Blogs from Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

There are a number of towns and locations throughout England, that are synonymous with a specific sport or activity. Wembley = Football. Silverstone = Formula 1. Twickenham = Rugby Union. Wimbledon = Tennis. We are stood in a small, rural market town in Leicestershire, but how many would have figured it to be the epicentre of European fox hunting until just a few years ago? I appreciate that the very idea is alien to most of us urban dwelling types and is now but a distant memory after the 2005 ban. I am more in tune with the urban fox, plodding the streets of our locality in search of a tasty morsel to keep the family. He was more likely to be seen cursing the introduction of the plastic wheelie bin, than looking over his shoulder ... read more

The approaches to Leicester city centre were all quiet on a very mild Sunday morning. I ignored the directional signs that take you round by London and carried on down Belgrave Road. Belgrave Road is often referred to as the Golden Mile. The area is the centre of the Asian community and has a high density of jewellery shops, We skirted the railway station, headed up London Road and parked in De Montfort Square. The parking meters were conveniently not required and only requiring to be fed between Monday to Saturday. This part of the city centre is characterised by the residences built by the rich in the Georgian and early Victorian era. A statue of a Robert Hall stands at the south end of De Montfort Square. He was a 19th-century Baptist minister, who campaigned ... read more

Today we managed to stay local. Breedon on the Hill has a church built on the site of an old monastery with parts of it dating back to the 600s. There was a fabulous view of the surrounding countryside. I was really surprised to see this was still a functioning church and we met the vicar is we wandered around it. They had little pews which all had little gates to shut you in (or out?). Tombs all around the periphery and in the walls they had preserved some of the very ancient Celtic carvings from the original building that had been destroyed. Outside was the graveyard and we were able to decipher gravestones from the 1700s. There had been a priory at the base of the hill so the monks would have had a steep ... read more

Day 3 Sunday We joined Jeremy and Robin going to church in nearby Coalville and were treated like celebrities (being relatives of Robin’s). This was father’s day over here and Miriam had booked a table for lunch in Leicester. We went to the Cosy Club, we’d been there in our last visit in 2015, it’s in an old converted knitting factory, fantastic venue. They have a whole separate vegan menu yummmm. I went all out - 3 courses and wine, managed to get a photo of the smoked aubergine Tagline, the chocolate torte went down the hatch! Beautifully presented and so tasty! The plan had been to explore the cathedral afterwards but our lunch ran very late and it was closed by the time we got out. Miriam thought it would be nice to watch a ... read more

The arrival The wheelchair duly arrived for Mum in Birmingham airport with 2 very friendly and quite funny chaps there - one young fellow being inducted and shadowing the other. The younger chap was very chatty and we got quite a lot of his life story! Arriving at the luggage carousel, the only luggage that came around were the same 2 suitcases which circulated about 3 times. This was depressing, some other luggage finally arrived but it was from Frankfurt, the flight after ours - so off to the lost luggage counter - sure enough ours was still in Zurich. Forms were completed and she said they could send it via Munich and we should get it that night. Rob and Jerry were waiting to collect us and we headed to Ibstock. We managed to hold ... read more