I blame our route to Marseille entirely on one of Catering’s friends, who gave him a book to read in hospital & while recovering. Catering, not being a great reader of historical fact, carried said book with him on our last trip abroad, but favoured the latest Robert Harris offering, while I, having powered through…
If anyone had asked me 30 years ago, how did I imagine I would spend my the night of my 60th birthday, I’m not sure I would have ever come up with, having a fish dinner overlooking the sea in Folkestone followed by a hot & sweaty night (not in a good way) in a…
Packing for any break is a major exercise in the Spicer household (we have previously explored my inability to grasp the “packing light” concept), let alone packing for a 5-week trip. This is not helped by my need to return to a tidy(ish) house and clean beds. To make matters slightly more complicated I also…
I have been talking about being 60 for quite a while. The bells of Big Ben had just fallen silent after ushering in 2022 when I announced “I’ll be 60 next year!” Catering was less than amused by my premature adoption of the big SIX 0 as he worries that people will assume we are…
It is no secret that I will shortly be celebrating a significant birthday (one with a zero at the end of it). In fact Catering is completely fed up with me announcing “I am 60 this year” to anyone willing to listen, partly because everyone assumes, wrongly, he is the same age or older than…
I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since we travelled to Japan for the RWC 2019. So much has happened since then: So here we are in 2023 and the RWC has rolled round again. We had such a great time in Japan that we decided to do it again, this time in France. I…
Continue readingRWC 2023 – In which the Big Blue Truck goes to France
Well, it might have been a bit breezy, but as it was dry and bright, so I thought I would head out for a bike ride. I told Catering that I was off for a cycle and in a fit of (as it turns out misguided) enthusiasm, I said I thought I might attempt Dolsden…
While no one was looking, and despite being the picture of health, over the summer Catering has grown a tumour and not a nice one at that. When Alex was very small, we had our first family experience of dealing with cancer and now it seems we are to have another. I think it’s fair…
Apparently if you are going to take a wall down or dig up a concrete floor (we are doing both) you need a tarpaulin. Ideally the bigger the better, but most importantly one without any holes in it. Dust is sneaky, the slightest opportunity, it will be in and before you can grab a duster…
Continue readingTarpaulin, Acrow Props and an Oak Truss (or two)
The new kitchen is finally ordered and we have a start date for the builders, so it just remains to pack the contents of the kitchen into boxes and dismantle the old kitchen. We were all ready to order the skip and take a sledge hammer to the kitchen units when a friend (thank you…