It rains and it rains, and then rains some more
It rains every day, it's just such a bore
It's meant to be summer, the days long and hot
But look out the window and what have we got?
Bleak looking skies and overflowing drains
I can't hang the washing out yet again
The patio furniture is still in the box
As out to buy wellies and brollies we flock
Picnics forgotten, barbecues too
As nice sunny days we have just too few
I look at the forecast, five days ahead
With weather like this I may stay in bed
Surely, oh surely it has to improve
Oh please hurry up, or to Spain I will move
But all those who know me
Will no doubt agree
There's a glimmer of light, for me this July
With a little bit of luck the wasps will all die!
Claire-G
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Aaachooo! Is is Swine Flu?
I sit on my chair in the foyer at work
Assessing the patients for germs that may lurk
A cough? Headache? A fever or worse?
All of these? You won't see our nurse
Go home, get rest and phone the flu line
They'll give you advice, as long as you've time
Accesss the website and hope it won't crash
Trust the government to make a complete hash
They tell us the swine flu has taken a hold
But please don't panic it's probably a cold!
(Claire G)
Assessing the patients for germs that may lurk
A cough? Headache? A fever or worse?
All of these? You won't see our nurse
Go home, get rest and phone the flu line
They'll give you advice, as long as you've time
Accesss the website and hope it won't crash
Trust the government to make a complete hash
They tell us the swine flu has taken a hold
But please don't panic it's probably a cold!
(Claire G)
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
SAY NO TO TESCO IN BINGHAM
Tuesday 21st July 2009
Upon hearing the news that Tesco are interested in opening a 'moderate' sized store in Bingham, one could be forgiven for thinking wow that's brilliant, very convenient.
I appreciate that we will all have very different views on the pros and cons for this, but I ask you to consider the following and, should you agree with me, please forward this to as many local people as possible as well as to Rushcliffe Borough Council at:
blueprint@rushcliffe.gov.uk.
Despite being told by Tesco that this will be good for local people and traders alike, I beg to differ.
Firstly, once people are inside Tesco they will invariably do all their shopping under one roof. Who can honestly say that after parking in Tesco's car park and doing your shopping there that you are then going to walk into the square or Eton place to pick up veg, meat or papers, all of which will be available inside Tesco. I think not. Local shops will suffer and many could go out of business. Let's not forget either the struggling market traders on a Thursday or the local farmer's market on Saturdays. Can they survive this form of competition?
Secondly, Tesco will not be satisfied with just a moderate store for long and once they become established, will inevitably and dramatically increase the square footage and become a superstore.
Well what's wrong with that you may ask?
Consider the impact of hundreds and hundreds of people driving through our town 7 days per week from dawn to dusk , not to mention the juggernauts thundering through to make their deliveries to Tesco. Is this what you really want?
Bingham is already packed to capacity, driving around is chaotic enough.
Ask yourself why you have chosen to live in a small market town like Bingham. Could it be that you enjoy the semi rural lifestyle and small, indivually owned shops where you can be assured of personal and attentive service?
Personally, I think that the lifestyle the majority of us enjoy in Bingham far outweighs the little inconvenience of travelling a few miles to frequent one of many superstores available to us on the outskirts of Nottingham
In my opinion, this will be destroyed forever if we let Tesco get a foothold here in Bingham.
Upon hearing the news that Tesco are interested in opening a 'moderate' sized store in Bingham, one could be forgiven for thinking wow that's brilliant, very convenient.
I appreciate that we will all have very different views on the pros and cons for this, but I ask you to consider the following and, should you agree with me, please forward this to as many local people as possible as well as to Rushcliffe Borough Council at:
blueprint@rushcliffe.gov.uk.
Despite being told by Tesco that this will be good for local people and traders alike, I beg to differ.
Firstly, once people are inside Tesco they will invariably do all their shopping under one roof. Who can honestly say that after parking in Tesco's car park and doing your shopping there that you are then going to walk into the square or Eton place to pick up veg, meat or papers, all of which will be available inside Tesco. I think not. Local shops will suffer and many could go out of business. Let's not forget either the struggling market traders on a Thursday or the local farmer's market on Saturdays. Can they survive this form of competition?
Secondly, Tesco will not be satisfied with just a moderate store for long and once they become established, will inevitably and dramatically increase the square footage and become a superstore.
Well what's wrong with that you may ask?
Consider the impact of hundreds and hundreds of people driving through our town 7 days per week from dawn to dusk , not to mention the juggernauts thundering through to make their deliveries to Tesco. Is this what you really want?
Bingham is already packed to capacity, driving around is chaotic enough.
Ask yourself why you have chosen to live in a small market town like Bingham. Could it be that you enjoy the semi rural lifestyle and small, indivually owned shops where you can be assured of personal and attentive service?
Personally, I think that the lifestyle the majority of us enjoy in Bingham far outweighs the little inconvenience of travelling a few miles to frequent one of many superstores available to us on the outskirts of Nottingham
In my opinion, this will be destroyed forever if we let Tesco get a foothold here in Bingham.
Saturday, 18 July 2009
RAIN, RAIN AND EVEN MORE RAIN........
SATURDAY 18TH JULY 2009
Having made the decision to holiday in England this year, and hearing from yet another 'expert' that we were in for a barbecue summer I was feeling quite optimistic as we set out to spend a week in a luxury cottage deep in the Northumbrian countryside.
The first two days, although fairly cloudy, remained warm and dry, so early in the morning on day 3, we decided to visit the Holy Island (aka Lindisfarne). We checked the tidal times for a safe crossing and off we went.
It was fairly sunny as we set off on a walk to the castle and then it all went wrong.............
Literally without warning the heavens opened and the rain just fell. I have never seen such a heavy downpour and certainly never been standing out in one, without any form of shelter in easy reach.
My husband was wearing a t-shirt, longsleeve shirt and a pair of shorts. Not at all concerned about me he pushed his beloved camera in my hand saying "look after this" and ran to hide under the nearest tree.
I did have a showerproof mac with a hood but this was no match for the powerful rain and by the time I reached the tree I was soaked right down to my undies! My husband didn't fair any better as even the cover of the trees was no match for this amount of rain.
Eventually the rain eased and the sun shone once again. My husband left me on a street corner saying that he was going to the gents to try and dry his clothes off. I waited and waited and waited,(I didn't even get one offer!) until eventually he phoned me to say that he was back at the car.
Thanks Darling xxxxx
It was hilarious though, on arriving back at the car, to find that he had stripped down and had items of his clothing drying on the bonnet of his car. Having a black car was proving an advantage on this occasion as the sun had turned the paintwork into a furnace. As usual no concern about me, he only wanted to make sure the camera had made it back in one piece.
You would think that after this we would have learnt our lesson and not venture too far without wellies and an umbrella.
Wrong!
Three days later we decided to visit Bamburgh Castle.
It was a glorious morning. We walked and explored and had a fabulous time. If only we had left it at that and headed home, but NO. Guess who wanted to see some other sights - yes, that's right ME!
We ended up at yet another castle, Warkworth. It was still a fairly bright day, so ff we went, both of us with a showerproof mac this time, but without an umbrella, and once again a million miles away from the car, the heavens opened once more.
This time we thought aha here's a shop doorway. We can shelter here for a few minutes and wait for the shower to pass.
Shower? you may well ask. The rain just came down heavier and heavier (even worse than on Lindisfarne) so we just had to attempt to get back to the car as quickly as we could. I wonder what the manufacturers of showerproof items actually class as a shower, as once again the rain penetrated the macs in seconds
The Hubbie was not at all happy with me, as once again we had to drive back absolutely sodden.
It was a good job that we decided not to wait in the doorway otherwise we may well have still been there, as this downpour lasted until we were approx 30 miles from home yesterday, and apparently it is still raining in the North East. oh Joy!
Where will I be going on my next holiday. Well it will not be in England, that's for sure. If I ever tell you otherwise please have me locked up....
Having made the decision to holiday in England this year, and hearing from yet another 'expert' that we were in for a barbecue summer I was feeling quite optimistic as we set out to spend a week in a luxury cottage deep in the Northumbrian countryside.
The first two days, although fairly cloudy, remained warm and dry, so early in the morning on day 3, we decided to visit the Holy Island (aka Lindisfarne). We checked the tidal times for a safe crossing and off we went.
It was fairly sunny as we set off on a walk to the castle and then it all went wrong.............
