City Break - London, November 2025

London, England. Thursday/Monday 27-November/01-December-2025.

A hectic weekend in London triggered by our friend Bill's 70th year celebration on the Sunday! We decided to make a long weekend of it and took full advantage of our time down south.

Thursday 27-November-2025

Thursday night we travelled to Romford, staying at Spark by Hilton right next to Romford Station. Spark by Hilton is their entry into the premium economy market. Although the facilities were fine the room was a shoebox with a maximum of 15" (40cm) on all sides round the bed - I literally had to walk sideways to get round the foot of the bed and when you opened the bathroom door you could not get to the wardrobe nor to the room door. On the upside, that evening we ate at a very good Turkish restaurant just across the road.

Friday 28-November-2025

Friday was fun: a visit to Mary's hairdresser of more than 30 years followed by a lovely Japanese lunch (not available in Penrith) at Shoryu in Covent Garden. Followed by an afternoon of culture: an exhibition by choreographer Wayne McGregor exploring the use of AI in dance and music plus our annual visit to the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery to marvel at how they managed to capture so much of the character of the subject. 

That was followed by a lovely evening of eating, drinking and catching up with old friends from my time working on a massive, and ultimately failed, IT project based in Drury Lane (NPfIT, 2004-2008). We met at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, an extraordinarily historic pub with labyrinthine cellars pre-dating the Great Fire of London (1666).

As we walked to the pub this was the view down Fleet Street to St Pauls' where Mary and I were married!

Then back to Romford and our shoebox.

Saturday 29-November-2025

Saturday was #parkrunday, of course, at Ingrebourne Hill in Rainham and the reason we had based ourselves in Romford - we needed an "I" for our second alphabet.

That evening we went over to Witham for an overnight stay with friend Andrea and a meal at another excellent local Turkish restaurant "Astare" with friends Elaine and husband Mark. 

Sunday 30-November-2025

Sunday morning was back into London and the primary reason behind the trip - a celebration of friend Bill's 70th year with a meal at the Ivy at Tower Bridge. Gorgeous food, wine and service in a fabulous room with an equally fabulous view.

Many of those present were friends I met back in 1979 after I moved to London and revelled in the bright lights, big city. Those were heady days or as Bill likes to say, "Our salad days, when we were green in judgment" [Wikipedia]. 

Mary, Allan, Bron.

Conversations with old friends.

The birthday boy!

The obligatory team photo.

The Thames night sky looking atmospehric.

After a fantastic celebration it was down to earth with a bump: an overnight stay in the Premier Inn in Wandsworth.

Monday 01-December-2025

First thing Monday morning we did a check over and some deep cleaning of our rented flat before a new tenant moves in. Then back on the train to Penrith in the afternoon feeling tired and happy (and about a stone heavier).

The Real Ale Train at The Watercress Line

Alresford, Hampshire. Saturday 21-September-2019.

The birthday treats continued with a journey aboard the RAT: the Real Ale Train on the Watercress Line. The journey begins at Alresford and shuttles back and forth to Medstead and Four Marks several times with the train swapping ends each trip.

All the stations and rolling stock are done in original, period style as are the staff (volunteers) who are clearly having a good time.

First order of the day, get a round in with our friends Gavin and Tania.

The platform at Alresford; all very "Brief Encounter".

The locomotive coming in for the first leg.

Medstead at the end of the first leg. The station master doing his best skinny "Fat Controller" impression.

Swapping ends at Medstead.

The loco in motion.

Reattaching at the other end for the first return leg.

The bar: four barrels of cask-conditioned ale. Alas I cannot tell you their names but I do remember they were all modest strength, around 3.8 ABV, suitable for full evening's drinking.

Supper was a basic selection at the station buffet back at Alresford: chicken jalfrezi, cheeseburger, chilli con carne and a couple of other choices. All clearly, freshly home made and tasty but they were ultra-restrained on the chilli powder and could have easily upped the heat to some advantage.

 An interior of one of the open carriages.

