Monday, 29 July 2024

The travels continued

 


I awoke to the sunrising over Euston and got up and ready to head off on my next jaunt.

Feeling the weight of my case, I decided that  trying to jostle it onto a down escalator ( my most hated thing in the world after bridges), was both madness and very dangerous, so I jumped in a black cab and headed to Marylebone.

My driver was an absolute diamond, talking cricket, the North East ( his family were originally from Sunderland, but we won't hold that against him). 

He told me a tale about picking up a young northern lad and dropping him at the hospital next to Lords. Telling the young lad about the crowds and the atmosphere when there was a game on, he asked him if he'd ever been. The young lad replied, 'Ive not really been to see a match but I have played there'.

Turned out to be Mark Wood. 

I was on the train to Oxford in no time ,no tick as I used to go to Oxford regularly and always for the opening matches of the season at The Parks.

Once I arrived, I headed out  through the major road works and diversions and eventually found the bus stop for the S6  bus (tick) which took me out to Faringdon ( tick)


The bus stopped right outside my hotel, The Crown, a 16th century coaching  house. The courtyard which had once housed coaches and horses, now houses, lovely outdoor furniture and a large TV.
My room was along a corridor with a very wonky floor, the room itself was wonderful, I decided that I needed nap.

So what brought me out to the wilds of Oxfordshire?????

Well it was none other than the great Harry Latchman  (Midddx and Notts) who was celebrating his 81st birthday. The local wine bar were helping him celebrate. ( I can highly recommend The Narrows of Faringdon)



Amongst the guests was Allan Jones, former First class umpire and in his cricket career , he was one of the first cricketers to play for 4 counties (Sussex, Somerset, Middx & Glamorgan). We all met at Merchant Taylors and have stayed friends every since ( which turns out to be nearly 38 years!!!!!yikes!!!!).
What a great evening, lots of rum punch and lots of champagne, as well as lots of laughter.

 





I managed to make it back to the hotel ( it was just across the road) and I think that I was asleep before my head hit the feather pillow.


Fun fact about Faringdon???!!!👇



Saturday dawned hot and sunny and I had to negotiate a very steep staircase with my suitcase, the thought of just hurling it down was very strong but I managed to get to the bottom without either of us being damaged.



Set off to  Oxford on the S6 bus and a walk over Osney Bridge with the most lovely view.

Back to Marylebone and again a taxi, the suitcase had become the millstone around my neck.

Once at Kings Cross there was nothing left to do but round off a perfect few days with Champers in the GWR lounge.

A glass of Billecart-Salmon and a cheese board made me feel a lot better




I arrived back in the icy wastes of the North and hopped into the Fins car, he  was waiting for me, mainly  because the flipping 'little' trains were not playing the game!!!!

Back home and an early night ensued. I'm not quite as rock -n-roll as I like to think I am these days!

What a fabulous few days to add to my big birthday memories.

Now to find something to do in August!


Sunday, 28 July 2024

London, cricket and Brownies

 



The ticks off my 'things and places never done/been before ' for July began with a trip to Eaglescliffe to get the train to London. I chose this route as LNER are so bad at the moment, I just would not give them my money. 

I arrived in Eaglescliffe on the 'little train' from Ladylaineyville, which has been running badly too, if at all. I took the train an hour earlier than needed and good job too, as we were delayed.

Arriving at Eaglescliffe, I decided to find somewhere to have lunch and found a lovely little cafe , called Serinos, about 2 mins from the station. I met two lovely doggies, Barnaby and Bertie who were with their equally lovely humans.I highly recommend this 'cafe' especially on a hot day with lovely seating outside. 

A quick trip to the 'One Stop' for mini bottles of wine and the on the train to London.

As my seat was at least 2million carriages away from the buffet, and couldn't be bothered to walk down for a glass, I just swigged the wine out of the bottles. Classy indeed.



Arriving at Kings Cross, I set off walking up to Euston where I had rented a studio apartment. I stopped on the way to get my eyebrows threaded, and then set up camp in the lovely airy studio. Home for 2 nights.

There was so much choice of food on offer in the road I was staying that I was spoilt for choice, I chose 'Murger Han', who advertise as being the first authentic Xi'An restaurant. With  locations in  the city, Euston, Mayfair and Elephant and Castle, they were busy and the food arrived quickly and was very good.

Back to the studio, a spot of Netflix and then I was asleep in the blink of an eye.

Thursday morning dawned overcast but very muggy.  I was up and ready for the day by 7am, far too early to head out, so I watched a bit of Netflix.

By 9 am  I   was on my way to The Oval where my first tick for July would be gained. I was 'frocked' up and had my beautiful Yorkshire tie bag with me. The lovely Trish, who is  now in her last season as Surrey President, came to collect me an whisked me up to the Surrey committee room ( tick no 1). I was given breakfast  and took my seat next to the lovely Howard, from Yorkshire.


The really good news was that Matty was playing so this really made my day.



I have to say that the lovely people at Surrey were very friendly and I was spoken to by so many, even an ex Prime Minister.

At lunch I was seated next to Yorkshire President, Jane Powell, who had brought along her sister, over lunch it was discovered that there were 4 ex Brownie Guides at the table ( Jane, her sister, myself and Rebecca daughter of Trish), amazingly we all had great memories of being Brownies, all saluted each other and still knew the Brownie oath, which just goes to prove that it was influential in our young life.




With Yorkshire winning, it had been a marvelous day for me, I had attracted a lot of male attention too, however it was the Yorkshire bag that was luring them in my direction, it certainly got a lot of comments..




The hospitality shown at The Oval was second to none, the staff were absolute stars and the food was amazing. I would like to thank Trish for inviting me for the day.

