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Discovering Hampshire
Well, more specifically, Basingstoke. We have a friend from Basingstoke who almost choked on his beer when we told him we were having a romantic weekend away in his home town, followed by the question, ‘why?’. Well first off Mum and Dad bought James and I a voucher for money off a brand of hotels and the cheapest one happened to be in Basingstoke. Plus the hotel looked really nice, was set amongst it’s own grounds and not too far away from Bristol. We took the Monday off work and headed up on the Friday so we could make the most of the trip. We were staying at Audleys Wood…
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Exploring Devon on the way to Dartmouth
James and I haven’t really taken any holidays this year, with Mum going through Chemotherapy and our self build project, we’ve not really wanted to be anywhere else but home or plan too far in advance incase we needed to be elsewhere. We’ve taken to booking more spontaneous trips over long weekends instead with one of our most recent being a lovely few days down in Devon. I had booked us into a spa hotel for one night in Dartmouth but James decided we should extend our trip so booked up a Bed and Breakfast in Torquay for the night before. We headed off on the Saturday morning from Bristol,…
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Exploring the Kennet & Avon canal in the laziest way
Six friends, looking for a short break together; what do you do?! Find a cottage or a lodge, go camping? Last year we stayed on a permanently moored boat which was really nice, so we thought we’d up the ante this time and go with a narrow boat, conveniently less than an hour from our home. Apart from messing about on dinghies and jet-skis, none of us have done any sort of proper boating, but that didn’t seem to phase the boat hire company, so we weren’t overly worried. Before we went we watched a safety video with basic boating guide and details about how to operate a lock, and…
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Chapter 2 of our self-build story: Out of the ground
Once we finally got past the planning permission hurdle and out of the ground, things started moving very quickly! Following the end of May bank holiday the team got started on the block work on Tuesday 28th May. Our front entrance! By 30th May we had window surrounds on the ground floor. On Saturday 1st June Steph visited site and had a stretch: Study: Kitchen: The week commencing 3rd June the team finished off the ground floor block work and started on the brick: Up to Thursday 6th June progress was really good, but Friday was a complete washout, and Saturday and most of the next week wasn’t much better;…
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A moment in time
It can’t have escaped your attention that climate change is a pretty hot topic at the moment. Recently Bristol (and other cities around the UK) were significantly inconvenienced by protesters ‘spreading the message’ that we need to act now. Whilst I saw a few diehards actually on the picket line, the vast majority seemed to just be enjoying a festival in Castle Park. I was away when it started raining but I would’ve been interested to see how many stuck around when the going got tough! If not from someone handing out a flier in the park, where do you go for information about the real big picture, rather than…
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To self build or not to self build
Bristol’s been a wonderful home for the last 6 years, especially the central spot we have with its easy access to all Bristol has to offer. Living in the middle of one of the most popular cities in the country comes with its compromises though, and the main one is space- both inside and out. So for a while now (nearly 4 years) we’ve been looking for a new home in a slightly more rural setting. We’ve viewed dozens of houses and with each viewing we honed our view of what’s important to us, seeing features we loved as well as those we’d rather not have. If you had a…
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So you’ve turned 30
When you tell people you’re turning 30 you almost feel the need to grit your teeth and act as though it’s a big deal, or that life is being unkind making you say goodbye to your 20s, but in all honesty I wasn’t that bothered and it turns out I feel exactly the same as I did at 29. Perhaps when you have far more important things going on in your life, starting a new decade becomes quite insignificant. I have listened to podcasts by women talking about turning 30 and how it really got them down, a lot of it was due to losing the innocence of their 20s…
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A long overdue bike ride
Living in the center of Bristol I get around on foot, by bike and by car. Doing a bit of everything I see hostility from each group towards the others; in such a busy environment there’ll always be conflict (especially when the roads in the center of town are constantly being dug up, diverting at least one group into the regular territory of the other). I feel like cyclists get the worst deal: They’re not welcomed onto pavements by pedestrians, and they’re not welcomed onto roads by drivers, so on the many roads and routes where there isn’t a cycle path then it’s not much fun being on a bike.…
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Holidaying on a boat
Last month James and I went away to Falmouth for a long weekend with some friends. We had been talking about going away together for months and finally got something pretty special booked up. We scoured the internet before stumbling upon a spot just on the outskirts of Falmouth town centre. What made it so special you ask? Well, it was in fact a boat. A boat with all the necessities: the top floor was all open plan with a big kitchen, dining area, and a large lounging space with lots of glass to enjoy the views. It gave the impression that you could almost walk out onto the outdoor…
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A new skill with an old craft
A few Sundays ago we went for lunch at the Rose of Denmark in Hotwells. I understand the pub’s changed ownership a few times over the last couple of years and the food’s been on an up and down journey. The roast we had on that Sunday was one of the best I’ve had, anywhere, ever! It rivals the Rummer, and that set a high benchmark. Wonderful moist meat, crunchy roasties on the outside with a fluffy middle, well cooked and flavoursome veg, a rich gravy and huge Yorkshire pud’. Steph had the veggie option and that was also excellent. We’re thrilled to have this fantastic option on our doorstep!…
