Blogs from Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

A tart or a pudding? Choices, choices. It is the burning question in the small Derbyshire market town of Bakewell. Always. The town is known for Bakewell Pudding - essentially a jam pastry with a filling that has been enriched with egg and ground almond. Meanwhile the Bakewell Tart is a different beast altogether. It is made with shortcrust pastry, an almond topping and a sponge and jam filling. The confectionery brand, Mr Kipling, confuse matters even further with their "Cherry Bakewells". Topped with icing and a glace cherry seemingly randomly plonked on top, we grew up with the product. Exceedingly good or so their advertising campaign would have you believe. The voice was instantly recognisable, the name behind it was not. The "Cherry Bakewells" of course were nothing to do with Bakewell. They were made ... read more

Gabby the motorhome is on her travels again . Not to anywhere exotic mind . Back to Clay Cross for an appointment with the dentist . It is a long way to travel but NHS dentists in Wales are rarer than hens teeth . If you find one you are lucky. More than likely you have to join a very long waiting list hoping to eventually move from private to the cheaper NHS. It begs the question why we pay in all these years to the NHS and cannot get a dentist for love nor money. Gabby is filled with three quarters of a tank of fuel so plenty to get to Derbyshire and back . This too is a blessing given that diesel prices are going through the roof . Inflation has pushed it up ... read more

Broadway A delightful village in the Cotswolds with its pretty High Street lined with horse chestnut trees and a mixture of period houses and picturesque honey coloured Cotswold stone cottages. As always, Ian delivers so many interesting facts & information. There were people on the tour who had either lived or stayed in Broadway & for one lady who was married in the beautiful church but now lives in Canada had a lovely surprise when her dad popped by the say hello The image of Broadway today remains as it has done for centuries; a charismatic spectacle of rolling wolds, overlooking a gathering of ancient honey coloured limestone period buildings with orderly horse chestnut trees lining the grass-fringed verges of the historic 'broad way' High Street.... read more

Well , Well , it's me Gabby . They have spent two nights sleeping in me. Two days preparing me for something . I am getting excited . We are on a journey I think . This time last year we were setting off for Christmas in France . Must be the same thing . Sadly Gabby was going to be disappointed . Our reason for sleeping in her was because we were on the verge of moving house . At last the bed had been taken down . That meant sleeping on the floor or in Gabby . We had boxed up all our belongings and had nowhere to cook . So that was the reason for being inside our motorhome. It felt good being in her even if we were not heading for a ... read more

Dear Covid diary - it is day 255 since BoJo called his first lockdown and here we are the first week of December and it feels that nothing much has changed . Yes we have a vaccine on the horizon and we got in pretty quick time . Vaccinations have started . If you are lucky enough or should it be unlucky enough to be over 80 and currently in hospital you get the jab . Health care workers are being vaccinated as we speak . But there is not enough to go round . A priority system has been adopted and we are way down the line . It is Tuesday . It is walk day . No news today on the house move. I headed off in the direction of New Tupton . The ... read more