redandwhiterag 
Just back from a five day break in Malta with friends. I’m taking the kudos or this one because the weather, the hotel and Valletta itself were all excellent and the break proved a very fine pick me up for all involved. The flight from Southend was a suitably relaxing start, although the airport has fairly ambitious plans for expansion so it might not remain relaxed for that much longer…
Had what must have been our first proper country walk for ages yesterday, along the river at Orford. A decent four miler, followed by coffee and a bite to eat. Other than that, I’ve been going to the gym a couple of times a week, had a few lunches at a variety of lovely pubs (including a visit to the Lighthouse at Aldeburgh) and had …
Attended a follow-up appointment at Papworth on Wednesday of last week. Generally positive and a reduction in the heart rhythm medication all for the good. Will probably be on Apixaban (the blood thinners) for life but when you’ve had a stroke that’s no bad thing. Will now keep in contact with the consultant by email as I reduce the flecainide over the next two months. Will be interesting to see if the AF holds off without the medication. If it does, the ablation outlook looks very promising….
…..and then what?? Well, following the Seville trip and a measly four or five hours sleep, a quick pack and we were on the train to London for a three night stay. Originally set up before we managed to squeeze in the Seville break, hence the short turnaround time between trips. As we were at the Albert Hall the first night, we decided to try the delights of the Gore at Kensington….
Back from the Skerryvore gig, one night at home and then down to the Stansted hotel for an overnighter before our flight to Seville. We had visited the city before, but that was a one night stop as part of a wider cruise itinerary; we’d enjoyed the city, its culture and history, so when this deal cropped up, a longer break of five days seemed ideal.
Our base was the Palacio Pinello, a 15thC palace that opened as a hotel in 2014. It proved ideal for us, and it demonstrated early on that tapas in this city is at a different level to any that we had previously experienced. I’ve decided not to bore with a detailed description of each and every experience but below are the main highlights of a particularly enjoyable break…
Skerryvore last night, at what proved to be the third in an excellent series of recent folk rock gigs, all of which were surprising and excellent in equal measure. I first heard the band with the release of their eponymous CD in, I think, 2010. So eight years or so later, finally got to see them in a live environment….
Back to Bury after our excursion to the Maltings, and to what proved to be a fantastic night of folk rock from the Oysterband. Following on from the delights of Merry Hell, I’m definitely on something of a roll with Mrs. No Name. Only the second time for the full band (remember the ill fated Rhythm Festival in 2011) and a couple of years after The Oysters 3, the gig proved that those who are, sadly, of our generation can still singularly delight with the right environment and a stellar back catalogue…
Another matinee at Wolsey Theatre yesterday, this time a comedy about a man I’d never heard of (neither man nor deed) by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. Called ‘Trial by Laughter‘, the play focused almost exclusively on the three trials in three days that a man called Hone faced in December 1817. William Hone was a threadbare but talented London pamphleteer who was both persecuted and prosecuted …
Realised that this was our first visit to Snape for a music gig that sat outside the annual Snape Proms festival; and coupled to that, it has been many a year sice I first expressed seeing Merry Hell in live performance. I’m a long time fan, having long enjoyed their rather singular take on the folk rock genre…
Popped along for a quick lunch followed by the matinee performance of Alan Bennett’s “Habit of Art” at the Wolsey Theatre yesterday afternoon. Excellently acted by Matthew Kelly and David Yelland as the two principals it is at its sharpest when the two old friends/rivals play a game of chance or luck with the words and music; and the play within a play is both …
A lovely autumn day yesterday so, after Mrs. No Name’s morning merciless crushing of her opponents at tenpin bowling, we took the opportunity to cross another gig of the tick list with a visit to the Trust for Suffolk’s most famous equine. The Suffolk Punch Trust was established in 2002 and in 2010 after several years restoration work and the construction of a purpose built Visitors’ Centre, The Suffolk Punch Trust opened to the public…
10 days in Sunderland catsitting for Scott, who was up in Scotland on holiday for a week. First thing to say is that we were very lucky weather wise – absolutely no rain, and on a few days at least, warm enough to still be classed as summer for the North East….