Big Events & Places.

                                                                                                               

My wife Anne and I enjoy going to big events, sporting, theatres and new places, so we decided to try and do as many of these as possible, all be it, to do one a year. We had already done a few so I will list these then add on as time goes by.

1. Royal Ascot - June 2006.

We have in fact done this event a few times as we do not live far away. We go on the Saturday and go on the heath. It does not cost much to get in (it used to be free many years ago) and if one gets there early you can get a table and chairs under the large marquees they put up. It is not far to walk to the bookies, bars and they have large TV screens to watch the races. Being under cover is good if it is too hot but more to the point with an English summer, keep one out of the rain.

   In 2007 it had rained all week and it also poured down on the Saturday, there was almost a lake running though the marquee. The biggest problem with these events is getting away, and Ascot is no different and even living nearby, is still not easy. Some of the cabs want to rip people off then wonder why very few people use them? But all that a side, it is a really good day out.

                                                    

2.  Afternoon Tea. February 2003.  

 

   

We have in fact been to afternoon tea a fair few times now but this was the first time.  Anne booked it as a surprise for me, we went to the Savoy London on the Sunday afternoon. We have been to the Ritz a few times we took my bother-in-law Roy for his 70^th birthday and also took my Aunt Beatie for her 90^th in 2010, along with daughter Jean who was 30 around the same time. We had a car pick us up for that. We also took my sister Linda and brother-in-law Bob for their 50th wedding anniversary. 

    When Anne and I were on holiday in Madeira we went to the Reads Hotel for afternoon tea on the Sunday. We sat outside on the  balcony which overlooks the bay/harbour, very nice. That was the hotel which Winston Churchill stayed at when he was there.

     Anne keeps a memory book from each year and I have just look at them, (it is now May 2020) to be fair she didn’t start it until 2011. But one thing that jumped out at me is how many afternoon teas had been brought for us and how we had brought, a lot!

3. Classical Spectacular Royal Albert Hall 22nd March 2003.

                                                                                

      

I had been to this twice before and had really enjoyed it so I wanted to take Anne. This is a really great show; well I suppose you need to like classical music a bit, well I like it a lot.

    It does Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem, Zadok the Priest, Ride of the Valkyries, and many more and of course the finish is the 1812 Overture, balloons and all. If a person could ever only go to one show I would say do this one.

   The Royal Albert hall is South Kensington, London. It was under construction for 4 years and was completed in 1871. It has a capacity of 5,272 and was named after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.  

4. The London Marathon April 2003.  

 

This was when Anne lived in Mile End, East London, it was easy to go and watch. We picked it up at Tower Bridge then over the course of the morning and afternoon we walked the course to the finish line.

     We had missed the top runners by time we got there, well we saw the tail end of them, but it was far more fun watching the ones in fancy dress and the fun runners. It was a hot sunny day and we had taken a picnic so as we walked along and stopped by the Thames and sat in the sunshine and ate the picnic. At the end we sat in the park near the finish line and clapped the runners in.

5. New Year’s Eve in Central London 2002 + 2003.

 

 

I would have said Trafalgar Square but both times we went the police would not let us near there. The best time we had was the first year; it was the first year Anne and I were together. We went  down west about eight pm to eat but a lot of the restaurants were closed so we went over to China Town and ate there. I must say that it was like a conveyor belt, with so many people wanting to eat and the restaurants wanting to make the most of the others being closed, so it was in eat and out, then in with the next lot!

      After we had eaten we went on what some people may call a pub crawl around the West End. There were no fireworks that year but we stayed out to about 2am and had good night. We did the same the next year and but it was just not the same and more of the pubs were closed, but they did have fireworks, but we were back to Anne’s place before midnight and watched them on TV but could hear them outside the window as we were nearby.

6. Manchester Dec 2004.

                                                                            

   

We flew up to Manchester on the Friday morning, we went for Anne's 50th birthday. While she had a dinner with friends and family in London in the Val Taro’s restaurant this was just the two of us. We stayed in the city and on the first afternoon we went to the Lowry and saw his paintings, then we had a meal there and went to a show in the evening then got the tram back to the hotel.

    I like Lowry's work a lot have have been to a few exhibitions of his. We have a few prints of his, but no originals, yet!

   On the Saturday we went to see Man City and Tottenham at the home teams’ new ground, the away team won 0-1. A really nice weekend.

