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Holidays and holiday reading
H and I visited Manchester two years ago to see friends and visit the Derek Jarman exhibition which we both loved. We had the much-restored Rochdale Town Hall in our sights this time, more of which later. Our hotel was a stone’s throw away from Manchester Cathedral which looks more like a pretty parish church […]
Three Days in and Around Manchester plus One Book Read More »
This was our first big rail jaunt since 2018 when we’d taken the Eurostar to Amsterdam, flying home from Warsaw two weeks later. Our plan for the next one was to venture into Ukraine, sadly no longer an option. Instead, we decided to wend our way though Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Budapest,
Sixteen Days in Central Europe and Three Books Read More »
Our first trip after the 2020 summer of social distancing and lockdowns was to the New Forest, staying at Daisybank Cottage, a delightful Arts and Crafts B & B on the edge of Brockenhurst. It was a slightly odd experience, hardly surprising in the circumstances, but we enjoyed ourselves very much. This time we stayed
Three days in the New Forest and Most of a Book Read More »
No amount of obsessive weather app checking eased my packing anxiety before heading north. Last year’s Manchester trip had everything from snow to what felt like a mini heatwave, something Glasgow was apparently experiencing while Leeds, our first stop, looked distinctly chilly. We were staying in the city’s legal district very close to the civic
Three Days in Leeds, Five Days in Glasgow and One Book Read More »
Our main reason for visiting St Leonards-on-Sea was to see family who had recently downsized and moved into a rather lovely apartment there. It was my first visit to this grand Victorian seaside town full of imposing villas, many rundown enough to make them affordable for buyers wanting to move out of their shoebox London
Two Days in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea and a DNF Read More »
H and I were so taken with Chichester, our pitstop our way to East Sussex last year, that we decided to take a short break there before winter closes in on us, booking our first Airbnb which turned out to be very comfortable. Were it not for its cathedral, you might call Chichester a small
Two Days in Chichester and a Bit of a Book Read More »
H and I were worn out after a summer of house renovations plus a couple of minor but debilitating health problems. We had two Eurostar tickets booked back in early 2020 before Covid smacked the world round the face and we decided to use them to explore the Netherlands having visited Amsterdam many times but
Nine Days in the Netherlands and Just One Book Read More »
We’d rented an apartment in Milan, planning to give our stomachs a rest after a week of delicious but rich food although the excellent bakery just a few metres from our front door put paid to that. Unsurprisingly, the weather in Milan was very different from the Lakes, justifying my-pack-for-every-temperature tendency. We headed off to
Seven days in the Italian Lakes, Four Days in Milan and Four Books: Part Two Read More »
This is a first for me: a two-part what-I-did-on-my holidays piece. Our city and lakeside stays were so different I couldn’t fit them comfortably into one post, at least, that’s my excuse We’d booked a holiday in Italy just a few weeks before Covid knocked the world for six in February 2020, finally making it
Seven days in the Italian Lakes, Four Days in Milan and Four Books: Part One Read More »
I’d not been to Manchester since I can’t remember when but I do recall going to a Rock Against Racism gig there which tells British readers of a certain age something. It was soon clear that the derelict, grimy city of those days had been replaced by a prosperous shiny updated version, at least in
Four Days in Manchester and Half a Book Read More »
As my birthday appeared on the horizon, I could feel myself giving into the lure of the New Forest again and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about holidays it’s not to try to replicate them so I booked a few days in London in an aparthotel around the corner from Tate Modern. Once settled
Three Days in London and a Bit of a Book Read More »