Sunday 29 April 2018

My Week in Review to the 29th April

I'm linking this post up with The Sunday Post at The Caffeinated Reviewer.

A fairly brief Week In Review today as we are mostly packing our car (read that as cramming every available corner!) in preparation for renewed wanderings tomorrow. Yay! The potential panic from last week's post has been averted. We managed to get the trailer tent tyres replaced thanks to the folks at MandM Tyres in Marsh Barton. Their while-you-wait service did involve a bit of a wait as we arrived at a busy time. We were directed to a nearby cafe which, unfortunately wasn't due to reopen until tomorrow. However the woman there preparing for their Big Reopen was happy to make us each a cup of good coffee On The House and even brought us out biscuits. How amazing was that? If you find yourself at a loose end in Marsh Barton, be sure to support the Snack Station on Clapperbrook Lane. Admittedly, you probably won't get a free drink, but they are Very Nice People!

Also VNPs are our friends Josie and Jim Tipler who, together, are folk duo Milton Hide. Their brand new EP, Little Fish, was launched in Sussex yesterday and I was lucky enough to be offered a review copy. Great harmonies and I love Josie's lyrics! Take a listen to this YouTube of Home Is Where Your Heart is and visit the Milton Hide Facebook page to find your nearest gig.


In book news, if you love exciting new crime fiction, use This Link Here to get 20% off at Fahrenheit Press. I've got one of their books, Dead Is Better by Jo Perry, to read soon and am looking forward to discovering more!

And congrats to Shirley who won the Literary Flits Nervous Conditions book giveaway last week! I'm not personally running any other giveaways right now, but am hosting several as part of book tours. There's free books and Amazon gift cards up for grabs ...

This week on Stephanie Jane you can look forward to A Month In Books, my April reads roundup, which will be blogged tomorrow morning, and WorldReads on the 5th will feature Five Books from Zimbabwe - my third literary visit to Africa.


Around the blogosphere:

My friend Chris has started a new blog about his French off-grid lifestyle. Welcome to The Ramshack

Joyous Reads has a fascinating interview with Genevieve Graham about the inevitability of writing about Nazis.

Caree Risover has been helping out with a plumbing job


Here's what you might have missed Across My Blogs this week. Click the images to visit the pages ... and don't forget to enter all the Giveaways!


 

Artisan Rainbow

Literary Flits

Stephanie Jane

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Tuesday 24 April 2018

A Weekend in Bristol

Canal street art 
Bristol is undoubtedly one of my favourite cities. One of Dave's daughters lives there so we get to visit at least once a year with the added bonus of insider knowledge to show us the best places to go! I love that the city centre doesn't feel overwhelmingly large and we can easily walk around, yet we still seem to discover something new every time. This weekend, our 'new area' was the Millennium Promenade where a number of cosy cafes are tucked away just a stone's throw from the Harbourside. We had a good lunch at the Broken Dock on Saturday. Their food was excellent and we liked that, despite the rain, the large glass windows were folded back to give an outside-yet-inside vibe. The place was bustling and we were lucky to get a table even though we hadn't reserved!

We had a nice wander on Saturday afternoon which included strolling through a vintage street market. There were lots of things I could have bought - if I had anywhere to put them! Our homeward route took us through the Arnos Vale cemetery and park. The cemetery is a wonderful peaceful space with some areas neat and others left almost wild. There was even street art. The park had a beautiful tree in full blossom which, had it not rained so hard earlier in the day, would have been perfect to laze under.


Arnos street art 
The Banco Lounge was a tad noisy, but we had a good dinner there on Saturday evening. Bristol is a perfect place for a foodie and it's really easy to be veggie too. Everywhere we went had vegetarian options and interesting choices at that. Of course, Simon's barbecues were the best! (Pile barbecued veggies into a pitta bread and devour. Delicious!)

It was lovely to catch up with everyone's news and spend time relaxing with friends. Very hygge! Dave and I are just the two of us for a lot of the year which we like, but the contrast of being in a larger group for a while makes a very nice change.

