A night in a Tipi

Last saturday I was lucky enough to experience spending a night in a tipi.

The whole reason was for a surprise birthday for a friend of ours, who I must add seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself!

The tipi's were provided by http://www.deepdalefarm.co.uk/tipis/index.asp who also have other camping & hostel available on site. Deepdale is situated just north Burnham Market, on the North Norfolk coast, in one of the most picturesque areas of the Norfolk coastline.

Each tipi will accommodate 6 people, will plenty of space spare. A chimera is provided in each, which when lit will provide sufficient heat to keep everyone warm. Provided for each person is a faux fur sleeping mat, of which is extremely comfortable, all you need is a sleeping bag or duvet.

I would highly recommend spending a night or two in a tee pee if you get the chance. As it provides all the fun elements or camping but with out any of the setting up required with conventional camping.

Must be getting old . . .

I have decided while sitting here on the train that I must be getting old.

I've come to this conclusion as sitting at the table next to me are 3 teenagers, who are very openly & loud enough for the whole carriage to hear, who's with who, why they don't like so-in-so & why their on a 'break' with they're respective partners.

Now I know this is just regular teenager behaviour but up until this point it hasn't bothered me. Today however - I just wish they'd grow up!

God I sounds old - I'll be smoking a pipe & wearing slippers next!

The Fat Cat - Ipswich

Last night I discovered on of those little gems you hear about nestled among the urban sprawl of our nation.

The Fat Cat pub, situated on Spring Rd in Ipswich, is one of the few remaining pubs who stocks a good selection of real ales.

From the quirkiness of having two entrance door, yes confusing enough before you've even sampled the ale, through to seemingly providing plates for the consumption of take away food.

I would highly recommend a visit to soak up the atmosphere & educate your palate in the joys of real ale.

http://www.fatcatipswich.co.uk/index.cfm

For the want of some energy

I'm writing this sat on the train waiting for it to depart, providing my commute home, after a day in the office.

While sitting here my thoughts turn to the lack of energy I have & how hard even the shorter part that I cycle felt, let alone the 2.5 miles at the other end, that I still have in front of me!

Now I know I've had a few late nights over the weekend but surely I should be ok by now.
I also have noticed recently that I've been putting weight on, despite the cycling to work each day. It's quite depressing really when you've been a certain weight for the past 8 years, skinny without an ounce of fat & then suddenly a STOMACH & no energy to boot!

So . . . I've decided that's it! As I'm getting married next year, it's time to do something about it all & loose this belly that somehow has sneaked up on me. I haven't actually worked out how yet, minor technicality, but I am determined to do so.

So if anyone has any great diets or exercise regimens - then please leave me a comment below!

Wish me luck

Sudden Realisation

After a having my future mother in law stay with us for a long weekend, during which my other half & her went wedding dress shopping & we had a second viewing of the venue. It has brought on a crashing sense of reality & the sheer scale of trying to organise a wedding, despite the fact it's not until next August!

Due to the fact we both fell in love with a venue situated directly on the coast, stumbling distance onto the beach. Which on its own doesn't sound like an issue, until you realise it's one of the most popular holiday destinations in the area & we're trying to book during the busiest week of the year. Now do you see my dilemma!

Another note for anyone who's reading this & about to or are organising a wedding - A Registra.
Now this might be something you immediately think of but is crucial to having a wedding full stop.

Granted I've only spent one day trying to get hold of my local office but even in that one day, five phone calls later, I'm already finding it frustrating - so be patient & prepared for it to take time to get through to them.

Right I'm sure as time continues I will be posting lots more regarding wedding preparations but for the time being I'm signing off . . .

British Grand Prix 2010

Well it's that time of the year again & in my eyes the most important sporting event in the calender each year, the British Grand Prix. This year it has had more publicity than usual due the controversial battle Donnington  Park placed to win the prestigious British Grand Prix & secondly due to the clash with the World Cup Final.

In the end Silverstone has had a face lift & created an arena section to liven things up a bit, allowing it to keep the GP. Which in my opinion is the only place it should be held.

I'm still holding out for a British victory on home soil but has Red Bull has locked out the front row & the best the English could do was 4th place, by Hamilton, I'm not holding my breath!

As the season has proved so far, this is a highly unpredictable championship - so roll on the starting grid & settle down to what could be a memorable British Grand Prix 2010  

Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

The next generation of referral selling is on us - instead of having the current adverts relating to blog topics being shown, you can now directly link to a purchase page within Amazon for the product you are reviewing/recomending.

For an interesting article on how this works & getting started with the associates programe, please read the article below

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

A book for your holidays

It's that time of year again - everyone starts jetting off on holidays to shores afar. This raises the old question of how to entertain ones self during the flight or on the beach.

A favorite of mine is to pass the time with a good book - especially if it's written about the destination I'm visiting. Although I haven't actually visited the island these books are referring to, I can highly recommend reading them if your after a good laugh, and the afterwards the desire to visit in order to sample his experiences first hand.

I am referring to 'McCarthy's Bar:A Road of Discovery in Ireland' written by Pete McCarthy, with 'The road to McCarthy' & the third in the series, of which I haven't yet had the chance to read but looking forward to doing so, 'The Road to McCarthy: Around the world in search of Ireland'.

In each of these books, the story is told in the style of a diary of his experiences, adventures & mishaps - all in the search of his roots. These books had me laughing with each page & left me with a burning desire to visit Ireland & explore it's many hidden treasures.

In my opinion well worth a read

That old Cliché

I'm afraid I'm going to have to comment on the time old Cliché that is the British weather!

Now I know this is the sort of topic retired people are supposedly meant to chat about all day, I say supposedly as all the retired people I've met have a better social life than I do!

The thing is though, what still amazes me is the fact that as a developed country & a suppsoed learned nation,no one can cope with a small change in the weather.

I'm not about to start preaching about climate change & global warming, your responsibility to cut your carbon footprint & to recycle everything & anything you potentially will bin. I think we get enough of that from the government & media, that one more blog on the subject won't make much difference. My point is, if there are more than two days of warmth & sunshine, suddenly Britain is in a heatwave & the whole nation stockpiles on fans, BBQ's, sun cream & enough beer to keep the brewery in profit for the remainder of the year. Then there's the ghost white people who insist in wandering through the street with their tops off, who you'll see the next day looking bright red as they've burnt themselves.

On the other end of the scale, if the tiniest amount of snow falls, the country stops! The supermarket shelves are stripped bare with people panic buying, those are the lucky ones who can get out of their front doors, as businesses grind to a halt as 98% of the workforce are 'stuck' at home, choosing to throw snowballs at each other instead of carrying out the day job.

Interestingly the only weather us Brits seem to cope with is rain & overcast skies, even then you don't stop hearing people complaining about it! Amazing really as one of the most developed countries in the world, a little bit of weather can send us back to pre-historic times - now I'm off to enjoy the sun!

The Daily Comute

Part of the fun & games of a daily comute on public transport is when it all goes wrong!

For example for the last two days there has been various delays -

Yesterday there was a delay due to power cables coming down on the line
Today major delays as London Liverpool Street station was closed last night due to fire & then this morning a lineside fire, due to some muppet stealing power cables, caused even further hold ups

So the real question is - what's going to happen tomorrow?!