redandwhiterag

Back To The Fleece – Antonio Forcione

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Fleece Jazz

Over two years after our last visit, we booked a return to Stoke by Nayland hotel and spa and to Jazz At The Fleece to sample the guitar delights of Antonio Forcione. In the interests of all I should disclose that we hadn’t heard of Antonio, which is of course a sad reflection on us rather than the artist, but we were intrigued by the short bio and reviews on the Fleece site and decided to give it a shot. As an aside, the Jazz at the Fleece offer at the hotel (overnight stay, two tickets to the concert and breakfast the following morning is a cracking deal, in my very humble opinion!

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Return Of The Native

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Well, not quite in the spirit of Thomas Hardy, but still good to report on a quickly organised two night break in Suffolk that was both relatively last minute and quirky but proved to be an unadorned delight. Surprising what you can pack into a leisurely short break without even trying. And yes, we have of course been to Lavenham before but, as we shall …

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The Cats And Us….Plus

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Back from another Sunderland cat sitting experience whilst S&G undertook their annual family break, this time down Gloucestershire way. Not a massive amount to report on this occasion. We did part company with tradition and decided to stay at Aston Hall hotel for the one nighter on the way up – first time since I don’t know when. Good to report that the room, evening meal and breakfast were all excellent. Also called into the local pub (the Yellow Lion) for a pint but a once good pub for locals appears to have sadly gone wrong through poor management / service / facilities etc. etc. and we won’t be returning.

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Papworth Plus…

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The week after our Danube river cruise and we were back in Papworth for Mrs. No Names’ next appointment. I don’t share the background to the visits but needless to say we left the complex with a shed load of medication. To make the ordeal worthwhile we had also arranged a three night break at the Ickworth Hotel in Horringer, just outside Bury St. Edmunds, staying in the historic Main House for ‘classic elegance‘ (remember those words….)

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The (Blueish) Danube

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It’s Abbey Day!!

Back from a seven day Saga river cruise aboard the Spirit of the Danube, fulfilling an ambition both born and thwarted some years ago when a booked Emerald trip was cancelled as we were about to depart because of low water in the Passau area. So, accompanied by the Saga door to door service (excellent again) we set off hoping for better luck on this occasion,

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B.B. King / Keb’ Mo’ Live…

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B.B. King

Another old review from the same period (August 2001) – but the chances are I’m never going to see the great man playing live again, so it returns to the site as testament to one of the true greats of the blues and a truly excellent live performer. Twenty four years ago, would you believe it. Tempus fugit – time is indeed marching on! (As did B.B sadly, in May, 2015).

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Another Revisit – Solomon Burke

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Solomon Burke

Another oldie, and it stays on the site for the same reason as Bishopstock – and the chance of ever seeing the ‘King Of Rock’n’Soul live have long gone – sadly, he died in October 2010. Below is the original review of the London Barbican gig, written all the way back in November 2002. It all began a little cheesily – an opening two perfunctory jams by the competent, but not particularly exciting backing band and an oversized red throne centre stage, flanked by buckets of red roses, awaiting the great man. You knew he was big, but nothing really prepared you for the man mountain who finally made his way to centre stage.

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Bishopstock 2000

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Van Morrison

Sunday

First up on the Sunday (and an interesting choice to kick start the second day) was Corey Harris. He had to battle the worst of the day’s weather and his acoustic, intimate music is hardly suited to raising the crowd on a damp early Sunday afternoon – and yet he worked perfectly. Remarkable guitar work, heavy on feel and touch and less on pure technique, coupled with wonderfully expressive vocals, the performance went down well with the crowd and set us up for the rest of the day. The fact that Corey could then be seen wandering in the audience after his set listening to the artists following him speaks volumes about the event; by and large, any egos had been left at the door (or the next field possibly!)

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Bishopstock 2001

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Bishopstock

Saturday

Saturday kicked off at 12.00 on the dot with Amor, the band led by ex-Hoax member John Amor. Good, solid, heavy riffing blues with a contemporary edge. Very different to the Hoax but none the worse for that and a fine start to the first day. Ana Popovic was next up, a vocalist and guitarist with a growing reputation. Her performance got stronger as the set developed but I didn’t hear anything truly exceptional or noteworthy in the set.

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It’s That Time…Duty Calls

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On The Trail – Still Got It!!

Just under a week ago, we returned from a trip up to the North East to complete the first of our catsitting duties for 2025, although we extended it to just under two weeks with a break in Derbyshire on our way back home. We again broke up the journey on the way up with an overnight stop at Wentbridge; however in startling news that may well rock the world of our core audience we stayed in a ‘Courtyard Room’, a first for us and a pleasant upgrade on the pre-booked accommodation!

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Scandinavian Splendour

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First Day At Sea…..’Chillin’

A little late as we have been back just over two weeks but here nonetheless is a brief resume of our Saga Cruise (our second Saga after our first in 2023) to Scandinavia. This was on the Spirit of Adventure, thus ensuring we’ve now travelled on both the company ships. As specified, there are subtle differences but the overall layout is in fact exactly the same and means we were very quickly comfortable with our surroundings. Of the subtle changes, the one we noticed most keenly was the Nepalese specialty restaurant, which we both thought was excellent and an experience well worth repeating. We had learned from the previous ‘newbie’ experience and ate mainly in the grill to avoid the ‘perils’ of anytime dining, although on the occasions we did eat in the main dining room we had no trouble securing a table for two, so in fairness maybe they had made minor adjustments to the set-up (i.e. more tables for two!!)

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