Friday 20 April 2018

Devon sunshine in Brixham!

The Dittisham Princess 
Our friends Steve and Frances made a flying 24 hour visit to Torbay this week so we thought we would take advantage of the gorgeous weather and sail across to Brixham for the afternoon. The Western Lady Ferry from Torquay to Brixham is excellent value at just £3 return per person for the 30-40 minute crossing. Yesterday the bay was millpond smooth. It was a little hazy so there weren't the most amazing views out to sea, but we could look all across the bay. The view of Brixham as we approach from the water is one of my favourites anywhere.

Once in Brixham we treated ourselves to a good seafood lunch at the Buller's Arms. The window table gave us a good view of the William of Orange statue apparently waiting at the bus stop for his journey to London!
We shared the delicious Scallops starter between us all and then I had Jacket Potato with Crab. A proper Jacket Potato! The Plaice And Chips and Seafood Tagliatelle were also enjoyed and portions are big so we didn't need dessert.

Brixham 

We had planned to walk up to Berry Head, but lingering too long over lunch meant we only left ourselves time to walk out to the Lido and back. I loved the little Pride In Brixham gardens along the harbour side. The one with the mountain sheep was my favourite. These spaces are a great idea to liven up the walk and showcase the town spirit. The Lido however looked a bit the worse for wear and we wondered if it would be ready in time for its May reopening.

Back in Brixham harbour, we just had time for a local Yarde Farm ice cream before our return ferry. I liked my Cherry Custard one, but Dave was underwhelmed with the non-chunkiness of his Chocolate Chunk flavour!
I got to see that beautiful Brixham view again as we sat facing off the back of the Dittisham Princess as we sailed away.

Brixham 

Thank you to Steve Royston for the photographs in this post. You probably all noticed the higher-than-usual quality!

Monday 16 April 2018

My Week in Review to the 15th April

Thank you Adrienne! 
I am linking this post up with The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer.

A day later than usual because yesterday, being the 15th, was time to refresh my Giveaway Linkup. This monthly post showcases all the giveaways I am running alongside ones I've spotted elsewhere. Feel welcome to add your own links too! If you haven't already entered, good prizes at the moment are Two SciFi PBs from K E Lanning which closes on the 19th and my copy of Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga which closes on the 23rd. Don't miss out!

A new blog series started on Tuesday: I'm #ReadingWomen!
And Friday had my Top Ten Etsy Finds which, this month, were all Storage Solutions. You Need this BespOak Interiors bookcase!



I got a lovely book post parcel again this week - two weeks running! - this time courtesy of my sister who sent the three pictured at the top of this post. I realise I am behind the times with not having already embraced The Little Book of Hygge, but now I've read it I love that there's actually a named fashion which suits how I already like to live. My hyggeligt endeavours included reading lots of books while lounging on my vintage chaise longue. I also baked a Banana Cake, made Lentil And Mushroom Veggie Burgers, and made a batch of Chickpea Tofu. And all without emigrating to Copenhagen!

Other super-good news is that our car, whose gearbox has been grumbly and getting worse for months (years!) appears - touch wood - to be fixed at last. Yay and Phew! It was becoming worrying to drive, especially towing the caravan, and we had planned for a worse case of having to buy either a new gearbox or a whole new car. However Nigel at Torquay Transmissions changed all the oil and did his Mechanic Magic and we can now drive up hills without fearing that we might not make it to the top. Important in a town built almost entirely on hills!

Around the blogosphere

Lindsey at Treading My Own Path discusses a plastic-free supermarket aisle where almost everything appears to be packaged in plastic.

Angela at Musings Of A Literary Wanderer asks If It's Hard To Fairly Review A Favourite Author?


Here's what you might have missed across my blogs this week. Click the images to visit the pages ... and don't forget to enter all the Giveaways!

 

Artisan Rainbow

Literary Flits

Stephanie Jane

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