Rhododendrons and Bluebells

 

Sunny warm wind free so walked through Childwickbury to see the avenue of Rhododendrons. Most had not yet flowered.

Then past the Manor House and back through Batchwood which had  stunning swathes of bluebells.

Cannes Weekend

 

BA348 to Nice landed at 19:46 on Friday 25 April and by the time we'd de-planed, gone through immigration, waited for luggage we arrived at our hotel in time for bed. So my dinner was an aeroplane tray with uninspiring slabs of tofu in a bland sauce with rice. But 3 glasses of Pannier Champagne was good.

Cannes Riviera &Spa Best Western Plus, 16 Boulevard d'Alsace was by the rail station and about 10 minutes from the beach. Reception and ground floor bar were inviting, but the room was Travel Lodge standard. The rooftop pool was closed, and didn't look like it had been open for a long time.

After a long stroll along the promenade the following morning  we had lunch at a beach restaurant.

Joan had Veal Milanese with pasta in a tomato sauce, I had burger, and we shared a bottle of  

This certified organic blend of Clairette 38%, Marsanne 31%, Ugni Blanc 27% and Bourboulenc 4% (not that this info appeared anywhere on the label)  was a bit  too viscous for us, but somehow the bottle was emptied.

Restaurants were heaving that evening but we found a table inside, out of the wind that had come with dusk,  at the old harbour and with chicken breast cooked in lemon juice and herbs we had a jolly expensive wine (though cheapest on list) about which I can find nothing. 

We figured it was a blend of Grenache and Syrah and maybe some thing else, and it was quite nice.

Sunday was overcast with showers, but it brightened at lunchtime so we went Ciro's beach restaurant.

Lunch for me was Rigatoni Arrabiata with Olives 

while Joan had a burger. The wine recommended by waitress Zoe was

a lovely clean refreshing dry wine, a blend of Rolle and Sémillon in a classy bottle.

Pre dinner on Sunday we usually have a glass of fizz so we called into a bar on Plages du Midi and ordered two glasses of Champagne, but whatever they brought out in our glasses wasn’t Champagne…

For dinner we found another restaurant on the old harbour where Joan had lasagne and I had fillet steak, and a bottle of

at a bargain price (for Cannes) of €28 but when the bill came it showed €63 for the wine. Luckily the bottle was still on our table, so we managed to get a corrected bill. Was it an honest mistake? No.

Home on Monday to a dinner of Chicken Tikka Masala and Pillau rice purchased from M&S at T5 Arrivals and a bottle of Beyerskloof Pinotage 2022. We got our (real) Champagne aperitifs on the 'plane.

Sommelier's Tales at The Imperial

Gorleston-on-Sea

To Imperial Hotel at Great Yarmouth. 

Friday night Nick Mobbs presented 'Tales of a Sommelier'. Starter of Cava, six wines in the tasting that related to Nick.

Then we had dinner, with unlimited pours of an organic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a very nice Spanish Bobal.

Rhubarb dessert

On Sunday we went to Gorleston-on-Sea, next to Gt Yarmouth, the other bank of the Yare.

The Pier Hotel at Gorleston-on-Sea by the beach was featured in Danny Boyle's movie Yesterday. 

We walked the length of Gorleston's promenade behind its sand beach,

and we spent a long time looking at this yacht on the boating pond which has a remote controlled weighted sailor that swings to the side opposite the wind to prevent the boat over turning.

Jack's 3rd Birthday Party

 

To Aylesbury for a small party for Jack's imminent third birthday, with Toby and Emma, Chris and Carole and ourselves. There's another party tomorrow with Jack's friends and their parents.

Two cakes had been made, one for today and one for tomorrow.

Jack opened the present from Uncle Dan and Auntie Krisie.

He was proud to show us his new bedroom and big boys bed. The cot is to be occupied by the new arrival.

Then he blew out the candles on the cake and we all had a piece.

Costa Calero, Lanzarote, again

Two weeks in Puerto Calero , staying at Costa Calero fully inclusive for the fourth time. This year we departed on 23 February, a bit later than last year in order to miss the half-term crush.

We had a couple of glasses of Champagne in the lounge where I noticed the confusing times on my boarding card. 

The plane took off on time at 13:45 and I had a late lunch.

We got to the hotel before dinner service ended. The dining room has been remodelled. And the chocolate fountains never made an appearance in the two weeks we were there.

We got back to our indolent routine, the mornings over looking the boat yard hoping to see boats lifted from, or returned to the water.

Afternoons were spent at the other end of the marina, watching boats entering and leaving, including the yellow submarine which submerges and surfaces as the end of the marina's jetty.

Then before dinner it's 'Cava Time'. After a few days our fizz was poured without us needing to ask.

When the sun went down behind the volcanic mountains in the distance, it was time for dinner.

'Let's stay for four weeks next time', said Joan when we headed back to the airport on 9 March.

Early Daffodils -are late

Much later than the last six years, but today the first daffodils opened in the front garden 

Criccieth - Aladdin Pantomime

We arrived in Criccieth on Thursday 23 January for four nights at Ty Gem to see Dan & Krisie and Aladdin, the Starlight Player's 2025 Pantomime on Friday evening.

Ty Gem

 

Weather was cold and, apart from Saturday which was sunny, very windy and rainy so we mostly stayed in the house except for a brief stroll along the sea front on Saturday.

Aladdin was excellent, great staging and costumes. Scott Wilson, who played Wishee Washee, has real star quality.

Dan and Krisie were involved in the production, but the run finished on Sunday with an afternoon matinee, so we were all able o have dinner together at Dylan's. There had been a storm warning and everyone else had cancelled. They stayed open just for us and we were the only diners all night.