That Time

Killing an hour or so, with a well deserved coffee at a nearby Tesco LOL.

Ramshead Manor

Nice to see the antipodean version of BBC's Ghosts has made it to these shores, joining the US version and of course the original on the BBC iplayer. The narrative is broadly the same but with tweaking of characters and local references. Establishing exterior shots, do naturally showcase the beauty of Australia, what's not to like?

Lots of fun.

200 And Fifty

Just a bit of fun for any visiting Transatlantic patriots LOL.

Buckinghamshire

"Bird watching." LOL 

Curly

Halloumi burgers on a bed of green and yellow peppers, with a healthy side of curly fries. 

I recall the first time (a good few years ago) I tried curly fries for the first time, what a revelation! Whoever invented them really should be given an award LOL.

New World

My Postie delivered something of a little surprise today, an item I had completely forgotten I had ordered. How foolish of me!

This year the Royal Mint is celebrating one of the ships to carry the name HMS Beagle, although likely the most famous one. Originally built as a gun ship for King George IV, it was repurposed as a survey vessel and undertook three important voyages of discovery. On the second journey, Charles Darwin joined Captain Robert FitzRoy on the expedition of the New World.

After the third voyage, in 1859, the Beagle was stationed in Essex as a static Watch Vessel to deter smugglers, before being auctioned and broken up.

Bra-vo

What a great name for a coffee shop, don't you think LOL? Spotted recently in Sheffield city centre.

Mind Your Language

"If it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French." - King Charles III to President Donald Trump, 28 April 2026.

Underground Overground

The witty girls and boys of London Underground (aka TfL) have posted this for St George's Day. 

Too good not to pinch.

Island Sleuth

The first season of the reimagined Bergerac was obviously enough of a success, it will be promptly returning to our screens. Great drama.

Better

A noticeable improvement (I hope) on my last batch, made 24th January LOL.

Cilantro

Yeah that's a really daft name and one that only North Americans tend to use but it got your attention.

Nevertheless I found this little gem the other day: a reminder of a really awesome restaurant I used to occasionally visit and where some wonderful memories were created. 

Although it was a bit of a drive and parking nearby could be problematic, it was always well worth it. I recall the menu was extensive and the portions generous, as was the Bill LOL. You can't expect an incredible experience without being prepared to pay. I think it survived the madness of the 'Rona days but shut up shop shortly thereafter. It's certainly long gone now.

Happy times.

Notts

The Tube

Just a run-of-the-mill, ordinary day on the London Underground LOL..?

M4

Can't believe my regular journey home from near Sandhurst has just taken shy of two and a half hours! 

Thanks Highways England and National Grid for closing the Motorway in both directions. In reality it wasn't their fault an electricity Pylon fell across the carriageways. Nevertheless having to divert all traffic trying to get to and from my home town has put severe strain on all surrounding routes. Got home very hungry.

Planning

Already booking events for 18 months time. Scary that I can be so organised LOL.

Decimal 60

What better way to celebrate sixty years of decimal currency than with some lovely Mintmark and Privy Mark coins? 

In 1966 Australia marked "Changeover Day" with the introduction of decimal Dollars and Cents. Previously the country had used British Pounds, Shillings and Pence (LSD) before adopting their own versions of the same. Now, in the mid 60's, the much more logical, easier to understand currency was to be used to signify the modern, forward-looking and confident Australia.

The Royal Australian Mint has issued, in readiness for this milestone (14th February), a beautiful four coin set of $1 coins. The Three Privy Mark items represent the Mints of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, and are marked B, M and S respectively. The final $1 coin is marked C for Canberra, Australia's federal capital city (referred to as ACT or Australian Capital Territory).

Aren't these awesome?

Yeah Nah Yeah

Aussie visitors to this page might appreciate this on their national day LOL.

Micro

Definitely not trying to compete with that Bake Off show but I've made a tasty looking batch of ANZAC biscuits. 

Much to my dismay these are no longer readily available to purchase in UK shops and recently had a request from ym if I could dig out my trusty recipe. My intent was to make some mini biscuits- however I over estimated how much they would spread- and have ended up with mico-sized biscuits. Literal bite sized LOL.

Hope they taste as good as they smell.

Nautical Crime Fighters

Some here will be aware I love the US series NCIS, and it's franchaised spin-offs. Perhaps one of the best children of the parent show is the one set DownUnder, NCIS:Sydney. Thankfully they don't restrict themselves just to NSW but do occasionally venture into different states.

After an enforced break (my doing) I've blitzed the second season and can finally move to the third, yea!

One thing I can't quite get my head around is the lead character. Nothing wrong as such. It's just I find it somewhat odd a British actress (Olivia Swann) playing an American character in a show set exclusively in Australia. Could they not find an Aussie who could manage a passable American accent or even, heaven forbid, an actual American actress LOL..?

Still great drama though.