 

7. The London Eye. September 2005.

                                                                              

This was a wedding present from daughter Jean and her husband Paul. I had been on the eye before with the family, Anne had not.

    This time we did not have to queue as we had a champagne reception and the pod was not full, unlike the time before. It is a really good experience and a very enjoyable day out. The weather was nice which is good for a good view of the city, which make it all worthwhile.

The London Eye was only meant to have been in place for a couple of years, but I am very pleased to say the 'powers that be'  change their minds and is still there now, January 2022. 

8. Rod Stewart December 2005.Olimper London.                                                                                  

      

We had never seen Rod before, we both like him and it was a really good show, another just before Christmas, which is a good way to start the holidays. He did all the old ones, Maggie May, Sailing, Baby Jane and all the others. We were up in a box, but near the end he kicked loads of footballs into the crowd in front of the stage, which to be fair could have started “a riot,” with everyone trying to get them. It didn’t.

    Olympia is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington. A range of international trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and sporting events are staged at the venue. Opened on Boxing Day, 26^th December 1886 it can hold up to 10,000 people.

 9. Tour de France July 2007 (London)

                                                                                       

       

The Tour de France started in London in 2007 so we went along. We were joined by my daughter Jean so we  made the day of it by meeting up with some friends in the morning for breakfast in a Café near Liverpool Station the three of us then went to the National Portrait Gallery for an exhibition of the most photographed famous people.

  We then went to watch the time trails, which was around Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square. The atmosphere was very good the sun was shining and people were enjoying the day for something which as a rule one would not see here, of course I now need to see it in France! After that we walked across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank and had a glass of wine in the member’s bars of the newly revamped Royal Festival Hall.  

       10. RHS Chelsea Flower Show. London. May 2008.                                                                                   

      

This was the first time for me at the Flower Show and enjoyed very much apart from the crowds which to be fair you get at all big events and of course the rip off prices a good example £4.70p for a glass of Pimms which you could no doubt buy a bottle for not a lot more. Took a lot of photos which came out very well. Saw Alan Titchmarsh waiting to be filmed, he looked warn out.

     The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show. It is held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital. Held at Chelsea since 1912, the show is attended by members of the British Royal Family.

11. The Eden Project. 7^th July 2008.

Anne and I were on holiday near Oakhampton mid Devon and went to the project from there; it was just over an hour in the car. A part from the fact it poured with rain (as it did for most of our week there) and when I went to take a photo I found my battery was flat we had a really good time.

   Walked our feet off but got to see most of the project. In the book it says it is a symbol of hope, showing what people can do if they put their minds to it, I think that is about right. It is set out very well and has a lot of different things growing inside and out, we brought a small plant for our rock garden.

    On their website they say: We are an educational charity and social enterprise. Our global mission is to create a movement that builds relationship between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things.

12. Blenheim Place. 26^th July 2008.

   

This was Anne's Christmas present from me for 2007, as it is hard to know what to get a person each year I got her afternoon tea at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and that include going around the Palace.

    It was a very hot Saturday afternoon and we walked down by the lakes later on which were nice. This was Winston Churchill’s family home and it was all very interesting finding out more about the great man.

   Not a long drive for us just over an hour, but it took about that long to get out in the evening as unknown to us they had their yearly fair on that week and we had to queue all around the estate to get out, but it was a really nice day out, Christmas in July.

  The palace, is one of England’s largest houses. It was built between 1705 and 1722, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The palace is named after the 1704 Battle of Blenheim in Germany.

 13. The Open-Air Theatre in Regents Park. 1^st August 2009.

    

In fact, this one should have been near the top of the list. We have now been going there since 2003, I have not put it on our West End Theatre list, mainly because I did not think it was in that area, but have now been told different?

      It is now an annual event for about eight or so of us. If you do not get to see the whole show because of rain you are given new tickets for a show of your choice, this could be carried forward to the next year, we have had a fair few of free tickets. We have seen a lot of different shows now, a few are, Hello Dolly – High Society – HMS Pinafore – Two Gentlemen of Verona – Camelot, along with others. We meet in the park first and have a picnic then go into the show, it is really good fun that we all enjoy.  