After several hours and several pints we staggered off home having had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Burns Supper 2016 at 1 Lombard Street

London. 25-January-2016

We decided at the last minute to book a Burns supper and dragged along an ex-colleague, Delton, for his first experience of this ancient ritual (he is American). We all wore something tartan to get a free cocktail. The menu gave Delton an opportunity to try not just haggis, neeps and tatties but also cranachan.

The restaurant had booked a piper who was something of a character. He did several circuits of the restaurant followed by Burn's "Address to a Haggis".

We were lucky that our table was close the the spot chosen for the address. The piper gave a spirited rendition of the address complete with extravagant gestures, the pouring over of a wee dram and the plunging of the dirk into the haggis' gushing entrails. Afterwards there was a photo opportunity.

Following the meal there was an impromptu outbreak of Scottish country dancing - a Gay Gordans round the restaurant with more enthusiasm than skill from most of the participants. Well done to 1 Lombard Street for an excellent Burns Supper.

Eighth Annual BBQ and Drink Our Excess Cellar

Saturday 15-August-2015

We havered about having our BBQ this year but went for it as there was a free Saturday before we went to Italy and it didn't clash with Bob & Lynn's BBQ because they didn't have one this year. So out went the invites and in came the acceptances.

We outsourced much of the catering to Waitrose but the artisanal ice creams are my department.

Ice cream #1 Blueberry ripple. Starting with a home made custard, real vanilla, and added rum in the blueberry sauce.

Ice cream #2 Brandy Alexander. This one never sets fully so is soft scoop and always goes first.

Ice cream #3 Yogurt and raspberry. I had to sieve all the pips even though the recipe said it was optional because I hate the pips getting stuck between my teeth. I add some vodka to the raspberries but not enough as it set hard and took ages to soften enough to serve.

Thirty-eight people came and drank 40 bottles of wine. The more they drink the less we have to move when our house sale goes through.

We left it too late to arrange a burger flipper. All the nephews are too old for that stuff. They are all graduated and have proper jobs that pay real money. Instead our friend Grant did the honours for quite some time which allowed me to mingle and so we gave him some very tasty Riesling as a thank you.

Next year the BBQ will be on the green outside our new flat. Looking forward to that.

Edit: This was actually number eight, we skipped the bbq in 2013.

Merton Priory & Wandle pub crawl

Colliers Wood Saturday 25-July-2015

A friend who lives down near my old neighbourhood (South Wimbledon / Merton) suggested a visit to see the remains of Merton Priory which was holding an open day. An opportunity to see a bit of local history not normally open to the public. Given the friends involved this turned into a pub crawl.

We started in The Charles Holden opposite Colliers Wood tube station where we tried their own ale brewed on the premises, very nice. We were somewhat surprised to bump into Mary's godson Alex who lives on the Isle of Wight. It turns out that his sister Zoe works in that very pub and he was meeting her there before returning home.

After a pint, and once the company of six was fully assembled, we went across the road to spend an hour looking at the remains of Merton Priory. We learned all about the Chapter House of Merton Priory. "Merton was a major Augustinian priory, founded in 1117 and dissolved in 1538, whose foundations are preserved in a chamber under Merantun Way" We also learned more about William Morris' workshop at Merton Abbey Mills.

History is thirsty work so we had a crepe and a drink at the Belgian Brasserie. They do some delicious fruit beers. I had a Leffe Blonde but next time I will definitely try a strawberry beer, it would be delicious with ice cream.

Our friends were not aware that the Wandle Trail continued all the way to the Thames; we were able to reassure them as we headed north along the river. Armed with my trusty "River Wandle Companion" I was able to regale the assembled company with facts about the river past and present until we reached Earlsfield.

There the third and final pub stop was agreed upon. Eschewing "The Wandle" pub, Mary checked beerintheevening for pubs near Earlsfield and the recommended option was The Country House (formerly The Fog). Just off the main road it is a little gem of a pub, friendly landlady, some decent beers and enough seating for all of us.

We then dispersed and a short bus ride got us home for a quiet evening in after a well spent afternoon.

The Wandle Trust is an environmental charity dedicated to restoring and maintaining the health of the River Wandle and its catchment. They hold community river cleanups on the second Sunday of every month, up and down this unique urban chalkstream – pulling out everything from shopping trolleys to shotguns, and improving the environment for birds, fish, insects and local people. For more visit: http://www.wandletrust.org/.

Annual BBQ 2014

Wandsworth, London. Saturday 16-August-2014.

Our seventh annual BBQ and wine cellar emptying event was back after a year's gap.

All set up ready for influx of hungry and thirsty guests...

Around forty people turned up over the course of the afternoon. We were ably assisted by our burger flipper Zoe which freed us up to mingle with our guests.

Some turned up late afternoon so we lit another barbecue bag and started a second tranche of cooking. We started at one in the afternoon and finished at one in the morning when the last visitors toddled off.

The next morning it was a trip to the recycling bank at the local tip to dispose of the evidence of a most successful party.

Coopers and Lybrand (MCS) Old Hacks

Dover Castle Pub, London. Thursday 15-May-2014

Meeting up with ex-colleagues I hadn't seen for 32 years. Talk about a blast from the past this was networking* with a vengeance.

*drinking with colleagues is "team-building", drinking with ex-colleagues is "networking".

I met up with the director of the agency through whom I got my current contract. I looked at his LinkedIn profile and it turned out we were both at Coopers and Lybrand (Management Consultancy Services) - C&L (MCS) - at the same time, '80 to '82, and had many acquaintances in common.

Some colleagues from that era still meet up twice a year for a beer and luckily one such meeting was imminent so I went long and met up with, amongst others, Ed Breen and Andy Preston.

As luck would have it I had just scanned in my old C&L pass for Throw Back Thursday which I was able to show them otherwise they might not have recognised me.

We drank, we reminisced, we went for a meal.

The early eighties was a halcyon period for me. I had just moved to London, doubled my salary in two years, had a hectic social life both with work colleagues and outside of work with the group code named "the Birmingham crowd". It was great to reconnect with those days. Happy memories.

If you were part of C&L (MCS) do drop me a line via Contact. spider food Alison J Bond - went to Oz Andy King Angela Jepson Bernie (Bernadette) McManus Bill Haygarth – I met him 10+ years ago when I was Hon Sec. He wasn’t interested in attending and retired in Yorkshire several years ago Bron Ciezarek – Now a member Bruce Davis – A member Chris La Niece Danny McNichol – A member Dave A Dixon - beard, quite senior Duncan Pinkerton Gary Phillips George Laurie Graham Smith Janet Fowler - Vanuatu Jean Brass Jerry Chapman John Rycroft Lynda Pyle Mark McLellan - Now a member Mark X - Fortran programmer Mike Tinsley Murial Nelson – Retired many, many years ago and very doubtful interest in Hacks Nigel Griffiths – Living in Oz Nigel Ratcliffe – Sadly passed away c 20 years ago Nikki Birkett – Living in Oz Nolan Phillips – Occasionally mentioned in dispatches at meetings. I think Jill is in contact Pamela X Paul Cooke - Claudius / Vanuatu – Did he ever return from the Southern Hemisphere? Ray Ryan Sandy X Simon Coles - A member and the previous Hon Sec Steve Thorne - Sondek & Naim fan Sue Judd Sue Stubenvoll (sp?) Tony Winter Wayne Stinton - Occasionally mentioned in dispatches at meetings. I think Jill may be in contact Wojtek Adamek

Burns Supper 2014 Bis

Mary fancied a Burns supper and went googling; we ended up going to not one but two Burns suppers.

Burns Supper 01 - The Ceilidh Club, Town Hall, Hammersmith on 18-Jan-2014.

Canteen style haggis, neeps and tatties followed by some dancing. It was a huge function room holding what seemed like hundreds of attendees. We sat out some and danced some. There were so many people it got a bit like Piccadilly Circus despite heroic efforts from the caller.

The piper leaving after the ode

Halfway through they did a full Address to a Haggis with attendant piper to escort the sonsie sausage in and out.

My advice to my unattached nephews is to forget the disco or nightclub and to get down the local Scottish dancing club - there were babes! And they'd be able to actually hear their best chat up lines.

Burns Supper 02 - Hix Mayfair, Brown's Hotel on 24-Jan-2014.

