Blogs from England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Chat Ham /Chath Am - we pondered on the pronounciation of the town on the Medway. Of course it is Chat Ham we said . But being Welsh the th could be pronounced slightly differently . Did a Man of Kent say it one way and a Kentish man the other ? That was the chat over a large meal in the restaurant attached to the Premier Inn. A meal of fish and chips and a steak and ale pie for me. Sadly no brocolli and I was looking forward to that . A pudding rounded it off . A large glass , scoop of ice cream , Cadburys buttons , lots of cream and a dousing of chocolate sauce . We slept well . For a Premier Inn it was quiet , the bed hard ... read more

200 steps and not a mention of health and safety . 200 steps in total darkness. 200 steps rising from the depths of the donjon to the open roof . I think I prefer the French word rather than our word - a keep. 200 very narrow steps cantilevered and well worn . A small rope for a handrail . We were still annoyed with the volunteer in the cathedral who complained to Glenn about standing on two steps and just glared at me for the climbing the lot for a view in the Quire . No I had not seen the sign . Perhaps it was there to stop the likes of you and me - those who had not paid for a guided tour from seeing the quire . It rankled . It annoyed ... read more

So and thе еvеnin' bеforе I dеpart and I am sittin' hеrе. I quickly rеalizеd that I didn't havе еnough undеrpants an' quickly tossеd somе on top of my backpack. Thе problеm liеs in transfеrrin' thе backpack from thе floor to my back; it is complеtеly doablе whеn it is on my back. I supposе I could probably squat down an' gеt it on and but if I fеll flat on my facе whilе only tryin' to pick up my pursе and I think my lеgs would havе major problеms. I would also probably losе somе dignity.... On thе bright sidе and I can officially consign my Blackbеrry to thе box of shamе (situatеd on my dеsk insidе a box along with my papеrwork an' a pair of 3D glassеs) an' givе it a full six ... read more

Air India to Air Concerns - Piprey Feb 2024 The pleasure is in the journey but those travellers were probably not born in the current age and experienced Air India. Here is to the pleasure of Incredible Indias' premier airlines, Air India which fulfills the promise of transporting passengers across the globe but with quite some interesting derogations. Flight from London Heathrow to Kolkata for Durga pooja Like a swarm of bees, the world descends to Kolkata for Durga pooja, the biggest cultural festival for the Bengali community. Among the thousands, I had carefully booked an Air India flight from London Heathrow to Kolkata via Delhi. Despite being a key metro, Air India does not have any direct flights from London to Kolkata. Outbound flight delay I arrived at London Heathrow airport, well in time only ... read more

When you live in the same place for a while it is hard sometimes to think of places to visit . You find you have done them all. Sometimes more than once . The choice of places to look at diminishes over time or the distance between each becomes too great for a day trip out. There is something to be said for moving home on a regular basis . Perusing the local maps doesn't always give you new ideas. Trawling through the internet draws blanks . Sometimes I find somewhere we have not been to but it is either too far to drive to or the weather puts us off . February is an inclement month . We can expect frosty nights or exceptionally mild ones . We may get high winds or torrential rain. ... read more