14. The National Archives 11^th September 2010.

 

This trip was part of the work we are doing on our family tree. We are working on the Wheeler (my Dads) side and the Crisp (my Mum) at the same time. While we did not find out everything we went for, we got some things and they are meant to be sending the rest on, (we got my Dads navel records sent) but it was very interesting.

    They find what you want and place it in the ‘reading room’ which a person has to take a short test to enter, you get a photo id at this point. We have been a few times and one Saturday there was a historian who I talked to. He was very knowable and shorted a lot of info regarding my dad and grandad.   

    The National Archives is a non-ministerial government department. It is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales; and “guardian of some of the nation’s most iconic documents, dating back more than a 1,000 years.”

The medals above are, (on the left) my Grandad (my Mums Father) and Dads. They are replacement ones which I was able to get with the help I got by getting their war records from the archives. 

15. Lyme Regis 1^st October to 4^th October 2010.

This was just a weekend break to get away from work for a few days. But the main reason I have put this in is because we went to a play down near the harbour on the Saturday night which was like a village hall. We saw a play about Sherlock Homes. It was a one-man thing but was very good and funny.

      I have been to Lyme Regis before “in another life” with the family about 15 years ago, I do like that they are trying to keep the old high street etc and the feel of an old town, all be it two well-known high street supermarkets have moved in.

     We had a nice little flat not far from the sea, but oh boy is it hilly! On the Sunday we went on the Seaton tramway through some wetlands which was nice.  

16.   London. Friday 10^th June 2011. A day to Remember.

This was something I had put together for the family. It was a day out to go to where our family lived in North London. My sisters, daughters and cousins and some husbands came, there was about ten of us in all.

     Anne and I had done a dummy run the week before so had a plan. We met at the at tube station near where our grandparents used to live, Tufnell Park at about 10/00am. Took photos outside their old house, 16 Monery Road. We then went on to Highgate Cemetery where our Nan is buried, oh, and it is also famous for Karl Marx being there. I had agreed and paid the cemetery for a guide who found the grave, it was a mass grave in the old part. I had brought a reef to place there.

   We got soaked as we walked around in a storm. We had lunch in a near by pub, then we went to Central London in the afternoon and had dinner at night in the restaurant we used to use there, Val Taro’s. I produced a program for the day for everyone. It was truly, “a day to remember!” 

The church above is St Joseph's Church Highgate, that is where my Grandmother and Grandfather got married on Christmas Day 1920, in a 'penny marriage.' They were my Mums parents, the ones who lived in Monery Road.  

17. Ascot Saturday 15^th October 2011.

      

While this was Ascot again, this time it was in a box for Champions Day from work. We built some apartments behind the race course and I believe a fair amount of money was made on it. It was a very enjoyable day out, we had a meal and drinks in the box. All the women in the group were each given £20 to bet on each race (£120) nothing for the men, I may add.

18. Wembley Stadium Tour 26 November 2011.

    

While I have been to the new Wembley a few times to matches, this was a gift from my daughter Jean and her husband Paul. When you first went in and waited for the tour to begin there was a waiting lounge which had a CD playing that had the history of the stadium on which was very good.

    The tour took about 45 minutes and went around the dressing rooms press rooms, the royal box and we had a photo with the FA Cup. Our tour guide was very good and made a fuss of the children. At the end there was an exhibition on the history of the European Cup which we went to.

19.   Mill Bank House. Afternoon Tea 14 January 2012.

     

This was another gift from Jean and Paul, we all went to London together then they went to see a play and we went to Mill Bank House for tea. The restaurant is at the top of the building and has a 360 view of London which is really good for photos. While we have done afternoon tea few times now and it is not in the same class as the Ritz or The Savoy it was worth it for the view. We walked around town after as we always seem to do, but I never get fed up with it. We then met up with them for dinner at the Sports Bar.

 20. Who do you think you are? Live.  Saturday 25^th February 2012. Olympia, London.

         

This is of course about genealogy and from the BBC TV series. At that this point I had been doing a lot of genealogy for some years. We went to a few of these shows each year until to moved to Birmingham. It is a very good and interesting day out. There are many stalls and talks one can go to. I would recommend it for anyone who is into genealogy.  

21.   Kensington Palace. Visit and afternoon tea 18 May 1213.

               

This was another gift, this time from my sister Linda and her husband Bob. We went out with my cousins Linda and Janet and their husbands Geoff and Jeff the night before in London and we had a hotel for the night at Waterloo, so it was not far to go. We had breakfast at a new restaurant at Waterloo station then headed off to Kensington.