Literally without warning the heavens opened and the rain just fell. I have never seen such a heavy downpour and certainly never been standing out in one, without any form of shelter in easy reach.
My husband was wearing a t-shirt, longsleeve shirt and a pair of shorts. Not at all concerned about me he pushed his beloved camera in my hand saying "look after this" and ran to hide under the nearest tree.
I did have a showerproof mac with a hood but this was no match for the powerful rain and by the time I reached the tree I was soaked right down to my undies! My husband didn't fair any better as even the cover of the trees was no match for this amount of rain.
Eventually the rain eased and the sun shone once again. My husband left me on a street corner saying that he was going to the gents to try and dry his clothes off. I waited and waited and waited,(I didn't even get one offer!) until eventually he phoned me to say that he was back at the car.
Thanks Darling xxxxx
It was hilarious though, on arriving back at the car, to find that he had stripped down and had items of his clothing drying on the bonnet of his car. Having a black car was proving an advantage on this occasion as the sun had turned the paintwork into a furnace. As usual no concern about me, he only wanted to make sure the camera had made it back in one piece.
You would think that after this we would have learnt our lesson and not venture too far without wellies and an umbrella.
Wrong!
Three days later we decided to visit Bamburgh Castle.
It was a glorious morning. We walked and explored and had a fabulous time. If only we had left it at that and headed home, but NO. Guess who wanted to see some other sights - yes, that's right ME!
We ended up at yet another castle, Warkworth. It was still a fairly bright day, so ff we went, both of us with a showerproof mac this time, but without an umbrella, and once again a million miles away from the car, the heavens opened once more.
This time we thought aha here's a shop doorway. We can shelter here for a few minutes and wait for the shower to pass.
Shower? you may well ask. The rain just came down heavier and heavier (even worse than on Lindisfarne) so we just had to attempt to get back to the car as quickly as we could. I wonder what the manufacturers of showerproof items actually class as a shower, as once again the rain penetrated the macs in seconds
The Hubbie was not at all happy with me, as once again we had to drive back absolutely sodden.
It was a good job that we decided not to wait in the doorway otherwise we may well have still been there, as this downpour lasted until we were approx 30 miles from home yesterday, and apparently it is still raining in the North East. oh Joy!
Where will I be going on my next holiday. Well it will not be in England, that's for sure. If I ever tell you otherwise please have me locked up....
Sunday, 12 July 2009
LINDEN HALL, LONGHORSLEY
Saturday 11th July, 2009
Arriving at our cottage in the middle of nowhere, deep in the Northumberland countryside, and with friends joining us for the weekend, we needed to find a good restaurant close by.
We came up with Linden Hall, only a couple of miles (as the crow flies!), from our cottage.
This is a hotel owned by the Macdonald group, and boasts a 2 AA rosette restaurant called Dobson's ( methinks he must have been the butler at one time)
We booked a taxi to drive us down the long and winding country lanes (here lies another story for another day), and later the same evening he pulled up outside this impressive looking building in beautiful grounds, perfect for that summer evening (I think we had it a couple of weeks ago if memory serves me correctly) However I digress................
The foyer/entrance hall was somewhat dated and shabby, but we made our way to the restaurant, obviously a little too early as there was no-one around. However, a waiter did arrive and suggested we had a drink in the bar, and he would bring the menus through.
A little disappointment followed when I was told they did not have any Southern Comfort for me, nor any draught beer for one of our friends.
The menu, although limited for choice, had plenty to set my taste buds going.
Three of us chose 'Surf and Turf' for our starters (Scallops, belly pork and black pudding) and my husband chose smoked salmon.
For our main course, two of us chose organic salmon with smoked salmon ravioli, one chose chicken and the fourth chose Dover sole. We also chose a couple of vegetable dishes (extra charge)
We were shown to our table with wonderful views over the gardens. The tables were quite old and worn. Some may feel this blended in with the ambience of the place, I felt that it would have benefited from a freshly laundered table cloth.
We were offered homemade bread from a selection of tomato, rosemary, and another which escapes me at this time. The bread was delicious. I was disappointed we weren't offered any more.
The Surf and Turf starter was amazing. It was one of those dishes that you never wanted to end. The testures and flavours were just delicious. I was reliably informed that the smoked salmon starter was just as good.
