Blogs from Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 3

Advertisement


Breakfast in the Travelodge and then on the bikes and we were off - a little later start today about 10am and to be honest the views and scenery not quite as luxurious as yesterday. In short the route we were taking was through the middle of the major conurbations of Birmingham and Coventry so whilst patches of good views, not really too much to report. A little bit on Pat who I know through playing football for Polytechnic in London - I have known him I think since about 1986 so a fair old time and his enthusiasm for all things is to be commended and is catching. I have a footballing friend called Pat Who can swamp you with his chat From family to politics he is very enthusiastic Everything is real and nothing ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Loughborough December 4th 2013

- It is perhaps fitting to have an entry and some photos for Loughborough, UK, where I spent the first half of the year in, doing my student exchange. A disclaimer: this entry will have little if not nothing to do with Loughborough, but rather a 5 months late entry that includes some of my reflections and retrospective thoughts on events that occur close to half a year back. - In the blink of an eye, close to half a year has passed since I returned back to Singapore! And yes, procrastination has had its way; till now, I have yet to post my adventures/stories on my Europe part II journey, a 1 and a half months trip taking me to the Scottish highlands, exotic Iceland, and the exciting lively cities of the Western European countries. ... read more
The school campus
Shuttle Bus
Soccer Field

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Market Harborough September 10th 2013

Getting very excited now, it's under 1 week until we leave the UK, to do a good bit of vagabonding.. it's been over 2 years in the making, and feels unreal that the trip is so close now....! Will miss everyone here so much, but looking forward to all thats to come, and keeping in contact with you all through this blog :) trying to prepare myself for the unknown... but as the wise old saying goes.. the best plan is no plan!... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire August 29th 2013

0 locks, 424 in total. We motored on to Sutton Cheney Wharf, at about the 11 mile marker, turned the boat around and moored. From here we could walk along footpaths to the Battle of Bosworth Heritage Centre and a battlefield walk. The Battle of Bosworth Field was the last battle in the Wars of the Roses – Yorkshire v Lancashire – white rose v red rose. Richard III, aka Richard of York, was on the throne and his forces were beaten by Henry, subsequently Henry VII, a Lancastrian and the first of the Tudor monarchs. So 1000 people died and the Plantagenet line ended on 22nd August 1485. Interestingly their Royal Standards didn't have roses on them – Richard III had a white boar and Henry Tudor a Welsh dragon. Richard III's body was found ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire August 28th 2013

0 locks, 424 in total. The Ashby Canal is an arm off the Coventry Canal, originally going to Ashby-de-la-Zouch and bringing coal into Coventry. It is a very wide canal, particularly when it didn't have a large amount of through traffic like the Grand Union. We met another boat in the only narrow and shallow part so far, of course. There are plenty of good moorings and boatyards so far; food shopping may not be so easy. The first section was through trees and bushes and really uninteresting. Then the outlook opened up as we went through farmland – not great long views but just the local fields – and oodles of pylons and cables all around. Hinckley has a large amount of new housing, a new marina and what looks like the start of a ... read more
Yet another clump of floating reeds.

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Hinckley June 26th 2013

I arrived a few days ago to meet up with Frances in Hinckley where we are staying with her sister, Pat. Between all the family lunches and dinners we managed to sneak away for an afternoon and visit Bosworth; the battlefield where in 1485 Richard III lost his life and crown to Henry VII. The remains of Richard III were found in August 2012 in an archaeological dig of the Greyfriars monastery under a town parking lot in Leicester, ironically marked with an "R" for reserved parking. DNA samples matching known living descendants of Richard III's sister gave the collaborative evidence to verify the identity of the skeletal remains. A facial reconstruction of Richard III has been developed from the skull by the University of Dundee and was on exhibit at the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Glenfield September 4th 2012

Well, we returned home by Friday evening, all buzzing from our trip......some unpacking, some food, and some seriously broken sleep marked the first night home....and indeed a post noon-awakening from our fitful first night back! Then a nice evening out with Paul, Caroline & Deborah before catching up with the Dr Who....all good.....and then another night where I slept but the children really didn't (& hence nor did Christine). Luckily we were off to the London Olympic Park for Sunday at the Paralympics....which was a tiring time: puzzled (& intrigued!) by the goalball, admiring the basketball & enjoying some tennis, all in all a Grand Day out..... & a return that saw us all get a reasonable night's sleep: jet-lag be gone! So a final look back.....USA 2012 has been a massive adventure for Family Walters. ... read more
Mike & Nick, 30 years on...
Mike & John, 10 years on....
We Made It!  (another 6am start...)

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Glenfield August 31st 2012

Every book has an ending, & so too will this blog. Wednesday evening soured a little when I received emails from United kindly telling me we were checked in: ooh goodie! But on opening their emails I soon discovered the buggers had ignored the fact that we had paid eight months ago to upgrade all our return seats to "economy plus", and had instead lobbed mine to the back of the craft. B'stards ! A phone call later and a nice chap called Phil explained it as "a computer glitch", and now he could only put me in the middle of a row. Oh great. We'll aim to get to the airport early and try to sort that out. ho hum.....bit of a low for our last tired evening to end on! Thursday dawned with the ... read more
Inside the Pez Museum - fascinating!
Largest Pez in the World (until Jan2012!)
Preston's Finest Shakes

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Glenfield July 26th 2012

Well, time flies......only seems yesterday when Christine & I got married on a beach in Mauritius with some friends & family around us, when suddenly we realised our son was heading towards his GCSE's (aged 16)....and we had never taken him or his sister to the States. Not even Disney. Disneyland Paris doesn't count ! Despite me having worked for US companies for almost 2 decades. Shocking really......bad parents! Anyway, the realisation hit us before Christmas, and we figured it was time to give them a taster of the USofA. Only we weren't too sure where to take them. I've seen 30+ States through work and student holiday jobs (travelling fun fair & tobacco picking !), and really wanted them to get the feel for how diverse the Country is. So we decided. Start on east ... read more
West Coast

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Leicester May 9th 2012

Well I am home. I have been for a week now actually. I have just been reluctant to write the final chapter of this little adventure because then it would truely all be over :-( My last couple of days were in Delhi. They were great, I saw the bits I missed previously and did some shopping. I met up with Aijan and we went on a tour of some of the poorer parts of the city together (not a slum tour as advertised by the lonely planet but interesting nonetheless). And we ate in nice places and I spent hours walking around all the little streets of the Pahar Ganj and just generally had a really good time. I could definately spend some more time in Delhi! I had to leave eventually however. :-( My ... read more




Tot: 0.181s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 8; qc: 97; dbt: 0.1056s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb