Another visit to Jazz At The Fleece and another overnight stay at Stoke-By-Nayland Resort, although on this occasion we decided to have lunch in the lounge and upgraded the room (worth the extra we both agreed). Still extremely good value for money and, as the title indicates, it’s starting to feel like a home from home, although I’m convinced it’s going to be years until we will be considered anything other than naïve novices. It is however a great way of getting to grips with superb jazz players (not literally obviously, that would be rude), knowing that if someone doesn’t ‘float your boat’ for whatever reason, you’ve still had a lovely break at a fine hotel.
Travel
A Dangerous habit forming??
Not two weeks (actually it’s exactly two weeks since the last gig but hey-ho) since our last visit and here we are again, returning for a very different type of gig from the last. On this occasion we went to see the Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion, a vocalist and band who we are assured (by the Fleece Jazz promotional literature) have a foot firmly in both the jazz and blues camps. Again, to facilitate our OCD tendencies, we took the fleeze jazz package, which included an overnight stay at the hotel and breakfast the following morning.
Back To The Fleece – Antonio Forcione
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!
Return Of The Native
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 …
The Cats And Us….Plus
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.
Papworth Plus…
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….)
The (Blueish) Danube
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,
25 Years and Counting
I’m revisiting these old reviews of Bishopstock 2000 and 2001 as a reminder of what a great event this used to be and to reflect on the sad way it ended. As far as I recall, this was the first festival (as opposed to gigs) that we had been to together and holds a special place in our memory. Most of what you see in …
Bishopstock 2000
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!)
Bishopstock 2001
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.
It’s That Time…Duty Calls
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!
Scandinavian Splendour
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!!)