    It was an overcast day but no rain and not cold. The Palace has been home to many Kings and Queens and other Royals over the years and they have three tours one could go on, we did all three. I think I enjoyed the one on Queen Victoria the most, they had film of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897 a month after my Grandad Crisp was born.

    We had afternoon tea in the Orangery. We could not book it so had to wait outside for half an hour. The tea was nice but I do think there should be some kind of dress code for all afternoon teas!   

22. London River Cruise. 13th July 2013.

           

This was a cruise down the Thames for lunch it had been brought for Anne and I by Gill and Will our son- in-laws Pauls, Mum and Dad. We boarded facing the Embankment tube station at 12/30 then set off at 1pm. Lunch was served while a commentary was played regarding the sights and stories about the rout we were taking. It gave us another look at London, this time from the river of course.

    With the river being in the middle of the city it is totally full of history and of course I got loads of photos. We had a really nice time and we were also in the middle of a heat wave so it was nice and cool on the river. The meal which went with it, was really nice, and with a few glass's of wine it made for a really nice afternoon out.

   

23. Lowry at the Tate. Saturday 5th October 2013.

         

This was the largest collection of LS Lowry ever brought together. We had been to one Lowry exhibition in Manchester in 2004, when we went up there for the weekend of Anne's 50th. This day there were so many paintings, but too many people there, which made it hard to enjoy in a funny way. We were going onto the Palace of Westminster next so we were a bit limited for time. But it was really good and enjoyed seeing so many Lowry's together.

    I think why I like Lowry so much is because in a way his work is so simple, like the song says, "and he painted matchstick men and matchstick cats and dogs." That's says it all.

24. The Palace of Westminster. Parliament Saturday 5th October 2013.

       

We had in fact booked both this and the Lowry on the same day as they are not far apart. We had the slot for the Tate at 12/00 then on to Parliament for 3/00pm, after some lunch. It was very good, we were in a tour, it took about an hour, the lady who took us around was very good and had all the answers to all the question. I have done this twice, once on my own. I would really recommended it. 

25. Night River Cruise and Ambassadors Lounge. 11th December 2014.

        

             

This was for my wife's Anne 60 birthday. We spent the night in London on the Friday after going out with the cousins for a meal. My daughter Jean and her then husband Paul came on the Saturday to stay the night.

  The other three did not know what I had booked, but in the afternoon, I had tickets for Sunny Afternoon, which was a story of the pop group The Kinks, and I had also booked the Ambassadors Lounge at the theatre, which means you can sit in the lounge before the show and at the interlude with drinks and nibbles, it was very good, as was the show. 

   In the evening it was down to the river for a night river cruise down the Thames for a dinner and dance evening. It was a very good day.   

26. The Shard, London. Saturday 14^th April 2014.

      

This was a Christmas present from daughter Jean and her then husband Paul, we went at the Easter weekend. So long as you don’t have a problem with heights it is really good. The view from there is really good, just like the London Eye. You do need a nice day for both of these.

   I have to say, the prices up there, are as “sky high” as the view!

27.  South Hill Park Bracknell. Monday? 4^th August 2014.

This was 100 years to the day that WWI broke out. Our local Art's Centre, South Hill Park, held this advent to commemorate the start of the war, on the Monday evening.

   It was held at the front of the very large house, which has much history itself, and is well worth a visit if a person is in the area and have never been there. It was like a show with people singing songs from that time. Anne brought photos and the medals my Grandad, William JT Crisp with us who fought in the war as a young man. We all lit candles that we were given, and then blew them out, 100 years on, “as the lights went out over Europe!”   

28. The Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare’s Globe. Sunday 5^th October 2014.

While I have done a list of West End theatres, I wanted to do a write up on this as it was our first visit and I really like the theatre and its history. For those of you that have not been there it is a recreation of Shakespeare Globe theatre that was destroyed by fire.

  The standing area in front of the stage is open to the elements in so much as there is no roof. This show was so good and had an opening ten minutes with one actor not talking at all but was so funny. We also saw Nell Gwynn there on 4^th October 2015, which had a really good story line.

  Shakespeare’s Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in Southwark, London. The original theatre was built in 1599, was destroyed by fire in 1613, it was rebuilt in 1614 and then demolished in 1644. The modern Globe opened in 1997, and accommodates only 1,400 spectators compared to the original theatres 3,000.

29. The Waldorf Hotel. 21st February 2015.

This was a Christmas present from Will and Gill Sugg. Anne and I had been to see Made in Dagenham in the afternoon at the Adelphi and then it was short walk down the Strand to the Waldorf for dinner, as you do!

   We had pre-dinner drinks followed by dinner. We had to book it in advance with the voucher they had given us. Haven’t got a clue what they paid but we had the choice of the menu which was really nice. We had never been to the Waldorf before (had passed it many times) but it is really nice, we enjoyed it very much. A really nice present.   

30. Fine dining and the Classical Spectacular. Royal Albert Hall. November 2015.

This was for my Grandson's Joshua's 21st birthday. Again no one knew where we were going. Along with Joshua we had my daughters Jean and Claire and her husband Richard (this was also for his 50^th from January) and Anne.

   My wife Anne and I had been there before (this is the second write up on this, here) but none of the others had. I had the dining booked and paid for which was really good, and as Claire said that "if it had just been the dinning that would have been enough, but the show was really good (as always) which everyone enjoyed."

   While there is meant to be no photos or recordings Joshua did video a lot and sent it to me the next day, which I have to say was really good.

31. Beaulieu Hotel New Forest. 24th to 27th December 2015.

 

We have been away many times at Christmas but this one was really nice; Anne and I went with daughter Jean and sister Jean and brother-in-law Roy. The hotel was in a really nice spot in the New Forest, we had been there in the September for lunch for my sister’s birthday to see what it was like. While it was not cheap I did think it was worth it.

   We visited other places around the forest while we were there and went to the Beaulieu Car Museum, which is again well worth a visit.

32. Garden Party. Thursday 2nd June 2016.

 

This was a garden party held by the High Sharif of Berkshire, it was also the referendum day for Brexit. We had been invited for the voluntary work I had done with the Mock Trails each year. It was a sort of overcast evening and we were in a marquee, which was packed. 

   The then Home Secretary, Teresa May was there as she is a Berkshire MP and stood behind us at one point and bumped into my wife Anne, who nearly choked on her drink. I did know a lot of people there and it was nice for Anne to meet them also. What we did not know at that point was that in about 4 weeks’ time Mrs May was to became PM!

33. Wimbledon 27th June 2016.

 

Anne and I went Wimbledon on the first Monday in 2016. I had been during the Olympics' but Anne had never been. We had Centre Court tickets again, this time we saw Novak Djokovic against the English lad James Ward, the Champion won in 3 straight sets. We left Centre Court after that and had a walk around with something to eat and drink but it was packed which does take a little away from it, but we really enjoyed the day. Got photos of Cliff Richard's above.

34. Spinnaker Tower Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. 4^th August 2016.

         

This was my brothers-in-law Roy’s 70^th birthday. He and my sister Jean were living in the Isle of Wight at the time and we would visit them about once a month. This time they came over to Portsmouth and meet us. We had lunch in the Quays then went up the tower. We went back to the IOW in the evening and meet other family members for dinner.

  It was a really nice summers day and the view from the top was really good, and of course we got some really good photos. A person can walk across a very large "plate glass window" while up there, which has a view of the drop below, “if one dares!”

35. Afternoon tea and tour of the Globe Theatre. August 2016.

   

While Anne and I had been to the Globe Theatre a couple of times with Anne's company this was not to see a show but we had been brought afternoon tea there for Christmas by my daughter Jean.

   A tour of the theatre was included, Jean came of course. It was a nice afternoon overlooking the Thames and a nice walk down the South Bank, but it was very packed along there. The tour was very good and interesting and gave a good look at the life of William Shakespeare. 

36. Opening of the Crown Court. 7th October 2016.  

   

This was the ceremonial service for the opening of the crown courts at the start of the judicial year. For my voluntary work I get an invite to the ceremony each year, but mainly because Anne and I work full time we had never been before, but because I am in my last 5 years before retirement I thought it would be nice for the both of us to go.

   It was held at The Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin Reading. It lasted about an hour and was a nice event to attend. Going back to the garden party in June regarding Teresa May who bumped into Anne, little did we know that in about for 4 weeks later she would be PM, you never know who you are rubbing shoulders with!   

37. Classical Spectacular Royal Albert Hall. 18th March 2017.

   

While I have already done a write up on the Classical Spectacular this was different again as we went in a limousine and had a box with food and drink in it. I had done this for my son Paul's 50th birthday. 

   There was 12 of us in all and it was really good. To have a box (the first time I had been in a box there) was just so good and to be picked up at your door then food and drink in the box just puts the icing on the cake, and of course everyone enjoyed the show, there is "no way," a person cannot enjoy this show!

   In November 2019 we had a box again, this time for Anne and my cousins Linda’s 65 birthday. Again, there was 12 of us with food and drink in the box, it just makes for such a good day out. Do it if you can! 

38.   The Castle Hotel, Windsor. 20^th May 2017.

       

This was only a one-night thing, brought for us by daughter Jean for Christmas. The reason I wanted to put it in was really because of where it was. It was almost facing Windsor Castle, and while we have been their many times and it is not far from us, it is just a nice place to go.

   Weather wise it was a really nice weekend, of course it was packed and the Union Flag was flying everywhere. We got there early on the Saturday afternoon, spent time walking around, dinner, a few drinks, just a pleasant day.

39. London pub walk. 18th November 2017.

          

               

Anne and I went on this pub walk in London, it had been brought us by my daughter Jean for Father's Day. Apart from the fact it rained all of the time it was really enjoyable. The tour guide was Dave an Irishman and his dog Griff. He was very funny and so was Griff who most of the time just refused to go out in the rain and had to be carried. It was meant to last 3 hours and do 4 pubs, it did in fact last 4 and a 1/2 hours and we did 6 pubs, with a drink in each. It is the history that we went for and were not disappointed, but Dave was a real showman and very funny, and of course Griff! A really good day out, one that I would really recommended. 

40. Holiday Inn, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. 17^th February 2018.

          

Again, only a night out but again there is a reason I wanted to put this one in. Anne and I took daughter Jean for her birthday, all be it a few weeks late because of other things we all had on. We had been there before but had not spent a lot of time there.

    We got there at lunch time on the Saturday and went around the shops in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening. Regarding dinner we had not booked anywhere, while it was winter we had a real problem getting a table, so the tip is to book a table before you go. We did not go up the Spinnaker but we had all done it before with sister Jean and brother in law Roy, but it is worth going up.

    In all it was a nice overnight stay and very enjoyable, I would recommend it for a nice break.

41. Romeo and Juliet Saturday 10th February 2018.

           

This was at South Hill Park, our local Arts Centre in Bracknell, The Wilde Theatre. We have been to see a lot of shows here. A Mid Summers Night Dream, this was in fact up in the woods, around mid summer, take your own deck chair, it was really good. It made me think, in years gone by how a theatre company would turn up at the village green and all would come and see the show. We have also been to a 70's Night there, we also saw Guys and Dolls. All very enjoyable.

42. Churchill War Rooms, London. 28^th April 2018.

             

This was brought for us for Christmas from daughter Jean along with a meal afterwards. If you are into history, in particular WWII, London and of course Winston Churchill, this is for you. The war rooms are in tunnels below Whitehall. You walk around and have the earphone for each section a person gets to.

   There is a section just on Churchill. I have seen many things on this "great man" now, and the truth is it never ceases to amaze me. I think what this man achieved in his lifetime is nothing short of remarkable, from an escaping prisoner in the Boer War to being a MP at 81. 

43. Slane Castle Distillery, Co Meath, Ireland. 16^th September 2018.

            

This was when we were in Ireland on holiday and as a rule it would be in the holiday list. This is not far from where we were staying with Anne’s cousins Bridget and Dick. Their daughter Maria worked there, she sorted tickets for a visit on the Sunday morning. It has a whiskey distillery which we did the tour of. I broke two rules of mine that morning, first I don’t drink spirts, I had a glass of whiskey at the end, secondly, I do not drink alcohol before mid-day, and we had that drink at 11/30am!

   We walked around the grounds and did the history tour in the castle. At the river near-by there was filming on going which we had a look at. 

44. Bracknell town centre. 11^th November 2018.

       

This was 100 years since the end of WWI. It just happened to fall on a Sunday which made it more special. Anne and I went with sister Jean and brother in law Roy. Our Grandad William Crisp had fought at the Battle of the Somme. He was a machine gunner and at one point took a bullet in his (very early model) tin helmet, and survived.

   It was a very moving time, it was at the war memorial in the town centre. Like the time we went to the 100^th anniversary of the start of war at SHP, (number 29) we took Grandads photo and his medals. I have done a fair bit on the history of WWI with the family tree etc. So many young people died, needlessly, as in all wars. “Lest we forget!!!” 

45. Billy Joel in concert at Wembley Stadium. 22nd June 2019.

         

Went with Anne and daughter Jean. It was an evening show and we had rooms over at Waterloo with a hotel we stay a lot at so it was easy to get home late at night.

   He is 70 years old now and played all the old ones. We didn't start We the fire, Rivers of Dreams, Piano man, Up town girl, and so on. We were up in the stands, a long way off and it was £90 a ticket, not sure if the sounds were always the best but it was an enjoyable night. He said at the start “I have been here before, if you saw it then, it is the same old shit.” That is one thing it was not!

46. The Proms, RAH Friday 9th of August 2019.

        

Met Anne after she finished work, had dinner in the RAH and stayed in the usual hotel at Waterloo. This was the 30th Prom of the season, it was the John Wilson Orchestra who played Warner Bros tunes from ‘Hollywood's Golden Age'. Some tunes like, 'The Deadwood Stage' 'Get Me to the Church on Time,' 'Seventy-six Trombones' and many more. We only booked it on the Monday and were in a four-person box with two older sisters. While we have been to the Royal Albert Hall many times now, this was the first time for the Proms. There was not as many "sing-a-long songs," as we all thought there would be.

47. The Hilton Hotel, Bracknell. 24^th 25^th December 2019.

       

While it is only a Christmas thing I wanted to put it in as we have done it many times now, so I think it should have a write up. We stayed at the hotel two nights with family as we had done the year before. Family and friends come for Christmas dinner, this year Darren (daughter Jeans boyfriend) came. There was almost twenty of us in all.

   My nephew Karl died on Christmas Eve three years before, which was heart breaking for us all. My sister Jean started it and that is we let balloons off for him into the air each Christmas Eve since.

48. The Old Vic. Saturday 4^th January 2020.

            

I want to do this as it is not on our West End list but we have been there a few times now. This was for “A Christmas Carol,” with Anne, daughter Jean and her boyfriend Darren. It was done very well and very enjoyable.

   Anne and I had seen the same show the previous year and had really enjoyed it so we wanted to take Jean and Darren. It was 12 days before Jeans 40^th birthday which was nice for her. I don’t like driving into London anymore, but Darren does, so that’s good.

49. Aunt Beatie’s 100 birthday party. Northwood. Saturday 25^th January 2020.

           

I have put this in for many reasons. She is not my real aunt, she was my Mums life long friend since they worked together in the telephone exchange just before and during WWII. She has always come to family advents. She is 60 years older than my daughter Jean so they have birthdays ending in a 0, 13 days apart. We went to the Ritz for afternoon tea for both of them ten years ago.

    Not only is this the first 100 birthday party I have been to, I have never personally known a 100-year-old before. The party was on the Saturday before her birthday on the following Wednesday. Sister Jean, myself and some of her family organized it, in a pub near where she lives. It was just a nice day, and she really enjoyed it. In the March we went into Lockdown because of Covid 19, we were all so pleased we got this in before that happened. Happy 100th Aunt Beatie!!!

50. Covid 19! March 2020 – July 2021.

             

Well this was a Big Event none of us wanted to be part of. Of course, going out and to be fair life as we knew it was put on hold for 18 months or so. And as we along with many others enjoy doing things, it was a real shame.

51. Theatre in the woods at SHP. Saturday 14^th August 2021.

           

This was another show in the woods at South Hill Park, A Midsummer Nights Dream, again! I am doing a write up on this as this is the first show we had been to since the end of Lockdown. We have now seen a few of these, and on the evening of Saturday 11^th September (day before my 69^th birthday) daughter Jean and her partner Darren took us to see, ‘As You Like It,’ in the garden of the Red Loin pub in Barns west London. Both of the above were very well done with companies of 6 each and also very funny.