When the main courses arrived, my first impression was that they were extremely small portions, but I have to admit that by the time we finished them we were all quite full. I could not fault mine in any way, nor could the others. We were all very impressed.
The dessert menu only had a choice of 4 items, one had run out, and the other was cheese for which an extra £3.00 or so was charged to an already hefty £10 cost per dessert. Way too expensive in my opinion. This left me with a bit of a sour feeling rather than the sweet one that was intended.
We settled for coffee and chocolates in the lounge.
The meal was resonably priced for what we had.
Two courses were £26.00
Three courses were £36 which I re-iterate was a little too high.
I could be a little picky and, for the sort of prices charged, comment on how the wine was never topped up, I had to pour my own, and no-one else was asked if they needed another drink.
There were just one or two little details like this, that for me, let the restaurant down a little bit.
I found the location of the toilets a little bizarre, and even a little creepy. They were located down some stairs, which led to what I can only describe as a cellar type area. There were several doors and no clear signs as to which to go through. Eventually, I selected the correct door and for a split second or two it was pitch black before the lights automatically came on. The toilets, although clean would definitely benefit from some updating to bring them into the 21st century and not the 19th!
However, as a one off we had a wonderful evening and a really good meal. Overall, I don't think that I would rush back.
Arriving at our cottage in the middle of nowhere, deep in the Northumberland countryside, and with friends joining us for the weekend, we needed to find a good restaurant close by.
We came up with Linden Hall, only a couple of miles (as the crow flies!), from our cottage.
This is a hotel owned by the Macdonald group, and boasts a 2 AA rosette restaurant called Dobson's ( methinks he must have been the butler at one time)
We booked a taxi to drive us down the long and winding country lanes (here lies another story for another day), and later the same evening he pulled up outside this impressive looking building in beautiful grounds, perfect for that summer evening (I think we had it a couple of weeks ago if memory serves me correctly) However I digress................
The foyer/entrance hall was somewhat dated and shabby, but we made our way to the restaurant, obviously a little too early as there was no-one around. However, a waiter did arrive and suggested we had a drink in the bar, and he would bring the menus through.
A little disappointment followed when I was told they did not have any Southern Comfort for me, nor any draught beer for one of our friends.
The menu, although limited for choice, had plenty to set my taste buds going.
Three of us chose 'Surf and Turf' for our starters (Scallops, belly pork and black pudding) and my husband chose smoked salmon.
For our main course, two of us chose organic salmon with smoked salmon ravioli, one chose chicken and the fourth chose Dover sole. We also chose a couple of vegetable dishes (extra charge)
We were shown to our table with wonderful views over the gardens. The tables were quite old and worn. Some may feel this blended in with the ambience of the place, I felt that it would have benefited from a freshly laundered table cloth.
We were offered homemade bread from a selection of tomato, rosemary, and another which escapes me at this time. The bread was delicious. I was disappointed we weren't offered any more.
The Surf and Turf starter was amazing. It was one of those dishes that you never wanted to end. The testures and flavours were just delicious. I was reliably informed that the smoked salmon starter was just as good.
When the main courses arrived, my first impression was that they were extremely small portions, but I have to admit that by the time we finished them we were all quite full. I could not fault mine in any way, nor could the others. We were all very impressed.
The dessert menu only had a choice of 4 items, one had run out, and the other was cheese for which an extra £3.00 or so was charged to an already hefty £10 cost per dessert. Way too expensive in my opinion. This left me with a bit of a sour feeling rather than the sweet one that was intended.
We settled for coffee and chocolates in the lounge.
The meal was resonably priced for what we had.
Two courses were £26.00
Three courses were £36 which I re-iterate was a little too high.
I could be a little picky and, for the sort of prices charged, comment on how the wine was never topped up, I had to pour my own, and no-one else was asked if they needed another drink.
There were just one or two little details like this, that for me, let the restaurant down a little bit.
I found the location of the toilets a little bizarre, and even a little creepy. They were located down some stairs, which led to what I can only describe as a cellar type area. There were several doors and no clear signs as to which to go through. Eventually, I selected the correct door and for a split second or two it was pitch black before the lights automatically came on. The toilets, although clean would definitely benefit from some updating to bring them into the 21st century and not the 19th!
However, as a one off we had a wonderful evening and a really good meal. Overall, I don't think that I would rush back.
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