Blogs from Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

I checked my options for the day in Stratford. The Number 1 option on a well known travel website came up as Cannock Chase .... close, but not exactly Stafford. The Number 2 option was Shugborough. I can't disagree that it is impressive .... indeed my blog bears testament. However again, not exactly Stafford. The theme continues with Number 3 option of Boscobel House. We are clutching at straws here. The bolthole of the future CharIes II in the English Civil War isn't even in Staffordshire, let alone Stafford. The refuge of royalty after the Battle of Worcester is actually in Shropshire. The destination was non-negotiable regardless. We were heading to Stafford. The longest away trip of the season for the Marske United Canine Crew is Stafford Rangers. 181 miles one way. The Northern Premier League ... read more

And so we came home. We left the campsite early enough to hopefully get the earlier ferry as we had on the way out.....ha ha sometimes things don't go the way we expect ? I'ts qute a few years since we have left France from Calais docks. We have most recently used the Chunnel or Dieppe to Newhaven. Calais has grown even bigger since our last visit. It has also acquired some slightly confusing directional signs.. if you are not accustomed to them. We were concentrating on the ferry we were to use Irish Ferries. Didn't want to accidentally get DFDS or heaven forbid P&O. So we followed the signs to our type of ferry. We should have followed the much smalller vehicle signage but hindsight is wonderful isn't it ? So we found ourselves in ... read more

It's been a long winter. We always find them so which is why, for as many years as we can remember, we have packed our cases at the beginning of February and headed for the airport. Most recently Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Vietnam. Singapore, Istanbul and the last one South Africa in 2020. Covid put a stop to a 2021 trip and to be honest if we hadn't gone to South Africa when we did we would never have gone because by the time we came back Covid was on the loose. We've only holidayed in England since and swapped our motorhome set up from our beloved Tandy and Kisbee scooter to a lovely Chausson and a towed Smart Car aka Smart Arse. We had 8 weeks of motorhome holiday in 2021 all in England which ... read more

Been quite a whirl this last couple of weeks since we got home from our Suffolk and Norfolk trip. Been busy making my Joysofglass glass ready for what will hopefully soon be the pre-Christmas rush and also trying to keep the garden in full bloom so it last through to October. Bob has been doing lots of jobs here and there, fortunately he is very handy. Don't think we have stopped for more than a minute and now we are all ready for the next trip. In normal times we would be heading down to the South of France for a month of warm sunshine but these are not normal. For the moment we are staying in the UK and taking care. We've got this far, not going to stumble just to get a bit of ... read more

I have just walked through the same door as Mick Jagger. Well, it is technically true - but a few decades after him. I am in the private apartment of Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, better known to the world as photographer Patrick Lichfield. Lichfield inherited the sprawling family estate at Shugborough in Staffordshire in 1960. His father predeceased him and his grandfather passed on just 2 years later. The untimely demise left unpaid death duties and so the family home passed into the hands of the National Trust. The house was subdivided by agreement, so Lichfield could maintain a home here and he secured a 99 year lease on a modest set of rooms. Well, not exactly modest. We are not talking 2 bedroom apartment. Lichfield left the army in 1962 and instead of ... read more