At the other end of the sophistication scale - a designer chef, celebrity host and a famous guest. The chef was Mark Hix, the host was writer and TV presenter Hardeep Singh Kohli (wearing turban and kilt) and the unexpected fellow guest was the acerbic critic A. A. Gill. I got to chat to all three albeit briefly.

We kicked off with a potent and delicious cocktail. As Mary was still doing the Dryathlon for Cancer Research I drank her cocktail, several whiskies and glasses of the wine which were included in the price. A misguided attempt to get our money's worth which I mildly regretted the following morning.

Address to the Haggis with Piper

Amusing anecdotes from Hardeep and genial conversation with our fellow diners.

And, of course, excellent food. We did "The Bard" proud.

New Year’s Eve 2012 / 2013

Mary has been travelling so much she wanted a quiet festive season at home. We had cancelled our planned trip to Ghana and settled for a dinner party for 10 instead. We provided the main course whilst other provided canapés, desserts and cheeses.

We started off with a blind wine tasting for a bit of fun – four sparkling wines – just to see what people made of them without preconceptions from seeing the labels. Personal preferences varied and everyone reckoned that one or other of the South African wines was French.

A - Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1996 (M&M cellar, current price £150!!!)
B - Waitrose Blanc de Noir NV (Waitrose, £20.99) - Mary meant to buy their award winning vintage one @ £24.99 but it was sold out
C - Simsonsig Cuvée Royale 2005 (sawinesonline.co.uk, £14.50)
D - Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blancs 2008 (sawinesonline.co.uk, £13.99)

Chateau Meyney 1989, Chateau Canon de Brem 1998

A couple of fine clarets to go with the steak. The meal lasted from 7pm to midnight followed by more chat till 2 in the morning, past my normal bedtime.

Five people stayed over so I am grateful that the local launderette does a service wash for all the bedding otherwise the house would still be festooned with sheets and duvet covers.

Puglia - the rest of the holiday

In between my 60th birthday party and the wine harvest there was a lot of eating, drinking and having a good time.

Friday: We started as soon as the plane landed by going straight from the airport to Pizzeria Pizz Birr in Locorotondo, as we landed quite late, arriving at the restaurant just before 10pm.



They do real crisps - thin slices of potato deep fried. They are delicious and make those things in packets sold as crisps look like third rate impostors. Home for a night cap and the revelation that it was Geraldine's 60th birthday on the Sunday. We thought it was around then but she had kept the exact date quiet.

Sunday: Was my birthday party (qv) with a cake for Geraldine as well.

Monday: We hosted a barbecue for thirteen. The ice cream parlours will sell you tubs of ice cream in various sizes of insulating, polystyrene containers which makes the dessert course easy.



Tuesday: We went down to the coast for our mandatory visit to La Rotonda da Rosa for sunbathing and a seafood lunch.



Wednesday: Geraldine and Alisdair left. That evening we went round to Kathy and Richard's for an aperitif and to show our friends the wonderful job they have done in renovating their place. Followed by supper at Il Giardino.



Thursday: Andrea and Allen, and Tim and Sarah all left and we were down to two guests.



Friday: The obligatory trip to the world heritage site of Alberobello.



That evening a crowd of us went to Il Baretto, Martina Franco, for a meal cooked by Chris's Pilates teacher who as doubles as a caterer and was showing off some new recipes. She took over the venue and friends all signed up as paying guinea pigs.

Saturday: Barbara left and a quiet evening in with Andrea.

Sunday: Grape picking (qv)

Monday: Relaxing.

Tuesday: Andrea left and we were down to just us.

Wednesday: A trip to the nearest big DIY store (Leroy-Marlin) in search of a washing line pole.

Thursday: Installed washing line pole, relaxed and went to view some properties for sale in Cisternino old town. Went for cocktail and decided to make an offer on one. That had not exactly been on the plan for this trip!

Friday: Signed a Compromesso - a legal contact - and arranged for the deposit to be transferred to our Italian bank account. I will blog later when the deal is sealed, with the full back story.

Saturday: Home to start some serious Flickr and blogging.

20121006-puglia-60th-other, a set on Flickr.