The Other Place 06 - Kitchen Fitting

Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Thursday 30-March-2017.

This whole trip was planned around the installation date for the kitchen.

The basic layout is a U-shape. Key to the design is to separate the oven and hob. The hob is in the foreground facing into the room so Mary can cook and talk to our guests at the same time.

The back of the units are covered with dummy doors so that you are not looking at the bare backs of the units.

One downside of buying a non-designer kitchen was that Conforama could not supply the worktop. The walls are too irregular, they only do basic walls with straight lines and 90 degree angles. We had to wait until the units were in then get the local marble merchant round to measure up. Part of the challenge is to play Tetris with the pieces of the worktop to cut them all from a single 270cm by 325cm composite slab.

All done ready for the worktop, hob and sink.

Up on the terrace the water tank is waiting to be plumbed in. All the houses in the town have rooftop tanks as the water supply is turned off at night. It will be hidden behind a low stone wall for aesthetic reasons.

The terrace walls are below the one metre legal minimum. Our initial thought was to put trellis attached to the planters. Now we are thinking we will put a proper metal railing - awaiting a quote for that.

The next visit we plan to move in. As long as the water is connected the loos will work and we can always boil a kettle for a flannel wash and go to Trullo Azzurro for a shower later. Exciting times.

Paul Young's Los Pacaminos at Half Moon

Putney, London. Friday 24-March-2017.

This was supposed to be John Lee Hooker at Under The Bridge but that was cancelled due to "unforseen circumstances" so we invoked Plan B.

Paul Young has a wonderful voice and I remember his early singles "Love of the Common People" and "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)". Since those days he has eschewed pop music, the charts, and stardom for a back-to-basics approach and low key gigs in pubs and nightclubs. He apparently formed this Tex-Mex band back in 1993.

I went with friends Grant and John for meal beforehand at Hudson's just a few doors along. Described on Google as "Easygoing, family-friendly neighbourhood restaurant with outdoor seats, serving global comfort food." I'd second that.

Paul is the one with the grey stubbly beard and the check shirt.

I enjoyed the music well enough although Tex-Mex wouldn't be top of my preferred musical styles. The band were clearly having a good time and that adds to the atmosphere.

There was a support act then they did two sets so we certainly got our money's worth.

An enjoyable evening.

Kenilworth Grammar School Reunion - Class of '71

Kenilworth, Warkwickshire. Saturday 18-March-2017.

A reunion for those of us who left KGS in the summer of 1971. We met up in The Tiltyard opposite the school for lunch.

People who have said they were joining us:
Nigel Bull, Bill Nealon, Paul Pearce, Andrew Fox, Mary Plimmer was Cameron, Diana Jones was Gibson, Virginia Edwards, Sue Hope was Kirk, Norman Stevens, Wendy Browne was Skinner, Mark Mclellan, Louise Brooke was Phillips, Ken Harrop, John and Crissima Savage, John Ralphs and David Botterill.

This time we had name badges - a good idea not just because of our age but because some people change beyond recognition.

I leave it to you to work out who's who and who is a no show.

Dilys one end, cannot remember, Wendy Brown, Norman Stevens.

More peeps.

We all had a good natter, a meal and went home again. Pity I will have trouble meeting up in 2018 as I will be in Italy most of the summer.

Omar Puente Cuban Jazz Quintet at Ronnie Scott's

Soho, London. Friday 17-March-2017.

Mary and I went with her friend and ex-colleague, Cristina. Another person we have introduced to Ronnie's.

An evening of energetic Latin music with eating and drinking. What more can I say.

North Downs Way 07 - Hollingbourne to Charing

Kent Tuesday 14-March-2017.

Rather than heading home after reaching Hollingbourne, we stayed over at Leeds Castle to make it a 2 day walk. Very pleasant accommodation in the stable yard. We dined in the Castle View Restaurant and were very impressed with the quality of the food and the service.

Part of the deal with staying in the castle B & B was free entry into the castle. In the morning we were able to wander the grounds before the crowds arrived which was very delightful.

Once the castle opened we did the full tour, for free. A fascinating castle.

After lunch we took a taxi back to The Dirty Habit for an afternoon's half day walk. It being spring there were flowers. No idea what these are.

But I'm pretty sure these yellow chaps are primrose.

At this point the NDW joins the Pilgrim's Way for the nine mile walk to Charing. Much easier going which was a relief after the day before but downside was that the scenery was much less stunning than previous sections.

Not for the first time a bit of a brisk walk towards the end to catch an imminent train and avoid a long wait.

This leg: 8 miles
Total so far:104 miles

North Downs Way 06 - Cuxton to Hollingbourne

Kent. Monday 13-March-2017

As we get further from London the longer the train journey to our start point. By this stage it made more sense to make it a two day trip. We chose the B & B at Leeds Castle as the venue for our overnight stop.

We were due to take the train to Cuxton. That involved a change at Strood (Kent) for a 4 minute train journey and a 1.5 mile walk. So we jumped ship at Strood into a taxi that took us to the point on the NDW where we had finished the previous leg, all of which gave us at last a 30 minute advantage. Just as well given the day we had ahead.

Almost immediately we crossed the Medway Viaducts with a fine view of Baty's Marsh, shortly followed by Fort Borstal  -  part of the original young offenders institute.

Another lovely sunken lane.

This is an ancient landscape. We passed Kit's Coty House - the remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow constructed 3500-2800 BC.

The White Horse Stone - another neolithic relic.

A long day through varied scenery with lots of ups and downs. The last stretch was especially hard work as the ups and downs continued which put the pressure on.

We were glad we started early otherwise we would have been stumbling downhill through woods in the dark.

We made it to at The Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne at 6:30 for a well earned pint. Our destination was off-path to Leeds Castle for our overnight stay so having done 18 miles already, and it being dark, we summoned a taxi to take us to the castle.

This leg: 18 miles
Total so far: 96 miles

The Other Place 05 - Furniture Moving

Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Saturday 11-March-2016.

This trip was all about furniture - moving it and buying it. In part this was caused by retro-fitting air-conditioning into Sotto-Le-Stelle. Knowing that was going to create a lot of dust we started moving as much as we could across to the new place.

The scaffolding is down at the front showing of the freshly scrubbed frontage - all repointed and freshly whitewashed. The neighbours wisely chipped in to have their middle floor walls done at the same time whilst the scaffolding and city permits were in place.

If you look carefully you can see how Saverio has picked out the pillars between arched windows - a nice touch.

It was market day while we were there. The stalls start in Corso Umberto I, past our front door and down Via Regina Margarita. We get a good view from the roof.

First up was moving stuff from Trullo Azzurro to the apartment. Saverio has an amazing, heavy-duty cherry picker which he used to grab the fridge freezer from the courtyard. We also moved a double bed which we replaced with twin beds from Conforama making the accommodation at Trullo Azzurro more adaptable.

Everything came up via the back terrace.

Mattress

The fridge

Even the plant tubs from Sotto-le-Stelle

We bought a couple of Ikea chest of drawers so we could move most of our clothes over. Once we'd filled up the small bedroom Saverio sealed up the room with a plastic sheet while works continued.

It appears that there was a leak from our small terrace into the flat below so we had to have it re-tiled incorporating a waterproof membrane.

Removing the old boiler has revealed a bench which is now covered with stone slab and is a real sun trap.

The interior is also proceeding apace with the painting under way.

Next visit is timed to oversee the kitchen installation.