came to light from the original Walker Inventory Management team. Chris, Glyn, Jean (later to become Mrs Glyn), Brian V himself, Tina and Tessa.