Malaga

A winter escape to Málaga unfolds with dry humour and gentle mishaps: storms, sleepless nights, Brexit bureaucracy, stubborn machines, and unexpected cold. Madam’s meticulous ways contrast with the narrator’s wry observations as they explore museums, beaches, queues, and cafés, finding warmth mainly in food and shared amusement.

Las Palmas

‘I don't want to go on camel rides, do you?’ asks Madam. ‘Umm,’ I reply, ‘I remember donkey rides on the beach, but not camels, my sweet.’ ‘I don’t want to visit the crocodile park, do you?’ ‘Crocodiles? No, I'm fairly certain there aren't any crocodiles in Eastbourne. It would have been in the paper … Continue reading Las Palmas →

A Week in Tenerife

The skies are leaden, there is a fine drizzle. A northerly wind, which the weatherman describes as blustery, blows a fine rain horizontally. He says, with masterful understatement, that it will feel a little chilly today. Spring seems late this year. No daffodils, to me the first sign of spring, are showing. I recently bought … Continue reading A Week in Tenerife →

Cambridge

We haven't had much of a summer this year. A grey cold damp winter flowed seamlessly into an equally grey summer, albeit warmer, with only a few sunny days. Our recent trip to Norfolk had been damp and cold. Normally, we would book somewhere with guaranteed sunshine, but overseas travel has meant a confusing mass … Continue reading Cambridge →

Norfolk

We can see Norwich cathedral from our hotel bedroom window. Actually, I'm being a little generous. If we stand by the window and peer sideways we can see the spire over a brick wall and a building or two. We normally stay in one of the budget hotel chains but, invariably, find ourselves fronting a … Continue reading Norfolk →

Glastonbury and Wells

We’ve been lucky with the weather the last two weeks. We have had the odd shower but it has been mostly dry and warm. As we headed into the outskirts of Glastonbury the following morning the rain started. It was a steady light rain that signalled its intention to go nowhere fast. We parked at one end of … Continue reading Glastonbury and Wells →

Cheddar Cheese

“It doesn’t taste anything like American cheese!” exclaimed Madam. We were heading to Wells in Somerset for a couple of days and stopped off at Cheddar on the way and, after a brief look at the end of the gorge, had gone in to the only cheese shop to actually make Cheddar cheese in Cheddar. … Continue reading Cheddar Cheese →

Padstow and Newquay

Madam had wanted to visit Padstow for some time, mostly because it is the home of a celebrity chef. I couldn’t find a single hotel in Padstow with availability that wouldn’t make my credit card squeal with pain, so I booked one in nearby Weybridge for a couple of nights. After checking in to the hotel, … Continue reading Padstow and Newquay →

Minack Theatre to St Michael’s Mount

Madam was sitting on Thracian Horses 1969 and I was on King Richard III 1969. I moved to Twelfth Night 1970 for a better view of the practicing orchestra and she came to sit beside me on South Pacific 1970. We had stopped at the Minack Theatre on the way back from Land’s End. In 1929, a local … Continue reading Minack Theatre to St Michael’s Mount →

Land’s End and a Snow Globe

The sea spray splattered my glasses and the wind tugged at my hair causing it to stick up in an unusually expressive and interesting manner. I looked like a cross between a mad scientist and just plain mad. I zipped up my jacket. “Amazing! It’s like something from National Geographic!” Madam shouted above the wind. She was pointing … Continue reading Land’s End and a Snow Globe →