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.

North Downs Way 05 - Otford to Cuxton

Kent Tuesday 28-February-2017.

Over a year since our last leg of the North Downs Way! An early start to catch the train down to Otford. First step was in fact backwards. We had to make a detour to see England's only Grade II listed pond.

Otford Pond

It was a glorious day for walking archtypical chalk downland and deservedly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We walked along several sunken lanes, not just on this day but on other legs of the walk. I love them, they speak to me of maybe Roman or prehistoric times and our ancestors crossing the ancient landscape. To walk in the footsteps of our predecessors is a real thrill.

Sometimes it is not such a thrill. Mostly the NDW follows the ridge but sometimes it dropped down to the bottom of the escarpment and then, of course, back up again. Here is a sight to make the heart sink.

We passed some lovely old timber-framed cottages.

The second of two milestones we passed on this day. "Farnham 71 miles, Dover 54 miles". So we are well over half way. I am not planning to do the Canterbury loop. The NDW intersects or runs concurrent with the Pilgrims' Way at several points but we are doing the NDW not the PW.

The last stretch was a mile and a half off the NDW to get to the nearest train station at Cuxton and a well earned snooze on the train home.

This leg: 17 miles
Total so far: 78 miles

Claire Martin at Ronnie Scott's

London, England. Monday 16-January-2017. 

Not really.  

The Other Place 04 - Kitchen and Bathrooms

Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Friday 03-February-2017.

This trip was all about the kitchen and bathrooms - well shower rooms actually. We arrived to discover the scaffolding up and the work progressing at a cracking rate.

Corso Umberto I

Via la Fiera

For the kitchen we had options from the designer Scavolini kitchen from Euromobili, via a custom built version from a local carpenter to the cheap-and-cheerful option from Conforama (more like a B&Q kitchen). In the end we went for the latter.

The "design committee" 

A couple of days later we went back to discover that the builder's brother had preemptively started building stone walls where the units were to go. We'd been thinking of wooden carcass not stone so he had to demolish his little walls.

The new staircase and shower-room walls are replastered and the concrete steps stone-clad.

Stairs to terrace and door to shower room

Stairs to the terrace

The roof had been curved because of the two barrel vaults below. Now it is levelled with lightweight, expanded clay granules and a floor laid over that. I had been concerned about extra weight but the granules are not too heavy and provide some useful thermal insulation.

The roof terrance

Inside the two ceilings in the public rooms (living room and kitchen/diner) are now sand-blasted, re-pointed and looking lovely.

Living room ceiling

Dining room

What was the family bathroom is now the utility room. The old bath has gone and will be replaced by a laundry sink and a washing machine.

Utility room

The small bedroom was way too small so we demolished the internal non-structural walls and reinstated them further over giving us a decent sized bedroom, a shower room and reduced the wasted corridor space to a minimum. It also enabled us to repair the arches which had been mangled by the previous walls.

Small bedroom

The terrace is a bit of a building site for equipment storage but they have carved out a niche to house the new boiler. The Italians very sensibly like to install boilers on the outside - greatly reduced risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Terrace with new niche for boiler

After a major planning session we repaired to our local cafe for coffee.

As well as all that we also decided on all the shower room fittings - two of everything please. After that we headed off to Bologna for a well earned city break.

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen at Ronnie Scotts

Soho,London. Thursday 26-January-2016.

A birthday treat for Mary - some New Orleans jazz

The Times had this to say about Jon Cleary's first appearance at Ronnies:

"It was the kind of sultry, groove-drenched New Orleans masterclass you always hope the fabled voodoo master Dr John will deliver, but which, sadly, he seldom does nowadays. And, irony of ironies, it was an English expat from deepest Kent whooping it up at the keyboard.
[...]
Cleary himself, who has a confident blue-eyed soul voice, switched between electric and acoustic keyboard on songs that often slipped into a sanctified gospel beat. His version of Junker’s Blues gave him the opportunity to stretch out at the piano and demonstrate his mastery of the New Orleans tradition." [Full review...]

Happy Birthday!

