After a very successful birthday lunch for David on 26 July, at the Courtyard in the Grosvenor Hotel at Stockbridge, and his finally overcoming the IT wrangles which grew out of a complete make-over of David’s website and info recording software, life might have settled down to a quiet summer, had not a confusion over … Continue reading Three days on the Isle of Wight: 3 – 6 August 2026
travel
The Ridgeway : 23 April 2025 to 19 August 2026
Yes! It took along time, despite being only 139 km! In fact, our efforts were spread over only nine days, with two or even three months between them; with only two sets of two consecutive days. Liz, living in Oxford, was in the throes of wrapping up a long and successful academic career, amid lots … Continue reading The Ridgeway : 23 April 2025 to 19 August 2026
The Isles of Scilly : 3 – 9 June 2026
This short holiday was planned in March, squeezed into a space in David’s busy late spring diary, and between my choir rehearsals; rather late in the day for hotel and ferry bookings! After a series of fruitless inquiries, the Bell Rock Hotel in St Mary’s emailed me with news of a cancellation, and we secured … Continue reading The Isles of Scilly : 3 – 9 June 2026
Verona and Florence 10 – 17 April 2026
Friday 10 April 2026 Yesterday we learned that our flights booked for today from Stansted were cancelled; David successfully found two seats on the 16.55 BA flight from Gatwick instead, allowing a more leisurely leave-taking of Andover and an easier train journey. We arriving in Verona in time to get some cash in readiness for … Continue reading Verona and Florence 10 – 17 April 2026
Piemonte 36 : Grandi Langhe and Alba : 26 – 31 January 2026
Monday 26 January The next morning we left with Giacomo, the sales manager, as the sun was rising, to drive into Torino. Roadworks made it slow-going, and we were dropped at the OGR at 09.30, while Giacomo searched for parking. The day began with coffee, a brief gathering of some members of the Circle of … Continue reading Piemonte 36 : Grandi Langhe and Alba : 26 – 31 January 2026
Piemonte 35: Gattinara and Torino: 19 – 26 January 2026
Monday 19 January We had an early start from Andover, catching the 07.35 to reach Stansted (via Waterloo and Bank to Liverpool St for the Stansted Express) arriving at 10.10 in plenty of time for the Ryanair 12.40 to Turin, which boarded promptly and left only 15 minutes late. We arrived in daylight at 16.00 European … Continue reading Piemonte 35: Gattinara and Torino: 19 – 26 January 2026
Piemonte 33: Monferrato Canavese : 14 – 16 November 2025
Friday 14th November Having already tracked down exit 6 of Malpensa airport’s terminal 1, we left the restaurant at 19.20 to position ourselves there and soon found Doris Lau Parry, who describes herself as a global nomad, lives in Chiswick and writes a weekly column for the Hong Kong Times. Melania Battiston arrived soon … Continue reading Piemonte 33: Monferrato Canavese : 14 – 16 November 2025
Piemonte 32 : Gattinara 11 -14 November 2025
Tuesday 11 November We collected the hire car from Budget, half a mile from our hotel, not especially pleased to have been upgraded to a larger car; in our experience, smaller suits our needs better. In this case, the hybrid MG proved very reluctant to start, and we lost half an hour faffing. Eventually the … Continue reading Piemonte 32 : Gattinara 11 -14 November 2025
Piemonte 31 : Stresa for Taste Alto Piemonte : 7 – 11 November 2025
Friday 7 November 2025 Today we set off for a fortnight’s research for David’s new writing project, The Wines of Northern Piemonte: Annual Report Spring 2026 sponsored in part by Nebbia e Luce. It begins at Taste Alto Piemonte, an annual event this year held in Stresa on Lago Maggiore, 80 km north of Milan. … Continue reading Piemonte 31 : Stresa for Taste Alto Piemonte : 7 – 11 November 2025
Two days in Siena – and three Italian Cathedrals: 5 – 7 September 2025
Friday 5 September After we had tasted and talked with Guiseppe Gorelli at his winery close by Montalcino, we drove through the Friday late afternoon traffic to a car hire in the industrial estate in the south of Siena. We arrived at 17.53, just in time to hand back the car to two efficient and … Continue reading Two days in Siena – and three Italian Cathedrals: 5 – 7 September 2025
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