Down a long country lane near the town of Emsworth in Hampshire is the Church of St Thomas a Becket, Warblington. Many tourists would pass by on their way to Portsmouth without giving Warblington a second thought but we made the decision to stop as in the grounds of the cemetery lies one of New Zealand’s most famous sons. The all too early death of Sir Peter Blake in 2001 left the nation mourning for a man who had given so much for yachting and sport in NZ. His feats stand as great moments in New Zealand sporting history – namely his win on Steinlager 2 in the 89/90 Whitbread race, leading the country in winning the America’s Cup in 1995 and circumnavigating the world in record time on board Enza with ... read more

Our final shore excursion was to the port of Zeebrugge, an industrial looking town on Belgium’s coast. It had been two long days at sea since leaving Helsinki, which had passed by with much ease. Long held plans to complete activities and attend lectures and shows while we crossed the last of the Baltic Sea and entered the North Sea had not come to fruition. In fact if truth be known we filled our time without doing much. Reading, watching movies and the designated eating seemed to make the time just fly by. I have come to like cruising because of this fact – you just don’t have to do much if you don’t want to. Stay in your cabin, read a good book, sit up on deck, watch the world go by – no one ... read more

St Petersburg is a city that has endured much but now appears to be a flourishing city that in recent years has moulded its Russian values with many Western European influences to become one of the most keenly visited tourist destinations in the world. In my last blog I called it the “Jewel in the Baltic Crown”. After visiting many of the Baltic region’s capitals in the past ten days I can only conclude the moniker is accurate. Sadly our two days in St Petersburg have come and gone as I am not sure I have experienced anything like it. I feel like we have lived within a museum for 48 hours as everything we experienced was simply stunning and drenched in historical interest. Few cities in the world have had to rebuild themselves to such ... read more

The last sixty miles as the ship heads to Oslo follows the stunning Oslofjord where hills rise up on each side of the ship and houses become more prevalent as you near the city. It was Diamond Jubilee Day (or another one) on the ship and when we entered the pool area we saw it had had been transformed overnight into a Village Fete scene with games and activities lining the pool. Thankfully none included getting into the pool. There were skittles, guess the weight of the cake, count the pound coins, name the artist, any number of other “village fete” games and a large amount of Pimms flowing. With many a Britpop anthem being played many got involved in the goings-on to try and win the prizes on offer. However, they struggled to grab my ... read more

Our first visit to Bromsgrove has drawn to a close and we are on the move again. It has been a wonderful stay with Kate and Al and their hospitality cannot be faulted. It has become quite the routine for me to pour Kate and Narelle a Pimms at 5pm to begin “sun downer” drinks and I think Kate may actually miss it. There is still a large bottle left so when we next visit we can continue to assist in its disposal. I am not sure how much Pimms will be consumed in the UK this summer but I would expect a great deal as everywhere you look it is being advertised. It being a very British summer drink its presence at Jubilee functions, Wimbledon and the Olympics is expected and often welcomed. I am ... read more

I had nearly forgotten how fantastic Big School at Ellesmere is. It is the original school building and still has the stunning high wooden ceilings and stained glass windows in the end wall. It is also home to one of only six Shultz organs in the UK; the organ that is traditionally played at the Leavers’ Ball at the end of the Summer Term along with concerts throughout the year. Over the past few years the school has installed many of the Games and House boards from around the school to centralise that part of school life. You can now sit there and read the names of past Headmasters, Cricket and Rugby Captains, Captains of School and Colour recipients. Around the top of the walls are the Shooting teams dating back to early last century. It ... read more