Mandy & Stef's Wedding

Thursday night we headed down to Bedfordshire in anticipation of Mandy and Stef's wedding.  We had a great curry (everything half price for some random reason) then went for a couple of beers in a cracking little GBG pub called The Wellington - try it if you're in the area.

The wedding was on Friday, it was a really intimate ceremony in the Swiss Cottage at the Shuttleworth Collection, followed by a wedding breakfast at the Black Horse in Ireland (the village near Bedford, not the other one).  Only about 20 guests at the wedding and a very enjoyable afternoon which showed that you don't need to be elaborate and sometimes the simplest events are the best.

Dicko's Stag Do

It was to Bristol this weekend for Steve's stag do.  It's a city I really like so I was pleased when he picked it as a location.  There were 10 of us for the weekend - seven from Lincoln and we travelled down in a two car convoy.

After checking in at the Premier Inn, we headed into town for the evening.  Obviously we sampled quite a few of the city's top public houses and kebab emporia.

Saturday saw us breakfasting in Wetherspoons before travelling together by minibus to Max Events where Clint and I had organised an afternoon of activities.  First we had a go in hovercraft (click here to see the video), then it was archery before finishing with offroad buggies.  We found out that 'gimps were scary'.

Minibussed it back to town and in the evening we headed to the Grosvenor Casino for our own private poker game.  It was great way to spend the evening - the casino treated us like VIPs and I think everyone really enjoyed it.  At about midnight (after a couple of pubs) we headed to Reflex for some 80s nostalgia.  There was a stage with a pole and I don't think Steve left it alone all night!

Sunday morning meant another Wether-brekkie before we got back on the road North.  I couldn't believe how chipper Steve was considering the massive amount of mucky drinks that he consumed.  As it turns out, the depression didn't hit until Monday.

Very memorable weekend - no deaths, no injuries and I think everyone enjoyed it.  Roll on the wedding.

Darlington & Durham

Keren was working in Darlington on Friday so I took the day off and tagged along - we then spent a couple of nights in Durham.

While K was working I went to 'Head of Steam' which is Darlington's Railway Museum.  It's not as big as York but it's a smart little place with some interesting exhibits.  A lot of the focus is on Darlington's role in the pioneering days of the railways.

We nipped up to Durham after K had finished her meeting.  We'd booked two nights in the Marriott (booked before K started working for Hilton!) and the hotel was nice with a great location right in the centre of time.

It was my first visit to Durham and really enjoyed it.  Had a good curry on the Friday night then spent Saturday doing lots of touristy things.  We visited the cathedral and then the botanical gardens - along with a few GBG pubs including the Elm Tree where we had dinner.

Home on Sunday after breakfast.  Very enjoyable weekend and would recommend Durham if you fancy a short break.

Rockingham and Rolling 'em

Spent a great afternoon at the Caterham Festival with Carla and Gary.
Gary had a difficult grid position but made up five places on the first lap before embarking on a race-long tussle with another car for 10th.
Terrific racing and good company.