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.

New FIFA rule

To cover themselves against decisions made by blind Uruguayans, FIFA have introduced this new rule.

Dempsey and Makepeace

I have still have the hots for Harriet Makepeace. Brilliant theme too.

St David's - Day 7

Big walk today - biggest and last of our trip to Pembrokeshire.  We caught the bus to Solva then walked back as far as Porth Clais then inland to St David's - 7.5 miles in total.

Dinner was at the Farmer's as it was quiz night.  What a shambles!  The quizmaster accidentally gave away three of the answers and at least five of the questions were about rugby or Tom Jones.  Total crap quiz.  Lucky the pub does good food and beer!

Heading off to Hay-On-Wye tomorrow.

St David's - Day 6

Another mostly fine day weatherwise.  We caught the bus to Abereiddi then walked to Porthgain (where we had lunch) before carrying on to Trefin.

We did get rained on for the last 10 minutes - this problem was compounded when we discovered that there was a 40 minute wait for the bus and the only pub was shut!  Ah well, the rain soon stopped.

The plan was to have fish and chips but, even though they told us they opened from 11-9 every day, when we went at 8.30 they were closed.  So it was off to the Farmer's Arms, our new local.

St David's - Day 5

The rain has gone away - we could see it in the distance but it kept in the distance.

Today we caught the 'Puffin Shuttle' to Newgale which has a massive, virtually empty beach from where we walked to Solva.

It was only 4.5 miles along the cliff tops but it seemed a lot further.  In the first mile we had to climb up to 200ft, then down to less than 50ft, then up, then down about three or four times.  We were kn***ered!  In the picture to the left, I'm about to head down to the valley floor and then up again to the plateau in the background.  By the time we arrived at Solva we were ready for a drink and headed straight for the Harbour Inn (another GBG tick).  We had a little bit of time to look round then we caught the bus back to St David's.

Keren foolishly allowed me to choose where we had dinner tonight so it was off back to the local curry house for a lamb vindaloo.  Went down very well.

3 days to go

There is only one Edison Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele. The legendary Brazilian played in four World Cups and picked up winners’ medals on three occasions, an achievement unmatched in world football.

The first of his medals came in 1958 when, as an unknown 17-year-old, Pele burst into the limelight, smashing records and goals alike.

He became the youngest player to score in the tournament (v Wales QF), the youngest to player to score a hat-trick (v France SF) and the youngest player to score in a Final (v Sweden) and finished with six goals.

In 1962 injury conspired to keep Pele playing beyond the second game of the tournament and he was a spectator as his team-mates went on to lift the Trophy for a second time.

The ’66 tournament saw England break Brazil’s monopoly on the title, while many of Brazil’s opposition looked to break Pele.

Some serious foul play against the South American curtailed their bid for a third successive title, but it would be Pele who would have the last laugh, when he ended his World Cup career with victory in 1970.

It was a fitting finale for one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.