I was back in my little studio in Euston before I knew it and fast asleep in the blink of an eye. It was a great day of cricket.

My ticks for July however, didn't end there.


Tuesday, 16 July 2024

Some of the best



Well, after cancelling one holiday and booking two, I got a wonderful surprise the other evening whilst on the phone to my amazing, and long suffering personal travel agent Dale, he told me that I have now booked 10 holidays through him,

WOWSERS!!!!

And that made me look at the holidays since November 2021. ( Dale started up in August 2021 and I booked one of his earliest deals).

So here they are in order.

November 2021, Reykjavik, for  my birthday, with a visit to the Phallological Museum, Hallgrimskirkja and seeing the Northern lights. I loved the dark mornings ( not light until about 10am). It gave the whole holiday a cosy  feel. The heating in the shops and hotel was super ( geothermal ) and the water out of  the cold  tap  ( which you could drink) was  water, pure and simple, nothing added, and very cold.






March 2022 Reykjavik again but this time with my friend Karen!   we landed in a storm and were sat on the tarmac for 45minutes whils they figured out how to get us off the plane in the gale force wind (very few trees in Iceland so when its windy IT'S windy). After tying steps to the plane  ( yes they did!)we managed to get off. We drove from the airport to the city in a snow storm , following a snow plough!  We saw the Northern lights again. Did the golden circle tour and went to the Sky Lagoon. There was also a lot of snow! We ate  duck filled 'willy' shaped waffles at the Phallological Museum and believe me they are amazing. We found a cosy little cafe, round the corner from our hotel, where you could play board games and drink Icelandic  beer ( which is exceptional). 




May 2022 Salou, a bit of sunshine before I started my new job. loved it, the weather was wet when I arrived and got hotter by the day. I did nothing but lay on the beach all day and drink copious amounts of cava, it was wonderful. I regularly swam in the roof top pool ( which was a glass cube ). I ate tapas in a bar owned by a Chinese couple, and relaxed.



November 2022 Stavanger for my birthday,  a visit to the oil and gas museum ( I loved it but I'm a geek). Wandering the wonderful streets of Stavanger and taking a boat around the islands. What a  holiday. I love Norway. Fresh air, and great scenery. Although expensive ( even by Icelandic standards), I ate out and found that the food was very good. I did enjoy most days a lavender cake from a local bakery, this was too delicious!!!!




May 2023, Tunisia, well this went downhill within hours of arriving as I broke my nose getting into a taxi. I have been to Tunisia more times than I care to think about ( first went in the 70's and regularly after that), however I decided that I wouldn't be going back again. I had a great holiday, even though the hotel did everything that they could to make me feel uncomfortable as a single traveller. The weather was good and so was the wine. 



November 2023, Torremolinos, and not a stuffed donkey in sight. I stayed in a great hotel in a wonderful position. I went off into Malaga and visited the museum of crystal and glass ( it was amazing). I found the first hotel  in Torremolinos and spent most days on the beach, dousing myself in factor 30 and rotating every 15 minutes like a pig on a spit. I had spent a lot of time in Southern Spain, but never been here. I loved it. 



February 2024 Krakow. What a beautiful city , arriving at night and having dinner in the hotels roof top restaurant with the city lit up below, I knew this was going to be a wonderful trip. My hotel was just the best and the staff were amazing.  I visited the underground museum, which runs under the market square. Excavations found the original roads and traders stalls ( stone built 'shops') , it was a wonderful morning exploring the original market. I ate on a river boat and visited  Wawel castle.



May 2024  Croatia. This holiday did not start well, I  thought Id never go on a boat again!, but got better and better and I fell in love with the island that I was staying on. There was nothing to do but cycle or hike in the national forest ( I had a walk ), swim in the beautiful turquoise waters( I swam 2-3 times a day), read ( I read a lot) eat and drink ( I did a lot of that too) and sleep ( yes I did a lot of that too,) and not a cockerel on the island to wake you. This was not the kind of holiday that I am used to , as I usually have a mad itinerary that sees me hurtling around at break neck speed. This was total wind down and it was just what I needed.




October 2024 ?????????????????????????


November 2024 ?????????????????????? my big birthday holiday


These are both booked but I am not disclosing where I am off to.


I've had 8 great holidays booked through Dale, and 2 more to come. 

If you want to have some great offers and holidays get in touch with him, if he can sort out my strange requests, he can sort anything!


https://dalesidebottom.notjusttravel.com/



Monday, 8 July 2024

The best laid plans

 



Here we are in July and I have plans, but not until the end of the month, another thing to tick of, as something I haven't done before. And then at the weekend things happened which mean that this trip is being extended to take in a birthday party, oh I love jelly and ice cream! I'll be ticking another place off my list too.

I had my plans set for my 'big birthday', but true to Lainey form, I have decided to shelve these plans and threw this curve ball to Dale, my long suffering travel agent. He took it in good part and I have scrapped one set of plans ( including cancelling a holiday ) and  now have booked   two different trips. More about those as they happen.

I think at the start of 2025 Dale should be given a medal! He really deserves one. I'm not saying I am picky or indecisive but when I decide to make a change there is no going back.

I can assure him that there will be no more changes........................ honestly.


The ankle injury is getting there, I still have ligament pain but I even managed a couple of hours out in 'proper' shoes, last weekend. Getting ready for my trip away at the end of the month.

So on I go.

Obviously all the plans are top secret, and will be revealed in good time.


Abientot, until the end of July






And the bookings begin

  So, I am now fit to fly and getting myself into full booking mode, however, for the remainder of this year I have decided to spend my time...