Travel 2016 – Helsinki, Day 5

Day 5, Saturday 9th July Moose count = 1 moose fillet, 0 live moose Saturday saw a somewhat early start as we were booked on a walking tour with Happy Guide Helsinki and they were kicking off at 10:00am at the Vanha Kauppahalli. We arrived with 20 minutes to spare and so wandered into the…

Travel 2016 – Helsinki, Day 4

Day 4, Friday 8th July – Helsinki Moose = 1 bronze moose, 1 stuffed moose, 0 live moose The ferry disembarcation was quick and efficient and after a drive into the city that had us wondering where everyone was, we were in Helsinki and parking up by the hotel within 30 minutes, a fact much…

Food 2016 – Le Gavroche, London

Monday, May 9th 2016 – Le Gavroche, London So after what feels like years of completely failing to get a table at Le Gavroche an invitation came through to attend a celebratory event there. I just needed to reply quickly to the email and hope I was faster than anyone else. I was! I paid…

Travel 2016 – S’Hertogenbosch, Vught, Day 2

Friday, March 4th 2016 – Day 2  (S’Hertogenbosch, Vught) A good night’s sleep and we woke to decidedly inclement weather, unfortunately. However, breakfast was in the dry of the hotel undercroft. It was a fairly impressive buffet, though it did come with the semi-compulsory egg that is a feature of everywhere I’ve ever stayed in…

Travel 2015 – Bruges, Day 2

Sunday, December 13th 2015 – Bruges So it was up and at ’em pretty promptly on Sunday morning as we wanted to see as much as possible. It was a ridiculously mild morning so after breakfast in the somewhat disappointing breakfast room (which felt more like an institutional cafeteria than a dining room in what…

Travel 2015 – London, Bruges, Day 1

Saturday, 12th December 2015 – London, Bruges This trip came about because we’d fancied a “Christmas Markets” type weekend away in the run up to Christmas and as I was hunting for something that appealed a deal came up for a Eurostar and hotel package at a price that was too good to walk away…

Food 2014 – Baltic Bar and Restaurant, London

So after the harrowing experience that was the Crucible at the Old Vic, we figured dinner and a couple of drinks might well be necessary. With this is mind I had reserved a table at Baltic which is but a short, stunned lurch from the theatre. We’ve eaten there before and find that the food,…

Theatre/Food 2011 – Playboy of the Western World, Baltic, London…

Saturday, 21st August 2011 -Old Vic Theatre, Baltic, London I NEVER win anything. Never. That said, after 51 years where the only thing I ever won was a set of spoons (don’t ask) this last 12 months I’ve been having far more success. £100 there, a Waitrose Christmas cake here, tickets for the Ideal Home…

Travel 2011 – Macau, Hong Kong, Days 10 and 11

Monday 21st November Considering the lateness of the night before, I was surprised to wake up around 08:00, and even more surprised that I actually felt well enough to have breakfast. Lynne refused to move so I went alone, wondering if the rest of the party would make it or not. They did and we…