52. Brighton Theatre Royal. Thursday 16^th September 2021.

         

Anne and I spent four nights in Brighton as we were not going overseas while Covid was on. We had 4 nights in London the week before. We went home for the weekend which my birthday was on the Sunday. We were to see As You Like it in a London pub garden on the Saturday night, which was really good.

     Back to the theatre above. We went on the Thursday afternoon to see the Midnight Bell. It was set in the 1930’s about people who seem to drink on and off all day then at night go to the Midnight Bell, a club, for romance. It was all dancing, and very adult. A really nice theatre.

53. Afternoon tea at the Swan. The pub next to the Globe. Saturday 29^th January 2022.

           

While we have been here before and also had afternoon tea here before I am putting this in for another first. Daughter Jean organized this for daughter Claire’s birthday (49 years old). We walked down to the Globe from Waterloo station which is over 20 minutes. Along with the two mentioned daughters were both of the husband/partner, Richard and Darren and of course my wife Anne.

   The afternoon tea was very nice and very relaxing, and we were given 3 hours, which was good. What was a first for me, was a trip back on the water bus, which we got from outside the theatre. We went to the Embankment. I was very impressed with how efficient it was, and along with speed it was very good. Jean and Darren had to get back for their dog, us, remaining four went on a bit of a “pub crawl,” a very enjoyable day.  

    A few weeks later Anne and I went back to the Swan for afternoon tea on a Tuesday, we were in London for other reasons, and had an afternoon tea present from son Paul, Jo and family. A nice way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.

54. My Fair Lady – The Coliseum London. Monday 9^th May 2022.

             

I have put this in for a couple of reasons, we have been to this theatre before and of course, go to London a lot. The last time we went to this theatre was 2006, I went with Anne and daughters Claire and Jean last time to see Sleeping Beauty, The Ballet. This Time it was My Fair Lady. Vanessa Redgrave played Mrs Higgins. It was a very enjoyable show.

    We were in London for the night, we stayed the night at the Travelodge at Waterloo. We had gone as it was my cousins Janet’s birthday so we met her for lunch along with her sister Linda and her husband Geoff. We ate at 'Bill’s' then walked down to Covent Garden and had a couple of drinks there, Anne and I went to the theatre later that night.

55. Oklahoma – The Young Vic. Wednesday 8^th June 2022.

           

We have been in The Young Vic before but only to eat and have never seen a show there. I saw Oklahoma was on there a little while ago and as with both like the show we said we would go. We stayed over for the night again at the hotel in number 57. It was a modern take on it, but it was the music that I really like and was not disappointed.

   The Young Vic is in The Cut in the London Brough of Lambeth, not far from where I was born, almost 70 years before. I like The Cut as there are a lot of bars and restaurants there. And at the Southwark end The Ring Pub where I have had boxing photos of our family put up.

   The theatre opened in 1970 and was rebuilt in 2006 and in the main house (where we were) it has seating capacity of 420.

56. The Mill at Sonny – 27^th August 2022.

           

This was a Christmas present (last year) from daughter Jean and partner Darren. The Mill at Sonny is a restaurant/theatre in Sonny, which is between Reading and Maidenhead. Darren drove us.

    We saw the play Still Life, by Noel Coward, 1938 which became the 1945 film Brief Encounter. They have a theatre there but this was set in the restaurant/bar around the table at which we were sat, we had lunch but before it started. There were 5 members of the cast who (apart from the lovers) played deliberant characters. It only lasted an hour, but was very enjoyable.

   We went to a nearby restaurant/bar/club by the river afterwards, which was very pleasant, and the sun was shining. We then went to Darren and Jeans for a Chinese, a very nice day for Christmas in August! 

57. Mums Star – 3^rd December 2021.

            

This was for my Mum, Rosena, Florence.  To mark 100 years since she was born, 3/12/1921. I had done the same for our dad in 2014, that was a collage of photos which a lady did for us whom we met at the, Who Do You Think You Are? Show in London, but she seems to have disappeared. I also put some photos together for my Grandad and Grandmother Crisp for 100 years after they got married on the 25^th December (yes Christmas day, a ‘penny marriage’) 1920, for family members.

  To be fair it was my daughter Jean who came up with this, and a new plaque for her grave as I was struggling to come up with anything, and it was getting close to the date.

   As you can see from the scan above the name of the now with the, ‘Star Listing International,’ is now known as Rosina Florence. Mum would have love that!

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