More geocaching

The Active 10 GPS unit took us to this point behind St.Mary's church. A lovely spot overlooking the M1 which you can just see in the distance (click picture to enlarge).
















As I'm new to this game I always use the optional hidden clue on the website. This clue said, "Four feet up. Angle iron angle".
Here's the angle iron, and the 35mm film canister was lodged between this and the ivy on the hedge...
















Here's the canister and 'log book' which I duly signed and dated.
All good fun, eh? Good reason for a walk in the country I guess.

Hyde Hall - Part 2

Hyde Hall

At the weekend we dodged the showers very successfully and visited the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Hyde Hall in Essex. They are about 5 miles south-east of Chelmsford, at Rettendon. Don't try putting the postcode into your sat-nav as it will deny its existence!















Lots of colour at this time of year.

There's a huge amount of development going on with a new visitor centre and very large car parks nearing completion. No doubt there will be a large shop and tearoom as well?

Verulamium Park - St.Albans

Of course, on a nice sunny day, you can't beat a walk around the lake in Verulamium Park.















Possibly calling in at The Fighting Cocks?






























And enjoying a pint (or two) in the garden.

Celebrations!

Friday evening - Juniors cricket match














Saturday evening - Seniors cricket match - with scoreboard!

Farmers Boy No.2

You've had details of two pubs called 'The Globe' and then one pub called 'The Farmers Boy' which is in St.Albans - here's the second Farmers Boy to complete the set. This one is in Kensworth near Whipsnade Zoo.















This could be an idea for visiting pubs - a pair with the same name.
On second thoughts...do I need an excuse to visit a pub?

How hard can it be ...

... to get a package from Germany to England?

Well, this hard if you use U.P.S. couriers:

You have to read from the bottom upwards, by the way.

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
LUTON,GB
20/04/2009
15:17
DELIVERED

20/04/2009
9:38
THE RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 1ST DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

20/04/2009
5:01
OUT FOR DELIVERY

20/04/2009
4:15
DESTINATION SCAN
LUTON,GB
18/04/2009
6:00
ARRIVAL SCAN
BARKING,GB
18/04/2009
2:39
DEPARTURE SCAN
BARKING,GB
17/04/2009
18:48
IMPORT SCAN

17/04/2009
14:21
ARRIVAL SCAN
HERNE-BOERNIG,DE
17/04/2009
6:41
DEPARTURE SCAN
HERNE-BOERNIG,DE
16/04/2009
22:47
ARRIVAL SCAN
BREMEN,DE
16/04/2009
20:15
DEPARTURE SCAN

16/04/2009
16:46
ORIGIN SCAN
DE
16/04/2009
21:05
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED
Tracking results provided by UPS: 21/04/2009 9:47 ET

Post 101

I seem to have made 100 posts to this blog since retiring on
New Year's Eve 2008/9.
This is post 101.
Here is a list of the non-UK visitors to the blog during that time:

Oslo: Lisbon, Lisboa: Lima: Piracicaba, Sao Paulo: Brazil: Jakarta, Jakarta Raya: Shanghai: Saint Louis, Missouri: Bilbao, Pais Vasco: Bloomingdale, Illinois: Madrid: Bucharest, Bucuresti: Milan, Lombardia: Espoo, Southern Finland: Ingersheim, Alsace: Baarn, Urtecht: Angra, Azores: Gurgaon, Haryana: New Zealand: Evora, Evora: Bangkok, Krung Thep: Montpellier, Languedoc-Rousillon: Florence, Toscana: Bogota, Cundinamarca: Warsaw, Warszawa: Bergen, Hordaland: Quincy, Illinois: Houston, Texas: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh: Washington: Idaho: Santiago: South Carolina: Parana, Brazil: Laval, Pays de la Loire: Golas, Brazil: Minnesota: Keila Harjumaa: Wisconsin: Caracas: Bratislava: Boulogne-billancourt, Ille-de-France: Andalucia: Riga: Hyderabad: Madras: Florida: Ontario: Montreuil-bellay: Jalisco: Madrid: Cabanac-et-villagrains: Tamil Nadu: Huelva, Andalucia: Mitaka, Tokyo: Singapore: Cairo, Al Qahirah: Bovenden, Niedersachsen: Istanbul: Kota Kinbalu, Sabah: Hamburg: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Tangerang, Jawa Barat: Vaasa, Western Finland: Turin, Piemonte: Seoul, Seoul-tukpyolsi: Managua (Nicaragua): Adelaide, South Australia: Lanus, Buenos Aires: Vall de Uxo, Comunidad Valenciana: Madras, Tamil Nadu: Arvada, Colorado: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Milan, Lombardia: Barcelona, Cataluna: Cairo, Al Quahira: Anand, Gujarat: Auckland: Kuching, Sarawak: Central District, Hong Kong: Tulsa, Oklahoma Columbus, Ohio: Dubai: Beijing: Oklahoma City: Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal: Santiago, Region Metropolitana: Lorient, Bretagne: San Francisco, California: Lake Worth, Florida: Domont, Picardie: Dallas, Texas: Badalona, Cataluna: Lewisville, Texas: Los Angeles, California: Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen: Moscow, Moscow City: Tarragona, Cataluna: Seven Hills, New South Wales: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Delhi: Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan: Hauula, Hawaii: Rojales, Comunidad Valenciana: Bandung, Jawa Barat: Salon-de-provence, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur: Cattolica, Emilia-Romagna: Bellevue, Nebraska: La Jolla, California: Porto: New Delhi, Delhi: Hettlingen, Zurich: Alexandria, Virginia: Beaverton, Oregon: Petaling Jaya, Wilayah Persekutuan: Costa Mesa, California: Owensboro, Kentucky: Calcutta, West Bengal: Saint Louis, Missouri: Washington, District of Columbia: Iguala, Guerrero: Lille, Nord-Pas-de-Calais: Greenville, South Carolina: Valladolid, Castilla y Leon: Kuching, Sarawak: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Rayne, Louisiana: Medway, Ohio: Johannesburg, Gauteng: Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest: Katwoude, Noord-Holland: Ramos Mejia, Buenos Aires: Almada, Setubal: Itaquaquecetuba, Sao Paulo: Iasi: Athens, Attiki: Louisville, Kentucky: Brooklyn, New York: Eureka, California: Bellegem, West-Vlanderen: Irvine, California: Delft, Zuid-Holland: Orillia, Ontario: Palmela, Setubal: Edmonton, Alberta: Koln, Nordrhein-Westfalen: Aix-en-provence, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur: Japan: Sintra, Lisboa: Rome,Lazio: Wilmore, Kentucky: Roanoke, Virginia:

Phew! - Thanks to everyone for your interest!

Luton Hoo - Interior

If these photos have whetted your appetite, you can get more information here clickylink .
I can tell you that golf club or spa membership is £1,600 a year and a Christmas 4 day House Party is £995.
If you just want to look round the gardens, they are open on 14th June in aid of the National Garden Scheme - £5 each though. Much better to 'go to something', then you get to look round the gardens free of charge.
Having said that, I don't know what's to stop you driving in, parking and wandering around - other than a great number of CCTV cameras I suspect?

Luton Hoo - part 2

Would you get bored waking up to all this every day?

Last ride of the day

It was only just after 9:00pm and I was lucky to get this video of the last ride of the day. I guess that, as the common is surrounded by houses they have to agree to an early finish - or they won't be allowed back.

Luton Hoo

Today we went for afternoon tea at Luton Hoo to celebrate a dear friend's birthday - 70 on Tuesday, but don't tell anyone.















Luton Hoo Hotel is a former stately home designed by architect Robert Adam and landscape architect Capability Brown.















At the heart of the Luton Hoo Estate lies a six-acre octagonal walled garden. Established in the 1770s by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, friend and advisor to George 3rd and consultant in the planning of Kew Gardens.
We didn't want to leave the party for too long so didn't get to see this particular feature - but these gardens were spectacular enough!















If you 'click to enlarge' this very poor out of focus photo (only had my trusty point and shoot camera to hand) you will see an aeroplane on the runway at Luton Airport.
How did Capability Brown manage to get that framed between these two trees?

More photos of this spectacular house and grounds to follow...

Funny time for a fair?

Yesterday was cold, wet, windy and generally miserable, so the fair came to the common to cheer everything up. Sure enough, today is bright, sunny and warm.
Still seems a funny time to have a fair arrive - the weekend after Easter?

Another St.Mary's Church

While at Linslade we walked along the canal to Old Linslade to visit the picturesque St.Mary's church.















The lychgate (lych gate or lych-gate or lycugate, from Old English "lic" meaning corpse) is strangely positioned being in the middle of the churchyard - aren't they usually in the boundary wall?















There are some very interesting and elaborate gravestones too.

Another Globe

Well...it's actually The Globe Inn at Linslade near Leighton Buzzard.
More vouchers to use, you see.
We had £20 of vouchers from Greene King following a recent moan from me, plus we had a couple of vouchers from The Times for free pints of Old Speckled Hen beer.
So, we had a nice drink in the sunshine watching the boats and then had a thoroughly enjoyable (and cheap!) lunch.