Great British Rock & Blues Festival 2017

Butlins, Skegness. Friday 20-January-2017 to Sunday 22-January-2017

When we told people we were going to Butlins, in Skegness, in January our friends were startled. When we explained it was for the Great British Rock and Blues Festival 2017 they were a little more understanding. I was a little dubious myself. Those winds off the North Sea can be chilly - not for nothing is the slogan "Skegness is SO bracing".

It makes sense that Butlins have moved into the off season music festival business. There are no holiday makers, they have the accommodation, the restaurants, the venues all sitting empty otherwise.

We drove up with a boot full of food as we decided to go the self catering route. The timetable meant eating at slight out-of-sync times so we thought that would work best. The accommodation was far grander than I was expecting. Certainly not the cabins of yore and popular imagination. They were substantial two storey, terraced buildings albeit timber-framed and very commodious.

The seating was "night club" style. Lots of round tables with chairs, unreserved so you sat where you could and moved forward as people came and went between, or during, the acts.

There were three venues (Jaks, Reds, Centre Stage) and a stage in the main foyer (Skyline) for up and coming acts. We spend most of our time at the Reds stage which, ironically, was mostly dedicated to blues acts.

This is the full list of the acts we got to see, * for acts we liked, ** for acts we really liked.

Fri 20 Jan
Fran McGillvray Band (Jaks)
Giles Robson band ft Billy Branch *, Magic Dick, James Harman (Reds)
Snafu (Centre Stage)

Sat 21 Jan
Tom Walker Trio (Skyline)
Matt Edwards Band * (Skyline)
Southbound (Skyline)
Amy Eftekhari (Skyline)
Marcia Ball (Reds)
Catfish ** (Jaks)
Moreland and Arbuckle * (Reds)
Toronzo Cannon * (Reds)

Sun 22 Jan
Lil Jimmy Reed * (Reds)
Jo Ann Kelly (Jaks)
Dave Kelly and Paul Jones * (Reds)
Elles Bailey ** (Skyline)
David Knofler Band (Reds)
The Blues Band * (Reds)

Friday

Fran McGillvray Band:

Saturday

Tom Walker Trio:

Skyline was the foyer stage for lesser known acts. The most voted for act got to be invited back next year to perform on one of the main stages.

Matt Edwards Band:

Amy Eftekhari:

Bruce Iglauer, founder of Alligator Records, did a fascinating question and answer session. Really interesting to here all manner of anecdotes about the musicians he has discovered and nurtured.

Marcia Ball:

Catfish were the discovery of the event. Very talented.

Moreland and Arbuckle:

Toronzo Cannon:

Sunday

Lil Jimmy Reed:

Dave Kelly and Paul Jones: I learned that the best harmonicas in the world are made in  small village in Lincolnshire - by Antony Dannecker.

Elles Bailey: We liked her.

For proper reviews of the bands see one of the following:

• Great British Rock and Blues Festival
• Review for some of THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES Skeggie 2017 [pdf]
• Great British Rock & Blues festival, Butlins Skegness 2017 review

More fun event than I had expected. So much so we have signed up 2018.

Claire Martin at Ronnie Scotts

Soho, London. Monday 16-January-2017.

With the James Pearson Quintet and the Tippett Quartet - celebrating Shirley Horn.

The Times writes:
"The best British singer of her generation brought together a quintet and a poised string section to pay tribute to the American singer and pianist.
[...]
Her Soho set, which brought together a quintet led by the house pianist James Pearson and a poised string section, was often more affecting than some of the overly lush recordings that Horn made in her final years." [Full review...]

Though obviously a class act in her chosen genre personally I found it a bit too schmaltzy, crooner ballad-like. Still you don't know till you've tried it.

Liane Carroll's Cold Turkey! at Ronnie Scotts

Soho, London. 26-December-2016.

A Boxing day treat to relax after the not-so-excesses of Christmas.Mary and I spent Christmas apart, she with her Mum, me with mine. They are both getting on and getting frailer. Best to spend quality time with them while we can.

This was our belated Christmas meal. Mary flew down from Glasgow and straight to Ronnie Scotts to see Liane Carroll.

No photos because I obey Ronnie's "no photography" request so here is one from Liane's Facebook page.

I remember we enjoyed the show but the memory all gets a bit fuzzy now.