Basingstoke Canal

We've just been to a wedding in Surrey and took the opportunity to get a mini boating fix. The Basingstoke Canal was quite near so we went to Brookwood and parked the car to go on a walk along the canal. On the way to the Brookwood flight we saw this Cormorant - at least I think that's what it is!

On arrival at the flight it was clear we weren't going to see much boating action as this lock was drained for the fitting of some new gates.

 A slight barrier to navigation?

Nice gates though...



Worcester 2

This is the side of Worcester cathedral which faces the river

They have cut a lot of large trees down to give a better view of the river from the Cathedral

Here's a photo of some bells to keep campanologist SWMBO happy



We then had lunch in The Farriers Arms, which is the name of the pub in St.Albans which I go to every Wednesday lunchtime to meet some chums - so we had to go there, didn't we?



Worcester

Apologies for the 'sparseness' (is that a word?) of postings but there has been a problem for several weeks with uploading images from Google's Picasa to Blogger. This makes things a bit more difficult than usual. They are 'working on it' but don't seem to be making much progress.

Anyway...to Worcester:

Bet you didn't know it was such a nice place?

River Severn - can't wait to get back on board our narrowboat 'Stella' in August and then again in September/October!

We had a superb leisurely lunch at "Browns" on the riverside, although I was a bit concerned about the 'ALCOHOL FREE ZONE' sign right outside. Luckily...it was not applicable inside the restaurant.

To Worcester

A few Saturdays ago we took advantage of a £10 Rover Ticket deal on London Midland trains. We could have gone as far as Liverpool but figured that as soon as we got there, we would have to turn round and come back again. So, we decided on Worcester which was a very good choice - especially as the station is tight in the middle of the High Street!

On our way to Northampton, where we had to change trains, we spotted numerous spotters obviously waiting for a special train to pass. We had seven minutes to change trains at Northampton and luckily the steam train came through with two minutes to spare.

I think there will have been a few disappointed people. The advertised train with UK Railtours I discovered later, was supposed to be the newly built "Tornado", but it turned out to be the "Duke of Gloucester" instead. If my camera had responded a bit quicker you would have seen the whole name!

Violas

Nice pot of violas - and reflected in the (dirty!) mirror behind

Congratulations to SWMBO

A huge "Well Done" to SWMBO who made her 50th blood donation today!

How much fun...

How much fun can you have with a single £1 coin?

Click on the photo to enlarge it

Well done Ocado! - or maybe not?

We were expecting an Ocado delivery last night and it's lucky I keep a watch on my emails as I received one to say that due to 'operational problems' the delivery had been cancelled.

If I hadn't looked at my emails I would not have known!

To make amends a £25 voucher code was included along with a request to re-book the delivery. Nothing was urgent so it didn't matter and it's been re-booked for this evening. I've also saved another 99p as this delivery slot is free!

All in all, not a bad result as the main reason I booked was because all wine was 25% off.

With the extra £25 discount, that makes it half price!

Help! What's happening?

The first mug arrived a couple of days ago and then a second one arrived yesterday!

I wonder what postie will bring today? I'll let you know.

Still, with all this new found wealth, SWMBO should be able to retire soon.

What a mug?

Is this worth £50,000 or 50p?

It shows Kate marrying the ginger one and not Wills.

I thought it was worth a gamble - only time will tell...

It was wet last Friday...

It was wet last Friday, and muddy too, obviously.
A group of walkers/ramblers came in to The Holly Bush at lunch time having removed all their wet clothing and muddy boots.
Their first question was, "Where are the toilets?" They were more than a little dismayed to be told that they were outside as they then had to put their boots back on and trudge outside again!
I think they enjoyed their lunch though...

Spring is here for Poppy

It's a tough job guarding the strawberry planter
- but some furry person's got to do it..
Spring is here!

Prague - final post!

Hope you haven't minded all these Prague photos? There's so much to photograph - and I wouldn't want you to miss anything!
This is the Hotel Europa in Wenceslas Square

Another of the trams - a new one this time

Shoe shops! Must be time to go home...

Prague 11

One of the many ornate theatres in Prague

Wenceslas Square

Wenceslas Square is not actually a square, but is a very long wide shopping street

Prague Castle and St.Vitus Cathedral

Entrance to the castle grounds

St.Vitus Cathedral in the castle grounds

Prague 9

Night time in Old Town Square

Heading across Charles Bridge on our way to the castle and cathedral

It was quite a steep climb - obviously!

Looking down from the castle grounds

Petrin Hill - Prague

Observation tower at the summit.

Funicular railway - very useful!

Castle and St.Vitus Cathedral from the railway